Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1834-09-11
DESTRUCTIVE FIRE.

furnishes the following particulars:
This morning ut half past Two o'clock, the bells
rave The alarm OF fire, which originated IN inc
Brick building owned by Benz Btdsali, Lsq'
in the centre Of the square bounded by Broad" ny,
poxord Mercer nn1 Grand streets, which was 30
completely wrapped IN flames when disco'ffeo
thai all attempts 10 exlinguish them were eons'-
,ie,,J f,ile. pn1, Of eou,sc, abandoned. THIS
hnd,ns was about eighty feet long by sixty wide,
an. oceunicd by Mcssrs Crrn,il, Athause II Go.
a. an IRON railing door and CRATE and fender mnn.
nr,,,o,v. which WIS one Of the most extensive Of
lis kind ia the county, employing steam engine
and great number of ariliccis. u was hled WIN
manufactured and unmanulacurcd articles, and 10
nm entire loss with thr exception oi " hat may oe
CLEANED from The ruins beneath lhe walls
Tbe flames soon extended TO lhe ediacen, house',
and seemed to threaten Destruction 10 the "hois
eounrc. bui fortunately there was a dead calm and
the burning cindcrs rose pcrpendle1lafy TO an I'M.
mense height. =..
rhs frs, house which caught from the burning
factory was ,hc five story bock building, honang
on broadway, No. AL occurred us cabinet wnre-
i,onse and mandatory 10y Miller Comfoai''
This. like the iron ftciofyi became 50 suddenly
i,ni,el that no attemp, was made 10 rescue II from
destruction. The only properly saved ','m II var
n norton Of the furniture ~ the ground floor. Thu
per stories were in leas dian Two hours heap Of
smouldctng runs,
A man named Felix Dawson, had his arm bro.
ken by the falling ofa window shutter
W. arrived at the spot short tiGln amer ihrde
o'clock lust in time 10 witness the falling ii lhr
walls of III. extensive iron factory, which came
down with prodlg,ons crash, and become tfe',
a,ots of ths flames which commenced nj that period
'on Mercer St. The appearance oil these houses
But ia Of nc Piodsid5s '% snGheI @SnpcYRouse Or
broadway, was nppslIng--for an hour 1t ragged
like the ocean IN Tempest, mnckng tho mpolen-
cy Of man 10 arrest lis course. We have wltnea-
sed many u wide spread cunhtstatlon but never
saw the devourlng element pouring forth such an
tina of hamc Ii was crowded from top 10 bottom
with the most comhasli5lc materials mahogany,
Iinc, and lumber OF all descriptions, together, IN
The upper stories, with par,ly finished furniture
most Of it having just received coats Of yarnsh aa
&c 10 a vanishing establishment, ON the top, with
a wido spread projecting stage for drying -aIl this
together with tho Lofty building itself IN one com
plee boly of flame, pouring from the top md
through all The windows, WAS "a sght such as few
before have bcheld.
The Journal OF Commerce adds that tho loss by
The hre is estimated by The Insurance Companies
as between 500 an $4,000 Of which $4,000
weeo insured S3o.0 900, AT Office, sig 900 at n
mother, AMI ~ 900 at another.
Yisit 10 an Iadian Uonsd The following in
erestiAg particulars are from the Portsmouth,
Journal, received at that place by DR. DuRkGs,
rom his brother, dated at Jacksonville East Flor |
"a, in June last -
A few lays since, took with me two young
laves, furnished by fiend, Tor the purpose of |
=. 4 D.. 4
River twelve miles below Jacksonville. II stands |
IN a conical bluff fifty feet high and containing
about two acres skired tho ens by the river The
mound is circuiar,-covcring one third Of an ac, o
and rising like dome from the bluff 10 tho height
Of forty feet, that the summit Of the mound cam
not be much short OF one hundred feet from the ri.
YER. II istackly covered with trees and shrub
berry from the largest live oak which 10 an ever.
green TO the beautiful hawthorn and me arc.
maIic myrtle, all of which are filled in with moss
pendNn, from The branches, and impar,,ng dark
md m -iancholy air TO this maus. loum Of the
dcsd
Thus II seems TINT nature does not blush TO
mourn for these children ofihc forest, although they
have bsen rersecuted despsej, abused, destroyed
hunted do an, AMI expatrlaled by the all-conquer.
ing genius of civilization, Abou, onc.fourth ofthe
bluff and n round has been undermined and washed
u
river, AMI the time will come when the wi hole
pile will be completely submerged beneath the
water On the side adjacent 10 ths water,
human skulls, trunks and limbs of oil sizes,
from the helpless infant to the strong warrior
who once gloricd in his prowess, may be seen pro-
jec,ns out IN horizontal position and supporting
the superintendent earth. Many ofthe bones " ere
in good state of preseryd alton ,notw ithstan dng the
unknown centuries which have elapsed since they
were deposited, and succeeded IN tracing out Sc.
vcrai skeletons nearly entire without difficulty
The manner in which the mound was formed is
this The original bluff, which is composed prn.
eipally Of sand 4 clay was excnvaled about 10 feet
in depth, and over sufficient TO form the base
OF the mound. A tier dead bodies was then ar
ranged on the bottom, and covered over with a slra-
tum Of earth twelve or fifteen inches thick then n
other layer Of bodies, covered with earth in sim.
liar manner, until this alienation reached the
surface Of the natural bluff. Thus the mound
continues 10 the distance of about forty fee,
above the bluff gradually 'arerng Till you reach the
summit. Over the whole is a stratum of oyster
shells very regularly arranged and about twenty |
inches in thickness. The upper surface of these |
shells 10 covered with layer Of earth fifteen inch.
es decr Whether this last dcposi, of earth was
made by the hand oftime Of man, it is impo.si.
bic 10 decide. Tbs trees which spread their bran |
cnes over ms sepulchral spot and which add not
little to its antique and solemn appearance, are
undoubtedly ofspon,aneous growth. On digging
few feet into the mound, found that every .kele.
ton was surrounded by earth Of deep aorid inge.
This was uniformly The case and the peculiar ,ir,
believe, must have been derived from the iron
contained in the blood but now mixed with tho al
lex, &c. These deal bodies must have been
. ;es accumulating, and perhaps ten times os many
ages nave passed away since the buria topk place