, 1881-08-28


tion.
At about s o'clock in the morning w1ite
members Of Companies s aud & and Foot and
were working upon that part Of the roof
Whlcil llau not caved in, the balance Ut tile
roof COLLAPSED and they were thrown upon
tlle Ice which is cotalncd i'll the upper, story
Of tue building: They found themselves in
luckily the hose had fallen with them, and
by its means they were enabled to climb to
positions from. which they were rescued.
The, building to the south Of the. main
structure whose dimensions have already
terday etcnlng II: be doomed, and the only
satisfaction to the neighb,rhOod lay III the
fact That the wind was blowing from the
northwest ana that, II it held from that quar-
ing-houses, which all lie to tile east and west
of it. 1t seemed hard on looking at the
solid structure to realize the fact that it had
also to be destroyed, but all explanation Of
the fighting; power WHICH could be brought
to bear against the flames which had taken
possession OF Its Upper story would be in
adeQlats IN all probability to avert its de-
strelction. It was. explained that the upper
story was filled with ice, and that below the
1naln roof, already burned, there was Il floor,
constructed Of wood and sawdnst, in which
the fire
HAD TAKEN 4 STRONG HOLD.
From this floor to the lower ones ventilation
vey the flames from above. The only hopoo
of the proprietor WIS that after the lire hau
spent itself some considerable portion OF its
costly contents would be available for lner-
cant1le purposes
The most interesting feature connected
with the fire of yesterday evening was the
strenuous effort which was being made to
save the molten grease which lad resulted
from the melting of the pork and bursting ot
lard barrels in the packing-house.
Everywhere around the packlng-h0rse TINS
grease had formed lakes and rivers: In front
Of the house it lay in Il pond 500 feet in
length, foot or more in depth, and from
twenty to fifty feet in width. 1t was rum
outlet OF the sewer into the South Branch at
Of IL men '''', were re-. ladlng iil It of from
the river ami. saving barrel after t.r
barrel OF the precious stutt. In the yara INC
young fellow named Joe Nash had suggest
ed the idea of rigging up 4 pump, and ne r
suit was Il constant stream Of the fatty hnlt.
barrels were being rapidly rolled to the spot:
and removed It's soon rs. filled. Hundreds, OF
it is known that the value of !. barrel or 1t
was reckoned at from SIS to S25, it will be
seen that the work was of the greatest lln-
p0rtance.
and lie stated that the estimate of damage as
set forth in THE TRIBUNE was as nearly cor
rect as could be at present calculated. Ite
believed that the threatened, it not doomed,
eaa: e@nasd 70 deut tue Seta q 'S wdfth of Hs
meats, much Of which, however, he believed;
would be saved. His own loss he estimated
at. from $150000 to $175,0o0, which, ne
thought, was fully covered by insurance:
made he would rebuild and resume business
on tile old spot.
THE WATER SCARCITY.
Interviews with several interested parties
revealed the fact that If the supply OF water
had been adequate to the emergency the fire
might easily lave been avcrted.. II twenty
engines had been able to be fed with water
at the time the fire was at its hight, the
flames would lave been gotten under control.
As 1t was only about six could be Kept III
play, and these were all too lnsuHclent Ior
the purpose. The iirefnen worked Saliantly:
but the supply of water was insufficient, and
they were thus power1ess to effect a stoppage
of its advance.
There is no doubt that if a souttlwesterlg
the magnificent packing-ilouses Of Armour
s. Co. and Of Hutchinson & Co: would have
been swept by the flames and laid low.
MCCORMICK EEArE;; FACTORY.
The announcement Of the tire at the Nc:
Cor1nick Reaper Works on the corner OF
Blue Island avenue and Western avenue Ne was !; as
did not Start until 2:15 a. H., a full account
Of it could not be obtained in time for pub
lication The blaze was of most threaten
ing character, and coming as lG ul4, risn5
on the heels OF the STOCK 1s ar9s nrf
AlcCorinick's factory. is built in the stlape;
of a quadrangle. and the building destroyed
yesterday morning was only one OF several
inclosed within this space. 1t was ct orlck;
-4r- ff4