1 HOTEL FIRE THE MONONGAHELA HOUSE IN PITTS- BURG PARTIALLY DESTROYED. NARROW ESCAT'E MADE BY GUESTS AND EMPLOYES-—SOME OF THE GUESTS CARRIED OUT BY FIREMEN. PriTssura, Dee. 5.~The Mononga- hela House, the largest hosteiry in the city, and one of the best known hotels in the country, was damaged by fire to-day to the extent of about $100,000, The two upper stories were completely burned out and the lower floors were badly damaged by water. No hves were lost, bat there were numerous narrow escapes of guests and em- ploves, The fire was discovered by Thomas O’Brien, the head por- ter, shortly before noon. He was going down stars, when he found that the blaze had just started at the bottom of the freight elevator, Almost as soon a8 O'Brien had a chance to give the alarm the ames shot up through the elevator shaft, which, forming a lurge chimpey, guve headwsv to the flames, and, in an instant, Lhe upper portion was enveloped in smoke. The cry at once went throughout the entire house that the building was on lire, There were npwards of 200 guests in the house, more than half of whom were in their rooms when tHe cries were made, A number of people was just prepar- Ing for dipper, aud some wers not completely dressed. IIastily donning whatever lay close at hand, they rushed for the passenger elevator, only to find that shaft, too, was a solid volume of smoke. The stairs were then resorted to, and everyone got out in safety. Those who were unable to walk were carried out by the firemen and employes of the hotel. Among the latter were several ladles who were sick or overcome by fright. The chambermaids and employes were forced to take to the fire escapes, THE BAY XPRESS WRECKED AN OPEN SWITCH THE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT. A NUMBER OF THE I'ASSENGERS AND RAILROAD MEN HURT, TWO OF THE LATTER FATALLY. Prrresure, Pa., Dec. 4. —The day express east on the Pennsylvania road was wrecked near Greensburg, Pa. this morning. A switch had been left open and the express ran into a freight train. Both epgines were wrecked and several cars. A dozen persons ate re- ported to have been more or less in- Jured, several it is belleved fatally. The names of the injured as far as learned are: M. L. Brown, of Scottdale, engi- neer, leg brokeo, cut on the head and injured internally; will probably die. Elmer Myers, ot Adamsburg, fire. man, terribly scalded; Injurles believed to be fatal, Engineer Daly, severely cut about the head and body; not dangerous, George Gray, fireman, badly cut and bruised A number of the passengers of the day express were slightly Injured, but none seriously. Dr, Kline, of Greensburg, Pa., was cut and bruised, Samuel Fase, of Philadelphia, re. ceived a deep cut above the right ear. George Sager, of Laocaster, Pa., had his nose broken. Baggage Master Burkholder, of Har- risburg, Pa, had a narrow escape, A large trunk was thrown on top of him, but he was not seriously hurt, The collision was terrific. Both en- gines were completely wrecked, and the baggage car reduced to splinters, For- tunately for the hundreds of passengers on the express it was not hurled over the high embankment at this noint. tM AI. SNOW STORMS. SNOWING ALL DAY AT ASBURY PARE—~—HIGH TIDES, AssonY Park, N. J., Dec. 4th, — Foggy wexlier has prevailed along the coast since Serie. It bas been snowing nearly day, with very high tides. The surf has cut into the Dio A foot. The damage to the Long Branch Ocean Pler is estimated at $500. In several places at Long Branch tha bluff is also cut inte, The tide has swept away most of the wreckage of the burk Germania, which went to pieces at West End last week, and has carried timbers up and down the coast, An unknown steamer bound south hove to opposite Ocean Beach this morning. She was 80 close to the shore that many persons thought she was grounded ou the inner bar, As her officers did not holst distress sig- nals the life-saviog crew did not board her, »he resumed her voyage about 8 v'clock. Rocuester, N. Y. Dec. 4 —A heavy northeast gale, accompanied by a blinding snow storm, has prevailed on Lake Oututio for two days. The schooner Kale left Charlotte Monday alternoon laden with 300 tons of coal for the Bay of Quinte, and fears are expressed for her safety, WORKING MEN KILLED. A GRADE CROSSING ACCIDENT IN WILKESBARRE. : A Fast Freight Train Crashes Into a Crowd of Workmen as They Are About to Board a Passen« ger Train. WiLkEsBARRE, Pa., Dec, 4.