The New York herald., 1869-09-16
CONTLAGRATION AT HUNTERS POINT.

Loss 96O,OOO-Burning of AIr. John nIcMann's
Stablcs-LOss of the TrOtting Mare Cora
and Other Valuable Stock-ProvidentiaI
Rescue of AN lniant-A Man said 10 be
Missing.
AT half-past eleven O'Clock yesterday morning q
nre broke out in the milk depot OF Mr. Bowron, on
West avenue near the corner Of West Second street,
Hunters Point. and In few minutes communicated
to the stables Of Mr. McMann, of trotting celebrity,
destroying them entirely and doing damage to ad-
jacent houses. 1t appears that the accident was
caused by the carelessness OF man who had to de-
liver load OF hay at Mr. BowrOn's, who drove
the wagon into the milk shed without taking
due precautlOn as to fire. jet OF gas
was burning near the entry. which had
been turned down by the milKman in the morn
ing but not extinguished, ana the hay being in close
proximity to 1t caught nre, and the whole shed was
soon In blaze. An alarm was given, but 80 intense
was the heat that an approach to the shed was I'm
possible and the hay wagon was too tightly wedged
in to be drawn out backwards. An attempt was
then made to save Mr.. McMann's stock which was
in the stable adjoining. the wooden partition Of
which mad already caught fire. In the stable In
question were five valuable horses and the trotting
mare Cora, for wnom $4,000 would have been re-
fused by Mr.. McMann. Some men, armed with
knives succeeded IN cutting the halters Of the poor
ANIMALS and then Ned for their lives, a. the hay
ABOVE had caught fire and the wind drove the
flames before II at lightning speed, tapping
up everything in their way. The animals were so
blinded with smoke and 80 paralyzed by fear that
only one escaped-tne least valuable, OF course-and
after few minutes OF intense agony the others 1ell
TO be roasted alive. the flames had now become
vast furnace. Five horses belonging to Mr.. BOwrOn
also destroyed, and Mr.. Bostwicks paint store,
next door TO Mr.. BOwrOns, took fire and was con-
sumed in q few minutes. While this was going on
the families residing on West Third street had to
flee Tor their lives, while gang OF men set to work
getting out the furniture or throwing it into the
street, The roofs OF two Of these houses caught fire,
ana one, belonging 10 Mfs. r. Weed. was speedily re- re,
an alarm was raised that an infant belonging to o
woman who was at work was missing, and c0ura
geous young fellow whose name. we regret to say,
we could not obtain, forced his way through smoke
and flame to the second story of the doomed house,
and taking the child IN its CRADLE threw it out OF the
window, where 1t was safely caught by the peop.e
below, the man escaping with singed hair
and clothes. BY dint of great exertion the neigh
boring house. belonging tosMr. Quinn, was saved
although new roof will have to be put on. AT
O'Clock r. Nj. the fire was, 80 to speak, over. hardly
burned horses lay here and there, ghastly sight,
their calcined bones absolutely gttering IN the sea
ing ruins while the desrs OF the paint store and the
burned milk slmmering in the cans In MIR. Bowron's
establishment lent most abominable odor to the
smoke which drifted to leeward. Had the wind
which was southeast been southwest, the conse-
quences, disastrous as they are, would have
Ssve Ssse savsa the 0 depot and outeadgs 'U aad
the fire would probably have spread to the river ere
the ground yesterday, and the on means the inhab.
tants OF the houses on Third street had Of arrestng
the flames was by throwing pals OF water on them:
AS 1t is, 10 wonder no more houses were burned
than there are for with lack OF water and no en-
gines the whole OF Hunters Point might have been
burneu to the ground but for the circumstance that
the wind could not have blown in more favor
able direction. Yesterday afternoon horrible
Was Mno was at aee time a Of
the outbreak Of the fire, and VINO endeavored in
junction with several others. to free the horses had
perished in the flames. One OF the men who was
with him says that the last he saw OF him he was
the stable at the further end, with his hands to his
face, evidently overcome by the heat and smoke,
but that ne was too much occupied IN saving him.
self the time, and afterwards In trying to arrest
circumstance thorough search Tor the remains
Will be made the runs get cool enough to
permit OF an investigation but It VIII probably be
late this afternoon before such attempt Will be
made, owing to the quantity OF corn, &c. now
burning, which VIII take some time to consume and
Mr. McMann's loss is great At the time OF the
disaster there were in the stable the trotting
$780, and bought by hm five years ago for $4,000.
She was splendid roadster; had trotted her mile in
having improved during the past year considerably.
Another horse, valued at $2,0c0 and belonging to
New Yorker, anu three others worth from $500 to
ST. 500 eacn, perished. The feed in the stable was
enough for a years consumption and the buildings
were valuable The loss may be set down at $45,OOo
half in the Globe and half in the st.
Nicholas companies. MIR. B0wdon lost 1,4OO
quarts Of milk nve horses SIX wagons and
quantity OF harness, feed, &c, the total of which
exceeds So 000 which there Is partial insurance,
| but In what company Is at present unknown, MIR.
Bostwick, who keeps the paint store, loses about
81 0O0 insured, and MIR. Weeds house Is valued mt
| $4,000, on which he has policy OF $4,000 IN the
| GLOBE Insurance Company MIR. Quinn's house is
damaged to the extent OF $500. on which there Is
insurance In The same company Of S1Soo. Alto
gether taking INTO consideration the losses Of other
pRoprietOrs and the Telegraph Company, whose poles
are burned the total f0Ots over $6O, OOO Lady
Thorn was providentlaly absent at the Prospect
Park grounds yesterday, and two other valuable
horses were out exercising when the IRE broke out.