Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1873-06-26
From the Hawkeye,
CIR, EAT T'TREI
IN BURLINGTON.
Several Squares
in Ruins.
Palmer's Opera House, Court
House, Bennett and
Frsntzs' Carriage
Works.
Uflterkircher's Livery Stable,
Mccutclleon House snd
scandinavian House.
Many other Buildings Burned

MANY other Buildings Burned
About three o'clock this morning q
fire was discovered in the upper part
Of Palmer's new Opera House, Main
street, and in few minutes the build
ing was wrapped in flames. AT the
time we write the Opera House, Court
House, Bennett & Frantz's carriage
works, Unterkircher's Livery stable
the Nc Cutcheon House, Scandinavian
House, and nearly all the buildings iu
the.two squares bounded by First and
Third and Washington and Columbis
streets have burned or are now in
flames.
The fire was first seen by the Print
ers in the HAwKEYE office in the ROO
Of Palmer's Opera House. 1t was then
small, but SO high that ii was imposs.
| ible to reach it before 1t had grown to
such proportion as to be beyond con.
troll. In . very few minutes this i'm.
mense building was oil ON fire and all
hopes of saving it, gone. The flames
spread rapidly to the Court House
Mozart HalI) on the corner of Main
and Columbia, to the carriage works
of Bennett and Frantz west Of the
Court House, and to the Unterkirch.
er's livery stable on Washington
street. j. Bennett's house was soon
also on fire.
The flames leapcd across Main street
from the Opera House, and in fifteen
minutes o dozen buildings, most OF
them frame, were on fire. as was the
McCutcheon House on the north side oi
Columbia, and as we write, the flames
are rapidly extending in that direction,
The Scandinavian House on the cor.
ner of Columbia and Front is burning
as are several large buildings in that
neighborhood.
Upon the first alarm the horses i'm the
stable were turned loose upon the
street and galloped about in the wild
est terror. All of the stock was saved,
Many private families escaped with
nothing but their night clothes, and
large quantities Of furniture were de.
stroyed. No lives were lost, and sc
far as we can learn no person was in.
jured except by unwonted exertion in
saving property.
save the Tar HAwK-EYE buildings,
but fortunately the direction of the
wind in short time gave relief to
these apprehensions.
The air was filled with embers, and
their falling upon the unprotected
roofs of buildings speedily converted
almost four entire blocks into a seeth.
ing sea of fame.
THE BURNING OF THE OPERA HOUSE.
Within a few moments after the
alarm was sounded great sheets of
flames were seen issuing from the roof
Of the Opera House. 1t was burning
in a score of places, and almost at the
same moment the fire was seen to have
seized upon interior of the building.
Great fiery tongues of flames burst
forth from windows, tapping about the
walls and extending to adjoining
buildings. They spared nothing with.
in reach, the place was doomed, and
within twenty minutes the elegant
Opera House, the pride Of Burlington
was a blackened, smouldering mass
of ruins.
The fire was undoubtedly the work
of an incendiary. The alarm was
given at 3 ;03, and almost Immediately
the entire Opera House was wreathed
in flames.
At 3;l8 the walls OF the Opera
House fell, and at 8 80 Unterkirehers
livery stable was in ruins.
LATER--FIvE O'clock.
The fire has now extended as far
north as Court street, the lumber ward
Of Duncan s. Hosford on the corner
of Main and Court is burning with a
fearful heat, but it is hoped the further
extension of the fire north will be pre-
vented. Efforts are being made to
save Duncan & Hosford's mill, but
the wind is now high, and there Is but
little prospect of saving anything on
that square. AT present the flames
are confined to the four squares bound
ed on the east by Front, on the south
by Washington, west by Third and
north by Court.
RECORD LOST.
BY the burning of the Court House
the Records of the District and Circuit
Courts, covering the sessions of the
last two years, were lost. The County
Records are in the SAFE and are hoped
to be saved.
A complete set OF abstracts were
preserved in Wright's lire proof build
ing.
1t is at this time impossible to obtain
anything approximating TO the amount
Of loss or insurance. Upon Inter-
kircher's stable the insu ance upon the
building and stock is SlS,O0O; Palmer's
Opera House. $4,000 Court House.
$1,000; Scandinavian Block, $500;
McCutcheon House, 1000; Bennett &
Frantz, about $1,000. A large pro-
portion of the property destroyed
was insured, to a greater less extent, or
perhaps covering one-half Of the total
loss.
THE APPEARANCE OF TIE BURNT DIS
TRICT.
The burnt district embraces a large
number Of buildings of an inferior
character, and some that were of supe-
rior class. About SIT, 900 had already
been expended upon the opera house |;
the court house was valued at not less
than $4,000; Bennett & Frantz's fac
tory was also large first-class build
ing, as was also Unterkircher's stable,
and numerous other buildings. There
was also large number OF somew hat
dilapidated houses,
At this writing, 8 i. NJ, the flames
are still unsubdued, although nearly
or quite under control. The scene,
however, Is sickening. The streets are
filed with debris the blackened walls
and still burning buildings forming q
terrible contrast with the condition of
affairs three short hours ago.
LATEsT-HALT-PAsT FIVE.
The fire is still confnsd to the limits
named above. The losses cannot be
estimated very accurately, but they
will probably 60 above quarter of a
million Of dollars.
Those portraits of "prominent schol.
ars" that have of late decorated Tho
pages of FronE TesJie,c Ra,,., ,.,s