Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1872-11-11
Boston's Great Fire.
The Heart of the City in Ashes.
One Hundred Acres Burned Over.
Some Of the Finest Buildings in the City
in Ruins.
A Loss Of S2OO,OOO,OOO.
Terrible Incidents of the Disaster
GunpOwder and Gas Explosions
The Thieves at Work.

About half-past seven O'Clock Saturday night
a fire broke out in Boston, at the corner of
Summer and Kingston streets, and soon spread
rapidly, and by ten O'Clock embraced the entire
length Of Winthrop square, including the we'll
known and extensive dry goods houses of A. T.
Stewart, j. NJ. Bebee, Anderson. Heaths g. Co..
and Hought0n. Perkins & Co. There was
hardly q breath of wind stirring when the alarm
was sounded, followed by q second, 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 a large, four-story
granite store, on the corner of Summer and
Tebbets, Baldwin, and Davis, wholesale dry
goods dealers. 1t had caught in the engine
room, and the flames sped with lightning rapidity
mp the large elevator, and were first seen climb
Ing undeath the woodwork of the roof. The
engines were hardly at work before another
store had caught. The buildings in the vicinity
were all of granite, four stories high, and each
surmounted with Mansard roofs, none of them
being over five years old. The detached splin-
tiers few readily, as the air was heated by
THR TERRIBLE HEAT.
And soon the flames began licking the man
sard roof on the opposite side, far above the
reach OF the streams directed upon it from all
quarters. The fire was constantly in the air, and
one building after another caught in the roof,
and the flames slipped rapidly along from one
window-sl to another, so that in less than thirty
minutes every cheek was blanched as it became
evident that the whole city in one direction was
at the mercy of the flames, which were leaping
gayly from roof TO roof, from one building to
another. The heat now became Internal. The
streets ran rivers OF water, and every moment
was heard the sound of granite blocks exploding
and whole frames falling in the streets, making
them impossible.
THE FIRRMEN WERE DRIVEN
from one station 10 another, and many an en-
CINE was kept nobly at work while the hydrant
could only hold his place while the stream of
water was kept playing on him. Blocks Of
granite, Weighing tons, were split as If by pow
der, and hurled across the wide streets, and
planks went flying through the air as if they
were feathers. Firemen erected barricades and
worked behind them, but they were burned
elapsed before it was evident that Beebe's
block, the finest business structure in the city,
built OF granite, five stories in height, with the
cursed Mansard roof over all, must go. Within
thirty minutes flames were coming out in
FIERY BELLOWS
from every window, and up the stairway lead
ing to A. L. Stewards rooms, was a perfect
column of flames. This building served but as
fuel for the flames. Pieces of dry goods went
whistling acress the square, lodging on the
window stills OF the magnificent store on Devon
shire street. Beebe's block stOOd-a solid wall
OF granite. Several minutes after the inside
fell, but the heat warped it, and two millions of
dollars soon lay heap of stone, bricks and
mortar. The hurricane now ragged, and owing
TO the intense heat and perfect sleet of Goa
drove ever ything before it. Every building was
now heated as If in a furnace, and
CAUGHT LIKE TIMBER.
Four-story granite blocks seemed like shaw
ings, and deafening explosions were constantly
heard. A new terror was now added to
the babel of confusion. Tenement houses at
the upper end of FEDERAL street were fast being
licked up by the flames, and women crazed and
taintiDg were rushing to and fro, carrying chill
dren, crockery, clocks, and bedding in their
hands. One ran screaming through High street
with a stove funnel in her hands, while another
was Juggling heavy chest, which would have
been weight for strong man. Now and then a
lew pieces OF goods might be saved by volun-
teers, who ran in and spent live minutes, during
which they could work in bringing out perhaps
q hundred pieces of cloth. One man, Marshall
Cotter, got out twenty-five thousand dollars
worth OF Kid gloves, and had them placed on
the sidewalk in damaged condition. He offered
q hackman tive hundred dollars in value to take
the goods to place OF safety. In less than an
hour he had
TO FLEE FOR HIS IIPR
ana the names were once again cheated of their
prey. The IRE was now IN Federal street, and
the wool houses were going like oil factories.
They could never have been attacked at a more
dangerous time, as they were crammed. From
cellar to garnet hundreds OF thousands of dol
lars worth were in hand that might have been
delivered to customers had il not been for the
horse disease. In one store alone there were a
hundred thousand dollars worth of woods stored
which were awaiting delivery. Minor, Beale &
put in their winters stock three hours before
the hre enveloped it ALL March, Brothers &
Pierce had just put their winter goods in the
be made up. The paper houses came next, and
with them went the majority of the larger
dealers. 1t had been hoped that the fire could
be stopped short OF Franklin street, but the
stores there were as vulnerable as any OF the
Others. The Freedman's National Bank went at
10 O'Clock, and an hour later the National Bank
OF North America was in as bad condition.
PROGRESS OF THE DRvoU RING ELEMBNr.
Notwithstanding the labors OF the fremen,
the IRE continued to spread, a northwest wind
aiding IL in its course. At eleven the fire had
travelled through half a mile of the business
portion of the city, and was still continuing
with fearful rapidity. Half an hour later both
were laid in ruins, and the fire shaped its course
towards Broad street. About this time the
alarm became general Fire-engines were tel
egraphed for from Worcester, Providence. and
other places. Goods were removed from the
stores in the vicinity of the fire.
At midnight it moved up Franklin street
nearly to the corner OF Hawley, consuming the
Cathedral building, spreading in Congress and
Federal streets and reaching the shipping at
the Broad street wharf, south OF Congress
leveling the Hartford and Erie railroad office,
which was in the neiehborhOod. 1t still contin-
ued to increase toward Washington street. north
OF Franklin All the splendid granite ware
houses on Franklin square, Winthrop square
and vicinity were burned; the Plot office being
also destroyed.
45 MILES IN As MINUTES.
At O'Clock special train from Boston, to
carry the Worcester fire department to the
burning city, made the run OF forty-four and a
half miles in forty live minutes. Many firms on
Washington street moved their goods, and many
parties on Milk and Water streets and even as
far north as State street, did the same. All the.
newspaper offces had Q forceon hand, prepared
to move at . moments notice. !
At O'Clock yesterday morning two buildings
at the corner Of Devonshire and Milk streets
were blown up, with the hope that that would
Say the progress Of the IRE, but in vain as both
sides Of Hawley street and Morton place were
soon under way. At 3 O'Clock q m. the heat vas
90 intense that the nremen could not success
fully fight the flames. At 4:15 building after
building was blown up, with the only apparent
eject OF Increasing the terrible violence Of the
hamee.
TIE THIEVES
took advantage Of the CONSERVATION to plumber,
and over tw o hundred arrests were made. By
the hour me nhoned fremen from Lowell, New
buryport, Woburn, Chelsea, Charlestown, and
New BedfoTd had arrived and were at work
Nobody could stand within three blocks Of the
burning masses, 50 the fre had full possession of
the buiidir &c within its grasp. As each edifice
caught IRE from its neighbor the flames seemed
TO devour the contents In o single moment, and
10 the torrent Of flames grew In strength and
power with :
TERRIBLE VELOCITY.
Falling roofs were sinking every minnie, and
carried down with them the doors, one by one,
un,il the walls became isolated and also fell