MORE OF THE FIRE—SCENES AND INCIDENTS. [From the "San Francisco Herald," June 26]

New Zealander, Volume 7, Issue 562, 3 September 1851, Page 3

MORE OF THE FIRE— SCENES AND INCIDENTS. [From the "San Francisco Herald," June 26 ]

From fclio evidence collected yesterday wo are satisfied, thot the fire of Sunday was the deliberate* work of an incendiary—nor waa tin's the only attempt of Hie kind made duung the day, We have hoard of four ditTeient places to winch firo was applied while the fire was 1 aging m the upper part of the town, viz-: Pacific street wharf ; a segar-store next to Marvin & Hitchcock's in Montgomery street 5 a house in Sacramento street and one in Kearney street. The gang, it seems were detailed on duty in different parts of the city, so that tho destruction might ho total and ruin overwhelming. Had the attempts in Montgomery and Sacramento streets been successful, all the eastern ,tud southern portions of (tie city, winch have fortunately escaped, would have been swept before the ilames beyond tho hope of redemption. These incendiary attempts, aside iwm their fiendish malignity, display a degree of reclrlesness, consuleiing the excited stato of Hid public mind, and thi> consequent nslc if detected that is positively astonishing. Tho halter would be almost too mild a punishment for him who should bo unnustakeablo delected in such an act. The ciinie of ar.son in this city is mo) c humous than evon murder, foi besides ihe immense destitution of property, and the suffering; to thousands arising theiefiom, it presupposes, and thus far has liivaii.ibly been accompanied wlt », great loss of life. But unfoiluir.itely it is a ciime which is veiy difficult !o detect. The case with winch the .slowmatch may bo applied, and tho necessary retire to a distance to watch ihe lesult of Ins schemes, almost defies any hope of discovering him. If, as we are convinced, tho Into fire did originate in this manner, no bettei spot /or the success of the plot could have been selecled than the one where it broke out. It was a point winch fiom (lie nature of all the circumstances— time, plnce, and juxtaposition of so many combustible buildings, added to the scarcity of water, must havo necessauly rendered the attempt successful, The time.

