View source for Cosmopolitan fire

One of many [[fires]] in Miles City.

Before dawn Sunday [[22 Jul 1883]]....

[[Cosmopolitan fire]]: order of destruction: 3 small buildings ([[Merritt's lunch counter]], [[Brown's tobacco store]], [[Bishop's Side-Board Saloon]]); [[Flick's gambling hall]] (owned by Charles Bishop, made of pine logs that gave out such heat that the rest of the block was a goner); [[Basinski & Bros]] stationery and general store; [[W. E. Savage & Co.]] drug store (a 2 story frame) adjoining the [[First National Bank]], which was brick and stopped the fire. Loss estimated to be as high as $100,000, insurance covered about $50,000, mostly by Phoenix, Liverpool, London and Globe, and Aetna companies. Cosmopolitan (NE corner of Main & Sixth, one of the best in the territory, $8000) Owned by [[H. E. Wolf]], leased by John Chinnick. Performers lost all their wardrobes. Three attempts had been made to burn it down and had been discovered in time to prevent them. The next building was owned by [[Bishop]], rented by [[Flick]], not insured. [[Basinski Bros.]] lost $40,000 due to large inventory, only partially insured. The Savage drug store ([[Dr. Read]] a partner) was well insured, loss not heavy. Fire dept was quickly on hand but powerless.

Background:
But this was not the only surprise that greeted the morning sun as he peeped over the hills on that Sunday morning. Just as the dawn was breaking, the Cosmopolitan theater at the corner of Sixth and Main -- where the Commercial State bank is now located -- was discovered to be on fire. The theater was then the eastern end of a row of pretentious frame buildings extending westward to the brick then occupied by the First National bank. This row contained half a dozen or more stores, including the principal drug store in town, located on the site of the present "Savage" establishment. The fire was without doubt of incendiary origin. Almost at the start it enveloped the whole building and shortly afterward a number of explosions spread the flames in every district and terrorized the few who were fighting the fire, but the case was a hopeless one and in a hour the whole row was in ashes up to the bank building, which stood the test. It was never definitely settled whether this fire had any connection with the Rigney hanging or was an independent piece of deviltry, It was thought by many that one of Rigney's pals, skulking about the jail that night had witnessed his taking out by the Vigilantes and surmising the outcome had spread the news among "the gang" and that the fire followed as an act of reprisal and intimidation, but for the general public the story of Rigney's fate did-not gain general circulation until after the fire had burned itself out, and a fevered and angry community made up of two hostile elements, found itself on the verge of serious trouble. The law and order people generally accepted the fire as connected with the lynching and as meant for a warning of like things to follow, and this had the immediate effect of welding this element into a protective league, out of which came a committee of public safety, whose first act ordained the deporting of all suspicious characters. On that same Sunday afternoon a secret meeting of the committee was held and a patrol force organized, whose delicate duty it was to wait upon the leaders of the "undesirables" and give them a time limit of a few hours to get out. 

Miles City's first big fire happened the night after an incident in which a character by the name of Rigney was hanged to a railroad trestle near the locale of the present hospital. It is said that the fire was set in reprisal to this hanging -- whether this is true or not, we will have to offer it for what is it worth, for there is no one living at the present time whereby the story can be verified. In the block facing Main Street from the south between Fifth and Sixth Streets, were quite a few frame buildings, with a brick one or two thrown in. The first brick building from the east was the building now occupied by the Clark's Furniture store and was then occupied by the First National Bank. From that building east to Sixth Street was an array of frame structures. The largest and most "formidable" one was the Cosmopolitan Theatre. The Cosmopolitan was where the Miles City Bank now stands. It was in no manner a "legitimate" theatre, but presented mostly the "hurdy-gurdy" type of entertainment, with a convenient dance floor and al the "trimmings" popular to such places at the time. The fire started in the Cosmopolitan and soon spread to the adjoining frame structures -- "cleaning out" every frame building as far west as the bank building. As we have stated whether Rigney incident and the fire might not have any connection, but the better class of citizens immediately formed a "vigilante" committee and took steps to "clean the town" of a lot of tough characters who were hanging around.