Helena Weekly Herald

A Destructive Fire.

ST. LOUIS, March 11. - There was a most destructive fire in East St. Louis to-night. The flames caught in a small barber shop in a row of old frame buildings on the river front. There is no fire department in the place and the surrounding property was at the mercy of the flames, which spread with great rapidity and soon consumed the row of frame buildings, and then spread to the transfer company's stables in the rear, then to the Advance elevator "A," which entire property was destroyed. The elevator was said to contain between 200,000 and 300,000 bushels of corn, 50,000 bushels of oats, and 10,000 bushels of wheat. Leading west from this elevator was a long conveyor connecting with elevator "B," on the river bank, belonging to the same company. A part of this conveyor was burned, but the remainder was torn down and the elevator was saved. Extending northward the fire spread to the freight office of the Chicago & Alton railroad and to the cars in the yard of that company. The freight office was totally destroyed and a large number of empty and laden cars were burned. A number of other cars were also burned, making the number about forty, one-third of which were laden with grain. Loss, half a million.