The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-01-09
Tramps Start Fire in the Casino,
Which Was Quickly Consumed, Fol-
lowed by the Grand Peristyle.
TRAGIC DEATH OF A FIREMAN
Air Filled with Flying Embers
that Fell in Showers.
No Power Could Stop the Flames Once
Caught i'm the Liberal Arts Build
ing-Loss Perhaps S1,OOO,O0O.

CHICAGO, Jan. S-The worlds fair
Pompeii came tonight A rushing volcano
OF flames, huge Gothic architecture tum-
bling into chaos-bewildered mobs of peo-
ple-all were there under a great starry
sky of Italian clearness, with Lake Michi-
gan's broad expanse-a second Mediterrane-
an. Probably no more magnificent, yet ter
rifying spectacle, has ever been witnessed
this side OF the Atlantic. 1t was long after
dark tonight when belated people return
ing from work to their homes in the south
ern suburbs along the Elevated road fa-
miliar to hundreds of thousands of world
fair visitors, noticed constantly enlarg-
ing column of fire and smoke ascendine
skyward in the east
THE worlds fair Is on fire." was the
cry, and a few. indeed, of the fascinated
watchers from the train windows alighted
until the famous terminal at the exposi-
ton grounds was reached. The last half
mile of the journey is directly east to the
fair grounds, so that all view of the blaz-
ing pleasure house of the world was shut
off for a time completely. Directly past
the scene of the frightful fire of the cold
storage warehouse, where scores of firemen
lost their lives during the fair, hundreds
of spectators hurried from the trains to
the celebrated Court of Honor. There,
suddenly, the conflagration came into view
A whirlwind of blazing embers was being
carried from the end of the Court of Honor
furthest from the Administration Building,
high over the mammoth roof of the Lib
eral Arts Building, the largest structure
on earth. The great golden statue of the
Republic could be seen lifting the liberty
cap aloft through the clouds of smoke and
flame.
The fire had been burning less than an
hour when a thunderous crash of falling
timber and a tremendous shout from the
crowd announced the collapse of the beau
tiful and statue-crowned peristyle. mo-
ment later another terrific yell from the
crowd told that the Liberal Arts building
had caught fire and that the whole exposi-
ton was threatened. A dramatic incident
marked the destruction of the peristyle.
One Of the large ladders bearing up group
of firemen fell with the columns, and one
of the heroic fire-fghters went down TO
death, while number of others suffered
injuries more or less severe.
The sky was lividly brilliant at this time
with falling sparks, many of which fell
away to the north, showering the roofs of
the Art Palace, Women's Building and the
various State structures with blazing en-
bers. Every train and street car added
momentarily thousands to the throng of
people, and but for the terrifying specta-
Gle and the danger of life and property
it seemed the greatest gala night of all the
worlds fair was on in all its glory.
WHERE IT STARTED.
The fire started in the Casino, just east
of the Agricultural Building and south of
the peristyle. The Casino was quickly de-
voured. and the flames surged north on
the top of the perlstyle, and, dropping,
made a second line of fire along the base
of the columns The flames then sprang
through the Music Hall, which corresponds
at the north end of the peristyle to the
Casino at the south While the fire was
burning there was one Of the most singu-
lar and fascinating sights of the night.
Along the top Of the peristyle We're scores
of statues. The spectacle for those people
fortunate enough to be on the moving side
walk just east of the peristyle was that
of a succession of gigantic human beings
plunging one after another headlong into
the waters of the lake below. The origin
of the fire is said to be revenge on the
part of a couple of tramps. The solitary
guard in the Music Hall says that just
before the flames broke out he kicked two
vagabonds out of the Music Hall, and told
them to find quarters elsewhere. They left
in the direction of the Casino, and soon
after the fire broke out and everything
on the grounds was terror and confusion,
so that there was no opportunity to trace
the origin.
guard their lives and prevent wholesale rob-
berry of the exhibits, had been largely driven
by the police westward over the bridge
against the Electricity Building. Here they
could see dropping great sections OF the
roof of the Liberal Arts Building, the grea,
blazing fragments falling the exhibits
below Through the glass roof and build
ings could be seen pieces falling like bowl
fers der Ti IN an sacton ana ana
ing to destroy the Russian and British Sec
tions.
had by this time subdued the flames In the
ashes of the peristyle and in the lower col
lonade OF the southeast side of the Liberal
Arts Building. and hopes were raised that
the fire had been subdued, but shortly after
i1:l5 O'Clock the flames got beyond control
eraI' Arts Building and the main aisle of
the building was a mass of flames, arising
from the blazing, brands which came from
packages awaiting shipment in each build
ing was: Manufactures. 1,9l4; Midway
HarticnItre asianGIs, o. 6o Transportaton 500 Mn
ing. 1850; Electricity, 167; Agriculture, 1,S00,
and 1900 scattered in other buildings max
ing a total of 24,000 packages. Less than
1900 packages had been shipped away
prior to Dec. 26 last. Most Of the goods re-
manning were foreign exhibits.
IN THE LIBERAL ARTS.
Remorseessly the fire was hurling itself
through the interstices of the big iron
arches at the dizzy heights above The
flames wound like great constructors in and
around the mammoth electric-light coronas
SUSPENDED from the roof. Below these fear
full circles of iron likely to drop at any
moment no man dared TO go, even the
hardest not venturing within a hundred
feet Frantic horses with heavily-loaded
trucks were plunging through the aisles
now encumbered with wreckage or drenched
with the falling cataracts of water, most
of which fell far short of the topmost
flames. The clouds of smoke and vapor
that every moment or two shut out
the view of the fire in the
roof were colored in the most
fantastic fashion, running from green and
violet TO vivid scarlet. Just what caused
the extradinary views none seemed to
know. Guesses were that the dye stuffs
and chemicals in the exhibits drowned In
water were the origin. Opinions seemed to
be general that the loss by water would be
even greater than that by fire. The feder-
al officials put the maximum loss IL the fire
does not spread beyond the Liberal Arts