The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1877-04-19
ANOTHER CALAMITY.

ANOTHER CALAMITY.
Lining Of the Southern Hotel at 81. Louis
At las, a. M, on the morning O.
the 18th, the Southern Hotel at st
Louis was discovered to be on fire.
From the best information at hant
1T seems the fire caught in the store
rooms in the basement, and was seer
coming through the ground floor, JUS
north of tie office. Is ten minutes i
had ascend 4 the elevators and rotun
da and spread itself over the sixth
'oor, and under the roof. This foo
was occupit l. entirely by employees o.
the hotel, the largest part of whom
were women. The fire spread rapidly
fitting every room and hall with flame:
and smoke, and the scene was of thu
most terrible description.
Frantic men, women and children
ran through the halls, shrieking in thu
most heart-rending manner, in thei1
wild and desperate efforts to escape
me smoke was so dense in some of thu
halls that the gas jets were extinguish
ed, which rendered egress, even tt
those mo 1t familiar with the building
a matter OF great difficulty. The fire
department was promptly on the spot
and hundreds Of people congregated al
the scene, ready and willing to render
any aid necessary. The density Of th<
smoke in the halls drove many of the
guests and boarders back to thei1
rooms and they rushed to the windows
as means of escape. Ladders were
raised as soon as possible and women
and children, " it'll nothing ON but theil
Tight clothes, were thus taken from
the burning building.
Some tainted from fright, while
others Sunk exhausted to the ground
from nervous prostration. The lad.
ders were generally to short to reach
to the fifth and sixth stories, but by
hosting some on The first story balcony
on the east side and second story bal.
cony on the moi tn side of the building
these dot.s were reached and all those
at the windows rescued. The Skinner
ire escape was also brought promptly
into ser> zee, and was the means of
saving many lives. While this work
W9s going on some frightful scenes
occurred.
One man, who had been occupying 4
window on the Walnut street front of
the hotel, became desperate at the
seeming delay in effecting his escape.
With nervous hands he tore sheets
from his bed into strips, tied them TO-
geoher, fastening this improvised rope
to the window-sill, and disregarding
the fact that it did not reach more
than twenty feev, he lei himself down.
hand over hand. Men below saw his
position and turned away their haeds
to avoid Witnessing the sickening
event that was ;-'evitable. Finally he
reached the end OF the strip and then,
for the first time, he seemed to realize
his position. He stopped, threw his
head back, revealing CHASTITY face,
and swung slowly to and fro, swayed
by the breeze which the roaring flames
above created.
His limbs swung around convulsive.
Iy as though to catch upon something,
and then he let go and groans went up
from hundreds as he whirled round.
and finally fell upon the tagging, with
thickenlng thud. lie was carried
Il saloon across the street and died =
Il few minutes. Two other II
jumped from fourth story windows,
one Of who seemed not to be danger
oi'sly hurt, while the other expired in
.eW moments. A woman in the
IA street front became panic
Ken and jumped out. She alight.
OIL her feet and was carried to the
Il. James Hotel, still alive. Her hus.
e5''nd, who had been standing by h.
side, then tore up their bedding 2
let down the strip SO made out of t
ndow. TO this the firemen attach.
"a rope which the man hauled up
king it fast to the window sill and
4..eely descended by it.
"a man named j. E. Wilson jumped
ffom fourth story window and was
killed. Andrew Ensman and Mrs.
Scott met their death in the same
way.
MIR. Peter Blow, son of the former
Minister to Brazil, was sleeping in his
room on the sixth floor, aud succeed
ed, after strenuous exertions;S in es-
c. ling with his life aud broken arm.
e building is six stories in height,
and MIR. Blow thinks that the majority
OF inmates Of the two upper stories Of
the building persisted. Two men, un.
recognized, We killed jumping from
the third story window, aud a third
one was badly MP ugl< /. Five women
were rescued fro Al the sixth story Oil
the FIJI III stree: side by heroic efforts
of the firemen, who, after ascending
he patent ladder, succeeded in get
ng a rope to the half suffocated crea.
lures.
Miss Kate Claxton the actress who
was acting when the Brooklyn theater
burned and also at the Newark theatre
which subsequently burned, and at
Washington when false alarm of fire
made theater panic, was stopping at
this hotel, and had another narrow es-
cape. Miss frankie Mcclellan, the
actress, was severely injured.
There wee eighty females employ.
ed in the hotel all of whom lodged on
the sixth floor. AS the roof fell in
within an hour after the fire broke
out the loss of life chiefly of those on
the sixth floor was reported to be very
great but later reports reduce the
number positively known to lie deed
to eleven.
VIM. Felix Munster, said to be a
member of the English House of Com.
mors, wro was married few months
ago, was residing with his wife at the
hotel, became separated, and under
the impression that she was killed he
became intensely excited and evident
~ lost his mental balance. About {
O'Clock in the morning he went to the