PREFACE
Reading edition
This book is intended by its author to be a story of The Burning of Chelsea as he saw it,—a contribution to local history based on personal knowledge and observation. No one man saw, or could see, all the phases of the conflagration, but the writer saw more than most. He was actively engaged during the entire course of the fire in the saving of persons and property, and was able to closely observe the whole progress of the flames. He served as a volunteer fireman for many hours and afterward on provost guard, being at work continuously for forty-eight hours without sleep. As he was thus present during the entire period of greatest stress, his narration consists of first-hand facts.
It was thought advisable to add chapters on the history of Chelsea, and some phases of the period immediately following the fire, for the information of those not familiar with the city, and also a chapter on the future of the city.
The illustrations are from photographs, and the author’s thanks for courteous permission to use them is due to Frank Roy Fraprie, Robert Buck Jeffers, of Chelsea, Mass., Leslie’s Weekly, William J. McClintock, Frank Thompson, the Utica Saturday Globe, and Royal S. Wentworth.
Mr. Jeffers is maker of the frontispiece, and pictures on pages 56, 78, and 102.