The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-04-19
PARTICULARS OF TaIb ST,
LOUIS FIRE,
Thrilling Scene and a Dread
fnl Time.

Special dispatches to tho New
York papers furnish some addi-
tional particulars of the thrilling
scenes attending the destruction
by fire OF the Southern Hotel at
st. Louis, at an early hour on
Wednesday morning. tn G escape
OF Miss Kate C.aNton, the actress,
was very narrow one. She oc-
cUpied room on the third floor.
She was awakened from a sound
sleep by a loud cry of"fre" from
the hall. jumping out Of bed,
she groped her way to the door
and opened il to find tie place
was dense with smoke and that
immediate action Way necessary.
Slipping into the scaptic,t Of gar
ments, she threw up one of the
windows TO ascertain the chance
Of escaping by that route, and
finding it was decidedly slender,
she concluded her only hope of
escape lay by the hallway. Peo-
pie were screaming and hurrying
past her door, and she determin-
ed in an instant TO cast lot with
them. There were no lights and
what was done had TO be done in
darkness. Entering the hall.
she hurried in the direction Of
the stairwayand before proceed.
ing far, was materially assisted
by a gentleman, who seized hold
Of her arm and pushed her along.
With a proper appreciation ofthe
need for haste, when she came to
fhe stairway she fell down and
rolled for some distance after
getting to the bottom, but not
being badly hurt, was able to
pick herself up expeditiously and
make her escape. Miss Claxton
lost everything-her wardrobe.
and what she valuedmost, a mum
berO of valuable papers, etc, which
she had preserved for along time,
and whose loss is a severe one.
a thrilling scene was witnessed
at the east front at about 2:30I
O'Clock. A number of people
had been taxed out of that Dor
ton of the building by means of
the Skinner truck, which had
then been removed, it being sup
posed that that side had been
emptied Gifts inmates. Sudden
ly at one Of the windows on the
fourth floor a man appeared in a
night dress. CHANGING around he
seemed to realize his situation
perfectly. The ladder had been
taken away, and below him was
a sheer descent Of sixty feet. To
jump was certain death. What
shall | do?' he asked. "Stay
where you are" answered the
crowd, aroused to 4 clear ap2re-
citation Of the imminence of the
danger, and Of the possibility of
securing help. God deliver
mel" he exclaimed, looking up at
the lurid sky, and down at the
floors below him now all ablaze.
He looked up at the sky and elias
ped his hands in prayer;
Lord, for Jesus sake" could
be easily heard by the thr0ng be-
low, calmed into perfect silence.
It seemed hours before the truck
was brought. Lord for Jesus
sake,""Stand where you are,;
said fifty voices.
The truck finally came and was
raised to the window. Two fire
men went up and put the man on
the ladder. He came down slow.
~, his limbs trembling beneath
him. AT the bottom he raised
himselfup to his full height. IIur-
rah for st, Louis" he cried; New
York amt dead YETI Then rails
ing his hand up to the sky, he
said in 4 low tone: Lord for
give me for every sin | have com
mitted. 10 think Of having your
opened with a cry, and find
the whole building on fire, and
then to get out! Lord, | thank
thee! | have been in fires before,
and in battles and fight, but this
beats all" He was two much
excited to give any rational &C
count Of himself, and was hurried
in an o~yercOat which had TO
be forced on his shoulders and
there by the two strong fire
men who escorted him to Il place
Of safety.
MT. HAYDENs HORRIBLE DEATH.
Mr., Sidmore Hayden, superin-
tendent Of the American Express,
met II horrible death. He occu-
pied a room on the fifth floor, i'm
m%ediately over the second balco-
ny on Walnut street. Being
awakened from Il sound sleep by
the cry Of fire he rushed to the
window and shouted for assis-
A ladder was soon
brought out and stood up with
he foot resting on the balcony
md the top reaching to the win
low Of his room. lie got out on
he ladder, but he had scarcely
got a footing on the top rung
when the ladder slipped and he
vas precipi tatcd head first on to !
he ground. His head was split
,pen and death was instantane-
,us.
AT one point, after much delay, :
ladder was put up with u view :
Of rescuing the occupants Of the
fifth and sixth stories. but if was