New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-04-20

ouh"hg 10 project 1t, and fifty stock
men were sent into the building to gather up and
| drive out the sheep. The animals, frightened by
the uproar, were beating wildly, When the pens
Were opened they would refuse to move at first
Then they would dash wildly along the dark pas
Sage-ways, tramplng over each other in their haste
and some. unable TO move, had to be carried away
The transfer was effected in half an hour, and all
tho sheep were placed in open-air Enclosures to
the north Of the building. Several hundred head
of cattle were also confined in these Enclosures and
nearly two hundred young calves The live stock
was the property of Walsh, Kirby g. Co. Dillen-
back q Dewey, Everitt a. Pideock and D. uar-
rison.
In the meantime the firemen, aided by the south
wind, were able to fgnt the flames successfully and
Keep them from the sheep building. But when they
shad enveloped Elevator in mass of flame and
were consuming the adjoining warehouse, the
| open-ai pens in which the live stock were con-
fined began to grow so hot TINT it was feared
that the animals would suffocate. Water had to
be thrown upon the Stock Yard Hotel and the
situated, TO keep them from taking fire. BY the
the stock yards. facing the river for quarter of
mlles was mass OF hame, amid which rolled up
dense columns of black smoke. A drove of fifty
cattle broke out from their inclosure and started
panic as they rushed past the Stock Yard Hotel,
but the stoclmen quickly got them under control
and placed them at safe distance. Captain KILL
lea and squad OF policemen lent their aid and T. c.
Eastman directed the change. Half dozen sheep
dogs were employed and the stock was again re-
moved to a. place OF safety.
THE BLUFF BLACK WITH SPECTATORS.
The flames made~ their way through Elevator
rapidly, and at p. N. the entire building was
ablaze. The spectacle of the fire by that time
had become remarkable enough to attract many
thousands of people, and the bluff. as far east
Tenth-ave, was black with shouting spectators.
Police Captain Killlea had called the reserves from
several precincts to keep the crowds In check.
Chief Shay was furious. He said that the shutting
out Of the engines from the railroad yard had made
the fremen powerless to cope with the fire. The
fre-hoats were throwing streams of water on the
walls of Elevator to the north but it said TO
be only question of time when the second elevator
would be doomed also.
Flames ourled up the sides of Elevator A
to the roof and mounted up above IL until
there was displayed mass of fire 325 feet long
and fully 200 feet high The sight was one Of
unrivalled splendor, but the swift destruction Of
the great building was awful to contemplate.
At distance of 900 feet the heat from the i'm.
their hands before their faces to protect them.
The roof Of the elevator began TO fall In at
ego 2. m, and ten minutes later the north end
fell with crash breaking in the roof OF the
adjoining boiler house and setting fire TO the
little building The engineer had kept his post
there until that time and was keeping the elevator
pumps at work, but he blew off the boilers
and ran as quickly as possible when his life was
| seen TO be in danger.
VAIN EFFORTS 10 SAVE ELEVATOR B.
For half an hour longer the fremen kept up
the futile endeavor to save Elevator b The slate
sides Of the tall structure were smoking hot, but
they were kept wet. At length, few minutes
before o'clock, flames shot out Of the windows
near the roof. and then all hope was at an end.
Mr. Phelan and his men almost shed tears when
they that the second buildiag was doomed.
In half an hour more Eleyatoc 3 was another
gigantic bonfire, and the confagration was the
who saw 1t. The walls Of the lard refinery and
of the adjoining storage building had fallen, crash
After the walls fei there remained great heap Of
burning rubbish. The wind caught up masses Of
Goals and sent thsa soaring far into the air. Above
and showers of sparks that drifted away the
city to the north and northeast for miles.
The awful splendor OF the cOn1agratiOn seemed
ground of the city was contrasted with the mid
day brightness of the river front The great
heaps of rubbish at Sixteth-st. still glowing
bike furnace and the skeletons Of the elevators
were visible in the immens sheets Of surrounding
fire. Every pier between Fifty -ninth-st. and the
covered pier north of Elevator was blazing too.
The fremen, worn out with heat and fatigue,
were wondering how much further the fire was
going, bat they bent an their energies to
elevators. About p. M the sides Of the elevators
began to crumble, but the flames fed on the thou,
sands Of bushels Of grain in the bins, and still
mounted up high in the air with unabated fury.
BY 10 o'clock the lremen had succeeded in
getting the flames under control The fire was
burning with tremendous ferceness, but 1t was
seen that its limits had been reached The dis
trict burned over extended on the river front
from Fifty-ninth to Sixty-sixth SITS.
ESTIMATES OF THE LOSSES.
It was impossible to make close estimates Of the
losses by the fire last night. Superintendent
Phelan and Bool1keeper Hamilton said that the
grain in the two elevators amounted to about
I50, 900 bushels, worth about 500, ,000 Ele-
of s75O,000, and Elevator b, which was built
bug a large par. Of the cost Of each
down fifty feet below the water level, and which
probably are not ruined The machinery was
damaged by the fire TO the extent of 100000 or
the burned docks may be replaced for $50, 600;
Probably the elevators can be rebuilt on the old
said to be worth about $4,000 but its contents,
which the flames destroyed entirely, had been
valued at neary $4,000 The ne damage to oS5s ths
at S25, 900 All Of the burned buildings, incldd,
ing the lard refinery and the adjoining storage
HUDSON R1idSs River RsSISsii Railroad "a Company. ~
e. III Eff S sSf Ss TsG G DssS
was expressed last night regarding the ownership
of the lard and machinery in the refinery, as
there was talk of recent sale Of the property
by the W. J. Wilcox Company to Nathaniel X.
Fairbank wealthy lard refneI, of Chicago The
loss in the building was believed to be over
$500, ,00e Rossiter 4 Skidmore, who had lease
of The storage building may loss s250,000. II
was said that the Vanderbilts did not have much
insurance on the buildings and other property
belonging TO the railroad company
CROWDS FROM ALL PARTS OF THE CITY
From all parts of the city people crowded TO
the scene of the fire. For several hours the trains
on the Sixth.ave. elevated road were crowded to
excess and on the uptown side Of the Fifty-ninth.
-tinr,l arlr the CROWD grent