The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 25, 1898, Page 4

THE SAN FRANCISCO OCALL, FIRE SECRETS OF THE "~ BALDWIN RUINS Death Roll Expected to Reach Appalling Proportions. Woefully Small Night Force Employed at| the Hotel and Innumerable Obstacles in the Way of Escape. t. | en, and somewhere iked heap of e the disgrace othered tk grief and child’s disappearance fearfully awaiting de- e lie ters FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 189 TRAP YIELDS UP TWO \ R 57 Z Z VICTIMS B MORE LIVES JEOPARDIZED The Swaying Walls a Menace to Street Car Patrons. Loosened Pillars and Tottering Chimneys May Fall at Any Moment—Thou- sands View the Ruins. securely against the wall. A sharp gust of wind whl send it hurtling to the ground. Its weight would crush a streetcar and kill every inmate. Countless thousands took advantage | of the Thanksgiving holiday to visit the ruins of the Baldwin Hotel. From early morning till late at night hun- dreds of police officers were on duty on | on, EIlis street, opposite the Golden Market, Powell and Ellis streets, keeD- | cornice swings to and fro, ready to ing the curious and morbid from | drop. It is suspended by a sheet of rushing beneath the swaying walls. roofing, which will not long bear the weight and strain upon it. The Market- street walls are bulged out at the sec- ond and third stories, causing the un- supported chimneys and crumbling walls to lean inward at the top. Until these dangers are removed no work Every few moments extra officers had to break into a crowd to keep the peo- ple moving. The police had the hard- est work on Powell street. A moving stream of people passed and repassed the ment to more bodie: The alone hat their daugh- 115 who Europe, where they Eavs her never to return, | n social favorite wil ;. when found, be fication, then conceal- possible; but if erated her fea- | 1 be a burial of the some unidentified at, the wretched of her San Fran- lity with which the | ver on the west sidewalk, and they were kept on the walk only by great effort. Occasionally a jam would occur, and those on the outside were forced into the street. Then the police would clear | them out. Similar scenes were enacted on Ellis street. Many former guests who lost prop- | erty in the hotel secured permits from the fire wardens and employed firemen and civilians to search for their be- longings. Considerable property was recovered, but the owners did not gain should be done in the ruins, as laborers would be taking their lives in their hands. The mplete destruction of “Lucky’ Baldwin's great property cannot be realized without a survey inside the skeleton walls. Here the thorough work of the destroyer is apparent. Piles of broken, partially burned joists, heat- twisted iron pipes and plaster rise in chaotic mass to 20 and 30 feet. Broken bits of marble, crockery and glass fill in the interstices in the mass, leaving only projecting timbers in sight. Hang- ing in shreds to the slivered wood and y part of the huge hed even the expe- nd that all but a half - 800 or 900 people roof should make would prove little handicapped as repetition Whict to miraculous, 'SMOKE. way short HE i f 00000000000 Firemen Discover James Leithead’s Body in LEITHEAD [} Oo | | Coroner formed the unpleasant duty of removing | th ruin ad from the ¢ Hallett made an inspection of w's room and_ found _ his , ete. The pockets in Leit- iined nothing of , althoug s well pro- with 1 ore. The Manager | ed in the search, found 50 drawn in f T, who is b vor of the dead | believed to be in | sent to. the | oll of 623 , an intimate friends of Leit- | employed in the office of the | mpany, called at the Morgue and identified th rody. The body was remaved at once to an undertaking parlor. It is very likely it Will' be sent {0 his mother in New York. De: native of Montreal and was rs of a He had been | emplo. Pacific Mail Steamship | st five years and was Company for the y :nt and popular offi- one of the most eflic cials in its empla s AS IDENTIFIED 7A.7 J. PRYOR Charred Head and Trunk Recovered From the Debri Yesterday afternoon the debris reluc- tantly gave up a portion of a burned and mutilated victim of the Baldwin fire trap. While workmen were engaged in removing broken timbers to get a jeweler's safe, which had fallen through the floor of $42 Market street, they uncovered a horrible sight. The shriveled head and trunk of | & human being were lying there, the pain- distorted face telling of an awful agony before death came. The body had been