The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1843-02-13

TIE GREAT FIRE AT PORT4AU-PRINCE-
Six HUNDRED HOUSES BURNT-LOS6 OF
PROPERTY sA,o0o.eoo.
The occurrence OF great fire ri Postaa- Prince
on tho 9Th uit, has bsss sIspsdy snpopAced bat =
~ vessel which brought Tie news, case away whs's
the IRE was still buspsng. the sxcat Of tho conssrs-
ton could not be stated any particulars IN rcls-
ton 10 IL. 1his deficiency We arc now cnsbIed 10
supply, BY means Of istter from Port-su-Priscc Of
l4th January, and paper u the llth, with which
We have bee" sol'siSsly Furnished
Tf Pesr-Au-rRxcE, Jan. Itth, l64S.
Ia my hast remarked that the Spanish steamer had
just arrived The result Of The affair was, demand
from the Government Of Cuba that frigHio the
asiRcs tion should IRE ssiuse Of "a guns in honor
Of tho Spanish dag, displayed the vessels captured
BY her, with the same dag dying At Der msinmast head
This was accoded To, the condition, which was
accepted, that the Spanish steamer should return
the salute with the Hayden dag on the main. The
the morning Of the St6, after which tho steamer
took hcr departure. The Spsniards, by way Of re-
prisa had taken two OF our vessels, which to be
forthwith returned.
About three o'clock on Monday afternoon, 9Th inst,
at the moment Of signing my To the entry of
an American vessel at the Custom House. the cry Of
fire heard. repaired to the spot indicated and
found that fro had broken out in the apothecary's
shop the OF the street leading down to the
lower market. Mr.. Daumesnil, white Frencbman
in preparing coPsl varnish, or other naammablo
competition, which had twice previously taken fire
and been extingushed. third time 1t became ig-
nited, and in despite Of all his efforts spread SO ra
pidy, that when the alarm had gathered tho people,
the whole interior was in flames In vain we exert
ID ourselves to arrest their progress In fifteen min
utes tho fire burst through tho house. and tho heat
became insupportable. Attempts were made to tear
down the adjoining buildings but the heat set fire TO
the houses opposite; tho sparks flying in the air fell
H.. ILL., -. - AZ
by q stiff breeze, which seemed to veer at intervals
to every point of the compass. In two hours and
half, twelve squares wero reduced TO ashes. The
fire swept the whole space on the right of line ex-
tending from tho bottom OF the tower to tho upper
market and along the Grande RTE to DR.. Pinckombos
brick house thence divcrgng to the square next tho
Northern portal taking the whole of the Beair quite
up TO the street of the Cross Passing the street of
the Cross it swept the whole left side of the upper
market, so that all the dry goods merchants have
been burnt out as well as the greater part of the
tailers Of provisions.
The rue Bonne-foi was burned from one end TO the
other. Mr. Joseph Courtois has lost his press which
will interrupt the publication of the Feule de Com
mcrce.
The property destroyed, including SIX HUNDRED
HOUSES, may be estimated at -FOUR MILLIONS OF DOL
LARS. This is dreadful loss 10 our unhappy coun-
try, and has rendered many families homeless. Per-
feet order preserved during the conHagration.--
The only disadvantage under which we labored, was
the want Of water and good fire engines.
Notwithstanding the fire did not extend to the
wharves the loss to consignees and other merchants
will be immense, as the retailers had lust filed I'D
their shops with goods newly arrived. The Europeaa
houses have been the heaviest losers. | send you
herewith number Of the Patriot, containing an &C.
count Of the affair.
Translated for the Journal of Commerce from the
Port-au-Prnce Patriotic of Jan. ilth.
The town Of Port-au-Prnce Is IN CONSERVATION
frghtful fire, day before yesterday, destroyed tho
richest quarter of the town.
Towards three o'clock in the afternoon, cries of
fire were heard. NJ Daumesni q chem /, had dur
ing the morning, employed himself in preparing 4
varnish, without using the usual precautions and al
though twice during the morning, it il said his house
was on fre he nevertheless continued his work. The
FIRE, favored by wind from the North West, CON-
muncated simultaneously to the houses situated to
the South and to that Of Madame Marcelin situated
at the other side of Courbc street. II is known that
during six months our town has had WATER notwh-
standing the earnest circumstances made the sub
jcct. The isolated efforts of some citizens were
therefore usele $. Not of the authorities was
the spot to direct them The fire spread with
frightful rapidly, 10 the North, South, East and
West. The whlrlwind Of flames scattered sparks in
all directions, and at o'clock the town threaten
ed with entire destruction From the street which
was the original seat Of the fire, the flames had
reached to the south Of the street Bonne-Foi, en-
bracing on the West the space comprised between
the streets, Courbc, Ia rue Republicans, les place
Waller, and the street nne-Foi
To the North, the fire had traversed the street des
CGsars, and sparing only Pnckomboy drug store,
ended TO the houses to the north Of the street Bel air
II then five O'clock and tho wind had changed to
the Southeast which circumstance preserved five or
six houses at the head Of the street Bonne-Fo and
gave a direction to the fire. About half past
FIVE, BelAir was fire, and the people still crowd
ing in eastery direction obstrlcted the Place dc
Egse and de llntendance. Clouds Of black smoke at
this time prevented US from eing the sun which
was still above the horizon. At BelAir the houses
are isolated, and some Of the proprietors exerted
themselves with subcess The wind now moderat,
a little, and the fire was are ted. During three
hours the town was burn ng and the founta ms
bad not drop Of wa'er in them. Patrolcs had
been organized in good time, and preserved or
der, which was not for one moment interrupted
Some thefs were committed during the confusion at
tendant such calamity, and no doubt by fellows
who had signalized themselves in that way before.
But if the authorities had occupied themselves in de-
ing all that necessary to prevent robbery nothing
could have been done to stop the fire. Two three
hundred Of The hast houses in the town have been
totally burned. At eight O'Clock in the evening,
water flowed into the fountains, but il then too
late to be Of any service. The quarter of the city
which has been burned, contained the most valuable
merchandise /, the town, and trade must Of course
a terrible shock from it. In estimating the goods
which were burner al two millions Of dollars, we be-
lieve pretty the truth We do not speak
of real estate furniture the value Of which is per-
haps greater than this. Too many evils overwhelm
us at once. In three years, Aux Cages. Cape Hatcn,
and Port-au Prince, have been prey to misfortune.
Are we then cursed by God
General Bonnet has died at St Marc. He was
one Of our first militery administrators.
Nj. Couret an old representative il dead. In diff
cult times he knew how TO blend Rrmness with
moderation.