The Mena weekly star., 1912-02-29
S5,OOO,OOO FIRE
Loss At HOUSTON
Burned Area Half Mile Wide aaa
Over Mile Long-Over go tsosaes
Burned-i5,00O Bales of Cotton
Destroyed--No Lives Lost

Houston. Tex. Feb. ei-Drhee
before one Of the coolest
'northerss of the winter, fire f
today burned a huge. irreala'
strip through the eastern resda
tial and maunfacturing saaiIon 81
Houston. 1t swept over nilIi0e
dollar plants and Aiinsy frame
structures with equal ease lh
from six to ten million deliarda
ages had been done. Although n
lives were lost. more Thar
of persons were injured
thousands were driven from ai
homes and suffered the sting o M
fereezing temperature.
The burned area by day. eis
a mile and half long, and ffoei
block to a quarter mile in WIDTH
Buffalo Bayou, narrow
colored stream, wa the scene q
battle royal against the ilaae
Here, after the fire had swepl pa
with scarcely sembarec of Gene
troll for hours, the fircmen na
desperate stand and, aHhQeh
The fire leaped the bavou "a nas
the conflagration was checked
The fire started il swo-iery
frame structure near Hardy aN9
Opelousas streets and spTa1f TEL
a feed store. Then II jumped
ultaneously to three more Franc
boarding houses and the F0ar 81 ihe
flames on a .35-mile-an-bour 11sth-
west wind began to be ominoas.
The Star and Crescent hotel, aI
brick structure, next caught From
that moment the fire seemed be~
yond control Driving ahead with
frightful rapidly il swayad fl0n
side to side and with Tongues of
flames and sparks, sometimes
seeming to reach Out three blocks
ahead. all the time eating rapi7lvI
toward the more thickiv n0nalaiod
section of the city across Rl9a'o
Bayou
AT times bolts Of flames would
become detached, and. lighting 9n
SOlIlt 1tOuctNf w. INV .-s
distant, set fire to it,
A score Of times women had inst
time enough to seize their babies
and dash madly to the streets #
was with hundreds a race for life.
and no effort was made to save
property.
AS the flames advanced q per3eei
army Of men, women and Children
in night clothes, formed and dash-
ed on and on. being driven from
one place Of refuge to another hg
the progress Of the flames
Cool heads, finally realgine fhe
danger. assumed charge Of the site
uation and. in a short time eem-
PEELED refugees to go to the rear OF
the destructive flames.
At one time the skyline appeared
TO be a solid sheet Of flame mile
in length.
Congresses Lose Heavily
Among the heaviest losers by tar.
fire was the Cleveland Compress
Company. near Buffalo Bayou Ihls
plant was erected less than swe
years ago. Their loss is estima
at near s2.0O0000.
At the Standard Compress Can
pany ii was stated this moFelifgi
that the losses Of that company
alone would aggregate nearly a
million. The losses at the Glove
land Compress was nearly double
that.
II is difficult to estimate RE
number Of families made homeless
The burned area in the Fifth ward
covers ground that yesterday 1s
thickly populated. Fully 40
homes, some pretentious end others
merely shacks. were wiped ont
Several thousand men were tt1-
porarily thrown out Of enlployment
$4,000 Bales OF Cotton Burn
A total of $4,000 bales Of cotton
stored in the Cleveland Comp
and the McFadden warehouses
were destroyed, with a total loss of
S2,250,00o. The Standard ware-
house was destroyed but the loss
was not heavy, as very little eet-
ton was destroyed.
The Magnolia congresses and