The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1876-04-05
a Sad Case.


Many of our citizens will remember the
venerable Hon. Walton 8. Harris state SEN
ator in Alabama, who spent portion of
the last summer here at the residence of
Mrs Pierce. The intelligence comes
to us in the Columbus Georgia daily Times,
Of the destruction of Senator Harris fami-
ly mansion at Girard Alabama, on tho Goth
inst. His many friends here, and through
out the country, for he is widely known,
will learn with greet regret of the sad
calamity that has oyertaken Lis old age
depriving him of his magnificent mansion.
The Columbus daily Times of March Goth,
received from Narcellus A. Pierce by Mr.
n. s. Stearns, thus describes the scene:
About one o'clock Yesterday smoke was
observed Issuing through the roof of the
house of Hon. Walton b. Harris, in
Grard, Ala. The people of the vicinity
quickly rushed to the spot, and in very
few minutes water was carried up and
thrown on the roof from buckets. But
hardly had two or three bucketsful been
thus applied before the flames burst out
with great violence, famed by strong
wind from the west. 1t was then ut once
seen that any further effort to quench the
flames without fire engine would be labor
thrown away-indeed the heat was too
great to permit it. Efforts were then di-
rected to the saving of the furniture and
| other contents of the house. But the great
rapidity with which the flames envcioped
the building and the intensity Of the heat
prevented the saving of any large part Of
it. We regret to say that Mr.. Harris lost
nearly everything that he had, including a
large amount of furniture, many valuable
books and papers, ard great variety of
curiosities of nature and art of which he
had been diligent gatherer for many years.
MIR. M. A. Pierce, conductor on the Mo-
bile and Girard railroad, who lived with
Mr.. Harris, also lost many valuable art-
Giles.
Mr.. Harris had for a great many years
lived in this house, which he had enlarged
and furnished at much expense, and he had
made it a beautiful and attractive place IN
its surroundings. being a lover of flowers
and shubbery. 1t was melancholy spec
tacle to see the labor of years aud these
m0numentsaot taste and care so suddenly
destroyed. And sadder still is the thought
that the aged and respected couple, who
have so long lived on the place and raised
| their children, now scattered far and near
in the pursuit of their own occupations,
should at this time of their lives see the
old homestead utterly destroyed and find
themselves without home of their own.
They had recently celebrated their "golden
wedding or the fftieih anniversary of
their welded life, and had every apparent
assurance of an undisturbed continuance of
happy life in the home where they had
lived SO long.
The people of Girard worked energeti-
cally to save as much as possible from the
flames, but the unfavorable conditions men,
toned above prevented them from accom-
pishing more. So rapidly did the flames
spread that Mr.. Harris lost his fine gold
watch, his library, valuable papers, piano,
clothing, and indeed nearly everything
The watch was found late in the evening,
with the case melted Off and other parts de-
stroyed.
1t is not known how the building took
Gre. 1t caught in the loft, and most pro-
baby was from one OF the ilres burning in
the house at the time. Fortunately the
wind set towards the east, in a direction
blowing the heat away from tho nearest
houses otherwise some others might have
| been burned.
We regret to learn that Mr.. Harris had
| no insurance.