The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1897-04-09
FOUR GUESTS
PERISHED.
Business Section Of Knox
vile, Tenn, Wiped out By
a Disastrous Fire.
Buildings Were Blown Down by
Dynamite to Check the
Flames.
LOSS MORE THAN A MILLION.
Several Hotel Guests Missing Flames Broke
Out While People Slept-SpringfieId, Mass,
Man Said to Have Been Killed.

Knoxville. April 9.-The most disas-
trous fire in the history OF Knoxville de-
stroyed the very heart Of the city. in
Guiding some of its largest wholesale
and retail business houses. yesterday.
and caused a loss variously estimated
at from 81, ,O00, 900 to 81. SOC. 900. with about
GO per cent OF insurance.
The register of the Hotel Knox, in
which Sc people were sleeping, was
burned. The proprietor of the hotel says
he had five or six guests who have not
put In an appearance.
When the fircmen thought all the in
mates OF the hotel had escaped a woman
with an infant in her arms rushed to a
rear window and screamed for help. A
net was quickly stretched and the woman
asked to drop the child out, but as the
smoke almost choked her she told them
that If one had to die both would die.
The woman was finally rescued by the
hremen.
From the hotel building which is five
stories in height the fire spread east and
west. A stiff wind made the flames very
ugly. and the fire department was in
adequate. In the wholesale hardware
house OF w. w. Woodruff & Co. a dyna-
people were hurt by flying bricks and
SIS.
AZ became necessary at last to have
the walls OF one building blown down by
cannon to check the spread OF the fire.
A mountain howitzer of the Knoxville
legion was called into play and a load of
canister did the work. at the same time
tearing up some residences in a different
portion OF the city.
The city authorities, realizing that the
fire department was unable to conquer
the flames, telegraphed TO Chattanooga
for assistance. An engine was placed
aboard a flatcar on the Southern rail-
way and started on the run of Ill miles,
which was made i'm lie minutes, with one
stop for water, an average of 90 miles an
hour. When the engine arrived here the
fire was about under control, yet the
Chattanooga firemen did some good
work
A cabinet worker named p. c. Dyer
fell dead on the street from fright. A
nan named Robinson from Pulaski is
supposed to be another victim. He was
registered at the hotel. and has not yet
shown up. A large force of men are
at work clearing away the debris and
searching for the bodies. The street car
lines are completely tied up, and all the
electric companies have suffered.
One Knoxville architect has already
received orders for plans for IL buildings
to take the places of the ones burned
All the buildings are to be replaced at
once.
The Death List.
The list of dead and injured, so far
reported, is as follows:
Dead:
A. e. Weeks. Locke. N. Y. il'.r
r. w. Hopkins, st. Louis
- Robinson, Pulaski Tenn.
s. E. Williams, Springfield, Mass.
injured: j. G. M. Boyle, Tennessee,
burned and will die: d. M. Deane, In
dianapolis. ankle sprained; Tom 8. Peck,
Morristown. ankle cut and sprained:
Lieutenant Hood, Knoxville, cut on face
and head by glass from explosion;
Claude Harris, Knoxville. cut in dozen
places: Policeman Asquith, burned. and
cut by flying glass; Policeman Dun
can. badly burned; Fire Chief Mcintosh,
bruised from fall; w. H. Kephart, Knox
vile. internally hurt.
1t Is more than probable that J. G. M.
Boyle. the old gentleman hurt in the
hotel fire, will die. He inhaled flames.
The last man to leave the burning
hotel says that he Is positive that Ave
or six persons were burned. He ran
over three or four men In the Railways
who were suffocated.
]. M. Deane Of Kansas City, who jump
ed from the burning building. tells
thrilling story Of his escape. He start
ed out with only his night shirt on. and
had that torn or before he reached the
street.
The T. p. A. members Of the local
post took care of all the drummers. buy
ing some suits out and out.
w. III. Mitchell Of Arlington. Va, jump
ed from the burning building to the
bank building.
w. I. Johnson. a railroad baggage
master, came down from the NTH story
hand over hand on the water pipes be-
fore the fire engines arrived. Only one
&c .he guests saved any or MS eDccts