Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1872-11-15


five thousand dollars worth of kid gloves,
and had them placed on the sidewalk in
damaged condition. He offered a hack
man FIVE hundred dollars in vain to take
the goods to a pl ace 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
WOOL HOUSES
were going like oil factories. They could
never have been attacked at a more dan
gerOus Undetermined from cellar to gar
ret, hundreds of thousands of dollars worth
were on hand that might have been deliv-
cred to customers had it not been for the
horse disease. In one store alone there
was 100000 worth of wool stored, which
was, awaiting delivery. Minor, Beall &
Hacket had their store packed full, having
only put in their winters stock three hours
before the fire enveloped it all. Marsh
Bros. & Sierce had just put their winter
goods in the cellar, and sent their summer
goods up stairs to be made up.
THE PIPER HOUSES
came next, and with the end of Federal
street went the majority of the large city
dealers. It had been hoped that the fire
could be stopped short of Franklin street,
but the stores there were as vulnerable as
any OF the OsHcrS.
THE BANKS.
- Freeman's National Bank went at 10
O'Clock, and an hour later the National
Bank Of North America was in as bad con-
dition.
Every street in the neighborhood of the
fire is thronged by people, all endeavoring
to save few valuaDles as they flee toward
fremont and Court streets, where the fire
is supposed to be unable to reach. Bot
there is no telling where this
AWFUL TORRENT OF HEAT AND FLAME
will stop, as the wind has already risen to
a gale, and it seems to have 10 positive
direction or current. AS the flames iEss
crease in intensity and power, the very
atmosphere lends additional force to the
wind, which rises, as it were, in our midst,
and goes rolling over the track of the fire,
hurting dense showers Of fiery sparks into
the air, only to send them over that pOr-
ton of the city still untouched. The
rumbling noise Of the torrent of flame is
now and then relieved by the defamation
of masses of gunpowder, which have been
placed in untouched edifces in the appa-
rent track Of the fire, and
THE AWFUL SCENE
| is rendered more fearful and appalling by
| the appearance of the fragments of these
| demolished houses as they fly upward into
the air.
The note of preparation for the worst
has heen sounded everywhere, conse-
quentlv the aggregate loss will be greatly
lessened by the prompt removal of all
portable goods.
! DIFFICULTY OF TRANSFORMATION.
The greatest difficulty, however, is expe-
| rienced by the merchants in procuring the
! necessary means Of transportation, as the
! horses ale nearly all i'll with the disease
| that has so afflicted the larger cities Of the
| Union. Fabulous prices are being paid
for such services, and yet the demand is
far greater than the supply. How will it
end? every one is asking, though | hardly
dare put the question to myself. Il seems
| to ME that il it cannot be conquered now,
| there is no reason to think that it will be
until it reaches the water, in which case it
will sweep through Dock square, taking
Faneuh Hall aud the Quincy market,
| thence continuing its way toward the ship,
! ping at the Commercial and Lewis Wharfs,
! and so on up the harbor.
| ! am sorry TO say that Boston is no bet
ter than other clties, for in the midst Of the
! terror and confusion that exists in our
| streets,
THIEVES ARE BUSY AT WORK,
and frequent arrests are being made. In
| deed, it is difficult TO tell friend from foe,
and many owners are compelled to see
| their valuables carried off by unknown
| desperadoes, without ventuIring to remOn-
strate or stop the lAwless proceeding. The
! police do all they can TO protect property,
but the multitude prevent their doing
much, and so they content themselves with
making arrests whenever it is possible
| Nearly two hundred men and boys have
already been locked up, and also several
women. All Of these prisoners are OF the
! lowest class, and come from the purlieus Of
the city.
TIREMEN FROM ABROAD.
The firemen from Newburyport, Lowell,
! WOburn, Chelsea, Cambridge, CharlestOWn,
New Bedford and elsewhere all promptly
responded to the call for aid by the city aU-
thorities, and dispatches are constantly
coming in announcing their departure by
| special trains. But before they can arrive
the greater part of the business section of
the city will be destroyed, with immense
stores of valuable goods.
| 1t is a section entirely filled up with ten
ement houses, mostly Of wood, which
seems to me to be a strong reason for be-
| lieving the statement to be correct. The
! flames cannot 90 far in this direction, how
ever, as they will soon co ne to the water
dividing Boston proper from South
| Boston.
| LIVES LOST.
1t is rumOred that several lives have been
lost in the flames, though of course there
| can be no certainty of the fact. 1t is very
probable, however, as the rapid progress
of the flames could scarcely have occurred
without some of the thousands of the
panick stricken people being enguifod in
the fiery vortex.
AS passed through the neighborhood OF
the fire, rumors were rife that some char
red bodies had been found, but could not
obtain any confirmation Of the fact.
The fire has been SO little dependent
upon the wind that | cannot call any place
i'll the city safe. 1t has not got above Ire
mont street, however, or gone toward the
West or South ends; but where one has
been, as have, stone buildings that were
called wholly fire proof, go down before
the flames like finder boxes, he cannot say
that any part Of the town will resist the
fiery element.
! A TERRIBLE SCENE.
!. BoSTON, $50 a. m.-The scene at the
corner of Mix and Devonshire streets,
/ down toward Federal and up in the direc-
4 ton Of Washington street, was O terrible
one. Nobody could stand within three
blocks of the burning masses. The fire
lad full possession of the buildings within
! its grasp. As each edifice caught fire from
| its neighbor, the flames seemed to devour
the contents in single moment, and the
torrent Of flame grew in strength and
power with terrible velocity. Falling roofs
| were sinking every minute, and carried
down with the floors, one by one, until the
walls became isolated and fen with a crash.
Whole blocks of buildings disappeared in
this manner, crumbliDg up like so much
! n rH- qFh