Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1872-11-16
The Boston CONFIRMATION,

The city of Boston, has just been vis
tied by the most fearful conhagration
ever known in New England, aud ok
ceedcd only in extent and destructive
uess by the Chicago disaster OF last year
The whole business portion of the city
is in ashes. The fire broke out about
halEpast seven O'clock, on Saturday eve
ming, from the fourth story of large
four-story granite store, Oh the corner Of
Summer and Kingston streets, occupied
in the fourth story by Tibbets, Baldwin
& Davis, wholesale dry goods dealers,
and the flames spread with lightning
rapidty up the large elevator, and were
first seen climbing underneath the wood
work OF the root. The buildings in the
vicinity were all of granite, four stories
sard roof Detached spllntcrs fl.w read
ily, as the air was heated by the terrible
heat, and soon the flames began licking
the Mansard roof on the opposite SIDE
above the reach of streams directed
upon il from all quarters. The fire was
constantly in the air, and one building
after another caught on the roof, so that,
in less than thirty minutes, every cheek
was blanched as it became evident tha:
the whole city in one direction was at
the mercy of the flames, which wore
leaping gaiiy from root 10 root, and from
one building to another. The flames
spread in all di' cctions, and ragged with
terrible fcrceness until late in the after
noon Of Sunday, when they were finally
stayed, but Dot without aid from the
fire departments of other cities.
The conhagra,on was got under con-
troll ut about one o'clock, having in the
space OF fifteen hours destroyed hun
drcds of the cost hest and most substan-
tal warehouses in the country, and tenn
porarily parylizing three Of the leading
mercantile interests the shoe and lelth.
er business, wool and dry goods trades.
| IL Is saiu lhsie 10 NV ohS "h''S""'S 'S"'"
er house left in Boston. The wool
trade suffered an equal degree and dry
goods houses are few a.d far between.
The new post Office and sub treasury
building was for long time exr "sed to
fierce flames and smoke, but was scarcely
scared. This massive fire proof strrct.
ure saved the Boston Morning Post
building, directly opposite, and helped
greatly in preventing the fire from
reaching State street. The Obi South
Church also escaped, lhohgh several
times given up for lost. The costly and
beautiful TrdnScrDt building and Cour-
er Il Trot's iewrlry establishment on
the opposite corner OF Milk street, were
burned. The Eastern express Office was
saved though reported AT one time as
| burned.
The following are the general boundi-
ricS Of the cuntingralion The whole
| length and both sides OF Summer street,
across Federal and nearly down to
! Doake's wharf aud thence in neatly n
direct line to Fork Hill, along Hamilton
aud bitterly March 10 Kelley street as
TAR as Lindell and Central street, and
| from Milk To Summer on Washington
street. Within these boundaries, an area
of nearly seventy acres, every building
was consumed.
The loss is now estimated At between
eighty aud ninety millions of dollars,
and the insurance at ten To twelve mil
lions. A good many persons We're in
! jnred and several killed.
Bad as il is, colossal as is tho loss, il
minht have been worse. Boston is not
proslrate, ms was Chicago, Her hotels,
her public records, her public buildings,
her banks, her public libraries, her TEN
ples of art, Of irarning, OF amusement,
and. most of all, her historical monn'
ments, arc to a large extent saved. Dos
ton has the old South Church with It's
two centuries OF sanctily, " has Fanueil
Hall, the old State House, Oil Kings
Chapel and the treasures OF the Aihene
cum, The public press OF the c'Iy
though sadly crippled, is not ann'hllated
rs was that OF Chicago, The city water
works, its markets, rs vast store houres
OF provisions, are either saved or only
kpartially destroyed. More than all
there is no such widespread ruin oI
J homes, snch breaking up OF families
suet destructian of human life, MS wa'
seen at Chicago. That which has beer
lost is mainly property, the: 6uildingl
and the goods in " hich and with whicl
men made money A few tenement
. we're destroyed, and among the inhabl'
. ants of these there will he trying losse
: and more or less suffering but there ar
Y no sxlythousand homeless MeD, ,,wcme
d and children, shivering Mt midnight %
$ an open prairie, facing famine and col
Eaud Fate without food or shelter.