The Wichita daily eagle., 1897-06-16
ghe naiIy gaele aedussaay oruno gu1e

land the burning was watched and could
be plainly seen.
The wind was from the westward and
| this prevented .he flames from igni;ing
the smaller buildings in the rear Of the
main depot
| At o'clock the flames were under con-
troll The big station. the hospital. the
laundry. restaurant. doctors houses and
number OF small outbuildings were in
ashes. The engine house was the only
building Of Importance on the island
which escaped destruction When the
ferry boat Carlisle reached the barge Of
flee landing in this city this morning
ansbulances from Gouyerneur and Hud-
son stree. hospitals met the boat. and
patients from Ellis Island hospital were
divided between the two hospitals.
| In an interview Commissioner OF I'm
! migration DR.. Senner said this morn
| ing that the loss TO the government
would be s7soOoo.
| New York, June 15.-Ellis Island today
is a mass of snouldering ruins All the
huge buildings which since 1892 have
housed hundreds Of thousands OF immi-
grants were demolished in a connagfa-
ticn during the night which cons;ituiei
one Of the most brillian, spectabies ever
seen In New York haroor and wn'ch
threatened the lives OF 200 emigrants
who were on the island. AS far as can
be learned there was no loss OF me- Inc
exact amount OF damage has not !e.
n.en ascertained but ii is said tnat II
will ba $500. 900. while hundreds or vol
umes of valuable records have oeeh ue-
s,royed.
The first step taken today by the I'M
migrate authorities was TO ascertain
definitely il possible whether any Oh thr
persons who were on the island last nigh'
had been caught in the flames. There
were no records left by which the tenn
porary inhabitants could De accouh'eo
for. so the immigrants were divideo up
into groups according TO the shlps they
came in. Then they were submitted 10
close questioning. They were asked
whether they missed any of their fellow
Messengers. but everybody seemed SAT-
isaed that their shipmates were safe ana
sound ON land. The authorities came to
the conclusion that in some wonderful
way the fire which ate up the puiioinss
on Ellis Island as IL they were H1aica-
wood had been without fatal result
The absence OF telephone communica-
tion with the island and the more or less
confused statements of the persons VINO
were hurried away from the names
make il difficult 10 ascertain the exact
cause. extent and details OF the fire. The
thousands Of people who stood on shore
throughout the night and watched me
emigrant buildings burn themselves Out
had a better idea of the actual happen
;nes than those on the island itself. II
was a wonderful sight. Well out In the
centre Of the harbor was hvid mass
of flames that shot upward and outward
and seemed only TO gain new life wnen
the roofs fell inward to the heart OF the
fire below.
The shores Of New Jersey, Staten Is
land and the docks on the river were
aslow with the reflected light. On the
edges of the island where the flames had
not reached there were hundreds OF H.
lie dark dots like black ants scrrrying
TO safety. Then from out Of the dark
water in the distance countless tugs
the island was surrounded with craft OF
all kinds.
Night Watchman Christian tells the
story of the fire very graphically:
II did not know anything about 1t,
he says, until found myself In cloud
of smoke. / rushed 10 the northwest
end, where the flames seemed to come
from. and shouted fire. Six men slept
there and they only just got out. Then
somebody rang the alarms which com
municated with the departments. The
immigrants seemed dazed and we had
almost to force them out. We thought
web ad lost fifteen Italians for certain,
until we found them huddled together at
the far end OF the island The fire start |
ed in one of the towers in one or the |
main buildings. Everybody but the |
watchman was asleep. The fire boats |
and police poured water on the blaze |
for all they were worth but for an the |
good 1t did it might have been oil.
IF il was a wonder the immigrants IN |
the main building got out all right. =
was still more OF a wonder that the six |
ty-odd patients in the hospital were saw
ed. The nurses and doctors worked as |
cool and calm as any trained fremen. |
They hauled thes ick out on stretchers |
and laid them down where they would /
not get scorched. 1t was good work"
RICH STRIFE IN COLORADO