Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1889-04-25
SWEPT BY FIRE

several Squares on North River. New Yerk
City, Licked Up by Flames Ki-ws-
tors. Lard Renaerie. and Other Faets-
rses Amoag the Watp.-rws Miilion Dei-
lars WIN hardly Csver tn. Ls-.-rwo
Men Killed aud several IaJared-Aa I'm
posing Spectacle.
Sxw YoRx. April so.-Ths most de-
structive dre that has visited this city Tor
years completely swept the east bank ot
the North river from Fifty-ninth TO
SIXTY fifth street yesterday afternoon.
II destroyed more than a milliun and a
half dollars worth " property belonging
To the New York Central Railroad Com
pany, and st least half million dollars
worth belonging to y. r. Fairbanks, %
Chicago. the Rossiter stores AMI others.
The FIRE started on tho ground door os
Fairbanks lard refinery. formerly belong
ing 10 the J. W. Wilcox Lard Company, a
building two hundred feet square. stretch-
ing from Fifty ninth Ia Sixtieth streets.
and facing North river. IL seems % have
originated AZ n spot where some workmen
were putting in new lard-cooling appa-
ratus, but the exact cause can not be
learned. The building was oil and
soaked with grease. and ths aamrs quick
ly enveloped the whole structure.
The 10 employees found escape by stair
way cut Of. and most Of them had To- lump
from the windows. Many were injured
aud one was killed outright. The excite
ment was 50 great and the policemen had
so much to do that it was impossible to
secure the names ot the injured The un-
tortunates were hurried away to hospitals
as rapidly as possible. The police kept
back a crowd Of women. many Of whom
| had relatives in the building.
| The building. which contained also the
Rosstter stores, was soon beyond saving.
The blaze was an imposing spectacle,
| and attracted the attention Of people in
Jersey City and thousands Of passengers
| on ferry-boats crossing the river. The
stx-stcry structure was soon destroyed.
Meanwhile the efforts of the tiremen 10
save the grain elevators opposite the
factory, belonging tO the New York Gem
/ trial Railroad Company, had been fruit
less, and the great structures were in q
blaze All the fire engines between
Fourteenth street and Harlem were on
| the spot. but the elevators were 50 stu
sted as to be difficult Of access By the
| nremen- Twenty-seven sunken tracks of
the New York Central railway. aud a line
Of stock-yarI Enclosures interviewed bs
| tween the fire and the elevators, and the
only way TO reach the buildings was along
Sixtieth street, where the heat WAS too
| great for the hremen to live in il A
company OF the fremen, however, 60,
past and into the railroad yards, but
there was only six-inch water-pipe
there, and with the engines so far awal
they could do little effective work
The fire-boats working from the rive
side. aided by n number Of tugs belong
ing to the New York Central, were abl'
to do more, but not enough TO save tn,
buildings.
| The employees kept the hose in the
building playing as long as they coul'
remain, but at last they had to abandon il
Elevator "a" was the first to go. an,
the flames then communicated 10 Eleva'
tor ~B.- The sheds OF the stock yard
next fed the flames, and the eonnayratiol
spread rapidly northward-
When the walls Of the factory fell a
immense amount of goods that had bee
packed in the Rossiter stores fell out
ward on Sixtieth street blocking the thor
oughfare and preventing the firemen frOu
doing further work through that channel
There never was a fire in the city betOr
at which the work Of the fire departmen
counted for so little IL was impossibl
to make headway against such od1is. Th'
streams thrown both from land and waite
seemed ridiculous.
The elevators were each about 525 fee
by rs feet. and had capacity OF over
million bushels apiece, but they were a.
most empty. Elevator ~" containe
only 100, 0o0 bushels Of oats, and elevate
"B" smaller quantity OF barley, maxim
the total value OF the contents not owe
10000. The buildings cost. respectively
$50 900 and Sso0,000 when built, thirtee
years ago, a large part OF the cost bein
for the foundations, which are prob abl
! not totally ruined
The New York Central Railroad Com
pany also owned the factory building !
which the fire originated They leased
to Fairbanks. IL was worth Il, ooO, Oh
The losses on contents ara not accuratel
4 known. but Fairbanks loss Is about 500,
DO. and that OF Rossiter & Co.'S custom
ers, comprising q number OF merchants
go 900. The owners OF goods are proba
blay fully insured, and Rossiter
Co. themselves lost but little- Fairbank
. is also said to be fully insured and th
railroad company kept its property wei
. covered. After the fire had swept alon
the shore TO Sixty-sixth street. it stoppe
, for want of further material to feed upol
The fire lasted from about three O'cloc
until nine. and was witnessed by va:
throng. The police estimated the crow
contained over two hundred thousan
, people. The sight was n magnificent on
and there was nothing for blocks aroun
: TO obstruct the view. After dark the sk
was brightly lighted up all over the cit
, miles away from the fire.
The workman killed by jumping from
window was Henry Benning. single,
: No. ssi Tenth avenue. The workmen il
iured, as far as names could be learne'
9 are: John Johnson, back injured, AZ
Chas. Brown, severe injuries TO hea
=, Two fremen, VIM ]. Noble and Z.
+, Tobin. were prostrated by heat Will
! looking at the fire from q window OF hous
}, No. 5sT West Fifty-seventh street MAJ
+ Murray, an aged woman. lost her balan'
and fell to the pavement, twenty feet b
!. low, and her skull was fractured 81
was taken TO the Roosevelt Hospital
n An auedged plot to Assassiasts the cE