The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1904-03-25
WEDNESDAYS FIRE
SECOND THIS YEAR
G. S. Merriam'S House and J. II.
MitChelPS Household Goods
% a Total Loss m
SNOW BALLS SAVED THE HOUSE
Mrs. II. A. Anderson's Lodging House
te Saved by Heroic Work

tE. saved by Heroic Work
AS if to show how utterly this town
is at the mercy of the elements, and
how entirely helpless its people are at a
fire Leavenworth had recurrence OF
what has happened her several times
before, only in this case it was not such
a serious matter, and but for the fact
that the fire broke out in the daytime,
with people ali around, and heroic
work it might have been much worse.
On Wednesday afternoon, just few
minutes after six o'clock an alarm of
fire attracted attention to Mrs f..
A. Anderson's lodging house near the
Congregational church.
The facts, as near as can be ascertain
ed are that Mrs Mitchell, who lived in
a three roomed cottage about twelve or
| fifteen feet from Mrs. Anderson s house,
went over to neighbours house for a
few moments before the fire broke out
and left good fire in the heater, which
is one of those air tight stoves with
all drafts turned off. The gas accumu-
lated and an explosion followed, or at
least someone heard what sounded like
an explosion and Immediately after
flames shot out of the building. With
the exception of trunk and few bed
clothes all of the household goods of J..
H. Mitchell were destroyed, on which
there was no insurance. Mr. Mitchell
is night Waterman at the Lamb-Davis
Lumber mill and left to go to his work
not ten minutes before the fire broke
out. The building, which belonged to
G. S. Merriam, was partially insured.
Mrs. Anderson S lodging house, which
| is large and substantial frame struc-
| ture and stood only about ten or fifteen
feet from the hoase which burned was
only saved by the hardest kind of work,
1 At one time the entire east end of the
house was ablaze and no water to be
| had, or at least in such inefficient guam
titles that it served no purpose. Sew
eral hundred men were standing
around with their hands in their peck
cts, gazing in mute and helpless aston
ishment at the fast disappearing house
of Mr.. Merriam's and the blazing one
| of Mrs. Anderson's when some one
without, perhaps, the serious thought
OF saving it, yelled, "let's snow ball it. y
The suggestion was taken up at once
by the crowd, which appeared to be
| waiting for someone to tell them what
! to do, and in much less time than it
takes to tell it the end of the house was
hit by thousands and thousands of snow
balls from the hands of men and boys.
To the writer it was an odd sight 10 see
men and boys throwing snowballs with
all their might, with an earnest, serious
! look on their faces. Snow haling is
usually done amid shouting a&d laugh
ing, but here, all was as quiet as fll-
neral 1t soon become evident that the
| snowballs were having an effect and
soon where few moments before the
entire end of the house was ablaze, there
appeared black charred and smoking
surface. The fire had, however, made
enough headway so that it had begun
to burn. under the cornice where il
could not be reached with snowballs. A
ladder. finally procured and some
men got upon the roof and by tearing
away the shingles few buckets of wa
ter put out the last bit of fire that was
left.
Mrs. II. A. Anderson, most estma
BILE widowed lady who owned and kept
the house, was once before burned Out
in Leavenworth, and at that time ihad
no insurance. This time she was more
fortunate. Her loss on building ano
household goods will amount to five oil
six hundred dollars, which is covered
by insurance. She expressed great sat
isfaction and was very thankful for the
heroic work that was done in saving
her house.
A report got out that Mrs. MITCHELL,
baby had been left in the house and
was burned up, but this it was learned
was not so as she had taken it with
her when she went TO the neighhors.
Republican Caucus.
The republican electors OF a-eaNen