The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-08-19
TWENTY DEAD.
Awful Catastrophe at
the Gumry Hotel,
Denver. Col.
EXPLOSION OR COLLAPSE
The Entire Building a Mass Of
Ruins, Under Which Lie
the Inmates.
FIRE ADDS TO THE HORROR
Some Corpses Charred-Ona Man
Cremated With Help
at Hand.
LONG LIST OF THE INJURED
The Proprietor and His Wife
Among tho Lost-DetaiIs
still TIcagre.
FIRE ADDS TO THE HORROR
LONG LIST OF THE INJURED
The Proprietor and His Wife
Among tho Lost-DetaIIs
Still TIeagre.

Still TIeagre.
DENVER, Aug. 10, 1S95.-The Gumry
Hotel on Lawrence street, between Sew
: enteenth and Eighteenth streets, was de-
qnohshed by an explosion which occurred
shortly after midnight. The explosion
took place in the rear portion of the
building. and its cause has not yet been
ascertained.
There was no warning of the sudden
disaster, and it is certain that number
of guests and employees of the hoter
have lost their lives in the ruins, the
building being complete wreck. 1t IS
a marvel that any escaped Thus far
only fifteen persons 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 pleading that they be killed TO save
them from torture by fire were piteous
in the extreme, but the terror-stricken
bystanders were powerless to render
them any aid.
Among those known to have perlsneo
are the following
GREINER, Mr., Assistant Superintend-
ent of ,the State Capitol.
GREINER, Mrs, wife of above.
GuMRY, PETER. proprietor of the
hotel.
GuMRY. Mrs. PETER. wife of the
above.
Among the injured are:-W. G. MeLaln
of Huron, Kan: Henry Sloan of Huron
Kan, and Mrs. Henry Sloan.
Twentv-two persons registered yester--
dav. most of them late last night the list
be;ng as follows:-Mrs. o. H. Knight
Lake city: Mrs. Knights two sons; j.
I, Kirk. Omaha: J. C. Brown. Omaha;
Rudd Buren. Colorado Springs; J. w.
Roberts and wife, Colorado Springs; Miss
Jennie Howard. Boulder: Miss Hattie
Williams. Boulder: W. C. McClazn, HUI
ron. Kan: Henry Sloan, Huron kan-'
Mrs Henry Sloan, Huron. Kan; George
Burle. Colorado Springs; E. 7. McClos-
kew. Cripple Greek: F. French, Central
-itv. b. Lorah, Central City: W. ]. Cor
sen. Pueblo: M. E. Letson. Denver.
CAME IN TIME.
Mr.. McClain and family arrived at the
hotel at late hour, from Huron, Kan
They occupied front rooms. Mr. McClain
thinks there were about sixty guests in
the house. This, with the help en-
ployed on the premises. would make sew
senty-five persons in the building at the
time of the explosion.
Besides Peter Gumry and r. c. IGretn-'
er, the oroprietors of the hotel the day
clerk and the night clerk are both mis-
sing.
Immediately after the explosion oc-
CURED a boy was heard wailing in the
corner of a room which had nearly all
fallen away. His parents had gone down
with the first crash Afterwards the
child's cries became weaker and weaker
and when the flames shot up into the
skeleton of the building his voice was
silenced.
It is thought that the entire force OF
employees in rhe building have been
Killed. for they were sleeping N the
nortion which fell. and the remaining
walls toppled over upon them, bury
ing them from all hope of rescue. The
force of the explosions and the concussicn
of the falling walls shattered the WIZ
dows on both sides eof Lawrence street
from Seventeenth street to Eighteenth
street and the baeklof The hotel on Lari-
mer street. the platte glass windows Of
all the business houses were utterly
wrecked. and The belated pedestrians
were badly injured by the falling of
glass and flying detris.
The fronts of msmy buildings in the
vicinity were badly wrecked.
MASS OF DEBRIS.
The hotel structure, >for 100 feet along
the alley and extsnd:nas rs feet toward
the front, was mass ,of debris Brick
and plaster weres piled up in heaps
twenty feet high. and from this mass
of wreokage could; be heard the mpans
of the injured ands dying.
At 1926 o'clock five injured persons
were taken out. They were all inmates
of the upper story and sank down with
the floors. escaping more fortunately
than did thos belcs
Every engine ns the city was called to
che scene. but the flames could not pos
sibly be got undess control before many