The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1877-04-12
Moon Associated Press Report.l

ST. LOUIS, April 1.-THE Southern
II tel burned ut 2 O'Clock this morn
ing, causing an appalling loss of life,
at first supposed to be two hundred,
but now the number Is reduced to
fifty.
Many persons were killed by jump
ing from the third and fourth stories.
Kate Claxton, the actress who so mar
rowly escaped from the Brooklyn hor-
ror, broke both her legs jumping from
the third story. The fire originated in
the lower stories.
The windows of the upper stories
were crowded with shrieking men and
women whom IL seemed impossible to
save. A few were rescued by ladders
placed on the Fourth street portico,
but on the other three sides OF the
building, bounded by Fifth, Walnut
and Elm streets, the longest ladders
fell far short OF reaching the windows.
Mr.. Peter Blow, son Of the former
minister to Brazil was sleeping In his
room on the sixth floor, and succeeded,
after strenuous exertions, in escaping
with his life and broken arm.
The building was six stories high,
and Mr.. Blow thinks the majority OF
inmates OF the two upper stoIies must
have persisted. Two men, uDrecog-
nized, were killed by jumping from
third story window, and third one
was badly mangled. Five women were
rescued from the sixth story on the
Fourth street side by the heroic efforts
of the firemen, who, ascending the
patent ladders, succeeded In getting
rope to the half sutfocated creatures.
1t Is supposed forty or fifty persons
were burned to death directly or first
suffocated. The fire originated In the
the store room in the basement, and
first came through the floor north of
the office, and in ten minutes had as
cended the elevators and rotunda and
spread over the sixth story, occupied
by employees, mostly women. The
smoke was 30 dense in some OF the
halls that gas jets were extinguished,
which rendered ingress, even to those
most familiar with the building,
matter OF great difficulty. The density
of the smoke In the halls drove many
back into their rooms and the rushed
TO the windows as means OF escape.
Ladders were raised as soon as pos
sible, and women and children with
nothing but night clothes on were
thus taken from the building. Some
tainted from fright; others sank ex-
hausted TO the ground from nervous
prostration. The ladders were too
short to reach the fifth and sixth
stories, but by hosting some OF them
on the one story balcony on the east
side and the two story balcony on the
north siIe OF the building, these floors
were reached and all those at the win
dows rescued. The Skinner fire es-
cape was also brought promptly into
service, and was the means of saving
many lives,
While this work was going on some
| frlghtful scenes occurred. One man
who had been occupying window on
the Walnut street front Of the hotel,
became desperate at seeing delay In
affecting his escape. With nervous
hands he tore the sheets from bis bed
| into strips, tied them together, and
fastening this improvised rope to the
window sill, and disfegarding the fact
that IL did not reach more than TWEEN
ty feet, he let himself down hand over
hand.
Meu below who saw his position
turned away their faces to avoid the
| slckening event that was inevitable.
Finally he reached the end OF the rope,
and then for the first time he seemed
to realize his position. He stopped,
threw his head back, revealing q
CHASTITY face and swinging slowly to
aud fro, svayed by the breeze which
roaring flames above created. His
limbs swung around convulsively -
though to catch upon something, then
he let go and groans y ent up. from
hundreds as he whirled round and
round and finally struck on the stone
tagging with a sIckening thud. He
was carried to = saloon across the street.
and died IN few minutes. Two other
men jumped from the fourth story