St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-07-06
BETHEL VICTIMS.
Five Lives Destroyed by Fire
in Rev. David Morgan's
House Boat.
Mrs. Peak, Matpon, Is Among
the Unfortunates Who
Perished.
Her Body Recovered, Also
the Body of a Man Who
Is Unknown.
Two Other Women at Least
Are in the Ruins or in
the River.
Lulu Morgan, Daughter Of the
Superintendent, Is Burned
Too Badly to Live.
An Exploding Lamp Causes
the Fire in the FlinSy
Structure.

Dead.
MRS. PEAK, matron.
UNKNOWN MAN.
TWO UNKNOWN WOMEN.
Fatally Burned.
LULU MORGAN, aged IL, now at
st. Luke's hospital.
Known to BE Injured.
PAT RYAN, janitor. badly burned
about upper body and legs.
JAMES SHAUGHNEssY, back injured
by. a fall in trying to escape.
W. E. THoMP son, burned about the
legs.
The men named are being cared for
at the city hospital.
Four persons were burned to death
last night by the destruction of The
Floating Bethel" cheap lunch and
lodging house located on the river at
the foot of Sibley street. Up to l
o'clock two bodies had been found in
the ruins and two other persons are
known to have burned to death.
The bodies found were those of Mrs.
Peak, matron OH the boat, aad an un-
known man. Two women who were
seen clasped in each others arms on the
"teXas' of the boat few moments after
the fire started were seen to fail into the
flames, but their bodies have not been
found.
Lulu Morgan, the twelve -year-old
daughter Of Rev. David Morgan, super
intendent of the Bethel, was fatally
burned, and Patrick Ryan, jenitor on
the boat, was also burned about the
face and hands. Three other men who
were injured by jumping from
the boat were taken to the
city hospital. The fire started from
A Kerosene Lamp Explosion
on the second story of the boat about
10:30 o'clock, and, being constructed of
the fiimsiest kind of wood, the structure
burned like tinder. Forty persons, in
Guiding the help, were on the boat at
the time, and, as the majority were in
the staterOom;, it was miracle that all
were not cremated. The wild whistling
of a switch engine on the Milwaukee
road was the first notice of danger the
occupants of the place had, and nearly
all those who were asleep were awak-
ened in time to make their escape in
their night clothes.
Some of the occupants leaped from
the boat in the river, and seven who
chose this method of escape were res
cued by crews on the Sidney and Gracle
Mower, which fortunately were tied up
at the wharf when the fire broke out.
Two men and a woman are reported to
have been drowned, but the report could
not be verified in the confusion.
The register of the boat in which p er-
sons who slept on board were supposed
to enter ther names was burned and it
was Impossible to get any idea as to the
exact number on board at the time the
fire broke out.
Miss Wattling'S Story.
Daisy Waiting, dining room girl |
who occupied a room next door to the |
wash room, where the fire started, es-
capped by breaking out the screen from 7
the window of her room. Seen later in |
the ladies' room of the union depot, she |
gave an account of the FIRE, and as far
as she was able list of persons EN-
plOyed on the boat. She had retired
about o'clock, and was awakened by
smell of smoke. Opening the door of
her stateroom she saw flames putting
out of the washroom, as she expressed |
it, lust like an engine" Seeing there
was no chance for escape by the pas
sageway. she broke out the screen of
her window and ran in her night clothes
to the rear and was taken off by small
boat.
There were four women and two men
employed on the boat, according to her
story, and all of the employees except
Mrs. Peak. the matron, escaped. Two
daughters of Rev. David Morgan-Kate,
aged nineteen, and Lulu, aged twelve
who were Oh the boat, were both burned,
Lulu. it is thought, fatally: Kate about the
hands. None of the occupants saved
any of their clothing, and the hotels
were called OH for blankets and sheets
to enable the men and women to cover
themselves while being taken to a place
of refuge. The patrol wagons were
kept busy in carrying the injured and
naked to the hospitals and central sta
tion.
Search for the Bodies.
HThe fire was under control in half an
hour, and an hour after it started the
firemen were engaged in searching the
structure for the bodies of those sup
posed TO have been burned.
The first one found was Mrs. Peak,
the matron, who was burned SO badly as
to be almost unrecognizable. She was
found in the room over the kitchen on
the second floor and had evidently been
to escape down the rear
stairs of the boat.
A few minutes after another body was
found by the firemen. This was charred
almost beyond recognition. but was OH
examination found to be that of man.
The body was only short distance
from that of Mrs. Peak. ana, like her,
the man had evidently sought to escape
by the rear stairway.