Read Ebook: The Story of the Great Fire in St. John N.B. June 20th 1877 by Stewart George

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y painting from the John Miller collection, of Liverpool, England. Mr. James Stewart lost his whole collection of paintings; several of these were of his own work, while a number were by foreign artists. Mr. Stewart copied a landscape painting by an English artist which came out here as a prize, some years ago, and when his work was finished and the two paintings hung side by side, the owner did not know which was his own picture. This copy was for some days in Mr. Notman's studio before the fire, and it is believed that it is lost, as no trace has been had of it. The reader will see from this scanty enumeration of known losses, how great has been the destruction in art-treasures alone. We have not even hinted at the wholesale destruction of bronzes, bas reliefs and bits of sculpture and statuary. In these departments the loss has been also very severe. No money can replace these treasures. These were the things which rendered home bright and happy. It is the love of art and literature which refines and beautifies mankind. It is the book and the picture, and the figure of pale marble which rouse a thousand new delights. They take away the brutal in our nature. They lift us up as it were. We look around the room and the eye rests on something beautiful. We feed our tastes. The picture on the wall refines us, the open book fills the mind with a hundred delicate, footless fancies. We breathe a new air. The etchings on the table, the portfolio of drawings and the books of engravings give to our mind a delight as wonderful as it is delicate and delicious. Can money replace these? Can money buy for us these pictures and books which have been for so many years our companions and friends? Can money replace the bronze figure? Can money bring to us again the portrait of the dear one who lies out there in the green wood buried? Can money supply us with that precious volume of poetry which the author gave us just a year before he died? We may make our homes bright again. We may hang pictures on the walls. We may fill to the full our book-cases and hanging-shelves once more with the great things in literature, but our thoughts will wander back to the days before the fire came and robbed us of all those delights which peopled and filled our homes. But we must not give way altogether to gloom and despondency. We must try and forget the past and devote all our energies, all our brains and skill to the rebuilding of the homes and workshops which have been scattered to the winds. We must never rest till the great end is accomplished; we must never cease working. As Christians, as men, as the proud descendants of a sturdy and stalwart race, we must show the world that we are not a generation of pigmies, and that from these very ashes and ruins a brighter, a more glorious and more prosperous city will arise and resume her old place as the metropolis of the Lower Provinces.

I have told the story of the great fire in St. John in my own way. I have tried to do justice to my theme. Like many others I have passed through the flames, and received as it were my first "baptism of fire." My book has many imperfections. It was necessary that it should be hastily prepared. My publishers demanded this, and gave me a fortnight to write it in. I can therefore claim nothing in favour of the book from a literary point of view, but this I can claim--the history is reliable in every particular. Not a statement within its pages was committed to paper until it was thoroughly and reliably avouched for. I have verified every word which this volume contains; and while the haste in which it was prepared precluded my paying much attention to style, the book is a complete record of the fire as it was, and not as a lively imagination might like it to be. Before taking leave of my readers, I must publicly thank Mr. Joseph W. Lawrence for the splendid aid which he gave me in furnishing the data and historical information about our old churches and other edifices. I had full access to his records and commonplace books, and through these means was enabled to verify much that had come to me in an imperfect condition. To Mr. Gilbert Murdoch, C.E., and Mr. Wm. Murdoch, C.E., of the Water Works and Sewerage Departments, I must also return my thanks, for valuable information about the water supply, for the capital map which accompanies this volume, and for facts connected with the acreage and streetage of the district burned. General Warner, Mayor Earle, Mr. A. C. Smith, Mr. John Boyd, Mr. A. P. Rolph, Mr. Dole, Mr. Hiram Betts, Mr. Elder, Mr. J. L. Stewart, Mr. McDade, Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Stanley, Mr. G. B. Hegan and others, also largely rendered me assistance in collecting information, and to these gentlemen I return my grateful thanks.

The little picture of the ruins, by moonlight, of the Germain street Baptist Church, was very kindly supplied by Mr. John C. Miles, a St. John artist of good reputation. I have great pleasure in acknowledging his politeness here, and at this time.

In conclusion, I might add, that to Mr. E. Lantalum belongs the credit of sounding the first alarm of our great fire.

ADDITIONAL LIST OF DONATIONS.

MONEY.

SUPPLIES.

ADDENDA.

SUPPLEMENTARY DONATIONS.

MONEY.

From returns in detail, just furnished by the Oddfellows' Lodges, the results of the fire, in relation to its effects on individual members appears to have been as follows:--

SENT TO MASONIC FUND.

Grand Lodge of Quebec 0 00 A Brother, Newcastle, N. B. 4 00 National Lodge, Chicago 23 62 Knights Templars, Portland, Maine 117 00 Germania Lodge, Baltimore 18 93 Grand Lodge, Louisiana 189 00 Carleton Union Lodge of Carleton, N. B. 50 00 Grand Lodge of Wisconsin 94 50 St. John's Lodge, Toronto 150 00 Phoenix Lodge, Nashville, Tenn. 947 00 Grand Lodge, Utah 56 70 St. Andrew's Lodge, Frederickton, N. B. 25 25 Loge des Coeurs Unis, Montreal 50 00 Rising Virtue Lodge, Mount Moriah Chapter, and St. John's Commandery, Bangor, Me. 284 25 Detroit Commandery 94 50 Springfield do. 500 00

SUPPLIES.