—A shocking accident occurred at 6,30 o'clock this morning at the Hazel St. crossing of the Jersey Central Rall- road, The labor train which conveys work- men from this city to the company's shops at Ashley was due at the Iazel Street Station, and several hundred men were assembled waiting for it. A number of them walked up the track a short distance to meet the train and secure good seats, Suddenly a fast freight from the south approached at a high speed. The men jumped from the north-bound track to the south-bound, when the labor train, rushiog around a sharp curve, plunged into thelr midst. In their scrambling many were thrown down or against the two trains. Two men were struck by the freight and two by the labor train. Edward Polsue, aged 00, was ip- stantly Killed, le leaves a wife but no children. Wm. Drent, aged 60, was cut in two, He leaves a family of grown children, His wife 18 now lying at the point of death from fever, John Steffler, a Polander, aged 30 years, head crushed and leg cut off, He was taken to the hospitall but will die. Conard Ernst, aged 30 years, skull fractured. His Injuries will probably prove fatal. SEVEN LIVES LOST. SOME OF THE VICTIMS ROASTED TO DEATH OTHERS DIE AFTER BE- ING RESCUED. PHILADELPHIA, Dee, 3. — The burn- ing of a three-story dwelling and bak- ery, early yesterday morning, ab the northeast corner of Second and Hunt. ingdon streets, occupied by Gustav Gross and family and Joseph DBitper and family, resulted in the death of seven persons, more or less injury to pine others, and the almost complete destruction of the building itself, Some of those who escaped were injured so badly that the fear was expressed by physicians at the Episcopal Hospital, to which Institution they were taken, that the death list would be Increased. The killed and injured are: DEAD. Minnie Gross, aged 33 years, Gustav Gross, Jr. aged 11 years, Bruno Gross, aged 5 years, Mattie Gross, aged 2} years, Annie Bitner, sged 32 years, Ida Bitner, aged 6 years, (reorge Bliner, aged 9 months. INJURED, Gustav Gross, aged 30 years, slightly, Freda Gross, aged 7 years, slightly. Joseph Bitner, aged 40 years, ser- iously. Martha Bitoer, aged 16 years, slight. ly Clara Bitper, aged 14 years, slightly, Hettie Bitner, aged 12 veaas, slightly, I'eul Bitner, aged 10 years, slightly. Fritz Erdman, aged 15 years, slight- ly. John Ellanson, aged 22 years, ser- ously, At abont 2.20 o'clock Flanagan Devlin, at the American and Hunting don streets crossing of the North Peun- sylvania Rallroad, saw smoke and Saxe issuing from the bakery, and blew his whistle, Policeman Doll answered, and ran to the box at Second Lehigh avenue. [Policeman Blair had already turned in an alarm, having also seen the fire. A patrol wagon came with the engines. The building was seen to be burning rapidly, and men, women and children were seen at the windows erying for help. Some jumped from the second and third stories, and were picked up burned and bruised, Others found It impossible 16 even reach win- dows, and were either burned to death or suffocated in thelr rooms. Those who were badly hurt were taken in the ambulance to the Espico- pal Hospital. The others who escaped with but slight Injuries were sent in a patrol wagon to the police station at Trenton avenue and Daupbin street, where, through the efforts of Lieuten- ant Scott and his men, they were made comfortable and served with a warm breakfast, ~John Stapleton and his wife, aged about 60 years, and their grandson sged about 10 years, were found dead in their home, in Eigin, Illinois, on the 2d, They had been suffocated by coal gas. —Two freight trains on the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad col. hded in Chicago on the 24. Firemen William Duer and Jobn McWilliams were probably fatally injured, Jennie Alien, sixteen years of age, was thrown violently against a enrd. stone while “*comsting” in Utica, New York, on the evening of the 20th ult, and died of her injuries on the after noon of the 24. - An ex on of sewer mas oo curred in Minetta New York, on the afternoon of the 3d. The --Thieves In New Jersey, on the evening of the 3d, placed a padlock on the front door of Jean Tack’'s jewelry store, and then, breaking the show window wilh a brick, grabbed jewelry valued at $2000, and escaped. In a lice court in Saco, Maine, on the 3d, iop Long, proprietor of a Chinese laundry, churged with assaulting a newspaper reporter with a hot flat-iron, pleaded guilty, and in open court threatened to kill the reporter at the first opportunity. He was fined $1 and costs, but refused to pay the fine and was sent to jail, ~Twe shocks of earthquake were eft in Alton Bay, New Hampshire, early on the morning of the 4th, Croc- kery and glassware