THE SUMPTER MINER.
Wednesday, May 16, 19C0
DESTRUCTIVE FIRES.
OVER J25.000 WORTH OF PROPER
TY BURNED.
Origin of On a Mystery The Other Looks
Like the Work of a Fire Bur Brac,
Succeuful Fight Made By the Fire De
partment Inexhaustible Supply of Water
Insurance In Detail.
Shortly before 12 o'clock Prldiy night
tire was discovered In the Hi-llevlcw lodg
hit' house, over the llobson Mercantile
iomp.iny's strc. It was well under way
when the alarm was sounded. 'I he lire
department responded promptly, but this
building and the on? on either side, I. V.
Co cv Cn's. s.iloon on the west, corner
Center and (Jranite, and the Potter
building on Hie east, occupied by Addler's
booh and stationery store in the ground
lloor and ollices ,'ibnve, were entirely des
troyed. I he I irst Hank of Suinpter
building, across (..enter street, was b.idly
damaged by heat, several plate glass
windows hdug cracked, the metal enrnke
melted and destroyed and the paint blist
ered and discolored.
'I he slocks in all three burned build
ings ate almost an entire loss. J. II.
Murphev's Insurance agency carried very
muih the I unci portion ol the risks, li.iv
fl),5oool the 517,200, the. 'iKKrt'K'ile, be
sides 5 l.ixm on the bink building. I he
rate hi this hlojt is ' j cents, and of
course, nothing was insured to its full
value. I he entire loss will amount to
more than .15,000.
I he llnbsou Mercantile company carried
5io,oco insurance, 5),ooo witli a l.a
Cirande agency, taken out by V. C.
C.ilder when he owned the slock, and not
vet expired t 5 jooo wltli the Alias, Sjooo
in the (iermau Ametkau, 5iooo In tin
Royal and 5soo in lire Sun, all represented
by Mr. Murphey. I hey s.iwd about
52,noo wortli ol div goods and hi the
cell.ir is about $1000 worth of canned
goods that It s ihmight K not seriously
damaged. On the furniture and tiMures
ol the lodging liouse, while the lire
originated, ownrd by .Mrs. I:. MJuuess,
there was 51000 In ths Sun. This build
Iiik is owned bv .1. II. Kobblns, president
ol the I irst Hank ol Suinpter, and J. V.
Sctlber, piesldeut of a bank at l.a
( ir.uule. It was insured lor 52;oo, witli
Muiphev; $$oo in the ( iermau American,
51000 in the National, y'soo in the Royal
and 5ioo in the Sun.
I he comer building ami stock were
owned bv .1. YV. Cox & Co. I:.uh was
insured loi 51, oco, the building tor $500
In the Scottish Union, represented by
A. Moln, 5soo in the bun and the lurui
tureand lixluies tor 5i,ooo In the Sun
Mtirphv .iK.iln. Some of this Mull was
saved from tlie ll.imes, but all Is damaged.
I he Potter building was not iusuied.
Call Adler carried 5i,ooo in the Ruval
and 5200 In auothei company, the latter
lepiesented bv Manning Bros. I IK stock
was worth several thousand dollais, and
Is now valued at about thlrtv cents.
Hammond ,V Chance, lawyers, had their
ollues up stairs and lost considerable.
As stated above, I he Hist Hank of
Suinpter building is considerably damaged
bv heat. It it l fully coveted by insur
ance. I lie turulture and household goods
in tlie Potter residence, only a few leet
fiom the burned buildings, and In the
Austin block, next to the residence, were
all remov ed and, ol course, dain.ir.ed to a
certain e.xteut. At this writing (..Monday
torenooii) none ot the losses have been
adjusted, and no accurate estimates can
be j-Iven.
'I he origin of the lire Is not known.
Several days previous one started in the
same place, but was extinguished. Thei
landlady was not In town at the time. It
Is said that mud) of the coal oil sold here I
for some time past is not of tlie best. '
Too much can not be said of the work
done bv the fire department, under the In-
telllgent direction of Chief Thornton. A
braver, more persistent tight was never
made nor rarely a more successful one.
I he fact that the Potter residence was
saved, which is only six or eight feet from
the burned building, speaks for itself. It
is a comparatively old frame building, the
lumber in which is as dry as tinder. The
boys stood at this strategic point and
poured In three streams of water continu
ously lor nearly an hour.
Apparently nearly every body in town
was on (iraulte street at the time, and in
tense excitement prevailed. When the '
lire was at its hercest, it was rumored
among tlie crowd that the water In the
reservoir was about exhausted, and then
it was feared that much of the town would
be destroyed, for a stiff bteee was blow
ing Irom the west and live coals were lly-1
ing In heavy showers. Hut the How of
water never decreased nor the pressure
slackened lor a moment. Some one went
up to the reservoir and turned on the full
head from theaco,ueJucland the tire light
ers had all the ammuul'.iou they could use.
