Los Angeles herald., 1905-02-27

Louisiana avenue almost 10 Ndpoleol
avenue, a distance of twelve squares.
The wharves between these two points
were covered with miles of trackage
and steel and iron sheds ran the whole
distance.
Grain Elevators Modern
The two grain elevators were of the
most modern construction, the upper
one having a capacity of million
bushels. Thousands of bales of cot
ton, several hundred thousand pack
ages of sugar, glue, quantities of cot
tonseed oil and oil cake, lumber and
every conceivable variety of FREIGHT
filled the warehouses and sheds. Prac-
tically all the export business handled
by the Illinois Central was put aboard
ship at these docks. The docks and
improvements have been under con-
struction for ten years past, elaborate
extensions and immense investments
having been made after the constitu-
tional convention of 1898 made it pos
sible for the road to invest permanent
ly at this point.
The fire was discovered shortly
after o'clock 1t was said to
have resulted from a journal that
had not been sufficiently oiled.
The whole plant was equipped with
gigantic water tanks and fire ex-
tinguishng apparatus, but the blaze,
small at the beginning, almost instan-
taneously got beyond control, breaking
through the conveyors to the lower
elevator and some of the sheds. The
response of the fire department was
prompt but owing to the fact that the
terminals were not readily accessible
because of fences and tracks the en-
gines foun difficulty in reaching the
flames.
In half an hour the fire covered two
squares, the lower elevator was prac
ticaHy consumed and the fire was
sweeping irresistibly both up and down
the river. AS soon as it became known
that the zone of the fire was the Stuy-
vesant docks harbor tugs hastened to
the wharves and vessels that were
moored there were pulled out into the
river.
Efforts to Save Freight
At the same time switch engines
were rushed to the wharves and hun
dreds of boxcars loaded with freight
were drawn to points above the upper
end of the terminals before the fire
reached them.
Hundreds more, however, were con-
sumed. The wind was blowing down
the river as the blaze began and the
fire spread with greater speed in that
direction. BY 8 o'clock the lower ele-
vator and sheds and wharves from
Amelia street to Louisiana avenue, a
distance of six squares, had fallen in
Fortunately Louisiana avenue is
very broad thoroughfare and the fur
ther spread of the fire beyond that point
into a residence section was checked
Between the points named, however
the flames swept to complete destruc-
tion many cottages of the poorer class
es, the occupants in great many in
stances losing all they possessed.
The river boat, the employees of the
road and the fire department concen-
trated all their energies in an effort to
save the upper elevator between Aus
tralitz and Constantinople streets and
to check the fire at that point. The
fire. however, gradually worked past
the point occupied by the elevator.
Heroically the forces kept at work, but
ultimately they We're beaten and the
big steel structure, covered with CORFU
gated iron suddenly burst into flames
at lO;SO and in half an hour was
complete wreck
Nine Squares Destroyed
Al midnight more than nine SQUARES
of the Terminals had haat, ,o,,,,,ia.,