Weekly commercial herald., 1885-11-20
GALVESTON ALAosr IN ASHES
Mary Costly and Elegant Residences
Burned and Large Number Of People
HOmeless---A Scene of Destruction and
DestItutlon.

OAO pLOSptClS are LIlhU Od4ScSbOu
about to suffer a great loss. Six
dwelling houses are already burned and
immense clouds of sparks are being car.
ried four or five squares, over roofs Of
wooden-ho house. The entire fire depart
ment is on the ground, but seem
paralyzed and unable to fight the
flames, because of the fierce wind and
sntfocating smoke.
3:45 a. m.--The fire has, at this hour,
spread over seven blocks and become
great conhagsation. Fully fifty
dwellings are burning fiercely and the
patch OF the fire as it progresses south
ward is filled with the finest resi-
dences in the city, but are all wooden.
For five squares south the fire was
confined to the width Of one square,
between Sixteenth and Seventeenth
streets, but when it crossed Winnie
street, six squares from the starting
point, it jumped diagonally to the
southeast into the next block, and
gives evidence of consuming one-third
of the city.
a.m--The fire is still burning
6ercely. sItis now about four blocks
from the beach. 1t is raging on Ave
nue. N and is still spreading on both
sides, and has cut swath of six
blocks. There is great distress and
hundreds of families lose every thing.
$40 am-The fire reached within
three blocks of the beach and still
spreading its path, despite the efforts
Of the fremen.
1920 a.m.--The fire reached the
beach about mile and a half in some
places, and six or seven blocks wide
Over 700 residences were burned, and
it is blowing terrific gale. The fire
is still burning Iiercely and is not un-
der control.
About 4 o'clock the fire began to
spread to the east and west of Six
teenth and Seventeenth streets. The
wind rose to Il gale and pandemonium
reigned for time. 1t seemed as
though the entire eastern half of the
city was doomed.
The fire spread rapidly to the south
ward, licking up the blocks Of elegant
residences hastily abandoned by the
inmates. By 5 o'clock it had reached
Broadway, which threads the centre OF
the island running east and west
At o'clock the wind gave
signs Of dying away, and shortly
began to shift and decrease until only
fair breeze was blowing, but
by this time the fire had eaten its way
TO Avenue 0, where at 9 o'clock it
seemed to exhaust itself and the fire.
men coming up checked it's further
ravages at this point or within two
blocks of the gulf. The burned dis
trict covers hfty-two blocks--seven of
which are not swept entirely clean. 1t
is sixteen blocks in depth and averages
width Of three blocks.
The business part begins at
Twentieth street and runs west ten
blocks. These outlines locate the fire
which began to spread rapidly after it
had passed Avenue d. BY the time il
had reached Avenue j or Broadway, it
WAS sweeping nearly three blocks in
width from the west side of Seven
teenth to east size of Fourteenth
street. About three hundred houses
burned, which were occupied by fully
five hundred families. From Avenue
A to Avenue e, for four squares.
burned; the dwellings were occupied
almost entirely by the poor
er classes and several families
were crowded in single house
in this strip. From avenue E, how
ever, the burned district includes the
wealthiest and most fashionable por-
tion of the city. One hundred ele-
gantly furnished mansions are in
ruins. The burned district resembles
a black, half-opened fan lying across.
The island at that point is nineteen
blocks or one mile and quarter wide.
The fire started on the north side Of
avenue A, better known as Strand,
which is block from the bay, and it
stopped within two blocks Of the
gulf. Sixteenth street is nine blocks
west of the extreme inhabitable end of
the island. the first resident street
being Sixth, from avenue A to D.
Many of these residences had beautiful
gardens attached and the money loss
does not represent over half their
value. All manner of estimates are
to be heard at this time. The city
assessor says the taxable value of
dwellings burned is $650,000, this
makes the actual value of the prop
erty $1,500,000, which perhaps repre-
sents loss in money. The insurance is
estimated at 100000, although some
insurance meE who have walked over
the district place the insurance at
$800,000. So far as can be learned
not single accident occurred. The
scene during the progress Of the fire
was simply frightful, so filled with
misery and terror that whoever
witnessed it must bear its vivid inn
preston.
The hotels are filled with homeless
people and the citizens aid committee
is now at work apportioning families
to rooms and premises vacated for
their use. Every vehicle in the city
is at work carrying the strewn furni-
ture, bedding and pictures to secure
places. thousands Of people haunt