The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-08-21
HORSES PERISH INFLANES
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Continued from page fve.)
indeed laid their garden hose to guard
against possible danger and kept their
favorite shrubbery well sprinkled.
A HORSE ELECTROCUTED.
The little band of horse savers in the
rear were having a hard time to get
the stock to a place of safety. Crazed
and rendered desperate by the heat the
rearing animals seemed totally blind
to any avenue of escape and once free
of the holocaust seemed to have no
more control of themselves than moth
that returns again and a~ain to the
light that scorches 1t. One beautiful
animal that came charging back to self
destruction leaned for a moment
against the charred fence trembling in
every nerve and then started full tilt
for the center of the blaze when a free
wire curled around his neck and sent
it staggering and wrthing to the
ground, mercifully electrocuted before
the flames could reach it.
The charged wires were an imminent
source of peril but were taken prompt
ly in hand by the telephone company,
one of whose employees climbed up a
pole in his pajamas and nipped off the
threatening wires. The main cable was
fortunately saved. The news of the
falling wire from the rear speedily
passed through crowd and created con-
sternation amid the Orientals who were
still carryin- out their household goods
The main building was speedily des-
troyed and all egress in that direction
rendered impossible 1t would have at
any time been a hard matter to ~et out
either horses or wheeled stock from the
main entrance which is partially block
ed by the hacks boarded at the stables
and which at the end the days use,
after washin" are ranged up on each
side of the doorway ready for use first
thing in the morning, leaving only a
narrow lane sufficient to allow the pas
sage of a horse and vehicle.
SOME HORSES SAVED.
At the time the fire broke out there
were one or two men who had come
to get their wagons ready for the early
morning bread delivery. The animals
belonging to these outfits were prompt
ly taken out and several others who
were caught by friendly hands and
prevented from returning into the fire
were also saved but the bulk of the
private and livery horses and carriages
were lost. Many are bemoaning this
morning the lose of a fine horse and
buggy while a number of Japanese
hackmen are out of business.
This is the second time within the
week that fire has broken out on the
premises. Last Friday there was
blaze in the new and uncompleted part
of the structure. The fire was promptly
suppressed and its origin traced to
pair of old greasy overalls. Spontane-
Gus combustion was accepted as the
cause of the fire THOUGH at the time
there was considerable talk of its hav-
ing been the work of a vengeful and
lately DISCHARGED employee. With this
second and more disastrous fire the
question of incendiarism has come
more strongly forward. From all APP
pearances the fire undoubtedly started
in the baled hay and there is strong
suspicion in the minds of both the po-
lice and the management of the COM
pany, heightened by the quick recur-
renee of the breaking out of fire on
the premises. that incendiarism was
the cause of this, if not of both the
fires. Spontaneous combustion has of
course been known to frequently occur
in stacked hay but the fire fiend theory
is preferred at present by the authori-
ties.
MANY HORSES BURNED.
There were a number of horses con-
fined In open paddocks at the rear of
the premises who were let loose by the
these will be found scattered out tow
ards Waikiki having been captured by
friendly hands. Until returns are made
from these it is impossible to ~uage the
exact number of animals destroyed in
the fire. One corral full of horses was
blazing before a rescue could be made
and some of the animals succumbed to
the injuries received from their burns
the flesh being literally roasted off their
sides and limbs. The number of ami
mails lost is estimated at something
short of a hundred.
All LEW SAW THE GLAZE
Seven men were employed about the
stables at night. They were Joseph
Silva, nign. foreman, a boy and five
Chinese. The Chinese simply work as
harness washers while the boy went af-
ter rigs. None of the men had occa-
sion to go upstairs last night and so far
as Silva can recall nobody went to the
second story, either in the paint shop
or the hay loft while he was in charge
of the place.
1t was about 1870 o'clock this morning
when All Lew, one of the washers hap
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