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Show 1 COLON IS SWEPT BY A BIO FIRE Colon April in More than half the city of tolon was swept by a disastrous disas-trous fire which started shortly after 2 o'clock this afternoon. Ten persons arc known to be dead, including two native policement, and several hundred have been injured, while betwe. n 10,000 and L2.000 Others, Oth-ers, mostly negroes, have been rendered ren-dered homeless The loss is estimated at about S2,-000,000 S2,-000,000 Tli lir.. itaatmvDil en n-i nlf t rl - twen ty-! W O city blocks and was not controlled con-trolled until tvv-lve buildings in its path had been destroyed. Man arrests have been made for looting. The town Is now under the guaid of a native police and two com- j panics of the United States coast artillery, ar-tillery, w ho aided in fighting the j fire. Half the population have lost all their belongings. The fire started in the heart of the city and soon was beyond control of the native fire brigade The wooden wood-en buildings, of which the town is almost exclusively constructed, burn ed like tinder. Most of the largest stores in Colon all of them carrying heavy stocks of merchandise, were ; directly in the path of the flames The cause of the fire has not yet been learned aud probably never will be known A high wind was blowing at the time the fire broke out, and late In the arternoon. when it was spreading spread-ing fast and myriads of sparks were b lng carried in the direction of Cris I tobal. firemen in the canal zone be- j qan dynamiting buildings in the path of the flames in order to form a gap wheh the conflagration might be I stopped. For a time these efforts were fruitless, but later the fire was brought under control All the banks in the city were destroyed de-stroyed and part of the railway sta tion was burned All that part of the city from Seventh street south lo past Twentieth street and on Front street eastward beyond Bolivar street was destroved. |