The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1904-02-25
STORY OF THE GREAT
BALTIMORE FIRE.
Scenes and Incidents During its Prog
ress Graphically Depicted.
ITS PATH RESEMBLES A crescent
The Finest Buildings and All:Suppos-
ed to be Absolutely Firepaoof,
Burned With Greater RapiditNthan
Those Otherwise Constructed.

Last Sunday morning, about half
past 10 o'clock, while half of Baltimore
was on its way to church, fire broke
out in the large wholesale dry goods
house of John E. Hurst Il Co., at the
corner of Liberty and German streets.
From this point it ragged until 5;45
o'clock Monday afternoon, when the
exhausted firemen finally succeeded
in bringing its destructive course to a
halt among the lumber yards on
nuion dock, at the foot of Falls ave
nue., more than a mile from where it
had started.
Its path, which today resembles
nothing so much as huge crescent,
embraces eighty blocks in the heart of
the business section; more than $500
buildings are in ashes, including the
Chamber of Commerce, Merchants
and Manufacturers Associations
headquarters; the Stock Exchange;
more than half the banks and finance
al houses in the city, and practically
the whole of the dry goods district,
and the retail clothing district along
Baltimore street, from Liberty street
to the Baltimore street bridge oyer
Jones Falls, over a mile in length
Conservative insurance agents have
placed the loss at 10000, 900, of which
it is stated that about Is per cent, is
covered by insurance.
AS yet, the exact cause of the fire
has not been ascertained. Certain it
is that shortly after the Hurst Build
ing was discovered to be in flames
there were heard several tremendous
explosions, which torethe great sstab-
lishment to fragments, andsent bricks,
mortar, and blazing cinders scattering
over the neighborhood, and spreading
the blaze.
The whole fire department was soon
on hand, general alarm having been
turned in by Captain Jordan, of the
Salvage Corps, whose company was
the first on the scene. Their efforts,
however, seemed fruitless, and the
hungry blaze spread into the adjoin-
ing buildings, most of which were occu-
pied by large wholesale dry goods
companies, and by noon, a little less
than two hours after it had started,
it had crept through the block to Bal
timore street, destroying the Roxbury
Rye Distilling Company's establish.
ment, near the corner of Sharp street
Appeals for help were at once sent
to other cities-New York, Washing
ton, Philadelphia, and Wilmington
The fire had by this time covered
eight city blocks, and was rapidly
eating its way toward the corner o.
Baltimore and Charles street, a higt
wind from the southwest directing the
course of the destructive blaze. Al
this juncture dynamite was restored
to, but without avail. Several build
ipgs-among them that of Armstrong
! Gator Il Co., on Baltimore street
near Charles-were destroyed in thil
manner, but nothing seemed to stol
the spread of the fire. 1t was theI
about o'clock in the afternoon, ant
business men and dealers of all sort
were hurriedly removing their nova
BILE property from the establishment
| in tho NTH of tba faYna0
On they swept, taking northeast
rly direction destroying the building
north of Baltimore street on Libert,
for half square. The block bound
ed by McClellan's alley, Bsltimor