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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 F 3S / 7/ ^ THE BURNING OP THE ST. LOUIS THEATRE, QUEBEC. A BF.COKD OF THE EMINENT SEHVICES OF THE MILITARY. BY SIR J. E. ALEXANDER, KNT., K.L.S., 14TK REGT, " Quos tleus vult i)ertlcre pi-ius demeutut.** Is tlie nppor town of Quebec,— the qncen of North American cities. and h)okin(>- down from its rocky site on the broad St. Lawrwce, whilst extensive plains, scattered villages, and distant moinitaln ranges greeted the eve on all sides,— stood the Castle of St. Louis, the residence of the Governors-General of Canada; this interesting edifice was burned to the ground in 1831 ; subsequently the Earl of Durham caused the ruins to be levelled, and converted into a terrace, enclosed with a rail- ing, and which from the charming prospect it commands up and down the river (in summer a:ive with shipping), became the favourite pro- menade of the inhabitants. A wing of the old chateau still remained, also the castle guard-liouse at the entrance ; adjoining it were the Governor's stables, which were let to a livery stable keeper, and next to them the St. Louis Theatre, formerly a riding-house built by Sir James Craig ; this was lately the scene of a fearful calamity, with which it pleased Divine Providence a it ,.,.;or.v. On the 8th of June last, a Canadian artist, Mr. M. I. llarnson, hired the St. Louis Theatre from the Corporation of Quebec, tor tl.e exhibition of "iUuminated dioramas." For this P^^P^^^- t^'^' f ^ ^j;^ boarded over, and the floor sloped upwards from the orches ra to e back part of the house; a centre passage was left as before between he 'eats.^and from the upper and back part of the house a steep wooden stair, three and a half feet wide, led to the box door. ■ ^5^ M2i. V/, 0. ■x I- ! T^''/- £ll ll; o Stage, Pit Door, c Box Door, d Stair, e. Stables. To n'nminate his dioramas, M.-. Harrison unfortunately d'd not take ft sve/vlght, floats on water, spreads rapidly all about >f sp . an.l •vte. thrown on it only increases the danger without ext.ngu.slnng the flame. xTe insurance companies in Quebec will not now grant polices for huildinffs where camphine is used. j ,i 4.^ ♦ii« On the evening of the 12th of June, the theatre was crowded to the door -at least 3^00 people were present : the price of admission had door,-at least ^^^^^ P H ^^i audience was very respect- '':Z:t::it:ilJ^T^t vouhVhave hesitated to attend a theatrica exll^^billon tookleir 'children to witness these interesting illnminate J , ./. , ^^^fii its accompi'.nvuu,' l.ouse were calllug out, a, a joke, '"^; ^^"^ K^^^^^^^^^^ l„m,. Lad be™ up^et by a boy, i-nd tl'^ «»" ! ( ,,f,t rotvsTaVfor a sbort tin,.-, l.ai.e. Some of the a.ubence m he t'™ '>^^'^^^;,;" 14,1, Uegt., watching the progress of vhe A'™''- ^ '^- jtm bnt^notbiug could U„„,t „„ the ^'°g« -'''^-J'^ fae> of r^mC^ Savageau,\ule,ly ei!X th:;,:-,r.r; IrurutVf o^'l^., he retu^ea for H. ami agai.i retired in safety ; but not so us son. . Al',„t 2.0 people '•-;'';-\^";'; I*,,' tyd entered, .1^ box left 01-' "■; '^'^■:;.Cr ;'J',S C niddne su.oL began to roll roun.l door; and now, wnen iut- i ii«..n. ^ \ . , frnnt rows, now M. Uupuib, a iiuKii ^. wvnon liP was enterinsr the house, he '''':;i T't ';%Hrrp;;::e rtrierauiru;^;^^^ S the children, and said, " Stop ! we won't go there and be killed , vve'll ^^o out another way/' And they did so m safety. Armstrong now ran round to the box door with some othe.s , it w.>s mind he did not get up again, but crawled out of the F^ ^oor on m. "is and knees Ld sllwlhe light cloud passing into he ^ody of he hor.se ; lie next rr>H for a li^ht to the guard-room near, and got one . * I'HB UtTUNlNO OF wTieu talcrn inside the box door, dreadful scroams and cri..