Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1889-08-14
a CITY in RUINS.

lagrati0n Which Reduces IT'S I3usiness
District to Ashes-Twenty.fiv five Blocks Of
Buildings Burned, the Loss being
Placed at S14 100000 One Man Killed.
SPOKANE FALLS, W. t., Aug. 6.-The fire
which swept over this city Sunday night
was the most destructive ever known in
this region. Twenty five blocks including
the entire business portion OF the city, were
destroyed The loss will not fall short OF
I'll, OO0,O wv, and may exceed that amount
The fire started at O'Clock p. H. In O
lodging-house OH Railroad avenue. The
hre department was on the scene quickly
but owing to a lack of water the fire spread
to an adjoining frame building aud was
soon beyond control The flames Jumped
across the street to the Russ House and
Pacific Hotel. By this time strong wind
sprung up. and it was evident
the city was doomed The fire spread with
fearful rapidity and the fremen were
powerless. An attempt was made to check
the fire by blowing up buildings in its path,
but it was useless From the Pacific
Hotel the fire jumped across First
street to the frame buildings In the
next block. Soon it reached the
heart of the city. A block OF two
story brick buildings on Riverside
avenue next went From here the fire was
communicated to the magnificent Hyde
block, four-story building taking in the
whole block between Mills and Howard
streets on Riverside avenue The fire
leaped across Howard street, and In O. few
minutes the block between Howard and
Stevens street was reduced to ashes. The
next to succumb was the large Tull block.
From there the fire swept the solid block
Of hv.i<.1 hyyi1
post-otdce, between Stevens and Washing
ton streets, and here burned out from lack
OF material
From the point of beginning the fire took
another direction, leaping across Sprague
street to the Opera House block. From
1t the flames leaped Riverside avenue
to Browns bank and both sides OF
tho avenue were in flames The
block between Post and Mill streets was
quickly licked up, including the GraSd
HOTEL From here the flames were COM
municated to the adjoining block on the
right Here was the Franklin block, The
largest building in tho city, having cost
$2jO, 00O. 1t withstood the fire for some
time, but finally succumbed The Arlington
Hotel was the next to 60 The building was
enveloped in haf1es S'..,..n i min Was seen
70 jump from the second story. He
arose and started to run down Howard
street, when he was overcome by heat and
telL Several people rushed to his assist
ance and carried him to place OF safety
he was a pitiable sight, being literally
roasted, his skin peeling OFT all over his
body. His name was Charles Davis He
died at noon
From the Arlington the fire travelled
north and consumed the block between
Howard, Main, Front and Stevens streets,
burning east rs far as the latter street.
where vacant lot checked further prog
ress In that direction. Every thing in q
northerly dire ction, including the Northern
Pacific express, Union block and Windsor
Hotel, was soon a mass of flames The
river prevented fire doing further damage
and was means of saving big Touring and
lumber mills
BY this time, in the short space of three
hours the fire had consumed every thing
in it's path, reducing to ashes the entire
business portion of the once beautiful city.
The only business block left stand
ing Is the Crescent building, which
was saved by means of tearing
down intervening buildings. Owing to
the rapidity with which it spread scarcely
any thing was saved Provisions are scarce
and will last only a short time. The City
Council met this morning and appointed
committee on relief. Provisions will be
sent for and the needy supplied
Individual losses as far rs known are
as follows:
Holley, Mason, Marks g. Co., wholesale hard
ware, s125COo; the Great Eastern wholesale
and retail dry-goods house, sl00, go: the white
House." wholesale and retail, 10000; Lowen-
burg Brothers, S10l,0oO; Benjamin & Crit
fiths, wholesale grocers, $4,000; Mason,
Smith Co., grocers, $4,000; Pacific
Hotel, $4,000; Grand Hotel, $4,000;
Windsor. $4,000: Hyde Block, $4,000; Wash
non Block, $4,000; Moore Block, 70 900; First
National Bank Block, $4,000: Wolverton
Block, 5,01o; Frankfort Block, sl25, COO; Tu!l
Block, SIS, O00
Spokane Falls was one of the most promi-
nent of the many new cities in the infant
State OF Washington. Situated on the
line of the Northern Pacific railroad,
close to the CGur d'Alene mining region.
the city has been the site of many
large smelling and other industrial estab-
lishmcnts. Expensive public edifces had
been Recently erected The town sup
ported two daily papers. The population
is about 10000 The city possessed ex-
cellent water-works, modelled after the
Holly SYSTEM with a capacity of 5000, GOO
gallons There were no tire-engines, but
by the system in use five or six good-sized
streams of water could be concentrated
upon any block in case of fire. The fire de-
partment was volunteer one
The business district Of Spokane was a
strip between the Northern Pacific rail-
road tracks and Spokane river. The strip
was five squares across and extended about
seven squares in length. 1t was solidly
built up with brick and stone structur, S,
the cost of which varied from So, 00O to
$l25,00o Ten banking houses, five hotels,
the opera-house and many wholesale es-
Establishments doing business estimated at
$50O, 600 each were situated within tho dis
trict described
Much comment has been ex cited here by
the extraordinary series which has been
formed by CONGREGATIONS in Washington.
First came the fearful disaster to Seattle,
the chief city OF the now State From
Seattle in the west it seems as ii fire
had travelled directly east; for Ellenberg, q
flourishing inland city, was nearly de-
stroyed within the past fortnight Now in
the extreme east Spokane, which, next to
Seattle, was the principal city OF the State,
suffers by far worse calamity.
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. G-The Coast Re-