The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-19
while watching the front wall, which is ex-
pected to crumble.

be ascertained tonight. 1t will probably
be sometime tomorrow before the ruins,
which caught fire Immediately after the
explosion, will be cool enough to allow of
search.
The explosion was heard throughout the
city awakening people in bed mile from
the scene. A cloud of dust was thrown a
thousand feet IN the air, and as there was
not a breath of air stirring it hung in the
air like huge column.
The ruins caught fire, burning fercely
and compelling the fremen to retreat
from the WORK of rescue. Every engine in
the city poured streams into the mass,
but the flames could not possibly be got
under control before many of the injured
have been cremated.
AS their chances of escape lessened, the
cries of the imprisoned people increased,
heartrending shrieks rising from every
portion of the great mass of wreckage.
Fears were entertained that the front
portion of the building, which seemed to
be tottering, would fall and bury the fire.
men at their work.
During the height of the excitement
horse and team ran away on Eighteenth
street, stampeding the crowd of spectators.
A number of people were more or less in
iured by being trampled upon and falling
on the broken glass. which covers the
streets and sidewalks in every direction.
Electric light wires dangling from
broken poles in the alley added fresh peril
to the fremen.
Two injured women had been almost
extricated from the ruins when the flames
approached so close that the rescuers had
to abandon them for their own safety.
Both voices were soon silenced, fire COM
pleting the work commenced by the ex-
plosion.
The bodies of three women could be seen
in the back part of the building, but could
not be reached.
The Gumry is fve-story building
located in Lawrence street, between Six
teenth and Seventeenth.
Twenty two persons registered last night
at the hotel. Their names are as follows:
Mrs. 0. H. knight, Lake City; the two
sons of Mrs. Knight; J. L. Kirk Omaha;
Budd Buron, Colorado Springs; Mrs.
c. Williams, Boulder; Miss Jen-
ME Howard, Boston; J. G. Brown,
Omaha; W. G. McClain, Huron, Kas.;
Mrs. McLain and child, Huron, Kans.;
Henry Sloan and wife, Huron, Kans.;
George Burle. Colorado Springs; F.
French, Central City, Colo; B. Lorah,
Central City, Colo; W. ]. Carson. Pueblo;
NJ. E. Letson, Denver; E. T. McCloskey,
Cripple Creek. Colo.
Only fifteen people who are known to
have been in the building at the time OF
the accident are accounted for at this hour.
This will leave fifty who are supposed to
be dead.
Mr.. McClain and family arrived at the
hotel at late hour tonight from Huron,
Kans. They occupied front rooms. Mr..
McClain thinks there were sixty guests in
the hotel.
This with the help employed, will make
seventy-fve persons in the building at the
time of the explosion. The dead body of
Mrs. Trainer has been taken from the ruins.
Mrs. Greiner, wife of the assistant super
intendent of the State Capital, with her
husband are in the ruins, for. according to
the fremen, they saw the woman appeal
ing to them from the back of a truss that
pinioned her to the floor of the office, from
where she had tried to escape.
Peter Gumry, proprietor of the hotel, is
given up for lost and his wife is also miss
ing.
At 1 o'clock the fire got away from the
department and made rapid headway.
with chances of consuming the entire
block.
Every engine in the city was summoned,
and Chief Pearse gave reluctant order for
his men to cease attempts at the rescue of
lifesaving where the rescue appeared im-
possible, and ordered all his men to fight
the fire. The entire building was ablaze,
and there is no way of ascertaining the loss
of human life until the flames are extin-
guished.
Among the dead, besides Peter Gumry
and R. c. Greiner. the proprietors of the
hotel, are the day clerk and the night
clerk, none of whom have been found.
Immediately after the explosion occur
red boy was heard wailing in the corner
of room which had nearly all fallen away.
his parents had gone down with the first
crash. Afterwards the little ones cries
became weaker and weaker and when the
flames shot up into the skeleton of the
building his voice was silenced.
The firemen made.a brave effort to save
a woman caught in the debris of the north
corner of the hotel, but were forced to
abandon the attempt.
None of the SIX persons tins far taken
out are conscious and Identification is i'm
possible The force of the explosion car
ried away large portion of the rear of the
building adjoining the hotel.
The wall of the Gumry on the side toward
Eighteenth street crushed small frame
house, but no one was injured.