The post. [volume] (Middleburg, Snyder County, Pa.) 1864-1883, 1871-10-26
HISTORICAL. FIRES

The following account Of some o
the prmoipal fires Of modern time,
os, be Of interest at sb, present time
LONDON 1866.
On the 2d Of September, 1866, the
city Of London was almost utterly dc.
stroyed by what has since been known
as the Great Fire, which in fve dread
ful days Of ruin and terror aud panic
laid two.thirds Of the English metrop.
oils in ashes. II broke ont upon a
Sunday. at two O'Clock u the morn
iog in bakebousc, near the tower.
Thirteen thousand houses, eighty. .piqe
churches and many public Buildings
were reduced To cbarrod wool and
ashes and 100000 proplc rendere |
hou seless aud utterly destitute Three
acres without tho walls were entirely
devastated.
a graphic description Of this dread.
ful confaeration Is given in the "Di-
ary' of John Evelyn.
"Thc conlagratiou was so uniyer-
aal aud the people SO astoni.hcd tha,
from tho bcginning--l know not from
what, dependency or iate--thcy hard
ly s,rived to quench it, so that there
was nothing heard or seen but crying
out and lamonta,ion, RAINING about
like distracted creatures, without ut
all attempting to save oven their
goods, such q strange CONSERVATION
there was upon thcm-so, as it burn.
ed both in length and breath, tho
churches, public halls, Exchange, hos.
pitals monuments and ornaments, leap.
ing after pro ligious manner from
house to house and street to street, at
great distance one from tho other for
the heat, with long set of fair and
warm weather had even ignited the
air, and prepared the material TO con.
ceivc the fire, which devoured after
an incredible manner houses, furniture
aud everything. Oh, tho miserable
and calamitous spectacle such a.
haply the world has not seen the
like since :he foundation Of it, nor to
DO outdoue till the the universal con.
hasration. All tho sky was of q fiery
aspect like the top Of burning oven,
the scene above forty miles round
about for many nights. God grant
my eyes may never behold the like
now seeing above ten thousand hou-
ses oil 10 one fame the noise and
cractling aud thunder Of the impctu-
Gus flames, the sLricks of women aud
children, the hurry Of people, the fall
Of towers, houses and churches was
like an hiicou. storm, aud the air a,
bout so hot and inhamed that at last
no one was able to approach it, so
that they were forced to stand still
and let the flames burn on, which
they did for nearly two miles n
length anl one in breadth. The
clouds Of smoke were dismal and
reached upon computation, nearly City
miles 10 length. Thus left it in the
afternoon burning-a resemblance to
Sodom or the last day. London was,
but is no more -
NEW YORK lSis
The greatest fire, since that of De-
cember. 1885, that has devastated
property 10 this city, began on the
morning Of the 10th Of July, 1915.
The fire originated in q sperm oil store
10 New street, near the corner OF Ex-
change place, about three clock GU
the morning named, and spread over
a great part Of tho territory which had
been the scene Of the conaagration Of
1885. Tho flames werc communica
ted to chat: factory adjoining and
nearer 10 the corner Of Exchange place
whence they passed along Exchange
place to Broa d street. There they
euwrappcd a. building in which
was a quantity Of saltpetre, or gun
powder, on storage. When the bull.
ding had been burning for about fi'
teen minutes most awful explosion
took place which shook the city like an
earthquake. The builling was blown
up, aud with it somo other buildings,
Immediately after the explosion fire
was discovered 10 four different pla-
ces, and shortly the rear Of the en-
tire block was blazing. Soon the fire
leapsd to the south side of Broad
strcot. passing at tho same time tc
Broadway. On Broadway they spread
downward toward the Bowling Green
aud on Broad street north towards
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