The Hawaiian gazette., 1900-01-02

covered ON the floor OF The receiving
room. dead rat which was %; once
sent to Or hoffman Tor examination
This discovery was sufficient for the
Board to decide tina: the photograph
gallery was infected as we'll. and moth
ing was allowed to be taken out except
yha camera. although the contents were
very valuable.
Work of Destruction Begins.
At2 o'clock the first work of destruc-
tion began by the removal of house
connecting bridge between the Silvi-
rera and Ahlo promises. The firemen
cut this connecting link away and then
several cans of kerosene oil We're
poured into the upstairs rooms of Nos.
325. 326 and 327, and all was ready for
The match.
President Cooper sent word to Chief
Hunt at 1920 p. m that everything was
up to the Fire Department. BY a Gu
rious coincidence Chief Hunt at 1922
p. IN. shouted to the foreman, who was
upstairs in the premises numbered
327. to start the fire The match was
room was entirely ablaze. Within two
minutes the flames were leaping
through the Underwood roof, from
which the corrugated iron roofing had
already been removed. The fire spread
quickly toward both ends of the
doomed structure, and began eating its
way toward the rear The scene on
Nuuanu street was fine. Two streams
4,F ,Nln tho buildings
across the street and onto the struct-
ures adjoining the infected premises.
The flames quickly destroyed the stores
in the central part, and then began
working fast toward the rear. Behind
No. 325 was a large two-story concrete
structure owned by l.. Ahlo, on the
ground floor of which was stored a
very valuable lot of sake just received
Ivy him. and recently fumigated. The
upper story was used as dwelling
place by japanese Yoshiwara women.
\ stream of water was kept on this
building from the beginning, but its
closeness to the burning structure in
front soon brought it under the con-
troll Of the fire and flames and smoke
burst from the windows and beneath
the caves. This was a building which
the Board desired to save, if possible,
as il and its contents was worth more
than all the structures facing on Nuu-
anu street. A second stream of water
was brought to play on the burning
structure, but within an hour the roof
fell in. carrying in part of the wall.
Chunks of the wall composition fell
upon the balcony, and, bounding, sew
eral of the firemen had narrow escapes
from being hit. One of the foremen
was struck upon the forehead and Sc
Verely injured. In carrying hose
through the narrow passageways. two
iiremen lodged a heavy piece of COR
nice Just in time. Had either man
been hit he would have been badly in
iured if not killed.
Some of the shacks extended almost
back to Mr.. Damon's Chinese school,
and in allowing these to burn without
the fire spreading to adjoining proper
" the iremen had their hands full.
Sparks dying from the blazing mass
were carried by the south wind, which
was blowing a good breeze, to the
Mossman house on Beretania street,
setting fire to the roof; also houses in
the rear of the Orpheum theater caught
fire in the same manner, but in each
case bucket brigades quenched these
embryo fires.
At one time it was thought the Ahlo
premises were likely to be included in
the cOntagration, but this was pre-
vented by concentrating three streams
on the exposed buildings. In many
respects the work of the Fire Depart
ment was a splendid achievement in
continuing the fire to the limits as
mapped out by the Board of Health.
They had the fire under control nearly
the entire time the buildings were
ablaze, Chief Hunt working in amongst
his men and exposing himself in many
dangerous alleyways. In taking a
horse from a stable in Ahlo's premises,
a corporal of the regiment was kicked
by the animal in the mouth, knocking
his cigar away and cutting severe
cash in his under-lip. The corporal
coolly picked up his cigar from the
ground and resumed his beat.
The determination of the Board to
take such rigid measures arose from
the discussion of the subject at a
meeting of the Board of Health Satur-
day night, when it was decided that
certain parts of Chinatown must go,
destruction by fire being the only
means by which the district could be
purified and cleansed of its saturated
filthiress. The Board is evidently pre-
pared to keep up vigorous measures in
stamping out the plague, and as soon
as barracks can be erected for them
the denizens of other sections of the
Uuarartined district will be moved to
the new quarantine and their former
dwellng-houses and places OF business
will be burned to the ground.
Three Deaths Yesterday.
The first death by bubonic plague
reported at the Board of Health yes
terday morning, was that of All Pow,
on Nuuanp street. All Pow lived in
an upstairs room, which was almost
next to that of the Chinese who died
a few days ago. In room, sand