The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1881-06-16
THE QUEBEC FIRE.
One of the Most Terrible CONDENSATION



on Record
QUEBEC, June 9.-One of the mos
) disastrous fires with which this city
, has been afflicted commenced last night
T, and was only got under control at sI1
O'Clock q. m. The first alarm was from
the corner of ST. Oliver and ST. Clair
, streets, at ten minutes before eleven
} O'Clock. A few minutes later the bells
from Basalisk, ST. John and St. Roch's
churches rang out the second alarm.
} The reflection was so brilliant that in a
short time half of the city appeared at
tracted to the scene. By half past II
O'Clock all the avenues around and
} leading TO the fire were SO completely
packed with people that it was next 10
impossible to force a way through them
The scene of utter confusion in the vi
cinity of the confiagration beggars de-
scription. Half the people seemed pam
ic-stricken, and three fourths of the 9TH
ers were only adding to the general con-
fusion by running against each other
and assisting in the destruction of prop
erty, in the belief that they were render
| ing assistance IN saving 1T. Parents
partially clothed hurried along in every
direction with infants in their arms and
leading others children by the hand.
| Thousands of horses let loose from the
burning stables rushed through the
/ crowd
The origin of the fire was in stable
| on st. Oliver street, near st. Mary's
street. The flames Immediately spread
/ to the surrounding wooden buildings
and to streets above and below ST. Oil
yer. Latourelle, st. Marie and Richie
lieu streets were quickly a mass of fire
for some hundreds of feet, the flames
from the other sides of the streets over
| tapping in the middle and completely
closing them. The scenes common 10
| all great fires were discernable at this
stage. Even the police and firemen, to
a great extent, were demoralized. Oar
| ing robberies were carried on freely, and
in full sight of everybody. Stores and
private dwellings attacked by the flames
| were ransacked for liquor, which was
| openly drank by the lowest degree of
| society common to the locality in ques-
ton, and who frequent the low novels
whose destruction IS one of the least re-
| gretable features of the disaster. The
| sparks which everywhere flew from the
wooden buildings were themselves a
| terrible source of danger to the rest of
| the city. 1t was common sight to sec
mems coats and hats ablaze from the
burning wooden pieces of shingles that
lighted on them. The wind being from
the north drove the fire rapidly in
the direction of st. Joseph's church,
and various contrary local cur
rents scattered the cindcrs around
in every direction. The brigade found
the fire more unmanageable than
ever. They allege that four wooden
houses were found on fire by them when
they arrived upon the scene, and with
water absent and unattainable for some
twenty minutes, it was impossible for
them to obtain the mastery. The n.y.
CT
water came into them, but too late to be
of much service. When the fire spread
as above described the men of the bri-
gade lost all control over any portion of
it. Their necessary subdivision into so
many parties was a weakness. The
flames swept onward with almost light
ming rapidity. The fury of the devour-
ing elements knew no bounds but the
city's outskirts, and none who failed to
see them would be inclined to credit
the rate at which they swept all before
them. The greatest part of Duquillan
street, west Of St. Genevieve, had been
destroyed, when the flames appeared in
st. John street, little further out. At
1 o'clock the changing of the bells of st.
Johns church in rapid and alarming
tones, told of the danger to that prop
erty, and summoned assistance. The
whole efforts of the fire brigade imme-
diateiy bent ON saving the sacred edifice,
but to no avail. Nothing was saved
but the sacred vessels and some of the
most valuable plate and furniture of
the sanctuary. The fire took possession
of the noble structure in almost less
space of time than it takes to tell, and
the finest and largest church in the city
was doomed. 1t was grand sight to
witness the angry flames, climbing the
steeples of the church and to see them
Gall a few minutes later. Tho more
northerly of the two was the first to 60.
1t gradually tottered and then fell out |
on to the roof fthe other structure; the
other steeple gradually sunk next. After
the church came the Friars' schools Op-
posite, and still the flames swept on.
Trusting as if confident SO majestic an
edifice could never fall prey TO any of
the elements, the neighbors around had
carried their household goods to the
front of the church and there piled them
at every door of the sanctuary, but all
were irretrievably lost. The church was
worth at least 800, 600; insurance only
81 900. At the foot of Jupiter street,
below Berthelot market, the flames had
crossed from st. John street, and from
this point they rapidly flew west along |
that fine avenue, keeping pace with the
other division of the contlagratiOn OPP
southwark TO Berthelot market place,
and destroyed Gabriel and st. Patrick
streets as far out as there were buildings
to be destroyed. The Lower field alone |
stayed the progress of the fire. |
1t ran upwards toward the |
Grand Alice at q terrible rate of speed. |
There being no water, men, hose nor |
other appliance TO it, only the gap
caused by the recent confiagration here
stopped the total destruction of the
whole street. 1t is impossible TO de-
scribe the spread of the flames on every
side, and it will, perhaps, be more salts
factory to give an idea of the limits of
the burnt district. The only thing that
the firemen succeeded in doing was TO
curb the fire east of st. Gencvieve street.
From Latourelle street up nearly to st.
John street the westerly side of st.
Genevieve street has been swept away.
To the north the fire extended as far as
Richmond street. The western limit is
little beyond the street car stables at
Mount Pleasant, near the city boundary.
The limit at Burton, near Scott, and at
Gabriel streets, has been already men,
toned. Briefly summed up the streets
consumed are: running east and west
Richmond in part, principally the south
side, Latourelie, Oliver, Richelieu, Da-
quiilon, st. Johns, ward in Montcalm
street, Gabriel, Nouvelle, and Briton;
running north and south-the principal
streets were Sutherland, Delagny, st.
Clair, st. Marie and st. Genevleve, west
side, besides Jupiter street in Mont
calm ward, also west side Among
the property destroyed on John street
| were large number of handsome build
| Ings used as stores and private residenc-
/ es. The battery was called out and rem
dered excellent aid in saving property
and in keeping order. Several remark
| able whirl-winds were caused by the
| fire. Men were III some cases lifted off
/ their feet. On the Lower field where
most of the burnt out people had camp
| ed with their saved goods, the fire fol-
lowed the unfortunates and burned up
| most of the goods piled on the grass.
Burning shingles fell over the city and
as far out as Maple avenue during the
night, endangering every part OF the
town. Several incipient fires in differ
| ent streets were suppressed by the vigi-
lance of the occupants. 1t Is computed
| that there must be q loss of two million
dollars between the buildings, stock and
| furniture. Over 500 families are rem
dered homeless and at least 800 build
ings destroyed. 1t is impossible to give
| fun and correct list of the sufferers,
| losses and insurance companies at this
moment, but all the insurance cOmpa-
mics doing business in the city are heavy
losers. The fire brigade and apparatus
were quite unfit to cope with such fire,
and TO its weakness and wretched water
service the whole disaster is due.
COUNTERPART TREE AGENTS. = The
Country Gentleman, in dealing with
this familiar form of fraud, says: every
year our exchanges about this time of
year TEEN with accounts of the vigilant