Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1866-10-15
THE GREAT FIRE AT NEW YORK
Destruction of st. Patrick's Cath
edral
Scenes and Incidents.

The New York World, speaking of
the great fire which occurred there re-
Gently, resulting in the entire destruction
of ST. Patrick's Cathedral in that city,
says
As the vast crowd and breathless hosts
arrived at the Mott street wall of the Ca
thedral yard they were brought to stand
by far greater concourse of men, wo-
men and children, who blocked up every
avenue to the church to such degree,
that without the aid Of posse of police,
even the engines were unable to reach
the hydrants in the vicinity. The rumor
spread by the terrified trustee was true,
the church was on fire, but notin flames
The sparks from the Broadway fire fell
thick and fast on the crisp shinged root,
yet only here and there was visible a
little Pickering fame, carried by half
exlinguished cinders, each of which the
unceasing wind itself blew out as the
flame of wax taper would be blown out
BY sudden current of air The crowd
was confident, and yet not so. The
thousands of Catholics of the neighbor-
hood, to whom the old edi6ce was as an
rest when overwhelmed with the cares
and strifes of worldly doings, were pres
ent, and the idea of their good old rest
ing place taking fire like an ordinary
building seemed out of the question en-
tirely. Their confidence was misplaced, f,
and their pious CALCULATIONS that it might
be spared, even if it could burn asquick-
ly as a tenement house, were soon turned
to cries of despair and anguish. A sud
den strong gust of wind carried little
cinder in the air over the heads of the
crowd and landed it on the railing of the
sacred edi6ce, on the southerly side.
Another and another and still another
flew over the other buildings and landed
on the same roof in different localities
In another moment light flame arose
where every cinder had dropped, and a
cry of terror arose from the crowd
A terrible scene here ensued The
vast crowd, overcome. with excitement
and bent on saving. the edi6ce at all cost,
without calculating chances, rushed in a
body towards the church gates Over
the walls into the yard, over the graves,
over the chains at the entrance went
hundreds, pell NELL, to the very walls of
the church itself The crowd without
were fearfully excited, and yelled madly
for the engines, which, with their usual
inactivity, had not as yet got ready to
work. As the cinders fell faster on the
roof, and the Pickering flames grew
stronger on all sides, Mr.. Hart, the
Junior sexton of the church, and several
of the Pensioners appeared on the roof
with buckets of water, with which they
endeavored to extinguish the incipient
flames. The crowd cheered loudly, and
spark traces began to grow less as Hart
and his associates threw the contents of
bucket after bucket on the roof, which
they drew from a twenty gallon keg
they had hauled up to them. But the
water ran out, and the flames began to
crackle and hiss, and in another mo
ment the daring men were forced to
beat a retreat below. The little tongue
like chickering's on the ratings now
joined into one grand flame, with
branches rising over the roof like fire
snakes. A cry Of rage went up from
the crowd. The engines got to work,
and heavy streams of water were dashed
against the big roof, but all to no pur-
pose. The fire had gained headway, and
the moment when the building could
have been saved had passed. The scene,
as the fire grew in intensity, was one
which will not be easily forgotten by
any one who witnessed it, The flames
ran around the ratings, up the roof side s,
until they had covered the entire upper
part of the edifice, when they shot up in
the air lighting up the surrounding
streets everywhere. The women, and
even some men, in the crowd, who, per
haps, had been christened and married
in the old pile, and loved it as we all
love those things which, when once
they are lost, can never be replaced,
wept bitterly at the sight. Strong men
looked pale and laughed at their wives
calculations, while their own breasts
heaved with suppressed emotion; and
as the flames burst forth in all their tery
intensity, the pale faces Of the hundreds,
crouched trembliRgly in the nearby
tear trickling down to the quivering lip.
Oh, If all the churches were loved as
was this old temple Of God.
Inside the cathedral, while these scenes
were passing outside, all was commo-
ton. The gates were forced open by
the trustees, and the crowd, half frenzied
with the excitement Of the occasion, yet
instinctively knowing that they were
doing right, they tore up the copels,
seized hold Of the pictures, candelabras,