The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1904-04-21
The Occidental Hotel, lndianapo-
lis, Ind, Was Quilted Early
Sunday Morning.
Inee &c rerlmlrrn At err nnn
L~o0 ~ IofEHrfLu ~ VISi"Vv
Flames Broke Out In the ST. Vincent
Hospital and a Panic Among
Inmates Took Place.
Patients Who Had Just Undergone op-
erstions Rushed Frem Their BEDS
and Tried to Throw Them
selves From Windows.

Indianapolis. Ind. April 1s.-Fire.
which for almost two hours threatened
10 destroy tho principal retail district.
was discovered at an early hour Sun
day morning in the Occidental hotel
Every ERE company in the city. as well
az those from the outlying suburbs.
was summoned. The house was filled
with guests and a panic was narrowly
avor;ed. There were many narrow IS
capes from the flames and sunocation.
the inmates being compelled to leave
the building clad only In their night
robes. Tho hotel. watch front for half
a block on Illinois street south Of
Washington. Is valued at 800. 900 and
IS Quilted. The loss Is estimated ~
$4,000.
While the city FIRE department was
being taxed 20 its almost fighting he
Occidental hotel IRE Sunday morning
an alarm was turned Ia from St Vim
cents hospital when the first IRE
company arrived one life had been
lost. and several were seriously injur-
ed in the panic that followed.
At every window. on the third and
fourth floors. were crowded the panic
stricken men and women. screaming
for help 70 hose on tho street below
who were FOR more than 90 minutes
prevented from entering the building
because Of tho dense smoke.
The panic that ragged on the third
and fourth floors continued until long
after the FIRE had been ~quenched. Pa
tients who lad just undergone surgical
operations rushed from their beds tC
the windows and attempted to throw
themselves 20 the ground. Harriet
Leahy. an old employe Of the hospital
lcaped from a window on the fourth
floor n when picked M was dead.
In the rear mon and women were
making ropes OF bed clothing by which
they escaped 10 the ground below
Katherine Beach. less fortunate thar
the rest. lost her hold and fell from
tho third floor and Is now IN a criuca
! condition from Internal injuries sus
tanned.
As an unusual number OF surgica
operations wcro performed in the hos
pitai on Saturday nan OF the paticnts
T. carried from their beds by the reset
7 ers. were In a critical condition an
{ the physicians IN charge fear TIA
many factalities may cnsue The pa
5 TENTS were carried 90 the male ware
which IS on the FIRST floor. and was no
seriously affected by the panic whic
ragged IN the upper floors improvlse
A., cots and mattresses were brought int
use and a general call for medical al
sistance sent throughout the cit
Within a short time about a huudrc
physicians arrived and the patient
were cared for.
Henry Nichols. who underwent a
operation for appendicitis a few hour
: before the outbreak Of the fire. jumpe
from his bed and ran down four hiehl
Of stairs into the street His conditio
Is critical.
James Dawson. an emaciated pauen
worked h~eroicaliy among the PAM
stricken men and on the thii
floor. One after another he pulls
= away from the windows. those WI
; we're preparing 70 jump 20 the sire
below and piioted them through q
smoke to places OF safety on the hr
floor. After saving % nurses and p
tiepts from possible injury. In N
manner he lost consciousness and vi
carried into the male ward where me
ical attention was given him. For
time e was thought hat he could n
undergo the terrible strain 20 wal
he had been subjected.