Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-08-17
CAUGHT IN A DEATH TRAP.


cago HOTEL FlInsy Wooden Partitions
Between the Ruins Enabled the Flames
to Quickly spread, and the GUEST Were
Caught like Rats in "a Trap--ExcitinE
scenes and Thrilling Escapes.
CHICAGO, ILL, Aug. ia hotel fire,
resulting in the death of a number OF
the guests, occurred this morning. The
fire was in the Senate Hotel, q three.
story structure on Madison street, near
Fifth avenue. j. Gooche was the land
lord and j. 0hren manager. One man
jumped from the window, in the top
story, and was killed. About half a
dozen others were sutfocated and burned
to death.
The first body to be recovered was
that of Harry Godfrey, the T-years-old
son of j. Godfrey of Buchanan, Mich.
The loss on the building and contents
is practically total, but as the structure
was old and the furnishing cheap, the
amount will not exceed few thousand
dollars, A restaurant occupied the
ground floor and the Senate Hotel, the
two upper ones, it contained 36 rooms
and held 80 guests when the fire broke
out, shortly after 6 o'clock, a. m. The
rooms were separated by fiimsy wooden
partitions and proved
FIRsT.oLAss FOOD FOR FIRE.
The blaze started in the office on the
second floor and spread rapidly through
that and the upper rooms. Before the
guests could be warned the flames had
cut off the escape of number from the
stairways and they were
CAUGHT LIKE RATS IN A TRAP.
AS fast as the dead bodies were taken
from the ruins they were removed to
the morgue. Four bodies were soon res
covered. They were those Of the Cod
frey boy and two men and woman.
AN EXCITING RESCUE.
The scene during the fire was an ex-
citing one. Mrs. Ohren and her daughter
Annie, who slept in the front part of the
third floor, discovered the fire first. A
moment later they and the other occu-
pants were flying about seeking an
avenue of escape. Annie and her mother
groped their way through the sitting
smoke to the window and stood out on
the sin. The crowd below yelled to
them not to jump. With desperation the
women chung to the framework, keep
ing as far out as possible, while the
smoke and flames burst through the
windows around them. Although badly
| burned they remained there until the
arrival of a hook and ladder company.
| A ladder was raised and they were res
| cued.
A man whose identity is unknown
next reached the window. The flames
were already searching his almost naked
body and he jumped to the stone pave
ment. He was picked up in an uncon-
] M n
/ ture the firemen arrived with ladders
which they raised and the work OF res
cuing the imprisoned inmates systemau-
cally began.
| FIVE PEOPLE WERE KILLED.
In all five people were killed and three
others were so badly injured that they
can scarcely recover.
At the Cook County and Mercy hos
pitfalls others are moaning with pain in
the wards, so badly injured as to be un-
able to tell their names. The list of
killed is:
Harry Godfrey, seven years Of age,
son Of Jay Godfrey, a hardware mer-
chant of Little Rock, Ark, burned.
Edward Short of Chicago, burned
and jumped from rear window.
Iniured-Jay Godfrey, hardware mer-
chant, Little Rock, Ark, burned about
the head and shoulders, removed to
Mercy Hospital, will recover; Mrs.
Godfrey, wife of above, slight burns of
shoulders, wounds dressed in drug store;
Grace Godfrey, aged 10 years, extensive
burns, will probably die, taken to Mercy
Hospital; unknown man, supposed to
be William Kronberg, a stage hand
at the Schiller Theatre, badly burned
about head and face, delirious and
will probably die; unknown man, taken
to the County Hospital, about 2S years
of age, and very badly burned, can
scarcely recover; unknown man, about
"a years of age, terribly burned about
head and face, is unconscious at County
Hospital and will die; Will Millery
aged IL years, nephew of Jay Godfrey,
burned about head and arms, cut by
glass in breaking window for air, will
recover; r. A. Rooms, Lake City
Mimi, cut by glass about head, taken
to Mercy Hospital, will recover
Mrs. f. A. Koons, burns and GU
about shoulder and breast, taken K
Mercy Hospital, will die; Flora Rooms
aged is years, found almost sutfocatet
, and removed to Mercy Hospital, recov
cry doubtful; R. L. Morton, Syracuse
N. ", cut about shoulders, removed tc
Mercy Hospital, will recover; Matte
: Ahrens, Chicago, aged IS, arms burned
will recover; +. NJ. Myer of Chicago,
! spectator, head cut by falling glass; L
) NJ. Rogers of Chicago, burns on body
and arms, taken to Unity Hospital
serious.