The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-11-11
Especial Tel. grams to the Hsputch.J

Especial tci. grams to the Dspntch.J
Bosros, November 10.--The greatest fire
| ever known in New England IS now raging
among the largo Wholesale stores IN the very
heart of the business portion Of the city, and
vii! not cease until it reaches the wharves.
There WIGS hardlya breath Of wind stirring
when the alarm was sounded about half-past
o'clock last night, followed by second,
third, and fourth in rapid succession ; but
the frat engine was hardly on the ground
| when the fro broke out from the fourth
story Of large iour-story granite store on
| the corner Of Summer and Kingston
streets. occupied in the first story by
Tebbetts. Baldwin & Davis, Wholesale
dry goods dealers. Ii had caught i'll the en-
gine-room, and the Games sped with light
| ming rapiditp up the large elevator, and werc
first seen climbing underneath the woodwork
! OF the roof. The engines were hardly Gt
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 tive
ye,rs old. The detached splintcrs flew readi-
| ", as the air wa; heated by the terrible fire,
and soon the flames began licking the Mansard
roof on the opposite side far above the reach
of tho streams directed upon it from i'll
quarters.
The iiro was constantly in the mir, and one
building after another caught IN the roI',,
and the flames leapei rapidly away t1c-,n one
window-slll to another, so that II, less tban
thirty minutes every cheek ~,as blanchcd. rs
it tecame evident that tN,a whole CITY IN one
direction was at ~" mercy of the flames.
The secon". building to s:tccamb was d.
rectly oIr JSitc to thai iii wli2h the fire broke
OUT. Ind was occupied By Ncafn, Mullen &
.4ns; Harding Brothers g. Co.. Bowen,
Morse 6 Co.; and Conant Brothers-al
wholesale dealers in fancy and dry goods.
This was ut the corner of Otis Place.
The heat now became Internal, The
streets run rivers Of water, and every mo-
mcnt was heard tho sound Of graultc blocks
exploding and whole frames falling in the
streets, making them impossible. The fire
men were driven from one station TO al.
o;her, aud many al engine was kept nobly
NJ work while tie hydrant was wet down
by hand.hose, and the engineer could only
bold hs plnce while the stream Of water was
kept playing on him.
Blocks Of granite weighing tons were
split az If by powder and buried across the
wide streets, and p!anks Went flying through
the air us If they were feathers. Firemen
erected barbados und worked behind them,
but they were burned almost as soon as
erected.
An hour had hardly elapsed before 1t was
eyidest that Bcebe's block, the finest b,lsi-
Dess structure in tie city, built of granite,
i've stories In height, with the curved Man
sard roof over all, must go. Within thirty
minutes flames were coming out i'll fiery bill
lows from every window, and up the stair
wav leading To- a. 7. Stewards rooms was Il
perfect column of flames. This building
served but rs fuel for the flames. Pieces Of
dry goods went whistliug across the square,
landing Oh the window-sills OF the nlagnltl-
cant stores on Deyonshire street. Beebo'a
block stood solid wall Of granite several
minutes after the inside fell, but the beat
warped it, ami 8, 000,bG soon lay heap OF
stone. bricks, and mortar.
The hurricane now Mged, and owing TO
the intense heat and perfect shower Of Goals,
drove everything before It. Every building
was now heated US If In furnace, and
caught like finder. Four-storr granite blocks
seemed like shayings, and deafenins explo-
tsions were constantly heard.
4 new terror was now added to the Babel
If confusion. Tie tenement-houSes at the
MINER end of Federal street were fast being
licked up by the flames, and women, crazed
and faipting, were rushing TO and fro, carry
ing children, crockery, clocks, and bedding
IN their hands. Ono ran screaming through
High street with stoye-funnel in her hands,
while another was tugging o heavy chess
which would have been weight for strong
man. Now and then few pieces OF goods
might be saved by volunteers. who ran ana
spent five minutes, during which they couia
work, IN bringing out perhaps, o hundred
] pieces of elota. One 1,--aaarshall