Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1850-07-13
AWFUL CONFEDERATION AT PHILADELPHIA


FROM THE PHrLApELrHI. AMERICAN OF YESTERDAY.
Three Hundred Houses d esirouea-Ierrifc Err
plosion-.4 Million of Property Consumed
JuLr 9, 10 O'clock P. M-The city is at the present
moment in high state of excitement owing to fearful con-
Migration, which is raging with very little abatement
Notwithstanding all the e1ts hst making suppress IT,
From the headway which the flames have already attained
and the force of the breeze that tanning them into vet
destructive ferceness it is impossible to foresee where they
will stop what will be the ultimate extent Of their ra
wages
The fe originated about Al o'clock this afternoon in the
upper part of the large double the south side
OF Water street, below Vue owned by John Brock grocery
and commission merchant. The building all the way
through TO Delaware avenue and is occupied in the different
apartments and stories by Gordon & Berger hay merchants
Jacob lowering, molasses dealer; Whampoe & Shannon
salmakers John Keller, hotel and bowling saloon and by
John Brock for the storage of sapete
The re ragged with great fury and the remen, who
promptly on the spot notwithstanding The of
water street, which rendered difficult reach the immediate
scene Of the conagraon would have succeeded in
ing but for terrible explosion which abou, half an
hour after the fire began.
To give idea of the that followed this calamity is
impossible As the flames had reached the saltpee
in the of Mr. Brock successive reports
heard, and finally tremendous explosion took place.
spreading and destruction around The force Of the
explosion lateral SCATTERING the walls of the building
but spent itself principally upward direction, carrying
with into the air. to the height Of three hundred feet large
burning masses of combustbles with bricks, sss, &C.
fell upon Of the opposite houses Front street. breaking
through the roof and buryng and nurng of the
mates, who were engaged hes lily removing their effects
AT this moment there about three thousand people the
ground and the spectacle Of fright and confuson and the
wailng and screaming Of and children, made up
scene of horror beyond description
In Water street, where the remen chiefly collected
the houses Immediately adjoining Brooks building
peey demolished by the explosion while those situated
the west side of Water and side Front street
insananeously FIRE by the fakes and cnders
which flying in all directions Many Of the femen
were THROWN with their pipes in iher hands, from the roofs
OF the surrounding houses, and Others knocked down from
the engines and some of them burnt acerated in dread
fu! manner.
The force of the expoon and the intense heat and fury
of the fire. burst on oil sides were attended with
lamenabe loss OF life. Several men, women and children
instantly killed. numbers fghttully scorched and
dreadfuly burnt and msnged while many others we're
hurled into the docks, of whom drowned On
Delaware avenue there very large crowd of
and when the panic seized this portion Of the multitude
great number OF them sprang the river utterly uncon
scous Of what they were doing.
Pen fails depict the that succeeded The dead and
dying borne the drug police sta
tons, to the hospital.
The wind being fresh from the southeast the flames spread
IN northwestern direction and before the emen had re-
covered from the bewdermen occasoned by the explosion
they obtained fearful Roadway. The buildings nearly
all old and combusbe, with shingled roofs. The fire. in
spite almost superhuman exertons the part Of the fire.
men, continued to make the alarming progress and for
SIX hours II oaffied all attempts to check II. s
AT ten O'Clock, the hour which commenced pennng
this report, nearly the whole of the properties embraced within
the boundaries Of the Delaware river the side Of
Second street west the north side OF Caowh NORTH
and the south side OF New SOUTH including Delaware
avenue Water Front, Vine, and New Market Streets with
the intermediate small streets and alleys involved in
destruction. '..,
The contains about four squares, and twelve
blocks in which there were perhaps three hundred build
ngs The locality of the densey populated in
he city and large number of the residents being poor peo
pie, the amount of suffering is immense The houses gene
ally were among the poorest in Philadelphia yet there were
valuable business stands and Of the finest Of our
ntqua'ed Quaker mansions. -.
II is impossible to ascertain the number Of lives lost or TO
any exact estimate of the value Of the prsperty de-
troyed.
There supposed to be at least twenty killed. Some ten
more will most probably die. The total number of wennded
annot be less than one hundred
Judging from the extent of ground covered by the cona
ration and the nature Of the property consumed we venture
compute the damage done million Of dollars AT
II events the extensive and destructive FIRE tina,
yer occurred in our city.