Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1893-02-14
arlREpnooen MMoeN LANE.

Ihe PRECIOUS Metal District Almost II
empt from Mig CONGREGATIONS.
i Maiden lane has been singularly IRE
from destructive fires for many yenrs
and there Is superstition among th,
Il jewelry and diamond merchants of tina
street that the lane will never succuml
to flames or stream. or water, and tina
the old rickety buildings lining 1t OF
both sides are pretty nearly "Ereproof.
The records OF the FIRE patrol, which
60 back TO 1874, prove that in the las
eighteen years lib fires have taken place
In that neighborhood. nil Of which were
Of little account. Those fires which nj
fectcd jewelry establishments were the
| most insignificant Of the lot, and Their
stock was never damaged by any FIRE.
This seems strange, for the reason
that in the majority Of houses occupied
by jewelers. numberless small and
rickety rooms are used as smelling fur
naces and workshops, with plenty OF OPP
portunities for creating heat and flames.
talked with a number Of merchants
located In the precious metal district,
between Broadway and William street,
and all Of them said they had never lost
= cent by fire. One OF tho reasons for
this happy state Of affairs is their ex-
IRENE cautiousness. They have watch
men constantly on the premises TO guard
against thieves, and these men are bound
10 look ont for conflagrations likewise.
Whenever there Is the slightest cause
for danger the thick doors Of the safes
arc locked In q jiffy. and all hands in the
building combine 10 remove that cause.
As one Of the maiden laners" ex-
pressed himself, there is no inducement
for fires either All the wealth the jew.
eler's stock represents is kept In safes,
the doors Of which may be barred In an
instant. Even IL there was q firebng
among that respectable class OF mer-
chants no would not dare set fire to his
building In order to claim insurance on
his stock, for such q thing would give
him away ia an instant. II a really de-
structive fire should occur In one of the
large jewelry emporiums In the lane the
safes would tumble down into the Gel.
lars, and the precious stock would be re-
covered as soon as they had cooled of.
And even IL the safes were injured on
their come down their contents would
not necessarily DO lost We all remem
Der the great fire In Bond street which
destroyed a number Of wholesale Jew
elry establishments. When the proprie
tors of those precious safes looked for
them they were nowhere. only twisted
and distorted fragments being found.
but when they dug up the soil under the
destroyed building, they turned up large
chunks Of precious ore that had once
been watch chains, breastpins or we'd
ding rings The police were notified
and formed line all around the seat Of
the fire. Then a mining camp was es,
tablished. A long gutter was run
around two sides OF the spot made va,
cant by the fire, a stream of water was
led through these cutters, the earth was
carefully washed and fortune recoy
cred, the proceeds Of which were divided
among the former occupants of the
building according to the extent Of their
business.
Maiden lane Is not the only down town
street that Of late years has been free
from conhagrations, though no other has
srch record to show as the lane.
Pearl, Williams, Beekman and Full
ton streets were once notorious for
big fires That was in the times when
the big paper warehouses and similar
establishments made their headquarters
there. The part Of Maiden lane ada
cent to the river still gives tho fire de-
-