Litchfield enquirer., 1856-09-18
Fhe IL Cape dlay.

tsneof the ioss Of he liss of Mr. ain one n os the rofrictoFs and nearly lis entire fanii,y The 6re occurred on Friday night about n 6. cic<k The cool weather had depo,mlated the hotel of is summer hoarslers, and oiilY the fam fly Of Mr. Cain, consisting of himself. two sons two daughters, and house keeper, remained in the building They slept on the second floor. and the fire breaking out in the lower story. tEeir egress from the building gas cut of ex- scept by jumping from the windows. The haild- piles driven into the sand. Upon the ground beneath the first floor the shavings and strips which had accumulated while building had been left. The fire it is believed, originated among these shayings, near the centre, and 1t took but short time to spread over such iniamma- bic materials as composed the building.
 The flames darted along the building from wall, through the long saloon orer four hund- red feet long. and up the high towers. till it presented one vast sheet of fire. that ilIumina- ted the surrounding space for miles. There being no efficient means at hand to check such calamity, the only thing left for the residents at Cape Island was to attempt the removal of the furniture, which as far as spossiblc was done ]. The wind bhw blazing embers and light shingles to great distancc; but Fortunately no other house on the Island was injured. By one o'clock the building and had been entirely consumed, with nearly al! its contents. Mir. Philip Cain, Sen, his sons Andrew and Philip, one 20 the other IS years of age, his two daughters, Martha, aged r., and Sarah aged B, with Miss Alberton, t!ic housckeeper aged 5, were the only occupants at the time of tlIe disaster. These were all consumed in the fanns. The charrcd remains of the elder Mir. Cain were found after the fire outside tise line of the piazza, and it is supposed that he learcd from the balcony, but was so badly in jurcd as to bcunablc to escape the aames, and peris!,cd where he fell. Mr. Philip Cain, Jun, leapcd also from the balcony, but was so bad ly injured hy the flames which he had to pass through, that he died, oil Saturday afternoon, of his injuries. The other son, two daughters and housekeeper perished without any attempt at escape, as far as known by the spectators. = The remaining survivors of the family are Mrs. Cain and several children, residing ut vnten- town. Mrs. Albertson, the housekeeper, came from the same place. - -r
 l The origin of the fire is q mystery as yet It is charged that it was the work of design A white domestic woman in the family whose wages had not been paid is said to have made threats of mischief, und she has since been ar rested, and hearing will be had. Some at tribute it to other causes, and many to acci- dent. The building had been commenced by a company, which proved insovcnt and the ho- tel was sold to 'satisfy tho debts. It finally vested ill the names of the following gentlemen, who were among the heavy creditors of the company George E. Sloat, Richard Shield, and A. G. Cattei, of this city, and Cyrus Rex, of New Yoik s sA
 The furniture in the building was worth from S20, 900 to 30,000, making an aggregate pre- mum less of about $l00,000. Tue grente, part of this heavy amount is covered by iiisu- rance. Tue mortgage holders of the hotel, we arc informed, are insured to the amount of be- tween S0,00D and $90, 900. The Farmers and Mechanics Insurance Company, this city, had an insurance Of $l0,000 on the building and furniture, which exp;rcd m the 26th of August. Application was made for renewal, but the company declined to renew their risk on the property. ssass a* ss &
 The following description of the building will afford an idea of its size, and the extend of the calamity. The Mount Vernon, even in its un- Finished condition, is believed to have beeu the
 largest hotel in the world. It was valued at $70,0G0, although it probably cost over $i00,- 900. The building was first occupied in 1853 ; but Messrs. Cain and Foster did not become the lessees until the past season. The iaterior was we'll finished, aud the apartments were larger aud more comfortable than usual at Wa. teringplacc hotels The structure at tho time it was destroyed, was capable of accommoda- ting ?, 100 visitors. It was originally designed to have the buildings occupy three sides of a hollow square or court yari, and tho front range ned one wing were up. One wing had never been commenced The building was construct. cd entirely of wood it was four stories in height in tho main, with towers, each five sto- ries in height. Three of these towers occupied the corners of the building, and onc stood mid. way of the only wing.
 ln addition 10 these towers there was an immense tower six stories in height, in the centre of the front The entire structure, both outside aud upon the court yard was surround. cd with wooden piuzzas that extended from Inc ground to the roos. with floors at eacl, sto. Y. The wing was a sqaafter of a mile iu length and the front covered nearly an equal extent oi ground. The dining room, which was 4a5 feet long and 60 feet in width, was capable of hold. ing 5000 people. There were 432 rooms in the building In addition to the main buldin. there was stabling for fifty horses carriage houses, tcn-pin alleys &c., 6c. AZ @a
 Ttcre was tank i'll the centre tower of the wing of the Mount Vernon. capable of holding 20, 900 gallons of water The water was forced intoit bymeans of a steam engine. Col Foster at. neA fyssxx, s. 4