Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1893-11-24

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ismssax. Tbey could not have iunpsa
With ~ attracting attecEsoa- Ebert
a<ss SIS stry few momeats after hs
get Gozn be saw GoGther &c cue q the
wsndoks * TIE nffh door. lie dls4P
peAred without msksng ans sign. aud
lie supposed that he vs. going ~ Ind
say - get down- hat x@s TIE Last
that sss seen u him-
How the Men rerbhed-
kdde Lssch. the elevator boy. also
tells = story that leads 70 the conclusion
that ihese uea persisted When 10
learned that the hole upper part Of The
bolidiisz Vas on iire be ran nls elevator
- the Top CT the building 70 ses n any
OF the men wanted 70 CONE down. lie
says that ne sag the msn nsotlonsd by
Ebert hie ted them that they had bet.
ter come down With min. and cried out
10 them there we're 40 other means of
getting down. tie Was very much en-.
cited and cannot remember what they
said but they would not come. a. they
feared that the elevator would give gay.
Ebert vas In this party and refused 10
come. The boy went down. leaving The
men 20 get down the best they could.
Shortly after he got down he saw Ebert.
but did not see any Of the othera lie
says ID was impossible for them To got
down after Ebert had come down. he
eoald see the stairwxys and says they
we're impossible. None OF the missing
men have registered; none Of them have
shown up a. their homes. and not one OF
them has been seen since the IRE started.
There we're no tire escapes on the front
or side Of the building. There we're IRE
escapes In the alley. but they we're OK no
use 10 the imprisoned men.
Had . Thrilling Escape.
Eddie Paychek OF No Isl Beech
street was Que Of the imprisoned men In
the upper stores and he had thrilling
escape. A few minutes after the fre
broke out rope was thrown from the
upper story. 1t nearly reached the
ground- In an instant later Paychek's
form was econ on the ledge OF the win
dow. Then he lowered himself 20 far
an he could below the window sill and
grabbed the rops. The crowd set up
cheer and he was apparently safe. Rap
idly. hand over hand. as IL fearing that
he would slide too fast. be neared the
ground A cry OF alarm broke from the
crowd as a jet of flame came from the
window above. where the rope was
hitched. Ia an instant, il seemed, Pay
ched only stopped for q moment to look
up and saw the entire window was filled
with tire and there seemed TO be no
chance that the rope could last long
enough for the man TO reach the
ground. He ceased 10 let him
self down carefully and slid as fast
as he could without breaking his hold.
Then a tongue OF ire burst from the
third story. Ii wrapped itself around
that lie line aud in a minute the man
was seen To fall with the remnants Of
the rope with him. Happily at this
time he WAS only about twenty or
twenty-five feet from the ground and he
picked himself up and was soon lost
sight OF in the crowd. file was in his
shirt sleeves and his hair and eyebrows
were singcd by fire during his narrow
escape. During the progress Of the fire
William burgess. pipeman OF kngine
company No. /, was severely cut by tin
falling from the burning building. No
attempt has yet been made 10 search the
RUNS for the bodies Of the missing men.
The tre was such an intensely hot one
the bodies Of the unfortunates have
probably been completely cremated.
Cause OF Fire and Losses.
Ii Is not known positively yet how tho
fire started. but il is believed To have
been caused by an explosion. Harry l..
Pierson Of the firm u Pierson & Hough,
No. 2l2 Jefferson avenue. says that the
lire was caused by an explosion on the
fifth floor. he heard the conclusion a
few moments before the alarm was
sounded. William Brown. the druggist,
also heard the explosion and saw win
dows fall from the fifth story.
The building occupied by Edison,
Moore < Co. was owned by the estate
of Francis Palms and was valued at
$1,000 There is 10000 Of insurance
on IL. Edison. Moore 4 Co. estimate
their loss at $500 on which there is
an insurance Of between $4,000 and
Ssio0.000 The adjacent property suf-
fered considerable loss. The building
on the east side Of Edison. Moore 4 Co.
was damaged 10 the extent OF 5000;
fully covered by insurance. Ii
was occupied by Friendeuburg Il Speck.
dealers in tailors' trimmings who place
their loss at $4,000: insurance. 5000
Merchants hotel loss is $1,000 and is
insured Pierson a Hough. dealers in
saddleTy hardware at Nos. DO and I'D
jefferson avenue. sustained slight dam.
age by water. The buildings in the rear
OF the burned dry goods house. Nos. -
to 40 Bates street, owned by the Bagley
esta.s. were damaged about s5000worth.
The occupants. however. suffer heavy
loss from water. The Detroit Litho-
graphic company places IFS loss al 60
zoo; insurance. $1,000. and John j.
Bagley X Co. tobacco manufacturers.
lose $1,000. but il IL nearly covered by
insurance. huttnaur. Resented A Co.
19i to 2r2 Jefferson avenue. dealers in
gents furnishings. also suffered consid
cradle loss from water.
At a late hour tonight the friends OF
all the missing men had given up hope
Of their safety.