The sun., 1907-08-11
WHEN MARTYKEESE EREPENTED
AvOLDNEW TORK FEUD AND THE
GREAT FIRE or ISlJ.
IIosliutIcs Of the Lads VINO nan with N
Engine and the Followers of N Engine
Fireman Cowdrey's Interference and
the speech Marty Took Back.

Engine and the Followers Of N Engine
Fireman COwdrey's Interference and
the speech Marty Took Back.
All night long the terrible fight had ragged
through the black streets Of Old New York.
Tommy Curry the brave leader Of the lads
rat always trailed with whoop and yell
= rr their idols. the fremen Of - Engine.
Commanded one OF the opposing parties
with little Marty Keese as chief OF staT.
Who marahalled their opponents. the small
warriors Of the - Engine gang. historians
have forgotten TO yet down. And the night
vas Friday. July ~. lsi5, the eve Of fright
ful catastrophe.
All night-as latc as half-pas' eight. any
way. when good little boys Of Marty Keese's q
New York had 20 stop fighting and go to
bel flying stones had ciattered angrily
through the dark streets and along the
brick pavements till the watchmen. shield
ing their lanterns under their coats for
protection from the stones. groaned with
Despair. For this was a fight for Cause
and was not TO be finished 40 long az there
was single stone hruise 10 stand on
or until your father came after you.
II all started weeks before--on the Gori-
Gus Fourth. to he exact right in front OF
the City Hall. which Marty Reese takes
care Of now and has been looking after for
81 many years. Martyrs older brother.
Billy. who years later was to march alonp
in brave blue uniform to be shot in his last
fight at Falling Waters. Va, had taken
Marty's hand that Fourth Of July morning
and Marty had taken Billy's hand and to-
ecther they had got Tommy Curry and had
gone down to the glittering vanity Fair"
that was always held in City Hall Park on
the Fourth Of July.
There among the fancy booths in the
park teeming with the thirteen cornered
cakes called bolivars and the delightful
three for a cent round hearts and the other
toothsome ecstscies of Old New York Marty
and Billy and Tommy had happened upon
part Of the % Engine gang. led by squatty
red headed boy whom Marty remembers only
as Piggy. Students Of history need not
he told that the proper ceremonial of such
a meeting in those days was to grab the
other boy and lift the tail OF his jacket TO
learn from the number marked on the
little suspenders under the jacket which
fire company the boy ran with.
You knew on sight. Of course, that the
other boy didn't run with your gang but
the Jacket lifting was an important cere-
monial After this the next step was to
punch the other boy.
That Fourth of July fight left bad taste
for days On the following Sunday a fire.
man was buried and all the little tads formed
a sidewalk escort, as usual. TO acco 1pany
the body of the dead hero down Broadway
to the ferryboat that was to carry the coffin
10 Greenwood Also, as usual. the escort
fought its way along as it passed the stamp
ing grounds Of the various fire engine
gangs.
During this Sunday mixup a terrible
thing happened: One small but belligerent
boy of Marty keese's 23 Engine gang W rs
cuffed Indignantly by Fireman Cowdrey
of - Engine Company for fighting too
close to the hearse. Then when the boy
had got himself Strengthened out again
he stood on the curb in front Of old Trinity.
and in few well chosen remarks he voiced
his shrill opinion OF the 20 Engine gang
IN general and Fireman Cowdrey in par
ticular.
Unaccustomed as the boy was to public
speaking still he managed to relieve him
self Of his set idea that he could lick the
entire - Engine gang with both hands
tied behind his back and his eyes shut.
Furthermore. he laid stress upon the state
ment that Fireman Cowdrey was 'fraidy
cat and redhead redhead. fire away for
gingerbread-all OF which was entirely
untrue and prompted solely by passion.
This remark that one OF the most wor-
shipped heroes OF the % Engine gang.
spoken loudly to the passing funeral. was
'fraidy cat was the last straw with the
crowd led by Piggy Something. Where
fore that fight ON the eve OF Saturday,
july 10. is45, had something back of il be-
sides the mere fact that the rival gangs
were chronic enemies. and so IL was a most
beautiful fight. There were 80 many
splendid details to It that at .half-pss. 8
Marty was more than glad to drag himself
mp town to Grand street and crawl into
bed
Perhaps il he hadn't been so dead tired
he would have got an earlier start toward
the deplorable things that began to happen
70 New York within the next few hours.
Some say that the Great Fire Of IS45 which
began about $50 o'clock on that Saturday
morning. got it's start in the oil and stearin
candle plant Of j. l.. Van Doren, which
stood at 81 New street. At any rate il took
50 good grip on part of the town where
the buildings were unoccupied at night
that it had been burning on gloriously
around sleeping New York for half an hour
before some one woke up and rang the
Ciy Hall bell.
The clash of the bell in the silent summer
night was now awakening more and more
of the sleepy town. For half an hour the
changing went on. and the heads Of families
began To realize that here must be a fire
worth while, and they dressed and hurried
along toward the brilliant glow.
ncanny flares leaped ftfully brighter
and brighter and soon the little oil lamps
along the streets became superHuous as
the townspeople clattered through the
streets. And while the crowd was swelling
and beginning TO choke the streets and
the watchmen were shouting to the people
to make way for the red shirted firemen
and their trundling engines and the cries
Of terrified women and children were be-
ginning to rise above the dull roar-then
suddenly all New York seemed to explode.
Orelt sheets Of fame stabbed the greasy
clouds Of smoke on high and Manhattan
rocked and shook. As far away as Newark
IA" explosion was heard by sympathetic