Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-05-18
EIGHT BLOCKS OF HOUSES BURNED.

PCOAbS was dppSd>cu IL udu reduced the
buildings on forty acres of ground TO
ruins, rendering,l, 5Ogpeople homeless. and
making ashes of S6O00O0 worth of prop
erty, with but S253000 insurance The
fire, which started on Pine street, was
driven back on that street for distance
OF eight blocks, burning all the buildings
on each side. 1t also extended from Pine
street west to spring street, one block,
burning all the hoIses on the west side of
Spring street for the same distance back
as on Pine street. The business blocks
on Pine street were mainly two stories
high and were occupied over head by
FAMILIES.
The Homes of the Mechanics.
The quarter burned over was that in
| which the mechanics largely lived and
about all they possessed was contained in
their homes. There will be some distress,
but the citizens have already started
relief fund aud Will not call on outside
cities for aid. The 500, 600 court house
| burned out, but its public documents
were saved. Prisoners in the county Jail,
which occupied the basement of the court
house, were liberated. Among the sad iu-
death of Harry Stevens, assistant post.
master, the son of Postmaster Stevens
He was very i'll with pneu monia, and the
flames made IL necessary to remove him
to place of safety, and he died while be.
Ing carried Through the streets.
The Sweep of the Flames
II was not an hour after the fire
was discovered In the hots.
barn on Pine street before two whole
squares had been swept clean by the fiery
/ hurricane. Stores, residences, and public
/ buildings were swept away ike chaf \
strong wind was blowing and the flames
/ spread with such appalling rapidly that
many people barely escaped with their
! lives. Citizens whose houses were not de.
| strOyed promptly came TO the relief of
the unfortunates, and all found shelter.
The fire department of Muskegon, though
an unusually good one, was wholly una
bic TO cope with the conhagratIon, bus
| did effective work in saving property on
the borders Of the burned district
Costly Residence Burned.
! The'frst house OF any pretensions to
! burn was the residence of Matthew Viii
son, wealthy lumberman. His resi-
! dence cost about S40,0 900 and was elegant
! ~ furnished. Carvers had Just completed
| $500 worth OF work on the interior The
splendid furnishings, carpets, tapestries
! statuary, etc, were thrown peIl- NELL into
the drays, and the costly bric-a-brac was
| buried beneath the pie beian trappings OF
he humber people who, in the disorder
and confusion, appropriated the same We
I hIcles. Drays were scarcely 10 be had,
anu those which were Obtained charged
extraordinary prices for their services.
Destruction of the Court House.
The court house occupied one square
and was le:t without any protection
Whatever The sheriff, who is the Gus
I t0dIan of the building, removed the prIs-
oners to the city hall JAIL but made no
effort TO guard the property from the
flames which surI ounieI the square. One
man on the ROOF with an inch nose could
have saved the fine property. AT o'clock
IRE started III the tower OF the court
house and IL a few minutes the 1iue
structure was wrapped in flames. The
tie increased in velocity, and Caused the
flames to roar and shrek from the roof
and tower OF the large building which
was burning ia the center OF tour blocks
OF dwelling houses, ali Of which, We're a
sea OF flames.
Brave, but Rash Miss Nellie
Suddenly lady was seen to break be-
yond the line and dart toward the door
OF the doomed building. L. was the regis
ter of probate, Miss Nellie Conk!In,
VINO desired to place some valuable docu-
m -nts in the vault 1t was with dIfIi-
Guilty that she was restrained Had she
pr oceeded she could no more than
have reached the door when the cornice j
and part OF the tower fell with an awful /
crash in front Of the doorway, completely !
blockading the passage. L. W. Dewey, 7
an engineer OF Chicago, who is located IN
the city, and who was active in valuable I
assistance throughout the aiterno Don,
had just emerged from the building,
when the tower crashed down through !
the roof.
Thrilling scene at Tenem ent.
At about the same time the utmost ex-
element prevailed on Pine street. Two
children had been overlooked and were in
a back room of a tenement mousse The
screams OF the frantic mother could be
heard above the roar OF the flames calling
on those about to save her children The
situation was rendered the more exciting
by the explosion at this moment of a
stock of fireworks ina building ad joining
Ladders were procured and the children
were taken from the building in an al
most suffocated condition.
Four Hours of Devastation.
after the fire had destroyed the block
south of the court house the wind shift
ed TO the eastward and drove the flames
across the block to Terrace street, where
the elegant residences of Alderman
Fleming, David Mclaughlin, W. 4.
Wood and others We're destroyed. The
wind suddenly abated and the fire was
checked at Iona street, niue blocks from
the starting point. In four hours forty
acres of buildings had been swept from
sight.
Some of the Loses
lie heaviest losses are as follows, anti
ting the court house: Terrace-street-H ol-
land church and parsonage, SIC, 500, insur-
ance, $4,000: Mrs. Sarah Fleming's three
story brick dwelling, 5000; two-story
dwelling, 81, 200. Pine street,. A. Bur
ton, dry goods, $500; Lutheran church
and parsonage, $1,000; No. 103, C. NJ.
Phllabaum's buildinp - D00 apd s+ool-