The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1895-08-24
THE HOTEL HORROR
A Drunken Engineer Caused
the Explosion.
A FATAL TORN ADO
The Most Disastrous Storm Visited
Pittsburg Sunday That Has
Occurred for Years.
Fatal Railroad Accsdent Near nwaco-
Riot Among the Armenians In Chi
cago- Seven of the Ellensburg
Lynchers Arrested.

J Lynchers Arrested.
| DENVER, Aug. 19.-The Gumry
| hotel, No. 1725 to 1877 Lawrence street,
was wrecked by terrific explosion at
| 12:10 this (Menday) merning the entire
rear half of the building, five-story
| brick and stone structure going down
| with crash. The hotel was crowded
! with guests, and many of them must
have been killed, as we'll as the entire
force of hotel employees who were
sleeping in that portion OF the build
| ing. On both sides of Lawrence street,
from Seventeenth to Eighteenth
streets, and on Lawrence street
directly back of the Gurmy, the plate
glass windows of the business houses
were blown in and q number of pedes-
tfians were injured by falling glass.
The fronts of many buildings in the
vicinity were badly wrecked;
The hotel structure, for 100 feet
along the alley, and extending for IS
rect towards the front, is merely a
mass of debris. Bricks and plaster are
piled in heap 90 feet high. and from
this mass OF wreckage can be heard
the means of the injured and dying.
BY some estimates 40 people were in
the portion of the hotel destroyed,
nearly all of whom must be dead. 1t
will be morning before a correct list
can be obtained.
At 12:50 the ruins are bruning
1ercely, and the firemen have been
obliged to retreat from the work of
rescue. Every engine in the city is
pouring streams of water into the
seething mass, but the flames cannot
possibly be gotten under control be-
fore many Of the injured have been
cremated,
AS their chances of escape lessen the
cries OF the imprisoned people are in
cpeasing, heartrending shrieks rising
from every portion of the great mass
of wreckage. Fears are now enter
tanned that the front portion of the
building, which seems to be tottering,
will fall and bury the fremen at their
work,
DENVER, Aug. l9.-At midnight last
night the Gumry hotel was destroyed
by an explosion, which startled the
entire downtown region of the city.
hotels of Denver was reduced to heap
l.
remained standing, but the great mass
beams marked the spot which had
been occupied by the main portion of
the hotel,
To add to the horror, fire began to
break forth in different places from |
the ruins. The groans OF human be-
iugs in distress came from the smoul- |
dering pile, and had it not been for |
the most strenuous efforts of the fire |
many imprisoned victims |
would have been burned to death.
1t is impossible to give list of the |
dead or even approximate the number. |
Out OF 40 or more people in the hotel |
when the explosion occurred. a score |
of people were gotten out safely. |
Three were rescued with more or less |
serious injury, and others are unques- |
tionably lying dead beneath the mass |
of bricks and shattered beams and |
twisted iron at the rear end of the |
ruined building, The death list will |
include the owner of the hotel, Peter |
Gumry, and Manager r. G. Greiner |
and wife, who acted as day clerk. |
Before the fire added to the horrors of |
the explosion, iremen were appealed to |
piteously by men and women and |
babies whose lives were being crushed |
out in the ruins.
The great loss of life, the extent of |
which is impossible at present to de- |
termine, was entirely unexpected. AS |
soon as the explosion occurred every |
guest of the hotel was up. When the |
fire department. reached the scene the |
windows were crowded with human
forms pleading for help to escape from
their perilous positions. 1t was not |
thought at that time, however, that
the flames would complete the work of |
The guests were very !
alarmed at the explosion,
but in answer to their frantic appeals
they were assured that they were |
perfectly safe where they were and in
deed it seemed 80. Afterwards when
the fire broke out, all calculations
were upset, and many who might have
heen saved at once, had it been known
that the fire was to follow, went to
their awful fates,
r.. e. Irwin, the night clerk, made
the following statement:
~ was standing at my counter talk
ing to Budd and Hawkins, the two bar
tenders, when suddenly I heard
terrific roar, and instantly the roof |
came down, and 1 was pinned beneath T
the heavy beam, which held me so
tight could not move my limbs. The
room began to fill with smoke, and |
was unable to breathe. After giving
up all hope, heard firemen above me,
and soon they had removed enough
timbers to allow me to drag myself out
and from there to the street, The en-
gineer is boy, II years of age, Elmer
Loescher. He was drunk at the time |
he went on duty, In fact, he either
was full all the time or was away from
the engine-room. / cannot say how
many were in the hotel. Judge about
10. There are II now in the ruins in
cluding George Adams"