The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-11-17
PROVED A HEROINE
BRAVERY OF MAUDE SCHEMER.
HORN AT A HOTEL FIRE
She Was But Sixteen Years Of Age
and Saved Every Soul in the
Building-She Brayed Fire and
smoke to Apprise Sleeping Guests
of Their Great Peril.

One OF the most exciting fires ever wit
Messed in Southern Kansas was that whicl
TOOK place yesterday morning at Harper
Gus 6. Wells, Of AS North Waco avenue
was in it and 1t is TO him the EAGLE is i'll
| debted for the details He returned from
| Harper at O'Clock last night very mucI
| pleased that he was able To see his family
| aud friends in the land of the living ones
more for. like many others. he had very
| narrow escape. Mr.. Wells was through
both fires IN Chicago aud he declares that
lie saw more personal herOism at Harper
than he ever saw in his life before.
Night before last was one of the worst
nights seen at Harper for long time
There was blizzard raging that swept
over the broad prairie with terrific
force. IL mOaned aud whistled aud
swelied and wbiried at the rate of sixty
or seventy miles per hour, aud when it
struck Harper it gathered up sand and
dust and straw and papers and churned
'em around in the atmosphere with a
vengeance. Mr.. Wells with other kni shts
OF the grip aud guests al the Patterson
hous-, huddled around the office stove and
listened to the painfully sad murmur of
the list messenger of relentless winter.
what night it would be for IA fire. " sug
gested one, and this remark formed a
topic for the imaginative and experienced
travelling men to tell stories about hotel
fires ana the hair breadth escapes Incident
thereto. Nobody dreamed tor :, none 1t
that before the cock announced the dawn
of another day the building which they
then occupied would be euveiop.d ia
fumes
One by one the guests reluctantly left
the friendly stove ior their beds there 10
be luiied to Sleep by the lone
some murmur oil The wishing
winds. AZ 4 in tue morning two
dining room girls, Maud ScLemerhorn and
Matte Harper by name, We're awakened
from their siumbers by suffocatiug smoke.
In heir night clothes they opened IA door
10 fly down IA back stairway, but IA they
did So they were met by n saeeL of fire and
had to retreat. There was no tim TO study
over their perilOus sltua; ion. The fire
was eating its way towards them and
they Were nearly suffocIt-d VITA the
smoke Maud Sche merborn. IL years of age
only, pulled toe window To pieces with
"a bare hands and like true heroine al
low ed her cOnrade 30 go out first. Miss
Harper was excited and plunged head
long through the widow aud down upon
the pavement, hurting herself seriously.
The little heroine. Maui Schemerhorn
took hold OF the sash, aud dropped down
carefully. Her feet were terribly burned
aud her flesh WAS fearfully lacerated by
the broken glass DioregardIug her
wounds she dragged her wounded aud
helpless cOmrade away from the fire To a
place of safety.
The guests of the house, thirty-seven In
nun Der, Were her next care. She saw the
Afllt
occupants aware of il. She ran around 10
the front aud with her bleedIug hands
broke another window, entered through
II, ran mp stairs INTO the main hall, which
was so full OF smoke that she had to get
down Oh the floor on her hands aud knees
and 10 this way she CROPPED from door TO
door and aroused the sleepers. The
smoke was So dense that sac could not
scream. bet with her hands she hammered
at every door III the house and in some in
stances broke them open before she could
arouse the occupant. Sue succeeded not
Il moment too soon in saving every soul,
many Of them not having time TO dress.
She bad great trouble in arous-
ing the man in the last room
and when he did answer to her
knocking he found her exhausted, the
blood from her bleeding limb, being in a
pool about her bands and knees. " hen
every person WAS saved size sank complete
Iy exhausted t. tie floor aud was taken
away in the arms Of the men whose lives
she had undoubtedly saved.
When all the occupdnIs had left the
house general alarm was given which
rang through the entire city. As the
sparks had set fire TO other buildings and
the entire city WAS threated with destruc-
ton, Mr.. Casebeer, formerly OF this city,
placed himself at the head OF tine populace,
AMI through a most systematic defense
against the fire KING the city was saved
aud the fl tmes Were cOIfined 10 the hotel
and adjoining buildings. Every man work.
ell with great herolsm and part of the
hotel property WAS saved. The firemen
worked till ? O'Clock in the morn
in1. Both girls having lost their
Mr.. Wells started "a subscription
list at once and everybody contributed
generously.
The Patterson house was a fine building
ani has always been regarded a. one of
The best hotels in southern Kansas
Miss SchemerBorn, the little heroine of
The event, Is an Arkansas CITY girl, her
parents living either in or near that CITY
Size * repuIed To be IA very handsome
\ oung girl.
Ia speaking about it last night Mr.
W ellis said: You would not find Que wo-
man or man III 10000 persons having the
be, olsm OF this bright little girl. | have
never witnessed anything like ij.