The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-05-14

my wlfei Where 10 she2" and he rushed
hither and thither about the church.
She had gone out He would not leave
until the smoke almost choked him,
and then he was almost beside himself
Mr. Lawrence 10 an enthusiast on the subject
OF amateur photography. He had taken pic-
lures OF the interior Of the church and the
decorations during the Jubilee. and the plates
containing these pictures were In little closet
10 stairs. Lawrence. when the organ pipes
fell out, thought only OF these plates. and he
ran up stairs after them. While he was there
the great cathedral window that was In the
Clinton avenue side Of the church cracked and
much Of the glass fell out At the noise thus
made Lawrence ieaped down the stairway
with his plates. Everybo was out Of tho
body OF the church when he reached Il, and
the smoke was thick and was coming down
from above IN great black rolls and waves.
Lawrence dropped on his hands and knees
and crawled toward the door, He found the
way By feeling. Before he reached the door
the smoke was 80 dense that he could hardly
breathe. He was almost overcome when he
reached the door and fell out into the open air.
He had clung TO his plates. He was the last
person to leave the church.
All this that has been told had happened
within i've minutes. 1t was 1920 whom Day
saw the fire. 1t was 1925 exactly that Law
Eouco TceCHou tuo bLeoS- IL WOuiu tAko longer
to tell In full all that had been happening out
side In these i've minutes. An enormous
crowd had gathered. It was made up In part
By the people who had been Of the con-
greRatIon at the service. They had not gone
. dozen blocks when. like the wind. the news
that the church was burning reached them.
Many OF them turned back and ran yell
ing Fire! Firep at the top OF their voices.
Besides these people there were In the crowd
nearly all of the congregation OF the Summer.
field Methodist Church. which was dismissed
just as the people were flying from the big
Tabernacle. Supervisor John II. Read who IL
q trustee OF the Methoi hat church. was among
them. He saw the flames rising from the roof
and bursting out OF the windows Of the Taber-
nacle. He ran to the corner OF Greene and
Washington avenues and sent In fire alarm.
This was the frat alarm given. save one thse
was sent by somebody at the Tabernacle to an
American District Messenger ofilce and that
brought In response q messenger boy with .
couple Of hand grenades aud Babcoek ex-
tinRuisher to fight . sea OF fire. Even while
Read was sending the alarm the flames seemed
to double their energy. and with the smohs
great masses OF cinders blazing hot were
thrown out and carried By the wind to the
west
From the nre alarm Mr.. Read ran 70 the
patrol box and telephoned to the Fourth pre-
cInct station 4 general alarm for al the police
reserves IN the city. It was not too soon. for
the wires gave way before the heat moment
later.
Then came . disastrous DELAY. The crowd
at the church lost Its head. The three police
men who were on duty In the nsghtorhood
lost their heads.
The people In the houses for two blocks
around lost their heads IS the rain OF red hoe
eindsrs came down upon them and threatened
to Are their houses Everybody rushed around.
up and down. blaming the Fire Department
shouting. screaming. pushing. and hauling
PANIC IN THE HOTEL,
The guests In the Regent Hotel and the
clerks and employees there had known for i've
minutes that the Tabernacle Was burning. bus
they had not believed that the hotel was en-
danRsrsd. But now they were terror-strleken.
The organ IN the church was against the wall
that Adjoinsd the hotel. When the flames
burst out of the roof OF the church they lsApsd
up the walls OF the hotel. some Of the windows
Of which were open. Thsy licked up the lace
They caught on the wOodwork, and
In less time almost than It takes to tell IL thsy
we're eating their way through the roomA
The clerks on dutJ were George X Lansing.
II. z. KImbsll and W. W. Hunter There were
ninety servants In the house. and between
seventy 1--WE aud eighty guests- the fact thAs
the building was Ahrs above was shouted
down the stairs By . scared bell boy. One OF
the clerks gathered up the BOOKS and papers
OF value in the once. and the other two ran up
the stairs. pounding on the doors OF the oeou-
pied rooms aud giving the alarm to the guests.
Then the people in the street saw windows
OF the hotel raised. And mingled with the rain
OF clnders there came pillows. furniture.
pitchers. glassware everything in fact that
goes 70 make up the furnishing OF . hotel. The
guests all seemed to have been taken with the
q Otion that It Was hotel property aud not their
lives that thsJ wsrstO save But after q mo-
msnt or two the women began coming down
the stairs They ran out into the street Ani
mingled with the crowd.
The men who followed them RATtOok Of the
general insanity. They dashed out carving
pieces Of furniture with them ant then dashed
back into the house with H. There was one
boz who didnt lose his head. John McCabe. :
bell Goy. he left outside everything he
brought out and vent back for more lie car
Tisd out lot OF the most valuable furniture.
valuable pictures. Gad quantity Of brie-a-
LTAc.
These thiHEs we're al seen iEOushs lEOns e