Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1902-02-23

tai records snow rnar 20 peisons wcrv
taken to the New York and Bellevue
institutions. Nearly double that num-
Der were injured in their terror strick-
en- endeavors to escape and were Civ
en- medical aid on the spot. Of the
scores taken from the windows of the
third, fourth and fifth floors many
were slightly burned and were hysteri-
cal from shock.
OF the dead three were women.
Death in each instance was caused by
burns or suffocation, with one excep-
ton. One man jumped from the fifth
story window to the inner court. His
skull was crushed and death was in
Stantaneous.
When the fire started in the armory
scores of guests in the Park Avenue
hotel were awakened by the clang of
the engines and crowded to the hotel
windows. 1t was about As minutes af-
ter the flames were discovered in the
armory before they spread to the ho-
tel, but in spite of this many of the
guests were in their rooms dressed in
their night clothes and some of them
were in bed. The f1remen, as soon as
they learned that the hotel was in dan
ger, decided to devote all their eff
forts to the rescue of it's occupants.
Men and women appeared at the win
dows of the Park avenue side Of the
hotel and called for help.
Alabaman and Wife Perish.
Mrs. Charlotte Bennett and her hus-
band, Harold of Alabama, stood on a
ledge on the fourth floor just over the
portico over the main entrance to the
hotel. Mr.. Bennett was terror stricken
and screamed again and again for
some one to rescue them. The hus-
band grasped his wife, and from the
crowd of thousands gathered there
were shouted warnings not to jump.
When it was seen that Mrs. Bennett
was determined to jump the firemen
gathered in a circle and stretched out
their arms. With final desperate eff
fort Mrs. Bennett wrenched herself
free from her husbands grasp, and
with a piercing scream flung herself
into the arms of the waiting firemen
five stories below. When she jumped
from the ledge on which she and her
husband had stood the flames were
licking out of the window behind her
and around her form. The inside of
the room was all in flames. Mrs. Ben
nett struck in the arms of the fire
men. Her weight caused them to sag
and the woman struck the pavement.
She was terribly burned about the
body. She was carried into the hotel
by fireman and later taken to Belle
vue hospital, where she died. Her
husband, when Mrs. Bennett jumped
fell back into the room. He was not
seen afterwards and it is believed that
he was burned or suffocated to death.
How the fire started in the hotel is
a mystery. Many of the police and
fire officials declare that in their opin-
ion the blaze in the hotel was entire
ly independent of that Of the armOry;
that it was only coincidence that two
fires occurred so near together. 1t was
established, with a fair degree of GER
tainty today that the fire at the Park
avenue hotel originated at the base of
the north elevator shaft From this
point it crept up to the fifth and sixth
floors and spread in every direction,
completely cutting the upper floors.
The Park Avenue hotel was built by
A. T. Stewart, who spent $3,000,000 on
its construction and furnishings.