Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-08-20
CREMATED.
Buried Beneath Fallen Walls
Victims Slowly Roasted.
twenty-five Killed by Explosion and
Fire in Denver Hotel.
Many Others Iniured-TerribIe Scenes-Ex.
ploding Boiler Cause Of Disaster.


explosion shortly after midnight, thi:
morning. The explosion was in the real
portion of the building and its cause has
not yet been ascertained. There was nj
warning of the sudden disaster and mum
Der of guests and employees of the hote
have lost their lives in the ruins, The
building being complete wreck,
1t Is marvel that any escaped.
Thus far only Is people, who are known
to have been in the building at the time
of the explosion, are accounted for. Il,
add to the horror of the situation, che
ruins of the big building took fire, and
many of the unfortunates who were no,
killed outright by the crush, were slowly
burned to death. Their screams and
pleadings for help Were piteous in the ex
| treme, but the terror stricken bystanders
were powerlcss to render them any aid.
Among those known to have persisted
are the following: Mr.. Greiner assistant
superintendent of the state capitol; Mrs.
Greiner, his wife; Peter Gumry, proprie-
tor of the hotel Mrs. Gumry, his wife.
Among the injured are: W. c. Nc
Lain of Huron, Kan. Henry Sloan and
wife of Houston, Kan.
| Twenty-Five people registered, yesterday,
most of them late last night. With thu
help employed on the premises there were
about 70 persons In the building at the
time of the explosion
| Besides Peter Gumry and r. c. Greiner
the proprietors of the hotel, the day clerk
and the night clerk are both missing.
Immediately after the explosion &C
Cured boy was heard wailing in the
| of n xphi1h had ao1.lr oil
fallen away. His parents had gone down
with the first crash. Afterward, the little
ones cries became weaker and weaker
and when the flames shot up into the
| skeleton of the building his voice was
| silenced.
1t is thought that the entire force of
employees in the building have been killed,
| for they were sleeping in the portion
| which fell and the remaining walls topple
| over upon them, burying them from all
| hope of rescue.
| The force of the explosion and concus-
| sion of falling walls shattered the win
dows on both sides of Lawrence street from
| 18th to 18th street, and back of the hotel
on Lorimer street the plate glass windows
of business houses were utterly wrecked
and belated pedestrians were badly in
| jured by falling glass and flying debris
| The fronts of many buildings in Tbs
vicinity were badly wrecked The hotel
structure for 100 feet along the alley and
extending rs feet toward the front was q
mass of debris. Brick and plaster wer+
| piled in heaps 90 feet high and from this
mass of wreckage could be heard the
means of the injured and dying.
At ~. 80 five Injured persons were taken
out. They were all inmates of the upper
story and sank down with the floors, escap-
| ing more fortunately than those below.
| Every engine in the city was called t.
the scene, but the flames could not be
gotten under control before many OF the
injured bad been cremated. AS their
chances of escape lessened, the cries of The
| imprisoned people increased, heart rend
ing shrieks rising from every portion of
the great mass of wrcckagc.
Two injured women had been almost
extracted from the ruins when the flames
approached 50 near that the rcscuCrs had
| to abandon them for their own safety.
The bodies of three women Were also seen
in the back part of the building but could
not be reached. The firemen worked with
great heroism. The heat was intense and
the smoke binding. Electric light wires
dangling in the alley, and walls tottering
to a fall, increased the perils of the situa-
ton,
Once the men almost managed to reach
the interior, whence proceeded cries for
help but as they crossed the threshold the
walls in the rear fell and exposed TO view
the inmates making frantic struggles to
escape.
Mrs. Grener, wife of the superintend-
cnt of the state capitol, and her husband.
are in the ruins The firemen saw -
woman appealing to them from the back
of truss that had pinioncd her to the
floor of the Office, whence she had tried to
escape.
BY l O'Clock the fire had made rapid
Roadway, with chances of consuming the
whole block Chief Pcarse, of the fire
department, gave reluctant order for
his men to cease attempts at life saving
where the rescue appeared improbable and
ordered all men to fight the fire. Every
thing in the shape of a record was des-
troyed and there will be no means of
ascertaining the extent of the fatalities.
The Gumry hotel was five story brick
structure with stone front 1t was first
used for the Eden Musee and later it was
remodelled for use as hotel
Under the management of the late Tom
Thumb the Eden Musee was burned and
the midget and his wife were carried out
by the flremen
Up to 10 o'clock, out of 40 missing in
the Gumry hotel explosion. three dead
bodies had been recovered and II injured
We're accounted for. The list of dead Is
supposed to be 20.
At sis clock, workmen on pile of
debris in the centre of the building un-
covered the bony fingers of human hand
Eager hands soon removed the ruins and
the body of man, probably weighing
eco pounds. was found. He was but
slightly disfigured in the face and body
but one arm had burned bare of the bone
The body was in doubled position and
clohed only in night gown.
Further in the ruins, near the north
wall, a pitiful cry was heard The fire
men removed a partition of a burning
wall and entered room Z. NJ f. Letson
of Denver, was in the room. still alive
His voice was faint. Over and over he