The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1905-01-06
THIRD STR Get


into the front of the Seller building
and the II. & H. Shoe company.
In the meanwhile the fire had quickly
taken the entire Warfeld- Pratt Howell
building into its embrace. The short
leap across the alley to the Seller
building was quickly made. And a lit
tie later the quarter block to the West
together in the path before the eager
fire, there was no answering the ques-
ton of its progress.
Now there lay ahead the Seller Bros
wholesale liquor house. fronting on
Pierce street, Just south of Fourth;
The Tribune building, d quarter of a
block south of the Seller building; the
Northwestern National bank building,
at the corner of Fourth and Pierce
streets; and the West hotel, on the
southeast corner OF the block Across
Third street to the south lowered the
story Tolerton & Stetson ware
house; across Pierce street to the west
stood the Shenkberg and Davidson
buildings.
Crowd Was in Terror.
AS the fire went on its way with
seeming "reminiscences, tremor of
terror seemed to run through the
watching thousands.
when will it stop" was the uues-
ton on every lip.
Men hurried PREVIOUSLY about: on the
faces of some the pang of personal
loss was to be seen: on all was writ
hotel WAS bridged and that structure
was in flames.
Now the battle was fought for The
Tribune, for the Davidson and the
Shenkberg building. Streams of water
were thrown on all three Now the
Seller building was fairly in flames
And fiercely, madly it burned. Per
haps it was the hottest blaze of the
| evening. The flames soon found stores
of liquors and these fed the fire till
! it surged and writhed and boiled in a
perfect frenzy.
Outcome in Doubt.
Almost breathlessly the crowd
watched the torrent of water thrown
on the threatened buildings and turn
ing quickly in the heat TO clouds OF
could stem the progress of the blaze
The Tribune building was practically
given up. For at time the flremen, be.
lieving it was beyond help, concen
trated their efforts upon other build.
| ings.
But for once fortune was kind The
heavy south wall of the Seller building
stood long, shielding The Tribune. The
liquors, though making a fierce intense
~ hot fire, did not send flames SO high
in the air as to arch the street. And
explosions, either the dynamite or the
liquors had wrecked the building.
Rebuilding their efforts. reaching thu
Davidson building. and now throwing
an avalanche of water to the south O
of the Seller building, the fireman saw
a chance for victory.
Fight for The Tribune.
The fire had been divided. One arm
had reached out and clutched the Yves
hotel. The other had in its grip thi
Seller building. If these two arm
could be controlled, the fire could no
again present the solid wall of fam
that heretofore made it Irresistible A
told elsewhere, in The Tribune, a fore
of volunteers. principally employees o
The Tribune, entered the lists agains
the fire fiend in behalf Of that building
Every spark was deluged. every littl
burst of flame from the intense hea
was quickly smothered. At the sam
) time the firemen were pouring thei
foods of water into the center Of tn
enemy's front at the Seller building.
BY the same phenom enon which is t
be seen in every great fire. myste
rious wind here appeared and did vail
ant service. To the north and east of tn
fire the wind seemed coming from tn
northeast. But, in fact. the column @
hot Dir was drawing in the cold from a