The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-10-30
Losses of Insurance Companies Between Three
and Four Millions. with the North British
and Mercantile Leading the Sufferers.
Three Thousand Poor People Homeless
and in Need of Prompt Relief.
Fifty Thousand Dollars Raised in Few hin.
jured--Seyeral Fires at Cleveland.
THE MILWAUKEE FIRE.

Property Loss Now Placed at s5, 500. 900
Four Persons Dead and Four Injured.
MILWAUKEE. Oct. 29-It was desolate
scene that presented itself this morning in
the district devastated by ire last night
1t looked like section of Chicago after
that city's great confagration. The prop
erty loss will not prove rs great as feared
at first, Conservative estimates now place
the total at $4,000 and the insurance at
So, 250, 600. Three thousand people are home
less. Four lives were lost. and four per-
sons seriously injured.
At 10 o'clock this morning there was no
fire at all where last night It had ragged.
Here and there were glowing heaps of coal,
and the cellars of the wrecked business
houses were rather too warm for any man
who had q o especial business to call him
there. But over in the district where the
little frame residences had stood there was
nothing, not even a decent cloud of smoke.
As soon ae the sun was fairly above the
horizon the people who had fled last
night for their lives came swarming
back to find out what they had saved. or
rather what had been left for them. The
expression of the faces of many of them as
they looked out over the fireswept space
which had o few hours earlier been busy
and populous district, would have been
ludicrous if it had not been tragic. Men
and women were wandering about. some of
them not even able TO tell where their
houses had stood the night before for of
all cruel fires which ever swept
L. 81
cruel or moro remorseless than this. 1t
left behind it absolutely nothing of any
description which could be induced to burn.
Trees W blch were full of life last night.
are not visible to-day. They were there
last night and this morning they are gone.
Wooden sidewalks which were on both
sides of every street. are also among the
be seen nywhere. There Is absolutely no
way of telling where house stood last
night. except by the hole in the ground
which was yesterday cellar. In these
holes are 20 be seen twisted and
distended masses of metal which were cook
pieces OF plastering lying thickly In the
holes show the remains of ceilings. and
that is all there Is left of any house which
last night stood in the pathway OF the
flames.
A RUINED sAUSAGE-MAKER.
A type of desolatlon and hardship which
the fire wrought Is the case of Henry VOL
aher, who conducted sausage factory on
Buffalo street. He was worth S1.2OO over
and above his debts last night at sun
set. When it was light this morning
his worldly assets were the clothes he
had upon his back. two keys and one
cuff button, nothing else. He stood this
morning looking down into one OF the holes
which marked where a house had once
stood and remarked: 1T don't seem possi-
Last night had good business, owned
my house, barn and wagons. Now have
not one penny in the world, and this is all
have to begin life over again." pulling
TS bsssoD his ps0kss ss Keys Ss and su
my wife talked me into drop
ping my insurance and l did IL.
Last night i had In the house $3.50 in
cash, and now cannot buy single loaf of
bread or ride on o street car. When l saw
the fire coming / grabbed the $50 and gave
1t to my wife. telling her to run with it.
She got excited and threw it on the bed.
and picked my old overcoat of the bed and
ran away with it," And the honest mans
mass of springs which lay In the black hole
before him. I'VE had no chance To do any.
thing but look and rum" he continued.
I'VE got out. but that was ALL"
This is but type of suffering that has
been caused There are scores of similar
cases In one place an elderly man stood
gazing vacantly about blm. he SAID ne
lad cit her lived where he was standing or
on the corner above. The earth had bsen
swept so clean that there was no mark Co
tell him w here he had ilved.
Atanother place this morning two pretty
girls we're poking around IN what had once
been the cellar of their home. II have been
here an hour" said one OF them. land this
is every thing that have been able TO find
of all my things" and she held up q
twisted and blackened fork. II can't see
where our house went to-" she said"
There IS not even the ashes left. i sup
pose. though. the wind carried them over
tho lake. but don't see how it could make
our house disappear so utterly. 1t dout (
seem posi- ble."
One buxom fraulein. who gave her name
as WiIhelmina KnOring sat beside the
place where she lived yesterday and viewed
eomplacently the total absence of any
thing of her worldly goods which can be
of use to her hereafter. Il don't care" she
said. II saved my piano. Me and my
brother saw the IRE coming, and told him
that we must get my piano out He said
he wanted to save something that was some
good, but / made him help me. My piano
had castors on it, and il was large and We
Just showed 1t along. 1t is over there
now" waving her hand toward q partly
demolished house square and half away.
Anu tueIc III WAS, eOfucWuot UllbtcTtQ as 10
sides and back. but in GOOD condition still.
SCENES DURING THE FIRE.
The scenes along Buffalo street when the
fire was just beginning to sweep along that
thoroughfare were exciting in the extreme.
The residents came rushing from their
houses TO gaze on the mountain of flame
which was rolling down upon them, many
OF them not seeming TO think for an in
stant that tho fire would come near them.
They had in many instances scarcely time
to change their minds on the subject. With
the speed of race-horse. the flames came
on, and the man who had thought his
house safe would catch a glimpse of IL
wrapped In flames as hc fed around the
ing had time to 90 into the
house for a single article In one place an
old man seen desperately tugging ut
some furniture, trying 10 get II through the
front door. A passing fireman hurried to
his assistance. and by the time ne had
reached the doorway the street behind hun
was filled with fire. and both men narrowly
places people were more fcrtunate that 10,
they managed to have their household
goods consumed upon the sidewalk
or in the gutter instead OF the
house. They had managed to get II
outside only to be forced to drop it and
run for their lives. Little children were
scuddinR through the streets carrying all
manner of useless things. One tow headed
little tot fled frantically along Buffalo
street directly in advance OF the approach
ing fire. which was only twenty feet be-
hind. Clutched within her ting tsts che
held . man's silk hat. AZ she fed sobbina &
and screaming down tho street . policeman