The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-02-01

prison ne asked gualut uoW Cal Set
through this fence" KNOCK It down"
was the reply. Whereupon the chief delib-
erately did knock It down and drove
his horse and wagon right through the
gap.
In the meantime the hose truck of No.
6 engine, the frs, to arrive. laid its hose
from the plug in front % the prison.
Engine No. arrived at the same time
and went inside the western corridor,
which IL between the prison and the
western wall, and worked rom that plug.
Close to the fire she did gallant work and
at times the men working her were over
heated by the flames. Engine No. .
arrived second and was ordered by the
chief TO take the plug in front OF the
building which the hose carriage OF No:
6 had taken. Engine No. 3, (the old
Ettinger & Edmunds engine, presented
to the city by the Insurance companies
during the war did good service in place
of No. 3, which is waiting FOR wheel,
took the plug at Pine and Albemarle
streets No 6, whose truck had been
removed from the prisi0n plug took the
plug corner Spring and Pine Two
engines on one small main did not get
water enough. So the old engine was
withdrawn, and did no further work. NO.
2, which came at the second alarm is The
largest engine in the city. II took The
plug at the corner of Byrd and Second
streets. 1t forced a stream under sixty
pound pressure, through twenty-five
hundred feet of hose, up and over a wall
sixty feet high, and yer gave full ana
hard stream.
GOOD WORK OF THE PIREMEN.
The work of the firemen throughout is
TO be highly commended. They were at
the fire in an incredibly short time, and
under the eye and directions of their
chief. FuQua, aud his assistants, Mount
castle and SHead, they worked nobly
under many disadvantages. They had to
fight the biggest fire that has occurred in
Richmond for years past, and they fought
it bravely.
Covering their heads with wet cloths
and pulling their hats down over their
faces they went right fearlessly into the
flames. II was impossible for them, in
consequence of the oils and other in
hammatOry material which had saturated
the floor. causing a rapid spread of the
flames. and the scarcity OF water, TO do
more than confne the fire to the build
ing in which II originated. They did
manfulv, and by : O'Clock had the flames
under complete control
THE Losses.
The loss to the State and to Messrs.
Joseph Davis & Co, the firm who own
the machinery and stock and employ
about one hundred conycts to work in
their shoemaking establishment, was diff
icult 10 estimate. That OF Messrs. Davis
& Co, however, was placed at slG0000,
and that Of the State at about 100000.
THE INSURANCE.
The insurance held by Messrs. Davis
* Co. was placed by Messrs. John b.
Cary 81 Sons, insurance agents. \
TINES reporter applied at the Office for a
list OF the companies carrying the risks
and the amounts. He was told that ii
would be too much trouble for them. to
search through their books to find out,
What companies were involved. he was
told that an itemtized list Of companies
and losses would not be given, and the
best that could he gotten was that the
total insurance was Sl50,000 and that il
was divided among seventy different
companies, OF which there were twelve
located in Richmond.
The State had no insurance on its pro-
periv whatever, and all OF it destroyed
was a total loss.
NOTES
The military, who remained TO assist
the officers of the Penitentiary were
given their breakfast and dinner by the
Superintendent.
As soon as the firemen, the policemen
Of the Third district responded 10 the
fire, and when Captain Epps, who started
from home on the first alarm, arrived,
they found twelve men inside the Peni-
teniiary. In short order the police from
all parts Of the city arrived, and before
the military reached the prison half Of
the police were there, and the remainder,
excepting the few men who had to be on
duty at the stations, were present.
A number of conyicts who were deemed
reliable were detailed TO assist the fire.
men. They did good work and rendered
material assistance. They will doubtless
receive consideration al the hands Of the
Governor. 1t was stated that while a
body Of firemen were cold, and with
freezing hands were handling the hose,
a convict at work saw a bottle of whisky
in strangers pocket, and that he deftly
took possession of it and handed it to the
firemen. They took bracer and gave
the convict a drink, the first he had drank
for many years.
At 7:30 the prisoners in the Peniten-
liary took breakfast. The military, po-
licemen, and TINES reporter saw il done
The c0nyicts in the upper cells were first
turned out, and with slow and regulation
tread passed by the stand, where the
breakfast, consisting of large piece of
corn bread, a pan Of molasses and a large
tin cup of coffee, was dealt TO them.
They passed along to the opposite stair
way and proceeded to their cells 1t
took nearly an hour to furnish the food
which each of them ate in their cells.
Messrs. Marvin, the man of many
wives, and Shaw who proved such a
desperate for day or two in the city did
not come out of their cells. They cook
ed their own breakfast. The TINES
reporter attempted a conversation with