Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-07-19
CLICKING CEASED.
Fire in the Western Union
Building in New York City.
Seven Persons Saved From an
Awful Fate on the Roof.
Driven Upward by the Rapidly
Spreading Flames,

dels-R Rescued at Last by Means of a
Rope-Many Lives Saved by Messen-
ger Boys Presence of Mind-The Assoc
ciated Press Burned Out-Loss Very
Heavy.
New YORK, July 19.-The Western
Union telegraph building caught fire at
Z o'clock Friday morning. The battery
room OH the sixth floor, the operating
room ON the floor above and the restau-
rant ON the ninth floor, were completely
DESTROYED, and seven lives were miracu-
lously saved.
A few minutes before Z o'clock the
operators began to arrive to go to work.
About fifty men and young women had
reached the operating room.
Discovered by a Messenger. .
A messenger boy named Matthews
first saw puff of smoke under a table
in the checking department ON the floor
below the operating room. He had
scarcely time to investigate the cause
when wooden table was in flames, and
the fire was spreading with lightning
rapidity. He rushed up stairs to notify
the new arrivals that the building was
on fire. They were compelled to go
through the checking department to go
down stairs.
A..Panic Results.
A panic was the result of the messen-
gers warning; the young women
screamed and the men rushed pellmell
down stairs to escape tue pursuing
flames which. in less than two minutes,
had spread throughout the entire check
ing department, burning up wires, in
struments and tables as if they were so
much tinder. The entire room. when
the panic stricken crowd passed through
ii, was filled with dense, sitting
smoke. They fell over each other in
their wild efforts to reach place of
safety. .... GA
The little messenger, with an operator
named Skidmore, were the only two per-
sons who retained presence of mind
enough to take in the awful situation.
The boy rushed down stairs and out OF
the building and sent out an alarm,
while Skidmore got down q fire extin-
guisher and endeavored to quench the
flames. This he saw was impossible,
and he had to flee in very few min
utes. The flames ate through from
floor to floor in short order.
Seven Yet in the Building.
just about this time 1t flashed upon
the minds of the frightened persons who
had escaped that there were seven Others
in the restaurant floor who had not been
warned of their danger. All exit had
by this time been cut off, but the i'm
prisoned people succeeded in reaching
the roof through the trap door Under
the caves of the big building the flames
were shooting and the editice seemed to
be crowned with fire.
Escape Seemed Impossible.
When the great crowds OF people ON
the streets saw the men and women
rush out on the roof cry Of horror went
up. for it seemed impossible that they
could escape the fire burning between
| them and the street Screaming women
| on the roof wrung their hands and men
| cried ont: "For Gods sake do some
| thing to save us.
The first engine had arrived before
the terrifying events transpiring on the
roof were made visible to the crowd
gazing upward from Broadway, Soon
q volume of water was pouring into the
| burning building, and the sounds Of
cracking and breaking timbers was
added to the confusion Of the scene In
| a few minutes there We're fourteen en-
| Rines and hook and ladder companies
and a water tower on the ground
| Water poured in through the flaming
windows and beat down upon the roof
| But the flames were stubborn in spite
| of the tons of water poured upon them,
Still no effort had been made to save
! the terrified men and women on the
roof. who could be seen like spectres
enveloped in smoke and mist.
To the Rescue.
A long ladder was rushed up on the
roof of Day street, and placed against
the rear of the burning building 1t
did not reach within fifty feet of the
roof of the big telegraph building. I'M
daunted. however, two of the firemen
scaled the ladder, leaving 1t at the top,
threw rope at the roof. 1t was caught
and tied by one of the brave girls, who
seemed never to lose her nerve,
The two firemen pulled themselves up
hand over hand until they reached the
top. and amid cheers from thousand
throats below they let the seven down to
places Of safety. 1t was accomplished
just In Time,
for the flames burst up through the cor
nice and soon enVelOpeu Tue rOOI.
The tower of the building was canght
by the flames. 1t was beautiful and
at the same time TERRIFYING sight to
see the fire shoot out from the windows
around the entire building. fully fifty
feet, and blown back like great fiery
tongues to lick the roof of the building
Loss Not Known. But Heavy.
The entire upper portion Of the build
ing was gutted. and every instrument
and wire rendered useless. At thi:
time the loss cannot be estimated, but II
will be great.
Origin a bIy stery.
How the fire originated no one seem.
to know positively, but it is surIniseC
that two of the company's electric light
wires became crossed and set the floor
ing on fire.
Fortunate 1t Wasn't Later
Had the fire broke out an hour latel
the loss of life might have been enor
nous. Fully 200 girls and men are EN-
ployed on these two floors.
PARTICULARS OF THE FIRE.
Started In the Battery Room--The AssO