The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1889-06-13
THE BURNING OF SEATTLE.
the Loss Said to Foot Up to $50, ,OrD, 300
Description of the Fire.

DoScripttOh OF the fIres
SEATTLE, w. T., June s-The loss by
ne terrible conhagration will sum up $30,-
1900, Of which $40, 900, COO is in buildings,
md $50, 000,0 In stock. 1t Is as vet inn
possible to work in the smoldefIng ruins,
and engines from Portland aud Tacoma
have been working ali day, pouring
streams Of water on the burning mass.
The ruin wrought is beyond all descrip-
ton. The city is practically in ruins and
there Is every reason to believe that
several persons were killed by falling
walls. The wharves are still burning
and vessels that put out to sea to escape
destruction are still unable to make
landing in the heart OF the city. Miles
upon miles of wharfage has been de.
stroyed. Every bank, hotel and place of
amusement, all the leading business
houses, all the newspaper Offices, the rail.
road depots aud miles of steamboat
wharves, coal bunkers and freight ware
houses and the telegraph offices were
burned. About three o'clock some
turpentine caught fire in the basement
OF two-story frame building on the
southwest corner of Front and Madison
streets. The building was soon ablaze.
The volunteer fire department found it
impossible to make any Roadway against
the flames. This building was at The
corner of a row of frame buildings of
various heights. Adjoining it was
wholesale liquor store, and as soon as the
fire reached the barrels of liquor they ex-
ploded with terrific reports and scattered
flaming timbers far and wide. The Denny
block was soon licked up. This cleared
out the entire square. The efforts to flood
the Coleman building on Front street to
the south were utterly without effect The
flames leaped across Marion street and in
less than thirty minutes another square
was burned.
While this square was burning the
Opera House block, on the east side of
Front street between Madison and Marion
street, caught fire in the upper stories.
This was three STORY brick structure,
owned by George F. Frye and valued at
$4,000. 1t burned with several other
buildings, clearing up another square.
The Kenyon block, to the north Of where
the fire originated, also burned.
From the opera house the flames swal-
lowed up The square TO the south, consist
ing of number of two-story frame build
ings occupied by business concerns. The
fire department tried to save the most VAL
liable part of Front street to the south be-
tween Columbia street and Yes
ler, which contained magnificent
row Of brick buildings two and
three stories high, including the
Bank of Commerce and the First
National, Washington and Savings banks,
Toklas- -Sngerman & Co.'s big wholesale
dry goods emporium, the Union block, the
Parin building, the San Francisco cloth
ing house. the Star block. the Arcade
building and the Vesler block in Central
Square. All the telegraph offices were in
Central Square. 1t was generally sup
posed the entire water front would go, but
it was hoped if such was inevitable, that
these buildings could be saved
The Occidental Hotel was an easy prey
to the flames. Many persons were injured
by the falling walls Of the Toklas- Singer
man dry goods block. There is great
destitution here, and food and clothing is
arriving from neighboring towns.