Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1893-06-16
SOME "REMINISCENCES.
Bismarck Firemen Indulge In the
Relation of "Reminiscences of
Olden Times
The Bentley Trial For Assault Comes
Up and the pefenant Is Dis
charged.
Secretary Bassett Telegraph That It
Will Be Impossible to Hold q
Tournament.
The Healy Case Goes to Justice lib.
The Healy Case Goes to Justice lib
bils-Various Items of Local
Interest.
Talking About Fires.

4uere was u group OF nremen on the
corner of Fourth and Broadway last
evening, discussing fires and fremen in
general and the Fargo fire in particular.
They set the fire, watched the fire for a
few moments, rang the alarm, laid seven
or eight lines of hose, ran up a half
dozen ladders, assembled them, turned on
the water, tore down blazing partitions,
and finally extinguished the fire in less
time than it takes to tell, GALL this in the
general run of conversation, of course),
and at length, in a reminiscent mood,
the boys exchanged recollections of fires
in Bismarck in former days. There were
a few strangers in the crowd and they
listened with eager ears, while tale after
tale of bravery and daring was embodied.
Yes, that Fargo blaze was a pretty
bad one,' began one of the fremen, and
he leaned back against a lamp post,
and cleared his throat of an emotional
lump which stuck there whenever he
thought how easily he could have cor.
rallied the blaze had he only been there.
but I'll bet you when it started it
wasn't q marker to the blaze at the old
opera house on Third street two or three
years ago. Say, wasn't that a beauty.
Wind blowing about sixty miles an hour,
and colder than blazes. Sparks flying in
all directions, and the air filled with
Goals and pieces of burning boards till it
looked like a Fourth of July celebra.
tion,' and he sighed mournfully, as he
thought of those good old times.
Remember about that telegraph
pole" queried another of the boys, as
he winked in the direction of one of the
strangers.
"Oh, yes! say that was -"
"Prettiest thing I ever saw" said the
first speaker, earnestly. ga telegraph
pole standing out in front caught fire at
the bottom and burned off. Well, sir,
the wind picked it up and carried it up
about a hundred feet in the air till it
looked exactly like a sky rocket. By
an'-by the lnsulators got so hot they
melted and dropped off, just like fire
balls in a sky rocket. They were all
colors-red, white, blue-and the people
in jamestown took 'em for shooting
stars. Talk about fires Well I guess
One of the strangers took a fresh grip
of the barber pole against which he was
standing, when another fireman began:
"But the funniest thing I ever saw was
in a fire in an oil house on First street,
about seven years ago. We rolled nearly
all the oil out, but three barrels in the
center, and we couldn't get them out to
save nc. It was no use to throw water
in there and We had about made up our
minds to skip and let the thing blow up,
when one of the boys thought OF a plan,
and we all got inside and stood around
the barrels until the wall burned away,
and left us standing there"
But didn't the oil take fire." queried
the stranger, meekly, as he mopped his
forehead with a red handkerchief.
mo, sir; the Bismarck fire depart
ment kept SO cool that those barrels
couldn't get hot enough to burn;" and
the narrator sighed, and thought of the
hereafter which must await the trusty
fireman.
another funny thing which I saw at
a fire once, and which goes to show what
great water pressure we've got here"
said a tall fireman with a bad cold, twas
when that three-story building burned
down on Mandan avenue, about six
years ago. The fire was in the back part
OF the building and we thought everyone
was out, when a little girl about three
years old stuck her head out Of the front
window. There wasn't a ladder any,
where near, and we about thought the
little n would go under, when a happy
thought struck the chief, and he stuck q
hose alongside the building and shot a
stream of water straight up past the
window. Then he caught hold of the
stream with both hands, wrapped his
legs around it, and went up hand over
hand like it was a rope. He got up
there, got hold of the little girl and slid
down with her all o. k. And, sir, would
You believe it, that stream of water was
SO hard and the pressure so great it never
even wet his pants"
The boys stopped to take breath, and
the stranger stepped forward. "Boys,"
he murmured, "Come and have some.
thing with me. I went through the
Chicago fire, and was in the Brooklyn
theatre when she went down, but I must
confess I ever saw much. I don't feel
worthy to stay in the same town with
you, boys" he went on, tearfully, "but
come and have something and it'll be all
right, won't it,"
And then, as q frost before July sur,
the boys disappeared.
The Bentley Trial.
The assault and battery case of John
A. Mclean against Charley Bentley