The Forrest City times. [volume] (Forrest City, Ark.) 1871-1919, 1900-05-18
HOTEL FIRE At CHICAGO.
Two Persons KNOWN to Be Dead
One Missing and Many
Seriously Injured.
DESTRUCTION OF THE HOTEL HELENE.
cues ard Narrow Escapes-James
Mcneil. the Hotel Porter showed
Himself to Have Been Cast in
Heroic Mould.

Chicago. May 1-.-Two persons
were killed one is missing and fifteen
we're injured in fire which DESTROYED
the Hotel Helene at 10 to ia Fifty
third street. Five of the injured will
probably die.
The Dead.
Charlotte Peterson, dining room
girl; found in her room burned to a
crisp.
Lena Pearson, found burned almost
beyond recognition in room. with Miss
Peterson.
-. Patterson, man, last seen in
hotel office at II o'clock, Tuesday
night.
The Seriously Injuredi
w. +. Horn. burned aboat face and
hands and body. leg broken; will die.
;. G. MoHaddin, flesh partly burned
from body; will die.
E. f. Ta-buN, burned about body,
recovery doubtful.
Elizabeth Florence internally in
iured and skull fractured: uncon-
scious; recovery doubtful.
Z. y. Allen, both ankles sprained and
internally injured in jumping from
tbird-story window
Mrs. L. ID. Allen, back broken and
Internally injured; jumped from third
story window; will die.
Miss Helen Joseph, badly bruised and
overcome by smoke
Stella Neiiwolski. chambermaid
jumped from first floor; overcome by
smoke and injured internally.
l.. j. Mcneil, porter; burned about
face.
Miss Sarah Hutchinson,a high school
teacher; injured in falling from sec.
ond floor
James Costin, fireman; cut by fail.
ing glass.
Mrs. Bruce and baby, overcome by
smoke.
Mrs. Adelia Lawson, badly bruised.
The loss to the building and fur.
nishings was $4,000.
Rescues and Narrow Essences.
The destruction of the hotel was re.
plete with daring rescues and narrow
escapes, in which James Mcneil. the
porter, earned himself the title oil
hero. He was the first to warn the
sleeping occupants of their danger.
He carried Helen Joseph down a sway.
ing ladder from the third floor. and
then, amid the cheers of the onlool.
ers, returned to the second fioor.where
woman was lying unconscious, her
clothing on fire. He carried her to tbs
window. and dropped her into the
arms of Policeman Wolf. The effort
and the heat were too much for Me-
Neil, and he staggered back into the
smoke. The people below thought he
was lost. A policeman mounted to the
| shoulders of "a brother officer and
| clamberin2 over the window ledge
caught Mcneil by the feet and
| dragged him from the room. Mcneil
was passed down to the ground, and
soon recovered consciousness.
Aroused Enthusiasm.
| The rescue of a woman and her
| baby aroused the enthusiasm of the
crowd. Mrs. Bruce, with one arm
around her infant child, was clingina
with the other arm to the ledge of o
second-story window. Smoke was
|
Mrs. Bruce seemed on the point oil
falling. Her fingers were relaxing
when, suddenly, three policemen car
rying a blanket held taunt among
them, rushed into the flames which
were then darting from the basement
windows, just in time to catch the
woman and her child in safety. Mrs.
Bruce was badly burned, but had sue
ceeded in protecting her baby, so that
not one hair of its head had been
burned.
Many Exhibition of Courage.
There were many other narrow es.
capes and exhibitions C. courage dur
ing the burning of the structure, as
| there was only one entrance to the
building, which compelled the greater
number of the guests to make their
exits as best they could through the
| windows.
| The rescueS were nearly all accom-
| plished before the firemen arrived.
The blaze spread so rapidly that had
the people in the hotel been compelled
TO await the arrival of the hook and
ladder company, many more lives
would have been lost. The policemen
and others on the ground early, how
ever, were able to secure ladders from
a paint store nearby, and by this
means saved many of the guests from
death.
The fire started in the basement
and spread with the greatest rapidly,
But for the heroic action of Porter
Mcneil every person in the building
would undoubtedly have persisted.
Brave Porter Mcneil.
Police, firemen and spectators united
in one voice in praising Porter Nc
| Neil. He was formerly gunner in the
English navy on board the battleship
Dreadnought and holds medals for
craftsmanship and proficiency in drill
ing He took part in the jameson raid,
and il was while in South Africa that
the illness which compelled him to
secure discharge came upon him.