Daily Iowa State Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1859, 1858-02-26
BURNING OF THE PACIFIC HOTEL
Full Paxticulars Of the Calamity.


is made painfully memorable in the history
Of this city, by the occurrence Of on. Of tho
most heart-rending of mortal ealamities.-
sore inmates of which we're at the time
sunk in the deepest slumber of night, at
that sad data took fire, and burned around
and among them With the swiftness OF
doom. The fearful total Of the accruing
horrors cannot yet be told, and probably
months will elapse before the fate of loved
ones whose forms are now too mArred to be
known If found. and the last inscribed rec
ord of whose names has perished, can be sat-
isfatorily ascertained.
Scarcely less than eighty persons can
have retired to the rooms OF the Pacific Ho.
tel. then standing on Seventh and Poplar
streets. on last Friday night. 1t is too Ger
tain that an unusually large number Of
guests had that evening arrived on the Pa
ci6c train, who supped and took rooms at
this doomed hotel.
At about 3 o'clock in the morning, watch
men at Cairo and Seventh streets, . square
southwark, detected the freight Of burn
ing building reflected from the wall of the
structures on Sixth stree and in the rear of
the Pacific House. Hurrying to the scene,
they found the entire rear Of the hotel wrap
ped in raging famea The edifice was Of
three stories, and had eighty feet Of front,
with depth Of forty or fifty feet on Popu-
lar street. The rear walls were of wood,
and had ignited with astonishing sudden
ness and rapidity-since an officer had pas
sed there fifteen minutes before.
Aside from the CT cracking and roaring of
the fierce flames, the etillness of the grave
reigned in the hotel. The watchmen thun-
dered and yelled at the entrances till the
answering bark of dog in the room of the
proprietor, DR.. Daniel w. Strader. startled
that gentleman from sleep. A heavy roar
ing filled the air, and the glare Of fire came
into the room through the door. With .
cry of alarm he sprang into the hall and
rushed for the fireplug, but was repealed BY
advancing flames that were sweeping with
such fury as to render the rescue Of life his
idea. Through his efforts and those Of the
watchmen without, the dodgers awakened
to consciousness of imminent destruction.
DR.. Strader then ran to call his own family,
in safer position Of the house, and found
them still sleeping. Some Of his servants
he was compelled to drag forth by the hair
By this time any exit from the house by
the main entrance was impossible. It was
on fire. and the stairs leading to it passed
over the drug store betow, the combustibles
Of which we're thus quickly ignited, and tn
element ragged with ten fold fury. Only .
small staircase and door way, construeted
for the uss Of ladies, led into the street, and
the passage = this vas speedily interrupted
and rendered impossible by deep barrier
Of fire. A few had been in time to follow
the land lord int the street, and some Of
them were severely burned To the many
dear ones who remained within the burn
ing pile, there remained NO egress ave thro'
the second and third story windows. And
90 swiftly had this horror grown, that scarce
. dozen persons had yet gathered to the
rescue. LADDER, there were none, and the
frantically impluring victims at the win
dows were already writhing with almost
| intolerabls heat Others, suffocated in the
reoms,J were ct this very time, ~ the &C.
quel too truly proves, actually being broiled
and roasted in their bsdai Othersstill stung
from sleep by the greedy flames, darted
from their eouehss through the windows,
while still others, with scarcely less haste.
made, for the most part, iseffectual efEorts to
descend with safety. The dead and Main
ed were picked up and conveyed from the
scene-the still living to the Sisters Hos
pital
Mr.. II. Hubbard and wife, of Boston.
were on the third floor. Nm. Hubbard
awoke In such pain that shs only walked
her husband before plunging headlong out
Of the window. He instantly followed, and
fell ON the icey pavement near her. She had
leg fractur ed twice, Q knee dislocatsd and
her lower jaw broken in two plassA She
Vas removed to the hospital, aud still sur
vivss. He had the lett ANGLE and hip joints
dislosatsd. and The forehead. badly con-
tused
4 gsntlsma1, Who proves to have been
1r. Jossph Jones, called ftou The third
seeey - thsss belsw % Pepuaar c..
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