L I B RAR.Y 
 
 OF THE 
 
 U N IVER.SITY 
 Of ILLINOIS
 
 ...THE. 
 
 Wonder City. 
 
 ...BY... 
 
 EUGEN SEEGER. 
 
 CHICAGO : 
 1893-
 
 
 Copyright 1893 
 By EUGEN SEEGER. 
 
 Published by 
 
 The Geo. Gregory Printing Company 
 
 123-125 La Salle Avenue 
 
 Chicago
 
 73 
 
 
 
 5 i 
 
 i 
 
 310253
 
 MW
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 To compress the history of Chicago into four hundred and 
 fifty pages is no easy task. With what success this has been 
 done in " CHICAGO, THE WONDER CITY," the reader must 
 judge. 
 
 It has of late become quite a lucrative business to write his- 
 tories of cities and interweave them with detailed biographies 
 of their wealthier citizens. The present volume was not 
 written on that plan. It is a history of Chicago, not a series 
 of biographical notices of men whom the city's rapid and 
 enormous growth has lifted into prominence. Nature designed 
 the site of the city for a great metropolis, but no man or set 
 of men has made Chicago. Chicago has made many men, 
 but it is the great body of the people, the industrial and indus- 
 trious middle classes that have brought about the greatness of 
 Chicago. 
 
 Since the body of the book was written, it has, in true 
 Chicago fashion, been overtaken by some important events, 
 notably the pardoning of the anarchists, the decision in regard 
 to Sunday opening of the World's Fair and the estimation of 
 the present population of the city, based on the figures given 
 in the new city directory. This volume contains five hundred 
 and forty thousand names, which would under ordinary cir- 
 cumstances represent, according to the usual methods of 
 computation, over two million people, but owing to condi- 
 tions created by the World's Fair this basis of calculation is 
 undoubtedly too large, and it is probable the two million mark 
 has not been reached yet. 
 
 */ 
 
 On June 26, 1893, John P. Altgeld, the present governor of 
 Illinois, added perhaps the final chapter to the anarchist case
 
 by granting absolute pardon to the three men sent to the 
 penitentiary in 1887 Fielden and Schwab to life terms and 
 Oscar Neebe to a fifteen-year term. On the question of the 
 pardon itself there has been but little discussion, most people 
 believing that the clemency they themselves prayed for should 
 be extended to them; but the manner of the pardon is loudly 
 and well-nigh universally condemned. The prisoners peti- 
 tioned for mercy- they were given a vindication. Governor 
 Altgeld explained his action in a carefully prepared message 
 of seventeen thousand words, and based his pardon on the 
 grounds of a packed and incompetent jury, a prejudiced and 
 unfair judge and the failure of the State to establish the guilt 
 of the prisoners. Not content with placing the crown of 
 martyrdom on the heads of the men convicted of a heinous 
 offense, the governor saw fit to go out of his way to attack a 
 co-ordinate branch of the government, to impugn the honor 
 of a judge of untarnished reputation and insolently to over- 
 ride the decisions of not only the lower courts but also of 
 the state Supreme Court. For this action on the part of the 
 governor the people of Illinois were entirely unprepared. An 
 official utterance such as this pardon of the governor, is well 
 calculated to shatter the confidence of the people either in the 
 wisdom of their laws and the justice of their execution or in 
 the competency of iheir chief executive. The isolated posi- 
 tion of Gov. Altgeld is the only redeeming feature of the 
 situation. 
 
 The decision of the United States Court of Appeals per- 
 mitting the opening of the World's Fair on Sunday, was a 
 victory for the liberal element, and it is a matter for congratu- 
 lation that the decent and orderly behavior of the Sunday 
 crowds is fast reconciling to the new order of things those 
 who had thought that a study, on Sunday, of human progress 
 and achievements would necessarily prove a desecration of 
 that day. The Fair is already a success from every point 
 of view even from the financial one, conservative judges 
 
 VI
 
 estimating that shareholders will be reimbursed the larger part 
 of their contributions. 
 
 The facts given in the chapter on the '48ers are largely 
 taken from an essay by Emil Dietzsch, himself a '48er and a 
 keen observer withal. 
 
 The photographs of the descedants of the Algonquin Indians 
 who played such an important part in the early history of 
 Chicago, were taken by Grabill (113 Monroe street), who 
 visited the west for this purpose. 
 
 The particular acknowledgments of the author are due to 
 Mr. Robert Kennicott Reilly for help in arranging and compil- 
 ing parts of the work and assistance in editing it. 
 
 EUGEN SEEGER. 
 July 4, 1893. 
 
 VII
 
 e 
 
 e c 
 t: "5
 
 OF THE 
 UNIYLKSITY OF ILLINOIS
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 Preface 5 
 
 Early History. PART ONE. A chapter from Wayback The 
 Indians French Navigators sail through the Straits of Belle 
 Isle and discover Canada Cartier, Champlain, Nicolet, 
 Perrot New France The first victims of the white con- 
 querors Jolliet and Marquette Bitter conflicts in the land 
 of the Illini An Indian Jeanne d'Arc Robert Cavelier 
 and his conquests Dismal failure of the French coloniza- 
 tion scheme Chicagou, the Garlic River i 38 
 
 PART Two. The rule of the English Emigration of the French 
 The Pontiac War A fateful love intrigue Pontiac's tragic 
 end The Americans take the helm 39 44 
 
 Chicago. Early documents A miscarriage in land speculation 
 The earliest settlers Erection of Fort Dearborn Tecum- 
 seh Massacre of Fort Dearborn Tedious development of 
 the village Black Hawk End of Indian War in Illinois and 
 beginning of the rapid development of the future metropolis 45 88 
 
 The City, Chicago 89 
 
 Chicago as a commercial center before the fire The industrial 
 
 develpment 91 
 
 Chicago's Progress. Early German settlers The Forty-eight- 
 ers Social and military growth in the Fifties Beer riots 
 Americans and Germans unite in opposing slavery Early 
 breweries Douglas and know-nothingism Underground 
 railroad Chicago's part in the war of the rebellion 105. . 120 
 
 The Chicago Fire 121 
 
 The catastrophe of October 8th and 9th 125 
 
 The beginning of the great fire on the West Side 127 
 
 The destruction of the business center of Chicago 131 
 
 Street scenes during the fire 142 
 
 The burning of the North Side 148 
 
 On the "Sands" 153 
 
 A woman's story of the fire 157 
 
 Scenes at the mouth of the river 162 
 
 xi
 
 On the prairie 169 
 
 Incidents 171 
 
 A walk through the ruins 178 
 
 Action of the police 182 
 
 The fire department 184 
 
 Losses and insurance 187 
 
 Chicago's Architectural Development 193 
 
 Chicago's Art Development 212 
 
 The Public Library 232 
 
 The Labor Movement. History of the Eight-hour agitation 247 
 
 The Chicago Anarchists 254 
 
 The Cronin Case 272 
 
 Chicago. The Main Exhibit 300 
 
 Libraries, Educational and Charitable Institutions 324 
 
 The Chicago Press 331 
 
 Germans and German Influence in Chicago 343 
 
 Population 353 
 
 Trade, Commerce and Manufactures 356 
 
 Miscellaneous Information. Chicago's municipal resources^ 
 Statistics Public Schools Municipal Health Department 
 The Drainage Channel The City Government 372 382 
 
 The World's Fair 383 
 
 
 xn
 
 IARY 
 OF THE 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
 
 Early History. 
 
 PART ONE. 
 
 ^ 
 
 . 
 A Chapter from Wayback The Indians French Navigators sail through the Straits 
 
 of Belle Isle and discover Canada Cartier, Champlain, Nicolet, Perrot New 
 France The First Victims of the White Conquerors Jolliet and Marquette 
 Bitter Conflicts in the Land of the Illini An Indian Jeanne d'Arc Robert 
 Cavelier and his Conquests Dismal Failure of the French Colonization 
 Schemes Chicagou, The Garlic River. 
 
 From the time of the great flood to a later but equally 
 indefinite period, the territory comprising the present 
 state of Illinois was the basin of a great inland sea, for 
 Lake Michigan formerly extended southward far beyond its 
 present shores. 
 
 Later through the parting waters broke the primeval 
 forests with their clumsy inhabitants : the mastadon filled the 
 swampy desert with its hoarse bellowing, fat and self-satisfied 
 saurians lumbered complacently about in the rank and slimy 
 vegetation while the primeval bird, the monstrous archas- 
 opteryx, lurched lazily through the sultry air. 
 
 It is as unimportant as it is impossible to determine how 
 long this idyllic period lasted, but finally the future of this 
 awkward, earliest creation lay all behind it and it disappeared 
 from the scenes of the world-stage. Afterwards, and heaven 
 only knows how long afterwards, the red man made his 
 entrance, coming probably from the west or southwest, from 
 the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific coast; but over what roads 
 and under what circumstances no man can tell.
 
 The first reliable information about the northwest and 
 its inhabitants dates from about the middle of the seventeenth 
 century and comes from the brave French discoverers who 
 made exploring trips from Canada throughout the region. 
 
 With the exception of the Iroquois, Hurons and Winne- 
 bagoes (the Winnebagoes belong to the Sioux or Dakota 
 family) the Indians who at that time peopled the northwest 
 belonged to the great Algonquin family and came from the 
 region around the Ottawa river in Canada. 
 
 The number of Indians then" living in North America is 
 estimated at 190,000. Of these 20,000 belonged to the 
 Huron-Iroquois and 90,000 to the Algonquin family. The 
 Algonquins play an interesting and important part in the 
 historical development not only of the northwest but also of 
 Illinois and even of Chicago. Their principal tribes, each 
 with many smaller branches, may be geographically divided 
 as follows: in the north, above the St. Lawrence and the 
 great lakes, the Nasquapees, Montagnais, Algarkins, Ottawas 
 and Kilistinous or Creeks ; on the Atlantic coast, the Micmacs, 
 Abenakis, Sokokis, Massachusetts, Narragansetts, Mohicans, 
 Delawares and Virginias; in the west, the Chippewas, Me- 
 nominees, Blackfeet, Sacs and Foxes; in the south, the 
 Shawnees. 
 
 Although united by ties of kinship and language, these 
 tribes differed essentially as to customs and characteristics, 
 even in regard to looks and mechanical skill. Some were 
 peaceful and docile, others warlike and intractable. While 
 those who first came to the southern shores of Lake Michigan 
 beyond doubt wandered there afoot, had not the slight- 
 est idea of navigation and in more than one regard showed a 
 strong antipathy to water and an equally strong antipathy to 
 fighting, on the other hand their cousins, who afterwards 
 invaded the country from the north, proved themselves daring 
 sailors and wild and cruel warriors. 
 
 Of course none of these Indian tribes were very highly
 
 civilized ; their endeavors were directed primarily to satisfying 
 their bodily wants, and their implements, arms and clothing 
 were as primitive as possible. Some of the chiefs, however, 
 were men of talent; bold,. heroic, eloquent, prudent and of 
 great influence among their tribes. 
 
 His contact with the whites never benefitted the Indian. 
 He is weighed down with many an evil race characteristic, 
 but treaty-breaking and lying are not among them. These 
 he first learned from his white brother, and by him also he 
 was tainted by terrible, hereditary diseases, before unknown 
 to him. After the noble priests and explorers, who came 
 from the far east to brave the manifold dangers and priva- 
 tions of missionary life and to turn the savages to milder 
 customs and instruct them in the arts of peace, followed a 
 class of men by no means adapted to furnish the aborigines 
 of the New World models of European civilization. Indeed, 
 the official reports prove that for the purpose of increasing 
 the number of its colonists the French, as well as the English 
 government from time to time emptied its prisons and 
 asylums and transported the wretched prisoners, sometimes 
 even in chains, to America. Not all the western pioneers 
 were what poets and writers of romance are wont to depict. 
 Together with the hardy explorer, the high-minded idealist, 
 the hard-working farmer and mechanic came many of that 
 class of gentry one does not wish to meet after dark, ne'er- 
 do-wells of all kinds and both sexes. Such a crowd, naturally 
 enough, did nothing to help the Indian physically, improve 
 him morally, or to make the intercourse between the natives 
 and immigrants more harmonious. 
 
 At the time when the first white reached the present site 
 of Chicago, and for the following half century, the "land of 
 the Illini " was the home of the following Indian tribes : 
 Illinois, Miamis, Kickapoos, Mascoutins, Pottawatomies, Sacs 
 and Foxes, Winnebagoes and Shawnees all, with the excep- 
 tion of the Winnebagoes, being members of the Algonquin
 
 family. Of their early history we know only that they claim 
 to have lived always in America, or, as they put it, that their 
 ancestors sprang up from the earth itself, the Shawnees alone 
 preserving a tradition to the effect that they came originally 
 from a far-distant land. 
 
 The names by which the Indians were designated by the 
 newly-arrived whites were, for the most part, determined by 
 chance or derived from the then or former dwelling places or 
 from characteristic peculiarities of the respective tribes. The 
 
 first explorers do not seem to have been at all particular as 
 to the orthography of Indian names, for we find the same 
 name spelled in a dozen different ways and not infrequently 
 mutilated beyond easy recognition. Thus, for instance, the 
 Kaskaskias, Cahokias, Tamaroas, Peorias and Mitchigamies, 
 with characteristic Indian modesty called themselves the 
 "Inini," an Algonquin word meaning "superior men." The 
 French found "Inini" a hard word to pronounce and con- 
 verted it into "Illini," soon thereafter affixing the French
 
 termination "ois." Thus from "Inini" were derived Illinois, 
 Illinoies, Illinoues, Illimonek, Illiniwek, etc. 
 
 The principal settlements of the "Inini" or Illinois were 
 in the middle and northern part of the territory now forming 
 the State of Illinois. In La Salle county, near the present 
 site of Utica, there formerly stood a flourishing Indian village 
 called La Vantum, which, in 1680, contained no less than 
 8,000 inhabitants. In the territory mentioned there were 
 probably twenty other villages of similar character, although 
 smaller. The accompanying map, made for his government 
 by the young French engineer, Franquelin, in 1684, affords a 
 good idea of the Indian villages and the settlements and forts 
 of La Salle and the French missionaries. 
 
 The settlements of the Illini reached along the various 
 river banks down as far as opposite the present city of St. 
 Louis, and at the beginning of the i8th century the farthest 
 outpost reached even to the mouth of the Ohio. This land 
 of the Illinois was at that time a veritable Indian paradise: 
 luxuriant meadows, heavy forests, splendid farm land, an 
 abundance of fish in lake and river, and of game in wood and 
 open; buffalo, deer, bear, panther, wildcat, wolf, fox, beaver, 
 otter, marten, ground-hog, raccoon, rabbits, wild swan, geese, 
 ducks, wild turkeys, partridges, quail and enormous flocks of 
 pigeons; such vegetables as the red man cared for as, for 
 instance, maize, beans, cabbages and various roots, nuts and 
 wild fruit in plenty the Indian's insurmountable abhorrence 
 of work was of small consequence in those golden days. 
 
 But no rose without its thorn, no cup of bliss without its 
 drop of bitterness. The very blessings of the Illinois proved 
 the cause of their misfortune. Even without the aid of tele- 
 graph and newspapers, the report of the extraordinary rich- 
 ness of the country spread to the farthest corners of the land, 
 and there soon sprang up among the noble red men a social- 
 istic-communistic warfare which would have brought joy to 
 the soul of even the most advanced of modern "walking 
 
 5
 
 delegates." The first who came to " divide " were the Sioux 
 from the far west; from the north came the Sacs and Foxes; 
 theKickapoosandPottawatomies from the northeast, and last 
 but not least from the remote east rushed in the wild hordes 
 of the Iroquois. Then the skull-cracking began and many a 
 worthy predecessor of Johann Most bit the dust, before the 
 great communistic principle of division in its various stages 
 and repetitions, first found a practical application on the virgin 
 soil of this free country. The strongest, cruelest and wildest 
 of course came out ahead in the deal, in this case the Iroquois, 
 who undertook several bloody expeditions to " divide " with 
 the Illini, till the latter were almost wiped out of existence. 
 The history of the Indians of the northwest from the middle 
 of the xyth till toward the end of the i8th century reads like 
 the last act of Hamlet, bloodshed without end, a battle of all 
 against all to annihilation. But even this wild can-can of 
 bestial selfishness was not without romance, as is proven by 
 the following historically authenticated incident, recounted all 
 the more willingly as it throws some golden rays on the 
 gloomy picture of the times and forms one of those rare excep- 
 tions where an Indian woman participated actively and trium- 
 phantly in the affairs of men. It was about the year 1673. 
 The Iroquois had again undertaken one of their looting expedi- 
 tions, had plundered a village, driven away the inhabitants and 
 indulged in one of their beastly orgies of victory which was 
 not interrupted even by the set of sun. Helpless and listless, 
 the vanquished Illini watched from afar the revels of their 
 enemies. Then the youthful Watchekee or Watseka as the 
 scribes of the whites were wont to call her appeared before 
 them. Her eye flashed with the fire of inspiration. Her 
 cheeks glowed with righteous anger at the wrongs wrought 
 upon her people and at their spiritless endurance of them. 
 She besought the warriors to avail themselves of the cover of 
 night and the disorganized condition of the victors for revenge 
 and retaliation. But the men were not disposed to again cope
 
 with the powerful enemy and sat in sullen submission to their 
 fate. Then Watseka addressed the women and begged them 
 to shame the cowardly warriors and in their place to march 
 forth against the foe. The squaws, each armed with bow and 
 arrow, responded in hordes. Then, at last, the men bestirred 
 themselves and, led by the brave girl, this strange band sur- 
 prised the Iroquois and almost exterminated them. The place 
 where this battle occurred more than 200 years ago is now 
 the county seat of Iroquois county, and in honor of this Indian 
 Jeanne d'Arc is called Watseka. 
 
 After the French took possession of the Northwest 
 territory the history of the red man becomes blended more or 
 less with the story of the priests and soldiers of Charles V, 
 the explorers of the region. It was in 1534 that Jacques Cartier 
 (or Quartier as the name is often spelled), an experienced 
 Breton sailor, who made fishing trips from the west coast of 
 France to the north coast of Labrador drifted into the Straits 
 of Belle Isle while on a voyage of discovery in the interests 
 of the French government. His expedition consisted of two 
 vessels, each of 61 tons burden and the crews numbered 61 
 men. From the Atlantic Cartier made his way down the 
 Straits of Belle Isle, lying between Labrador and Newfound- 
 land, to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and finally landed in the 
 Gaspe district on the northeast point of Canada, between the 
 Gulf of St. Lawrence and Chaleur's Bay. In this desolate 
 spot, inhabited by only a few Indians, the French sailors 
 erected a large wooden cross which bore the arms of Charles 
 V and the inscription, "Vive le roi de France," and thus took 
 possession of the newly-discovered country. 
 
 It is reported that the Indians, the Canadagnois (Nasse- 
 quapes), who were much disturbed at the sight of these 
 strange men and their mysterious ceremony, asked for an 
 explanation, whereupon Cartier replied that the cross had been 
 erected simply to mark the harbor and so allayed the Indians' 
 suspicions/ Alas, their first meeting with the whites had a
 
 sad sequel, for Cartier stole two of their boys and carried 
 them back with him to France. 
 
 May 19, 1535, Cartier started on another expedition to 
 Labrador, this -time with three ships. Again he passed 
 through the Straits of Belle Isle, but this time kept to the 
 west and continued up the St. Lawrence to the isle of Orleans, 
 which, on account of its luxuriant vegetation and heavily-laden 
 wild grape vines, he called the "Isle of Bacchus." The 
 Indians of this island, especially their chief Donnacona, treated 
 the French in the kindliest manner, helped them to explore 
 the country and accompanied them up the Hochelaga (St. 
 Lawrence) to the big Indian camp, Stadacone, on the site of 
 t^e present city of Quebec. Here, too, they were received 
 in a friendly manner, but the natives tried by artifice and 
 persuasion to prevent the strangers from going further up 
 the stream. Cartier, however, persisted and on October 2, 
 1835, successfully reached the great Indian camp at that time 
 called, like the river, Hochelaga to-day Montreal. Amid 
 the blowing of trumpets and waving of flags the French 
 landed. The Indians, who believed them of divine origin, 
 were beside themselves with joy. They overwhelmed the 
 newcomers with all possible proofs of their hospitality and 
 with great pride showed them their fortified camp, consisting 
 of about fifty immense block-houses, and finally even brought 
 out their sick, requesting that Cartier should touch and so 
 heal them. The clever Frenchman made the most of the 
 situation. He made the sign of the cross over the ailing, 
 read a few verses from the Bible and prayed for them all in 
 French. Then he distributed axes, knives, glass beads, 
 looking-glasses and various small trinkets among the delighted 
 aborigines and with another flourish of triumph left his new 
 friends, promising to return. Highly pleased with his adven- 
 tures and successes, Cartier returned to Stadacone, where he 
 built a fort and spent the winter. His gratitude for the 
 hospitality shown him by the Indians the Frenchman proved 
 
 8
 
 by capturing Donnacona and some of the other chiefs and 
 taking them as prisoners to France. It was on July 16, 1536, 
 when the expedition arrived at St. Malo. The Indian chiefs 
 were immediately baptized, but this attention did not prevent 
 their dying shortly after from homesickness. Cartier made 
 several other voyages to the New World before his death in 
 1555. The country discovered by him was called Canada 
 because its great stream, the St. Lawrence, was sometimes 
 called by the natives the "Canada" river. According to 
 other French explorers the word "Canada" signifies "city," 
 and still others translate it " continent." In the writings of 
 Cartier, however, the title "Canada" is used to designate a 
 strip of land lying between Quebec and the Isl$ aux Coudres. 
 During the sixteenth century many other explorers visited 
 the country that Cartier had described, but the first perma- 
 nent settlement was made early in the seventeenth century 
 by the celebrated Samuel de Champlain. 
 
 Champlain was born in Brouage, on the Bay of Biscay, 
 in 1567, of an old and illustrious family which had for gener- 
 ations followed the sea. In addition to being a thoroughly 
 equipped sailor, Champlain received an excellent military 
 training. In 1599, in command of the St. Julien, a vessel 
 belonging to his uncle, he sailed for some time along the 
 coast of the West Indies, Panama and Mexico, and in 1601 
 returned to France. While in Panama he looked into the 
 question of a canal to join the Atlantic and the Pacific, and 
 on his arrival in France pointed out the advantage of such 
 a work. 
 
 He thus became the father of the great Panama Canal 
 scheme, which was finally taken up by Ferdinand do Lesseps 
 some years ago and which only lately, after the squander- 
 ing of four hundred million dollars, culminated in the great- 
 est public scandal of the century, and almost destroyed 
 the French Republic. March 25, 1603, Champlain organized 
 an expedition for North America and on May 24th landed
 
 near Tadoussac at the confluence of the Saguenay and 
 St. Lawrence. From there he visited the places discovered 
 by Cartier in 1535. In August he returned to France, pub- 
 lished extensive reports about his travels and the next spring 
 again started out on an exploring trip. He first touched at 
 Nova Scotia and afterwards coasted along the shore to the 
 Chesepe-ake bay. In 1607 he returned to France and agitated 
 the question of establishing a French trading post on the 
 St. Lawrence and successful in his endeavors, he returned in 
 1608, sailed up the St. Lawrence to the place called "Stada- 
 cone" by Cartier but then called Quebec (narrows) by the 
 Algonquins. Here Champlain built houses, sowed grain, in- 
 augurated an extensive fur trade and thus founded the city 
 of Quebec. 
 
 As the friendly Algonquins were hard pushed by the 
 Iroquois who lived to the southeast of them, Champlain, in 
 the summer of 1609, united with them in an expedition against 
 their enemies. This was about the same time that the .English- 
 man Henry Hudson, in the service of the East India Com- 
 pany of Amsterdam was exploring the Hudson river and in 
 his little vessel, the "Half Moon" first encountered the 
 red men. 
 
 On his expedition Champlain discovered the beautiful 
 lake which now bears his name, and on it swarms of Iroquois. 
 When the hostile forces caught sight of each other they 
 immediately put to shore and fortified themselves. The next 
 morning at sunrise the fight commenced. Awkward as the 
 arquebuse now appears, it proved a terrible weapon in com- 
 petition with the simple bows and arrows of the naked savages. 
 Champlain killed two chiefs with the first shot fired and with 
 a second bullet mortally wounded a third. Thereupon the 
 Iroquois fled. This was the first Indian blood shed by the 
 whites in North America and in course of time the French 
 paid dearly for their easily won victory. As long as they were 
 in power in Canada and when they established colonies in 
 
 10
 
 Illinois the Iroquois were persistently after them and, partly 
 on their own account and partly as hirelings of the English, 
 relentlessly worried and tormented them. 
 
 In the fall of 1609 Champlain visited France and in the 
 following spring returned to America with a well equipped 
 fleet and a considerable number of mechanics. Shortly after 
 reaching Quebec he organized another campaign against the 
 Iroquois and at about the same time that his king and patron, 
 Henry IV, fell a victim to the dagger of Ravaillac, he himself, 
 while storming a fortified camp of the enemy near the Sorel 
 river, was dangerously wounded by an Indian arrow. He 
 sought and found health in his native land and in 1612 was 
 made lieutenant-governor of New France (Canada). He 
 straightway assumed the duties of his new office and for a 
 number of years discharged them with the greatest discretion 
 and ability. In the autumn of 1613 he revisited France in 
 the interest of the colony and on his return in 1615 brought 
 with him Father Denis Jamay, two other Franciscan monks 
 and a priest, all of whom rendered him valuable services both 
 in his exploring voyages along the St. Lawrence river and 
 through lakes Huron and Ontario and also in his efforts to 
 civilize the Algonquins. These Franciscan monks were the 
 first spiritual teachers to leave the Old World to bring to the 
 savages of the north instruction in the Christian religion and 
 European civilization. 
 
 At this time his old enemies, the Iroquois began to harass 
 Champlain, and in the fall of 1615 he was not only twice dan- 
 gerously wounded by them, but was even repulsed on account 
 of the insubordination of his allies, the Hurons. The star of 
 the new settlement seemed to be now waning. It was in vain 
 that Champlain, after his recovery, redoubled his exertions to 
 increase the trade of his colony and awaken in the mother 
 country a more active interest in it. The young common- 
 wealth could not yet stand alone, and the Italian adventurers 
 who during the minority of Louis XIII exercised such an 
 
 ii
 
 unfortunate influence upon the French regent, Maria de 
 Medici, felt not the slightest concern for it. Only after Car- 
 dinal Richelieu became a member of the council of state, was 
 there felt a decided change for the better in regard to the 
 struggling colonies of the New World. The settlement of 
 Quebec was energetically pushed, the commerce with the 
 natives materially increased, and the colony itself adequately 
 fortified. Richelieu, who paid particular attention to trans- 
 Atlantic affairs, especially during the first year of his power, 
 appointed the duke of Ventadour as viceroy of New France 
 (1625), and the first official act of the latter was to send over 
 a number of Jesuit priests to participate in the work of civiliz- 
 ing and converting the natives. This act, as will be soon 
 seen, was of the greatest importance in the development of 
 the northwest and especially of Illinois. 
 
 Shortly after the arrival of the Jesuits some lively con- 
 troversies took place between them on the one hand and the 
 Franciscan fathers and the colonial government on the other ; 
 but the Jesuits soon gained control in the affairs of the colony. 
 
 A fateful event in the history of the settlement was the 
 arrival in July, 1628, of English men-of-war under the com- 
 mand of Sir David Kirk and his two brothers, who demanded 
 the unconditional surrender of the fortress and its commander, 
 Champlain. The Canada company, organized in Paris by 
 Cardinal Richelieu, had at almost the same time dispatched 
 from France several vessels laden with provisions, arms, etc., 
 and these were anxiously awaited by the little French colony 
 at Quebec. Before arriving at their destination, however, the 
 vessels were intercepted and captured by the English men-of- 
 war. In consequence of this mishap the poor colonists passed 
 a miserable winter, and just one year after the arrival of the 
 English, Champlain was forced to capitulate. He was taken 
 to England and there held as a prisoner until 1632. At this 
 time the French government had apparently lost all hope for 
 the future of the Canadian colony, for when by the peace of 
 
 12
 
 vSt. Germain-en-Laye the English offered to give up their 
 claims to the settlement in Quebec the French were at first 
 undecided as to whether they should accept the offer. But 
 in the spring of 1633 -Champlain, with three excellently 
 equipped vessels, returned once more to his colony this time 
 as its governor. There was boundless joy among both Indians 
 and whites when the old and tried leader made his appear- 
 ance. Immediately after his arrival Champlain fortified Riche- 
 lieu Island, founded the city of Three Rivers and established 
 a school for young Indians. The great explorer did not, how- 
 ever, long enjoy the fruits of his labor, for he died in Quebec 
 Christmas day, 1635. 
 
 The powerful impulse given by Champlain to the settle- 
 ment and civilization of the New World did not cease at his 
 death, for his companions followed the same path toward the 
 west. Among them was Jean Nicolet, who lived for years 
 among the various Algonquin tribes, learning to speak their 
 language fluently and finally becoming so thoroughly Indian- 
 ized that the red men treated him like one of themselves. His 
 services as interpreter and negotiator, in fact his whole influ- 
 ence on the Indians, were of the greatest value to the Canad- 
 ian government. On the 4th of July, 1634, Nicolet discovered 
 Lake Michigan, or as it was first called Lake Illinois, "Lac 
 des Illinois," and afterwards explored a large part of the 
 northwest, visiting the Chippewas in Green Bay, the Mas- 
 coutins on the Fox river, and the Menominees and Winne- 
 bagoes on the lake named after the latter. Wherever Nicolet 
 went there were great Indian gatherings which the explorer 
 invariably addressed, producing a strong impression on the 
 red men. As a matter of curiosity it may be mentioned that 
 on the occasion of his last visit the Indians honored this 
 Frenchman with a banquet at which not less than 120 beavers 
 were served. Nicolet was the first white man, whose foot 
 touched the territory of Wisconsin and Illinois. The first 
 white man to see the upper Mississippi was Pierre Esprit 
 
 13
 
 Radisson, 1658, an indefatigable explorer and fur-trader, who 
 on all his travels kept an accurate diary, and to whom his 
 contemporaries are indebted for much important information. 
 Jointly with his brother-in-law, Medart Chouart, he established 
 a settlement on Hudson Bay, which afterwards developed into 
 the well-known Hudson Bay company. The Jesuit fathers, 
 Menard and Guerin, both of whom afterwards perished on an 
 exploring tour, are also reported to have seen the upper Mis- 
 sissippi more than ten years before Jolliet and Marquette. 
 The next of the French discovers was Nicholas Perrot, who 
 from 1670 to 1690 distinguished himself in explorations of the 
 upper lakes, the Fox river valley and the upper Mississippi. 
 He was the discoverer of the lead mines in the west. 
 
 Louis Jolliet (frequently spelled Joliet) was the first of the 
 French pioneers to lead an exploring expedition to the Illinois 
 country and to set foot on the site of modern Chicago. He 
 was a child of the New World. Born in Quebec in 1645, the 
 son of a poor mechanic he was brought up in the local Jesuit 
 school and destined to become a priest. But the free air of 
 the forest had more charm for him than the close atmosphere 
 of a monastery. In 1669, in commission of the colonial gov- 
 ernment, he visited the copper mines on the shores of Lake 
 Superior. On his return he explored Lake Erie. Owing to 
 his success with all his undertakings, he received a commis- 
 sion from Governor Frontenac to visit the " South lake in the 
 Mascoutin country and the great Mississippi river " (from the 
 Indian "Miche-Sepe," great river). At that time the Canad- 
 ians did not know that the mighty stream discovered by De 
 Soto in 1541 and explored from the White river to the Gulf 
 of Mexico was identical with the " Miche-Sepe " of which they 
 first learned from the Indians, and whose upper part was 
 navigated by their missionaries. 
 
 In the fall of 1672 Jolliet set forth on his new expedition, 
 accompanied by a trusty servant and four Indians. December I 
 he arrived at the Straits of Mackinaw connecting Lakes Huron
 
 and Michigan. On the northern shore at that time there 
 stood the French Jesuit Mission of St. Ignace whose superior, 
 Father Marquette, was well-known for his zeal and success 
 iri civilizing and converting the natives. Thither Jolliet first 
 went to invite Marquette, who spoke six Indian dialects 
 fluently, to accompany him on his perilous trip to the far 
 west. Marquette was only too glad to accept. On the 1 7th of 
 May, 1673, they left Mackinaw and a few days later arrived 
 at Green Bay from where they went up the Fox river. Then 
 they got the Mascoutin Indians to guide them to the Wis- 
 consin river down which they floated to the Mississippi, which 
 they reached June 17? 1673. They were nearly a week on 
 the Mississippi before discovering the first trace of human 
 beings, an Indian trail leading from the western shore of the 
 river to a beautiful prairie. The boats were made fast and 
 Marquette and Jolliet went ashore and after fervently praying 
 for heaven's blessing, marched along the newly discovered 
 trail in anxious anticipation. 
 
 How the hearts of the two bold discoverers must have 
 beaten as they suddenly saw three Indian villages spread 
 out on the green meadow before them. A loud call from the 
 new comers was the signal for a lively scene. The astonished 
 Indians rushed out of their wigwams and from a distance care- 
 fully regarded the peculiar looking strangers. After a short 
 pause four old chiefs approached slowly and with dignity, carry- 
 ing in their hands pipes of peace. Close up to the two white 
 men they marched, and then without saying a word stood before 
 them. From this Father Marquette perceived that the Indians 
 were well disposed toward their unexpected visitors and asked 
 them in the Algonquin dialect: "Who are you?" "We are 
 Inini," was the reply. The pipes of peace were then passed 
 around and afterwards a regular Indian feast was held to 
 celebrate the newly formed friendship between the whites 
 and the redskins. The next day 600 of the natives accom- 
 panied the explorers to their boats and won from them a 
 
 15
 
 promise soon to return a promise which unfortunately they 
 were never able to keep. 
 
