The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1898-03-17
ELEVEN BURN 70 DEATH.
s're rrible Result Of 4 Fire IN . LodE-
s5ss AZ ing House ON the Bowery, ssSi
Ssx3 s New York. f z5z

54NSWSA DIX, NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. 6ulO
their lives in the fire which swept
through the Bowery Mission house al
los Bowery early Sunday morning and
left it q 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, 70 years old, address not known;
John Foran, Stapleton, Staten Island;
- - McDermott, Is years old, address
unknown; James O. Rourke, AZ years old
Philadelphia; William Sedan, 50 years
old, Spottswood, Nj; six bodies uni
Identified.
The injured, all of whom will recover
are: Robert Ashman, 4s 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
and hands, at Gouverneurh hospital.
No. los 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
disbursement 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
clfeap lodging house with accommoda-
tions for $50 males, who paid 49, 20 or
% 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 wild scene of excitement en-.
sued. Many of the dodgers became
panlc-stricken. They rushed into the
Railways and fell over each other in
their efforts to reach the street. Those
on 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 hire 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
hot from the flames within.
In the meantime three alarms of fire
had been sent in and in few minutes
the hremen were busy deluging the
building with torrents of water. Thew
finally succeeded in keeping the fire
within the limits of the three upper
stories of the structure.
After the fire had been extinpuisbed
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
i'll the early stages of the search that it
was estimated that over 40 persons must
have been killed. However, the officers
fortunately overestimatcd the loss OF
life and II 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 10
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.: 4 Manager Sardonsen, of the Chris
ton Herald, who has direct charge of
the mission and the lod ging house,
called at the Eldredge and at the sta
ton later and told the officer in charge
that he would bury the dead. The loss
OH the building by fire is estimated at
$1,000 and the contents are damaged to
the extent of IS, 900. Loss entirely COW
cred by insurance. The building, which
belongs to the Chester estate, is leased
by the Bowery mission.
TO BE TAKEN TO ALASKA.