Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1906-01-18
TEN PERSONS KILLED
SCORE OF OTHERS MORE OR LESS
INJURED IN FIRE AT WEST
HOTEL, MINNEAPOLIS.

frightened People Leap to Their
Death in Frantic Efforts to Escape
and Others Are SuHocated in THEFT
Rooms-Rlaze Confined to the Tor
Floor and the Property Loss Is Not
Over $4,000.
Minneapolis. Jan. 11.-Ten persons
dead from s~uifocation or from leaping
from a freproof building, 3 score OF
people more or less injured by having
their hands cur and gashed from
smashing in windows. q magnificent
property subjected to the rayages OF
fire. smoke and water, is an e9itome
OF the great disaster which befell the
West hotel at T:2o O'clock a. II. The
dead are:
CAPTAIN JOHN BERWIN. Truck
No. !. fell from the fourth floor TO the
Fifth street sidewalk while attempting
10 save Mrs. Barlow's life.
". &. NICKELS. Minneapolis Cham
Der OF Commerce. s%ufocated in his
room.
THOMAS SOMERVILLE, travelling
man. Springfield. H., %suffocated in his
room.
j. Z. WOLFE. Northwestern agent OF
Sperry q Alexander Hardware com.
pany of New York, sufocated in his
room.
CLINTON B. LAMME. travelling
man, New York, %suffocated in his
room.
j. P. PEISINGER, travelling man
New York, jumped from a seventh.
story window.
MRS. II. E. HODGES, Minneapolis,
jumped from a se%venth-story window.
WILLIAM BLACK, New York, sui.
located in his room.
MRS. SAMUEL SPEISBERGER
Chicago, found in room after fire, over
come by smoke: died in hospital.
w. S. AMSDEN, superintendent Min.
nesota and Northern elevator, inhaled
smoke and fame, died in hospital.
The fire in itself was Insignificant
being confined to the elevator shaft
and the top floor in the corner of the
building, but the wild excitemen,
which followed the first alarm hurried
people into halls and out upon window
Lodges in a frantic attempt to save
themselves.
The Work of Rescue.
Following the first alarm the depart
ment was quickly on the scene and the
splendid work of rescue began. AL
though the hour was early, hundred:
of people %thronged the streets ant
gazed up at the great hotel, whose
windows were alive with guests fran
tically watching the fremen below
and yelling TO them to hurry. Here
and there men yer crouched on the
Lodges of windows, ready to obey the
insane impulse Of self-preservatio1
The crowd realized this and from
thousand Threats the cry continual,
went up Don't jump, don't jump I
was lucky that this advice was givel
for several men declared afterWarc
that they would certainly have mad,
the leap if the crowd had not en-
couraged them to hold on.
There were innumerable escapes b,
guests in almost every part Of thu
building who were partially overcome
by the smoke or who lost their way il
the confusion incident to getting GU
of a building filled with smoke. Some
of these personal experiences SHOW
real heroism.
The full extent OF the tragedy en-
acted throughout the hotel was no
known at first. 1t was thought tina
the casualties were confined 10 thos,
that the crowd witnessed from tn
street, the death Of Captain John Der
win and the unfortunate man and VIC
man who leaped to death in the allie,
toward Sixth street. But the momen
the department got the blaze unde,
control and the smoke cleared, a hur
ried search from cellar to garnet of the
big property showed a score of vic
Tins more or less overcome b. smoke
The fire loss will not go over $50,
900, although the catastrophe was on
of the worst yer experienced in thi!
city.
ANHcI INE rnhrikIlEc