The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-06-16
THEBURNING,OF VANCOUVER
Five Hundred Buildings Reduced to Ash
es in the Short Space of One Hour.
Ten ora Dozen Lives Lost. and Three Thousand
People Homeless Terrible Scenes During
the Progress Of the Confagration.

| bodies have thus far been recovered, ana num-
Der of persons are missing and are supposed to
have persisted One short hour did the whole
work The property saved is Insignificant. A
| ''clean sweep describes the situation. A thou
sand men at work clearing up debris for the
railroad company. Twenty contracts for re-
building have been already let. Many men lost
| their all, but are determined to start in again.
| The property lost falls directly on the pioneer
| element of the city. Hundreds of people are
| camped out. There are meagre facilities for
relief of the sufferers but the people of this city
are especially openhanded il their efforts to re-
lieve the distress. Prompt aid from the Canadi-
| an Pacific railroad is expected. Families were
compelled to abandon their homes at moments
warning and flee for their lives. Business men
in search of valuables were forced to rush
| through flames and smoke or perish, and the
whole populace were panic stricken. number
| of persons sought refuge in the water. One man
was found in well, where he had lowered him
| self to escape the flames. Few Of the people
have more than the clothes they stand In. Of
the ten bodies recovered only three have been
| identified. Most of the burned frame buildings
will be replaced with brick structures Contracts
! for large hotel and other extensive buildings,
representing half million dollars, were let just
| before the fire.
| All day Sunday there had been steady wind
| from the northwest. and the brush clearing fires
on the Canadian Pacific railway lots were famed
| to such extent to fill the terminal town of
Vancouver with smoke. Nobody, however, had
any idea of danger. Shortly after l p. NJ. seve-
raj persons began to consider the situation
| - II. 49, knrk
they found 1t impossible to direct their steps to
| the exact location of it's source Soon stable
| near the Colonial Hotel was seen to be on fire.
| The alarm was given, but so skeptcal were peo-
| pie that they paid no attention for some time.
The wind by this time had increased to gale
| and famed the flames to a mass of raging fire.
One of the first buildings to go was MacCartneys
| drugstore, followed by the Office of the Van
couver News. The flames shot across Abbott
| street with astonishing rapidity, and almost be-
fore people could realize it, the whole of the west
ern portion of the city was in q blaze
The excitement was now intense. Water
| street was filled with dense smoke and flying
cinders and people were hurrying, with what eff
fects they could gather in their haste to places of
safety, the general direction of their flight being
owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company
Others again made for False creek. Those
| who endeavored to save their goods were so
wrapped up in their object to appear heed
| less of the danger they ran, and it was found
especially necessary to compel many women to
| reinquish their efforts in order to save their
| lives In some cases there was only just time
| to place them on improvised RATS, which were
| pushed out from the shore beyond the reach Of
the fiames which literally seemed to fill the
air. In less time than 1t takes to describe it
| the fire had reached Carroll street Some mer-
! chants in this vicinity and in the Ferguson
| Block were engaged in conveying their goods to
| place Of safety, but rapid was the spread Of
the conhagration that before their horses were
| ready, the teamsters themselves were obliged to
| fly for their lives. All hope of saving any con-
siderable amount of property was now aban-
| doned, and each contented himself with hastily
putting together what he could carry in his
hands without seriously impeding his speed
| and hurried from the spot; but even after leav
ing the houses the danger was not over, for
every road had become avenue of fire. The
falling timbers and stumps on each side OF the
road, glowing with fire, proved as serious men
ace to the fugitives as the burning houses of the
doomed city.
During the confusion which prevailed, when
rowdies and roughs saw that everyone was leav-
ing. they entered the saloons, which had been
| left entirely unprotected, and commenced drink
| ing. Many men were seen staggering along the
streets with keg of beer on their shoulders or
carrying as many bottles of liquor as they could
appropriate. Men were seen sitting completely
hemmed in by the fire and apparently oblivious
of their surroundings, drinking liquor. They
were. of course, then already partially intoxica-
ted.
large number Of the fugitives collected at
the Hastings Mill Companys wharf. but the
large majority collected at Falsecreek bridge
Nothing was to be seen from either of these
points but lurid, rolling bank of smoke hang
ing over the ashes of the city, from which strag
glers could be seen occasionally fleeing. The
steamer Dunsmuir was at the wharf to receive
people, and, with several other steamers, con-
veyed large number over to Moodyville
The dropping of the flames was as sudden as
| their rse and by P. NJ some adventurous spir-
| its had already made their way along the roads
of the destroyed city, and before dark the work
| of searching for the bodies of those overtaken
by the fiery element had begun. In short time
the incinerated remains of several persons had
been discovered, and up to 10 o'clock on Monday
morning nine bodies, some of which were burned
beyond recognition, had been found There is
some uncertainty about the exact number al
ready found, as In some cases handful of
charred bones were the only indication of hui
man life being lost One of the searchers said
he thought the number could be truthfully est-
mated at twelve. The general sentiment of the
people appears to be one of hopefulness and de-
| termination to at once begin the reconstruction
of the city. Some have already got building ma
| terial on the ground
Fire at Buffalo, N. Y.