Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1929-08-01
Fire Fighting Was the Great
Inn EARLY Boom Days
With Limited Water Supply

Deen stacked across the street. A sneak
thief on the point OF appropriating a
box of cigars from a fruit store was
forced to give up his ~ill-gotten smokes
Chambers, one of the proprietors.
William Eilers, who had q saloon at
the back of n of the lots. dispensed
his amber fluid" to the thirsty fire.
lighters without charge and perhaps
his generosity caused them to re-double
their efforts to ave his building. At
least his structure, which he dubbed
the fire proof tar box" was the only
building south Of the alley to escape
destruction.
Two days afterward a mass meeting
OF citizens was held and steps were
taken to obtain financial assistance for
any owner unable to rebuild. Property
owners generally agreed to replace their
frame buildings with wooden structures
or to sell their lots to someone who
could. While the new buildings we're
being erected the Northern Pacific
railway granted several owners permis-
sion to use the right of way opposite
n for some months large tents neal
the railroad tracks housed the Louis
Fenske wholesale liquor house, the
Babcock and Miles hardware store and
other business firms.
100 tlld4l ~ yCdl ldJcI dIlOtIlcT
fire almost wiped out the next block
east on Montana avenue. The fire
started in the Farmers hotel, a log
building, and in the room of a Mr..
Cobb, editor of the Billings Rustler.
who had sold his paper a few DAYS be-
fore TO the Herald and Post who con-
solidated at the same time to form
the Daily Gazette. Rumor had it that
Cobb, celebrating with undue potions.
had fallen asleep with a candle burn
ing. Burning to the socket. the candle
set the room on fire and from there
the flames spread to other parts OF
the window and got partly outside
but crazed with pain or the fear of fall
ing he chung to the window sill in
spite OF the shouts Of the crowd that
had gathered, urging him to jump.
Finally a adder was obtained and DR..
w. A. Allen, the dentist, climbed up
and got Cobb out of the window and
down to the ground. Strips of flesh
on Cobb's hands came off where his
hands had burned as he gripped the
window. Severely burned. he fingered
several weeks but finally died.
A few doors away, the Gazette was
just getting in working order after the
merger when the fire came. According
to H. S. McFarlin, one of the publish
ers Of the original Gazette and still
connected with its printing department,
the staff had spent several previous
days in removing the printing outfits
OF the Herald and Post to the shop
Of the Rustler which was larger than
the other two, preliminary to starting
the new paper. The printers managed
to get out a job press and enough
jumbled up type to publish a sheet
paper the next day, devoted to the fire
and with the caption Fire Fiend
Visits" This was the first issue of
the Billings Gazette.
A few months later another fire
swept away a number Of buildings on
the same block but to the north Of
the fire of 1884. This fire destroyed
had boosted Of being fireproof when it
escaped the earlier conflagration. Across
the alley from it was the Chicago
house, a two story building where were
domiciled some Of the m of Bill
lings' underworld. Across a boardwalk
from this place was the first court
house, a log structure. Both burned
in this co~nflagration.
According to George M. Hays, yell
loWstone county treasurer and former
secretary Of state, who was clerk to
several Of the county officials at that
time, there wa a vault supposedly fire.
proof, in the rear in which the records
were kept and there was a little alcove
between the county clerks and county
treasurer's Offices which were SO ar
ranged that he could look after custom
ers in either office. In the alcOve, he
had a bed. After the fire, he and
several others uncovered the vault from
the debris. The fire had been sufi-
GENTLY hot to char the backs OF most
of the books although the written
records were not Injured. The books
were sent to a bindery at Butte and
rebound but they still show the marks
If the fire.
1t was not until a water system was
established that a city fire department,
at first on a volunteer system, was or
ganized. This later became the Maver-
lex Hose company which did yeoman
service for years until q paid fire de-
partment superseded it. 1t had q his
tory and traditions OF it's own and 1t
is still a matter of pride for any old
timer in Billings to say that he be-
lOnged to the Mavericks,