The herald., 1898-03-13
BOWERY MISSION FIRE
LEAvEs FORTY DEAD BODIES
- IN THE RUINH
THE PANIC C-STRICKEN CROWD
Mad With Fear Fights with the Po-
lice Who Attempted Rescue.
Some Strange Escapes
Associated Press Special Wire

NEW YORK, March 13.-Just before ?
o'clock this morning fire was discovered
in the Bowery mission at los Bowery. The
building, which is a five-story structure,
contained between It's and 200 dodgers, and
while the majority of them escaped, it is
positively known that at least forty of the
men who had gone to sleep there for the
night lost their lives In the confiagration.
There were many hairbreadth escapes,
some of the occupants jumping from upper
floors. Several of those who jumped were
badly injured, while others escaped with
out a scratch. 1t is supposed that one
of the dodgers accidentally set fire to some
paper in the closet on the third floor and
the flames were soon beyond control. Some
one shouted fire from window and sew
eral policemen rushed up the stairs 10 the
rescue of the occupants. BY this time most
of the dodgers had been awakened and
were rushing about in their night clothes,
panic-strcken. An alarm was turned in by
q pedestrian, who saw the smoke coming
from the third floor, where a lodger had
thrown open a window to escape, being
nearly suffocated. and was hanging half
Way out to avoid inhaling the smoke. BY
tAis time the men who had gone to sleep
awakened to battle for their lives in the
flames, were in such condition that
neither the police nor the firemen could
cope with them. They were mad in their
efforts to escape, and in many instances
the f1remen had to struggle desperately
with the dodgers to bring them to the
streets in safety.
While the firemen and policemen were
AphffDp with fb0Sa in a ball
made his appearance at the window on
the third floor He threw his foot out on ,
the ledge and hung on to the coping for
few moments. A crowd had gathered in |
the street and cried to him to hold on but |
the flames came out of the window and so
burned his hands that he was forced to
let go.
A cry Of horror went up from the crowd
below. The man before letting go threw
himself outward, and as he fell the crowd
separated. He landed just beyond the
sidewalk. For moment he seemed
stunned. Then he arose to his feet, felt
himself all over and hobbled away, dis
appearing in the midst of the crowd.
The tiremen worked inside the building
until the heat and smoke forced them out,
one by one. The scaling ladders and the
lfe-nets were then resorted to. Water
was poured into the building in torrents,
but the flames seemed to increase in fury
and it looked as If the entire building
would be wreck.
Many of the dodgers were carried down
the ladders. These were almost in every
instance rescued just as they were about
to jump to the street from the windows
ON the upper floors. At o'clock. when {
the flames were under control, one of the
fremen, who had made tour of the en-
tire building, emerged and reported to
Chief Bonner that he had seen at least
forty dead bodies. His report was that he
had discovered two bodies on the first
hoor, five on the second, eight on the ;
third, twelve on the fourth and thirteen
On the fifth floor.