University of Iowa - Hawkeye Yearbook (Iowa City, IA)

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a four clays ' tournament, which closed late the night before. Alto- gether it was a combination of unfavorable circumstances, and the flames met little resistance. When entrance was gained to the building, the attic was a seething furnace, to which the only access was through a small seethi man-hole in the ceiling. It became at once apparent that the brary was doomed, and effort was made to save something before the roof came down. By the th ' o tghtfulness and courage of Miss Mary E. Barrett, the reference rian, who was among the first to enter the building, the accession ters were saved from the rian ' s Mr. L. M. of the firemen, while making a heroic effort to save a tion of the card catalogue, located near the center of the building, was caught by falling timbers and perished in the flames.The men were compellel to run for their lives, for at one crash the whole roof gave way, and slate, timbers and plaster all came down into the library. Book cases, with their precious freight, were precipitated to the floor and ignited. It was a wild scene of the fiery elements never to be forgotten. The water supply was insufficient and the marl elements did their worst. Thousands of precious volumes, valuable beyond comparison, became thousands of burning fagots. Useful, every-day working books, such as dictionaries and encyclopedias, Leek, one 19

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University Ube 13ttnitng of the librarp Etten In. no It was four o ' clock, June 19, 1897. For three clays the heat been excessive. An oppressive atmosphere pervaded Toward ing it began rain and good of Iowa from sheer haustion, asleep. A faint glimmer of the coming was in the sky and the night shadows were receding when many were rudely awakened by a vivid flash of lightning anci a terrific crash of thunder. A few minutes later the odor of hot but less pine drifted over the northeastern portion of the city, giving due notice that the lightning had somewhere done its deadly work. Anxious householders searched their premises for traces of fire, the odor of pine still increasing. At last, when several minutes had elapsed, there rang out the alarm of fire. Following this came the dreadful announcement, The library is on fire. Hundreds of people rushed to the rescue, but there was no rescue. The lightning had struck the southwest corner of the building and in an incredibly short time the fire had spread under the whole roof. The building being large and tall, with low attic and self-supporting roof, the fire was difficult to reach. The pres. sure at the hydrants was low and the fire companies were weary with 18

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became of the same caste as the rare old books which had retired from active duty and for many years had reposed in serene majesty upon their lofty shelves. The rare copy of St. bound in pig-skin, was fallen to the level of Webster, and Allibone and Appleton. A hundred choice bibles, printed in Hebrew, in Sanskirt, in Hindoo, and sian, lay prostrate beside bound copies of Harper ' s, Scribner ' s, and the Forum. The cinders of Thomas Hope ' s beautiful tions of The Ancient Costume were mingled with those of Puck and Die Fliegende Blatter. The stately volumes of Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Hamilton, participated in the same mad carnival with Mark Twain and Ignatius Donnelly. Ruskin was hurled down, enveloped in the same flame which consumed the Critic and the Dial. Thirty rare, beautiful volumes from the British Plaeontological Society, compiled for this library by Mr. Rich, were made one with the embers of Gray ' s nies and Steele ' s common school series. bon ' s birds, the elephantine ume of Victoria Regia, the derful Me- designs of the Pyramids consumed by the same flame which devoured Government meats. All which money and genius could collect on Archaeology lay smoldering in a common heap with modern history and literature. The autographs of many distinguished scholars and heroes were 20 the charts of the U. S. Coast Survey and the