Los Angeles herald., 1891-05-17
DEVASTATED BY FLAMES.
A GREAT FIRE AT MUSKEGON
MICHIGAN.
City Laid in Ruins-Hundreds of Peo-
pie Rendered Homeless.

MUsKEaoN, Mich, May 16.-Twenty-
two squares of business buildings and
dwellings were swept away tonight by
the most disastrous fire Muskegon has
ever seen. The fire started at 2:30 in
the Launkowell hotel barns, just of
Pine street, and, aided by strong wind,
swept with lightning-like rapidity ten
blocks up Pine street, one of the chief
business streets of the city. Then by a
sudden shift of wind the flames were
driven toward Terrace avenue, one OF
the finest residence streets in the city,
where they swept unchecked until the
southern portion of the city was reached,
where the buildings were not SO close
together. There the fremen, aided by
engines and men from Grand Rapids,
succeeded in getting the flames under
control, although at a late hour some
buildings were still burning fiercely.
THE DEVASTATED DISTRICT.
Twenty-Five blocks are devastated. On
Pine street the business houses for ten
blocks are entirely wiped out. Among
the more valuable blocks were the Pine
street house, Philabourn block, Ecker
mans drugstore, Matthew Wilson's res
idence, Sedgwick's wholesale store, Nc
MichaePs shoe store, the Launkowell no.
tel. No less than three hundred and
fifty residences, including some of the
finest in the city, are in ashes. The
100000 court house was Quilted, but the
public documents were saved. The
49, -, hn ,o,I ioh
pied the basement of the court house,
were liberated. Several cows and horses
were burned, and little child sleeping
in the Launkowell hotel, where the fire
started, is missing.
A conservative estimate places the
total losses at over half million dollars.
Hundreds of families who were rem
dered homeless, are being cared for by
people in the portion of the city which
escaped.
TERRIBLE SCENES.
The scene on the streets tonight is
terrible. Homeless people are running
frantically about making endeavors to
save some little portion of their most
valuable effects which were dragged
from the houses, but in most cases the
spread of the flames was so rapid that
little or nothing could be carried away.
Through the cries of women and chill
dren and the shouting of the men could
be heard the explosion of dynamite used
by firemen to blow up buildings in the
hope of staying the progress of the
flames, and again a heavy conclusion as
the boiler in some business building
would explode, scattering debris in all
directions. The fremen labored under
difficulties 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.
SAD INCIDENT.
Among the sad incidents was the death
of Harry Stevens, son of Postmaster Ste
vens. He was ill1with pneumonia, and
when 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 homelessly along
the streets, meaning and weeping over
their losses. If the city authorities do
not Immediately interpose and make
some arrangements to house the home
less, extreme suffering will certainly fol-
Tow.
! The territory now devastated is eleven
blocks long and from one to two blocks
wide.