The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1870-12-26
MARINE DISASTER AND LOSS
OF LIFE.
Death 81 Ben. Perley Rsere.
VIRGINIA..
COIN wEATuEE

COLD wEATHEE.
RICHMOND, Dec 25.-Last night was the
coldest for ID years. The ground was covered
with hard fr0z.n snow and the thermometer
indicated degrees at quarter past two this
morning.
STANTON, Dec. 25 The weather in West
Virginia and the Valley of Virginia is the cold
est Tor many years. The mercury touched zero
here at daybreak. At Lexington it was "a be.
low free zing point. At Greenbrier, White
Sulpher Spring, it was 40 below the freezing
point and ice was six inches thick.
BURNING OF THE sPoTTswooD HOTEL.
The Spotiswood Hotel was discovered to be
on fire on the lower floor. An effort was made
to wake up the guests, and The scene became
indescribable. Men were rushing about trying
to save baggage. ard women nearly naked and
barefoot Were fleeing into the sncw covered
streets. The steam engines were promptly on
hand but the water being frozen it was some
time before water could be thrown upon the
building. In twenty minutes the flames spread
to such an extent that escape by the staircase
was cut off.
The guests then comm need leaping from the
windows. P. P. Clark of Philadelphia, stew
ard Of the hotel, leaped from the third story,
receiving fatal injuries. The most fearful
scene OF the disaster was the appearance OF
Mrs. Emily Kenncarty of Baltimore, house,
keeper, at the window of the fifth story, with
one or two other ladies, screaming for help.
The IRE cOmpanys ladders were put M, but
failed by two stories to reach the windows, and
while the tiremen were endeavoriDg to lepgth-n
the ladders, the crying women disappeared in
the thick smoke and were lost; the room light
ing up moment after with the flames. 10 to
noon to-day only the burned whose names are
known, are Erasmus Ross, clerk in Libby
Prison during the war, Mrs. Emily Kenncarty,
housekeep-r, who leaves a family in Balti-
more, S. w. Robinson, and Samuel Hines.
The weather was SO intensely CO that the
Telegraph wires in front of the burning build
ing were covered with ice and the engines
we're encastd in ice an inch thick. Among the
remarkable escapes was that ct Shafter, attach
ed to the office OF the State Printer, who was
in the fourth story, and escaped by dropping
from window to window until he reached the
ground.
The guests lost all their clothes and the ladies
had to walk barefoot to places Of shelter. Sew.
eral business houses were destroyed. Total loss
estimated at $500, 900; insured in Northern Of
fees.
The following additional names of persons
are known to have been burned to death:-H.
"Pi'grim's Progress" W. q. Pace. OF Danvlle,
Va, q. s. mail agent. aud J. B Fariss, mes
senger of Southern Express Co. The hotel
was valued at $4,000; insured in Northern
companies for 100000 All the goods ready
for delivery in the cellar of the Southern Elk.
press Co. was also destroyed. The Company's
money and safes are buried in the ruins One
incident of the fire was that of man who ap-
peared at one OF the upper windows paralyzed
by fear, who sat tearing paper into small pieces
and throwing them out OF the window till be
fell back into the flames. There were many
very narrow escapes. The hotel register was
found tonight and there are only six strangers
not accounted for. 1t is PROBABLE some of the
citizens have taken some of them to their
homes.
LATEST.
The follow ing are the names of the missing
straDgers:-J. 81. Wilcox, Lypchburg; N.
Beimsteip, Washington; A. Lei. OF Tampa,
Florida; George and G. II. Andrews, SYRIA
cuse; b. g. Kertle, New York, and John n.
Halman, Jackson.