The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1894-10-31
Sixteen Guests in a Seattle Hotel
Lost Their Lives.
THE BUILDING WAS A FiRETRAP
Tho Fire Is Thought to Have Origin
ated From the Explosion of a
lamp In the Kitchen.

are:
Mrs. O:terman, of California. aget
80; Andrew Otterman. her son, aget
Is; Mrs. ]. w. Huffman, wife of vel
known farmer of Fall City, Wash.
Mrs. J. H. Hancher, of RoIfe, Iowa
and her three children; John +. An
dersoD, aged %; +. Ballman; e. Gsahn
. laboref; Angus Mcdonald. c. vii
son, NJ. McSorley.
The Hotel Fire Trar.
The West ST rect house occupied thu
upper floor of q two-story corrugated
iron building that covers a quarter o.
block Of ground at Columbia and
West streets, one block from the North
ern Pacific depot. and near the bust
ness center of the city. The building
was q mere shell of wood, covered will
iron. There were several exits TO the
street, but they were narrow. The fire
was undoubtedly caused by the explc'
sion of lamp in the kitchen. The
corrugated iron sheeting Kept the
flames hid until Eearly the whole in.
terror was q furnace. Tho thin parti
tons were of resinous pine, covered
with cheese-cloth, and burned furi-
ously.
1t was not until the flames were seen
burning in the windows by people in
the street that the alarm of fire was
turned In. When the iremen arrived
the fire did not present all alarming as
pect. People at the windows were
rescued with ladders and boards, some
escaping with hardly any clothes. d.
Is. Glass, Edward Havelin and &. B.
Johnson jumped to the ground and
were Injured so badly that they were
taken to the hospital. All will recover.
The crowd in the street then supposed
all The dodgers had escaped. The fire.
men played water through the win
dows and we've reinforced BY the fire.
boat, the building being only a short
distance from the water front.
Discovered the Bodies.
AT 2:45 a. III. the fire was under con-
troll and the firemen were able to enter
the shell of iron. At the stairs they
found the body OF man. pinned 10 the
floor by the ruins of a bed. He had
apparently just heard the alarm and
was dressing when overcome by smoke
and suffocated, for the only clothing
he had on was his trousers and boots.
The body was terribly burned. Con.
tinuing their search the tiremen dis
covered corrse after corpse, until at 4
o'clock they had counted Is. Suisse.
quently another was found. Most Of
tie bodies were left where they lay
until daylight In the hope that the
proprietor might identify them Ivy
locating the room on the register,
for all the bodies except two were
charred hey ond possibility OF recogni-
ton.
In one bt the Railways body,
charred black and without vestige of
was found. A little further
on in the same passageway was anoth-
er body, evidently that Of = woman,
with face upward and hands out.
40 If fighting for her life.
There was little left Of the woman's
form; part OF the body was charred
and burned bones lay around 1t. In
another hall or passageway was an
other body, evide emily that Of an agod
woman. Her body was fearfully con-
torted, the burned arms and hands
were upiifted, and in one blackened
hand was a handful Of hair. a. II she
in her agony had clutched 1t In despair
when the fire came upon her.
The saddest Sight OF All.
The saddest sight Of all was found In
an inside room. Oft the passageway
which led to West street. There,
calmly lying In the charred and black
ened bed. was evidently an entire fam.
lily. The father lay on one side, the
wife next to him aud little burned
and blackened arm, the tlesh falling In
shreds from it, the small fingers
clutched, showed that u little child
was among the victims.
In an adjoining room was still more
horrible sight. In corner Of small
inside room two charred and naked
skeletons met the gaze. The flesh was
burned from each anu the first, that of
q man, with blackened stumps of
arms, seemed to he lighting impending
danger. Immediately beyond HIM,
also bolt upright and clutching Ills
waist, was y skeleton Of woman.
Startled, they had risen from their
couch, the smvke aud f1auies had
rushed In upon them and before they
had realized Their awful danger they
were ovsrpowered and met y most hor-
rible death.
In the portion of the hotel where the
flames did not destroy the woodwork,
The bodies Of two more were found.
One man was completely dressed and
another was In his nightclothss. They
were suffocated by the smoke.
Terrible Scenes After the Fire.
In some Of the ruined roonla at the
end Of the narrow hall, where one man
was found dead. lie q white streak on
the wall, untarnished by smoke, kept
thus by the appraised arm Of this vic.
Al r. t~n A.A -