Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1903-08-14
A DISASTROUS FIRE.
Property Valued at Over
$25,oOo Goes up in
Smoke.
COMPLETE LIST OF THE LOSSES.

saturday night abont half past nine
O'Clock a fire brolS. out in the back part
~ So! mour jacobs clothing store that
destroyed property valued in the neigh
hnrhood Of S2I 600 The origin Of the
iir" seems Ia he shrouLed in mystery.
bnt from the best Information Obtaina.
hlr hy the lSDErENDEST il started from
som" tori ~ an explosion in Mr.. Jacobs
-t"rr. When the tire broke ont Mrs. +.
j. Harris. Mn1. Harry Bruce and Miss
.jrHsI" Harris were lifting on the front
steps of the Harris residence. diarOnally
acr"ss 'lr alley and ab mt loo feet from
the rear -; hlr. Ia'"h. store. They ha 4!
been sittrmg there for some time when
their attention was attracted by - noise
that Mrs. Harms and Miss !. .sSir describe
~ rinllnr io ilht maie 10y the explosion
"f Has III u coal STOW" when it bursts the
doors of the stove open. They imme.
dihtcly looked III the dir.ctiun the roisc
came frum und through Ia the window in
thc rear ~ Mr.. Jacobs store saw "a mass
"d closely by "a blazh. They Immediately
gave the alarm and ran around the cor.
ner Of the telegraph office yelling
tire. DIR. Hood happcdcd To- be about
III front of DIR McDOwclls Office aud ON
learning where thriirc was kicked in the
front door and was driven back by the
flames Ray Harris and others were
soon ON the ground and tho alarm br.
came general. Joe Tabcr was just Tin.
IshIng supper at the Commercial Hotel
when the first alarm WIG given and he
hurried across to the drugstore md en-
tered 10y the rear door. After routing
ont Mrs. Tubcr md Little Joe who had
gone to bed, he grabbed his Kings tire
"Xiinguishcr and two tubes nf the Dry.
powder cNtinguishcr dnh went To the
back door aud was checking the tire
with the cNtinguisicrs when the front
door was broken open and the draft
made gave it new life and the heat and
flames drove him away. Tho tire then
spread with the rapidity of lightning
and the drugstore on the east and DR.
McD0well's Office, the Office oi the Tclc.
phone Company and the telegraph Of
iicc on the west were almost instantly
one mnss ~ tire. \ large crowd nf will
ing workers sOon gathered. but thcy
foun'. themselves without hose or uthcr
means Oi lighting the lire, Hose was
attcrHnri obtu,ned fron the ". l.
Smith Company aud the lire house, hut
the couplings wuud not tit the fire plugs
nud u good deal Of valuable time waa
lost bcforc this difficulty could bu over
come In the meantime II bucket brig.
adc wus organized and II gallant hight
mRde Ia prevent the iir" spreading tn
Mr.. BrHruS building occupied 10y the
Winter man'cl Icwclry Company and
George Bruc"'s grocery store. Tho
hook and ladder boys were huey too and
all the purchcs from the drugstore ns
FAR rist MS DR.. lluoh's office were pulled
down io prevent the spread of tire in
front. Tho hose attached Ia the fire
plug on Van Dricllcns corner kept the
iirc from spreading Ia old rOokerics in
tho alley ia the rear 81 the storca. Tho
tight on tho roof of tho Wintrrmnntcl
Jcwclry store 10y the bucket brigade and
the lInac mon won the admiration nf
every body md saved thousands upon
thousands ~ dollHrs' worth ~ prop
criy. lf tho lsprrrSpEHT knew The
naincs " the men who did the work il
would publish thom AMI tender them
individually and collectively the thanks
nf the clti2cns Of tho town. The Thinks
go anyway, though the reporter has
been un able Ia lcnru the nance. While
the tigh, Ia prevent the spread ~ the
fire Ia the "ns, VIVA going on another
wnR being wagch Ia Rnvc the residence
oi Mr.. ilarris ncrOsa the alley from the
rear u tho telegraph Office. TLis like
everything IN the house was carried ont,
nothing was brCkcn or lnai. This IL
remarkable considering the nature ni
many ~ the articles moved.
Tho reporter interviewed Mr.. jacobs
this morning on the origin m the lire
aud. though nt lpss io account Tor IT,
ho dOca not think TINT II s,arteh frOm nil
explosion ~ tho gaaolinc stove TINT he
uscd Tor heating irons for pressing
clOthcs. iic said tho gasoline stove Ind