The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1892-09-08
MAILS AT A DOG TROT
1T TOOK TWENTY-FOUR DAYS FROM
NEW YORK TO CINCINNATI.

Mail Service Less Than Sixty Years Ago.
An Interesting Account of the Big New
York Fire of 1885 from an Old Letter
Written at the Time.
1t is hard to believe that only fifty-
seven years ago, time within the mem
DRY of many old residents of this city,
letter took twenty-four days in transit
between New York and Cincinnati.
Here is letter addressed to Nicholas
Carroll, Esq, Cincinnati, Ohio" post
marked 'New York, Dec. 49," and also
marked Cincinnati, Ohio, Jan. II" the
difference between the two dates being
three weeks and half. The letter was
afterward forwarded to New York,
"care of Messrs. Gideon Lee & Co., No.
20 Ferry street." The name of tbs firm
will have a familiar sound to some
leather merchants still doing business in
"the swamp"
In addition to the interest which this
old letter has as curiosity of the mails,
it contains the account of an eye wit
ness of the great fire of 1885. 1t is writ
ten upon full sheet of foolscap paper,
and was mailed, after the fashion of
that time, without an envelope, the ad-
dress being written upon the blank
fourth page and the whole sealed with a
wafer. There is no stamp Of course,
but the postoffice department has marked
it with a pen, "2P 1880" The post
marks, in red ink, are much larger and
palmer than those of the present.
The letter is dated New York, Dec.
II, 1885. at is with the deepest feeling
of regret" the writer says, "that I try
to give you faint idea of the horrible
calamity that befell our city last night.
1t is indeed one Of the greatest disasters
that ever visited this country, or prob
ably any country since the memorable
confagration of Moscow. Almost the
whole business part of the city is one
heap of ruins.
"About 8:45 o'clock last evening fire
was discovered breaking out in two OF
| three places in the stores in Pearl street,
just below Wall street, on the side near
est the exchange. There was almost a
gale blowing from the northwest, which
Immediately drove the flames across
Pearl street, where they enveloped ten
or twelve stores, and in a few minutes
the fire was driven through to Water
street, and thence to the East river,
sparing nothing in it's course on the
lower side of Wall street. The shipping
in that quarter was almost every mo-
ment catching, and the tide was too low
to float them out into the river, some of
them being aground.
"The fire continued to drive on to-
ward the Battery, enveloping the ex-
change and making steady progress
down toward Old slip and to William
street, sweeping everything in its way
to level with the ground. 1t then ex-
tended through Exchange place to Will
liam street, up William to Wall on both
sides, then through the South Dutch
church, taking the whole block below
through to Broad street, except the
stores fronting on Broad street. You
can now imagine the whole space from
the block fronting on Broad street down
to the East river one broad sheet of fire
and rapidly moving down to the Bat
terry. The engines had long since given
up all hope of doing anything; it was
utterly out of their power, as the hose
froze as fast as it was filled up.
81 was on the spot a few minutes after
the fire broke out and staid till about
1880 this morning, helping, as much as
was able, my friends to move their own
and their employees books and valua-
bles. 1t was bitter cold night, and
this morning you can perhaps imagine
my feelings, but you cannot my looks.
1t is now 10 o'clock and have not been
from the stove since l came from the
fire, but | hear that it is raging almost
as much as ever and has burned up
everything this side Of Coenties slip.
"Dec. 1S-Your letter remained I'M
finished yesterday, as thought it would
be useless to attempt to mail it in the
confusion necessarily attendant upon
the removal of the postofice. They
saved everything, l believe, connected
with that department, and are now
under the custom house. The fire is got
under and has not reached below Coen-
ties slip. They stopped its further pro-
gress in Pearl street by blowing up one
or two stores in Pearl street on the
corner of Coenties slip, where, you will
recollect, the slip is narrow and there
was danger of the fire reaching across.
Among our acquaintance burned out
are Cheesebrough, lost all his clothes,
saved $4,000 out of SIC, OeO; D. Stouten-
burgh, John Birdsall, etc. People are
more cool today, and say the loss is be-
tween $50 1000, 900 and $50, 100000"
''The case now stands TINS: Begin on
the lower side of Coffee House slip and
come up Wall street to William, thence
diagonally back of the Phoenix bank to
the stores fronting on Broad street; then
it has made clean sweep within this
circle to the East river down to Coenties
slip, where it is now burning. Every
thing within this is destroyed-the ex-
change, postof1ice, A. Tappan & Co.
everything is gone. Everybody wears a
gloomy face this morning, and with
reason. Some of the effects will be the