The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-06-15
A Big HOTEL BLAZE
MINERAL SPRINGS, AT WEST BA-
DEN, IND, A TOTAL Loss.
GUESTS HAVE CLOSE CALLS
MANY ESCAPED WITH sCANTY
WEARING APPAREL.

1t Is Believed That All of the 26s
Guests Escaped-The Fire started
at a. m.-Electric Circuit Burned
out and Frightened Guests Ez-
capped in Darkness-The Loss Esti-
mated at $25O.OO0, With Insurance
of $4,000 - MOnon Railways
Kindness.
West Baden. Ind. June 4.-The Nip
aral Springs Hotel was destroyed by fire
early to-day. The fire broke out at l
a. m. at the south end of the building
1t burned rapidly and by o'clock the
hotel had been completely consumed.
OF the 26S persons who were in the no.
tel, it is believed thai, everyone escaped
with his life. Mr.. Sinclair. the Droprie>
tor. has been busy all day checking off
the names but the accuracy of the work
is handicapped by the fact that all the
records and papers, including the hotel
register, were lost. Many of the guests
left to-day for their homes in various
parts of the country, the most of them
going to Chicago, Louisville and Indian
apolis The rest are at French Lick
The loss on the hotel building is esti-
mated al $4,000, with insurance aggre-
eating $4,000 In addition to this, the
loss in diamonds, jewelry and clothing,
belonging to the guests, it is estimated,
will reach $4,000
Sixty persons left here for Chicago. But
few of them secured all their property
from the burning building when they fed
and many on the train were dressed in
odd pieces of clothing, picked up from
many sources. istA,
Begun in the Kitchen.
The confiagration had its origin in the
kitchen, located on the ground floor of
the hotel Immediately under two rows of
sleeping rooms, all of which were occu-
MED The fire was discovered by the night
Waterman, who attempted to extinguish
the blaze with hand machines, but see
ing his attempts were in vain, he rushed
to the office, notified the clerk and with
him ran rapidly through the halls, burst
ing open doors and yelling "Firep' at the
top of their voices. To add TO the ex-
citemert, it was but a few moments after
the discovery of the fire that the electric
light circuit burned out and the panic
stricken guests CROPPED around in their
rooms for wearing apparel and other per-
sonal property. Out of the 26S guests
who had registered at the hotel the eVet-
ing before, only twelve succeeded in es-
Gaping with all their personal property.
Fifty or sixty female employees of the
hotel, who were quartered in the rooms
on the upper floor of the new bath house,
which had just been completed at a cost
of $4,000, escaped uninjured. This build
ing with the hotel was also destroyed.
slid Down Fire Escapes.
The fire was discovered shortly after
o'clock and by 1880 o'clock was a mass of
ruins The hotel was provided with fire
escapes, and in front of the building, ex-
tending from the ground TO the roof, was
an escape built in a spiral fashion. 1t
was through this that many of the guests
got out. Many had narrow escapes. The
massive proof safe in the office contain
ed $4,000 in cash which the guests had de-
posted for safekeeping. The safe is in the
cellar completely covered with the burn
ing debris and it will not be known for
several days whether the valuables there
in are safe.
The guests were high in their praise of
the Monon Railroad. They boarded the
trains with absolutely nothing except the
few articles of wearing apparel they had
saved from the flames. The officials had
been notified of their destitute condition.
their tickets and money having been de-
stroyed and it was but a short time be-
fore message was received from the
general superintendent inviting all TO
proceed to Chicago or any other point of
their line free of charge.