The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-23
SOUTH END HOTEL IN ASHES.
FIRE WIPED OUT THE MAIN BUILD
ING AND FOUR COTTAGES.

All Their Effects, One Cuban FRmi-
~ Suffering to the Extent of 800
Ample Time for All TO Escape
without Injury-NOrth Carolina
Soldiers Acted as Firemen and
Saved Three COttaEes-PrODrietOr
Bohan'S Loss Placed at $4,000
with S25,GOO Insurance.
The South End Hotel on Tybee Island
and four cottages burned early yesterday
morning. Where the hotel and surround
ing buildings stood Is now heap Of smok-
ing ashes and charred timbers, surrounded
by the bath houses. the power house, the
wind min and three cottages, one of which
is badly damaged Mr.. W. NJ. Bohan, pro
prietor of the South End estimates that
his loss will be about $4,000, on which
there appears to be but S25,600 insurance.
divided among the following agencies:
Sullivan & Wilson. Orient, $1,000; Royal,
$1,000: Aetna. $1,000; Lancashire, $500;
bearing & HUI London and Lancashire,
81 900; Phoenix of Hartford, $3.50; Hamburg
and Bremen, $1,70o; German-American,
$4,000; J. E. Harry & Co., Scottish Union
and National, 81 500; A. G. Guerard & Son,
Fireman's Fund. $500 on stock
1t was ten minutes to 3 O'Clock when the
fire was discovered. 1t had then probably
been burning some minutes and had Sc
cured sufficient Roadway to make it i'm
possible 10 control 1t with hand grenades.
Mrs Clark, a Cuban lady, occupying room
H. who had been Ill, was awake
and noticed an odor of smoke entering
her room, apparently from the hallway.
Then she heard a cracking sound, as
though dry timber was burning. Throw
ing open the door and looking down the
hallway she saw flames in the attic
through the open scuttle. The air in the
han was already warm from the fire,
and she saw that prompt action was ne
cessary. Her screams of fire aroused 9TH
ers and brought the night Waterman, c.
f. Price, up from the office. He quickly
aroused Mr.. Bohan and his family and
the guests, while the electrician of the
house, f. r. Rivers, began bombarding
the attic with grenades. Mr.. ]. A. Gran
ford, who was occupying a room almost
directly under the scuttle, open
ed his door to come out
just as the electrician threw one of
the bottles Fearing that the aim might
his room. fortunately for himself, as his
doorway was Uttered with heavy pieces
of broken glass
There was ample time for all the guests
of the house to make their escape, and if
all had retaiped their composure any but
a trivial loss of personal effects could have
been avoided. As usual, though, there
was a break to get out of the hotel with
r1 To mn hao 100 or y
appearances.
Ladies rushed down the hall and stairs
and on TO the beach clad in their night
wear, and carrying dresses and other arti-
Giles of public apparel while the men.
some partly dressed and others just as
they had jumped from bed made their
way to points where they could robe.
Mr.. Dubois, wife and daughter, Cubans,
who are living here, occupied room adj
joining Mrs. Clark. Miss Dubois, who has
been i'll for some time, was in a GONZALES
cent stage. After her father had taken
her and his wife to the beach and started
TO return TO the hotel for valuables the
nervous condition of the ladies forced him
TO remain with them. Mr.. BOhan inquired
as to whether everything was out Evil
IDENTIFY the question was misconstrued, and
answered in the affirmative As result.
the trunks of the family, with such jew
elry as they had taken to the island, were
destroyed, involving a loss, il is said, of
RtODdDig 34aOJo. MIS-. 0tdI \ tOHl ilcl NdlGtiI
some clothing and some minor jewelry,
loss of about $50. Mr.. Crawford, who was
one of the last to leave the building, was
probably the most fortunate of all the
guests, his sole loss being a clothes brush.
AS 1 passed out of the door" said Mr..
Crawford, Il turned around and saw the
brush on the bureau. 1t was the only
thing 1 had overlooked. l suppose l could
have got 1t but the air was getting trihe
uncomfortable and I left it there for the
flames to feed on"
Mrs. A. F. Gould and two daughters of
Augusta were also quite heavy losers, all
their baggage being destroyed, together
with some $50 in cash. They and the other
ladies were given accommodations at the
Inlet Club near by, and in the morning
We're furnished with such clothing as
they needed to come to the city. A trunk
containing clothing Of Mrs r. H. Polk
was also burned. Mrs. Polk had been
guest at the hotel but had returned to
the city, leaving her effects there until
she returned. Mr.. NJ. +. Sullivan. who
was employed by the hotel. lost his watch
and chain, a diamond locket and some
other valuables. representing over 500.
In addition to his loss of hotel property,
Mr.. Bohan was also further sufferer by
the fire, large quantity of clothing be-
longing to himself and family being wiped
out by the flames Mr. and Mrs. Frank
Douglass, who have occupied one of the
burned cottages for the past three
months, LOST about $50 worth OF small et-
fects which were overlooked in the ex-
element.
Several parties from Columbus and Ma
con were guests of the house, but they
are believed to have met with no loss In
all Mr.. Bohan believes there was about
thirty persons sleeping in the building at
the time the fire broke out. Their fortu-
nate escape without injury, he says re-
compenses him in some degree for the
financial loss he has incurred.
The attic. where the fire originated, CIR.
Bohan states, had not been in use since
July Is when cots were placed in It for
the accommodation of a number of At
lantians. Since then there has been no
occasion to make use of that part of the
building. How the fire started may never
be known. The power house had been
shut down for some time, every one in