Crittenden press. [volume] (Marion, Ky.) 1879-1907, 1900-11-15
FOUR PERSONS persisted.
Three Others Fatally Injured and
Seven Badly Hurt in a Hotel
Fire at Poplar Bluff, Mo.
THE CLIFFORD HOUSE WAS DESTROYED.
The Missing Guest ny he Dead In
the Ruins-An Unknown Woman
Relieved tn Have Been Fatally
Injured-Thcre Were Many HAIR
breadth Escapes.

| lives are known to have been lost
three persons fatally injured anC
seven badly hurt in the burning of tn,
Hotel Clifford, large thrce-story
frame building, in this city.
The known Dead.
Hick Clark, Doniphan. Mo.
Rebecca Owens, Poplar Bluff.
Shelby Dehort, Poplar Bluff.
Curley Berry, Poplar Bluff.
Fatally Injured.
Eta IIargrove, Poplar Bluff.
Winslow stowe, Tennessee.
Missing.
Eugene Dalton, Hot Springs, Ark.
Badly Injured.
n. y. Smith. Poplar Bluff; burned
about hands and face.
Barney Pcrnaud, 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 Frcshour, Poplar Bluff; Sc
vcrcly burned.
James Upchurch, Poplar Bluff; Sc
vcrcly burned.
Besides the names given an I'M
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 five guests in the building. and
the porter. the only person awake in
the hotcl,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 i'm 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 Hargrave leaped from third
story window and suffered broken
limbs and internal inilries, which will
cause her death.
One guest, benjamin Shelby, forced
his wife to leap from Il second-storv
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 window.
tie asserts that he saw ten or fif-
teen persons i'm the halfway overcome
by smoke. II this is the ease. Il dozen
or more bodies may he found in the
ruins.
Many of the guests had hair-
breadth escapes in their nightclothes,
losing everything else. Their hair
and eyebrows were singcd by the
flames.
Numerous fCats of hcroism are re-
corded. As yet, it is impossible to tell
just how many lives were lost.
Quite number of the guests were
not registered and their names are
unknown. Every room in the house.
50 in number, was occupied. Men are
now N work on the ruins, but il will
probably be several days before the
complete list of deaths will be obtain
nblc.
The Clifford house was one of the
oldest hotels in southeast Missouri.
W. y. Norrid was the proprietor. lie
and his wife escaped, hut lost every
hing