River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1891-04-16
GREAT FIRE IN CHICAGO.
A Number of Magnificent Business Houses
on West Madison street Destroyed-s
Boy kiiled-seyeral Persons IJnred.

CHICAGO, April IS One of the fiercesi
and most disastrous fires the Chicago
department has fought in many years
/ swept through West Madison street
Sunday afternoon. The big Smyth
| building that extends from Union half
way 10 Halsted street was destroyed.
and with il the contents of
| John NJ. Smyth's furniture house,
| the largest retail establishment in the
world. All that is left of Kohl & Mid
dleton's west side dime museum is a
heap of bricks and charred timber. On
the north side of Madison street from
| Union street to the Haymarket theater
I block five buildings were destroyed.
/ Three of them tumbled down before the
] maelstrom of fire, and at one time the
roof and a portion of the front of
4 the theater building was burning so
| fiercely that every body thought it would
| share the fate of its neighbors, but the
4 firemen managed to save the structure.
/ but in seriously damaged condition.
/ The total loss is estimated at $500, 200
John NJ. Smyth & Co alone will lose
5000, 600 The fire originated in the
wagon shed of John NJ. Smyth 81 Co.,
directly in the rear of the museum
Shortly after o'clock the fire
started, and from the first it was stub
/ born. almost resistless. Kohl & Mid
dleton's museum, on the second floor,
was filled with the usual crowd of sun
\ day visitors. They were scattered
| through the curio hall and the gal
/ leries, and big audience was in one of
the theaters watching stage perform
auce. The first intimation of danger
came whom every window cracked and
/ shattered and flames leaped into the
rooms. Where the fire came from no
one seemed to know. There were
shrieks and cries, people pushed over
each other and ran panic-stricken down
the stairway and into the street
When the fire department threw the
| first stream the Smyth building was en-
tirely in flames. The great building
burned as though it was stored with
naphtha and finder Almost at the
same time the buildings across the way
were ignited and each side OF the street
became ablaze.
From Union street to the HaymarlSet
theater row of business houses faced
| the terrific onslaught of firebrands from
the burning Smyth block. They didnot
withstand it lonr. Each one was afire
within fifteen minutes after the first
alarm, and the corner of the Haymarket
theater building was smoking, with
tongues of flame in a dozen different
places determined and successful
effort to save the theater was made,
but the row Of buildings between it
and Union street was doomed from the
first
All later efforts of the fremen were
directed to checking the spread of the
flames. These efforts were successful.
At S o'clock last evening the two sides
| of West Madison street were tumbled
and smoking ruins.
The losses are dis tributed about as
follows:
John NJ Smyth, 150 TO 1855 Madison street
building and stock of furniture, S600,0O0; Kohl
& Middleton. i5i Madison street $50 90; Nicely
Bros, boots and shoes. l52 Madison street, s20,-
000 Adelbcrt Kaempfer, jewelry. 80 Madison
street. $500; Alfred Peats, wall paper and
furniture. l55 Madison street, $4,000;
Z. J. Casey, building, $50 Madison
street, $1,000; Baer Bros, hats, l57
Madison street, $500; NJ. Irrman. eli
CARS and tobacco. i59 Madison street,
$4,000; Hannah 2 Hogg saloon, l6l Madison
street, $4,000; Royal Tailors. 1863 Madison
street, 5000; Haymarket theater, 5000; lj5
Madison street OATS, $1,000; l57 Madison
street Chats,. 5000 159 Madison street (fiatsD,
$500: l6l TO 1863 Madison street (Haymarket
buildingl, 5000; board OF education property,
in the rear of the Smyth block 5000; other
losses, 5000
The insurance is light, John NJ.
Smyth carrying only about S125,000,
while Kohl & Middleton and NJ. Irrman,
the cigar dealer, carried no insurance
whatever, having allowed their policies
TO expire without renewal as they had
intended moving into new buildings
soon.
Alexander Grant, an employee in the
museum, was seriously injured while
making his escape from third-story
window He crawled out on a sign
and attempted to swing down by
means of a wire. The wire broke
under his weight, however, and
he fell to the pavement, dis
tance of 80 feet, breaking his leg and
frightfully bruising his head and shout
ders. His injuries, however. are con-
sidered not necessarily fatal About
fifty persons. including two policemen,
stood watching the flames from the
corner of Union and Meridian streets.
The officers were keeping the crowd
back, and as it was pushing
and swaying the wooden walk
gave way and they fell about 10 feet.
Mrs. Bessie Higgins was probably fatal
ly injured by the fall and was taken to
her home. l6S Washington street
Bernard Stoth had leg broken at the
same time and was removed to the
Emergency hospital. After the tiremen
had got the flames under control and
Were playing upon the west end of
TIE Smyth building Francis Gamble,
aged about 10 years, accompanied by
Gus Hanshaw, who was trifie older,
went around behind the building and
into a shed used as storehouse. The roof
dame dowDoyith a crash, burying young
Gamble in the ruins Gamble was
quickly dug out and taken to
the office of DR. Mac Kay, 101
South Halsted street, where it was
found that his injuries were probably
fatal. His hips and left leg were broken.
1t was thought also that his skull was
fractured. A patrol wagon was sum
hospital where he died at midnight.
Ex-tov. Waterman. of California. Falls a
Victim to Pneumonia.
SAN DIEGO. Cal. April 13-EX-Gov.
Waterman died at 1870 Sunday evening
of pneumonia after brief illness.
n. W. Waterman was born in Fairfield,
Herkimer county, n. Y, In 1920 When very
young he moved Il Sycamore, ILL.,, with his pa
rents, where he grew up and engaged in mer
camille business. He came to California in 1883
and engaged in mining for two years. He re-
turned TO Illinois but came back to California
in 1873. locating at san Be .nardino. In 1886 he
received the repub lean nomination for lieuten-
ant governor and was tie only republican elect
ed Washington Bartlett (Geml was elected
governor, but died soon after taking Office and
Waterman filed out the erm, winch exp red
last January He leaves wife and several
children.
To Strike May ..
LONDON, April 13.-tireck, Rou-
manian, Swiss, German, Belgian,
French and Italian workingmen have
decided to celebrate May as a holt
day. In Belgium the congress of
miners and metalworlSers declared for
a general strike May /. The number