killed or maimed for life as they struck
the sidewalk. Quite a large number was killed by soldiers, and those who
escaped spread to the different parts of the city and circulated the
story that the soldiers would shoot to kill.

That night the riot was nearly ended, for more troops had arrived and
the police were again on duty. The next morning the bakers, butchers,
and grocers resumed business. Those people who had not a good supply of
provisions on hand had a hard time while the riot lasted, as not a
single article could be purchased. For three days not a street-car or
vehicle of any description could be seen on the streets, nor was a
coloured person, male or female, visible during the period; probably the
only time in the history of New York that such conditions prevailed, for
a New York negro, as a usual thing, is not very bashful about making his
presence apparent to all who come in contact with him. The Southern
sympathizers were actually the ones who brought on that riot, for they
were always up to some mischief, and a few months afterwards assisted
Dr. Blackburn to distribute clothing infected with small-pox to the
poorer classes in the city, but the plot failed.

Next came the attempt to burn the whole city by starting fires
simultaneously in different localities. Each of the firebugs carried a
black satchel containing self-igniting chemicals, which were to be
dropped on the stairways of the large buildings. Barnum's Museum was set
on fire, and several other places also, with but little damage
resulting, and, about that time, any one caught with a black satchel
would suddenly come to grief.

My wife having recovered from her confinement, and the riot being ended,
I went to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and underwent a medical examination.
Next, I was thoroughly examined in navigation and then in seamanship.
Having passed in all, I was ordered to return again in a few days and,
in the meantime, to provide myself with the regulation uniform. My money
was all spent by that time, so I borrowed enough with which to buy my
new outfit. In due time, I received my appointment as an acting ensign
in the navy. The pay was thirteen hundred dollars a year. There were
three classes of officers in the navy: first, the regulars; second, the
volunteers, composed of officers who had resigned previously to the war;
and third, the acting officers who volunteered from the merchant
service. The rank and pay was the same in all classes.