Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 August 1895 — DIGGING FOR DEAD. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

DIGGING FOR DEAD.

BODIES RECOVERED FROM THE DENVER HOTEL RUINS. Engineer [Pierce, Whose Negligence Canned the Horror, Himself a Victim of His Own Carelessness—Fire in Milwankee-Ontrages by the Chinese. Twenty-five the Death RolL A portion of the Gumry Hotel, Denver, the scene of the frightful disaster, is still standing, gaunt and sinister, constantly threatening to crash down at any moment upon those delving in the ruins The search for victims has beei> on with utmost energy constantly, with the aid of twenty arc light*. The list of dead and Blissing now numbers’twentyfive, making the disaster the worst that ever occurred in the city. It is clearly proved that the tragedy was due to the carelessness of the engineer, who turned water into the boilers which had become overheated Pierce, the engineer, it Is ■aid, was intoxicated. Some of the victims were instantly killed; others were buried in the ruins where they slowly burned to death, the building having taken fire after the explosion; others were rescued after suffering horrible tortures only to die in hospital or on the way to it, while others still suffered injuries that will seriously affect them during life. For several hours after the disaster the scenes amid the ruins of the hotel were such that men turned pale and stood help-

less with sorrow and horror. Several persons were seen slowly burning to death, but they were so weighted down with debris and encompassed by flame that no aid could be given them. Some of them begged piteously to be killed, that they might not be forced to endure the torture of fire, while others, needing only the chopping off of a limb to be free, implored the firemen to cut off a leg or an arm. Most of the victims were persons prominent in the affnirs of the State. The total loss caused by the explosion and fire is $75,000. The Gumry Hotel was worth about $25,000 and had SB,OOO

worth of furniture. It is a total wreck, but was insured for $25,000. The McMann Block, which stands next to the Gumry, was also heavily damaged. It is owned by Colonel E. A. Bishop and was built in 1890. It is a four-story pressed brick and is occupied throughout by the A. Lilliblade Furniture Company. The whole rear end of this block was ruined. The loss on the building is about $25,000, as the building will have to be torn down. This block is insured for $15,000. The stock of A. Lilliblade, valued at $30,000, is only partly lost.

HOTEL THAT PROVED A DEATH-TRAP.