Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1899-04-11
FIRE AT ESPANOLA
A Disastrous Conaagration Yester-
day Afternoon Came Near WHIP
ing Out the Town.
HEEDLESSNESS CAUSED 1T
Red Hot Ashes, Hauled Out Of Yard Oven
in a Gale of Wind, Were Blown
Against Warehouses.

Bono Brothers three large business
buildings, the Rio Grande railroad depot
and the old livery barn at Espanola, are
in ruins from a fire caused, according
to all accounts, by the thoughtless ac-
tion of a woman servant who pulled hot
ashes out of a yard oven while a strong
gale of wind was blowing. This was
shortly after 2 p. m. yesterday. The
over is located near Bond Brothers ex-
tensive warehouses, and the sharp wind
catching up the glowing embers, swept
them right against the Bond buildings.
1t was not long before the warehouses
were a mass of flames, n the entire
town was Immediately aroused. Every
effort was made to save the valuable
property, and to prevent the flames
from spreading, but the wind was too
strong. The appliances at hand were
inadequate for any such emergency,
and it was feared hat the entire place
al doomed.
The heavy glowing sparks from the
warehouses were carried by the wind
across the Rio Grande depot. This
building was as dry as punk. 1t was
| built 10 years ago and there was not
the suggestion of a drop of moisture
about the structure. 1t caught fire like
finder and burned furiously. Depot
Agent Mcbride occupies the building
with his family, the rest being devoted
to passenger and freight departments
and the express office. Mr.. Mcbride had
barely time to a v a small part of his
household effects before the entire depot
was a seething mass of flames, n with
the platform was entirely destroyed.
The flying sparks were carried a long
distance to the old stage barn, formerly
owned by Sol. Lowitzki, and that too
went in short order.
A shower of sparks fell all over Mr..
Pollard's residence, and it is believed
that had that building burned the re-
mainder of the place would surely have
been lost. But the residence is adobe,
with a corrugated sheet iron roof, and
so the place was saved, and with it
the remainder of the town.
AS the depot was destroyed, the tele-
graph wires We're Immediately burned
out. Agent Fred Mcbride in this city,
son of the Espanola agent, noticed a
strange action of the wires terminating
in the Santa Fe Office, and presently
they stopped working altogether. Moth
ing could be done with them after that.
This showed there was something
wrong, but just what it was it was i'm
possible to determine until some time
later, through other sources.
When the evening train came along
the situation was explained by the train
men and the passengers. 1t was re-
ported that the Bond Brothers property
was entirely destroyed, with a reported
loss of $685. 900 or over. The insurance
was about SIS, 900. The loss of the depot
and contents to the railroad company
is reported at 49, 500. Agent McBride's
loss is put at $500, and the loss on the
stage barn at $500.
Insurance Agents Wunschmann and
Lankard of this city went this morning
to look after the losses. They could not
give any official figures before their
return this evening. There was also a
report that Johnson's saloon and Luce
ro's store building were burned, but this
lacked confirmation. This mornings
train took up the best box car obtain
able for use as a station until a new
structure can be built. The report Of
the confagration caused considerable
excitement in this city last night.