The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1904-02-10

Junker's hotel.
| st. Paui's hotel, dynamited.
Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone
Co:
Maryland Trust Co.
Alexander Brown Banking Co.
A report was received at 2 O'Clock
this MONDAY morning that both the
Sun building and the American, direct
ly across the street, had been dYnamit.
FIRE CHANGES IT'S COURSE.
Washington. Feb. 8.-A telephone
message, received from Baltimore al
2.40 a. m. says that when the hire
reached Jones Falls the wind changed.
driving the fire south, and that it hae
reached the wharf, where much In
fammable material is stored.
There have been changes in the
course Of the fire since it started at II
O'Clock. It first took northerly
direction, swerved northeasterly unit.
about O'Clock. and then struck due
east. The last change turns it South.
! STORY OF AN EYEWITNESS.
Washington, Feb 8.-A member oi
the staff of the Baltimore Sun. who
came over with the force from that
paper, who reached Washington last
night, said that the fury of the fire
was beyond description.
"You cannot imagine, you cannot
imagine, he kept on repeating.
The, scenes of the gigantic destruc-
tion be had witnessed seemed to have
impressed themselves upon his mem
ory to the obliteration of every other
idea. "I have seen big fires in New
York and Chicago" he said, "when
block after block would fall before
the sweep of the flames, but nothing
thai approached in terrible fury the
catastrophe that fell upon Baltimore
today. The flames swept down the
streets with the onward rush and fury
of tidal wave. Great billows of fire,
two hundred feet in height, would I'LL
the space between the buildings, and.
sweeping from side to side, would
blot out of existence a sky-scraper,
as though it were box of matches.
"The Union Trust building and the
Atlantic Trust building shared this
fate. One moment they stood in the
stately beauty of stone and marble, a
moment later and they we're not. The
flames would dash against their sides,
beat in the massive walls, leap from
Windows and roofs and-then would
| come the collapse. The Union Trust
building, one Of the handsomest i'll
the country, seemed to my mind to
vanish almost as [ looked.
"The city was mass OF whirllng,
burning, binding embers. In the
Sun Office, where we sat at work over
our desks, the copy paper would burn
as we wrote. In the streets the en-
bers fell in sheets and rose and fell
again, as the swift wind carried them
along. Everywhere were drawn and
anguished faces. -
The burned district of Baltimore is
the heart of the business section. in
clnding the entire wholesale trade
and great part of the retail trade.
In the first district were all the i'm
portant Business and Office buildings.
| all the newspaper Offices, two hotels,
| the central building of the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad, the City Hall the
Court House the postof6ce building,
the Western Union and Postal Tele-
graph building, the Bell Telephone
| building, police headquarters. Holiday
Street Theatre and several of the i'm
portant banks. y
| Baltimore street was the main busi
ness street of Baltimore and the divid-
| ing line between the wholesale and
retail sections, being liued with es-
tablishments of both descriptions.
For three or four blocks south of Bal
timore street, and from Howard
street on the west, to South street on
| the east, the flames. swept everything
before them. North of Baltimore,
and running east and west, parallel
with tsScome first Fayette street and
Lexington street. West of Charles
street these two streets are devoted to
| retail hpuses, and east of it, Charles.
mainlyto Office buildings.
Baltimore, Feb. S., 11.3O a. m.-The
great fire is still burning with unpre-
| cedented fury and has now reached the
residence district. Loss up to this
| hour is estimated to be SIP, 600, 600.
Philadelphia, Feb. 8, 12.27-Assisr-
ant Director of Public Safety Caville
has just telephoned from Baltimore
that the fire is absolutely under con
| troll and that the Baltimore firenen are
able to cope with the situation. The
fire is now burning in but two places.
The Philadelphia firemen and police
will return to Philadelphia on the 80
train.
| All the newspaper Offices are burned
out. The Herald will print in office
of Washington Post tonight. The Sun
will issue from the Washington Star
Office.
TOcc EYCEEDS s130 OOo OaO