The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-03-20

New York March 19.--Little progress
was made to-day in removing the de-
bris of the Windsor hotel fire in the
effort to discover the bodies supposed
to lie buried there. All day long more
than 200 men labored as much as the
misty, muddy, steaming mass of brok-
en- stones, twisted iron and crushed
brick would admit. A heavy sitting
vapor arose continuously, retarding
progress and keeping the workers for
the most part away from the center
of the ruins. From Fifth avenue much
of the debris that had fallen into the
street had been cleared away and the
men were able to reach a portion Of
the first floor What small portions of
wall could be blasted down were lev
elled, but the great pillar OF brick at
the Forty-seventh street end stll
stands.
Up to midnight no bodies had been
discovered and no more deaths from in
juries received at the fire We're report-
ed from the hospitals, but a number of
the injured were still in serious con-
dtion.
The death list remains the same as
yesterday-16-and the list of missing
has been reduced to A, as a number of
those previously unaccounted for re-
ported in person or have been located
by friends. The only things found dur
ing the early part of the night were a
set of artificial teeth on a gold plate
and some articles of clothing
BY midnight the laborers had exca-
" tod hur In l,,,f1.
to the sub-basement for distance of
15 feet.
The great value of jewels and jeWelry
in the wreck made the men work care
fully. Each shovelful of the refuse
was carefully examined before being
placed in the carts. Tonight the per-
sons living in the three houses nearest
the wall on Forty-seventh street We're
ordered out by the police, because of
the danger of its being blown down by
the high wind. One of the strange
sights of the day to the police was the
curiosity of the crowd. Sightseers
number thousands while daylight lasts,
and even after nightfall the number of
idle visitors was uncomfortahly large.
At the Ruins.
In drizzling rain more than 200 men
continued to-day to work among the
debris and smoldering ruins of the
Windsor hotel searching for the bodies
of those who perished in the flames and
for any valuables which might have
escaped the ravages of the flames. The
efforts of the searchers were futile
however, as the ruins were too hot to
permit much progress and the smoke
arising from the burning material was
rendered more dense by the dampness
of the atmosphere. At intervals during
the night flames burst forth from the
burning embers and forced back the
workmen.
The work was begun this morning to
demolish the fragmentary portions of
walls on the east and north sides of
the burned building, and later the
number of workers was reinforced
and the work of removing the rubbish
pushed as vigorously as was practica-
BILE. The chimney, s5 feet high, stand
ing on the Forty-six street
side of the ruins. near
Fifth avenue. was blown up to-
day. Thirty pounds of dynamite were
placed under the base of the chimney
and electricity was used to explode it.
Smoke and steam still rise from the de-
bris, now and then tongues of flames
shoot up, even at this late hour after
the fire. The workmen have been able
to do only a little superficial work.
When they dig down a little way the
utDIlS Is Sb llOl lildl IitS are DDllSEu
to move to another locality.
During the day workmen We're en-
gagged in picking to pieces the story
wall that is standing on
the Forty-seventh street side
of the hotel site. in order to
make the search in the ruins safe, The
second S5-foCt chimney was dynamited
shortly after O'Clock this afternoon.
The explosion wrecked numbar of
plate glass windows and doors in near
by residences.
A large force of men wara at work
during the afternoon on wha. was the
main entrance to the h)tel. 1t Was eX-
pected that bodies would first be found
there. A large amount of small arti-
cles, principally the personal property
of guests was found.
Daniel Sweeney, .he emergency
wrecker of the building department, and
three men had a narrow escape from in
jury and possibly death about O'Clock.
About four men We're on top # TIM
six story wall which was stlll stand
ing on the FOrty-seyenth street
rear corner of the hotel, tear
ing it down. A stiff breeze
was blowing and Sweeney felt