314 BULLETIN OF THE 



was only stayed by the incombustible materials of tbe main build- 

 ing :" the flooring of the upper storj, forming an iron and brick 

 vaulting over the lower or principal story. Neither wing of the 

 building was reached by the fire ; and the valuable Library (not 

 then transferred to the Capitol), atid the Museum, fortunately 

 escaped without injury. The Stanley collection of Indian por- 

 traits, comprising about 200 paintings, and estimated as worth 

 20,000 dollars, was entirely destroyed. A fine full-sized copy in 

 Carrara marble, by John Gott, of the antique statue known as 

 " The Dying Gladiator," was crumbled into a formless mass of 

 stone. 



The Secretary's office unfortunately fell within the range of 

 the flames. " The most irreparable loss was that of the records, 

 consisting of the official, scientific, and miscellaneous corres- 

 pondence ; embracing 35,000 pages of copied letters which had 

 been sent, (at least 30,000 of which were the composition of the 

 Secretary,) and 50,000 pages of letters received by the Institu- 

 tion ; the receipts for publications and specimens ; reports on 

 various subjects which have been referred to the Institution ; 

 the records of experiments instituted by the Secretary for the 

 Government ; four manuscripts of original investigations, [me- 

 moirs by collaborators,] which had been adopted by the Insti- 

 tution for publication ; a large number of papers and scientific 

 notes of the Secretary ; a series of diaries, memorandum and 

 account books."* This truly " irreparable loss" of the original 

 notes of many series of experiments by Henry, of varied cha- 

 racter, running back for thirty years, kept for the purpose of 

 reduction and discussion, or further extension (as leisure might 

 permit) and of which but few had been published even by re- 

 sults,— was borne by their author with his characteristic equa- 

 nimity ; and was very rarely alluded to by him, unless when in 

 answer to inquiries respecting particular points of his researches, 

 he was compelled to excuse the absence of precise data. 



The Lecture Room — a model of its class — entirely burned out 

 by the fire, was not reconstructed : but the space it occupied on 

 the upper floor, was with the adjacent rooms (used as the appa- 

 ratus room, and the art gallery) thrown into one large hall, 200 

 feet long, — at present occupied as the ethnological museum. 

 Advantage was taken of the hazard demonstrated by the fire, to 

 induce Congress in the following year to transfer the custody 

 of the Smithsonian collection of scientific works to the National 

 Library: and the propriety of this change was thus defended. 

 " The east wing of the Smithsonian building, in which the books 

 were deposited is not fire-proof, and is liable to destruction by 

 accident or the torch of the incendiary, while the rooms of the 

 Capitol are of incombustible materials. This wing was more- 



* Smithsonian Report for 1865, p. 18. 



