Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1851-12-31
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FIRES AT WASHINGTON.

FIRES AT WASHINGTON.
The Washington Telegraph of Wednes-
day afternoon has an account of the fire at
the Capitol, from which we extract the fol-
lowing paragraphs:
At six o'clock this morning the doors of
the Capitol were opened by Jno w. Jones,
Captain ofthe Capitol Police, at which time
he believes there was nothing on fire
Throughout! the building. At quarter be-
fore eight o'clock, however, on approach
ing the door Of the Library, he was con-
WINGED from the smell of smoke that some
thing was wrong, and he accordingly forced
his way in by breaking PANEL of the
door. The tables, books, shelves, &C., in
the northeast end of the room were all on
fire; but he believes they could have been
eXtinguished at that moment by the use of
half dozen buckets of water. But the o.
pening of the door gave vent to the flames,
and they soon assembled to the roof and
spread rapidly throughout the entire room.
The few persons in the building were
with difficulty called to render assistance,
and when they arrived it was impossible to
save the main room OF its contents. The
contents of the smaller library room, COM
prising a great variety of antique works,
&c., were saved in q somewhat damaged
condition.
A messenger (Mr. Baldwin)was lmmedi-
ately despatched for the city fire compa-
MES, who had but Just returned from the
So ~ H. Er,rll;n uotol. hut o,pipn IN
the improbabillty of his report, twas not
till after considerable delay that he could
procure any aid from them. The engines
were finally obtained, and carried by the
fremen into the Rotunda and upon the cas-
tern portico, from which positions they pro-
PEELED water to the roof over the Library,
and thus extingmshed the flames.
The Library occupied that portion of the
building Immediately within the western
portico, and was so isolated from the rest
of the building as to involve but little lnju-
ry to other portions. The adjacent commit
tee rooms, with their papers, are, however,
somewhat damaged.
What extent of loss has been sustained
we are at this moment unable even to con-
lecture but fifty OF sixty thousand is prob
ably the number of volumes, and many Of
them were of rare worth while the value
of the works of art, the collection of ancient
coins, medals, and other curiosities, &C.,
cannot be approached in any estimate.
The marble busts of Lafayette, Jefferson,
Taylor, &C.; the portraits of Washington,
and ]. Q. Adams; number of old paint
ings the files of the National Intelligen-
Ger" &c.-all are gone.
LArER.-We have heard discriminating
persons estimate the value of the books
that can be replaced at $3.50, 900; and the
damage to the cdifce at from $4,000 to
$1,000
Franklin Hotel, on The corner of D. and
Eighth streets, kept by Thomas Baker, and
owned by Mr.. Kavanaugh of Baltimore,
was also totally destroyed this morning, the
family and boarders escaping with difficult
ty with their lives. The building was par
tally insured in this city and at the North.
&s-Since the removal of the rubbish from
the Library, satisfactory evidence appears,
that the fire was caused by defective hue
connected with wood fire in one of the
Committee Rooms. A timber entering the
wall from the Library, exactly where the
fire was first discovered, was found also to
enter the fue and was thoroughly chared.
There are indications also that the chimney
uniting with the same hue had been on fire.