Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1853-12-16
Destructive Conflagra.iOn!
EaEpers' Establishment In Ruins.
SIrteea Bn2liags Consumed.

HaE2ers' establishment IN Ruins.
.Sirteea BuRliags Consumed
The most alarming fire that has visited
New York City since the terrific confla.
; grafton cf SIS, occurred on Saturday afer.
,, noon, in Cliff and Pearl streets, and Frank
lin square, and within few hours the
immense Book Publishing House of Messrs
} Harper & Brothers, together with other
buildings, were mass Of smouldering
ruins. Within the same time about two
thousand artisans and workmen, engaged
in comfortable occupations, were robbed
Of employment and thrown idle upon the
world. In all the conHaerations that We
have witnessed-and their name is legion
we have never seen anything to equal
this in grandeur.
AT O'clock in the afternoon the City
Hall and other bells throughout the City
rang forth an alarm for the Seventh Dis
:rict, and in few moments thereafter a
dense smoke might have been seen rising
up from the eastern section Of the City ar-
parently near the river, between Beekman
and Fraukfor: streets. With the the first
round Of the Hall bell the firemen were on
the alert, and the various companies, with
their apparatus, appeared in every street
in the lower part Of the City, moving
rapidly toward the scene Of the confagra-
ton, in the extensive publication establish
ment Of Harper & Brothers, located in
Cliff and Pearl streets, near Ferry St
1t seems that a plumber who was at
work in the lower part of the building,
arranging some water pipes, lighted piece
of paper for the purpose Of lighting his CT
gar or pipe, which having done, he care
| lessly threw the burning paper into YES
sci containing camphenc, the man suppos- |
ing it was water. In an instant the liquid |
was in a blaze; the flames communicated
to a thin partition, burning through into
small apartment where was kept consid,
erable quantity Of eamphcne, for the pur-
pose Of cleaning the rollers of the printing
presses. The fluid in this room was in
simultaneously in blaze end the flames
were carried by strong draught through
walters, into every story of A. -.
The flames burst through the partitions
with great fury, and swept in all directions
OF the rooms, from building to building,
until five Of them were entirely envelcped
in flames The spread Of fire thus started
in an establishment filled with such COM :
busiiblc material, as not only bound but
unbouni books in immense quantities in
the drying-rooms and binderies, may be
better immagined than described. There
was large number Of employees engaged
in the establishment, including about four
hundred females employed in the extensive
&c. The panic among the latter
class was terrible, and the escape of many
Of them from the pri.on-hcusc of fame,
would, without aid have been impossible. ,
When the flames first made their appear ,
ance the scenes were Of the most thrilling 4:
character. Some six hundred human be
ings were in the establishment, scattered ,
through the different floors, crying and
screaming for assistance to save them from
perishing in the fiery element that nearly
surrounded them on all sides. Young
girls between the ages Of twelve and nine.
teen years rushed to the windows of the
second, third, fourth and fifth stories of all
the buildings on both streets, imploring
aid. The panic was terrific, and strange
to say, not a single life was lost By the
disastrous occurrence.
The first and most important work done
was the rescuing Of the male and female
operatives by the Hook and Ladder Com
panics, assisted BY their brother fremen,
Police AMI citizens.
The long ladders were quickly hoisted
10 the windows on both streets, and by
careful and judicious management the vast
number were carefully landed in the street
within the short space of 90 minutes from
the time the alarm was first sounded by
the Hall bell. Several of the girls were
very nervous, and while descending the
ladder with fremen and others, two or
three Of them tainted, but we're speedily
resuscitated at drug store in the immedi-
ate vicinity.
Ia little more than an hour after the
alarm was given: .hc spectacle was awfully
grand. by this time the flames had swept
through from Cliff to Pearl street, scarce
anything remaining Of this immense pub
fishing house but the bare walls; within
these the flames were furiously raging,
having the appearance of a great lake of
fire. Adjoining the Harpcrs' establish.
ment on the south side of Pearl street was
the large six story buildings, Nos. 32l and
s23, occupied by Messrs. Geo. T. Coolidge
Il BROTHERS cytonSiro ecb,oJ Lo.L Ill.