The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-05-17
MANY BLOCKS
SWEPT AWAY.
Extensive COnaaSration in a
Michigan City.
Valuable Business Property Destroyed and
]. Many Families Rendered Homeless.
Sad Scenes.
Special to THE MORNING Gait.

MUsKEGoN (Mich.). May 16.-Twenty-
two squareS:Of business buildings and dwell
ings were swept away tonight by the most
disastrous fire Muskegon has ever seen.
The fire started at half-past o'elock in
the Launkowell Hotel barns, just eff
Pine street, and. aided by strong
wind, swept with lightning-like rep
idity, ten blocks up Pine street,
one of the chief business streets
of the city. Then, by sudden shift OF the
wind, the flames were driven toward Ter.
race avenue. one of the finest residence
streets in the city, where they swept un-
checked until the southern portion of the
city was reached, where the buildings were
not so close together. There the firemen,
aided by the engines and men from Grand
Rapids, succeeded in getting the flames uG-
der control, although at late hour soma Of
the buildings were still burning fercely.
Twenty-Five blocks are devastated. Pine
street business houses for ten blocks are
entirely wiped out Among the more valu-
able blocks were the Pine-street House,
Palladium Block, Eckerman's drugstore,
Matthew Wilson's residence, Sedgwick's
wholesale store, McMichel's shoe-store
and the Launkowell Hotel. No less
than $50 residences, including some
of the finest in the city, are in ashes.
The 81 00,000 Courthouse was gutted, but
the public documents weIe saved. The
prisoners in the County Jail. who occupied
the basement Of the Courthouse, were lib
Grated. Several cows and horses were
burned, and little child sleeping in the
-LsunkoWel Hotel, where the fire started, is
missing.
A conservative estimate places the total
losses at over half million. Hundreds Of
families, who were rendered homeless, are
being cared for by people in the portion of
the city which escaped the visitation. The
scene on tie street tonight is terrible.
Homeless people are running frantically
about making endcayOrs to save some little
portion of their most valuable effects which
have been dragged from their houses, but in
most cases the spread of the flames was so
rapid that, as in the case OF the great Chi
cagO fire, but little or nothing could be
carried away.
Above the cries of the women and children
ana the shouting of men could be heard the
explosion of dynamite used by the fremen
to blow up buildings in the h0pa Of staying
the progress Of the flames, and again the
heavy c0ncussi0n rs a boiler in some bus-
ness building would explode, scattering de-
bTis in all directions.
uO iuUblNu uuuCl uIBiCllitltS
from the start the gale which was blowing
scattering huge blazing brands far beyond
where the. men were working, and causing
new fires to spring up constantly
Among the sad incidents was the death of
Harry Stevens. son of Postmaster Stevens.
lie was i'll with pneumonia. and wtlen the
flames approached the house he had to be
moved The shock was too great and he
died while being removed to place Of
safety.
Tonight women and children of the
poorer classes wander h0meleSSly along
the streets moaning and weeping over their
losses. If the city authorities do not imme-
diately interpose and make some arrange
ments tn house the homeless, extreme suf-
feriug will certainly follow. The first resi-
dence district that fell victim to the fire
WAS that commonly called "Ihe Sawdust,"
mostly inhabited by a lab0ring class Of peo-
pie. This in little while was completely
devastated.
At this point the wind shifted to the west,
and the business portion Of Pine street was
caught. The Cummings House was the
first to burn, and all the stores on the east
side of the street were swept away. The
fire crossed over Pine street to Webster ave
nue. aud followed a direct course TO the
south, leaving the best block behind. The
magnificent residence of Matthew Wilson, a
wealthy lumberman, was soon in ashes The
Courthouse was next TO follow, aud Cnly
the walls remain. When Apple street was
reached every business house on Pine street
was in ruins, with the exception of few at
the north end. At Courthouse square the
path of the fire was Widened to two blocks.
An immense wind made it impossible TO get
the flames in check, and as the greater part
Of the buildings were wooden every thing
was favorable TO them.
An appeal for help to outside cities was
promptly responded to. and the fremen
fought heroically, but almost uselessly, un-
til the more sparsely built up region was
reached, since when they have been con-
stantly gaining on the fire and prevented
it from further spreading. The territory
now devastated is eleven blocks long and
from one TO two blocks wide