The Morning herald., 1878-11-11
TELECRAMS.
THE CAPI MAY FIRE.

u II
,,,x.u uorILs AxD fHHTf ooIF
Ar.-~r-AILRsRD IHCBNp1ARIsh-Ao
-. -uunrRp rHousAND DoLLAhs.
.u.e,., from Cape May, n, J., Nov D.
"a the New York Herald ssys:
w.r. than ono half Of the principal por
,,an II th,, city wss destroyed today oy
,,rrtbls csnaagration which swept . spaes
Of FORTY aerss through the central oei' y
IN. c,ty famed by gale Of wind from tne
northvest. All the best baildings ~ IN"
resort, even the ansst and most eos1ly s
1900. With narrow streets, and closely
sa,.,.,ny s.ructurss Of this infammable ma
.r,,l 4 wind blowing g. forty miles A.
hour . fire department 20 called, consisting
Of ono sntiqusted hasd engine, and . small
10. Of rottsr and worthless hose, 1t Is not .
m.ttsr of wondsr that fre once started
,hould have swept all before it. Nothing
nrsvsutsd ths snnihilia.ion Of the entire
c,,v. but the courtesy and promptness ofthe
Camden Fire Department and General ssw-
eli. super,ntendsnt Of the West Jersey Ran,
road. who SAINT steam Are engines and
tr.ined nremen BY special train to the re-
lief Of the threatened city.
clxAs CASE OF IEcHNDrAsIsM.
Abou, the srigen of the fire one thing Is
eertsin, namely, that 1t was oastarioy &C
OF On incsndiary. 1t was discovered on sue
ton aoor of the Ocean House, an old timber
hnx structurs in which there was no occu-
napt and of course no nrs, which was sup.
posed TO have bsen closed since the end OF
40 ssssop, and whence no f.mes could
h.ys come by accident. The smell OF ksro-
asne IA ssid to have been very apparent at
this spot TO those who first arrived on the
gyound. The Ocean House was owned by
Samuel 3, Ludlam, and 10 said to have
beeu insured for . large amount. Eleven
hotels and public cottages were destroyed
aud about twenty five private cottages, be
sides bath houses billiard and bowling sa-
Iceus and outhouses. Through the exer'
tions of the Camden fremen and the steam
engines. the flames were checked when they
reached stockton Row, 0 number OF hnt
cottages opposite the magnificent piazza o
ths Stockton House, which 10 one OF TN
handaomest hotel structure OF any summer
rsssrt in the country. This 10 the only ont
lsft Of thssprincipal hotels.
no LOSS or LIFE.
There was no loss of life during the fir
but there were some narrow escapes, an
seyersl persons were more or less scorche'
and Injured in rescuing property and light
ing the are. The strests and hotel lawn
tosnight are strewn With bedding and furn
ture, piled in confusion where 1t was throw
in the haste of rescue, the iumbled objec,
casting fantastic sh ,dows 10 the nickerin
lights of the still burning ruins Fryer
cottage, which hss been destroyed, wa
next to the Ocean House ct the en-
toward the shore. Mr.. Fryer has been t
great pains and expense in the furnishin
and decoration Of his cottage, which wa
allied with rare and curious articles. l
the psrlor was q noticeable set OF furnitur
richly ornsmented With gold, which was
of the French Revolution Among th
most important curiosities was rare piec
of chin. OF great value and fully 1000 yeal
old. The cottage was insured for $50
and furniture tor 1880.
HISTORIC MIMon,Es.
Congress Hall was one OF the Oldest ar
most famous summer hotels in the countr
Its name 10 associated with hundreds of II
distinguished men and women of the pas
and "The Funnel" as o favorlte breezy 81
gle Of the old piazza was called 10 . pie
SAINT memory OF two generations. Congre
Hall ranked a. the second hotel in age
Cape May, the FIRST one built being Il
old Atlantic which was erected about 17S
The first Congress Hall was erected in TX
by Thomas q. Hughes. In 1868 Mr.. J.
Coke % the agent of his wife, purchase
the property for the sum Of $l20 900.
Mr.. Coke " ent into bankruptcy, and
May, 1878, q mortgage of $40, 900 was for
closed and the property bought BY q stoc
company for S6e coo less than It's vslu
OF this company, G. o. Bsylis, of Ne
York, is president, and R. ]. Dobbins,
Philsdelphis treasurer.
Itis impossible tonight to send a fs
list of the assurances. Nearly all the pro
erty was probably secured in this way
This 10 the second time that Cape May hi
been almost destroyed by fire, In Augu
1869, fire broke out in curiosity she
called the Pearl Diyers," which swe]
away half dozen Of the finest hotel
The 6re burned stubbornly from sevt
O'Clock Q. n, until between fve and o
O'Clock p. m, and was checked at Wolf
cottage. The water supplies were fu
nished by artesian wells. At II o'clot
tonight two steam engines were playil
ON the ruins. In 1859 this place WI
swept by fire scarcely less destrueti
than that Of to-day-the old Atlant
Hotel, the Greedwood ana many 9th
smaller places being tot lly destreye,
The sight Of the fire In 1869 was partial
the same % that of to-day.