Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1885-11-14
The History of the South-Flfty-Tw0
Blocks Burned, Including
Number Of the
Hands0mest Residences In the City
Over q Thousand Families Render
ed Homeless and
Between Two and Three Million Dollars
Worth Of Property Destroyed
by the Disaster.
Frightful Scenes During the Progress OF
the Great Fire-Telegrams Of
Sympathy and
Offers Of Aid Pouring In from All Quar-.
ters-COntributiOns Received
Losses and Insurance.

Offers Of Aid Pouring In from All Quar-
REORGANIZATION Received
Losses and Insurance.
GALVESTON, TEX, November l3.-At
l 40 O'Clock this morning the most de-
ructive fire in the history of Galveston
broke out in small foundry and car-re-
pairing shop on the north side of Avenue
A, known Gs the Strand, between Six
teenth and Seventeenth streets. A fierce
gale from the North was blowing at the
time, and the flames spread with light
ming rapidity to both of the adjoining
buildings, one being grocery store and
tle other humble dwelling. In a twink
ling the long fiery tongues had crossed
the street and two more dwellings were In
mes, the inmates barely escaping with
their lives. At this moment the fire de-
partment got two streams going, but they
wsre of no avail. The heat became so
intense that the hrerien had to aban-
d IN their positions, and the wind rose
and carried myriads Of sparks to
the premises east of Avenue A,
spd general alarm was sounded. In half
al hour two blocks were burning fercely,
and by 8 o'clock everv "Te saw that great
COL fagration was upon tae city. The peo-
pie for sq1ares around on either side of
burning blocks became panic stricken, and
the piercing cries of frightened women
could be heard above the hosrse din of the
Fl and the mournful wind. At $3.50
| o'clock the fire had leaped three blocks
distant from its starting point, but in a
perfectly straight line, being confined to
the blocks bounded by Sixteenth and Sev-
| enteenth streets.
SPREADING KAsT AND WEST.
About 4 o'clock the fire began to spread
| to the east and to the west of Sixteenth
| and Seventeenth streets. The wind rose
| to gale and pandemonium reigned. For
q time it seemed as though the entire
! eastern half OF the city was doomed. The
f 70 spread rapidly to the southwark, lick
IEg up the blocks Of elegant residences
| h Sstily abandoned by their inmates. BS
| 5 o'clock it had reached Broadway, which
| threads the center OF the island running
e&st and west. At o'clock the wind gave
signs of dying away, and shortly began to
shift, then to decrease, until by 8 O'Clock
| Only fair breeZs WAS blowing, but by
| this time the fire had eaten its way to Av-
| enue o, where at 9 o'clock it seemed to
| exhaust itself, and the firemen coming up,
| checked its further ravages at this point,
or within two blocks OF the gulf.
THE BURNED DISTRICT
| covers fifty-two blocks, seven Of which are
not swept entirely clean. 1t is sixteen
| blocks in depth and averages width of
taree blocks. From the housetops the
burned district resembles huge block
hslf opened, lying across the. island
| f,Dm the bay nearly to the gulf. The
iflan at that point is nineteen blocks, or
ole mile and quarter wide. The fire
started on the north side of avenue A, bet
| ter known as the Strand, which is one
block from the bay, and it stopped within
two blocks of the Gulf. Sixteenth street is
| nine blocks weet OF the extreme habitable
end OF the island, the first resident street
h ing Sixth. From avenue A to avenue d
the fire was confined to the strip bounded
on the east by Sixteenth street and on he
west by Seventeenth street. The business
part of the city begins at Twentieth street
and runs west ten blocks. This outline
locates the fire, which began to spread
rapidly after it had passed avenue d. By
the time it had reached avenue ], or
Broadway, it was sweeping nearly three
blocks in width from the west side OF
Seventeenth street to the east side OF Four
teenth street.
| AB1UT 500 HOUSES WERE I1REED,
hich were occupied by fully 500 families
From Avenue A to Avenue E, for four
squares, the burned dwellings were occu
p ed almost entirely by the poorer classes,
and several families were crowded in a
| SMILE house in this strip. From Avenue
| r, however, the burned district includes
the weaithest and most fashionable por.
ton of the city. One hundred elegantly
furnished mansions are in ruins. Many o.
these residences had beautiful gardens at
tsched and the moneyed loss does not rep
resent over half their value. All mannel
OF estimates are to be heard at this time
The city assessor says the taxable value o
the dwellings burned is S650,000. Thii
u1akes the actual value of the property
81 100000, which perhaps represents tht
luss in money. The insurance is estimated
at s600,000 although some insurance mel
> who have walked over the district plaei
the insurance at SSOO,000. So far as car
= be learned, not single accident occurred
) The scene during the progress of the fir,
vas
SIMPLY FaIGHTFUL,
so lied with misery and terror that who
5 ever witnessed 1t must bear its vivid i'm
| preston for a lifetime. The wind rose t
Q screaming gale in the vicinity of the fir,
end swept through the burning belt in ter
! riff whirls, carrying millions OF live Gin
ders high up in the air and raining then
, down mile distant over the wooden cit
, and it's panic-stricken inhabitants. TIT
entire east end of the city scarcely con
: tsins dozen brick dwellings. Ali is WOO,
r Texas pine), and il burns with an inde
a scribsble fury. Five minutes after hous
cauaht it would be wrapped in one M ght
II lme. The slleywsys and streets for tel
3 touares on either side of the burning be.
| were filed with the blanched faces O
, | helpless men, women and children, VIII
could do nothing in such gale but cIoucI
down for shelter and watch the flames licI
t up the fruits OF lifetime. Although tn
8 | victims number many of the wealthies
, residents of the city, whose iudividus
: | wealth runs up near the millions, vet tn
great msj )rity Of those burned out lose tn
4 better portions of their fortunes or thei
|, Ii tie all Some families saved good dei
II of furniture, others are left with only th
clothes on their backs, so confident wer
u they that the fire would not reach then
: The loss in personal and household prof.
n erty can never be estimated, and is not il
10 cluded in the previous estimates.
a HOMELESS PEOPLE.
The hotels are filed with homeless pei
pie, and Citizens Committee is now
work spportioning families to rooms an
a. premises vacated for their use. Ever
" vehicle in the city is at work carrying II
!. strewn furniture. bedding and pictures
secure places. Thousands Of people hsul
n the burned districts, looking among Il
b smoking ruins for valuable keepsakes
70 jewelry, hoping to find something lei
:, but all is as bleak and barren as a desel
- Even the huge wooden water-tanks ar
N fences and sidewalks and telephone pol
is are burned to white ashes. Business
3. entirely suspended. The calamity is
- great that men choke with tears in spea
ie ing of it. Some score OF sick people We
n hurriedly removed during the copfsgr
~ ton, and many women are reported pre-
of trated by the terrible excitement.
A meeting of citizens is now in progre
y at the Cotton Exchange to provide imn
III diate
is RELIEF FOE THE PooEKR VICTIMS.
., Already toe rich men Of the city and (
well to do, even these who have lest tn,