The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-02-21
NINE BURNED
 INA HOTEL The Building a Veritable
 Fire Trap. MANY ARE BADLY HRT Forced to Jump Into Frozen
 Street. Delegates to State Convention of the Y. M. c. A. in Cedar Rapids. Ia., for the Most Part
 the Victims.
MANY ARE BADLY HR1

Cedar Rapids. 1a.. Feb. 20.-Fire early this morning destroyed the Clifton Hotel. cremated nine of the guests and caused injuries to forty-two persons. who were sorched or forced to jump to the frozen street from second and third story win dows. After an all day search in the debris. four bodies have been recovered. It is now believed that five more bodies remain in the ruins of the hotel which is said to have been fiimsy structure filled with delegates to the State Y. M. c. A.. Convention and the District Convention of the Knights of Pythias. The hotel reg ister was destroyed, thus making it dif- ficult to ascertain the names of missing persons.
 The Dead and Injured.
 The dead-W. A. Mowery. Thatcher, la; E. G. Young, Minneapolis; two un- identified men; five bodies still in debris.
 The injured-Vina Burns, head waitress jumped from third story; L. c. Burnett, Nebraska City. Neb.. badly burned; Sim da Williams, Lizzie Kelly, F. c. Outing, Center Point, la; Emma Smith, H. w. Bremen. Lyons, la; F. P. Moore, Chi cago; Beatrice Netolicky. Shueyville. la. i; J. U. Winniger, Waterloo; J. E. Ander- son, Chicago; A. s. Darrow, Boone, la. {; F. G. Gardiner, Good Burnia. E. F. Fay Tor. Davenport, la: Louis Thompson, Ce- dar Rapids, Ia.; A. M. Larsen, Oelwein; c. w. Roberts. Cedar Rapids; T. T. overton, Delta. la; May Reel, N. P. Hoover, Tama. la: T. P Hally. Canton, H.; J. A. FIar. Davenport; c. L. Bene- dict body burned; G. P. Harris, Decorah, Ia.; F. O. Redmond, mail clerk, Tama, Ia.; N. o. Templeton. Monticello, la George Taggart, St. Paul; James Lewis. eolored rorter: F. M. Gardner, Wood agrn- ta..s b. s. Taylor. Davenport, ,Ia.; J. M. Dunbar, Monticello: John w. Lewis. Ottumwa, Ia, bruised: Dr. S. c. Grove, Cedar Rapids. terribly burned while hanging to fire escape, probably fa- tai. P. E. Strickland. Clinton, Ia, jumped from third story window. probably fatal; Celia Williams. c. F. Humburg, Leroy, Minn.; R. c. McConahy. Aurora. H.: O. J. Lamb, Center Point. Ia.; c. A. Rose man. Independence. Ia; F. A. Chase.
 Building a Fire Trap.
 The hotel a three-story brick veneer structure is said to have been a verita- ble fre-trip. The flames started in d pile of rubbish in the basement, presum- ably ignited by defective electric light wires. The night clerk was on the third floor when the cry of Are raised by a bell boy, startled him. He took up the cry and In an instant the railways were choked with frightened guests. rush was made for the stairways. It was then that the crowd already collected in the street heard heart-rending cries of an guish and desperation, for the Are. feed ing ravenously on the tinder-like material of the lower floor. had completely cut of escape.
 There followed stampede for the win dows, the only means of exit left The street below was now filled with a crowd scarcely less frantic than tho despairing ones in the fast burning building
 Tt was like a Dore picture of the in ferno sprung to life" said one spectator In describing the scene. ''The flames. looking blood red from reflection against the snow. lit up the pale, drawn faces of the people In the windows with glow that was uneartnly."
 The victims were literally driven by the flames to jump. Nearly every one of them fingered to the last moment, urged by the people below to wait as long as possible in the hope of assistance. Then a cry would tell that the fire had reached hem or the smoke had made it impossi- be to breath, and one after another jumped, some to the street and some more fortuI ate to the roofs of buildings adjoln- ing,
 All in Night Garments.
 Tn short space of time the street was filed with men and women, bruised bat tered broken-limbed and balf-crazed. All were in their night garments
 In an hour St. Luke's Hospital con- t9ined fifteen injured, while many more. chiefly those who had escaped with com paratively slight injuries, were being cared for in buildings near the scene of the tragedy Some who jumped owe their lives to the fact that their falls were broken by telegraph wires which inter- posed in their downward flight.
 number of thn guests who were able to converse calmly following their es- cape, declared that they stumbled ove- p' ostrate bodies as they rushed to the windows. The flames were literally chas- ing them and the smoke made 1t almost inn Cssble 10 breathe.
 The proprietor of the hotel pllced his estimate of the number of people in the building at between seventy and eighty. Many of them were delegates to the State convention of the Young Mems Christian Association, which began here yester- day
 Those who were first to escape. and wo~e not too severely injured stood for sometime barefooted in the snow.