^ for IicTii wero .ud.lenly ujtorc>d from a n.us, of Immnn Icings 8h.T'..Iin.rwr !i' in?, and nitedocked on th,. p^rou.ul nnd ui» the sfoq> «ood;« «t';,ir. li.o cause of thoir boiug i,i this .sifuation is as follows. A 'i.md.er of pooide vvore clustorod ro.md the door at tLoVop of tlu> ^tair uaitln- to iu.ar -Yanl^' I'^'litor of the Quebec Mercurv. an.l others, CMe^srs hhea, Mac Donald, Todd. Lepper, Back, Bennet,'i5tewart, Captahi Von Zu.le. Commander of the "Ocean Queen," &c.) released, by Powerful exertions Mrs. Wheatly and Mrs. Uoy. M,. IJardie remarked amon-r the crowd of sufferer., Lieut. Hati.ilton, of the 14th Kegt., who had gone to the theatre with two daughters of Assistant Commissary General Kea, to the elder of the two CJulia) he was about to be married in a few days ; that mornmg she had been arranging her wedding clothes • the younger sister was lying furthest out, and Lieut. Hamilton's arms belinr tree, Mr. Ilardie said, "Assist me to get out this young ladv," Hamilton did so, and she was pulled out with difficulty. Mr. Hardie then said, as he carried her out, "I'll come back and try to release the other; Ilauidton said, •' For God's sake do so !" but it was too late. Mr. btewart fecott, an advocate and clerk of the Court o^ Appeals and father of a large family, was in the crnsli with a little dauohter • his brother triech with others, in vain to free him and the child; o'lie of^Mr. bcott s arms was actually pulled out of its socket ; he said, « Save tho child I it is useless to try to save me ;'* it was a most heart-rendino- scene; both were obliged to be abandoned. Mr. Hardie and Mr. Kinilm were both seized by sufferers nnd nearly draogod amoixr them, and were obliged to strike to release themselves. One in the lower tier offered all his worldly wealth for release. A little boy had previously made a singular escape: he had been f^cnt to the tluatre with a maid who was accompanied by a young man who BB THIS dr. Loviit thi:atui7, (iuldlc. /5 crif's for liclp ;^«Iiii,ir. writU- U'u stair, u A ♦iiini!)t»r ' stair U'aitlnij r« was f^ivi'ii, and fell head • friends went ; ; ■"'liih'doiniy n tli(» rear to uslu'dap-ainst irrt'trievaWy e overfurm d. i\vn over tlio Id, Kditor of mass by the niid cliil drcn d aviiis were i tIi(» Iielplt'sa idkcpt qiiiL't. 11 a partiuoii low. Lieut, the theafro d out a Mrs. the sj)ot and lilt, assiyttMl 'rs, (.Messrs. "aptalii Von by powerful iked aiuoiiif t., wlio had ary General I'ied in a few dothes ; the arms belnsif )ung" lady," Mr. Hardie release the as too late, Ll)peals,aud igliter ; his one of Mr. " 8ave the art-rending J and Mr. ion_sent to :«ssist. The sentry owtside and the policemen thought at fust that all had escaped, before the llaiiies appeared at the doors and window-', but all this time tiiey were raoiii;^ romui the interior; the wooihrn linino- of the wall? (the*buildin;r''bad once been used as r. racket court) quickly caught tn\>, uho the sIoj)in|r floor and benelies ; black and stilling- snioke from the caupliine r(di(>d down the fatal stair, and hid tlie victims for a moment and drove those courageously assistiuir outside; then the smoke wculdroll back and dis- close the agonized countenances of those doomed to dei^trnctioM ; then at once a stream of llame ran down from the top to the bottom of tlie btair, every head seemed on lire, and they were painfully and help- lessly moved about, the swollen tongues preventing utterance: it was an appallina; sight. Again, another cloud of smoke, the rouf fell in, and forty. live human beings, lately in healtli, ceased to exist. The Kev. Mr. O'lleilly, a Roman Catholic priest, in tho conscien- tious discharge of his sacred office, stood in the doorway, and i)raved over them to the last. To the last they were sen.