The New Orleans daily Democrat., 1879-05-09
PLANTATION FIRES In CUBA.
suxar Plantations To the value ~ 80
.Inrarea MILLION Dollars DESTROYED.
Inaw York Times. Mayo

auEar Plantations I'd t"o
hundred Million Dollars Dcstr"yc"'
INew York Times. MayGJ
49, ~tarlaa A Meigs. whose successful ca
,.,.,. - half n century In banks has made MIN
r,arv widely known throughout the Whole 0l
NnTth America, and who nov Ills tne POSI-
tinn of National Bank Examiner III tnls Guy,
has just returned from yslt , 70 .ls ls'aha - NJ
Uhyslcinn TO recover his health, which had
kaasn shattered by time OF uninterrupted
activity. He was In Cuba two montns.
Just previous to his return to this country
Mr.. Meigs went through on experience WIN
fire which he says he will never forget a
Times reporter visited Mr.. Meigs. In MS
pleasant Staten Island home yesterday, ana
learned from him the particulars of one o.
the fiercest conflagrations Whien mas nag ever w
stroyed property Of almost fabulous value
and 81 which Mr.. Meigs was an interested
eye.witness. While Ia Cuba, Mr.. Meigss
spent bis time upon the sugar plantation OF
San Ricardo about thirty-hve mles he,anrs eGuens
to the estate Of the late Richard ID. Smith, OF
Rristol. r.. T.. and Is now conducted by the
latter's son, "Don Juan e. Smith,. e., Mr..
John Smith. .-., ~ u,.,,n4,a -
the beautiful Valley Of YtabO. II is considered
n ANAL plantation Iii that region. 1t Is only
1900 acres. and only about 22O persons
AnRlo-SaxOns, Spaniards, Cubans, Creoles,
II. 10 say that these were frightened Is but
feeble language Very soon the cry arose or
n fire due south OF US; then another In the
southwest; then one due west; soon another
fire was visible to the northwest; then one TO
the north, and finally one to the northeast OF
ug. Thus by noon we were In the very centre
pf d sea of fire, or rather OF the smoke from
an enormous circle of fire thirty miles In
diameter The HameS seemed to shoot up
from the hills to the height OF from 1000 to
xann u Ynn
tacle. The black volumes OF smoke shot over
uI1r haads with such frightful velocity-we
were 100 feet below-that not spark fell
until four miles beyond the San Ricardo
watched the measures taken by our host
Eenor Smith, with intense interest, for knew
that on bis sagacty and promptness In &C
tion depended very largely our safety. Inc
plantation hands prepared for instant Hight
hi case the fire should appear on the north
side of the hills south Of us, for we knew that
II IL once appeared there the Intervening half-
mile OF highly inflammable sugar cane would
be licked up In five or ten minutes and the tiery
torrent would then pounce upon the tnatched-
roofed negro quarters and other ontbuildings
These were ali covered In with mass OF dry
palm -leaves, straw, etc, and were. within one
hundred yards to the windward of senior
Smiths dwelling, sugar mills, barns, shops,
Sturehouses, ETC.
10 o'clock at night. Then vivid stroke of
lightning cut the sky to the northwest, ana
was followed by heavy. crash q thunder.
Mr. Megs cried out for the comfort Of the
gone into the house for shelter, that "the
blessed rain Is coming! Three cheers for the
rainl" II yelled 1t out until might have
been heard half a mile," said Mr.. Meigs.
Half an hour later rain poured down In tor
rents and San Ricardo was safe.
80 much for San Ricardo" said MIR. Meigs.
ssNow let me tell you something about the
terrible consequences OF this fearful fire to
the Island Of Cuba and to all the world that
uses sugar. propose 70 take IN the estate estate 81 81
the fire by what was destroyed there. The
San Luis lies about seven miles southwest
of the San Ricardo. Before the fire swept over
It IL had splendid arrangements for the man
ufacture of from 5000 to 1000 hogsheads per
year of the best sug 1T known In that region.
A hogshead of sug u averages about 1000
pounds In weight. Between 400 and 500 per-
sons were employed on the San Luis and
between 100000 and $500,000 had been ex-
pended within few years in fitting 1t up with
making. Eighteen steam engines were en-
ployed Id running the sugar machinery on
this one estate, which Is by no means one
OF the largest"
second day after the fire. The people there
told him that the fire seemed to them to start
at q point about four miles southwest OF
them Within thirty minutes after first seen
to the windward the fire, was upon the San
Luis In solid torrent.of flame, famed by a
gale OF wind, which howled through the ele-
yated plateall at rate far exceeding that ex-
periencsd by Mr.. Meigs and his host at the
San Ricardo. In moment the vast mass OF
lame and smoke passed through the very
large sugar mill, the men working, In It
barely escaping with their lives. The i'm
mense quarters occupied by the four hundred
slaves, which were surrounded by stone
wall, We're reduced 70 ashes: Inc openings
the estate happened to be closed, and the fire
rushed by the building with such velocity
that 1t was not burned. Between three and
four hundred hogs belonging to the planta-
tion slaves were destroyed with the pens In
which they were kept. Carcasses of burned
mules and oxen were scattered about when
Mr.. Meigs saw the place. and turkey buz
yards were feeding upon them. Not a stick
OF the timber OF the great .purging OIL
sugar cleansing house was left. large
frame building used as workshop. contain
inr two steam engines, o windmill, etc.
escaped. although the flames passed within
four feet Of the weatherboards OF the build
AT the San Bias estate, five miles east of th'
San Luis, nearly everything was destroyed
but the negro quarters and the owners dwell
ing, which were ct stone, and abutted agains
a wall facing the track Of the flames. The roof
were thatched and eight Or ten feet abov
the wall, but such was the fearful rapidtt!
with which the gale carried the flames aions
that although coming up to the wall, not /
spark dropped on the roofs: me iiame'
struck this wall with such force that the!
were thrown high In the air, and the .wint
hurled them over and beyond the. buildings
This will serve to give them some idea OF tn.
terrible velocity OF this ''whirwind Of fire,
as Mr.. Meigs apty calls 1t; The fields 9
growing sugar-cane were, OF course, utterl!
destroyed "The cane was literally burnet
to below the ground said Mr.. Meigs. Whil'
he was at the ruins of the San Luis plantation
hemeta a number of gentlemen who owned dis
tant sugar estates, and obtained information
from them Of the destruction OF forty-nint
other plantations by the fearful contlagratiol
he had witnessed. Mr.. Meigs left the Sal
Ricardo plantation for Havana and home
on April 21 four days after the fire. I'll
had at that time heard Of fifty-seven differen
sugar estates which had suffered In the grea
fire. On the way to Havana he met a mer
chant of the latter city, an active, intelligen
business man, who knew the region In whicl
the fire occurred, and who knew the value o
sugar estates. The two compared notes,
and Mr.. Meigs asked the Havana merchan
what he considered the loss would amount tC