The San Francisco call., 1905-02-27
GREAT ELEVATORS RAzED.

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GREAT ELEVATORS RAZED.
The two grain elevators were of the
most modern construction, the upper
one having capacity of 100000
bushels. Thousands of bales of cotton,
several hundred thousand packages of
sugar, great quantities of cotton seed
and oil cake, lumber and every conceiv-
able variety of freight flied the ware
houses 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, elaborate extensions and
immense investments having been
made after the constitutional conven-
ton of 1898 made it possible for the
road to invest permanently at this
point.
The fire was discovered shortly after
7 o'clock. 1t was said to have re-
suited from a journal that had not
been sufficiently oiled. The whole
plant was equipped with gigantic wa
ter tanks and fire extinguishing ap-
paratus, but the blaze, small at the
beginning, almost instantaneously got
beyond control, communicating
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 acces-
sible because of fences and tracks,
the engines found difficulty in reach
ing the flames. In half hour the
fire covered two squares, the lower
elevator was practically consumed and
the flames were sweeping irressistibly
both up and down the river.
VESSELS TOWED TO SAFETY.
AS soon as it became known that
the zone of the fire was the Stuyvesant
docks, harbor tugs hastened to the
wharyes 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 boxcars laden with freight were
drawn to points above the upper end
of the terminals before the flames
reached them. Hundreds of others,
however, were consumed.
The wind was blowing down the
river when the blaze began, and the
fire spread with greater speed in that
direction. BY 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 a
very broad thoroughfare and the fur
ther spread of the fire beyond that
point into residence section was
checked. Between the points named,
however, the flames swept to COM
,lete destruction many cottages of
the poorer classes, the occupants in
a great many instances losing all they
possessed.
WIND AIDS THE FLAMES.
The river boats, the employees Of the
road and the Fire Department con-
centrated all their energies in an eff
fort to save the upper elevator be-
tween Australia 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
were beaten and the big steel struc-
ture. covered with corrugated iron,
suddenly burst into flames at 10: 80
O'Clock. and in half an hour was a
complete wreck.
At midnight more than nine squares
at the terminals had been completely
destroyed and it seemed unlikely the
fire would be checked until it had
is a very broad street.
During the fire a heavy wind blew
and the blaze was of indescribabIe
tances and driving back the crowd of
rugated iron. torn from the sides of
the upper elevator, were carried
through the air as If they were feath-
ers and dropped in every direction.
constantly endangering the lives OF