The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-10-02
Colorado Springs Visited by a
Million Dollar Blaze.
CAR OF POWDER EXPLODED
The Antlers Hotel. Three Lumber Yards
and Two Business Blocks De-
stroyed-The Fire Started In
Pile OF Rubbish.

70 miles an hour from the southwest
when the fire started at the Denver &
Rio Grande freight depot, at the foot
OF Cuchares street. at 2:1o p. m. and
the flames spread with great rapidity.
A strip four blocks long from north to
| south ana two blocks wide from east
10 west has been burned over but at
this hour, y. m. the confederation is
beiieved TO be under control The
names are still leaping high in the air
over the burned district, but the wind
mas died down and there is no doubt
tnat the fire engines. which have come
uoMn from Denver and Pueblo in re-
sponse 10 appeals for aid will be able
TO conflne the flames within the pres
ent limits
The Antlers hotel. one of the largest
IN the West three lumber yards and
TWO blocks Of business houses have
been destroyed. In round numbers the
loss is estimated at $1,000. 900: insur-
ance one-half of that amount Tbe
losses estimated are as follows: AntIers
hotel. sS5o.O00; Newton Lumber COM
pany. $4,000: Crissey & Fowler I.um-
Der company. 10000; FL Paso Lumber
company. $4,000; Irvine & Sons, black
smiths 81 900: Denver & Rio Grande
rsiIroad. $4,000; Gulf depot. 5000;
The losses of business firms and In
dividuals not enumerated above is
s465, 900.
The fire started I'm a pile of rubbish.
underneath the platform of the Denver
n Rio Grande freight depot. Within
nve minutes II had communicated to
freight cars standing at the depot, and
1t spread so rapidly that IL was impos-
sible to move any Of the cars. Half a
car OF powder consigned to @. s. Barnes
~ sons, exploded. The debris was
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 & Fowler lumber yards. 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
FL Paso Lumber company and the es-
tablishment OF Sperry AZ Truckerman.
A few minutes after the Newton lum-
ber yards caught. For a time after
this II looked as II the Antlers could be
saved. but the heat was too great, and |
there was not water enough to send a |
stream half up the building. At 4 |
o'clock IL was burning on the south end |
and the famous hotel was doomed.
The colored employees of the hostelry
showed great intrepidity in climbing
out OF the upper windows in the face 4
of an Internal heat and pouring water
upon the fire through a small hose. They
left their posts only after they became
positively untenable. Down below the
bremen swere also directing streams
upon the buildings. but the water pres
sure had become so reduced that the
streams were OF little effect. The con-
our of the buildings. the upper stories
II which were of wood, served to make
/ succession of smoke stacks along the
'ides. and IL was but a few moments
Until the flames were leaping from near
v every window. The building had
'tood for long time against the tre- |
nendous heat. The flames rose higher
md higher and soon the outlines of the
tone were seen with the woodwork |
'urned away from them. Here and
here little blue flames shot up where
he copper cornices caught afire. II
ook about two hours for the hotel to
urn and IL made a tremendously hot
Ire. The walls began to fall after the
'uilding had been burning perhaps an
Iour and they went down with a tre-
nendous roar. The smokestacks re-
NAMED for quite n long time and some
Z them are standing yet The Antlers
mex was quickly In flames and went
- rapidly. Two or three explosions
fere heard while the Antlers was burn
ng and these are supposed 10 have
ome from the boilers All OF the Ant
srs people from the engineers to the
ellboys. stayed at their posts until
hey could stay no longer. At o'clock
II that was left OF the once beautiful
lntlers was a mass OF blazing debris.
thousands gazed upon IL with sorrow
nd regret. as II was universally con-
eded to be the chief ornament OF the ,
lwn. :
The Antlers was a beautiful six-story !
uiding owned by the Colorado Springs |
Iotel company, in which General Pal 7
Ter was heavily interested. The lessee I
roper was r. Burnett. The building T
as insured for 100000 and the furni- Q
IRE. valued at s57 500. was insured for a
1850. The building and its contents I
re almost total loss. The hotel will o
e rebuilt. '
cluding a number OF invalids, but all i
ere got out in safety and taken to y
quarters. The Union Pa
&c. Denver & Gulf railroads passen-
Pr depot on Huerfano street was S
Irned. but the other railroad passen-
sr stations were unharmed. c
While the big fires were burning sew c
al small ones broke out throughout v
IL city, destroying several residences U
I'd threw people into CONSERVATION. r
he limits Of the burned district are r
e Denver & Rio Grande railroad on =
Ie west. Cascade avenue on the east
ke's Peak avenue on the north and L
1chares street on the south.
Among the business houses burned
Il are the following: MacFarland &
ills, blacksmiths; Irving & Sons.
silver Moon restaurant c
ely Coal company. Felix Americans X
DOM, tailor. Dietz. blacksmith. John a.
line. painter: Bartlett. blacksmith. p
'eamer & Jordan, blacksmiths; Masco- 81
Is. clothing; A. shapiro. clothing;
Holl!wan, shoemaker: 5. X. Kline
Nelry; NARROW Brothers. confection-
v: Campbell. feed store: secondhand w