The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1850-07-17
@reat C0nhagrafiOn in BrookIyn--Tsre-
mendous explosions of saIspetre--
n ms u nus


Grest con1iagration In BrookIyn--Tre-
mendous Explosions of saltpetre--
Loss of nearly Million of Dollars.
The NY Herald of the sth inst gives us III.
following: ''''
Yesterday morning, shortly before four o'cloek
one oi the largest fires that has occurred for
oi t,he, ether IN this the sister CITY, broke ont
ID 70. the immense six story brick warehouse OF Mr.
morn, IN furman street, Brooklyn, which runs
% oou'l rom Fulton Ferry along the river. II orig
aeaJ ~ ing al''c story IN some hemp grited BY
accident, design, or Spontaneous coubustion. and
ri burned downward with great rapidfsv and furv.
ne nremen would have confined the eonaayration
% tne building in which it began, but for The ex
Pos'on OF large quantity Of saItpetre. which
e4Piooea Ike gunpowder, and scattered the burning
NJ upon the already heated frame structures
o. mr. 1aPscott used for the storage Of tnYpen,ine
camPhlne, and other stock the produce Of ms dis
uiiefies- Shortly after this, loud explosion took
place, which was heard and felt all over BrookI,,n
II awakened the sleepers in the remoest part Of The
ci'y' some Of them al three miles distance. and
e"oyA .ne'l houses Just as artillery were being
nfeo AZ tnetr doors. The bricks and timbers ,vera
ihrown up into the air like feathers. Every one
iooAeo out to see what the matter and the
Sduss OF the alarm was soon discovered al the Ful
.on rerry-a volume OF dark smoke rising maies
ucaliy IN Heeces to the sky, and the flames raging
~ is pSse hse the angry surges of the ocean.
Many OF the fremen became so alarmed M, ,b ~
Poslon that they Immediately proceeded 10 sats
distance, and there leaped into the water Comn.-
MES II and 10 were on the dock side of tbs fra
ana theiL retreat appeared to be cut of bv The
names; Seventeen's men threw their engine in,o
.ne u wafer to save It, rope being attached which
they fastened to the pier, while they had To effect
their own escape by swimming. The members II
70 dashed through the flames, leaving most Of the
nose hind them, but saving their engine
widespread destruction Of property now seemed
IheV,'aoie' The explosions followed each other in
IaPu succession TOR two hours, loud as the cannos
roar, and sometimes louder still nini,,,, son,a
times elapsed Between them and soneIrnss % ~.
~ second. Bang, bang, went each barrel of salt
petTe, as It caught the aames and the uruhiefn q as
AZ length settled which caused so much trouble 10
e al the time Of the explosion of the grea.
are IN New York, in l645. They decided that salt
peire would not explode, and made MANY exneri-
ments TO prove it, Facts, however. are stuhhorn
tnlngs, and the explosions Of yesterday show iha,
the doctors were all wrong
~ .he beginning oftiie FIRE brig was lying along
sioe the dock. which caught the flames She xxa,
cut adritt, and mTed dawn the river with the tide
ohe was soon taken charge of by some men. WI,
ooarded her IN a small boat and having exfin
gushed the imes, m 1ored her in The stream. Sew.
sraI otnsf shlPs were cut away, from fear of the
common enemy
A considerable quantity of Nev, EnolsnJ .,,r,
ana ednphine IN barrels, had been saved from Tan
Scotts concern, and rolled out on the deck IL az
forwards caught fire, and it ran inlo the river in
qudhiiles that 1t burned on the surface of the
water, which seemed TO be one sheer p1 ouid me
neantlme, the other side of the street caught the
nAmes; Inc coup Gu at this moment as seen
:, ,uh me Heights just over it, was magniticent-the
East RIVER literally on fre-the dark smoke from
.e burning OIL, and rosln, and charcoal rolling up
IN masses against the clear blue sky, and every
minute contrasted with iots of white smoke which
Issued from The explosions-the red flames as eor-
2eous as The appearance of the most glorious sun
iet-the laborIng fremen whose eff1rts were mocksd
'y the oestsoyer-and the explosions, which added
! new terror to the scene-all presented a pjcture
which may be conceived BY The absent. or remrm.
