The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1893-06-09
The Confiagration of Wednesday DID
Damage to the Extent Of Three
Millions.
Scores Of Business Blocks and Resi-.
denees Now Only Smoking
Ruins.
Only One Bank, Two Grocery Store.
and One or Two Machinery Ware.
- houses Left.


started a. 3p. m. Wednesday burned
fercely for over IL hours, leaving half
the city blackened mass of ruins. Be.
tween 1900 and 5000 people are home
less, and much greater number have
thrown out of employment.
All the hotels, except the Headquar-
ters, all the banks except the First Ma
tional. all the groceries except Yerxa's
and Geary's all the secret society halls,
all the machinery warehouses except
Walter A. Woods and the Monitor
drill, are burned to the ground. The
fire has made clean sweep of IL blocks
long by five blocks wide. not leaving
dozen buildings standing. The tele-
graph office is burned, and only two
wires are working from Moorhead. The
loss is probably s3.ooO,o0o and the in
surance not over 81, 900, 900.
Started From Hot Ashes.
The fire was started by hot ashes
from the Gem restaurant, thrown out
behind, igniting loose papers back Of
Hoseman's dry goods store. Somebody
left the front door open and inside of
three minutes the wind had driven the
flames through the building and burst
out of the roof In the next Is minutes
the flames ran two blocks west, taking
brick buildings and all, then jumped
across the street to Magill's big ma
chinery warehouse, containing $4,000
worth of twine and 5000 worth of
machinery. North and east of this for
two blocks each way are the big machin-
cry depots. mostly 2-story wooden build
ings. at this time of year filed to the roof
with years supply of farm machinery
for North Dakota.
Made Stubborn Fight.
For perhaps quarter of an hour the
fremen kept the flames from jumping
the railroad track. Then first on one
roof, then another, tongues OF flames
broke out, as the whirling fire fakes
settled on the shingles. Inside half an
hour the whole space of four blocks was
a whirlwind of flame, the property con-
sumed being valued at 81, 100000. The
90 only machinery houses saved are the
Walter A. Wood and the Monitor Press
drill. Both were on fire several times,
but the firemen made a stubborn fight
and managed to arrest the flames, sc
preventing the spreading east to Moor.
head.
Firemen now tried to confine the fire
south Of Northern Pacific avenue, but
the wind was carrying cinders couple
of blocks, and soon Coles stable
caught fire, and the opera house block
soon followed, while the Grand hote
was burning on the east. An eddy o
wind sent the flames over towards
Front street. carrying Colonel Morton,
barn and then the Fargo Daily Forum
office. The latter is located in woodel
structure, and the printers had jus
time to lock up the forms on the stone
while the office force kept back tn,
flames. The loss of Major Edward
ard Plumlev will be heavy, the outfi
being pure ased a year ago. Th
Forum issuel la,er from the New
paper Union office It had been ex
pected the 3-story b-ick lined Rive
National bank would arrest the flames
but the roof fell in inside of quartz
OF an hour after tine flames touched il
The firemen fought stnbbornly, bu
the flames rapidly crepr up the eastsid
of Broadway, though they We're pre-
vented from crossing, while the flame
took sudden start to the northeast i
the residence district north of the Grea
Northern track. where they left clea
track four to FIVE blocks wide and te
blocks long, while isolated fires coul
be seen more than mile north, cause
by flying cinders. Then the win
changed little again and the fame
caught the Minneapolis and Norther
elevator, containing 100000 bushel
gutted the Forth Side high school an
set the Great Northern depot on fiji
several times, but the flames at the la
ter were extinguished.
East Side Of Broadway.
The east side of Broadway was no
alight at both ends, six blocks apar
The center of this district is entirel
brick, composing the Fargo Republics
Office. Bristol & Swert's wholesale ha
ness, the Keeney block and Eddy's ban
while across Broadway were Near
Bank of North Dakota, and Mortga,
Bank and Knights of Pythias Hal
built last year The wind was no
setting strongly from the southea
driving the flames directly on the
buildings. which soon succumbed. al
the flames being at last across Broa
way, soon made short work of ty
blocks between Mears' bank and q
Citizens bank. Just further west 10 t
3-story brick Chaplin block, 4-story G.
umbia hotel and the big brick Hagami
block, occupied by e. M. Rawort
wholesale grocer.
Three quarters Of an honr from I