Asheville daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1890-1900, 1892-05-06

ands-Cattle Tied ia the streets
several Explosions.
New YORK, May 6.-At 2 O'Clock this
morning fire was discovered i'll the i'm
mensc slaughter house of Swartzchild &
Sulzbergcrs, wholesale butchers on the
East river. The flames spread so rapidly
that second aud third alarms were
quickly sent out which brought to the
scene IL engines.
Despite this force the fire gained head
way until they cuyclopcd the great three
story structure which runs from 18th to
46th street and extends to the river. In
this building there was large quantity
of imnamable material which fed the
flames to such an extent that by halt
past 2 o'clock the whole block was in
flames.
The fire during its progress reached the
lard tanks, where a terrific explosion oc-
Cured, quickly followed by four others
which shook the adjoining buildings al
most TO their centre.
BY half past three o'clock the fire coy
cred space of two hundred by three hun
drcd feet, and at that hour it was csti
mated that already $250,000 worth OF
property had been destroyed. At $40
O'Clock the pier at the foot of Forty-tifth
street caught fire, and the flames ran
along the whaives until they were burn
ing all the way tm Forty-scvcnth street.
| Vessels anchored near the docks were
quickly towcd out into the streams.
There was a strike of slaughter house
hands early i'll the evening and the firm
fearing that there might be some trouble,
applied to the police authorities who in
response sent the reserves OF the Il. 5lSt
street station to protect the works. The
strikers, who were mostly Hebrews and
numbncd about twenty-five, made no
demonstration against the other men,
however. They quit work, they said,
because they were refused permission to
regulate their hours and to be off one
day in every week. They had been com
pclcd to work f.om II to 10 hours Il
day, for which they we're paid $ll per
week.
The police have already begun iuvcs-
tications into the circumstances at
tending the fire and, it is said, arc work
ing on the theory that the strikers who
left the work last evening had some
thing to do with setting the place on fire
The slaughter house people occupy two
blocks. from Forty Fifth street to 47th
from First avenue to the river and in
addition have Il large new building on
the river front between Nth and 45tl1
streets where the former building was
burned down about Il year ago.
Along hcriver front there VIC a mum.
Der of small buildings used for reception
Of portions Of animal matter. They were
consumed, together with the drying
building. the canning building, the
,engine and dynamo room. besides a
number of other smaller ONES There was
$175,000 worth of machinery in one o!
the buildings.
The elevator boy was the first to dis.
cov>r the fire. He saw fire coming
through the elevator shaft. This was
the building where two large engines OF
a capacity of 500 horse power, and all
the electric lighting plants were. All
this machinery including six boiler were
either badly damaged or totally de
stroyed.
Thursday night 525 head of cattle were
brought to the slaughter house. Tho
smoke worked its way into the pens
were they were and their believing coulC
bc heard blocks away. 1t was with The
greatest possible trouble that tho
herd was gotten into the street where
they rushed hther and thither in
furiatcd by the flying sparks which tcl
upon them, BY this time the streets ii
the vicinity Of the fire were crowded anc
many had narrow escapes from bcins
trampled on by the infuriatcd animals
They were finally driven into a vacan
near by.
! The flames ragged the Gcrccst i'll tn
canning department building where wer
stored about 500, 900 worth of cannc'
beef and quantities Of bologna. Th
fire is not yet wholly extingulshcd ant
the exact loss is unknown.