 Then they went further down the Mississippi how far 
 it is not definitely known. Marquette himself, in a report 
 prepared much later, after a long illness, and without written 
 notes, the diaries of both having been lost through the cap- 
 sizing of the boat, maintained that he and Jolliet had gone as 
 far south as the 32 of latitude, but LaSalle and other con- 
 temporaries vigorously disputed this. It is a fact that Mar- 
 quette and Jolliet on the iyth of July, just four weeks after 
 their first meeting with the Indians on the Mississippi, turned 
 homeward, so that, considering the possible speed of their boat, 
 it would seem probable that they scarcely went further south 
 than to the mouth of the Missouri or at most to the con- 
 fluence of the Ohio, near the present site of Cairo. The 
 reason for their return, as given by Marquette, was their fear 
 of falling into the hands of the Spaniards. In this regard it 
 is worthy of note that the Indians, whom they met in the 
 southernmost part of their journey, had fire-arms, axes, knives 
 and beads which they claimed to have received from the 
 "Europeans in the east." 
 
 On their return voyage Jolliet and Marquette went from 
 the Mississippi into the Illinois river as the Peorias, living at 
 the mouth of the Illinois, told them that this was the shortest 
 way to Mackinaw. In Kaskaskia, a village of the Illinois, 
 they were received in the kindliest manner possible and 
 indeed a chief with a picked band of young Indians accom- 
 panied them to lake Michigan, along whose western shore 
 the Frenchmen rowed to Green Bay, which they reached in 
 September. 
 
 In the Jesuit Mission at this place, Jolliet passed the 
 winter and in the spring betook himself to Quebec. Here in 
 Fort Frontenac he talked over with La Salle the events of 
 his trip and made a written report to the colonial authorities 
 who immediately turned it over to the French government, 
 
 16
 
 which in turn had it printed. His request to found a colony 
 in the land of the Illinois was peremptorily refused by Colbert, 
 the famous minister of Louis XIV, on the ground that Canada 
 itself should first be more strongly fortified and thickly 
 peopled. Jolliet thereupon devoted his attention to the north 
 and northeast of Canada, received in 1680 from the French 
 government the isle of Anticosti and other land grants, and 
 was successful in all his undertakings, until death in 1700 put 
 an end to his remarkable career. 
 
 Far more tragic was the end of his brave companion, 
 Marquette. In consequence of his great exertions and of the 
 privations which he endured in his travels throughout the far 
 west, he was still sick when Jolliet returned to Quebec. He 
 had to remain in Green Bay and not until the fall did he feel 
 strong enough to return to the land of the Illinois. On the pre- 
 sent site of Milwaukee, sick and exhausted, he passed a miser- 
 able winter in a wretched log-hut. In March he had so far 
 recovered as to continue his journey to the Indian settlement at 
 Kaskaskia, where he arrived on the 8th of April. He was 
 received by the natives with the greatest joy. By the hundreds 
 they listened to the words of their noble, white friend, who 
 was able to exercise the greatest influence over them. On 
 Easter Sunday of the same year Marquette founded an Indian 
 mission after he had converted scores to Christianity. His 
 rapidly increasing illness, however, compelled him to make 
 immediate preparations for a return. Something like the pre- 
 monition of death may have come to the high-minded man, as 
 he took his departure from his Indian converts and promised 
 to send them a friend from the north. So unwilling were the 
 Indians to part with their teacher that hundreds accompanied 
 him to Lake Michigan from the eastern shore of which he 
 embarked for home. Alas, it was not permitted him to reach 
 his lonely cloister in the far north. He became weaker and 
 weaker, and at last so helpless that his two comrades had 
 to carry him in and out of the boat. May 18, 1675, having 
 
 18
 
 reached a point about thirty miles north of the present city of 
 Manistee, Marquette caused a halt to be made at the mouth of 
 a little river, which long afterwards bore his name. Then he 
 informed his friends that he felt his end was near. On a hill 
 near the water's edge they hastily constructed a hut of bark 
 and fir branches, and here the next night ended the blessed 
 life of this great but still young man. After the body was 
 consigned to earth, Marquette's companions continued their 
 sorrowful journey to their northern home. In the win- 
 ter of 1676 a number of his Indian adherents showed 
 their gratitude and affection by disinterring the body of the 
 missionary, placing it in a carefully constructed birch-bark 
 coffin and taking it to the monastery at St. Ignatius, where it 
 was reburied under one of the flag-stones of the chapel. For 
 two hundred years the bones of the illustrious man rested in 
 the silence of the cloister, forgotten by all, until the year 1877? 
 when they were discovered and brought to the attention of 
 the world. 
 
 It was no easy path they trod, who led the way for 
 modern bank presidents, speculators, beer brewers and pork 
 packers ! 
 
 At the time Marquette founded the mission at Kaskaskia, 
 there was among the various tribes of the Algonquins a fairly 
 brisk trade, reaching from the St. Lawrence river to the con- 
 fluence of the Ohio and Mississippi, and having its center in 
 the region of the great lakes. The number of French hunters, 
 fur-traders and hangers-on, having commercial relations with 
 the Indians, was already very considerable. And while 
 the red men were ever at loggerheads with such Englishmen 
 as wandered thither, in regard to the French they seemed to 
 be of Heine's opinion that even a cursing Frenchman was pre- 
 ferred by the Lord to a praying Englishman. The Iroquois 
 alone formed an exception to the rule, but they were never 
 reinforced by the other tribes, unless the English made it to 
 their material advantage to do so.
 
 It is worthy of note that as early as June 14, 1671, at a 
 French-Indian conference held near the Falls of St. Marie 
 (Sault Ste. Marie) St. Lusson, in behalf of the French 
 government in Canada, took possession, in the name of Louis 
 XIV, of the great lakes and the adjacent territories as well 
 as of all land "south to the ocean that is already discovered 
 or is still to be discovered." The ceremony was imposing, 
 and after it was over a great wooden cross was raised in 
 honor of the church. On this occasion were present repre- 
 sentatives of seventeen Indian tribes, from all parts of the 
 before mentioned territory among them the Menominees, 
 Pottawatomies, Sauks and Winnebagoes and many French- 
 men, including Jolliet, Perrot, Moreau and many Jesuit 
 missionaries. The Canadians gave the chiefs numerous 
 presents, whose value, however, was not so great, so the 
 chronicles tell us, but that it was offset by the rich furs and 
 trophies of the chase which the noble red men had brought 
 with them for their white brothers. The natives and 
 foreigners at that time were in splendid accord. 
 
 Volumes could be written of the adventures and labors 
 of the various travelers and explorers in the north and north- 
 west, but to a complete understanding of certain events, 
 especially bearing upon the development of the state of 
 Illinois and the city of Chicago, it is especially necessary to 
 consider the life and labors of one man whose figure stands 
 out most clearly and prominently among the pathfinders and 
 martyrs of his time, and whose name is closely united with 
 the early history of the lake region : Robert Cavelier, Sieur 
 de La Salle. 
 
 Cavelier was born in Rouen, November 23, 1643. His 
 father, a well-to-do merchant, gave him a scientific education, 
 and before he was twenty he held the position of teacher in a 
 Jesuit school in his native city. Soon, however, the ambitious 
 youth left the narrow life of his home for the broader sphere 
 of activity offered in the new world. Thither his older brother 
 
 20
 
 ROBERT CAVELIER, SIEUR DE LA SALLE. 
 
 21
 
 had already gone as a teacher in the Jesuit college of St. 
 Sulpice at Montreal. In the year 1666 he arrived at Montreal, 
 and through the influence of his brother received from the 
 Jesuits a large grant of land which he straightway caused to 
 be settled by his numerous followers. Immediately upon his 
 arrival La Salle conceived the most daring plans. He wished 
 to find a passage to China by way of the American continent. 
 His means were in no proportion to the magnitude of his 
 schemes, but the courageous youth was not to be deterred on 
 that account. From the Indians with whom he was in con- 
 stant communication he learned of the great rivers of the west, 
 and to them he first turned his attention. To gain a part of 
 the money necessary for their exploration, he sold his lands 
 and arranged an expedition from which he did not return for 
 two years. He went to the south and west and discovered 
 the Ohio, up which he went to the rapids at Louisville. On 
 his exploring tours he did not neglect the fur trade through 
 which he hoped to secure the means for still more extended 
 trips. In 1672 he visited the eastern shore of Lake Michigan 
 and upper Illinois. In the year 1673 Cavelier, taking with 
 him the warmest kind of letters of recommendation from Gov- 
 ernor Frontenac to Louis XIV and his powerful minister, Col- 
 bert, returned to France to obtain a letter of nobility and a 
 grant of land and to interest influential people in his under- 
 takings. Louis' insatiable rapacity and greed for land greatly 
 aided the young explorer. Successful in all that he had 
 planned, Cavelier, now Sieur de La Salle, on his return to 
 America, took possession of Fort Frontenac and the territory 
 belonging to it, all of which had been granted him by the 
 French government. Henceforth he devoted himself with 
 great activity to his colonization schemes, and especially to the 
 fur trade from which he still had to obtain for the most part 
 the means for his various enterprises. 
 
 His purpose to find a passage from America to China, La 
 Salle now abandoned, and devoted himself to a plan to build 
 
 22
 
 forts along the shores of the great lakes as well as on the Illi- 
 nois, St. Joseph and Mississippi rivers, and especially at the 
 mouth of the latter, on the Gulf of Mexico, to unite all the 
 Indians of the west, and thus acquire for France possession of 
 the region of the great lakes and the Mississippi valley and to 
 monopolize its commerce. In the year 1677 La Salle again 
 betook himself to France in order to win over to his cause 
 Colbert, the influential minister of Louis, and again he was 
 eminently successful. He returned to his colony with extended 
 authority, enormous land grants, valuable privileges, among 
 them the monopoly of trading in buffalo hides, considerable 
 money and trusty subordinates and business associates. Among 
 the men under his leadership were the Italian Chevalier de 
 Tonti, who afterwards, as La Salle's trusty friend and lieu- 
 tenant, played an important role in the history of Illinois, and 
 the Franciscan monk, Louis Hennepin, the discoverer of coal 
 in America, (near Ottawa, 111.) who afterwards made a repu- 
 tation by his thorough exploration of the upper Mississippi and 
 discovery of St. Anthony's Falls. 
 
 Incidental mention may here be made of the characteristic 
 fact that in furthering La Salle's plans, the French govern- 
 ment by no means had in view the development of the rich 
 resources of the immense territory in which he was to rule. It 
 hoped that the young explorer might discover an easy road to 
 Mexico, then regarded as the inexhaustible Dorado from which 
 Louis' ever-empty coffers might be replenished. 
 
 In November, 1678, bold, pious and joyous, La Salle's 
 expedition started off for its distant goal. He was glad, 
 indeed, to leave behind him the creditors who made his life a 
 burden, and the Canadian traders, who, fearing his competi- 
 tion, harassed him in every possible manner. From the wild 
 men and wild beasts among whom he was going he had nothing 
 to fear. He was leaving his enemies behind. 
 
 The winter of 1678-79 he passed above Niagara Falls 
 and there built a small vessel, which he called the " Griffon," 
 
 23
 
 and which was launched in August, 1679. September 18 he 
 sent the "Griffon" back to Canada heavily laden with furs, 
 which were to appease his clamorous creditors. From Green 
 Bay, where he had laden his vessel, La Salle pushed on in four 
 canoes, going down the west shore of Lake Michigan, past 
 the present site of Chicago, and up the eastern shore to the 
 mouth of the St. Joseph river, where the little band of explorers 
 La Salle with nineteen companions, among them two mis- 
 sionaries landed November i. Here La Salle expected to find 
 his friend, Tonti, with twenty men who were to have made the 
 trip down the eastern shore, but they did not appear until 
 three weeks later. On this spot La Salle built a fortified camp 
 (Fort Miami) in which he left a small garrison, and then con- 
 tinued the expedition up the St. Joseph, through the Kankakee, 
 into the Illinois river, and to the great Indian village, La Van- 
 turn. This, however, he found entirely abandoned. 
 
 On January 4, 1680, La Salle came to Peoria lake, and 
 on it he found a village of the Peoria Indians. The conduct 
 of these Indians, and the fact that six of his men had deserted, 
 caused him to erect a fort in this neighborhood, which, for 
 obvious reasons, he called "Crevecoeur" "Heavy Heart." 
 From every side misfortune befell him. His patience and 
 endurance were submitted to the severest tests. The first thing 
 he learned after his arrival among the Peorias was that his 
 creditors had seized his possessions in Canada, and that the 
 " Griffon," which he had daily expected with almost indispens- 
 able supplies, had been sunk. To arrange his affairs at home, 
 La Salle had to hurry thither as quickly as possible hurry in 
 winter, with the rivers and lakes covered with ice, a distance 
 of over a thousand miles. 
 
 His trusty friend, Tonti, with a part of the men, he left in 
 the new fort ; another party he sent down the Mississippi with 
 Father Hennepin and one Indian, and four Frenchmen he took 
 with him to Canada. He started March ist, reached the St. 
 Joseph river March 24th and Fort Frontenac, his home, on May 
 
 24
 
 6th, having accomplished this terribly trying journey in 65 days. 
 While La Salle in the north was moving heaven and earth 
 to straighten out his affairs and to obtain new means for his 
 various enterprises, a fateful tragedy occurred at Fort Heavy 
 Heart. On his way to La Vantum, La Salle had noticed a 
 
 STARVED ROCK. 
 
 great rock on the Illinois river (eight miles from the present 
 city of Ottawa), where later the Illini were overcome by their 
 terrible fate. Since that time it has been known as " Starved 
 Rock." It is an erratic block, 135 feet high, completely 
 
 25
 
 isolated, and with an upper surface of three-fourths of an acre. 
 It is absolutely inaccessible, except by one small, steep path on 
 the eastern side. 
 
 Appreciating the strategic importance of this point, La 
 Salle, on his departure, commissioned Tonti to erect a fort on 
 top of the rock. Tonti, jointly with the missionaries, Membre 
 and Ribourde, and three other Frenchmen, immediately set to 
 work, leaving the rest of the men with the provisions, ammuni- 
 tion and other supplies at Fort " Heavy Heart." To his great 
 amazement, Tonti discovered a few days afterwards that the 
 fort had been plundered and destroyed by its own garrison, 
 and that the latter had fled. He immediately dispatched two 
 messengers to inform La Salle of this new misfortune, and 
 with the few men who had remained faithful to him retired to 
 La Vantum, where he spent the summer. The two messen- 
 gers on the way north learned that the deserters had also ran- 
 sacked Fort Miami and the large fur depots at Mackinac, but 
 succeeded in advising La Salle in time for him to capture the 
 insurgents after killing two of them. The remainder were 
 sent to Quebec, where they were properly punished. 
 
 Alarmed at the possible fate of his friend Tonti, La Salle, 
 August loth, 1680, with a force of twenty picked men, 
 once more started on a trip to the Illinois country. Exactly a 
 month later the blood-thirsty Iroquois again made a raid on 
 the peaceful Illini in La Vantum, and during this attack the 
 flourishing settlement was entirely destroyed, 1,200 of the Illini 
 massacred, and the remainder driven across the Mississippi. 
 Even the burying ground of their victims was not spared. The 
 hostile Iroquois dug up the dead, scattered the bones on the 
 ground and stuck the skulls up on long poles. Tonti and his 
 men fled, but during their escape Father Ribourde was mur- 
 dered by a Kickapoo. Completely exhausted, they finally 
 found shelter among the Pottawatomies. 
 
 It was the 4th of November when La Salle reached the 
 mouth of the St. Joseph and learned from the Miamis the sad 
 
 26
 
 fate of affairs. Crevecoeur, whither he next went, was a scene 
 of the cruelest devastation, with wolves battling with each 
 other over the unburied bodies of the slain. Hoping to find 
 traces of Tonti, La Salle went down to the mouth of the Illi- 
 nois. In vain. On a tree he fastened a letter for his missing 
 friend, and near by left a canoe, some furs and an axe, and 
 then turned back to Fort Miami, which he reached January 31, 
 1 68 1. The rest of the winter he spent in allying to himself 
 the Indians of the region, and on the 25 of May, having learned 
 from a Pottowatomie that Tonti was still alive, hastened to 
 Mackinac, where the two friends met again. 
 
 La Salle had reason enough to rejoice, for the dangers and 
 difficulties which beset his undertakings were scarcely to be 
 overcome and he more than ever needed the services of 
 the cautious but energetic Tonti. As bad news came 
 from Fort Frontenac the two straightway returned to 
 Canada. Of course it was money that had caused the trouble 
 old debts that La Salle had contracted to further his 
 scheme. With the aid of Governor Frontenac and rich rela- 
 tives La Salle again extricated himself from his difficulties and 
 even succeeded in raising means for another expedition to the 
 goal of his ambition the Gulf of Mexico. It consisted of 
 twenty-three Frenchmen, eighteen Indians, ten squaws and 
 three papooses and on December 23, 1681 they sailed off in 
 Indian canoes. Their first destination was the Chekogoua 
 river (as it is spelled in a report of La Salle) where Tonti 
 with seven men had already gone. 
 
 The title "Chekogoua" river is here applied to the Calu- 
 met and in the early days it was very often, not only in verbal 
 intercourse, but even in writings and on maps applied with the 
 most varied orthography, to the St. Joseph, Des Plaines and 
 Illinois rivers. On the oldest maps the present Chicago river 
 does not appear at all and in later years is given simply as a 
 canal. No especial importance was ever attached to it by the 
 poineers. The origin of the name can be only conjectured. 
 
 27
 
 By " Getchi-ka-go " the Illini meant something big and strong, 
 by "Shecaugo," pleasant water; in the dialect of the Potta- 
 watomies "Choc-ca-go" signified a desert; the Chippewas 
 called the skunk "Shegog" and the wild skunkweed "She- 
 gougawinze," and in many of the writings of the second half 
 of the eighteenth century we find the expression " Chicagou, 
 or Garlic creek." One can therefore attach such significance 
 to the name " Chicago " as suits his own fancy. The fact, 
 however, that in former times, there were in this vicinity great 
 quantities of wild skunkweed (allium ursinum) would suggest 
 that the Indian probably called the stream " Schegog " river 
 (skunk river) on this account. The Calumet in those days 
 formed the chief means of communication between Lake 
 Michigan and the Illinois and Mississipi rivers, but sometimes, 
 depending on the state of the weather, the time of the year and 
 the amount of water in the streams, the St. Joseph or the present 
 Chicago river was chosen. The chief thing to consider was 
 always the " portage," that is, the places where on account of 
 the interruption of the navigable waters, both boat and con- 
 tents had to be carried. 
 
 But let us return to our Argonauts who had been rowing 
 down the Des Plaines to the Illinois river and on this, past 
 many devastated Indian villages to its confluence w y ith the 
 Mississippi, at which point they landed February 6, 1682. 
 
 At first detained by ice and later by his many sojourns in 
 Indian villages along the route, La Salle finally passed the 
 mouth of the Arkansas March 12, and at last on April 7, 
 had the joy of reaching the valiantly and persistently fought 
 for goal of his hopes and ambitions the Gulf of Mexico. 
 Amid the singing of the Te Deum and huzzas for the king of 
 France, all of which sounded strangely enough in the magni- 
 ficent wilderness, a pillar was erected bearing the French 
 arms, and La Salle, " by virtue of his right as discoverer and 
 with the consent of the natives," took formal possession of the 
 spot on which he had landed (in the region which Hennepin 
 
 28
 
 at an earlier period had named Louisiana in honor of 
 Louis XIV) as well as of "all the territories and provinces 
 lying along the shores of the Mississippi and of the cities, 
 mines and fisheries therein contained," from the Alleghanies 
 to the Rocky mountains. (*) 
 
 The next work for La Salle was to properly fortify the 
 newly discovered country. But here again he had to meet 
 his old difficulties and indeed in increased measure. His 
 means and the greatness of his undertakings were in pitiful 
 contrast. The Canadian merchants feared that his increasing 
 influence would prove injurious to their interests and sought to 
 injure him. His creditors were clamorous as ever and to fill 
 the measure of his misfortune his friend Frontenac, through 
 the influence of the Canadian Jesuits, was relieved of his posi- 
 tion as governor and replaced by De La Barre a man any- 
 thing but kindly disposed toward La Salle. 
 
 Two days after taking possession of Louisiana La Salle 
 started on his homeward journey. In December of the same 
 year he had reached that great rock in the neighborhood of 
 La Vantum whose intended fortification had brought such dis- 
 aster to poor Tonti. Now, however, the scene was joyously 
 animated; a strange, gay picture presented itself to the view 
 of the returning voyager. The great rock was properly for- 
 tified and called Fort St. Louis. Under its protection the 
 chief tribes of the Indians who had allied themselves with the 
 French had again assembled. To the south of the fort were 
 the Illini, numbering 7,000 souls; about 2,000 Miamis had 
 chosen a dwelling place on the neighboring " Buffalo " island 
 on the north side of the river; to the east were 200 Shawnees 
 and 600 Pickashaws in all not less than 3,880 Indian war- 
 riors were gathered around the fortress. In addition there 
 
 * This event, so fateful in the historical development of our country, gave the 
 French possession of the greatest and most important part of the New World, and took 
 place scarcely six months after that great marauder. Lfiuis XIV, had surprised the rich 
 and beautiful city of Strassburg in the midst of peace and wrenched it from the German 
 empire, and at the same time that his allies, the Turks, were marching on, plundering 
 and burning as they went, to attack the \valls of Vienna. 
 
 2 9
 
 was the usual large number of camp followers and hangers on, 
 who, despite their white skins, did not constitute the best ele- 
 ment in the new settlement. Many of these men had become 
 wholly savage, both in body and mind, as far as appearances 
 went scarcely to be distinguished from the most neglected of 
 the red skins and in their moral conduct far worse. Some, 
 however, were honest fellows, skilled in hunting and trapping, 
 or industrious farmers or mechanics, who carried on their var- 
 ious trades and so put upon the little community springing up 
 in the far west, the stamp of European civilization. Here 
 were the primitive elements for a future great city and the 
 brave explorer and leader seemed at last to have a fair pros- 
 pect of carrying out his bold plans. Very many western 
 cities and future great cities were, scarcely more than a 
 generation ago, in a worse condition than Fort St. Louis. The 
 best understanding existed between La Salle and his Indians. 
 He afforded them effective protection and labored to instruct 
 and elevate them. They, on the other hand, made his 
 profitable fur trade possible, exchanging all kinds of skins for 
 weapons, ammunition, calico, agricultural implements, trinkets 
 for the women and other supplies. The summer which La 
 Salle spent in the colony which he himself had founded formed 
 the few days of real happiness which he had enjoyed since the 
 time when, as a youth, his heart full of high hopes, he had first 
 touched the soil of the New World. Toward fall however his 
 troubles returned. 
 
 First the necessary supplies from the north ceased and then 
 his agents there were prevented from returning to the colony 
 and it was again molested by the Iroquois. His land-grant 
 Frontenac was seized upon by the provincial government 
 under some vain pretext, and finally, to add the last drop to 
 the cup of his unhappiness, La Salle was deprived of his com- 
 mand of Fort St. Louis, that child born of his sorrows, and 
 one Chevalier de Beaugis made commandant leaving the 
 intrepid explorer, dishonored, robbed, homeless. It was the
 
 before mentioned Governor De La Barre who was responsible 
 for this foul blot on the page of French history in America. 
 That his trusted friend Tonti was allowed to remain in the 
 colony was the only circumstance to lighten the sorrow of La 
 Salle's leave-taking. Woodland and meadow were covered 
 by the gray mists of autumn when the sore-tried man cast his 
 last glance upon the young creation of his unselfish energy. 
 
 In the spring of 1684 La Salle was again in Paris. 
 After having again triumphed over his enemies he busied 
 himself with preparations on a large scale for a new expedi- 
 tion to America. Four ships were equipped and manned with 
 100 soldiers; mechanics and common laborers flocked to La 
 Salle, and even a few dozen bankrupt nobles and speculators 
 joined his standard. Their destination was the mouth of the 
 Mississippi. A naval officer named Beaujeu commanded the 
 squadron. But even on the voyage across the ocean some 
 serious misunderstandings arose between this man and La 
 Salle. When entering Matagorda bay in the Gulf of Mexico 
 one of the vessels containing the most valuable and indispen- 
 sible supplies and implements foundered with its whole cargo. 
 Many of the men believed that this catastrophe was simply an 
 act of revenge on the part of Beaujeu. The expedition had got 
 about 600 miles too far west and La Salle made a fatal error 
 in taking Matagorda bay as a western outlet of the Mississippi. 
 After several fruitless endeavors to find the great river 
 Beaujeu set sail with his squadron for home, leaving La Salle 
 and the colonists on the Texan coast. The privations and 
 miseries of the new comers increased from day to day. From 
 day to day it was more difficult for La Salle to maintain 
 discipline. With a courage born of despair he tried for two 
 years to find the mouth of the Mississippi in order to obtain 
 from Canada succor for his starving immigrants. It was in 
 March, 1687, that, during one of his searching expeditions he 
 got in a western outlet of the Trinity river, about the present 
 site of Galveston, and here the bold explorer was overtaken by
 
 his tragic fate. He was murdered from ambush by one of 
 his own men. Shot through the head he silently breathed his 
 last, but his death marks the beginning of the end of the 
 French rule in the New World. His contemporaries had 
 neither the sense to appreciate nor the ability to maintain the 
 advantages which his venturesome spirit and marvelous energy 
 had gained for his fatherland. Besides, that crowned robber, 
 Louis XIV and his ministers, were at that time too much 
 busied with plundering Europe to form an idea of developing 
 the immeasurable resources of the New World, the full extent 
 of which they had not even a vague notion. The famous 
 devastation of the Palatinate by the French commenced about 
 two years after La Salle's assassination and from that time on 
 for fully eight years, they were occupied with the work of 
 destruction in Germany. Then up to I7J4 the war of the 
 Spanish succession prevented Louis from interesting himself 
 in the works of peace in his trans- Atlantic possessions. Thus 
 it was that the French never brought any of La Salle's far- 
 reaching plans into reality. 
 
 About the same time that La Salle arrived in Paris on his 
 last trip, the Iroquois, 2,000 strong, appeared before his rocky 
 fortress on the Illinois river. But the stronghold proved to be 
 a complete success and Tonti, after six days of seige, punished 
 the hostile redskins so thoroughly that they never had any 
 desire to return. 
 
 In the year 1686, while La Salle was wandering along the 
 Texan coast seeking the mouth of the Mississippi, Tonti, 
 apprehensive for his friend's fate, organized an expedition for 
 the Gulf of Mexico, but had to come back without accomplish- 
 ing anything. Returning to the fort he learned of the sad 
 death of La Salle, whereupon he again went south, visited the 
 scene of the tragedy and provided for the helpless immi- 
 grants. Later with fifty of his own men and 200 Indians 
 Tonti made a successful campaign against the Iroquois in 
 Canada. His return from there to the fort caused quite a 
 
 32
 
 change in the life and activity of the colonists, inasmuch as the 
 families of many of the soldiers, hunters and traders came 
 with him to join the settlement around the fort Their arrival 
 was the signal for an almost endless jollification and formed 
 the beginning of the development of family life in the new 
 community. This does not signify however that the new 
 commonwealth distinguished itself as a model of morals and 
 manners. Quite the contrary. After the inhabitants were 
 freed from the fear of the Iroquois, they, whites as well as 
 Indians, gave themselves up to unbounded excesses. The great 
 mistake of the French leaders was that they neglected to 
 create a solid moral and material basis for the colony by 
 fostering agriculture and industry. It was impossible also to 
 keep from the colony a class of people who had left their 
 country only for their country's good and whose intercourse 
 with the Indians acted like the breath of a pestilence. Upon 
 the redskins the missionaries after all never gained much hold 
 in spite of untold efforts and terrible privations. On the whole 
 the Indian has very little talent for Christianity and when he 
 allowed himself to be "converted" he did so largely "for 
 revenue only." The copper-colored aborigines were far 
 more partial to the fire-water of the French traders than to 
 the holy water of the French priests. All these circum- 
 stances acted against the healthy development of the young 
 community ; it was a scrofulous condition of affairs. 
 
 What a difference between this French colony and that 
 founded by Pastorius in Germantown at almost exactly the 
 same time ! From the first the Pennsylvania settlement was a 
 model of industry, good order, earnest endeavor and excellent 
 morals. Not that its founders rested on beds of roses, for 
 Pastorius himself writes that " enough can neither be written 
 nor believed by our more favored descendants, of the extent 
 of the poverty and destitution in which this Germantownship 
 was founded by colonists, distinguished alike for their Christian 
 frugality and indefatigable industry." 
 
 3 33
 
 The German settlement received at the beginning a town- 
 ship organization and judiciary. Property rights were strictly 
 regulated and official records kept. Agriculture, viticulture 
 and various industries were developed, and in 1691 the first 
 paper mill in America was established there. There, also, at 
 this early period the first agitation against slavery in this 
 country was inaugurated, an event which John G. Whittier 
 extolled in his poem, "The Pennsylvania Pilgrim." In a 
 comparison between the development of Germantown and Fort 
 St. Louis lies the explanation of the historical fact that while 
 the Germans have come to be an important element in the 
 New World, the French influence was only transitory and 
 local, and left no perceptible stamp on the national develop- 
 ment, neither socially nor politically. 
 
 In 1702 Fort St. Louis, the population of which had given 
 itself up to a happy-go-lucky mode of existence, was abandoned 
 by the Canadian government. Poor Tonti lost his position 
 and possessions, but afterwards participated in the colonization 
 of Louisiana and died a poor pauper in a little settlement on 
 Mobile bay. Fort St. Louis existed, but only as a trading 
 post, until 1718, when it was totally destroyed by the Indians 
 of the vicinity. It is interesting to note that the savages gave 
 as an excuse for this act the statement that the French had 
 become intolerably immoral. Intolerance from a moral point 
 of view and supersensitiveness were never prominent charac- 
 teristics of the Indian nature. Their peculiar act and more 
 peculiar explanation, therefore, form a valuable commentary 
 on the methods of life then and there prevailing. As a whole 
 the Illini lost more than they gained by their intercourse with 
 the French, and the brandy introduced by the latter had as 
 demoralizing an effect as opium exerts on the Chinese. 
 Effeminated and morally corrupted, these Indian associates of 
 the French soon became unable to defend themselves against 
 their robust enemies in the north and east; most of them, 
 therefore, went south, down the Mississippi, where they 
 
 34
 
 dissolved their tribal relations, and, to a large extent, were lost 
 sight of. Those that remained in their old country, the last of 
 their tribe, were the victims of a cruel fate. Under the pre- 
 text of their having been implicated in the murder of the 
 Ottawa chief, Pontiac, whose death was probably instigated 
 by the English, the remnant of the Illini was surprised by his 
 tribe (1769) and driven to their old settlement at La Vantum, 
 where a bloody engagement took place. Beaten here, they 
 fell back, under cover of a stormy night, to the isolated rock 
 where once stood La Salle's formidable Fort St. Louis. Here 
 they sustained a twelve days' seige, at the end of which their 
 provisions were completely exhausted. Then those who still 
 felt strength enough for the ordeal left their rocky eyrie to 
 sell their lives as dearly as possible. They were slaughtered 
 to the last man. With a wild war-whoop the cruel enemy, 
 after this bath of blood, hurried up the rock, where the mad 
 carnage began anew. Pitilessly the tomahawk flew through 
 the air and fell upon the heads of the poor victims who, sick 
 and exhausted, had remained behind. Only one, an Indian 
 half-breed, escaped from the terrible butchery. Such was the 
 end of this once numerous and powerful tribe, which has given 
 our state its name, and which not only always kept faith with 
 the white pioneers, but even helped them in their enterprises. 
 Verily they merited a better fate the poor Illini. 
 
