The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-08-21
HORSES PERISH IN FLAMES
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pened to glance toward the roar of the
stable and there. saw the reflection of
fire above in the loft He rushed for
ward into the office and notified Silva
that the place was on fire. Silva ran
outside of the Office where he had been
checking up the returning rigs. The
fire must have burned with exceptional
rapidly. Silva had passed from the
Waikiki end of the stable under fire
about fifteen minutes lefore and he had
not observed any reflection of the fire
above. BY the time he came out of the
office he could see the burning hay be-
gin to drop down through the numerous
holes in the floor, which were used for
supplying the managers.
Silva realized that the entire upper
part of the stable must be on fire and
he at once ordered the Chinese to help
get out the horses. The usual scene of
pandemonium ensued with the terrified
horses. Silva was able to get out fully
30 animals and the Chinese helped for a
while. They were ordered to lead the
animals out and not to try and drive
them out. Every instant the danger of
working among the horses increased.
A number of the brutes were gotten out
by the Chinese but as the heat and
flames increased, the horses became
more terrorized and would jerk loose
from their leaders and rush madly back
into the stalls and there furiously stamp
upon the falling flames which every
instant fell thicker as the bales of hay
caught fire.
THE FRENZIED ANIMALS.
Several of the Chinese were knocked
down by the horses and to venture near
the brutes seemed to court serious in
jury. AS the blazing hay kept falling
down in the faces of the terrorized
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ed and fought with the widest fury to
break the ropes and halters which held
them fast. Some of them succeeded in
breaking the ropes and rushing out in
to the passageways from the .alls. only
to dash back again and struggle help
lessly against the flames until they were
overcome and fell down to rise no
more. Within a few minutes after the
fire began to fall through the loft holes,
the managers and stalls were In blaze.
This proved more than the force of
Chinese could stand and they disap-
peared.
Before the work of saving the horses
was begun however Silva sent in an
alarm of fire. He called the central
telephone office and told a EN- to turn In
an alarm for the fire engines at once as
there was a big fire at the Honolulu
Stock Yards. Central asked twice what
was wanted and Silva repeated the or
der and then without stopping to hear
any further rushed from the office and
began to save the stock.
The fire spread with such exceptional
rapidity that not only was the lower
part of the building soon in flames but
the surrounding houses were threaten
ed. Silva saw how fast the flames were
going and he suddenly remembered that
his wife and three little children were
sleeping in their house Immediately adj
joining the stable building, on the
makai side. 1t was well that he thought
of his family for by the time he reach
ed the house the kitchen had already
caught fire. He barely had time in
which to throw a few clothes about his
wife and children and hurry them out
side before the entire mauka end of the
house was in flames.
WHEN THE SLEEPERS AWOKE.
Immediately adjoining this place
We're two other cottages one of which
was occupied by Manuel Santos and
family and the other by some natives
and a Chinese. Santos and his family
were aroused by Silva and managed to
escape with their lives, not -Ag of their
personal effects being saved. Santos
threw some stones through the window
of the other house to alarm the sleeping
inmates who got outside. All three of
these cottages were burned to cinders
WlIIln a very snort time.
The stalls in the main building were
situated directly underneath the seat of
the fire and were naturally the first to
take fire. The task of saving the
horses was most dangerous and so
rapidly did the fire spread that before
many people arrived on the scene to
render help in saving the horses fully
fifty of the animals were dead. OF the
horses lost it is impossible to state how
hnlnnpad 10 OF rHc
pany and how many to private parties.
In round numbers, about ITO horses
were kept in the main building. OF this
number probably IS were owned by
private hack drivers, there must have
been about fifty more owned by private
boarders and the rest belonged to the
Stock Yards Company. A few rigs were
Chinese but only a very small percent
age of the carriages and various vehi-
Giles in the building were saved.
COMPLETE DESTRUCTION.
Immediately in front of the hay loft
and separated by a partition was the
paint shop. Fully two dozen carriages
and perhaps even more were in this sec
ton of the building, many of them be-
ing brand new rigs. Not one of these
was saved. There was so little time in
which to get out the live stock from
below that no attention could be paid
to the rigs on the floor above. In adj
dition to this, all of the harness was
lost for the helpers were too busy look
ing after the horses to think of getting
the harness out.
Had there been any one on hand to
have directed several men, the safe and
books of the concern could easily have
been gotten out of the building. The
office was one of the last places attack /
ed by the flames. The safe and ac-
counts of the company might have been
showed out on the sidewalk out nobody
thought of this part of the establish /
ment until too late. The result was
that every thing of that character was
destroyed. In the front por-