Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-11-14
THE CHATTANOOGA FIRE.
Two Blocks ON Market Street Burned.
Over One Hundred Thousand Dollars
Lost.
One Thousand Dollars Reward for the
Ineendiary.
Is the International Society at Work ?
Details Of the LOsses---Scenes, Incl
dents, etc.
Is the International Society at Work

| bacon dragged from neighboring provision
house; there silks and calicos were pileC
? together against tub of broken eggs: sew
ing machines and crates of cabbage wer
heaped together, and broken mirrors re
hected the anxious cOuntenances of the sui
terers trying to sort out what was left Of
their property from the heterogeneous
mass before them.
1t was indeed sad sight, and one well
calculated to dishearten men who had seen
the city devastated by food, had recovered
from this visitation only to be cast down
again by the insolvency OF the Alabama and
Chattanooga Railroad, and now saw the
fruits Of their labors swept away by fire Just
as brighter days were dawning.
The people of Chattanooga are not the
kind, however, to yield to dispiiting infu-
ences. Misfortunes only serve to animate
them to renewed exertions, and most of
those who were yesterday burned out, have
to-day secured new places of business, where
they will dispose of the remnant of their
stock that was rescued from the flames, and
will soon make new start, in life, with
hearts as undaunted as ever.
THE HISTORY OF THE FIRE.
In the Times of Sunday we gave a brief
sketch of the terrible calamity which has
befallen our city, but were necessarily com
PEELED to omit all but the bare facts. To-
day we propose to give as full an account of
the great fire as our reporters were able to
obtain yesterday.
THE FIRE ORIGINATED
in the jewelry store of w. F. Fischer 81
Bro, on the southwest corner of Marke
and Eighth streets. The store was a one
story frame building, built about five years
ago and perfect finder box.
THE ALARM
was first given about one o'clock Sunday
morning by Mr.. Chas. Ford, of the st.
/ Nicholas, who was on his way home at the
time. One of the prOprietors of the Times
was on his way home at the time the alarm
was given and was near the corner OF Mar
! ket and Ninth street when he heard the crv
of fire. He FASTENED to the spot, arriving
there about the same time with n. F.
Toune, 5. j. Lynch, Henry Deutch, Bud.
Ware, Lieutenant of Police Wilbur. When
the party arrived
NO FLAMES WERE VISIBLE.
Only smouldering glow in a crack in
the ceiling near the corner Of the building,
but in the side towards Eighth street.
The party mentioned above at once broke
in the door and We're met bv Mr.. w. T.
AollClg WIN Gtllllc Jul lIpLl his SieeDll0
room in the rear of the building, in his
night clothing, presenting a pistol and de-
manding 'what they meant They soon
pointed out the imminent danger and he
fastened to assist them in eXtingishing the
fire. With a Ratchet, a piece of ceiling
was cut out showing a blaze extending
to the floor between the outside battens and
the ceiling. A bucket of water was dashed
into the aperture and the flame was appa-
rently extinguished. In a few seconds it
was seen, however, to be burning above the
hole that had been cut. With the assist
ance of others, Mr.. Lynch then got upon
the roof and saw the flames rapidly creep
ing up between the two shells of the build
ing and almost ready to burst out. He
called for water, but none could be OBJ
tanned, and iii few more seconds the fire |
burst through the roof and soon became IN
comfortable. Thus from the want of half a !
dozen buckets Of water at the proper time |
and place, the city sustains a loss of over /
100000.
PROGRESS OF THE FIRE.
When it was seen that the fire was beyond |
control, every one commenced removing |
goods from the wooden buildings adjoining /
on the south. But before more than half /
the property could be removed these build |
ings, or rather finder boxes, were wrapped |
in flames. Meantime the church bells were
sounding the alarm and large crowd col
lected, but with no organized fire depart
ment and no recognized leader they could
do little or nothing toward checking the
fire.
When the flames reached the store of H.
\. Snyder & Co., they were checked by the
solid high brick wall of CHpinger's new build
ing, but passed to the rear of it and seized
upon a small wooden building used by Mr..
Clippinger to store paints, glass, oil, putty,
etc. This building was near the Old post
office building, and it was seen that should
it take fire, with its inflammable contents.
the old postoflice building of Mr.. Kavlor's,
would 90, together with Brew and Vande-
mans buildings in front of Kaylors build
ing, on Market street. Had these caught
fire the destruction of the whole block
bounded by Market and Railroad streets
between Sth and 9th would have seemed
inevitable.
Maj. j. Garlic with II. c. Evans I. II.
Payne and others succeeded in removing the
paints, etc, before the Clippenger building
caught fire and then with the Chemical Fire
EXtinguisher with the A. and C.. Railroad
Company, kept the flames down, so that
KaylOrs' building was saved.
While the fight against the fire was going
on at this point, the devOuring elements. as
if enraged at the opposition pen, had leaped
across Eighth street and attacked the large
Of d. Kirkpatrick Il Co., whole
sale liquor dealers and rectifers and of
Ruble n Height, dealers in agricultural i'm
plements. The proprietors and their friends
fought the fire as long as possible, with wet
blankets etc, but were soon compelled to
succumb to the rain of firebrands and cind-
ars. Kirkpatrick & Co. were carving a
very extensive stock Offine liquors, and had
m extensive rectifying apparatus. Some ;
forty or fifty barrels of liquor and several
thousand cigars were saved, but still we fear
he loss was greater than the insurance. {
Ruble " Height, WHO occupied the north |
lalf of the building, lost everything inc.d- {
ling a valuable horse in a stable at the rear $
If the building. The burning of this ware f
house was terribly grand spectacle. The $
lanes from the immense quantity of spirits
tored within, blazed up many feet in the '
Iir and the intense heat Of the burning al $
,ohOl created vortex which drew in the T
air with tremendous force. al +
most like whirlwind. r
Before the fearful heat thus engendered +
III b'tiAOALAooy tllA OlIC anu TWO II
tory wooden shanties, vanished like leaves Y
,efOre the wind, their owners having scarce
y time to remove their property. {
The twO-stOry brick building belonging to 5
he Fort estate, scarcely checked the adj
ance of the flames, which then seized {
Ipon the large frame building adjoining, b
rected by the government in 1864, as a
9uartermaster's warehouse, and owned by b
Z. Church, of Knoxville, but then occupied n
" Nassauer & ROsenthal, Hurt & HOlan D
nd the Waterworks Company. About this
ime Recorder Sharp saw the necessity for v
ummary measures and ordered the de- n
truction Of frame building next south of v
Traynor's drug store, which enabled the [,
ire to be checked at that point, after having
made clear sweep from Market street to v
iailroad avenue for some 400 feet. @
The following is list of the losses by +
ire as near as we can ascertain them at Il
resent, commencing at the southenmost | o
,oint to which the fire reached: +
D. I. Clippenger, stock of paints, oils,