The Saint Paul globe., 1897-10-18

HALIFAX, N. S., Oct. 17.-Historic
towns of the province, was devastated
by fire this morning. For six hours,
beginning shortly before a. M, the
fire, famed by a violent northwest
gale, ragged so fiercely that the local
fire department was absolutely helpless
to cope with it, and, within half an
hour after it's discovery, the mayor be-
gan to call for outside assistance. Long
before noon the town had been eaten
up almost completely, the area covered
by the flames being nearly mile
square, and, of the 400 or more build
ings occupying the section, barely half
a dozen scorched structures remain.
Among the buildings that escaped
are the Windsor cotton factory, Kings
college, the Anglican church, the Edge
hill school for girls, and the Buffrin
hotel. The latter is the only hotel left
standing. No Nova Scotia town has
ever been visited by a conf1agration
of such dimensions. Of the $500 people
that inhabited the place, few have
homes of their own tonight Over
dents of the surrounding country and
! neighboring towns, while the remain
der of the sufferers have gone to Hall
| fax or are sheltered in army tents
erected in the vacant plats tonight by
a detachment of British troops from
| the garrison city. The disaster is
APPALLING IN IT'S EXTENT.
| The fire started in barn behind the
Marine block in the heart of the busi-
ness district. The high gale prevailing
carried the flames to other buildings
before the firemen had time to get at
work, and in a short time the showers
of sparks carried in all directions had
! ignited score of buildings. The oc-
cupants of the dwellings had time to
hurry on some clothing and to drag
some household goods into the streets,
| but there was no place of safety to
| which anything cou O be removed
| quickly enough to save it from being
| destroyed or damaged. The flames cut
clean gap from the waters edge on
the business front to the forests in the
rear, bounded by Ferry hill on the
| South side and by Fort Edwards on
the North. During the past few years
many handsome brick structures have
| been erected, but these were generally
contiguous to old wooden buildings.
| and all went together before the furl-
| Gus flames. The origin of the fire is
| somewhat mysterious. A severe light
| ming storm passed over the town be-
| fore the flames burst forth, and some
| think the barn in which the fire start
| ed may have been struck by lightning,
but many strongly suspect that the
conf1agration originated through the
carelessness of some drunken man.
| When morning broke, the site of
| Windsor was a scene Of desolation
| and destitute men and women and
| children rushing back and forth
! through the smoky streets. Fortunate
! ly
NO LIVES WERE LOST,
| In the hurry and excitement horses
and cattle in the stables were forgotten
and many perished in the flames or
were suffocated from smoke. The ruins
| Of the fire are ablaZe tonight, the
| smouldering embers having been fan
| ned into a blaze, and the heavens are
| lit with the flames, which cast their
| reflection across the river as far as
! the eye can see on either side. NO
| effort has been made to quench these
| fires and naturally the occupants of the
| few houses that remain are afraid that
| the FIRE will spring up again. The fire
has moderated somewhat, and there is
no likelihood of further disaster. Re-
| lief measures were started in Halifax
at an early hour, and this afternoon
| trainload of provisions, tents, blankets,
| etc, arrived from the provincial capt.
| tai. Aboard the train were Gen. Mont
gomery Moore Gov. Daily, Mayor Ste
phen and 100 men of the Royal Berk-
| shire regiment and Royal engineers,
| who were brought to attend to the erec-
ton of tents and aid in the relief work.
The total loss is estimated roughly at
| Sc O0O. 900. While a number of the
| heaviest losers are partially insured
| and some of them pretty well covered,
| the total insurance is calculated to be
| not more than half a million.
The principal losses are as follows:
! c. M. Shaw's Marine building, $4,000;
W. H. Curry & Co., $4,000; Shaw Bros,
| SO 900; Paysant's block, $4,000; Gra-
hams block, $4,000; Victoria hotel, s15,-
600; Blanchard block. $4,000; c. & G.
| Wilson'S block, $4,000; Dimock & Arm
strong's, s22, 900; ]. B. Shaw's block,
| s21. 600; c. H Dimock's block, $4,000;
| building of F. F. Murphy and Wood &
| Murphy, SIT, 900; Commercial block, s26,
600; C. P. Shaw, $4,000; Churchilrs
block, $28, 900; Keith's buildings, $4,000;
| Wilson Bros, $4,000; Gerrish block,
| s21, coo; Borden's block. $4,000; postoff1ce
and custom house, $4,000; Empire
| block, Sic, 1000; John Lynch & Sons, $10,-
600; Avon hotel, $4,000; Somerset house,