The morning news., 1894-01-09
FIRE SWEEPS THE BIG FAIR
Three Buildings and the PeTistyIe
Burned.

@AS NNoN - y 3C00f010 ~
$4,000, ,ooo-The Casino, Music Hall
and Manufactures and Liberal Arts
Building the Stxuctures Swept
Away-Two Tramps Believed to
Have Started the Blaze.
Chicago, Jan. Sire broke out at 80
O'Clock among the worlds fair buildings.
BY p. m. the Casino and Peristyle had
been destroyed, and the music hall and
the manufacturers and liberal arts build
ing were burning.
The fire started in the casino Just cast
of the agricultural building and south Of
the Peristyle. The casino was quickly
destroyed and the flames surged north on
top Of the peristyle and dropping made
second line of fire along the base of the
columns. The flames then sprang through
the music hail. which corresponded al the
north end of the peristyle with the
casino at the south. While the fire was
burning there was one of the most
singular and fascinating sights Of the
night. Along the top of the peristyle
were scores of statues. The spectacle for
those people fortunate enough to be on the
moving sidewalk, Just east of the PERI
style, was more Of a succession OF gigan-
tic human beings plunging, one after an
other headlong into the waters Of the
lake below.
STARTED BY TRAMPs.
The origin of the fire is said TO be re-
| venge on the part OF couple Of tramps.
The solitary guard in the music hall says
| that just before the flames broke out he
| kicked two vagabouds out Of the music
| hall and told them to find quarters else
/ where. They left in the direction of the
| casino and soon after the fire broke Que
and soon everything on the grounds was
| In terror and confusion.
FEARS OF LooTING.
Fears Of looting added to the horror of
the scene. AT about 10 O'Clock, with q
| possible loss Of about 81 1000. 900 by FIRE In
the manufactures building alone, the
authorities began TO realize that a large
element in the crowd was composed Of
| idlers, who, once launched in lawlessness,
| it would be hard to control. Such prepa-
| rations as could be hurriedly
made, were put in motion 70
remove goods and guard the other
buildings, but all such efforts were
mere child's play The utter hopeless
ness Of such attempts on such short
notice was made apparent at once.
| The few officers on guard could hardly
do more than shut their eyes and grit
| their teeth. hoping against hope that the
flames would speedily be stayed.
THE SPECTATORS DRIVEN BACK.
The spectators at this time partly to
| guard their lives aud prevent wholesale
| robbery OF the exhibits, had been largely
/ driven by the police westward over the
bridges from the lake, and lined up in a
/ solid mass against the electricity build
| ing. Here they could see the giant flames
| throwing out giant handfuls Of roof, and
/ great blazing fragments dropping down
| upon the exhibits below. Through the
| glass roof and buildings could be seen the
| piers falling like boulders in an avalanche,
| crushing and burning the exquisite
| French section and threatening TO destroy
the Russian and British sections.
| The fire boats and engines on the lake
| had by this time subdued the flames in
/ the ashes of the peristyle and Ia the lower
| collonade OF the southeast side OF the
| liberal arts building and hopes wero
| raised that the fire had been subdued, but
| shortly after 1l:l5 p. m. the flames got
| beyond control.
RBMoRsELEss PLAY OF THE FLAMES.
Remorselessly the fire was hurling itself
| through the interiors of the big iron
arches at the dizzy heights above. The
flames wound, boa constructor fashion, In
| and around the mammoth electric lights
suspended from the roof. Below these
| fearful coils of iron, likely to drop at any
| moment, no man dared go, even the stur-
diest not yenturing within q hundred
| feet. Frantic horses, with heavy
loaded trucks were plunRing through the
| aisles, now encountered with wreckage
or drenched with falling cataracts Of
| water, most of which fell far short of tho
| topmost flames. Opinions Seemed TO be
general that the loss by water would be
even greater than that by fire. The fed
eral officials put the maximum
| beyond the liberal arts building
| at 81 ,0O0, 900. On the other hand, the es-
Inmates made by the people connected
| with the local directory, made the high-
est figures only 81 100000. In athe liberal
arts building, about 10:45 p. m, great
iron arch gave away directly above the
| French wares, and falling heavily, buried
were abandoned. Back of the
French was the Japanese exhibit
and about it clustered a crowd Of scared
and frantic japanese. This, like many
exhibits, has not been released from bond,
and the goods could not be taken from
the building Under the direction Of
| some Japanese officials. the wares were
l carried TO the doors. and there they
stood, guarded by natives Of the fowery
| kingdom, who sorrowfully awaited the
| destruction that seemed inevitable. All
| of the American exhibits had long ago
been removed but tho formalties OF the
custom house had detained the goods Of
| the foreigners.
Supt Graham, of the manufactures
building said it would be weeks before a
schedule Of the damages could be pre-
pared.
A GALLANT FIGHT.
Finally the engines were ordered into
| the liberal arts building and a detach-
ment of tremen went TO the top Of the
building $50 feet above the ground, and
the fight was stubbornly continued.
There is some prospect that a part Of
j the building viii be saved, and possibly
the greater part of its contents.
One fireman fell from the peristyle and
was so badly injured that he died in the
hospital. Two other firemen were badly
| hurt.
At midnight President Higginbotham
said the fire was under control and that
| the loss by water would probably be
| greater than that by fire