-^ible. How feariu! must have been their mental agonies I Living at the time in St. Louis Street, I was soon at the scene of the dreadful calamity; though I was not aware at tirst that any one had been lelt iu the theatre. 1 saw the horses and carriages saved from the livery stables, which the tire was approaciiiiij^. The bells bcjan tolling and the bugdes blew loudly " The Assembly." I worked at lirst witli the 89th Kegimout (which was quartered in town in the Jesuits' barracks), to get water for the military engines. Colonel Walker, H.A., the Commandant of the Garrison, was on the spot. Colonel Thorpe, conmianding the SDth, wa . actively directing the energies of his men, and was ably seconded by his Adjutant, Lient. Kuipe. At first there was great delay in getting water. Tlie lire compcnie* brought up their engiiu's, but tliey were useless for some time : at last the neigliljouring wells were tapped, and water-carts brought up a supply from the river. A good deal of struggling now took place between the military and the civilians in their eagerness to get water, each party for their own engines ; no blows were struck, there was only an excess of zeal. Mr. Okill Steuart, the Mavor, was present and busily engaged, as were Mr. Mc Cord and Mr. U'ussell with the police force, and Mr. Wells, the Inspector of the Fire Department. I met Lieut. Armstrong in the crowd after his escape ; he told me of those burning inside. I ran round to the south gable where ladders were being planted. Some British sailor had, with an axe, knocked out a hole in the wall near the box door, but the opening was made too late to be of use ; but those who made it are deserving of gverv praise. I saw Mr. Alexander Bell, a merchant, and Mr. Jessop, a collector of customs, carryiLg a young lady (Miss Ilea) down a ladder. I ascended another and carried down a respectable-looking woman, who was scorched, yet wdio in the midst of her agitation cried out for her bonnet I I saw a poor man, near the door, wlio had been rescued, crying in despair for a young woman with whom he had gone to the the'atre, and who was 6 TIIK itnuNtxn OF fl no svhon; to l,o seen. The iMiiiainjr was white and red with flamef msul... 1 ho cl.nnv.l virtnns .>r the tiro wore hi a heap inside, and the sint'll of ro;istO(i tlcsli was sifkiMiin;.-. ^ A stroujr dcrachuiHit of the lirli Kc.irim.Mit came from thv citndrl with the engmos, hooks, and huldc-rs. Unyn- Watson, commandinir the n'gm.cnt, was prestMit with most of the otht^r oflicHT^. The men. in conjunction with the Uoval Artillery and 8i;th Ucffiment. forim.i streots to pass snpplu.s of wat««r. and l.y means of theirunitrd elTorts with the hooks and ladders, they draopvd the roof off the stables, and saved ttio p.ard-honse. Amony fearlessly exposed themselves to danger from fallinn: timber and their clothes t<> in urv ; and It is the opinion of those who lost relatives on this occasion, that if he soldiers luul been present to assist those who so courageously tried to save the sutlerers, that all mijrht have been got out. 1 he wmg of the old ehateau befran to smoke. I was interested about It, to preserve. t as a relic of the palmy days of Qu.d.r. On the outer wall 18 a cross ot fet. John of Jerusalem, cut in stone, and with the (.ate 1G47. 1 ffot an axe, and hewed down part of a wooden spout at an an'>-le to prevent the lire from nnminfr i,p to the roof, I was imnu«diatelv snrroimded by three ot the corporation, wbo thouuht tlu-re was no dan-er ; but dan-er there was, for a la-ld. r on the roof qtiJ.lJv can.