were broken and people rushed from their houses, The bell on a steamer in the middle of the bay was rung. — A tank of acid exploded in Charles Schwartz's paint factory, on Fennan's Island. Long Island, Injuring two men, Aloysius Brookmeyer, it is feared fatally, The ballding was burned, Loss, $8000. Willlam Ken- nedy and Hiram Lymburger, went bunting near Ocean Sound, Ontario, on the 4th, Kennedy saw what he supposed to be a deer and fired, killing Lymburger, ~- Mrs, Ritchie, aged 00 years, and her son, aged 25, went on & protracted debauch recently. The woman had not been seen for several days, and on the afternoon of the 34 the landlord broke open the door of her room. The wo- man was lying on the floor dead. The son was found in an adjoining room, so drunk that he could give no account of himself, — By the breaking of tle ropeof a cage in a coal mine near Steubenville, Ohio, on the 4th, Hebert Tavis snd Jolin Devenney, boys, were precipita. ted 75 teet and killed. During an aue- tion sale in an old cider mill in Belch town, Massachusetts, on the 3d, the floor gave way, and twelve or thirteen men were injured, two dangerously, The weather throughout Northern New York, on the 4th, was intensely cold, At several places 1n the Adiron- dacks the thermometer registered from 10 to 16 degrees bLelow zero. Saranac l.ake 18 frozen over. The thermome- ter at Montpelier, Vermont, on the morning of the 4th, registered from 10 to 14 degrees below zero, The Kenne- bec river, in Maine, 1s frozen over. The ice Is firm and solid. ~Mre, John Slawbaugh, while saf- fering from lemporary mental trouble, on the 3d, took her one-year-old child in her ars and jumped into a well at their home, in Stanford, 1llinols, Both were drowned, ~The hardware store of A, W, Campbell, at Shickshinny, Pa,, was entered Ly burglars, on the morning of the 4th. The safe was Llown open and rifled of money and valuable papers. Edward Sileott, cashier of the Sergeant-at-Arms of the United States House of Representatives, has disap- peared with about $72,000 of the funds entrusted by Congressmen to his care, - Wm. Jackson and Jobn Wyder quarelled in a lumber camp at Delton, Missoui i, on the 4th and fought with axes. Jackson was killed and Ryder was cul in several places, Four Kiowa Indians got drunk in Melrose, Kansas, on the evening of the 3d, and “started to take the town in true Western style,’ City Marshal Snyder atlempied to arrest them and was killed. One of the Indians was also killed. The other three Kiowas es caped to the reservation. ~Willlam Herrick, aged 70 years, was found dead in his stable in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on the 4th, IL is thought that he was kicked to death by bis horse, A despatch from Kings. ton, Ontarlo, says that John Madden and his wife were burned to death on the evening of the 4th, Their home took fire, and while they were trying to extinguish the flames their means of escape were cut off, Another heavy snow storm set in at Ottawa, Ontario, on the 5th, ~The boiler of a gin at Colfax, Louisiana, exploded on the morning of the 5th, killing six colored men and two women, snd injuring many others, —By an explosion of einder and slag at the Sligo Rolling Milla, in Pittsburg, on the morning of the 5th, Patrick Burns, aged 60 years, James McBeth aged 21 years, and John Kelly aged 40 years, were badly burned. Burss’ injuries, it is thought, will prove fatal. The explosion was caused by water coming in contact with the hot slag. The damage to the mill was slight, —————— 61st CONGRESS.-~First Session, SENATE, The first session of the Fifty-first Congress opened on the 24. In the Senate the oath of office was adminis. tered to Vice President Morton and the new Senators, including those from the Dakotasand Washington Territory. The usual committee to walt upon the President was appointed, In the House, Mr. Reed, of Maine, was elec. ted er by a vote of 165 to 154 for Mr, isle, Democrat. The members were then sworn in. The Republican candidates for other louse offices were then elected (except Chaplain), as fol lows: Clerk, Edward McPherson; geant-at-Arms, A. J. Holmes; Door- The reading of the message was con- cluded at half-past one, having occu- pled abont an sour and twenty-five minutes, parently close attention by Senators on both sides of the Chamber, On motion of Mr. Sherman, it was laid on the table and ordered printed, and then, the Senate, at 1.30, ad- journed, ~In the Senate on the 4th, a number of bills and resolutions were introduc- ed, among them the following: By Mr, Sherman, to declare trusts unlawful; also