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Show SWEPT BY THE FLAMES. Galveston, Texas, Suffering From a Tremendous Conflagration This Morning. Blocks Upon Blocks of Elegant Resi-y.dences Resi-y.dences Licked Up by the Fire. Tlie Burnt District Covers a Black . , . Space Over a Mile Wide. Tremendous Fire in Galveston. Galveston, Texas, November 13. About midnight last night a fire started in this city and is still raging at 8 a. m. It has already consumed over six blocks, in the neighbor-, hood of Sixteenth to Nineteenth streets, and from Bay to Beach streets all the principal residences. The loss is now over $4,000,000. 3:25 a. m. A destructive fire is now raging in the eastern part of the city, between Sixteenth Six-teenth and Seventeenth streets. . The fire broke out at 1:40 a. m., in a small foundry on the north side of Strand street, near the corner of Eighteenth. the flames bapidlt spbead, Under a stiff north wind, and the prospects are that Galveston is about to suffer a great loss. Six dwelling houses are already burned and an immense cloud of sparks is being carried four or five squares over the roofs of wooden houses. The entire fire department is on the ground, but they seem paralyzed and unable to fight because of the 1TEBCK WIND AND SUFFOCATING) SMOKE. ' 3:35 a. m. The fire has at this hour spread over seven blocks, and has become a great conflagration. Fully fifty dwellings are burning fiercely, and the path of the fire as it progresses southward is filled with THE FINEST RESIDENCES OF THE CITY, But all are wooden for five squares south. The fire was confined to the width of one square between Sixteenth and Seventeenth streets, but when it crossed Winne street, six squares from the starting point, it jumped diagonally to the southeast into the next block, and now gives evidence of consuming con-suming one-third of the city. 9:10 a. m. The fire has now reached within three blocks of the beach and still spreading its path for that point. The efforts of the firemen seem powerless. About 4 o'clock the fire began to spread to the east and to the west of Sixteenth and Seventeenth streets. The wind rose to a gale, and pandemonium reigned. For a time it seemed as Jhough the entire eastern half of the city was doomed. The fire spread rapidly to the southward, LICKING UP BLOCKS OF ELEGANT BE3IDENCES Hastily abandoned by their inmates. By 5 o'clock it had reached Broadway, which threads the centre of the island, running east and west.- At 7 o'clock the wind gave signs of going away, and shortly it began to shift, then to decrease, until by 8 o'clock only a fair breeze was blowing, but by this time the fire had eaten its way to Avenue O, where, at 9:30 o'clock, it seemed to exhaust itself, and the firemen coming up, checked its further ravages at this point, or within two blocks of the gulf. 11:20 a. m. The fire reached the beach, about a mile and a-half from the starting place, and six or seven blocks wide were consumed. Over seven hundred residences are burned, and ' I THE WIND IS BLOWING A TEBBTFIO GALE. The fire is still burning fiercely, and is not under control. THE BURNED DISTRICT Covers about fifty-two blocks, seven of which are not entirely swept clean. It i3 sixteen blocks in depth and averages a width of three blocks. From a house-top the Bmok-ing, Bmok-ing, burned district resembles a huge block half-opened, far-flying across the island from the bay nearly to Gulf Island. At that point it is nineteen blocks, or one mile and a quarter wide. The fire started on the north side of Avenue A, better known as the Strand, which is one block from the bay, and it stopped within two blocks of the gulf. Sixteenth street is nine blocks west of the extreme inhabitable end of the island, the ! first resident street being Sixth. . From Avenue Ave-nue A to Avenue D, the fire was confined to the strip bounded on the east by Sixteenth street and on the west -by Seventeenth street. The business part of the city begins at Twentieth street and runs west ten blocks. About 300 houses were burned, which were occupied by fully 500 families. From Avenue A to Avenue L, for four squares, the burned dwellings were occupied oc-cupied almost entirely by the poorer class, and several families were crowded in a sin- le house in this strip. From. Avenue E, owever, the burned district includes the wealthiest and MOST FASHIONABLE POBTION OF THE COT. One hundred elegantly furnished mansions are in ruins. Many of these residences had beautiful gardens attached, and the moneyed mon-eyed class does not represent over half their value. All manner of estimates are to be heard at this time. The city assessor says the taxable value of the dwellings burned is $650,C33. This makes the actual value of the property $1,500,030, which perhaps represents rep-resents the loss in money. The insurance is estimated at $GO0,0D3, although some insurance insur-ance men who have walked over the district place the insurance at $800,030.. So far as can be learned not a single accident , occurred. oc-curred. . THE SCENE DUBING THE PBOGBESS OF THE FIBB Was simply frightful, so rilled with misery and terror that whoever witnessed it must bear its vivid impress for a lifetime. The wind rose to a screaming gale in the vicinity of the fire and swept through the burning belt in terrific whirls, carrying millions of live cinders high up in the air and raining r them down . a mile distant over the wooden city and its panic-stricken inhabitants. Five minutes after the house caught it was wrapped in one mighty flame. Alleyways and streets for ten squares on either side the burning belt were filled with the blanched faces of helpless men, women and children, who could do nothing in such a gale, but crouch down for shelter and watch the flames lick up the fruits of a lifetime. Thousands of people haunt the burned district, looking among the smoking ruins for valuable keepsakes or jewelry, hoping hop-ing to find something left. Business is entirely en-tirely suspended; the calamity ia so great that MEN CHOKE WITH TEABS IN SPEAKING OF IT. Some scores of sick people were hurriedly removed during the conflagration and many were prostrated from the terrible excitement. excite-ment. A meeting of the citizens is now in progress at the Catton Exchange to provide immediate relief for the poor victims, |