While the records were removing from the secretary's office, there fell a moderate shower of rain, which was of some small service; and when the buildings were down to the ground floor, some hand-grenade shells, which had lain so long as to be forgotten, took fire, and went off, which few or none but the officers of the fort, could account for, or imagine what was the matter, nor would it have been worth while to have attempted their removal, if they had been thought of; for the buildings in the fort were at that time all given over for lost: but this served to confirm the generality of the people, in the notion that there was powder in the fort, and if they could have done any good, this would probably have prevented them.
But though the floors of the several buildings soon tumbled in, there were many pieces of timber which were laid in the walls of the house, chapel steeple, and other buildings, which continued burning almost all the night after; so that we could not think the town quite out of danger of further mischief, till those timbers were entirely consumed; for it was apprehended, as the fort stood upon an eminence, that the wind, according as it should have happened to change, might have blown some of the fire upon the houses in the town, which, for the most part, have shingled roofs: therefore, care was taken to keep a watchful guard all the night, to prevent further damage.
Mr. Cornelius Van Horne, a captain of one of the companies of the militia, very providentially beat to arms in the evening, and drew out his men with all expedition; had seventy odd of them under arms all night, and parties of them continually going the rounds of the city until day light. This incident, from what will appear hereafter, may be thought to have been a very fortunate one, and deserving of a more particular remark, though at that time some people were so infatuated, as to reproach that gentleman for it, as a madman.
The only way of accounting for this misfortune at this time was, the lieutenant governor had ordered a plummer that morning to mend a leak in the gutter between the house and the chapel which joined upon one another, and the man carrying his fire-pot with coals to keep his soddering-iron hot, to perform his work; and the wind setting into the gutter it was thought some sparks had been blown out upon the shingles of the house; but some people having observed, that upon the first alarm, as before, near half the roof, as they guessed, was covered with smoke, and that no spark of fire appeared without, nor could any be seen, but within; it was by them concluded, that the reason assigned was not likely to be the right one, especially when it was considered, that at length the fire broke out in several places of the roof, distant from each other, but no one imagined it was done on purpose.
Friday, March 20.
Prince, the negro of Mr. Auboyneau, who was bailed out of prison, as before mentioned, was recommitted by the mayor, and alderman Bancker.
Wednesday, March 25.
A week after the fire at the fort, another broke out between 11 and 12 o'clock at the house belonging to captain Warren, near the long bridge, at the S. W. end of the town; the roof was in flames, supposed at that time to have been occasioned by the accidental firing of a chimney; but when the matter came afterwards to be canvassed, it was not altogether clear of grounds of suspicion, that it was done designedly; but the fire engines were soon brought thither, and they played so successfully, though the fire had got to a considerable head on an old shingled roof, that by their aid, and the assistance and activity of the people, it was soon extinguished, without doing much damage to the house.
Wednesday, April 1.
Another week from the last, a fire broke out at the storehouse of Mr. Van Zant, towards the east end of the town. It was an old wooden building, stored with deal boards, and hay at one end of it; the fire was said to be occasioned by a man's smoking a pipe there, which set fire to the hay: but it is said, the fire was first discovered in the N. E. side of the roof, before it had taken the hay: this house was near the river, and by the side of a slip out of it, convenient for handing water to the engines; it was thought morally impossible, to hinder its spreading further, there being many wooden buildings adjoining; but the people exerted their usual diligence, handed out the boards into the slip, all in flames, played the engines, and handed and threw the buckets of water, with such extraordinary activity, it stopped the progress of the fire so successfully, that it ended with little more damage than the entire consumption of the warehouse and most of the goods in it.
Saturday, April 4.
This evening there was an alarm of a fire at the house of one Quick, or Vergereau, (for they both lived under one roof) in the Fly: Upon inquiry, the fire was found to be in a cow-stable near the houses; the hay was on fire in the middle of it; but by timely assistance, it was suppressed.
As the people were returning from Quick's fire, that was succeeded with a second cry of fire, at the house of one Ben Thomas, next door to captain Sarly, on the west side; this was in the dusk of the evening. It began in the loft of the kitchen, was discovered by the smoke before the fire had got any head, and was soon extinguished. Upon examination, it was found that the fire had been put between a straw and another bed laid together, whereon a negro slept, but who did it, or how the fire happened at Quick's, remained to be accounted for.
Sunday, April 5.
A discovery was made in the morning early, that some coals had been put under a haystack, standing near the coach-house and stables of Joseph Murray, Esq. in the Broadway, and near some dwelling-houses, which had it taken fire, would have been in great danger, but the coals went out of themselves, as supposed, having only singed some part of the hay. It was said there were coals and ashes traced along from the fence to a neighbouring house next adjoining the stables, which caused a suspicion of the negro that lived there.
The five several fires, viz. at the fort, captain Warren's house, Van Zant's store-house, Quick's stable, and Ben Thomas's kitchen, having happened in so short a time succeeding each other; and the attempt made of a sixth on Mr. Murray's haystack; it was natural for people of any reflection, to conclude that the fire was set on purpose by a combination of villains, and therefore occasioned great uneasiness to every one that had thought; but upon this supposition nobody imagined there could be any further design, than for some wicked wretches to have the opportunity of making a prey of their neighbours' goods, under pretence of assistance in removing them for security from the danger of flames; for upon these late instances, many of the sufferers had complained of great losses of their goods and furniture, which had been removed from their houses upon these occasions.
This Sunday as three negroes were walking up the Broadway towards the English church, about service time, Mrs. Earle looking out of her window, overheard one of them saying to his companions, with a vaporing sort of an air, “ Fire, Fire, Scorch, Scorch, A LITTLE, damn it, BY-AND-BY,” and then threw up his hands and laughed; the woman conceived great jealousy at these words, and thought it very odd behaviour at that juncture, considering what had so lately happened; and she putting the natural construction upon them, her apprehensions made her uneasy, and she immediately spoke of it to her next neighbour Mrs. George, but said she did not know any of the negroes.
About an hour after, when church was out, Mrs. Earle saw the same negroes coming down the Broadway again, and pointed out to Mrs. George the person who had spoke the words, and Mrs. George knew