Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1917-05-14
TWO MEN PERISH
IN HOTEL BLAZE
Tulsa Man, Joseph Hall, Per-
isles in Fire at Stone
Bluff Sunday.
BURCH SAVES SMALL BOY
Charred Bones Recovered
From Ruins Indicate Two
More May Have Died.

Two men are known to have burned
to death. two others are thot to have
perlshed and several were Injured in
a fire which destroyed the hotel at
Stone Bluff, thirty miles southeast of
Tulsa on the Midland Valley, at 3
O'Clock Sunday morning, according
to long distance telephone reports to
Tulsa last night
Joseph Hall, SO, 654 North Chey-
enne, Tulsa, a rig building contractor,
and Charles Arnick OF Nashville,
Tenn. pipesetter. are the men al
ready identified as victims of the
flames. Bones and portions of
burned flesh, believed to be the re-
mains of two other men. were recovs
cred from the debris
Hall, who had resided in Tulsa for
seven years, is survived by a widow
and three children. Isadora, Dolly and
Joseph. jr. The body will be taken
to Warren, Ind, for burial after brief
funeral services this afternoon at 5
o'clock at the Stanley a McCuns
chapel
The body OF Hall was brought to
Tulsa last night and is being held
at Stanley ~ NcCunes place. Ar
nick's body was taken to Bixby and
probably will be taken back to Nash
Vile for interment
Stone Bluff could not be obtained
last night, as the building in which
the phone exchange was located was
almost entirely destroyed by the fire
Details of the tragedy were obtained,
however. from the Sinclair oil com
pany's private station near stone
Bluff Station.
Twenty Escape.
The fire in the two-story wooden
hotel structure started about 1880
O'Clock. according to the best reports
available, and more than a score of
guests were sleeping on the second
floor When the cry OF fire was
sounded by a woman sleeping on the
first floor flames already were shoot
ing from windows on the floor above.
The majority OF those in the building
were aroused in time to flee to safety,
but Hall. Arnick and the two uniden-
tilted men evidently did not awaken
until their rooms were engulfed In
| fire.
Burch Is Hero.
Heroic work by j. C. Burch, con-
nection foreman for the Sinclair COM
pany who was sleeping on the Sec
ond floor. resulted In the saving OF
two lives. When aroused. Burch
found fire all about him. He seized
~
was occupying and rushed down the
stairs TO safety. He learned that s.
B Lewis, so. bookkeeper In the store
below the hotel. was still in his room
above. Burch risked his life by again
mounting to the second floor and car
rled Lewis. already severely burned
about the hands and body to the out
side.
Fight the Cause.
The cause of the fire was not defi-
ntely established, but a woman who
was sleeping In the store below the
hotel. declared that a few minutes
before the blaze was discovered she
heard a scuffle above and believed
men were fighting. Altho participants
In fight could not be found, II Is
believed kerosene lamp might have
been overturned. starting the blaze.
No register was kept by the hotel
and II was not possible to check up
and learn who was on the second
floor at the time OF the fire. The
identity of the other two men thot
to have been burned to death cannot
be established for several days as
the result
The hotel and store building was
totally destroyed. The building in
which the telepohne office was To-
Gated, adjoining, was badly damaged.
Total loss is estimated at 100000.