to regulate the manner of holding Congressional elections; by Mr. Reu- gan, for the free coinage of silver; also to redeem legal tender notes; by Mr, Dawes, extendiog the pension laws (a G. A. R. bill), By Mr. Blair, for the temporary support of common schools; amendments to the Constitution. telegraph. By Mr. Farwell, to perpet- uate the Nationul Baking system, By Mr. Mitchell, to prohibit objectionable immigration; alse fixing letter postage at one cent; also for the admission of Idalio as a State, Adjourned, were Introduced by Mr. B ck, to with draw legal tenders and bunk notes of small dercominations and issue ecoln certificates in lieu of gold and sliver certificates; also, to repeal the Sinking Fund laws. By Mr. Hale, to increase the navy; also to provide, from mer- chant steamships, a reserve for naval cruisers, Mr. Voorhees offered a long preamble and resolutions ou the tanff, which was laid on the table for the pre-ent, Mr, cacy of his bill to repeal authorizing the sale of bonds for re- demption of legal tenders. Adjourned, HOUSE. Immediately alter the reading of the Journal on the 4th, the committee sp- pointed to wait upon thas President and inform him thet the House was organ- appeared in the main alsle, and through its Chalrman, Mr. McKinley, Inform- ed the House that it had performen its duty, ing forthwith, Mr, Pruden, one of the Premudent's secretaries, then delivered the Message, which was immediately read by the Clerk. The Message was ordered printed Whole, Under authority given by the last Sundry Civil Appropriation bill, the Speaker appointed Messrs. Dayne Hitt, Carter, Culberson, of Texas, snd Cum- mings as a Committee on the Centen- nial Celebration, The House then at 2,15 adjourned, —— EE —— New York's trouble with street musicians has taken a queer phase. It seems probable that the organ grind. ers will be permitied by the Board of Aldermen to carry on their unskilled labor for the amusement of children because Americans have no desire to compete with them, but that street musicians proper will ba prohibited from making real music because they come into competition with resident musicians and get engagements at ruin. i ously low figures, Excluding them { trom the street instead of correcting { this alleged evil of competition will increase their necessities and make them sharper competitors for regular engagements, If not regarded as nuisances and virtual beggars they should be allowed to pursue their calling, PriLADELPRIA lost one of her ablest lawyers and Pennsylvania one of her foremost citizens quite recently when ex-Attorney General Lewis C, Cassidy died. He stood in the very front rank of criminal lawyers, and his knowledge of general law was broad and deep, Few men at the Philadelphia Bar stood higher than Mr, Cassidy, and on more than one occasion his ability was recog nized. He was known to very many people in Philadelphia and his form was a familiar one, As Attorney Gen- eral under Governor Pattison Mr. Cas. sidy made an able and upright official, He was tireless in his work and his services were not without benefit to Pennsylvania, A host of personal friends mourn his death, and those who didn know him personally share in the mourning, . EE aa oe a TrerE must be some peculiar fasel- nation about the work of an explorer that leads men like Livingstone and Stanley to again and yet again risk dangers from which they have narrowly escaped. Arctic explorers have a sim- ilar spirit. They no sooner recover from the effects of exposure and famine then they are ready to go back again £0 the same experience, Stan'ey shows remarkable confidence in himself, and it is this quality perhaps, that enables him to deal so successfully with the in all his journeys. That he should persist in his marches over hundreds or thousands of miles of forest and swamp is not so surprising—since, having en. tered upon the project, he has no other knowledge of the dangers be ready to undertake new journeys. With the wetivity now shown in African explora. ration it is reasonable §» suppose that within a very few years such settle. meats will be made along the lakes as will make future expeditions much safer in every way and more productive of certain information. The sun is | OLDER THAN THE PYRAMIDS. § ; Death of a Famous Tree Aged From 6,000 to 10,000 Years, With an antiquity rivaling, probably exceeding, that of the pyramids of Egypt, and areputstion scarcely infer- ior, it is remarkable bow little notice has been taken of the death of the co- lossal dragoon tree of Orotava, says the London Globe, This gigantic, hoary