 After the peace of Ryswick (1697), which put an end to 
 his plundering and devastation in Europe, Louis XIV again 
 found leisure to cultivate his trans- Atlantic colonies. He es- 
 tablished a fort in Louisiana, but its existence was precarious. 
 First, the garrison and settlers were attacked by yellow fever, 
 and later, on account of being fully occupied with the war of 
 the Spanish succession, Louis found himself unable to assist his 
 Mississippi fort. In consequence of this the French saw 
 themselves obliged to govern Louisiana independently of 
 Canada, or, more properly speaking, to turn their southern 
 possessions over to the tender mercies of a set of tax 
 
 35
 
 gatherers different from those who bled the colonists elsewhere. 
 Boomers began to turn their attention to the valley of 
 the lower Mississippi, which they expected to find a land 
 of fabulous wealth. The Scotchman, John Law, to whom 
 the inflationists and silver cranks ought long ago to have 
 reared a monument; that prince of financial jugglers and 
 speculators, who, by his bank of issue, contributed so much to 
 the financial and moral ruin of France in the reign of Louis- 
 XV, established the India company (Compagnie de 1'Inde), 
 which leased from the French government the exclusive right. 
 to "govern" and tax the provinces of Louisiana and Illinois, 
 acquired the monopoly of the tobacco, slave, East India, China 
 and South Sea Island trade, and procured the sole privilege of 
 refining gold and silver. Under the influence of this rich and 
 powerful company, and especially under the bold schemer Law, 
 there began in the colonies on the Gulf, the Mississippi and in 
 Illinois, an activity that was lively in spite of being unhealthy, 
 forced and tainted with fraud. In 1718 New Orleans was 
 founded and near Kaskaskia, in the Mississippi bottom, Fort 
 Chartres, and this post, around which a flourishing, industrious 
 and, considering the times, even fashionable little city devel- 
 oped, was henceforth the seat of the French government in 
 Illinois. In that year not less than 800 immigrants landed at 
 the mouth of the Mississippi and from then on they came at 
 regular intervals and in great numbers. Many negro slaves 
 were also brought to the new colonies. In i7 22 > in Cahokia, 
 as well as in Kaskaskia, mills, factories and stores were erected. 
 In Kaskaskia a stone church and a stone dwelling house for 
 the Jesuits were erected. The settlement of the whole terri- 
 tory from New Orleans to Kaskaskia was so rapid that its 
 division into nine civil and military districts was considered 
 necessary. Illinois, the seventh district, was, next to that at 
 New Orleans, the largest and most thickly settled. The com- 
 merce of Illinois was henceforth carried on, not by way of 
 Canada, but via New Orleans, which city gained rapidly in 
 
 36
 
 importance. In the year 1732 the India Company was dissolved 
 and from then on the colonies were again governed by 
 French officers whose rule, if never brilliant, was at least 
 tolerable. After an unfortunate campaign against the Chick- 
 asaws, during which the youthful commander of the Illinois 
 district, Pierre d'Artaguiette, together with some of his officers 
 and two missionaries, fell into the hands of the Indians and 
 were burned at the stake, the Illinois colony enjoyed a long 
 and profitable peace, while commerce, agriculture and manu- 
 factures developed very satisfactorily. Thus, for instance, 
 not less than 1,000 sacks of flour were sent by them in 1745 
 to the New Orleans market, with a large quantity of lard, 
 hides, leather, lumber, lead, furs and even wine. The trans- 
 portation was effected in clumsy barges, which usually traveled 
 together, and a round trip from New Orleans to Kaskaskia 
 ordinarily lasted four to five months. But these long and 
 slow journeys were were not devoid of pleasure. The boat- 
 men landed in friendly settlements and enjoyed fishing, hunting 
 and other sports. The return of these barges from the young 
 metropolis at the mouth of the Mississippi was usually the 
 cause for great jollification, for they not only brought new 
 supplies of sugar, rice, tobacco, ammunition, etc., but also 
 news from abroad and letters from home. 
 
 It can well be said that about the middle of the i8th 
 century the French colonies in Illinois reached their highest 
 point of prosperity. Spared the attacks of hostile Indians and 
 other calamities since 1736, they could develop themselves nat- 
 urally and according to their inherent peculiarities, and that is 
 what they did. But the end was pitiful. 
 
 " The last result of wisdom stamps this true : 
 
 He only, earns his freedom and existence 
 Who daily conquers them anew." 
 
 The last of the French colonial days in North America re- 
 mind one vividly of these words of Faust. Here the material 
 prosperity caused the moral downfall. Man cannot live by 
 
 37
 
 bread alone. The leading spirits, busied with cares for the 
 material welfare of the colonists, neglected their spiritual and 
 moral needs; the commonwealth lacked in ideal force, in 
 spiritual endeavor; it stagnated and the rank growth of a 
 coarse sensuality killed out the tender shoots of the growing 
 state so that its total destruction was only a question of time. 
 Bold and energetic as the French were in discovering and 
 exploring new territories, they were weak and unsuccess- 
 ful in the maintenance and organic development of the same, 
 in state formation. For eighty long years they reigned unin- 
 terruptedly over the immense and rich domain stretching from 
 the St. Lawrence and great lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. 
 They erected forts, trading posts and missions ; but in spite of 
 all their efforts they did not succeed in colonizing more than 
 4,000 whites in their enormous possessions. While fully ap- 
 preciative of their great services in the exploration of the New 
 World and their attempted civilization of the natives, we can- 
 not exempt the French missionaries from censure for their 
 neglect to use their influence and means to establish public 
 schools and to foster the education and elevation of the com- 
 mon people. Significant is the single fact that during the 
 whole French rule, from beginning to end (after the battle of 
 Quebec, September I3th, 1759), not a printing press was to 
 be found in any of their colonies, while in the other colonies 
 newspapers and books aided materially in the intellectual 
 growth of the commonwealth. 
 
 The northern part of Illinois, especially the region of the 
 present Chicago, was totally neglected by the French after 
 the death of La Salle. Only when the Anglo-Saxon 
 appeared, were the first foundations laid for the Wonder city 
 of to-day.
 
 PART TWO. 
 
 The Rule of the English Emigration of the French The Pontlac War A Fateful 
 Love Intrigue Pontiac's Tragic End The Americans Take the Helm. 
 
 " Short is the reign of tyrants," says an old proverb, 
 and short was the English reign over the conquered north- 
 west. Of small advantage was it to either the ruled or the 
 rulers, and as far as the latter were concerned, it was 
 anything but creditable. 
 
 At the time the British rule began in Illinois there were 
 five settlements, having a total white population of 1600 
 persons, divided as follows: Kaskaskia Joo, Cahokia 450, 
 New Chartres 220, Prairie du Rocher no and St. Philip 120. 
 Fort Chartres was the last French military post to pass over 
 into the hands of the English. It was October 10, 1765, that 
 the French flag had to yield to the English on the walls of 
 the fortress, and thus disappeared the last symbol of French 
 rule in Illinois. 
 
 It goes without saying that the French immigrants had no 
 love for these conquerors. Not less than one-third of them 
 preferred to leave the homes they had won after so many 
 struggles and sacrifices, rather than to submit to the rule of 
 the despised Britons. They went to New Orleans, 
 Natchez, Baton Rouge, Genevieve and to the trading post of 
 St. Louis. This was founded in 1764 by Pierre Laclede and 
 about it there soon sprang up a flourishing little village which 
 remains to mark the spot to this day. Only one man was 
 left in St. Philip, and only a half-dozen in the neighborhood 
 of Fort Chartres where formerly the elite of the French pop- 
 ulation had been found. 
 
 39
 
 But the native population of the Illinois district was far 
 more dissatisfied with the new order of affairs than even the 
 French. Their opposition sprang from both heart and head. 
 The French had never been despotic, but had lived with them 
 on terms of friendship, almost of equality, sharing with them 
 their joys and sorrows, instructing them and even intermarry- 
 ing with them, so that it galled the redskins that their friends 
 should quietly submit to the rule of the hated, heartless, sel- 
 fish English. In regard to their own interests too, the rule of 
 the English was very disagreeable to the Indians so much so 
 that they at once set about opposing them. 
 
 The seat of the English government in the northwest was 
 at that time Detroit, which in 1763 came into possession of 
 the English, and was put under the command of Col. Henry 
 Hamilton, lieutenant-governor of the territory. Some of the 
 duties of this gentleman cannot be better described than as char- 
 acteristically English. Thus, for example, he was instructed 
 to "drive back the settlers across the Alleghanies. " For 
 the English had no intention of colonizing the territory of the 
 great lakes and Mississippi river; they wished rather, on 
 account of import and export trade, to have the settlements 
 as thickly peopled as possible along the coast. Another 
 order given the commandant at Detroit, was to cause the 
 Illinois settlers, who rebelled against the British rule, or 
 rather misrule, and also their Indian allies, to be tantalized 
 and opposed by Indians from the northeast, especially by the 
 Iroquois to whom the government did not hesitate to offer a 
 considerable reward for any scalps they brought in, whether 
 of men, women or children. 
 
 The first result of British supremacy in the northwest, was 
 the so-called Pontiac war, which marks the bloodiest epoch in 
 western colonial history. 
 
 Pontiac, a chief of the Ottawas, and the recognized leader 
 of the whole Algonquin family, an Indian of imperious nature 
 and far more than average ability, formed the bold plan 
 
 40
 
 of forcibly putting an end to British rule in the northwest. 
 His remarkable talent and his almost white skin, would 
 suggest that this crafty warrior was a French half-breed; 
 at any rate he succeeded, without raising the least suspic- 
 ion, in forming a powerful federation of the Indians of 
 the Ottawa, Chippewa, Pottawatomie, Menominee, Miami, 
 Shawnee and Wyandotte tribes. He then arranged, on a 
 certain day in May, 1763, to capture, either through force or 
 cunning, all the forts in the northwest held by the English. 
 This bold plan, which was executed with marvelous skill, 
 came within a hair's breadth of complete success. Mackinac, 
 Sandusky, Green Bay, St. Joseph, Presque Isle (Erie) and 
 Venango fell into the hands of the Indians. But Detroit, the 
 strongest, and strategically the most important point, whose 
 capture Pontiac himself had undertaken, escaped a similar 
 fate through chance. Here again it was an Indian girl who 
 took a prominent role, and thus saved the English garrison. 
 She belonged to the Ojibway tribe and had a love affair not 
 a Platonic one with Major Gladwin, commander of the troops 
 stationed at Detroit. Suspecting the danger in which her 
 lover was placed, she did not rest until she had fully learned 
 of Pontiac's plan to surprise the fort. The chief and 400 of 
 his warriors, each with his weapons concealed under his blanket, 
 entered the fort with permission of the commander, and 
 according to program, started what was ostensibly to be a 
 peaceable pow-wow. It had been arranged, however, by the 
 conspirators that at a signal from Pontiac, the unsuspecting 
 garrison should be attacked and murdered. But the cunning 
 Indian had not made his reckoning with the Ojibway maiden, 
 who had duly informed her lover of all that was going on. 
 Pontiac in the grotesquely solemn fashion of the Indians, had 
 begun an harangue and threateningly, and ever more threaten- 
 ingly addressed Gladwin, who was quietly sitting before him. 
 The critical moment seemed to be at hand. Suddenly, how- 
 ever, there sounded a peal of trumpets and a roll of drums.
 
 In a moment the amazed and dumfounded Indians were 
 surrounded with glittering bayonets and drawn sabres. Rapid 
 as this dramatic transition was, the change in the conduct of 
 the redskins, and in the tone of their demands, was more so, 
 and they thanked their lucky stars when they were finally 
 dismissed with a stern warning, but with whole skins. This 
 scare however did not deter them from making an attack on 
 the fort the next day. But they were repulsed. Pontiac 
 seemed to take his failure and humiliation at Gladwin's hands 
 very much to heart, and for three months harrassed the fort 
 almost daily, making several particularly desperate but unsuc- 
 cessful attempts to capture it. When he finally perceived 
 that he had underestimated the force of the English in the same 
 degree that he had overestimated the power of the Indian 
 federation, the embittered chief turned to the French officers, 
 who, after the surrender of their forts, had been dismissed on 
 parole by the English, and asked aid and support from them. 
 Indeed he dispatched messengers as far as New Orleans, and 
 could not comprehend that his former comrades and brothers- 
 in-arms had to look idly on at the desperate struggle he was 
 waging for the rights of both. Many another bitter conflict 
 took place between the red warriors and their hated English 
 foes, many another settlement was devastated, and many an 
 emigrant's family killed or dragged into slavery before Pontiac 
 finally (August 1765) made peace in the name of all the tribes 
 commanded by him. Broken in spirit and bodily strength, the 
 great chieftain, after his last disaster, disappears from the scene 
 of events, and all that is henceforth heard of him, is, that in 
 April, 1769, he was befuddled with liquor, at the instance of an 
 English trader named Williamson, and murdered by a Kaskas- 
 kia Indian. St. Ange, the gray-haired commander of Fort 
 Chartres, felt affection enough for the grim warrior to have 
 his body removed to St. Louis and buried there. Thus at 
 least his bones did not rest in hostile earth, and none of the 
 despised English could tread upon the grave of their fallen foe. 
 
 42
 
 Had Pontiac lived ten years longer, he would have had the 
 great satisfaction of witnessing the disgraceful defeat of the 
 English in Illinois and the final dissolution of English rule in 
 the northwest. 
 
 George Rogers Clark, a brilliant and patriotic Kentuckian, 
 conceived the idea in 1778, of capturing Fort Chartres, Kas- 
 kaskia, Vincennes in short, the whole Illinois territory from 
 the English. On laying his plans before Virginia's great 
 governor, Patrick Henry, he was assured arms, ammunition 
 and the necessary authority, and at once set out on his 
 campaign. He first captured Kaskaskia, taking the Creole 
 commandant of the British fort by surprise, and, making 
 friends of the French colonists, won over to his cause the 
 inhabitants of Cahokia and Vincennes. This was in the 
 summer of 1778 and thus far the very audacity of Clark's 
 plans had made them successful. He had captured the 
 Illinois territory without a struggle. But in the fall Col. 
 Hamilton with a large force of English and Indians set out 
 from Detroit, fully intending to capture Clark and his handful 
 of "buckskins" and restore the British rule in short order. 
 He reached Vincennes early in the winter and captured the 
 town without a fight. Here he entered winter quarters, 
 postponing his annihilation of Clark until spring. This was 
 his great error, and the American's good luck, for in February, 
 1779, Clark, with 170 men under his command, attacked his 
 fort and compelled his surrender. From that day the whole 
 northwest territory has been in undisputed and peaceful 
 possession of the United States. It was first incorporated as 
 one of the counties of Virginia but that state afterwards 
 (1782) ceded it to the general government. 
 
 In 1800 Ohio was separated from this " northwest territory " 
 and Michigan and Indiana a few years later. There still 
 remained the state of Illinois, Wisconsin and a part of Minne- 
 sota, with a combined white population of 12,282 souls. 
 December 3, 1818, Illinois was admitted to the Union as a 
 
 43
 
 separate state with Kaskaskia as its first capital. Later 
 Vandalia became the seat of the state government and in 
 1836 Springfield. 
 
 The earlier immigrants settled for the most part in the 
 southern portion of the state and flourishing settlements of 
 highly educated people sprung up in Vandalia, Belleville and 
 other tows of southern and central Illinois. Among the first 
 settlers in Belleville was Gustav Koerner, who afterwards 
 became governor of the state. He is still (1893) enjoying 
 robust health and is actively engaged in political and literary 
 labors. 
 
 Chicago was, to a certain extent, avoided by the early- 
 comers and it was not until years after that the flood of immi- 
 gration turned to the city on the southern shore of Lake 
 Michigan. 
 
 FIRST CAPITOL BUILDING IN ILLINOIS. 
 
 44
 
 Chicago. 
 
 Early Documents A Miscarriage in Land Speculation The Earliest Settlers Erection 
 of Fort Dearborn Tecumseh Massacre of Fort Dearborn Tedious Develop- 
 ment of the Village Black Hawk End of the Indian War in Illinois and 
 Beginning of the Rapid Development of the Future Metropolis. 
 
 The bold deeds of Frederick the Great, the bloody Turkish 
 war, which so violently agitated all Europe, the storming of 
 the bastille, the murder of Louis XVI, the appearance of 
 Napoleon on the world's stage, the important events in Eng- 
 land, even the war for American independence and its 
 immediate consequences none of all these important scenes 
 which were enacted in the drama of nations in the i8th and 
 beginning of the ipth centuries, affected Chicago. The 
 wonder-city of to-day was then only a geographical concep- 
 tion, an unimportant and insignificent meeting-place of 
 fur-traders and Indians. At the time of La Salle and Tonti 
 there was, of course, a comparatively active trade in Chicago 
 and as early as September 14, 1699, the Jesuit priest Buisson 
 de St. Cosne was warranted in making to the bishop of 
 Quebec a favorable report on the Jesuit mission in the neigh- 
 borhood. But this was given up about the middle of the last 
 century and the trading post of " Chicagou " was soon 
 outdistanced by those of Melwarick (Milwaukee) and St. 
 Joseph. 
 
 Unfortunately there is a lack of reliable documents and 
 reports on many an interesting event in the development of 
 Illinois and its chief city and absolutely no care is being taken 
 by the proper state authorities to gather and preserve such 
 material as is still existing. One of the oldest documents re- 
 lating to Chicago affords a glimpse of the early speculators. 
 
 45
 
 A venturesome Englishman named William Murray, who had 
 turned up in Kaskaskia eight years before, established in 1773 
 the " Illinois Land company " and in the presence of the civil 
 and military officers of the town held a pow-wow with the 
 chiefs of several of the Illinois tribes and received in trade 
 from them two enormous tracts of land east of the Mississippi. 
 In consideration of this cession he gave the Indians five shill- 
 ings in cash, 250 blankets, 250 strouds (a thick cloth), 250 
 pairs of stroud-and-half-thick stockings, 150 stroud breech- 
 cloths, 500 pounds of gunpowder, 4000 pounds of lead, one 
 gross of knives, thirty pounds of vermillion, 2000 gun flints, 
 200 pounds of brass kettles, 200 pounds of tobacco, three 
 dozen gilt looking glasses, 10,000 pounds of flour, 500 bushels 
 of Indian corn, twelve horses, twelve horned cattle, twenty 
 bushels of salt and twenty guns. 
 
 In the deeds, which, however, were afterwards declared 
 null and void by Congress, one of the boundary points was des- 
 ignated as " Chicagou or Garlick creek," and the site of the 
 present city would be included in % this grant. 
 
 The present spelling of Chicago is found for the first time in 
 a letter of an Indian trader named Burnett, written from St. 
 Joseph, Mich., in 1780, and containing this laconic sentence : 
 " The Pottawatomies at Chicago have killed a Frenchman about 
 twenty days ago. They say there is plenty of Frenchmen. " 
 
 The name " Chicago " was officially recognized by the gov- 
 ernment of the United States in the treaty which Gen. Anth- 
 ony Wayne made in Greenville, Ohio, in i795> with the Indians 
 of the northwest. The territory which the Indians at that 
 time were forced to cede to the United States, included "one 
 piece of land, six miles square, at the mouth of the Chicago 
 river, emptying into the southwestern end of Lake Michigan, 
 where a fort formerly stood." 
 
 Within this boundary, and on the northern side of the river, 
 where Kinzie street commences, only one man lived at that 
 time, Jean Baptiste Point de Saible, as the historians call him. 
 
 46
 
 This first Chicago settler, who drifted here about the year 
 i779> originally came from the island of Hayti. By the peace 
 of Ryswick, (September 20, 1697,) the western part of this 
 island was ceded to the French and thereafter made extra- 
 ordinary progress in its material development. As here in the 
 west they had joyfully accepted the opportunity of intermarry- 
 ing with the Indians, so among the negroes of the West 
 Indies the French accepted the same privilege. Many of the 
 half-breeds of Hayti, whose origin may be attributed to this 
 Gallic peculiarity, were educated in the schools of France and 
 afterwards attained positions of prominence at home, while the 
 Spanish Haytiens, the inhabitants of Santo Domingo, led a 
 precarious, semi-barbarous existence. The slaves formerly 
 brought by Renault to Fort Chartres, came from Hayti. 
 
 Point de Saible (or perhaps more correctly Point de Sable 
 or Sabre,, for there is no French word " Saible ") was a 
 French mulatto of the before mentioned type. Together 
 with one Glamorgan, an adventurer from Santo Domingo, he 
 came by way of New Orleans, to the Peoria Indians and later 
 wandered up to Lake Michigan, where he met the Pottawato- 
 mies. Here he organized an extensive and very remunerative 
 trade, reaching as far as Detroit and Mackinac. He was, 
 therefore, the first Chicago wholesaler, and made Chicago, 
 for the first time, a commercial center. Personally he is 
 described as a good looking and very pleasant fellow who, in 
 his solitude, had acquired but one bad habit, he would get 
 drunk. In the year 1796 Monsieur de Saible retired from 
 business a wealthy man. In spite of his material success, 
 however, he does not seem to have liked Chicago, for after 
 making his fortune here, he vanished from the scene and was 
 heard of no more. His dwelling and storeroom, a large block- 
 house built by his own hands, passed into the possession of a 
 French trader, Le Mai, who in 1804 sold it to John Kinzie. 
 During the last three years of his stay in Chicago, Saible had 
 neighbors, three French Canadians, Guarie, Ouillemette and 
 
 47
 
 Pettell, the first of whom lived on the West Side, the two 
 others near the place on which in 1803 the fort was erected. 
 None of these gentlemen had held himself aloof from the 
 French-Indian race mixing process, for the four firesides in 
 the four log-houses were presided over by four full-blooded 
 Indian squaws. 
 
 Immediately after his treaty with the Indians of the north- 
 west, Gen. Wayne recommended to the government at Wash- 
 ington, the establishment of a fort in Chicago, as a protection 
 for American traders, and he afterwards came here himself to 
 supervise the preliminary steps in the undertaking. Eight 
 years, however, elapsed before the United States government 
 acted on this recommendation. Capt. John Whistler with a 
 small command of United States troops reached here July 3, 
 1803, in the government schooner " Tracy." He at once 
 began, at the corner of the present Michigan avenue and 
 River street, to erect a fort which was completed about the 
 first of the following December. In honor of Gen. Henry 
 Dearborn, at that time secretary of war, the new fort was 
 called Fort Dearborn. Except for the French settlers and 
 John Kinzie, who came here in 1804, there then lived 
 between the Chicago and Des Plaines rivers, only Pottawato- 
 mie Indians, whose principal settlement was on the Calumet 
 river near the present site of South Chicago. 
 
 A correct idea of the then existing condition of affairs may 
 be gained from the following letter of Mrs. Julia Whistler, 
 wife of the commander of Fort Dearborn : . " The United 
 States Schooner ' Tracy, ' * * * * on arriving at Chicago, 
 anchored half a mile from the shore, discharging her freight 
 from boats. Some 2000 Indians visited the locality while the 
 vessel was here, being attracted by so unusual an occurrence 
 as the appearence in these waters of 'a big canoe with wings.' 
 There were then here but four rude huts, or trader's cabins, 
 occupied by white men, Canadian French with Indian wives. 
 * * * # There was not at that time, within hundreds of 
 
 48
 
 miles, a team of horses, or oxen; and as a consequence, the 
 soldiers had to don the harness, and with the aid of ropes, 
 drag home the needed timbers. " 
 
 Only once a year did the soldiers of the fort receive their sup- 
 plies from the government, and then generally from a govern- 
 ment vessel. How wise was the recommendation of Gen. Wayne, 
 that a fort be erected in this neighborhood, the occurrences 
 of the folio wing year am ply proved. To gain an adequate idea of 
 the situation, it is necessary to view the Indian treaties effected 
 by Gen. Harrison, and to note the dissatisfaction caused by 
 them. President John Adams appointed as governor of the 
 northwest territory, created by an act of Congress May 7, 
 1800, Gen. William Henry Harrison, who at that time was a 
 member of Congress. He had formerly gained much exper- 
 ience under Gen. Wayne in Indian fighting, and proved him- 
 self a brave soldier. Gov. Harrison confined his efforts 
 principally to making treaties with the Indians by which their 
 lands came largely into possession of the United States. That 
 the national government was ever cheated in these transac- 
 tions is hardly to be believed, and the Indians always main- 
 tained the contrary, claiming to have been most unmercifully 
 duped. Be this as it may, it is a fact that the United States 
 government gained possession of the lands of the Indians of 
 the northwest very cheaply, as is proved by the following 
 figures : 
 
 DATE OF THE TREATY. 
 
 NAME OF THE INDIAN TRIBE. 
 
 NUMBER 
 OF ACRES. 
 
 PUR- 
 CHASE 
 PRICK. 
 
 Fort Wayne, June 7, 1803 
 
 i Delawares, Shawnees . . . ) 
 j Miamis, Pattawotomies. . > 
 ' and Kickapoos ) 
 
 2,038,400 
 
 $4,000 
 
 Vincenues, Aug. 15, 1803 
 
 ( Kaskaskias, Cahokias I 
 ( and Mitchigamies ) 
 
 8,911,850 
 
 12,000 
 
 St. Louis, Nov. 3, 1804. . . 
 
 Sacs and Foxes 
 
 14 803,500 
 
 22.234 
 
 Vincennes, Dec. 30, 1805. 
 
 Piankashaws 
 
 2.676,150 
 
 4,100 
 
 Vincennes Dec 9, 1809 
 
 Kickapoos 
 
 138 240 
 
 2 700 
 
 
 
 
 
 In the same measure as the government succeeded in get- 
 ting possession of the Indians' lands in the northwest the 
 
 49
 
 discontent among the natives increased. In addition is the 
 fact, that the white settlers as well as the government agents, 
 frequently acted with unnecessary harshness toward the 
 Indians and that the English in Canada lost no opportunity to 
 create discontent among the red men and incite them to begin 
 hostilities against the federal government. In consequence of 
 the conditions thus created it was inevitable that the decision 
 as to the final possession of the great northwest, east of the 
 Mississippi be left to the sword. 
 
 An important and in many respects highly interesting role 
 in this crisis was played by Tecumseh, a gifted and influential 
 chief of the Shawnees. He was born near the present site of 
 Springfield, Ohio, in 1768. While he was still a child his 
 father fell on the battle field, a fact not calculated to inspire 
 him with any high degree of affection for the whites. His 
 own baptism of fire he received in Kentucky at the age of 
 20 when at the first volley he succumbed to the " bullet fever " 
 and ran away as fast as his legs could carry him. Through 
 more than ordinary prudence and valor, however, he dis- 
 tinguished himself in the bitter conflicts which preceded the 
 treaty of Greenville. About the year 1805 he also tried to 
 execute the plan which had caused the downfall of Pontiac 
 to form a union of all the Indian tribes of the west against 
 the whites. 
 
 He was greatly assisted in all his undertakings by his 
 brother, Ellskwatawa, commonly called the " Prophet," who 
 exercised a remarkable influence upon the redskins. The 
 dissatisfaction among the Indians was, of course, favorable to 
 the plans of the brothers. They asserted that the chiefs were 
 unduly influenced, by brandy or bribes, to make the various 
 treaties effected by Gen. Harrison, that the territ'ory affected 
 by these treaties belonged to the various Indian tribes and 
 families and that therefore individual chiefs had no right to 
 dispose of it or any part thereof. In spite of the most import- 
 unate warnings of Gov. Harrison the two brothers, with 
 
 50
 
 indefatigable zeal and persistency, labored hard to arouse a 
 warlike spirit among all the Indian tribes from the region of 
 the great lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. 
 
 In the year 1806 they came to the vicinity of Chicago to 
 incite the Pottawatomies to deeds of violence and to induce 
 them to join the federated Indians. Their failure to accom- 
 plish their purpose was due partly to the officers of the fort 
 but chiefly to the efforts of John Kinzie, who was highly 
 regarded by the Indians. 
 
 In August, 1810, Tecumseh was invited by Gov. Harrison 
 to a " quiet talk " and with 400 warriors, all fully armed, betook 
 himself to Vincennes, where Gov. Harrison's headquarters 
 then were. He was asked to take a seat on the veranda of 
 the governor's house but proudly refused, saying : " Houses 
 were built for you to hold councils in and Indians hold theirs 
 in the open air." Thereupon Gov. Harrison went out to 
 meet the haughty chief who received him with a speech, elo- 
 quent in the true Indian fashion. At the conclusion of his 
 harangue he was asked to take a seat beside his " father " 
 (Gen. Harrison) but gravely refused, saying : " The sun is my 
 father and the earth is my mother. On her bosom I will 
 repose." 
 
 In the discussion which followed, Tecumseh deported him- 
 self in such a violent and threatening manner that negotiations 
 were broken off. The next day he apologized for his conduct 
 and the conference was resumed, but without result, and the 
 agitation of the brothers, and the general discontent of the Indians 
 continued. Soon the Pottawatomies, the savages near Chicago, 
 began to grow uneasy; the young warriors heeded not the 
 advice of the older and wiser chiefs, and began to listen to the 
 schemes of the brothers. While Tecumseh was engaged in 
 organizing the Indians of the south, the Prophet, November 
 u, 1811, made an attack at Tippecanoe on the troops of Gen. 
 Harrison, but was repulsed with heavy losses on both sides. 
 
 After the breaking out of the war of 1812, Tecumseh allied
 
 himself with the English in order to wreak his vengeance on 
 Gen. Harrison, whom he hated bitterly. From the English 
 he received command of the Indian forces, and took a promi- 
 nent part in the principal conflicts of 1812 and 1813. In 
 recognition of his bravery and ability, he was made a brigadier- 
 general on the battlefield of Maguaga where he had been 
 dangerously wounded. The cut here given represents him 
 in his uniform as an English general. 
 
 His aversion to Gen. Harrison and his staff was so great 
 that he refused to participate in any conference where one of 
 them was present. This fact, however, did not deter him, after 
 the successful siege of Fort Meigs, where he commanded 2000 
 Indian warriors, from preventing the proposed slaughter of the 
 American prisoners. During the retreat of the British, after 
 the battle of Lake Erie, Tecumseh who always fought des- 
 perately, in the very front ranks, was again severely wounded. 
 
 Pathetic to a high degree is the end of this remarkable 
 chieftain. Even before the decisive battle on the Thames in
 
 Canada, October 5, 1813, where he commanded the right 
 wing of the English, he believed defeat inevitable and rather 
 than survive the triumph of his enemies decided to seek death 
 on the field of battle. He laid aside his sword and uniform 
 and once more put on the regulation war dress of an Indian 
 chief. With a wild war-whoop he dashed into the midst of 
 the conflict and soon found the desired end. Tccumseh was 
 indisputably one of the most prominent and intelligent of the 
 Indian leaders, and would undoubtedly have become a states- 
 man and soldier of renown had his earlier education been of 
 a different character. 
 
 Closely connected with the agitations of Tecumseh, and the 
 Prophet and the intrigues .of the agents of the English, was an 
 event which cast its awful shadows over the very beginning of 
 Chicago, the massacre of the garrison of Fort Dearborn. 
 
 This took place in August 1812. Saturday, August 9, a 
 friendly Pottawatomie chief, Winnimeg, hurried unexpectedly 
 into the fort. He brought a letter from Gen. Hull, commander 
 of Fort Detroit, to Capt. Heald, who, after the transfer of Col. 
 Whistler, had command of Fort Dearborn. For weeks the 
 situation of the garrison had been very critical. The Indians 
 who hung around the fort day by day became more threaten- 
 ing and now bad news from the east! The letter announced 
 that the United States had declared war against England June 
 12, 1812. Three weeks before Mackinac had fallen into the 
 hands of the enemy. Fort Dearborn was to be abandoned 
 and the garrison, if possible, was to go to Detroit by land. 
 The supplies and ammunition in the fort were to be disposed 
 of according to the discretion of the commander. 
 
 It was believed that the contents of the letter could be kept 
 secret from the Indians, but Tecumseh had taken good care to 
 fully advise his red brothers of the turn affairs had taken and 
 they were in no mood to forego any of the advantages offered 
 by the situation. Allured by the prospect of plunder, new 
 bands of Indians arrived almost hourly. Besides a great 
 
 53
 
 quantity of various kinds of merchandise there were stored in 
 the fort immense supplies of powder and whisky, and powder 
 and whisky were just what the Indians desired. They 
 decided therefore, to butcher the garrison and only awaited a 
 favorable opportunity. Capt. Heald had only forty-five men 
 and two officers under his command and there were but twelve 
 militia men in addition. Part of his men were sick so that 
 only forty of the garrison were able to bear arms. Their 
 chief duty was to protect twelve women and twenty children. 
 The Indians surrounding the fort were 700 strong. 
 
 After the arrival of Winnimeg a council of war was held in 
 the fort, but on account of the decided difference of opinion 
 no definite action resulted. Winnimeg advised leaving the fort 
 at once, abandoning to the Indians, arms, ammunition, whisky 
 everything. Capt. Heald, however, wished to give the 
 Indians in return for a promise of safe conduct, everything but 
 what they wanted i. e., arms, whisky and ammunition. 
 Lieut. Helm, Ensign Ronan and a majority of the men were 
 in favor of remaining as long as possible in the fort in hopes of 
 reinforcements. None of the unfortunates had much hope of 
 escape. The arrival, on August 13, of Capt. William Wells, 
 Indian agent in Fort Wayne, with thirty friendly Miamis, cast 
 the last faint ray of sunshine into the gloomy camp. Wells, 
 the uncle of Mrs. Heald, had received news of the precarious con- 
 dition of the garrison, and had voluntarily come to afford it relief 
 if possible. He well knew how to deal with Indians, in peace 
 or man to man on the battlefield. When a boy of 12, during 
 an Indian war in Kentucky, in which his father played a 
 conspicuous part, he was stolen by a Miami and adopted by 
 their great chief, Little Turtle. Then he became the chief's 
 son-in-law, having married one of the Misses Little Turtle. 
 But he soon tired of this interesting family, and of Indian life, 
 and one fine morning told his wife's relatives that he would take 
 his family and return to the whites. Later, under Gen. Wayne, 
 he distinguished himself in many a hot combat against the 
 
 54
 
 red men. Since the peace of Greenville, however, he lived 
 in perfect harmony with the tribe to which his wife had 
 belonged. 
 
 Wells urged an immediate abandonment of the fort, and 
 agreed with John Kinzie and Capt. Heald as to the advisa- 
 bility of destroying the arms, whisky and ammunition. This 
 was done. When the Indians saw keg after keg of their 
 beloved fire water rolled into the lake, their wrath knew no 
 bounds. 
 
