The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1901-10-29
OTHERS LEAP TO CERTAIN DEATH
Nineteen of the One Hundred People Employed in
Eight Story Furniture Establishment
Known to Be Dead.

Philadelphia, Oct. 25.--Nineteen
known dead and property loss amount
ing to upwards to $500, 900 is the aw-
full result Of a fire which occurred
today in the business section Of the
city. The number Of injured is not
known definitely, but fully a score Of
victims were treated at various hos
pitfalls.
Police and firemen are tonight delv-
ing into the ruins in search Of bodies
supposed to have been buried beneath
the debris as it is feared that others
beside the known dead may have lost
their lives in the flames.
The buildings destroyed were the
eight story structure 1919 and 1921
Market street, occupied by Hunt, Will
kinson & Co., upholsterers and fur
niture dealers, and three three-story
buildings occupied by small merchant.
men. The big furniture building ex-
tended back a half block to Com
MERGE street and was owned by
Henry c. Lea.
List of Known Dead.
DOROTHY KRAMER.
MARTHA BAKER.
MARGARET HEBDON.
SUSAN GERMLEY.
HARRY HOUSE.
II. A.. SPARROW.
CHARLES e. SPARROW.
FRED WELLINGTON.
CHARLES LANDS.
j. e. ARMSTRONG.
WALTER STEARLY.
MRS. MARTHA BANKS, colored.
MRS. MARY MITCHELL, colored.
MARGARET GRADY.
One unknown white woman, one
of whom is supposed to be Margaret
Grady.
One unknown colored woman sup
posed to be named Wilson.
Three unknown white men.
Never in it's history has Philadel-
phia experienced a fire which spread
with such great rapidity.
Started in Furniture Store.
At 1920 o'clock this morning the
blaze broke forth in the building &C.
cupied by Hunt, Wilkinson & Co,
and one hour later the terrible sac
rifice of life had been made and the
immense loss Of property had been
accomplished.
The origin Of the death dealing
confagration is unknown. 1t is said
that an explosion of naphtha or gaso-
line in the basement was the cause,
but this is denied by Mr.. Wilkinson
who says there never was a suffici
ent quantity of either explosive about
the building to be responsible for to-
days terrible disaster. Rumors has
it, also that an elevator conductor, at
work in the basement, permitted the
flame Of his lantern to communicate
with some Of the gaseous liquids stor.
ed in the basement and that this was
the Of the confagration.
Died In Sight Of Crowd.
Such a disastrous fire attended
with SO great a loss of life in such
a brief period was never before
known in this city. Men and women
died a lingering, agonizing death in
the presence Of thousands Of spec
tators who were unable to lift a hand
to their assistance.
The rear of Hunt, Wilkinson &
Co.'s building faces on Commerce
street, a small th%oroughfare. On the
fire escapes at this end of the build
ing two men and a oma were slow
ly roasted to death while the horror.
stricken throng on the street below
turned sick at the sight. In the front
on Market street, a woman, driven to
desperation leaped from a window on
the top floor and was dashed to death
on the pavement.
These are but a few Of the heart.
rendering scenes attending the con.
flagration. 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
II this be SO, little or nothing remains
of these victims and it is doubtful
if any portion of their bodies will
be recovered.
Engineer Missing.
Seventy-nine of the 100 persons in
Hunt, Wilkinson & Co.'s building
when the fire started were employees