The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1900-11-16
FOUR DIE IN FLAMES
Three-Story Frame Hotel at Pop
lar Bluff, Mo-, Is De
stroyed.
DISASTER OFF NOVA SCOTIA
Steamer City of Monticello Wrecke |
and Thirty-Two Persons Drowned
Bodies Swept Ashore.

Poplar Blum. NO., Nov. 13-A fire.
| accompanied with a terrible fatality.
| occurred here early in the morning, re-
| sulting in the total destruction of the
Clifford House, a large three-story
frame building. The list of known
| dead is as follows: Heck Clark. Doni-
phan, Mo-; Rebecca Owens. Poplar
| Bluff; Shelby de Hart, Poplar Bluff;
Curiey Berry, Poplar Bluff. Fatally
injured-Etta Hargrove, Poplar Bluff;
| Winslow Stowe, Tennessee Missing
Eugene Dalton, Hot Springs, Ark.
The following were badly burned or
injured in jumping from windows: I.
A. Smith, Poplar Bluff, terribly burned
| about the face and hands; Barney Per-
maud, De Soto, Mo-, hands and face
burned Charles Stradley, Poplar Bluff,
bruised and burned; Mrs. Benjamin
Shelby, Poplar Bluff, back injured,
burned and bruised Pink Berry, Ell
mer Freshear, James Upchurch, all
Poplar Bluff, severely burned. An
unknown woman is also thought to be
fatally injured and about a dozen more
were slightly burned or received
bruises in trying to escape from the
building.
Was Mass of Flames.
The fire originated about 1890
o'clock in the morning in the rear Of
the hotel and in a few minutes the
mammoth building, which was entire
ly of wood, was a mass of flames.
There were in the neighborhood of
forty-five guests in the building and
the porter, the only person awake in
the hotel, was unable to give an alarm,
the smoke and flames driving him
back. The fire department was on
hand early, but they were unable to
render any assistance to the inmates.
The guests on the second and third
floors were caught like rats in trap,
the fire preventing their escape by the
stairs and they leaped from the second
and third story windows. One of
these, Heck Clark, jumped and broke
his back: Eta Hargrave leaped from
a third-story window and suffered
broken limbs and internal injuries,
which will cause her death. Others
were also internally injured.
Forced His Wife to Jump.
One guest, Benjamin Shelby. forced
his wife to leap from second-story
window and thereby saved her life,
but lost everything they possessed.
Mr.. Shelby tried to escape by the STAIR
way but the smoke and flames drove
him back. He asserts that he saw ten
or fifteen persons in the hallway over
come by smoke If this is the case,
a dozen or more bodies may be found
in the ruins. Many Of the guests
had hair breadth escapes and ran from
the doomed building clad only in their
night clothes, losing everything they
possessed in the world. Their hair
and eyebrows were singed by the
flames. Numerous feats of herolsm
are recorded and if some Of the male
guests had not aided the weaker sex,
the death list would be larger. As
yet, it is impossible to tell just how
many lives were lost
Every Room Occupied.
Quite number Of the guests were
not registered and their names are I'M
known. Every room in the house,
forty-five in number, was occupied.
Men are now at work on the ruins, but
it will probably be several days be-
fore the complete list Of deaths Will
be obtainable The Clifford House
was one of the oldest hotels in south
east Missouri, and it has been consld-
cred as a death-trap for number OF
years w. P. Norrid was the pro
Drietor. He and his wife escaped but
lost everything