New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-07-11
CERTAIN DEATH


months in the minds of nearly every citizen in
Chicago. fear that none dared utter TO his fol
lows. hut that all felt. found realzation to-day
in friahtfu holocaust at the Worlds Fair that
claimed nearly two score of victims and for a
time threatened the destruction of the entire
White City, To-day's disaster all the
more dreadful because of its sudden transforms
ton from an innocent fame into dcath-deang
catastrophe Like an animate monster, il cnticcd
its victims 10 the topmost stage of a high pin
naclo and then encircing the whole shaft in a
sheet Of fame held them in trap until one by
one they fell a sacrifice on the fiery altar that
RACED beneath them while 10000 people stood
hclplessly by.
Tie structure that burned to-day was, by com
parison. one of the smallest buildings of the Fair.
II was the cold storage warehouse and skating
rink, and not the property of the Exposition.
II was concession and exhibit OF the Hercules
Iron Works ice and rcfrgcratinc machine man
ufacturers In addition 10 the skating rink, there
were three l2O-ton ice machines and thirty or
forty barrels Of linscc1 oil The OIL no doubt,
greatly fastened the confagration, and that the
fire was not communicated 10 the other Worlds
Fair buildings was due to the wind.
NAMES or DEAD AND DYING.
hc difficult to obtain, as many Of the bodies arc
entirely DESTROYED The following fremen are
missing: James g. Garvey. James II Freeman,
C. II. Blaislell, w. DIXON and ". \. Hun.
The Grcmcn who slid down the rope as fol-
lows: Captain Fitzpatrick, horribly burned {;
several bones broken, in the hospital: $ Norirum.
hands and face badly burned and one leg badly
burned Captain Barry, arm broken, face and chest
radly burned William lcnahan fccr bistered and
hands burned. one leg broken; John Davis. face
and hands burned and back sprained Gus Martin,
a Columbian guard, from 81 Paul. MINI, hands
frightfuv injured from sliding down rope. face
badly burned also: II. Breckenridge. a guard. OF
Fincastle Va, face and hands burned.
sTRovG MEv WET AND WOMEN FAINT.
The scene Of horror WAS wItncss''d by many
Thousands Of people. and strong men w"p' ana
women tainted ~ life after another was
snufTcd ont within full view Of the multitude.
hut beyond the reach Of human aid Th" hr.
was not generally observed until about 10
D. m. and within thirty minutes the great hs> VI
life occurred AZ the first signal the ilrem"n
rushed mp the huge shafts surrounding IN" smoke
stnck. and when nj the summit began preparations
to fight the flames, which had hrst appeared al
,hi. point Before the hcse could be coupled
Grcmcn TO look down. and the whole shaft below
va. found 10 hc cncrcsd in flame Instantly
every man realized his darscr. bat th"rc w"r"
few 10 find an avenue for cscap" IN" man
suddcnly grahpd rop' OF hoe. and half shdlne'
half falling. reached the roof ninety feet below
IN bruised and burned condition, but rtill alive"
IL, this finn, thc crowd below hccane Will with
excitement. and weeping women and lrenzi'd men
anouish over their inability to render all.
Srdd.nlv one of th. hr"nen seen to b" pre-
parinc to jnnp and every "y" was turned up
ward He gave a quick. sPa~modlr leap. ana
turned over and over u half-dolcn times before ne
strucl, the roof ninety feet below. II the spec
t,tnr, h.. seemed a minute falling This distance,
and when the body struck the roof with fright
tnl crash and houndrd -four feet into the air, a
croan Of horror went mp from th" crowd
From this time thc bodies raned from th"
s,ccplr. but in nearly every instance breath ana
life. had fled when the victim was picked mp Oh
tLe roof below After the first WA nap on"
man after another Jumped IN quick SUCCESSION IL
the flames closed in below and the heat became
more intcn.c In nearly every ln>tince th" victim
turned over and over again before h" touched the
roof. and in nearly every ln>tanc" th" result OF
the leap for life was the samc-d"ath lhe very
horror of death riyet"d eye 20 the seen" ana
while men and women shouted hystcrlcally ana
wcr, hclow the guards were almost powerl"SS
IA keen the crowd away from danger. Tie spec
tarlr of death became more tcrribl" ~ minutes
passed. and for III" last man on IN" cupola WIS
reserved the most dreadful fate OF all. Ait"r AL
his companions had lcap,d to apparent death and
a. the last man WAS h'sltatng' the wh"Ie SHa''
b.cou 70 tremblc and vbratc The lone fireman M
t.t,tfts an. "A
mick. wild Leap. Ne was too late. ~ the very
instant he sprang the whole structure gave way.
and this human being. qniycring with lf" ana
wildly erasplng for support in the frenzy OF de-
srair. was seen to drop into the labyrinth oi
fame and fire and finally disappear entirely Fto
tbc roaring furnace below His was a literal
dcoth by fire. for the flames caught him while
his wits were still keen. his mind still active
and all the scrsos alive to the terrible fate TO
which he was doomed
4 PERFECTLY CONSTRUCTED FfHETHP
As fir trap the cold storage warehouse couI'
not have been moro perfectly CONSTRUCTED. III"
structure was go feet long ny 100 feet wide, ann
was constructed entirely of wood covered oN'r
with staff. The main body of the building WIS
five stories high In the centre Of this roS' 'h'
smok,stacll in the shape of cupola u 'if' .oP
Of which was almost 200 feet. Tia" bas' OF 'lS
cupola was about thirty feet square ADo"'
eighty feet from the base there was piic'"N
from which another square tower ro''' cum "''-
inc i'm the month of the smoIcstach wlcrr u"
fire was discovered In the interior OF TINS to"'r
and around tie smokr~tacl were wooden peauiS
and framework on which the staH covering was
laid II was al the top of this cupola that ''
fire was discovered II j. supposed that Tue
framework around the mouth of the hu9' ollin"'N
cau.ht from defect in the hue. AZ lir'' 1t "?-
pcarrd to he an insignificant AFFAIR. n'' Nno"
ing tie n1ammallc character oi the STRUCTURE
Fire Marshal Murphy, who had charge OF 'I,' nr
department on the grounds. sent II Il can " "''
the companies to turn out. with aoon' i'r'S u
bi, men Captain Fitzgerald climbed th' s'-
tcnary ladders inside the tower to the paic'N,