The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-02-27
Fierce Fire Sweeps the
 City'S River Front.
LOSS MAY BE $s,o0o,0o0
Serious Temporary Blow at
 Export Trade.
Splendid wharves and Terminals, Grain Elevators, Loaded Cars and 10000 Isales of Cotton De-
 stroyed by the Flames.
aryes and Terminals, Grain

New Orleans. La, Feb. 2s.--Fire in- volving millions of dollars loss In physical property and that strikes a se- rious temporary blow at the immense export trade of New Orleans, swept the river front tonight an dwiped out the vast freight terminals of the Illinois Central, known as the stuyvesant docks. Nearly a dozen squares of mod ern wharves and freight sheds. two magnificent grain elevators, hundreds of loaded cars and vast quantities of freight including 2o.ooo bales of cotton were destroyed together with a large number of small residences. The fire was still raging furiously at midnight at which time it had almost reached the upper end of the Illinois Central property. It has not been determined whether there has been any loss of life. The ocean going shipping seems to have escaped serious damage. A num- Der of fremen and employees of the docks were injured. Actual estimates of the losses are impossible tonight, though they may exceed $5,0oo,o0o.
 The Stuyvesant docks extend from Louisiana Avenue almost to Napoleon Avenue. a distance of twelve squares. The ground between those two points was covered with miles of trackage and steel and iron sheds ran the whole dis tance. The two grain elevators were of the most modern construction, the up- per one having a capacity of million bushels.
 . Great Freisat stores.
 Thousands of bales of cotton. several hundred thousand packages of sugar, great quantities of cotton seed oil and oil cake. lumber and every conceivable variety of freight filled the warehouse and sheds. Practically all the export business handled by the Illinois Central was put aboard ships at those docks. The docks and Improvements have been under construction for ten years past, elaborate extensions and immense in- vestments having been made after the constitutional convention of 1898 made 1t possible for the road to invest perma- nently at this point.
 The fire was discoverd shortly after z o'clock. It was said to have result ed from journal that had not been sufficiently oiled. The whole plant was equipped with gigantic water tanks and fire extinguishing apparatus, but the blaze, small at the beginning, al- most instantaneously got beyond con- trol, communicating through the con- veys to the lower elevators and some of the sheds. The response of the Fire Department was prompt but owing to the fact that the terminals were inac- cessible owing to fence and tracks the engines found difficulty in reaching the flames. In half an hour the fire COW cred two squares. the lower elevator was practically consumed and 1t was sweeping with irresistible fury both up and down the river
 Much Saved.
 As soon as 1t became known that the scene of the fire was the stuyvesant
 
 wharves and vessels that were moored there pulled out into the river. At the same time switch engines were rushed to the wharves and hundreds of box cars loaded with freight were drawn to point above the upper end of the Many hundreds more. however, were eonsumed.
 The wind was blowing down the river when the blaze began and the fire spread with greater speed in that di- Tection. By o'clock tho lower ele- Amelia Street to Louisiana Avenue. a distance of six squares, had fallen in Fortunately Louisiana Avenue Is a very broad thoroughfare and the further spread of the fire beyond that point into a residence section was checked Be- tween those points. however, the flames swept to complete destruction many cottages of the poorer classes, the oc- cupants in a great many instances los- ing all they possessed. With the wind in a favorable direction, the river boats. the employees of the road and the Fire Department concentrated all their en- zines in an effort to save the upper elevator, between Austerlitz and Con- stantinople Streets. and to check the fire at that point. The fire, however, gradually worked past the point occu- pied by the elevator. HeroicaIy the forces kept at work, but ultimately they were beaten and the big steel structure. covered with corrugated Iron. subsequently, burst Into flame