The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1880-03-19
:, ! mrs nrsrnrcrlvE FIRE.
~.x.. large Tobacco.Fact cries Barn.
go Anxious A4sernoou--The
wmaIc Ctsy Excited and Alarmed
rosal Loss. Eightx Thousand DOL

lars. -
Yesterday afternoon will long be remem-
hered in this .,ty. II was period OF aux
low. alarm. and excitement, conbneu 10 ~
one sectinu of the town nor 10 any one Glass;
OF the citizens. ,na. hogan
10 ,s.ue from the court-nousc bell anu 'ha'
~ Tho Catholic church on Clay s'ree', W
s~h,ch ncople paid very little attention q.
Art snnposlng that II was probably SOM
rel,g,o,ss summons In connection WIZ sue
Observance of st. Patrick day. very soon
t,av yrare undeceived. IL was almost 'u'-
med.n,ef,y understood that tue Oeiis VIZ
.ourdino with increasing yehemence 'nc
,S.ss;,, ~ fjrc. and that the flames had purst
49," nest Of some Of the most yallia'
49,, -" ,,.anortv nj rho eastern end OF MAN
p'o nsnse volumes of smoke were 10
ha see, curling up against the blue ano
c,acr hack ground Of the sky, and crow0s OF
evcited peopIe soon began tn chase eacn
o,her towards the scene Of eSciteineht ahu
destruction. II was al first rumored that
tho nubIjc school on Clay street ana ineh
Thai the Enierprise Laundry were on ure'
and then that PAGES warehouse was Durh'
INC. The last guess was not far from the
truth, as the subsequent account WIZ snow
About 2 O'Clock, 1t u supposed, !ne u,c
orioinaled in a frame building nrer Sneao
carpepter-shop, owned by n. X Bowmae
90. and occupied rs tobacco iac,oi! Oy
Robert Wood IL Brother. Mr. WOOD stites
that he hns no idea bow the Ore orlg'Uieh'
and IL appears to have been pretty wen de-
welcomed when discovered at a'i. iEs was
but the beginning OF the trouble ior Tue
DANES we're almost i'm odiatcly conveyed
Messrs- Flood Il Smith Owned by the
estate OF II. c. S. Ferguson). next al! 'in'
Inc and though they were fought with the
utmost obstinacy by the gallant hremen,
that building and the factory OF Messrs.
Hancock a. MoormaD, adjoining Messis:
Flood d Smith. were also involved ana
DESTROYED. The trouble was the inadequate
supply of water. and the driculfy eXpe-
riepced by the firemen in getting what wa
ter.supply they hed to act on their hose. 1t
is stated TIA. the man at the pumD'bouse
had 10 90 10 the reservoir on College Hill TO
have the water turned upon the pipes be-
fore any water could be used by the tiremen.
Bv actual measurement by gentleman's
watch a hslf-hour elapsed after The tiremen
arrived on the scene of c0Dilagration before
water was turned on. In the mean time
Woods factory was burned almost to The
ground.
When, finally, a stream Ct water was cot
TO bear by means OF the steamer, one OF the
most stubborn and gallant fights ever made
by any fire department was made by the
volunteers OF Lynchburg to resist the fur
tber progross OF the flames. The spectacle
was heroic, reminding old soldiers OF we'll
contested fields OF war. II was witness d
by crowd worthy OF the occasion and OF
Il <lo - ln "A
OF people, including hundreds of ladies and
children. flocked TO the spectacle, and
eyinced the keenest interest in the progi ess
of the tire. At one time a considerable panic
was occasioned by q report that the LARGE
boiler in the lower story OF Flood 81 Smiths
factory would probably explode as soon as
the water reached il. This anxiety was
increased bv the occasional explosion OF
the steam-pipes running through the bull
ding. 1t was expected that huge frag-
ments Of the iron boiler would he pre-
cjrifated among the crowd c0llec ed on
Main street, and along the sides OF Dia-
mond Hill, and the fear caused at one
time rapid stampede from the range OF
danger, aud there was even removal
OF many effects from residences on the
hillside. The fremeD, meanwhile, were
mounted on the roof OF Hancock ~
Moorman's factory, using their utmost en-
deayors 10 save that building. At last they
were driven back. retiring like line OF
skirmishers under pressure II a heavier
force Of the enemy. The next fight was
made for PAGES warehouse. and that, after
long period Of uncertainty, was at last
successful. In the mean time, also, an OPP
portunity had been afforded for the removal
of some $1,000 rounds OF tobacco Gt is
e Cv.tt fnnt
which was probably not more than hall the
stock in it. In the height Of the battle over
Pace,s warehouse the brick wall In front of
Norman & Hancoch's factory fell down
with sudden crash, and though hundreds OF
people were on the street at the time. by
happy Providence no one was injured.
While the fate Of PAGES was uncertain,
the tobacco stored in it was also eXpedi-
tiously removed. The safety of his factory
was finally secured by means OF "a stream Of
water brought to hear from The rear on
Hancock IL MOorman's, from hose at
tached TO plug at the corner OF Twelfth
and Main streets. This was done by q
young fireman named Spence, who de-
serves great credit for the check thus given
to the flames.
The hight with the fire was continued
until nearly pightfaII, but il was decided
by 8 O'Clock that PAGES was saved, to the
great relief of tie many thousand anxious
spectators and the community at large.
THE INSURANCE.
The following is, we learn, an approXi-
stately correct statement OF the amounts for
which the property destroyed was insured
in TIE agency OF Messrs. Z. j. 0tey Il Co.,
the emil ire amount Of the loss sustained being
estimated at $4,000:
Estate of T. c. s. Ferguson on building and
faetory fxtures... $500
" iOOd Smith on stock tobacco. l9 600
Hancock Moorman On building and fix
tafes .....:........'.. 0,oCO
Hancock 4 Norman on stock Of TOBACCO. 10000
Mr.. Bownao Il Co on bpilding........... $50
Eargu9oD, Lacy 4 60. on stock Of tobacco. $500
fetal insurance. s55.25O
The Lynchburg Fire Insurance Com
a1yioses $3.50 by the 6re-S750 on the
/, ,ildlng occupied by Wood. and $4,000
n Hancock e. Moorman's factory and fix
m es. There was policy Of $500 on Wood
, Brothers stock in the Manhattan.-
nm cslburg NenS.
rb Wj.ginian says:
1t understood that suit will be insti-
MED s..ainst the city bv the insurance COM
au,es which sustained losses for the great
elay il supplying water.
Pas Neager and Bfcket Agents.
The Isti0nal Railroad Passenger and
rictet A. vents Association met in semi