New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-09-28
FIRE ON PENTELlCON.
%, TIE HEART OF SAI.ONIKA.
HaOA AN OCCAsV"~" ,ulouS Scntpmbcr e.

., CORRESPONDENT OF 1HE TRiDCNEl
yaoA AN oCcAe" Athens September &.
The most dcplorabe forest Ire u ,usvn,
resrs in Greece was Una. NV
n few DAYS ago on inc -''"'''
..,;.,n Indccd it has done damage winch IS
'c''" ~. l.; MAGNITUDE and which a century
inV me- ","N -, The forests OF Pcntclicon COW
"'', Nv" &C.,, WARTS of that mountain range and
Wv Wv 49,, equally for their classical aSsOc!a-
w.. a for their modern charms as O place OF
.n,,.r rcsor, II was from those helsats that
~. I:raoks five centuries before the Christian
IVA watched the oncOmnS OF the Persian Ariada
o,onc tbr Enbocan coast To Attica IL was from
,I,o s.,no vantage ground that anxious and cNult-
inc scrtinels overlooked immortal Marathon.
1b;thcr fled for refuge the people OF Athens, whch
.h. misfortunes of war expelled them from their
homes There Socrates loved to wander with
his friends and pupils and there Arl>;idcs ana
Solon spent many days. Few places in all licllas
arc more rich in classic memories than these
mountains and the forests that they bore or wcr"
more sacred 70 the Greeks of old. for II was from
ere Of these lofty submits, now unrccosnizcd'
that the erca, statue of Pallas Athcne looked
down in guardianship upon the city that bore
her name In modern years the Pentelicon forests
hsve hecn a favortc cutting ground for the A'henl-
ans and a place which no apprcciativc traveller
t.,,ed TO visit. And there was no place that,
.nart from all associations of the past. was better
deserving OF a visit The view from those heights
* antcsc>ibably inspiring. Eastward 10 uar
Plain and the BAY of Marathon, with Eahoen Ill
the backgrounds to the southeast rise above the
s,lvery surface of the sea the Islands of Andres,
EOS Teos and Macronisi to the south. against
the blue horizon, may br seen thr rugged rocks
of Melos; and the west tnes" hcigh's coihniah'
an extensive view across the Attic ram, WIN
Athens glmmcrins in bold relet like beau'eous
white pearl in tic distance
Among the stately and luXuriant woods that
clothed these mountains fire was started by
some unknown hand \ drouth had made the
forest infiammable, and the fire rapidly eNtehned'
Efforts were made 10 eXtinguish II. hut ValhN'
A violent storm of wind swept down from The
north, and drove the flames reslstie>siN before ~
Scarcely an acre Of woodland now remains I'M
soorched and nearly all is blackencd and cAarr'd
wilderness The actual loss in value of timTr
DESTROYED is very great. But the artistic Joss
is greater still, for what was once tho glory OF
Attica is now q mournfu blot upon the beauty
Of the land.
At almost the same time another fire occurred
in a great Greek city, though cut OF Greece
refer " the burning Of SalOnka. Tier" too nc
drouth had prepared the way, m'king every
thing dry as finder and reducing the water supply
10 q minimum. One night. al MidnlgN. Il SUI
burst, in the Jewish quarter, and the spirits con-
tanned in il took fire The north wind famed
the flames, the aqmciu ran dry, and there were
10 appliances for using the sea water. ~ ABOUT
all that could be done was to get lic ana lncV-
able goods out of the way and let tho hr" hOIu
II did burn, and rapdy that even the lew
men who were trying to work the pumps IN tho
burning quarter soon left oil trying I" cope with
the flames and devoted themselves To SAVING their
own families and property. AS tas' as tie Go'is
were rescued from the Gevourng element tEcN
were piled up in open spaces. where they were
apparently safe; INT square after equa" was
reached by the fire, and all the collections OF
property were destroyed III turn.
The famous Mosque OF 81. Sophia. almost as
fine a building as that of the same name at 'on-
stantinople, of which it was model on smaller
scale, was burned to the ground also was the
Byzantine Church. In the latter were stored the
government archives, with manuscripts and old
records dating back 800 years. All these were
destroyed, Onfy few land titles being saved. The
loss b irreparable. The British Consulate WINS
also Quilted, though the archives We're got ou'
safely The Greek Consulate, the Greek bishops
palace. the Metropolitan Church. containing vol
liable altar plate, and seven SynagoSucs weW III
turn destroyed The fire also consumed Tie
creek Hospital, where thirteen o! the inmates
perished. Tie cOniaaration extended over AN
area of 80 acres. and ragged nnclecked for fTclN"
hours when IL buried itself ont. caTng Dare
and biackened space" shaped Ike a triangle. which.
but short time previously. had been c'Nerc VIII!
the tokens of human industry. The loss covered
by insurance is expected t. involve the payment
OF at least 81 900, 900 Over 5000 persons are
homeless, and, being mostly OF the poorest jewish
classes, are utterly destitute.