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Show :Uy Telesvuph.j A Terrible J3iat-r. Richmond, Virginia, 24. Last night was the coldest for thirteen years. The ground was eovoied with snow, and the thermometer atood at five degrees. de-grees. At 2 o'clock iu the morning, just as the porter commenced waking the passengers for the southern trains, the Spottswood hotel was discovered on fire in the lower floor. An effort was immediately made to wake the guests, and a scene began of the most indescribable character. Men were rushing about trying to save their baggage bag-gage ; women, nearly naked and bare-tooted, bare-tooted, were fleeing into the snow-cov-e id streets. The steam engines were promptly on hand, but the water was frozen, and it was some time before water could be thrown on the building. The flimes spread to such an extent that escape by the staircase was cut off, and the guests commenced leaping from the windows. P. P. Clarke, steward of the hotel, leaped from the ihird- story, receiving fatal injuries. It was a most fearful scene of disaster. Mrs. E. Cornelius, the house-keeper, appeared at a window In the fifth story with one or two ladies, screaming for help. The fire companies' ladders were put up, but failed to reach the window by two stories. Vrfiile the firemen were endeavoring to lengthen the ladders, the crying women disappeared disap-peared in a thick smoke and were lost, the room brightening up a moment after with flames. Up to noon to-day the only burned, whose names are known, are Erasmus Boss, Mrs. Emily Cornelius, S. W. Ilobinson, aud Samuel Sam-uel Hines. The register was consumed, con-sumed, and it is impossible to give the names of strangers v. ho maybe lost. Several are believed to have perished. There are about a dozen unclaimed trunks belonging to persons from New York and other northern cities. Tho weather was so intensely-cold intensely-cold that the telegraph wires iu front of ths burning building was covered with ice, and the steamers were encased en-cased in ice an inch thick. Among the memorable escapes was that of C. Shiplcr, attached to the office of-fice of the State printer, who was in the fourth story, and who escaped by dropping from window cornice to window win-dow cornice, un il he reached the ground. He was badly burued. The correspondent of the New York Herald had a narrow escape. The guests lost all their clothing, and the ladies had to walk barefoot over the snow to a place of shelter. The total loss is GuO,000. The business houses destroyed were Branch iCurrant'fl crockery store,the Southern Express office.and other smaller stores. Later, evening. The following arc additional names of persons who are known to have been buruid to death: il. A. Thomas, agent of tho panorama panor-ama of the Pilgrims Pi osress ; W. II. Pace, Donville. Va., .1. B. Farress, mc-sseng'-r of the Southern Express company. Seven other gu -sts of the hotel are mi-sin'. The hotel was valued val-ued at 1 10,0'ju; insured for ro,ooo. All the goods ready for delivery in the cellars of the Southern Express company com-pany were destroyed. The company's money safes were buried iu the ruins. |
