Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1891-04-16
BIG BLAZE.


Destructive Fire at Chicago which Might
Have Been Much Worse-Narrow Escapes
Loss Over u, 100000.
CHIcAeo, April 15-Chicago last
evening suffered one of the most de.
stfuctive eoniagrations that has oc-
Cured here since the big fire of 1871.
The loss was fully s., 200, 900.
It was at almost the exact geograph-
ical center of the city that the flames
started, and, like the disaster twenty
years ago, it began in a stable, which
was in the rear of John NJ. Smythe's
house furnishing establishment on West
Madison street, near Halstead street.
The flames speedily communicated to
the Smythe furniture establishment, and
moment later to Kohl s. Middleton's
dime museum.
: When in a marvelously short interval
both structures had turned into mass
of fame, great fiery tongues darted
across the street and lodged in the up
per stories of the buildings on the north
side of Madison street A moment later
the fremen along the thoroughfare
found themselves working between two
towering walls of fire.
All this time the fremen stood in the
street between the flames and after a
fierce battle at length brought the fire
in measure under control The i'm
mense blaze, however, continued to
rage with intense fury in the buildings
already partly destroyed. The museum
was nothing but a heap of ruins and the
walls of the Smythe building were fall
ing one after another. Fortunately
they fell into the ruins and no person
was injured.
The first intimation the inmates OF
Kohl & Middleton's museum had of the
close proximity of the fire was when
some one opened a window on the third
floor through which a volume of smoke
poured, filling the entire floor. A wild
panic followed among the 400 people in
the building, most of whom, however,
were on the first floor watching a vari-
ETY. performance. Those on the first
floor were appraised of their danger by
the stampede of the upper floors, and as
they arose to their feet and fed precip-
itately toward the front door the fire
appeared at the rear windows, increaS-
ing the terror.
When the flames 1eaped across the
street, setting fire to the front entrance
of the Haymarlet hotel, forty of the
occupants, including the servant girls
and other employees, made simulta-
neous effort to depart by the back stair
way, a narrow, winding affair. 1t be-
came blocked, resulting in all being
pretty badly bruised and frightened be-
fore effecting release Charles Mes
senger, a travelling salesman, was asleep
in his room and was suffocated, with
the left side of his face badly burned,
when he was found and carried out
Gettman. the proprietor of the hotel,
said that fully sixty guests had lost all
their belongings.
The fire in the Haymarket theater
was discovered just twenty minutes be-
fore the close of the last act The
smoke was barely perceptible when the
manager stepped out on the stage and
endeavored to persuade the audience to
file out in order. At this moment some
one in the audience shouted Fire. and
a panic seemed imminent. The excite
ment was partially subdued- by prompt
work on the part of the ushers, and the
theater was cleared in fairly good Or
der. Barry 6 Fay's company had just
begun a weeks engagement Their
scenery and effects Were removed with
out damage
While the fire was at its worst side
walk at the corner of Union avenue and
Meridian court collapsed, and precipi-
tated forty people into an excavation
Miss Bessie Higgins was probably
fatally injured by the fall Bernard
Sloth had leg broken.