New-York tribune., 1901-09-04
CHINESE KILLED AT FIRE.
EXCITEMENT IN PELLST-SHRINE OF
CONFUCIUS UNINJURED IN
GENERAL RUIN.

In fire which was discovered at 7:25 a. m.
yesterday in the four story brick building at
No 1e Peli-st.. three Cinnamon lost their lives.
The damage was about S25eo0 The dead are;
caONG HO NOW instantly killed by jumping from the
balcony the third floor Of the building
LEE CFIONG GUNG. nfty-two years old. a wei known
6nn % -, he to Tnor either slffocated by smoke
drowned by falling headfirst into six inches OF water
Song w CHING. found dead in his bunk on the top
hoor asphyxiated.
The fire started in the kitchen Of the Chinese
restaurant. on the second floor. Smoke rolled
up through the house. awakening the Cinnamon
asleep on the two upper floors, occupied by a
Chinese Masonic lodge. There was a shrine OF
Confucius on the fourth floor. On the tnlro
floor three men were sleeping They were Moy
Han Lee 10y and ing Chu. Moy Han was the
first to be awakened by the smoke. He ran
through the floor shouting TO the dwellers there
Then he ran 10 one Of the front windows. all OF
which were open, and cried 'Fo Chu!" at the
TOD Of his voice This is the Chinese for fire"
OF danger" and il had electrical effect on
the Chinese living in the adjoining building
and across Pell-st.
An alarm was turned in from the Bowery and
Bayard-st A second alarm followed the ar
rival Of the fremen. Deputy Chief Duane sent
in a third alarm within ten minutes from the
time the fire was discovered. The neighborhood
is a tangled mass of crooked streets. and the
crowds which quickly gathered. AT the Bowery
there are a number of lodging houses, and these
poured out their quota OF excited men, The
Chinatown tenement houses were enptied. and
the crowds extended so far up and down the
Bowery that they stopped the electric cars
In the mean time Moy had alarmed nearly
al the tenants of the upper floors. Chang no
Now came down from the floor above and sought
refuge with his companions on the balcony IN
front OF the third floor, which runs clear across
the building and connects with the fire escapes.
Chong Ho Now, il is supposed, was affected by
the smoke so that he lost his nerve, and in
spite Of the warnings of the people in the
street he jumped from the balcony. He fell
upon his head and was instantly killed.
The others managed TO make their way down
Nhe fire escapes to the street.
The adjoining house, Nos. - and II Pell-st.
contained about sixty tenants, including thirteen
white women. They ran 70 the roof or 10 the
,stairways, and so found their way to the street
after a great deal of screaming and excitement
Mamie Burke and Nellie Cook. who tainted, were
carried out by Fireman Slavin.
Similar scenes were enacted in the four story
'tenement house the other side OF the burnlng
building, at No Is Pell-st.
After the smoke had cleared away Captain
Howe and several iremen went into rear room
where there We're a number Of hunks, on the top
floor. In this room they discovered two China
men, apparently dead. One Of them lay in a
bunk with a blanket over his head. The other
the floor, where he had evidently fallen
from his bunk The head Of the latter lay in
six inches Of water which covered the floor and
a was thought that while unconscious from
smoke poisoning, this man had rolled out Of his
bunk and had fallen into the water, where he
mad drowned. Assisted by the Rev. Mr. Walkley,
the Protestant chaplain Of the department, the
1remen tried artificial respiration and such other
means Of restoring consciousness as they knew,
but without avail. When Surgeon BeckWith, or
the Hudson Street Hospital, arrived, he said the
snen had been dead for half hour.
Chong Ho Now. the man who jumped from the
balcony was also known as Sing Cue. He was
the most important witness for the State against
Mock Dock and Dong Sue. highbinders, now in
the Tombs awaiting trial for being concerned In
the murder OF An Fee in front Of No. IL Pell-st
about a year ago. Mr. GarVan said yesterday
that In spite OF the death of Sing Cue he would
be able to convict the highbinders.
A remarkable fact, and one which was re-
earded with much awe by the Cinnamon. was
that the shrine Of Confucius, on the top floor,
was scarcely blackened. The flames burned and
charred everything around II, but the shrine
was practically untouched.