Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-05-22
CITY
WAS BURNED
Drunken Woman Causes 4 Big
Blaze in That City.
LOSS IS FOUR MILLIONS
Business Portion of the Town Was
RaZed-- Hundreds of Build
ings We're Destroyed.
LOSS IS FOUR MILLIONS

Victoria, b. c., May 21-The main por-
.ion Of the city OF Dawson was destroyed
by fire on April &c, causing a loss of $4,-
coo, 900. In all Ill buildings, including the
British North American bank were burn
ed. The news was brought down by l.. S.
Hume. a son of Mayor Hume, of Seattle,
J. Toklas and a third party, who left
Dawson on April 81 and made their way
out by canoe to Lake I.ebarge and then
over the ice, having a most parilous trip.
Tok!as reports that the fire occurred on
April &c, in the very heart of the business
center of the town, commencing near the
opera house on the water front and
spreading with unusual rapidity. 1t was
driven by a strong north wind, destroying
everything in its way on the street down
to and including Donahue and Smiths
establishment. The fire then took in all
the water front buildings abreast Of the
same blocks. 1t crossed the street, burned
through and spread over to Second street
covering the principal business portion Of
Dawson, leaving it al! in ashes, with The
fremen helpless and powerless to do any
thing. The fire consumed everything from
T.mlCin's Royal cafe DOWN to n oppo-
site the FairviCw hotel. the buildings be-
ing as dry as finder. Tie flames spread
with such rapidi:y that the citizens ap-
pe3ied panic stricken and unable to save
anything in the way of furniture, goods
and clothing.
Among the most prominent firms burn
ed out were the bank of British North
America, the Canadian Bank of Com
msrce, McI4ennan and MtcFeeley (of Vic
1nrI2. N2nnO1lV0r and ia wSnnl tho pa -.
soEs Product company of Winnipeg. the
Royal cafe, Donahue In Smith, the .Au-
rora saloon, the Bodega, the Madden
mouse, the Victoria hotel. the Mcdonald
block and the California exchange.
The fire came at a time when the mills
and dealers in building supplies had eX-
hausted their winter supplies and were
waiting the opening of navigation to re-
plcnish their stocks. The result is a ia
mine in all kinds OF building material and
furniture, such as sashes, doors, locks.
hinges etc. The few articles still remain
ing outside of the burned district have
~quadrupled in prices. Doors are selling
for $35 each, door locks So each and every
thing else in proportion. Nothing in the
way of rebuilding can be done until the
opening Of navigation several weeks from
noT' SIS 'tte,e IS uot over 5000 teet of lu.n-
Der in the place.
The fire was caused by a drunken wo-
man upsettitng a lamp in a notorious
house. None of the big warehouses of the
Alaskan Commercial company nor the
North American Trading and Transport
tation were touched by the fire.
so there will be no S heritage Of provisions
even if the lakes should not open before
the middle Of June, which is now predict
ed The heaviest losers by the fire are
Messrs. McI4eland and McFeeley Of this
city and Vancouver. who had an i'm
mense stock Of iron and tinware and min
ers' supplies, aiken in at heavy expense:
and the Bank Of British North America,
whose f1imsy vaults did not withstand
the heat, the papers in it being destroyed.
The bank also lost a large amount of gold
dust. A rough estimate pulaces the loss
in gold and paper money alone at $1,000
Geo. Altogether the urned area com-
prises quite three-quarters of the area of
Dawson.