The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-10-14
GENERAL. SUMMARY.
The Destruction of the Crystal Palaoe-Loss o
MILF, N Dollars

The Destruction Of the CEstal Palaoe-Loss over
MILF, IN Dollars.
A little before five o'dock Tuesday evening,
it was discovered that he north nave of the
Crystal Palace was OH f,e, and. Immediately a
sheet of fame burst from the stairway leading
to the gallery. The dooropening on Forty-sec.
ond street was broken oen, when flames again
rushed out, mounting quickly to the dome, and
| and in five minutes tb g dtire north side of the
building was in famss. There were between
two and three theusanl prisons in the building
at the time of the fire.
The scene inside the building was one be.
yond description. Everywhere terror reigDed,
and confusion on all sideswas paramount. Ev-
| erybody was running to and fro, shrieking
aloud for mothers, sisters and acquaintance,
who had become lost in ue crowd. Many, in
the endeavor to get tut, we're crushed to the
earth. What with the erie of the women and
children, the despair of be exhibitors, who
were losing their little al by the destructive
element, the rushing Of themany friends of the
Institute, who we're endeavoing to save model,
a picture, or something ofvalue to the world,
as we'll as to their faends the horror of the
scene was terrific. Pc uble building, in a
half hour after the fist alam, was q mass of
ruins.
|
out, the dome fell wit. fri tful crash, bury.
ing everything in the tsntre 4 the Palace. The
! flames shot up in mas,ve sieets, as it touched
the ground, presenting.a moslmsgnihcent spec
tacle.
When the fire burst out otthe dome, the flag
was flying from the C. stral taff, which crown
ed the dome. The slliard, were burned in
an instant, but the Gag wa uninjured, and
scared away in clOYs of pishy black smoke
towards the east.
The Palace was v,.lued a 100000, upon
which there is an insul snce Oft l00, 900, in sew
eral city insurance cc4npaniel The value Of
| goods on exhibition is estimated at 100000
about $50 900 of whicJ is inared.
One of the heaviest losses was sustained by
Messrs. E. G. Hall, Lp 1ien A,er, and NJ Page,
who owned the celeb ated Panorama of the
Rhine, painted by Cha npney The panorama
covered 80, 900 feet Of canva, and was valued
at S2O,O 900 1t was totally datroyed, and there
was not a cent of insurance apen it. |
| Besides the works of art ent for temporary
exhibition, there was quantity of statusry,
| which has been 10 the building ever since the
opening of the Palace, some ,f which is owned
| in Italy and other countries q Europe. Among
these were, Thorwsldsen's g'oup of Christ and
the Apostles, Kiss equestrian statue of the
| Amazon stacked by Lion which was usually
surrounded by an admiring group Of visiters
an equestrian statue Of Washington, life size
by Baron Msrochetti; an imposing group and
colossal statue of Daniel Webster, in marble
by Caveu, of London Lion and Boa Constric
tor in death struggle colossal group OF man
struggling with bear.
In addition to these, were a large number o.
lifesize busts.
The group of the Lovers Going to a Well.
Althongh the loss in the aggregate is formi
dable, il is divided among great number o.
PERSONS
The late advices from Mexico are truly de
plorable. That countrf, long torn by civil war
is evidentlylon the verle of some terrible ma
tioual catatrophe.. A correspondent of the
New Orlean Pcdyunt writing from the CAPT
tai saws thai unless soi je change for the bette
should speedy take ptsce. the Republic mus
become o msss of ruins. The real condition o
affairs is thu summed ap:
The desoldion and tie abandonment of TWEEN
ty or thirty owns.
The bsnisSnent from their homes of at leas
900 pers4s.
The abandonment of aundreds of haciendas
The compile staging ion of all branches o
trade and indttry. &,
The insult pf many females by the rabbl
soldiery. - :
The useless Employment of $4,000 persons il
keeping up ci3l war, ald their consequent de
moralizstion.
The s. cr:6cd of $lOG 600. 900 in money, ami
mails, food, cloAing, greiu, &c, taken by forc'
for the maintenance of che civil war, and IN tn
property actuaIi destroyed in consequence
these feuds.
These are alsady the proceeds of sever
months strife, AMI stjll Che fires OF civil discor'
burn, and the inGcatioas are that the flame
are but in a ststA of infancy. The strugg
that has 80 long beln 8, stained on nominal %
litical principles is how rapidly changing init
q demoniac war of dat g, to carry with it th
enactment of those aart cities which character
ize the savage, and sst-eside all the rules O
civilized or half-civiliaA people.
There can be no msiake in saying that al
the worst passions OF the native Indians are nov
being worked upon, to ncite them to make
| relentless war upon, Il ose Who have becom
their masters, and cow lrted into fruitful field
their old hunting groui is. 4 have seen latel
several most iDhsmmat ry poclamations circu
lated amongst their pue Raa urging the natives
the rightful owners OF the soil" as they ar
pleased to call themselYks, to rise en- D'dsse an
extirpate from their lsfds their unprinciple
plunderers and heartlesti tsskmasters.
A citizen of Lswrenre writes us that he
quite confident gold is b ing found in the Sout
Platte valley to great sktent. The account
in the Western papers. are less encouraging
than they were. The Lawrence Republicd
states that several miners Just returned say tina
they found gold in all the streams, but rot II
sufficient quantities to prove profitable mimi,
with their present facilities. Georgia com
pany at Cherry creek was dong well. Severa
Missourians, who have recently returned 10 In
dependence, from Pixies Peak, report that nea,
ly all had abandoned the mines that gold
found in all that region, but in small quaint
ties and that the mine.s did not average owe
fifty cents per day.
"A letter to the Boston journal, from Lawrenc,
tsays:
"There is political movement of some in
portance going on in connection with thes
gold discoveries. 1t is the formation of ne
territory from the western portion of Kansas
The parties in the vicinity of Pixies Peak, it
said, will at an early day elect Delegate
Congress, and send him on to the next session
with petition for new Territorial oresnizi
ton. 1t is said that gentlemen from Kansa
City, who is to start with one OF the trains lea,
ing this week, will return as the embryoni
Congressman. The grounds upon which the
ask this action of Congress will be, that situate
as they are, FIVE hundred miles from the wei
settled portions of Kansas and its seat OF 60
eminent, it will be impossible for them to I'm
any protection from our Territorial authorities
and that, unless furnished with an organic alto
of their own, mob law must prevail, and the
must suffer from general anarchy. Seven hui