Chapter I: Front Matter

RUINS OF THE GERMAIN ST. BAPTIST CHURCH BY MOONLIGHT.

From a Sketch by John C. Miles, Artist.]

THE STORY
OF THE
=Great Fire in St. John, N.B.=
JUNE 20TH, 1877.

BY
GEORGE STEWART, JR.,
_OF ST. JOHN, N.B._

=Toronto:=
BELFORD BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS.

ST. JOHN, N.B.: R. A. H. MORROW; MONTREAL, P. Q.:
DAWSON BROS.; TORONTO, ONT.: JAS. CLARKE &
CO.; DETROIT, MICH.: CRAIG & TAYLOR;
BOSTON: LOCKWOOD, BROOKS & CO.

Entered according to the Act of Parliament of Canada, in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven, by BELFORD BROTHERS, in the office of the Minister of Agriculture.

HUNTER, ROSE, & CO,
PRINTERS AND BINDERS.
TORONTO.

TO
_GILBERT MURDOCH, C. E._,
MY FIRST FRIEND,
I DEDICATE THIS VOLUME.
=The Author.=

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
PAGE
The Great Fire--Its Extent--Its Terrible Rapidity--A Glance
Backward--What the People Passed Through--The First Fire--
Protective Movements--The People who Lent the City Money--
Minor Fires--Fire of 1823--The Great Fire of 1837--The
Calamity of 1839--The Trials of 1841--The King Street Fire 9

CHAPTER II.

The Late Fire--Its Origin--Bravery of the Firemen--The High
Wind--The Fire's Career--Fighting the Flames--Almost Lost--
The Escape from the Burning Building--Destruction of Dock
Street--Smyth Street in Flames--The Wharves--Demolition of
Market Square--Something about the Business Houses there--
The Banks--Fire Checked at North Street 19

CHAPTER III.

The Fire in King Street--Recollections--The Old Coffee House
Corner--The Stores in King Street--The Old Masonic Hall--The
St. John Hotel--Its Early Days--The Bell Tower--King Square--
A Night of Horror--The Vultures at Work--Plundering the
Destitute 27

CHAPTER IV.

The Fire in Germain Street--The First Brick House in St. John
--Old Trinity--The Loyalists--Curious Ideas about Insurance--
The Rectors of Trinity--The Clock--The Royal Arms 36

CHAPTER V.

The Old Curiosity Shop on Germain Street--A Quaint Old Place
--"Rubbish Shot Here"--Notman's Studio--The Mother of Methodism
--Destruction of the Germain Street Methodist Church--Burning
of the Academy of Music--The Old Grammar School--Presbyterians
among the Loyalists--The "Auld Kirk"--Saint Andrew's--The Grants
of Land--Legislation--The Building of the Kirk--Ministers--The
"Victoria" in Flames--Fascination of the Fire--The "Victoria"
in Ruins--What might have saved it 48

CHAPTER VI.

The Odd Fellows' Hall--The Fire in Horsfield Street--The sweep
along Germain Street--The Old Baptist Church--Some Early
Ministers--Two Fiery Ordeals--The Brick Church--The Ruins--The
Bay View Hotel--An Old Landmark Gone--The Blazing Barracks--St.
James's--The Hazon House--St. Malachi's Chapel--The First Roman
Catholic Church 65

CHAPTER VII.

A Hard-Working Manager--The Dramatic Lyceum--The Temperance
Hall--The Water-Works Building--A Hard Fight--Another Rush
of the Homeless--The Weary March of the Unfortunates--History
of the Water Supply--Early Struggles--Changes--The Old Way--
The St. John Water Company--Placed in Commission--The Company
to-day 76

CHAPTER VIII.

Burning of the Leinster Street Baptist Church--The Varley
School--Centenary Chapel--The Gas Works--$17,000 worth of Coal
burned in Ten Days--The Tall Sentinel--St. David's Kirk--The
Reformed Presbyterian Church--The Victoria School--Gigantic
Ruins--An Accident--Sketch of the School-house 90

CHAPTER IX.

