The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1895-08-23
DEATH LIST GREAT.
Awful Disaster Wrought by a Dem
yer Hotel Explosion.
Forty People Killed and the Death Rate
May Reach seventy-fve-Only Fif-
teen of the Inmates Are
Accounted For.

DENVER. Col, Aug. 1o.-The Gumry
hotel, 1725 to 1893 Lawrence street, was
wrecked by terrific explosion at 1910
this morning, the rear half of the
building, a 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 well as the entire force of
hotel employees, who were sleeping in
the portion of the building at the time.
On both sides of Lawrence from Seven
teenth to Eighteenth streets, and on
Larimer, directly back of the Gumry,
the plate glass windows of the business
houses were blown in and a number of
pedestrians 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 feet to-
ward the front, is merely mass of de-
bris. Brick 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.
At 1895 o'clock five injured persons
had been taken out. They were all
inmates of the upper story and sank
down with the floors, escaping more
fortunately than those below, who are
still buried in the ruins. By some esti-
mates forty people were in the portion
of the hotel destroyed, nearly all of
whom must be dead. The cause of the
explosion is uncertain, but it is sup
posed that the battery of boilers in
the hotel basement must have ex-
ploded.
Two injured women had been almost
extracted from the ruins when the
flames approached so close that the
rescuers had to abandon them for their
own safety Both voices have now
been silenced, fire completing the work
commenced by the explosion. The
bodies of three women are to be seen
in the back part of the building, but
cannot be reached.
At 1870 o'clock the flames were still
keeping the firemen back from the
work of rescue, except just at the line
of the alley wall. Thus far six persons
have been taken from the ruins, all
badly injured. In addition four were
severely cut by glass falling into the
street. Among the dead are Peter
Gumry and K. G. Greniera, the propri-
etor of the hotel, the day clerk and the
night clerk, none of whom have been
found.
The firemen made brave effort to
save woman caught in the debris of
the north corner of the hotel, but were
forced to abandon the attempt. The
spot where she lay is now the hottest
part of the fire. None of the six per-
sons thus far taken out are conscious
and Identification is impossible.
The force of the explosion carried
away large portion of the rear of the
building adjoining the hotel and occu-
pied by A. Lilly yblade, wholesale and
retail furniture. The walls of the
Gumry on the side toward Eighteenth
street crushed a stable and a small
frame house, but no one was injured.
No meals were served in the hotel
and every guest entered on the register
occupied room in the hotel last night.
Twenty-Five people registered yester-
day, most of them late at night, the
list being as follows: Mrs. o. H. Knight,
Lake City: Mrs. Knights sons; j. L.
Kirk, Omaha; J. c. Brown, Omaha;
Bud Buren, Colorado Springs: ]. w.
Roberts and wife, Colorado Springs;
Miss Jennie Howard, Boston; Mrs. c.
w. Williams, Boulder; Miss Hattie Ii.
Williams, Boulder; w. c. McClain, Hu-
ron, Kan; Mrs. McClain and child. HUI
ron. Kan; Henry Sloan, Huron, Kan;
George Eurte, Colorado Springs, Col.
E. I. McCloskey, Cripple Creek, Col;
=. French, Central City, Col; B. Lo-
rah, Central City, Col; NJ. E. Letson,
Denver; w. J. Corson, Pueblo, Col.
Thus far only fifteen people who are
known to have been in the building at
the time of the explosion are account
ed for. This leaves sixty supposed to
be dead.
Henry Sloan and wife, Huron, Kan,
and w. c. McClain, cashier of the
Huron state bank, arrived at the hotel
last night from Manitou and occupied |
the front and south rooms They are
among those taken down by ladders. |
All are more or less injured. Mr.. Nc
Lain states that he thinks there were
sixty guests in the hotel, which, with |
the employees, would bring the number
of people in the building at the time |
of the disaster up to seventv-five.