Morning journal and courier., 1891-04-13
NEWS BY TELEGRAPH.
From All Quarters.
Big FIRE In CHICAGO.
Theater and Several Large
Buildings Destroyed.
DAMAGE BY the BURSTING OF 4 DAM
The Rome Opinione on the
Italian Affair.
SPREAD Of the GRIP IN BROOKLYN.
Arrival of the Survivors
of the Utopia.
SPREAD OF The GRIP IN BROOKLYN.
CONFEDERATION IN CHICAGO.

CONFLAGRATION IN CHICAGO.
The Worst Blaze Since the NIemora.
! BILE Fire OF lS71-Buildings Wiped
| Out With Wonderful Rapidly by
| the Advancing Flames Heroic
| Measures of an Omcerto Prevent q
| Stampede In n Theater-HeIpIess-
ness of the Poor Freaks-An Army
| of Firemen on the Scene-Awful
Fate of a VenturesOme Boy.
CHICAGO, April 12.-Chicago this eve
ming suffered from one of the most de.
structive CONGREGATIONS that has occurred
here since the big fire of 1871. The loss
is fully s., 100000. The flames started at
almost the exact geographical center of
the city and like the terrible disaster
twenty years ago started in stable. The
stable was the property of the well known
furniture manufacturer and politician,
John NJ. Smythe, and was located in the
rear of his big house furnishing establish
ment on West Madison street, near Hal
stead. The flames speedily communicated
to the furniture establishment and
a moment later to Kohl & Middle
toms dime museum. For a time it
looked as though the confagration
of 1871 would be repeated, as the
wind had suddenly risen and was blowing
stiff gale from the west. The museum
was nothing but heap of ruins, and the
walls of the Smythe building were falling
one after another. Fortunately they all
fell into the ruins and no person was in
jured Across the street also the walls of
buildings soon succumbed to the furious
onslaught The upper story of the three
story building on the northwest corner of
Madison and Union streets caught fire and
then the flames lodged around the win
dows of the fifth story of the Haymarkst
theater building and were soon stretch
ing along under the mansard roof.
just west of the Haymarket was the
ive-story building occupied by the Peo-
pies Clothing company. Here also the
windows were on ire. Despite all efforts
the buildings between Union street and the
Haymarkat blocks shared the fate of those
across the street and were wiped out COM
pletely. In the Haymarket the fire was
confined to the upper story, but the whole
building was filed with smoke and water
West of the Haymarket the damage was
comparatively small.
AN OFFICERS GOODNESS.
The first intimation the inmates or Kohl
Middletown's museum had of the close
proximity of the fire was when some one
opened window on the third floor and
volume of smoke poured in, filling the en-
tire floor. A wild panic followed among
the 400 persons in the building. Most of
them, however, were on the first floor
watching variety performance, and as
they fed precipitately toward the front
door tho fro OF
windows. The emergency brought
out a hero in the person of Policeman
Patrick Shelby. Forcing his way
through the frightened people who were
madly retarding each other in the jam at
the exit he stationed himself at the head
of the stairs and, drawing his revolver, de-
clared his intention to kill the first person
who refused to obey his orders. By cool
ness and determination he succeeded in
quieting the panic, and with one
exception everybody reached the street
in safety. The exception was G.
b. Messenger, young man, who,
landing, made rush for the front of the
building and throwing open the window
jumped out into the street. He fell with
an awful crash on the stone pavement and
was unconscious when picked up. Sever
al persons following him stopped horror
stricken long enough to be corralled by
Officer Shelby and his revolver. One old
lady who was in the crowd fell when near
the bottom of the stairs and broke her arm.
EXCITEMENT AMONG THE FREAKS.
AS soon as Officer Sheehy had caused an
abatement of the panic among the people,
he went up to the third floor, where some
scores of monkeys were Gagged. The poor
brutes were chattering and screaming with
terror. Sheehy hurriedly seized the iron
bars and forced them open SO the animals
could escape. They scampered about the
room for moment and then rushed up
stairs in herd and were burned to death
by wholesale. The policeman CROPPED his
way down through binding smoke and
reached the street dazed and nearly uncon-
scious.
The excitement among the freaks who
were on exhibition on the third floor was
pitiful to see. They were practically I'M
able to help themselves. Mime. Carver, the
fat woman, hobbled down from the plat
form and Selling the midget dragged her
self to the rear window and was about to
throw the child out when she was restrain
ed by Manager Belmont, who with difficulty
escorted them down the stairway. The
father of the big headed boy, who was so
top-heavy that he could not navigate alone,
rushed to the assistance of his son, and
while leading him out, found the Albino,
almost blind by reason of her weak eyes,
cropping about in the smoke. With the
big-headed boy under his arm, he siezed
the Albino and dragged rather than led
her to the stairway, and reached the street.
FORTY ENGINES ON THE SCENE.
1t took forty engines and nearly three
hundred fremen to bring the fire under
| subsection. The nerve displayed by the
firemen was heightened by the fact that
| all the time they knew at leastSone hun"
dred barrels of oil was stored in. the base
| ment of the Smytheestablishment and like
ly at any time to create a terrific explo-
| sion.
| Just before the wall of the Smythe
| building fell venturesome lad climbed up
to the third floor of the building adjoining
and stood watching the flames from his
| lofty position. When the wall toppled
| over with loud crash and the smoke
| cleared away he was not to be seen, and it
| is feared he fell with the debris snd was
lost.
| COLLAPSE OF SIDEWALK.
The fire in the Haymarket theater was
discovered just twenty minutes before the
close of the last act The theater was
cleared in fairly good order. Barry &
Fay's company had just begun weeks
engagement. Their scenery and effects
| were removed without damage.
While the fire was at its worst a side
walk at the corner of Union street
and Meridian court collapsed and
precipitated forty people into an ex-
cavation beneath. Mrs. Bessie Higgins
was probably fatally injured by the fall.
Bernard Sloth had a leg broken. When
1 %1a o1-a@ r.
attending Mrs. Sarah Macks in fiat in
one of the buildings subsequently burned.
When the fire got too close, DR.. Bergeron
seized the woman, wrapped her in blank,
cts and descended three fights with he1
to refuge near by. In less than fifteen
minutes a fine girl baby was born. Both
mother and child are doing well.