St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-02-24
HIVES SNUFFED OUT
FLAMES AND SMOKE CAUSE A
TRAGEDY IN A HANDSOME
BALTIMORE RESIDENCE.
SEVEN PEOPLE ASPHYXIATED.
ONE GIRL IS FATALLY INJURED
AND FIVE SERIOUSLY
BURNED.
SEVEN PEOPLE ASPHYxIATED
ALL ESCAPE WAS CUT OFF.
Firemen Do Heroic Work. but Thefl
Efforts to Save Life Were of
Little Avail,

BALTIMORE. Md, Feb 23.-Seven
people were asphyxlated, one fatally
hurt by jumping from a window, and
five others more or less injured by
fire in the residence of James r. Ar
niger. prominent jewel at 1906
Charles street this morning. The dead
are:
JAMES R. ARMIGER, aged ffty-fve.
WILLIAM B. RILEY, his son-in-law, aged
thirty-six.
RICHARD RILEY, son Of W. B. Riley,
aged four.
MARIAN RILEY. daughter of W. B. Ri
ley, aged two and half.
MRS. MARIAN CHAMPLIN, daughter of
James r. Armiger, aged thirty.
JAMES CaAMPLIN, her son. aged three.
HORACE B. MANUEL, aged ffty-six, Of
New York city, a guest.
Fatally Injured-Alice Williams, colored
servant, skull fractured and other serious
injuries.
Injured-Mrs. William B. Riley, burned
about face and suffering from inhalation of
smoke; will recover Mrs. James Armiger,
aged fifty, slight burns and suffering from
shock and exposure; Miss Eleanor Armiger,
aged fourteen slightly burned Miss Virginia
sprained in jumping; Ida Whiting, col
ored servant slightly burned and suffering
from inhalation of smoke; will recover.
The house in which the tragedy oc-
Cured is one of a row of granite
front residences, belonging to the A.
S. Abel estate, on Charles street, just
north of Lafayette avenue. 1t is four
stories high, and at the time of the
fire was filled with costly furniture
and much rare bric-a-brac, plate and
unique jewelry, of which Mr.. Armiger
was an enthusiastic collector. In the
house were just thirteen persons. OF
these ten were members of the Ar
niger household, two We're servants
and the other, Mr.. Manuel, was a
guest who has been visiting the Ar
niger family for the past two or three
days. 1t was his purpose to have re-
turned to his home in New York last
night but Mr.. Arnniger prevailed upon
him to remain until Monday All these
people were in their bedrooms on the
upper floors, some Of them being par
TALLY dressed, when at fifteen minutes
after s o'clock this morning, fire was
discovered issuing from q partition in
the cellar, 1t had ignited from an
overheated furnace fue and was first
seen by Louis Whiting, the colored
man of all work, who was at the
time cleaning the front steps. Whit
ing ran to the adjacent corner and
gave the alarm to q policemtn and
hurried back to the house, entered
the front door, closed it behind him
and ascended to the second floor where
Mr.. and Mrs. Arlniger had their bed
room.
The house was by this time filed
with
DENSE, sTIFLING SMOKE,
and when the negro and Mrs. Ar
niger attempted to descend they found
it impossible. Whiting aided Mrs.
Armiger to the front window and
helped her to reach a small balcony
in front, upon which he placed her
and returned to the aid of Mr.. Ar
niger He found the latter had gone,
and he came back to Mrs. Armiger,
who, clad in nothing but her night
clothes, was shivering on the narrow
balcony and shrieking in agonized
tones for help. Half a dozen men
who were passing hastened to the
power house of the Charles street cable
line and procured a short ladder. In
the meantime Deputy Fire Chief Nc
Afee arrived. The ladder was not long
enough, but, by standing on the up
permost round McAfee could reach
the frightened woman. AS he attempt
ed to lift her from the balcony her
scanty clothing caught on an OBJ
sruction and she fell forward with
her whole weight upon the out
stretched arm of the fireman. Just
then the ladder slipped, but, by a tre-
mendous effort, McAfee, holding Mrs.
Armiger with one hand, grasped the
balcony with the other Hanging thus,
he slowiny replaced the ladder with
his feet and brought down the now
fainting woman in safety. In the
meantime the other inmates Of the
front rooms crowded to the windows,
making the most piteous appeals for
help. The people below shouted to
them not to jump, but Alice Williams
disregarded their warnings, and. with
an appalling Shrek sprang from the
fourth-story window and struck the
stone steps full upon her forehead,
fracturing her skull and sustaining
other injuries, from which she will
die. An attempt was made to succor
the other unfortunates by means of
the doorway on Charles street, but
when the police burst it in they were
met by such volume of smoke and
flame that they were driven back.
In the rear room on the second floor
were Eleanor and Virginia, the un-
married daughters of Mr.. Armiger
They were partially dressed, but SO
rapid was the spread Of the flames
that they had no time to escape by
the stairway. In their extremity they
leaned far out of the rear window
and cried for help. A neighbor came
to their assistance, and under his cool
headed directions Miss Virginia low
cred her younger sister with a sheet.
and, throwing a mattress out Of the
window,
LEAPED TO THE YARD.
She alighted in safety, and beyond
the shock and slight injury to her
ankle, escaped unhurt. By this time
the firemen had reached the scene, and
in twinkling had reared long ladders
up to the windows, both front and rear.
Up these they swarmed and In a few
minutes the remaining inmates of the
doomed house were carried out On the
stairway leading from the second to
the third floor was found the body of
Mr. Armiger, with that OF his little
grandson, Richard Riley, clasped tight
ly in his arms, showing that the old
man had made gallant attempt to res
cue the boy at the cost of his own life
In the front room on the third floor was
found the corpse Of Mr.. Manuel He
too, had the body of a child in his arms
In the rear room on the third floor, ly-
ing on the bed, the firemen found the
dead body of Riley. BY his side lay his
wife, breathing family. She was hur-
ried into the open air in time to save
her life, and though she is badly burned
aboute the face and arms and half
1