encouraged the men to sleep in these buildings. Among the finest houses in earlier days were those of No. 13, in Duane Street; No. 6, in Henry Street, near Gouverneur (which is still standing, and is used by a steam-engine company; No. 44, in Houston Street, near Columbia, now occupied by a steam-engine; and No. 32, in Hester Street. About the year 1849 the late Mr. Tweed became foreman of Engine No. 6, most of whose members were ship-carpenters and calkers in the Seventh Ward. He was instrumental in erecting for them a fine three-story building, large enough for a ward meeting, and practically the political head-quarters of that part of the city, which excited the envy of other companies less sumptuously provided for by the corporation. Mr. Mills relates that when he belonged to Engine No. 13 there was not room enough in her house for the men to sit down. "We used to drag our engine out when we wanted to hold a meeting of the company."

VI.

As time wore on it became the custom to use the engine-houses as dormitories, and demoralization went hand in hand with it. The law, however, still forbade the practice, and Mr. "Joe" Hoxie one night signified his accession to the office of alderman by making a general raid upon the buildings and ordering all hands out. Engine Company No. 33 thereupon made friends with the sexton of All Saints Episcopal Chapel (now used as a machine shop), in Grand Street, near Pitt, the members lying in the pews, and using the ends of the cushions for bolsters. When turned out of this comfortable nest, they hired the second story of a house in Scammel Street, near by, only a hundred and fifty feet from their engine-house, and paid for It was at "a convivial party," on a winit themselves, disdaining to modernize ter evening in 1792, at a small tavern in themselves by calling upon the city to Nassau Street, near Fair (now Fulton) meet the expense. They had two rooms, Street, that some members of the Volunand these they fitted up with three rows teer Fire Department first bestirred themof berths, or "bunks," along the walls, selves with reference to the creation of a one row above another. "I was so long," fund for the benefit of indigent and dissays an old fireman, "that my feet hung abled firemen and their families. The over the end of my bunk, and the fellow | building was long ago torn down, and on who slept below me used to amuse himself its site is a magnificent marble structure by sticking pins into my bare soles." Oft- owned by ex-Mayor Wood; its frequenten a member who happened to be wakeful ers also have long since disappeared, but would go to the signal lantern, which was their good deed has built for them a name. a part of the fixtures of the establishment, Six years afterward matters had taken scrape out of it a handful of lamp-black, very definite shape and finish; and when, and proceed to paint mustaches on the on the 20th of March, 1798, an act "to inupper lips of the smooth-faced slumberers, corporate the firemen of the city of New who, when they awoke-it might have York" was passed by the Legislature, one been a fire-alarm that roused them-would of its provisions was, that the funds of try to wipe the nasty stuff off, thereby the said corporation which shall arise from making their appearance considerably chimney fires, certificates, and donations, worse, for the lamp-black would stick like and from such other objects as may have a brother. "I have worn such mustaches been heretofore or may be hereafter agreed many a time," continued the speaker. on by the respective fire-companies, shall “All such harmless little performances be appropriated to the relief of such inmade fun enough then, though they look | digent or disabled firemen, or their famirather silly now." There were thirty | lies, as may be interested therein, and who "bunks" in the Scammel Street lodginghouse.

By-and-by the tastes of the firemen became less simple, and brown-stone houses were not uncommon. Harry Howard was the first Chief Engineer who openly

|

may, in the opinion of a majority of the trustees, be worthy of assistance; but if they shall amount to a greater sum than the trustees may think necessary to apply to the said purposes, then the said representatives shall have power to apply such

The first-
The city

convened for the purpose, and each member promised "to use his best efforts to find some new source of revenue to sustain the sinking fortunes of the fund." It did not take long to discover that not less than twenty-one foreign insurance agencies were neglecting to pay to the Comptroller of the State, as required by law, two per cent. of the premiums received on policies of insurance issued by them. The law was clear; the neglect was inexcusable. Why not get the Legislature to make over to the fund this levy of two per cent.? asked the trustees one of another, and the reply being in favor of such a course, a bill was forthwith drawn, "praying the Legislature to transfer the two per cent. tax from the coffers of the State to the charitable fund of the Fire Department." A delegation of the board, accompanied by other of its friends, proceeded at once to Albany, and the bill was introduced, but on account of the lateness of the season it was not reached before the Legislature adjourned. The next winter the bill was again presented

