Birmingham age-herald., 1895-08-20
5 LASTED TO DEATH
SLOWLY
The Wretche|
'el = soners Beg to Be Relieved
 2 leir Awful Agony.
HE BYS Z )ERS PowERLEss TO AID
Ihe List O Dead May Exceed Twenty. The Gruesome Sights Which Met the Eyes of the Rescuers.
 Horrors on Horrors

Denver, Col, Aug. 19-The Gumry ho- tel Lawrence street, between Seventeenth and Eighteenth, was demolished by an explosion shortly after midnight The explosion took place in the rear portion of the building, and it's cause has not yat been aseertained. There was no warning of the sudden disaster, and a numbe of guests and employees lost their lives in the ruins, the building being wrecked It is a marvel that any escaped. Thus far only fifteen people who are known to have been in the building at the time of the explosion are accounted for.
 To add to the horror of the situation the ruins of the big building took fire, and many of the unfortunates who were not killed outright by the crash were slowly burned to death Their screams and pleadings that they be killed to save them from torture by fire were piteous in the extreme but the terror stricken bystanders were poweress to render them any aid Among those known to have perished are the following:
 MT Grenner, assistant superintendent state capitol.
 Mrs. Grenner his wife.
 P. Gumry proprietor of the hotel.
 Mrs. P. Gumry, his wife.
 Up to 10 o'clock this morning out of forty people missing In the Gumry hotel explosion three dead bodies were recov- cred and seventeen injured accounted for. The list of the dead is supposed to be twenty. Slowly the work of rescue goes on amid tons of burning debris. The scenes are full of horror.
 At S:30 a. m but three bodies had been recovered. At that time several of the victims were still alive, but death reached them before aid At s:15 o'clock workmen on the pile of debris in the center of the building uncovered the bony fingers of a human hand extending straight up- ward in ghastly whiteness. It was un- identified. Eager hands soon recovered the remains and the body of a man prob ably weighing 290 pounds, with short, black, curly hair and short black mous- tache, was found. He was but slightly dishgured in face and body, but one arm had burned bare to the bone. The body was in doubled position and clothed only in an undershirt. Suffocation had probably overtaken him while asleep and death had come without suffering.
 Further in the ruins, near the north wall. at 8 o'clock, a pitiful cry was heard. The fremen removed portion of the burning wall and entered room z. Let son was in the room still alive. His voice was faint. Over and over he repeated, T am burning' Quickly they began, but the flames from the burning wall drove the tiremen back, that their own lives might be saved, and Ietson was slowly cremated within a few feet of help.
 Work is now going on to rescue his body.
 The ruins are 20 feet deep, and under them are at least twelve bodieS-how many more is not known. The work of rescue goes rapidly on, but the last body will not be reached before this afternoon. The front of the building is standing, but in f4e back and center is scene of terri ble devastation. Mingled with bricks and mortar and burning ruins are human bones, human skulls and the smell of burning flesh. The north wall is still standing, but huge cracks warn that fall may be expected at any moment. Directly in the path of this wall are buried at least eight bodies. George Burt a Rock Island conductor, is among the killed.