The Morning herald., 1877-04-12
WILMINGTON. DEL THURSDAY, APRIL 70. 1877.

J 1AONODA u L al HI
= - = = - ! - p I
y News ~ TsleSraph. /
The Southern Hotel ii 81. Louis was
burned yesterday morning. II ID reported
'hat over 80 hves were lost. All the stores
In the vicinity are sccupied by the dead and |
wounded. A great many persons jumped
from the fifth and sixth atory windows, and
we're dashed to pieces. m,,u,5 re
The exact number of lives lost cannot
now be given. but It is feared that come
forty or fifty persons perished either BY i
being burned directly Of first smothered by |
smoke and then consumed. faistu ''9e
It seems the fire caught In the Storeroom
ln the basement, and was first seen coming
through the ground floor just north Of the
Office, and in ten minutes It had ascended
the elevators and rotupda, sad spread itself
over the sixth floor under the roof. This
floor was occupied BY employees ofthe hotel,
the most Of ofwhom we're women.
The fire spread rapidly, filing every room
and hall with fame and smoke, and the
scene was Of the most terrible description.
Frantic men, women and children ran
through the hall shrleking in the, most
heart-rt nding manner In their wild and des-
perate efforts to escape. The ssmoke was
30 dense In some Of the halls that the gas
jets were extfnguished, which rendered
egress even to those most familiar with the
bnildipg matter of great difficulty.
The Fire Department WAS on the spot
promptly, and hundreds Of people congre-
gated at the scene, ready and willing loren.
der any aid necessary. @ s'iil6' I'D
The density Of the smoke in the hall
dreve many guests and boarders back into
their rooms, and they rushed to the windows
a. means Of escape. Ladders were raised
a. soon as possible, and women and child
rem with nothing but their night clothes On
were thus taken from the Burning builds
ing.
Some tainted from fright, and others
sunk exhausted to the ground from nervous
exhaustion. The ladders were generally
too short to reach to the nth and sixth
stories, but by hosting some of them on
the one-story balcony on the north side Of
the building, these floors were reached and
all those at the windows rescued. The Skins
ner Fire Escape was also brought promptly
into serviYe, and was ths means of saving
many lives. .-..ss5t ' ..gz B..
While this work was going on some
frightful scenes occurred. One man who
had been occupying . window on the WAL
nut street front OF the hotel became desper-
ate at the seeming delay in efecting his es..
cape. '....... @
With nervous hands he tore the sheets
from his bed into strips, tied them together,
fastening this improvised rope to the win-i
dow sill, and disregarding 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
faces to avoid witnessing the sickening
event that was inevitable.
Finally he: reached the end of the rope,
and then for the first time he seemed to re-
alize his position. He stopped, threw his
head back, revealing . ghast]y face, and
swung slowly TO and fro, swayed by the
breeze which the roaring flames above ere.
ated. 40. .:-.-r.4 .,rg ,7al 5 va
His limbs swung around convulsively, as
though to catch upon something; then he
let 70, and groans went up from hundreds
as he whirled round and round and finally
struck on the stone tagging with sickeue
ing thud. r.. F-! 70
He was carried to saloon across the
street and died in few moments.
She Alighted on her feet and was carried
to the St. James Hotel still alive. Her
husband, who had been standing by her
side, then tore up the bedding and let the
strip so made out of the window. To this
the fireman attached rope which the man
hauled up, making It fastto the wiz dow sill
aud safely descended by It. A.man named
j. E. Wilson jumped from fourth story
and was killed. Andrew Eusman and
Mrs. Scott met their deaths in the same
way.
The morality among the female help Of
the hotel is feared to be great.
There were some 200 Of them. allof whom
were lodged in the upper story Of the build,
ing. The panic among them was perfectly
terrible, and number of them jumped
from the upper WIN lows on the Elm s,re.
or rear side Of the house. Among those
known to have been killed Ia this manner
were Bridget Meade, Mary Carey, Bridget
White, Ellen Reilly, and several others who
were carried away by friends and whose
names have not yet been ascertaised.
Miss Kate Claxton, the actress, had an
other narrow escape, but fortunately is un-
injured.
Among those known to have been saved
are H. Kretz, Texas Miss A. Mccoy, Al.
toona, Pa; Mrs. Gott, Syracuse, N. r.;
W. B, Coggswell and family and J. Kim
ball, of Mine Lamotte, Mo. DR.. Gerlact,
the German Consul, jumped from window
and broke q leg. His wife is unhurt.
Charles Teenan lost his life in attempting
to save others. Philip Meroll, a boarder at
the hotel, was brought out alive, but en-.
tirely bereft of reaxon.
At a quarter past 2, or about half an
hour after the fire was discovered, the en-
tire roof was ablaze, and the flames were
rapidly decending to the lower stories.
A half hour later tie floors and interior
wallis began to fall. The roof fell In and
there is now nothing left Of one of the
finest hotels In the country, except the