| OCR Text |
Show 220 HISTOKY OF SANPETE COUNTY. A spirit of patriotism and loyalty was instilled in the minds of the youths, and when any military duties have been required young men have willingly enlisted in the service of the State and Nation. This city had at one time one of the best trained and neatest equipped companies of the National Guard of Utah, under command of Capt. Thomas Bra by, and the city was honored by the election of Major Ferdinand Ericksen as a member of the Governor's staff. The company was finally disbanded on account of general apathy of State officials in not making sufficient appropriations to sustain the militia. When President William McKinley issued a call for volunteers in the war with Spain for the independence of Cuba, several patriots entered the service. On the evening of J uly 25 ^1&US, the citizens of Mt. Pleasant experienced the first disastrous conflagation in the history of this city. Fire was discovered about 1 o'clock in the morning in the barber shop belonging to (_'. E. Hampshire. The fire alarm was sounded, the engine brought out and scores of volunteers formed a bucket brigade, performing most heroic deeds of bravery. The buildings were principally frame and beingbuilt almost solid, the fire could not be stopped until a half block of the business houses was burned and a loss of nearly £50,000 sustained by those doing business in the fire-swept district. About one-third of the loss was covered by insurance in representative companies. An evidence of enterprise characteristic of the people, was the speedy work of rebuilding, for scarcely had the smoke cleared away from the blackened debris, before contracts were let for the construction of larger and better buildings on the sites where old ones had formerly served their purposes. A list of stroyed by the those whose places of business were deThe firm of tire fiend is given herewith. |