headed vegetable veteran died almost suddenly a few years ago, and may be said, like the deacon’s old master-piece, to have “gone to pieces ull at once— all at once and nothing first—just as bubbles do when they burst.” After a» babyhood of centuries, decades of ma- turity and a de adence of ages, it does | seem pitiable that the departure of this | wonder of the world should have worked | little or no comment. When Alonzo de Lugo, the conqueror of Teneriffe, came to Oratava in 1493 he spared the tree, but, scandalized at the | profane mysteries which had taken place | ness into a chapel for holy mass. Hum- { boldt, in 1799, gives its height as ap- | pearing about fifty or sixty feet and its circumference near the roots as forts feet from the twelve English feet,” and he computed its age at 10,000 years. The opening was 80 large that a table was placed in it, round which fourteen persons could seat themselves, and a staircase in the { interior conducted up to the height whence the branches Sprang. Slow indeed must have been its growth, for 400 years after the visit of the first navigators Le Drue measured the tree most carefully, proving that during that long period the increase had only been one foot at the base, the | other dimensions being practieslly iden tical. The old tree, moderately credited with 6,000 years of life, has the way of all trees, but most felicitously ' at ten Fone the Marquisa del Sanzal has planted on ils exact site a seedling derived from its ster is now a healthy plant some four feet high, looking | actly like a fine Jong carrot, lightly stuck in the ground by its taper end in shape ex- only leaves, PULLMAN ADVENTURE! A Sleeping Car Conductor Relates One of his Comical Experiences. | in print as to the adventures of old | fashion individuals riding in sleeping | cars for the first time, and I every conductor on the road could nar- | rate one, if not more. The most comi- cal experience of the kind that I re | member happened in 1886, I was run- { ning on the ‘Frisco expoct road, and at Peirce # father on the ug me 18 was the old fel. City a gentleman put ni | car, and tells low’s first railroad trip, as well as his first experience in a sleeper, asked me to take good care of him and see him safely to St. Louis The very talkative, told old gentleman me he Lived off the road and hadn't left home Lif His son ile Was AWAY Was ne distansa in Jia BUY disiance iO nis | well fixed and had insisted on sending | him to Bt. Louis to see relatives | there. Every time we stopped he bunt- | ed me up and asked whether he had to get off, and when we left Springfield 1 persaaded him to go to bed. le had a | lower berth and settied down very com- fortably after extracting from myself and the porter solemn promises that he should not be allowed to oversleep him- self. At about midnight a drummer, who bad engaged the upper above the old Missourian, decided to turn in. By some mischance he woke the latter, and then the fun commenced, canght the young one by the leg, and BOING gle. Both rolled on the floor, the dram- mer coming down very heavily, with his assailant on top. There was chaos and pandemoninm in no time. The old fellow was an excellent wrestler and it took three of us to liberate the bewil- dered drummer, who fortunately had too much sense to insist on having re- venge. But nothing we could say could convince the infuriated fariwer that there had been no improper designs on his pocketbook. At last under threats of arrest he promised to let the “assassin” alone, but he insisted on dressing, and at the next stop he disap- peared in the darkness, I learnt after- wards that he took the train home wext day, and I doubt whether he will ever try to reach St. Louis again, —-— Use the Rivers. The uses of rivers are only just be- coming understood, The Missouri River is nearly 3,000 miles long, and por second, but itis nearly useless Vessels do not navigate its waters ex- cept tor a few hundred miles; lands derive mo fertility from its waters; its function appears to be to drown out cars to few. The Colorado River is aiso 1,000 miles long; its volume msy be inferred from the fae! that if has cleaned its way through a stratified mass of rock from 35,000 to 4,000 feet thick; but it is niterly useless, and if by a convulsion of nature the Green and Grand Rivers, which unite to form it, were to be suddenly dried up it wonld hardly be missed. Yet the Lower Colorado flows through a desert which might be made a garden with water, The traveler who visits Sacramento in the spring is appalled at the vast area of tule land