The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-03-03
Y BLOCKS DESTROYED
ON CITY'S RIVER FRONT
Dunn SAID in his opinion the fire orig
mated from spontaneous combustion
STORY OF THE FIRE.
n Dozen Squares of Modern Wharyes.
Freight Sheds and Other Valuable
Property Completely Wiped Out.

NE" orleans, La, February 2S.-Fire
involving millions of dollars loss in
physical property, and tina strikes a
serious If temporary blow at the i'm
Hlense export trade of New Orleans
swept the river front tonight and win-
Gu OUT the vast freight terminals of the
ililnols Central known as the Stuyye-
SAINT docks. Nearly a dozen squares of
hlooern Wharves and freight sheds. two
HIashlncent grain elevators hundreds
OF loaded cars, and vast qualities of
ireiSnt, including 10000 bales of cotton
were destroyed, together with a large
number of small residences.
Inc flre was still raging furiously at
midnight, at which time it had almost
enc the upper end of the Illinois
1entral property. 1t has not been de-
terfnlned whether there has been any
loss OF lie. The ocean-going shipping
seems to nave soap serious damage.
a NUMBER of firemen and employees of
the docks were injured. Actual esti-
mates or the losses are impossible to-
night, though they may exceed So
900, 900.
COVERED TWELVE SQUARES.
"Noy 1o"II doChS tAlGlu from
Louisiana avenue almost to Napoleon
avenue, a distance of twelve squares.
h wharves between these two points
were covered with miles of trackage
and steel and iron sheds ran the whole
distance.
The two grain elevators were of the
most modern construction. the upper
one having a capacity of a million
Z hI1Chn1C ~, co r. Or -
several hundred thousand packages OF
sugar, great quantities of cotton seed
oil, and oilcake, lumber, and every con-
ceivable variety of freight filled the
warehouses and sheds.
Practically all the export business
handled by the Illinois Central was put
aboard ships at these docks. The docks
and improvements have been under
! construction for ten years past, elabo-
rate extensions and immense invest
ments having been made after the con-
stitutional convention of 1898 made it
possible for the o. to invest perna-
nently at this point.
BLAZE BEYOND CONTROL.
. The fire vas discovered shortly after
Z o'clock. 1t was said to have resulted
from a journal that a not been sufi-
GENTLY oiled. The whole plant was
equipped with gigantic water tanks and
fire extiguishing apparatus, but the
lblaZe, small at the beginning, almost
instantaneously got beyond control,
/ communicating through the c~onveyers
to the lower elevator and some of the
sheds. The response of the fire depart
ment was prompt, put owing to the fact
that the terminals were inaccessible,
| owing to fences and tracks, the engines
found difficulty in reaching the flames.
In half an hour the fire covered two
| squares, the lower elevator was prac-
tically consumed, and it was sweeping
\ with irresistible fury both up and down
the river. AS soon as it became known
that the zone of the fire vas the Stuy-
VeSant docks, harbor tug fastened to
the Wharves, and vessels that were
mOOred there were 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 points above the upper end
of the terminals before the fire reached
them. Hundreds more, however, were
/ consumd.
RESIDENCE SECTION SAVED.
The wine was blowing down the river
| as the blaze began and the fire spread
with greater speed in that direction.
| BY 9 o'clock the lower elevator and
| sheds and Wharves from Amelia street
| to Louisiana avenue, a distance of six
, squares, had fallen in. Fortunately
| Louisiana e is a very broad thor
o~ughfare, and the further spread of he
| fire beyond that point into a residence
section was checked. Between those
POINTS, however, the flames swept to
complete destruction many cottages Of
the poorer classes, the occupants in a
| great many instances losing all they
possessed.
With the wind in a favorable direc-
ton, the river boats, the employees OF
the road, and the fire department con-
centrated all their energies in an effort
/ to save the upper elevator etWee
Austerlitz and Constantinople streets.
and to check the fire at that point. Inc
fire, however, gradually worked past
the point occupied by the levat He
! roically, the forces kept at work, but
ultimately they were beaten, and the
big steel structure, covered with CORFU
gated iron, suddenly bust into flames
at 1890, and in a half hour was a COM
: plete wreck.
STILL BURNING AT MIDNIGHT.
At midnight more h a nine squares
! of the terminals had been completely
destroyed. and it seemed unlikely that
| the fire would be checked until it reach
ed Napoleon avenue, which also is a
very broad street. During the fire a
heavy wind blew, n the blaze was OF
indescribable fury, carryin brands 10
great distances, driving back the crowds
of sightseers. Immense pieces or CORFU
gated iron, torn from the sides OF the
upper elevator were carried through the
air as if they were feathers, and. drop
ping in every direction, constantly en-
dangered the lives OF fremen and spec
tatorS.
The weather was bright and warm,
/. and probably $4,000 people visited the
scene during the progress of the fire.