The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1900-05-19
Two Persons Known to Be Dead,
One Missing and Many
Seriously Injured.
DESTRUCTION OF The HOTEL HELENE.
The Event RepIete with Daring Res
cues and Narrow Escares-J""hes
Mcneil. IA Hotel Porter Show ed
Himself to Have Been Cast In
Heroic Mould.

the Hotel Helene at 40 to ia Fifty
third street. Five of the injured will
probably die.
The Dead.
Charlotte Peterson, dining room
Girl; found in her room burned to a
crisp.
Lena Pearson, found burned almos
beyond recognition in room with Miss
Peterson.
-. Patterson, man, last seen in
hotel office at IL o'clock, Tuesday
night.
The Seriously Injureds
w. +. Horn, burned abont face and
hands and body, leg broken; will die.
s. G. McHaddin, hesh partly burned
from body; will die.
f. f. Tarbux, burned about body;
recovery doubtful.
Elizabeth Florence. internally in
iured and skull fractured; uncOn-
s%cious; recovery doubtful.
Z. u. Allen, both ankles sprained and
internally injured in jumping from
tbird-story window.
Mrs. 7. d. Allen, bach broken and
internally injured; jumped from third
story window; will die.
Miss Helen Joseph, Badly bruised and
overcome by smoke.
Stella Neiiwolski, chambermaid,
jumped from first floor; overcome by
smoke and injured internally.
L. j. Mcneil, porter; burned about
face.
Miss Sarah Hutchinson,a high school
teacher; injured in falling from a Sec
ond floor.
James Costin, fireman; cut by fall
ing glass.
Mrs. Bruce and baby, overcome by
smoke.
Mrs. -Adelia Lawson, badly bruised.
The loss to the building and fur
nishings was $4,000.
Rescues and Narrow Escapes.
The destruction of the hotel was re-
plete with daring rescues and narrow
escapes, in which James Mcneil, the
porter, earned himself the title of
hero. He was the first to warn the
sleeping occupants of their danger.
He carried Helen Joseph down a sway
ing ladder from the third floor, and
then, amid the cheers of the oplook-
ers, returned to the second floor, where
u woman was lying unconscious, her
clothing on fire. He carried her to the
/, window, and dropped her into the
, arms of Policeman Wolf. The effort
and the heat were too much for Nc
Neil, and be staggered back into the
smoke. The people below thought he
: was lost. A policeman mounted to the
> shoulders of a brother officer and,
clambering over the window ledge
caught Mcneil by the feet and
dragged him from the room. Mcneil
: was passed down to the ground, and
soon recovered consciousness.
Aroused Enthusiasm
The rescue of q woman and her
baby aroused the enthusiasm of the
crowd. Mrs. Bruce, with one arm
around her infant child, was clinginc
with the other arm to the ledge of {
. second-story window. Smoke wa,
' pouring out in smothering clouds, ant
Mrs. Bruce seemed on the point O.
falling. Her fingers were relaxing
, when, suddenly, three policemen car
ihS a. dlih III thNAc IN
!, them, rushed into the flames which
= were then darting from the basemei,
windows, just in time to catch tn
= woman and her child in safety. Mrs
Bruce was badly burned, but had sue
. ceeded in protecting her baby, so tina
not one hair of it's head had beei
burned.
Many Exhibition of Courage.
There were many other narrow es
capes md exhibitions of courage dur
= ing the burning of the structure, a
there was only one entrance to tn
building, which compelled the create
number of the guests to make thei
exits as best they could through tn
windows.
The rescues were nearly all accom-
plished before the firemen arrived
n The blaze spread so rapidly hat ha
n the people in the hotel been compelle
to await the arrival of the hook an
70 ladder company, many more live
/. would have been lost. The policeme
a and others on the ground early, how
m ever, were able to secure ladders froI
Is a paint store nearby, and by thi
W means saved many of the guests ;ro<
;s death.
10 The fire started in the basemen
r. and spread with the greatest rapidit,
But for the heroic action of Porte
us Mcneil every person in the buildin
: would undoubtedly have persisted.
Brave Porter Mcneil.
Police, firemen and spectators unite
II. in one voice in praising Porter Nj
ed Neil. He was formerly a gunner in I'll
English navy on board the battleshi
"a, Dreadnought and holds medals fl
ex craftsmanship and proficiency in drill
ing. He took part in the Jameson raj
and it was while in South Africa tn;
. the illness which compelled him
re secIr a discharge came upon him.
to Mrs. Mary Howell has been arreste
nd near Slater, KY, on the charge of xii
,ss ing her six-weeks old child. 1T