since. The price of gas up to 19th June 1877, was $3.00 per thousand feet.
The Burland Desbarats Lith. Co. Montreal
BURNT DISTRICT, SHOWING GAS HOUSE CHIMNEY AND SMOKING RUINS, TAKEN FROM LOWER COVE.
Photo by G. F. Simonson.
One hundred thousand feet of gas were in the holder's close, and the flames not a block away. The direst danger was imminent, and an explosion terrible in its character might occur at any minute. No one can say how many lives might have been lost, or how much valuable property destroyed. No provision had been made to prevent this blow-up, when Mr. Robert Britain with a prudence and forethought wonderful in a time like the present, sought the President and pointed out to him the vast extent of the danger which was so near. Mr. Blair immediately gave Mr. Britain full charge, who notwithstanding that his own private residence was being burned before his eyes, and his furniture and books, wholly uninsured, were being swept away, stuck to his post like a hero and averted a calamity, which might have resulted in the instant death of hundreds of people. Such grand conduct as this deserves more than a mere mention. Words are weak rewards for such conduct.
The Burland Desbarats Lith. Co. Montreal