Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-11-09
Series of What Appeared To Be
Incendiary Blazes Terrify
the Hotel Guests
FIVE: FIRES IN FEW HOURS
Occupants of Tenement Houses Be-
come Panic Stricken and Great Loss
of Life Threatened-For Time It
Was Feared an Attempt Wa. Being
Ms,de to Burn the City.

New York, Nov. 9.-One woman is
deaG, man is in the hospital suffering
from severe burns, two thousand per-
sons fled from their homes in panic,
and thousands more passed sleepless
night, as the result of a series of in
by s;ixtieth and Sixty first streets and
Columbus and West End avenues early
today Scores of persons whose lives
Were. endangered by the confagration
were rescued by the firemen. In all.
there were five fires, every one Of them
incendiary, between midnight and three
o'clock this morning.
The woman who lost her life was
Mrs. Caroline Swain, aged 20. She died
of heart failure, induced by fright. ADJ
rian Tompkins, who was severely burn
ed, was climbing down red hot fire
escape. The loss is about $4,000.
Frank Morris, of Boston, vaudeville
performer, was arrested on suspicion OF
setting the fires.
The police allege that in each fire
the tenants reported that when they
fled from their apartments, Morris was
the first person they met
The rapidly succeeding fires, the
crowds of evicted tenants, and terrify-
ing rumors spread thru the neighbor-
hood, with the constant appearance
and temperance of the fire engines,
and big squads Of police, raised the
people thruout the vicinity to a high
pitch of excitement, which did not les
sen until daylight brought measure
Of assurance that the incepdiarism was
stopped. For while the excitement
spread even to Broadway, and in the
Marie Antoinette Ansonia, Empire and
other big hotels in the neighborhood
of Lincoln square, the guests were
aroused by the commotion. In st.
Paul hotel, and Hotel Hudson, both
close to the fires, all the guests were
aroused and few slept any more.
All houses where the fires occurred
were flat houses Three of them were
occupied by whites, and two by ne
groes. Most of the tenants were in
bed when the fires broke out, and es-
capped to the streets in the scantiest
clothing. The first fire was in a five
story tenement house, at 103 West
Sixtieth street, occupied by five fam
lilies, all of whom escaped Mrs. Car.
olin.e Swain, the woman whose death
was caused by fright, lived in an ad-
Joining house and had been taken by
her daughter to a window, in prepara-
tion for flight from the house, when
She collapsed and died.
The firemeh were still. busy fighting
that fire; when a second blaze began
at 1877 West Sixtieth street, in a lot
of rubbish in the basement. All the
tenants escaped. At the third fire,
atC15 West Sixtieth street, there were
several narrow escapes, and daring
rescues of the tenants. William MUIR
ray, who lived on the third floor, car
riel out five of his children, and James
Smith, spectator, went into the house
and brought the sixth Murray child
down to a second floor window He
sidewalk. Another spectator caught
them both, and the child was unhurt.
An aged negro was carried out by 9TH
er spectators.
An hour later fourth fire was dis
covered a block north, at 249 West
Sixty-first street 1t was quickly ex-
t1nt5u1Sned. Ihe HItn, anu worst IRE,
was discovered at 10 West Sixty-first
street, while the street was still
thronged with frightened and excited
people. There were twenty depart
ments in the building and the escape
Of the occupants Of the upper floors
was cut off by the blaze in the lower
hail. The tenants were so dazed that
they were in danger of losing their
lives when policemen and fremen went
up on the fire escapes and brought
them down.
Adrian Tompkins, who lived on the
top floor, fingered SO long that he was
painfully burned while climbing down
the fire escape In each case the fire.
men quickly stopped the progress Of
the flames.