Omaha daily bee., 1906-01-11
ZEE PERSONS KILLED BY FAILING
Fire Captain Loses His Life While Saving
Aged Woman.
I'VE sUrFocArED IN THEIR ROOMS
Fire Starts at Foot Of Elevator and Spreads
to Upper Floors.
HALLS INSTANTLY FILLED, WITH SMOKE
Several Guests and Servants Pare
TALLY sunocsted and Two Are
In Critical Condition-Loss
About $4,000.

MINNEAPOLIS. Jan. 1o-Eight person,
are dead from suffocaton or from leaping
from windows and score OF people were
more or less injured as a result OF fire
in the West hotel this morning.
The dead
CAPTAIN JOHN BERwIN of Truck No.
street sidewalk, while attempting to save
W. a. NiCKEfS. Minneapolis chamber
OF commerce, suffocated In his room on the
sixth floor.
Mass. suffocated in his room on the sixth
]. f. WOLF, New York, sufocated in
CLINTON B. IAMSiE. New York. sufro-
Gated IN Ps 2R the Mew YGrk mmped
MRS. NJ. f. HODGES, Minneapolis,
jumped from the seventh story window,
in room.
The seriously injured are:
Mr.. and Mrs. Samuel speisberger. Chi
cago, overcome by smoke.
Mary Rowan, maid at the hotel. over
n. s. Ansdem superintendent Minneapolis
and Northern Elevator company. seriously
Gordar c. sapp Chicago. overcome by
smoke.
Ben w. swisly Chicago. overcome by
Mrs b. d. Barlow. Los Angeles. injured
while being rescued by Captain John Ber-
win condition critical
Alice Lard, maid in hotel, injured by
jumping to roof OF Unique building.
Fire Starts q Panic.
The fire. which is supposed to have been
started by crossed electric light wires, was
in itself Insignificant being confined to the
elevator shaft and the top floor in the
corner of the building, but the wild excite
ment which followed the first a.arm hurried
people into the. halls and out on window
lodges in frantic attempts to save them
selves. There was really no help for
several who lost their lives. The wood in
the elevator shaft burned like tinder and
sheet of flame twenty feet wide. mount
ing to the seventh story. frightened the
guests out OF their senses.
It was the huge volume Of smoke that
stampeded the guests. as the moment a
door was opened the room was f,lied with
smoke and the panic-stricken guests were
compelled to beat out the windows to pre-
vent instant suffocation.
Many used their hands against the
windows, others their feet and in almost
every instance ugly wounds resulted.
Following the first alarm the fire depart
ment was quickly on the scene and the
work of rescue began.
The full extent Of the tragedy which had
been enacted throughout the house was
not known at first as II was thought that
the casualties were confined TO those which
the crowd witnessed from the street, the
death of Captain Berwin and the unfortu-
nate man and woman who leaped to death
in the alley toward Sixth street At the
moment the department got the fire under
control a hurried search from cellar to
tl,n III .k-
of victims, more or less overcome by
smoke. The fire loss will not be over
$4,000.
Death of Captain Berwtn.
Caught like rats in trap several of those
who are now dead laid down in their rooms
to be slowly smothered and burned to
death. Others. more heroic. attempted to
escape by way of the fire escape. Captain
John Berwin. who lost his life in saving
the life of Mrs. B. d. Barlow of Los An
geles, Cal, was one of the first firemen to
climb into the burning building. Ascending
to the seventh floor on. scaling ladder
he stumbled upon the unconscious form
of Mrs. Barlow. The aged woman had
groped her way to the stairway, only to
succumb to the smoke.
Strapping the limp body to his back
Berwin pushed out onto the window ledge
to carry his burden down the ladder Be-
tween the seventh and sixth aoorL the
strap broke. Bending over to balance the
body OF the woman a moment the fireman
leaned forward at the risk OF his life and
gathering himself for a supreme effort
hurled the woman toward a projecting
ledge on the floor below. Mrs. Barlow had
been revived by the cold air and she
grasped the projection and held on In
Uta he q. -
balance and was dashed to his death on
the pavement Mrs. Barlow was rescued
by another fireman.
]. b. Peisniger, a travelling man from
New York, TO the seventh story
window. Apparently dazed. ne climbed up
onto the window sill and an instant later
was turning and tumbling through the air
lie struck %he railing near the HennepIn
avenue side of the hotel and was literally
cut In two.
Word has been received over the private
wire of the Van Dorm Grain company at the
Omaha Board of Trade that a Miss Mable
Larson Of Omaha was among the killed
The list of killed shows a Miss Mabal
Larson, but does not say she is from
Omaha. Someone who declined to give mia
or the young woman's name called up The
Bee by telephone TO ask II word had yet
been received of the death OF Miss Mable
Larson. He added that Larson was not the
right name OF the young woman from
Omaha, whose death is feared. but that her
hrst name was Mable He said she went
up to Minneapolis for the holidays, assunl-
ing the name Of Larson. He did not know
that she was stopping at the West hotel.
/ J. II. Hubert. bailiff In Judge Estelie's
department OF the district court, received
word that his nephew. William 8. Amsden,
was injured I'm the fire. but the report can
not be confirmed. He and his brother are
in the elevator business, the latter, c. NJ
Amsden. being president OF the Minneapolis
& Northern Elevator company Almost
simultaneously. with the receipt of the
news from MINNEAPOLIS. Mr. Hubert was
advised of the death In Los Angeles OF his
sister. and mother OF the Amsden boys.
Mrs Sarah X. Amsden. which occurred
Tuesday night. C.. NJ. Amsden was Will
his mother when death sasusA.