Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1886-01-02
MILLION AND A half GO UP
In Smoke in the City of Detroit
Yesterday.
BIG FIRE IN THE BUSINESS QUARTER
OF the City that Came aea, Beng
Terrible ConhagratioH--.0ne
Life Lost.

DETROIT. MICH January I.-sloltly
sitter clock this morning smoke was
observed coming from D. NJ. Ferry Il Co. s
mammoth building on Brush street be.
tween Crcgban and lafayette streets. An
alarm was quickly turned in. l secold
and third alarm followed quickly, there be
ing promises Of big FIRE in the hesrt o.
The business part OF The city. TIE IRE de-
partment turned out in force and soon sur.
rounded the burning building with the
hose.
The flames mad started in the packing
department on the corner CT Latayette and
Brush streets, and soon enveloped the
whole building, which was mere
shell, having but one solid va! inside Of
the outer walls. BrsveIy and iut-ligentiy
the tiremen kept at work, but al tfJrts
seemed futile The fsm,s s5read rapidly
until al one time there seemed probabl
ity OF big corhsgrstiou The buildings
on the opposite sides cl Brush and Gre,
han streets caugh, number Of times but
the department maEA ged 10 kept The Nam,s
from totally destroying them. Across ,nc
alley from d. 81. Ferry y Co
building in the same sQuare and
facing on Randolph street ars White
! tiraLd lhesue aGd the Wesson Block and
a small building used rs Il restaurant. lha
Danes l.sped acrO,s hs nlleT and begaa
10 eat into the THEA re-, first the root, and
soon tell IN with ,errolr crash, Gtius iho
whole Is;eriUr Of The building, utter driving
away men who had been working on the
Ferry Block through tbs wIndJ- Ct the
rhesrre The crashing window glass was
The signal for increased fury OF the II ,mes.
which seemed TO laugh at the tiiyr,S ol
the hremen. An immense crowd blocked
the streets, and at uirurs wee in the way
Of the department. By 10 clock the
Ferry Block Wac
Macs 0r tIANEs
and the walls had commenced to trl crea
ting something OF Il panic among the
thrOng 0; spectators .Num,rous narrow
escapes occurred among the !iremen, who
worked close to the Il .nrs iu wrapped up
aud repeatedly to.b,j aut raprd!y drying
clothes. BY 1890 Whilst the ihvstre Ia
being seized By ire, sd by / ~ IN. the
hremen were comp He'd I" Iurn their nIten-
ton to saving 5ull!inrs on tho opposite
side OF Rudolph street although keeping
numerous streams u 1Arer PLAYING
ba bprp,n.. h.,,ll,,., s,
the men Of 20 , fre comrany raised L
ladder in iroI, Al the lheatTc 10 get Del
ter chance a. the t!I".sp Finding the
rapidly advancing iir, would prevent any
efficient work 1T thai po,h, they we're De.
scending the ladder and lad reached the
ground when several t,er q CornlCr 'tl! or
the ladder wagon. C'pl. Richard Tilbon
was struck ou the head by JrIcEs aud
names rprra;t 10 %,s.,,..... ....>-, - -
corner OF KGudolph nal Iros hhn s..rt.a.
and that bulldmg WIS s"Hn 'h'"lpPrd m
flames. Ahhuu- b tI.t,Eso n.f..' tF".-
hgE street Trir 's'sri. I'd "3a Ihush'
once or twice the drf.-'a. - 'i."nHGcd TO
keep it within the sqr".- 'arn,;. Hnd ~
L. O clock i wac illy drG,: conITl 20
night the tiatnr5 ,,.r 5l'' T"lI,G h"g hS'e
been Counu,d wlihI" IL, ".tis {! ,he
buildings a!rrai. ,huoi'u I'uii"g the
worst Of Ire no H.ud -" been iror.
the south Gli IL '.rll" n..' '"'u. on the
corner Of ,ray'''r haf I;sn."iFh streets
vas no; seriously ~ ir,d. out all the rest
vf the squhE. ~
\ TOTAL loss.
The burned district belonged TO what !s
known as the Brush estate, having been
the site OF an old homestead. ID. VI. Terry
4 Co bui!ttheir mammoth establishneutsiI
Years aco while the theatre w6s originally
built TO accommodate the Peninsula Sang
erbund. Michigan ofshoot OF the North
America S#ngerbund. The company was
organized in 1850, and this musc hal was
bull; at ,hht time. D. VI Ferry Il CG.s
building occupied half the f4rnre, .oeiDs
one of the finest and lsrgest IN tie city
Their seed business was prob.oiy the larE
est in the United States.
Definite fgares OF iosses cannot be given
but the total will reach not less than
81 100000. The stock alone
IN d. NJ. Ferry u Cp.s
is estimated TO have been worth tcn
81 600 .0uO to Il POO 600, and their bu' 4
ing was valued at S2J0,00O. AS 10 the
origin Of the FIRE there ore eTen no well
devised theories. The employees hint 81
incendiarism, claiming that there w.fs nc
fres in the building first attacked By the
flames and thst some outside agency mus.
have been respectable ior the FIRE