The National tribune., 1902-02-06
SOME AMERICAN CONGREGATIONS.
Some of the Great Clamities that Have
Befallen Us During TWO Centuries.
Henry Walker James in the Metropoli-
tan 4I sazine.)

! oSLdiieu OS DurlnB- TWO Cent lrl les.
| QIenry Walker James. in the Metropoli-
tan SI lGazine)
America has had a full share of big
blazes, and, on this side of the Atlantic,
! Quebec has established fiery rivalry
with Constantinople hi the number, al
though not in the yaStpess, of its con
| flagrations. On May sgS, 1915, a fire be
gan which destroyed 1850 houses; and ex
actly one month later, TO a day., there was
another which burned l,36j. The most
! terrible of Quebec's eaiamities by fire was
| the burning of the theater on Jan. T.
! 1916, made memorable less by the loss of
! property than by the destruction of 80
! lives. Quebec's greatest blaze occurred
! ON Oct. IA, 1866, and resulted in the de
| struction of $500 houses and II churches
| There have been three great conilagra-
! tions in the city and its vicinity since
| then-one on May "a, 1870. burning 500
| houses; one in June, 1881. burning 600
and one on May 10 and l6, 1899, in the
| suburb known as st. Sauyeur, burning
! about 100.
| New York was the scene of the first
noteworthy blaze in America, and the
great fire of 1879 took place in history
with the famous London cOnflagratiOn. II
began on Dec. IL, and for three days the
southern portion of the city was in flames
The locality was east of Broadway and
below Wall street, district in which the
most valuable stores were located. The
number of buildings destroyed was G4S.
the Merchants Exchange and the South
Dutch Church being among the number
The loss was S20.000,000. On Sept u.
1I76, fire destroyed all the buildings on
the west side of Broadway from White
hall street to Barclay, which was a blaze
of TTgHt IuDtuifmIp in tlnen uapir
as was the one which Oh Aug. Z, 17IS.
consumed 800 buildings on the East River
front
Portland, Me, shared disaster with
Quebec in 1866, but her misfortune, which
preceded i'll point of time, was eclipsed
by that Of her Canadian sister city. Port
lands great fire was an outcome of the
celebration Of Independence Day, and
during the two days of its continuance.
onc-third of the city fell in ashes. The
loss was $10,000,O0O
Then came the most stupendOus calam-
ity OF the 18th century i'll this line of Wis
itahOns, with Chicago as the victim The
fire began at 9:30 in the evening of Sun
day, Oct. ., 1871, and ragged until the fol-
lowing Tuesday evening. II burned
through the finest and most wealthy por-
tion Of the city, many beautiful chnrcht
and other large edifices sharing in the
ruin. An area of 2l00 acres was devas-
i1st'pO DullulHSS were ueStrOypu.
9S.500 people were rendered homeless, and
nearly 200 We're killed. The loss was
$190,000,000
Boston had a big blaze in 1872 which
would have been the sensational one of
the century but that it was dwarfed in
importance by the one in Chicago the
year previous. Yet in some respects il
was most remarkable conflagration. OF
the II6 buildings destroyed within the 81
hours during which the fire ragged all bnt
6I were brick or stone. Many Of them
were massive structures of granite. which
crImbied in the fierce heat, the buildings
going down like houses built of cards
The fre began in the evening of Nov, 9.
1872, and was got under control the next
afternoon, but not until il had laid in ruins
ID acres In the wholesale trade district
OF the city. Fourteen lives were lost. and
the loss on property was SO 0O0.O
st. John, n. b. completes the list of
cities IN America which have secured at
great cost place in the history of great
hres. Flame enreloped the most valuable
section of the city. for three days-June
20, q and Do, 1S77-destroying ID
churches, % public buildings and a great
number Of houses, thousands of people he
ing turned OUT of their homes There
were 20 lives lost during the fire. The
property loss was $t5,0OO,O00.
All these were spcctacles that couId
only have been viewed with awe and fer
ror. Those of them which occurred with
IN the memory of people yet living can
be recalled vividly. by those who witnessed
them. They presented aspects never to
be forgotten. In fact, there is something
abont any fire that impresses itself in.
delibiy upon the minds of persons who
yield to the fascination existing in a CON
Migration, and they can tell. long after
ward, the particular features that distin
gulShed one from another of such as were
noteworthy.
One of the most terrific fires on record |
occurred in New York on Monday. Oct. %,
1900, which resulted not only in the death
or injury of number of persons on the |
destroyed premises, bat in injuries TO 9th |
'ers who were presumably outside the cir |
Gle Of possible danger. This was the de-
strnction of TaTiaht's large drug estab- |
iisllment AT t;Irenwich and Warren |
streets. The tie ttef in the upper nor
tion of the bnil" ana before il had