The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1877-04-12

ExeisGsireSy to fAe
D.fILI I.S'TELLlGE.s-CER.
k.s>TklRt STATES.

ST. LOTS. April 1.-The southern
hotel in this city was burned al two
clock this morning Abou. City live.
were lost as nearly IS ran be sscer,aincd
up to this time.
ST Louis, Apr: ll.-Th- most
fr'ghtfui calamity thai has ever befell
- Louis took place very early this
morning. involving the destruction of
the Southern hotel by fire with the loss
Of large number of lives. The exact
number cannot no. be given. but II is
fcared that forty or fifty persons ~ore
either burned directly, or first smoth-
cred by smoke and then consumed.
The fire first caught in the store rooms
Of the basement and was first seen
through the ground floor just north of
the office, and in ten minutes it had as
cended the elevators and rotunda and
spread itself over the sixth floor under
the roof This floor Was occupied en-
tirely by employees OF the hotel, the
larger portion of whom were women,
The fire spread rapidly. filling every
room and hall with fianus AMI smoke.
and the scene was one Of the most aw-
full description. Men. women and
children. ran through the halls shrek
ing in the most heartrending manner in
their wild and desperate effort to es-
cape. The smoke was 80 dense in some
of the halls that the gas Jets were ex.
tinguished, which rendered egress
TO those the most familiar with
the building matter of great difficulty.
The density of the smoke in the hall
drove many guests and borders back
into their rooms and these rushed to The
windows rs q means Of escape. Lad
ders were raised as soon rs possible AMI
women and children with nothing on
but their night clothes were taken fro m
the burning building Some tainted
from fright, and others fell exhausted
to the ground from nervousness. The
ladders were gene rally to short to reach
the fifth and sixth stories. but by hoist
ing some on the one-story balcony On
the east side. aud the second story bal
cony on the north side of the building,
these floors were reached and all those
ut the windows rescued. The Fire Es-
cape was brought into service and saved
many lives. While this work was 60
ing on some frishtful scenes occurred.
One man who had been occupying q
window on the street front of the hotel
became desperate Mt the seeming delay
in effecting his escape With nervous
hands he tore the sheets from his bed
into strips. tied them together. fasten-
ing this improvised rope to the win
dow-sill. and disregardins the fact that
it did not reach more than twenty feet.
he let himself down. hand over hand
Men below, who saw his position. turned
away their heads TO avoid witnessing
the sickening event that was inevitable.
Finally i,e reached the end of his sheet
aud for the first time seemed To realize
his position. He stopped, threw his
head back. revealing n CHASTITY face, and
swinging slowly to and fro, swsyed by
the breeze which the roaring flames
above created, his limbs swinging
around convulsively as though to catch
around something; then he let go.
Groans went up from hundreds as he
whirled round and round and finally
struck on the stone tagging. He died
in few minutes. Two other men
jumped from the fourth story windows.
one of whom seemed not to be DANCE
rously hurt, while the other expired in
few moments. 4 woman in
the sixth story became panic
stricken. and jumped out. She
alighted on her feet, aud was carried
10 the ST. James Hotel. still alive Her
husband. who was standing ty her side,
then tore bedding and let the strips so
made ont of window; to this the
tiremen attached rope which the man
hauled up. making 1t fast to the win
dow sill. and safely descended to the
ground 10y IT, 4 man by the name Of
j. Z. Wilson jumped from the fourth
story window. and was killed An
drew Ensman aud Mrs Scott met their
deaths in the same way The NOR
tali,y among the female help Of the
hotel is feared 10 be great There were
some 600 of them oil Of whom were
lodged III the upper story Of the build
,ng, The panic among them WAS tern
bile. and numbers Of them jumped from
the UPPER windows Among those
known IL have been killed in this mNn-
ner were Bridget Mead. Mary Carey.
Bridget White. Ellen Reilly. and
number of others who were
carried away by friends and whose