Halifax, N. S., 25 Stoves. Boston Y. M. C. Union, Clothing. Montreal, Clothing. Musquodoboit, Clothing. Toronto, Meats. Taylor, Robert, Halifax, N. S., Boots. Peke & Eaton, Halifax, N. S., Tea. Hart, R. T. & Co., " Supplies. Victoria Corner, N. B., 12 pairs Boots. Canterbury Ladies, Bedding. Bridgetown, N. S., Supplies. Rev. C. McMullin, Hartland, N. B., Butter. Norwich, Ontario, Clothing. Philadelphia Maritime Exchange, Clothing. Gibson, Alexander, York County, Supplies.

A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE FIRE IN THE TOWN OF PORTLAND, SATURDAY MORNING, 20TH OCTOBER, 1877.

Just four months after the great calamity in St. John, the people of the Town of Portland were called upon to endure a hardship of almost equal dimensions. In one sense their endurance demanded even greater strength, for their trouble came, not in summer when the grass was green, and the air was soft and balmy, but in the very heart of a New Brunswick Fall, when the wind pierced the coarsest garment, and the ground was white with frost. It was in the small hours of the morning too, that men and women, half asleep and palsied by terror, rushed wildly into the street, shivering with cold and trembling with fear, as they heard the mad bell tolling the alarm. They lived in the merest tinder boxes, and in many of these were domiciled three, and sometimes four and five families. It was a fire of terrible importance, and at one time the destruction of the whole town was feared. But the lesson which the fire of June 20th taught had a salutary effect on the people, and, aided by a brave band of firemen, they made every effort to stay the onward march of the flames, and in this, success was partly attained. The fire destroyed seven blocks of buildings, and threw into the street two hundred and ninety-five families, which numbered, in the aggregate, fully three thousand persons. Of buildings swept away, there were ninety-seven dwelling houses, the Methodist Church and the Temperance Hall. The actual loss is estimated at two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and the insurance scarcely reaches the sum of seventy thousand dollars. One man suffered a horrible death, and a number of people were injured more or less seriously. The fire was indeed a sore and bitter trial, and had it not been that the community had only a short time before experienced the horrors of the greater conflagration, the present calamity would have ranked as one of the great fires of Canada. Coming so soon after the St. John's scourge, men failed to realize at once the magnitude of destruction which it caused. But those who had twice passed through the flames knew to their cost, and realized in an instant, what it was to be burned out a second time. Seven hundred persons from the burnt district of St. John's had taken up their residence in the suburban town. They were in most cases poor in a pecuniary sense, but their bands were strong, and their hearts were not downcast. The flames had carried away all their earthly possessions, and they found themselves the day after the fire comparatively penniless. But there was work to do, and these men and women sternly resolved to do it. They removed to Portland, secured quarters there, and had just completed their arrangements for the winter, when this fresh trouble broke out, and once more they found themselves, with twenty-three hundred others, in the street without a home, and no sheltering roof over their heads. Their lot was indeed a sad one, and no wonder is it, that some of them were loud in complaint, and that many, women walked down from Fort Home that day, and wept bitterly at the heartrending sight which met their eyes. They saw desolation on the plain below, and tall chimneys kept watch and ward over a field of smouldering embers. The steam engines still continued to play on the dying flames, though the sixth hour of the fire had long since passed away, and men in command hurried along the streets now giving orders, and now working with the rank and file, striving to save what remnants of property yet remained unburned, and caring for the immediate needs of sufferers.

The fire broke out at a quarter to three o'clock in the morning, and originated in a wood-house in the centre of the block, between Main and High Streets. This wood-house was in the rear of Henry Pratt's house, and as fire had been discovered in this locality, twice recently, many believed that it was the fiendish work of an incendiary. The fire spread with great rapidity, though there was little wind at the time, and by three o'clock the entire block, Main Street on the north, Chapel Street on the south, Acadia Street on the east, and Portland Street on the west was one mass of flame. In another hour the fire raged more violently, and was extending to the lower streets. The firemen, who were early on the spot, worked with untiring energy, and displayed almost superhuman endurance and wonderful courage. Aid from the city came very soon after the fire was observed, and the new contingent also worked with admirable nerve, and exhibited splendid skill in preventing the conflagration from spreading. Members of the Town Council, with Chairman Henry Hilyard at their head, made extraordinary efforts to keep the flames back, and indeed the whole arrangements for fighting the fire were excellently conceived and well carried out.

