The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-08-19

their chance OF escape lessened. the cries
of the imprisoned people increased,
heartrenaing shr:eks rising from every
portion Of the great mass of wreckage
Two injured women had been almost
extricated from the. ruins when the
flames approached so close that the res
cuers had to abandon them for their own
safety The bodies of three women We're
also seen in the back part Of the build
ing, but could not be reached. The fire.
men worked with great heroism. The
>heat was intense and the smoke binding.
Electric light wires dangling in the al
ley and walls tottering to a fall increas-
ed the periis of the situation. Once the
men managed to reach the interior,
whence proceeded cries for succor, but
as they crossed the threshold the walls
in the rear fell and exposed to view
tde inmates making frantic struggles to
escape.
Mrs Greiner. wife of the Assistant
Superintendent Of the State Capitol. with
her husband, are in the ruins, for. ac-
cording. to the firemen, they saw the
woman appealing to them from back of
a truss that pinioned her to the floor
OF the Office. whence she had tried to
escape.
FIRE SPREADS.
At one o'clock the fire got away from
the department AID made rapid head
way, with chances of consuming the en-
tire block. Every engine in the city
was summoned. and Chief Pearse gave
a reluctant order for his men to cease
attempts at life saving where the rescue
appeared improbable and fight the fire.
The entire building was ablaze, and
there is no way of ascertaining the loss
of human life until the flames are ex-
tinguished.
By the explosion everything in the
shape of a record was DESTROYED. and
there will be no means Of realizing the
extent of the fatalities even after the
building has been razed to the ground,
for the bones are in the centre Of
furnace that will destroy all traces of
identity.
The firemen made a brave effort to.
save woman caught in the debris of
the north corner. of the hotel but were
forced to abandon the attempt.
The Gumry Hotel was a five-story brick
structure with stone front and was built
about sixty years ago. Il was OF the
better kind of second class hotels. cater
ing largely to Transient family patronage.
Thus, many women and children were
among the guests.
The building was built as the Eden
Musee and was 50 occupied by Tom
Thumb, later being sremodelled for use
as hotel Gumry and Grelner have
owned the hotel for several years. Mr..
Gumry was prominent contractor and
had done much of the work during the
building of the State Capitol. Mr.. Grein-
er acted in the capacity of manager.
The Gumry has been destroyed by fire
three times. Under the management of
the late Tom Thumb the Eden Musee
was burned. and the midget and his
wife were carried out by the fremen.
Again, when it was used as a furniture
factory, fire entered and swept the block.
killing the watchman. who mad fallen
asleep at his post of duty.
The dangerously injured recovered this
morning are:-W. C. Burgess, Denver:
Bud Hopkins. Detroit. Mich; Joseph
Mannel. Caro-. Ill.
Up to ten o'clock this morning out of
forty missing, three dead bodies had been
recovered and seventeen injured were
accounted for. The list of dead is sup-
posed to be twenty. Slowly the work of
rescue goes on. Amid the tons of burn
ing debris are scenes full of horror.
AWFUL DISCOVERIES
At $50 A. NJ but three bodies had
been removed. At this time several of
the victims were still alive but death
reached them beforesaid. At s:f5 o'clock
worlxmen on a pile of debris in the centre
of the building uncovered the bony fin
gers of A human hand extending straight
upward in ghastly whiteness. 1t was
unidentified. Eager hands soon removed
the ruins and the body of man prob
ably weighing two hundred pounds, with
short black curly hair and short mus
tache, was found, He was but slightly
disfigured in face and body but one arm
had been burned bare to the bone. The
body was in a doubled position. and
clothed only in an undershirt. suffoca-
ton had probably overtaken him
while asleep and death had come without
suffering. Further in the ruins near the
north wall at eight O'Clock a pitiful cry
was heard. The fremen removed a
portion of the burning wall and en-
tered room T. Letson was in the room
stin alive. His voice was faint. Over
and over he repeated 81 am burning
Quickly they began the work of rescue,