Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-03-27

contagration. But now an uneasy mo-
tion began to take place in the crowd.
Men elbowed their way here and there,
met, conferred, gathered in knots. In
less than q minute Talbot signaled us.
We made our way to where he was
standing with Sam Brannan, Casey,
Green and a few others.
THANK God the wind is from the
northwest" Talbot said fervently.
''The Ward block is safely to wind
ward, and we don't need to worry
about that, anyway. But it is a wind,
and it's freshening. We've got to do
something to stop this fire."
AS though to emphasize the need for
some sort of action. a second and
stronger puff of wind sent whirling
aloft shower of sparks and brands.
We started at double quick in the di-
rection of the f1imsy small structures
between the old Ell Dorado and the
Parker House. Some men, after a mo-
ment, brought ropes and axes. We
began to tear down the shanties.
But before We had been at work five
minutes the fire began to run. The
wind from the sea increased. Blazing
like arrows. Flames stopped in their
stride and licked up their prey and
went on rejoicing. Structures ore min
ute dark and cold and still burst with
startling suddenness and completeness
into rioting confagration. Our little
beginning of a defense was attacked
and captured before we had had time
to perfect it. The half dozen shanties
we had pulled to the ground merely
furnished piled fuel. Somewhat de-
moralized, we fell back and tried rath-
er vaguely to draw a second line of de-
fense. The smoke and sparks suffo-
Gated and overwhelmed us, and the
following flames, leaped upon us as
from behind an ambush. Some few
men continued gropingly to try to do
something, but the most of us were
only too glad to get out where we
could catch a breath.
Almost Immediately, however, we
were hurried back by frantic mer-
chants.
save the SOOuS. was tne
We labored like slaves, carrying mer-
chandise, fixtures, furniture, anything
and everything from the darkened in
teriors of buildings to the open spaces.
l worked as l had never worked be-
fore, and not once did 1 know whose
property I thus saved. At first l
CROPPED in the darkness, seizing what l
could, then gradually, like the glow of
a red dawn, a strange light grew,
showing dimly and ruddily the half
guessed features of the place. 1t glow
ed, this light, increasing in power as
heating metal slowly turns red, and
then the flames licked through, and,
dripping with sweat, abandoned that
place to its enemy.
All sense of time and all sense of To-
cality were lost The world was a
strange world of deep, concealing shad-
ows and strong, revealing glares and a
mist of smoke and hurrying, shouting,
excited multitudes. Sometimes found
myself in queer little temporary ed
dies of stiffness, where certain calm
and leisure seemed to have been tnsu-
lated. Then for brief moment or so
l rested. Occasionally l would find
myself with some stranger. and we
would exchange brief explanatory re-
marks.
Whole city is goingr'
Looks like it,
Hear a roof fell in and killed twen-
ty men,"
Probably exaggerated"
Probably. Don't catch me under no
falling roofs! When she gets afire l
get out"
Same here"
"Well, suppose we ought to try to
do something"
Suppose So"
And we would go at 1t again.
At the end of two or three hours-no
man can guess time in such a situation
tine nre stopped advancing L sup
pose the wind must have changed,
though at the time l did not notice it.
At any rate, l found myself in the gray
dawn looking rather stupidity at a row
of the frailest kind of canvas and
scantling houses which the fire had
sheared cleanly In two and wondering
why in thunder the rest of them hadn't
burned.
A dense pail of smoke hung over the
city and streamed away to the south
and east. In the burned district all
sense of location had been lost. Where
before had been well known lancmarks
now Law fiat desert. The fro had
atneu fiercely and completely ana in
lack of food had died down to almost
iothing. A few wisps of smoke still
ose, a few Goals glowed, but beside
hem nothing remained to indicate
even the laying out of the former plan.
)nly over across a dead acreage of
lshes rose here and there the remains
1f Isolated brick walls. They looked
through the eddying mists and smoke
like ancient ruins separated by wide
spaces.
III