Huntsville gazette. [volume] (Huntsville, Ala.) 1879-1894, 1894-01-13
A Carnival OF FLAME.

i once More Creates Havoc at the Worlds
Fair Grounds and a Loss of Two Mil
lion Dollars-The Peristyie, the Casino
and the Music Hall Destroyed, and the
Mechanical Liberal Arts Building, with
Costly Exhibits, Partially Burned
| CHICAGO, Jan. 9-Before the gaze of
vast throng last evening the beauti-
full peristyle of the Worlds Columbian
exposition met a glorious end, and the
magnificent column sank to ashes in
! funeral pyre. With it went the Ca
sino and Music hall, fianking the peri
style at either end. Before the de-
struction of the grand water entrance
to the fair had been completed the
great Manufactures building, con-
tanning s2,Ooo,o 900 worth of ex-
hibits, packed and ready for
shipment. was on fire in a dozen
| places while brave tiremen with heroic
energy were risking life and limb to
stay the destruction. Fifty thousand
people watched the desperate fight
| and cheered the efforts of the men
who, on the roof $50 feet or more from
the ground, were struggling to beat
back the flames. 1t was grand con-
test and was waged for hours without
an apparent gain on either side. The
blaze played in the woodwork of the
roof, gradually eating through and
dropping burning brands amidst the
costly exhibits on the floor below.
There were other detachmcnts OF
firemen stationed to extinguish tn
brands as they fell,
Among the exhibitors semi panic
reigned, and frantic foreigners wero
using every effort to remove the goods
to places of safety.
The fire was carried by burning
brands to the promenade around the
roof of Manufactures and Liberal
Arts building almost i'll the center, a
little to the south of the clock tower,
which formed a striking center-piece
in the great building. The plank walk
of which the promenade was con-
structed furnished material for IA
fire. which at midnight threatened to
consume the whole roof unless the fire
men We're able to carry out their plans
Part of the lower section of the roof
on the west side soon caught fire, and
there was not a sufficient force OF men
and engines present to eXtinguish it.
The interior OF. 1.-The building was OBJ
scured by dense clouds of smoke. and
great black cloud could be seen as
cending from the structure for miles
around.
At 1880 a. IN. the fire chief believes
that none of the exhibits will be de-
stroyed, and that much of the roof may
be saved. The danger to the millions
of dollars worth of property is height
ened by the inaccessibility of the place
and the extreme risk to human life in
volved in ascending to the roof and
fighting the conflagration from such
dizzy altitude, enveloped in smoke and
flying sparks.
Chief Allerton has a dozen teams
and large force of men removing the
packed exhibits from the north end OF
the building The Japanese have re-
moved nearly all their property from
the section toa place of safety. In the
American section. near the clock
tower, over which the roof is bnrning
fiercelv, are few exhibits to be de-
stroyed.
As the evening advanced $4,000 peo-
pie gathered around the spot. and as
the pyrotechnic shower from the burn
ing roof seemed to signal the destruc-
ton of the greatest building in the
world groan went up from the multi
tude.
Down on the lake shore from the
north end Of the huge building within
100 feet of the blazing Music hall, the
crowd stood and watched the destruc
ton. Those close at hand could see a
score of brave fremen armed with
chemical extinguishers rushing from
the subroof to the southeast
corner Of the Manufacturers building.
the point in which the most imminent
danger was. Here they fought as fire.
men seldom ever before fought. Every
moment brand would fall and start
a miniature confagration in the wood
work. Only moment would it burn
before it was swept out of existence,
then the plucky little band Of men
would rush to another threatened spot.
Another incipient blaze would be
stamped out almost as soon as it start
ed. and each time the crowd would
cheer and hold its breath as another
FIRE caught, and a successful onslaught
was made on it.
In Manufacturers building the
French exhibit which was located just
south of the center was the first to
suffer damage by the fire. This ex-
hibit was originally valued at 81, 800, 600,
but the larger portion of it is said
to have been moved out. Among the
losses enumerated are the bronze
statue of war; Severes' chinaware
display: Gobelin's tapestries; Benide-
lais' exhibit of mosaic and inlaid fnrni
ture, the bronze vase; Bonmar's
dress exhibit and library of French
books. Those in charge of the exhibit
approximate the French loss at more
than 500, 900, but it is not generally
belived that it will reach this figure.
The Japanese say their exhibit was
valued at $4,000, and the Germans
place value of s1,O00,000 on theirs.
Consul Arnold Hollinger, speaking for