The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-03-21
WORKING IN THE RUINS
Searching in the Ashes of the
Windsor Hotel Fire.
A CHASTITY FIND MADE
Charred Fragments Of Human Bodies
Are Picked Up by the Workmen.
Nearly 200 Servants of the
Hotel Unaccounted For

New York, March 20.-A large force
of men worked in the ruins of the
Windsor hotel tonight. Part of the
rear wall and chimney on the Forty
seventh street side was still standing
| at a late hour. Smoke was issuing from
the chimney, which extends to the base
ment, showing that fire still shoulders
| in that part of the ruins. The work
men excayated slowly and with great
| care. The debris was thrown from the
| space occupied by the hotel to the
sidewalk. Crowds pressed as close to
| the ruins as they were allowed by the
police. At midnight 800 laborers who
| had been digging in the ruins were re-
| lieved by another gang of 800. No otner
body had been found since o'clock in
! the morning, when the men came
| across the remains of two charred bod
les. The men worked all day on the
three sides of the old hotel, Fifth ave-
nue., Forty-sixth and Forty-seventh
! streets.
! From the three sides on which the
| workmen are engaged the ruins had at
| midnight been gone over for about 20
| feet from the building line. The first
pouy oul tO-udS was lTOtIl llle
| Forty-sixth street side; the second from
the Fifth avenue side. close by which
| had been the main entrance. They
| were merely fragments of bodies.
| Neither have feet or arms. These frag-
ments were taken to the morgue, where
| they We're ticketed as bodies ~ and ''2'
| and placed in the section especially set
aside for the fire victims. These two
| bring the total number of bodies so
far recovered 10 Resides thaSa
| there at least six persons who were
seen to jump from the roof and win-
dows while the hotel was burning and
| of whose bodies no trace has yet been
! come upon.
! AT 9 o'clock the charred leg bone of
| a human being was found near the en-
| trance, burned beyond any identity.
! The first seen of it was skeleton of
the breast, including the ribs and breast
/ bone. Close by foot with nearly all
the flesh on it was found. 1t appeared
! to be severed from the leg by the fall-
ling of some heavy piece of debris. Those
injured from the fire were reported this
morning to be improving. ~
Body No. l is that of man. The
trunk is nearly complete, but the legs,
arms and head are missing.
Body No. 2 Is that of a young woman.
| 1t is in six or seven sections. A black
cloth button on the dress is marked
made w. H. X. company, extra
From time to time to-day articles of
more or less value We're found and
turned over to the police. They in
cluded watches. clocks, canes, articles
! of clothing, letters, keys, photographs,
field and opera glasses, silverware and
toilet articles. necklace was found
on the Forty-sixth street side, near
where the baths are. 1t was set with
diamonds and opals and estimated to
ho oh limo In 10
list of missing property prepared by the
police, it belonged to Mrs. James r.
Stokes, who is missing. One of Thomas
P. Ochiltree's trunks was found, the
contents quite uninjured.
Several of the persons hitherto re-
ported as missing were found to be safe
to-day. The present list of missing
numbers A. This, however, takes into
| account but few of the 200 servants of
the house.
Although at night the ruins are per-
| fectly lighted by electric and oil lamps.
| the men work under disadvantage as
compared with the day men and pro-
| ceed more slowly. AT midnight the con-
tractors thought that many bodies
would be come upon by tomorrow, by
which time sufficient space will have
been cleared away to allow a larger
number of men to work to advantage.
All sorts of theories are current as to
the origin of the fire. One very persist
ent theory is that thieves set fire to the
house in order ITO aid them in robbery
Chief Bonner said he believed the fire
started somewhere near the water tank
near the roof. calculated to hold 5000
gallons, which was near the court on
the Forty-sixth street side; that this
tank dropped into the hotel and made
a hole big enough to give the flames,
which had already obtained good head
way, plenty of play The crash of this
tank was what was generally supposed
to be the first explosion. The accidental
explosion from the combustive materials
in the building came little later. This
theory would contradict the statement
of Miss Gould's chef that he saw flames
near the Flagstaff on the west side of
the building. but everything now tends
to show that the fire began on the east
side of it.