The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1899-03-24
MANY BODIES CREMATED
BY the Destruction BY Fire Of the
Windsor Hotel in New York.
Men and Women Leaped tO Their Death
Several Prominent People Among
the Number Killed.

OF lace curtain burst forth from the
second floor of the Windsor Hotel,
at Forty seventh street and Fifth
avenue, shortly after o'clock this
afternoon, and in few moments
they had leaped up to the roof and
envelOped the entire Fifth avenue
and Forty-seventh street fronts of
the hotel.
Ten minutes later the flames were
roaring through the interior of the
hotel, and all escape by means of
stairways and elevators was cut off.
There was the widest scene Of
excitement within and without the
building. Hundreds of guests and
employees were in the hotel when
the fire broke out and for many of
them escape was impossible.
Among the dead are Mrs. Warren
Leland and Miss Leland, wife and
daughter Of the proprietor of the
hotel; Mrs. Addie Gibson, Of Cincin-
patti, and Mrs. James 5. Kirk, widow
Of the wealthy Chicago soap manu-
facturer. Among the injured is Mrs.
Alice w. Price, sister-in-law Of Gov.
Gambler, of Georgia.
The fire was the most spectacular
that could be imagined When it
broke out Fifth avenue was crowded
with people watching the st. Pat
rick's Day parade and every windo W
in the front of the hotel facing Fifth
avenue was filled with spectators
In addition to the regular guests
of the hotel the windows were
crowded by large number Of spec
tatOrs, residents of this city, who
had congregated there to witness
the parade.
There were many thrilling seen es
in the hotel during the early sCages
of the fire. Several occupants Of the
bOtel appeared at the windows of the
sixth aud seventh stories, and even
on the roof, and leaped to the streets
from those points.
The First Horror.
The first horror occurred Just fif.
! teen minutes after the fire broke out
| A handsome woman appeared at the
window of room on the fourth floor
She held out her arms to the crowd
| below. Then she raised her hand.
as if in supplication, and in a mo-
ment climed to the window aud
leaped. She turned about like a tol
and struck the iron railing in from
Of the hotel. Her body seemed tt
be impaled there, but it fell off and
into the area way. She was dead
The woman was identified as Mrs
Amelia Paddock, of Irvington, New
York.
Many Heroic Rescues.
One of the most thrilling scenes o
the fire-at time when the build
ing was seethlng cauldron of fam
was the heroic rescue of severa
women from the upper stories. On
had been carried down from tn
fifth story. Mrs. A. H. Fuller, o
Pittsburg, then appeared with he
maid at the window of the fourth
story. 1t seemed an age before th
ladder was lowered. Fireman raj
up and with great difficulty brough
down Mrs. Fuller and her maid
Just as she was gotten out of tn
window middle-aged woman ap
peared at a window Just north Q
that at which the ladder was placed
The woman, fearing she would no
be rescued, prepared to jump. Sh
was warned to keep back and be
came panic stricken and steppe
back into the dense smoke. A hoo
and ladder man seeing the despera
tion of the woman seized a scalin
ladder and went up story after stor
through the binding smoke. H
climed to the coping just as the VIC
man re-appeared. Seizing her b
the waist and holding her tightly t
the wall OF the building he creI
slowly on the coping and passed tn
fainting woman to another fireman
who had braced himself to receiv
her. There was a dreadful suspens
as the fireman drew the woman tC
ward him and finally had her safel
on the ladder. A tremendous chez
went up from the crowd.
A young man, apparently an en-
ploye, jumped from the roof on tn
FOrty-siXth street side of the hote
Another unknown man jumped o
the Fifth avenue side, and two NOR
were seen to jump from the rear.
Shortly after that two wome
jumped from the roof to the coul
yard below. 1t is known that tw
! Va NilpoV az arc ubdu. Il
witnesses say that they saw a We
man throw child from a windO'
and fall a moment later herself, ju:
before the collapse of one of tn
walls. As yet no trace of thes
bodies has been found.
Estimate OF Casualties.
The latest estimate of casualties
l6 dead, 52 missing and 80 injured.
The individual losses of patrons {
the hotel cannot be told. Alread
jewels valued at 100000 have bee
reported missing.
Insurance.
Elbridge Il. Gerry carried insuI
ance policies aggregating 1886, 900 o
the hotel building, $4,000 on tn
furnishings and $4,000 on the renta
Mr.. Leland had 100000 insuranc
on his furniture, and it is said tina
he, "a well as Mr.. Gerry, paid Sl5 o
the 81 coo for this insurance.
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