Show lincoln hotel proved a death trap for many guests they were unable to escape and were suffocated by dense clouds of smoke A few threw themselves to the pavement and were killed heroic rescues people ran out in their night clothes chicago dec 4 fourteen persona among the scores crowded into the lincoln hotel met death shortly before 6 this morning in a fire which will pass into local history as one of the moat horrible chicago ever experienced death came suddenly to a few but with i awful slowness to others who were penned in the deathtrap death trap and suffocated t or burned to death some died in their rooms some chanced all in jumping and lost while others were found in the hill ways where they had expired with their t fingers the cracks of the floor V all the bodies were recovered as tle hotel was not destroyed TUB DEAD M M handy janesville wis II 11 M wood lebanon ind samuel L yocum davenport la J C yocum davenport la P 1 L ewing marietta ohio A B coon maringo t T V slocum waconda ial sirs lowe minneapolis E W carey bucyrus Bu cyrus 0 ed bonor milwaukee H F boswall three of the victims still remain unidentified the victims were taken to Eals tons f morgue and nil day the place was filled f with anxious people interested in the dead or see kingto assure themselves of ff of friends or relatives the building was a firetrap fire trap of tho fc kind according to experts There two exits a narrow stairway leading down the four floors of the build ang and an fire escape in the rear the fire started on the second floor presumably from a lighted cigar dropped on the carpet greats occupying upper rooms in the front part of he aroused by the screams of a woman were able to escape down the stairway und about thirty people reached safety av means of the fire escape to add to the horror however this pave way while others were climbing down and three men were dashed to death on the pavement of the alley for the people in the afar alere was now no escape save by jumping the stairway was in flames and the fire escape gone horror stricken face appeared at the windows and cried frantically for help firemen cried back at i them to wait until nets or mattresses could be brought and those who did in most cases escaped with slight injuries i but some brayed with fright jumped to tho pavement and were either killed or badly hurt with difficulty the fire although a small one was subdued but it wai some timo before rescuers could penetrate the dense bank of smoke which filled the place it was an awful scene which met their paw the dead or unconscious lying stretch cl on the HOOFS and in some cases in their beds some had to slip on a garment before making tor the street but had been overcome every store and other hotels in the vicinity were filled with men and women orfio had escaped with only their night gowns an investigation wll be fiade A narrow stairway leading to nil floors of the structure wag afier and the escape of the lodgers in the rear of the building was cut off ambulances and patrol wagons from all parts of the city wre called to the place and clift dea d and injured were i quickly attended to all but fourteen of it the gucht s at the hotel were out of town most of them came to chicago to attend the livestock show L p to 11 amt persons mere taken in at the hotel and in every room or place in which a cot could be it is said guests were accommodated at that time a large number it with their families w ere turned away the hotel was filled shortly after alie lire start cl aliis firemen up the stairway into the place and began the work of rescue men women and children acie carried down ladders fire escapes and smoke filled dialls in one instance a fireman of en pine company no 2 navid a woman from running to the rear of the building to certain death on the only to be to drop her from the third floor to the roof of the building at 17 madion the woman held her 7 vear oh 1 acon n she was mrs I she pard and glicr name is frederick amne wa then carried from the roo of thi building to the brevoort voort house where physician was summoned it was found that their injuries were slight alie building i made of brik with anut one stairway leading to the upper floors and ft fire estape in the front of the building K C the night bleik was one of the first persons to drover smoke on ae second floor weber refused to any statement and after he kad cured aion of the hotel register e was taken to the centrals 1 where lie detained A short after the anre was discovered consternation reigned n alir upper floors mrs amri WH one of alie first 0 o lc by the presence of lie awakened hi ta daiy persons were thui warned of the danger and made heir escape the woman waa so panic stricken however that she vai not among the first to attempt to escape and aho was making her way into the most dangerous part of the building ahen a fireman seized her and her son and conducted them to the floor below where if dropped them out of ft window I 1 J E herbert of Sa lineville chii jumped from alie fourth floor where lie had been sleeping lie struck on the roof of xo ITS madion near where mrs sheppard fell his right leg was broken and he suffered suf feied internal in juries he wai taken to the county hospital W J thomas a mail clerk of cedar babida jumped through a window on ahr fourth floor and in am blind haste narrowly escaped falling to the street he managed to make hit way to the fire escape and limbed down ta the ground previous to thomas escape twenty five to thirty persons had climbed down the nie ni e escape to the all were in their night clothing alien fidorf of milwaukee made a perilous descent from the fourth floor by scaling the wall by means of the iron shutters oldorf fulcd that he had seen at least a dozen person on the top floor vainly endeavoring to make their way from the building by means of the front stairway many of the bodies ft ere found in the beds in petition of slumber others were found in hallways lying face downward in po unions eliat mutely portrayed how they had vainly endeavored to save their rome half clad and others wore nothing but night clothing it was kiy means of articles and letters in the pockets of what little clothing some of the dead person wore that many aden 1 ti were made F A smith proprietor of the hotel baid 1 I am certainly not to blame for this awful catastrophe three weeks ago the agents of this building were notified to blare a stairway in alie rear and also to build ft lire wall around alio freight elevator shaft in alie rear the con trac tora came and the building over but nothing was done last night our seventy rooms were nil filled and I 1 should judge that we bcd about to from whit I 1 can learn the fire started in the rear of the building on the second bloor this probably accounts for the escape of guests who occupied front rooms on alie upper floors they had an opportunity to reach the stairway before the flames readied eliat part of the building but the occupants of the rear rooms were cut off by the flames most of our guests list night were persons who came to chicago to visit the stock show and knew little of the building chief SIu rhani of the fire department said that it was the worst lire lie had attended during his career as a fireman and that so dense wa alie smoke that it was impossible to reach the imprisoned guests who died like rats in a cage when the firemen finally managed to make their way into the rooms the sight that mot their gaze was appalling aien and boy lay about the floors of the rooms and hallways zihere abey aind fallen jn the chief was one of alie worst fire traps I 1 have been the floors in places had cracks in them large enough to drop a penny through ana alie smoke just sifted through and suffocated the inmates ol 01 alie rooms before aliey had time to make their way into the hallways of alie people injured it was beccary cary to take only jirec to alie hospital oth ars suffering fram cuts and or from the inhalation of smoke were cared for at neighboring drug stores and departed without their names being learned one of the injured taken to the hospital if V G thomas of cedar Ila a wito was badly cut and bruised |