Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1899-07-07
WIND AND FIRE
Cause Bismarckers to Pass a Rest.
less Night-The Custer House
Quilted.
From Fridays Daily.]

From Fridays Daily.l
Bismarck citizens passed rather a rest
less night last night. The thermometer
had not got lower than IS in many houses
by 10 o'clock, so that sleep was difficult.
About 2 o'clock there was a sudden drop
of several degrees in the temperature,
and a heavy bank of clouds in the south
west began to rapidly o%verspread the
sky. In a few minutes the wind swept
down from the north and made the build
ings shake. It howled and shrieked in
the trees and around corners and not
many were able to sleep through it. In
most of the houses and hotels the upper
stories were deserted, in case the blow
should prove to be of a cyclonic nature,
and there was some excitement among
the ladies. The Sheridan house rocked
a little, and most of the guests were
awakened and donned their clothes for
awhile, but returned to bed when the
storm grew nc worse.
At the Custer house a lamp was left
burning in a room over the dining room,
and the window to the north was loft
open while the occupants went down.
stairs to the office. 1t is supposed that
the wind blew the lamp off the bureau.
but in any case a fire started in some
way in that room about $3.50 a. m. and
famed by the wind quickly eat it's "a
through the roof of the oil in the rear.
The alarm was turned in and quickly re-
sponded to, and three lines of hose laid,
but for nearly an hour the efforts of the
tremen seemed to have but little effect.
The wind continued to blow strongly
from the northeast, and carried the burn
ing cinders in clouds over the barn on
the corner of Fifth and Main, and over
the Sheridan house. For a time it look
ed as though the fremen would be un-
able to prevent the flames crossing the
street, in which case it would have been
almost impossible to prevent the whole
block being wiped out.
A little before 5o'clock the wind began
to die down, and the firemen began to
fight the fire at closer quarters. The
roof of the ell fell in over the dining
room, and the roof of the three-story
front part was burning well, and the
flames had a good hold in the rooms at
the south of the second story. But
when the hose was taken up on the
veranda and the stream directed through
the windows directly on the flames, they
were o brought under control, and
soon after $50 most of the spectators
went home.
The inside of the building is practi-
cally Quilted, and Mr.. and Mrs. MCGOWAN
had time to save hardly any of their
furniture. Most of the guests in the
house managed to get upstairs and bring
down their grips, but to some of them
the loss will be severe. Nearly every
body was still downstairs when the fire
started, but Mrs. MCGOWAN had gone to
bed after the wind storm, and when she
first smelled smoke, Tom thought it was
from the. lamp in their room which the
wind had blown out. Five minutes later,
when they were aroused, they had to get
out in a hurry, Mrs. MCGOWAN hardly
having time to don her clothing. The
building and contents were insured in
S. M. Pye's agency for $4,000, carried by
the following companies: National Hart
ford, $1,000; Northern Assurance. 81, 600:
ROYAL, $1,000: st. Paul Fire and Marine
$1,000: British America, $1,000.