 On the morning of August 15, about 9 o'clock, the gates 
 of the fort were opened and the garrison marched out. Fifteen 
 of Capt. Wells' Miamis march at the head. Then came the 
 band playing a funeral march ! In the middle, in wagons or 
 on horseback came the women, children and the sick, guarded 
 by the few able-bodied soldiers ; the other fifteen Miamis formed 
 the rear guard. John Kinzie, although warned by a friendly 
 Indian, also went along, hoping that if worst came to worst, 
 his influence with the natives might prevent bloodshed. His 
 family had already been taken in canoes by friendly Indians 
 to a hiding place in the vicinity of St. Joseph. The last man 
 had hardly left the fort when the Indian hordes like a pack of 
 hungry wolves, rushed ^howling into the building, but of that 
 which they most eagerly sought, whisky and powder, they 
 found no trace. 
 
 According to an agreement with Capt. Heald 500 Potta- 
 watomies escorted the garrison from the fort. They 
 marched along the lake shore on an Indian trail. About 100 
 yards west of this trail, and perhaps a quarter of a mile south 
 of the fort, there was a row of sand-hills which completely cut 
 off the view to the prairie. As soon as the Indians arrived at 
 the first of these hills they made a detour to the right, march- 
 Ing along to the west of them and cut completely off from the 
 the sight of the people from the fort who continued along the 
 shore between the lake and the hills. Availing themselves of 
 their protection the Indians hastened on and about a mile and 
 
 55
 
 a half from the fort made an ambuscade and awaited the 
 approach of the unsuspecting garrison. They did not have 
 long to wait. Soon Capt. Wells, riding well in advance of the 
 troop, appeared, but caught sight of the Indians almost as soon 
 as they did of him. Realizing in a moment what had happened, 
 he wheeled his horse and dashed back to report to Capt. 
 Heald. Their worst fears had come to pass. The hundreds 
 of Indians had lured them from the fort and now meant to 
 butcher them. There was but one thing to do sell their 
 lives as dearly as possible and protect the helpless women and 
 children to their last breath. The soldiers did not stop to 
 draw up the wagons and make of them a rude shelter from 
 the bullets of their foes but dashed on up the hill, hoping by a 
 brilliant charge to dislodge their enemy. In this they were 
 partially successful, but new hordes of the red devils suddenly 
 appeared in the rear and in an instant captured the almost 
 helpless wagon train. The soldiers came back, but too late ! 
 The wagons were already captured and the red men out- 
 numbered the soldiers twenty to one. Around the wagons 
 the struggle was fiercest. Hand to hand the white and red 
 men fought and fell. Among the first who was cut down was 
 Capt. Wells. Mortally hurt with the blood pouring from a 
 wound in his head the brave fellow rode up to Mrs. Heald to 
 bid her farewell and send a 'last message to his wife and 
 children. Then he rode back to fight while his strength 
 lasted. In a moment he fell dead from his horse, but the red 
 fiends instantly picked up the body and carried it away. The 
 head was hacked from the trunk and the brave heart torn 
 from the breast, cut into little pieces and given by bloody 
 fingers to the various chieftains, who ate the still warm flesh, 
 hoping thus to gain for themselves some portion of the heroic 
 spirit that had dwelt therein. Wells was not the only man to 
 fall, however. The whole encounter lasted but ten or fifteen 
 minutes and when it was over there remained of the 132 white 
 persons, who had but a few moments before left the fort under 
 
 56
 
 promise of safe guidance from the Indians, but twenty-five 
 men, two women and eleven children all more or less severely 
 wounded. 
 
 The most horrible incidents in this massacre were the 
 slaughter of a whole wagon load of little children by a youftg 
 buck, and later the murder by the squaws of the sick and 
 wounded soldiers. Capt. Heald had surrendered only on the 
 express condition that the lives of the prisoners be spared 
 but in spite of this many of the helpless whites were killed in 
 cold blood, and all were cruelly treated. The scene of this 
 horror was near i8th street where it crosses Prairie and 
 Indiana avenues. 
 
 Besides Capt. Wells, Ensign Ronan and Surgeon Van 
 Voorhis were among those slain. Capt. Heald, Lieut. Helm 
 and their wives were among those severely wounded. The 
 escape of Mrs. Helm, a daughter of Kinzie, was remarkable. 
 A young warrior had seized and was trying to tomahawk her, 
 when an older Indian, evidently a chief, ran up and dragged 
 her away from her captor. He then carried her to the lake 
 and plunged her into the water and the unhappy woman 
 expected to be drowned. Soon, however, she noticed that the 
 old chief was carefully holding her head above water, and 
 looking closely she saw that her captor was Black Partridge, 
 her husband's friend, who had used this strategy to save 
 her life. She was afterwards taken to her parents in Detroit. 
 Her husband also escaped with his life, but was held captive 
 by the Indians until the payment of a heavy ransom. Mrs. 
 Heald was wounded six times. She, with her husband, was 
 taken to St. Joseph, and there kept until both had recovered. 
 Capt. Heald was afterwards paroled by the English. In the 
 evening after the massacre, the Indians celebrated their bloody 
 work by firing Fort Dearborn. 
 
 The ruins of the fort were still smoking when the red 
 devils left the scene of their carnage, taking their booty with 
 them leaving their victims unburied behind. Quiet reigned 
 
 57
 
 once more in the youthful settlement a quiet as profound as 
 when the first French explorer put foot upon the virgin soil. 
 The log huts were desolate and deserted, the tilled fields were 
 laid waste and the store houses empty and plundered. The 
 only man who escaped the great disaster without injury was 
 the French half-breed, Antoine Ouillemette, who still dwelt, as 
 before, with his family on the West Side, tried to get his fur 
 trade in shape again and finally founded, a few miles north of 
 Chicago, the little villiage of Wilmette. 
 
 The plan of connecting Lake Michigan with the Illinois 
 and Mississippi rivers, proposed by Joliet as early as 1673, 
 came one step nearer realization in 1814 when President 
 Madison, in a message to Congress, pointed out the great 
 advantages to be derived from such a connection. The first 
 direct effect of the message was the re-erection of Fort Dear- 
 born. Capt. Hezekiah Bradley, appointed by the govern- 
 ment for this purpose, arrived in Chicago July 4, 1816, with 
 two companies of soldiers. The first act of the new comers 
 was to gather the bleached bones of their predecessors and 
 bury them in the garrison cemetery, which was then located 
 on the spot now occupied by the Lake Front Park. The 
 new fort was erected on the site of the old one but was built 
 on a better plan and was considerably larger. In consequence 
 of peace being declared between England and the United 
 States, February 17, 1815, and the rebuilding of Fort Dear- 
 born, trade and commerce began to flourish once more in the 
 neighborhood of Chicago. The first to return to their deserted 
 home was the Kinzie family (1816). The firm of Detroit 
 fur-traders, Conant and March, founded a branch establish- 
 ment in Chicago in 1817, and a certain John Crafts was their 
 foreman. John Jacob Astor, a German of New York, who 
 had succeeded in establishing a fur-trading business that soon 
 rivaled that of the Hudson Bay company, sent his agent, Gur- 
 don S. Hubbard, to Chicago in 1818. John Kinzie, who was by 
 trade a silver-smith, and at first dealt in furs only incidentally, 
 
 58
 
 was among those who did business with Hubbard. The 
 Astor branch became so successful that Conant and March 
 could not compete with it and were compelled to sell out to 
 Astor. In 1819 the first Milwaukee man came here and he 
 never had cause to regret the change this was Jean Baptiste 
 Beaubien, an old fur-trader, who afterwards played an import- 
 ant role in the development of the city. He was an enterpris- 
 ing man and very rich, for those days. 
 
 Furs, at this time, comprised the staple article of Chicago's 
 trade. At regular intervals the Indians brought into town the 
 results of their hunting expeditions. The fur-traders then sent 
 the skins in small vessels to the Atlantic coast, from where they 
 were shipped to Europe. That this trade was carried on with 
 any remarkable degree of honesty cannot be asserted. Those 
 Indians who had been in constant intercourse with the whites, 
 had become more and more demoralized since their first con- 
 tact with the French, and by the beginning of the present cen- 
 tury, were helpless slaves to alcohol. Characteristic is the fol- 
 lowing remark of Topenebe, a prominent Pottawatomie chief of 
 not less than 80 years, who, during a public address before the 
 great Indian meeting in Chicago in 1821 with impressive sol- 
 emnity said : " We care not for the land the money or the 
 goods ; it is the whisky we want, give us the whisky. " 
 
 After the conclusion of the treaty made at this gathering, 
 the appetites of the noble advocates of fire-water were partially, 
 at least, appeased by the government land commissioner who 
 gave them seven kegs of whisky. During the next twenty- 
 four hours not less then ten cowardly murders were committed 
 in the Indian camp. Among the Americans in those days 
 there were of course some humanitarians who tried, both by 
 kind teaching and stern laws, to save the Indian from the ter- 
 rible consequences of whisky; but the traders, who reaped 
 their profit from the misery of the redskins, did not favor thes& 
 kindly measures, nor in their time did the French officers and 
 post commanders. In this regard the following letter, written 
 
 59
 
 in 1695 by Cadillac, the commander of Fort Michilimackinac, 
 to a friend in Quebec, may be quoted as showing the attitude 
 of the French. With true Gallic cynicism he writes : " What 
 reason can one assign that the savages should not drink brandy 
 bought with their own money ? This prohibition has much 
 discouraged the Frenchmen here from trading in the future. 
 It seems very strange that they should pretend that the 
 savages would ruin themselves by drinking. The savage him- 
 self asks why they do not leave him in his beggary, his liberty, 
 and his idleness; he was born in it and wishes to die in it it 
 is a life to which he has been accustomed since Adam. Do 
 they wish him to build palaces and ornament them with beauti- 
 ful furniture? He would not exchange his wigwam and the 
 mat, on which he squats like a monkey, for the Louvre ! " 
 
 Whisky was the principal article which the traders gave the 
 Indian in exchange for his furs a fact due not only to the 
 redmen's natural love of " fire-water, " but quite as much to 
 his utter inability to drive a shrewd bargain when in a mild 
 state of inebriety. Often dishonest traders would get an 
 Indian befuddled with liquor and then mercilessly fleece him. 
 Naturally enough the after effects of a redman's debauch were 
 peculiarly exasperating, for almost invariably, as his brain 
 cleared, came the cheerful consciousness that he had been 
 stripped of all his worldly possessions. As a result the com- 
 mercial relations between the Indians and the whites were 
 often unpleasant, and not infrequently called for government 
 interference. Soon after Fort Dearborn was rebuilt, the sec- 
 retary of war established, both there and at a fort in Green 
 Bay, factories, so-called, or agencies through which the Indians 
 and traders were to make exchanges on an honest basis. But 
 the experiment was not a success. The factories fell into the 
 hands of unscrupulous and dishonest men, and the Indian soon 
 learned that he had merely fallen from the frying pan into 
 the fire. Both he and the government were cheated while 
 the whisky anarchy grew stronger than ever. So strong, in 
 
 60
 
 fact, that the government found itself obliged to give up its 
 paternal and quasi-socialistic factory system, which, in 1822, 
 passed into the hands of Astor. The Knickerbocker pelt-dealer 
 thus got control of the fur trade of the northwest, and so made 
 an enormous fortune. 
 
 Fortunately Chicago commerce soon outgrew these primitive 
 business methods, and became much more diversified and 
 healthful. 
 
 As early as August 24, 1816, a national commission con- 
 sisting of Gov. Edwards, of Illinois, William Clark and A. 
 Chouteau, met in St. Louis, the representatives of the Potta- 
 watomies, Chippewas and Ottawas, and tried to secure the 
 surrender by the Indians of enough land for the already pro- 
 jected Illinois and Michigan canal. According to the official 
 documents, this canal was "to connect Buffalo with New 
 Orleans, " and it was in its interest that the great Indian meet- 
 ing of 1821 was held in Chicago. This was a most important 
 event in the development of the city. By virtue of the treaty 
 then concluded with the Indians by Gen. Lewis Cass, and 
 Solomon Sibley, with the assistance of John Kinzie and 
 Beaubien, certain lands necessary for the construction of the 
 canal were obtained, and the troublesome redmen crowded 
 away from the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. 
 
 The preparations which had to be made for this meeting by 
 the national commission and by the few residents of Chicago, 
 were in keeping with the importance of the occasion. Fifteen 
 thousand Indians had to be so fed and cared for that they 
 should be satisfied and yet not so well entertained that they 
 become unmanageable. The task of the national commission 
 was by no means easy : to come to a satisfactory understand- 
 ing with the sixty-four chiefs who represented the various 
 tribes interested. The Indians were loath to give up the rich 
 and fertile hunting grounds they had learned to love and they 
 noted with grave apprehensions how, more and more they 
 were being crowded out of the fruitful region of the great 
 
 61
 
 rivers and lakes of the northwest and into the inhospitable 
 and remote sections of the country. The negotiations lasted 
 several weeks and were not always conducted in the smooth- 
 est manner possible. Many an eloquent and poetic word was 
 spoken by the red man, many a one which sounded like a 
 lamentation for the inevitable destruction of a once powerful 
 people, but there was also many a word which showed the 
 utter demoralization into which some of the tribes had already 
 fallen. It was on August 29 that the treaty was finally 
 arranged to suit all parties and was subscribed to by the 
 chiefs. The formality of their signing the document was 
 complied with by having each chief mark a cross after his 
 name which had already been written down in English char- 
 acters. Sixteen white witnesses then signed their names and 
 the transfer to the United States of five million acres of land 
 was concluded. In return the Ottawas and Chippewas were 
 to forever receive an annual payment of $1000 from the gov- 
 ernment and the Pottawatomies one of $5000, and in addition 
 $2500 a year was to be expended by the government in pro- 
 viding the Indians with instruction in blacksmithing. 
 agriculture, etc. 
 
 By this treaty the great canal project was assured and from 
 it dates the first powerful impetus to Chicago's development. 
 
 By the ordinance of March 30, 1822 Congress gave the 
 state the right to construct a canal through the government 
 lands according to certain fixed plans. In addition, the state 
 of Illinois was granted a strip of land ninety feet wide on each 
 side of the canal and Congress appropriated $10,000 to defray 
 the cost of the preliminary survey. Thus were made, on 
 paper at least, the beginnings of the canal, but not until much 
 later, July 4, 1836, was the first shovelful of earth turned in the 
 great undertaking. In the meantime enormous financial diffi- 
 culties had been met and overcome. 
 
 During this period the political history of Chicago was less 
 important than vicissitudinous. Shortly after the organization 
 
 62
 
 of the territory of Illinois, the region in which Chicago lies 
 was a part of St. Clair county, soon thereafter it was assigned 
 to the new county of Madison; in 1819 it was transferred to 
 Clark county, which extended to the Canadian boundary; then 
 in 1821 it belonged to Pike, in 1823 to Fulton and in 1825 to 
 Peoria county. The settlement, Chicago, was then scarcely 
 deserving of a name. 
 
 The number of the settlers varied. The increase was slow 
 and irregular. Only after the survey of the region by 
 the canal commission, August, 1830, did the village of Chicago 
 receive a fixed organization. It was bounded by Kinzie, State, 
 Madison and Des Plaines streets, and contained about one-half a 
 square mile. In 1831, Cook county was organized, and Chicago 
 became the county seat. The county was named in honor of 
 Daniel C. Cook, who played an important role in the history 
 of Illinois as a politician, newspaper-man, first member of 
 Congress from this district and as judge. 
 
 In 1823 the authorities of Fulton county levied a tax of one- 
 half per cent on all personal property with the exception of 
 household effects. The result of the levy was $11.42, and the 
 value of the assessed property, $22.84. At this time the town 
 collectors were still honest. 
 
 A tax levied in Peoria county in 1825, gave a better result 
 $90.49. The fur company paid the highest tax, $50.00, then 
 followed Beaubien with $10.00, Jonas Clybourne with $6.25, 
 Alexander Wolcott with $5.72, John Kinzie with $5.00, 
 Antoine Ouillemette with $4.00 and Beaubien's rich father-in 
 law, La Framboise, with $1.00. 
 
 The first election took place December 2, 1823. John Kin- 
 zie was elected justice of the peace, and two years later 
 Archibald Clybourne, Chicago's first butcher, who had come 
 from Virginia in the meantime, was elected constable. At an 
 election held August 7, 1826, in the house of the Indian agent, 
 Wolcott, a son-in-law of John Kinzie, there were thirty-five 
 voters, almost three-fourths of whom were French Canadians 
 
 63
 
 or half-breeds. The judges of election were John Kinzie, 
 John Baptiste Beaubien and a half-breed named Archibald 
 Caldwell or Sauganash. This Caldwell is one of the most inter- 
 esting figures among the pioneers a man who served to such 
 good advantage, both Indians and whites, that he deserves to 
 be held in grateful remembrance by future generations. 
 
 Archibald Caldwell, or "Billy" Caldwell, as he was more 
 commonly called, was born in 1 780, and was the natural son 
 of a certain Col. Caldwell, an Irishman, stationed in the British 
 fort at Detroit, and a Pottawatomie maiden, who is reported to 
 have been of remarkable beauty and extraordinary intelligence. 
 As the son, in addition to possessing a singularly sweet and 
 straightforward nature and a helpful and kindly disposition, 
 had inherited all his mother's wit and not a little of her famous 
 beauty, it is to be regretted that no picture of either has been 
 preserved. 
 
 When a boy he attended the Jesuit school in Detroit, learned 
 to read and write English and French, and mastered the prin- 
 cipal Indian dialects of the northwest. But little else is known 
 of him during his youth, except that on account of his fine, 
 slim figure the Indians called him " Tall Tree," Later both 
 the whites and redskins of the northwest called him merely 
 "Sauganash" (the Englishman). 
 
 In early manhood he became a close and devoted follower 
 of Tecumseh, and from 1807 to the latter's death on the battle- 
 field of the Thames, October 5, 1813, he was the great chief's 
 most trusted friend, his messenger and secretary. In all the 
 bloody scenes through which he passed at Tecumseh's side, he 
 distinguished himself by his strength, skill and valor. He 
 first came to the region around Chicago as a messenger from 
 Tecumseh to the Pottawatomies, shortly before the massacre 
 of Fort Dearborn. As he was, like his chief, a humane man, 
 and not inclined to the cruelties practiced by the Indians, he 
 did his best to prevent the massacre of the whites and failing 
 in this, he accomplished, at least, the salvation of the Kinzie 
 
 64
 
 family. Later, as he became better acquainted with the 
 Americans, his love for the English grew cold, and about the 
 year 1820 he cut loose from his former allies and settled in the 
 neighborhood of Fort Dearborn. In 1826 he was appointed 
 justice of the peace in Peoria county and during the early elec- 
 tions regularly officiated as judge or clerk. He was a true 
 friend of the whites and exercised in their favor a strong 
 influence upon the Indians. The threatened revolt of the 
 Winnebagoes and Pottawatomies in 1827, which would 
 undoubtedly have been but a repetition of the horror of 1812, 
 was prevented only through Sauganash and his friend, Shaw- 
 bonee, chief of the Pottawatomies. The fact that the Indians 
 in the neighborhood of Chicago did not go on the war-path 
 with Black Hawk is due solely to the healthful influence of 
 Sauganash. He always endeavored to make the blessings of 
 Caucasian civilization accessible to the Indians, and when in 
 1832 a certain Watkins established a private school in Chi- 
 cago he offered to pay for the clothing, books and tuition of 
 all Indian children who would attend it. No one, however, 
 accepted this generous offer, for the Indians did not wish their 
 children to be dressed after the fashion of the whites. 
 
 Sauganash also strove to check polygamy 'among the 
 Indians, thereby, however, giving rise to sarcastic criticism 
 his red brothers alleging as the reason of his objection to 
 polygamy, that he had been unfortunate in the choice of a 
 wife and found one more than sufficient. His spouse was the 
 daughter of a well known Indian chief and soon after her 
 marriage won for herself a reputation as an Indian Xantippe. 
 Strong and courageous as Sauganash otherwise was, before 
 her he struck his colors, and his white neighbors were fond of 
 relating how shrill and angry words from his wigwam used to 
 break the stillness of the night and the voice was not that of 
 Sauganash. The only child of this marriage died in infancy. 
 
 In adjusting difficulties among the Indians, or between them 
 and the whites, as well as in negotiating treaties, Sauganash 
 
 5 
 
 65
 
 rendered his contemporaries many an important service. It 
 was in recognition of this fact that the government granted 
 him a pension. Proof of his nobility of character is an incident 
 which forms, as it were, the finale of his public career. In the 
 year 1836 the government caused the Indians in the vicinity of 
 Chicago to assemble in the town for the last time before being 
 transferred to their new reservation on the Missouri near 
 Council Bluffs. The Indians did not take at all kindly to this 
 change and the plans of the government would undoubtedly 
 have failed of peaceful execution but for the aid of Sauganash. 
 He volunteered to give up the home near Fort Dearborn, 
 which had grown very dear to him, and to leave his many 
 friends in order to share the fate of his people. He then per- 
 sonally superintended the removal of the Indians, which was 
 successfully accomplished. 
 
 Another kindly deed of Sauganash was to deny certain 
 campaign stories circulated in 1840, about his former foe, Gen. 
 Harrison, then a presidential candidate. The general was 
 charged with cowardice, and Sauganash and his friend Shaw- 
 bonee, both of whom had opposed Harrison under Tecumseh, 
 wrote a pathetic letter, in which they speak not only of the 
 bravery, but also of the humanity and kindness of the old 
 Indian fighter. 
 
 Sauganash did not long survive his transfer to the " Wild 
 West " of that day, dying when 62 years old, in Council Bluffs, 
 September 28, 1841. 
 
 One of the first hotels built in Chicago, and the first build- 
 ing not a log-house, was named after Sauganash. While it 
 was in course of construction, the friends of the proprietor, 
 Mark Beaubien, suggested that it be named in honor of some 
 great man. Thereupon Beaubien delighted his friends and 
 neighbors by declaring that the new hotel should be called the 
 " Sauganash." 
 
 Young Chicago was very proud of this frame palace, which 
 was situated on the corner of Lake and Market streets. For 
 
 66
 
 nearly three decades, under various proprietors, it enjoyed an 
 excellent reputation, but on the night of March 4, 1851, together 
 with various other buildings, it was burned down prob- 
 ably by an incendiary. 
 
 A great many historical facts are coupled with the Saug- 
 anash hotel. For years it was the center of social and political 
 Chicago; here J. B. Beaubien founded his debating society in 
 which the inhabitants of the young city were wont to spend 
 many of their leisure hours. In the evening Mark Beaubien 
 
 "THE SAUGANASH," AS ERECTED BY BEAUBIEN IN 1832. 
 
 would delight the dancers with his tuneful fiddle; once in a 
 while a ventriloquist or juggler gave exhibitions an event 
 which never failed to cause a joyful break in the monotony of 
 frontier life. Finally in 1837, the "Sauganash" was even 
 transferred into a theatre, for the use of a band of itinerant 
 players who, having reached Chicago, determined, for 
 good and sufficient reasons, to remain here. In spite of the 
 
 67
 
 protests and prayers of these pioneers of art, the relentless 
 city fathers straightway proceeded to impose a tax of $100 on 
 this new temple of Thespis. 
 
 Aside from the saltatory delights afforded by Beaubien's 
 fiddle, Chicago, in the earliest days, enjoyed few social pleas- 
 ures. Once in awhile there was a big wolf or duck hunt, in 
 which all took part, but the hunting ground was usually con- 
 fined to what is now the businesss center of Chicago then 
 but thick woods or dreary swamps. 
 
 The debating society however was not the only method of 
 culture enjoyed by the pioneers of Chicago. In 1816 the first 
 public school was established by a superannuated soldier, form- 
 erly of the garrison of Fort Dearborn. Besides five of the 
 Kinzie children, he had to instruct four youngsters from the fort. 
 In 1820, a sergeant, also from the fort, continued the work of 
 education begun by the old private. In 1832 the school system 
 had assumed very considerable dimensions. When John Wat- 
 kins came to town and announced himself as professor of sciences 
 and belles-lettres, Col. Richard T. Hamilton generously put a 
 stable at his disposal. The room was twelve feet square and 
 desks and benches were manufactured with a view less to 
 elegance than durability, out of old dry-goods boxes. There 
 were twelve pupils who sat at Watkins feet four white child- 
 ren and eight half-breeds of various degrees. 
 
 The first baptism took place in 1821, when the Jesuit father, 
 Stephen D. Badin, baptized a son of Beaubien. The first ser- 
 mon was delivered in 1825 by a Baptist minister, Isaac Mc- 
 Coy, who on invitation of Indian Agent Wolcott came to 
 Chicago on ration day of the Indians, and attempted to 
 instruct his red brothers in the Protestant religion. 
 
 During the early '3o's a certain progressive turn of affairs 
 is noticeable in the flourishing settlement; the characteristically 
 Indian and the half-savage began to yield to a better civiliza- 
 tion. Heretofore the men had been in the habit of dressing 
 more or less in the Indian fashion, and beard and hair had been 
 
 68
 
 neglected. At this epoch, however, modern clothing made its 
 appearance, and there was a more frequent and general 
 use of comb, brush and razor; and the women! Most of them 
 now rejoiced in leather shoes and many went to church in 
 dresses and hats of modern material, where but recently the 
 naive barefoot, with colored kerchief and home-spun and home- 
 made garments, had set the prevailing style. 
 
 The list of voters in 1830 contained but twenty-four names, 
 or eleven less than in 1826, but more of the voters were Amer- 
 ican and fewer French-Canadians. Things were already 
 getting too fine for the French half-breeds, and they com- 
 menced to seek less civilized regions. Chicago at that time 
 contained fifteen log houses and about one-hundred inhabi- 
 tants, most of whom had settled on the West Side, at Wolf's 
 Point, where the Chicago river divides into the north and 
 south branches. The course of the stream in these days dif- 
 fered from the one of to-day. There was a bend near the 
 lake and it ran south for some distance, parallel to Michigan 
 avenue, and finally emptied into the lake at the foot of what is 
 now Washington street. It was as late as 1833 tnat the 
 United States government straightened the stream out into its 
 present channel, which from time to time has been made 
 deeper and wider by the city authorities. 
 
 On the West Side also was the store of Robert A. Kinzie; 
 on the North Side there was only the little house of John Kin- 
 zie, which stood opposite to the fort, and on the South Side, on 
 the corner of Lake and Market streets, stood the " Green 
 Tree " hotel, not so proud and fine, to be sure, as the " Sau- 
 ganash " but fully able to satisfy all the demands at that time 
 made of it. Commerce between the three sides was carried on 
 by ferries of the most primitive description. They were private 
 enterprises belonging to Samuel Miller, Archibald Clybourne 
 and Mark Beaubien, but in spite of the high fare charged they 
 never paid and on this account were continually neglected. 
 
 The first German settler, Johann Wellmacher, arrived in 
 
 69
 
 Chicago in 1830. He was from Frankfurt, was a baker by 
 trade and but 17 years old when he came to America. He 
 made $2,500 working in the lead mines at Galena, 111., and 
 brought this sum with him to Chicago, where he went into 
 business for himself. He was not successful however and 
 died, years after, a pauper in Joliet. Soon after Wellmacher, 
 the first Jew appeared, bearing the common enough surname 
 of Cohen. His given name, Peter, was, however, rather 
 remarkable for a Jew, but is attributable to the fact that his 
 mother was a Christian. Nobody will be surprised to learn 
 that in the first newspaper (Calhoun's Democrat, November 
 '26, 1833) which appeared in Chicago, he advertised his 
 " immense stock of winter clothing " at " greatly reduced 
 prices " and that he thanked the public for the " enormous 
 patronage" accorded him. 
 
 Trade and commerce developed in many directions at the 
 beginning of the '3o's and the immigration was large, every- 
 one looking hopefully to the future. Suddenly, however, like 
 a clap of thunder from a clear sky, came the news of a bloody 
 Indian uprising the " Black Hawk war " had begun. 
 
 It is greatly to the advantage of us Americans that the 
 Indians cannot write. It is on this account, perhaps, that in 
 our conflicts with the red men, we are ever the magnanimous 
 heroes, the defenders of innocence, the noble victors in a 
 strife into which we are always unwillingly forced, while the 
 Indians, on the other hand, are so often bloodthirsty savages and 
 treacherous cowards. In the interest of truth one could wish 
 that there were an Indian historian who could describe the 
 origin and course of the conflicts between his race and the whites. 
 
 We call savages those first Americans who were discovered 
 with this country, but neither barbaric nor savage was their 
 treatment of Cartier, Champlain, Jolliet, Marquette, La Salle, 
 Tonti and a host of other early explorers and missionaries 
 who were almost invaribly regarded by the natives as higher 
 beings and whose wish was law. 
 
 70
 
 Only when, with the little bands of the best people of 
 Europe, came also the very worst classes in great numbers, 
 did the character of the Indian become vicious and his treat- 
 ment of the new comers change. The numberless Indian 
 horrors, chronicled in the histories of the last three centuries, 
 appear in a far milder light when it is remembered how much 
 the Indians suffered from the greed, brutality and viciousness 
 of those whom they had joyously welcomed as strangers but 
 who in their turn had abused, oppressed or driven away their 
 red hosts. 
 
 Indeed, it is not necessary to turn to past centuries to show 
 how many Indian wars and Indian horrors have been caused 
 by conscienceless whites, especially by rascally contractors 
 and thievish Indian agents who have exposed the wretched 
 redskins to death from cold or starvation in order to use the 
 plunder thus obtained in drinking bouts, or by frontiersmen 
 and adventurers of the wild west who, far removed from all 
 restraining influences of civilization, lent emphasis to their pass- 
 ing w r ishes and whims with rifle or bowie-knife. 
 
 Thus, for the so-called " Black Hawk " war, the whites were 
 in the first instance responsible, having driven the Indians to the 
 very verge of despair; and even if, as the historians of the 
 northwest comfortably relate at some length, the Indians 
 deserved their annihilating defeat, still no one won any laurels 
 in its administration. Were the pitiful causes less significant 
 less characteristic of the then existing conditions, and had the 
 antecedent events less powerfully influenced the development 
 of the northwest, it would not be worth while to detail them. 
 For the less said about them the better for all concerned but 
 especially for those supernumeraries who, in the role of saviours 
 of their country, lounged about the stage of public events and 
 on this account long afervvards attracted undue attention by 
 their self-assumed importance. 
 
 The cause of the war may be told briefly : " Ote toi de la 
 que je m'y mette" (clear out of here, so I can come).
 
 The Sacs, who for almost a century had held the eastern 
 bank of the Mississippi, and who had once possessed the whole 
 region between the mouth of the Wisconsin and that of the 
 Missouri, had, a short distance above the mouth of the Rock 
 river, their principal settlement, which they called Saukenuk. 
 Here 500 families lived, forming the largest of all western 
 Indian towns, and the main meeting place of the Sacs and Foxes. 
 Here all their big pow-wows were held, their feasts celebrated, 
 their religious ceremonies performed and their dead buried. 
 For Indians, they had a remarkable and unusual love for this 
 home of theirs, and were especially proud of the adjoining fields, 
 some 3000 acres of the most fertile soil, which they cultivated 
 as well as they knew how. There they were in no one's way; 
 the nearest settlement of whites was more than fifty miles 
 from Saukenuk and rich and fertile soil was at that time to be 
 had elsewhere for the asking. 
 
 In spite of this, many of the pioneers turned greedy eyes 
 toward the possessions of the savages, and moved heaven and 
 earth to, either alone or with the help of the government, 
 drive the Indians out of their homes. 
 
 Since the agitation of Tecumseh the relations between the 
 Indians and whites had been reasonably pacific; but now on 
 both sides numerous attacks and deeds of violence took 
 place none of them to be sure attaining any considerable 
 dimensions. 
 
 To take for granted that the white population of that thinly 
 settled region consisted at this time entirely of people of ideal 
 characters, concerned only in honestly and honorably complet- 
 ng their hard days toil in the service of progress and cul- 
 ture, were an error. Together with the pioneers from 
 Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana, who were partly hunters, 
 partly farmers and stock-raisers, there was no lack of 
 that class of border ruffians who even to-day form the 
 inevitable companions of the worthy settlers of the far west 
 and are as much a plague as reptiles and poisonous serpents 
 
 72
 
 in the hot zones. For this gang, which goes withersoever 
 there is little danger of having to work, and where police 
 and penitentiaries are still reposing in the womb of time, 
 an Indian war forms an ever welcome diversion for then 
 there is blood and whisky and plunder. 
 
 But even the best of the pioneers have but little to interpose 
 against such a war, for it brings money to the people and that 
 
 BLACK HAWK. 
 
 is what they lack, opens up new and fertile lands to be 
 divided as soon as their red occupants are killed or driven 
 away, and last but not least, furnishes an opportunity for 
 wiping out all old scores and beginning over again. If, in 
 addition to these facts, the reader will bear in mind that the 
 English never lost an opportunity to stir up trouble between 
 
 73
 
 the whites and Indians, even going so far as to send agents 
 down from Canada for this very purpose, he will be able to 
 form a fairly accurate idea of the situation at the outbreak of 
 the unhappy war whose inglorious course might easily have 
 been conjectured by any one knowing the miserable condition 
 of affairs. 
 
 From whatever point of view the Black Hawk war be 
 considered, the facts remain that by it more than a thousand 
 human lives were sacrificed, eight thousand militiamen and 
 fifteen hundred regulars had to take the field to drive five 
 hundred Indians, with their women and children, from hearth 
 and home, that the campaign lasted for more than three 
 months and cost several millions of dollars. 
 
 "Black Hawk," a chief of the Sacs, was the last Indian to 
 play a prominent role in the history of Illinois, the Black 
 Hawk war forming, as it were, the close of the Indian era in 
 the state. 
 
