The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1872-11-15
Terrible Fire in Boston.
The Great Chicago Disaster Repeated.
Immense Destruction of Property
Wealthy Men Left Pesrness.


New England broke out in Boston on Sat
urday evening last at O'Clock.
There was hardly breath of wind STIR
ring when the alarm was sounded-about
halfpast seven O. o'clock-followed by a sec
ond, third and fourth IN rapid succession;
but the first engine was hardly on the
ground when the fire broke out from the
fourth story of large four-st granite
store on the corner, of Sum mer and Kings
ton streets, occupied by Tebbets, BALDWIN
& Davis, wholesale dry goods dealers: III
had caught in the engine room, ana the |
flames spread with lightning rapldlty up !
the large elevator, and were hrst seen
climbing underneath the woodwork of the
roof. Engines were falrly at "ork DeloIe
any other store had caught.
The buildings in the vicinity were all OF
granite, four stories high, and each sur
mounted with a mansard roof, none OF
them being over five years old. i he de-
tachsd splinters flew readily as the air was
warmed by the terrible heat, and soon
flames began licking the mansard roof on
the opposite side, far above the reach of
/, streams directed upon it from all quarters.
Fire was constantly in the air, and one
building after another caught on the root
and flames skipped lightly along from one
window sill to another, so that IN less than
thirty minutes every check was blanched
as it became evident that the whole city III
one direction was at the mercy of the
flames, which were leaping gayly fromroof
to roof and from one building to another.
| The second building to succumb was di
rectly opposite to that in which the fire
| first broke out, and was occupied by Matin.
Mullen & Elms, Harding Brothers & Co.,
| Bowen, Moors & Co, George Lide, Carter
& Co, and Conant Bros, all wholesale
dealers in dry and fancy goods. This was
| at the corner of Otis place. The heat now
became Internal. The street ran rivers of
water and every moment was heard the
sound of granite blocks exploding and fall
| ing in the streets, making them impassa-
| BILE. The tiremen were driven from one
! station to another and many engines were
kept nobly at work, while hydrants were
nsed by hand hose The engineer could
only hold his place while stream of water
was kept playing upon him. Blocks of gran
ite weighing tons were split as if by pow
der, and hurled across wide streets, and
planks went flying through the air as if
they were feathers.
worked behind them, but they were burn
| ed almost as soon as erected. An hour
| had hardly elapsed before it was evident
| that Beebe's block, the finest business
| structure in the city, built of granite, five
stories in height, with mansard roof over
| all, must go Within thirty minutes the
flames were coming out i'll fiery pillows
| leading to A. Il Stewards rooms was a
perfect column of flames. Pieces of dry
| goods went whistling across the square,
lodging on the window sills of the magnifi-
cent stores on Devonshire streets. Beebe's
block stood, a solid wall of granite, seve-
raj minutes after the inside fell, but the
heat warped it and two million dollars soon
lay heap of stone, bricks and mortar. A
hurricane now ragged, and owing to the
intense heat and perfect sleet of Goals it
| drove everything before it. Every build
| ing was now heated as if in a furnace and
caught like timber. Four-story granite
blocks seemed like shavings and deafening
explosions were constantly heard. A new
terror was added to the babel of confusion.
Tenement houses at the upper end of Fed
| eral street were fast being licked up by the
! flames, and women cTazed and fainting
were rushing to and fro, carrying children,
| crockery, clocks and bedding in their hands.
! One ran screaming through High street
| with stove funnel in her hand, while
another was tugging heavy chest. which
would have been a heavy weight for
strong man. Now and then few pieces
of goods might be saved 10y volunteers who
ran in and spent five minutes, during
which they could work, in bringing out
| perhaps hundred pieces of cloth. One
| man, Marshall Cotter, got out S25, 600
| worth of kid gloves, and had them placed
on the sidewalk i'll a damaged condition.
! He offered a hackman $500, in vain, to take
| the goods to a place of safety. In less
| than an hour he had to flee for his life,
and the flames were not again cheated of
| their prey. The fire was now in Federal
| street. and the wool houses were now go
ing like oil factories. They could never
have been attacked at n more dangerous
| time, crammed from cellar to garret with
| goods. Hundreds of thousands of dollars
1 Il
| delivered to customers had it not been for
! the horse disease. In one store alone there
was a hundred thousand dollars worth of
wool stored, which was awaiting delivery.
| Minor, Beal & Hackett had their store
packed full, having only put their winters
| stock in three hours before the fire enyel-
| oped it all. March Brothers & Pierce had
just put their Winter goods in the cellar
and sent their Summer goods up stairs to
| be made up. The paper houses came next.
| With the end of Federal street went the
| majority of the large city dealers. 1t had
been hoped that the fire could be stopped
short at Franklin street, but the stores
there were as vulnerable as any other
| Freeman's National Bank went at 10 o.
clock, and an hour later the National Bank
of North America was in as bad a condi-
| ton.
LATER REPoRTs.
| BOSTON, November 11.-At ten o'clock
this morning the fire was thoroughly under
control Upward of fifty engines were
| working, pouring continuous streams of
water. The wind has not increased, and
1t Is believed the fire will not again break
out. The fremen, police, military and
cltlzens, committees and others, are all
thoroughly exhausted by the superhuman
efforts OF the past thirty-sx hours. The
city presents strange and excited scene.
otate street Is stlil piled with goods now
being removed, and everybody appears to
be on the streets. Sleep and rest are un-
thought of.
| THE FIRE DROWNED oUT.
AT two o'clock this afternoon the fire is
still under control, and is now considered
thoroughly subdued, although the engines
still continue at work. The crowds of
people about the burnt district are immense.
Telepraphic communication is seriously