St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-08-14


in a heap into the wagons, and
away went the apparatus through
the smoke and the crowd to aid In
the work of saving some structure
farther up. Engines tore down the
avenues with frightful speed, the horses
covered with foam, and lashed into
frenzy by mercileSS whips. 1t was no
time to show mercy to man or beast.
There goes my house," exclaimed
man whose face and hands bore the
| imprint of hard toll. Its all have
got, and it was Just paid for. There
will be no time to save even the fur
| niture. / do not know what l will do
now, for the mill where worked is
gone. too. and we are all out of work."
Another man with pale and hag.
gard face rushed up and asked for help.
His wife. an invalid for months, was
| penned up in home which was even
| then beginning to blaze. The woman was
rescued with difficulty, and with wee
babe i'll her arms was carried to place
| of safety.
My God, we are done for now," said
| one workman to another. The latter,
following the pointed finger of the first
saw the BackuS mills a blighting maSs
or flames which scared a hundred feet
into the air. These are but few in
stances of hundreds of like nature.
| Not man in the crowd was there who
did not feel the keenest pity for the
men whose hardships will commence
with the fire of this day.
That the Backus mill was on fire was
only too true, for even then the roof was
caving in. Immense piles of lumber
caught the flames. and the light from
these huge heaps of dry wood ilumi-
mated the heavens until long after mid
night.
The fire played unusual freaks. With
wierd and uncanny favoritiSm, the
flames at times seemed to sweep en-
tirely over some modest home, leaving
it almost unscathed except for a few
holes in the roof, while the dwellings
near and around it were consumed like
paper boxes. This odd freak was es-
pecially noticeable on the outskirts of
the fire, and near the upper end of the
| path OF devastation.
Still onward went the fire, until it
| had reached as far as Fifteenth avenue
northeast. Behind, the flames had left
an lnclnerated eXpanse Of ruin. With
| the progress of the fire the firemen kept
an equal pace, and engine after engine
drove onward up the street.
A cheer of enthusiasm and delight
went up as in the line of dashing APP
| paratus steamers and men from st. Pau
were recognized by the spectators.
| Fifteenth avenue saw tire first signs
| of an abatement of the fire. The colossal
walls of iron and stone of the Orth
| brewery acted in a great measure as
! buffer, for the greedy flames hurled
| themselves madly against the building,
ran up their full length, and then ex-
pired, baffled. All of the buildings on
the south of the brewery were con-
| sumeG, and the flames were carried to
| the west and around this immense
| structure. A beautiful sight was wit
| messed at the corner of Fifteenth ave-
| nue. and Marshall street, when the
| flames sprang from the roof of dwell-1
! ing into the luxurious foliage of two
| towering poplar trees, and with the
| speed of lightning ran to the tOpmost
branches, and jumped hundred feet
into the air. Every leaf Was stripped
| from the trees.
| Here was the turning point of the
| terrible cOntiagration. A hundred
| houses still lay in the pathway of the
| flames, but With unusual caprice the fire
| refused to touch them. having eaten it's
| fill. Slower and slower burned the fire,
| and the anxious crowd saw many signs
| of favorable nature. Suddenly there
was furry in the air, and the wind
whisked about with the fury of a
| cyclone. Boards and sticks were picked
up, whirled in circle and carried up
to an enormous height. At least
| a halfdoZen of these whirlwinds
were seen, and for time the
| spectators were apprehensive of
| cyclone. Theu the wind subsidized, and
when things were more settled it was
discovered that the current of air had
veered, and was taking the flames back
| inlo the burned territory. 1t was i'm
mediately seen that if the wind con-
| tinued to blow from this new quarter
| that the further progress of the fire
could be stayed. All watched with the
most intense anxiety until the breeze
time, at least, it would hold from the
| new direction. No more buildings
we're ignited, save a few small shan
ties. and as soon as possible the fire en-
gines were dispatched to the mill and
lumber districts.
1t was then for the first time that the
| spectators could pay attention to de-
tails, the grand magnitude of the fire
| having challenged their time. A GLOBE
reporter going through the burning
district, found that the following dwell
ings, among many others, had suffered
through the devastating flames:
Dwelling of \. Trump, Thirteenth
avenue. ........ ............... $1,000
Orths new beer saloon. .............. 1900
=. Saratka' IS dwelling ......-....... 1850
" McNally. three houses .......... 1900
Smith 4 Eurrigau. three lWellinns