The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-10-28

SEATTLE. Wash, Oct. 29.-Sixteen per-
sons-ten men, three women and three
children-were burned TO death in the
West Street hotel this morning. The
bodies thus far identified are:
F. BOLIVIAN.
NJ. MCSoRLEY.
ANGUS MCDONALD.
T.. WILSON.
- ANDERSON.
ANDREW OTTERSOS.
Mis-. OT1ERsoN, Andrews mother.
Mrs. HUFFMAN and little son and
daughter.
The bodies of four men. one woman and
one child are unidentified. All are so bad
" burned that recognition Is almost I'M
possible.
The West Street house occupied the up
per floor of two story corrugated iron
building that covers quarter OF block
of ground at Colum Dla and West streets,
one block from the Northern Pacific depot
and near the business center OF the city:
The building was a mere shell oil wood
covered with iron: There were several
exits TO the street, but they were narrow.
The balls were marrow and the rooms
small.
BUILT OF REsINoUS PINE.
Wholesale business houses occupied the
ground floor, the hotel being near The rail-
road depot aud being cheap but reput-
able house, was much patronlZed by coun-
try people. The fire WAS undoubtedly
caused by the explosion Of lamp IN the
kitchen in the rear of the house. The pro-
prietor's son was aroused by the noise OF
The explosion about O'Clock but before he
could investigate, the flames seemed to
have spread all through the house. The
corrugated iron sheeting kept the nalnes
hid until nearly the whole Interlor was
l., titfn 6f ras
iuous pine covered with cheese cloth
and burned furiously. IL was not
until the flames were seen burning IN the
windows by people in the streets that an
alarm of fire was turned in by police
man. When the firemen arrived the fire
did not present. an alarming aspect. The
people at the windows were rescued with
ladders and boards, some escaping with
hardly any clothes. A woman who was
carried down by a fireman screamed out
that her baby was in the building and a
fireman went up ladder aud brought 1t
down. d. B. Glass, Edward Havlin and
l.. B johnson jumped TO the ground aud
are 50 badly injured that they were taken
10 h"SnitaL Ali will recover.
COUNTED FIFTEEN CHARRED CoRPsEs.
lDe C. OVID in the street then supposed
that all the dodgers had escaped. The fire.
men played water through the windows
and " ere Enforced by the fire boat, the
building being only short distance from
the water fIout. At 2:45 O'Clock n. M, the
fire was under control and the fremen
were bile to enter the shell OF iron. At
the head of the stairs at the West street
entrance they found the body of a man
pinned to the floor by the ruins of bed.
He had apparently just heard the alarm
and was dressing when overcome by
the smoke for the only clothing he had on
was his trousers and boots He was carried
to the foot of the stairs 10y the fremen and
taken 10 the Northern Pacific depot,
wrapped in comforter. The body Was
terribly burned
Continuing their search the firemen dis
covered corpse after corpse, until at
O'Clock they had counted fifteen. SubSe-
Quently another WAS found.
Most of the bodies We're left where they
lay until daylight. in the hope that the
proprietor might identify them by locat-
ing the room on the register, for all the
bodies except two were charred beyond
possibility of recognition.
EACH HORROR WORSE THAN THE LAST.
One poor fellow was caught in the rush
of the conflagration near the top of the
West street stairway and sank down over
come with the smoke and Hames- The
firemen fought TO keep the fire away from
his body. but were driven back.
Ia one of the Railways a BODY charred
black and without a vestige OF clothing
was found. \ little farther on in the
same passage way was another body, evil
IDENTITY that of woman, face upwards aud
hands stretched as If fighting for her life
and appealing for assistance which never
came. There was little left OF the woman S
form, for part of the body WAS charred and
The burned bones lay around IL. In an
Dther hall or passageway was another body
II was evidently that of an aged woman.
Her body was fearfully contorted and her
face was upward and the form presented
the appearance of one who had died in
the most violent agony. The burned arms
md hand were upliited, ana in one black
.eued hand WAS handful Of hair, as If she.
in her agony. had clutched 1t in despair
when the fire came upon her.
SADDEST SIGHT OF ALL
The saddest sight of all was found in an
Inside room of the passageway which led
TO West street. There calmly lying in a
charred and blackened bed was evidently
an entire family. The father lay on one
side, the wife next to him, and little
burned and blackened arm, the flesh fall
ing in shreds from it. the small fingers
cutched. showed that a little child was
among Iha victims.
In an adjoining room was still more
horrible sight. In "A corner of a small in
side room two charred and naked skele-
tons met the gaze. The flesh was burnt
from each and The first, that of msu