'ered BY those who were present. far better than il
AN be described
About quarter before o'clock, the explosions.
aiter ceaslng for a considerable timel commenced
saiu ana eontinued Tor half an hour, Intervals
u one second TO ten, between EACH Il resemblsd |
cry closely the reports of d brisk eannonade ON /
ne oatle held, or an action between two great |
eets. There were 1000 bags of saltpetre besides |
VOO purified in casks. From The narrowness Of
ne street, the intense heat of the flames, the Judi
ious caution OF The firemen, and the difficulty OF
heir getting al the fire, the river being on the west
lde and the Heights on the east, the fire. famed
y strong brerze from the water burned from the
ehre north and south, and finally extended across
le street. ataek,ng Iapscott's camphine, turpen-
ne and alcohol distilleries The minor Offices
'ere soon devoured by the Unsuitable flames. but
'e wind shifting more north saved the principal
oftion OF the concern. The grandeur of the
ames while the camphine was blazing, partook at
nee oil the beautiful and sublime. The FIRE
llcGIy extended to Bach's rectifying disillery,
inch was partially destroyed, and 70 Ksarny's
fqggery, Mrs. Dunn's boarding house, McDon-
"a eoope rags and James Duherty's shoe shop
!, !, oil which were totally destroyed. Farren's FIRST
ara Hotel was next attacked, and was damaged |
= .lle et'ent OF about 500. Ii was here thai the
Il NaNKJK KaFE L., l
ole, for If the flames had not been checked at thar
mt on that side of the street, they would soon
ave burned on TO the corner of Fulton street, and
0pped.
The fire was thus subdued on the eastern side of
ne street, butit continued to rage on the western,
xtending on the north, TO the sheds of Trapal,
'htch We're full of WOOL hair and hides, on storage
nd nearly all consumed. On the south end of
le l eonfiagratlon, the strong brick warehouse of
thompson, with its fire-pF0of shutters, presented
lrrier to il in that direction But the storage sheds
dJpining it were all swept away, with the guano,
'gwOOd, sugar and molasses they contained So |
nat, between Thompson's warehouse aud Trap.
ais, The bosom ofdeslrueton had made clean
weep.
Between s and O'Clock, A. M. most of the fire.
zen went home, one or two COMPANIES remaining
guard against danger, and prev the exteDsio9 |
ihe hre, which continued 10 busn itself ont A
q mass oi embers ofvast size, burned ali the dav
~ ~ n'Suttoi ioohtu very tnagnlhcent. Many |
ousand spectators visited the scene during th- |
ening, and the effect of the grouping OF the peo-
on the heights, with the bright flames below. as
eh rom the Terry boat, was very fine. 1t ouniin.
q TO burn through the night, and will probably
I consume Itself through the day. In the morn.
g, ihe inhabitants of The splendid houses on The
slghts, We're much alarmed; but from their great
sVa.lon above the fire, they were perfectly safe
ne following is an account of the damages, as
ariy AZ can be ascertained
DDS in rhorn's store , ~ as0o an
e store ITSELF. Va IA ~ |
pSeott,s seven sheds of goods .....,..... s9'f10
DDS IN Th0mpson's shed, ss1''10
DDS In Trapsll's sheds, ..... i0'9oS
ch 4 CO.,..........'....'. ~ iS' 'To ~
rrel' s public house, ,....... - - 2, ~ ~
mes Dougherty' shoe shop. . - i ~ 1
operage of AID. Mcdonald, -. =. -ss IA,
O'''' - - !: ssOa5 500
CAPT. TAGGARr's PATENT FLYING MAoHISE
Ico sssFuL.-At sIs Lowell, on The 4th, al 4, Pm,
ipt IaggaFt made a balloon ascension with his
ing machine attached Ha y.as mr. "a ho,,-s |