Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-01-27
THE STATE AT LARGE.
PETERSBURG AND VICINITY.

A,mo.s Disastrous Fne-Narrow Escape
OF ,he Cbief Ensinssr-A Colered Man
Killed.
lCorrespopdence OF the Richmond Dispatch.l
PETERSBURG, Jan. 20, 1886.
A fire occurred at 2 O'Clock this
morning in the large shoe-store OF
Messrs. @. Wright & Sons, under the
Library-Hall building, at the corner Of
Sycamore and Bollingbrook streets,
which came near proving disastrous
one. The FIRE originated, accidentally,
in the rear portion Of the store, and
when the department reached the spot
the flames were roaring through the win
dows, but fortunately the element was
confined entirely to the back portion OF
the store. The walls Of the large building
were cracked in several places by the
heat, and the building itself was only
saved by the food Of water poured upon
it from the engines. The rear half OF
Messrs. Wright & Sons store was pretty
well Quilted, and the greater portion OF
the stock mere or less injured by fire,
smoke, and water. The firm have an
insurance on their stock Of 10000,
distributed as follows: Royal, $4,000;
Germania, 1880; Virginia State,
$4,000; Phoenix, $4,000. This will
more than cover the actual loss. On
the second floor of the building is fine
hall, fitted up especially for dances and
concerts. A hole was burned through
this floor, and the room was much dam
aged by smoke and water. The stock
Of goods of T. +. Kidd, plumber and
gas-fitter, and Of j. NJ. Coleman, under
the building, weres considerably dam
aged by water. The building and stores
are the property of Mr.. II. w. Siggins,
of Richmond, and are insured. The
damage to them is not heavy. On two
previous occasions the buildings on this
site have been destroyed by fire, the
second occasion being the destruction
Of the fine Library building, and nearly
all of the Public Library.
Chief-Engineer p. ii. Curtis met
with a narrow escape during the fire
this morning. He entered the large
room on the second floor, which was
densely filled with smoke. his object
being to open the doors and windows
to create a drsught. Some one, not
aware of his presence, thoughtlessly
closed the door behind him. He be-
came almost suffocated, but managed
to crawl on his knees to one Of the
windows, where a ladder had been
placed. When within few feet of the
ground he fell from exhaustion, and it
was some little time before he was re-
stored.
Lewis Grigg (colored), employed as
brakeman on the Norfolk and Western
railroad, was killed this morning near
Concord station. He slipped and fell
between the cars while the train was in
motion.
The two prisoners-Davy Williams
and Mary Williams (both colored), who
were sentenced to the penitentiary by
the Hastings Court last week-the
former for two and a half, and the lat
ter for eight years-will be taken over
to that institution tomorrow.
The grand jury has indicted the Nor
folk and Western Railroad Company for
running its freight trains through this
city on Sunday. and it is creating de-
cided flutter in the community by prose-
cutting a vigorous investigation of the
reports Of sales of liquor to minors and
of gambling. In the Hastings Court
this morning some five or six little boys
made statements that they had been
made drunk by liquor furnished them
in some of the drinking houses. They
were taken before the grand jury as
witnesses. After a session Of several
hours the grand jury asked to be ad-
iourned over until tomorrow, when, it
is understood. they will bring in a
number of indictments against parties
charged with selling liquor to minors.
Organized efforts are being made, both
among the white and colored people Of
the community, to relieve the suffering
among the poor, of which, it is de-
clared that there has been recently, and
still is, a great amount.
ROBIN ADAIR.