Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1904-02-10

Baltimore, Feb. S.-Baltimore Is
staggering tonight under a fire loss
which no one has temerity to put in
figures. The important commercial
district is blackened ruins. laid bare
by a confagration which ragged. with.
out momentary check. from l0:45 a.
m. yesterday until late in the after
noon today. At 3 o'clock the city
officials again breathed. 1t was
agreed the flames were under con-
troll. They had ragged % hours, in
spite OF almost ~superhuman efforts,
| put forth by the best fighting forces
which more than half dozen cities
were able to master.
The city is overcast with gloom.
The only lights in the burned district
are those from smouldering ruins.
Stores are closed in nearly every
street. The darkened are full
of jostling people. talking of one sub
ject. Apparently there is but one
cause for gladness and that Is that
there are no homeless. The residence
section of the city escaped. This
phase of the situation relieved the Of
ficials from any thought other than
saving of property.
At 2 D. m. the Associated Press sent
out a bulletin saying the flames would
be held in check at the Union docks
and prevented from leaping Jones
Falls and placing the entire city east
of there in jeopardy. At 3 O'Clock
that bulletin was confirmed. A scor
of times flames of fire were found lap
ping the sides of lumber piles on the
east band of Jones Falls. In some in
stances lumber was tossed into Jones
Falls and this with similar heroic
measures stopped the onward sweeT
of the fire.
Throughout the terrible contest IL
which the firemen and fire waged fol
supremacy. humanity was handicap
ped by a gale which carried burning
brands over the heads of the worker!
and beyond the reach of the hundreds
of treams of water poured into rag
ing furnaces. But for the work o.
volunteers in seeking out and eXtin
gushing these embers il is almost
certain the burned area would have
been twice larger than it is. About
as squares or 40 acres are in ashes
extending from Lexington street OF
the north. to Pratt street on thu
south. to Jones Falls on the east. 2
500 buildings being burned.
The insurance companies have or
cned temporary offices in the L.exing
ton hotel. but their representative!
decline to estimate the loss. The an
swer OF one is typical of all:
IT'S too big. We have not figure
hundred million. That's the best w
can do"
The same INDIGESTION was true in re
gard to estimates concerning insuT
ance.
/ No one dares TO guess what woul
have happened had the flames jumI
ed Jones Falls. The struggle toda
, has been one end of combining the fir
to the west side of the muddy stream
, That this effort was successful !
merely the result of the fire burnin
, itself out and the concerted labors Q
: nearly 100 fire companies. aided b
powerful fire tugs. Again and agai
the terrible heat. driven from tn
burning district across Jones Fall
ignited buildings and lumber pile
Furious hand to hand fights occurre,
which. fortunately for the resident
Of East Baltimore. were won by I'll
iremen. For several hours in tn
lumber district of the east side. va
g unteers watched every ember. BuckC
| brlgades were formed to prevent n d
structive lap Of the flames acros ii
narrow stream. Had the fire game
I a foothold in the east side lumbt
yards, it is conceded nothing couI
have stopped the onslaught and Il
departments would have been powe
less to prevent damage as great II n
greater than the Chicago fire.
81 Dynamite explosions have been co
d slant today. The program adoptC
last night of blowing up buildings
s an attempt to stay the progress of Il
e names was continued until the fiji
g. was under control. Then the dyn
miters turned their attention to razir