Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1889-06-13
A Second Chicago Fire.
The Loss by the Seattle Fire Will
Reach 100000,
And the Suffering Among the Poor is
Simply Appalling.

SEATTLE, W. T., jane 1t is now esti-
mated thai the total loss to the city by
the fire which started yesterday after
noon in buildings alone, is Sl0,000,000,
and that all personal losses will probably
reach 81 100000. Ii is thought that
many persons must have persisted IN the
flames. Giant powder was used to blow
up buildings in hope Of staying the prog
ress of the flames, but TO no effect. II Ia
reported two men have been lynohed for
stealing. The fire is still burning.
The entire business portion of Seattle
Is nothing but smoking ruins. The fire
was caused by some turpentine catching
fire in the basement of two-story frame
building on the southwest corKer of Front
aud Madison streets. The building was
owned by Mrs. Margaret j. Pontius. The
volunteer fire department was unable TO
make any headway against the flames.
This building, like most of the others of
its kind in the business center, was not
detached, but was 6 corner one of q row
of frame buildings all Joined together
and of various heights Valiantly did
the fire department fight the fire, but
without avail, for the buildings of
finder we're an easy prey to what within
ten minutes from the time il started, Ge-
veloped into a conhsgration. From the
initial point the fire spread north and
south a distance of one mile. Every
newspaper, hotel, telegraph Office, rail
road depot and wharf in the city was
totally destroyed. The entire water front,
including all whArves and docks, coal
bunkers and railway tracks, the Wholesale
quarter and everything south OF Union
street and west of Second street and
reaching round TO the gas works and
above Fourth street on jackson, was com
pletely burned. There is a great privation
among the poor people, as nearly every
restaurant and grocery in the city was
consumed by the fire.
The burned district covered an area of
thirty-one blocks. The boundary of the
bu ned district is as follows: University
front, Spring, Second, James, South,
Forth, Wall and Walter street. This
comprises the business portion of the
city. The residence district escaped.
From official figures furnished by ths
local and foreign insurance companies,
the Coast ReYeiu (newspaper) places the
property loss at 100000, This is COW
cred by total insurance Of $2,500,00O.
OF this amount 81 904,0 900 is held by oom-
panies represented in San Francisco.
The scene now presents the aspect of
huge oven of burning GOALS, and
threatens even further destruction. The
tiremen, reinforced by Tacoma and Sno-
homich, are on the alert. The streets all
through the night were crowded with
people wandering about penDiless and
homeless. The militia and extra police
are to be seen on every corner, guarding
the property against thieves and vandals.
One hundred arrests have already been
made. All OF the daily newspapers will
publish tomorrow.
Words fail to describe the awful pic
ture of fire and desolatICu. 1t is like the
Chicago fire, end like Chicago will be
rebuilt. Everybody seems in good spir
its. 1t is hard to realize the dreadful
fullness of this sudden calamity. When
Toklas Singerman's building fell about
thirty people were near it and many of
them we're crushed. Similar accidents
befell most of the large buildings.