Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1868-01-02

During the terrific storm Of Saturday
week a portion Of tho Capitol building at
Indianapolis fell, and had the House Of
Representatives been in session, there must
have been great loss OF life. The entire
dome Of 1.-The structure . was preclpitated to
tho earth. The Indianapolis journal, in con-
sidcration Of the fact that no lives were lost
and that new building will 10 now the
moro speedily secured, seems to rejoice at
the calamity. 1t says:
The rafters seem to have bent with sge,
or else wrenched on, of place by the vi
brations Of the building, aud the whole
ceiling. with its heavy coats Of plaster and
stucco word, was precipitatcd to the floor.
breaking up tho desks and chairs Of the
mcmbevs III tho most delightful and en-
chanting confusion, running n hnc three ply
carpet put upon the floor lass session, and
completely destroying the inside Of the
chamber Tor any earthly use. except as a
| mAusvleum. The heavy arch thrown over
the Speakers chair swung of its pillars,
and striking one OF them carried it with il
in it's fall. A large piece of stueco work
struck the bronze American eagle which
perched upon the clock. inspired the dra-
matio Durham in bis airy flights of maud
lin .poesy, and with u fallen crest Ia now
lying in position any thing but satisiac-
tory 10 an Ardent American, who sees in it
the embodiment Of his great country the
old clock which has toied in and out SO
many sessions of our Legislature, is wreck
cd beyond recovery. The chair in which
the various Speakers have sat and went to
sleep, while enthusiastic members yelled
ioS recognition, is . mass Of shapeless kim
ding wood. The wreck 10 complete, and
We. have no time GA patience to specify IL.
The damage, considering the probability Of
. repair, would amount to ten thousand
dollars 1t least. In che light Of . new State
House, it must be viewed 40 public bcne-
faction, and the results counted on the
other ride Of the ledger BY at least enc hun.
dred thousand dollars. During the day, no
sacsileg iouslhsnd. will b. permitted 70 q.
tempt the evacuation Of order, and all who
desire to see the wreck will bs given full
permission. A force Of hands we're busy
yesterday sndeavoring 70 stop the asw Of
gas, - in the tumble the service pipes were
wrsnched apart as easily Is the withes
wuSu oouuu sampson were snapped Oy
| that athletic character.
Various reasons have been assigned FOR
the accident, none Of ~hich can, Of course,
BE- relied upon. The n,est probable one ID
that owing 10 the peculiar construction Q!
the ceiling the various alcoves had become
buSdened with the dramatic efforts O. our
old friends kixer. and after having KEEP,
them SO long to themselves, constuded q
let the world enjoy the tereht Of the
echoes. A petition will DO in circulation
today looking toward condemnation Of
the enti:e building, and it is probable that
il will not be occupied by human being,
again. Had the House OF Representatives
been in session, no human power could
have presented a most serious and fatal &C
cident Whatever dyspep,ics may claim
could be the possible public good OF such a
calamity, the general feeling must be one
Of relief that the fall happened during . re-
cess Of that body. |, would be an excellen,
time for the Common Council "a pass :
series Of resolutions rogrs,t,uv tho o,cu
renee, and rendering tbs State sAe temnor.
cry use Of the west market house, In ea,s