The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-04-13
KNOXVILLE IN ASHES.
THE CITY VISITED BY A MOST
FEARFUL CONFEDERATION.

eueSfs OF thr Hotel nn0N Iett<h In tn
Flames Many Others lnjur~d-ThriIiins
Experience of Others in Making 7heiI
Escspe-An.Engine Sent Over from Cha
building Torn Down by 8
Cannon.
Knoxville. Tenn, April S.-Never in
the history Of Knoxville has the city
suffered such a loss by fire as il did
today. The very heart of the city. in
cluding some of the largest wholesale
and retail business houses In the south.
were destroyed. The loss is yariously
etimated at from 81. 200. 600 TO 81. 500. 900,
with about 60 per cent. of insurance.
The loss Of life is very uncertain. as
the register of the Hotel Knox. In
which ffty-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. Z. Weeks, OF Locke, n. Y, drummer
for a Rochester stamping company, is
known to have persisted in the flames.
r. w. Hopkins, a st. Louis drummer,
was last seen in the burning building
in a s~uffocating condition. w. II. KEEP
hart, ex-secretarv of the chamber of
commerce, saved the life of John Boyle,
an old farmer, by dragging him to a
window and letting him out on the
roof of another building. Kephart
jumped one story and was injured.
When the tiremen thought all the in
mates of the hotel had escaped. a wo-
man with an infant in her arms rush
ed to a rear window and screamed
for help. A net was quickly stretch
ed 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 fremen.
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 department was
inadequate.
In the wholesale hardware house of
w. w. Woodruff & Co, explosions of
dynamite occurred 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 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 con-
| quer the flames, telegraphed to Chat
tanOOga for assistance. The Southern
railway made up a special train and
carried the Chattanooga apparatus to
! Knoxville, eleven miles. One stop was
made for water. the actual running
time being sixty miles an hour. When
the engine arrived here. the fire was
under control, yet the Chattanooga
| boys did some work.
A cabinet maker named p. c. Dyer
fell dead in the street from fright. "A
man named Robinson, from Pulaski,
Tenn, is supposed to be another vic
tim. He was registered in the hote
and has not shown up.
A large force of men is at work clear
ing away debris tonight, and search
ing for the bodies. The street car lines
are completely tied up, and all the
electric companies have suffered.
One Knoxville architect received or
ders today for plans for eleven build
ings to axe TIE place of ones burned
1t is more than probable that J. c. NJ.
Boyle the old gentlman hurt in the
hotel will die. He inhaled flames.
The last man to leave the burning
hotel says that he is positive that five
vi ~ cNl ooIio u IlNu. TX al
yer three or four men in the Railways
who were suffocated.
j. M. Dean. of Kansas City, who
jumped from the burning building, tells
a thrilling story, of his escape. He
started out with only his night shirt
on, and had that torn off before he
reached the street. His room mate, w.
| A. Tabor, was more fortunate, having
saved two shirts.
The Travellers Protective Association
members of the local post took care of
| all the drummers, buying some suits
! out and out.
w. H. Mitchell Of Abingdon. Va,
jumped from the burning building to
the bank building. w. l. Johnson, a
railroad baggage master, came down
from the fifth story, hand over hand,
on the water pipes, before the fire IN
| gines arrived. Only one Of h guests
saved any of his effects.
The list of dead and injured so far re-
ported is as follows:
The dead-A. E. Weeks. Locke. n.
Y, r. w. Hopking. st. Louis, Mo-,
Robinson, Pulaski. Tenn. s. E VIII
liams, Springfield, lass.
The injured are: J. G. NJ. Boyle, Ten
nessee, burned and will die: D.. NJ.
Dean, Indianapolis, ankle sprained;
Tom S. Peck, Morristown, Tenn, ankle
cut and s%prained; Lieutenant Hood,
Knoxville, cut on face and head by
glass from explosion: Claude Harris
Knoxville, cut in a dozen places; Po-
liceman Asquith, burned and cut by
flying glass; Policeman Duncan, badly
burned and was carried home: Fire
Chief Mcintosh, bruised from fall; w
H. Kephart, Knoxville, internally hurt