The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1885-11-20
GREAT CONFEDERATION.

GREAT CONFEDERATION.
The Residence Portion Of Calves
ton Swept Away.
The Business Part Untouched-Four Hum
dred Houses Destroyed-Loss. g.
600, 900; Insurance Nearly
$1,000
GALVESTON, TEX, November 1S.-About
two o'clock this morning the fire alarm bells
rang out and before the engines could get to
the scene Of the first alarm what seemed
like half dozen or more fires were noted in
the northeast section of the city. The wind
was blowing perfect gale at the time, and
the flames, famed by the breeze, spread
with terrible rapidity. House after house
caught and the burning brands were scat
tered in all directions. In less than an hour
whole blocks were burning and the
FIREMEN WE'RE UTTERLY POwERLEss
to do anything The people of the town
were all out, but were paralyzed for the
flames spread SO rapidly that no one knew
but that his home would be the next to
blaze. At this hour (3:45 a. n.y. half the
north and east portion of the town is in
flames and it now looks as though the
whole city was doomed. The wind has in
creased in force, and burning brands are
carried for hundreds of yards and hurled,
still blazing, in every direction. Not
thing has SO far sufficed to stop the course OF
the whirlwind of fire, and the best that can be
done, SO it would seem to the affrighted
people, is TO hope that some unforeseen ac-
cident will stop the con1agratiOn. Just
what caused the blaze is not known at this
hour, but it is almost positively known that
the fires were of incendiary origin. There
are many who do not hesitate to attribute
them to the action of dissatisfied 'lOngshore-
men whose strike ended yester1ay-nOt,
however, in the fulfillment of their best
wishes. Such, however, is but q c0njec-
ture.
WHERE IT ORlGINATED.
4:5O a. m.-The fire started on the bay,
corner of Sixteenth street, and with great
rapidity spread to Broadway. seven blocks
distant and burned everything between
Sixteenth and Nineteenth streets. The
wind is high and it looks as though it will
not stop till it reaches the gulf. The fire
department has lost large portion OF its
hose and Is now almost p0werles, to check
the flames. The horse car company have
removed all of their cars from their stables
although two blocks west of the route the
fire is now taking.
A connected Account.
GALVESTON, TEX, November 14.-FOr
seven lorg and weary hours the great fire,
which started shortly after two o'clock yes
terday morning, ragged with seemingly un.
diminished violence. Nothing but dying
away of the wind saved the entire town
from the destruction which, for hour after
hour, threatened to enwrap residences and
business blocks alike. As it was the
burned district covers no less than fifty-twO
blocks, seven Of which, however, are not
swept entirely clear. The section where
nothing out smoking ruins are now to be seen
in place of what was yesterday the princi-
pal residence portion of the city, is sixteen
blocks in depth and of an average depth of
three blocks The losses can not be pos
itively estimated even now, but it is certain
that nearly, if not quite S2,0O0,00O will not
replace the structures destroyed. Taken
all in all the fire may well be said to
be the worst known since the last Chicago
cOnfagratOn.
TIE WAY 1T STARTED.
The fire began ut I 40 o'clock in small
foundry and car repairing shop on the north
eide Of Avenue a, known as THE Strand"
between Sixteenth and Seventeenth streets.
A fierce gale from the north was blowing
at the time and the flames spread with
lightning rapidity to both of the adjoining
buildings, one being a grocery store
and the other an humble dwelling.
In a twinkling the long, fiery tongues
had crossed the streets and two more
dwellings were in flames, the inmates bare
~ escaping with their lives. In half an
hour two blocks were burning fiercely and
by two O'Clock the conilagratsOn was fairly |
Beyond human control. At $3.50 the fire |
had covered three blocks from its starting |
point, but in perfectly straight line.
being confined to tue blocks bounded by |
Sixteenth and Seventeenth streets. About |
four O'Clock the fire began to spread to the |
east and west of Sixteenth and Seventeenth |
streets. The wind rose to gale and pam
demOnium reigned. For time it seemed |
as though the entire eastern half Of the |
city was doomed. The fire spread rapidly |
to the southwark, licking up blocks |
of elegant residences hastily aban- |
doned by their inmates. by five o'clock |
it had reached Broadway, which |
threads the center of the island, running |
east and west. At seven O'Clock the wind |
gave signs of dying away, and shortly it |
began to shift and then to decrease, until |
by eight o'clock only a fair breeze was |
blowing; but by this time the fro had eaten |
its way to Avenue N, where at nine O'Clock |
it seemed to exhaust itself, and the firelnen |
were at last able to check its further raw |
ages at this point, or within two blocks of /
the gulf.
EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE.
The total area of the burnt district il 100 |
acres and forty and a half blocks were |
swept clean Of everything c0mbustible.
Something over 400 houses were burned,
and it is estimated by the relief cOm-
dered homeless, great majority OF whom,
especially the poorer ones, lost every. |
thing. As the fire started in the poor |
district they had little or no time in which |
to move furniture, while the weather. pe0-
pie moved valuable pictures and effects.
Several of the finest houses, however, were |
burned without single article being saved,
SO confident were the occupants that the fire
would pass them. The business part of
the CITY was untouched. Nearly every one
has an estimate as to what the total loss of
the great fire fOOts up The best posted
citizens estimate the loss at fully s., 000. 600,
while many who claim to have figured on
the matter put the estimate as high as
81, 500, 900. The insurance was estimated