Frightful Calamity

One of the most appolling calamitiea that lias ever befallen the city of St. Louis took place at an early hour 011 the morning of the llth inst. , involving the destruction by fire of the large and fine Southern Hotel, and the loss of a large number of human lives. The fire, according to the accounts before us, caught in the store-room in the basement oL the hotel, and was first seen coming through the ground floor, just north of the office, and in ten minutes it had ascended the elevators and rotunda, and spread itseli over the sixth floor, under the roof. This floor was occupied entirely by employés of the hotel, the largcst part of whom were women. The fire spreml rapidly, filling every room and hall with flames and smoke, and the scène was of the most terrible description. Frantic men, women and children ran through the halls, shrieking in the most heartrending manner, in their wild and desperate efforts to escape. The smoke was so dense in some of the halls that the gas-jets weïe extinguished, rendering egress, even to those most familiar to the building, a matter of great diinculty. The fii'e departmect was on the spot promptly, and hundreds of people congregated at the scène, ready and willing to render any aid necessary. The density of the smoke in the halls drovc many gTiests and boarders back into thcir rooms, and they rushed to the Windows as a means of escape. Ladders were raised as soon as possible, and women and children, with nothing but their night-clothes on, were thus taken from the burning building. Some fainted from fright, and others sunk exhausted to the ground from nervous prostration. The ladders generally were too short to reach to the fifth and sixth stories, but, by hoisting some of them on the onestory balcony, on the north side of the building, these floors were rcached, and all those at the windows rescued. The Skinner fire-escape was also brought promptly into service, and was the means of saving many lives. "While this work was going on, some frightful scènes occurred. One man, who had been occupying a window on the Walnnt street front of the hotel, became desperate at the seeming delay in effecting his escape. With nervous hands he tore the sheets from his bed into strips, tied them together, and, fastening this improvised rope to the window-sill and disregarding the fact that it did not reach more than twenty feet, he let himself down hand . over hand. The men below who saw his position tumed away their heads to avoid witnessing the tickening event that was inevitable. Finally he rcaehed the end of the sheet, and then, tbr the first time, he seemed to realize his position. He stopped, threw his head back, revealing a ghastly face, and swung slowly to and fro, swayed by the breeze which the roaring flames above created, His limbs swnng around convnlsively, as though to catch upon something, then he let go, and groans went up from hundreds as he whirled round and round and finally struck on the stone flagging with a sickening thud. He was carried to a saloon across the street, and died in a few moments. Two other men jumped from the fourth-story windows, one of whom seemed notto be dangerously hurt, while the öther expired in a few moments. A woman in the fifthstory window on the Fifth-street front became panic-stricken and jumped out. She alighted on her feet and. was carried to the St. James Hotel still alive. Her husband, who had been standing by her side, then tore up the bedding, and let the strip, so made, out of the windów. To this firemen attached a rope which the man hauled up, making it fast to the window-sill, and safely descended by it. A man named J. E. Wilson jumped from the fourth-story window and wns killed. Andrew Ensmen and Mrs. Scott met their death in the same way. The mortality among the i'ernale help of the hotel is feared to be gïeat. There were some 200 of them, all of whom were lodged in the upper story of the building. The panic among them was terrible, and a number of them jumped from the upper windows on the Elm street or rear side of the house. At a quarter past 2, or about half an hour after the fire was discovered, the entire roof was ablaze, and the fiames were rapidly desccndiiig to the lower stories. A half hour later the lloors and interior walls began to fall. The roof feil in, and there is ïiow nothing left of one of the finest hotels in the country, except the Walntit street front, and parts of the Fourth and Fifth street faces. The loss on the building and contents is from $750,000 to $1,000,000.