The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-07-11
RESORT TO FIRE.
Incendiarisn, Ovcrrun the south Half
of Chicago.

Incendinrisn, OVcrrun the south Half
Of Chicago.
CHICAGO. July 6-with flaming torch
lawless hordes Of FIRE bugs are at work
az a score Of points in the south hale Of
Chicago. Fires are raging in every direc-
tion among the numerous railroad yards
and hundreds Of cars and tens of thou
sands Of dollars worth of merchandise
have already gone up in smoke or been
carried off by the now frenzied mobs Of
rioters.
Incendiarism is rampant. Alarm after
alarm has followed in quick succession
all day and tonight at IL o'clock the
glare reflected from the heavens shows
that the dastardly pastime continues un-
abated. From early morning until this
hour (midnighD reports Of fresh outrages
have been received. Fires followed each
other with startling rapdity, being con-
fined, however. principally To railroad
rolling stock and buildings against which,
thus far, the greater part Of the mob's
fury has been directed.
Early this morning blaze started
among some overturned cars at Kensing-
ton, quickly cOmmunica ting to other
tracks filled with long lines of cars.
Many containing valuable merchandise
were soon blazing furiously Famed by
strong winds there were at this point a
total of eighty cars wiped out At the
stock yards one blaze after another was
reported. and from the outlying districts
came urgent calls for engines and police
protection increasing i'm frequency.
But with the falling shades of night
came the climax OF the fiery festival
The Panhandle yards from Fifty-fifth-
st. To SiXty-third-st.-eigh blocks are
a mass of fire. Ten tracks, containing
from 1000 TO 1000 cars, half Of them
loaded. will be total loss. No water
being at hand the fire must burn itself
out. The Panhandle station, at Sixty
third-st., was also fired and DESTROYED.
The Grand Trunk yards at Elston are a
sea of flame and 500 box cars are sup
posed to have been burned. All efforts 10
check the flames have been futile. The
flag shanties and other railroad property
is also burning, and no water except one
stream from plug at Flfty-first-st. can
be obtained.
While directing the movement OF the
eleventh battalion at this point. Fire
Marshal Fitzpatrick was seized by the
thoroughly frenzied mob of firebugs and
thrown into a pond, from which he was
rescued by the police, more dead than
alive Everything at this point Will
probably be a total loss
At Hyde park, near the worlds fair
grounds, the ashes of forty cars are now
smoulderine, and word has just come In
that after numerous efforts the mob has
succeeded in firing the Illinois Central
shops at Burnside.
At the stock yards tonight about fifty
toughs few of whom are railroaders.
are skulking from point to point and
have set a large number of fires. Their
method was thoroughly unique. Loading
several handcars with buckets of
waste" and oil, they would glide around
among the cars i'm the darkness, lighting
wads Of the inf1ammable stuff, which
would be thrown into the open doors of
the cars as they passed by them. Fires
sprung up on every hand and no organized
effort on the part of the police seemed
to be under way to intercept them.
This is the banner district Of the city.
if not of the entire country for all-round
toughs, and il is as much as a mans
life is worth to interfere with them.
Troops are hurrying south: company
after company I'm heavy marching order
are moving to the turbulent district from
the center of the city.
The aggregate of the losses to the
railroads will be enormous. Miles OF
their tracks have been ruined by the
fierce heat: hundreds of switches. signal
towers with their expensive mechanism
were utterly ruined. Thousands of cars
and untold quantities of merchandise of
every imaginable description have fed
the flames and gorged the larders of
thieves: valuable locomotives have been
wrecked and disabled; miles Of tangled
ground: telephone. telegraph. electric