The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1886-12-18
TERRIBLE CALAMITY.

Lives Destroyed.
ST.. LOUIS, Dee. 1l-At twenty minutes
5ast two o'clock this afternoon the fourth
door Of the 4. f. Shopleigh " Cantwell
Hardware Company's store, 4l44lG42O
North Main street. caved in. The floor
was loaded with neutrality-suspicious.
and the break extended through the third
floor, loaded with shelf goods, and the sec
ond floor loaded with sample goods to the
first Whether the first floor Caved in or
not can not be stated In the basement
the boilers set fire to the debris, and in
very few moments the entire mass was
burning. Most Of the inmates eff the build
ing escaped without injury or with slight
bruises.
The fire department was represented by
two engines and Hayes truck before the
alarm had ceased striking, and two
streams were Immediately turned upon
| the building. The heat was intense,
and the engine companies as they
arrived busted themselves pouring water
on buildings adjacent Water poured in
| upon the hardware ruin seemed to add TO
rather than diminish the fury of the
! flames, and none but dremen could keep
positions within fifty feet of the burning
! building
About fifteen minutes after the fire be
! gan the front of No. 42O North Main fell,
exposing the burning refuse piled within.
! There was not stick standing between
| No. 4l6 and the south wall of No. 422.
! There was no partition wall between No.
AIS and No. APO, the floors being sup
ported by slender iron pillars.
The flames increased in No. 4l6.
when that portion of the front wall fell
and the remainder of the front wall
trcmbled The increase of the flames
warned Chief Lindsay Of probable
spread, and a general alarm was sounded,
attracting the entire department to the
scene.
John Beck, brother Of Mr.. Beck Of Beck
& Marshall. was in the sample room at
the time the building fell, it is said, and
was killed, together with two customers,
TO whom he was showing goods Others
are said to have been in the building at
the time of the crash. and in the excite
mont il is impossible to learn how many
were killed.
Beck. the young man who, il is said, was
killed, was the city salesman for Shap-
leigh u Cantwell, and was popular and
well-liked in the city. 1t is probable that
the men with him were citizens Of st.
Louis.
While Joseph Chambers, foreman Of En-
CINE company No, 6 was carrying hose near
the burning Shaplcigh building he was
struck on the head by some falling bricks
and badly injured
Fireman Russell. of No 6, says that when
he arrived en- the scene lie saw a man in
tha O. ~
with the flames all around When he
looked up a minute afterward, the man
had disappeared, and he supposes he must
have fallen back into the burning building
and persisted in the flames.
The value OF Shapleigh & Cantwelrs
stock Is placed at S50O,OO0 and it is a total
loss The buildings belong to several diff.
ferent parties and measure 125 feet on
Main street and 100 feet on Vine street
and were all four stories high. The loss
on the buildings will add nearly $4,000
more to the total loss.
The entire insurance on Shapleigh &
Cantwells stock is placed at $3.50 900
ST. Louis, Dec. 13.-The ruins of the
Shapleigh-C antwell fire were visited by
thousands of people yesterday, the streets
During the whole of Saturday nigh,
water was thrown on the smoking ruin.
by the fire department. Several steamer.
were kept there until after midnight
= and then when the fire was signale(
out two plug streams were turned on
At 9 o'clock Yesterday morning Chic
+ Lindsay sent Engine Co. 70 and IS to tn,
scene, and the work of washing down tn
] a 1,r
! day before was commenced This Worl
, consumed about four hours. an,
then the steamers were withdraw,
and the two plug streams left a
, work, the object in view being TO cool tn
a heated bricks and mortar which had fale
% into the cellar, so that the work OF cleal
I, ing away the mass and of removing tn
bodies might be commenced Chief Line
says idea was TO flood the cellars and i
that way eXtiEguish every sparl, Of fir,
j The mass was still very hot and occasion
d ally a jet Of tame and q volume of smoi
+ would shoot up several feet into the ali
; having forced their way through I'll
crevices Of the debris. A heav
stream from one of the plug line
!, would quench the blaze for fe,
- minutes, and then it would break OF
i again IN the same or adjacent place
e Shortly after noon yesterday about doze
men were put to work under the direction
- Of Assistant Fire Chief Finnerty. an
some of the mass was removed from til
east end Of the cellar of No. AS tn
Il steam and smoke that constantly aros
: from the ruins prevented effective worl
} however, and but very little was accOn
+ plished
Late last night a reporter called at NJ
4 4. f. Shapleigh's residence on Washing
q ton avenue. and asked Mr.. s. if he ha
heard that some q his customers wei
in the store at the 1lme and Were perhaI
caught in the crash
= Mr.. Shapleigh sad: Il have heard Il
$ report that some o. our customers wol
5 in the store with Nc Clarence Beck, OF
Q city salesman, at the time, but that is III
true and Mr.. Beck has so stated to M
I He and the customers left the building
: short time before the crash.n
: do you believe that any others wei
burned except Palmer and Mah0Dp
''No; feel quite certain that they wei
not have not learned that there wei