Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1845-04-18
From She Ptitsburg Pos, of Fr;s,,

from Thousand to Twelve ~
Houses destroyed !--Loss cstima,.a sa
Millions! Tea
Il is our painful duty to record ono -
most terrible fires that ever devastated ."Ms
tv on this continent. A great portion "G c'
busy and populous town is in ruinst cot
houses have been destroyed by this sn,,.a0' s
horrible confagration than have been con.s a%
ed by all the fires that have ever occur,s saa
the city before.
Those acquainted with the plan Of b.,
burgh will realize the the extent of the ,. "
BILE calamity we have suffered. when We s s,
that nearly all that part Of the city ex,enSa
from Ferry street, up the Monongahela ,.s
to the city line, and thence to the head .s.e''
entire suburb called Pipetown," rKens;.%"
ton, has been destroyed.
The fire originated in frame buildinc
an ice house, belonging to VIM. Dehl:s we.
the corner of Second and Ferry Streets ~
wind was blowing stlfly from the nor,hwss.
though it frequently veered to other points,
and. owing to its variations, the fire EXTEND;
up Wood street farther than it otherwise cons
have done. 1t was first discovered abop, IA
o'clock, and was not materially checked nh
S in the afternoon. Even while we wrte. =,
9 o'clock, p. n.,) the engines are playing VIZ.
orousIy.
We can give no adequate idea Of the di,.
tress which pervades our stricken communr,
The progress of the flames was SO fearful,
rapid that many persons had not time 10 -.
move their goods. Others, again, had ou
their property into the street. when the FAM,
seized it there, before il could be removed IA
a place Of safety. Others, still, would no
believe the devouring elements could Teach
their dwellings, and did not think Of remov,
ing until it was too late to save their futnl
ture. And we saw many people who ess,.
ped with nothing but the apparel they had up
on their persons. At dark. you might see, IN
every direction, families sitting without She.
ter, guarding such portions of their househdd
furniture as they were able TO save from tho
flames, and not know ng where they would
lay their heads, or procure morsel of fool,
Of course the kindness of their more fortuna.
: fellow-citizens did much to alleviate Their
sufferings, and we believe all were proyida
for as we'll as the melancholy nature Of Al.
fairs would allow.
The council met in the afternoon, and Al,
tempted to devise some means 10 stay the Con-
fagration, 1t was proposed to blow up hous
es that seemed in the way Of the flames. The
deliberations, however, were Intellectual in re-
! suits, and we believe but one or two buildings
: were blown up. 1t seems to us, indeed that
, there could scarcely have been time to accom-.
plish anything in the way ofdestroyingh ous.
: es, so terribly rapid was the progress Of the
: FIRE.
c There is abundant reason for ,hankfunes
| II. g., lo1t
3 mors of men being killed, and burnt and woun.
ded; but they are not authenticated. One NO.
man is certainly burned; and We saw poor
$ old man, lettering along with the help Oftwo
S friends, his face badly burned. The lO" Of
e life, however, cannot be learned in the awful
h confusion which prevails.
l. We know not how to express our sense Of
the lively gratitude to which the fremen are
r. entitled from our afflicted and ruined citizens,
IS as well as those they have saved. Nothing
: in the shape of reward can compensate them
II for the incessant toll they had 10 undergo.a and
IF for the nnyielding, heroic frmness whchthey
e manifested under the appalling terroFs which
e surrounded them on every side. If they had
is had a sufficiency of water during the whole
,; time, they could have saved much more prop
! erty; as ii was, they prevented the destruction
IS of an incalculable amount.
,r
al The merchants found it Impossible to at
IT tempt to save anything; whole blocks were
u destroyed in a few minutes, and the most they
l. could do was 10 make all effort 10 save then
books, and but few of them succeeded eEenIn
ii that.
al 1t will be many years before our CITY can
$ recover from the effects Of this dreadful caam'
l. lty; it has cast blight over the commercial
81 and manufacturing enterprises OF HUNDREDS
l. our most worthy citizens, and in an hour no.
OF swept from them all the profits Of years Of 'o'
o. and industry. To their feIlow-citizens w ,ao
); have heen fortunate enough 10 escape 'n'
,e widespread destruction, they must look '0
is aid to ''commpnce the world anew" and Vt
are confident they will not look in vain.
The Pittsburgh Age Of Saturday mo'nlnI
re- buildings destroyed in that city by the g's'
4, fire of Friday:
'. 1t is impossible, continues the Age, TO ca u:
,e culate the loss. Merchants, mechanic
lt workingmen-all, all have been ruined y, "
T. 10 we believe that the insurance offices VI.
!, ever be able to pay the one hundredth pa' :
y the property insured by them. RUM ,u ~.
Il Stares hundreds of families in the lace w. y
to Yesterday morning rose from their beds ""
IT. plenty OF this worlds goods; and they I1i
f., now no place TO lay their heads, nor bFea0 y. ;.
!, themselves and children. May God P'O"'
and help them.
t. About eighteen entire squares are Destroy ~
p entirely, and many parts of squares >"
.. steamboats, on the Monongahela had 70 NV
to be saved from the flames.
~ The wharf was covered with grocere' :"
all binds of Pittsburgh manufactures. &C. y.
ip portion Of these goods were burned, and Z, -
v. | amount destroyed by the immense cro"u
=, drays, &C., working their way among 'n.s
" The post Office and adjoining bniIdIngsDT%s.,
~ east corner of Third and Market, have U. -
to saved. Everything valuable. however, ~ O.
ne removed from the stores. printing otlces ~,
@ in the block. The letters, &c, were ''"'
from the post office.