The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-10-05
FIREBUGS AND BEDBUGS.
THE PIONEER HOTEL OF WICHITA
BADLY SCOROHED.
There is Hardly Any QUESTION Bat What
the Fire Was Of Incendiary Origin.
Coal OIL or Gasoline Undoubtedly
Used-Loss About $1,000,
Insurance $4,000.

The Douglas Avenue hotel, after stand
| ing as a recognized landmark for twenty
long years, came within an ace of being
swept out of existence yesterday after
noon. About $50 o'clock Pat Healy and
others saw tongues of fire creeping through
the shingles. and the former turned in the
| alarm. The fire department. responded
promptly. the boys of No. 2, with the
famous black horses, arriving first. At
that time the blaze was jumping ten feet
above the roof and licking up the shingles
with such rapidity that every body thought
it was impossible to save the building or
| any part of it. In fact. few felt sure that
| the entire block would not be swept out of
existence by the fire.
1.-THE Douglas Avenue is burning p was
the cry that went around, and of course
this brought such an immense crowd
to the scene that it was with some diff
Guilty the police kept an opening sufficient
| to give the firenen room to work. In
few minutes after the alarm was turned in
the full department in charge OF Chief
Walden was at work. AT one time the
entire roof was food of fire, and as
every body regarded an effort to save the
building in vain, two or three firemen
broke down the locked doors, soon
appeared crawling through a second story
window and with the agility of cats going
| through third story window under the
very blaze itself. Their heroic efforts in
fighting the flames called fourth loud
cheers and "brave boys" from the i'm
naense crowd that had gathered aronnd.
Having arrived at a point where they had
fair field at the fire they soousgot it under
control and confined the damage almost
exclusively to the roof and the third floor
of the building. Many were the gags got
ten off by ways. during the i.e, at the ex-
pense of the bed bugs, for from some rea-
son the popular impression was that the
Douglas avenue hotel was the very
Eden Of that tribe Of insects. Before
Z o'clock the departments retired from the
building. leaving not a spark of the fire
living. They did admirable work as the
fire was so hot that one could hardly 80
within fifty feet of the building.
The hotel was insured for about s., 900
in different companies. The actual loss
can probably be settled for less than
$1,000. 1t is not known what the insur-
ance on the furniture is. bat it is probably
ed with the appointments say that the
furniture was old and Of little value.
That the house was set on fire malicious
ly. there is hardly any doubt. Such was
the verdict of everybody. Coal oil could
be smelt by the crowd and it is known
that coal oil was washed down on enc of
the fremen, by the water, until his cloth
ing was stained all over with it. The fire
caught about the head of the stairway on
the third floor, which is another evil
dence that the building was fred
as the house was empty at the time and
the doors locked. thus doing away with
the probability of cigar stump being
thrown on the floor or it being set on fire
by any other similar accidental means.
Tim Lane of Cheney is the owner OF the
building, and as he was in town yesterday
reporter for the EAGLE sought him to
get particulars about insurance, ETC., or to
find out whether he had any suspicious as
to who the incendiary might be, but
he could not he found, as he
had left on the Wichita and Western train
about the time or few minutes before
the fire was discovered.
1t was regretted by some that the build
ing did not burn to the ground, as Mr..
Lane has both the money and the enter
prise to put good building in its stead
AS it is the building will probably be re-
paired by the insurance companies, pro-
vidng they can do so under the ordinance
defining the fire limits.
The hotel WAS built in 1872 and was one
of the famous hosteiries OF Wichita twenty
years ago when the cattlemen and COW
boys ran the town.