St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-04-13
Big CHICAGO BLAZE.
Nearly a Million Dollars
Worth of Property Is
Destroyed.
Flames Send Terror to the
Hearts of Two Theater
Audiences.
People, Freaks and Monkeys
Amid the Fire in a
Museum.
The Haymarket Theater Mar
-7ouIu Ecoannc nnSfpuotiOn
The Haymarket Theater Mar
rowly Escapes Destruction
and Avepts a Panic.

IOWlY ESCdDOS OOSCi oSSAOA
and Averts a Panic.
CHICAGO, Abril 12.-Chicago this
evening suffered one of the most de-
structive conlagrations that has oc-
CURED here since the big fire OF ISL
The loss is fully S1,000,00O. 1t was at
almost the exact geographical center OF
The city that the flames started, ana,
like the terrible disaster twenty years
ago. began in a stable. In this case
the stable was the property Of the we'll
known furniture manufacturer ana poi
itician, John NJ. Smyth. and was located
in the rear of his big furnishing eStab-
Hshment on West Madison street near
Halsted street. The flames speedily
communicated to the furniture establish
ment. and a moment later to Kohl d
Middleton'S dime museum. a gen
eral alarm to the fire department was
soon followed by special calls for extra
engines, as the fire was seen TO be
gaining ground with extraordinary rap
ldity. In less than five minutes smoke
was pouring from every window III the
museum and was enveloping the huge
siX-story building occupied by Smythe.
When. in a marvelouSly snort interval,
both structures had turned into a mass
of flame, great, fiery tongues darted
across the street and lodged in the
upper stories of the buildings on the
north side of Madison street. n moment
later the firemen along the thorough
fare found themselves working between
two towering walls OF fire. For
time it looked as though the confia-
grafton would get beyond control
and that, as in 1871, it would
sweep toward the lake directly across
The Business District
of the city. AS if to add to the conster
nation. the wind had suddenly arisen
and was blowing stiff gale from the
west. Probably twenty thousand peO-
pie gathered in the neighboring streets
and helpleSSly watched the progress of
the horrible impending calamity. AT
this critical juncture the thorough dis
cipline Of the firemen became magniti-
Gently apparent. The men, obeylng or
derS, stood steadily in the street, where
the flames Scorched them from either
side, and after a fierce battle at length
brought the fire in a measure under
control. The immense blaze, however,
continued TO rage with intense fury in
the buildings already partly destroyed.
The museum was nothing but heap OF
ruins, and the walls Of the Smyth build
ing were falling one after another.
Fortunately they all fell into the ruins,
and no person was Injured. Across the
street, also, the walls soon Succumbed
to tine furious onslaught. Here the up
per story of the three story building on
I,n nf MnAi nd
Union streets caught fire. Quickly fol-
lowing the flames lodged around the
windows OF the fifth story of the Hay
market theater building, and were soon
stretching along under the mansard
roof. Just west of the Haymarket
building was the five-StOry building oc-
cupied by the Peoples Clothing COM
pany. Here also the windows were on
fire. Despite all efforts, the buildings
between Union street and the Haymar
ket block shared the fate of those across
the street, and were wiped out COM
pletely
In the HaynlarIxet
the fire was confined to the upper story,
but the whole building was filled with
smoke and water. West of the Hay
market theater the damage was com
paratively small. The first intimation
the inmates of Kohl IL Middletop's
museum had of the close proximity Of
the fire was when some one opened a
window on the third floor. through
which volume of smoke poured, fill
ing the entire floor. A wild scene fol-
lowed among the 800 persons in the
building, most of whom, however, were
on the first floor watching variety per-
Torrance. Those on the first floor
were first apprised of their danger
by the stampede on the other floors, and
as they arose to their feet and fled pre-
cipitately toward the front door, the fire
appeared at the rear windows, increas-
ing the terror of the crowd. The emer-
gency brought out a hero in the person
of Policeman Patrick Sheehy. Forcing
his way through the frightened people,
who were madly retarding each other in
the Diam at the exit, he station
ed himself at the head of the
stairs, land, drawing his re-
VOlver, declared his intention to kill the
first person who refused to obey his Or
derS. BY GOODNESS and determination ne
succeeded in
Quieting
and, with one exception, everybody
reached the street in safety. The eX-
ceDtion was G. II. Messenger, Young
man, who, before Officer Sheehy reached
the stair landing, made rush for the
front of the building. and, throwing
open the window, jumped out into the
street. He fell with an awful force on
the stone pavement, and was uncon-
SciOuS when picked up. Several persons
following him stopped, horror-stricken.
long enough to be corralled by Sheehy
and his revolver. One old ladv who
was in this crowd fell when near the
bottom OF the stairs and broke her arm.
She was picked up by her friends and
taken away in carriage. AS soon
as Officer Sheehy had caused
an abatement of the panic
to the third floor, where some scores Of
monkeys were Gagged. The poor brutes
were chattering and screaming with ter
Tor at the flames on all sides. Sheehy
hurrledly seized the iron bars and tore
ing them apart opened an aperture wide
enough to admit of the escape of the lit
tie animals, whose fright was almost
human. The creatures when liberated
wildly scampered about the room for a
while, and then to the intense chagrin of
Sheehy. who was risking his life every
moment, rushed up stairs and burned to
death. by wholesale. The policeman
was forced to grope his way down.
through a binding smoke, and reached
the street daZed and nearly unconscious.
The excitement among the freaks, who
were on exhibition on the third floor,
was
PitifuI TO Behold.
They were practically unable TO help
themselves, owing to their abnormal de-
Velopment, or lack of development, and
could only with difficulty be restrained
from throwing themselves from the
"indnws. Clarence Dale. the big