The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-06-08
BIG FIRE At FARGO, n. D.
" Ragged From Three in the After
noon Until Late Wednes-
day Night.
The LOSS rs Thought to Be More
Than Three Millions of
Dollars.

Practically All the Bustness Portion OF
tho City In Ashea-Soms Of the
LOSSES.
MINNEAPOLIS. June IA special TO ths
Tribune from Moorehead says: Halt Of
Fargo II In ashes. Fire started mt three
O'clock in n restaurant on Second street.
strong wind was blowing. As four
o'clock the fire had reached the Great
Northern t'ains. ten blocks north, cutting
the entire district three blocks east to
BrohdwaY. A strong fight Was made TO
prevent the flames from crossing Broad
way. but by four p. IN. they had crossed in
several places. Telegraph wires were ell
burned, 10 IL was impossible TO reach
Grand Forks or Hillsboro to ask for help.
Among the principal firms burned are:
Herzan, cry goods; Crane's restaurant;
Magill. farm machinery; Northe Pacifs
elevator buildings; Western Union tsle-
graph Office; Morton. real estate; Red River
Valley National bank; Daily Forum; Msr.
chants State bank; the opera house; Tylor.
real estate; the plants Of the
Mccormick. Walter A. Wood, Min
nesota Chief. Deering and John
Deere implement warehouses; Coles livery
stable; the Grand hotel; Fleming's drug
store; the Sheridan hotel; Appel Bros;
Minneapolis Dry Goods company: Logan's
studio; the American Iron works; the Con-
tinentAl house, and Van BYunt's i'm plement
house.
A strong wind made the fire travel 20
quickly that hardly anything was saved.
The flames went tn tough brick buildinRs 40
easily as wooden ones.
Al 10 O'Clock tonight the nrs was still
burning in couple Of dozen place. The
wind changed 10 the north and drove tho
flames back. on the burned districs. A
block in the middle of the city from Robert
street and Front street south. four blocks
wide and ten blocks long. 10 . blacksned
plain Of ashes with not . dozen buildings
left standing. A fierce south wind drove IL
like a prairie fire. Brick buildings seemed
to melt away into heaps Of crumbling sand
and ii was impossible TO fotoe enough
water through the mains to fight the ffe.
Conservative estimate Of the loss at 10
O'Clock is $3O00,00O with not to exceed
| $76O.O9O insurance. Plenty of help ie
Casselton having sent hose companies.
Over 5000 to- might are homeless, and il ID
almost impossible TO verify the the reports
of accidents. james Flynn. eight Yeas
old. son of a former alderman. IL reported
| burned; also three children PHOTOGRAPHER
from the stairs in the third story of tho
Chaplin block. trying to save some property.
| Practically but ono hotel is left in town
III, Headquarters. Fire burned all around
it, but so far IT has been saved. Only one
restaurant is left in town. The Moorshoad
hotel is already full. A large number Of
people will sleep In the court house and
school house on the south side. President
Hill wired to open the Grand Pacific hotel
at Nooretead for the frsmen. Only two
grocery stores are left in town.
The fire started by hot ashes from the
Gem restaurant thrown out behind. ignis-
| ing some loose paper back of Hoseman
| dry goo is store. Somebody left the front
door open, and inside OF two minutes the
wind drove the Fl ,u mes through the building
ana out on the roof. In the next fifteen
minutes tho flames ran two blocks west
taking brick buildings and all, then jumped
across the street TO McGilrs big machin-
cry warehouse. North and east OF this for
| two blocks each way are the big m chinery
depots mostly two story wooden buildings,
and at this time Of year filled TO the roof
with the years supply of farm machinery
for North Dakota. Inside of half an hour
| the whole space Of four blocks WAS a whirl-
| wind of flame, the property consumed ther
being valued at $1.250.0OO. The only ma
chinery houses saved are the Walter A,
Wood and the Monitor Press drill.
| The flames being at last across Broadway
! soon made short work Of two blocks be-
tween tho Mears and Citizens banks. just
further west is the three-story brick Chaplin
| block. the four-story Columbia hotel and
tho big brick HaRaman block. oocu ioi by
| AZ ala 10
quarters of an hour after tho Columbia
hotel caught nothing Was standing but the
walls. Tho big briok Citizens bank for a
long time resisted the flames. but at last
they crspt west OF it and burned Elliott's
hotel stopping two blocks west at the oity
flames then took shoot north toward
the Great Northern freight depot.
burning the new Alsthodist church on
Roberts street, and \ large number of rs-i-
dencss and small stores. Secret societies
suffered severely. losing their halls with
| nearly all their roperty. Every open space
IL filled with II confused collection of houss-
hold goods. bugRiss. merchandise, legal
| libraries, etc.. hurriedly carried there.
Numbers of people are sleeping tonight on
the bare ground by the aide OF all that ID
left OF their personal effects. The militia
are on duty and will guard property -
much as possible.
At midnight the ftemen wore still work.
| ing ha'd to stop the flames. Practically
one-half of Fargo is wiped out, only half OF
tho business houses being left. The trestls
was burned on the Great Northern, 30 no
trains eau pass. Firemen are now trying
TO sxtinguish the flames along the
line of tho Northern Pacific. enough
TO allow the section crsw to
relay rails and let trains pass. Only one
| wire could be worked this evening. The
Fargo telegraph office is burned and mes
sages have 10 be sent from Moorshead.
Only one bank is saved. the First National.
Several frsmen wero injured By falling
bricks. No more fatalities are reported
| yet.
! TRuRo N. s.. June THE building
known al the Convers burned ysster-
day. together with the adjoining premises
of Biaslow ~ Co.. Gun II Stack. the Vic
toria hall. containing the Salvation amy
barracks. The Colchester block. occupied
| by A. I. DAIRY mpls 40 a clothing ssoro Was
badly damaged. Several smaller places
also sustained losses ey hrs and water.
| The Boston Comedy company. which had
au engagement in ths Converssrum. lost all
their effects, valued at $4,000. The total
loss ID very heavy. and insurance oomparA-
lively small.
SAN FRANoIsoo. June IA fire early this
morning destt Dyed thirsesn residences near
Golden Gate park. Three fremsn persisted
In the flames and another was fatally In
jursd, and Q number badly btuissd aud
burned. The properly loss IL 100000.
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