severed from the lower extremities and the whole top of the skull was gone. Be- | tween the clenched teeth a crisped tongue protruded, and the vacant eyesockets and hollow nasal cavity left but little expres- sion by which an identification could be | made. A. 8. Levin saw the awful sight first and called it to the attention of the work- men. Though strong men it was more than they could bear and with blanched faces they turned away and left their work. The Coroner’s office was notifled b?’ telephone and Deputy O'Brien soon ar- rived. The approach of the Morgue wagon sent a shudder through the great crowd which filled the south side of Mar- ket street from the car track to the buildings. Impelled by morbid curiosity | | ceived from her as to the gold fillings Dismembered Trunk and Head Discovered in the Debris Where the Theater Stood. trance in front of which the dead wagon stopped, and the score of policemen on duty were almost o\'erwhl-‘med, Many men whose curfosity exceeded their judg- ment got past of the officers and stumbling into the ruins, regardless of the (|.'|n'g~r of injury and possibly death from a falling wall. In response to a request by Deputy O’Brien, District Engineer Mc- Kissick ordered several firemen to remove the broken timber so that the body could be taken out. Care was taken in clearing round the body. a space Tt was thought ran | possible that a plece of jewelry or sorie- | thing might be attached to "the flesh which might aid In establishing the ic tity of the unfortunate person. When agged timbers were moved aside or way only a smallportion of the bol was found. Its appearance indicated that it had been severed at the abdomen 1 large iron pipe, which either burned cut the body in two when the building fell in. The remainder of the body was not found, though it may be underneath the mass of iron and brick near which the trunk was lying. The grewsome object was placed in an 01d cloth and when the Morgue man car- ried it out to the street, the gaping crowd’s curiosity was satisfied. Women fainted and men averted their eyes as the parcel was deposited in the Morgue receiver. Before the charnel wagon drove away a small piece of roasted flesh was found by those inside the ruins and the Coroner returned to get it. Another at- tempt was made to find the legs but without success. No one could tell whether the remains were tho: of a man or woman. The teeth were the only features by which any one could possibly recognize the de- | ceased. t the Morgue a closer examination was made and the sex was established by the size of the head, the chest and arm. It was decided that it had once been a man. A number of men employed at the race track visited the Coroner's office last night, and after the body had been viewed by them some sald it was that of Judge | 37 3. Carter and others H. A. Pryor. The most positive identification, how- ever, is that of W. J. Mosley, the book- maker, who says there is no doubt in his mind that it is Pryor. He has been in telegraphic communication with Mrs. Pryor, who resides at 2301A Walnut street in ‘St. Louis, and from information r::— n the teeth he s positive that it is Pryor. Before Mosley visited the Morgue the only gold filling noticed was a crown on a tooth on the left side of the jaw. He told the Deputy Coroner that Pryor had caps on the teeth of the right upper and left lower jaw and two fillings In the upper jaw. Examination of the remains proved that the teeth corresponded with this de- scription. Harry Corbett also identified the body as that of Pryor. Mr. Mosley immediately notified Mrs. Pryor that the body of her husband had | been recovered, and the remains will be shipped to St. Louis for burial. F. A. Minor, sheet writer for Charles Humphrey, and were of that of Judge J. J. Carter. their belief prominent nose and square necl | of Pryor. | | Ralph Tozier, a reporter, | diversity of opinion. the opinion that the body was| ey based | ers suggest a handsome opera house on The high cheek bones, | a Dlock e | days before any ox | this theory. floor and was awkened, but did not es- cape from the burning bullding. He was seen in the hallway by three of his fellow guests after the flames had got into the corrido; He had lost his bearings and was wildly running about seeking the Men who saw Pryor last say s was in the Market street hall, near the angle of the Powell street hall. He asked how he could get out and the men told him to follow them. They turned around the next instant to s if Pryor was coming and he