East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1911-10-14
Friday, Thirteenth Closes
With Fire, Entailing
Damage Of $4,000.
RINK ALSO DESTROYED
Horses, Living with Heads Baked and
Eyes Eaten Out by Flames, HUI
namely Shot-Bartender Narrowly
Escapes Death Saving Animals.

Just three minutes before Friday
the thirteenth had passed into the
yesterdays fire broke out in the
skating rink on West Webb street
and before its ravagng career was
checked had completely destroyed
that building and its contents, had
consumed the oregon Feed YARD,
twelve horses many vehicles and a
large quantity of feed, threatening
many adjoining buildings and done
damage amounting to approximately
$4,000. It was the largest fire the
, city has experienced for a number
of years ana but for the heroic eff
forts of the volunteer fire depart
ment. might have been much more
disastrous. The origin of the flames
Is unknown
The loss was partly covered by in
surance, George Haw. owner of the
skating rink carrying $500 on the
building, and $1450 on the contents
with Bentley & Leffingwell while
Charles p. Barnett, owner of the feed
yard carried $4,000 on his building,
5000 each with Bentley & Letting
well and Mark Moorhouse. Luther
Rich. who had just leased the yard
six weeks ago from ]. c. Mcconnell,
carried 1876 insurance on the con-
tents
Alarm Rouses City
1t was Just a minute or so before
the midnight hour that the flames
were discovered and hardly had the
tolling of the clock in the courthouse
tower stopped before the changing
alarm of the firebels and the shrieks
of a switch engine whistle told the
city that conflagration was raging.
Within a space of five minutes, the
flames had spread with such incred-
ible rapidity that by the time the fire
companies had arrived on the scene,
the whole block was enveloped in a
sea of fiercely burning flames.
Man Saves Eight Horses.
Carl Churchill night bartender al
the Hotel Pendleton was one of the
first to reach the scene of the con-
flagration and although the fire had
by that time completely enwrapped
the feed yard. he rushed to where
he saw row of horses tied to blazing
managers. unheSdful of the peril to
himself he rushed from one to an
other to release them and in a few
moments had turned eight of the
animals loose. All but one of these
dashed out of the burning building
but many were badly burned oi
scorched and one with its eyes gone
and its whole head burned was hu
namely shot by Officer Kearney. AT
ter llberating these eight, Churchill
was struck by a live wire and so bad
L., oh IA IL lo o,,I
that he was forced to retreat.
Eleven other horses, all belong
ing to farmers spending the night fl
the city, perished in the fire ant
their carcasses burned to n crisp
were found in the ruins this morn
ing. One large white mule, whicl
had beeD liberated by Churchill
dashed out of the flames at one en-
trance, then wheeled and ran back
finally emerging out of another en-
trance, badly scorched.
Fully a dozen buggies, hacks an
drays were consumed in the fee
yard as well as considerable hay an
grain and a carload of potatoes whic
had just been stored there during tn
past few days by D. Bowman. Wit
the skating rink, several hundre
pairs of skates and a $17O0 automati
piano and 500 hardwood floor wer
destroyed.
Fire Laddics Work Hard.
Much credit is due to the volur
teer firemen for their splendid wor
in preventing the spread of tn
flames beyond the one block. Til
fire had gained such great headwa
by the time they arrived that it We
seen at once that the rink and fec
yard could not be saved and the di
ferent companies began playing the
streams on the houses and otht
buildings in the immediate vicinit
Continued on page eighty