The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1872-11-14

THE REMOVAL OF GOODS.
The doorsteps of the stores in the street ad-
joining those on which the fire was raging were
occupied by the worldly goods of many poor
people who saved but little Of their property.
Many of these persons were standing guard
over their goods to prevent them from being
stolen, while others were running frantcally
about. in vain endeavors to find team in which
to convey their property away. The large firms
i'll Broad street had their teams out and many
OF them heavily laden carried the endangered
goods away. In some cases oxen were used.
Hand carts, wheelbarrows and every means of
conveyance were brought into requisition, but
they were inadequate to meet the demand. The
doors and windows of endangered stores were
broken open and valuable papers and books
taken away by the owners. Safes were in many
cases taken out and carried off. Employees in
stores were seen running with small parcels of
goods to places OF apparent safety. The large
| crowds made way for persons conveying goods
ana generally did all in their power to assist
them In most cases where the buildings ap-
| peared to be threatened the owner of goods in
them seemed undermined whether to remove
their property or not but appeared to be wait
ing to see the adjoining buildings catch on fire
| before they moved.
| Men with ledgers and account books of every
| description rushed into the stores on Washing
| ton street asking permission to deposit the
books, which contained the only record of i'm
| menSe business transactions, for safe keeping.
When the flames approached Washington
street all sorts of vehicles were called into
requistion to convey goods to place of safety.
A number of loads were piled into horse cars
| which were pulled out of danger by a score or
more of men.
Before the fire had been in progress two
hours, the proprietOrs of the Transcript, Jour-
nal, Post and Globe, began to lock up their type
and make other necessary preparations for
moving such material as could be moved.
Everything portable was sent down to The lower
floor. ready to be carried away in moment.
THE COMMON PUT TO A NEW USE.
BY l O'clock the streets were alive with job
| teams and all sorts of wheeled conveyances
loaded down with valuable goods being removed
to places of safety. The Common was used as
| repository by those who could find no covered
shelter for their goods. and all along the Ire
mont street MALL from Park to Boylston street.
| goods in bales and boxes, packages, large and
small, dry goods, leather goods, bed ticks and
household furniture, were heaped in Large
| sta ks. and determined men with stout sticks
| guarded them from the intrusions of number
less thieves, who, like birds Of prey, lowered
| about at every turn.
ORrERS GIVEN TC BLOW UP BUILDINGS.
After repeated solicitations on the part of
business men and owners of real estate and
| others, Chief Engineer Damrell, just before .
o'clock, gave the order to rope off the streets
leading into Milk, preparatory to blowing up
the building on the south side of that street.
A BODY OF U. \. MARINES,
from the Navy Yard, marched up Washington
street about o'clock, and rendered their SER
vices for police duty, which were Immediately
| accepted.
THE FIRST EXPLOSION,
indicating that gunpowder was being used to
stop the fire, was heard at five minutes past 3
| O'Clock, and was the most welcome sound of
the night, for it betokened q fearless, honest,
radical effort to save Boston from Chicago's fate
III. ia
Devonshire street, and it threw the building
partially down, but 1t did no apparent good, for
the flames jumped over it almost instantly.
At $40 O'Clock in the morning the destruction
of the buildings in the path of the confagration,
by the explosion of gunpoWder, was begun in
good earnest, the shocks shaking the city to its
foundations AT 4.O5 o'clock a most terrific
explosion took place, which undoubtedly did
good service AT IL o'clock buildings on
! Devonshre street were blown to atoms. The
Transcript building canght fire just before 4
O'Clock, the flames bursting into the rear and
spreading with such rapidity that all hope of
saving it was at once dispelled.
MORE BUILDINGS BLOWN UP.
1t became necessary to blow up the building
at corner of Congress street and Congress
square, occupied as All eating house, and shortly
before 3 O'Clock it was mined and exploded.
The large granite front building at the north
west corner of Lindall and Kiby streets, occu-
pied by Vincent& iiutchings insurance brokers,
J. Wiley Edwards and several others. was also
blown up, at O'Clock, though the effect of the
blast was of no material advantage, apparently.
