Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-11-24


60 Certaia Death and Asoshes II swat
lowed Up tn the Roaring Farpace-Five
Others Missing aud Believed to Have
Suffered similar Fate-Troperty Loss
Reaches osOO. 900 An Alleged Fire.
prcWs Building.
DETROIT, Nov. 3.-One Of the worst fires
chat Detroit has experienced in many
years completely destroyed the five-story
building 1t TIE corner Of Jeffer on avenue
and Oates street. occupied by Edison Moore
q Co, wholesale dry goods. and damaged
several adjacent buildings, causing a tota!
los Of $4,000. Three men. employed by
The dry goods finn, LIST their lives in the
oames, and i've others who are missing.
are also supposed to have persisted.
The dead x-e: James Mckay, clerk. aged
q; Bradley A. Dunning, porter. aged a;
I'd. G.riher, emit, y clerk, single. aged 90
The missing: Edward n. Volt. order
clerk; Patrick Marley, aged 50, leaves
widow and three children: Daniel A. Ia.
ker. clerk: Henry Rider packer; Charles
w. kirchner, clerk.
Rirr-rroof, hut burned Like finder.
So quick was ;he work Of the flames
that in half an hour after the fire started
the building was completely Quilted and
practically only the firmly-bolted iron
front remained standing. For An hour
the department fought with a fire which
fairly defieti their efforts The blaze Was
0rst seen on the fourth floor, and in the
beginning il looked as though the fire
would be- kept in subjec: ion, but the
DANES spread as quickly as though the
building Vas . great wooden structure.
At the time it was erected it was said TO
he fire-proof. but the interior burned like
finder and the heat iron, the fierce caul.
iron Was felt over half block away. A
general alarm was turned in which called
put the entire fire department Of the city,
snd though a strong wind was blowing
the flames were confined to one building.
Two Men an the Top Story.
The taddest feature was not the dcstruc-
tion Of property, however, but the loss Of
life. Long before the engines responded to
the general alarm two men could he seen
on the window sills of the fifth story on
the Bates street side oi the building. A
groan wen, up from the crowd, which in
. moment realized the awful peril Of the
unfortunates. and saw too plainly what
little chance there was to render ef{ectual
assistance. Caught like rats in q trap,
with the flames roaring above and beneath
them and spreading every moment, with
the smoke behind them increasing in SUI:
locating volumes. the unfortunates were
fairy driven to the window s:lls. There
they chung. The crowd shouted. "Dont
jump" "Don, jump: there's help COM
ng."
Wa> . Leap q" Eternity.
But even a. those below called out these
words OF useless encouragement the flames
behind them advanced and burst out
around them. a bale OF lutte was pro-
cured by the spectators snd placed below
| the window ON which Bradley Dunning
was perched Driven by the flames which
| roared around hiri lie spranS from the
| window and landed on the bale. He bound
| ed Of and fell TO the sidewalk where lie
| lag limp and apparently lifeiess An am
bulance carried him 10 the hospital where
be died soon after. BY this time the fire.
men who had arrived spread net to
| catch Mckay, who felI into il. His in
juries were such that he. too. died soon
after being taken 20 a hospital.
4 Third Awful Tragedy.
Hardly had this double tragedy trans
pired than another II al WIS seen near the
upper window nearest the corner. He was
evidently nearly suffoca;ed for, although
he succeeded in reachin. the sill. his
strength apparently gave out and after
and effort to raise himself, one arm having
been throw over tie sill. lac slowly sank
back and Disappeared from view, being
swallowed up IN the furnace behind him.
He is thoughi TO have been Edward Gen
thor