Show BURNING OF SEATTLE during daring the last two or three years the town of seattle washington Wae hington territory had grown with almost phenomenal rapidity it was a seaport and certain important advantages possessed by it had bad given it one of the most extensive and substantial booms witnessed in any part of the union long streets of buildings had bad been hastily erected and there was every indication that the city would become an important metropolis in a few years at about pm in june 6 a fire broke out near ae the center of the business portion of the city and spread with appalling rapidity and distinctiveness A strong wind was blowing which caused the flames to leap from building to building and from street to street with a quickness and fierceness which defied the efforts of man to stay their terrible work soon after the fire begun to spread it shut off telegraphic communication and consequently it was from one to two days before the outside world was fully apprised of the calamity it which had overta overtaken keu seattle tm the he cuned burned district in seattle covers an area of thirty one blocks the boundary of the burned district Is as follows university fro front soui spring second james south fourth wall and water streets this comprises the business portion of the city the residence ili district strict escaped from official figures furnished by local and foreign insurance companies the coast be I 1 places laces the pro property property erty loss at it is co covered ered er by bv a total 1 insurance no urance of 0 of this amount is held by companies represented in san francisco six oregon companies carry risks representing a total of 25 oooo aud and fifteen small outside companies carry risks estimated at about an official record of the losses would include every business man of prominence in town it is a dreadful calamity from which few have escaped tremendous efforts were made by the fire department to stay the progress of the flames the first thoughts of many were to save their individual possess possessions luns and the streets were won crowded and in many cases blocked with teams loaded with valuables of every description seeking places of safety on the hills the burned region covers blocks of the solid and substantial property of seattle the entire water front is built mostly of wood upon piles iles which had been tee driven into the mud flats it has been predicted by insurance men that the city would some time be ewe swept t by fire and it was only tae the wind from the north northeast which kept up a steady blowing that saved that portion of the city north of union street tacoma citizens sent to seattle on june 7 a large quantity of provisions blankets tents and ten slaughtered beeves to supply the immediate wants of the homeless people portland sent several oar car loads of provisions bedding blankets and tents general gibbons commanding the department of the Colum biawas blaman to send 70 tents from vancouver barracks aid in money ind and necessaries will be forwarded from different sections of the country without delay the business portion of the city to is in ashes every bank hotel place of amusement or business newspaper offices railroad de depot miles of steamboat wharves whar coal bunkers and telegraph offices are burned the fire began near dear the corner of front and pearl streets in the seattle candy factory at pm june 7 24 hours after the fire started the whole of the business section north to stetson stepson and past mill along arout and second streets had bad been burned involving a loss lose of over the residences are literally wiped WIPe dout out except the portion on high ground at p m the flames had reached the aa wharves ys and the steamboats and ships had bad to head bead out stream as a stiff breeze was blowing from the northwest north west when the fire began and it soon got the best befit of the fire department the water supply gave out within two hours after the fire began and then the flames had a clean sweep A great deal of pro property arty was moved only to be burned again so quickly did the flames ADMA spread spectators looking southward from union street can see nothing fr a wile mile but a a field of charred plies piles bent rails warped corrupted corrugated iron blackened telegraph and telephone poles twisted wire and uniformed guards As aa far as possible to estimate at present not less than firms or persons doing business have suffered relief belief in the way of ma money provisions bedding tents etc is pouring in from elsewhere curing reports ports of loss of life which were at one time telegraphed tele telegraphed grashed were afterwards contradicted in the associated socia ted press dispatches and so far as definitely stated in the press telegrams ms no lives were lost visited and the different wards I 1 inspected n spec ted but all to no purpose the negro porter blank was hunted up and carefully questioned but adhered strictly to his previous statement mr hugh wilson now ex chief of police was visited and a statement made to him of the object of our visit in all these labors great r difficulty was ex experienced perien from rom the fact that it was deem deemed unwise for our identity to be established after six days of incessant labor elder morgan left for forborne home leaving brother tillman and mr wilson to prosecute the search brother tillman follows the business of mending stoves and could readily gain access to any place he desired while his occupation would divert suspicion as to the real object he had in view during the two wees following he was busily engaged in th the e prosecution of his trade and quie quietly aly working for any information obtainable on monday may 27 he left meridian following the supposed track of brother richards journey staved stared that night with mr M of russell bussell station on the A G 8 by on the morning of the 28 he learned from his host that a man had been killed two miles up the road during the past summer b by a passing I 1 n t train ra in following this cr clue ue gass he e called called on esquire J W deerman of Toom subs and learned from him that such an accident had occurred and that he sat as coroner at the inquest he readily re recognized ca 9 the photograph of brother richards as the man killed as did also five of the jury of inquest and others who had seen the mangled remains of the dead man brother tillman returned to meridian that evening and wired elder morgan to la jara colorado who immediately left for meridian arriving on the evening of june ad on the morning of the ad a casket was shipped to toomsuba Toom suba station twelve miles distant accompanied by undertaker A B wagoner 1 I F etheredge brother tillman and myself the grave was opened and the box containing the body brought to the surface the lid removed and the body identified which was readily accomplished through the character of his underclothing the body was in an advanced tage stage of decomposition but we succeeded in trane transferring ferrIng it to the casket and enclosing it hermetically sealed A few trinkets had been preserved by the coroner which were obtained As to the his death nothing could indefinitely settled on the 2nd and of august 1888 a freight train broke in two near where he was found and one theory jig is that when the front end of the train passed him he stepped on the track not observing the detached portion of the train and was c caught aught by it A section hand reports having seen his lat hat lying on the bumper of a car another theory is that he was murdered for his money and his body placed on the track in support of which we failed to find his watch valise money coat and umbrella all of which are mi missing i n from our investigate invest investigations igat one we are satisfied that his death was not the work of a mob but owing to our failure to find the missing articles we are led to believe that it was the work of brutal hands for the sake of plunder and that his body was intentionally ally placed on the track to cover up the deed the hour of his death could not have been later than 7 am and the place an isolated section of the country eight miles east of meridian and four miles west of toomsuba Toom suba in lauderdale county mississippi in any event a faithful servant of god has lost his life while in the active prosecution of his duties as a minister of peace and salvation to the nations of the earth ani an i in history his name will stand recorded as one who gave his all for the cause he loved and the establishment of the kingdom of god on the earth to hugh wilson allson A B wagner J P F etheredge and esquire enquire J W deerman in particular and the citizens of toomsuba Toom suba in ge general ueral we feel under many obligations ligat ions for courtesies extended to the first three we were known in our true crue character but this made no difference to them I 1 as it might possibly have made to the unthinking crowd act feel grateful for the protection of divine providence that has been over us and enabled us to be instruments in returning the remains of of elder richards to his loved ones and to a burial in the midst of the saints leaving to the great judge of all the pollution sol lution of the mystery as to the manner mander of his ing full well that he will inherit a crown of righteousness having fought the good fight and proven faithful to the end to his stricken wife fatherless children and aged parents the sympathies of the saints will go out unstinted with prayers for their welfare and protection brother james tillman til am an has worked earnestly and with excel lent judgment to discover the body of elder richards and never wearied in his efforts until in the lonely graveyard of toomsuba Toom suba the mystery was solved your brother JOHN MORGAN |