The Washington times., 1902-04-04
Continued from First Page.)

Hundreds of guests in hotels far away
from the burning district did not stop
at packing up. They bundled themselves
and their belongings into carriages and
wagons and went of peil nell TO the
railroad station, where they took trains
for Philadelphia and New York.
Moved to Other Hotels.
Some few CT those who were rendered
temporarily shelterlcss by the burning of
the hotels in which they were staying
moved quietly over tc other hotels, and
are here tonight. with no intention OF
having their stay at Atlantic City cut
short by little burning up of an acre or
SO of the town.
The vast majority, however. of those
who were turned cut OF the hotels by the
fire made for the railroads, and the out
going trains all the afternoon were laden
to their utmost capacity. II was scene
of exodus like those witnessed here at the
close of Sunday in the height of the
summer rush.
The first known CT the fire was a little
after 10 o'clock this morning when there
arose drift of smoke from behind the
Hotel Tarleton. The lighthouses of the
hotel are back there. and it is supposed
the fire started in them.
Somebody who ran cut Of the Tarleton
when the flames were discovered said a
gasolene stove in the Tarleton kitchen
had exploded. AS yet no investigation
has been made by the authorities to de-
termine which of these stories is correct
The fire, driven as ii was by the fifteen
mile-an- hour wind. went rapidly through
the first floor of the hotel, to which it
quickly communicated. Quick as II was
the proprietor and his clerks had passed
ha hx lnrt
structure to the guests and employees.
1t was fortunately the hour Of the morn
ing at which there were fewer people in
the hotels than at any other hour of the
day. The conduct of the Tarletcn people
in respect to the quick and lively warning
of their guests was the forerunner of the
same vigilance shown all along the beach
by other hotel keepers.
Proud of Its Fire Fighters.
Atlantic City is justly proud of its fire
fighting force and its equipment. People
came pouring out of the Tarleton and the
Windsor, which adjoined it on the wind
ward side. The wind swept smoke
brands. and cinders in an ever growing
cascade, over the board walk and down to
the beach.
Meantime the Tarleton had blazed I'D
from the bottom TO the top, and as the
nnderpinning and the lower floors were
destroyed fell in upon itself with a great
roar and bursting up of sparks.
The fire began to eat into the Windsor
against the force of the wind. The fire.
men abandoned the Tarleton and bent
themselves successfully TO the task of
beating out the fire there. Fire Chief
Weisepthal had called out his whole force
almost as soon as he arrived at the burn
ing Tarleton-
While the Windsor was being saved
fires had started in four or five other
places to the leeward. Sparks and brands
and blazing volumes of gas went flying
Gown the wind to hotels along Kentucky
Avenue. block away.
Here were the Luray the New Holland,
and the Norwood. The Luray was an i'm
Inense hotel with rooms for 300 or more
people.
Engines From Other Cities.
Chief weisenthal sent despatch to the
chiefs of Camden and Philadelphia call
ing for aid. and within an hour a special
train had brought five engines and hose
carts from Camden and Philadelphia Be-
sides the fremen were number of ply
sicians and surgeons from the Philadel-
phia hospitals. The train made the
fifty-six miles in ffty-two minutes.
While the flames were jumping 800 and
400 feet along the board walk and across
lots the buildings in between, structures
less pretentious, most OF them and less
substantially built, blazed up without
starting at any particular kindling
The blaze was not moving in way
that can be successfully chronicled. 1t
simply whirled along. Now, stopping
until the fremen began 10 fight with the
desperate conviction of men who see the
end in sight, and now dipping out of its
grim cloud to lick up a whole cluster of
small board walk booths at swoop.
The leap from the burning Tarleton to
The Luray took the Luray and the Nor
wood and New Holland, behind ii. with
startling surprise. Most of the guests of
he Luray los. everything they had III
Atlantic City, except the clothes on their
persons.
Musicians Were Crazed.
Some Q. the hotel musicians running
ayay in the first Ianic-stricken rush came
hack TO save their Instruments. Some of
them got into the burning hotel before
they could be stopped Several were Sc
riously burned For that matter, nearly
everybody within hundred yards OF any
OF the burning buildings at any time was
more or less scorched and hurt.
AT noon the special from Camden ar
rived, with its fat car load OF fire en-
sines and its coaches full OF surgeons,