Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1882-07-29

/ ueclueu upon ny tne udrk cOluInu
of smoke and the lurid flames that
Lit up the sky and the surrounding
streets. .rsLsgf1@
Afirst glance at its location, be-
ing as itswas in the very midst of a
block of buildings which ever since
the big FIRE of 1873 have been re-
garlled as particularly liable and
inviting TO the fiery elements, chief
ly on account of the large quantity
Of woea-work about the buildings
and the general character of their
construction was enough to cause
terror to fllithe hearts of all.
Everybody expected a big fire
and We arelsay were only SO hap
PLY disappointed by the quick and
spIendid work of our fire company
to whom too much praise cannot be
given. 7s<t5 stAtt
9fThe IRE was discovered to have
first Originated at The ante-room
door of the eolored Masonic Lodge
on the third floor of the Barker
building aud must have undoubt-
edly been the work of an incendiary
as no fire or gas light of any kind
had been in the building since Fri
day night before. Indeed it is the
theory Of some, and the facts would
seem to bear them out in it, that
the buildings'we set fire in sever
al p1dces. Certain it is that while
the brave firemen were .heroically
engaged in battling the flames in
the upper stories and roof of the
BarkerGmd Current buildings, they
were called to aid in extinguishing
the flames that had been discovered
bursting out of rear room on the
secondstOfyaof the building sOccu-
pied on first floor by Webster as
barber shop and on. second door by
Ed. BOyce, colOred, as dwelling
apartments. The door to this
room, which was very little used,
opened out into the hall at the foot
of the stairway leading TO the lodge
room, the transom was found open
and near the door lay pile of old
straw mating anda few old clothes.
a plank, partly burned and satu-
rated with oil, was also found in
this room by Chief Hyinan. 1t is
believed that as, the incendiary de
cended the stairway, after firing
the ante-room of the Lodge, he
made doubly sure his tiendish
work by throwing this burning
plank over into this lower room on
the pile of old mating and clothing
beneath.
These are theories advanced. the
truth Of which will, in all probabii-
ity never be known, but certainly
the circumstances point to it as the
heinous deed of midnight ineeh-
diary.
We have said that by the time
the firemen arrived on the ground,
a few minutes after the alarm, the
whole of the upper story of the Bar
ker builning was in flames. Hose
reel No. was the first to reach the
fire and attaching the hose to the
fire plug i n front of the CHRONICLE
Office, the gallant tiremen mounted
the stairway and drawing the hose
with them forced IA solid stream of
water into the burning upper stO-
ries. \ few seconds later hose car
riages Nos. 3 and came into play
and bravely battled the fiery ele-
ments. BY this time the fire had
spread to the roof of the adjoining
building known as the Currant
store, and owing to the difficulty of
reaching it, it seemed as if the
block would burn in spite of the he
role efforts of the firemen. 1t was
at this point that the fire in the
Turnley building was discovered
and part of the force was put to
work on it. The fire engine had
quickly arrived but owing to the
pressure of air in the suction pipe
or some unknown cause, failed to
throw water. The whole work of
fighting the flames devolved on the
hose departments attached to the
fire plugs, and the very effective
aid rendered by the Hook and Lad
der Company. ....
In short, the entire force, under
the command of Chief Hyman and
Captain Young of the fire depart
ment, and Captain Matt Gracey OF
the Hook and Ladder Company,
obeyed orders promptly and worked
like Trojans. After a stubborn
fight of an hour and a half the fire
was confined to the roofs of the
Barker and Current houses and
finally eXtinguished. Both those
buildings were considerably dam
hScl ny liIC III bIlC IOOl anu upl'SA
stories, while the contents of the
lower floors were much injured by
water and removal.
The damage was entirely confined
to the Barker and Current buildings
and their occupants. These are,
the Southern Express Company,
damaged by water VIM. Webster,
same, slightly the colOred Masonic
Lodge, by fire and water; Mrs. Il.
NJ. Hughes, dwelling apartments,
damaged by water; Ed. Boyce,
colored, same. The total loss to all
parties will not be over two thous-
and dollars, partly covered by in
snranee. Es4E8AGNk 8kAA
SOUR Little Ones, and The Nur-
sery" is the name of a neatly print
ell and handsomely illustrated
I 81 4 ~ Fl 4