Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-03-08
THE FIRE KING.

81 AAAaI4 4aseAA u AlttaAaUAs MaaHFUEn
sceBes ANA incidents OF the FIre.
The following account Of the great fr
at Barnpm's Museum, New York, Is con
denssd from the New York papers Of IN
/ 30 instant: @
At1230 o'clock Broadway was starile,
by the cry Of "fre p and flames we're seer
Issuing from the south window on the thirC
hoor Of No. 529 Broadway. Instantly thi
shnni was raised, "Bsrnnm's Museum Is OF
ireI' The Ere was burning on the thirl
door, and the interior only was dimly light
Z ed by the flames. The escape Of smoke va
slight, leaving the impression that lher,
was very little OF il, or that it was crowd
ing down into the loRer stories. Tho
latter hypothesis was, doubtless, correct. as
/ IN few minutes a horrible chorus came
from the frat door, on which the lions
/ Tigers, hyenas, leopards eafneis and ze
! bras wese known TO be located. A shudder
ran through the sdim crowd in the streets
as these sounds swelled and swelIed. until
they mingled in a roar that seemed az
| though each Of the beasts were abont IA
burst the bars Of his cage and leap into the
streets. In few minutes the roars died
away, and only few muttered growls and
whines were audible. They had either
been sufocated or dazed and frightened
into stupOr.
At l2:45 o'clock one stream of water
would have saved the entire building. but
that one stream was not at hand. a few
minutes before the fire was discovered, an
alarm had been sounded for the corner OF
Spring and Renwick streets, and the en-
gines Of the district were proceeding TO
that spot when the bell struck for Bar
NUNS Museum. 1t was some minutes
before they coGld be turned from that TO
the new call, and when they were the streets
were so filled with snow that the borses
| could proceed but at q moderate pace. and
they were frequently stalled into immobiI-
Iiy. Thus 1t happened that it was after
o'clock before an engine was brought TO
bear on the burning pile. At that hour
the Dames had begun 10 make great head
way. They had extended into the ad-
Joining building, No. al Broadway. occu-
pied in common with No. 539 as the mu-
seum, and they had reached the second
loOr, aud were breaking out in The rear
portion OF The structure on Mercer street
by ihls time At became certain that some
Of the animals and birds were still alive
and policemen aud employees of the
museum, who were still on the ground
yentured TO their rescue. At the Broad
way entrance, few minutes after O'clock
leopard, kangaroo, two pelicans and a
silver pheasant were brought out. and
housed in the cellsrof Taylof's restaurant.
Al the Mercer street stage entrance. a ei-
rstie, zebra, two camels, several Jananese
hogs, a camel leopard, and varions snoall
birds were saved. The giraffe tumbled
down near the doorway, and thus blocked
np the egress. Finally a rope was put
around has neck aud leg, and It was raised
up, but refused TO move. The hind part
OF the poor animal commenced 70 burn.
More men got hold of the rope and it
was pulled into the street. in the struggle
giving officer Hudson, of the eighth pre-
cinot, a severe kick in the face. and oausinp
thus tho only casualty Of which we heard.
ln addition 70 the live animals, a quantity
OF small articles, such as pictures aud
stuticd bifd5, a tuged horse and a valuable
electrical apparatus, were saved. Ever7
human being in the buildinig 80 far "a il
known, escaped
number oi policemen from the eighth
and fourteenth precincts, aided by citizen
Volunteers forced open the doors of The
building on Broadway, and rushed into the
place to arouse the inmates and save them
from destruction. In A few moments a
stalwart man was seen stalking from the
building With an Albino infant under each
arm. lie WIS soon followed by a proces-
sion OF four, carrying out of the burning
building the fat boy. Then came the fst
woman and Miss Swan, the giantess sup
ported by three men. On reaching the
sidewalk Miss Swan fell, and measured her
tull length on the sidewalk,
The flames still swelled in volume and
intensity, and AT 1870 o'clock they eEyel-
oped the entire upper stories of Nos. 539
aud 549, from Broadway 10 Mercer street
lhe theater occupying the rear portion of
The building Was 50 much tiRder 20 the
conhagratiOn aud threw masses of flaming
cinders into the surrounding streets like
lava from a volcano. sSuch of tbese Gin
ders az fell on the adjoining roofs met a
speedy extinction in the deap snow. or the
destruction might have been more wide
apread even than il IT, The adjoining
house, No. a31, was, however, soon drawn
INTO The vortex and doomed 10 destruction.
While the flames were at the hight, a
tongue ot fire leaped down into The first
story. Then Il was found that the beasts
ENGAGED iherr had been dormant only.
Lions, tigers, bears, and le0pards, instantly
at The sight OF the flames burst at once into
demonisc roar. One full-grown tiger
hursI his prison bars, and with a lear
through The window reached the street.
The crowd rushed away; while the
beast looked around him in stupid wonder
an instant, and then started down Broad
way. A stream of water turned on him
brought him TO BAY, and a policeman
stepped np, aud with three shots dispatched
h'm. Inside the huilding another tiger had
inmbled hls cage over 10 the floor, and was
rolling II over and over in agony. At2l0
the fire was under control.
The night was one of the most severe of
theseasun; the hydrants were surrounded by
snow and Ice the hose froze, and the water
troze upon the clothing Of iremen. who in
many cases stood in water nobIy perform
ing their duty until their limbs became
numb with exposure. Insurance men say
thai The museum WAS Of such combustible
material that they expected that when il
was burned the Prescott House and ST.
sNiehoias Hotel would also be destroyed.
lt was fortunate that the heavy snow on
the adjoining roof projected 80 many
huddings. Tbs iremen Were working on
the ruins this forenoon, several steamers
continuing on duty. Heavy streams Of
water were thrown on the front Of the
building, which is sIill standing. The
whole front presented a splendid appear
ance, the water having frozen on every
projection, forming beautiful stalaetiles,
which glistened and shone in the sun until
they dazzled the eye. A long ladder which
had been placed against the building was a
complete network Of iciclea The front
wall and a part Of the rear wall are all
that remain Standing
l. r-1r-a-.-----7-ss---u-
HIGHWAY ROBBERY. Mr.. James Cone