Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-10-11
Graphic Account. of Terrible Scenes.

| DESCRIPTION BY AN EYE WITNESS.
The following reliable and graphic description
of the fire is furnished by gentleman who par
| ticipatcd in the work of subduing the flames;
None but the eye witness can form an idea of
the fury and power of the fire tiend, as he
reveled among the palaial buildings and ware
houses on the south side, with the wind blow
ing a hurricane.
RAPIDITY WITH WHICH THE FLAMES SPREAD.
At times it seemed but the work of a moment
for the fire to enter the south end of buildings
fronting on Randolph, Lake and Water streets,
and reappear at the north doors and windows,
belching forth in fierce flames which often
licked the opposite buildings; and then the
flames issuing forth from the buildings on both
sides of the street would unite, and present a
solid mass of fire, completely filling the street
from side to side, and shooting upward a hun
dred feet into the air above the house tops
Thus was street after street filed with flames.
Huge walls would fall, without apparently Civ
ing sound, in the roar Of the fierce element.
Many of the buildings situated along South
Water street buried their red hot rear walls in
the river, into which they plunged with hiss.
burning buildings, that they could not be APP
preached within a hundred and fifty feet. The
fire, after reaching the business portion of Ran
doph and South Water streets, leaped the river
TO the north side in an incredible short space of
time; and thence, among the wooden buildings,
on that side reached the lake shore, after touch
inc block after block OF dwellings with q fierce
blast.
THE PEOPLE HELPLESS.
A scene of such utter powcrlessness was never
presented The people bowed their heads in
anguish, and suffered the fend to go with I'M
tramelled sway.
MEANNEss AND sELFIsHNEss.
While there are many instances of generous
devotion on the part of rich and poor, in d.
vidng with the destitute, there are painful in
stances of meanncss and selishness. One per-
son, trying to remove valuable papers from an
office, asked two firemen to help; they refused
unless paid $50. The papers were destroyed.
Drivers of express wagons took 500 and even
$500 for an hours use of their vehicles.
RUNS WORK.
Among the sad scenes was the appearance of
one hundred men and boys beastly intoxicated,
around the streets IN the nOrtn DIVISION, Whefe
the saloon keepers stocks of liquors were turned
into the street, and furnished convenient Oppor-
! tunty for the qualification of the slavish pro-
pensities. There is hardly doubt that many
of these poor wretches found their death in the
flames
WANT AND EXPOSURE.
The Herald reporter furnishes the following:
Women and children are going around the
burnt district, vainly seeking something to
satisfy their hunger They ask relief but there
is none to give. No one has provisions or
money.
PROVISIONS.
Provisions have arrived from Detroit, Cincin-
natl, Milwaukee and st. Louis, and are being
distributed as fast as possible
CoRPsEs.
Twenty-three dead bodies were taken TO the
stationo on the north side. AT the present time
it is impossible to know who they are.
no LIGHT.
As night comes the want of light is keenly
felt. There are but few candles and no water
| except what is taken from the lake.
GRAVE FEARS.
Very grave fears Of outrage by thieves on the
west side are felt on every hand. Gen. Sheridan,