The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-04-09
STORIES OF SOME ESCAPES
impossible to Tell Yet How Man,
Are Killed and injured But
List is Given as Far as
is Known.

is Known.
Knoxville. Tenn, April S-Never in the
history of Knoxville has the city suffered
sucn a loss by fire as it did to-day. The
very heart of the city, including some OF
the largest wholesale and retail business
houses in the South, We're destroyed.
The loss is variously estimated at from
one to one and a half million dollars with
about sixty per cent of insurance.
The loss of life is very uncertain, as the
register of the hotel Knox, in which fifty
six people were sleeping was burned. The
proprietor of the hotel says that he had
five or six guests who have not put in
an appearance A. e. Weeks, of Locke,
n. Y, drummer for a Rochester Stamp
ing Company. is known to have perished
in the flames. r. w. Hopkins, a st.
Louis dummer. was last seen in the burn
ing building in suffocating condition,
w. H. Kephart, ex-Secretary of the
Chamber of Commerce, saved the life
of John Boyle. an old farmer by drag
ging him to a window and letting him
out on the roof of another building. Keep
hart jumped one story and was injured.
When the firemen thought all the inmates
of the hotel had escaped, a woman with
an infant in her arms rushed to the rear
window and screamed for help. A net
was quickly stretched and the woman
was 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 fire,nen. From the hotel building,
which was FIVE stories, the fire spread
east and west. A stiff wind made the
flames very ugly and the fire depart
ment was inadequate. In the wholesale
hardware house Of w. w. Woodruff and
Company, explosions of dynamite oc-
CURED and scores of people were hurt
by flying bricks and glass. 1t became
necessary, at last, to have the walls of
one building blown down by cannon to
stop the mad career of the flames.
A mountain Howitzer of the Knoxville
Legion, was called into play and 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 depart
ment was unable to conquer the flames,
telegraphed to Chattanooga for assist
ance.
The Southern Railway made up spe-
cial train and carried the Chattanooga
apparatus to Knoxville, Ill miles, i'm
115 minutes. One stop was made for
water, the actual running time being
sixty miles an hour.
When the engine arrived here, the fire
was abount under control, yet the Chat
tanooga boys did some work.
A cabinet maker named p. G. Dyer fell
dead on the street from fright.
A man named Robinson, from Pulaski,
Tennessee, is supposed to be another vic
tim. He was registered in the hotel and
has not shown up. A large force Of men
is at work clearing away the debris to-
night and searching for the bodies. The
street car lines are completely TIED up
and all the electric companies have suf-
fered.
One Knoxville architect received orders
to-day for plans for eleven buildings to
take the places of the ones burned.
All the buildings are to be replaced at
once.
The losses and insurance as given out
tonight are as follows:
McNulty, Grocery Company, loss S15,-
900; insurance $4,000; McNulty Build
ing, loss $4,000, insurance $4,000; Ho-
tel Knox, furniture and fixtures $4,000,
loss; insurance $1,000; Daniel Briscoe
Brothers and Co., dry goods, stock, loss
100000. insurance $115,0O0; Daniel
Briscoe Brothers and Co., building, loss
$4,000, insurance $4,000; E. P. King
and Co., insurance, office, loss $500
insurance. $1,000.
McNulty and McGhee, building, loss
5000; insurance nothing.
S. +. Newman and Company, printers,
loss S45, 900, insurance $4,000.
w. w. Woodruff and Company, hard
ware, building, loss $42, 600, INSURANCE.,
$4,000.
Cullen and Newman, queens ware, loss
$4,000. insurance $25,0OO.
JIG. Cullen, building $4,000 insurance
not known.
Henegar, Doyle and Arnold. clothing,
loss $4,000 insurance $7S,5OO.
NJ. d. Arnold, building, loss $4,000,
insurance $4,000.
NJ. l.. Ross and Co.. groceries, loss
100000, insurance $4,000.
NJ. l.. Ross, building, loss $4,000, in
surance $4,000; w. w. Woodruff and
Company, hardware, loss 100000, in
surance $4,000; w. w. Woodruff,
building, loss $4,000, insurance $4,000.
Murphy and Robinson, hats, loss $685.
600, insurance $4,000.
A. p. Larer dry goods, loss $4,000,
Insurance $4,000
X. 5. Payne, building, loss $4,000,
insurance, $4,000.
Sterchi Brothers, furniture. loss $780,
600, insurance $4,000.
c. c. McGhee building. loss $4,000,
insurance nothing.
Sanford Chamberlain and Alberts,
drugs, loss $4,000, insurance $4,000
Sanford Chamberlain and Alberts.
building, loss $4,000, insurance $4,000.