Rocky Ford enterprise., 1894-11-08
BURNED TO DEATH.
HOTEL FIRE IN SEATTLE.
Fourteen People Perish, and Many In
tured In the Panic.-Men and Women
Jump from the Windows.

Fourteen People Perish. and Many In
jured In the Panic.-Men and Women
Jump from the Windows.
Seattle, WASH, Oct. PA fire which
resulted certainlysin fourteen deaths
md the injury of three people, broke
out in the West Street house, at Column
bia and West streets about 1 O'CLOCK
this morning, and at this hour (3 a. n.y.
all the dead are burned beyond recos-
milton, and the coroner decided to al.
low the dead to remain where they are
in hopes that the proprietor could
Identify the bodies by the location nf
the rooms, the hotel register being
saved.
The flames broke out so suddenly and
SO fiercely that the occupants were talk
en- by surprise and there was a wild
panic, men and women jumping FROM
the windows in all manner Of attire.
sharp explosion was heard in the
kitchen in the rear part of the second
story, by II. F. Butler, a son of the pro
prietor, and Immediately the flames
began to spread rapidly through the
dry inner timber of the corrugated iron
building, which is one of range Of
twO-stOry structures owned by ]. NJ.
Soiehiiiii, ou tHe east slue VI "eSt
street.
Butler raised n cry of fire, which
aroused the guests with whom the
house was crowded, and a rush for life
followed. 1t was not any too soon, for
the flames were rushing through the
long, narrow halls like invading
soldiers sacking a city.
In the meantime officer Il. Il. Bryant
had discovered the flames and turned
in an alarm, which brought the fire de-
partment to the scene. Then he turn
ed his attention to saving the terrified
people, who peered from every window,
with the flames creeping up behind
them. He found Mrs. Susie Allen and
her 2-year-old child at a window cry
ing 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 plank and set 1t against
a window. The woman slid down 1t
and suffered no further injury than n
few scratches.
w. Il. Butler. proprietor of the hotal,
was In bed when the fire was discov.
cred, and escaped in scanty attire.
His son, $. +. Butler, was night clerk
at the hotel. He says the fire undoubt-
edly originated from kerosene lamp
Ill lle kltclleH, WLNh WIS iOcateu Ol
the upper floor near the rear wall. The
flames made such rapid progress that
before the inmates could possibly be
aroused the fire was upon them. Then
the people began to drop from the win
dows on both sides of the building, the
flames closely following them.
Two streams of water were kept
trained on this place and the water fell
In torrents on the stairway and was
hot enough to scald.
1t was only after the fire department
had gotten well to work that the full
horror of the affair began to reveal it.
self, and by that time the building was
mere shell. There was some unac-
countable delay in getting the water
on owing to the slowness Of the fire
boat In getting up steam. When, at
last, pressure did come, the building
was n raging furnace 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 Co.'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 hidden from
the flames, SO badly burned as to be
unrecogniZable, as were all the other
bodies.
At noon fourteen bodies had been
taken from the West Hotel, and two
more bodies are thought to be In the
ruins None of the bodies have been
Identified as yet