The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-04-22
CONGREGATIONS.
TIE GREATEST FIRES OF AM
GENT AND MODERN TIMES.
Destruction of Big Libraries in AleD
andria-How Constantinople and
Ancient Rome Sufrered-Amer-
ica's Noted Burnings.

,eneral impression Of the Importance and
ignifcance of this fire is, no donbt,
in great measure by the
Illeoed answer of this Saracen couqueror,
Who applied to the protest against the
burning with: "If these books are
against the Koran, they are pernicious
md must be destroyed. If they agree
With the Koran, they are redundant and
need not be preserved" and it is not
generally remembered that julius C@sa1
burned larger library of 7Oo,oOQ
volumes at Alexandria, known as th1
Brucian library, B. G. 4S, nearly 700 bel
fore the burning of the serapsum
library by Omar /. -
At times of sack and pillage, Jerusalem
has been burned time and again; thu
most noted instance being at the siegf
by the Romans under Titus, during tht
wear 70, when a faction called tho
Sicarii set the city on fire in many places1
and eventually 100000 Of the inl
habitants perished by fire and the
sword. -
Constantinople has, like all Oriental
cities, suffered severely from fires, "a large
part Of such losses being undoubtedly
due to the fatalism of the Mohammedans;;
who bow to their kismet. Said Sultant
"If it be the will of Allah that my favora
ite city burn, it is the will of Allah. !"
A great fire at Rome, r. B. c., caused
the Emperor Augustus to take measures
for increasing the defense against fire3
which had been hitherto in the hands OF
bodies of police, numbering twenty oi
thirty, stationed in various parts OF the
city, and REINFORCED at times of fires BY
companies of volunteers. He appointed
new officers with the rank of magistratess
who were entitled to wear magisteriaf
robes. Each was attended by two hci
tors, and provided with fire organizai
ton of 600 slaves. It is probable that
this was not entirely satisfactory in its
operation, because six years later another
fire caused him to undertake further rel
forms on q scale fully characteristic OF
him who "found the city built OF brick
and left it with palaces of marble" Ha
increased the fire department to scale
commensurate with the needs OF the city,
Seven thousand freemen were organized
into seven battalions, and one battalion
was quartered in every alternate ward OF
the city. These men made careful mi
spections of the kitchens, Of the heatingl
apparatus and of the water supply in the,
houses, and every fire was the subject OF!
judicial examination. The cost OF the
organization was maintained by tax OF
twenty-five per cent. on the sale OF
slaves. - "a
Two notable examples of contagious
stopped by conhagrations are the burn
ing of Moscow by the besieging Tsrtars,
in July, 157O,. when the plague was
stopped, and secondly the fire in Lon
don, September 2, 1865, which also
stopped the plague, and it has been uni
known there since. This London fire
is properly called there the great fire OF
modern history, because tho reforms
which we're started in consequence Of it
are living issues in the municipal affairsl
of to-day. The fire was caused BY
an overheated bakers oven; and in the
course of four days it swept over 43S
acres, burning 1s,2O0 houses, s9|
churches and St. Paul's Cathedral, caus-
ing a damage estimated to be S10, U.s.
600, say $53,5OO,O00. Under the dii
rection of Pepys the fire was stopped by
blowing up buildings, which was, at the
time, the only method of reducing fire
that had grown beyond the capacity ef
the small fire engines. These were on
large tubs, and threw stream of water
directly on the fire, as hose was not in!
vented until ten years later (l672) BY
Van der Heide. /
The frs; devastating fire in America
was probably the one occurring at Bos3
ton, March 20, 1850, when 400 dwell.
lings and stores were burned, causing q
loss of s1O0, 900.
Philadelphia has been remarkably free
from confagrations in comparison With
other large cities. 1t does not appear to
nave been visited by great fire until
July 9, 1850, when q fire along the Della
ware River front, at Vine street, extend!
ing over eighteen acres, caused lo's OF
life estimated as high as thirty-three, in
addition to 120 wounded, and pecunl-;
ary loss of 81, 100000.
New York was visited by a severe con-
fagration in the southern part of the
city on December 16, 1885, which exi;
tended over an area of forty acres, det
stroyed GA houses, and causing loss
which has been estimated as high as
$50, ,OOO,O 900, on which there was only
$4,000 900 insurance-an amount which
ruined several insurance companies. !
One of the first of the more recent conf
fagrations was the burning of Portland,
Me-, July 4, 1866. The fire was caused
by a boy throwing a frecracker into .
cooper's shop for the avowed purpose OF
soaring the worknen. In this respect
the act was an unparalleled success, the
damage being about $40, 900, 900. :.
The Chicago fire, October 9, 1871, waaA
one of the largest in all history, devastat.
ing an area OF three and half square
miles. and causing loss of about $780,.
900, 900, on which insurance was paid
to the amount of $1OO, 100000. Two
hundred and fifty lives were reported lost
in this fire.
Thirteen months later to day, Boston
was visited by FIRE which extended over
an area of si1ty-fve acres, burning the
best mercantile buildings in the city, and
causing a damage of SIS, 900, 900, on
which there was an insurance to over