surplus to the purpose of extinguishing | fire-insurance companies, which had suffires, under such limitations and restric-fered terrible losses, to contribute as libertions as they may, with the sanction of ally as had been their custom. the corporation of the city of New York, mentioned cause was the chief. deem proper." For thirty-seven years the had been growing rapidly, and the number course of the charity ran smooth. The of firemen had in consequence increased recipients of the fund were few, and the from five or six hundred to about two thoudisbursements small. What better use of sand. The condition of affairs was earthe principal than to invest it in fire-in-nestly considered at a special meeting surance stock? The idea found favor, and the investment was made. Whenever thereafter the firemen put out a fire, or prevented the destruction of property, they added to the value of their charitable stock. The better they worked, the more money they had for their widows and orphans. Every dollar saved to the fireinsurance companies was a gain for the fund. But the disastrous conflagration of the year 1835 nearly swept the insurance companies from existence, and in their fall the fund also declined. It became, indeed, scarcely a fund at all. With admirable promptness and energy the trustees set themselves to the task of soliciting subscriptions for the purpose of putting the charity on its feet again, and so successful were they and their friends that in a few weeks the sum of $24,000 was secured. Tradition has not failed to embalm with especial care the names of Adam W. Spies, of Engine No. 12, and James Russell, of Hose No. 4, who distinguished themselves by their zeal in the work. Once started again, the fund moved without apparent friction. "In those-this time early. Its friends "were met days," says Mr. Giles, its present treasurer, it was a rare occurrence for a fireman to ask relief from the fund. It seemed as if they felt unwilling, however great were their necessities, to seek assistance from a source which they thought should be reserved as a sacred trust for the benefit of widows and orphans only." Thirteen years afterward, however, in 1848, another crisis was reached. The trustees, in their annual report, regretted to state that "for three years past they have not only been unable to add anything to the permanent fund, but have experienced great difficulty in raising sufficient money to meet their actual and necessary expenditures." The principal causes of the deficiency were the great increase in the number of the widows, orphans, and other beneficiaries; the decreased sums collected from chimney and gunpowder fines, and from penalties for violating the fire laws; and the neglect or inability of the city

by a powerful lobby of foreign insurance agents and their friends, to defeat, if possible, its passage. Finding that we were determined to have the bill passed," continues Mr. Giles, "they proposed a conference, and offered, if we would withdraw our bill, or would not press its passage, to give to the Fire Department Fund annually $1500 so long as the Volunteer Fire Department existed. We informed them that we could not comply with their request, as our instructions were to get the bill passed; and that if we were unsuccessful we would return to the representatives of the Fire Department with the proud assurance that we had done our duty and obeyed our instructions. But by means of great exertions we were successful, the bill was passed, and we returned to our constituents, the representatives of the Fire Department, with a certified copy of the law in our pockets." The books show that during the next fif

teen years the passage of this law bene- | burning of that building. The price of fited the fund to the amount of more than $200,000.

When the volunteer system was succeeded by a paid Fire Department, the opponents of the former, having gained, says Mr. Giles, the object for which they went to Albany, "turned their attention to this charitable fund; and so anxious were they to blot out and destroy every nucleus that the Volunteer Department might rally around that they were disposed to make the trustees of the paid Department the sole arbiters of this charity, with power to fill vacancies in their board." But at length the Legislature enacted that to the Exempt Firemen should be confided the trust, with the proviso that no money should be taken from the permanent fund without the consent of the Legislature. This fund at that time was $90,000. Last year it had increased to $129,307 89.

The present paid Fire Department," however, says Mr. Zophar Mills, "have a fund of their own of about $400,000, obtained from fines and penalties for violating the building laws, through licenses for selling petroleum, fire-works, etc. The interest on this sum is twice as much as the Department spends for its widows, orphans, and infirm members. We were eighty years in collecting our fund, they only fifteen years. Five years ago they received one-third of our revenues, three years ago one-half, but about a year ago the law was changed so as to give the whole back to us. They didn't need the money, but they knew that we did; yet it is a wonder that they consented to give it up." The fund of the old Volunteer Department now yields yearly the sum of $40,000. It is one of the most modest, efficient, and praiseworthy charities in the world.

