The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-10-10
FOOTING UP THE LOSSES.
$3.50, 900 TIE LOWEST ESTIMATE
ON THE COTTON PRESS FIRE.

tally Destroyed 49, 1000 Bales OF
Cotton Burned-The IDsursnce on
the Presses and Warehouses $685.
6Oo-The Cotton Mostly Covered by
Floating Policies The FIRES Start
and It's Furious sweep-The Work
of the Firemen-The Upper Hydrau-
lie Press to be Started To-Day-The
Facilities for Banding Cotton Not
Impaired.
The firemen were at work all Of yesterday
and most of last night on the ruins Of the
cotton press fire. The immense property
the Lower hydraulic press, the Tyler press,
and FIVE brick warehouses-was totally
destroyed, with 4, O90 bales Of cotton. Tae
latest estimates put the loss at 1882, 900.
A full account of the fire
appeared in yesterdays second
edition Of the MORNING NEWS. The
burned property had a wharf frontage Of
fully $50 feet aud an equal front
along the eastern extension of Bay street
from point a short distance below Gas
House hill. The FIRE burned from its west
ernmost point to the timber basin at the east
ernextremity OF the warehouses, and stopped
there only because there was nothing more
for it to feed on. The fact that the ware
houses were low and the wind was
east instead OF south was all that prevented
the flames from leaping across Bay street
and licking up the warehouses along its
north side.
THE FIRES START
The fire broke out at > o'clock The
Waterman at the Hy iraulic press was sit
ting by the door on the river front OF the
wa ehouse No. , when he smelled smoke.
As he turned to see whe CO it came burst
OF fame came from a bale in the center of
the building Hose was stretched along the
floor, and everything was in readiness for
the emergency. The furious swiftness with
which the flames ran from bale t.
bale, however, rendered all prepare
ton useless If it had been following
a trail of gunpowder the fire could not
have spread with more lghtning-like rapid
ity. In an instant the warehouse was
filed with roaring flames and an impene-
trable cloud of smoke as black as SCOT.
Instead of becoming a fire-fghter the watch
man became a fugitive for his life. He
did not get out a second to soon. One
instant's delay would have sealed his fate
Rushing to fire box 81, he turned in
an alarm and brought the department
to the scene.
A FLAMING FURNACE.
The bells had not rung two alarms be-
fore the flames were bursting through
lighting up the sky. A policeman
had passed along the Bay street front of
the warehouse hardly moment before
the Waterman discovered the flames, but at
that time there was not even a suspicion
of the coming outburst. Relieved OF the
combining tin roof, the flames paved the
way for the spreading by sending skyward
shower of sparks that fell among the
bales in the adjoining yards. AMI IN less
than half an hour after the beginning of
the ttare-up three warehouses and both com
presses were in flames The firemen ran
lines of hose along Bay street side, but the
streams gave no outward evidence of effect
iveness, so fierce was the fire. The wind car
r1ed the fiameS eastward with uncomfortable
fury, and the efforts of the men who were
trying to check their progress were entirely
unavailing. Men on the roof of the ware
house west OF the westernmost boundary of
the burned district were largely instru-
mental IN saving that structure, which, but
for their efforts, would undoubtedly have
succumbed to the intense heat.
THE SHIPPING IN DANGER G.
The fire was the fiercest on the river front.
The paint on the iron hulls of the steamers
moored at the wharves was blistered, and
the masts and rigging were scorched. The
ships crews were brought do wn and every
thing was got in readiness to pull into the
stream. Several hundred bales of cotton
were piled in front of the Hydraulic press,
ready to be loaded, but the falling walls
and smoke-stacks ignited it, aud in ten
minutes after the fire started it was in a
blaze The draft was tremendous and the
flames swept and whirled in the wind, leap
ing from one building to another until the
entire row OF sheds was a mass of fire.
just opposite the Lower press the British
steamship Carlton was moored, and on the
outside of her the Cyprus, which arrived
Tuesday. To the eastward of them was
fhQ Nanipr which vya unncrad m ha vha- ~
back of the Tyler press. and the Florence
at Gordon's wharf. The Naper's engines
were put to work. and the ships hose was
brought out and played on the burning
cotton on the wharf. The first two steam
ers were in great danger until the " alls and
smoke-stacks of the press fell and the wind
had veered around to the westward.
The fire swept on to the east, and did not
stop until it had burned to the timber
basin dividing the Tyler and the Gordon
wharves.
THE FIGHT AFTER DAYLIGHT.
Although under control, the fire burned
ferceiy under the tin roofs which had
fallen in on the smoldering bales, and the
firemep had to keep the hose on the ruins
all day. AT 80 o'clock yesterday after.
noon fire broke out fiercely in the stock of
Jute bagglng, and for time it was feared
that it would communicate to the interior
of the warehouse on the west, but three
uIotuSu Win uIllCulJy dragged a line or
hose over the hot bricks from the river
side of the building, and kept the
fire under control until another line
of hose could be taken in from
the Bay street side, which was done with
great difficulty, as the men had to wade in
water that came over their boot tops to get
close to the burning cotton and cotton bag
ging to play the water under the tin. After
checking the fire, axmen cut the roof in
sections and dragged the sections out, and
by that means saved the wall of the build
ing on the east from being overheated, as
the bulk of the burning jute and cotton was
piled against the wall.
THE FIREMEN's HARD WORK.
The TO ce of firemen had been depleted
by the fire on Second street; some were I'M
able to work yesterday, and it left six or
Gig ut men on duty all yesterday forenoon
and late in the afternoon without their din
ners. Foreman Connolly of firemens head
quarters got up from a sick bed to do duty,
and Assistant Chief Mouro is now confined
to his bed with fever, super
induced by running a nail in his
foot at the Second street fire, so that the
firemen were as thoroughly worn out last
night as they were after the big fire of last
fha oil NI,a ,-;r 4