The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1877-04-19
4 TERRIBLE CALAHITY.
The Southern Hotel ST. Louis Burned
Heavy Toss ofJ;f. S.an~s a.. u.-

4 TERRIBLE CALAHITY.
The Southern Hotel st. Louis Burned
Heavy Loss of Life-Sceues at the Fire
The most frightful calamity that ha!
ever befallen st. Louis took place at s
very early hour on the morning o.
| Wednesday, April 11th, involving the
destruction of the Southern Hotel b,
| fire and the loss of large number O.
lives. The exact number cannot now
be given, but it is feared some forty O,
fifty perished either by being burned
directly or first smothered by the
smoke and then consumed.
From the best information at hand
it seems that the fire caught in the
storerooms in the basement, and was
first seen coming through the grand
floor, just north of the Office, and in
ten minutes it had ascended the eleva-
tors and rotunda, and spread itself
over the sixth floor, under the roof.
This floor was occupied entirely by the
employees of the hotel, the largest part
of whom were women.
The fire spread rapidly. filing every
room and hall with flames and smoke,
and the scene was of the most terrible
description. Frantic men, women and
children ran through the halls shrieking
in the most heartrending manner, in
their wild and desperate efforts to es-
cape. The smoke was SO dense in
some of the halls that the gaslights
were extinguished, which rendered
egress even to those most familiar with
the building matter of great difficulty.
The fire departm ent was on the spot
promptly, and hundreds of people con-
gregated at the scene, ready snd will
ing to render any aid necessary. The
density of smoke in the halls drove
many guests and boarders back into
their rooms, and they rushed to the
windows as means of escape. Ladders
were raised as soon as possible, and
women and children with nothing but
On were thus taken from
the burnir G building. Some tainted
from fright, and others sunk exhaust
ed to the ground from nervous pros
tratiOn.
The ladders, generally, were toe
short to reach the fifth and sixth
stories, but by hoistipg some of them
flBrthe 81 JSltQ9EEo balGGnys Qn the. east
were reached, and all those at the win
dows rescued. The Skinner fire escape
was also brought promptly into service
and was the means of saving many
lives.
While this was going on some fright
full scenes occurred. One man, who
had been occupying window on the
Walnut street front of the hotel, be-
came desperate at the seeming delay In
effecting his escape, and with nervous
hands he tore the sheets from his bed,
tied them together, fastening this i'm
provised rope to the window sill, and
disregarding tie fact that it did not
reach more than twenty feet, he
let himself down hand over
hand. The men below, who
saw his position, turned away their
heads to avoid witnessing the sicken-
ing event that was inevitable. Finally
he reached the end of the sheet, and
then, for the first time, he seemed to
realize his position. He stopped and
threw his head back, revealing a
ghastly face, and swung to and fro,
swayed by the breeze which the roar
ing flames above created. His limbs
swung around convulsively, as though
to catch upon som ething, then he let
20 and groans went up from the hun
dreds as he whnled round and round
and finally struck on the stone tagging
with a sickenipg thud. He was car
ri ed to a saloon across the street, and
died in few moments.
A man named J. E. Wilson jumped
f~o,~> ~ - fo,rtI, ctoru window and W4a
killed. Andrew Ensman and Mrs.
Scott met their death in the same way.
of the hotel is feared to be great.
There were some two hundred of them,
all of whom were lodged in the upper
story of the building. The panic among
them was perfectly terrible, and a
number of them jumped from the
upper windows on the Elm street or rear
side of the house. Among those known
to have been killed in this manner
were, Bridget Mead, Mary Carey
Bridget White, Ellen Ridley, and sew
eral others, who were carried away by
their friends, and whose names have
not yet been ascertained.
A woman in fifth story window or
the Fifth street front became panic
stricken and jumped out. Shit
alighted on her feet and was carried tc
the ST. James Hotel. She is still alive
Her husband, who had been standing
by her side, then tore up the bedding
and let the strip so made out of tn.
window. To this the fremen attached
a rope which the mau hauled up, max
ing it fast to the window sill and safel.
descended by it.
Miss Kate Claxton, the actress, hat
another narrow escape and Is un
harmed.
Two ether men jumped from tn
fourth story windows, one of whom
seemed not to be dangerously hurt
while the other expired in a few me
ments.
}, At a quarter past two, or about hal
} an hour after the fire was discovered
the whole roof was abiaze, and tn
flames were rapidly descending to tn
lower stories. A half neur later tn
floors and interior walls began to fal
The roof fell in, and there Is no
nothing left of one of the finest hote
7 in the country except the Walnut slre'
front and parts Of the Fourth an
Fifth street faces.
The following is a list of the killed,
far as known:
Rev. A. r. Adams, of Stock Cros
Berkshire, England.
Geo. Frank Gouley, grand secretal
$ of Masonic fraternity, Missouri.
Kate Reilly, Kate Doolan and Ma
: Moran, servants.
Henry Kazer, of the auditors q
: partment of the Missouri Pacific Rs
+ road. He was formerly from N
Castle, Pa, whittier his remains will