Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1886-12-03
BURNED AT DULUTH.
The Fire Fiend Destroys Two Large
Elevators With Contents.
Two Men SuffocatGd and One Killed
by Leaping Eighty Feet.
4 Bad Fire.

| DULUTH, Mimi, Nov. 29.-At about {
| o'clock tonight fire broke out in the cupo
| la of the elevator of the St. Paul and
! Duluth elevator company, and despite al
! efforts of the firemen, completely destroy
| ed the building. 1t is supposed to have
! been caused by the dropping of the
watchman's lantern or from the friction
of the driving pulley, as when first dis
covered it was in the cupola of the eleya,
! tor near the shaft end. Several men
were in the building at the time, and all
but three escaped, though blinded by
! smoke and flames, which burst out very
rapidly. Two men, LeBlanch and Lee,
were overcome by smoke and are in the
ruins. A third, Charles Moore, who was
watchman, made his way to a window
and
JUMPED OUT TO THE GROUND,
a distance of eighty feet. When found
| his body was mass of jelly and his
skull was crushed to the thickness of a
board.
For the past two months the elevator
company has been busy putting up an
addition of 100000 bushels capacity, and
as it was to be used at once it was built
of dry lumber. 1t was to have been used
was also consumed, burning with intense
heat
Elevator A, belonging to the Union I'm
proyement and Elevator company, was
located about $50 feet from this annex,
and by hard work was saved for more
than an hour after the flames broke out,
but the intense heat at length warped off
the iron sheeting, and the house caught
fire also. 1t was found impossible to save
either, and nine houses and stores, in
Guiding Turner hall, and carriage fac
tory, a house of ill-fame, and three dwell
! ings caught fire from the heat. The fire
men found it impossible to get near
enough to do good work after the new
building of the st. Paul and Duluth com
pany fell. The elevator of the st. Paul
and Duluth company contained 4O5, 900
bushels of wheat, nearly its entire capa-
city, and elevator A contained 100000
bushels of wheat 100000 bushels of corn,
10000 bushels of flax, and 10000 bushels of
oats.
THE LOSS
on wheat is about $3.50, 900; on corn, $780,
| 600; flax, S22 1000; oats, $4,000. Total,
$625, 900. Loss on elevator A, Sl25,O00;
elevator of St. Paul and Duluth company,
$4,000; annex to same, $4,000. Total
loss, SSSO,O0O. The insurance was heavy.
The grain was probably fully insured and
the buildings nearly so. The Mutual In
surance company, of New York, had $50,
600 loss; the Sun, of London, S15, 900; City
of London, $4,000; Germania, of Free
port, $4,000; Washington, $4,000;
Washington Fire and Marine, $4,000;
Springfield Fire and Marine, $4,000, and
other companies smaller amounts. The
fire wipes out grain capacity of 1,S00,-
900 bushels, reducing the capacity of
Duluth to 100000 bushels. A great
part of the insurance was placed in Chi
cago agencies, which is, of couse, impos-
sible to find out here, but
THE TOTAL INSURANCE
is probably not less than $SOO,OOO. The
elevator of the st. Paul and Duluth com
pany had been built two years, and at
the time of building had been condemn
ed by the board of trade, but later. after
being strengthened, had been declared
regular. The foundation on one side of
the house was on rock; the other side on
clay and gravel. 1t is thought that the
house gradually settled until the friction
became so great as to cause the flames.
1t was located il the outside harbor, and
III SlOoO pAoAiIiitS W cAONdtoA n "Alb q
small drying elevator. The latter did
not burn. Elevator A, built in 1870, was
the Oldest in Duluth, the first cargo being
shipped from it on the propeller Win
slow in August, 1870. Until 1880 it was
with one other the only elevator in the
city. Both of these houses were kept up
at considerable cost, owing to their posi-
tion outside the regular harbor.
Steps will be taken mediately to
make good the loss by the addition of
more elevator capacity. The loss is par
ticularly unfortunate at this time, as all
capacity in the city is needed this winter
| more than ever before.
Great difficulty was experienced by the
iremen in saving the St. Paul and Dulu tn
local freight-house, which was just across
the street from the elevators. The grain
will be partial salvage. 1t is estimated
that 30 per cent. can be saved