 An adherent of Tecumseh, under whom he led over 500 
 warriors in campaigns against the Americans, Black Hawk 
 disputed the legality of the treaties made by Gen Harrison in 
 St. Louis in 1804. His principal contention was that the 
 signatures of the Indians were fraudulently obtained by intoxi- 
 cating chiefs before asking them to sign. Nevertheless he 
 himself in the year 1816 was induced to sign a similar treaty, 
 by which the Sacs and Foxes relinquished to the United 
 States all their land east of the Mississippi river, with the pro- 
 viso, however, that members of these tribes could dwell and 
 hunt in these lands, as long and as far as they were under 
 the sole control of the United States government. In conse- 
 quence of this treaty by far the greater number of the Indians, 
 under the leadership of Chief Keokuk, went to Iowa in 1823, 
 settling on the west bank of the Mississippi. Black Hawk 
 and his adherents, however, refused to quit their old home 
 at Saukenuk. There they stayed, going out on their regular 
 winter hunting expeditions and in the summer diligently 
 
 74
 
 cultivating the soil. Thus they comfortably provided for 
 themselves and families. At the instigation of the settlers, 
 however, Gov. Edwards induced President Jackson to order 
 the military authorities to eject the Indians (1829) in case they 
 should not voluntarily relinguish their lands before April i, 
 1830, and take up their abode on the further side of the 
 Mississippi river. 
 
 Black Hawk resolved to defend what he believed to be his 
 rights and to defy the government. He did not make the 
 slightest preparation to move. When, however, in the spring 
 of 1830 the tribe returned from their hunt, Black Hawk found 
 that a number of white squatters had seized the greater part 
 of the land and had even burned down the Indians' wigwams 
 and desecrated their graves by leveling off with plow and 
 harrow the mounds of the dead. Without retaliation but not 
 without protest, Black Hawk submitted to the inevitable, con- 
 tenting himself with the little the whites had left him. At the 
 beginning of the next winter he and his warriors went on 
 their hunting trip as usual. The season was uncommonly 
 severe, the hunt not at all successful, and it was with much 
 discouragement that the Indians returned to Saukenuk, from 
 which the whites straightway attempted to drive them. Black 
 Hawk announced with much dignity that the land belonged 
 to him and that upon it he intended to dwell. Thereupon the 
 squatters petitioned the governor (Reynolds) to have the 
 Indians removed by force. As a result 2500 militiamen and 
 regulars advanced on foot and on horseback June 5, 1831, 
 against Saukenuk and its little band of poorly armed, meanly 
 clad and scantily provisioned Indians, numbering all told not 
 more than 1300 souls. In the face of the imposing military 
 array of the whites, who were more awful in appearance than 
 in reality, Black Hawk and his people, under cover of 
 night, fled to the western shore of the Mississippi, leaving the 
 little village of Saukenuk to be destroyed by the brave army 
 of white men. 
 
 75
 
 Black Hawk then allowed himself to be scared into going to 
 Gen. Gaine's headquarters, where he was compelled to sign a 
 document by which he pledged himself never to return to the 
 eastern shore of the Mississippi. This was the first act of the 
 tragedy. In the second, Black Hawk and his band, almost 
 crazed by the pangs of hunger, are found in a wilderness 
 beyond the Mississippi. Neapope, one of Black Hawk's 
 lieutenants has been hastily sent with a secret message to 
 Canada and also to the Pottawatomies and Winnebagoes, and 
 has returned with good news. The English, as well as their 
 old Indian allies and relatives, stand ready to aid the refugees. 
 
 April 6, 1832, the chief prepared to return to Saukenuk, and 
 with his 500 warriors, their wives and children, bag and bag- 
 gage, crossed the Mississippi and marched straight toward his 
 old home. This of course was in violation of the agreement 
 Gen. Gaines had forced from him the year before. Black 
 Hawk had intended, as he afterwards assures us, to obtain 
 permission to remain in Saukenuk, and in case this was denied 
 him, to help the Winnebagoes with their farming. Hardly, 
 however, had he crossed the Mississippi, before he saw he had 
 committed a fatal error. Through the influence of Sauganash, 
 the Pottawatomies around Chicago resolved at the last 
 minute not to join him, and of the Winnebagoes but few 
 appeared. Without allies the struggle against the soldiers 
 would be hopeless, and Black Hawk resolved to embrace the 
 first opportunity to return to the further shore of the Mississippi, 
 and if possible avoid bloodshed. But fate had willed other- 
 wise. 
 
 The military authorities of the United States, in the person 
 of Gen. Henry Atkinson, in Fort Armstrong, and the gover- 
 nor of Illinois, attempted jointly to carry out plans which would 
 result in the suppression or annihilation of Black Hawk and 
 his warriors. Not less than 100 militia companies and 1300 
 regulars, 300 from Fort Crawford and Fort Leavenworth, 
 were gathered at Fort Armstrong, May 7> 1832. Besides 
 
 76
 
 these troops, 200 cavalrymen did guard duty between Rock 
 Island and the Illinois river, and 200 more, under Maj. Stillman, 
 patrolled the eastern shore of the Mississippi. Jefferson Davis 
 and Abraham Lincoln each commanded companies in this 
 campaign, and Zachary Taylor, afterwards president, was a 
 colonel. 
 
 The army, divided into two troops, commanded by Gen. 
 Atkinson and Gen. Whiteside, reached Dixon May 12, 1832. 
 Here they met the two cavalry companies. While the infantry- 
 men of the militia were scantily provisioned, the proud cavalry 
 had good things in abundance, and not only both ate and 
 drank their fill, but had large quantities of ammunition. On this 
 account they wished to operate independently of the infantry, 
 and were commissioned by Gov. Reynolds to patrol the 
 country along " Old Man's Creek." 
 
 It was May 14; Stillman's bold horsemen had just secured 
 a well-protected position about thirty miles northeast of 
 Dixon, and had made themselves comfortable, and pictures- 
 quely grouped around the camp fire, they leisurely ate a 
 copious meal, and the whisky flask was being diligently passed, 
 when one of Black Hawk's spies caught sight of them. He 
 immediately rushed back to camp with the news and Black 
 Hawk, believing them to be Atkinson's army, sent three of 
 his young warriors with a flag of truce to announce that the 
 Indians w r ere willing to enter into peace negotiations. Five 
 other w r arriors were dispatched to watch from secluded points 
 how the three were received. The bearers of the flag of 
 truce were halted by the guard, taken to Stillman's head- 
 quarters and made prisoners. The five spies were discovered, 
 pursued and shot at. Two received mortal wounds, but the 
 others escaped to Black Hawk's camp. The chief was 
 just getting ready to himself carry the white flag to the 
 headquarters of the soldiers, but when he learned the 
 fate of his emissaries he tore the flag in shreds and 
 passionately asked his handful of warriors, some forty, 
 
 77
 
 who were then with him, to avenge their comrades. (*) 
 The little band of Indians, maddened by this treacherous 
 treatment, hastened at once toward the hostile camp. No 
 sooner did they come in sight of Stillman's heroes than the 
 latter in the wildest confusion galloped forth to meet them. 
 Black Hawk sought shelter and calmly awaited the attack. 
 When within gunshot of the Indians the brave cavalrymen 
 seemed suddenly to remember that discretion hath charms as 
 well as valor, and so halted. Then far and wide resounded the 
 the wild war cry of the Sacs, and Black Hawk galloped forth 
 from his concealment brandishing his tomahawk. Behind him 
 dashed his forty warriors firing at the valiant 200. Hardly ever 
 has anyone disappeared so quickly from a scene of intended 
 heroism. Like 200 madmen, the soldiers, agonized by a ter- 
 rible fear, galloped away toward their camp ; past it they flew, 
 leaving all behind, past creeks and hills they sped and slack- 
 ened their speed only when they arrived once more in Dixon 
 where they believed themselves comparatively secure. Many, 
 no longer burning to pluck the laurel wreath of fame, hastened 
 directly home. 
 
 " Black Hawk has broken loose with 2000 of his blood- 
 thirsty warriors." This cry of terror resounded through the 
 whole state ; the fear which the homeward-rushing cavalry- 
 men had spread everywhere was unparalleled. The demoral- 
 ized settlers rushed hastily to the nearest forts and there 
 sought refuge even up to Chicago the fugitives hurried 
 men, women and children, and at one time Fort Dearborn 
 sheltered not less than 1000 of them. 
 
 No one was more surprised at the turn affairs had taken 
 than was Black Hawk himself. The half-starved chief, who 
 a thousand times had cursed his crossing of the Mississipi, 
 forsaken by his former allies, sadly anxious for the immediate 
 
 * According to thoroughly trustworthy reports, this stupid violation of the rules of all 
 civilized warfare, was caused by a too frequent use of the whisky bottle in Stillman's 
 camp. 
 
 78
 
 future and only too ready to surrender to the whites had all 
 at once become a much dreaded man, a terror to tens of 
 thousands. 
 
 The benefit which Black Hawk and his followers derived 
 from this change, consisted primarily in a hearty meal, for 
 Stillman's cavalry was, as above mentioned, abundantly pro- 
 visioned. Weapons also had been captured, and blankets and 
 ammunition the Indians were happy. After their meal they 
 collected the spoils and set off in a northeasterly direction, up 
 the Keshwaukee river to the swamps of Lake Koshkonong. 
 After here concealing the women, children and baggage, 
 Black Hawk set out on a recruiting expedition to the Potta- 
 watomies and Winnebagoes. Then commenced the terrible 
 guerrilla warfare from which the inhabitants of northwestern 
 Illinois suffered so much. Divided into small bands the 
 hostile Indians scattered in all directions and robbed and stole 
 wherever they could. Many a dastardly murder and cow- 
 ardly incendiarism marked their path. Especially cruel and 
 feared was the murderous half-breed, Mike Girty, who led a 
 band of Pottawatomies and was responsible for many of the 
 terrors of the war. Meanwhile the militia had lost their 
 interest in military life to such a degree that the enforcement 
 of discipline was out of the question and the commander was 
 compelled (May 28) to send them home. Gen. Winfield 
 Scott with one thousand men was then ordered to Illinois 
 from the east, a circumstance which was fateful to the little 
 village of Chicago, crowded full as it was, of fugitives, for it 
 was thus that Asiatic cholera was here introduced. It first 
 broke out in the vessels which had transported the troops. 
 The scenes at the landing mocks description. The sick 
 soldiers were encamped by the hundreds along the sandy 
 shore of the lake. Nearly half of them died at once. The 
 news of this terrible scourge spread to all places connected 
 with Chicago and the town was consequently avoided by 
 everyone, commerce and trade were at a standstill and the 
 
 79
 
 terrified inhabitants fled. The remnant of Gen. Scott's men 
 were transported as soon as practicable to the seat of war, but 
 arrived there too late to participate in the slaughter of the 
 Indians. 
 
 Besides the regular United States troops several thousand 
 volunteers, recruited after the inglorious dismissal of the 
 militia, were engaged in the extermination of the Indians. 
 There were many skirmishes with the small, roving bands, 
 but no battle. Black Hawk, knowing that he could not drive 
 the troops before him, was clever enough to drive them after 
 him. 
 
 Finally Gen. James D. tlenry, commanding the third 
 brigade, got reliable information from a French-Indian fur- 
 trader as to the movements of the elusive Black Hawk. The 
 Indians were hastening by forced marches westward to the 
 Mississippi, evidently intending to escape to the further side 
 and thus avoid punishment. When the soldiers learned of the 
 flight of the Indians and of their desperate condition they 
 could hardly be restrained. A wild chase began. Abandoned 
 supplies scattered along the road, cloths, blankets, cooking 
 utensils, worn-out and starved horses, Indian warriors too sick 
 to flee, indicated the haste with which the enemy was 
 attempting to escape. Where Madison, the capital of Wis- 
 consin, now stands the rear guard of the Indians, commanded 
 by Neapope, was overtaken by the soldiers about 3 o'clock in 
 the afternoon of July 24, 1832. Fierce conflicts, lasting until 
 late at night, then took place on the heights along the shore 
 of the Wisconsin river. Black Hawk himself, who was satis- 
 fied that the whites had determined to completely annihilate 
 his tribe, hastened to the assistance of Neapope with twenty 
 warriors and fought desperately, hoping to cover the retreat 
 of the main body of his followers. Under the cover of night 
 several rafts were hastily constructed and, together with such 
 boats as had been carried along, were filled with the sick and 
 the helpless old men and a part of the women and children and 
 
 So
 
 sent down the Wisconsin. In spite of the capture of his flag- 
 bearers through whom he had asked for peace and mercy and 
 the unjustifiable killing of their comrades who had been sent 
 out to see what had become of them, and in spite of many an 
 other unmistakable sign that the white officers bore a bitter 
 hatred towards the Indians, Black Hawk had hopes that the 
 garrison at Fort Crawford, which guarded the mouth of the 
 Wisconsin river, would let the old men and defenceless 
 women and children pass by and so enable them to cross 
 the Mississippi. But the people in the fort had no sooner 
 caught sight of the boats than they commenced extensive pre- 
 parations to kill the passengers. Fifteen Indian women and 
 children fell dead in the boats and rafts after one of the 
 murderous musketry volleys from the fort, fifty, who, during 
 the panic had jumped into the river, were drowned, four old 
 men and thirty-two women and children were captured and 
 of the remainder, who succeeded in reaching the woods on 
 the shores of the Wisconsin river, all but twelve either 
 starved or were tomahawked by the merciless Menominees, 
 who had been hired for that purpose by the whites 
 
 After Black Hawk and his warriors had dispatched the 
 boats and rafts to their horrible fate, they again succeeded 
 in eluding their pursuers and it was a week before the whites 
 got traces of them and such traces! The young trees and 
 bushes had been peeled and their bark had served the Indians 
 for food. Starved horses lay along the road in great numbers, 
 but all had been carefully stripped of every edible portion. 
 Many a warrior's dead body also, bore stern witness of the 
 terrible want of the fugitives. 
 
 Finally they had reached the Mississippi a few hours more 
 and they were safe but while, inspired by new hope, they 
 were at work on rafts on which to cross the river, a new mis- 
 fortune suddenly and unexpectedly befell them. The United 
 States steamer "Warrior," which had been sent up the river 
 with instructions to its commander to unite the Sioux against 
 
 6 8l
 
 Black Hawk, was returning and reached the camp of the 
 fugitives before the almost exhausted Indians were able to 
 seek shelter. In token of his surrender Black Hawk himself 
 displayed the flag of truce, but when for lack of a boat he was 
 unable to comply with the order of the commander of the 
 " Warrior " to go on board, the latter ordered a volley of 
 grape-shot to be fired at the half-dead savages, so killing and 
 wounding many of them. The Indians returned the fire, and 
 the captain thereupon continued on his trip to Prairie du Chien. 
 The Indians now hastened their preparations for crossing the 
 Mississippi. But the delay caused by the attack of the 
 steamer was fatal. The soldiers were already hard on their 
 heels. As long as he could, Black Hawk used his few, 
 hastily constructed rafts to send as many of his warriors as 
 possible across the river and then, forseeing the inevitable fate 
 of his tribe, took advantage of night to flee, and sought refuge 
 among the Winnebagoes. 
 
 The next morning, August 2, the soldiers finally reached 
 the Indians and the longed-for slaughter commenced. With 
 bayonets, clubbed muskets and cold lead the last of the Sacs 
 were dispatched even those who had thrown themselves into 
 the river and those who had dragged their starved bodies into 
 the branches of trees became the easy prey of the well- 
 directed bullets of the sharp-shooters. Neither women nor 
 children were spared. The Indians, intending to sell their 
 lives as dearly as possible, killed twenty whites and wounded 
 twelve. Of the red men, 150 lay dead on the battlefield and 
 as many more were drowned. Forty Indian women and girls 
 were captured and about 300 of the fugitives succeeded in 
 gaining the western shore of the river. A more pitiable 
 crowd of humanity has been seldom seen: sick, emaciated, 
 starved, bleeding from undressed wounds this was the last 
 of Black Hawk's warriors. Here they were finally, where 
 the government wanted them! There was nothing in the 
 wide world that they could call their own, and most of their 
 
 82
 
 friends and relatives had been sent by the whites to the happy 
 hunting grounds of the great father. But the poor wretches 
 were at least alive, and the constant race for life or the 
 agonies of death were passed. Thus may have reasoned 
 these creatures of sorrow who took it for granted that their 
 cup of bitterness was full to overflowing. Alas! It was not 
 long before they learned to what degree of beastly brutality 
 even whites could degrade themselves; for Gen. Atkinson 
 disgraced the name of humanity and civilization by letting 
 loose upon the defenceless fugitives a band of bloodthirsty 
 Sioux, who with their tomahawks and stone battle axes 
 mercilessly crushed the skulls of all who could not run away 
 or creep into the reeds along the swamps. More than 100 
 corpses covered the scene of the Sioux carnage. Many 
 of the Sacs died from exhaustion while fleeing and of all who 
 had left with Black Hawk in the spring but a mere handful 
 returned to the place of banishment. The Black Hawk war 
 was at an end and with this bloody finale the Indian era in 
 Illinois terminated the red dawn of a new and fairer day 
 already glowed on the horizon. 
 
 Black Hawk was turned over by the Winnebagoes to the 
 United States, August 27, and after the signing of the formal 
 treaty of peace on September 21, he, the "Prophet," and 
 Neapope, were kept for a time as hostages in Fortress Monroe. 
 Later on Black Hawk was put in charge of the friendly Sac 
 chief Keokuk, his former rival a fact which more than any- 
 thing else in his life pained the proud old warrior, who, when 
 but 15 years old, had distinguished himself on the battlefield 
 and who for forty-five years had been the most prominent 
 leader of his people. 
 
 In the unhappy role of one deposed, he did something 
 which the fallen great have of late often resorted to, but which 
 before Black Hawk's time had never been done by an Indian 
 he dictated his memoirs to an enterprising publisher, and 
 they appeared in book form in 1834. October 3, 1838, Black 
 
 84
 
 Hawk, after almost completing his 7ist year, finally found 
 eternal repose that is to say, he did not find it, for his body 
 was stolen, and sic transit gloria! his skeleton was publicly 
 exhibited as a curiosity. Even his bones had a remarkable 
 career until in 1855, when among other curiosities of the 
 historical society in Burlington, they were destroyed by fire. 
 
 With all due deference to the reputation of his mother, it is 
 very probable that this celebrated Indian was a Frenchman, or, 
 rather a French half-breed. His personal appearance, the 
 fact that he left memoirs, and the circumstance that in his na- 
 tive place, Kaskaskia, the relations between French and 
 Indians were not well calculated to preserve the purity of either 
 race, make this theory probable. 
 
 * * * 
 
 The Black Hawk war, the annihilation of the last Indians to 
 fight for hearth and home, caused a sensation throughout the 
 land. One result was that the crowd of officers, newspaper 
 correspondents and speculators who had come from the east to 
 the seat of war, called public .attention in a new and almost 
 unheard of manner, to the west and its rich resources, and an 
 influx of interprising, energetic men soon followed. Manufac- 
 turing industries made great strides and speculation took its 
 first bold chances. Various railroad projects, engineered by 
 G. S. Hubbard, Chicago's representative in the state legis- 
 lature, and by others, found but little favor outside, but the 
 canal project made steady, although sometimes slow progress. 
 In 1833, Congress appropriated $30,000 to deepen the mouth 
 of the Chicago river and thus made that stream accessible to 
 the commerce of the great lakes. In the summer of that same 
 year, no less than 150 frame houses were erected. Chicago 
 was incorporated as a village, August 5, 1833, and at an elec- 
 tion, held immediately thereafter, 1 1 1 votes were cast. At that 
 time the tax levy amounted to $48.90. 
 
 In 1834 was completed the first wooden drawbridge, a most 
 important undertaking for the domestic trade of the town. 
 
 85
 
 The bridge was erected at the foot of Dearborn street and 
 connected the North and South Sides. 
 
 In 1833 but four ships arrived at Chicago, but in 1834 no 
 less than two hundred vessels entered the enlarged and 
 improved harbor. 
 
 The immigration, both by land and water, increased rapidly, 
 and in 1835 Chicago could boast a population of 3265 souls. 
 There were 398 dwelling houses, 4 warehouses, 29 dry goods 
 
 CHICAGO'S FIRST DRAWBRIDGE 
 
 stores, 19 grocery stores, 5 hardware stores, 3 drug stores, 
 19 taverns, 26 wholesale establishments and, also, not less 
 than 17 law offices. 
 
 The first county court house, erected on the southwest 
 corner of Clark and Randolph streets a brick building, 
 remarkably fine for the times, was opened to the public in 
 1836, and the same year the " Chicago American," a Whig 
 organ in opposition to the " Democrat," issued its first paper. 
 
 86
 
 In the spring following a branch of the " State Bank of 
 Illinois" was established in Chicago. In May, 1836, the first 
 sailing vessel built in Chicago was launched, and on July 4th 
 work on the new canal was formally begun. This important 
 event was marked with a grand celebration, speeches being 
 made by Dr. Wm. B. Egan and Gurdon S. Hubbard, after 
 which there was a general jollification. It was in 1827 that 
 Daniel P. Cook had put the canal project on a firm footing 
 
 FIRST CHICAGO COURT HOUSE. 
 
 by securing the passage of a bill granting the state alternate 
 sections of land for six miles on each mile of the channel, to 
 aid in its building. In 1836 the state legislature passed its 
 canal bill, a measure of vital importance to the undertaking. 
 The canal was finally completed April 19, 1848, almost twelve 
 years after Col. Archer had " turned the first shovelful of 
 earth." 
 
 88
 
 The City, Chicago. 
 
 DESPITE Chicago's characteristic 
 trinity, the North, West and South- 
 siders, in mass-meeting assembled, 
 October 26, 1836, unanimously 
 agreed that the town should be 
 given a regular municipal organi- 
 zation. Accordingly the legisla- 
 ture was petitioned and shortly 
 after Chicago received its city 
 charter. On the first Tuesday in 
 May, 1837, the first election was 
 held in the new city. William B. 
 Ogden, later one of the western 
 railway kings, was elected mayor. 
 Chicago was at this time divided 
 into 6 wards and the city boundaries 
 were North avenue on the north, 
 Wood street on the west, Twenty- 
 second street on the south and the 
 lake on the east, save for a part of 
 section 10, which was reserved by 
 the United States Government for 
 a military post; in addition, there belonged to the city a half-mile 
 strip, known as the old city cemetery, lying along the shore of 
 the lake east of north Clark street and north of North avenue. 
 The Chicago of 1837 was laid out on a generous scale, 
 covering a surface of about 10 square miles, although the pop- 
 ulation numbered but 4179 people. But the city soon enough 
 covered the whole territory, and in 1847, an annexation of new 
 territory was found necessary. The year 1853 brought a new 
 extension of the city limits, and 1854 still another. In 1863, 
 
 Wild Leek 
 The Emblem of Chicago.
 
 Bridgeport and Holstein were annexed and the city made to 
 embrace 24 square miles, divided into 16 wards. The ordi- 
 nance of 1869, added still more territory to Chicago, which, 
 shortly before the fire, contained 36 square miles, divided into 
 20 wards, each of which sent two aldermen to the city council. 
 
 That political greatness and commercial prosperity do not 
 always go hand in hand the future metropolis was to learn to 
 its sorrow. Soon after Chicago's organization as a city, a 
 great financial panic swept over the land. A complete crop 
 failure, in consequence of an extraordinary drouth, an unsound 
 bank-note and paper money system, gross mismanagement of 
 the treasury, cessation of work on public improvements and 
 a malarial epidemic, popularly called canal cholera, numbering 
 its victims by hundreds, added to the misery of the people of 
 Illinois. Besides all this, Chicago suffered from a veritable 
 craze for speculation. All branches of industry were affected, 
 but the greatest havoc was wrought with real estate values. 
 The price of property, especially of such as lay inside the city 
 limits, increased with fabulous rapidity for a time, but finally a 
 tremendous reaction set in. The result was complete business 
 stagnation. Trade and commerce were paralyzed, goods in the 
 warehouses could not be disposed of at any price, laboring men 
 could find no employment, money disappeared from circula- 
 tion, immigration ceased, contracts could not be fulfilled in 
 short, the only activity to be seen was in the seventeen law offi- 
 ces, where a feverish energy was displayed. Finally, to cap 
 the climax, the United States Government removed (1837) the 
 garrison from Fort Dearborn and sent it further west. 
 
 It was not until the middle of the 4o's that under the influ- 
 ence of active, energetic men, the effects of the crisis began to 
 wear off and a strong, healthy commercial spirit reasserted itself. 
 
 In the last of the 4o's and the early 5o's, especially at the 
 time of the German revolution, immigrants in large numbers, 
 including thousands of Germans, came to the city; trade devel- 
 oped rapidly and a vigorous intellectual progress was noticeable. 
 
 90
 
 CHICAGO AS A COMMERCIAL CENTER BEFORE THE 
 FIRE THE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT. 
 
 The construction of the Illinois and Michigan canal made, 
 or rather changed Chicago into a trade center for the region 
 commercially dependent on and tributary to the new. water- 
 way, which stretched 96 miles, from Chicago (Bridgeport) : 
 to La Salle, on the Illinois river. The influence of this 
 water connection, however, was felt only gradually by the 
 farmers of the district, for the work on the channel was 
 frequently interrupted and the canal fully completed only in j 
 1848. How cheap the future of Chicago was held, even in 
 the first of the '4o's, is shown by the fact that many of the 
 laborers, who had been employed on the canal at 50 cents a 
 day, preferred to invest their savings in land near Dunkley's 
 Grove, Schaumburg and Elk Grove, settlements about twenty 
 miles from town, and become farmers rather than buy two 
 or three acres a few miles out on State street. Meanwhile 
 the population of the city, except during the crisis of 1837 
 and the immediately subsequent stagnation, grew steadily but 
 not as rapidly as in the beginning of the 5o's the era of the 
 railroads. In 1848 Chicago had but 20,023 inhabitants; in 
 1850, 25,269; but during 1852 and 1853 not less than 22,000 
 new-comers settled in the city. 
 
 It was the railroads that caused Chicago's unparalleled 
 development, that marvelous outstripping of all other western 
 cities, which has ever produced and ever will produce the 
 world over, such wonder and amazement. 
 
 The pioneer road was the Galena & Chicago Union 
 Railway. Its charter was dated 1836, a time when in all the 
 United States there were less than a thousand miles of railroad. 
 Track laying, however, was not commenced until 1847, and 
 
 9 1
 
 as the construction of roads was still an infant industry but 
 42 miles, from Chicago to Elgin, were built within the 
 next three years. Although outside capital has constructed 
 most of Chicago's roads, local enterprise was responsible for 
 the " Galena Union." Several times it seemed that the 
 project would have to be abandoned, at first the line failed to 
 pay even the operating expenses and public sentiment did not 
 favor the innovation. Chicago's few capitalists were not 
 daunted however and pushed the road on to Elgin. As soon 
 as that point was reached the new venture proved a success 
 and the earnings made handsome returns on the investment. 
 From Elgin the road was extended to Freeport, where connec- 
 tions through to Galena were effected with the Illinois 
 Central. Later the Galena & Chicago Union made arrange- 
 ments with the Central to run its trains from Chicago through 
 Galena to Dunleith, a point on the Mississippi opposite 
 Dubuque. This was the Central's own terminal and gave 
 Chicago the benefit of a direct railroad connection with the 
 Mississippi river. In 1864 the Galena Union was absorbed 
 by the Chicago & Northwestern, a powerful company, con- 
 trolling even then 1176 miles of road and reaching northward 
 to the iron region of the upper peninsula of Michigan and 
 westward through Illinois and Iowa to Omaha, the starting- 
 point of the first great trans-continental road, the Union 
 Pacific. 
 
 Another early road was the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, 
 which in 1852 had but 15 miles of completed track, reaching 
 from Aurora to Junction. In 1853, 45 miles, from Aurora to 
 Mendota, were constructed, and in 1863 the road for the first 
 time entered Chicago over its own tracks (on Sixteenth street) , 
 having previously used the right of way of the Galena 
 Union. 
 
 Another road to reach Omaha and later to compete with 
 the Northwestern and Burlington for the through freight of 
 San Francisco and New York, was the Chicago & Rock 
 
 92
 
 Island, now the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific. Its costruction 
 began in April, 1852, and by February, 1854, ^ e ^ ne ^ad 
 reached the Mississippi at Rock Island, opposite Davenport. 
 The Illinois Central was the first road to receive, through 
 the exertions of the Illinois senators and some of the repre- 
 sentatives, Stephen A. Douglas, Gen. Shields, Sydney Breese 
 and John Wentworth, a land grant from the United States. 
 This consisted of 2,595,000 acres of land, almost all of it 
 fertile, lying on either side of the right of way. In the course 
 of time immense sums were realized by the road from this 
 enormous land grant. The Illinois Central did not at first 
 enter Chicago, but ran from Cairo in the extreme southern 
 part of the state to Dunleith in the northwestern part. When 
 it built its branch to Chicago it was given a right of way into 
 the city along the lake shore. By the building of the North Pier 
 an eddy had been created in the lake which began to eat away 
 the shore line south of the pier. Various attempts were 
 made to check the encroachments of the waves, but although 
 millions of dollars worth of property was threatened no 
 adequate defence against the lake currents was secured. 
 The city referred the matter to the state and the state in turn 
 referred it to the national government. Meanwhile the 
 eddying waters had washed their way clear to Michigan 
 avenue, and immediate action was imperative. Just then the 
 Illinois Central appeared with its petition for a right of way 
 into the city. It was given and accepted the privilege of 
 building a track east of the Lake Front park, or in other 
 words over the lake itself. The railway company straight- 
 way built, at large expense, a line of stone cribs some five 
 hundred feet beyond the shore line and then inside the cribs 
 drove piles on which the track was laid. Of course the cribs 
 protected the shore from further action of the lake and at the 
 time seemed a very happy solution of that difficulty. The 
 right of way too, leading as it did into the heart af the city, 
 was excellent, and both road and city were for a time 
 
 93
 
 satisfied. Later, however, many complications and expensive 
 litigation resulted from the Central's claim to all the " made " 
 land east of its tracks. Only during the present year (1893) 
 has the Supreme Court of the United States settled the 
 controversy by denying the claims of the road and vesting 
 the ownership of the made lands in the city of Chicago. 
 
 Chicago's importance as a railroad center is demonstrated 
 /by the fact that the great trunk lines, connecting the Atlantic 
 coast with the west, have always been anxious to secure 
 terminal facilities here, while other cities, such as St. Louis, 
 Cincinnati and Milwaukee, have had to incur heavy debts by 
 issuing or endorsing bonds, in order to secure railroad con- 
 nections. 
 
 The Galena Union in 1852, shared the railroad honors of 
 Chicago with the Michigan Central and Michigan Southern 
 roads, which in that year pushed through from the east. 
 Then, after the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific and Chicago, 
 Burlington & Quincy in 1854, Game tne Chicago & Alton 
 and Chicago & Northwestern in 1855, the Illinois Central and 
 Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago in 1857, and the Chicago 
 & Great Eastern in 1861. The completion of the Grand 
 Trunk road gave Chicago direct railroad communication with 
 Quebec, Montreal and other Canadian points; just as the 
 Michigan Southern and Michigan Central first connected it 
 with New York and the Atlantic ports. During the next 
 decade the railroad achievements of Chicago consisted mainly 
 in the extension of its trunk lines over the territory lying west 
 and northwest of Illinois. The completion of the Union 
 Pacific in 1868, brought all the through business between the 
 Atlantic and Pacific coasts under the control of Chicago, gave 
 to commerce with Japan and China a new and lasting impetus, 
 and made Chicago the distributing center for the Asiatic 
 import trade for the millions of consumers of the Mississippi 
 valley, just as it already was, the distributing point for Euro- 
 pean merchandise. 
 
 94
 
 Through the Chicago & Northwestern, Chicago was 
 enabled to make important conquests in Wisconsin and the 
 iron and copper regions of the upper lakes. Like the other 
 pioneer roads of Chicago, the " Northwestern " has shared 
 the prosperity of the city, and is to-day one of the largest 
 railroad systems in the world. It first appeared in 1854, under 
 the name of the Illinois & Wisconsin Railroad, and ran from 
 Chicago to Crystal Lake, hardly 40 miles away. At that time 
 it did its whole passenger business in one coach attached to 
 the regular daily freight train. 
 
 All told, there were shortly before the fire, 12 trunk lines and 
 29 branch roads terminating in Chicago, with 7019 miles of track. 
 Each succeeding year increased the mileage of the roads, and 
 with it the territory tributary to Chicago. Tables giving the 
 earnings of the roads from 1849 to the fire, afford an approx- 
 imate idea of the development of the city during this period. 
 In 1849, the Galena Union stands in this table solitary and 
 alone. It was operated only in the latter half of that year, 
 and its gross earnings were but $27,418. In 1854, the gross 
 earnings of all roads terminating in Chicago were but $6,3 30,- 
 ooo; in 1855, $10,500,000; in 1857, $16,750,000; in 1861, 
 $17,750,000; in 1863, $27,500,000; in 1864, $40,300,000; in 
 1867, $49,000,000, and in 1870, over $7o;ooo,ooo. 
 
 Even before the fire, Chicago was the greatest railroad cen- 
 tre in the world. 
 
 The commerce of the great lakes of the northwest, far from 
 being injured was first built up and strengthened by the develop- 
 ment of the railroads. While at the beginning of the century, 
 the schooner "Tracy" made but one trip a year, between Buf- 
 falo and Chicago, in order to provision the lonely garrison of 
 Fort Dearborn, in 1840, Chicago's eastern horizon was white 
 with the sails of the lake, grain and lumber fleet. 
 
