Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1897-11-28

Britain were very seriously affected by
the Chicago blaze, and many OF them
lost so heavily as to be compelled to go
out of business.
Next in importance in this country to
the great Chicago fire was the fire of
Boston, which occurred November 3,
1872. Like the other two, it was at
first insignificant, but developed fury
which paralyzed the efforts of the fire
department, and resulted - cont1ag-
ration which destroyed $40 business
houses and residences and involved a
loss of over $4,000, 600. One peculiar
ity of the Boston fire was the fact that
so-called fre-proof buildings suffered
almost as much as others; great stone
structures went down before the flames
like cardboard. Fortunately, in the
Boston fire, the loss of life was trifling,
although the damage to business inter-
ests exceeded the published statistics
of the actual loss.
The ruin OF the Russian capital, the
Holy City of the Cars, at the time of
its occupation by the French army, in
1872, Was not the only disaster CT this
kind that Moscow had suffered. In
1870, fire started, as in the great Lon
don fire, in the shop Of baker. All
Moscow was then composed, with the
exception of the kremlin, of wooden
buildings, as the city was in tie imme
diate vicinity of vast forests and piner-
les, and wood was far cheaper than
stone. There were then no fire de-
partments; hand-bucket brigades
proved entirely unequal to the emer-
gency; the whole residence portion of
the city was destroyed, and after the
fire was over, 10000 persons were en-
camped in the vicinity of the city. The
fire Of 1872 was the deliberate act of the
city authorities at the command of the
Car. On the approach of the French
army the city was evacuated by the
entire population. This act has been
represented as voluntary, but, IN truth.
the inhabitants left their homes at the
command of an absolute monarch. and
obedience was enforced with a severity
characteristic of despotic ruler. The
people were literally driven out at the
point of the bayonet; and ere the
French occupation began powder mines
had been laid and pies Of combustibles
set in every square in the city The
prisoners of the jails were released be-
fore the evacuation, on the special con-
dition that they should remain in the
city and set fire to the houses. They did
their work well, for the first night of the
occupation flames burst out everywhere
and ragged in every quarter of the city
unit. the whole was destroyed. 1t is es-
timated that 10, 500 houses were burned
and the population of 300, COO was rem
dered homeless at the beginning of a
winterof arctic severity. The historians
of Russia state that, according to the
best information obtainable, one-fourth
of the exiles from Moscow persisted of
hunger and cold ere the advent of
spring.
The city of the Sultan has been the
scene of number Of exceedingly dis
astrous CONGREGATIONS. The construc-
ton of the Constantinople houses close
" resembles both that of Moscow and
London before the great fire The
streets are very narrow. and in the
Turkish. Armenian and Greek quarters.
the houses are of wood. of very fiimsy
construction. the upper stories project
ing. sometimes almost touching across
the street. In 1881 a great fire broke
out which devastated almost the entire
hill On which the city is builded; $4,000
houses were destroyed, with great loss
if life. ConStantinoDle had many de-
structive fires before and has had many
since. but this was the worst. There
is no fire department in Turkey worthy
the name, engines being worked by
hand. and the largest hose not surpass-
ing in SIZE the garden hose used for
sprinkling lawns in this country. A
remarkable custom prevails or rather
prevailed up to 1855. in the Yildiz
Kiosk. When a fire of any Importance
broke out in the capital one Of the Off
GERS of the Sultan's guards, with a yell
low cloak wrapped closely round his
hrm. opened without ceremony the