VII.

tickets was two dollars; afterward it was never less than five dollars. Great care was taken in the distribution of tickets, that the entertainment should be as select as possible. The places of assembly in succeeding years were the Park Theatre, on Park Row, the Opera-house (Clinton Hall), Niblo's, and the Academy of Music, and the success was perfect, until the disbandment of the Department in 1865, when the interest began to diminish, and the difficulty of paying expenses to begin. The last entertainment given by the "Firemen's Ball Committee of the Old Volunteer Fire Department" was not a ball, but a concert, in aid of the yellowfever sufferers, held in the Academy of Music on the 2d of October, 1878, and resulting in the collection of the handsome net sum of $5462. In the palmy period of the Department immense preparations were made for the decoration of the building in which the ball was to take place. For several days previous to the event wagons laden with trumpets, torches, hooks, ladders, axes, tormentors, and other implements of the craft might be seen driving up to the head-quarters of the Chief Engineer, at No. 21 Elizabeth Street, and depositing their treasures, so that as soon as the theatre was available all the material for ornamenting it might be within reach for expeditious use. When the curtain dropped on the stage the night before the ball, the firemen took possession of the building, and their labors in equipping its interior continued through the night and the next day. Enthusiasm, diligence, and quick intelligence presided over the task of preparation. The tickets were handsomely engraved on steel.

The preparations for the balls given by the several companies were scarcely less notable. Fine "fancy" paper with ornamented cut margins was not considered too choice, nor gilt ink too costly, nor "politest" phrases too precious.

It is almost needless to add that at a firemen's ball the dancing ceased only with the break of day.

VIII.

A principal source of its revenue was the Annual Ball for the Benefit of the New York Fire Department Fund." Almost every engine company had an annual ball, but the ball of the season was the general ball for the fund. It occupied for many years a position corresponding to that of the Charity Ball in On one memorable occasion the labors the Academy of Music, and enlisted the of the New York firemen were exerted sympathy and support of the fashion and with triumphant success in Brooklyn also. wealth of the metropolis. The first ball In the latter city, a few blocks west of of the series was held in the Bowery The-Fulton Street, near Fulton Ferry, in 1842, atre in the year 1828, not long before the a fire started, burned through to Fulton

Street, crossed that street, and destroyed
the houses on each side of it for a consid-
erable distance. The Chief Engineer, in
view of the extent and ferocity of the
flames, was about to dispatch a messen-
ger to the Navy-yard requesting the au-
thorities to detail an officer for the pur-
pose of blowing up a row of brick build-
ings as the only means of staying the
progress of the fire.
It so happened that
near the Brooklyn Chief Engineer was
Chief Engineer Anderson, of the New
York Fire Department, and
Engineer Charles Forrester.
These officers urged the Brook-
lyn Chief to withhold the re-
quest to the Navy Department,
and promised to bring over from
New York a force 'sufficient to
save the doomed buildings and
extinguish the fire. The offer

With

was gladly accepted, and Engi-
neer Charles Forrester started
for New York, bearing an order
from Chief Anderson to have
the City Hall bell strike five-
the signal for calling out the
engines in the district southeast
of the City Hall Park.
characteristic forethought, Mr.
Forrester got the ferry-master
on the New York side to promise
to keep the boat in the slip until
it could be packed with engines
and firemen from New York.
The ferry-boats then ran less
often than now. He started the
Fulton Market bell, and next
the City Hall bell was heard. This was
responded to successively by the bells in
the North Dutch tower and the old Brick
Church tower. In an incredibly short
time the ferry was a rendezvous of en-
gines and firemen, the river was crossed,
and a line of engines was formed from
the Brooklyn side of the river, Engine
No. 15 being at the dock, Engine No. 22
next, Engine No. 42 next, and Engine No.
38 next. The fire was conquered, and the
row of brick buildings saved.

when the rioters, who had set fire to pri-
vate houses and orphan asylums, deter-
mined that these should be consumed.
At the burning of Barnum's Museum, on
Broadway, where the Herald Building
now stands, the Exempt Engine Company
is believed to have saved a quarter of a
million of dollars.
It had three engines

one of them a hand-engine known as the "Hay-Wagon," and the others steamengines, which were self-propellers, each manned by ten Exempts, who did the

CORNELIUS V. ANDERSON.

work of five hundred firemen and an ordinary engine. These, with the exception of the one used by Engine Company No. 8, were the first efficient steam-engines in New York city. The "Hay-Wagon" was sold to the United States government about the year 1862, and taken to Fortress Monroe for the protection of that important place when the rebels were thought to be meditating the capture and burning of it. Mr. John Baulch, an assistant engineer of the New York Fire Department, went with the "Hay-Wagon" to Fortress Monroe, entered the service of the government, and It staid there, performing "fire duty." The "Hay-Wagon," an engraving of which accompanies this article, was originally the engine of Empire Company, No. 42, but being extremely heavy and lumbersome, was abandoned by that organization for a new one. The Exempts think

The Exempt Engine Company was composed of firemen who had served their time and been honorably discharged. was called out only in extraordinary emergencies. During the war riots in 1863 many of its members staid in the Tribune Building for several days and nights, ready to perform duty at a moment's notice; and perilous duty it was,