New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-09-09

The elder Mr.. Cain leaves wife and several chill
lrn ai Nincenftown Ms. Albor'son also resided
there Young Philip Cain is about ~ year Of age.
The Mount Vernon WINS built by company Of gen
te,n,n a, cost of sl2j 900 upon which there no.
ono cent 81 insurance. The building wasfrst occupied
in 1853 bu. Mcssrs. Cam & Foster did not become
the l. ss.- until the pas, The hotel cele-
bra,,d for It's immense size and for the superior accom-
mleiious the building afforded 10 guests The inte-
nor wa. well finished and the apartments were largr
and more comfortable than usual at watering place
hotels. 49,,
of accommodating 100 visitors il not finished At
the time If its destruction. l. was d,signod 10 have
the buildings occupy three sides OF hoh0" square OF
court yard and the front range and one wing wero up.
One wing had never been commenced. Ihc DuildhS
was constructed entirely Of wood II was four stories IN
hight in tie main with four towers each five stories
in hight Three of these towers occupied the corners
Of the building, and one stood midway ot The only wing.
In addition to these towers there was IN immense
tower six stories in hight i'm the center OF the front The
entire structure both outside and upon the courtyard
was surrounded with wooden plazzas that extended
fiom Tho ground To the roof. with hoos at each story
The wing was q quarter ot n muc m LeHg't, and tho
front covered ncaiy an equal sitent Of ground The
dinircroom. which 70 feet long and ~ feet IN
width, WIS capable of accommodating 3bN persons:
Tn re- were i}2 rooms in The build G. II was claimed
thai the Mount Vernon was III, l4rgest hotel n The
world.
In addition to the main building there stabins
foy ii ltv hnrs,s Cariago-hous,~ tcu-pin alleys. Sc.
cir,uu stance that the fire did not occur during the
bathing There no guests in The house at
the time, and Col Foster the surviving proprietor,
The Mount Vernon stood at considerable distance
from the other houses the Island or the destruction
ofpropcy would have been still greater had the fames
communicated to the more den,ely built portions OF
the town. Cape Island would probably have been laid
in ruins a. the hotels and other buildings all of the
most combustblc description and there is no fire aie
paraus in the place.
1lclo was a tank in the center tower of the wing Of
the Mount Vernon capable of holding twenty thousand
gallons of water. The water was forced into It by
mems of Il steam engine.
Tie furniture Of the hotel belonged to Mossrs. Cain
& Poster. II was valued at s!l0O, upon which there
was no insurance. The total pccunary loss by tho
coLfagration will not fall short OF Sl1oooo.
From The phiiadeipAia Bulletin OF M,4day
Since our regular cations on Saturday, we nave
learned some further particulars concerning the s-i
disaster at Cape Island, Friday night. The fire
seems to have been kndled under the first floor q, tho
extnmo corner between the front and the wing When
the building was erected the workmen, u get rid "i
the shavngs and other rubbish, packed them under
the first floor and between the floors and the ceilings I'D
the UPPER part of the building The flames, famed ny
fresh southwos; wind at was blowing at The time,
ran Ike wildfrc through the combustibe material del
sched and penetrated through the floors and ran up
through the starvays and towers with terrible rapdtY
I'm ten minutes from the time the tames were hrrt
seen The left in the center Of the front was IN
sheet of fame and in incredible short space of time
the vast structure. 10 it, EXTREMIST point was on hre
The chambers constructed upon each side OF cor
Iidorr that extended throughout the wing ana mont
building, farming wooden passages each J0Hrlh OF
mite in hDeh for the transmission of the flames In les
than two hours from the time the fire broke out the
entire building down. and by daylight no yesugc
was left of IT, except ironwOrk and the charrcd
wooden pileApon which the unfortunate hotel was Duit
Philip Cain ir the only one Of the family who hNed
to tell anything OF the sad calamity. stated that he
awokc by the roaring of the ilames; ana that he
Immediately ran 10 the occupied by his father.
He found tie latter sitting up in bed. lie young
Philip then rushed through the fire and smoke to get
out of tie building, and while 80 engaged he saw ms
sister Martha rush into the flames.
Philip succeeded in getting down stars ana gamer
the open air by of a stairway IN the tower on
the right hand corner of the front Inc poor fellow
was horribly burned and he was found 10y the hr't per
sols who came upon the ground, standing, upon the
bank of the creek that along in front Of the house
HE only vestgc of clothing lief, upon hun was the
neck band and wrist bands of his shrt.
Philip WINS taken 10 The Unitcd states Hotel where
he received every possible attention AT the hands OF
Mis-. Tompkins and Mr. Stockbridge, who remained by
lis bedside until death put end TO his suferngs on
Saturday afternoon.
On SATURDAY. morning the charred remains of ahumau
being were found upon the ground in front OF where the
building had stood and outside the line OF the piazza
Tie body in such condition that II was impossI
bic recognize it but il subsequently aseertained
hat il was the body of Anderson Cain This fact was
made evident from the circumstance that pocket
knife, broken pencil and some other articles lrecog,
nzod 10y Philip as belonging to hls brcther were iouna
jumped from the piazza 10 escape the flames, anu mat
he had been disabled by the fall and unable TO crawl
away. There were ashes found near the body, ana
is supposed that the latter roasted to cinder by
the intense heat of the burning hotel
The bodies Of Mrs. Albertson, Mr. Cain, sr, ana the
two dauahers of the latter, were completely burned
up. no trace whatever having been found OF them.
OF tile six persons who were in the building az inc
time of tho CONFEDERATION, all lost theiE lives. The
artments they occupied in the front range Of
in the secondstory, between the center tower OF
the font building, and the right hand corner.
The Mayor and Sheriff of Cape May were among
the first persons who reached tn. spot and they, with
other citizens broke open the lower part Of the house
for the purpose of striving to save some OF the fu-
ture. Their exertiOns were rewarded with but very
trhing results The furniture in the paror was valued
at 100 by the proprietors. The room was broken
OPEN but the fire had gained such Roadway that moth
ing could be saved from the apartment.
Tie bridge across the creek in front of the house
took fire soon after the flames first broke cut. IT, az
well Of the fences upon the opposite side,
DESTROYED The wind blowing from the west
southwest al the time of the cOnfagration, and the
blazing flakes were waited away from the town. Had
the wind blown from the Northwest Cape Island must
inevitably have been laid in a. hes.
The following are the names and ages of the vic
tins:
Philip Cain. associa.ed with Frank T. Foster az
proprietor of the hotel aged 65 years
Anderson Cain bnr-k keeper, aged 2oyears ,,o
Philip Cain jr assistant storc-room-keeper, aged ~
Martha Cain assistant in inen-roOm, aged l6.
Sarah CAIN aged IL.
Mrs Anna Albertson formerly housekeepcr at the
hotel, aged IS years.
Several arrests have been made in connection with
this shocking affair There is scarcely doubt that
the hotel was set on fire. and active exertons have
been made TO ferret out the guilty party. IL
that IIish woman who had formerly been engaged
in the family domestic, and who has remained