-bt hre from the sparks brouoht hy the fire-wind which be.rau'to rLe. though before this the nJoht was fortunately calm and the moon sliininj? brightly on the scene. 1 ran upstairs, wiih an active eorporal ((iabn, Hth): we found that the fire was not ii.side. A bold llreman Tlu,mas Andrews, climling on the roof, cut away the bnrnin- la.i.hT, and hurled It over the eaves. Water thrown ou 'the windows prevenltd further uanoer. * The appearance of the fire and surrounding obferts was now awfully grand. Under the black canopy of smoke, the flames rose hi-h in the air, .'buninatmg the tin-covered roofs and sp'res rf the. clurrclies and buil.hngs around, and shewing the large bo.ly of military at work, the hemeted firemen and their bright painted engines, and a great multi- tnde of anxious spectators in the Place D'Annes. Among them were those who ran about, and who cried distractedly for their lost relatives or tneuds—for those who were never again to cheer the domestic iiearth. The progress of the fire was most rapid, vet it was at last got under vyhen thc>re was nothing left to burn. The gongs of the engines signalled for more water ever and anon ; and, about t-vo in .he mornin./, one by one they left off working, each comi.any, unnc.cessarily, givimr three cheers : silence was best after such a scene of distress. Ihe energetic magistrate, Mr. U. S^mes, had directed that the bodies should not be touched till davlight. I went to bed for a few Hours, and rose early tr search for inv brother officer. Tho bIack(«nod remains of the sufferers were brought out, and laid on the grass of a small terrace at tlie south gable of the theatre. Forty-three at first vv-ere found m a heap, ten feet long, four broad, and four in height; two others were afterwards found but mere trunks: forty -five victims in all. -^ with damet ide, and the the cttrtdcl inauding the i'he ineiit in i'iit» tbniU'd iiitcd tftorts srables, and ^\y C;)ptain >thinf^ could jsly exposed I to injury ; "»ion, that if eously tried •ested about le outer wall I' (.ate- 1C47. a uTifrh*. to iiniiu'diately I'Kly caught ail to rii«t», oon shhjing •al (da-liii, in, Tlioiuas and hurliMl lid further iow awfully liiili iu the lurdics and t work, the rcat multi- thorn were st n-lalives a domestic g"ot under l;t eng-liies e nioniinj^-, •ily, giving 1 that the [ for a few ' bhickenod grass of a •eo at first loight; two ve victims THE iT. Loi;i« TiiKAini?, {^rcnuo. . 7 Most of thefipudi, tho chor^f^, and the arms tvero consunu'd by the fire; the lowest of nil were tolerably entire; the hirs were twisted and distorted in vvery possible manner, sonu* drawn up to the eh(>st, others ■tretched out, the feet and lefjH in one line; in some the eh)tlu>s were almost all burned off, in others the frowns and trowsers were rntiro, IJy the dresses and shoes and boots the bodies were made out. One I dy, that of a man, was covered with h)u QVKII'O. roor<. Til© pressure of llie water scndn a powerful stre.im tlironoli tlie cofk he!r)vv wlien tlio key Is iH)i)lie(1, otkI tiio ^viUe^ in usefiil for lioiise. !iol(l purposes— Jifter tilteriui,', for wateriii': tlir streets, or tor extm- pui^liinj,' tire. In Ca»iii(l;u by rnsiiinr tlie tanks, tlio tVost nii;j;lit ho kept ©flf; bureveii if ihey were useless dnriiiff live niontlis of tliu year, they mijiht bo of essential service dnrin? the other seven montbfl, and ther© 19 only a tritling txpcuse altomling their coub^ructiou. Quebec, 27th June, 1846. ( mvrh tlie i)r ext'n- t b(» Ivopt 'Mr, tln'y mi 'here