was running east in the Market street hall. This incident al- blishes the identification of the ered trunk at the Morgue as that ‘ 3 It is umed that he ran into the thickenin was overcome fore the flames here he fell. The loca- ¥y when found substantiates JOHN McCARTHY REPORTED MISSING He May Have Perished in the Baldwin Fire. John McCarthy s supposed to be among the missing, and it is feared he met a ter- rible death during the great conflagra- tion that destroyed the Baldwin Hotel. The missing man was registered at the well-known caravansary and since the fire his absence has been noted Ry his friends and they are anxiously trying to ascertain his whereabouts. McCarthy arrived from New York a few weeks ago and stopped at the Baldwin. ie came to this city as the representa- tive of a large New_York City. A Mr, Goroux, advance agent for the Seven Sutherland Sisters, has been in- quiring everywhere for his friend, but without success. It is thought his body will be found amid the charred ruins of the destroyed structure. FRIENDS COME TO BALDWIN'S AID Although he has a great many plans under consideration Baldwin has not yet decided whether or not he will rebuild. As was expected many of his old-time triends sought him out with offers of as- sistance and submitted plans to him, but none have passed the consideration stage. Several consultations were held during the day with officials of the Hibernia Bank and agents of companies anxious to purchase the site outright. It Is under. stood that the officfals of the bank offered either to buy the ground or assist in the erection of a new building. There is a Some favor the erection of a first-class hotel, while oth- wholesale liquor house of of buildings, but it will be some efinite conclusions can much, as every article of wearing ap- | scattered about the ruin are books and KNOWN TO BE INTHE RUINS Judge John J. Carter’s Friends Now Seek His Bathroom. management never required guests to | they were by tortuous passageways, produce T riage centficate the | total darkness and stifling smoke in house has long been the headquarters | addition to the bewilderment attendant of the moneyed s ng people, while | at such a period. it has t members o It hz certain pa- 1g placed on oiding the s appear a ¥ ster, publicity of having on the pubiic record. the management has tance to produce fire, and one e porter that does not made by Carthy tc : Carthy sa > gathered up the cash- fer's and all the ¢ books, excep the public registe ht Porter Jose st nigh N him to the in charge of there. He would have taken the regis- ter also, but Night Clerk Scott said it Was not necessary. During the ~ e a Call reporter was on the fourth floor ting in arousing the slumbering occupants of the rooms, when he heard an employe of the hotel shout out to employe: “For God's sake e drunks out; get those drun 1" It was very late when the ke out and habitues of the tende are prone to convivi- ality between dinner and the hour of re- tiring. The halls and corridors of the Baldwin extended at many angles and were confusing at best. Filled yith blinding smoke and pitch dark, it would require the hand of F dence to guir= somes of the gues to safety, particularly if they were in such a con- Qition as the hotel employe's warning shout would indicate. Then agaln, from the statements of attaches of the hotel themselves, it is shown conclusively that the night force, that is the force on duty be- tween midnight and 6 a. m., is entirely inadequate. The night porter, in addi- tion to keeping a general lookout with the night watchman, was required to act as bellboy for every room in the bouse, and he, with the watchman and one elevator boy, were the only em- ployes on duty on the upper floors. It is after all these facts are taken into consideration that the authorities form the opinion that the death roll will grow to appalling proportions. Moreover, some of the dead will never be identified, t}hdey IS!Y. 2y et One story told yesterday to have considerable foundation in fact, To-day the work of tearing down the d the begin in earnes =g DEATH CAME WHILE HE WAS ASLEEP Remains of Purser Leithead Found in a Bath- room. The blackened body of James M. Leithead was found yesterday forenoon in the bathroom adjoining his apartment on the fifth floor of the Baldwin Hotel. From the position in which the body was found it was apparent that death came upon him unawares. The popular young purser of the Pa- cific Mail steamer City of Sydney was one of the many victims of Wedn ay