Washington telegraph., 1851-07-02
LATE FROM CALIFORNIA.

contains account of two destructive contagra-
,;ops in CalLornia-One at San Francisco on the
.ath o. May, and one at Stockton on the 5th-
,,;ch have caused immense losses great por-
',ion of San Franc,sco-a city which has suffered
.,srriby by fire on former occasions-is in ashes,
and he loss in that city a.one estimated at fifteen
millions of dollars The destruction by the fire at
stockton was also very great. II is estimated that
property to the amount of s 200 900 was destroy
ed there The news reached the city Of Mexico
bv way of Acapulco, at which port the mail steam
ships call OH their way from San Francisco to
Panama.
The following translation of the Trait d. MONS
account Of these dreadful confagrations, we copy
from the Picayune.-N O. Bulletin.
eve have often had occasion to recount the
frequent conhagrations of which San Francisco
has been threatened 1t is not long since We
chroniced The almost entire destruction of Nevada
CITY, and now we have to speak of two frightiul
,catastrophes, by which the richest portions of San
Francisco and Stockton have been reduced to
ashes.
Our readers will remember, beyond doubt, that
on tine 4th of May, of last year, San Francisco
was visited with fire which destroyed the COM
mercia portion Of the growing city. This year,
ON the same day, If to celebrate the terrible
niyrrsary for the fifth time in two years, three
forihs vf the business part of the city have been
again reduced to ashes.
Never says the Alta California, has so horrible
a con1agraton been witnessed since the burning
of Moscow. The fire broke out at / / o'clock, on,
the night of the Sd of May, in the second story
of a painters shop, in Clay street, the south
eide OF Portsmouth Square, and ia the neighbor
hood of the Grand Plaza. At the moment when
the fire made its appearance It had very little
strength but all of sudden the house in which it
originated, the American H"use and furniture
store became enveloped in flames. The wind,
II .caI
she force of a hurricane. I he fire engines were
quickly the ground, but unfortunately the chief
engineer and his assistant absent from the
city, which prevented operations being carried on
with celebrity aud vgor.
AS soon as the three houses above mentioned be-
came ignited i, was that it would be impOssi
bIe to master the fire. The devourng element
then followed this course. towards the west ii as
'cendrd Clay street nearly to Dupont street; to the
ard 1t traversed Sacramento as far as Cali
fornia street, crossed Kearny, and extending to-
wards tie south, along California street as far
Pine street. To the westward it ascended Pine
till it reached SanSome street; then nortlward it
took the direction of California street. and then
turning eastwardit consumed Battery street, which
forms the southern limit of the fire, with the
'crpton Of point at the northeastern extremity,
where it crossed Battery street, and destroyed
few houses on the very edge of The bay.
In another direction the fira descended Clay
street TO Henry street, following Henry street to-
wards tile north far as Jackson street, thence
aIoug Jackson to Montgomery; thea to the north
ward as far as Pacific street; then eastward TO
Broadway. whence it extended diagonaIy far
as Vallejo street, and, at last, crossed Battery
street towards the east 1t stopped al the shores of
the bay.
In this circuit of mile in length and half mile
in width scarcely fifteen Houses escaped There
were many houses of which the walls were left
standing, but Of which the coslents destroy.
ed Sdtne ceters aud safes retained their Contents
in state Of perfect preservation Nineteen
squares of houses destroyed. 1t is not easy
10 estimate the number of houses consumed, but it
amounrs t. al least five hundred The total loss
is supposed to be between t,0elce and taceRty mil
lions; fifteen MitttGns would be about Fair esti-
mate. The fire effected its work ef destruction
in ten houre, the last building being CONSUMED d,
9 o'clock on the morning OF the ath.
I he spectacle during the fire was frightfu.-
Thousands OF men, women and children, scarcely
clad, and seemingly in state of delirium, crowd
ed the streets. The city filled with people,
wandering about without asylum The horror
of the SCENE was Increased by The sight of the an
fortunate persous who, fr.m time to time were COM
PEELED 10 rush from The midst of the fames and,
precpitate themselves into the streets, were, at
last after vain efforts to escape, crushed by the
falling buildings, in full view of hundreds of spec
tdtoTS, unable TO Tehder ASSISTANCE L WO persons
were IN this manner burnt alive in the streets, and
SIX others p-rishtd IN the iron stores OF Messrs.
Toafe & McCaGL The number Of persons
known 10 have been killed is eight: twenty others
were oriess Severely wounded After the fire
two men were killed by the falling runs. All the
newspaper offices in San Francisco with the ex-
cepton Of that Of the Alta California, were corr
sumed' Two, The Herald and Pacific News, had
recommended publication, and the others were to
appear
Ten days after the fare from tsoo hundred and
,fftY TO three hundred houses were rebuilt The
energy Of the people Of San Francisco did not ap-
pcarlo be al AL depressed by this cruel blow THE
Alta California cailson the people TO take courage
and never despair. In truth, business seems tic be
scarcety srispendedn consequence OF the calamity.
The merchants, while awaiting the rebuilding of
Their stores, attended the sale of their gooCs in
other parts Of the city.
The hoase Of Rurgoyne & Co, after the FIRE,
found 81 500 900 safe in their iron chest.
The employers IN the cuslomhouse saved all the
tuHds that il coatained, amounting d million of
dollars, by throwing them into we'll.
Among the buildings d-streved were the Custom.
house, Union Hotel, Parker House. Ade!phia
Theatre, the Dramatic Museum, National Hotel,
New World Hotel, City Hotel, Demonico Hotel,
Merchants Exchange, the Ross Building, Amer-
can Hotel. Revere House, the Office Of the Steam
ship Company, etc
The hire AT Stockton, taking the relative size of
ehe place 'nio consideration. quite as disastrous
as that oil San Francisco. 1t took place on the
9lh oil May, and commenced in large and mag
nlhcent new building known as the Merchants
Ho,eI-
1t is supposed that it was the work of some
maiefactor, who wished to aid the escape of the
CRIMINALS in the prison which adjoins the Mer
chanis Hotel. The wind, however, carried the !
flames 'n a contrary direction. that the object
o. the incendares not achieved. All the
business houses on the Levee, except six. all Main
s'eelail Centre street, all the houses in Ell Dorado
street, except two, and all the buildings in Hunter
street, except three, fell prey to the devouring
element.
he list of sufferers by the dreadful fire in San