 The schooner " Clarissa" had been launched here in 1836, 
 and in 1840 the first side- wheeler, the " George W. Dole," 
 named in honor of its builder, appeared. In 1842, the first 
 
 95
 
 propeller, the " Independence " left the first wharf Averill's. 
 
 Accurate reports of the tonnage of the vessels clearing the 
 port of Chicago before the 5o's are lacking. In 1854 the 
 total tonnage of the vessels entering the Chicago harbor was 
 1,092,644; in 1857, 1,453,417 and in 1864, 2,172,866. From 
 that date a new system of registration was introduced, 
 whereby the tonnage of each vessel was registered only once 
 a year, regardless of the number of voyages made. Accord- 
 ing to this new system the Chicago fleet of 1323 vessels had 
 in 1865 a tonnage of 228,115; in 1866, 251,077 and in 1867, 
 289,765. More than half of these vessels, including 8 side- 
 wheelers, 13 propellers, 33 tug boats, 41 barges, 257 
 schooners and 227 canal boats, wintered in the Chicago river. 
 
 The development of the commerce of the great lakes may 
 be judged from the fact that its tonnage considerably exceeds 
 that of the whole foreign trade of the United States and of 
 this immense commerce Chicago receives the lion's share. 
 
 In 1838 Walker & Co. shipped the first grain from Chicago, 
 only some 78 bushels, but before the fire the city became the 
 world's most important grain market. 
 
 The growing problem of handling the immense masses of 
 grain was solved by the invention of the steam elevator, 
 which cheaply and quickly lifted the grain from the cars and 
 canal boats by which it had been brought from the country, 
 and loaded into the ships waiting to bear it by way of the 
 great lakes to Buffalo and the Canadian ports. The inventor 
 of the elevator was Capt. R. C. Bristol, who erected the first 
 steam elevator in 1848. In January, 1855, the storage capac- 
 ity of all the Chicago elevators amounted to only 750,000 
 bushels. In 1857 there were 12 elevators, holding 4,025,000 
 bushels and ten years later, in 1867, the capacity of the seventeen 
 elevators then in use exceeded 11,500,000 bushels. These ele- 
 vators could load and unload a million bushels of grain daily. 
 
 Through them passed the grain of the northwest and its 
 value, converted in the east into manufactured merchandise of
 
 all kinds, was returned to Chicago for distribution through the 
 western railroads to the original producers, the farmers. 
 Thus Chicago became the great distributing center of the 
 northwest, then containing a prosperous population of over 
 12,000,000 people. The " hard times " of 1857-58 were less 
 felt by Chicago, perhaps, than by most of the cities of the 
 country. In the United States and Canada there were 5123 
 bankruptcies with liabilities of $299,800,000. In New York 
 every bank but one, the Chemical, failed, but in Chicago several 
 stood firm. The Illinois Central and Michigan Southern roads 
 both assigned in 1857, and temporary insolvency in all busi- 
 ness seemed the rule. Things grew but little brighter during 
 the next two years, but with 1861 came a change. Its cause, 
 strangely enough, was the civil war. Far from impeding the 
 city's growth or checking the volume of its business the great 
 struggle caused an even more rapid development of the new 
 western metropolis. Cincinnati, St. Louis and Louisville lost 
 their southern trade on account of the war and a great deal 
 of capital was transferred from them to Chicago, which in 
 consequence soon excelled them even in branches of industry 
 in which they had formerly taken the lead. Thus, for 
 instance, the great packing industry of Cincinnati (Porkopolis) 
 was transferred to Chicago and assumed enormous propor- 
 tions. 
 
 Just as necessity had produced the elevator to facilitate the 
 handling of grain, it later brought into existence the Union 
 Stock Yards for the handling of cattle. These yards were 
 first opened for business December 25, 1865, and covered an 
 area of 345 acres. The pens alone covered over 100 acres, 
 and hotels and other buildings 45 acres more. The capacity 
 of the yards when opened was 21,000 head of cattle, 755 
 hogs, 22,000 sheep, 200 horses, a total of 118,200 animals. 
 There were 31 miles of drains, 7 of streets and alleys, 3 
 of water troughs and TO of feed troughs. There were 2300 
 gates, 1500 open pens and 800 covered ones. The water was 
 
 i 97
 
 supplied by an artesian well, noo feet deep. A " belt" line 
 connected the yards with every railroad entering the city. 
 Thirty years ago it seemed that these yards would prove 
 ample for all times, but though their capacity has been 
 repeatedly increased, the stock men and packers are still 
 cramped for room. The advantages of the stock yards sys- 
 tem were so apparent that the cattle business of the northwest 
 was soon concentrated in Chicago, though other western 
 cities, in order to save at least a part of their business, now 
 copied Chicago's stock yards just as they had before copied its 
 elevators. 
 
 The cattle and grain trade in Chicago is organized to such 
 a degree of perfection and smoothness that a stranger, neither 
 in the streets nor elsewhere, would be reminded that he is in 
 the world's leading cattle and grain market. He sees neither 
 wagons loaded with grain nor droves of cattle, the whole 
 immense business being done, as it were, behind the scenes. 
 Another of Chicago's business enterprises to early assume 
 considerable proportions was the lumber trade and the allied 
 manufacturing industries In 1871 the value of all imported 
 merchandise exceeded $400,000,000. Eighteen banks, with 
 a capital of $10,000,000 and $17,000,000 deposits were nec- 
 essary to transact this enormous commerce, and the clearing 
 house business amounted $810,000,000. 
 
 Just as the city grew in population and business, so the 
 individual inhabitants grew in prosperity. There is no city in 
 the world containing so many small property owners in com- 
 parison with the whole population as Chicago no city in 
 which the working classes are so independent. 
 
 The rapidity with which the city had been raised from the 
 swamps, the ingenuity with which the purest water (this was 
 before the fire) was introduced into every house and the 
 drainage system, using Lake Michigan to cleanse that great 
 open sewer, the Chicago river, justly attracted the attention of 
 the world to the western metropolis. 
 
 98
 
 Prior to 1840 the city had been poorly supplied with drink- 
 ing water, which was either obtained from wells or was 
 brought in from the lake in large barrels and sold by the gal- 
 lon. The Chicago City Hydraulic Company, "incorporated in 
 1836 with a capital of $2,000,000, had for its purpose 
 the erection of public water works, but it was 1840 before its 
 plant was put in operation. 
 
 - 
 
 PUMPING STATION OF 1854. 
 
 The pumping station was situated on the corner of Lake 
 street and Michigan avenue, but its capacity was very limited 
 the steam pump used having but 25 horse power. In 1851, 
 by an act of the state legislature, a board of three water com- 
 missioners was created and the city authorized to issue bonds 
 to the extent of $400,000 for the erection of new water works. 
 The building was situated on the lake shore at the foot of 
 
 99
 
 Chicago avenue, and in 1854 the new works were put in 
 operation. The water, however, was taken from near the 
 shore, and was soon found to be impure at times, especially when 
 the wind blew the contents of the Chicago river out into the lake. 
 As a consequence it was decided a few years later to construct 
 an inlet crib two miles from shore, and a tunnel to connect it 
 with the pumping station, and this work, commenced in May, 
 1864, was completed December 6, 1866. Water was first let 
 into the new tunnel March 8, 1867, and for a long time Chicago 
 boasted of a water supply unequaled in purity, price and plenty. 
 
 The early 5o's were cholera years, the fatal cases in 1854 
 being no fewer than 1424 out of 3834 total deaths in the city. 
 From 1854, however, Chicago's development was rapid. In 
 that year the inhabitants numbered 65,872 persons; in 1857 
 93,000; in 1861, 120,000; in 1867, 220,000; in 1871, 334,270. 
 
 In 1856 it was found necessary, in order to secure a better 
 drainage system, to raise the streets of the city. On the 
 average the grade was raised six feet, which secured sufficient 
 " drop " for the sewers to empty by gravitation and also put 
 them far enough underground to be protected from frost. 
 Of course the houses had to be raised with the streets and the 
 result was an exceedingly active, if not pleasant, operation. 
 Even the largest and most massive buildings had to be raised. 
 The gigantic undertaking was begun on the South Side, but 
 the North and West Sides soon followed suit. Steam power 
 was used to a considerable extent and the work progressed 
 rapidly. So cleverly were the arrangements made and 
 executed that the use of the buildings and the business in 
 hotels and commercial houses were not interrupted even 
 during the time the contractors were actually engaged in 
 raising the structures. One of these contractors was George 
 M. Pullman, who, in this manner, laid the foundations for his 
 future fortune. 
 
 A characteristic incident took place under the administration 
 of Mayor Wentworth, along in the 5o's. On the lake shore 9 
 
 zoo
 
 between Kinzie and Erie streets, there had grown up, in the 
 course of time, a settlement of which Chicago was anything 
 but proud. Numerous tumble-down wooden shanties, scat- 
 tered helter-skelter over the beach, formed an ideal nesting 
 place for an anarchistic proletariat, rogues, whose lives were 
 forfeit to the gallows, robbers and rascals of all degrees, in 
 short, the lowest kind of men and women, who, in the open 
 prosecution of their business, had become a public nuisance. 
 The rough and ready mayor determined to rid the city of this 
 precious crowd and chose a novel method to carry out his 
 determination. He notified the shanty dwellers, that on a 
 certain day their whole quarter would be burned down and he 
 left it to the individuals to draw their own conclusions. The 
 mayor was known as a man of his word and as one who could 
 not be trifled with. Consequently very many took his hint 
 and quietly decamped. Promptly, at the appointed time, 
 Mr. Wentworth appeared with a full detail from the police 
 and fire departments and caused the shanties to be fired. In 
 a few moments the flames had completed their work of puri- 
 fication; the anarchistic republic was resolved into its primi- 
 tive elements, which were then, as quickly as possible, 
 rendered harmless and inoffensive. 
 
 In May, 1858, the first horse-car system was put into oper- 
 ation; there were five cars, and their run was from Lake 
 street to Twelfth. In the following year a line was put in 
 operation on West Madison street, and in 1860 a third line 
 began running on North Clark street, going as far as 
 Division. 
 
 Up to this time, in spite of the prosperity of the city and 
 the well developed business activity, there had been a marked 
 lack of public art institutions, higher educational facilities and 
 substantial places of recreation theatres, concert halls and the 
 like. In 1855, however, the Rush Medical College was 
 founded, and 1859 saw the establishment of the Chicago 
 Medical College. Rice's theatre was opened in 1847, but ten 
 
 101 
 
 A
 
 years elapsed before there was another first-class play-house. 
 Then McVicker's first welcomed the public, and with " Money " 
 for its attraction, of course scored a great hit. 
 
 Aside from the temporary depreciation of paper money, trade 
 and commerce thrived in Chicago during the civil war; money 
 was abundant, business active, wages large in brief, so pros- 
 perous were the times, that many a man was able to make his 
 fortune then and there. Aside from the numerous bridges 
 and viaducts which were constructed at this period, the tunnel 
 under the river at Washington street was completed in 1869, 
 and the one at La Salle street two years later. By an ordinance 
 of the city council, passed in 1864, tne Lincoln Park system 
 was established, and a few years later the state legislature 
 enacted a statute providing for the whole splendid park and 
 boulevard system. 
 
 The development of the school system of Chicago, after 
 1850, was in keeping with the general progress of the city. 
 In the year 1871, there were 40 school sites, on which were 
 erected 41 buildings, and 1 1 other buildings stood on leased 
 ground. The school houses and equipments represented a value 
 of $1,200,000. There were 572 teachers whose salaries 
 amounted to $444,635. 
 
 At this time also chere were 192 parishes or separate religious 
 communities, all but 36 of which had church buildings. Among 
 them were 25 Catholic parishes with 12 convents and numer- 
 ous parochial schools. There were also five Jewish syna- 
 gogues. The value of all Chicago church property, shortly 
 before the fire, was $10,350,000. 
 
 The development of the architecture of private houses kept 
 even pace with that of public buildings. In 1837 Chicago 
 consisted of 450 houses, almost all of which were frame. In 
 1871 the city numbered 60,000 buildings, 40,000 of which 
 were of wood. In 1832 one could easily count the brick 
 buildings. In 1854 the only marble building stood on the 
 southwest corner of Clark and Lake streets, opposite the 
 
 102
 
 two-story brick " Saloon Building," which was pointed out as an 
 edifice of considerable pretensions. In time, however, men 
 ceased to look on Chicago as merely a place to make money 
 and then desert, and began to regard it as a permanent home 
 to whose adornment and beautification they were willing to 
 generously contribute. Soon the streets were covered with 
 fugitive frame houses, which, driven out of the town proper, 
 sought a resting place on the outskirts of the city. As these 
 outskirts constantly stretched out further and further the unfor- 
 tunate houses were compelled almost yearly to begin again their 
 peregrinations. As the frame structures yielded to the brick, 
 so in turn they yielded to the stone and iron buildings. 
 Palaces took the place of two-story buildings, colossal ware- 
 houses crowded out more modest stores, and simple dwellings 
 gave place to magnificent and architecturally stylish resi- 
 dences. Michigan and Wabash avenues on the South Side, 
 Washington street on the West Side and the portion of the 
 North Side lying east of Dearborn street formed the favorite 
 home-spots for the wealthy. Even the New Yorkers, with 
 their Fifth avenue, had to yield the palm to Wabash avenue. 
 The value of the new buildings erected in 1864 was 
 $4,700,000; in 1865, $6,950,000; in 1866 over $11,000,000 
 and in 1870 no less than $20,000,000. Owing to the haste 
 with which buildings were erected before the fire it was but 
 natural that the proper building laws were not observed, and 
 that, owing to a lack of expert, faithful police supervision, 
 even the ordinary rules of safety were grossly violated. Thus 
 it came about that even before the great fire Chicago, with its 
 numerous frame houses and its enormous lumber districts, to 
 say nothing of its location on an unprotected prairie, was 
 known to be one of the worst fire sufferers in the Union. In 
 1863-64 there were 186 fires, doing over $355,560 worth of 
 damage, and in 1869-70 the number of destructive fires 
 reached 600 and inflicted loss to the amount of $871,000. In 
 1870-71 there were 660 fires, destroying property valued at 
 
 103
 
 During the nine years before the great fire 
 there were 3697 destructive fires in Chicago, and the amount 
 of loss sustained was $13,779.848, of which $10,851,942 
 was covered by insurance. Surely, Chicago had warning 
 cncu^fh. 
 
 104
 
 Chicago's Progress. 
 
 Early German Settlers The Forty-Eighters Social and Military Growth in the so's 
 Beer Riots Americans and Germans Unite in Opposing Slavery Early 
 Breweries Douglas and Know-nothingism Underground Railroad Chicago's 
 Part in the War of the Rebellion. 
 
 The part played by Irishmen and Englishmen in the devel- 
 opment of Chicago, is so vital and intimate as to need no treat- 
 ment separate from the story of the city itself. Allied so 
 closely to the Americans by ties of language and kinship the 
 Irish and English settlers of Chicago early lost their individu- 
 ality as foreigners and became Chicagoans, quite after the 
 manner of the man from Massachusetts, New York or Ohio. 
 Their activity cannot be easily differentiated from that of the 
 native-born citizens. The Germans on the other hand have 
 not lost their identity as such. Had their manners and cus- 
 toms more nearly approached those of the Americans, the 
 barrier of language would have still remained. It is therefore 
 easy to point out the effect of their influence on Chicago's 
 development. 
 
 Among the early settlers of the city, there were relatively 
 few Germans, and these few were not, as a rule, men of cul- 
 ture or education. The cream of early German immigration 
 to Illinois went to the southern part of the state. With the 
 end of the great German revolution of 1848, however, came 
 a change. The revolutionists were defeated and forced to flee 
 from Germany. Thousands came to America where they 
 were soon discovered to be very different from the earlier 
 German immigrants. The revolutionists, as a rule, were enthu- 
 siasts, visionaries. Erratic, though the rank and file undoubt- 
 edly were, many of them were also liberal, progressive and 
 well educated. Guided by sentiment, their mistakes had been 
 those of youth. 
 
 105
 
 They embraced all classes of men; thousands were simple 
 artisans, but in their ranks were also found hundreds of pro- 
 fessors, poets, musicians, artists, editors and professional men. 
 As a rule, these latter were the leaders and many of them 
 proved themselves remarkably clever and talented. Although 
 radically progressive as a class, they had among them few 
 competent leaders, no mature statesmen, no profound philos- 
 ophers. Those who afterwards achieved success and fame in 
 their new fatherland were mostly inexperienced young men 
 when they came, and owe a great deal of what they are or have 
 been to the conditions that surrounded them in the new world. 
 They were able men but their ideas were impractical, immature, 
 or at best, ahead of time. When they left Germany they 
 hoped to put into execution in America the ideas which had 
 been rejected in the fatherland. Eager, enthusiastic, impatient 
 of delay, they reached their new home only to find here 
 elements similar to those which had opposed them in Ger- 
 many the conservative elements. It was a conflict between the 
 old German settlers and the new-comers, between the " moss- 
 backs " and the " green-horns," as they respectively desig- 
 nated each other. 
 
 The Germans, who had lived for some time in the United 
 States and become accustomed to American ways or had 
 formed communities in which they lived according to the 
 customs of the fatherland, looked with disdain on the new- 
 comers, who, without waiting to learn of American institu- 
 tions, wished immediately to reform and re-organize the whole 
 country. They even held a convention for this purpose in 
 Wheeling. W. Va., and one enthusiast actually proposed to 
 solve the Teutonic trouble by annexing Germany to the 
 United States. They were not, however, men who wished to 
 upset things merely for the pleasure of it. They were in no 
 wise like the anarchists of later days. They were simply 
 lovers of freedom, and later became strong abolitionists. Carl 
 Schurz, Col. Fred Hecker, George Schneider, Lorenz 
 
 1 06
 
 Brentano, Hermann Raster, William Rapp, Emil Preetorius, 
 Caspar Butz, Emil Dietzsch, General Sigel, General Oster- 
 haus and Governor Salomon, were the most prominent of the 
 48'ers. 
 
 The conflict between the old-timers and the revolutionists 
 was carried on here in Chicago, as throughout the whole 
 country. The former believed that they had become pretty 
 well informed on things American, were firmly convinced of 
 their smartness in business matters, and were proud of the 
 manner in which they butchered the English language. They 
 ridiculed, in their self-satisfied way, what they considered the 
 absurd and exaggerated political ideas of the newly arrived 
 revolutionists, whom they were pleased to call " Latin fel- 
 lows," because they were educated, and " theorists," because 
 they had ideas of their own. The revolutionists on the other 
 hand, looked with supreme^ contempt on the " moss-backs," 
 whom they were fond of alluding to as " German-American 
 voting cattle," because of the obstinate persistency with which 
 they clung to the old slavery party. They did not even 
 regard the " moss-backs " as being worthy of living in a free 
 country, and scornfully announced that the latter were per- 
 fectly happy if some native American would clap them on the 
 back and hail them as "Jack" or " Charley." 
 
 Among the revolutionists there were many skilled artisans, 
 and these had no difficulty in finding work. But the profes- 
 sional men, the journalists, artists, doctors, lawyers and 
 professors, had plenty of spare time to discover the evils in 
 America, to make merry over the Yankees and to plan a 
 great campaign of reformation. These gentlemen were for- 
 ever lounging around saloons, where, at all hours, they carried 
 on almost endless debates on weighty political and social 
 questions and, while thinking of the old home from which 
 they had been mercilessly driven, comforted one another and 
 waited for happier days in most cases, for the hour of 
 return to the fatherland. All day long one could find in the 
 
 107
 
 various saloons the best of fellowship among men of good 
 breeding and good wit. They drank and argued criticised 
 bitterly and praised loudly. 
 
 On Sundays, headed by a brass band, they marched through 
 the streets of the city, delighting in parading past crowded 
 churches, and finally reaching a suburban grove where things 
 went merrily. Conventionalities were forgotten and the beer 
 flowed in streams. In short, what they claimed to be " German 
 customs " were introduced often with more energy than dis- 
 cretion, and the Yankees were taught what a " free German " 
 was. In their enthusiastic moments when all went well, the 
 revelers would praise their meetings with the proud words: 
 " Grad' wie in Deutschland," (just as in Germany). 
 
 Finally, however, the 48'ers carried thirgs a little too far. 
 While calling themselves the educated part of the community, 
 they often forgot entirely to take any account of other people, 
 the result of which was that a bitter hatred of foreigners 
 sprang into existence. The know-nothing spirit made its 
 appearance all over the country, and it was directed especially 
 against the Germans. At this crisis there happily appeared 
 the German newspapers to urge their readers to conduct 
 themselves differently toward those Americans who differed 
 from them in opinion, and on the other hand to demand of the 
 Americans that they afford to foreign born citizens equal rights 
 with themselves. Most of the German papers particularly and 
 emphatically disapproved of slavery, and in time their repeated 
 demands for its abolition won for the Germans great respect 
 and popularity among the free-minded American element. 
 
 In 1852 the Chicago Turnverein was formed, and its mem- 
 bers, sharing the bitter anti-slavery views of the Illinois Staats 
 Zeitung, which had been founded a few years before, formed 
 the first German phalanx for the future but ever nearing 
 struggle against slavery. 
 
 The Turnverein grew and prospered. Its miserable hall on 
 Griswold street was superseded by a splendid building, and 
 
 1 08
 
 from a band of enthusiasts the association became the most 
 influential German organization of the city, vitally assisting 
 in the political and intellectual development of the Germans of 
 Chicago. 
 
 Following the Chicago Turnverein came a host of other 
 clubs and societies. There were singing, shooting, turning 
 and military clubs. The number grew until finally almost 
 every German state was represented by its own turning or 
 singing society. In some clubs all members had come from 
 one German city, and no others were admitted. The man 
 from Hamburg would not turn or sing with one from Frank- 
 furt, and so on. This peculiarity, although typical of life in 
 the fatherland, worked against the best interests of the Ger- 
 mans in Chicago. They became divided, and failing to act 
 as a unit, did not exercise an influence commensurate with 
 their numbers. The same want of harmony is still noticed 
 among the Germans to-day, and works against them. The 
 general effect of the clubs was, of course, good, and developed 
 not only the social but political life of the Germans. Nor was 
 it the Germans alone who were affected. 
 
 After the singing societies had introduced German songs into 
 the city, it was an easy matter for German opera to follow, 
 and thus great impetus was given to the musical development 
 of Chicago. 
 
 The most amusing and comical feature of life in the early 
 5o's is indisputably the extraordinary importance with which 
 many, otherwise very worthy and steady-going citizens, invested 
 military affairs. Those who saw in the new order of things 
 a gentle, peaceful and practical means of advancing in busi- 
 ness or politics, devoted themselves to Mars with remarkable 
 ardor, but it was the gentlemanly saloon keeper who reaped 
 the greatest profit. After the fatigues of drilling and march- 
 ing, the parched throats of the warriors had to be moistened, 
 and a saloon was always found to be the best and most suita- 
 ble place for holding an important council of war. The saloon 
 
 log
 
 keepers all joined companies. At certain hours their white 
 aprons were doffed and gorgeous uniforms donned, and then 
 out they went with the other warriors to valiantly storm the 
 saloon of some comrade for the fatherland had called, not 
 exactly because it was in danger, but just to test the hearts of 
 its sons and to keep the swords from rusting in the scabbards. 
 
 On Washington's birthday, Fourth of July, at funerals and 
 at other times of danger, the streets were thronged with 
 brave cavalrymen on foot and infantry officers on horseback. 
 After a "treat all around for the company" the lieutenant 
 expected that at the next council of war he would be made a 
 captain, for, though he had captured no breastworks, he had 
 won the hearts of his men. Should a major buy a keg of 
 beer, he was sure of a marshal's baton at the first favorable 
 opportunity. Consequently the militia of Chicago, at this 
 time, comprised about eight generals, seventeen colonels, three 
 dozen majors, two companies of captains, a battalion of lieuten- 
 ants and five privates. As the latter were for the most part 
 hard-working men, who had no time to spare, the regiment, 
 when it turned out on the occasion of a funeral or some event 
 of minor importance, consisted very frequently of nothing but 
 officers. 
 
 At the local election, held in March, 1855, Levy D. Boone, 
 a dyed-in-the-wool "know-nothing," was elected mayor of 
 Chicago. He firmly believed that it was his duty to make all 
 " foreigners " fully understand that America was to be gov- 
 erned only by Americans. A saloon license of $300 was 
 imposed, and the police were strictly enjoined to close all 
 saloons on Sunday, especially if they were conducted by 
 "foreigners." If conducted by "respectable Americans" the 
 police might strain a point and ignore the open doors. Even 
 before Boone's time the Sunday and temperance crusade was 
 waged. At that time Americans did not drink beer at all; 
 whiskey was their favorite tipple, and in 1854 tne commonest 
 grades cost but 15 cents a gallon. 
 
 no
 
 On Sundays then, the Americans could wet their parched 
 gullets, but the drink of the fatherland was denied the sons of 
 Germany. Up to this point the Germans had fully complied 
 with the law, but at last some of them resolved to defy it, and 
 run their saloons without the necessary license. But Mayor 
 Boone was not to be trifled with; he had the offending saloon 
 keepers summoned before him and, as they refused to pay for 
 their licenses, caused them to be imprisoned. As a conse- 
 quence, the Germans of the North Side organized a relief 
 party, armed themselves with guns, revolvers and pitch-forks ? 
 and one Saturday marched over the Clark street bridge, up to 
 the court house and demanded the release of their country- 
 men, the martyr saloon keepers. A crowd of several thous- 
 and Americans, Germans and Irishmen at once collected and 
 stood eagerly awaiting further developments. The entrance 
 to the court house yard, which was surrounded by a tolerably 
 high iron fence, was guarded by the police, and the great 
 door of the court house itself was closed. Down in the base- 
 ment of this building were the prisoners, and those on the 
 outside believed they could hear a confused murmur of voices 
 coming from the various cells. The Germans on the outside 
 stood there for some moments, undetermined as to how to 
 proceed, as no one appeared willing to lead the attack, when 
 suddenly the court house doors were flung wide open, and out 
 upon the now thoroughly frightened and demoralized mob 
 rushed about fifty special policemen. All were armed with 
 clubs, and every man made good use of his weapon. A few 
 shots were fired. At the attack of the police, one of the 
 rioters threw away his weapon and started to flee, but was 
 overhauled and shot down. A German cigar maker shot a 
 policeman in the arm. After quiet 'had been restored in the 
 vicinity of the court house, the great militia general, A. K. 
 Swift, felt in duty bound to call upon the soldiers to rush 
 to arms and the rescue. They responded slowly, only about 
 90 men from the whole regiment appearing, and they 
 
 in
 
 were all pale with fear. In spite of their pallor every man of 
 them was ready, with a lion's courage, to plunge into the 
 struggle for whisky and against beer. But, happily, the 
 conflict had already passed. 
 
 Two old cannon, which, rumor said, had in 1812 been 
 abandoned as worthless by the British in Detroit, were lugged 
 out from the city arsenal and placed, one on Clark and one on 
 La Salle street, both pointing toward the North Side. The 
 . mayor and his council seemed firmly convinced that the chief 
 struggle would be in the afternoon. In fact, a second and a 
 well planned attack had been arranged, for the shameful defeat 
 of the forenoon was keenly felt. Men gathered in all the prin- 
 cipal streets, prepared for a bitter struggle. One rioter ran to 
 the North Market hall and rang the alarm bell. Fortunately, 
 however, the threatened butchery was prevented by the ready 
 wit of an Irish bridge-tender, who, as the valiant attacking 
 column approached the river on Clark street, swung his bridge 
 wide open and kept the doughty warriors off the South Side. 
 As a consequence of this simple artifice, the forces of the 
 " Beerocrats " stood helpless and irresolute, for in this emer- 
 gency their brave leaders were unable to display their knowl- 
 edge of the arts and strategies of war. 
 
 The end of this rather grotesque campaign was that every- 
 one began to laugh at the peculiar, not to say ridiculous 
 position of the revolutionary army of the North Side. 
 Many of the warriors themselves were right well pleased 
 at being prevented from spilling blood, for in their rage 
 they might have dealt too severely with the foeman. And 
 so it came about, that within half an hour not a trace of 
 the great army of rebels was to be seen. On the South Side, 
 meantime, the streets had been garrisoned and were kept so 
 until Monday morning, the militia forces increasing in numbers 
 all day Sunday in the same measure as the reports of the 
 likelihood of more trouble grew less frequent and emphatic, 
 
 In order to avoid further ill-feeling, the trial of the various 
 
 112
 
 cases growing out of this episode known in the history of the 
 city as the " beer riots," was postponed some weeks, and then, 
 in order that immigration might not be driven away from Chi- 
 cago, the prisoners were released on straw-bail and harmony 
 was once more restored. 
 
 Occurrences such as those just narrated, increased the 
 feeling between the native and German born citizens. As 
 far as business was concerned, the two dealt with each other, 
 the Americans recognizing the Germans not only as excellent 
 clerks and workmen, but also as profitable customers, but 
 after business hours they separated and had absolutely nothing 
 to do with each other. The Americans had no desire to 
 know more intimately the " Dutchmen," and the Germans 
 in their turn saw no necessity of making advances to the 
 '< Yankees." A prominent feature of the German is his easy 
 adaptability to foreign habits, customs and methods of thought. 
 If ( he is kindly received by strangers, he adapts himself read- 
 ily to his changed conditions of life. If, however, the stranger 
 seeks by force to forbid him his native customs or to ridicule 
 these as barbaric, then the true Teuton rebels and clings with 
 a remarkabk persistency to the habits of his forefathers. It 
 was rather remarkable, therefore, that the German revolution- 
 ists advocated in the German press that their countrymen 
 should forget personal grievances and unite with Americans 
 for the suppression of slavery. The Americans had no sym- 
 pathy with the Germans. They did not understand them, and 
 did not care to. But the German revolutionists passed all that, 
 and with one accord, preached over and over again from the 
 text, " Down with Slavery." 
 
 " We Germans, above all others," they cried, " should 
 oppose as one man, this accursed institution, even if in so doing 
 we act against our own welfare, and are forced to unite with 
 our enemies, the know-nothings." Of course such precepts 
 found many enemies as well as many friends, and so the con- 
 flict between the old German settlers, most of whom belonged
 
 to the democratic or pro-slavery party, and the newiy arrived 
 revolutionists waxed fiercer. 
 
 New England, where there had been but few foreigners, 
 was, strangely enough, the stronghold of the know-nothings. 
 There too, however, were found the great opponents of slav- 
 ery, and so the two extremes met. The foreign-born Ger- 
 man in the west opposed slavery as strongly and as 
 vigorously as did the Yankee abolitionist in the east. For a 
 time the native born Chicagoans paid but little attention to 
 the German anti-slavery movement. They did not know the 
 leaders nor their motives, and it was not until George Schneider, 
 Caspar Butz, Ernst Pruessing, Hermann Kreisman, Ernst 
 Schmidt, Emil Dietzsch and Fritz Bauman on the one side, 
 and Isaac N. Arnold, Norman B. Judd, John C. Haynes, 
 Thomas B. Bryan and "Long" John Wentworth on the other, 
 met and learned to know each other, that the two races joined 
 forces for a common end. 
 
 While now the Germans and Americans were coming to a 
 better understanding on political questions, there quietly and 
 modestly developed a branch of industry destined to strongly 
 affect the whole social life of the American people. Up to 
 this time, as already said, the only American tipple was 
 whisky and it had ruined mentally and physically thousands 
 upon thousands. But all this was to be changed, for the 
 Americans gradually became acquainted with the excellence 
 of the German national beverage, and beer and even wine 
 began to share, if not usurp the place in the American heart 
 so long held by whisky. 
 
 In spite of almost a thousand years of struggling and suffer- 
 ing, Germans have retained a happy and contented disposition. 
 On the soil of their fatherland the terrible decision of the 
 sword has settled many a question pregnant with the fate of 
 all mankind. The German may be always dreaming, but his 
 dreams spring from a joyous and idealistic nature, and though 
 oftimes interrupted by the loud tocsin summoning the dreamer 
 
 114
 
 to a combat for existence, still in the midst of the struggle, 
 come the pleasant clink of glasses and tender love-songs, like 
 saving genii in the moment of anxiety. And so, inspired by 
 the pretty and natural desire to be able here, across the sea, 
 in his foster fatherland, in the home of freedom, to live 
 according to his old, honorable and long-inherited cus- 
 toms he planted on the sunny hills of Ohio the vine brought 
 from the Rhineland, trained the fragrant hops, and on 
 the black, virgin soil of the prairies he sowed the vigorous 
 barley. 
 
 It was to supply an already keenly felt demand that in the 
 5o's even, men all over the west turned their attention to wine 
 growing and beer brewing. In Chicago a large and ever 
 increasing industry was founded, and the breweries later 
 yielded almost untold riches. 
 
 Mathias Best (father of the well-known Chicagoan, Henry 
 Best) was Chicago's first brewer. He came here from 
 Bavaria in 1841, but found so few Germans in the city 
 that he did not think it worth while to start a brewery, and 
 turned his attention to the manufacture of vinegar. In 1844. 
 he began beer brewing on a small scale, serving his customers 
 in little wooden casks, which he made himself, and carried 
 around on his back. About 1850 he built a small brewery, 
 with a summer garden attachment. Later he leased his 
 establishment to Conrad Seipp, and when Seipp started a 
 brewery of his own, he leased it to Downer & Bemis. When 
 they in* turn built their own brewery some years later, 
 Chicago's original brew-house stood unused until 1871, when 
 it was destroyed in the great fire. 
 
