Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-03-19

! Hotel, one OF the finest I'm New York.
| with 275 guests in st. was destroyed IN
three hours In the middle OF sunny
! afternoon, In the most fashionable tho
4 roughfarc OF the city.
4 comparatively small proportion OF the
! persons who are supposed TO nave been
stopping in the hotel have been accounted
! for. Fifteen OF the dead have been
| Identified. among them the wife and %
| year-old daughter Of Warren Leland pro-
prietor OF the hotel Mrs. Leland was
! found by a fireman. burned and bruised
not far from the hotel evidently she
! had tried 10 escape. but had been over
come by smoke. At o'clock last night
she died In the Flower Hospital.
Fifteen minutes after Mrs. Leland died
! some servants Of the hotel identified one
! of the unrecognized dead IN the Fifty
first Police Station as Miss Leland. who
was % years old. and the apple OF her
fathers eye. He had been searching for
! her an the evening. When Mr.. Leland
saw her charrcd body his mind gave way
under the strain. lie raved so violently
about his loss-not Of his property. but
OF his loved ones-that IL was necessary
! 90 place him under restraint.
CROWD BRAVES BURNING ASHES
II is necessary TO write Of the crowd at
this fire because Of its size and because
"a us tAtA bil4dig bctisAN ava .'N''
women who surrounded the blazing ruins
OF the hotel appeared absolutely indii1er.
ont TO personal danger. No such throng OF
spectators ever gazed upon fire in TINS
city before The St.-Patrcks Day crowd
hustled and jcstled 10 get close 10 the
fire so persistently that the police could
do nothing with them. They STOOD III
literal shower Of sparks that sometimes
extended back to Third avenue They
| 4 hoe "a
Ibf the hre-engine and the ambulance
Screaming women. crying children push
Cd men Indifferent TO their cries Tor pro-
lection. and We're a sight 10 behold.
The centre OF the front wall of the no.
tel lust over the main entrance. was the
first part Of the building TO collapse + OF
tunately, ii f,ll inward, for at the thle
the police were not strong enough 10 keep
the crowd i'm the street within BOUNDS.
chiefs Deverv and Bonner soon had
things i'm motion. Ambulances from the
hosuitals hurried about. removing wound
ed pcople without taking much trouble 10
find out whom they We're This ineVitaply
caused confusion later in the day. II was
/ reported. for instance. that Apher az
Kinley and his wife were in the ho'ei'
and news Of them was reported from va
rious places. Late at night Mr.. McI<in-
lev telegraphed from Washington that
they were both all right.
MEN AWAY FROM HOME.
The fire happened when most Of the men
who live in the neighborhOod OF Inc mo
sor Hotel were away from nome. 1h@
women were thrown upon their own re-
sources. The first thing many OF them ana
3 their servants did was TO rush Tor men
Jewels and other household treasures
, They hurried from the houses ADJOINING
the burning hotel laden with sllFei" war;
pictures. and articles of that descilptlo
Others took a different course Ihelr
: first thought was for the unforluna1 =
wounded persons who were uepi iNeu 20
shelter. They took them INTO 'l'eii Ia ~
called phvsicians for them, anu Iru ~
tbon the large force of priests VINO hui
ried down from the Cathedral.
Rieht across the street from the noel
ot Eiftb avenue and FOrty-seNenth sueet'
was the home of Helen Gould onc
r not I'm the house when the nre s'ai 'eu'
but she arrived soon aiterWatu an" 'i'' 49,
omen her doors for the recep''o" % Nc
.i,rerino She attended to them herSe, !,
H"'' 80 che was able. and sent for all
tho nhvsicians she could reach' one u
- ,,.o,nen guests died in the Gould nome
and another woman died on the stoop Vi
NIise could was not alone In TINS WORK
~ 1.ssa Seligman. Mrs Arthur Won
9risscn. Mrs Jordan J.. Mol'. Ji, ~
! several others threw open lne'i -
and attended to persons IN hocu VI 80,
until the police told them 1T was ilo io"e'
safe to remain In their houses
GENERAL RUSH FOR SAFETY.
r,,.or,. householder in the block in when
~ botal was situated thought thal AZ
end his chattels were IN danger Wlr
terror spread along Forty-si%lh anu ~,
tv-seventh streets Down the S'oopS % ,,i'
'c,,.,es which adioined the burning bulid-
] inc persons hurried. with their arms '1u''
. with silverware. bric-a-Drac' ana p'.'"' ~ -
rrenzied women rushed out INTO IN.
e,r.et oekinc 0remen and policemen il it
e u,os thought the houses would DuII'. I'm
+ tines of fugitives from the hotel ana lro"
7 tha adjoining buildings filed the 'fee''
r,ho, went into houses few numueIS
removed from the fire. Women VINO Hau
eecoped from the flames by means ~
ropes went along the paVemeh's w"
, blood trickling from hands laoela'0" M
tbeir descent on the rope hre escape ~
nolico carried the wounded and dying mo
,ri,,ate residences. the occupants OF when
,,cra then wondering If the time had ho'
come for them to seek safety IN night
FATHERS NARROW ESCAPE
Next TO the Windsor Hotel. occupyihH
. Nos s. T. and east rory -siN''i -,
2 aro tho windsor Turkish baths. owned oy
George r. Easton. The buildings were
} connected with each other ard with lhe
5 Motel NV means of archways. They are
fonr-etorv brownstone buildings some
of the rooms were occupied as Dacheloi
. onortments. on the two upper floors are
Maths for women. and the baths Ior tH'
men are on the lower floors.
-Four men were bathing pelo" an, anu
above six women were in the bath: Il,
0rst intimation that the bathers had oi
what was going ON was shower VI
hricl,s unon the roofs. Then a cry oil hI'
niled tho Mace. Women wrapped IN bath-
robes hastily donned, with their suee'
Garments clutched In their hands. ran
screaming down the stairs. Ihey III
tbe. door Of the apartments OF T.. ). Nells,
-, tho first floor The occupant hau J"S'
been aroused from nap. lie wlthdreW a'
the sight Of the panic-stricheh "oi' b,r
and left them in the possession Vi M
room They made "A hasty toiel anu =
capped into the street The men Da'hei
ran downstairs. carrying with them sucn
garments as could not be donneo Ill
hurry. 80, ..+,,-
Fire soon played havoc with the estao-
lishmcnt.
LELAND CRAZED BY THE SHOCh'
Overcome by news Of the death OF ms
daughter and wife following upon lhe
destruction of the Windsor, Warren r.
Leland. proprietor Of the burned hoiel,
! ..... t,ro,a last nighf II is feared tldl