The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-07-11

| CHICAGO. July 5.--The worlds CO.
lumbar exposition Is blllowy sea OF
white ashes. calcined star and twisted
steel girders The stately administration
| building. the architectural crown OF tho
| White city. with It's Rided and decorated
dome. lts supporting pavlllons enriched
with statuary. the majestic agricultural
J building with it's tinted and decorated
I collonades, its beautiful statues OF abund-
ance. its zodacal circles upheld on the
arms OF female figures. representing the
| races Of man, and its iattened dome sur
rounded by a decoration Of turkey cocks
with spreading tails. above which once
wheeled st. Gaudes's beautiful figure OF
! Diana. the chaste. the beautiful palace
OF mechanical arts, with It's lofty flutel
] Corinthian collonades. its superb circular
| porched entrance ana It's figure-tipped
| spires, the light and airy electricity build
ing with It's open roof-lanters. its
curyillnear recessed entrance, where erst-
while stood the statue Of Benjamin
| Franklin on the south and it's graceful
! projecting bays on the north the at
tractively nornate but substantal-look-
ing mines building, the mammoth manu-
| facturers and liberal arts building. with
! forty-acre lot and It's lofty trumphsl
! corner and central arches, together with
| a number OF minor structures have
passed into history at the wave of an in
| cendiary's blazing hand
From south collonade TO the govern
ment building and from the lake to the
| golden door Of the angel-guarded trans
| portation building the world-fam0us
white city is no more. AS the evening
sun was shedding his level rays for the
! last time upon the erstwhile scene of
| life movement and color they fell upon
the familiar outlines of these flowers of
/ human handiwork almost untouched in
their serene loneliness. Two hours later
| the new moon bent her pale crescent
above them shining on a mass of ruins,
wrapped in a pail Of smoke, save where
| the yellow red of blazing timbers flared
| against the blue-black which covers the
| site Of the white city and covers us all.
OF all the great departmental struc-
| lures the fire spared only the transporta-
! ton building, horticultural hall, the
| fisheries building AMI the art palace.
| The last named is now occupied by the
/ Field Columbian museum and the fisher
/ les building is mere steel skeleton, hav-
| ing been demolished by wrecking COM
pany Besides these the government
building the woman's building, the
| British and German and few of the
state buildings are all that remains of
| filed jackson park. Even the polyglot
glories of the merry Midway have de-
| parted.
Sic transit gloria mundi.
All the main buildings of the worlds
| fair. except the horticultural build
palace, the machinery and the United
| States government building. were
almost entirely burned tonight. They
We're the property of the Columbian ex-
position salvage company, and had been
| purchased from the exposition company
for about 100000.
The fire was discovered this evening
| by several boys in the southwestern cor
ner OF the first floor of the terminal sta
ton When first seen it was but an in
| cipient blaze and the boys endeavored
| to stamp il out for several minutes.
They were unsuccessful, however, as the
| fierce gale which was then blowing from
| the southwest famed the fire, and be-
! fore an alarm could be turned in the fire
had reached the second-stOry of the
building. owing 20 the distance which
separated most II the engine companies
| from the scene of the fire. there was
| considerable delay in getting a stream
OF water upon the blazing structure The
! first alarm was Immediately followed by
a Sill call and this by a special call for
ten engines. By the time the first de-
| tachment of engines was fully at work
| the terminal station was a mass of
| flames and the fire had leaped across to
| the administration building. In twenty
minutes the dome of this beautiful struc-
! ture fell with a terrible roar and sparks
| and blazing brands were carried by the
wind north and northeast of the mines.
| electricity and agricultural buildings.
| The electricity building was first TO take
| tire. In a few minutes it was enveloped
in flames and at 40 o'clock the glass
roof collapse and the iron framework of
the structure fell in.
At 7;15 the east end OF the mines and
| mining building fell i'm and the flames
became so fierce that the engine COM
| panies stationed between the electricity
! and mines and mining buildings had to
| fly for their lives. Engine company No.
| IS were forced to abandon their engines
| and had scarcely time to cut the horses
| from the traces. One of the animals
succeeded in getting away, but the other
| was suffOcated. Several hundred feet of
| hose were also burned.