When tlie waste pipe was closed the water
rose three feet In tlie reservoir with four
streams playing wide open. Many and
repeated were the thanks whkli W. I..
Vinson received lor his enterprise in con-1
structing such an excellent water system.
Perhaps an hour and a half elapsed
from the time the alarm was turned In
until the lire was under control, and the
town was again In gloomy darkness. 'I he
streets for blocks around were strewn1
with dry goods, groceries, books, station-1
civ, wines, Ihpiors and cigars, fancy'
articles, furniture, wearing apparel and
what not. One pile of rescued treasures,
dumped in a safe place at the corner of
Mill and ( Iranite, especially attracted the
attention of curious bachelors. It was
evidently from the hudolr of some aesthe
tic lady. I he articles belonged to her
wardrobe, weie of dainty shades, adorned
with lace and rutlles and pleats and such
frivolities, but of shapes and patterns and
designs that were mysterious to the tin-1
initiated and no single man .lack In the
camp could figure out what their specific
uses in this world could possibly be,
though theie was a spirited guessing con
test 011 the subject in the earlv hours of
the morning among a lot ot the boys who
hadn't gone home, and on account ot the
excitement saw everything double.
As is alwavs tlte case, there are a
number of amusing incidents related In
connection witli the general excitement
caused bv the tire. One which is furnish
ing tlie women folks no end ot amuse
ment, the scxret details of which I III:
MlNPU can't get hold ol, pertains to the
rescuing ol a live pet belonging to some
l.ulv, bv hei esped.il lavorlte. One l.idv,
living In 1 house a hundred yards aw.iv,
is said to have packed all ol her effects
alter the lire was extinguished, fearing
tlie tire bug. Another, when tue alarm
was sounded, carelullv dressed herself
Irom top to bottom, powdered her lace,
loiiud her chewing gum. packed her new
summer suit and liat and sent them f mr
blocks away: all clone witli judicial calm
ness, and then became e.xcited and tore
up everything in tlie house, which was
not in the slightest danger.
Th's One Looks Suspicious '
Saturd iy morning about nine o'clock
the voting man wlio opens (Jagen iv
Sloans Keutucby Liquor house discover
ed that building to be on tire. I'he tire
company was again called out and soon
subdued the llames. I'liis looks as If it
were ot incendiary origin. I lie lire started
lully thirty feet awav Irom any stove or
lamp, and w here no one would have gone
under ordinary circumstances. It was alio
very near where gasoline was stored,
showing that the Intention was to nuke
a quick job. Oil saturated rags partly
burned are said to have been discoved lit
the locality afterwards. Suspicion points
in no particular direction, but there is
scarcely a doubt but that tills tire was the
work of a bug.' In this block the In
surance rate is practively prohibitive and
but a siua I amount Is carried. "There
was some loss, principally from water,'
which Is covered by the small policy.
Fraser &
Chalmers
Chicago
MILLING MACHINERY Rolls.
Stamps, Crushers, Perforated
Metals, Jigs, I'rue Vanners, Gtc.
MINING MACHINERY-Rollers,
Including Sederholm Boiler, Air
Compressors, Reldler Pumps, Fur
naces, lite. Write to our Chicago
oliice for Catalogue.
Represented by MENNO UNZICKER, Hotel Warshauer,
BAKER CITY, OREGON
R?-?- 1 2J,,,', ir.r.-iTiM 1 m F I v
rj,-.tcc.jf.Cr,;i, vM' 'r.
BUTTE HEADQUARTERS
j t
C. B. & M. Co.'s Beer
Best in Town
C B. SCHMIDT
SUMPTER BOTTLING WORKS
.Manufacturers .ill Kin U ul Carl'im ili'J Drinks nnj C'l.ler.
Ol'iTalcJ In connection with the
Kentucky Liquor House
WHOLESALE. AND RETAIL.
GAGEN & SLOAN, PROPS.,
SUMPTER, ORE.
A. C. SHAW
Lumber Co.
mmm-
A. B. BLOOMER, Manager.
'Qtutgb and Dressed Lumber atom hi stock or sawed
to order on short notice. Cedar shingles furnished
'' all orders if desired.
Orders can be left with I). Copping,
comer Similiter and .Will Street, or at
the mill 4 mile east of town, honaiira road
SUMPTER, OR.
Eureka Feed & Livery Company
J. I.. SULLIVAN, Manager.
Horses Boarded by the day or Month. First
class turn-outs and saddle horses. Our spec
ialty is the quick and safe delivery of freight
and passengers to any and all points.
HAY AND GRAIN FOR SALEHS
'N
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