Russell H. Conwell 
History of the Great Fire in Saint John 
June 20 and 21, 1877

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. The most sincere thanks of the author are due to the gentlemen named below, who so kindly, at such personal sacrifice, furnished us with facts concerning the great fire, and contributed so much to make our stay in the afflicted city comfortable, profitable, and pleasant. It is a pleasure as well as a duty to write about such a people; and we tremble lest we shall fail to make a suitable return herein for the uni-1 versal hospitality of every man we met in St. John. To him whose fortunes we mainly follow in the opening chapters of this book, we may owe an apology for making so free with his narrative; and while we have tried to disguise it by adding inci dents, which, while each one related actually hap pened, he perhaps did not see, yet doubtless many in St. John will recognize the actor.