Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1894-10-31
DEATH IN A FIRE.
Guests in a Hotel at Seattle, WASH,
Perish in Their
Sleep.

Seattle, Wash. Oct. ga fire which
resulted certainly in sixteen deaths and
the injury of three more broke out in the
West Street house, at Columbia and West
streets, about l O'Clock this morning.
All the dead are burned beyond recogni-
ton, and the coroner has decided to al
low the bodies to remain where they arc
in the hopes that the proprietor may
identify the victims by the location of
the remains, the hotel register having
been saved. The flames broke out so
suddenly and SO fercely that the occupants
were taken by surprise and there was q
wild panic, men and women jumping
from the windows in all manner of attire.
A sharp explosion was heard in the
kitchen III the rear part of the second
story by s. +. Butler, a son of the pro,
prietor, and Immediately the flames be-
gan to spread rapidly through the dry
inner timber Of the corrugated iron build
ing, which is one of q range of two
story structures owned by j. NJ. Coleman
on the east side of West street. Butler
raised a cry of fire. which aroused the
guests, with which the house was crowd
ed, and rush for life followed. 1t was
not any too soon. for the flames wore rae
ing through the long narrow halls like in
vading soldiers attacking 4 city In the
meantime Officer F. E. Bryant had dis
covered the flames and turned in an alarm,
which brought the fire department 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 wom-
an crying for someone to save 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 few
w. +. Butler, proprietor of the hotel
was i'll bed when the fire was discovered
and escaped in scanty attire. His son, 5.
f. Butler was night clerk. He says the
fire undoubtedly originated from n kero-
sene lamp in the Kitchen which was To-
Gated on the upper floor near the rear
wall. The flames made such rapid prog
ress that before the inmates could posi-
bly, be aroused the fire was upon them.
Then the people began to drop from the
window on both sides of the building, the
flames closely following them. W. c. K.
Lewis, who was in room "a" at the corn
en- dropped twenty feet to the ground and
escaped unhurt Joseph A. May, who
was in room "a, tied the sheets together
and used them as a rope to slide on. Z.
3. Glass jumped out of a window, but
not until his halr was burned. lie struck
on his back and lay struggling on the
ground. He was picked up and carried
to the passenger station, and with two
others were taken TO n hospital. 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 firemen 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 n crisp.
Two streams of water were kept trained
upon this place and the water fell in tor
rents on the stairway and was hot enough
almost to Scald.
1t was only after the fire department
had gotten we'll TO work that the tull
horror of the affair began to show itself
and by that time the building was q mere
she'll There was some unaccountable de
lay in getting the water on. owing to the
slowpess of the fireboat getting up steam.
When at last the pressure did come. the
building was a raging furnace and all
that could be done was to confine the
flames to the block where they started.
Up to noon today fourteen bodies had
been taken from the ruins of the burned
hotel and two more bodies are in the
ruins None of the bodies have been
identified as vet.