The herald., 1898-11-24
who registered at the Baldwin Tuesday
night and was reported missing, made his
csoana, in safety en.-- 4. II

who registered at tne Ddiu"ih iueeuay
night and was reported missing, made his
escape in safety. ~-s '~-
Mrs. G. L. Mead of Los Angeles, who oc-
cupied room with her husband on the Sec
ond floor had much difficulty in arousing
the latter in time to save his life. After
their escape down the burning stairway had
been effected, Mrs. Mead, clad in dress
skirt and a coat of her husbands, lost her
self in the crowd. At o'clock in the morn
ing Mr.. Mead found his wife on Market
street looking for shelter.
Mrs. Jones, the widow of the former dis
trict attorney Of Reno, and her sister, Mrs.
Black who had just returned from the Klon
dixie, had rooms on the fourth floor. They
lost all their clothes and jewelry, which they
value at $4,000.
Barney Schneider, the horse man, and his
wife had rooms on the fourth floor on the
Powell-street side They had barely time to
catch up clothes enough to cover them, but
Mrs. Schneider had the forethought to secure
a wallet containing number of valuable
papers, only to lose them 'ater on in the
crowd that congregated to watch the fire.
A suite of rooms on the fourth floor, on
the Powell-street side, was occupied by four
officers of the Sixth California regiment,
who were warned in time to escape by the
elevator without their effects. They were
Major r. j. Whitmore, Major j. G. Grant
and Lieutenants j. ID. Jones and L. W.
Jones. They were awakened at $40 o'clock
by terrific knocking on the door and cries
to them to fly without attempting to save
anything. They needed the warming and
beat hasty retreat.
J.W. O'Connor, chief officer of the steam
(t;tx. of SvI,,o,- ,t-n Of be laS 10
leave the hotel. He was awakened by a
falling skylight, which was shattered above
his room and ratified down the shaft beside
his window.
Attired only in his undergarments he
made his way through the passage which
was filled with smoke and fire. When he
reached the street his clothing was seen to
be on fire and the hose was turned on him
by the fremen. He was almost blinded by
the smoke. With O'Connor in the hotel
was Purser Leighthead of the Sydney, who
has not been accounted for.
Jacob Golinski, a business man and post
master of Keswick in Shasta county, was
guest on the second floor and one of those
who escaped by the main stairway.
Jack Quinn, the bookmaker, says that his
days bookings, amounting to $4,000, was in
his trunk in his room. He saved himself
and thought of his money. An offer of 800
induced porter to attempt td save th3
trunk. fastening with the trunk down
stairs, the porter was overcome with the
smoke and heat, but the fremen saved
both. him and his burden.
Probably the heaviest loss suffered by any
individual guest fell upon Charles L. Ack-
1vbosa r,,.inafy.e oo1lao4;o,
matchless library are badly damaged. Mrs.
Ackerman lost all her diamonds and other
jewelry the value of which exceeded Sl5, 900.
Mr.. Ackerman's books were worth $4,000,
and he cannot estimate the value of his rare
bric-a-brac.
DR.. j. A. Noble and his wife were on the
second floor and they lost nearly all their
worldly possessions. They had made their
rooms their home and had stocked them
with all sorts of bric-a-brac and costly furni-
ture. They estimate their loss at something
like $4,000. They left the hotel on short
notice. Mrs. Noble had been suffering from
rheumatism but she forgot her pain and
both she and her husband crossed Market
street in their bare feet.
Thieves and pickpockets reaped harvest
during the progress of the fire and they
worked the crowd which surrounded the
ruins. Several arrests We're made and the
force of police was largely increased as a
measure of precaution.
The theory of the fire department. is that
the disastrous blaze started in the hotel
kitchen on the Ellis street side of the build.
ing and that the flames were sucked up to
the roof through the elevator shaft. Chief
OF Police Lees, as well as many Others are
confident that the conAagration originated
IN the rear of the theater. 1t burned with
trlghtful rapidity and the marvel is that
there was not greater loss of life.
While the guests were being reused from
their slumbers and before the greater num-
Der of them had a chance to leave their
rooms some one turned an electric switch
and threw the hotel into total darkness.
The hotel was lighted solely by electricity
and the act of cutting off the current. which
was doubtless done to enable the fire de-
rartment to work without danger from live
wires, increased the panic thousand fold.
Repeated attempts were made by the rescue
parties to light the gas in the Railways, but
gas had not been used in the hotel for a long
time and such attempts were consequently
fruitless
Owing to the fire the trial of Grace Loose, |
Elsie Williams and Myron Azhderian,
charged with extorton, was continued to-
day until Friday Oscar Tolly, clerk of the
court, was in the ill-fated hotel when it took |
fire and it was with difficulty that he man.
aged to escape. His wardrobe was destroyed !
and one of the jurors, being in a similar pre-
dicament, caused the court to adjourn.