The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1872-11-19

In view OF the g'a.ori iro.ir.,ion OF
the Dry goo,, trade, movement has hcen
initiated ainoug tho merchants whose
property was not destroyed. to raise
fund Of 81 100000 for immediate use 10
relieving such Of the dry goods firms as
are powerless to help themselves in this
emergency. Quite an amount of money
has already been contributed for the no.
lief of their families.
Many expressions of wonder were CIV
en- vent to when the first news of the fire
arrived, that the conhagration could have
got under such Roadway before any at
tempt was made to stop it. Another cor
respondent speaks of the reason for this
as follows
The alarm was promptly sounded, but
here occurred one of those fatal mishaps
which nobody knows exactly how to ac-
count for. 1t was 36 minutes before an
engine arrived upon the ground. The
Boston Fire department has the reputa-
ton of efficiency, and the last two days
have proved that its members in general
are men of the true heroic stamp, who
face danger and do their duty silently
and as a matter of course day and night
until they fall to the ground through
sheer exhaustion. The reason given for
= the delay is that the horses were all sick
and the steamers had to be drawn by
hand. Even SO, the delay was unreason-
able. Besides, there were well horses
enough in Boston, and if hacks and horse
cars were all running, it can only be
through grave mismanagemat that steam
ire-engines could not run too. By the
, time water was brought to bear, the fire
had become connagration. Both sides
of Kingston-st. and both sides Of Sum-
mer-st. were blazing, making two fiery
, lanes in which heat was absolutely insup-
portable. Then the corner building fell,
scattering Ere in every direction, and the
disaster began to assume the most threat
ening aspect. All the engines In Boston
were summoned, and kilograms were sent
r for aid from the neighboring towns. The
? great height Of the ware houses and the
narrowness of the streets proved serious
f difficulties. In hardly any case could
q stream Of water be thrown upon the back
=, part of the roofs, and it was on the roofs
8 that after the first outbreak the fire al
most invariably caught; nor was it posi-.
= bic to approach in those lanes near tho
buildings. The 6remcn put up barbados
! for their protection, but the barbados
y we're soon consumed. They carried hose
n up to the roofs, but tho height was so
= great that very little water could be
|. forced through them, After n while
,. some large establishment, supposed to be
in the path of flames. were blown up.
70 This did no good.
e SCENES AND INCIDENTS.
Q, The following scenes and incidents OF
lie the great fire are gathered from the letters
lie of various newspaper correspondent etc.
'e EIGHTY ACRES COMPLETELY DESTROYED,
In the whole district | have described
embracing 60 to 50 acres, not building
. remains. The devastation is absolute
= and universal. Here and a lettering wal
y or tall chimney rises above the mass, Of
- cinders, blackened with the smoke, but
there is nothing that can be saved in the
process of rebuilding, except bricks and
!, foundation stones. The granite especial
i; ~ district, is reduced to dust and fragments
r rs 1t will only be fit to grind up for gardcr
-, ,o walks. When Chicago was burned thu
II fire capriciously spared many edifces il
r., r., the very midst of the ruined district, bu
-. :. it is not so here AS far as l can learr
of everything has gone as completely as i
~ the whole region had been converted ut,
i, a furnace.
,. UNUSUAL VALUE OF THE BUILDINGS DE
sTRoYED.
The buildings thus swept out Of exist
ence in day were the grandest Of thei
IS kind in the United States. In Chicag
&C. there were acres of wretched woodel
IN structures destroyed, whose removal wa
a, in one sense a benefit to the city bu
Al here the loss has fallen upon the mos
IT. substantial part of Boston. With tn
IT. exception of the region over toward tn
H. water, of which | have already spoken
We there were no poor quarters 10 the black
y, ened waste. The great dry goods houses
eu wool houses, and leather houses we're al
90 here. For years past the pride Of Bosto
IS business men has been the erection of com
w. mercial palaces in this district, and, ex
us cept for the terrible fault of construction
ne the use of bad material aud the prevail
tn ing disorder of Mansard roofs-the resul
~ has been magnificent. There was Win
60 throp-square, with BeeSe's splendid build
ing and other structures of the same elias:
There was Franklin-st. with its iamou
Gu architecture. There were numerous i'm
Ter posing blocks along Westinghouse. q
III late years the dry goods jobbing house
ID have been gradually moving towar
ne Chelsea and mxny of them consequent
ed escaped this disaster But the heav
raj commission houses, which Sell entirely
ue the package, all remained, and al! hav
'se gone down, with perhaps ono or two ez
zee ceptions. Pcarl-st. was the chief leathe
Ip' mart of New England, and that, too,
We swept The most Of the Wholesale cloth
'se ing establishments were here, and thos
oil tina. have gone employed no fewer tina
lat 10000 girls The great wool hous,
om were all in the burnt district, and he'll
he enormous quantities of wool, no less tina
las a million pounds, for trade had been dull
The same thing may be said Of the DR.
o. goods houses. which still held large quar-
IN titles of unsold Winter goods, and ha
the Just taken in an extensive Summer stoc
ted also Wool, dry goods, and leather al
60. the staples of Boston trade. How con
ton plete is the destruction, you may imagir
oil from the statement made to me on goo
authority this afternoon, that there r.