and of good agrienl- tural land which is drowned by the periodieal overflow of the Sacramento River. The rancher tells him thet the evil is of short duration, as the water will presently flow off to the ses. It never occurs to the land owper that this water which he is 80 anxious to get rid of is the sonrce of most of the value which his land possesses, and that if he had the wii to store it instead of letting it go to wat. ficlds which grow fifteen | bushels oi wheat would raise thirty-five | bushels, and the land now value ess | conld be reclaimed st a small expense. | =~San Francisco Call, - rs ——————————— It Ought to be a Warning. | A dashing blonde, one of the most { favored of the society young ladies, is | just now in an embarrasing predicament, { indeed, und a very slight indiscretion i iglikely to be followed by dreadful eon- | sequences. This fair one, just for the fun { of the thing, answered anadvertisement | for a “Lady correspondent” in a8 Cin- | cinuati newspaper, ana very indis- | ered tly signed her name and gave her | correct address. She received an impas- sioned letter apparently from a ve ry susceptible young man, and several letters passed between them. The fell IW, how Las demand. i ever, proved to be a blackmailer and 8 good round sum from the girl as hash money, If she refuses threatens to place the whol hie Corre Epond- ence in the hands of the i The your pin money Young May x ia ther, ig lady having spent her allowance for the summer does not happen 1g have the wherewith | to settle the matter, and she has called several of her chums into her confidence, and they ar money 8 trying to raise enough keep the matter The pater familias is a stern man unong them to quiet, | and could never pardon such a misstep ou his daughter's part, and the girl 1s | in mortal terror lest her correspondent { carry out his threat. § -— spi An American Girl's Success. An American girl, Miss Risley of | Texas, went upon the lyric stage some seven years ago, and has just arrived | in Paris to go over the principle roles {of her repertoire in French with her | original professor, Mme Marchesi. She has a charming contralto voice, and when she visited Paris six years ago M. Carvalho, then director of the Opera Comique, was very anxious to engage But she had just signed a contract with the Opera House at Pesth for there Las been singing ever since and singing her for his theater. a period of six years, and sue in Hungarian. She has just closed ber engagement and has now Paris to make arrangements for the future. She visited the Wild West Show the other day and was altogether | enchanted with the bueking horses, in | which she declared she recognized the mustangs of her native State. As soon as the performance was at an ehd she sought ont Major Barke to ask him if | the animals in question were not Texas mustangs. He told her that they were, {and she thereupon begged to be con- i ducted to the stables, where, in ber en- | thusiasm, she kissed every ome of the { horses then and there. i come Lo | A Monkey Hangs Himself, | Whether animals ever kill themselves | intentionally bas often been question. | ed; but well authenticated cases of dogs and cats compassing their own death | have been known, and here is a strictly | true story of a monkey who apparently | did the same. It was a spider monkey, la pet, who was ill, and plainly could ‘not live. To save her suffering her | loving mistress decided to have her | shot, and she was entrusted to a kind | hearted man, who agreed to put a mer- ciful end to her troubles. He took her to his place out of town, and while he made his preparations, left her slome in a large unfinished room. The room had been used for some sort of enter. tainment, and bad, banging from a beam, a rope with a noose at the end, used to hold a lantern. There was no way of getting up to the beam, except by climbing the up- right side beams, and the monkey was weak from her illness; yet when the man eame back in about « half hour, he found her hanging. No one had been in. She had climbed to the beam, drawn up the rope and put her head through the noose, or else climbed down the rope for the purpose. It seemed impossible that it could be acci- dent, for if she got to the rope to amuse herself, she certainly could not have fallen, as she was never known to fall n her life. There is sourcely a doubt that it was a deliberate suicide. The man who found her, and had hed great clared_ that she understood her condie tion, and preferred to end her career, AAI NS AA, §
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers