The Penn's Grove record., 1891-04-17
LARGE FIRE IN CHICAGO
Furniture Factory and Dime MI
scum Destroyed.
The Loss ESTIMATED At THREE QUART
ERS OF A MILLION.
PANIC IN THE DIME MUsEUM-sEvER.
AL CASUALTIES DURING THE PRO-
GREss OF THE FIRE.

CHICAGO, April 12.-Chlcago, thi:
evening, suffered one of the most de-
structive CONGREGATIONS that has oc'
CURED here since the big fire of 1871
The loss is nearly 81, 0O0. 900. 1t was
at almost the exact geographical centre
Of the city that the flames started, and,
like the terrible disasterof 20 years ago.
beg an In a stable, and it falls on a
Sunday.
In this case the stable was the prop.
erty of q weli-known furniture manu-,
~facturer, John NJ. Smith, and was To-
Gated in the rear OF his big house fur
nishing establishment, on West Mad.
lson street, near Halstead street. The
flames speedily communicated to the
furniture establishment, and a moment
later to Kohn & Middleton's Dime Mu-
scum. A general alarm to the fire de-
partment Was 500 followed by special
calls for extre engines. as the fire was
seen to he gaining ground with extra
ordinary rapidly.
In less than five minutes smoke was
pouring from every window IN the
Museum and was enveloping the huge
six-story building occupied by Smyth,
In a wonderfully short time bott
structures had turned into a pass OF
flame, great fiery tongues darted across
the street and lodged In the upper
stoI les of the buildings on the north
side Of Madison street. A moment
later the iremen along the thorough
fare found themselves working between
two tow .ring walls OF fire.
TrHe ftnn. a. lnnIyad no fhptfnh fhG
con1agration would get beyond con-
troll, and that, as In 1871, 1t would
sweep toward the lake, directly across
the business district of the city. As if
to add to the CONSERVATION, the wind
had suddenly arisen. and was blowing
a stiff ga 9 from the west. Probably
10000 people gathered In the neighbor-
ing streets, helplessly watching the
progress of tho possible impending
calamity.
AT this critical juncture the thorough
discipline of the firemen became APP
parent. The men, obeylng orders, stood
steadily in the street where the flames
scorched them from either side and after
a free battle at length brought the fire in
a measure under control. The I'M
mense blaze however continued to rage
with intense fury in the buildings
already partly destroyed. The mu-
scum was nothing but a heap Of ruins
and the walls of the Smyth building
were falling n after another. Fortu-
nately they all fell into the ruins and
no person wa injured.
Across the street also, the walls soon
Succumbed to the furious onslaught.
Here the upper story Of the three STORY
building on the northwest corner of
Madison and Union streets caught fire.
Quickly the flames lodged around the
windows of the tfth-story OF the Hay
market Theatre building. and were
soon stretching along under the man
sard roof. Just west Of the Haymarket
building was the five-story building
occupied by the Peoples Clothing Com
pany.
Here also the windows we're on fire.
Despite all efforts the building between
Union street and the Haymarket block
shared the fate Of those across the
street, and were wiped out completely.
In the Haymarket the fire was on
fined 10 the upper story, but the whole
building was filled with smoke and
water. West Of the Haymarket the
damage was comparatively small.
The insurance will be very light,
John NJ. Smyth carrying only about
SIPS. 900, while Kohl & Middleton and
NJ. lrrman carried no insurance what
ever, having allowed their policy to ex-
pire without renewal, as they had in
tended removing within a fortnight.