Red Lodge picket. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1889-1907, 1895-08-10
SPRAGUE WIPED OUT
A Once FIourisning TOM Nearly
Destroyed.
MANY PEOPLE LEFT HOMELESS
Once Started the Destroying Element
Lcnped From Roof to Root.
Leaving Only Ashes.

Sprague, Wash, Aug 3.--The entire
business portion Of Sprague is III ashes,
hundreds are homeless tonight, and the
losses will aggregate a million and u
quarter
The town is almost destitute Of food,
and Mayor Sandegson has sent mes
sages to the leading cities appealing
for aid. The people are appalled, by
their frightful losses, and it will be sew
eral days before they will know Wleth-
er to try to rebuild the city or not.
AT noon today the fire alarm was
sounded for q blaze in Bryants chop
and feed mill, corner OF Railroad ave-
nue. and d street. The department re-
sponded promptly. but the blaze was
quickly famed into a roaring furnace,
and the fire boys were driven back from
the scene almost as soon as they ar
rived. With lightning-lihe rapillty the
t1ames leaped from one building 70 an
other and inside of five minutes it vas
seen that the entire town was threat
ened. AS the flames reached the cor
ner Of street they forked one branch
going north Of the railroad track and
consuming in its way the Northern Pa
tel and the entire row Of wooden build
ings to the corner OF b street. Here il
turned off to the Pacific hotel and the
row Of wooden buildings in the rear Of
1t. From there it jumped to the old
Headquarters building and Iorak's
brewery, totally destroying it and his
residence.
SOUTHERN FORKS WORK.
Meanwhile, the southern FORK, with
equal rapidity, consumed the buildings
on Railroad avenue, First and Second
Streets including the Commercial ho-
tel the Herbring opera house, tine city
hall, X. Newman q Co. S and the Ma
sonic hall.
From here the flames leaped to the
buildings west Of the car shops, and in
another minute they burst folth into
flames. 1t was impossible to do any
thing to save the railroad buildings, as
the water pipes had burst in this part
OF the city. Five minutes later a ter
rifle explosion occurred, as the oil tanks
burst, and the tinbefs and flames rose
high in the air.
The fire was checked on the west side
by the brick buildings OF the First Ma
tional bank and Jensen, King & Co, |
the occupants of these buildings plac- |
IllS WEI DlduhtlS over lllG HilL0NS ana |
fighting the flames desperately.
DYNAMITE USED.
Mayor SandersOn at this time arrived |
Irom Medical Lake and ordered the |
building OF Ben Etlelson, on the corner |
Of G and First streets, blown up with |
dynamite. This was done and the en-
tire row of business houses on g street |
between First and Second was saved.
8 n Ti1tag3 CT t41I
direction and destroyed the drug store
of w. p. Putnam, the Masonic han, the
county jail, the old opera house, the
residences Of r. r. Jones and L. II.
Stanton. The flames We're checked here
by blowing up with dynamite the old
opera house, and the row OF trees in
front of IL. w. Bonne's residence were
deluged with water to such an extent
that the fire was checked in a westerly |
direction.
The fire swept east as far as the stock
yards, completely obliterating in its
course every residence and business
house In that portion Of the city.
Fully 800 acres Of land was burned
over, every building thereon being COM
pletely wiped out.
SCENES UNDERSTANDABLE.
The scenes al the fire We're indescrib-
able. Families rushed hither and thith-
er with household goods and wearing
apparel, seeking some safe place to de-
posit them. A few minutes later the
safe place had become a dangerous one,
and they would grasp what they could
and leave the rest to be destroyed by
the devouring flames Fully one-ffth
of the 5000 inhabitants of the city lost
not only their household goods, but
most of their wearing apparel.
The prisoners in the county Jail were
released when the fire was about one
block away, and they did excellent
work In assisting the neighboring bus
mess houses to get their goods to a
place Of safety. But after the fire was
under control they had disappeared
Among the first buildings to SO was
the Northern Pacific railroad station
AS many of the books and papers as
possible We're taken to a place of safe
ty, and Operator Young lost no time in |
connecting the wire. in one of the fields
east of the town, Where, seated on an |
iron WheelbarroW, with a telegraph in
strument on wooden box, he sent and
received messages as rapidly as pos
sble. 5
AT THE ROUNDHOUSE.
The scenes at the burning Of the ,
roundhouse were calculated to alarm
and excite even the coolest. Flames (
rose to a height of fully 100 feet, and
seemed bursting from every portion Of ;
the roof at the same instant. the work
men lost many dollars worth OF yalu-
able tools They made desperate eff
forts to save them, but were driven | I
back by the flames. 1t is estimated that
fully $4,000 worth of tools belonging to
the Workmen were destroyed, upon +
which there was no insurance. Engine
after engine was run out from the /
roundhouse, only to be met by the ad !
vancing flames, and the driver obliged /
to jump and flee for his life Twenty :
four locomotives We're destroyed. only i
seven being saved. {
Four hours after the fire started, the
town presented a scene of utter desola- II
ton. few smoldering ruins alone
marking the spot of what had been the !;
city of Sprague I
BUILDINGS NOT BURNED /
Not over half dozen business houses
are left standing and these include s
Genres & Hertrich's general merchan- Il
disc store, the Sprague roller mills, the {
First National bank, Jensen, King &
Co, and E. Redding & Co. All the news .
paper offices In the city with the excep-
tion Of the Herald were burned out Y
The postoffice was among the first
buildings to go but with commendable
Postmaster Meagher en-
gagged temporary quarters in Genres &
Hertrich's and sent the mails out with =
only slight delay. a
LOSSES AND INSURANCE IN DETAIL $
Few of the Sufferers Had Their Proper a