 In 1849, m a brewery on the corner of State and Randolph 
 streets, where the Central Music Hall now stands, Adolph P. 
 Mueller brewed the first lager beer for Chicagoans. Among 
 the later brewers were John A. Huck and his son Louis, 
 Peter Schoenhofen, A. Gottfried, Busch & Brand and Bar- 
 tholomae & Leicht. 
 
 "5
 
 German influence on Chicago business, society and art was 
 early felt, but it was 1857 before much attention was paid the 
 Germans by the politicians. At that time it was not deemed 
 advisable, on account of German opposition, to again run the 
 know-nothing mayor, Thomas Dyer, and at the suggestion 
 of George Schneider, of the Illinois Staats Zeitung, " Long " 
 John Wentworth received the nomination. Wentworth was 
 triumphantly elected, and thereafter the Germans paid more 
 attention to real politics and less to visionary plans for sweep- 
 ing reforms. Under the leadership of Schneider and others 
 they continued their opposition to slavery, and formed the 
 nucleus of the republican party in Chicago. 
 
 January 29, 1854, George Schneider called a meeting to 
 oppose the Nebraska bill and the extension of slavery. At 
 this gathering, probably the first public assembly held in the 
 United States for this specific purpose, both Germans and 
 Americans were present. 
 
 Stephen A. Douglas, then senator from Illinois, and from 
 1847 a resident of Chicago, was the great opponent of know- 
 nothingism, and marshaled the democrats against the hosts 
 of intolerance, fanaticism and political and religious bigotry. 
 But the majority of the Germans stood firm against slavery, 
 and as Douglas at first wished to compromise on the question, 
 they violently opposed him. 
 
 On the evening of September i, 1854, Douglas called a 
 meeting at North Market Hall, where he intended to explain 
 his action in support of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, but a howl- 
 ing mob met him and prevented the ''little giant" from being 
 heard. During the afternoon flags on all vessels and build- 
 ings owned by abolitionists had been hung at half-mast, and 
 at dusk the church bells were tolled as if for an impending 
 calamity. Most of those in the hall were bitter know-nothings 
 and abolitionists, and many had come heavily armed in antici- 
 pation of bloodshed. Finally, after facing the mob for two 
 hours, Douglas yielded to the inevitable and returned to his 
 
 116
 
 hotel, followed by a shouting, cursing, threatening crowd. 
 
 From that day Chicago never ceased to be on the extreme 
 verge of anti-slavery excitment, and became the center of the 
 western movement which made Kansas a free state. 
 
 The first general anti-slavery meeting was held in Chicago 
 in the "Saloon Building" in 1838, and in January, 1840, the 
 Chicago Anti-Slavery Society held its first public meeting. 
 Chicago early became one of the principal points on the 
 "underground railroad," which was the name given to a 
 system of co-operation of certain active abolitionists to secretly 
 assist fugitive slaves to escape into Canada. In 1839 gener- 
 ous and zealous Zebina Eastman sent the first passenger on 
 the "underground railroad" through Chicago, and Captain 
 Blake, of the steamer Illinois, took him to Canada. 
 
 In 1860 Chicago was selected as the place for holding the 
 republican national convention, and the hearty support of 
 Chicago abolitionists secured the nomination of Abraham 
 Lincoln. In the fall the election passed off quietly enough, 
 Lincoln being chosen president. He was inaugurated in 
 March, 1861, and in less than six weeks the roar and crash 
 of the guns bombarding Fort Sumter ushered in the war of 
 the rebellion. April 18 the Union defense fund was started 
 in Chicago, and three days later, at the call of Governor Yates, 
 Gen. R. K. Swift started for Cairo, which important post he 
 occupied with a force of 595 men and four six-pounders, his 
 command consisting of Companies A and B, Ellsworth's 
 Chicago Zouaves, the Chicago Light Infantry, Turner Union 
 Cadets, Lincoln Rifles and the Chicago Light Artillery. 
 When the President called for 75,000 volunteers, Chicago at 
 once raised two companies, which were assigned to the 
 Twelfth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. The Nineteenth Illinois 
 also contained several Chicago companies. Indeed, so rapid 
 was the enrollment of Chicago volunteers that Governor 
 Yates, owing to the refusal of the Secretary of War to 
 authorize him to accept more troops than the state's pro-rata 
 
 117
 
 proportion of the whole number of volunteers, was unable to 
 put many of the early companies into commission, and several 
 Chicago companies left the state and enlisted elsewhere, 
 principally in Missouri and Kansas. Nearly every member of 
 Ellsworth's famous zouaves held commission during the war, 
 but they were scattered through the regiments of various 
 states, Ellsworth himself commanding the Eleventh New York 
 Volunteers (Fire Zouaves). 
 
 The Twenty-third Illinois was the famous " Irish Brigade," 
 organized by Col. James A. Mulligan, and consisted of Irish- 
 Americans living in Chicago and neighboring towns. It was 
 accepted by the Federal government as an independent Illinois 
 regiment, being mustered into service June 15, 1861. After 
 three years of service, marked by conspicuous bravery and 
 ability, Colonel Mulligan was killed at Kernstown, July, 1864. 
 
 The Twenty-fourth Illinois, or the " Hecker-Jaeger regi- 
 ment," composed exclusively of Germans, was mustered in 
 July 8, under the colonelcy of Frederick Hecker, who 12 years 
 before had fought for liberty in the fatherland. Afterwards 
 Colonel Hecker resigned, and organized the Eighty-second reg- 
 iment, and was succeeded in the Twenty-fourth by Geza 
 Mihalotzy, a trained Hungarian officer, who died March, 
 1864, fr m wounds received in the service of his foster father- 
 land. The Twenty-fourth was largely composed of men who 
 had served in the German and Austrian armies, and was made 
 up of excellent fighting material. 
 
 The Thirty-seventh, " the Fremont Rifle regiment," was 
 organized in the summer of 1861, and three of its companies 
 were recruited in Chicago. Few regiments saw more service 
 than the Thirty-seventh and few reaped more honors. Gen. John 
 C. Black entered the army as lieutenant-colonel of this regiment. 
 
 The Thirty-ninth, the " Yates Phalanx, " was distinctively 
 a Chicago regiment, as were also the Forty-second, Fifty-first, 
 Fifty-seventh, Fifty-eighth, "the McClelland brigade," and 
 the Sixty-fifth, "the Scotch regiment." 
 
 118
 
 The Seventy-second was the first, the Eighty-eighth the 
 second, and the One hundred and thirteenth the third Board 
 of Trade regiment. 
 
 The Eighty-second, the second Hecker regiment, was like 
 the Twenty-fourth, largely German. Its losses exceed those 
 of almost any other regiment in the history of the war. The 
 Eighty-ninth was the " Railroad " regiment, the Ninetieth, 
 the " Irish Legion," the One Hundred and Twenty-seventh, 
 mustered in September 6, 1862, was the last of the list of the 
 gallant Chicago regiments during the rebellion. 
 
 Besides these infantry troops, Chicago furnished many re- 
 cruits to the Fourth, Eighth, Ninth, Twelfth, Thirteeth 
 cavalry regiments and to various artillery batteries. From 
 first to last Chicago rendered the federal government every 
 possible assistance in carrying on the war; nor was all the 
 loyalty displayed by the soldiers on the field, trained nurses, 
 Sisters of Mercy and surgeons, all more or less assisted by 
 the city proceeded to the scenes of battle and cared for the 
 wounded and sick left in camp and hospital. Money was 
 liberally subscribed and great work was done by the Board of 
 Trade, Mercantile Association, Y. M. C. A., Young Men's 
 Association and various other societies. 
 
 In September, 1861, Camp Douglas was established on the 
 South Side, as a rendezvous for all volunteers, but it was later 
 used as a northern prison, over 12,000 rebels being confined 
 there at one time. In 1864 Jacob Thompson, formerly a 
 member of Buchanan's cabinet, formed a plot to free all these 
 prisoners of war, and with them as a nucleus, form a union of 
 all southern sympathizers in the north, and so aid the rebels 
 by a northern insurrection. Enough of the plot, however, 
 was discovered to prevent any serious developments. 
 
 In November, 1860, befell the greatest single fatality Chi- 
 cago ever suffered: the wreck of the Lady Elgin. The boat 
 was one of the finest of lake steamers, and on Friday, Novem- 
 ber 7, started from Chicago for Milwaukee with 393 persons 
 
 119
 
 on board, most of them being excursionists returning home to 
 Milwaukee. In the night the Lady Eigin was run down by 
 a lumber schooner and sank within thirty minutes, carrying 
 down with her 297 human beings. This was the inauspicious 
 beginning of a stormy and tumultuous decade, but the end of 
 the 6o's was peaceful enough; the war was well over, new 
 industries had sprung up and times were prosperous. 
 
 "But with mighty destiny 
 Union sure, there ne'er can be. 
 Woe advances rapidly." 
 
 1 2O
 
 The Chicago Fire. 
 
 October jth, 8th and pth, 1871. 
 
 For fourteen weeks scarcely a drop of rain had fallen on 
 the strong young city on the shores of Lake Michigan. Of 
 its 60,000 buildings, 40,000 were frame, and owing to the long 
 drouth, both the buildings and the pine sidewalks were like 
 tinder. Broken by neither hills nor forests, the prevailing west 
 and southwest winds swept over the prairies and burst with 
 full force upon the city. 
 
 The days were growing shorter, and in the early falling 
 evenings the horizon could be seen red-tinted with its reflec- 
 tion of distant prairie fires. In the city itself, fires had been 
 numerous without exciting more than passing comment. In 
 America fires concern only the firemen and insurance compan- 
 ies. The 335,000 Chicagoans were all busy. The end of 
 navigation was near, and grain traffic heavy. Fall trade the 
 distribution of the world's merchandise to 11,000,000 neigh- 
 boring people absorbed the attention of business men. Sud- 
 denly into the feverish activity, the high nervous tension of a 
 fully developed commercial life, entered an enormous fatality, 
 and the heart of the young city stood still. Quiet reigned 
 over the vast field of ruins, and a hundred thousand people, 
 who, care-free on the evening of October 8th, laughed and 
 sang in happy homes, found themselves on the gloomy morn- 
 ing of the pth without house or goods shelterless and home- 
 less on the bleak prairie, struggling with relentless elements, 
 while three hundred of their fellows, dumb in death, bore 
 ghastly evidence to the terrors of the night of fire. 
 
 Nor was the great tragedy which laid Chicago in ashes with- 
 out a fit prelude. On the evening of the 7th of October, there 
 burned in a few hours three hundred houses on the West Side, 
 
 121
 
 2500 people were made homeless; 3000 were thrown out of 
 employment, and property worth $750,000, and but little more 
 than half insured, was destroyed. Twenty-four hours later 
 and the homeless were numbered by tens of thousands, the 
 losses computed by hundreds of millions, and the insurance an 
 unknown quantity. The fire October 7th, \vas the largest Chi- 
 cago had ever known, but the immense conflagration that fol- 
 lowed on the 8th made it seem insignificant. Little is heard 
 about the great battle of Ligny, because it was followed 
 immediately by the greater Waterloo. 
 
 But the story of the first fire is important in explaining the 
 one that followed. South of Adams street and immediately 
 west of the south branch of the Chicago river were numerous 
 lumber and coal yards, planing mills and factories full of 
 highly inflammable material, and here, at n o'clock Satur- 
 day evening, October 7th, fire was discovered in the planing 
 mill of Lull & Holmes (on Canal street, a block from the 
 river). The authorities never learned how it started, but the 
 flames had made great headway before the fire department 
 reached the scene. A strong wind was blowing directly from 
 the south, and the fire spread northward with the greatest 
 rapidity. Later the wind veered to the southwest, and the 
 flames leaped across Canal street and worked toward the 
 river. Within two hours they had swept over an area of 
 more than twenty acres, completely devastating the whole 
 district bounded by Adams street on the north, Clinton on the 
 west, Van Buren on the south and the river on the east. 
 Except for the National elevator, which, though on fire 
 several times, finally escaped destruction, one saw nothing but 
 an empty field before him no trace of ruins or debris, a 
 peculiarity even more noticeable in the fire of the following 
 day. The rapidity of the conflagration even at the beginning 
 was so great that all engines had to be called into play, and it 
 was only by the greatest effort that the fire was checked at 
 the corner of Adams and Clinton streets, and its progress 
 
 122
 
 northward stopped. Had this not been done the flames would 
 have attained sufficient force to have jumped the river there 
 150 feet wide, and the terrible tragedy of October 8th would 
 have been earlier enacted. At one time the woodwork of the 
 viaduct on Adams street caught fire and from it the flames 
 spread northward, threatening the many railroad cars crowded 
 together there and the passenger and freight depots of the 
 Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago and Chicago & Alton 
 roads. The danger, however, was happily averted by 
 tearing down one of the big freight sheds. 
 
 The wonderful spectacle had attracted hundreds of people 
 to the bridges spanning the river, from which one could look 
 down as from a hill upon the awful scene. Little did the 
 spectators dream that only twenty-four hours later they would 
 themselves be dragged to the stage and employed as actors 
 in one of the greatest tragedies of the century. Still there 
 was no lack of uncanny premonition. The roof of a shed 
 from which hundreds of people looked down into the fierce 
 sea of fire, suddenly gave way and all were precipitated to the 
 ground and several wounded. Many of the high sidewalks on 
 Clinton street gave way under the pressure of surging masses 
 and caused serious accidents. A number of men in Sheriff's 
 lumber yard and in adjacent coal yards, were so cornered 
 by the fire, that seizing whatever pieces of lumber 
 they could find, they leaped into the river, preferring 
 the water and its doubtful dangers to the awful 
 certainty of the flames. One human victim fell a prey 
 to this earlier fire, for the next day the charred body of a 
 woman was found on Clinton street on the spot where her 
 home had stood. After a battle of five hours the firemen 
 succeeded in curbing the terrible element. Exhausted, they 
 retired to their berths above the steamers with no suspicion of 
 the awful defeat to follow this Pyrrhus victory. 
 
 The morning of Sunday, October 8th, gave no cause for 
 apprehension of the terrors of the night to come. Bright and 
 
 124
 
 beautiful shone the October sun, and only its clear light 
 bringing the barren burnt area into bold relief, made a weird 
 impression upon the beholder. The supremacy of the ele- 
 ments over human power was boldly shown. In vigorous 
 wise fate had already knocked on the door, and thousands 
 and thousands of spectators, who, on the bright Sunday morn- 
 ing gathered from all parts of the city to witness the scene of 
 devastation, might have heard the knocking on their own 
 doors. But the pleasure resorts in the afternoon were 
 overcrowded, Lincoln Park was full of pedestrians and car- 
 riages. No one dreamed that he was enjoying the last day 
 a doomed city. 
 
 THE CATASTROPHE OF OCTOBER 8th AND pth. 
 
 Closely following the powerful prelude of October 7th, was 
 the gigantic tragedy which forms the topic of this description. 
 It calls to mind the old Greek tragedies, in which the chorus 
 gives expression, not only to public opinion about the 
 acts of the leading personages, but also on especially impor- 
 tant occasions, takes part in the action itself; it differs only 
 in this, that finally all parts of this divided chorus became 
 principal actors relentless fate involving first one division, 
 then another, with steadily increasing effect. The three local- 
 ities in which the action took place form the most natural lines 
 on which to divide the tragedy into acts, the more so as the 
 climaxes of feeling on the part of the people correspond to 
 such division. As long as the fire was confined to the West 
 Side, the South Siders, who viewed it from the bridges and 
 eastern shore of the river, felt more pity for the repeated 
 misfortunes of their neighbors than fear for themselves. The 
 second act began when, about midnight, the fire leaped across 
 the river and attacked its prey on the other side. Now the 
 inhabitants of the South Side are hurled with frightful rapidity 
 
 125
 
 into the whirlpool of action. The battle between fate and 
 heroes, between the destroying element and the saving fire 
 department, fighting step by step the on-marching flames, 
 reaches its climax. Buildings on Harrison street and 
 Wabash avenue are blown up by gunpowder, and the fire is 
 prevented from spreading further south, and by reason of this 
 relative triumph of human ingenuity over the unchained 
 element, the hopes of the sore-tried victims are for a time 
 revived. The third act, the almost complete destruction of 
 the North Side, shares with the other two the characteristic 
 feature that the passive spectators are thrown with fearful 
 velocity into the midst of the action into as wild a flight as 
 the world has ever witnessed. The army is routed help 
 himself who can ! The retreat across the bridges on Chicago 
 avenue, Division street and North avenue, where men, women 
 and children, horses and wagons are precipitated in almost 
 inextricable confusion, into the unburnt part of the Northwest 
 Side, recalls the horrors of the celebrated crossing of the 
 Beresina. 
 
 Even the character of the architecture varied essentially in 
 the three divisions of the city, the flames in the first act meet- 
 ing only frame buildings. Indeed, it has been argued that the 
 rapid development of the conflagration is due almost entirely 
 to this fact, and it may be possible that if at first the fire had 
 had to deal with less inflammable material, its spread might 
 have been slower and its resistance by the firemen success- 
 fully accomplished. But the complete devastation of the busi- 
 ness center proved that a fire of such dimensions as that which 
 finally jumped the river could not be resisted by even the 
 most fire-proof buildings. The business center contained 
 about one and a half square miles, bounded on the north by 
 the main river, on the west by the south branch, on the east 
 by Lake Michigan and on the south by Harrison street, and 
 its buildings were chiefly of stone, iron and brick. , To be 
 sure, there were vulnerable spots the wooden window frames, 
 
 126
 
 which the fire reached in spite of the iron shutters, the wooden 
 cornices, and last, but not least, the tarred gravel roofs. The 
 pine shelves, ornaments, fittings, the large number of newly 
 emptied dry goods boxes, and the tinder-like interior of even 
 the most solid and imposing stone structures, furnished abun- 
 dant food for the conquering flames. The fire originated half 
 a mile southwest of the center of the city, on the West Side, 
 attacked the center, destroyed it and swept over the North 
 Side, suburban in its character, until it reached the lake and 
 bare northern prairies. The burnt district was on an average 
 a mile wide and four miles long. The burnt buildings, placed 
 side by side, with ten feet between each, would form a line 
 150 miles long. According to the estimate of Frederick Law 
 Olmstead, a well-known New York architect, who visited 
 Chicago immediately after the great disaster, one-third of the 
 roof surface and half the cubic contents of all the buildings of 
 the city were destroyed by the fire, in other words, a much 
 greater part of the city was burned than would appear from 
 comparing a map of the burnt district with one of the whole 
 city, because in the business portion buildings stood close 
 together and were from four to six stories high. 
 
 , THE FIRST ACT. 
 
 The Beginning of the Great Fire on the West Side. 
 
 The wind which on Sunday afternoon had been blowing at 
 a moderate rate, grew stronger toward evening, and finally 
 became a terrific gale. At 9 128 in the evening the watch- 
 man in the central fire station in the court house discovered that 
 fire had broken out on the West Side, and located it near the 
 corner of Canalport avenue and Halsted street, and an alarm 
 for that point was at once turned in. As a matter of fact the 
 fire was in the rear of 137 DeKoven street, near the corner of 
 
 127
 
 Jefferson, and the watchman had misjudged it by almost a 
 mile. The neighborhood was principally occupied by Bohe- 
 mians and Irishmen, their houses were of frame and cheaply 
 constructed, and behind many of them were barns and cattle 
 sheds filled with hay. In the O'Leary's stable in which the 
 fire originated, the floor was covered with shavings, which 
 were used instead of straw to bed the cattle. It was at first 
 supposed that Mrs. O'Leary was milking her cow by lantern 
 light, and that the cow kicked over the lantern and set fire to 
 the stable. During the official investigation, however, the 
 O'Leary's swore that they had not been in the stable since dark, 
 but this fact does not prevent people from clinging to the 
 old tradition that Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked over her lantern. 
 Later, the story found a champion in Chicago's well-known 
 and efficient fire marshal, Mat. Benner, who reports as the 
 result of his private investigations, that he believes the cow 
 undoubtedly kicked over a lamp or lantern, but that it 
 was not Mrs. O'Leary's. The Irish family who lived with 
 the O'Learys had been jollifying all that Sunday in honor of 
 a newly arrived son of Erin, and in the evening, needing milk 
 for a punch, it is supposed that one of them volunteered to 
 milk Mrs. O'Leary's cow. He attempted to do so, but the 
 cow rebelled, and kicked over the lantern with dire results. 
 Just what time the fire began it is impossible to definitely state. 
 One engine reached the scene as early as 9:15? having been 
 summoned by a " still " alarm. The preponderance of evi- 
 dence goes to show that the fire had at that time been burn- 
 ing for at least half an hour, but another half hour elapsed before 
 other engines reached the scene, and the flames were then 
 beyond the control of the firemen. At least four of the best 
 engines were misled by the error of the watchman in the 
 court house tower, and this fact, taken in connection with the 
 exhaustion of the men on account of the preceding night's 
 fire and the crippled condition of the apparatus permitted the 
 great catastrophe. Second and third alarms were turned in, 
 
 128
 
 and finally every engine in the city, with the exception of one 
 which remained on the South Side, were summoned by the 
 big alarm bell in the cupola of the court house. By 9:30 the 
 flames crossed Taylor street and attacked several blocks at 
 once, while the howling winds drowned the noise of crackling 
 flames and crashing rafters. Vain were all efforts to check 
 the fire, which, swelled to fearful proportions by the ever 
 increasing fury of the southwest gale, advanced northward in 
 two columns, one between Canal and Clinton streets, the other 
 between Clinton and Jefferson. 
 
 All that could be done was to prevent the fire spreading 
 west to Desplaines street, and in this the firemen were suc- 
 cessful. Meantime the foe marched northeasterly almost 
 unhindered. Those who tried to oppose it, soon felt its furious 
 power. The crew of engine No. 14, having run their machine 
 into a narrow alley, suddenly found themselves almost sur- 
 rounded by flames, and were forced to abandon the steamer 
 and flee for their lives. One block after another fell before 
 the raging element which became stronger every minute. Polk 
 street was reached, then Harrison, and finally Van Buren, the 
 boundary of the burnt district of the day before. Here, had 
 there been only an ordinary gale, the flames would have stop- 
 ped. Behind were 150 acres of fire, in front 20 of ashes, and 
 the flames had not yet strength enough to leap over the four 
 burnt-out blocks. This empty space that is to say, the scene 
 of Saturday's fire saved the West Side from destruction and 
 proved a blessing in disguise. Had it not been checked at 
 this point, the column of fire which progressed to the north- 
 east would have undoubtedly destroyed the whole West Divis- 
 ion north of Adams street, and have stopped only on reaching 
 the extreme city limits. But just as men began to hope that 
 the fire would burn itself out for lack of fuel, the terrible and 
 unexpected happened : the conflagration, checked in its north- 
 ward course, turned to the east, and a thing unheard of in 
 previous Chicago fires the river no longer proved a barrier 
 
 P 
 
 129
 
 and protection. The flames leaped across the stream and 
 carried along by the tempest fell upon the buildings on the 
 opposite bank. The second and principal act had commenced. 
 With rapid strokes, the great alarm bell announced the new and 
 fearful change in the course of the great disaster. 
 
 Again, it is found difficult to accurately time the progress of 
 the flames. Before 10 o'clock showers of sparks and burning 
 brands were swept across the river into the South Side, and 
 some were carried far into the North Division. The keeper 
 of the crib, two miles out in the lake, testified that from 1 1 
 o'clock the sky was full of brands and that he was kept busy 
 preventing the wooden roof of the crib from becoming enkin- 
 dled. It is probable that as the West Side fire extended ten 
 blocks along the river, the flames crossed in several places. 
 At least as early as n :3O, the new building of the Parmelee 
 Omnibus and Stage Co., on Jackson street, corner of Franklin, 
 was ignited and in an instant more was literally engulfed in 
 flame. The group of wretched wooden dwellings known as 
 " Conley's patch," on Fifth avenue, between Adams and Mon- 
 roe streets, took fire at midnight and the gas works followed 
 immediately. The flames attacked the court house at 1 130, 
 and at the same time, State street bridge began to burn. At 
 2 130, Wright's stables on the North Side caught fire, and at 
 3 :2O the water works were in flames. " Conley's patch," the 
 court house and Wright's stables, were in a straight line 
 between the O'Leary shed and the water works, which were 
 about 2^ miles due northeast from the spot where the fire 
 began. Such was the progress of the conflagration during the 
 first 6j/2 hours! On account of eddies in the wind, however, 
 the fire burned not only straight northeast, but also turned 
 back, " ate into the wind " and spread on either side. 
 Brands blown ahead, kept the flames well scattered, and at 
 times there were ten or more different fires. But as each 
 ate forward, all were finally united into one great element of 
 destruction.
 
 THE SECOND ACT. 
 
 K 
 
 The Destruction of the Business Center of Chicago. 
 
 From the thousands who had gone from the South Side to 
 witness the conflagration in the West Division, burst a cry of 
 horror when they saw that the flames had crossed the river 
 and were burning fiercely in their rear, threatening to cut off 
 their retreat by the bridges and imperilling their very homes. 
 Back in a mad rush swept the people, and through them the 
 fire engines, on their way to fight the flames in the new 
 quarter, thunderingly forced their way. The bridge scenes at 
 midnight were pandemonium each narrow way choked up 
 with a struggling, cursing mob, fighting to get beyond the 
 line of fire. 
 
 It was 1 1 130 when the Parmelee building on Jackson street 
 was attacked, and "Conley's patch," two blocks further 
 north, was also set by brands blown from the West Side. 
 About midnight a huge, blazing board was seized by the wind, 
 borne across the river and lodged on the tinder-like roof of a 
 three-story tenement on Market street. All around were low 
 wooden buildings, saloons, hovels and sheds, the dens of the 
 lowest classes in the city. This terror spot, the very home of 
 crime, \vas to be purged by fire. Most of the male inhabit- 
 ants were across the river, and, as the flames laid hold of the 
 wretched buildings, squalid women and children rushed out in 
 droves awe-struck and terrified, they wandered about in 
 hopeless, helpless bewilderment. Most of them finally 
 escaped, but scores perished miserably in the great wilderness 
 of flame. Some of the wretched fugitives were joined by 
 their sisters from Fifth avenue and Jackson street and by the 
 tribes of thieves which infested .the locality; saloons were 
 broken open, and hellish orgies added to the night's hideousness. 
 At this time, between I and 2 in the morning, no one in or 
 near the heart of Chicago slept. On the burning streets
 
 surged throngs of men and crowds of vehicles laden with 
 property all driving toward the lake shore. As soon as the 
 news of the calamity reached the aristocratic mansions on 
 Calumet, Prairie and Indiana avenues, business men hastened 
 down-town. With dire apprehension and heavy hearts they 
 made their way toward stores and offices. An awful sight met 
 their gaze. Like lightning the fire rushed up the wooden 
 sidewalks and moved simultaneously on Market, Franklin and 
 Fifth avenue northward to Madison street, the entrance to 
 the wholesale district. For a moment there was hope that 
 the destroying fiend would move directly toward the lake and 
 so skip a part of the business center. But suddenly the wind 
 veered, and the fate of hundreds of Chicago business palaces 
 and of millions of dollars worth of merchandise was sealed. 
 With a mighty leap the fire reached La Salle street from 
 Fifth avenue, and from Jackson another column of flames 
 came rolling on to make common cause with the advance 
 guard in the great destruction. This was the first fire 
 which had worked its way from the Parmelee building east to 
 the new Grand Pacific, the first of the better class of build- 
 ings to be attacked. The great hotel, stretching a block, from 
 La Salle to Clark street, had just been roofed in and had cost 
 almost $1,000,000. As if in anger at its imposing dimensions 
 the fire swept over it, shone luridly from every window space 
 and in a moment more left it tottering in ruins. Just a block 
 to the south the splendid and massive depot of the Rock 
 Island and Michigan Southern roads was enveloped in flames, 
 which came from a third crossing of the river at Van Buren 
 street. After the destruction of the depot a wing of the fire 
 spread southward, threatening the residence portion of the 
 South Side beyond Harrison street; but the immense stone 
 freight depot on Griswold street offered an impregnable front 
 and for the time at least prevented the further southward march 
 of the conflagration. From the Rock Island depot the flames 
 licked up some shabby buildings, and worked northeasterly 
 
 132
 
 toward the magnificent Bigelow House, then just completed 
 and ready to be thrown open to the public on that very day. 
 It stood on Dearborn street, between Adams and Quincy, and 
 from it the all-consuming element swept grandly over Honore's 
 two blocks and the Academy of Design, filled with noble 
 works of art. 
 
 Now the waves of fire took on greater proportions. 
 Hundreds of buildings far in advance of the on-rushing column 
 were blazing pillars of fire, but the main body of the flames 
 was all-devouring, systematic, relentless everything fell 
 before its wasting power. Huge tongues of flame stretched 
 out for acres, sheets of fire covered entire blocks, enwrap- 
 ping every building in a surging, seething, billowy and tumultu- 
 ous sea. The heat was almost inconceivable. Six-story 
 buildings were attacked, shone with a wild red glow, flames 
 burst forth, and within five minutes the whole structure 
 literally melted to the ground. The fiercest tornado ever 
 known here was blowing, and, as William B. Ogden pointed 
 out, its effect was like the action of a blow-pipe, causing so 
 perfect a combustion that the brilliant blaze consumed even 
 the smoke, and the heat was so intense as to melt iron girders 
 and crumble into dust and ashes most of the building stones 
 used in the city's construction. Despite its awfulness, the 
 scene was one of wild beauty and imposing grandeur. So 
 continuous was the crash of falling buildings that, although 
 the ground trembled as if from an earthquake, the people paid 
 no heed./ 
 
 Hardly 20 minutes after the north-marching column from 
 the Grand Pacific cut its swath through the magnificent 
 buildings on La Salle street, the Chamber of Commerce, 
 corner of La Salle and Washington streets, was reached, and 
 soon fell a crumbling heap of ruins. An attempt was now 
 made to check the progress of the flames by blowing up 
 buildings with gunpowder, and the Merchants' Insurance 
 building was leveled by a tremendous explosion. But all was 
 
 133
 
 in vain the pitiless fire leaped the broad black chasm as if 
 there had been no intervening space, and fell upon the struc- 
 tures beyond. The flames from the Grand Pacific spread 
 eastward as well as to the north, and occupied but a moment 
 in working across the Lombard and Reynold's blocks, and at 
 3 o'clock in the morning attacked the postoffice and custom 
 house on the northwest corner of Dearborn and Monroe 
 streets. This was a supposedly fire-proof edifice, but all the 
 iron shutters had been removed from the first floor, which 
 was filled with wooden furniture and fittings and inflammable 
 mail matter. The blaze soon found the vulnerable points, and 
 the first floor became a sheet of fire. The intense heat melted 
 the iron beams supporting the floors above, and the whole 
 inside of the building, fire-proof vaults, safes and all, fell crash- 
 ing to the basement in common destruction. The building 
 contained the United States depository, in which there were 
 about $2,000,000. Of this amount about $1,500,000 were 
 green-backs and national bank notes, which were destroyed. 
 Of the specie, most was recovered, but almost all was melted 
 and run together in a great mass of gold, silver and copper. 
 The burning of the court house illustrates one peculiarity of 
 the fire; the flames did not progress continuously, but there 
 were constantly advance fires. The court house was a sub- 
 stantial structure in the middle of the square bounded by 
 Washington, La Salle, Randolph and Clark streets. The 
 wooden cupola took fire as early as midnight, but watchmen 
 stationed there repeatedly extinguished the blaze. Finally at 
 1 130 o'clock the heat grew so intense and the flames laid such 
 firm hold upon the wooden roof and cupola that the watchmen 
 were obliged to abandon the building and none too soon, 
 for both were severely burned before they made their escape. 
 As they went down the stairs they set in motion the machin- 
 ery that rang the alarm bell, which then, without human aid, 
 continued to peal forth its terrible warnings for half an hour. 
 Finally at 2 105 it fell, carrying down with it the iron stairs and 
 
 134
 
 burning rafters of the cupola. In the court house were 
 archives, deeds, abstracts, titles to all buildings and lots, and 
 other priceless papers, but all were destroyed. On the lower 
 floor were the county prisoners, 150 or more, and when the 
 building took fire all but the murderers were set free. With a 
 wild yell the wretches, many of them half-naked, rushed out 
 of the building, attacked a passing dray laden with ready 
 made clothing and disappeared. Officers handcuffed those 
 prisoners charged with murder and led them out of the 
 building, which was already glowing like a furnace. As 
 many as twelve different fires were now raging at once. 
 Skirmishing lines swept forward, far in advance of the main 
 columns, which continued more slowly their resistless march, 
 checked now and then by a sterner battle waged around 
 some great building, as the larger hotels, postoffice and court 
 house. Since midnight the air had been hot with the breath 
 of the fire demon, which shriveled and scorched all things. 
 Cinders, ashes, coals and brands were falling in showers. The 
 Sherman House on Clark and Randolph streets, opposite the 
 court house, as yet withstood the attack. On its immense 
 flat roof hundreds had gathered, who with tireless energy 
 extinguished the fire brands which rained down thick and fast. 
 But all endeavors were in vain. Suddenly out of the hun- 
 dreds of windows burst the fiery tongues, and so rapid was 
 the work of destruction that those in the building escaped only 
 with the greatest difficulty. 
 
