The record-union., 1898-10-02
Six Blocks Of Property Reduced to
SmoIdering Ruins.
Ihe Entire Business Portion of the City
For a Time Threatened.
The Antlers Hotel, One of the
Largest in the West, Valued at
Three Hundred and Fifty Thou
sand Dollars Destroyed-The
Losses All Told Estimated at a
Million Dollars.

COLORADO SPRINGS (Col9. Oct.
| Inns city had a visitation of fire
| TINS afternoon which threatened for
| iour hours to destroy the entire busi-
ness district. The wind was blowing
at the rate of fortyfive miles an hour
strip four blocks long from north
TO south and two blocks wide from
east TO west has been burned over.
out at this hour 6 p. mo- the confla-
grafton is believed to be under control.
| The flames are still leaping high in the
air all over the burning district, but
| the wind has died down, and there is
no doubt that the fire engines which
| nave come from Denver and Pueblo in
| response to appeals for aid will be
able to confne the flames within the
| present limits.
The Antlers Hotel. one of the largest
IN the West, three lumber yards and
| two blocks of business houses have
| oeen destroyed. In round numbers. the
loss is estimated at $1,000 600. insured
Tor one-half of that amount.
| The losses estimated are as follows.
Antlers Hotel, S3J0,000; Newton Lum-
Der Company. $50 600; Crissey & Fowl
er Lumber Company, $4,000: Ell Paso
Lumber Company, $4,000; Irvine &
Sons, blacksmiths, $1,000; Denver and
RIO Grande Railroad $4,000: Gulf de-
! pot, So,o0O; Home Hotel, So. 800. Cen
| eraI losses of business firms and indi-
| Vlduals, not enumerated above. $780,
600
| Ihe fire started in a pile of rubbish
underneath the platform at the Dem
| yer and Rio Grande freight depot
| Wlthln five minutes it had communi-
| Gated to the freight cars standing at
the depot, and it spread so rapidly that
| IL was impossible to move the cars
| HAN car of powder consigned to
q. 5. Barnes & Sons exploded. The
cans were thrown for hundreds of
feet, and the wonder is that nobody
was injured.
| Then came the terrible danger to the
| city. Great chunks of fire were scat
tered about and in a few moments the
! Crissey and Fowler lumber yard. 500
feet away, were burning The wind
was sweeping a perfect hurricane. The
| flames rushed through the lumber
| yards, and burned all the light frame
| buildings in the block. Then they
! leaped across the street and burned the
El Paso Lumber Company and the
paint establishment of Sperry 81 Tuck
/ erman. A few moments after the New
| ton lumber yards caught For a time
| after this it looked as if the AntlerS
| Hotel might be saved, but the heat
was too great, and there was no water
to send a stream halfway UP the
| building. AT o'clock it was burning
on the south end, and the Emous ho-
| tel was doomed.
| The limits of the burned district are
the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad
| on the west, Cascade avenue on the
east, Pixies Peak avenue on the north
and Cucharas street on the south.
| Several arrests have been made to-
! night of persons suspected of start
| ing or attempting to start fresh fires,
| but there is no question that the first
! fire at the Denver and Rio Grande
| freighthouse was entirely accidental,
possibly caused by a spark from a loco
motive.