The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1867-10-08

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l'' - - $500
i. xIl6 - I111saa n,laTf |
Il hos bssa 49, aossn years Or moro
siees IL AsssPapes = he city bare besa
ea1lsl neonAe rssssd seaAasrasioa - sxs
sssaive Asaas 80 Which occurred lass San
day night. a
The property destroyed was situated in the
lower portion Of the city, in What Il known |
Is Reds Addition. Prt Of tho buildings
destroyed were used some year, sgo - pas
senser and fright depot Of the Valley Road
After the depot had been changed 70 its pres.
emit locaa;os, these boiidings we're converted
into work shops for the buiidisH and repair
ing Of cars. Al the road WAS extended up
the VALLEY, it, necessities demanded still fur
sher additions to thess shops, and therefore
N exssnsiss planning mill, with nearly al the
machinery used in 6rst-cisss establishment
Of this kind, was erected and put in opera
ton; thsn also alargs repair shop, and these
shops, q the time Of the firs, embraced four
large frame buildings, in which large NUNS
Der Of woskmen we're employed the year
round.
Surrounding these buildings on every side
are extensive lumber yards. Here great
quantities Of lumber are taken from the river,
pi Cd up and shipped, when demanded, TO the
various points on the railroad, and among
these frame shops and piles Of lumber the
Fire Fiend ragged with ill his destructive Sc
verify.
The flames we're FIRST discovered in the On
CINE room Of the planning mill, and it was
but short time thereafter till the whole es>
adjustment was completely enveloped in
sheet Of ERE.
The great distance Of these shops from the
central portion Of the city, necessarily caused
delay in sounding the alarm from the en-
CINE house. bnt when this was done, the FIRE
department and citizens rushed rapidly to the
scene of destruction to render all possible
aid in staying the progress Of the destructive
element. By the time the fremen reached
the scene of q ton, the FIRE had made terri
BILE progress. As soon as possible the sppa
ratus was got in working order, aud right no.
| bly, and we'll did the members Of all the com
psuies work to subdue the FIRE and prevent
its further spread. But it had got too much
the start, it had the mastery for . while,
and on it moved, tapping up everything to
appease its ravenous appetite The entire
property belonging to the Railroad Company,
shops, cars, machinery, tools, &c, were com
ple,ely consumed, In the repair shops we're
six box cars, two of which were entirely new,
| and had never been on the road. In addi-
ton to this the company lost some six or
walnut, poplar and pine lumber.
The Railroad Company's loss in this FIRE
was not less than City thousand dollars. 1t
was covered by an iusu' auce Of $3S, 900, the
policies being in the Liverpool, London and
Globe Insurance Companies.
| The mechanics employed in these shops
| suffered a severe loss in the destruction Of
their tools. In the carpenter shop alone
there were about twenty chests of tools, and
| from this number only two were saved.
more heavily than upon any other Of those
afflicted by the fire. With nearly all these
men the writer hereof is acquainted. They
are all steady hard working, honest meehan.
les, with large families, and were lily pre-
pared for the misfortune, which has thus
thrown them out Of employment and ruined
the tools with which they provided for them
selves and families. They are, in fact the
real sufferers. 1t is said
"Wben sorrows c,me, they come not like single
| spies,
But in battalions."
SOFT has been with these, and if the SYM
patty Of whole community is any consola>
ton, these men have surely the fullest meas
ure Of that sympathy.
While we have words of sympathy for
those who have suffered pecuniarily from the
great confagration, yet what words have We
for the saddest incident connected with the
affair-the loss of human life. Words
amount to nothing. The sad, the terrible,
the awful death from burning is too much for
the pen. Its more fitting that this be left 10
the imagination, the heart and the SENSIBLE.
ties Of the reader. We shall merely narrate
the incident.
i The Waterman, Mr.. ohm Gahariy, an Irish
man by birth, was burned to death during
~ 81 c. IL. L. /
every exertion to subdue the flames when
they FIRST made their appearance, but he soon
found that his efforts we're unavailiug, and
that the fire was threatening the whole prem.
Uses with certain and sure destruction; he.
therefore, turned his attention to saving all
he could. We were informed that it was
J through his exertions that the two tool chests
mentioned above were saved. The office oil
Mr.. Smith, Master Mechanic Of the Road
was attached to the carpenter shop, and il
was in endeavoring to save the books and
papers Of this Office that poor Gaharty lost
his life. The verdict of the coroners jury
was that he "came to his death from suffoca-
ton and burning His charred and bla, X
ened remains we're buried yesterday at foul
o'clock. He Was single man, and, foru-
nately, leaves no family to mourn over hi.
, truly heartrending death.
The lumber yard in close proximity to the
car shops suffered terribly. Messrs Fish
Hammond 4 Co., Of Prairie City, W. B. Ca,
. rothers of Knoxville, and John Scroggs, ESQ
: of our city. lost heavily in the destruction o
: lumber. How much we are unable to ascer.
, tain.
. Had it not have been for the praiseworthy
y perseverance Of the 6remen the destruction
Of property would, undoubtedly, have beer
much greater. For at least quarter OF 6
mile on each side of the railroad, extendins
nearly to the locomotive works of the com
pauy, are acres of piled lumber, which We.
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