The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1906-01-12
FIRE AND PANIC--
DEATH FOR II.
West Hotel at Minneapolis Scene
Of Terrible Disaster..Escape
Cut Off.
TWO HUNDRED GUESTS PANIC
Stricken. Blaze Swept Up Eleva.
tor Shaft and Filled Big Struc.
ture With Smoke.

ture With 9mOke.
CAPTAIN JOHN BERWIN of
Truck /, fell from the fourth floor to
the Fifth street sidewalk. Was at
tempting to save Mrs. Barlow's life
at the time.
W. u. NICHOLS of the chamber
of commerce, suffocated in bis room
on the sixth floor.
j. E. WOLFE, Northwestern
agent OF the Sperry & Alexander
Company of New York, suffocated
in his room on the seventh floor.
CLINTON E. LAMME, West Point
cadet, whose home is at Bozeman,
Mont, suffocated in room 761.
j. B. PEISN1GER, travelling man
from New York, jumped from the
seventh story window on the south
side of the building
MRS. ME-. HODGES Minneapolis,
jumped from the seventh story win
dow on the south side of the build
ing. Was an employe OF Prof.
Schryver, Sykes building.
WILLIAM BLACK, travelling
man, New York, suffocated in his
room.
Eight persons are dead, three so
seriously injured that they may not
survive, and fifteen others are more
or less burned, bruised or cut as the
result Of a fire in the West hotel at
Minneapolis Wednesday morning
that has left scarcely trace of it
destructive work upon the exterior
of the building.
For nearly two hours the flames
ragged inside and dense smoke filed
every room and corridor in the
upper portion of tho house but even
at that time the full seriousness of
the fire was not apparent from the
outside, and after the tire depart
ment had conquered in it's short but
terrible fight, casual glance from
the street would not have discovered
any change in the appearance of
the handsome and massive structure
that has been the pride of Mime
apolis for many years.
Beside the loss of life and injury
of persons, there is included in the
terrible cost of this fire property
destruction that is roughly estimated
at $50, 900, although the exact figures
probably will not he obtainable for
some days to come.
The fire started about 7:15 in the
morning before most of the guests
had left their beds, and in that
respect was as serious as though it
had been at night. The first notiti-
cation of danger was given to one
of the clerks behind the desk by one
of the bellboys, who had discovered
blaze at the base of the shaft of
the passenger elevator, near the
Fifth street entrance.
H. F. Leach, the clerk who was
first notified, and Denny Conry,
chief clerk, at once set about notify
ing the guests of their danger. An
alarm was sent to the fire depart
ment, and the girls at the telephone
switchboard and the call board were
instructed to send the fire Signals to
every room; but rapidly az this
was done, the fire worked with still
greater rapidity and many of the
wires we're destroyed before they
had served their purpose.
Awakened suddenly from their
sleep to find themselves enveloped
in impenetrable smoke and threat
ened by dangers the extent of which
they could not learn, even those
who we're in no imminent peril be-
came crazed by fear and fled to the !
windows as their only hope of
safety. There they crouched upon
the narrow sllls or stood leaning
far out to breathe the purer air.
Two Of the unfortunate ones who
were penned in by smoke and fire
on the seventh floor jumped from