At five o'clock the fire had reached its height. The blocks from Main Street to High Street, inclusive, were completely obliterated, and only gaunt chimneys remained. From High Street to the very water's edge the flames sped on unresisted. Camden Street was burning, the large houses on the foot of Portland Street, the houses from Temperance Hall, in Simonds Street to Thomson's slip were consumed. Rankin's wharf with immense piles of dressed lumber was threatened with immediate extinction. The steamers "Ida Whittier," "Xyphus," and "Victor," were for a time in danger. Three tug boats arrived opportunely, and the water which they threw saved the wharf and lumber. At half-past eight the fire was subdued.

The property destroyed consisted of all the houses in Main Street between Jones's corner and Orange corner; all on Chapel Street, all on Acadia Street except a small block and the greater part of Chapel Street; all along the east side and part of the west side of Portland Street, the east side of Simonds Street from High Street to the water, and both sides of Camden Street. Of course a great deal of drunkenness prevailed and numerous arrests were made. Thieving, as usual, was largely indulged in.

The saddest event of the day was the loss of life. George Baxter, a ship carpenter, who dwelt in High street, was found in a charred state in the ruins of his house. It is thought he went in to save some of his effects, and being unable to make his way out again he was smitten to the ground and suffered one of the most terrible of deaths. The other casualties were John Henry Maher, slightly injured, James Ennis badly cut on the head. Nicholas Ryan fell off Dickinson's house, Chapel Street, and sustained serious bruises. Mrs. Reed was struck by a falling ladder. John Cobalan, jr., had one of his fingers broken, and Mrs. Nowlan was slightly hurt. Wm. Carr and James Kennedy were injured slightly.

The destruction of the Methodist Church is a very serious loss. It was built in the year 1841, and succeeded the structure built in 1828, which was destroyed in the former year. The first trustees were Alex. McLeod, Samuel H. McKee, George Whittaker, William Nesbit, H. Hennigar, Robert Chestnut, Robert Robertson, G. T. Ray, John B. Gaynor, George Lockhart, James Bustin, John Owens and Francis Jordan, Rev. Messrs. R. Williams, J. B. Story, and S. Busby were strong supporters of the church in its young days and were long identified with its interests. On the first Sunday after the fire of 1841 the congregation met in the open air and prayed and sang hymns. The Rev. Mr. Allen addressed the people from a rock. Rev. Mr. Teed was the pastor at the time of the present fire. When he came to preside over its destinies he found the church struggling with a debt, and he worked with great zeal to free it from this burden.

The Temperance Hall was one of the most useful institutions in the town, and many will deplore the destruction of this building.

The following is a complete list of the buildings burned. The first name mentioned in each case is that of the owner, the other, that of the occupants:--

Andrew Pratt, by self as a dwelling; Miss Pratt as millinery store; Henry Pratt, as dwelling; and by Mr. Hopkins as a book store--4.

Chas. Long, James Meally, tin shop; Robt. Adamson, and John W. Perkins--3.

Wm. Gray, by self, Gray & Scott, meat store; Mrs. Cotner--4.

Widow Gordon, by self as a grocery store and dwelling--1.

Widow McJunkin, by self as a boarding house, and by Robert C. Gordon, as a liquor store, and by John S. Mitchell--3.

John Bradley, by A. G. Kearns, as a grocery and liquor store--1.

Thos. McColgan, by T. M. & S. B. Corbett, groceries; Thos. McMasters, hair-dressing saloon; John Carlin, S. R. Lindsay, Wm. Hooper, Messrs. Kyle & Tait--7.

Widow Farson, by self, Wm. Conway, Widow Gallagher, Geo. Kimball, Daniel Leary, John Mohan, Jas. Daley, Mrs. Daley, Mrs. Knowles, Chase & McCallum--11.

Charles Long, by self, John Law--2.

Barn belonging to Wm. Gray.

Barn belonging to Robt. Gordon.

Barn belonging to John McJunkin estate.

Barn belonging to John Bradley.

Chas. Long, by self and son as grocery and dwelling; Chas. Colwell, Alex. Long, Abraham Craig--5.

Mrs. Nancy Lackey, by Local Preacher Oram, Miss McJunkin, John McJunkin--3.

Joseph Reed, by Samuel Baker, Frank Crawford--2.

Barn belonging to Sarah Irvine.

Arthur Rodgers, by self, Mrs. Clancey, Arthur Desmond and Mr. Long--4.

Widow Sullivan, by Thos. Sullivan--1.

John Damary, by self and Thos. Damary--2.

John Corrigan, by self--1.

Thos. Currie, by self and John Quinn--2.

Wm. King's house, damaged considerably.

Geo. McMonagle, by self as a grocery and dwelling; Widow Nelson, William McGuire, John McGuire, David Smith--5.

Mrs. Farson, by Mrs. Gallaher, Mrs. McCacherin--2.

Geo. McMonagle, by Thomas Sharp and Patrick Bogan--2.

Alex. Duff , by Thomas McGill and Henry McCarthy--2.

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