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 The Sad Fate 
 °^ NIAGARA 
 
 Number One- 
 
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COPYRIGHT, 1885, 
 BY J. C. RANKIN, JR., N. Y. 
 
.1^ 
 
 The Sad Fate 
 
 of 
 
 Niagara Number One. 
 
 CURIOUS tale is the tale we tell, 
 Of a curious fate and how it befell 
 Fire Engine Niagara Number One, 
 But lately the pride of Bustleton — 
 A town that is noted for having the best 
 That money can buy' or brains suggest 
 Of every contrivance invention can master 
 For promoting good health or averting disaster. 
 Thus, its engine was one of the finest made ; 
 And, when at a fire, the stream that it played 
 Was so high and so strong that no words of praise 
 Were too loud to express the delight and amaze 
 Of the people. 
 
" Their uniform was a thing of joy T 
 
'HP WAS kept in a house on the village green, 
 
 And a finer building was never seen 
 Than that of Niagara Number One, 
 With which the Department was proud to run. 
 Their uniform was a thing of joy, 
 Not to mention beauty ; for when each boy 
 (And all were boys in the Fire Brigade) 
 Was fixed for a Fourth of July parade, 
 As firemen are, in the following manner : 
 With leathern belt and polished spanner, 
 A flaring helmet and scarlet shirt ; 
 Pants tucked into boots to escape the dirt ; 
 A stern expression and gloves of white, 
 Big bouquet and buttons bright, 
 They struck in the hearts of the village maids, 
 Who gazed on these wonderful fire parades, 
 An alarm that beat to their measured treadings 
 Like the bells that ring for fires and weddings 
 From the steeple. 
 
''^ Drawn by a hundred boys and men^ 
 
t^OR many a year in Bustleton 
 
 This engine, Niagara Number One, 
 Took charge of the fires both great and small, 
 And doused and deluged them one and all 
 With streams of water that, some declared, 
 Destroyed whatever the flames had spared. 
 'Twas a sight to see her come tearing down 
 The principal street of the busy town, 
 Drawn by a hundred boys and men 
 Who left the shops where they should have been 
 At work, to run with the "old machine ;" 
 While above them all the chief, serene, 
 Called in a voice that was brazen and strong, 
 " Shake her up !" "Break her down !" and " Yank her 
 
 along !" 
 After the fire came a spread, of course. 
 Set forth by the man who stood the loss. 
 Thus you see that a fire, in the days we sing, 
 Was a much-to-be-dreaded, formidable thing, 
 And expensive. 
 
The mill owner sat in his wonted place'' 
 
/^NE day an alarm rang loud and clear. 
 
 The firemen hastened from far and near, 
 Manned their engine and rushed her along 
 With clattering wheels and sounding gong. 
 "The mills are on fire !" was the startling cry 
 That greeted their ears as they rattled by. 
 "The mills are on fire and a hundred lives 
 Will be lost ere ever your help arrives." 
 On reaching the mills they paused in amaze, 
 Neither fire nor smoke met their wondering gaze. 
 The mill owner sat in his wonted place, 
 And a satisfied smile stole over his face 
 As he said, 'For your kindness, I owe you my thanks, 
 Though I've no longer need for fire engines or tanks; 
 Our blaze was quickly subdued by the aid 
 Of what is known as the Harden Hand Grenade — 
 Those bottles you see hanging there on the wall; 
 And of fires since this test I'm no longer at all 
 Apprehensive. 
 
8 
 
 'npHIS thing was repeated again and again, 
 
 And fires were put out ere Niagaras men, 
 With their engines the sound of the bells had obeyed 
 For always before them they found the grenade. 
 It never once failed to extinguish the flames 
 When properly used, as its label explains. 
 And for Engine Niagara Number One^ 
 It left nothing to do and no prize to be won. 
 So with the sad downfall that pride often meets 
 The old engine is now used to sprinkle the streets. 
 
WA. 
 
 The moral is plam, that the best of all aids 
 In case of a fire are the 
 
 Star Hand Grenades, 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 HH. 
 
 015 863 683 9 ^ 
 
 WRITTEN, ILLUSTRATED AND PRINTED BY J. C. RANKIN, JR., 3* CORTLANDT ST., N. Y.