The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1892-11-03
AUKEE FIRE.
THE LOSS WILL APPROXIMATE SIX
MILLION DOLLARS.
A Small Loss Of Life Considering the Mag
nitude Of the Fire-The Richest Whole
sale Section Of the City-Three
Thousand Homeless People.

MILWAUKEE, Wis.,, Oct. 29.-When
the sun cane up out Of Lake Michi-
gan this morning, he shed no light
upon the southeastern portion of Mil
waukee. There was a brighter light
there than he could furnish, and it
had been there ten long hours and
was there still when Old Sol had done
his days work and gone to rest. These
ten hours were big with the fate OF
Milwaukee. In them was crowded
the destruction of what will take as
many months to rebuild and much of
LAe work wrought by the flames can
never be repaired. At $40
o'clock last night an oil barrel
exploded from some unknown cause
in the store occupied by the Union Oil
company, 275 East Waters street and
the fire that ensued swept over thir-
teen blocks of business houses and
residences, over 800 buildings in all,
caused loss of four lives and de-
stroyed property valued at $4,000, 600.
1t is now entirely under control but
the ruins are burning fiercely and it
will be several days before the last
spark of fire is eXtinguished.
When the fire broke out in the store
of the oil company majority of the
engines of the fire department were at
work in other parts of the city, there
being at the time no less than three
separate fires burning in different
parts of the city. These fires were
comparatively insignificant in them
selves, but the part they played in the
fiery tragedy which desolated SO large
a portion of the city, was highly i'm
pOrtant. Engines were delayed so
long by these that it was fully twenty
minutes after the first oil barrel ex-
ploded that the first engine ratified up
to the front of the East Water street
fire, and it was forty-five minutes be-
fore the fire was confronted by force
thought to be sufficiently large to hold
it in check, to say nothing of subdu-
ing it. The firemen fought well, how
ever. and within an hour had crowded
the fire back and thought the day
their own.
At $40, however, the roar of anoth-
er explosion was heard and the hre
leaped forth again with fury beyond
what it had shown before. Fiery
shafts found their way once more &c
the east side of East Water street and
from that time on the curtain was
fairly up for tragedy.
Shortly after O'Clock Mayor Somers
became convinced that the city fire
department was powerless and asked
for assistance from outside. He a.
once sent word to the adjutant gen
eral of the state asking for militia anc
messages to Waukesha, Oshkoch
Kenosha, Racine and Chicago, asking
for help. Promptly replies were receiv
ed in every instance that the locke
for aid was coming. At 10 O'Clock thu
Kenoshe company was at work on thu
flames, the company from Racln'
having preceded it somewhat. Osh
kosh and Waukesha came in littl
later and the Chicago contingent con
sisting,of four engines and forty mel
arrived at 1925. 1t was no fault
theirs however, that they did not ar
rive SOONER. The response to the cal
: for militia was as prompt as by tn
various fire departments and alto
oether over 200 men armed with mus
kets and bayonets fixed were assigned
to duty. Their work was principal,
guarding property in the Third ward
/, but no opportunity offered OF PROVING
their value in such emergency. Privat
Winters of the Rusk guard performed
: an heroic act. From a little fran
building on Buffalo street the soldier
thought they heard sounds of dis
tress, and when the daring soldier
, ventured in the walls were ready t
fall. In few minutes brave youn
: men came forth from the burning hea
: bearing between them woman an
t two babes. They had slept unawar
= of the doom about them, and woul
g certainly have persisted had thei
e timely rescue failed.
The flames swept unchecked by tn
, almost superhuman efforts OF the r.
. sisting firemen, and carried on b
high winds, did not cease to srrea
until the fire had practically burne
J, itself out. The area over which tn
: fire swept comprised a large porto
K of the wholesale district and also tn
!. Third ward, in which many poor pei
q pie dwelt. Here the buildings wei
= mostly frame and one story high. l
+, this section of the burned distriC
= fully 5000 people were mode homeless
by the terrible conflagration. This
r a very conservative estimate to plat
It on the number who found themselvt
o in the street last night, compelled
seek shelter under the roofs of no
4 pitable citizens who threw their
- open to them, an estimation based Q
. the recent registration of the burne
Il district. The greatest portion of tt
a loss falls upon people unable to bei
Q t, and who carried no insuranc
l. Hundreds of families lost everythin
n they had in the world.
70 At 10 o'clock this morning the
= was no fire at all where last night hs
= ragged a fearful conflagration. He
and there were glowing heaps of co
and cellars of wrecked business hous
rather too warm for any one who hs
l. no special business to cali him ther
but over in the district where Il
little frame residences stood VI
nothing, not even a dark cloud
n smoke. AS soon as the sun was fair
) above the horizon people who fl
last night for their lives came swarr
g ing back to find out what had be-