El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-08-15

Mr.. and Mrs. Fred Crowder, Miss E.
/ h. Seamands, Joe WeIter and wife,
DIR. Thomas 4. Bray and wife and
Mrs. Lula Mattice occupied rooms on
the third floor. Mr.. and Mrs. w. VI.
! StockwelI also lived there and Mrs.
StOckweH had music studio. Every
| thing was lost.
Miss Mary ]. Stanton was another of
| the fire refugees on the third floor. She
| Is a guest at Hotel st. Regis. Miss
/ stanton lost all her personal posses
siOns in the disaster.
| HAS NARROW ESCAPE.
| j. v. Smith, who sleeps in the build
ing and also had offices there, says he
believes he would have been burned to
death, but his dog barked and awOke
him Just IN time to make his escape.
The American National bank and the
Calfsher Co., occupied all of the first
floor.
The building was insured for $50, 900.
1t was owned by Mrs. C. N BuckIer,
who Is absent in Long Beach, Cal.
HaWk ms Bros. are the agents.
The building cost $4,000.
The vault of the American National
bank is not damaged, according to
James Primm, assistant cashier.
Mayors Heroic Motive
According to the statements of the
men who were standing on the south
side or Texas street. opposite the burn
ing building, with mayor Robinson, the
chief executive met his death In a he
role effort to warn the FIVE hosemen
who Were playing on the fire in the
first floor Of the building through the
Texas street main entrance
J. l. MARI, J. Z. Sweeney and chief
city detective Stansel had been stand
Ing talking with the mayor on the
sidewalk when the wall was seen TO
bulge slightly as the cornice was
sawed in two by the fireman on top
of the aerial ladder. StanseI and Mari
told the mayor he should warn the
hOsemen of their danger. thinking that
he would call to them or order chief
Armstrong to have the pipemen come
away from under the wall. Instead
Of giving the order to the chief, the
mayor started across the street to
order the men back out of the danger
zone.
AS he started across the street the
little group that had been standing on
the sidewalk discussing the danger to
the. fremen broke up and Mr.. Mari
started home TO breakfast.
The Mayors Goodbye.
Il am going to breakfast now" he
called out Goodbye"
Goodbye" answered the mayor in
his familiar way. Those were the last
words he was heard to utter by men
outside the fire lines The hosemen
were in command Of assistant chief
Dave Sullivan. AS the falling bricks
from the cornice gave the first warn
ing Of the impending disaster. mayor
Robinson started to turn back out of
danger. but was caught under the
blanket of brick masonry. Firemen
Cook and Smith, two of the hJsemen
do6ged into the entran of the build
ing and escaped unhurt. Hoseman
ware ran in the same direction as the
mayor and was pinned beneath the tons
of debris alongside of the dead execu-
tive Fireman William Robinson and
assistant chief Sullivan were also PIN
Toned under the falling wall and seri-
ously though not fatally injured
The Bodies Rescued.
spectators who were standing along
MeSa avenue and at the lower end of
Texas street rushed to the rescue of
the men who had been caught under
the wall They dug franticalIy with
their hands and with pike poles RI
get the men free 1t was with difficulty
from the imprisoning timbers and
orlck Fireman Ware the blood
streaming from the cuts on his face
and head, was brought out first ard
la1d on the paving in the center of the
street. Mayor Robinson was next recov
ed and was abie to whisper his name
after he was made comfortable On the
street The mayors prostate form wa
lHe last u be taken from the ruins
rs GIothing was torn and his face
ured uashs
Bodies Removed.
Doctors had been summoned ana ha
gun extreme measures in an ,ffort 70 |
revive the two dead men, This wac co,,
tlnned for several minutes when a |
critical examination showed that both
mayor Robinson and fireman Ware
were dead A handkerchief was +ban
placed over the mayors face and he |
was taken away in an ambulance hts |
clothing wet from the water of the
street Ware and William Robinson |
remained on the paving for several |
minutes until another ambulance or.
rived 10 take them To the morgue and
cue hospital Assistant chief Sullivan
was able TO escape with the assistancs
VI lIenos and was hurried to the hos |
pltaI where his injuries were dressed /
The assistant chief was the Ieas+ t.
Jured of the men who were caneb+
by the falling wall. His right hand |
was BADLY cut and his head struck nv
a falling brick, inflicting a ser,ous
scalp wound. He was later taken
nome Fireman Robinson suffered a |
fractured nose. a dislocated shoulder. a
cut on the back Of the head and a num-
Der or bruises on the body.
Staten Describes Accident.
DR.. Burleson Staten. in describing |
the falling of the wall. said:
L had driven my horse down town
and was at the corner OF Oregon and
Texas streets, where I was forced TO |
stop on account of the crowd I looked |
up Texas street and saw large crowd |
under the wall that fell a few minute,
Ia ter
When I was first stopped by the
crowd the wall looked to me as II II |
was wavering and I was considerably
concerned over the fact that number
Of men. possibly dozen. were stand
Ing directly beneath IT
Without 81 warning the wall fell.
and IT is a mystery to me how all the /
men standing under 1t escaped injury"
Cause of Fire Unknown.
Fire marshal Henry F. Reynaud who
was in and around the building, stated |
Sunday morning that he thought the
FIRE originated in the basement among