Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2016 All Rights Reserved USGenNet Data Repository Please read USGenNet Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the USGenNet Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ =========================================================================== Formatted by USGenNet Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== Burning of the Newhall House Published by Bleyer Bros. Cramer, Aikens & Cramer, Printers - 1883 [34] BURNING OF THE NEWHALL HOUSE THE HEROS Against the dark background of despair and indecision which marked that cruel morning, the names of those who, at the peril of life and limb, labored faithfully to wrest their fellow-beings from the grasp of the insatiate flames will stand inscribed in letters of living light, never to fade while the memory of that fiery drama shall linger in the heart of a single citizen. First on the list of those who immortalized themselves by their noble efforts in behalf of their fellows is David H. Martelle, a gallant railroad conductor, who fate willed should immolate himself on the dreadful altar of human sacrifice. When the startling alarm resounded through the lower corridors of the hotel --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [35] BURNING OF THE NEWHALL HOUSE Martelle was standing at the office counter chatting with the night clerk. He immediately bethought himself of his friend and brother conductor, Robert Howie, who had retired only a short time previous, to his room in the sixth story of the doomed struct- ure. The faithful Martelle made all haste to warn his sleeping friend of the impending danger, but whether he was permitted to fulfill his design will never be known, as he and Howie were carried down in the seething furnace. Their charred and mangled remains were subsequently recovered from the ruins and laid to rest forever by sorrowing friends. The name of Kittie Linehan, who had charge of the hotel laundry, also occupies a lasting place in the history of the mem- orable conflagration. After having aroused and directed a number of dazed and frightened girls to places of safety, she returned to continue her noble work, and was so beset by the devouring element that escape was impossible, and she met her death by jumping into the canvas held by rescuers in the street. By reference to the statement of William Linehan, who, by the way, is a brother of the unfortunate young heroine just mentioned, it will be observed that he proved himself a jewel of incalcu- lable worth on that trying morning. By the exercise of undaunted courage and remarkable presence of mind he succeeded in carrying six persons to places of safety, and only desisted from his noble duty when the infliction of painful burns on his person forced him to beat a retreat from the building that had so long been his home. His record during that brief season of excitement and terror stamps him as one of God's noblest works. But it was reserved for the firemen of Hook and Ladder Trucks Nos. 1 and 2 to perform the most conspicuous and daring deeds of bravery enacted on that dark and eventful morning. Shortly after the arrival of the truckmen on the scene, and while they were en- gaged in raising ladders on the Broadway and Michigan fronts of the burning hotel, their attention was called to the fact that a large number of servant girls were imprisoned in the fifth story, with all avenues of escape cut off. Attention was immediately turned --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [36] BURNING OF THE NEWHALL HOUSE to the alley side, where a horrible scene was presented. The panic- stricken girls, feeling themselves closely pressed by the smoke and heat, and becoming imbued with the idea that no attempt was being made to rescue them, had begun to make the horrible leap to the earth below, and already ten or more of dead and dying lay prone on the alley pavement. Foreman Curtin, of Truck No. 2, shouted to the girls to remain where they w^ere and he would reach them with a lad- der. He then started back to fulfill his promise. Foreman Riemer, of Truck No. 1, at this juncture conceived a brilliant idea and ordered his men to the roof of what is known as the Frackelton Build- ing, and directed them to span the alley with a ladder and thus reach the quarters of the imprisoned girls. Herman F. Stauss was the first man to reach the roof of the Frackelton Building, and with the assist- ance of George Wells, an employe of the Goodyear Rubber Company, proceeded to execute his foreman's orders. The fireman and his volun- teer assistant deftly handled the long, unwieldy ladder on their lofty perch, and soon the spectators had the satisfaction of seeing one end of it crash through a window in the servants' quarters of the hotel, thus forming a bridge over which the frightened girls could escape. One of them immediately appeared at the window, and Fireman Stauss crept over the improvised bridge and conducted her across in safety. She was a heavy woman, and in her fright she moved clumsily along the ladder. For a moment it seemed to the awestricken assemblage as if both the rescuer and his charge would be dashed to the earth; but Stauss proved equal to the emergency and safely deposited his help- less burden on the roof of the East Water street building amid the cheers of those who beheld the brave act. It was this thrilling inci- dent in the gallant work of rescue in the alley that so deeply impressed the spectators as to move them to single out Stauss for especial favor, although it was plain to all who witnessed the affair that Stauss' companions performed equally meritorious acts. Firemen Alfred A. Smith, John Borngesser, and G. E. Nodine, of Truck No. 2 then crossed the frail bridge and rescued three or four of the girls, whom they found in a semi- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [37] BURNING OF THE NEWHALL HOUSE unconscious state, and with difficulty aroused to a sense of their dangerous situation. Perceiving that the ladder bridge was performing such excellent service, Charles Heyder and John Ryan, of Truck No. 1, and Garrett Green, of Truck No. 2, succeeded in spanning the alley with a second ladder, over which they crossed, and soon several more of the trembling girls were landed in safety on the opposite roof. The brave firemen did not rest from their labor until all the girls within their reach had been rescued, when they took up the ladders and went to work on other parts of the burning building. Foreman Curtin, of Truck No. 2, with the assistance of his men, immediately removed the dead from the alley pavement, and while cogitating on the advisability of attempting to save the extension ladder, the rear wall of the building fell with a thundering crash, filling the alley with a monstrous pile of brick and rubbish. While the good work was progressing in the rear of the burning structure, Oscar Kleinsteuber, one of the youngest members of the police force, and who supervises the police alarm system, ascended the fire-escape to the fourth floor on the Broadway side and called to him no less than seven women and men, all of whom he helped upon the escape so that they might descend to the street. He desisted only when the smoke became so dense that his own safety lay in the direction of the fire-escape. There were many other heroes in the ranks of the Police and Fire Departments, and also among the assembled citizens, whose brave deeds in that brief hour of peril became lost in the vortex of confusion and excitement, and will never be recorded. All honor to those who participated in the noble work of life-saving in the gloomy shadow of tottering walls. Their deeds, in the face of frightful death, entitle them to more than human commendation. =========================================================================== If you've reached this file through a SEARCH, you can access more of our growing collection of FREE online information by going to the following URL: http://www.us-data.org/ ===========================================================================