The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-11-24
MANY ARE STILL MISSING.
Only Two Lives Known To Be Lost
in Baldwin Hotel Fire.
BLAZE ENTAILED FINANCIAL Loss
or MILLION AND HALF.

There Were 800 Guests in the Hotel When
the Fire Broke Out-Secret Service
Company Loses Ali Its Effects-Heroic
Rescue of Three Women
San Francisco, CAL, November 3.-The
Baldwin hotel, for almost thirty years
one OF the principal landmarks oil san
Francisco is no more. A fire which uroke
oat in the east end of the building shortly
after three o'clock this morning. sup
posedly in the property room OF the baio-
win theatre, totally destroyed the I'M
Jneuse structure, entailing financial loss
OF nearly q million and a half dollars.
The loss of life so fir as reported mas
been miraculously light but two deaths
having occurred as fa- as known. Inc
dead, injured and missing as lar as
known, are as follows:
Dead-Cap5ain J. L. White. San Fran
cisco. capitalist; Lewis Meyers, Skaguay'
Alaska, merchant.
Iniured-F. P. Noon, St Louis, both
ankles broken; George Huber. San fran
cisco. cut about body; Miss Bridget
Mitchell. San Francisco, badly bruised;
Fire Marshal Towe, San Francisco, cut
about the head. r-.
Missing-J. NJ. Loghead, San Fran
CISCO. purser steamer City of Sydney; +.
Weatheisbee and wife, Hayerhiil, MASS
- FreaE, racisg book writer; b. n.
Andrews. cashier, cafe; Fred Webster;
two chsmbermaids; John Garter, race
track Judge; Thomas Berkey, assessor,
Sacramento, CAL, and wife.
The fnanoial losses are very heavy, al
most every bra1oh of commercial trade
being directly affected. The ground noor
of the hotel was divided into large stores
and few of their occupants saved any
thing worth mentioning, the majority re-
portipg total losses. Two or the hanu-
somest cafes in the city were Quilted ard
their stocks destroyed. The Baldwin
theatre, the fashionable amusement place
OF this city, was totally destroyed with
the rest of the building and the Secret
Service company, headed by William
Gillette, now playing an engagement at
the theatre, lost all its paraphernalia and
announcements. Many of the members OF
the company lost most of their belongings
and trunks containing the Official papers
of the company were destroyed. Inc
flames were confined to the Baldwin
structure, but much adjoining property
was seriously damaged by water and
smoke.
The Columbia theatre building on
Powell street on the west SIDE OF tne
Baldwin building suffered considerably
and the basement of the Columbia theatre
vas outted and much valuable theatrical
snnaTatus DESTROYED. The Gay Coney
Island company will lose considerably
and DR. Freeman, manager OF the COM
Dany. who was a guest OF she BALDWIN,
lost a trunk containing valuable papers
to- ef,
three hundred guests in the hotel, when
he fire was disco vered and tbs scene
knich followed beggared description. Inc
satchman, bell boys and other hotel en-
doves worked pobly in aroustng sleeping
.esidents. 1t is believed that every person
n the building was apprised OF the
hanger within ten minutes afesr the tire
orose out, but rumors are rife that many
If those In the east wing where she flames
we're discovered were cut on from escape
md lost How true this rumor Is, cannot
be definitely told for several days yet, as
many parts of the building have
collapsed, burying any who msy have
been left in the building under the debris.
Many of the guests of the hotel are
Eastern turfmsn, many of whoTsi lost all
their effects.
What the loss Of life will be csnnot be
stated at this writing but SO Tar o3ly TWO
deaths have been reported
Captain j. l.. White, who oocIplsd
Room on the fourth floor was kille( while
k1ying to escape by means Of rope which
aangled from the fifth floor almost TO the
street below. The rope had previously
Sone good service, being the mea 3s by
ehich five persons escaped from TIE
burning building. The story of thu rope
Is q thrilling one. For eight years Kate
Richardson has been an employe os the
hotel, occupying room on the fifth 1oor.
Five years ago Miss Richardson as Q pre-
oautionary measure for just such an
emergency, procured rope long enough
to reach from her room to the street.
When the alarm was given. Miss Richard
son with the assistance of Gussie John
son, companion, tied the rope to piece
of heavy furniture and threw it out oe the
window. The girls were about to make
the descent to the pavement when three
lady guests rushed in to the room and
begged to be saved. The two bravo girls
gave precedence to the guests and then
Miss johnson took her position on the
kope ard went down, hand over hand.
Miss Richardson was the last to leave end
she had gone down but one story wnen
Captain White, who occupied room on
that floor oalle.i to her appealingly, beg
ging her MOTTO jump. Miss Richardson
stopped and begged the captain to take
her place on the line. This he refused TO
do, and only after much persuasion coDld
he induce Miss Richardson to save Ger-
self, promising to follow in her waxe.
Miss Richardson reached the ground in
safety and Captain White had launched
him self in the air, when the rope broke
and he fell to the ground, distance of
nearly a hundred feet The rope,
weakened by the strain to which it had
been subjected and chafed by contact
with the window sill, which had become
intensely hot, could not stand the surain
and broke.
Ths other known death is that of Louis
Meyers, a merchant of Skaguay. of
Alaska. Mr. Meyers, who was 63 years OF
age, had been rescued, but the shock had
beer SC great that his heart weakened and
denti, resulted. The most sanguine hopes