The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1875-11-03
Great Fire.
Virginia, New, Almost
Totally Destroyed.
Business Part of the Place Swept
Away.
Ten Thousand People with
out shelter.
Great Suffering Anticipated.

SAN Francisco, October 90
great fire is now raging in Virgini
CITY. which broke out early thi
morning. Six or seven blocks are a
ready destroyed.
Later intelligence from Virgin
CITY says: A dispatch just receive.
at the Office of the Consolidated Vir
ginia Mining Company here, says:
Virginia north of Taylor street j
all burnt. Our mills and works ar
all gone. The FIRE is still raging
The engines are useless. There is n
water.
The fire is still spreading. Th
Catholic church and other building
will be blown up. The 0phir Work
and the Bank OF California building
are burned. The whole business par
of the town is destroyed. The Cath
ole church is now burning. thou
sands of the inhabitants are rend REL
homeless.
Owing to the destruction of th'
telegraph Office and the press of pri
yate dispatches over the lines, it ha'
been difficult to obtain any connected
information concerning the Virgins
fire. The following, however, is On
doubtedly correct as far as it goes
The fire broke cut about daylight, in
a dwelling on a street near Taylor, q
point at about the southwestern limit
of the business aud thickly settled
portion of the city. 1t spread, ex
tending eastward toward the ravine
in which are situated the works and
mills of several prominent mines,
resching as far as + street north.
ward. The flames crossed Union and
Sutton streets, covering a space OF
about ten blocks, comprising, in the
words of one dispatch, almost every
decent building in the town. As the
fire worked up c street, Offices of the
Territorial Enterprise and ChroRi.
Gle were destroyed. Piper's Opera
House was next in flames, and it be.
came evident that the railroad depot
and hosting works of the Consoli
dated Virginia were in danger. The
water supply was inadequate and the
engines of little use. Recourse was
had to blowing up buildings. 1t was
too late, however, and in a few mo.
ments the depot and hosting work:
were on fire. The latter were recent
" completed at a cost Of several hun.
dred thousands dollars, and were the
! finest on the Comstock lode. Con
tinuing to the north and east, the par
tally completed mill of the Californ.
ia Mine and Consolidated Virginia
were soon in flames, which spread
still further north to the Ophir hoist,
ing works, destroying them also,
which is about the limit of destruc.
ton in that direction, the fire dying
out for the want of fuel.
From Taylor Street near Church,
where the fire originated, it spread
southwark agains, the wind, destroy
ing the Branch Bank of California
and Wells, Fargo & Co.'s express of.
fee and everything in its line. Al
this point the Gould & Curry works
were in imminent danger, but were
fortunately saved. In short, nearly
the entire business portion of the
town is in asbes-botels, churches.
county buildings, newspaper, tele-
graph and express Offices, all are
swept away. Over ten thousand
persons are homeless. The wind is
piercing, and much suffering is antic-
ipated before temporary shelter can
be prepared.
1t is impossible at present to con-
lecture the amount of loss. The de-
struction of the mills and hosting
works above referred to will probably
entail a loss Of a million dollars with
in a radius of a few hundred feet
Fortunately the shafts of both Ophir
and Consolidated Virginia were
bulkheaded, and the fire vas kept
out of the mines. The Ophir men
say that possibly their loss may be
less than at first supposed, as the
building was of light frame, and
might burn without destroying the
machinery, The Joss of buildings
and merchandise in the city must be
very great, although covered to q
great extent by insurance. 1t is not
known to what extent the mills and
hosting works were insured, except
in case of the Ophir, whore the loss is
placed ct one hundred and fifty to
two hundred thousand dollars, insur-
ed for so, 600 IN this city.
The news created the greatest X
citement, owing to the contradictory
of the private dispatches re-
ceived. California street was full of
wild rumors, and the telegraph and
newspaper Offices were besieged with
anxiously seeking Intelligence.
As might have been expected, stocks
felt tie effect of the disaster, and
when the board opened on the call
Of 0phir there was Q tremendous
rush, the stock selling as low as 3s5.
Consolidated Virginia dropped to 2l0,
but subsequently rallied. The talk
,n the street was very gloomy. At
irst it was supposed that the disaster
entail the necessary stoppage
If all work ia the Bonanza mines.
'ud that the recently reported break
ng in Of the wster would food The
mines, and a general panic aad de-
ression ensued. This, howeves,
Don gave way to q better feeling. Ii
vas soon ascertained that the Gould
Curry works were all right, as
vas sise u. @gyaee. This was con-
idered the sey to The pes.sor as far
s the stock market was eoncefneu,
s the Bonanza can and will be work /,
d through the Gould & Curry shaft, {
lille the works Of the Virginia are !
eing rebuilt, and Savsgs ana Gould /
Curry pumps are available to free J
he mines from water. 1t also trans I
red that new hosting works on the