Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1894-11-02
BURNED Like FINDER.
An Old Wooden Hotel at Seattle De-
stroyed and Sixteen Lives
Lost.
KEROSENE LAMP Exploded.
There Were Many Narrow Escapes.
Guests Lost All Their
Effects.
KEROSENE LAMP EXPLODED.

SEATTLE, WASH, Oct. 27.-A fire
which resulted certainly in 10 deaths
and the injury of three more, broke
out in the West Street House, at Col
umbia and West streets, about l o'clock
a. m. AL the dead are burned beyond
recognition, and the coroner decides to
allow the dead to remain where they
are in hopes that the proprietor could
identify the bodies by the location of
the remains, the hotel register being
saved. The flames broke out so sud.
denly and SO fiercely that the occupants
were taken by surprise and
There Was a Wild Panic,
men and women jumping from win
dows in all manner Of attire. A sharp
explosion was heard in the kitchen in
the rear Of the second story by S. F.
Butler, a son Of the proprietor, and i'm
mediately the flames began to spread
rapidly through the dry inner-timber
of the corrugated iron building, which
is one Of a range of 2-story structures.
Butler raised a cry Of fire which aroused
the guests with whom the house was
crowded, and a rush for life followed.
It was not any too soon, for the flames
were rushing through the long narrow
halls like invading soldiers attacking a
a city. In the meantime Off.
Ger F. E. Bryant had discov-
cred the flames and turned in an
alarm, which brought the fire depart
ment to the scene. Then he turned
his attention to saving the people who
appeared at every window with the
flames fast creeping upon them from
behind. He found Mrs. Susie Allen
and her 2-year-old child at a window
on the West street side, the woman
crying for some n to a v the child.
"Drop the child" shouted the officer.
She did so and he caught it safely in
his arms. Depositing it on the ground,
he snatched a plank and set it against a
window. The woman slid down it and
suffered no further injury than a few
scratches.
w. F. Butler, proprietor of the hotel,
was in bed when the fire was discov-
cred, and escaped in scanty attire.
Probably a Kerosene Explosion.
His son, S. F. Butler, was night clerk.
! He says the fire undoubtedly originated
from a kerosene lamp in the kitchen,
which was located on the upper floor,
near the rear wall. The flames made
such a rapid progress that before all
the inmates could possibly be aroused,
the fire was upon them. Then the peo-
pie began to drop from the windows on
both sides of the building, the flames
closely following them. One poor fellow,
whose identity is not known, was caught
in the rush of the confagration
near the top Of the West street stairway
and sank down, overcome with smoke
and flames. The iremen fought to
keep the fire away from his body, but
were driven back and when last seen,
the victims right arm had been burned
to a crisp. Two streams of water were
kept trained on this place and the
water fell in torrents on the ST.. rway
and was hot enough almost to scald.
1t was only after the fire department
had gotten we'll to work that the full
horror of the affair began to show itself,
and by that time the building was a
mere shell.
Delay in Getting Water On.
There was some unaccountable delay
in getting the water on, owing to the
slowness of the fire boat getting up
steam. When at last the pressure did
come, the building was a raging fur
mace and all that could be done was to
confine the flames to the block where
they started.
The first dead man was taken out
from a room over the Hill Syrup Com.
pany's store and was found with one
leg in his trousers and his shoes half
laced. The body was discovered with
his head covered with the bed clothes,
under the bed, having apparently hid.
den from the flames, SO bodily burned
as to be vnrecognizable, as were all the
other bodies.