The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1858-03-10
The Burning oftke Pacific Hotel.

with interest :
The origin of the disastrous conhaora
ZION Is Al present not known with certain
w. lhe prevailing impression is that
The flames first broke out i'm the rear o.
the drug st0rs of Dumont G.. Jones one
door from the corner Of Seventh street
put how has not Yet been explainsd.-
1he clerk, who had only Leen three dav,
III the establishment, and who slept in
the oack part, states that when lie was
awakened by the glare of the light the
~no'e "f The western portion Of the build
ing WAS IN flames. This WAS from halt
ah hour TO three quarters before the steam
engines arrived. There WAS half 4 barrel
oi turpcnIlue, n barrel of oil, and some
other comhustibles in that part Of the
store Where, report saws, the fire oriy
mated.
From the best information tha, we can
gather, there were about one hundred
PERSONS sleeping in the hotel At the tim.
0' The occurrence. 1t appears that the
en're building WAS enve!uped in the ra
g'ng e'enan' before scarcely anv OF the
dodgers were awakened 10 full sense oi
their danger. And when the inmates
We're h"aIIy aroused it WAS only to fud
al opportunities of egress closed to them
Tor The s'arrcases in T ont and behind were
already gone. or SO nearly SO tha, an
attempt 10 escape by these means would
be only rushing into the arms Of Ineyila.
bic death.
lhe scene that cnsuel battles any efiou
at description. The rushing of men wo
nen aud children To and fro To uyu,J ,h,.
clustering heat, and To search for WAYS to
reach the streeIS-the shrlcks Of The ter
ror stricken and the groans of those bound
10 Their rooms 10y walls Of scorchInr fir.
the shouts OF those who had been called
10 The spot from the surrounding neisLor
hood-the cIambcrIng over swayiuy and
reeIrg J"'st-lhe falling floors, with their
loads oi heavy furniture and their dear
burden OF human lives all this A. d NOR.
th"t was intensely terrible and fearful.
II is not given to our pen to adequately
describe.
ihe stairs gone, the roof and floor inch
oy Inch gNI"s way, aud the lurrd flames
s,R"tlng up monentarI!v thicker and
hohrr, many sought to escape the i'm
pending hazard OF being burned TO death
through the scarcely less dangerous bros
poets OF Jumping TO the ground fro,
Their windows. OF those who enIenvnr
ed TO save their lives in this way We saw
ak at the Sisters Hospital. Mr.. II. IInb
bard, who arrived al ~. Louis from Rrs
ton about 8 weeks since. WAS occurvuy
WIN his lady. aroom on the thrd noor.-
Mrs. Ii. was first aroused and awaken
ed her husband. Bardly had h. com. 10
be conscious of the cause of the surround
ing confusion before he saw hIs wifi. lear
hcadIong out OF The window Oh Po,tr
street. Seeing no other visible means Of
Saving himself he followed her, and both
Ir'i, not Tar apart, on the pavement. Mrs.
Hubbard had one Of her legs fractured in
two places, aud had the knee CAD of the
other dISIocated. Besides this, her low.
ef ia" was Or"ken in two places. 1t is
not expected she will survive. IShe has
snee die" Mr.. Hubbard had the ankle
} mt OF h's leg displaced, an! received
severe confusion on the forehead. II. is
not thought to be in dangerous cond,-
ton.
Miss. II. Hunter endeavored to leave
.he buiid'ng. after being badly burnt, by
Jumping tom the second story. I'm the
,"h one Of her legs was broken, and her
neno severely cur. She WAS pIace.i j.,
furniture car, 10 be taken TO ibe Sisters
iiosPiI"'' tut before arriving there she was
corpse.
James F. Geary, local reporter of the
Leader, ofthis city, in attempting,o escape
with has wife and child, fell TO the cellar
besides receiving some bad buns onthe
lace, head and legs, by some mesus hi,
'ight loot Was cut u the bone from about
the middle TO the heeI. (Since dead.)-
sharpe, night clerk NJ the hotel, was aw
fuiIy burned IN the face, head and extrem
ties. llls bsr is all singed off, aud his
fsce oIackened and bstere1. It is expec
ted that he will recover, teough consider.
ably disfgured
'Eilhu Hayes has broken tl.Igh, and
is.very much injured on the head. One
OF hls ewes are burnt and swollen exceed
ingIy, and he is otherwise hmt. When
We saw him he WAS in much pain and
lahorlng under conclusion of the brain.-
iie WAS unable TO answer questions AS
Tar as we can ascertain from various sour.
ces, he il stranger in the city, from
Wisconsin. There is little or no hope Of
hisIecovery.
Three men were seen to jump from the
second story OF the back part Of the bull
ding nj the same tine. Two of them got
oil without much injury. The other was
taken on n plank To n fruit store on sixth
street, below Poplar, where he died at
about 8 o'clock. The latter we under
stand TO be I. Hart Strong, a lawyer of
this city.
Al Kng's Hotel we found the family
OF DR.. White, whose escape was indeei
miraculous. DIR. White himself Ieaped
thiongh the window Of his room, and
jumped TO the ground, whence encouraa.
ing his wife, three children aud nurse.
they. too, followed his example, hs b,eak.
ing their fall, and oil reached terra 6rna