Willmar tribune., 1898-11-30
Two Lives Are Known to Have Been
LoSt-Eleven Persons Are
Still Missing.
A Number of Guests Are Badly Injured
by Jumping from the Win
doWs
Many Instances of HerOism Are Dis-
played by Brave Rescuers-
story of the Fire.

win hotel, for almost 80 years one of the
principal landmarks of San Francisco,
is no more. A fire which broke out in
the east end of the building shortly
after three o'clock Wednesday morn
ing, supposedly in the property-room
of the Baldwin theater, totally de-
'stroyed the immense structure, entail
ing a financial loss of nearly 81, 500, 900,
besides destroying property that no
amount of money or science can re-
place.
The loss of life so far as reported has
been miraculously light, but two deaths
havi ng occurred as far as known. The
loss of dead and injured and missing,
Us far as known, is as follows:
The Victims.
DEAD-Capt. J. l.. White, San Fran
cisco, capitalist; Lewis Myers, Skagway,
Alaska, merchant.
MISSING-J. NJ Leighead, San Fran
cisco, purser steamer City Of Sydney; F.
Weatherbee and wife, Haverhill Mass
Tate Pryor. of St. Louis racing book
writer; F. r. Andrews, cashier cafe: Fred
Webster, two chambermaids, John Carter.
race track judge; Thomas Berkey and wife,
assessor, Sacramento county, Cal.
INJURED-F. p. Noon, st. Louis, Mo-,
both ankles broken; George Huber, San
francisco, cut about body; Miss Bridget
Mitchell, San Francisco, badly bruised );
Fire Marshal Towe. San Francisco. cut
about head.
Losses Are Heavy.
The financial losses are very far
reaching, almost every branch of COM
mercial trade being directly affected
The ground floor of the hotel was di-
vided into a number of large stores and
few of their occupants saved anything
worth mentioning, the majority re-
porting total losses. Two of the most
handsome cafes in the city were gutted
and their stocks. destroyed. The Bald
win theater, the fashionable amuse-
ment place of this city, was totally de-
stroyed with the rest of the building
and the ''Secret Service'' company,
headed by William Gillette, now play
ing an engagement at the theater, lost
all its paraphernalia and accoutre-
ments. Many of the members of the
company lost most of their belongings
and trunks containing the official pa
pers of the company were destroyed.
The flames were confined to the Bald
win structure, but much adjoining
property was seriously damaged by
water and smoke. The Colum bia thea
ter building on Powell street, on the
west side Of the Baldwin theater, suf-
fcred considerably, and the basement
of the Columbia theater, another FASH
ionable playhouse, was gutted, and
much valuable theatrical apparatus de-
stroyed. The Gay Coney Island COM
pany will lose considerably, and Dr.
Freeman, manager of the company,
who was guest at the Baldwin, lost
a trunk containing valuable papers and
So, 500 in cash.
Crowded with Guests.
There were upwards of 800 guests in
the hotel when the fire was discovered,
and the scenes which followed beggar
description. The watchmen, bellboys
and ether employees of the hotel
worked nobly in arousing sleeping res
idents. It is believed that every per-
son in the building was apprised cf the
danger within ten minutes after the
fire broke out, but rumors are rife that
many of those in the east wing, where
the flames were discovered, were cut off
from escape and lost. How true these
rumors are cannot be definitely told for
several days yet, as many parts of the
building have collapsed, burying any
one who may have been left in the
building under the debris.
Heroic Employee.
A force of messenger boys employed
In an all-night office adjoining the ho-
tel did excellent work in connection
with the warning Of guests, and several
brave rescucs are credited to the boys
of the messenger service. In conjunc-
tion with the employees of the hotel, the
police and firemen, they went through
the building awakening guests and
aiding them to dress and rendering 9TH
er assistance. The employees of the ho-
tel are highly praised by the guests,
and the frcmen and police are spoken
OF in unmeasurably complimentary
terms. Half an hour after the first
alarm was sounded 112 pobcemen were
on the scene of the confagra ton.
Many of the guests of the hotel are
eastern turfmen, many of whom lost
all their effects. The hostelry was
favorite stopping place for sporting
people, the location being an admirable
one, and convenient to all sporting re-
sorts and places of amusement 3.
Death of Capt. White. u
! Capt. J. L. White, who occupied a
room on the fourth floor, was killed
while trying to escape by means Of q
rope which dangled from the fifth floor
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