New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-04-12
HAIRBREADTH ESCAPES.

LADDERS AT WORk-PATHErlC SCENES.
lBY TELEGRAPH To THE TRIBUNE.l
ST. LOUIS, Mo-, April 11.-At 1870 o'clock this
morning the Southern Hotel was discovered to he
On fire The flames had evidently been at work for
some time for when the alarm sounded which
was no doubt at the moment OF discovery,
the entire upper portion OF the building
WAS on fire. The flames were bursting from the
roof, while from the upper windows the smoke
poured forth in dense volumes. The scene which
presented itself when THE TRIBUNE correspondent
arrived upon the ground fairly beggars Description
and cannot be presented with all Its horrors
The greater number of rooms on the two
upper floors were occupied by permanent boarderS
These, awakened from their sleep by the terrblecIy
of fire and almost suffocated by the dense smoke as
If forced Its way through the halls and rendered
exit by them extremely hazardous, II not lmpoS-
sible--rushed to the windows, and throwing them
open cried in agonized tones for help Those IN the
streets could Sec but could render no assistance fur
tber than to cry Hold on hold on. Don't Jump
Well try and get you out"
The hook aud ladder Wagons came, but there
was seemingly an inteTminabe delay III get
ting to work, and, without eXagger"tloI'
TO the spectators who paItooN oi Tue
preyailinc excitement it seemed though the de-
nartment was without its usual efficiency, and thaJ
assistance would never be rendered. The poor crea-
turcs hanging from the upper windows continued
their cries which smote upon the ears OF their help
less hearers below with such force as can better BIS
imagined than described.
At last when it seemed as though the names had
gained almost full possession of the sixth story the
ladders were brought into requlsltion; but they
were far TOO short the longest scarcely reaching be-
You'd the fourth floor
The cries of Help! Help" as they rang forth from
all sides. seemed to parayze the fircmen as well as
.lrnr SN1
cool head suggested that the longest ladders be
raised 70 the ton Of the Wanut-st. vc,randah which
would have the effect Of frightening them by two
STORES. This was done, and by it many were saved
From the busy workers about the debris there
was Int one opinion, and that the numbers reported
lost are by one-baf TOO low in estimation y Ill
tell Won what =" said one sturdy worker, Il worked
Of romovDp the bodies at the BrOolly Theatre, aud
We didn't think there were over dozen burned,
and when the fire is down and we get
10 work here its my honest opinion the people VIII
be surprised 1t is of course impossb to approx
male The number lost in the fire. but the prevailing
snpposition Is that not less than 80, and perhaps
100. persons lie buried in the general demo
GtioD. A record of those saved is being Kept
AZ the LindeH Hotel; but thus far not
more than 80 persons, who were IN the
Southern last night have signed II. 1t is reported
that Edward Kerre, the French Consul at Chicago,
arrived in the city last night and put
I'D at the Southern. AS no word can DC
obtained concerning him, many believe thal
he persisted in the flames. Among the fortunate
ones who escaped the fiery clement at the southern
was T. j. Gumpert, esq, of New-iOrk, agent 1or
Blood's needles. He pushed through sulocatihg
smoke which almost took MS Dleatn' anu ie''nou
the street in safety
Miss Kate ClaxtOn's experiences with the merry
olo,,ort bo,a he means of making her most
notable person. She was q prominent figure III the
record of the terrible Brooklyn fire, where
several hundred lives were LOS, and her visit
to St. Louis has added to her reput .Jion for good
fortune in time Of peril. Thus far during her pres
emf engagement of "The Two Orphans" at the
Olympic, she has been quartered at the Southerh
and occupied a room on the third floor She was
awakened from a sound sleep by LOUD cry OF
fret from the hall. Jumping out OF Ded'
she CROPPED her way to the door and opened IL 10
fud the place wa, dense with smoke and that imme-
date action wa3 necessary. Slipping INTO inc
seantiest of -ments she threw up one OF
the windows 10 ascertain the chance of eScap-
ing by that route, and, finding 1t was
decidedly sleuder. she concluded her only hope OF
escape Law by the hallway People were screaming
and hurryng past her door, and she determined IN
an instant to cast her lot with them There were
lights, and what was done had to be done Ill
darkness. Entering the hall, she hurried III the
direction of tine stairway and, before proceeding
far, was ma, rally assisted by gentle
man, who seized hold Of her arm ana
pushed her along With proper appreciation
of the need for haste, when she came
10 stairway she fell down and rolled for some dlS-
tance aftOr getting TO the bottom, but, not h9ing
badly hurt, able to pick herself up expedltousy
and make Horoscope. She LOST every article OF
cloth ng she had in the hotel save what sh, ina on
Mr.. Joseph Pulitzer occupied rOoms Nos oU4 and
305. lie escaped almost naked. His statement to
the reporter was rather brief and interesting. lie
returned TO the hotel at about 1870 o'clock
from a cOngenial tea-paTty at Mrs. Nor
rson's house. where, in company with
Senator BOgy the Hon. Erastus Wells, Mr.. Caulfeld
Of Chicago, Gen. Clark the member of Congress,
and others, he had spent a very pleasant evening.
After chat with Mr.. Herman Linde, famous Ger
man reader who had just returned from one OF his
Rotations Mr. Pulitzer at about half after midnight
retired. Precisely an hour afterward he awoke. hear
ing loud cries of "Fire" on the street below.
Hearing no alarm from the hotel office, he says he
remained perfectly quiet until he heard the shreks
Of women on the floor below. He went out without
dressing, and found the staircase and cor
ndOr thoroughly filled with smoke. He
never returned to his room. and was nearly
ehoked to death when he reached
the exit on Fifth-st. Mr. Pulitzer thinks that the
alarm bell never was sounded inside OF the hotel,
and people on the street told him the fire was OBJ
seryed from the street nearly 20 minutes before the