The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-02-18

building could bO made and from what
cln be learned there were many girls
and women on the three upper stories,
either lying In falRtiHg hts, or also
overcome by smoke. II was this fact
that led to the rumors that there were
Mt least twenty women dead and the
storyRven ut this writing does not seem
improbable,
.rho flames ate down through the
three floors 30 quickly that the Western
Union Telegraph Company, JeSsup q
Copper Crockery Company and van
Z8ndt & Jacobs collar manufnctnry
had no time TO save anything. One
house otter the fire started caught from
1he fnllIng OF u portion OF the roof ana
from It small bFildingS on She soufh
caught, Abort s o'clock the flremen
heard shrleks coming from the three
story building on fhc south. Ehey
discovered On Italian peddler paIned
Joseph RosSl, who Kept n STAND III
froES OF the building plnioned by the
legs under a heavy beam. Three police
mon tc1rted to assist him ana with Il
ileman worked fer three quarters OF an
hour. They had just about gotten MN
loose when with q roar The great south
walls came crashing down and the nor
rilIed spectators cav tJc brave l'stle
group buried from vie~. Wdeh JDe
smoke and dust had cleared. there was
a rush OF willing workers and In q little
while the men were taken out. All were
injured and had 10 be removed TO tho
hospital. The Italian will probably die.
but the brave policemen, While badly
hurt, will recover.
Many In the Ruins.
Superintendent Willard, OF the police
force, says that he saw a numbtr OF
girls at windows who never came ow:'
but fell back into the flames.
One fireman who was working IRON
the rear saw three girls with their
arms tightly wound about ench other
turn in their frenzy and jump back into
the flames. Some OF the women VINO
escaped tell OF stumbling over prostrate
bodies and are positive that n score
OF girls perlshed. The girls who, did
escape live In various suburban places
and hurried away, so that until the roll
Is called In the morning the exact num-
Der OF missing will not be known.
LottIo and Nellie Hull, sisters, grasped
each other tightly by the hpnds and
started down the stairs from the sixth
story. At the landing of the fifth floor
they encountered wall of flame and
smoke. Nellie had on only her corset
and skirt, having been making her
toilet. Lottie. who was partially un-
dressed, threw her dress over Nellie's
face, and together they went through
the flames. Lottie's hair was burned
completely OF when she reached the
sidewalk, but Nellie was burned only
about her bare arms. They were taken
home.
The total loss by the fire is from
$258.8oe TO 5000, 900. with about 100000
insurance, At least 800 people are
thrown out OF employment The fire
men worked Tonight with the ther-
mometer down below zero and suffered
very much.
Two coroners were summoned and n
Jury was empaneied to care for the
dead
Midnight-Superinte OF Police
Willard said at midnight: "Tbe returns
from the various precincts show that
there are at least fifteen people missing
and with the five already known to be
missing that will make twenty lost in
the ruins. l imagine that there are
many more for II seems 20 me impossi-
bic that alt the people In that building
should escape. A great many people
would not report 10 the police at all"
The roll call in tho morning Will evil
IDENTIFY show that between twenty and
thirty people are under the ruins. Up
to o'clock no other bodies had been re-
covered