about 11 o'clock,— -when the winds begin to spring up, each moment increasing in power — the place, far up in the northwest part of the city, from which, by the known direction of the w>nd, the fire might safely be cilcul.itec) to swfep t'uougli the main portion of the city to <!'* water— a connecting link of dry, inflammable Imilrfinsrs all the way to the centre of the city — no wafpr *o cbrc'i the ravages of the flames once und^r wny , , A ]\ these circumstances concurred to point out the spot vi hpre the fire originated as the best possible to effect thp purposes of the incendiary. And then when the fiie had nearly spent its force, laying low the dwellings and ciusliing the spiiits of thousands, this infamous gang of desperadoes, not content that any should be spared, and intent on malting the desolation complete, attempted to start it again at points as well selected for. their purposes as could be found. When we first reached the ground, shortly after the quick, sharp pealing of the alarm bell broke upon the •quiet of the city, we felt convinced that it could not be stopped much short of the bay, except'by extraordinary means, which were not adopted. The engines were powerless, and there was no hope of safety except to anticipate the fire "by blowing up or pulling down all the houses a square ahead. Although this was done in many instances, yet never sufficiently far in advance or in sufficientlylargescaletodoany good This arose from the natural aversion that property holders, whose buildings not actually in flames, had to the destruction of their all. They hoped against hope that some lucky accideut would intervene to stop the conflagration before it reached them. The firemen in many instances did attempt this at points where they might have done good, but the owners of the houses, in severnl cases threatened the lives of those who should attempt to tear them down or Wow them up ; in others they swore they would sue the axemen for damages and hold them individually responsible. The*e threats saved their buildings from being torn down only to'fall , a prey a few minutes later to the ravages of the scourge. No one liked to take the responsibility of razing a house ; in face of the violent opposition of the owner. To this general rule there w^re »ome exceptions. One gentleman in Dupont street, when told that the levelling of his building would save the square across the street replied, " Well, if it must come down, go ahead, and I will have the satisfaction of striking the fiist blow," j and immediately seizing an axe, fell to work manfully. When the flames had gained the mastery and had J enveloped in one general conflagration nearly thirteen j closply built squares, ranging from Powell to Sansomo j stieet, and from Broadway to Clay, the appearance presented by the city was grand—awful beyond description ! It looked as if an ocean of flame were sweeping in fiery surges over the ill-faled city Dense, black volumes of smoke lolled up and settled like a pall of darkness upon the scene beneath. The flames shot up like fiery tongues of gerpents, as if they would lick the very clouds. Myriads of sparks and burning brands were whirled high up into the heavens by the gale and fell far around like showers of falling stars. The awful | roar of the conflagration— the crackling of the flames— j the shouts of the firemen and the citizens — the sharp pealing of the alarm bells— the rushing of vehicles to and fro, and the deep sound of explosions, mingled j with the crashing of falling timbers throughout the city struck upon the ear with fearful power. None who witnessed the scene and shared in its horrors, can soon forget it. As the shades of night began to descend and dark* ness to settle upon city, ihe five had expended its violence, and found fuel only in the prostrate ruins. From these it shot up over the burnt district, relieved j on the darkness of the night like the watchfires of a great army. Now rising and again sinking, it flickered for a while like the expiring candle in the nocket, and when at last it did subside, leaving but mouldering ruins to mark its pnth, it was as if loth to leave the scene upon woich it had rioted. And what a sad and desolate prospect was presented in the morning, when the fierce, excitement of the day before had subsided, and the sufferers assembled with spirits almost crushed to gaze upon the ashes of their homes and their hopes. From Powell almost to Sansome street, not a building stands as a monument of the mercy of the terrible scourge. The eye roams unchecked over the desolate waste. During the conflagration eight persons certainly lost their lives, either from the direct effects of the fire or from circumstances growing out of it. Three of them Messrs, Bach, Charles S. Lyons, and a man unknown, in Pacific street, were burned to death. Two were shot by an officer while in the act" of robbing. Two were beaten death, one a Frenchman named Jean Baptiste Durand, who was falsely accused of incendiarism, and the other a Mexican, who was stealing some bales of goods, and one died from terror and excitement. There j are rumours that besides these a Mexican woman and two children were burned to death in a house on Dupont street, and one or two others beiides Mr. Lyons in Mawi on Brother's store. In addition to these Pollock w»s shot at night. Thpre were during that eventful day many instance of noble dariug on the part of the firemen and others that would entitle them to the laurels of the heroe. Among these was the rescue of a little child from a burning house in Jackson street by Frank Wheeler. The building was enveloped in flames, and the frantic mother was wringing her hands, crying out that her child was within. Mr. Wheeler rushed forward and leaping through the burning house, seized the child, and had just time to escape when the rafters fell in. He delivered the infant to its mother amid her joyful thanks. Any man might have envied his feelings at the moment. He was himself badly burnt in his daring exploit. Mr. Dexter had been exerting himself to save Parker house, when becoming exhausted by the heat and smoke, he fell to the ground and would have been soon deitroyed had it not been for the intrepidity of Mr. Edward Gallagher the Coroner, and Capt. Howard of the Police. Many other similar instances of the deeds of daring done under the impules of a warm and generous heart were performed. We shall be glad to record them if their friends will inform us of the names. We have heard of several instances of liberality growing out of the lire. As yesterday stated, Dr. Baldwin has placed at the disposition of the city his extensive building North Beach for the purposes of a Hospital. The Catholic Church was previously tendered for the same purpose. Mr. H. P. Hoyt offers those who are made houseless, the use for thirty days, without charge, often dwellings on north beach. We are authorized to say that Dr. Matthew P. Burns at the corner of First and Mission streets, will attend gratuitously all those who were injured at the fire. We are informed that a number of persons received injuries more or less severe, by burning in the face hands, &c. Mr- McKinley and another gentleman, had each a leg broken. Dr. Delych was shot in the foot under singular circumstances. He found that his premises, nearly opposite the Polka House, had been set fire to in the bßck yard. He went out immediately and was engaged in extinguishing the fire, when some one supposing him an incendiary shot him in the heel.