The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-10-26
MEET DEATH
IN FLAMES
Continued From First PAGE.

Continued From First Page.
slowly roasted to death while the horror
stricken throng on the street below
turned sick at the sight. In the front,
on Market street. woman, driven to
desperation, leaped from a window on
the top floor and was dashed to death on
the pavement. These are but few of
the heart-rending scenes attending the
confagration. Firemen claim to have
seen men and women, unable to reach the
| windows or fire escapes, burned to death
In the interior of the building. If this be
SO. little or nothing remains of these VIC
TINS, and it is doubtful if any portion
Escape Cut on.
! Seventy-nine of the 100 persons in Hunt.
Wilkinson & Co.'S building when the fire
started were employees, and the remainder
were customers and outside workmen
who were engaged in putting finishing
touches on the new eighth floor More
than half of the firms employees
| were on the upper five floors,
and 1t was among these that the greatest
number were killed and injured With
the possible exception OF the engineer,
who is missing, all persons on the first
three floors got out of the building safe
~. The members of the firm had their
offices on the third floor, and their. fa-
in1liarity with the exits is all that saved
them from. suffocation Mr. Wilkinson
SAID the smoke came up the stairway
and elevator shaft IN such great volumes
that he and Mr.. Hunt had much diff
Guilty in reaching the street. Most Of
those Killed were at work on the sixth
Iloor, where women were engaged in
sewing. They were at work in the rear
OF the building close to the fire escapes.
and became confused by the great GUAM
lily OF smoke that rushed up through the
Guiding. 1t was reported that goods
were stored against the windows which
prevented the women from getting out
On the fire escapes, but this was posi-
livery denied by member of the firm.
On the seventh floor there were twenty
dpholsterers at work, and, thanks to the
great presence of mind of the foreman of
the moor, who is an official of the vol
unteer fire department at Mount HoIly
N j., all escaped unhurt AS soon as he
learned of the fire he marshaled his men
and led them through the thick smoke
Gown the stairway and safely into the
street. There We're eleven employees and
a number of outside workmen on the
eighth floor. A ladder reached from t.is
moor to the roof, which would have en-
aoled those on that floor to reach the
roof of an adjoining eight-story building
OUT IN the excitement this means of es-
cape was forgotten.
AIopCU 10 Ihe1F Death.
several made the terrible leap to the
sidewalk and We're crushed. while the 9th
ers ran the gauntlet of smoke and fire
down the rear fire escape
Among those on the eighth floor VITO
jumped and were killed were II. A Snar-
row. an expert electrical contractor. and
Charles h. Sparrow, his nephew and as
Slstant A 'colored scrubwoman also
Jumped from this floor and was crushed
In the street.
1t was exactly 1920 this morning when
howard +. Street, young man employ
ed by Hunt, Wilkinson & Co.. observed
flames shooting up the elevator shaft
from the basement. He was en- the sec
oho moor and Immediately gave tn alarm,
10 the other employees. He then FASTENED
TO the street to notify a policeman. Ii,
the meantime the employees of the dec
tr1caI bureau at the city hall, .Wo books
away saw smoke issuing from the bui- l.
ing and transmitted an alarm to the FIRE
department. When the engines arrived
the flames had enveloped the building
from top to bottom and the intense hear
from this terrific mass of flames made
1t almost impossible for the firemen TO get
within close range of the seething furnace
Ignoring the flames for the time being
the brave fire fighters devoted their whole
attention to the work of rescue AS some
OF them stood within the scoI ching beat
OF the ire with nets outspread 10 re-
celVe those who leaped from the burning
building their comrades played lines of
nose upon them. When their work in his
respect was ended many of the fremen
were completely exhausted Most of the
fatalities occurred in the rear of the
building. AS if by common impulse the
majority of the employees attempted to
reach places of safety by means of the
Efe-eseape On the Commerce street end
Of the structure.
Crazed With Fright.
Many of them. rendered practically in
sane by fright, leaped to the
ground, and Others becoming I'M
conscious from the smoke and in
tense heat, fell to the pavement When
the firemen arrived Commerce street was
filed with these unfortunate victims. and
for the space of an hour the police and
hospital service was taxed to its utmost
capacity.
For an hour the roaring flames threat
ened the lives of every one who was
compelled to work fighting the fire or pro
tect1ng the surrounding property, and ev-
cry minute of time threatened many other
thousands of dollars worth of property
on all sides of the building in which the
blaze, started. 1t looked for time as if
the entire block would become prey to
the flames, but the falling of the walls
or the burning building prevented the
spread of the fire. Adjoining the Hunt.
wilkinson & Co. building is an eight-storv
structure nearing completion. When the
walls OF the blazing establishment col
lapsed, the firemen secured better op-
portanlty of playing upon the adjoining
business houses, and thus prevented the
flames from attacking surrounding prop
erty.
BY noon the fire was under control and
at 2 o'clock this afternoon force OF men
ordered by the department of public safe
ty began the work of clearing away
the debris for the purpose of recovering
the bodies of the victims buried in the
ruins.
Small buildings in the rear of tn. fur
niture building, and also to the west of
the burned area, were crushed by falling
walls. The fronts of the stores on the |
south side of Market street opposite the |
fire were all more or less damaged by the |
heat. Great tongues of flame, swept along |
by the northwest wind shot across lie
broad thoroughfare, and for a time it
looked as if the fire would spread 70 |
those buildings.
2 The loss tonight is estimated at half a |
million dollars, most of which will fail on |
timated at $250,000 Henry c. Lea's loss M, |
the building is about $15OOOO William |
F. Potts & Son suffered a loss of $500 !
while other occupants of the Potts build |
ing and surrounding property owners suf- |
fered losses aggregating $4,000.
Shortly before midnight another body
which was very badly burned, was taken
from the ruins. This makes the number |
of known dead nineteen.
HAY-PAUNCEFOTE TREATY.