The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1889-05-22
GREAT FIRE IN CANADA.
4 POPULOUS SUBURB OF QUEBEC ALMOST
SWEPT OUT OF EXISTENCE.
Seven Hundred Buildings Destroyed and
Twelve Hundred Families Rendered
Homeless and Destitute-Two Persons
Killed by Premature Explosion.

QUEBEC, May 16.-A disastrous fire
broke out early this morning IN Saint
Sauycur, in the house of Mrs. McCann,
on Valer street, and spread with great
rapidity through the wooden district
which surrounds it. The streets burned
are portions of Waller, Chenel, st. Peter
and st. Emarie. The insurance compa-
nies interested are the North British
and Mercantile, the London and Ian
cashi;e, the Guardian, the Agricultural
Of Watertown and the Northern. The
total losses so far made and in prospec-
tive, may be $150,000.
At 3 o'clock it was impossible to guess
the limit of the fire, and the people were
in dismay at the rapidity with which the
fire Jumped from one wooden building
to another. The local arrangements for
quenching fires were defective, and the
Quebec fire brigade was sent for and
were quickly on the spot, but their eff.
forts were crippled for want of water:
B Battery was called out and rendered
valuable assistance in fighting the
flames.
Over 100 wooden houses have been
DESTROYED. 4 good deal of distress will
be occasioned by the destruction of a
large number of wooden shanties, on
which there is no insurance. At 9
O'Clock the fire was under control, hav-
ing almost burned itself out.
While the military were preparing to
blow up some of the horses to check the
fire, premature explosion took place IN
one of the houses, killing Major Short
and Sergeant Wallick of B. Battery.
Both were buried in the ruins. Up to
this hour % o'clock the body of Major
Short had not been recovered. The
body of Sergeant Wallick was found near
the door of the house dreadfully
mangled.
1880 a. m.-The fire in st. Sauveur
has been checked on the city side, but is
still burning furiouSly toward the North
west, and will probably stop only when
nothing is left to feed it. The insurance
is comparatively small. The larger
number of houses destroyed were small
wooden structures. There IS a strong
Easterly wind blowing and rain has
been falling steadily for the last three
hours.
1p. m.-The fire is still burning and
no hopes are entertained at stopping II
until the open country is reached. AL
ready about FIVE hundred buildings,
mostly wooden tenements, have been
burned and over one thousand people
rendered -hetneless-iihe-- ihe--,sssea pSr
ton of them are camped out in fields
with what few effects they were able tt
save, while a few have found shelter
with friends in this city.
Major Shorts body was recovered
about noon. One leg and arm had beer
torn from the body by the explosion anc
were found at some distance from the
trunk.
st. Sauveur is separate municipalit.
from Quebec, but it is separated from
this city by only the width of a stree:
1t has population of about $1,000
Only lasl night the St Sauveur official:
refused an offer of this city to supply
tt.em with water.
4:30 D. m.-The fire has burned itsel
out, after reaching the limits of st.
Sauveur, the toll gate keepers house Ii
Waller street being about the last to go
The district North and West of Massue ant
St. Ambrose streets has been swept nearl..
clean, with the exception of portions O
Waller street. About 700 houses ~@er
burned. Ae. -uit:l:y OF them were tene
.aaAnsss, the number of families homeless
is not less than 1900, comprising 800
or G,000 persons.
Hon. Mr.. Mercier and other promi
nent men are interesting themselves i
behalf of the homeless people. Appli
cation has been made to Sir A. P. Caro-
for the use of the drill shed and othe
government buildings to shelter thos
who are yet camped out in the fields
The clergy are distributing food, ant
steps are being taken to organize regu
lar system of relief.
The majority of the people burned GU
are of the laboring class, and as inSur
ance rates were very high, few have any
thing to fall back upon.