Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1886-10-21
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inR One million Doiinrs-No Loss |
Of = tfe.
Special % the Baltimore Sun.
SALISBURY, Md Oct. 17--Midnight. =
A fire Ia now raging on Main street that |
will sweep the entire town. The loss will |
be, beyond any estimate that can be made |
Mt present. Terror reigns supreme.
Everybody is taking goods to places Of
safety beyond the town.
| ALI the business part Of the town Is de- |
stroyed, and the widest panic prevailed
throughout the night. At midnight the
people were all out Of their houses. There
ia only single wire from the town and
and II Is insufficient TO carry out tho lnes.
sages with which it is burthened. The FIRE
| spread with alarming rapidity, and though
the telegraph Office is at the extreme end
| of the town, the operator did not know
| how soon he would he bnrnCd ont. At 2
O'Clock tho fire was still raging.
The fire occurred ut 8 Frank Toadvin's
stable, OIL Dock street, nj q o'clock in the
evening. There was brisk southeast
wind, and the fire department was power
less. The conhagration spread rapidly,
taking the whole town in north and
north westerly direction, consuming over
so houses, including the whole of the
business part Of the town, and all the
business firms mentioned below and many
others besides. Among other losers are
3. Frank Toadvin, grocer 5. Ullinan d
Brother, liquor dealers; Humphrey
Rounds, grocer s. M. Evans, grocer.
The lumber mills and yards of e. e.
jackson Il Go. are destroyed. The total
loss is about 81 900, 900.
The long drought made the large frame
houses as dry as finder, and the flames
jumped from one building to another.
Large stores and their contents were swept
away and many families stood helplessly
by and saw their dwellings burned to the
ground.
A brisk wind from the south east caused
the flames to spread to the large grocery
stores and livery stables on Dock street.
When the fire reached Main street the
many large frame warehouses furnished
il with ample food for to feed upon. It
spread in all directions. A thousand livid
tongues reached up TO heaven and licked up
building after building. The panic stricken
inhabitants stood by, powerless to prevent
the increasing destruction. Some furni-
ture and other articles were saved from
buildings more remote from the fire, but
the greater part of furniture and store
stocks was consumed in the fieroely burn
. ing flames.
The heat produced by such a mass of
frame buildings is intense. All Main
street is doomed. High and Church
streets are not much better. Dock street
, is already swept away, and Camden street
east OF the bridge, must meet like fate.
/. The large lumber yard of e. E. jackson
4 & Go. ia burning. Assistance is ex-
4
. but the fire department Of Baltimore
4 could not now save the principal business
!. houses of the town. They are nearly all
4 frame structures and must fall victims Il
y the flames, which are steadily enyelopine
4 them.
n The total loss will not be less thar
n 81, 000, 900, with about two-thirds tina
"a | amount of insurance. The Peninsula
" Hotel is now burning and is nearly gone
= II is about halfway up Main street. TIL
u fire is as far as the bank, but as that i
n considered fire-proof, it will probabl.
h escape the tiames. The lurid glare in tn
4. sky produced by such a huge fire ha
4 been seen for miles around, and man
! people from the neighboring villages hav
~ come to Salisbury to offer their assistance
y Little could be done to arrest the pro
i gress of the fire. Nothing can stop
"a until a break in the buildings is reached
d All Main street is solid block. Tn
~ streets are strewn with furniture and a.
II kinds of merchandise taken from til
4 burned and burning buildings. No acci
ao dent 30 far as known has occurred
4 human limb or life. Many fine horse
= have persisted. The loss will fall eEpt
., cially heavy upon the merchants, as man
~ of them had recently laid in a large ia
i99 and winter stock.
!. 10 D. m.-Main, Dock, CamdeI
~ Church, st. Peters and High streets Al
=. in ashes. A part of Division street is nls
10 burned. The flames are rapidly progress
III ing along the latter street. An engine hi
arrived from Crisfeld.
Il is impossible in the confusion no
prevailing to fully estimate the loss
ascertain the companies mostly involved
s- Ali the leading companies OF the countr
he will be losers.
THE STORY OF THE FIRE.
~, Special Correspondence Of Gazette and Journa
ma SALISBURY, Oct. 1s.-At GAS o'oloc
tn Sunday afternoon the people Of Mai
en- street In particular and of the entire tow
on in general were startled by the cry I
ne utire." The bells pealed forth the alar
az and the fire department was soon on ii
- scene. .
Ss: The fire had originated in a small on
lot story stable, belonging to s. +. ToadviI
~ and situated on Camden street near b.
ny Booths carriage shop. The flames WEI
1850 first discovered by DR.. E. Smith, who hi
I'm his own stable near by and who was gea
az ing up his horse preparatory to taking
ne trip in the country. He at once, aecor
oie panied by his brother, ran to the stab
me and attempted TO force IL open. Nv
icy horses and cow we're confined there
icy and the shrieks of the affrighted anima
ne were terrible. Their attempt to bret
ls, open the stable was unsuccessful, but OF
ter Of the horses in his dying agonies thre
u.s. himself against the door 80 violently az
force it open and he fell forward on Il
ground, dead. The other horse and CO
of were burned. ..
o. B. Il. Booths shop next caught and
small shop near by. No very speci
~ alarm was felt, however, as the depai
~ ment was now ON the ground. They h
In fought worse fires and won and all W
70 confidence. The engine was rapidly gott
~ ~, into position and the hose laid, when
~ was found that there was no water in {
n! boiler. This defect was soon remedi
, na and steam gotten up. The order to Sta
an4 the engine was given, the throttle "
nm opened but there was no n
~ tion. Various devices were tri
tie' nv the engineers but as their every eft
" was n failure, the flames famed by
en- Ia gentle south. east wind, orept slowly
P' the adjoining structures and
ara ALI. HOPE WAS LOST.
Lvre when Seabrean's big livery stable caug
ons Aid was asked from Wilmington a
mp- Crisfield, and in response Orisheld 81
arty her only engine, and Wilmington st
re- two first class engines TO the scene. i
trip Reliance, which did such faithful work
tha ,Iackson mills fire, was one Of
engines, and the Friendship the 9th
and I'VE Crisield engine had to have
'eds and locomotive sent for il from Delm
Init. being closer, WAS soonest here and
work. II was placed just back of
o,,;a engine house and saved the court-hou
,ma which was ON fire several times
atI, The Wilmington engines reached b
a few minutes after midnight and at Of
1--WE went into service, dong splendid wo
oath For three hours the battle between wa
own and fire ragged fiercely, when the firen
con. began to get the upper hand Of the fiar
aars and by Q O'Clock in the morning
tbe great conflagration had boon reduced
,alIv smouldering wood and ashes.
adad So far as is known no lives have D
80 Loaf and no one has been seriously
81 ;nred. The fine mansion OF State Sena
,,o,t Il. T.. jackson, which is on the outer
paa5 of town, and is the handsomest priv
aras residence in Salisbury, caught fire I'll
,,a;at | times but was saved.