The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1851-06-28
Great CONGREGATIONS In California


VOV,OVo Naliofhl1 papers received since our
last, give full particulars OF the awful catastro-
I phs. from which We make up short summary
/ Commencement IF the Firs.-About | / O'Clock
on the night Of May Sd, the CRY Of Fire start
! led every one like AN earthquake The tire had
I Just commenced III pant shop on the west side
Of Portsmouth square, adjoining the Bryant
! House, formerly called. bat more recently the
( American Il WAS bat slight blaze when first
seen, but in five minutes the whole upper sto-
~ Was full of flame. Before the engines could
get upon the ground and commence playing, the
American on one side, and II store occupied BY
Messr., Rhodes AS u furnishing establishment,
were IN flames,
The building, in the vicinity being all Of wood
and extremely cOu,busllbIe, the tire ,pread up
Clay street back toward Sacramento, and down
Clay toward kearney, with fearful rapidity 1t
soon had full command, anl the Fine Department
could only work upon It's borders and euieayor
to check It's progres, by anticipating it lu this
they succeeded On the north side before it reach,
ed Dupont street But in every other direction
IN which It could spread, II took It's own course.
Picture Of the Fire-Ihe Editor OF the Alta
California gives the iV.lowin. vivid picture Of the
conhagration:
Iron and zine cured up like scorchci leaves,
and sent trtth their BRILLIANT flames Of green, blue
ana yellow tiuts, minglng with and modifying
tue great red tongues oi rire which flushed up'
wa,d from thousand burning houses. The hill
sides were lighted rs If the sun were above the
! Eastern mountains, aud their trees, shrubs herb
age, and houses were rs dlstuEulshlble IN the
. bright light Us il it we've noon. Darkness hung
/ over a large portion Of the shipping, where the
! broad aud heavy ocean Of smoke lay down in
/ mpenetrabe gloom over the bay. People be-
came paralyzed. Many removed their stocks et
| goods portions Ot them. four OF five times, and
! had them Oyertaken aud destroyed Oy the fire at
| last. The streets were Crammed with Masses OF
human beings and rushing teams only giving
way before the advancing elements, as the smoke
/ and heat and crashing walls pushed them back.
Men became mad some rushed headlons INTO
/ the flames. Weeping women and prattns IN,
/ fancy were wandering amid ashes and drsIrUc-
{ ton Every few moments the earth aud air
/ tgeInbled rs great buildings were torn into tIag.
ments by explosions of gunpowder, and the al.
musphere was filed with shattered tmbcr-, brick
and mortar. The multitude hung upon the Dor.
ders OF this vast sea Of flame few comparative
! ly knew, or could know. what were the dangers
! and eyertuns Of those who were within the range
OF the sitting smoke and searching fame. In
less than nine hours from the beginning, more
than 90 squares existed only in memory and in
| the ascending columns vf smoke and flame which
/ covered the city's site.
I But the sadlest sight of all was the destruc.
ton Of brave, but Lewildered men, who finding
/ themselves suddenly surrounded by fire rushed,
staggered and uncertain, from flame to flame, in
/ hopeless efforts To escape, until strangled and
scorched they wrthed aud fell in full view OF
hundreds who were completely poweres 10 save
them. Others, after battling inside Of what they
called fire proofs, finding their efforts to save the
buildings vain, en1eayored to escape, but too late.
The doors and window blind; were red hot, and
could not be opened in some instances, aud their
last chance of safety failed them. We canGot ex.
press our sensations Of yesterday while looking
upon the blackened remains OF poor humanity, as
they still lay burned to Goals amid the fire which
filled tic cellar Of u building on Montgomery
street still beyond the reach Of all who gazed up
on them. May We never again see 50 horrible y
spectacle
Erten! Of the Confagration-T boundaries
Of the fire is nearly as follows Commencing on
the west side OF Portsmouth square, it extended
down Clay street; then 10 the east, along the
south SIDE Of koarny, to jackson, down the west
side OF jackson to Montgomery; along south side
of Montgomery TO Pacific; down Pacific to San
some along Sansome to Broadway thence d.
agonaly over the high ground Of Clark's Point.
nearly to Vallejo; thence eastward across Bat.
| terry TO the Bay; thence following the shore of
the Bay to Battery, leaving the two corners on
the north side Of Battery and Pacific; thence
westward along the north side of Battery, across
Jackson, Washington and Clay streets, TO Long
| Wharf; down that beyond the Whitehall House
about half way to Front street. From the place
OF beginning the boundary runs up Clay nearly
10 Dupont: thence west to Sacramento; down
the west side If Sacramento, to kearney west.
ward, south side Of kearney, to Summer street.
down that to Montgomery west, aloag Mont.
gOmery, To Pine; down Pine to Sansune east,
along Sansome, crossing Caiiurnia-sparin a
corner on each side Of Sansome; thence down
California to Battery; eastward along Battery to
Long Wharf Nearly every building within this
line, a distance Of over = male northeast and
southwest, by half mile from northwest TO
southeast, was destroyed Eighteen large
squares, excepting few buildings, and large por.
tons of five oi six others, have been completely
destroyed. The plank streets are ruined, and
in many cases entirely impossible except on foot.
Such is this anniversary Of the great fire OF May
| 4, 1850.
| Tue Loss-The California papers before US
contain list Of individual losses, occupying four
or five columns, which is'ope at our office for
/ the examination of such as may wish to see it,
| The losses as there set down, amount to over six
millions The amount, is, however, considerable
below the newspaper estimates, some Of which
are as high as twenty millions
The CITY RsJuilding Perhaps the most sur.
prising feature Of oil connected with the event is
! the incredible energy with which the people o
San Francisco have gone to work to repair their
losses The Alta California gives the following
astonishing instance Of the recupcrative energy u
San Francisco:
From Monday, 9Th inst, when the fire ceased
up to the present time, May a. an interval Of
ten days, 357 buildings hare been commenced %
which tho major part are finished and occupied
This is exclusive Of tie many that are gong uT
in other parts Of the city not touched by the fire
Including them, the total number Of houses JUS
completed, or in the cottse OF erection through
out the city. will not .al s,rt Of 450 OF course
from the rapldity with which they have been pu,
up, most of them are frame, hut STILL in every ia
stal,ce in which u brick building was burnt, Of
thcr the walls still standing will be used in re
building, or where they pte unit n new bricl
fire proof building will be erected 10 the place U
the Ops destroyed.