Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-08-27

dreds of men now working here rushed 10
the rescue and labored hard to overcome
the flames.
at the wharf was lying, either partly or
almost completely loaded, the American
ship Armenia and the British ships Lang
dale, Honauwar and kenilworth. The fire
ragged furiously, and was soon seen in the
rigging of the vessels, and lines were at
once cut and endeavors made to save the
valuable craft and their cargo.
THE SHIPS CATCH FIRE.
Only one of them escaped entirely-the
Langdale. The ship Armenia at once took
fire, and her lines being cut with but two
men on board, she went drifting seaward
with the tide, presenting to the residents
along the shore a wierdly grand spectacle.
The handsome new ship Kenilworth,
commanded by the popular Captain NJ. S.
Nair, cut loose and in drifting by the ship
Honauwar, which was by this time blazing
aloit and below, the main, mast of the lat.
ter went to port with crash, falling COM
pletely across the deck of the Kenilworth.
checking the ship in her endeayors to
escape, and at once setting fire to her. The
two ships now lay side by side, gradually
teing consumed.
THE LOSSES.
The loss will be large, but not so much
as there would have been in a month or
two, as storage wheat had but lust COM
menced to be put in. The fire consumed
about fifteen hundred feet of warehouse
and about ten thousand tons of wheat and
valuable machinery used for grading; also,
about forty of the railroad company's cars,
loaded with wheat, that had Just been
placed for discharging. Had it not been
Tor the great efforts OF the people of the
town and the railroad men, ably headed by
Don Cameron and Joseph Symmes. ware
house No. would surely have burned.
and had it gone the town, or that portion
along the front or waters edge, would have
gone also.
THE CALIFORNIA WAREHOUSE
For quite time it was thought that the
California Warehouse and Dock Company's
new warehouse better known as Bslfour,
Guthrie & Co., would surely catch and be
consumed. But by The organization of
bucket brigade and the great assistance of
switch engines with engines with pumps,
that structure was saved.
Had there been the usual night wind
prevailing, naught could have saved the
prosperous little town from complete de-
strucdon, but it was fortunately a calm
night.
AT THE SCENE OF THE FIRE.
G. W. McNear, Jr., was one of the first
on the ground, and his efforts in directing
the inexperienced fremen were the admira-
ton of all.
G. W. McNear, his son-in-Iaw, P. E.
Bowl les and A. D. Wilder arrived by
special train at about o'clock.
Numerous improvements were being
made and were almost completed.
Fortunately for those having wheat at
the warehouse the bulk of wheat belonging
to people in the country had been stored
in warehouses Nos l and 4, so that escaped.
The house that burned contained almost
entirely purchased wheat.
PREPARING TO BUILD.
Clearing away the wreck for rebuilding
has already commenced, and large house
will at once be erected Cf corrugated iron.
Twenty carpenters are now on the ground.
The ships Honauwar and Kenil worth, in
drifting, got afoul the ship Langdale, apd
were it not for the assistance of the San
Joaquin improvement Company's steamer
Number 4, that ship would have been con-
sumed, as she had already taken fire.
McNear estimates his loss on wheat and
warehouse at $350,000, partially insured.
The railroad company s loss is about $25,-
GO. The ship Armenia is the property of
J. +. Chapman Il Co. Balfour, Guthrie &
Co. are agents for the ships Lsngdale and
Kenilworth, and J. y. Knowles agent for
the ship Honauwar