Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1911-04-05
DAMAGE PROBABLY s MILLION.
e York State Capitol Falls Prey to
DcvOuring Flames.

D%cvouring Flames.
Albany, N. Y, March 29-Five mil
lion dollars probably will cover the
damage done by fire on the State Can
itol to-day. but money cannot restore
the historical records, which were the
pride Of the State library. After ex-
aiming the exterior walls with a
transit, State Architect Ward declar-
ed tonight that the pile of granite
was as plumb and true as ever. The
flames licked up the State library, the
Court of Claims, the Assembly Lii
brary and document rooms, most of
the offices of the excise department
and the quarters Of the Senate nance
committee, and water and smoke
took up he work that the flames laid
down, and the damage from this
cause extends to every part Of the
building.
Although the fire started in the
northwest corner Of the building, it
caused the greatest havoc in the
southwest corner. Here the red
tinted cupola collapsed, carrying
down part Of the carved granite work
that supported it and a towering
stone chimney. Conservative esti-
mates place the damage TO the exte-
rior stone work at $4,000, 900.
The interior masonry was dam
aged to the extent Of $500, 900,
n the same sum will represent the
loss on the contents of the State H.
brary.
No trace has yet been found to-
night of Samuel j. Abbott, the aged
night Waterman in the State library.
The fire was still burning tonight
IN the ruins beneath what was once
the beautiful cloud-painted ceiling of
The State library reading room, and
the water is kept pouring in from
seven lines OF hose.
"Firr-proof"-No Insurance,
The State carried no insurance, as
the Capitol building had been re-
garded as absolutely freproof. 1t
was, In fact, not the building that
burned, but it's contents. The
fourth floor space in the west wing
did nearly -four times the service it
was intended for.
In places this part Of the building
vas like a rabbit warren, with the
employees of the library and the pu-
pills OF the library school working in
boX-like apartments, surrounded by
wooden shelves loaded with books
and pamphlets. When the fire,
starting among the papers in the
Assembly Library, reached this Dor
ton OF the building, it swept ahead
with a fury that fused like wax,
sandstone, granite and marble.
/. o precious, from a historical
standpoint, were The 23 manuscript
folio volumes Of the famous official
records OF the Governors of the city
or New Amsterdam, covering a pc
Rod from 1880 to 1874. These
werc in course of translation by A.
j. T.. Van Lear and his TRANSACTIONS
ere burned with the original Dutch
documents.
Valuable Records Recovered.
Albany, \. Y, March 3O.-Morc
than one hun drcd workmcn attacked
the still smoking ruins left by the
fire in the west end of the State Can
itol this afternoon, and soon discov.
cred that the wreck of the States
magnificent library was not as COM
plete as at first supposed.
Buried under tons of stone lay
thousands of books that can be pre-
served by re-blnding and many that
escaped unsc ratched. The salvage
may amour to many thousands of
dollars.
Records of the War of 1912 we're
found intact and the custodians hone
other valuable relics may be discov-
cred in a state Of possible preserva-
ton. Work Of clearing away the
'ebris promises to be an extensive