190 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

they swept off everything between the corner of Front Street
and the river and destroyed every building on the river front
On the square where the fire originated the Clarendon Hotel
stood on the present site of the Purcell House, and the post office
was a room on the alley. Wilkings’ stables, as they were called
though Winslow S. Wilkings had died in October, 1837 stood
where Fennell’s stables are now. The northern sie of Market
Street was then as now occupied by grocery and dry-goods and
other stores; and on the alleys were dwellings as well as on
Front, Market, and Princess Streets. In nee cases thi

dwellings were rooms above the stores. ream

On the other square, at the corner just across from Dawson’s
stood the shop (office it would now be called) of Dr. Armand J
DeRosset, sr. This was consumed with the Chronicle office just
north of it and the dry-goods and general sales stores of Wright
and Savage, John Wooster, Samuel Shuter, C. B. Miller, Daniel
Dickson, Kelly & McCaleb, and others on the line of “Market
Street, the custom house, then standing on the same site as now
the store and warehouses of Aaron Lazarus, and the eanate
houses of many others on Water Street, north of Market.

The shop of Dr. DeRosset was entered by a row of steps
cornering on Market and Front Streets, and running up some
six or eight feet from the street. The custom house is not re-
membered by the present writer, to whom the river front at that
time was forbidden ground. The customs were collected and
the business appertaining thereto transacted for a while after
the fire in a room just where is now the office of A. S. Heide
Esq., Danish vice consul. At this time Gen. Louis H Mar-
steller was collector of customs. Afterwards the onstona house
was on North Water Street between Princess and Chestnut
Streets. Mr. W. C. Lord was collector here under appointment
of President Tyler, but in a few months, the President havin
changed his political status, Mr. Lord was superseded by Mr
Murphy V. J ones. The present custom house became seihy fot
occupancy during Mr. Jones’s ineumbency of the collectorshi
or possibly a very little while before he entered upon its ction
say in the latter part of 1842 or early in 1843. ;

One incident connected with this fire every one then in his
teens or older very vividly remembers—the blowing up of Phili |
Bassadier. In those days when water had to be pumped aie
and thrown from fire engines by the hardest kind of physical
labor, it might seem unnecessary to say that other means than

Early Years 191

throwing water had to be resorted to to stay the progress of the
flames. The most efficient means then known was the blowing

up of buildings by gunpowder—no dynamite then. This work
was, if not in 1840, certainly afterwards, confided to persons of
discretion who received their authority direct from the town
commissioners. It became necessary to resort to the means re-
ferred to in the Dawson fire, and in blowing up some buildings
about the center of the square, where the fire originated, Philip
Bassadier went up. He was taken off terribly bloody and. very
seriously wounded, it was supposed at the time mortally
wounded. But Philip, who, by the way, was one of the politest
of men, albeit not of the Caucasian race, lived to be the admira-
tion of the small boys of the period, and to furnish music for
pleasure-loving youths for many years. But of this we may
come to speak at another time. Senex, JR.

been received from one

unusually informed and accurate on local matters of the olden
time, and who, but for the disrespect seemingly attached, and

the utter incongruity of association, might be called “Old
Nick.” It will receive due attention hereafter. )

VIIL.

The friend referred to in the last article furnishes some cor-
rections or additions from very accurate remembrance, and
place is gladly given them. He was a pupil of Miss Laura
Rankin (since Mrs. Rothwell) when she taught in what was
and is known as Northrop’s Alley, running through from Front
to Second Street between Dock and Orange. Other boys were
George Harriss, Mike Cronly, Eli Hall, Henry Law, and of a
younger set, Nehemiah Harriss, John Morris, Dick Savage,
Nick Schenck, and so on. Girls in the same school were Sarah
Peck, Augusta Law, Emily Howard, Fanny Lippitt, Caroline
VanViel, Caroline and Clarissa Northrop, Mag and Kate
McLaurin, Aletta Jane Schenck, Sarah and May Savage, Har-
riet and Caroline Brown, and others. Mr. Walsh, later a Pres-
byterian minister, afterwards taught in the same place.

We are reminded, too, that Mr. Jesse Mulock, who came from
Orange, N. Y., first taught in a house on the site now occupied
by Burr and Bailey, and afterwards where mentioned in a
former article. His school became very prosperous and he