The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-01-20
CHINATOWN FIRE.SNEPT.
THOUSANDS DRIVEN BY FLAMES
FROM THEIR HOMES.
Sanitary Fire Gets Beyond Control and
Threatens the Entire Town-Scenes
of Great Excitement.
Chinatown is wiped Out.

CHINATOWN is wiped out.
From Kukui street to the water front,
and from the river Waikiki-way to Nu-
uanu above Pauahi, and to Smith street
above King, and to Maunakea from the
water front up to King, is tonight no
thing but a smouldering mass of en-
bers, blazing here and there, and here
and there broken by the ruined walls
of some brick or stone building. With
in the boundaries given, Chinatown is
thing of the past, Nothing Waikiki
way of this line was destroyed by the
fire except a wooden building at the
foot of Maunakea street close to the
Honolulu Iron Works. Brewer & Com"
pany'S two story brick building Mt the
foot of Maunakea street, used as IL
warehouse below and a sail loft above,
was saved by a volunteer bucket bri
gade which was organized soon after
o'clock, and with ropes and a line of
men with tin buckets hastily brought
from one Of the hardware stores, kept
the roof and walls flooded with water.
The fire was kept from spreading be-
yond Kukui street by tn efforts of a
volunteer brigade organized by Henry
Waterhouse and Judge Perry. The
street is narrow and when the flames
reached the buildings near the corner
of River and Kukui streets, the heat
was so intense that it seemed a certain
ty the flames would leap the narrow
street and spread mauka. To prevent
this the buildings at the corner of Ku-
kui and River streets were fired on the
Kulkui street side, and the wind being
from the mountain at that time carried
the flames toward the sea, and the fire
thus started meeting the advancing
flames coming in the other direction the
two mutually spent themselves.
BABES OF AN HOUR.
There were hundreds of them, men
women and children some of the latter
only a few hours or day from their
birth. Men and women were in tears
and frenzied with fear. They saw de-
struction for their little all, in many
cases. The people were taken to the
vacant lot at the corner of Nuuanu and
Kukui streets, still within the quaran-
Tine lines but out of danger of the fire.
and such of their household goods and
belongings as could be saved were TAX
en- with them. Special efforts were
made to save such things as are neces-
sary for children and infants. From
here this body of refugees were taken
as soon as could be under guard to Ka-
waiahao church where they received the
attention of the relief committee having
charge of carting for them.
On River street near Kukui were a
number of new two story tenements,
some of them uncompleted. These were
of the uncompleted buildings was used
as a storage place for Oriental goods
most of it new. Among these were
many valuable articles. There were
rare vases of Japanese pottery, tapes
tries, and wealth of other things. But
they all suffered the common fate ot
property in Chinatown.
For long time ii was feared that the
fire would leap the river below King
street and get into the lumber yards
and planning mills there. 1t seemed al
most a miracle that it did not. Sparks
and burning shingles were constantly
blown there, but active work with buc,
kets and the flooding OF the entire area
from the water in River park saved this
locality. Had the flames crossed the
stream at this point, 1t can hardly be
imagined where they would have beer
stopped. The depot of the Oahu rail.
way was right in the line of the direc.
tion of the wind and with the sur.
rounding piles of lumber would almos
certainly have carried the fire III
through IWilei.
There was the greatest danger If thu
fire crossed the river at any point. TIL,
closely built wooden houses of Palams
would have offered insuperable obsta
cles to the work of the fire department
FIRE BREAKS BOUNDS.
The part of the infected district whicl
1t was intended to burn was that par
of block fifteen between the waikiki
line of the Kaumakapili church anC
Nuuanu street. from Beretania to Ku
kui. The fire department began opera
tions about s o'clock. These We're o
the usual kind, the placing of the ap
paratus of the department at the point
from which it was thought the fir
could be best controlled; then the thor