Queen Square--Incidents in the Burning--The Old Pitcher--"God
is burning up the World, and He won't make another"--Saved
from the Flames--Overtaken by Fire Three Times--The Night of
Terror on Queen Square--Alone amidst Perils--The Lone House
on the Square--Three People under a Table--The Sailor--"If I
die to-night, sir, hunt them up"--The Escape--The Deserted
Streets--An Anomaly--The Marine Hospital--What a few Buckets
of Water did--The Wiggins Orphan Asylum--The Block in
Canterbury Street--The _News_ Office--Savings Bank 101

CHAPTER X.

Incidents--An Old Corner Burned Down--The Lenders and Borrowers
--"Twenty per Cent."--The Shylocks of the Curbstone--The Human
Barometers--The Vultures of Commerce--Chubbe's Corner--The
Old Commercial Bank--The _Telegraph_ Office--The Bank of
New Brunswick--A Hard Worked Cashier--The Post Office--Not
a Mail Lost--Quick Dispatch--The Nethery House and Orangemen
--The Royal Hotel--The Custom House--The Dead of the
Conflagration 114

CHAPTER XI.

The Old House on the Hill--A Wily Commissary--The Bags of
Gold--What was Done at Midnight--The Dead of Night Deposit--
The Old Vault--A Timid Money Lender--Mr. Peter Johnson--The
Board of Commissioners--The Old Gentleman's Little Joke--The
Inspection--How it was Discovered--The Fight with the Flames
--"How much will I Get"--What he Got--The Oil Barrels--Dashing
the Water on the Kerosene--A Lively Time on Reed's Point
Wharf--The Bridge of Fire--On the Ferry-Boat--The Western
Union Telegraph Office--The First Despatch 129

CHAPTER XII.

A Thrilling Incident--The Burning House--The Tall Figure on
the Hall--Escape Cut Off--The Only Way Out--The Street of
Fire--Walking on Coals--The Open Boat--The Way to the Wharf
--Terrible Suffering--The Awful Death on the Street--Worn
Out--The Escape--Saved--The Firemen--How they Fought the Flames 144

CHAPTER XIII.

A Chapter of Incidents--Agony on Board--Coming Up the Harbour
--The Story of the Moths--The Newly Married Lady's Story--No
Flour--Moving Out--Saving the Drugs--The Man with the Corn
Plasters--Incendiarism--Scenes--Thievery--The Newspapers--
Enterprise--Blowing Down the Walls--An Act of Bravery--The Fatal
Blast--Danger and Death in the Walls--Accidents--The Fire and
the Church--The Ministers 155

CHAPTER XIV.

"I went againe to the ruines, for it was no longer a Citty"--
The Drive by Moonlight--Through the Ruins--After the Fire--A
City of Ashes--The Buried Silver--The Sentinel Chimneys--The
Home of Luxuriance--A Recollection--The Moon and the Church--
Back again 167

CHAPTER XV.

Aid for St. John--The First Days--How the Poor were Fed--
Organization of the St. John Relief and Aid Society--Its
System--How it operates--The Rink--The Car Shed--List of
Moneys and Supplies received--The Noble Contributions 175

CHAPTER XVI.

The Odd Fellows and the Fire--Relief Committee at Work--
Searching out the Destitute Brethren--Helping the Sufferers
--The Secret Distribution of Aid--List of Donations 203

CHAPTER XVII.

The Losses of the Masonic Fraternity--Great Destruction of
Masonic Regalia and Paraphernalia--Organization of the
General Masonic Board of Relief--Amount received in Aid of
the Suffering Brethren 239

CHAPTER XVIII.

The Destruction--The Loss--Estimates--The Acreage and
Streetage--Has the Land Decreased in Value?--Incomes swept
away--What is Left--Hope!--The Insurance--The Corporation
Loss--The Dominion Loss--Additional Deaths--The Wounded--
The Orange Body 244

CHAPTER XIX.

The Books we have Lost--"The Lost Arts"--The Libraries of
St. John which were Burned--The Pictures which were Lost--The
few that were Saved--A Talk about Books and Pictures--The
Future--What St. John Men must Do--Acknowledgments--Conclusion
of the Story of the Fire 259

THE STORY
OF THE
GREAT FIRE IN ST. JOHN, N.B.