The inside was shattered, but the walls and
much of the wood work were left standing, the
latter in Il condition to accelerate rather than
retald the progress of the fire. The fire con-
tinued making its way with grim certainty
towards the corner Of Broad and State streets,
and an effort was made to arrest its progress by
blowing up the building which is third from
the State street front, but three explosions failed
to make the desired impression. Nearly every
building, back OF the State street front, between
Congress and Broad, has already been mined,
while kegs of powder, with the match in readi-
ness for lighting, We're placed under a large
number of the buildings in the vicinity of Broad
sire ct, ready to rend them to pieces.
THE TERRIBLE HEAT.
In this confagration theexperence of Chicago
was in one sense at least repeated. Buildings
which We're IN degree considered freproot
were found to be otherwise. Iron and stone
alike crumbled to pieces in quick order. Walls
which might almost defy heavy artillery re-
ceived the fire through their windows and in a
wonderfully short time crumbled like chalk,
falling in small pieces, window caps, browning
stones and large sections alike. 1t is noticeable
that nearly all the walls left standing in the
burnt district are ofbrick. Another noticeable
feature is the almost entire consumption of the
contents of the buildings. There are few Or no
smoking timbers piled promiscuously among
brick, stone and mortar; no scorched dry goods
or halt-burned articles found in the thousand
and one categ ories of stock in trade, which NAV
be made hereafter available for some purpose
or other. Everything that was cOmbustible
was consumed, and no ocular proof determines
what business was pursued above this, that or
the other splendid ruin. The heat was simply
terrible. None knew it better than the noble
tiremen, resident and volunteering, who perth
naciously battled the fiery fiend all through the
live-long night and until long after Sunday 8
sun had passed his meridian. In the narrow
streets, with flames cracking on both sides or
forming a fiery arch overhead, they stood and
faced the enemy until further resistance was
foohardiness. Many faced the heat until their
exposed flesh was bhstered, but in spite of their
pluck they were in numberless instances aDSo-
lutelv powerleSs, the heat generating and eX-
pandng beyond the reach Of their streams and
driving them back.
THE CONFEDERATION RENEWED.
At midnight of Sunday, three and then
another, making four alarms, were rung. sum-
moning the department again to the scene of
the fire. The gas from the supply pipes in the
stores at the upper and southerly end Of Sum-
mer street, having been running for hours, sud-
denly exploded knocking out into the street
the entire front wall of the building and setting
the premises again on fire. The flames speedi-
ly communicated to the extensive building on,
the corner of Summer and Washington streets
Their efforts to stay the progress OF the de-
vOuring element were unavaiiing, and in less
than half an hour the magnificent block on the
corner Of Summer and Washington streets, in
the windows of which thousands have toasted
their eyes or displays of rare jewelry and arti-
ces of virtue, was to be fated. The Park House
was close to the rear of the burning building,
while Jordan, Marsh Il Co.'s retail store, an
immense structure, stood only forty feet distant
from the hottest of the fire. Just at this point
the efforts of the tiremen seemed to be concen.
trated. Fortunately there were score of steam
ers that could be drawn from other points. The
range of three story brick buildings lately oc-
cupied by Jordan & Marsh, but within a few
days taken possession OF by Crosby 4 Morse,
who were to throw the whole INTO grand
store i'm connection with their Washington
street establishment, took fire and were very
soon in flames. All the people occupying build
ngs on Avon street were promptly ordered by
the tiremen and police first to extinguish their
gas and then to vacate their houses as soon AS
possible, AS explosions similar to the one in
Summer street and elsewhere were likely to
occur. At this time the flames from the rear
of the burning buildings were breaking over
the Parker House in Central Court, and threat
ening to communicate with the immense build
ing of Jordan, Marsh & Co. The scene beggars
description. Men, women and children were
fleeing in every direction, half frantic with
fright, and looking only for personal safety.