The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1871-02-15
The Washington Carnival,

National Capital on the goth and 21st inst.
lash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, fall
ing on the 22d,) and the arrangements for
the celebration are being pushed forward
with energy. People from all parts of the
country are already gathering at Washington
and the city will be crowded to repletion, if
the weather should be favorable. Pennsylva-
mia Avenue, from the Capitol gate to Fiji
tenth street, will from early morning TO
midnight OF each day be closed to all car
riages and under the complete control of the
carnival committee. Across the avenue, at
Sixth street, the grand arch with its triumphal
columns is already erected. On the days of
the fete it will be festooned with colors and
ornamented in a handsome manner, and at
night will be so covered with lanterns and
transparencies as to form striking and mag
nificent feature, as seen from either direction.
At the foot of the Capitol, across the gate
ways, an archway for the legislators will be
erected and handsomely decorated and fes-
TONED, and a third (executive) archway will
DO thrown across in the same manner at FIT
tenth street.
At the cross streets and on the house tops,
house fronts, and from the windows and door
ways, will be displayed every conceivable de-
vice and decoration. Each night ten thousand
Chinese lanterns and pyramids will blaze
along the avenue. The lampposts will each
have seven additional burners attached. Cal
cium lights of the most brilliant hues and
elevated firelights of novel structure are also
among the features. The dazzling electric
light produced under the auspices of Professor
Gardner, will be shown from the dome of the
Capitol. Prof. Gardner will light the avenue
to Fifteenth street with a dazzling brightness,
30 that at.times pin can be taken from the
pavement. This will be done each night. To
add to this, each and every house will be illu-
minated in every conceivable kind of style.
On Monday grand military parade will
take place, of regiments from New York, Phil
adelphia and Baltimore, U. S. troops at Wash
ipgton, troops from surrounding counties, and
marines. The troops vii. be reviewed by the
President and Gen. Sherman. Then the civic
display will fill the avenue, in which clubs, So
cieties, associations, fremen, &c, will partic-
pale, to be followed by running and trotting
matches, goat race, the grand illumination
and ball at the Art Gallery and supper to
the guests of the city. 5,i
Tuesday, the grand foot races, scrub races,
trots, and the masquerade procession, the
grandest feature OF all. This procession will
rumber over three thousand persons formed
into all kinds of clubs and parties, exhibiting
oonnoivohlo Of ,p lin owl
far excelling anything of the kind ever before
attempted in this country. At night the graCd
civic ball at the Masonic Hall and the grand
masquerade ball at Carusi's Saloon. Then
the masquerade at Odd Fellows Hall, and one
at Marni's Hall, all of which will doubtless
be crowded to repletion. Sci
Each night there will be displays of fire
works from various points of the avenue, in
CHI lrge of some of the most competent pyro-
technlsts in the country. The departments
are all to be closed and the whole city is to
unite in the festivities of these gala days, and
the displays will no doubt be most magniti-
cent, while degree of license will necessarily
follow that will make Washington as close an
imitator as we can have on this continent OF
Rome at the Carnival time
CoRREsPoNDENT of the N. Y. Tribune
tells in brief the whole story of the cause of
the New Hamburg railroad disaster, and his
storyi is backed, if the New York reporters are
to be believed, by of the locality, as well as by
some OF the evidence taken in ADMINISTRATION.
eighty rods south of the New Hamburg sta
tion,' says this correspondent, "the railroad
track crossed drawbridge the one on
which the accident happened, and which was
entirely consumed. At this drawbridge, as 1
am informed, there has been Waterman on
duty day and night, winter and summer, since
the railroad Was opened, twenty-one years ago,
until within the last two months. When nav
igation closed in the beginning of the present
winter, the two men who hal been watching
the drawbridge, relieving each other day and
night, were taken away from the bridge, and,
by order of the local superintendent of the
road, stationed at water tank, situated sew.
enty rods south of the drawbridee, to tend
the tank, to supply locomotives with water
from the same, and to flag the train from that
point instead of from the drawbridge. But
| the men who relieved each other every twelve
hours. were likewise ordered to see that all
was right about the bridge, and to light the
| signal on the top Of the bridge-tower at night
| fall. Thus the safety signal was kept burn
| ing while the man who had it in charge was
stationed nearly quarter of a mile off, at
the water tank! On the fatal evening the
the safety signal lamp at the bridge was burn
| ing as usual" The fireman in his evidence
| said: "After we leave Hamburg the engineer
usually looks toward Low Point to see how
the draw signal is; that night we saw from
Low Point the signal of white light, which
meant All right"
FIRE IN NORRIDGEwoCK. = Our cores.
pondent WIRES that the large two-story build
ing in Norridgewock village, owned by Geo.
Sawtelle, and occupied tor postoffice and store,
was consumed by fire about midnight of
Monday. Mr.. FredrG. Danforth had his en-
tire stock of goods destroyed-loss 1000;
partly insured; small insurance on the build
ing. The Post office sustained some loss.
The night was calm, otherwise there would
have been great destruction of property.
The TENNEssEE.-An Havana despatch of
Tuesday says that no tidings whatever of the
Tennessee have been received at that place or
at Santiago de Cuba. Capt. Drummond, of
the W. E. Anderson, gives the following addi-
tional particulars in regard to the reported
sighting of the Tennessee
Il saw this vessel about eleven o'clock on
the night of Jan 18th. 1t was the 10Th by
nautical time and the 18th by land time. First
saw her masthead lights; do not know that
she was bark rugged vessel; Her mizzen top
sails were fured aud could not determine the
vessel. She was acting very strangely aud it
was all we could do to keep out of her way,-
She was steering directly south. She crossed
our bows within five hundred feet of u.s. Tais
was ABOUT a hundred miles from Cape Halter
as. There was perfect gale blowing The
Anderson shipped great deal of water all
that night. and labored very heavily feel
confident that it was the Tennessee we saw
| 1t she weathered the storm all right she
would certainly have put in at Jamaica in four
days and reported from that place.
Both Capt Drummopd and his first mate
are positive that it was the Tennessee they saw
as she would have been just at that place on
the 18th Of January, land time. Capt. Drum
moud would have reporteo it before but he
did not know that the Tennessee had not been
heard from
Capt Hopkins of barque Mary Baker, which
arrived at Boston Tuesday. from Mragoane,
Hayti, reports Jan. 18th eff st. Nicolas Mole
north west OF hayti, he saw an American man.
Ut war When first seen she was under steam
alone, but she Immediately made sail and steered
for the east enc OF Cuba under both steam and
sail. The steamer was very long lad full ship
rugged. The weather was fine at the time.-
From the description OF the steamer it was
supposed she might have been the Tennessee,
but as her course would have been in the oppo
site direction it is concluded that the vessel
seen was some other American man. of-war
cruising in that quarter.
Mr.. Henry G. Lea of Philadelphia the pub