The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1906-04-27
gE90lc RIGHT AT TIL MINT.
Employees srd Soldiers Saved the Big
Building.

San Francisco, Especial "A landmark
of San Francisco that escaped destruc-
ton, though every building surrounding
it was destroyed, is the United States
Mint, at the corner of Fifth and Mis-
sion Streets, This granite building was
erected by the government i'll 1874 Har-
old French, an employee of the Mint, gave
graphic account Of how the flames
were successfully fought He said:
Nearly $2oo,ooo,ooo in coin and bull
lion are stored in the vaults of the Mint,
and for the preservation of this prize
a devoted band of employees, reinforced
by regular soldiers, fought until they
baffled the flames.
For seven hours sea of fire surged
around the Mint, and its little garrison
was cut off from retreat for hours at a
time After the fire had swept past the
Mission Street side and the certainty Of
its returning from the north became ap-
parent, Captain of the Watch Laws or
dered everything on the roof that would
most haste, throwing great timbers and
burn thrown into the yard. Soldiers
and Mint employees worked with ut
tank slaves into the court Here are
located some 80 tanks of blue vitrol, the
surfaces of which soon were covered
with debris, into which increasing show
ers of cinders fell. Fortunately, the
Mint possesses good well, and engi-
neer Brady at his post pumped water
to the fire fighters assembled on the roof
Of these 40 were Mint employees, and
they were aided by company of Coast
Artillery.
GAS the fire swept up Fifth Street,
the heat increased to dangerous degree
as one by one, the Metropolitan Hall
and the historic Lincoln School burst
into flames, reinforced by the roaring
furnace of the Emporium On the west
the block bounded by Sixth and Market
Streets on the north gave the gravest
concern, for from this quarter the fire
was certain to rage in Its fury. Fan
ned by roaring northerly wind, the
flames rioted through the structures
stretching from the Windsor Hotel to
the Emma Spreckles Building. A sheet
of fire 200 feet high licked up the inter
vening houses on Mint avenue. Aug
liIClI' GU ny lllCoC llllOCA DO2ACo, Liz DAool
of fire burst tercely on the northwest
corner of the Mint.
"a few desperate firemen under former
Chief Kennedy, of Oakland, were driven
from between the tottering chimneys,
where the determined men had been
throwing buckets of water upon the blaz-
ing roof over the refinery 1t is largely
due to the experience of former Chief
Kennedy that the tar-coyered roof, the
weakest spot of all, was saturated with
sufficient water to stay the flames.
when the fire leaped Mint Avenue
in solid masses of fame the refinery
men stuck to their windows as long as
the glass remained in the frames.
Seventy-6ve feet of an inch hose played
slender stream upon the blazing win
dow sill, while the floor was awash
with diluted sulphic acid Ankle deep
in this soldiers and employees stuck to
the floor until the windows shattered
and the inner walls began to burn.
Binding and suffocating smoke necessi-
tated the abandonment of the hose and
the fighters retreated to the floor be-
low.
Down in the treasure vaults, where
untold wealth is SO we'll safeguarded,
artillerynen, ringed with blanket-rolls
and leaning on their rifles, coughed in
the strangling smoke.
"Then came lull the walls of brick
buildings across the street had fallen in.
There was yet fighting chance, so back
to the upper story the hre-hghters re-
turned, led by Superintendent Leach,
whose example and words encouraged
his men to extinguish the blazing inner
woodwork of the refinery.
"The roof was next swept by hose,
cooling the copper sheathed surface until
it became passable for wet acid-soaked
feet An army officer, ak in hands tore
up sections of blazing tar roof, beneath
which stream of water was directed
AT lenght, as dawn drew near, the Mint
was pronounced out of danger and "a
handful of exhausted but exultant en-
ployes stumbled out on the hot cobble-
stones to learn the fate of some OF their
homes.
"The Mint presents a scorched and
CLASHES front on the north and west,
and the towering smokestacks are to be
torn down, but the building is intact
and the plant is unframed and really
ready for resumption of work.
"There were sensational rumors of an
attack by thieves upon the Mint, in
which IA were killed in the attempt,
but it is needless TO say that the garri-
son of the Mint is equal to any emer-
gency that may arise"