morn- ing's fire, but his death was robbed of much of the horror of the occasion, as it must have occurred before the flames reached the Ellis-street side. The dis- covery of the body jarred the nerves of Manager Lake, who had gone to the top of the building to his own apartments in search of some valuables he had left there. Cautiously picking his way over the debris, Manager Lake nearly reached his room, when curiosity prompted him to push open the door of the bathroom connected with Leithead’s room. Bitting in a chalr in a position of repose was the nude body of the unfortunate man. Portions of the body had been scorched bf’ the flames, but this must have tanen place long after life was extinct, for there was no sign of suffering on the face. One leg was crossed over the other, and the head reclined on the left hand, the arm resting upon a small table, The eyes were closed as if in sleep, indicating that Leithead had retired to the bathroom weary and sleepy, had sat down for a minute or 80 to rest and fallen asleep. He was not aroused by the nolses in tne baliway and wes asphyxiated, Leithead had attended a dinner party in the Western Addition in the evening, and the last seen of him was when he left the hack and went to his room soon after 2 o’'clock in the morning. For many yeat:xlt had been the habit of the {urner to_t: a cold lgth Just before retiring. % Drauf) officlals were Immediately Lno and Deputy Coroner Hallett per- for victims w the 00000000000000000C000O00OO0O000000CO000OO0O0O0O000O00OD0O0O00O00O0O o oo mob rushed en masse toward k. the en. | Pryor occupied room 476 on the fifth | be arrived at. AN OVERTURNED LAMP WAS THE CAUSE OF THE FIRE A Drunken Orgie of Cooks and Waiters in the Kitchen Said to Have Led to the Awful Loss of Life and Property. INCE the disastrous fire in the Baldwin Hotel on Wednesday morning the air has quivered with query as to its cause and t. yond a reasonable doubt. sisted by the owners connected with the theater, if correct. leaves no further room for inquiry. he location of its origin. The latter point seems to have been settled, however, be- Itstarted in the kitchen. The investigation made by the Fire Department, as- of the hotel, tends to prove this, and the evidence of one particular person who is The party referred to is the stage carpenter, and he claims to have been on the stage of the theater after the fire had been burning in the hotel and after the alarm had A persistent rumor, with the color of truth, went the rounds in this city yesterday. igin of the great fire to the gi been sounded, and that at that time the showhouse was not on fire. It attributes the or- ross misconduct of waiters and cooks of the hotel. According to rule the kitchen should be cleared and vacated by 12 o’clock, but a number of cooks and walters who desired an evening to them- selves entered the steward's sume in the kitchen. apartments and secured a quantity of wines, which they proceeded to open and con- Their orgies occupied three hours and the wine made a number of them boisterous. Fighting began, and in the tussle a lamp and some ofl was overturned. Realizing the danger, but frightened at the situation, they at- tempted to extinguish the rapidly increasing flames themselves, but after several efforts dawned upon them. they had created. minutes the futility of their In terror they took to their heels and falled to warn any one of the fearful damage The rumor is based upon statements made by some of the parties who bear the responsibility of the awful catastrophe upon their heads. Dyring the day and yesterday they, wishing to drown their sorrows in drink, in- duiged, and In consequence loosened their tongues to such an extent that they confessed to the crime. are expected to develop in a sealed to the public. The conclusion arrived utes it to a defective range. Matters short time, as so many were present that their mouths cannot always remain at by Chief Marshal Towe is that the blaze started in the kitchen, and he attrib- He has not secured any direct evidence, buthas arrived at the most possible con- clusion in the absence of any. The Baldwin Hotel at the timeof its construction was provided with no bridging between the studding, and the flames were free to creep directly from the basement to the roof between the walls without any bulkhead or interruption. There may have been no draught in the lower portion of the aperture, but this draught was prob- ably found at the fifth story , where the flames burst forth. Whatever develops in connection with the ramor depends upon it being probed to the very core. who have expressed themselves agree that it Is true and that a sensation may be People expected. The information comes from very responsible sources, but no names are permitted to be given at the present time. The Fire Wardens will meet to-morrow at the City Hall The meeting has been called for the purpose of attending to matters in connection with the Baldwin fire and to take steps toward ordering the removal of the ruins. The hour named is 11 o’clock. 