Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1874-07-22

&C. of IT. The most that could be done wa
oil to prevent the fire from spreading south
all ward, and it was accomplished. A steam
n CIR was started ct Harrison court, whic
ng forms nearly the southern limit on Stat
C. street, and the boys connected with 1t di
es gallant service. They fought the fire int
IN its very teeth and TO enable them to d.
OF so they made barrieadc out Of theat
III rical slgn.bosrd, which was held in fron
'e of the pipemen aud thus the fire was 81
ID close that the sign.board took fire.
I. The wind increasing in fury il broke
g through the alley dividing State street from
b Wabash avenue. Now, Cor the first time
IS about six o'clock, the fire began to feed
u upon the aristocracy. Thousands Of dol.
i lars were consumed every minute. The
n danger of utter destruction became more
r imminent every moment. More help was
] wanted and accordingly kilograms were
D sent to Milwaukee, Joliet and other places.
+ They read "send on your fire department. "
/ In the course of the night came responses
} in the shape Of stalwart men with nppa-
) ratus AMI they did valiant service in fight.
J ing the flames.
With the wind blowing from the south
west, Michigan avenue seemed doomed to
destruction in fact the thought of saving
any portion of it from Eldridge court to
point at least as far north as Harrison
street was abandoned. Yet contrary to
,all expectations every house IN that limit
stands intact. Every house on Wabash
avenue parallel to this was destroyed, but
the narrow alley between the two avenues
stood as barrier. Every house on Mich.
lgau avenue was vacated. The street was
lined with trucks backed up against the
windows, but about nine o'clock most Of
the people moved back again. The or
dea! was safely passed and our handsome
lake front was preserved.
The fire having reached its eastern lin.
it the flames found their way rapidly
northward three blocks abreast. There
was little use trying to fight the flames in
the face of the wind, which increased in |
violence every moment. In the vicinity
of the confagration regular gale was
blowing. The heat was so intense that
the fircmen could not stand within one
hundred feet of the fire in the direction it
was spreading Hence ithad to be fought
on the flank. The policy seemed to be to
fight it into the lake by closing on It's side.
AT six o'clock all danger was over that it
would work its way further soutl ward, and
the force :here was soon dispatched to a
more threatened point, though it was not
safe to leave the whole line exposed. At
eight O'Clock the fire was checked at Clark
street, and then there was no danger il
would pass westward. After that the co.
gines covered the entire field from Polk
street south on Clark, around BY twelfth
street, to Wabash avenue, where the en-.
was growing hotter every mo. {
ment. The monster was driven out of
State street, the st. James hotel being the e
last building to succumb. ?
When the fire reached that point the
interest in its progress became intense. 1t v
was moving along both sides of State be. S
ween Harrison and Van Buren, streets t
On the west side of the street stands '
massive row of four or FIVE story marble t
ronts on the east side was the St. James \
beyond several hundred feet square. e
There was good hope ifa stand was made s
It this hotel that the flames would be pre-. u
rented from crossing this open space. On n
he west side there was no such barrier ic
nd it was certain that the whole row Il
would go and then crossing Van Buren, e.
treet the fire would make its way to the I
'almer House. Opposite the St. James ii
TODD four story marble trout covering
bout four numbers. This was divided N
rom the building south by single lot "
feet wide. which checked the "
ames. A fre-proof wall had been reared W
0 the south. Mady the flames beat Ell
gainst il and went clear over the build tn
'g. setting fire to the St. James, but this d'
'all stood the test grandly, and though is
here was Ere to the south and fire to the re
asst, and not a pint of water thrown on it W
ne building stands there at this writing, W
8 the savior Of untold millions. 1t was B
re citadel Of the conaagration. When so
he building to the south tumbled, with W,
numbering crash, and was thereafter harm is
ss, shout from $4,000 throats rose pi
ign above the roar of the confagration. is
was the moment of moments during the pr
rogress Of the fire. su
A five-story brick house, apparently out M
all danger, on the corner of Wabash re,
'enue aud Van Burne street, took FIRE te,
ON the st. James hotel, and it seemed TOT
evitable that now two more squares must