The herald., 1898-03-14
BOWERY MISSION FIRE
NOT so FATAL AS WAS FIRST
REPORTED
ELEVEN BODIES RECOVERED
All So Badly Burned as to Be Unrec-
ognizable-Many Men Were
Painfully Injured
Associated Press Special Wire

ANlH w IOLbN, IudICl lo.-A tHOTOuSu
search of the premises at 1O5 Bowery
which was partially destroyed by fire at an
early hour this morning, disclosed the fact
that eleven persons were burned to death.
At first 1t was rumored that the loss OF
life was much greater, but after searching
the ruins very carefully, the police and
f1remen discovered eleven charred bodies
and removed them to the morgue. No.
los Bowery is one of the best known lodging
houses on that thoroughfare. 1t Is called
the Bowery Mission Lodging house, and Is
conducted by the Christian Herald In
the basement of the building there is a
cheap restaurant, while the ground floor is
used exclusively for mission purposes, gos-
pei services having been held there daily
for several years. The four upper floors
were fitted up as a cheap lodging house,
with accommodations for $50 men, who
paid 10, Is or rs cents each, according to the
location of the rooms
Last night almost every bed was occu-
pied. At 1880 O'Clock this morning one of
the dodgers discovered flames coming from
wash room on the third floor, but before
he had time to alarm the house, the fire
was noticed by passers-by on the street.
By this time the flames had eaten their
way to the top of the building. and were
bursting through the roof. The alarm was
given, the inmates aroused, and wild
scenes of excitement ensued.
Many of the dodgers became panic
stricken. They rushed into the Railways
and fell over each other in their efforts to
reach the streets. Those on the lower
floors got to the streets by the stairways,
while those on the upper floors groped
their way through the binding smoke to
the fire escapes In front of the building. A
majority of them only saved portions of
their clothing. while several of them were
naked. Those who made their way to the
street by the fire escape were superficially
burned by the excessive heat Of the iron
ladders, which in many places had become
red hot from the flames within. In the
meantime three alarms of fire had been
sent in and in few minutes the firemen
We're busy deluging the building with tor
rents OF water. They finally succeeded in
Keeping the fire within the limits of the
three upper stories of the structure. A
large detail of police was quickly summon
ed to the scene in charge of Inspector Cross
and the reserves were called from the
downtown precincts. This force of Of
licers had difficult work to keep the vast
crowd in check. as well as to help the un-
fortunate lodgers. Many naked and in
jured We're cared for by people in the Vi
cinity and about fifty of them were ac-
commodated at the Eldridge police station
three blocks away. Several of the most
1agtit,it, hrp, r.
in patrol wagons. and on their ARRIVAL
they were partially clothed by members of
the fire department and kind-hearted
neighbors.
After the fire had been extinguished suf-
fciently that search of the place was
possible, the firemen and police entered the
building and the work of searching for the
victims was begun. Several bodies were
found near the windows of the two upper
floors, where they had been stricken down
while attempting to make their way to the
fire escape. So many bodies were found
In the early stages of the search that it was
estimated that over forty persons must
have been killed. However, the officers
overestimated the loss of life, and eleven
bodies in all were found. Some of these
were discovered in the small rooms they
had occupied, while others were found in
the Railways and on the stairs of the fourth
and fifth floors. All of them were naked,
and most of them were burned and charred
beyond recognition. 1t Is thought by the
police that only one of these bodies will be
eventually identified. This one is desig-
mated as No. 10. 1t was found in room on
the fifth floor. In the same room there
was satchel. and 1t is thought its con-
tents may lead to the Identification of the
body. AS soon. as the bodies were carried
to the street they were transferred to the
police station, and by half past four O'Clock
this morning the police had relinQuished
their search. Coroner Zuka, after looking
at the bodies at the station, gave permit
for their removal to the hospital.
Manager Sarsdensen of the Christian
Herald, who has been in charge Of the
mission and lodging house, called at the
Eldridge station later and told the officer
in charge that he would bury the dead.
The loss on the building by fire is about
$1,000, and the contents are damaged to the
extent of $5000 Loss entirely covered by
insurance. The building. which belonged
to the Chester estate, is leased by the
Bowery mission.
John Wyburn, superintendent of the
Bowery mission, under whose direction the
lodging house was conducted, said today:
when l arrived at the scene of the fire
the firemen had it under control, and the
police were removing the dead bodies I
started at once to ascertain the cause and
explore the place where the fire started. !
found to my satisfaction it originated In
the lavatory on the third floor, and prob
ably was caused by lighted cigarette
thrown carelessly among a lot of papers,"
The only body positively identified ia that
of John Foran, of Stapleton, Staten Island,
a machinist. 2S years of age, which was
claimed by his two brothers. Another
body is thought to be that of William Nc
Dermott of Brooklyn, painter, 2S years
old. The register of the lodging house does
not aid in the investigation, for Bowery
Iodgers' as often as not, register under as
sumed names. Again. such dodgers are
often ,friendless. and leave none to miss
them and search for them.
DEAD AND INJURED
The dead are supposed to be:
ELIAS CUDDY, 20 years of age address.
unknown.
JOHN MORAN, Staplcton, ST.
- McDERMOTT. 25 years of age ad-
dress unknown.
JAS. O'ROURKE, PHILADELPHIA.
VIM. SEDAN. 3S years of age. snotts-
wood N. j.
Six bodies unidentified.