Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-04-04
ACRES OF RAVAGE.
Two Great Confagrations at
the Crescent City.
BIG BLAZE IN THE COTTON BAL ES
Two Little Children Burned Alive and
Three Firemen Injured, Two
Perhaps Fatally.

Eohr cation Presses and 63, 600 Bales
Burned-The Cigarette Does This Work
The Woman with the Coal Oil Can
Starts the Other, and the Result Is IS5
Houses Reduced TO Ashes-Scores OF
Families Homeless-Toual Loss About
$4,000, 600.
. NEW ORLEANS, April THE two largest
fires ever known in New Orleans broke
out almost simultaneously yesterday
morning, destroying eleven squares of
buildings, 63, coo bales Of cotton and over
s., 10000 ia property. Both fires were the
result OF caTelessness and the great de-
struction was due to long drought, the
dry condition of houses, cotton, etc. The
strong breeze that was blowing and the
insufficient size Of the fire department,
which was reorganized in January from
the volunteer to the pay system, reducing
the force to about one-tenth its former
size, contributed to the spread of the con-
fagration. Besides the men had not be-
come thoroughly accustomed to their new
duties and were greatly overworked by
two big fires.
Work of the Fatal Cigarette.
The first fire began at 10 a m. in some
cotton stored on the pavement in front of
the Fireproof cotton press at Robin and
Front streets. 1t is not usual to allow
cotton to be stored, but the stock on hand
here just now is so large, over 500, 600 bales,
that the law was relaxed. Some one care
lessly threw lighted cigarette among the
cotton. 1t smoldered, and finally burst
into blaze. The fire was a very small
one at first, but the cotton was so dry that
it spread rapidly. The flames in an in
.credibly short space of time communicated
to the press, eating their way through the
woodwork and down into the body of the
press.
Three Firemeh Seriously Hurt.
The flames next caught on the Ship
pers' press in which there were $1,000
bales and in half an hour it was licked
up. The Orleans press containing 25 900
bales and the Independent press with 5000
bales, were the next victims Then the
firemen gave up trying to save the presses
and they all went up in smoke and flames.
The firemen made desperate attempt to
check the fire at the New Orleans press.
They were working hard at 1t when the
walls fell in, burying three firemen itistfe
ruins, Captain Dupree, Lieutenant Shaw
and Pipeman Bordeaux. The two last
were seriously if not fatally injured.
Five Squares of Flames.
By this time the fire extended five
squares in length, and communicated to
number of houses, barrooms, stores, etc.
1t produced panic, and people for four or
five squares around commenced moving
out their furniture. The air was filled
with wisps of blazing cotton, which threat
ened roofs everywhere. The Baldwin
Agricultural works, three squares away,
and the Louisiana rice mills, four squares
away, were set on fire. but the flames were
extlnguished. Fortunately the section in
which the cotton presses are located con-
tains few large houses and many vacant
lots, so that after the presses and the cot
ton were burned the fire died out chiefly
for want of fuel.
List of the Presses Destroyed.
The presses destroyed were as follows:
Fire,;roof, Penrose Brothers, managers,
South Front and Robin streets; Shippers,
Boyd & Herrick proprietors, South Peters
street; Independence Cotton Yard, South
Peters street; Orleans Cotton press, Adam
Lorch, manager, South Peters street. In
these presses G3,000 bales of cotton were
burned. The loss on the cotton at S35 a
bale is s, 222 80. The presses were worth
S75O,OOO. Other property valued at $50, 900
was destroyed, including eighteen horses.
bring the total loss up to s, or, 500. The
Fireproof press was the property of the
Seventh Street Orphan Asylum and the
Shippers press of the Charity hospital
The presses and cotton We're fully insured
THE SECOND FIRE BREAKS OUT.
A Woman Starts Stove With Coal Oil
and Burns Two Children.
While the fir men were fighting the
cotton fire an al IN was given of another
at Laurel and Ihird street, about twelve
blocks away. Mrs. Valentine was prepar-
ing her dinner, and used coal oil to start
the stove. The oil caught fire and COM
municated to the house. Like the other