Brookings County sentinel. (Brookings, Dakota [S.D.]) 1882-1890, 1890-10-31
MOBILE DEVASTATED.
TWENTY SQUARES m THE ALABAMA
CITY BURNED.

Many Extensive Factories and q Large
Amount OF Gotten Destroyed---Losses
VIII Aggregate over Half a Million
Dollars
MoBiLR, Ala, Oct. e7.--A fire began
about 12A0 o'clock Sunday morning and
resulted In the most disastrous confagra-
tion that Mobile hns had since the war.
The fire began in shingle mill and
factory near the river front just outside
the northern boundary of the city limits.
A strong wind from the northeast. per-
haps d twenty-inile breeze. was blowing,
and the flames soon communicated to
the cotton warehouses which line the
river front from Beauregard street, the
northern boundary, southward six
blocks, and from the river front west
ward 10 Magnolia street, three blocks.
From the single mill to Goodman's
warehouse on the block bounded by
Front, Beauregard, Water and Lips
comb streets, the distance is about 600
yards, and almost as soon as smoke was
seen issuing from the roof, the cotton
blazed up, In Goodman's there was
and the sparks from this cotton,
carried by the wind next communicated
the flames to Browns warehouse ON
Lipscofnb and Water, and running back
TO Magnolia street TO the southwest TO
the Mobile Oil mills, which wss next
south ON the east side of Front street,
and to the wharf front of the Mobile
and Birmingham Railroad company,
which fronted on the water from Beau
regard to Lipscomb street The infiam-
mable character Of the material which
fed the flames and the quarter gale of
wind tisat was blowing caused the fire to
Spread with Lishtning-Like Rapidity,
and before O'Clock In the afternoon it
looked as IL the fire would spread from
end to end of the water front of the city.
Before the Mobile Oil mills, in that COM
pany's water slip, We're two steamers,
the Jewet and Mary Elizabeth, and also
the steamer Helen s.. the tug Margaret
Lienhard. and the government snag
boat Warren. Half dozen men got the
boats out of the slip into the stream,
Elizabeth. which burned to the waters
wharf front Of the city. At the next
slip fronting near the foot of Adams
street. were the river steamer Ruth, two
naphtha launches and four or five cotton
and timber tugs, all of which We're got
into mid stream with only slight injury,
except the steamer Ruth and the naph-
tina yacht General Fowler, which were
destroyed in few moments. The water
front wharyes were entirely burned
from Beauregard street on the north to
st. Louis street, the flames leaping the
wharf slips
A. Hurdle Raccrs Leap the Wall.
A large amount of cotton which was
closely packed in the warehouses and
presses, amid the infiamable character
of the material which fed the flames,
made the fire an intensely hot one, and
the high wind caused it to spread so
rapidly that it was impossible for the
fire department TO do more than stand
idly by and see it burn. The fire burned
rapidly among the cotton warehouses
and presses When Goodman's ware
house was in blaze smoke was seen is
suing from Browns cotton warehouse
roof q square away, on the northeast
corner of Water street, and at the same
uOluelit tht LulL SlAg Uli ulul Ou Lue
east side of Commerce, between Adams
and Lipscomb streets, with warehouse.
which was stored full of cotton oil, oil
cake and meal, blazed out. and the fire.
men and the large crowd Of spectators
which had gathered in the vicinity
had to
# F1ee from the Advancing Flames.
There was now no stop to the flames ex-
cept by dispensatlon Of Providence.
Almost Immediately the flames spread
from building to building until Gage d
Lyons artificial ice factory on Commerce
and ST, Anthony streets and the Mer-
chants press were destroyed
So far there has been no casualty re-
ported. The wind died away about 8
p. m, and the fire department seem now
to have the fire under control.
When the ammonia tank in the ice
factory exploded it seemed to stay the
progress OF the flames to the southwark.
It is estimated the total loss will exceed
$500, 0,O00
More than twenty squares were
burned, bounded by Beauregard, Mag
nolia and st. Louis streets and the river.
The loss is estimated at 100000, with
about $500, 900 insurance.