Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1871-10-19
EUREsIN HISTORY.

An event, regarded at the time as most
disastrous, especially marks the year 1865.
Early in the morning of Sunday, septem-
Der Cd, fire broke out ct bakers In
Pudding Lane, London, neighborbood
where the houses were denssly crowded
together, and most of them of wood ;
while many warehouses were filled with
naval stores, and other articles highly
combustible.
The supply Of water was deficient, the
wind was very high and the civic authori-
ties were unequal to the emergency; the
fire ragged fiercely, and the flames spread
rapidly, often breaking out in houses at
some distance, until vast extent was In
volved in the confagration. By night
the whole water side of the city was in
flames.
The fire continued for four days to de-
your, after an almost incredible manner,
houses, churches, public halls, hospitals,
monuments, furniture and everything
that came in it's way, leaping from house
to house and street to street at great dis
tances from each other.
The Thames was covered with goods
floating; the CARTS and other vehicles car
rying out TO the fields movables of all
sorts huts were erected to shelter the
people and such goods az they could get
away. About 100000 persons encamped
in Islington and Highgate fields.
The light of the fire was seen above
forty miles around for several nights;
the noise and cracking and thunder OF
the impetuous flames, the shrieking OF
women and children, the hurry OF people,
the fall of towers. houses and churches,
was like hideous storm the air became
so hot and inhamed, that at last one was
not able to approach it, so that people
were forced to stand still and let the
flames burn on, which they did for near
ly two miles in length and one in breadth.
MANY houses were demolished, blown
up with powder or beaten down with can
non. On the afternoon of Wednesday,
the fourth day of the fire, the wind abat-
ed the next day the fire was stayed,
partly by exertion, still more from hav-
ing spent itself on the greater part of the
buildings of the city.
For many weeks the fire was not wholly
extinguished in some parts of the ruins,
which extended from the Tower on the
east to the Temple on the west, and from
the river side to Smithfield and the City
wall on the north. More than half of the
city of London was burned. The ruins
covered 436 acres, and there were de-
stroyed, during the four days, eighty-nine
churches INCLUDING st. PauPs), the city
gates, the Royal Exchange, the custom
houses, GuildbalI, Zion College, and many
other public buildings, besides 1920
houses. More than four hundred streets
were laid waste and the property destroyed
was estimated at 100000 pounds ster-
ling, but only about six persons were
known to have persisted.
The cause of the conflsgration was in
CURED into by the Parliament and the
Privy Council, but they could not arrive
at any satisfactory conclusion.
The wind, the dry weather which for
some time had prevailed, the ID arrange
ments to stop the flames, and lhe combus-
tible nature of the building and stores
where it began, were sufficient to account
for its RACES. But some extraordinary
revelations, not altogether unsupported,
implied that it was caused by inoendiar-
les One man was executed on his own
confession, although he was supposed to
be mad, for having been concerned in the
fest kindling of the fire. The real cause
of the calamity he's never been cleorly ar
certained.