The New York herald., 1877-09-04
TERRIBLE CONFEDERATION.
An Entire Block Of BUILDINGS
Wrapped in Flames.
HUNDREDS OF LIVES INPERILLED.
TenementS in Ruins and Families
Rendered Homeless.
A SCENE OF TERROR AND DEVASTATION.
Hydrants Without Water and the
Firemen Almost Powerless.
THE DEAD AND WOUNDED.
A SCENE OF TERROR and DEVASTATION.
Hydrants Without Water and the
Firemen Almost Powerless.
THE DEAD AND WOUNDED
Fears That the Worst Has Not
Yet Been Revealed.
LOSSES AND INSURANCE

Ono OF tho larscst fires which has visited this city for
years occurred yesterday morning In Thirty ath
street, below Tenth avenue. The neighborhood is an
exceedingly populous ono, all the buildings in tho
vicinity being occupied either as tenement houses or
manufactures Hae's piano mandatory, i'm.
mcnse structure, employing over five hundred hands,
was one sido of the street and on the other
the tenement houses Of Devlin Sergeant James, Of
the police; McMaster and Mccoy. Immediately ad.
joining Halc's factory was Walkers charcoal yard,
and next Conney's barrel factory, with branch
the opposite sidc OF tho street. where were also
pickle factory, Mcbasers stone yard Graham's carpet
binding mandatory and Kennedy's ice depot. Not
fewer than thousand people found employment in tho
block, and there besides the teoming tenement
1ouse population made up mostly OF tho workmen IN
the different factories and their families.
BEGINNING
At the usual hour for going to work yesterday morn
ing all these places began operations, and for two
hours or the busy hum Of industry Kept up its
incessant noises In Connelly's factory twenty five
people at work. aud in Graham's factory thero
were $50 busy men and women. Out fihe 500 persons
employed in Hae's factory fully nifty men the
upper story, and probably many more on the floor
below Suddenly about half-past nine O'Clock, 1ro
discovered In the drying the third floor OF
Hale's factory 1t originated from u stove, which
communicated the flame to the dry material ii,
and it had already made progress
before IL observed The foreman told
George McDaniels, the porter, of the hre, and
NcDanies tried 10 extingush It, He first threw two
or three pals Of water the Aames but finding the
heat too great he used the extiuguisher. All this
took time, and In the meanwhile the flames were max
ing rapid Roadway and enveoping the whole struc-
lure. a scene OF wild confusion followed. As the
alarm given the workmen rushed to and fro, some
trying to escape and their tools as we'll
as themselves IRON the flames. Clouds Of smoke filed
the baiidng, nearly sutocatng the escaping inmates,
aud the sceno was ono OF terror and suffering wn'cn
almost battles description.
. THE PANIC IN THE BUILDING.
Tho confusion and despair which followed the dis.
covery ol the fire terrible. Escape difficult
even lor cool headed people, and many OF the work
lost their heads altogether. AS they tried TO
escape they driven back by the flame mud smoke
and going 10 the windows of the third and fourth
floors the Thirty fifth street sido a hundred faces
looked despsringly into the street. An eye witness
describes this scene possessing all the vivid
realism Of u stage picture. A considerable time had
elapsed since tho alarm was given, time enough to
enable the engines t. reach the ground, and
such OF them connected with the hydrants in
Eleventh avenue to begin play upon the building.
The interval inside OF wild agony, and strong
men looked death in the face with u wall OF fire be-
hind and below them, and belorethem only tho posi-.
bllity OF escape by leap for life. The building
full of combustble material and the floors and paTt-
tious dry and brittle. Never before had the god
Of FIRE better fuel to feed his devourng appetite and
the forked flames shot out in every direction. licking
up the dry woods they darted from place to place
aud from object to object and enveoping the entire
third floor with the mantle OF the avenging deity Tho
heat was intonse The smoke was binding. The
gtairways were spiral columns Of consolidated flame.
10 escape IL was necessary to pass through Il mass
Of solid fire which held tho entire third floor
in its embrace 1t was at this moment that
tho weird and ogonizne faces were seen the win.
dows above and simultaneously the hremen began 10
play upon tho building 1t was one Of those strange
mschances which always add deep colors to terrible
picture. AS the stream Of water shot upward the
panic stricken crowd at the windows driven to look
down lie aud hope below from this desparing
height by angry shoct OF aamc and heat behind
them hurled back by fhc water into the fire. Well
might those who ths scene describe It one cx
cccdng In vivid realism any stage picture which the
skill Of tho theatrical carpenter can aevse 1t was the
very grandeur Of hope and OF despair All chance of
escape gone, and those who "a moment before
looked down from the height above were driven back
10 meet ucath IN the devouring flame which
mounting up behind them.
roUQUEs' LEAP LIFE
As the streams OF from the engines below shot
Up toward tho windows whero the faces
Mr. Tongues, The ''boss' OF tho hnshers leaped from
the fourth floor into the street. As ho down he
was partially concealed from view oy the spray OF tho
ascoucipg streams Tho and women who
in the street below were appalled, when they saw this
leap for lie. IL was desperate act, but, like many
born only OF desperation, II saved the mans life,
only leg ana an arm being broken. Mr. Tongues was
picked UP carried to the hospital, but the story OF
his leap went from mouth to mouth, and cxaggeraton
added hundred details to the supersructure Of truth
The must marvellous escapes were reported Another
person represented as dashng through tho win.
dows OF the fourth story and escaping with
his life, whe one claimed that he let
himself down By chain, hand-over-hand, from
Tho windows of the eighth story, two Of his com.
radcs having preceded him. The people III the street
below, who saw Tongues marvellous leap, saw none
Of these miraculous escapes, and while 1t Is certain
that of the worKmon hurled themselves from the
windows and pcrshod tho only well established leap
for life which succeeded was that of Tongues, the
'boss" OF the nnishcrs.
THE FIRST MOMENTS OF THE FIRE.
Alter the alarm was given the progress Of the fire
was rapid, almost beyond precedent, but It's
unchecked aud in the first moments OF the conasra.
lion II gaiaed such hcadway that IL was subsequently
impossible successfully TO contend with It, In the be.
ginning the flames confined entirely to tho inside
o. tho building, and while they had imprisoned many
Of the workmcn tho floors above the third story
they had yet shown their fiery tongues through tho
windows up TO tho time of the arrival OF the fire.
men. Scarcely, however, had tho streams from the
engines Thrtyfftl street driven back the despair
ing crowd from the windows which looked out into
whom the out throup, cvcrv
aud and hissed with devastating hate
IL was an awful moment to those who had witnessed
The scene which precedr& IT. Although the flame had