The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1895-05-31
MANY ROCKS BURN.



obstructive 49, at s.. AlbAns. vt.-nvs'
Hnndrsd People Homeless.
ST. Adams, VT, May M.-Flames
ragged In the heart Of this town from
3 o'clock yesterday afternoon until
late at night. The loss is estimated at
half q million dollars. Practically six
streets In the business portion Of the
town are laid waste, and with the other
sections burned over seventy-dve acres
OF ground are covered by smoldering
ruins About five hundred people are
homeless. The town is strewn with the
household goods and personal effects
of those who managed to save their
property, or part Of it. from h flames.
In addition to this. the streets and park
are Uttered with the stock of mer-
chants and the household furniture OF
countless families, who moved out IN
anticipation Of the spread Of the fire.
The courthouse, s~choolhouses, and the
public buildings have been opened for
the shelter of the homeless, and num-
erous instances of pitiful restitution de-
mand the sympathy of the more fortu-
nate. Forty business houses and at
least 100 tenements have been wiped
out of existence.
IN the excitement of the hour 1t is
impossible to determine with certainty
the cause Of the disaster. All that is
known is that the fire was first seen in
the lumber yard Of w. B. Fonda. The
alarm was sounded at 3 o'clock, but
in a t%winkling the flames had complete
ly enveloped the property, and when
the fire companies reached the spot
there was no hope Of saving anything
in h immediate vicinity. A high
southerly wind prevailed, and at a
glance it was evident that the most if
not the entire business section of the
town was doomed. The flames quickly
spread to adjoining buildings. The fire
vas carried by sparks to the roofs Of
houses and business blocks fully half
a mile away, and in five minutes was
raging in a dozen different places at
the same time.
The local fire companies were power
less to stay the progress Of the con-
~f1agration. No sooner were efforts di-
rected toward extinguishing it in one
place than it suddenly burst forth with
redoubled fury in another. A remark
able feature of the fire was that as soon
as the lumber yard was we'll ablaZe the
fire jumped at least 500 yards and be-
gan to devour the buildings in the very
heart Of the business portion of the
town.
Leaving tn orlgina' source Of the
confiagration, the firemen FASTENED to
stay it's progress to the northward, but
without avail. The flames made head
way in a nest of wooden rookeries in
h center Of the block made by Lake
foundry, Main, and Kingman streets,
and from here spread northward to the
very limits Of the business section. The
fire companies were absolutely helpless.
Fire was bursting out in place after
place in remote sections and confusion
reigned supreme.
Hundreds of men, women and chill
dren rushed frantically about, carrying
their belongings to some supposed place
Of safety, only to remove them as the
fire swept onward or to see them con-
sumed before they could be reached
again.
At $50 help arrived from Burlington
and Swanton, but by this time the fire
was practically under control, although
1t broke out here and there at intervals
n destroyed dwelling-houses and
sistance could reach the scene. The
town is in complete darkness, the cleo
trio light and gas being cut off by the
fire. One theory as to the cause of the
fire is the explosion Of a lamp by which
a woman was curling her hair.
A meeting of citizens was held and
measures taken to provide relief for the
destitute.