Volume 2 - ElectricCanadian.com

284 HISTORY OF THE BANKtrunks, on top of which sat two stout Italian dames withbird-cages, and for three hours, amid the smoke and blisteringheat, their lamentations could be heard above the roar of theflames. To offset their dirge, a small Scotchman, his headalone visible above the water, struck up "Annie Laurie,"in which many joined, but the atmosphere of smoke and cindersfinally proved too much for even the most enthusiastic of thecrowd. They were forced to content themselves with endeavouringto obtain all the air possible, occasionally dippinginto the water to extinguish the burning cinders falling onthem. Except for an interval of five or ten minutes, whichseemed like an hour, the danger of suffocation was not great,as the fury of the wind for the most part kept the smoke wellabove their heads. Thus the hours dragged on, until late inthe afternoon the fire subsided enough to allow exploring partiesto go over the ruins of the town, where the sights and odourswere nauseating. Within a few months, however, theresprang up a new town on the site, with hotels and other buildings,for as soon as lumber could be rushed in, the sounds of1hammer and saw were heard from early dawn till late at night.Another example of the makeshifts of pioneer banking wasfurnished by the opening of the branch at Prince Rupert(British Columbia), in January, 1907. There had been muchdiscussion as to the point on the Pacific Coast to be chosen asthe terminal of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, which inconjunction with the National Transcontinental Railway wasto form a new route from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Whenthe location of the terminal was finally announced, there wasnaturally a rush of all sorts of adventurous persons to takeadvantage of the great opportunities which such a place wasexpected to offer. The bank officers who went to PrinceRupert took a safe with them, if little else, and the firstdifficulty which they encountered was when the safe ranamuck on being lowered from the steamer, smashed the sledwaiting on the wharf to convey it to its destination, and landed'See platet 4* and 46. facing pages 274 and 278.