0000000000000000000000000000000000O00000000000000000 Only His Dead Body. parel was ruined by smoke and water. Some saved a few trinkets and memen- tos, which were all they cared for. Sev- eral men were engaged all the after- noen in digging out the baggage in the dressing rooms of the theater, which belonged to the members of the “Secret Service” company. The underwriters’ big pumping en- gine was at work all day taking water from the hotel basement. It was sta- tioned at the corner of Powell and Mar- ket streets, alongside the curb. An immense suction pipe was run into the main entrance to the grotto and the big machine kept a flood running all day. When the pumping commenged, night before last, there was nearly six feet of water in the cellar. Last night eight- een inches remained on the tiled floor. Some idea of the amount of water thrown on the fire can be obtained from the fact that the pump discharged 1500 to 2000 gallons a minute for twenty-four hours. Over 2,500,000 gallons of water has already been pumped out. This im- mense quantity of water weighs 20,000 tons. A great danger, which imperils life, exists on all sides of the wrecked build- ing. Chief of Police Lees thoroughly in- spected the ruins yesterday, and im- mediately issued imperative orders that no persons be allowed in or about the place unless they had business there, and further that all men employed to look for missing valuables should be warned by the policemen on duty of the chances they were taking in work- ing around the walls. Considerable ap- prehension is felt for the safety of passengers on the Powell-street cars, and as a precaution passengers ought to alight at the corner of Ellis street and not ride to the turntable. Any instant a mass of debris is liable to fall from the top of the waving wall, and a catastrophe would result if a car happened to be passing. Near the corner of Ellis, over the entrance to the bar, an iron ladder twenty feet in length hangs over the street. It is held to the cornice by only a thin plece of tin. On the fifth floor, directly over the main entrance to the hotel, a loos- ened pillar fifteen feet long leans in- charred articles of clothing, which were left in the rooms by the pantc- stricken guests. The inside of the Market and Els street walls and the firewall which sep- arated the hotel and the annex, are burned smooth. The fire was extin- guished before the street rooms on Powell street were completely burned. All these rooms are open at one end, the hall partition having been burned away, and looking in that direction one sees an immense stage setting. Noth- ing remains of the interior of the thea- ter except a few dressing rooms which were underneath the stage. Every ves- tige of decoration which adorned the walls of the playhouse was obliterated. In the center of the ruin stands a shattered brick wall rising like a mon- ument over the entombed victims of the fire god’s wrath. MORE MISSING REPORTED SAFE Five of Those Thought to Be Lost Heard From. Five more names were yesterday stricken from the list of missing. Mrs. Andrews of Salt Lake, who with her two children was reported missing, was not a uest at the hotel. She had called there n the afternoon upon F. C. Bowman and Wl(e‘of S’Bl‘llt\ Lgke, but left early In the evening. e Bowmans escaped, everylglng they had. 5 e F. C. Andrews, cashier of the Baldwin Grotto. was found at the San Francisco Lodging House, and he also accounts for W. W. Benchley, another Grotto em- ploye, who was also on the list. Mr. Andrews occupied a room on the light shaft on the fourth floor, to which he retired at 2 o’clock on the morning of the re. “‘T've been missing because I've been asleep,” sald Andrews. "I was wakened by the flames shooting u? the light well and I got up, packed my things and went down stairs, gathering up a crowd of women on the way. I dldn’t stop to see the fire, but came over here and went to sleep, and I've been asleep ever since. Concerning Benchley he says: ‘“Bench<