The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1871-10-26

insurance Company, of Freeport, Ill,
and $1,000 in the Pacific, San Fran.
cisco. On furniture the insurance
was $500 in the last named company.
James Hawley's loss was about
5000 covered by insurance in the
Republic, Of Chicago.
The two small dwellings Of W. P.
lnskeep were damaged to the extent
say, $50 each fully covered by insu-
rance in the Underwriters.
One of these houses was occupied
by Robert Finley, Esq, and the other
by Charley Sax, clothing merchant.
Each of these families removed most
of their furniture, which, of course,
was more or less damaged. Sax was
fully insured in the North America,
Of Phila. Finley had no insurance.
He had been in the house blu. q few
days. 8.
G. A. Remer had of insurance
$500 on house, $500 on piano and
$500 on furniture, all in tho Hart
ford Fire OF Hartford. The damage
to his house was, say from 500 to
$1,000. Furniture chiefly saved, but
in q very damaged condition
Next to the dwelling house OF Mr..
Roemer, was the Mechanics Hotel,
D. D. Calhoun, proprietor. The
building received no material dam
age, but the buildings were so close
together (only about 80 feet apart)
that it. was-tAe.sA+ aoet 10 ronaovo
the furniture from the Hotel, and in
doing so, it was greatly injured and
some stolen or lost. No insurance
save on piano, which was damaged
say to the extent of $50.
We have, perhaps, never had fire
in this city, which, in the beginning,
was more alarming and threatening
in its character, and our citizens
rushed to the rescue by thousands.
They did everything they could to
stay the progress Of the conflagra-
ton, but the means at hand were
limited.
The Ottumwa Fire Co. were on
hand quite promptly, but what has
been for months well knowo to the
city authorities, they were very de-
ficient in hose, and this was most
painfully felt. The boys, however,
did their best, and they finally stay
ed the conflagration towards Second
street in the House of Mr.. Roemer.
We must not fail to give we'll mer-
tied praise to Major Mahon's Hook
and Ladder Co., which, though just
organized, and never having an
hours drill, worked like beavers and
did an excellent work.
AID. Brady, too, was invaluable
with his Babcock's Fire Extinguish-
or. By the way, in a brief word or
two, let us say that the work last
night showed that these Extinguish-
ers are good thing, and why we
ask are they not in such hands as
will have them ready to use, and act.
ually use them.
We have to confess that we, Of the
COURIER family, thought for some
time that We might have a chance to
rise phgnix-like from the ashes, but
however much we like kind words
and lots Of praise, we did not find
very pleasant in the con-
temptation of going up, For nearly
an hour it was one of the hottest fires
we ever experienced, making it i'm
possible to expose ones face to its
full glare at a distance of two hundred
feet. Parties in from the country,
to-day, say they saw very plainly the
light from the fire at distance of
miles.
We have extended this account to
as great an extent as our columns will
permit, and we close by saying that
it was 30 evident, last night, that
must be done to save us
fromf q general, sweeping confagra-
tion, that no better argument under
the shining sun can be given to con-
vince our citizens of the absolute
necessity of having a supply of
water provided and it seems to us
to be just rs evident that there is no
way so effective, and in the end, so
cheap, as to, at once, enter upon the
work of building Water Works.