Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-03-16

tut tilt EFthL thanksgiving any uTb VI
1889. IL was box j.! that rang III for the
Two big fires Boston has had this year
And again to-day Ut 1.25 o'clock box ~
rang in for what will prove to he an equal
of the fire of 1859, both AS to loss Of life
and property. The lire started i'll the large
brownst0ne building ON Lincoln street
known AS the Ames Building and oCcu-
pied mostly by the wholesale department
Of Horace Partridge u Co.. the largest
dealers in toys and fancy articles in the
United States.
The spread Of the flames was something
frighttu. Long before the apparatus ar.
rived the whole place was one mass Of
flames. II will be days and perhaps weeks,
possibly never before the exact nnmhrr of
killed is learned. On the opposite side Of
the thoroughfare were burned the build
ings occupied by the Singer sewing
Machine Company and the Wire Grip
Company.
THE loss OF LIFE.
The loss Of life and the number Of in
jured can be placed directly on the Horace |
Partridge Company. They carried among |
other things a large supply of fireworks.
The clerks of the firm, numbering over
30 on this one floor, had not lad time to |
leave the building when the lire reached
the fireworks. The explosion caused by
these instruments Of pleasure was some
thing terrific. 1t shook the building as ii
Hi earthquake had struck it.. Frcn2ied b?E
what had taken place, and by the wild
cries Of those occupied on the top llDor,
nearly all Of the occupants Of the building
made for the windows and jumped.
The lrcmen connected with Engine NOT,
when they first arrived, saved 10 girls and
four men from the top stories OF the Ames
Building, Daniel Smith and james Con
ners OF Engine No, saved i've people
from the same building when the heat
drove them back, and they actually saw
girls being burned to death
The northeast wing Of the United States
Hotel was gutted, bur aside from this that
v bostelry escaped damage. The Board OF
~ Fire Underwriters places the loss az
h $4,000. 900, but it is thought the loss Viii
X foot MP a great deal more chan this. Three
\ persons are known to be dead, and al least
Z 20 persons are injured, some OF whom Will
y die OF their injuries. The overhead wires
q hampered the hremen in their work of
saving life.
q " THOSE KNOWN 70 HAVE BEEN KILLED.
Following is the list Of the lead Leon
Is idas IL. Redpath, senior partner in the firm
y Of Redpath Brothers Manufacturing Com
pany, boots and shoes died FROM multiple
injuries at the City Hospital. Fred
4. Meadowcraft, Cambridge % years Old,
a Jumped from the third story and fell on
his head. Died in the ambulance on the
way to the hospital. An unknown man,
removed 10 City Hospital. Unknown man,
cremated in Emergency Hospital in wing
\ OF the United state Hotel.
1t is believed the bodies of other victims
Z. are in the ruins, Over 50 were injured
some of whom may die.
LOSS OF 81, 100000.
The fire broke out shortly after o'clock
this afternoon, and before il was placed
under control three hours later had burned
over more than square, had reduced to
u ashes several of the magnificent new
Bindings recently completed in the terri
fif 4ar Iprp Al mud had
consumed property valued by cOnServ;l-
f tive estimate at four and one-half millions
Of dollars, had destroyed several, perhaps
many, human lives and mangled or
MANNED at least so personG, some Of whom
IS will die of their injuries.
TERRIBLE SCRAMBLE FOR LIFE.
There were many employees of the Part
ie ridge Company at work AT the time, and
d the other floors of the building were
sprinkled with human beings. The usua
avenues of escape were at once cut off, anG
then began scramblefor life which sick
ened beholders, The panic stricken in
a M iaates fled to the windows and the roof
"A Some escaped BY SHINING down telegraph
poles, others by leaping into blankets anC
nets. Several jumped TO the pavement 81,
Isl or eight stories and were terribly mangled
and Others--how many cannot now betolt
--fell back into the cauldron of flames o
NJ were overcome by the dense black smoke
saN which sutfocated all who did not speedily
escape.
The entire fire department Of the cit,
was speedily on the scene. The depart
m fnents OF Somerville. Cambridge, Newton
Quincy and Stockton arrived there b.
f train, and help was requested to be il
n readiness from more distant cities.
gfl Fortunately further help was not needed
tks Vast crowds of people began at once +
f flock to the scene, and rs matter OF pre-
9 caution Governor Russell speedily ordere
two companies of militia under arms an
proceeded to the fire in person, where Ii
was soon Joined by Mayor Matthews.
The lire spread rapidly from building t
building and despite the heroic efforts d
3M the entire system of Suffolk county va
3M not controlled until the whole squar
lS bounded By Essex street on the nortl
lSf Lincoln ON the east, Tufts on the sout
and Kingston on the west, had been Ley
eled; one building north of Essex stree
extending along Columbia street; thr'
more on the east side Of Lincoln stree
and one corner of the United States Hote
a south of TUFTS street, which corner col
tanned the Emergency Hospital
STORY OF AN EYEWITNESS.
w. S. Rumrll of Deane, Chase & c.
WA SAYS. II first saw a man with his hair Il
orally singed off his head rushing up Il
~ street TO the nearest fire alarm box.
sprang TO the door and saw spectat
that appalled, me. A torrent of flame W
M the centre front on the second floor OF Il
M Ames Building The people inside we
throwing books out OF the windo'
IS and men and boys from the stores We
picking them up Very soon upon y
narapet way up above the street saw 70
men and one woman clingin5 to the sto
work.
"Therc was no such thing as getting
ladder up to them owing to the net wo
OF wires This is the worst corner for VII
in the city OF Boston, and the whole strt
il in peri[ from them. We watched
quartet as they chung for few mnu'
only. while the crowd i'll the street sto
IN breathless silence. Then they, one aii
another, jumped off. Down They came
height OF fully six stories, ana stFu
solidly on the frozen ground, %, u
horrible, horrible. You should nave nea
the groan that went from that thfohS
the street Every one Of them was 4hcl
ribly injured. There could hardly pt
whole bone in their bodies"
BusToN, Mass March l2-The body
Harry j. Turner was taken from the ri
of Friday nights fire to-day. Il is now
garled as certain that Lewis Cotton
bookkeeper, employed by the l.lidl
Manufacturing Company, was lost ~
flames This increases the number OF
dead to five.
Stories OF larger loss of life than
been reported are being circulated,
Calvin, OF the Emergency Hospital
serts that he saw from his windows M
Girls in the burning building who co
not have escaped, 1t is also known !
many customers and drummers III
miliar with the location Of doors and eA
a -. Ia