The semi-weekly messenger., 1907-11-26
LIVES LOST IN FIRE
IS Persons Burned to Death
in Tenement House
SEVEN WERE CHILDREN
Fire Thought TO Have Been Work
of lnCendiaries
Bodies Found iii Pile on Top Floor Of
BuiIding-Had Been Driven From
Lower Floor by Rush OF FLAMES.
Mother Makes Desperate Effort to
Save Life of Baby.

New York, November 25.-Thirteen
persons lost their lives and several
others were injured early TODAY In
tencL-eut house ire at lO5th street
and Second avenue. All the dead were
ItaiIans. Seven OF the thirteen were
children. The bodies were found hud-
died together in rooms on the top floor
Of the four story building, where the
terror stricken people had been driv-
eli Dy the flames which rushed up
from the lower floors. They had
Succumbed before they could reach
windows which led to the fire escapes
Some had been enveloped in flames
and burned alive Others, overcome
by smoke, were spared the agonies OF
AaUh in the flames.
That the fatal fire was the work
of incendiaries who sought revenge
is the opinion of the police and fire
n2&h who made the first hasty exami
naROn. Three weeks ago three Ital1-
ans were caught in the act OF at
tempting to rob a safe in the saloon
of Giuseppe CudanO, on the ground
floor. The safe contained over $4,000
which the saloon keepers friends had
withdrawn from banks during the
money panic. The would be robbers
were arrested and are now awaiting
trial The fire today started in Gu
danos saloon and the police believe
it may have been the work of friends
of the prisoners who took this means
Of squaring the account with the sa-
loon keeper.
Cudano discovered the fire when he
went down to open his place of bus
mess early this morning.
AS be opened the door he was met
by a,4ush of flame and without wait
hng a moment to investigate dashed
UP the stairs to the tenements above,
crying out for the occupants Of the
building to run for their lives. When
he reached the rooms occupied by his
own family he burst in the door and
seizing his young son DomOnio in --4s
arms told Mrs. Cudano and other
members of the family to follow. Gu
dano and the boy managed to find
their way down the stairs to the street
but before the women could get
through the flames had cut off all exit
Not a single person was seen to ap-
pear at any of the windows of the
blazing building with the exception of
those on the second floor, from which
several persons reached the fire es-
cape and were rescued. After the
flames had been partially checked,
firemen fought their way through the
smoke to the upper floors. There
they came upon piles of the dead
where they had fallen victims to the
rush of flames and smoke even be-
I fore they had a chance to attempt to
save themselves. In one Of the heaps
the firemen found a woman who had
made one last desperate effort to save
the life of her baby even when she
knew that she, herself, was doomed
to a horrible death. She had folded
her arms tightly around the little one
andkhen huddled down close to the
f1ooC her own body protecting that OF
the child. The mothers body was
badly burned. That of the child bore
scarcely mark, but it was dead from
suffocation. On every side of
mother and child lay the bodies o.
other victims