St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-08-20

|ieaSOulZlHS CRIES ITOm the Hldu tndC
he was burning, and asking them to
continue to play the water. After
a few hours heroic work the fire
men reached him. His two lower
limbs were pinioned between two
heavy joists. After the most her
culean efforts, with dense smoke
binding them, the firemen released
Murphy's left leg. At this moment
a. sheet of flame compelled them to
withdraw. Murphy then offered his
rescuers $1,000 to get him out, and
piteousIy demanded them to chop his
leg off. A second later the west
wall collapsed and covered Murphy
with tons of ruins. Mr.. Murphy
came to Denver from Omaha six
years ago. Mrs. George R. Wolfe,
from Lincoln, Neb., visiting Mrs.
Schmitter, was a victim of the catas-
trophe. She was accompanied by
her five-year-old daughter. Mrs.
Woifes husband is a prominent to-
bacco manufacturer of Lincoln. He
left the hotel yesterday for tour of
Colorado. J. A. Brown and J. L.
Kirke, Of Omaha, are among the
missing. They registered at the
Gumry Sunday afternoon, and have
not been seen since the explosion.
Mrs. Brown telegraphed an inquiry
from Omaha, and Chief Goulding an
swered that there was little hope of
her husband being alive. A suit
of clothes was found in the ruins of
the hotel, in the pockets of which was
a 1,000-mile railroad book bearing
the name of A. Stuckey, and letter
addressed to Miss Hattie Layton,
Belvidere, Ill. J. E. Calkins, wife
and baby, who were thought for a
time to have been victims of the
casualty, have been located in the
Highlands. Mr.. Calkins is a news
paper man from Davenport, To-, city
editor of the Gazette. They regis
tered at the Gumry on their arrival
here, but later went to stay with
friends. M. E. Letson, a dairyman
of this city, was in the ruins ten
hours before he was rescued. His
injuries are a crushed arm, several
contusions and the shock to his
nerves. Mr.. Letson said:
TEN HOURS IN THE RUINS.
'1 was more encased than pinioned,
as only my left leg, there where you
see the bandages, and my right arm
here, were held down by weights. You
cannot have the faintest idea of my
feelings as I lay there in the bottom
of the basement, with all the ruins on
top and around me, hearing the ex-
cruciating cries of the dying and these
in agony, and being almost overcome
by the shock and smoke, soaked with
water and almost drowned and fearing
that the next minute would be buried
alive"
w. G. Purcell, of Broken Row, Neb.,
and his wife slept in Room Is. Mr..
Purcell is publisher of the Custer
County Chief. 1--WE awakened" said
Mr.. Purcell, with a smothering feel
ing. I felt around and found that the
bed clothing was covered with NOR
tar and several inches of dust
jumped up at the same time that the
transom fell down with loud report
and effectively shut US in. I then
smashed the window in to get some air
and saw the debris on the street be-
low. did not feel any upheaval and
experienced no injury Mr.. and Mrs.
Purcell escaped by the stairway
w. A. Logan, editor of the Buena
Vista, Col, Republican, was in his
room, but had not retired when the
explosion occurred. He said: "I was
sitting on the side of the bed, when
felt the bed move upward with a. vio-
lent jerk. Before the bed righted it
self heavy quantity of plaster fell
from the ceiling, completely covering
myself and the bed clothing. When
/ l could see anything I saw that the
walls of my room were torn asunder
for several feet, and that 1 was fast
ened in tightly, except for the window
OF the room. Beyond the slight shock
at the time of the explosion I was not
hurt in any way, but 1 lost no time
In getting out of the building" Many
others had similar experiences.
WORK OF THE RESCUERS.
The hotel was divided about the GEN.
ter by rotunda, or court running to
the top Of the building, though covered
at the second floor. The building had
+ been split in two at this point of di-
vision and the entire five stories back
OF the rotunda were thrown into a
ShapeleSS mass in the alley. Five sto-
rleS OF brick, wood and iron, with the
human occupants, were made a mere
heap OF death-containing ruins. The
/ fragments of the wreck on Lawrence
street lowered up into the air. dark
and yawning, while a great section of
the roof hung in threatening suspen-
sion over the chaos below. A fireman
clambering up the mountain of ruins
felt his feet crunch against human
flesh. He reached down and touched
With his hand an arm protruding from
the mass beneath him. There still
seemed to be no fire. The blaze had
been smothered by the falling build
ing and the firemen devoted their eff
forts to the work of rescuing. And
then, suddenly, the flames broke out,
and the workers were driven away.
The great mass was from that moment
nothing but a grave. The most that
the firemen could do, while the flames
shot up iercely and smoke drove
them back, was to fight fiercely for the
life of one poor fellow, Joseph Munal
whose head and shoulders protruded
from the burning mass. Police Sur
geon j. A. Recki took a place where he
could keep Munaps head moist and
properly attend to him while his lower
limbs were being extricated. It was a
position of great danger for all on ac-
count of the flames and the overhang-
ing roof, which threatened to come
down at any moment. But the men
worked on, hauling at beams with
ropes and using every device to clear
the space around the suffering man.
AT last, about 2:30 a. M, a. great
cheer arose and word was spread
among the crowd that the work was
finished. Soon firemen and citizens
appeared bearing Munal on a stretch
er. He was conscious, but suffering
great agony, and the physicians ex-
pressed little hope of his ultimate sur
viva1
At times the cries of babe and the
means of men and women could be
heard, but the flames and smoke in
creased and finally the voices were I'LL
siIar,cod A:on 10 farca Of