Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1892-11-03
MILLIONS In RUINS.
MILWAUKEE SWEPT BY A TER
RisLE COMPLICATION.
property worth MANY Millions De-
stroyed and Thousands OF People
Rendered Homeicss--si Lives Lost
Help from chicago aud Other cities,


has been visited by the most disastrous
fire in its history,
To-day the larger portion of great
Wholesale district is smouldering
ruin, thousands of people are home.
less, between $1,000, 900 and $4,000, 600
worth OF property has gone up in
smoke aud half dozea lifelegs bodies
lie ON the marble slabs at the morguc,
Early last evening, when the wind
was blowing with almost the force of
u cyclone the first blaze started in an
immense wholesale oil house and the
fireman We're powerless To stay the
spread of the flames. 10 make mat
tcrs worse the city was attacked on all
sides almost simultaneously, Five
alarms came in within fifteen minutes
after the first alarm from the oil ware
house. Thrrc were attacks that had
to be met and the fire department,
which could otherwise have been con
sentrated on the first fire, was divided
through different parts of the city.
At one time, between GAO and :
o'clock, the sky was lighted up by
four bla2cs. The fire in the oil house,
famed by a bowling gale from the
northwest began to gain on the weak
ened forces of the fire department, and
despite all efforts burst through and
crossed East Water street and swept
into the largest paint and oil works In
the Northwest,
From that point the flames swept
brick and stone buildings down MS
though they We're cardboard houses,
1t was like spark following up u
train of powder. dozen big build
ings were swept away in u twinlSling.
The blaze, q column of fire nearly n
, block wide, swept thence down into
the Third ward which is made up
mostly of frame houses, and right in
the face of the flames was the big gas
house of the Milwaukee Gas com
pany,
Over three hundred frame buildings
were n mass of ruins, the inhabitants
literally fleeing for their lives and los
ing everything except the clothes they
wore and what they could grab up.
Thousands came from various parts OF
the city and throngcd the down town
streets, crowding them so that IL was
almost impossible for the coal supply
wagons to get through.
What the Chicago fire was To that
city this fire was to Milwaukee In all
its scenes and incidents. During II
all gale from the Northwest carried
blazing cinders high into the air nnd
far out into the lake Had the fir,
started in the western part of tho city
it would have cut = swath through il
Or leveled the entire city to the ground
At 8 o'clock Chief Foley telegraphet
to Chicago, Racine, Kcnosha and Osh
! kosh for help and received promp
! response by fire.
Chief Foley kept the fire confined t,
one block on East Water street until
S'clock, when it got away from hin
and leaped across the street and begnl
, rapid march toward Lake Michigan
six blocks away, cutting down in shor
. order +. Dohmen q Co., wholesal
7 drugs; M. Block, wholesale liquor
: Bub & Kipp's seyen-story building
{ furniture factory; Roundy, Peclshar
D a. Co., wholesale grocers; Jacob Wei
D auer g. Co., wholesale grocers; John
: son Bro. $ cracker factory america
j Biscuit company, National Distillin
: company. At 8 o'clock the flames Ia
o crossed Broadway between Buffalo nm
Y Detroit, taking numerous woode
: structures and then advancing to Mi
Il waukee street. The flames had 500
d reached jefferson street, three squar,
: from where it broke out, and bega
: burning private residences.
The fire department, known all ov'
the country as one of the best cquipp,
and disciplined was powerless to sta
|, its progress
= The freight yards of the Chicago
= Northwestern railroad were soc
= reached and whole trans of cars loadt
with merchandise, live stock and gra
were burned.
: The fire tapped up everything in Il
> territory bounded on the west by u
north branch of the Milwaukee rive
y on the east by the lake and on q
!. south by the harbor branch OF u
q river--twenty-two solid blocks, five
= which were occupied by wholesa
houses, factories, distilleries, etc, az
the rest by residences. This does m
;. include the vast yard of the Chicago
4 Northwestern railroad, which cove
n many acres. Hundreds of cars ha,
: been bnrned
. Not until long after midnight did I'll
r hremen succeed in making any hea'
= way against the flames. At II o. cloc
o a special train arrived from Chicag
+ bearing four fire companies, and the
0 did gallant service. Fire compani,
had also arrived from Kenosha, Racir
and Waukesha, and finally the con
bined efforts of the fire fighters r.
: suited in getting the flames under COZ
troll, but even then it was impossib
to put the fire out, and when day ligl
> come, many Of the big buildings we
!. still burning. Even now a score of e
;, gines are playing on the smoulderir
ruins.
= Chicago Board OF Trade.
90 q. =,