Daily globe., 1882-04-11
A RED WING BLAZE.
Nearly $4,000 Worth CT Property Licksd d
Up by Lur d Flame.
Especial to Daily Globe.1

Especial to Daily Globe.]
RED Wing, April 10-The fire last night
here was the most destructive that has occur.
red since the organization of the city. There
was an almost total destruction, of all the prop
erty west of the ravine known as the "Jorian'
and east OF Broadway, Main street and Third
street bounding the burned district on the
north and south.
The fire originated in some loose straw in q
shed behind Nelson's tailor shop, on Third
street. 1t was propably caused by somebody's
| carelessness in dropping lighted cigar OF
match n the straw. The theory of incenda
rism, though at one time believed by many,
seems to be exploded.
The fire quickly spread to the tailor shop
and from thence to the livery stable of Web
ster & Perkins, which burned like tinder.
This was the poiat at which the firemen los;
all control over the fire, the flames shooting
into the air and bowling and shriekipg with
unequalled ferocity. The brick wall Of the
opera houss appeared to offer but little OBJ
struction to the fire, and this expensive struct.
ure also was soon a mass Ct flames. The loss
Of the opera house is most serious to the city.
II was comparatively new building, erected
by the Turner society few years ago, and
outside of Saltwater and St. Paul and It's sub
urbs, was undoubtedly the finest opera house
IN the state. 1t recently passed into the hands
Pratt, of Red Wing. being the lessee.
Two large frame houses op Broadway next
succnmbed, the one next to the opera house,
owned by c. Cogel and occupied by Alexander
Stevenson, going first. The second house,
owred and occupied by DR.. Galen Allen, was
also soon a mass of ruins. Cogel's brick
block, on the corner of Broadway and N siu
streets, aided by the hard work of the firemen,
prevented the spread of the fire any further IL
This direction, aud it skipped this block, only
TO catch and burn with increased fury in the
nest of wooden buildings on Main street next
to Cogel's block. The ravine Jordan, and the
fact that the wind was blowing in the oppo-
site direction wero all that prevented
the burning of the First National
bank building, on the east side
of the ravire, and had this gone there. is no
telling where the work OF destruction would
have stopped.
On Third street the brick wall of Centennial
block, three story brick structure prevented
the spread OF the flames any further toward
the east than the tailor shop in which the fire
began. This is the second time that fire
beginning on Third street has been stopped by
brick wall from spreading to Bush street;
three or four years ago fire consumed all
the wooden buildings which then lined the
SGreet, ana on lne ste oil which was
erected the Centennial block. If brick
buildings are built on the site
of those which burned last
night, Third street, between Bush and Broad
way, will be almost fire proof.
One of the most pitlable features of The con-
flagration was the burning alive Of five horses
These were in the boarding and livery stable
Of Webster & Perkins, on Third street. One
was valuable horse owned by J. A. Porter,
.of Trout Brook; f. W. Hoyt's family horse;
one of the livery horses, and the black team
owned by DR.. b. Jachnig.
The services of the iremen at this fire we're
most valuable. With one steamer, q hand en-
gine, and the Babcock eXtinguisher of the
Champion company, they did wonders in the
way of saving property and preventing
the spread of the fire. But for
them CogePs block would surely have been
burned; aud their efforts we're what saved all
the buildings on Third street from Centennial
block to the corner. The unusual width of
| Broadway was all that saved the National no.
| tel, opposite the Opera house, for the high
wind prevailing st the time blew the flames
| directly toward it.
Rain began during the night, and It has
| been raining more or less ever since. This
has in great measure quenched the fire,
though the blackeued ruins are still smolder-
ing, and the small boy when poking in the
rubbish for valuables Still burns his fiugers
and shoe leather.
| The loss and insurance, so far as can be
| learned at this writing is distributed as fol-