Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1873-01-03
Burning Of Barnum's Museum.



MENACERIE.
Barnum's Museum took fire Tuesday
morning about half-past three o'clock, and
in a short time was reduced to a mass Of
blazing ruins. Its burning caused the
greatest CONSERVATION in the immediate
neighborhood, which was caused, 10 a great
extent by the high wind and the fear that
the fire would stretch across the street and
seize the Academy Of Music. Shortly
after four clock the watchman discovered
the flames in the boiler-room among the ap
paratus for heating the building. He first
saw the smoke issuing from trap-door,
and, ignorant of the mischief, attempted to
extingush the fire alone This he was una
bic to do, and after sounding an alarm he
endeayored to set some of the more valuable
and harmless animals in the menagerio at
liberty lie broke open the cage of the
giraffes. animals for which Mr. Barnum has
paid many thousand dollars but the poor
creatures were too terrified To make any at
t3mpt to escape. and were speedily sutiocated
in the dense smoke. The performing elephant,
Jeanette, and the little one, Gypsey,
We're sagaciouS enough TO avail them
selves of the opportunity afforded them and
were both rescued \ large elephant. re-
Gently imported. refused to stir and perish
ed in the flames Two camels We're also
rescued, although with the greatest Difficult
ty. very short time had elapsed since
the discovery of the fire, but the circus
building burned like tinder and 1t was I'M
possible to remain in it. The fire depart
ment attended with its usual promptitude
and worked zealously and well, but the
flames had obtained too powerful mastery.
The cold was intense, the thermometer
standing four degrees above zero, while
biting wind swept through Fourteenth
street almost freezing the hremen notwlth-
standing the heat Of the flames. 1t was
soon apparent that the adjoining buildings
We're in great danger, including the Acad-
emy Of Music, and a second alarm was
given. Fresh engines soon arrived on the
scene, but the fire continued 10 spread and
! the destruction Of the entire block was i'm
minent At this moment the din was ap-
| palhng The ruars of the lions, tigers ana
/ panthers as they writhed in agony, mingled
/ with the death shricks of other wild AM
/ mails. while above all were heard the trump
/ etingS of the unfortunate elephant As the
/ flames approached him he roared 50 terribly
u
/ an explosion The helpless animal tossed
/ his trunk around trantically. He got
upon his knees and rubbed his massive
/ head against the earth. At last, however,
/ the flames enveloped him, and with tre-
mendou, howl he fell over and expired.
! The two AhvsS inian lions and the pair OF
| Bengal tigers dashed their tails against their
/ cages wherein they were locked, and roar
| ed and howled in the most terrible manner.
/ They -prang against the bars, shot like
massive bolts at the sides Of their cells and
made the most desperate struggle to escape,
/ but in vain They persisted in the flames
The peculiar construction of the building
/ precuded the possibility of any OF these
/ animals making their escape even II they
/ had been able to force themselves from their
| cages 1t is perhaps fortunate in one sense
| that this was the case. In the meantime
| the flames ragged with redoubled violence
/ The galvanized IRON which covered the
/ building rolled up in shriyelled scrolls and
tongues of fire leaped up to the sky. The
/ iiremen. clad in ice, yalnly labored mantuly
! but to little purpose. The flames, notWlth-
standing their endeayors, caught the great
four-story brick building. No. ia East
/ Fourteenth street, occupied by 1. GrOte
worker in IVORY. and in a wonderfully short
space of time completely gutted It, Amos
simultaneously Grace Chapel was enyelopec
in flames, which in a few moments
poured in great volumes from the
roof. windows and doors Nor did the
mischief end here. ABIDING the
church Is the house Of Mrs. Lawrence
| mother of \. r. Lawrence the recent can
didate for the mayoralty. The most strenu-
Gus efforts were made to save this building
but in vain. The f-,e seemed to be gaining
strength every minute, and It looked as Il
/ the whole block wa doomed, At the SAINT
time the flames spread rapidly toward
/ Thirteenth street, nd an additional iorc'
! of engines were sent for to combat witt
them in this direction. At last the tremeI
We're able to hold their ground and thu
! chief and his assistants could breathe mori
freely Inch BY inch they contested the ad
nance of the flames, and gradually succeed
ed in driving them back toward the spo
where they had or ginated, but the work o
ruin was complete The circus had disap
peared completely 1t is almost Imposslbl
10 believe that building of such preten
sions had ever existed The woodwork wa
entirely consumed There was scarcely ever
ashes remaining. The ruin on either side |
| scarcely less terrible. Of Grace Chapel
now called the Protestant Free Church, bu
little remains The north and south wall
will stand, but those on the east and ives
sides fell in with the roof and the interio
is nothing but a smok ing heap Of charre
timbers The house o. the Lawrences stu
stands. but it is expected that the wall
must be pulled down. rhe walls OF Grote
factory were 80 undermined that the iiremei
were compelled to pull them down beior
they could with safety approach the plac
where the last traces of the fire shoulders
rnr r,cSre