Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1898-03-17
ELEVEN BURN TO DEATH.
TerribIe Result of Fire In a Lodg-
ing House ON the Bowery,
New York.


New York.
New York, March 14.-Eleven men lost
their lives in the fire which swept
through the Bowery Mission house at
los Bowery early Sunday morning and
left it a blackened shell. Their bodies,
now at the morgue, are so charred that
most of them may never be recognized.
The dead are supposed to be: Elias Cud-
dab, 30 years old, address not known;
John Foran, Stapleton, Staten Islaad;
- McDermott, 25 years old, address
unknown; James O'Rourke, AZ years old,
Philadelphia; William Sedan, 3S years
old, Spottswood, n. -; six bodies uni
Identified.
The injured, all of whom will recover,
are: Robert Ashman, As years old, bad
ly burned about the feet, at Gouveneur
hospital; Lieut.. Graham, fireman,
burned about the hands; George Will
son, "a years old, burned about the face
ard hands, at Gouverneur hospital.
No. 105 Bowery was one of the best
known lodging houses on that thor
oughfare. 1t was called the Bowery
Mission Lodging house and was con-
Quoted by the Christian Herald. In
the basement OF, the building there was
cheap restaurant, while the ground
floor was used exclusively for mission
purposes, Gospel services having been
held there daily for several years. The
four upper floors were fitted up as a
cheap lodging house with accommodate
tions for $50 males, who paid IS, 20 or
a5 cents each, according to the location
Of the rooms.
Saturday night almost every bed was
occupied. At half-past one o'clock
Sunday morning one of the dodgers dis
covered 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. When the
alarm was given and the inmates
aroused n wild scene of excitement en-
sued. Many of the dodgers became
panic-stricllen. They rushed into the
Railways and fell over each other in
their efforts to reach the street Those
oh the lower floors got to the street
safely by the stairways, while those on
the upper floors CROPPED their way
through the binding smoke to the
metal fire escape in front of the build
ing. The majority of them only saved
portions OF their clothing, while sew
eral of them were naked. Those who
made their way to the street by the fire
escapes were specifically burned by
the excessive heat of the iron ladders,
which in many places had become red
not from the flames within.
In the meantime three alarms of fire
had been sent in and in few minutes
the firemen were busy deluging the
building with torrents of water. They
finally succeeded in keeping the fire
within the limits of the three upper
stories of the structure.
After the fire had been extinguished
sufficiently so that search of the place
was possible, the police and firemen en-
tered the building and the work OF
searching for the victims was begun
Several bodies were found near the win.
dows on the two upper floors, where
they had been stricken down by at
tempting to make their way to the fire
escapes. So many bodies were found
In the early stages of the search that il
was estimated that over 40 persons must
have been killed. However, the officers
fortunately overestimated the loss OF
life and IL 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.
AS soon as the bodies were carried to
the street, they were transferred to the
| police station and by half past four
o'clock a. M, the police relinquished
their search. Coroner yucca, after look.
| ing at the bodies at the station, gave a
permit for their removal to the hos
] pital. Manager Sardonsen, of the Chris.
| ton Herald, who has direct charge OF
the mission and the lodging house.
called at the Eldredge and at the sta
| tion later and told the officer in charge
that he would bury the dead. The loss
ON the building by fire is estimated at
$1,000 and the contents are damaged to
the extent of SIS 1000. Loss entirely COW
cred by insurance. The building. which
| belOnoS to the Chester estate iS leaSed