North American. [volume] (Swanton, Vt.) 1839-1841, 1839-12-18
40

smo&r. Ia Zee " rates tic church iiscl
wa obae aired ~ the so.esucs Of smoke
.hfowr out; snd 81 ghs rssur time that tie
sasatgrnts we're escaping, the troops
fassehca e. End surrounded TIE ehofeb.
TIE gpnf wfclrhcs attempted 60 get sway,
eilhrf single, 81 b. two sUd ihfees bot
gbe moment they sppeafed voley was
discharged. and lhev tel. Every aiieiHpl
was made hY tie objects 10 make prison.
sfs, but with indifferent succrss indeed,
saeh yes ghe evaporation oi the iro1ps al
tie murder 81 Lieutenant Weir, thai II
vas service 81 danger 10 attempt tn save
tie lie 81 one ~ these poor deluded cfra-
Isrrs. The fire. from the house soon COM
municated 10 the church. ChenlcF, the
leader, with ten Others, the remnant ct thr
Insurgents who were 10 the church, rushed
out there was one tremendous vOliey,
snd all was over.
Bythis time many other parts of the town
were on Ere, ani ,here was every prospect
Of the whole 81 it being burnl down, leaving
no quarters cor the soldiers to protect them
during the nish, TIE attention of every
body Ras therefore turned 10 prevent the
progress al the flames. Some houses were
pulled down, 80 az 10 cot utI the commu-
nication milh tie HOUSES in the centre oi
the town, aud in lhesc houses the troops
ware h'"ct~l od. The insurgents had
removed their families, and most oi their
valyables and furniture, before our arrival;
bat ia oae hnuse were the cnmmISsariai
stores, consisting O. tic carcasses of all The
sheen. pigs, &c. which they bod taken from
the lsya farmers. there was large supply,
rad the soldiers were soon cooking in all
directions The roll was called, men mus
tered, AMI order established.
The night was bitterly cold the sky
wasc'car, and the moon near 10 her full );
houses were still burning in every direction,
but they were MS mere satellites TO the lofty
church W hich was now one blaze oi fire,
and throwing out volumes Of smoke, which
passed over the lace OF The bright moon,
and gave 10 her lurid reddish tingr, as II
she loo had assisted in these deeds OF blood.
The distant fires scattered over The whole
landscape, which was one snow-wreatb
the whiriing OF the smoke from the houses
which were burning close To us, and which,
from the melting Of the snow, were, sur
Wounded hy pools Of water, rejecting the
fierce yellow flames, mingled with the pale
beams Of the bright moon-this altogether,
presented beautiful, novel, yet melancholy
panorama. thought il might represent,
in miniature, the burning oI Moscow.
About midnight, when all was quiet, ]
walked up ~ the church, in company with |
orc of Sir John CoIborne's aid-de- camps:
the roof had fallen, and the flames had sub
sided Tor want Of further alimcnt. As we
T - j
FIRE, we heard q cry, and on going up found |
q poor wounded Canadian, utterly incapa-
bic of moving, whom the flames had just
" achcd. i'm few minutes he would have
burned alive: we dragged him out, and
gave him 10 charge oi the soldiers, who
carried nim 10 the hospital.
But what wnS this compared 10 the scene
which presented itself in the chutch! But
a few weeks back crowds were there kneel-
ny in alteration and prayer ! could fancy
The Catholic priests in their splendid SioeS
he altar, It's candeslcls and the ornamental,
he solemn music, the incense, and all that,
Nv appealing to the senses, is SO iavoura-
bic 10 the cause Of religion with the gnor-
ant and uneduca'cd and what did now
behold nothing but the bare and blacken-
"a walls, the glowing neams and rafters,
md the window-framcs, which the flames
,tili licked and lickcred through. The
ioor had been harnt To cinders, and upon
I'D between the slcepers, on which the
ioor had been laid, We're scattered the re-
mains oil human creatures, injured in vari-
~ degrees. or DESTROYED by the FIRE; some
With merely the clothes burnt of, leaving
he naked body ; some burnt 10 a deep
,rown tinge others so far consumed tia,
he visceTa were exposed while here and :
here the hlackened ribs and reriebra were I
III that the fierce flames had spared.
M, only inside OF the church, but with
~, lis " ais, was the revolving spectacle.
n the remains Of the small building used
s a receptacle for the collins previous to a
1termen,, were several bodies, heaped one I
pom another, and still burning; the tres i,
els which had once supported The collins
CRYING rs fuel and farther oti were bodies o
ill sca,hed by ire, but frozen hard by the s
sverity Of the weather." c