The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1891-09-03
Seventeen Blocks of Residences Laid
in Ashes by the Fire Fiend
Nothing Saved.
Unfortunate Joe Fitzgerald Seriously
Burned About the Face
and Hands.
Hundreds of Citizens are Homeless to-
day-E-A Relief Committee Ap-
-
: pointed by Mayor Mays.

About one-third of the residence and
business part of The Dalles is in ashes
and perhaps not less than q thousand
people, at this writing are left homeless.
The fire started about l o'clock in a one
story dwelling on the south side of Sec
ond street between Madison and Jeffer-
son. The house was occupied by J. H.
Larsen and at the time of the fire no one
": in it. Before the engine had got to
work the fire had spread to the houses
on each side. In less than half an hour
1t had started in the old Grimes feed
stable which was nothing but a huge
two story fire trap and from that
moment till seven or eight o'clock
in the evening it carried everything
before it. For hours after the fire
started the wind blew stiff gale from
the northeast and the town was COM
pletely at it's mercy, till it calmed down
about 4 O'Clock and gave fighting
chance to the citizens to save the entire
city from ruin. AS many as seventeen
or eighteen blocks are in ashes. The
Vogt block, the pride and beauty of the
city, the opera house, the Methodist,
Baptist and Congregational churches,
the large implement warehouses and
stores of Gibbons, Macallister & Co., Fill
loon Brothers and E. P. FITZGERALD, and
the handsome brick block of I. G. Nickel
sen besides five or six hundred resi-
dences, all succumbed to the devouring
flames. Every building between
the railroad track on the
north, the bluff on the south, Madi-
son street on the east and Laughlin
street on the west save the depot build
ing and two residences are gone and
nothing is left but a drearv waste of
ashes and the chared trunks of the
handsome shade trees. The region too,
bounded bv Third street, Washington,
the bluff and Union street is cleared out,
save only the brick school house and the
residence of George Ruch and these
were only saved by almost super
human efforts. Not much less, if
any, than a million dollars worth
of property has gone up in the flames.
Fortunately the Cosmopolitan and
Umatilla houses were saved and these
two caravansaries furnished shelter last
night, for hundreds whom the fire had
rendered homeless. Others found lodg-
ing in the homes of the more fortunate
neighbors, and still others spent the
night on the beach keeping watch over
what little they had rescued from the
flames. 1t is impossible, at this writing,
to make any approximate estimate of
the amount of insurance covering the
property destroyed. 1t is safe to say
that many who were well off yes
terday morning are today ruined or badly
crippled, while many POOR people
who had no insurance lost their little ALL
The only serious accident so far as we
have been able to learn happened to Jo-
scph P. FITZGERALD, son of Mr.. E. P.
FitzGerald, who got seriously burned
about the arms, hands, breast and face
while making his escape through the
flames in his fathers residence. As he
did not inhale any of the flames and is
possessed of a good constitution, it is
hoped he may recover. Early yesterday
evening the mayor placed the city under
martial law in charge of the sheriff and
city marshal. About thirty citizens and
members of the o. N. g., under arms
paraded the town all night for the pur-
pose of protecting property saved from
the flames and scattered almost every
where. but which it was found impos-
sible to transfer to place of safety. A
number of suspicious characters were
thrown into Jail for the night and were
released this morning and ordered to
move off. This morning the Mayor re-
yoked his order placing the city under
martial law, and appointed the fol-
lowing persons as a relief committee
to receive contributions for those need
ing help and to whom all applica-
tions for aid are requested to be made |:
Mesdames Thomas s. Lang, Smith
French, J. o. Mack, N. B. Sinnott, B.
S. Huntington, and Hugh Glenn, and