The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-03-18

she would not be rescued prepared TO
jump. She was warned to keep back
and became panic stricken and stepped
back into the dense smoke. Another
ladder man, seeing the desperation or
the woman, seized a scaling ladder and
went up story after story through the
binding smoke. He climbed to the
coping just as the woman reappeared.
Catching her by the waist and holding
tightly to the building he crept slowly
on the coping and passed the fa1ntlng
woman to another fireman who had
braced himself to receive her. There
was a dreadful suspense as the nreman
drew the woman toward him and final
ly had her safely on the ladder. A ire
mendouS cheer went up from the crowd
Fireman John Hanna of the freboat
Zephar Mills rushed through the smoke
to the top floor and found Night Watch
man Mac NichOld half asphyxiated.
Hanna lowered him by means OF wire
to the fire escape two stories below and
let himself down this way. His hands
We're badly cut by the wire. Then Han
ma assisted the old man down the fire
| escape.
MANY HEROIC RESCUES.
Fireman William Kennedy, of engine
| company No. % rescued Mrs. Brann
| from. the fourth floor of the hotel by
means of a scaling ladder. His rescue
was cheered by the immense crowd.
A crippled woman was found lying
| on the floor of a room on the fourth
| floor unable to move and was earned IN
safety to the street. Assemblyman
John H. Maher. Sheriff Dunn and Po-
| lice Commissioners Hess, Sexton ana
Abel all assisted in taking persons from
| the hotel. Captain Emil II: PaIe, OF
! company L, L,Forty-seventh United states
| volunteers rushed up to the fourth floor
and rescued an old crippled man VINO
| was partly asphyxiated by the smoke
and burned.
Policeman Luke Miley rescued three
| women from the fourth floor and was
| badly burned about the hands and race
| and his uniform was nearly burned
| from his back.
A Brooklyn fireman who came over to
| see the parade saw woman IN Ihe
| seventh story right over where the nre
| started He rushed up stairs and res
| cued Kate Flanagan, a domestic. She
| was badly burned and injured by ran
| ing debris and was unconscious When
| Thomas Mcpherson, an employe of the
| government docks in Brooklyn went
| through the fire and smoke five stores
| and rescued Mrs. r. Butler, who was
! unconscious from shock and fright. NC
| Pherson was so badly burned that ne
| had to be taken to the hospital himself
| All of these rescues and many otherS
| occurred within period OF a feW min
| utes. Meanwhile terrifying scenes were
| being enacted be frenzied men and Wo-
| men on almost every floor OF the great
| building. How many persons are p~urleu ~
| in the ruins is not known, but at least
| three or four persons were seen to Jump
1 whose bodies have not been recovered
| A Young man, apparently an employe,
l
| sixth side of the hotel. Another un-
| known Jumped on the Fifth avenue and
| two more were seen to jump from the
| rear. ,
| from the roof to the court below IL
| is known that two of these at least are
! dead. Eye witnesses say they saw
| woman throw a child from WlndoW
| and fall moment later herself just be-
| fore the collapse of one of the walls
| AS yet no trace of these bodies have
| J. LeMott Morgan of Birmingham,
| Ala who had been watching the paraoe
| with a number of friends from the bal
| Cony, ran to the fourth floor and rescued
| Mrs Algernon Jarvis and her daughter
| Mabel He took them to the window,
| thence they were taken to the street by
| the firemen.
| THE McKINLEYS ESCAPE
| Abner Mckinley, a brother of Presi-
| dent Mckinley, had four rooms on the
! ground floor of the hotel. Mrs. McKin-
ley and her daughter, Mabel Mckinney
| occupied the rooms with Abner Nc
| Kinley. Miss Mabel Mckinley had or
| dered a coach for a drive at o'clock
and was dressing for 1t when the alarm
| of fire was given. She was in her dress
| ing gown at the time. She saw the
! smoke and becoming frightened opened
| the window and was assisted out by
! some unknown man. She walked half
| a block and found her carriage in wait
ing. She was driven to the Hotel Buck
| ingham where she telephOned to her
| father, Abner Mckinley, at his office
| at 80 Broad street.
| Mrs. Mckinley and her daughter,
| Helen Mckinley, were entertaining Mrs.
| John Sherwood, the author. All of them
| got out assisted by two men they do not
| know how. The women became sep
| arated. Mrs Mckinley went to the
residence of Rev. DR.. Morgan at No. )
| East Forty-fifth street, and Miss Helen
! Mckinley to the residence of the bank
| er, Richard T. Wilson, at 511 Fifth ave-
| nue.. Finally all went to the Manhattan
II ion
of the family. They lost everything ex-
| cept the clothes they wore.
Two men, one fireman and the other
| an employe, carried Mrs. Warren Leland
to the street; the woman's clothes were
burned from her body. The men found
her in the hallway, lying on the floor
unconscious. They saw one woman leap
from the window of the room, but they
had no time to stop her. She was Miss
Helen Leland, daughter of Mrs Leland.
This was the saddest incident of the
fire. Warren Leland is the proprietor
of the Windsor hotel The Lelands have
another daughter, Miss Fannie Leland,
but she was away from the hotel at the
time.
Mrs Leland died in Flower hospital
at 9:15 last night. Her son, Charles,
was the only relative with her when
the end came. He remained at the bed
side for some time after her death took
place and then walked quietly down
stairs. Then he met his father, who,
| with Warren Leland, Jr., a nephew, and
a friend, had just come to the hospital.
The old gentleman was greatly agi-
tated.
Charley my boy, how is your
mother?" he asked, his voice thick with
emotion.
Mother is resting quietly, father, :"
| replied the son, who feared to tell his
| father that his mother had just died.
| Mr.. Leland was then taken away by
| his son to the house of a friend.
THE LOSS.
| The loss on the contents of the build
ing is almost complete. The salvage
men managed to save $40, 900 worth OF
paintings on the first floor of the hotel