Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1904-02-19

Prevailiss Charseteristie of the
scene.
Baltimore's devastation wrought by
its great hre In graphically pictured by
Julian Hawthorne rs follows In the
New York American:
After viewing the mounded desola-
tion Of what was Baltimore's business
.uarter and of that region which was
Inhabited by the unknown hordes Of the
poorer classes one lmagines that the
ngel of. destiny in his journeylngs to
,nd fro over the earth paused there the
other Sunday morning and recognized
ne spot named in his book Of fate for
N especial and memorable vista ton.
With his irrevocable finger he mark
ii out the area OF the catastrophe. II
vas u line sharply drawn. On this side
'hould be- Immunity. on that chaos and
obstruction. Here and there In the
midst OF crumbled ruin should be left
g structure almost unscathed. But In
he main the sweep of the fiery Bosom
'lsould be thorough. Nothing should
be lacking TO the significance of the
disaster
III was not life that the angel sought
On this occasion to destroy. but that
for which so much Of our life is ger
~ expended-wealth and the means of
wealth. the property which we bug 50
dear and whose safety we hedge about
with such stringent laws and precau-
Ions. These huge buildings, so costly
and well guarded. built TO resist and
iefy all perils, should be wiped out as
snow vanishes before the southern
winds and rains. All that man labors
and wastes himself to gain should be
taken away. but man himself should
be left to contemplate and moralize
over the loss. and. perhaps-for one
inevitably ascribes meaning to these
vast calamities-to consider whether,
after all, the accumulatious and pre-
oecupa tons of civilization are the only
or the most worthy object Of mans
pursuit, whether 1t may not he worth
our while TO give more heed hereafter
to those riches which earthly agencies
cannot sweep away in a night. Such,
one imagines, may have been the
thought in the mind Of the angel as he
paused that Sunday morning over
beautiful and prosperous Baltimore.
Indeed, 1t is difficult to avoid the
apocalyptic and elegiac tone in speak
ing OF this event. The writing on these
walls 10 scored deep and spread wide.
One can almost hear the voice Of warn
ing sounding In the smoke laden air.
1t seems to say to those who have lost
what they thought their all, is this
your all indeedr In little while we
and our possessions must have passed
away at any rate. The earthly works
OF man are foreordained to vanish
Can he not gather something that will
survive these treasures Of a day? Why
love so much what forsakes him 20
lightly?
When. in the early dawn. looked
from my window toward the east there
was a ruddy glow upon the sky which
I at first mistook for the reflection Of
the still burning city. But 1t was only
the daily miracle Once more had
God made himself an awful rose of
dawn" And when, leaving the train
and Fastening up Charles street. had
my first glimpse of the city itself. the
mi nd hn wi oil l.
most deserted streets suggested no ca
lamity. The few shops and public
in this region were closed.
seemed to have come upon a commu-
nifty still peacefully asleep. Yet did
not need to ask my way. for over yon-
der, beyond the tall and massive shaft
Of the Washington column, there was
a low haze Of heavy smoke. clinging
near the ground, as II trying to conceal
the havoc of which 1t was the sign.
And as I passed the monument and de-
scended the hill saw the ragged bor-
ders of the blighted area standing out,
bleached, blackened and irregular,
q gainst the whitish mist farther down,
and the passing Of squads Of militia
men and the gathering of the police on
corners and the formation of throngs
Of anxious and solemn faced citizens
along the lines OF the forbidden space
apprised me that had reached the
scene which I had come to behold
After Mr. Hawthorne had procured
his pass to step inside the fire lines he
continues his story thus:
Looking up and down what had
been streets and across the heaps or
rubbish that had been hives, of in
dustry and through the great gaps III
the still standing fragments of the
walls Of some Of them. perceived that
| had broken into a comparative soli-
tude. Here and there on corner, or
what might have been corner Though
of all kinds were to great
extent obliterated). a little group of
police officers and tremen huddled
about some embers raked together.
warming their fingers. chilled by the
icy breeze.
81 passed two photographers debat-
ing upon the merits Of view Of the
ruins OF the Farmers and Merchants
bank on what used to be Exchange
place, striking mass of tottering
wreckage Of red stone, with traces OF
handsome architectural features. This
is a dry town, sir one said, turning to
Inc with his dry American grin. So the
renowned American joke still survived,
but, upon the whole. there was mark
ed absence Of hilarity among the va
grants,