The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1912-02-22
FIRE LOSS may
Be TEN MILLIONS
Large Section Of HoustOn,
Tex, Swept by Flames.
WHOLE CITY THREATENED

Fire Fighters Succeed in last Desper
ate Stand to Secure Control, Of the
ccnfiaeration-More Than Thou
sand People Homeless and Several
Large Manufacturing Plants De
stroyed.
Houston, Tex. Feb 22,-Impelled by
q fierce gale from the north fire ran
i rampant through the eastern section
of this city, destroying property valued
at several million dollars and render
ing homeless more than thousand
persons.
Several large manufacturing plants
were burned down. scores OF homes
were razed by the flames and several
lumber yards. cotton warehouses and
congresses were wiped of the earth.
Not less than twenty-five city blocks
are in ashes.
The losses, conservatively. are esti.
mated at from s7.000.O00 to s10,000,-
900. The greater part of this is con
fined to the lumber and cotton indus.
tries. Forty-five thousand bales OF
cotton stored i'm warehouses and com
presses we're burned.
| Destruction of baled cotton and
manufacturing plants make up the
bulk of the losses on which estimates
are based. This reaches about sS,-
000. 600. The cotton losses alone ex'
ceed $4,000. 900. Loss on residences
and household effects may bring the
total to a much larger figure.
4 Fire Starts in Cottage.
4 The fire started in a cottage neal
the Southern Pacific railroad tracks
A roaring wind picked up the flames
and hurled them to neighboring cot
tages and boarding houses. In flash
these structures ignited, shooting forth
great columns of SPARKS Seizins
these. the forty-mile gale carried then
two and three blocks. Within half al
hour after the fire broke out a grea
area of small residences was In flames
The fire spread rapidly TO manufac
turing plants near the cottages anC
boarding houses in which hundreds o
workingmen lived. The flames spread
so rapidly that firemen for the tim'
abandoned attempts to check the
flames and devoted their energies t,
warning householders. Possible los
of life thus was ayerted.
At the big manufacturing plants an,
cotton congresses city fremen ant
volunteers had organized to fight tn
onrushing flames. Walls and roofs o
/ the plants were watersoaked. Thi
guard of sparks and when the grea
columns of kissing. roaring flame
reached the factories, these structure
I succumbed with less resistance thai
|, rows of the cottages.
Il Organize for Final Resistance.
!. An hour after the fire began its at
e vance the firemen organized for fins
stand at Buffalo bayou, small stream
4 which, if passed by the fire. meant tn
' destruction of the entire city.
As the cracking flames swept OF
ward toward the bayou banks, hui
dreds of streams of water were throw
X into them. At some of the narrowe
n portions of the stream. however. tn
: flames leaped across and for Will
o Ii seemed the city was doomed. bu
4 the more substantial buildings did nc
d afford the tinderlike fuel previousl
d encountered The fire fighters had wo
e their desperate battle.
Thousands of persons were drive
r from their homes and in the cold ,
4 the relentless norther they suffere
from exposure. Relief work at ono
:. was set under way, however, and foo
l. and clothing provided for the refugee
!, Many persons were hurt during th
fight with the flames but so far as ca
be ascertained there were no casua
ties.
8 The burned area is at least mi
l. and a half long and at points a qua
v ter of a mile wide 1t was swept clea