Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1871-10-12
SWEEP OF THE FIRE
FEEND.
Terrible Scenes i'm the City
Ten Thousand Buildings
Burned.
One Hundred and Fifty
Thousand People
Homeless.

About II o'clock Saturday night fire
broke out in the block situated between
Clinton, Canal, Van Buren, and jackson
Streets, and before it was extingujshed,
four hlorks, bounded on the north by
Adams street, IN the south by Van Bnren
s'rret on the west by Clinton street, and
on the eszt by the Chicago river, were
destroyed. Four or five buildings within
the limits named remain uuinjured.
Among them ia Vincent, Nelson & O.. =
grain warehouse, one of the largest in the
city, which escaped any serious damage.
This is due TO the fact that large piles of
anthracite coal lay between the burning
buildings and elevator, and by a cOntinu-
Gus application of large quantities Of wa
ter to the Goals, the warehouse was pre-
vented from being burned. The space
burned over was covered with lumber
yards coal yards, wood yards, planning
mile, vinegar factory, and a large num-
Der of dwelling houses and saloons. The
poor class, who were inmates of many of
these houses, were startled from their
slumber, and had barely time TO rush ont
in their soanty night attire, leaving their
household goods to destruction. In sever
al instances children were hastily wrap
ped in blankets and quilts to break their
f,ll, and thrown from second story win
dows to the ground.
When the alarm sounded for this fire,
another of considerable magnitude was
burning on Wells street, near Adams
Several engines were unne Cessarily kept
on tbis fire The rest of the engines in
the city were soon on the ground. A close
estimate of the entire loss places it from
$250000 to 100000, half of which is
probably insured. The fire originated in
Lull & Holmes plaring mill, on Canal
street, near Van Buren,. As the wind
was fresh from the south, the fire spread
nothward rapidly and thence east. In
half an hour the whole district was all
absze. The tracks of the Pittsburg. Fort
Wayne Il Chicago, and Chicago IL St.
Louis Railroads, which run through the
burnt district, are damaged to the extent,
probably, of $4,000 or $4,000. Margaret
Hadley, living on the north side of Jack
son street, was burned to death. The en-
tire amount of insurance will probably
fall below $150000. The companies
which suffer are the Bufftlo, Western and
Bnffalo Fire and Marine, and the Alps, of
Erie. At a late hour fire was raging in
the Western Division, which appeared to
he as large as the fire Saturday night.
The alarm was given at 945 p. n.
At 1880 a. m, the fire in the West
Division ragged with unabated fury. The
fire commenced near Taylor street, be.
tween Delevan and Jefferson streets
spreading in every DIRECTION, and covers
at least four blocks. The blocks are built
up solidly and almost exclusively of two.
story frame house, saloons, groceries. etc
The loss IL large, and it il feared that II
will prove more disastrous in its cbarac.
ter than the one of Saturday night r. il
impossible yet to learn but very few
names of the sufferers. The entire LIST
will probably embrace several hundred
At 40 u. m, the night was the most
awful in the annals of the city. The fire
which commenced at 10 D. M, swept over
aspace of at least three times as large as
lhat of Saturday night, and is still rush
ing on with greater fury than has marked
any stage of its progress, the engines ap-
Pearlng almost powerless. Fire Marshal
Williams telegraphed to Milwaukee for
all the steamers they could spare. The
confagrstion has devastated at least
twenty blocks, mostly composed of the
smaller class of dwellings and inhabited
BY poor people. Not less than 800 build
ings have been entirely destroyed, and
more than that number of families rem.
dered homeless.
The wind blew almost a gale from the
south, and showers of sparks and burning
brands swept over the city, threatening
obstruction on every hand. The tower of
sne court house caught fire from the fy-
ng brands, but was extinguished by the
~atchman OF the tower. No description
eah give an adequate idea of the terrible
scene. The fire started in a row of two
story wooden tenements on Delevan street.
between Jefferson and Clinton, and, as