The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-03-22
Two killed by Jumping, Another Dy-
ing, and Others Manned While
Trying to Escape.
TWENTY REPORTED MISSING
ABOUT $50 MEN AND WOMEN LODGED
IN THE BUILDING,
which Was known as the Hale House,
and Owned by the Anaconda Com
pany--Many Narrow Escapes.

BUTTE, Mont. March 2l.-The Hale
House, a large three-story brick building
on East Broadway, used as q lodging and
boarding house by miners in the employ of
the Anaconda Company, was destroyed by
fire which broke out shortly after o'clock
this morning So far as known two men
are dead from injuries received in jump
ing from windows; another is dying and
twenty are missing. while a search of the
ruins may disclose the fact that many
transient dodgers lost their lives also. The
causaties were as follows:
Dead
miner at the Mountain Consolidated
jumped from third-story window, turned
over in the air and struck on head.
FRANK ROHDEY, aged forty lately
story window. turned over and struck on
head and shoulders, fractarisg his skull.
DYING
HUGH BOYLE, aged thirty. worked at
Anaconda mine, started to lower himself
from third story by means of an improvised
rope, which parted fifty feet from the
effects of a broken leg through an acct
dent month ago.
injured
PATRICK GILLIGHAN, went down with
third floor when It collapsed and was res
cued by firemen, badly burned.
JOHN T. CARTER, stranger in the city,
got out by means Of a fire escape, badly
burned and cut by glass.
J. J. CONROY, burned on hands and
fractured bones by leaping to ground.
BARNEY REYNOLDS, fractured right
leg. He found escape cut off and made a
rope of his blankets. 1t broke when he was
twenty feet from the ground.
MICHAEL JUDGE, right are broken He
had rescued Patrick Boyle, who was hang
ing by section of improvised rope that had
broken from the weight of Hugh Boyle. He
and three companions made another rope
The others got down safely, Sut the rope
broke with Judge.
JOHN IRWIN, burned about the neck
ana race and cut by glass He jumped
by the fall.
There were $50 men and women in the
building when the fire broke out. 1t is be-
heved about 200 escaped without injury
The fire started in the bakery house in the
center of the building and had good start
before 1t was discovered. The blaze was
first seen by William White, Jacob Yuch
and John Dooley. They summoned the
watchmar and rushed to the upper portion
of the building. shouting that the house
was on fire. BY this time the fire had
broken through the first floor and smoke
filled the Railways. Dooley and his COM
panions realized there was no time to lose
end began kicking in the doors of the
rooms. The men thoughtfully awakened
the women first. The alarm had been
turned in and the department responded
promptly. When the firemen arrived, men
in their underciothing and others half
dressed were ciambering down the fire es-
caDes in the rear Others and the servant
girls with them were at windows in the
front of the building, frantically calling for
help. They were cut off from the rear of
the building by the dense smoke The lad
ders were run up, but not before many of
the frightened people had jumped. Others
including all the female help, were got
out by the firemen. On the side of the
building many had made ropes of their bed
Some of them succeeded, but in other cases
the ropes broke and the men dropped many
feet to the ground.
AS fast as the inmates were rescued or
jumped, those injured were placed in vehi-
cles and carried to the different hospitals.
Those injured slightly or uninjured betook
themselves to the houses of neighbors or
friends to secure some clothing. No one
saved anything but what he or she had
on at the time of the fire. This made 1T inn
possible to obtain full list of many who
were slightly hurt.
The night was bitterly cold, the Their
mometer registering five degrees below
zero. AS long as there appeared any chance
OF people being in the building, the firemen
devoted themselves to saving human life
1c was only after there was no further
chance to do this that they began work on
the fire in earnest. The fire had gained
such Roadway that two hours after it began
IT is possible some of the missing men
may turn ZIP yet. Early in the day the list
of the supposed dead ran up as high as
fifty. This was because many of the men
who escaped did not report for work at the
mines. Little by little, however, the list
decreased as men reported. until twenty
known dodgers were unaccounted for. 1t is
possible, however. that number of tran
sient roomers who are not we'll known may
be dead in the ruins. Only an examination
will settle that point, and this cannot be
made until the ruins cool off.
The Hale House belonged to the Anaconda
Company. 1t was built in 1895 at a cost of
$40 coo and with the furniture and belongs
ings of the dodgers, the loss will reach fully
100000.