The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-05-05
Leads all North Carolina Daies i'm News and Circulation

the same distance Ashley and Church
| streets have both been completely
blotted out When the fire reached
Bridge street on it's eastward course il
enveloped in flames three blocks-Du.
val. Monrie and the north side of
Adams. burning up that entire section
of the city and running fourteen blocks
to the Duval street bridge.
How much further in that direction
the city is burned, it is impossible 10
learn. the street being impassable, but
it is feared that ST. Luke's Hospital
was burned report reaching the city
that the Presbyterian church in East
Jacksonville is ablaze
If this is correct the fire must have
extended five blocks further east. The
conaagration has burned over, as far as
is definitely known a distance of two
and half miles long, by half mil
wide.
When the fire reached Julia street.
ii was a roaring furnace without any
prospect of being put under control,
The military were called out to keep
back the crowds and the fire depart
ment began to use dynamite to blow
up the houses a block from the fire
and thus prevent the fire from spread
ing So fierce was the blaze, however.
and so strong had become the wind that
millions Of sparks and flying burning
shingles spread over five or six blocks.
setting fire to the roofs of the houses
in advance of the department. Soon
Senator Taliaferro's residence, then the
adjoining houses on that block were
ablaze and in spite of all efforts to
save the Windsor and the st. James
hotels, both houses were quickly en-
veloped in flames. For about an hour
the guests before the fire had been
packing up, and went away loaded with
trunks and grips. some unfortunately
to the United States Hotel, but most
of them to Riverside.
The flames leaping madly across the
street from the Windsor TO the Settles
House the latter caught fire and ther
the Methodist parsonage and in a few
minutes Trinity Methodist church was
a mass of flames. The opera house
block followed and the Richards and
Livingstone boarding houses A desper-
ate effort was made to save the Bald
win mansion which was recently pur-
chased by the ElSs for $4,000. No
earthly power could save this build
ing and that entire block and the one
west of it was quickly a mass of flames.
Once the fire got started on Main
street the closely adjoining buildings
went one after the other, paint shops
with barrels Of oil We're plentiful IN
this district ans, 3. hey caught ON fils
one after the other the blaze arose
hundreds of feet high and quickly set
the other buildings across the street
on fire.
Then the Hubbard hardware store
caught and the people scattered when
they saw what had happened Hun
dreds of pounds of powder and a great
deal of dynamite We're stored in this
building. Ten minutes passed when
suddenly there was roar and thea
the building collapsed like an egg shell.
The dynamite and the powder had eX-
ploded Here again there was much
danger for the firemen. Cartridges be-
gan to explode and bullets began to fly
around and the effort to fight the fire
at this point had for time to be aban-
doned This was only the start of the
most intense part OF the fire. The new
Furchgott building was soon ablaze ana
then quickly the Gardiner building was
also enveloped in flames. Down tha
and the entire section from Bay street
TO Market, extending for five blocks
back was burning all at once.
The city building went, the fire de.
partment building, the armory, the
county court houses, the criminal court
house, the city Jail and the graded
schools and the Catholic church and
orphanage, st. Johns Episcopal church
and the convent All these buildings
were destroyed in less than four hours
after the fire started at u: 80 p. m.
At $50 D. m. the fire was checked
at the intersection of Laurel and Bay
streets, where the Commercial bank is
located, which went up in flames, the
house being just across the street, and
not damaged.
Among the prominent hotels were the
St james, the United States, the Pla-
eide and the Windsor. 1t is impossible
at this hour to ascertain the losses But
it is estimated that it will be between
eight and nine millions.
Six lives are reported lost in the con-
flagratiOn.
The mayor has called a meeting OF
the city council for tomorrow to CON
slider the ways and means of the sui
fererS