Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1872-11-19


mails were reno we'd to the Custom
House, and thence taken last night
TO FancU Hall, where the distribu-
ton of letters began this morning,
nothing having been lost. What
stopped the flames in this quarter no.
body seems to know. The buildings
were not a whit more substantial
than those which had crumbled to
fragments behind them, but they
were not seriously menaced until
evening. South of them was a mere
heap of Goals and ashes, and the fire.
men were able to concentrate their
efforts here. At any rate, nothing
was inj ured except the Post Office
and the Merchants Exchange.
On the corner of Washington and
Milk streets were two currents Of
flames, one sweeping north ward from
Franklin, the other westward along
Milk street One ofthe choicest his
toIical buildings of Boston is the Old
South Church. Sober citizens, who
had borne the loss of their own for
tunes without word, were seen alb
solutely frantic with distress as the
conhagration approached this veneer
bic pile. 1t is modest brick build
ing with wooden blinds, and it seem
ed impossible that it should escape !;
but here the fire, which has destroy.
ed stone and iron as if they had been
straw, was strangely stopped. Save
for few broken windows, and
blistered paint, the old church is I'M
hurt, and a battered safe lies in the
| door.
Further along on Milk street the
Gre encountered another barrier.
This was the new, unfinished Post.
office, occupying the block between
Milk, Water, Devonshire, and Con-
gress streets. 1t was Of beautiful
granite, with iron beams, and had
cost thus far S150,000. The roof
was not on, and the floors were not
laid, and there was no wood work
about it except the scaffolding The
Milk and Congress streets sides
and part Of the Water street front
are ruined by the heat, but the build
ing itself did not burn, and it pre-
vented the fire from spreading any
further north westward. 1t stands
now, however, conspicuous exam
pie of the defects of granite as
building material. The stone has
crumbled ard split like lime when it
is Stacked. The streets are heaped
with fragments finer than gravel, and
workmen are creeping along the cor
nices and balconies, throwing off the
pieces which are threatening to fall.
1t is supposed that nearly third Of
the building will have to come down.
Opposite, on Water street, is the
building of the Post newspaper.
That caught fire but was not much
injured, and from there westward
Water street is saved.
Such was the condition of things
on Sunday morning. 1t seemed to
be reasonably certain that the fire
had reached it's northern and south-
ern limits, and so the dwellings in
the South End and the banks and va
rious money institutions on State
Street, as well as the business dis
trict beyond, were considered safe.
There was still an unframed re-
gion, however, between Congress and
Brown streets. and along the water,
which was almost cut off from the
rest of the city by the flames.
The fire now burned back, and be-
gan to dovOur this. All day Sunday
and all Sunday night the destruction
went on. Nothing is left except
some of the wharves; for, though it
is said the flames were only stopped
by the water, it is fact that they
reached the edge of the water only
in a few places, and the stories of the
destruction of the shipping are not
true.
BY Sunday noon the fire was said
to be under control. By o'clock
this morning it was entirely checked,
and we were able to consider the loss.
os. In the whole district | have de-
scribed, embracing sixty to eighty
acres, not building remains. The
devastation is absolute and univers-
al. Here and there tottering wall
or tall chimney rises above the mass
of cinders, blackened with smoke.
but there is nothing that can be saw
ed in The process Of rebuilding, ex-
cept bricks and foundation stone.
The granite, especially, which was
the favorite material in this district
is reduced TO fragments. 1t will on,
ly be fit to grind for garden walks
When Chicago was burned the fire
capriciously spared edifices in the
very midst of the burnt district, but
not so here.
Between II and l o'clock Monday
morning, fresh alarm was sounded
at the corner of Washington and
Summer streets, where q terrible eX-
plosion of gas threatened for time
to carry the disaster across Washing
ton street in the direction of the Mu-
sic Hall; Hovey' 5 dry goods establish
rent, aud the two buildings of Jor-
dan Marsh 4 Co, were menaced by
the occurrence, but the firemen sue
| GeSubN, AlNSl cbN tl al DOuTS nhlu
work, in combining the destruction to
tour or FIVE stores, one of which was
the great jewelry store of Shreve,
Crump & Law.
The courage of the people is mag
nifcent. When | passed through the
burning streets, at 2 o'clock this
morning, | found men who had lost
everything cropping their way
through the smoke, looking for the
ruins of their stores to put up placards
among the still burning debris, an
nouncing their removal to other quar-.
ters. By dsybreak the whole acces
sible part of the district was dotted
with extemporized signs. McColl-
ough, Williams 4 Parker, who occu-
pied one of the fines. of the ruined
stores, where they employed 5000
hands, began business this morning
in the Mason and Hamlin building
The great dry goods house of Sar-