Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1900-11-17
FOUR PERSONS PER|SHED.
Three Others Fatally Injured and
Seven Badly Hurt in a Hotel
Fire at Poplar Bluff, Mo.
THE CLIFFORD HOUSE WAS DESTROYED.
The Missing Guest lay be Dead in
Believed TO Have Been Fatally
Injured-There We're Many Hair
breadth Escapes.

Poplar Bluff, Mo-, Nov. 13,-Four
lives are known to have been lost,
three persons fatally injured and
seven badly hurt in the burning of the
Hotel Clifford, a large three-story
frame building, in this city.
The known Dead.
Hick Clark, Doniphan, Mo.
hebecca Owens, Poplar Bluff.
Shelby Dehort, Poplar Bluff.
Curlcy Berry, Poplar Bluff.
Fatally Injured.
Eta Hargrove, Poplar Bluff.
Winslow Stowe, Tennessee.
Missing.
Eugene Dalton, Hot Springs, Ark.
Badly Injured.
T. A. Smith, Poplar Bluff; burned
about hands and face.
Barney Pernaud, De Soto, Mo-;
hands and face burned.
Charles Stardly Poplar Bluff;
bruised and burned.
Mrs. Benjamin Shelby, Poplar Bluff,
back injured; bruised and burned.
Pink Berry, Poplar Bluff; severely
burned.
Elmer Freshour, Poplar Bluff; se-
yerely burned
James Upchurch, Poplar Bluff; Sc
yerely burned,
Besides the names given an un-
known woman is thought to be fatal
ly injured and about dozen more
were slightly burned or received
bruises in trying to escape from the
building.
Eugene Dalton, who is missing, may
be in the ruins.
The fire originated about 1890 a,
m, in the rear Of the hotel and in a
few minutes the building which was
entirely of wood, was mass of
flames.
There were in the neighborhood OF
forty-fye 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 a trap,
the fire preventing their escape by the
stairs and they leaped from the sec
ond and third story windows.
One of these, Heck Clark, jumped
and broke his back.
Eta lIargraye leaped from a third
story window and suffered broken
limbs and internal injuries, which win
cause her death.
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
stairway, but the smoke and flames
drove him back, and he, too, sprang
from a window.
He asserts that he saw ten or fiji.
teen persons in the hallway overcome
by smoke. If this is the case, dozen
or more bodies may be found in the
ruins.
Many of the guests had hair.
breadth escapes in their rightclothes,
losing everything else. Their hair
and eyebrows were singed by the
flames.
Numerous feats of heroism are re.
corded. As yet, it is impossible to tell
just how many lives We're lost.
Quite a number of the guests were
not registered aud their names are
unknown. Every room in the house.
4j in number was occupied Men are
now at work ON the ruins, but it win
probably be several days before the
complete list of deaths will be obtain.
able.
The Clifford house was one of the
oldest hotels in southeast Missouri.
w. p. Norrid was The proprietor. He
and his wife escaped, but lost every.
thing.