Litchfield enquirer., 1864-02-11
DISASTROUS FIRE IN HARTFORD.
THE COLT PISTOL FACTORY DESTROYED.

l we extract from the Hartford papers the iolio"lng particulars of the destructi ssof the Coit pistol factory in that city Friday morn- ing. It is believed that the fir. wa. ... h., an incendiary .-. ,o.-.
 At aoout o'clock, this (Friday) morning, nsS was alscovered in the attic of the cen. ter wing 'l ooits Armory, which quickly spread to other parts of the build;no snd ; a short time the fire was teyouu bnwan anu !n lrol. The floors were. full of oil and bn,nas hke finder. neo Col Colt never had the Factory insu-.d while ss was living. He preferred to d.vo,. that expense to system of night and dav W6tchnen.
 It Is the most disastrous fire thst ever ,ool place in tue State, and 16GO of working men with depsudsat families, will bs thrown out of employ ment.
 So quickly did the flames spread that in less than six minutes according to the testi- mony of all who saw it-the fire had run al most through to the old or main Armory th. wood work burning as if soaked with cam phehe. The walls were of solid stone ma.on- ry' and the lofty windows protected by mass i've Iron bars, bet the feers aGa psobiperr were soaked with oil, and the flames pprend With amazing qsicknsss all through the Pis- tol Factory.
 The southcrly wind. and tn. solidity of tn. wall between the center wing and ihs New Factory (rhere the Revolving Kiaes are sads) saved this latter structure.
 So flerceiy did the flames come on, that hun. dreds of the wsrkmen on the second story had barely time 10 escape with their lives Some seized their tools, and others seized eases of machinery and attempted 10 carry them out, but in many eases they had to drop them, and the windows.
 There are reports of the loss of the live. ef three Torkmen killed by the falling floor over over thelr heads as they were endsayorino to get machinery out of the second story.
 Extending from the framed connection b.. tween ths Business Ofsce and the Pistol Fac tory taers was sea of fire to the extrem. southern end of the Armery Ths roar oS ,b. l flames mingled with the shout, of the Sram.n 1 and the crashing of falling timbers, and tbn noise was varied by the heavier reports of tbs 1 sumbhng, massive stone walls The rasin walls of the Factory began ts inn l ols in various places as early as 2 o'alsok
 Huge masses Of flaming ti@ssr were seen ia l fall every minute, aSd the roar and iin. eom. oined wita shs ssrsinS pillows of Sro and tho intense heat. were enough to appsll tho stout. es, heart. No effort was made to pet st tb. spot where the bodies of the burned men v.rs reported to lie, for it would have beenipstant- 1 ly fatal to attempt it.
 | We have hover known fire to spread 90 rapidly: 10 was almost like the burnipv of n train of pine soaked ia eanphsne.
 Mrs. Colt stood upon the Dyke and witness- ed the flames as they swept away that vast | bal!ding, With the most valuable machinery in the world.
 There was m insurance of $15O, 900 on the Factory asd conteats.
 l The loss IS ssriously estimated at from one to two million of dollars. It will take two years to replace the valuable machinery dss- | troyed, and the loss Ca that account cannot well be calculated.
 l The new building, in which the company was engaged iH filling contract with the doTernmrnt for 50,000 rifles, was saved, and that work will go on. The buildings destroy cd were the pistol shops, and the work vas principally for the regular trade. | Tho fire will be sad blow to Hartford de- | priving, as it will, thousand men of employ ment.
 Nothing is certainly known of the origin of, the fire bAt we do not doubt it was kindled by an iRceRdary. It tSok in the attic, in a place where there is no frs -nevsr hss been any cnton waste, or sny thing to generate a hre-s:ored with patterns and quantity of nice wood. lArGs heit ran into the attic bus tne fire coult 10: hase eri S!uatad from any fri"sioo, as t. 2 jonra.ls a.s al Iss,atal, and it occurred only an hour after work a,arted-- before they could besome heated. Tue via. lows sf tho long attic eaen aud the. drHl* through "t onse spread tne fire from end to esd, and with tke >peed ofa race horse It was just i!Ie placs to kina!e fire, but where one could not have kinulsI itself Ths Factory has lad in it's employ disloyal men, opoa rebel sym7H.hi.ers. We believe that suea Taaa, if not rebel sent to the Asmesy for tAa purpose. hk eiaissary of JeK Dapis, t.i't sbis t:esa. The buraioS of boats on t:ss taississirpi, acknowledged to be by jeff agents the repeated firing of Govern s.sat vesssls in process ofcanstruction in Bos-. ton, and other we'll known cases yef incendiAr- iaIu, leave no room sor doubt tfat the rebels nave their spies aud burnsrs all over the North.