 It was 4 o'clock in the morning when this great hotel 
 fell in ruins. The same fate overtook all the other leading . 
 caravansaries of the city. At 3 o'clock the Matteson House, 
 corner of Dearborn and Randolph streets, was destroyed, 
 at 3 130 the Tremont House went up in smoke, and at 4 the 
 Briggs House followed. The course of the fire east from the 
 court house took in Hopley's Opera House (on the site of the 
 present Grand Opera House) the Republican office and the 
 big newspaper buildings on Dearborn street, those of the 
 
 135
 
 Post, Times, Mail, Staats-Zeitung and Evening Journal and 
 scores of other buildings, many of them models of architectural 
 beauty. Then Crosby's magnificent Opera House fell. It 
 had just been renovated, and was to have been opened Mon- 
 day night by the Thomas Orchestra. From it the flames 
 spread to the St. James, corner of State and Washington 
 streets, the last of the big hotels to crash a heap of ruins to 
 the earth. Opposite the St. James were the First National 
 Bank building, which resisted the flames until 5 o'clock in the 
 morning, and the dry goods palace of Field & Leiter, which 
 lasted but a half hour longer. These State street build- 
 ings were all north of Madison, and at 5 o'clock the fire south 
 of Madison had not crossed even Dearborn street. The Trib- 
 une office, though threatened several times, had thus far 
 escaped, as had McVicker's theatre and the Palmer House. 
 As late as 6:30 in the morning it seemed that a part of Chi- 
 cago that lying between Madison and Harrison streets, 
 east of Dearborn was to be saved, and exhausted humanity 
 began to seek food and rest. But the end was not yet. About 
 7 o'clock a sudden gust of the still raging tempest swept with 
 fiercer violence through Dearborn street, near Jackson. The 
 rioting elements, renewing the attack with increased fury, 
 were to win a complete victory. Live coals were caught up 
 from the ruins of the Bigelow House and hurled against the 
 wooden buildings across the street, the triumphant flames swept 
 once more-to the north and east, and the last chance to bring 
 the terrible devastation to a halt had passed unimproved. All 
 that had been left untouched from Dearborn street to the lake 
 shore was doomed to destruction. McVicker's theatre fell, 
 the flames covered the Palmer House on Quincy and State 
 streets, and finally the new Tribune building yielded to des- 
 perate assaults. This structure was of Joliet marble and of 
 the most massive style of architecture, and had been consid- 
 ered really fire-proof. Up to 8 o'clock the men employed 
 to fight the flames stood at their posts, but then of a sudden 
 
 136
 
 the fire burst out on all sides, seeming to come from the interior 
 of the building itself, and so rapidly did the blaze spread that 
 the watchmen barely escaped. 
 
 As the fury of the hurricane died down, the fire progressed 
 to the south and southwest, along Wabash and Michigan ave- 
 nues, through beautiful stores and magnificent dwellings, melt- 
 ing its way through the thickest masonry, right into the teeth 
 of the wind. It seemed impossible to stop it. Past Jackson, 
 Van Buren and Congress streets it swept, threatening to eat 
 its way to the very limits of the city. No engines were at 
 hand, and the only thing to do was to blow up the buildings 
 standing in the path of the flames. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan 
 personally superintended this work, which was begun at Har- 
 rison street. Several buildings were blown up and others were 
 pulled and chopped down and the southward march of the fire 
 finally checked. The substantially built Wabash avenue 
 Methodist church also helped in the salvation of the southern 
 end of town and its heavy, honest walls proved the turning 
 point in the battle. Terrace Row, a palatial block of residences 
 on Michigan avenue, between Congress and Van Buren streets, 
 was the last group of buildings burned in the south end of the 
 city. When its last wall fell about noon, there remained in the 
 South Division north of it, only the Lind block at the east end 
 of Randolph street bridge and the Illinois Central elevator, 
 just north of the once splendid depot of the company. A large 
 share of the costly equipments of the beautiful Terrace Row 
 homes were transferred to safety further out on the South 
 Side. The lake front was filled with men, women and child- 
 ren and property of every description. Significant of the 
 stern mood of the people on that memorable Monday morning 
 is the fact that the thunder of the powder explosions infused 
 them with new courage. 
 
 Perhaps some parts of the business center might have been 
 saved notably, the portion of the city east of Dearborn street 
 and south of Madison had not the water works on the North 
 
 137
 
 Side been destroyed shortly after 3 o'clock in the morning. 
 The roof of the massive and otherwise thoroughly fire-proof 
 water works building was a temporary affair, constructed 
 of highly inflammable material which readily ignited from the 
 cinders and burning brands which fell on it, after being carried 
 by the wind for miles through the air. Soon the roof crashed 
 in, burying in a blazing heap of debris the colossal steam 
 pumps, and the water supply in the hydrants was soon 
 exhausted. To add to the terror of the situation, the gas supply 
 also gave out, the gas works on the South Side on Market 
 street, and later, those on the North Side being burned down. 
 From this time the fate of the still unburned portion of the 
 business center and of all the North Side was sealed. The 
 loss of the water works rendered useless all further resistance to 
 the flames. 
 
 Only at some of the bridges, notably at Lake, Randolph 
 and Madison streets, where the engines could pump water 
 directly from the river, was the great battle still waged. It 
 was no longer a question of saving certain South Side build- 
 ings, but the salvation of the whole West Side, threatened by 
 the on-rolling flames, was at stake. Had the fire succeeded 
 in re-crossing the river by means of the bridges leading into 
 the West Division, that whole quarter of the city, with its 
 depots, factories and numerous dwellings, reaching to the 
 northern city limits, would have been doomed. Thousands of 
 spectators witnessed the struggle with intense excitement and 
 alarm. The wasting tongues of flame were already licking 
 up two great warehouses on Market street, near Lake street, 
 and very near the bridge. Out of doors and windows the 
 blaze was already shooting, and the heat was as intense as in 
 a furnace. The crowd on the west bank of the river felt the 
 terrible glow and drew back, but the firemen did not stir. 
 Although but forty feet from the fiery sea, they held their 
 ground and poured streams of water upon the wooden bridge 
 and the approach until both were fairly flooded. Finally, just 
 
 138
 
 as the sun appeared, blood-red and rayless, over the gray 
 waters of the lake and looked down upon the scene of devasta- 
 tion as with the single eye of a demon, the heroic efforts of 
 the firemen were crowned with success, the march of the flames 
 checked, the West Side saved. At Madison street there was 
 another victory over the fire. Many thought to see the flames 
 cross the river at this point, and the situation for a time was 
 remarkably critical. No fire engine was at hand, but before 
 the flames reached the bridge, hose was attached to the 
 immense steam pump of, Norton's Oriental Mills (just across 
 the river on Madison street) and for hours two powerful 
 streams of water were thrown upon the exposed property, 
 which was thus effectually protected./ 
 
 When the court house burned, the fire-proof vaults proved 
 of little value, and all the official records, deeds and abstracts 
 were destroyed. This loss would have resulted in endless 
 confusion and difficulty in establishing and re-establishing 
 titles to property within the limits of Cook county had not 
 some well-kept private records been preserved. These were 
 afterwards substituted for the official records, and adequate 
 laws were passed to that effect. The abstract firm of 
 Shortall & Hoard saved most of their books and records, and 
 other abstract firms saved enough to make a complete file. 
 John G. Shortall was personally responsible for saving the 
 books of his firm, which were to be of such inestimable value, 
 not to himself so much as to every property owner of 
 Chicago. When he.reached his office in the Larmon block, 
 near the court house, it was past midnight, and burning 
 brands were falling like hail upon the roof, windows and 
 awnings of the building. Shortall tore down the awnings, 
 several of which were already in flames, and did what he 
 could to fight the fire, but by i o'clock it was apparent that 
 the building was doomed. In his anxiety to save his records 
 Shortall approached no less than fifteen expressmen, offering 
 large sums to anyone who would carry the precious books to 
 
 139
 
 a place of safety. Finally, when the court house began to 
 burn, the immediate procuring of a wagon became absolutely 
 necessary, and a friend of Shortall pressed an expressman into 
 service at the point of a revolver. But few of the books 
 would go into the wagon and Shortall was in despair, when 
 help finally appeared in the shape of a heavy two-horse dray, 
 sent by Joseph Stockton. Into it the books were piled, and 
 with the flames roaring all around were successfully taken to 
 Shortall's house, 852 Prairie avenue. 
 
 The fire had now destroyed all the bridges between the 
 North and South Sides, the last to go, being the Rush street 
 bridge, which fell at 4:30 in the morning. The loss of this 
 last bridge and the fact that smoke and steam prevented the 
 use of the La Salle street tunnel, cut off all avenue of escape 
 from the down-town district to the North Side, while the 
 flames, rapidly progressing along Harrison street, checked 
 all retreat to the south. This left the lake front as the 
 only place of refuge for the thousands who were in the 
 business center, and the burning of the great Illinois Central 
 passenger station, at the foot of Lake street, and of the vari- 
 ous buildings along Michigan avenue, literally encompassed 
 the unfortunates between walls of fire on three sides while the 
 cold waters of the lake lay on the other. Huddled together 
 on this narrow strip of land the poor wretches watched the 
 gorgeous spectacle of the burning city, with a sensation of 
 weary despair and a grim acceptance of their crushing fate. 
 Since the burning of Field & Leiter's magnificent store, second 
 only in size and value of contents to one dry goods house in 
 the land, this changed mood had come over the people. A 
 sense of their utter helplessness seemed to weigh upon them. 
 The heroes of a few hours before became indifferent, and 
 thieves robbed and pillaged openly and recklessly. Thous- 
 ands of valuable books were lugged away from the great 
 book concerns on State street, only to be later thrown away 
 or burned up. At Field & Leiter's the most elaborate 
 
 140
 
 preparations for defense had been made. The whole front of 
 the building was covered with wet blankets, and the roof filled 
 with people ready to extinguish the falling embers and fire- 
 brands. The flames were fought back to the last possible 
 moment, but when their victory did come, it was instanta- 
 neous. From all the numerous windows of the palatial build- 
 ing, the blaze shot forth its fire tongues simultaneously, the 
 white marble fronts were illuminated with a terrible glow, and 
 in a moment more the enormous structure fell in ruins, crushed, 
 as a toy house would tumble under the hands of a giant. 
 
 STREET SCENES DURING THE FIRE. 
 
 / 
 
 The South Side streets during the fire were a panorama of 
 remarkable spectacles. As in a shipwreck, every one showed 
 himself in his true colors. Selfishness in all its phases and 
 stages was seen. It was represented by the cowardly egotist 
 who thoughtful only of his own salvation was ready to trample 
 on every one and everything in his way, and by the daring 
 robber who plundered large stores and carried away valuable 
 merchandise by the car load. But there were also examples of 
 the most noble self-sacrifice and touching readiness to assist 
 the helpless and unfortunate. The development of the street 
 scenes runs parallel with the development of the fire. The 
 effects of the former increase with that of the latter. First, 
 the streets seemed only very lively. The hundreds of fire 
 victims who, with a portion of their hastily saved property, were 
 looking for a place of safety, resembled a river which strug- 
 gles to leap from the narrow confines of its banks into the 
 broad ocean. But after the fire had seized the very heart of 
 the city and the destruction proceeded with such terrible 
 rapidity, the mass of people running to save their lives, swelled 
 to a wild torrent over which nobody could exercise control. As 
 soon as it became evident that the saving of the business cen- 
 ter was out of the question, uncanny figures mingled with 
 
 142
 
 the multitude and began their work. First, they broke into 
 stores under the pretext of assisting in saving goods, though 
 most merchants preferred seeing their property burn to having 
 it so securely saved that they would never see it again. 
 Finally the thieves and robbers threw off every mask and used 
 open violence. The police, of whom 150 out of a force of 
 450 were themselves burned out, left the streets and at most 
 watched only the millions of dollars worth of property which 
 was piled up in Dearborn Park, within the high fences of the 
 base-ball club or in Lake Front Park, where it was finally over- 
 taken by the flames. 
 
 Lake street, with its dry goods and jewelry stores, was a 
 choice field for the operation of the robbers, who made com- 
 mon cause with the expressmen and operated on a wholesale 
 plan. In aiding the thieves the expressmen reduced the number 
 of vehicles at the service of honest merchants, many of whom, 
 seeing their helplessness between robbers and flames, threw 
 open their doors and invited all in to help themselves to what- 
 soever they fancied. The coolness of the rascals stood them 
 in good stead, and they chose only what was of cash value. 
 Whole car loads of precious rugs, shawls, silks and laces were 
 carried away, and but seldom recovered, though one merchant 
 got track of some of his property in St. Louis. Owners of wag- 
 ons, with few exceptions, were grossly exorbitant in their 
 charges for even the slightest service, and invariably 
 demanded cash in advance. In numerous cases when a man had 
 loaded a wagon with his most valuable property some armed 
 villain calmly mounted the seat and drove of with it. Other 
 richly laden wagons were looted by the mobs through 
 which they passed. 
 
 The pillaging went on in all the stores of the city, and when 
 a man succeeded in getting some of his most valuable posses- 
 sions from his burning house or store he was not infrequently 
 relieved of them directly afterwards at the point of a revolver. 
 Jewels were torn from the fingers and necks of women and 
 
 H3
 
 children. In front of Shay's magnificent store a thief drove 
 up, and in spite of the remonstrances of the employes, pro- 
 ceeded to load up his wagon with valuable silks and laces. 
 When the wagon was finally loaded some one threatened to 
 shoot the robber if he attempted to take his plunder away, 
 but he was not so easily cowed, and coolly said "shoot and 
 be damned," whereupon the man put his pistol in his pocket 
 and the thief drove away with his booty. East of Shay's 
 store immense quantities of all kinds of fancy goods were 
 scattered over the streets, and over them swept the streams of 
 people and wagons until the fire burnt up what had already 
 been crushed and ruined. 
 
 Toward morning the streets not yet reached by the fire were 
 the scene of a veritable pandemonium. Barrels of whisky, bot- 
 tled liquors of all kinds, partly given away by dealers who could 
 not save them and in part stolen, inflamed the most beastly 
 passions and aroused the lower classes to deeds of violence. 
 As the fire progressed men seemed to be possessed with the 
 idea that they needed the stimulation of liquor, and drank 
 heavily at the great saloons and wholesale houses, where 
 whisky was given so freely. This was true of women as 
 well as men, and hundreds drank then who never had before. 
 Not nearly all were drunk, but the drunken phase was terri- 
 bly prominent. Among the better classes, the stimulants pro- 
 duced that humor of despair which in so momentous a tragedy 
 appears as the ghastly caricature of true mirth. 
 
 An eye witness gives the following description of scenes on 
 the South Side: 
 
 For miles around was a circle of red light. The brute creation was crazed. Horses 
 maddened by heat and noise, irritated by falling sparks, neighed and screamed with 
 affright and anger, roared, kicked and bit each other or stood with drooping tails and 
 rigid legs, ears laid back and eyes wild with amazement, shivering as if with cold. Dogs 
 ran hither and thither, howling dismally. Great brown rats, with bead-like eyes, were 
 ferreted out from under the sidewalks by the flames and skurried along the streets, 
 kicked at, trampled upon, hunted down. Flocks of beautiful pigeons, so plentiful in the 
 city, wheeled up aimlessly, circled blindly, and fell into the raging fire beneath. 
 
 The people were mad. They crowded upon frail coigns of vantage, on high side- 
 walks, which fell beneath their weight and hurled them bruised and bleeding in the dust. 
 They fell over broken furniture and were trampled under foot. Seized with wild panic 
 
 I 44
 
 they surged together, backwards and forward-, m the narrow streets, cursing, threatning, 
 imploring, fighting to get free. Liquor flowed like water, for saloons were broken 
 open and despoiled, and men were to be seen on all sides frenzied with drink. Fourth 
 and Pacific avenues emptied their denizens into the throng. Ill-omen and obscure birds 
 of night were they, villainous, debauched, pinched with misery they flitted through the 
 crowd, ragged, dirty, unkempt negroes with stolid faces, and white men who battened 
 on the wages of shame they glided among the mass like hyenas in search of prey. 
 They smashed windows with their naked hands, regardless of the wounds inflicted, and 
 with bloody fingers rifled till and shelf and cellars, fighting viciously for the spoils of 
 the forage. Women, hollow-eyed and brazen faced, with filthy drapery tied over them, 
 their clothes in tatters and their feet in trodden-over slippers, moved here and there, 
 scolding, stealing, fighting, laughing at the beautiful and splendid crash of walls and the 
 falling roofs. On Lake street bands of thieves broke into stores and threw whole bales 
 of goods to their confederates, who fought openly for the plunder. * * * * 
 
 When I reached Wabash avenue I found that immense street filled with objects of 
 every possible description, and crowded with masses of fugitives. All those who had 
 been driven from their homes by the advancing flames, had taken with them as much of 
 their personal property as they could stagger along with, and as their onward march was 
 getting extremely difficult for the bridge was even more jammed than the streets 
 many of the panic-striken mob threw their property away. Streets and sidewalks 
 presented a remarkable scene of broken mirrors, torn paintings, ruined books and 
 wrecked pianos. Added to this was the fact that the merchandise dragged from the 
 stores had taken fire while the drunken rabble, having broken into a liquor store, 
 brandished champagne bottles and executed a fire can-can. One drunken man chose a 
 piano for his pulpit, and addressed the mob. The fire, he argued, was the friend of the 
 poor. He wanted each to take the best liquor he could find, and in this strain continued 
 until some one as maudlin as himself brought him down with a well- aimed bottle of whisky. 
 
 In this chaos hundreds of lost children rushed around crying and screaming for their 
 parents. I noticed a little golden haired girl, whose long, loosely hanging locks caught 
 fire. The child shrieked and ran past me, when someone threw upon her head a glass of 
 brandy, which instantly caught fire and enveloped the little one in a blue flame. It was 
 impossible for me to work my way to Rush street bridge, and I returned to Randolph 
 street bridge, which I finally crossed in safety. 
 
 As the fire pressed on toward the lake the more difficult 
 progress on the unburnt streets became, and the more terrible 
 the rush for the lake shore. At 2 o'clock in the morning, 
 people on State street south of Van Buren felt perfectly safe, 
 but a few hours later this sense of security had so entirely van- 
 ished that from Harrison street, the final limit of the fire, 
 to Twelfth street, everyone abandoned his house and 
 rushed furiously toward the lake shore there to remain 
 exposed to the choking smoke and bitter wind all that long 
 Monday, although as a matter of fact none of their houses 
 had been burned/ 
 
 Loss of human life added sorrow to the terrible scenes of 
 the fire. Just how many of the wretched creatures who lived 
 in the top stories of business blocks were surprised by the 
 
 10 
 
 M5
 
 flames and burned to death in the midst of their % Jd orgies 
 will never be known. Even human bones do not resist the 
 fierce intensity of a fire which reduces stone itself to ashes. 
 In one of the four-story windows of Speed's block on Dear- 
 born street a man, evidently just aroused from bed, was seen 
 to appear after the upper and lower parts of the building were 
 on fire. The stairways were already in flames and he was 60 
 feet from the ground. No ladder was at hand. The suffo- 
 cating smoke grew denser momentarily some desperate 
 chance must be tried. Suddenly the man left the window. 
 Soon he re-appears and mechanically throws down a mattress 
 then some bedding. Once more he looks down the fright- 
 ful depth. For a moment he halts undecided, then disappears 
 for an instant. But there is no escape and in despair he dares 
 all. Climbing out of the window he swings by his hands from 
 the sill. The gleam of the flames plays on his naked limbs. 
 Now he lets go and the next second catches the projecting cap 
 of the third story window, another fall and he clings to the 
 sill. The multitude below watching breathlessly this struggle 
 for life and death, breaks out in a cry of joy. The man enters 
 the window but can evidently find no means of escape from 
 within for he returns again and repeats his daring feat twice 
 so successful. Again he succeeds and now he hangs on the 
 window sill but 30 feet from the street. Below him the wall 
 is smoothness itself. There is nothing to cling to and he tries 
 to swing to the roof of a low structure adjoining, but it is too 
 far away. The people below call to him to make the attempt 
 once more. He does so, but it is impossible for him to swing 
 himself so far. He tries it repeatedly, holding on with one 
 hand and swings like a pendulum. Motionless finally, he hangs 
 there, then slowly turns his head and looks below. The flames 
 are hot around him and he at last releases his hold. A second 
 later and he crashes through the flimsy sidewalk and lies in 
 the basement a corpse. The fall has broken his neck. The 
 mad flames rush onward and in the fierce heat the crowd 
 
 146
 
 becomes panic stricken and flees. Such is the fate of one of 
 the scores of victims to the fire. 
 
 " On to the lake ! " was the cry in the business center. 
 Whatever might become of the marble and iron blocks, Dear- 
 born and Lake Front parks were generally believed to be 
 secure from all danger of fire. During the whole night the most 
 valuable merchandise from various stores was piled up there 
 and left in the custody of reliable persons. No one thought it 
 would burn at the very edge of the lake. Following the 
 merchandise came thousands of people seeking refuge from 
 the blazing streets. But the fire pursued them even here, 
 and the property piled up in the parks became a prey of the 
 flames. The base-ball pavilion in which the tired throng had 
 rested, was attacked and flared up like paper the people 
 were finally driven into the stormy waters of the lake itself, 
 and there at last found safety. :; 4Awful as was their position 
 it was far more desirable than that of thousands of North 
 Siders who were hemmed in on the narrow strip of beach 
 north of the river, formerly notorious under the name of the 
 " Sands." Even more dangerous was the position of those 
 who shortly after midnight hastened to the steamers, barges, 
 and schooners at the mouth of the river. In this crowd were 
 many of Chicago's best citizens and the strangers who had been 
 driven from the burning hotels. All believed the ships, and 
 especially the steamers, perfectly safe, and no one dreamed 
 that this place of refuge would later prove to be the most 
 dangerous that could have been chosen. 
 
 THIRD ACT. 
 
 The Burning: of the North Side. 
 
 After the citadel of a fortress is taken, .the conquering army 
 has little trouble with the outworks, whose garrison must 
 choose between immediate surrender and hasty retreat. 
 After the strongholds on the South Side had been devastated 
 
 148
 
 the North Side, with its numerous light frame houses, could 
 offer no resistance to the victorious flames. So much the less 
 so as the water works, although a mile from the river, were 
 among the first buildings on the North Side to be attacked by 
 the fire. Their destruction rendered futile all efforts of the 
 firemen to check the great onward rush of the flames. Only 
 in the immediate vicinity of the north branch of the river, 
 where it saved some coal yards near the Indiana street 
 bridge, was the fire department at all successful. 
 
 The fact that the North Side began to burn in several 
 quarters at once all being some distance from the main fire 
 gave rise to the suspicion that incendiaries had been at work. 
 This suspicion proved entirely groundless. The origin of these 
 separate fires was due merely to the firebrands scattered for 
 miles by the furious gale. The water works began to burn 
 about 3 o'clock in the morning, while the two great steam 
 pumps were in full operation. Although the roof fell in on 
 them, they were comparatively little damaged, and were 
 quickly repaired, the larger pump being put in operation 
 eight days after the fire. It was due to the heroic efforts of 
 engineer M. Trautmann and his firemen, McKant and Prinsing, 
 that an explosion of the boilers and the consequent ruin of all 
 the machinery, was avoided. As soon as the building caught 
 fire Trautmann realized the great danger from an explosion, 
 and resolved to prevent it at all hazards. The explosion 
 would be inevitable if the steam could not be let out of the 
 boilers. The safety valves were opened and, although the 
 building was on fire in a dozen places, Trautmann stood 
 before his engines with his hand on the regulator firm as a 
 rock. Then the ropes by which the safety valve levers were 
 suspended, burned off, and allowed the valves to close, but 
 the men forced them open again. The noise of the hissing 
 steam was drowned out by the crackling of the flames and 
 the howling of the gale. Those outside called to the engineer 
 to save himself before it was too late, but the officer stood 
 
 149
 
 true to his post. The clothes of one of the firemen began to 
 burn while he was assisting his chief, but he did not flinch. 
 Cinders and fire-brands fell around them like hail, but the 
 men did not desert their engines until enough steam had 
 escaped to save the boilers, engines and machinery from total 
 destruction. Then, half suffocated, they rushed for the open 
 air and barely escaped. 
 
 A terrible panic seized the North Siders when they discov- 
 ered that both gas and water supply had been destroyed. 
 There was no longer a thought of resistance all fled. 
 While the history of the fire on the South Side is divisible 
 into different stages as first one massive building and then 
 another was conquered, no similar division can be made in 
 considering the devastation of the North Side. The fire flew 
 on the wings of the wind, and while the main column was 
 still busy at Kinzie street, its advance had already been 
 mapped out by various burning buildings over a mile further 
 north. So powerful and solid was the onward rushing mass 
 of flames that it was impossible for spectators to remain 
 for even an instant in any spot near the scene of action. The 
 hot, stifling air, filled with cinders and burning brands, 
 warned all to flee. Some wretches who had got drunk in 
 North Water street dives were surprised by the flames, and 
 being unable to run away fell an easy prey to the destroying 
 demon. Because all fled, and no one had time to observe, 
 there is a lack of reliable information concerning the progress 
 of the fire. Uhlich's block, on North Clark street, and the big 
 breweries near the lake were the only buildings to make 
 much resistance to the flames. As on the South Side men 
 deluded themselves into believing that the fire would some- 
 where suddenly halt, and working eastward to the lake, die 
 out. They could not realize the terrible proportions and 
 relentless fury of their foe. Over half the total surface of the 
 North Side was swept by the flames, and 10,000 buildings 
 were destroyed. The escape of the residence of Mahlon D.
 
 Ogden, standing as it did in the very path of the flames, was 
 remarkable. The house was isolated,, occupying the center 
 of a square, and was more or less protected by trees. In ad- 
 dition, the roof and side walls were covered with quilts, 
 blankets and carpets soaked with water from private cisterns 
 on the grounds. A large number of people assisted in right- 
 ing the flames, which finally swept on, leaving the house stand- 
 ing, a lone monument to dogged persistence and hard work. 
 
 Another but unsuccessful fight was made to save Unity 
 church on Dearborn avenue, facing Washington Park. It was 
 a massive and expensive structure and on account of its excel- 
 lent construction and comparative isolation, the neighbors near 
 and far believed it perfectly safe and an excellent repository for 
 their valuables. Robert Collyer, the famous pastor, himself 
 believed for a time that it would be saved. Together with a 
 number of the younger members of his congregation he went 
 to work to remove the wooden sidewalks and everything 
 inflammable from the immediate vicinity of the building. Being 
 without tools, they had to rely on their hands. From the cis- 
 tern of the neighboring house of Mahlon D. Ogden water 
 was generously furnished to wet down the frame work around 
 the doors and windows. A part of his books Dr. Collyer 
 removed from his studio in the church to the middle of the 
 park. The wisdom of this action was soon seen, for within a 
 few moments the roof of the church caught fire in a dozen 
 places and began to burn fiercely. Collyer saw that all was 
 lost and immediately told those about the church to flee, but he 
 himself entered the doomed building once more and brought 
 out the church bible. 
 
 The most characteristic feature of this third act of the great 
 catastrophe was, as mentioned before, not the resistance to but 
 the flight from the flames. As a rule, this flight was merely 
 a series of retreats, the people falling back to positions of 
 fancied security only to be driven further by the terrible blaze. 
 Men seemed unable to grasp the fearful power of the
 
 fire. Hardly arrived at a supposedly secure point the victims 
 were driven away again by the persecuting flames. Much of 
 the property saved from the first attack of the enemy was lost 
 or destroyed in these repeated retreats before the fire demon, 
 while the price for cartage rapidly increased, $50 to $100 a 
 load being common charges. 
 
 The loss of human life was particularly large on such 
 streets as were suddenly and unexpectedly attacked by the fire, 
 as Chicago avenue and Erie street. The number of victims 
 perishing near the Chicago avenue bridge has never been 
 determined. Early Monday morning there surged across this 
 bridge an indescribable human chaos. Vehicles of all kinds 
 and sizes, men and women of all ages and conditions, struggled 
 across the narrow passage into the land of safety. Finally 
 the bridge itself caught fire, cutting off the one means of 
 escape still left to the poor creatures hemmed in by the advanc- 
 ing walls of fire. Not a few preferred death in the river to 
 perishing in the flames and others were pushed into the water. 
 Some tried to save themselves by running to Bremen, Town- 
 send and Wesson streets only to learn that these streets had 
 no outlet and death was inevitable. Many of those who 
 remained near the burning bridge were saved by boats, which 
 were found and bravely manned in spite of the deadly peril of 
 approaching the east bank of the river. After the destruction 
 of this bridge, there remained only those at Division street and 
 North avenue to furnish transit to the fugitives hastening to 
 the West Side. From Monday morning till late Tuesday a 
 constant stream of people poured across the river. 
 
 Many North Siders, especially those in the northeastern 
 part of the division, fled to Lincoln Park, where not less than 
 10,000 persons camped upon the graves of the old city ceme- 
 tery, then incorporated as a part of Lincoln Park. But even 
 in this place of eternal rest there was no repose for the 
 unhappy fugitives. The fire suddenly took a northeasterly 
 turn, and feeding on the masses of piled up household goods 
 
 152
 
 ate its way through the cemetery, and the refugees were once 
 more compelled to flee this time to the prairies to the north 
 or wade far out in the rough and chilly waters of the lake. 
 In the cemetery all gradually grew still again, but it was the 
 quietness of desolation. The ruined dead-house, the crosses 
 and tombstones, blackened, burned and cracked by the heat 
 even the bark burned off the trees, which stretched out their 
 leafless branches as if in despair. It seemed as if a demon 
 had vented his rage on the holy spot. 
 
 Those who fled to the prairies, as the flames rushed for- 
 ward all the long Monday, suffered terribly. Without protec- 
 tion from the bitter wind, without food, or even water, there 
 cowered on the bare ground, tired men, exhausted women, 
 children, invalids even all hungry, and only a few well 
 clothed. The clouds, colored blood-red by the fires still 
 fiercely blazing in various parts of the burnt district, seemed 
 to indicate that the West Side had been attacked, and thus 
 an added horror was lent a situation already almost unendur- 
 able. About midnight the heavens finally opened their tardy 
 flood gates, and it rained. Drenched, shivering and cold 
 the poor sufferers hailed the shower with unspeakable joy 
 and gratitude. It meant that the fire must end. Unfortun- 
 ately, however, the fearful exposure to the fury of the elements 
 on the bleak prairies told on many a vigorous constitution, and 
 diseases later developed were in countless cases traced back 
 to the nights of the great fire. The crowd was motley. 
 Every class, every age and condition was represented the 
 aged, the weak, the sick, the young and helpless all were 
 there. Several persons died from exposure during the night, 
 and numerous births occurred. In short, life with its endless 
 change went on, reckless of time or place, or circumstance. 
 
 ON THE SANDS." 
 
 Severe as were the sufferings of those on the prairies, they 
 were almost insignificant as compared with the hardships and 
 
 153
 
 anguish endured at the same time by the hundreds on the 
 lake shore, between the mouth of the river and Erie street. 
 When the fire first appeared on the North Side, it was 
 principally the western part of the division that suffered while 
 that east of Dearborn street remained unscathed for some 
 time. This was the aristocratic residence quarter. The 
 houses for the most part were stately mansions, isolated in 
 fine, large grounds. Here lived, among others, W. B. Ogden, 
 Chicago's first mayor, Julian Rumsey, also an early mayor, 
 I. N. Arnold, Perry H. Smith, and other old settlers. Their 
 houses were furnished with elegance, and contained remark- 
 ably fine libraries, costly paintings and priceless art treasures. 
 But all this luxury and magnificence no more escaped the fury 
 of the flames tfian the modest homes on Michigan and Illinois 
 streets. When the fire, after devouring Lill's great brewery, 
 finally turned its attention toward this still unburnt portion of 
 the North Division, the flames rushed in from the north by 
 way of the brewery and from the south over Rush street 
 bridge. All avenues of escape, except those leading to the 
 lake shore, were shut off by walls of fire. The shore in this 
 neighborhood, stretching three quarters of a mile from the 
 government pier to the pier at Lill's brewery, was the notori- 
 ous " Sands," famous, when John Wentworth was mayor, as 
 the plague spot of the city. Now it was covered with thous- 
 ands of men, women, children and domestic animals of all 
 kinds. Trunks and household furniture stood in piles round 
 about, and there were vehicles of every description, from 
 wheelbarrows to great four-horse trucks, each laden with 
 property rescued, for the time at least, from the flames. Here 
 it was that the two extremes met: wealth and poverty had 
 dwelt side by side in the quarter of the city that had emptied 
 itself upon this stretch of sandy waste. The aristocrat was 
 elbowed by the pauper, the high-born dame wept with the 
 workingwoman, and innocent girlhood was ogled and insulted 
 by foulest vice. The air was full of smoke, cinders and 
 
 154
 
 brands and the red-hot sand was blown about by the furious 
 gale until breathing became almost an impossibility. About 
 daylight the household goods began to burn, and the smoke 
 grew so dense that man and beast were alike compelled to 
 enter the water to avoid suffocation. Hundreds clung to the 
 horses and wagons standing far out from shore, and others, 
 with their backs to the storm, stood unsupported in the waves. 
 One woman, the wife of a well-known musician, was separ- 
 ated from her busband and compelled to wade out, breast 
 deep, in the water, carrying in her arms a little child and an 
 infant not yet three months old. 
 
 Finally the immense lumber piles to the south and south- 
 west, along the river, began to burn, and the terrific heat, 
 dense smoke and noxious gases threatened the very lives of 
 the fugitives. Many succumbed. Here a family of sons and 
 daughters mourned the mother, who had just died before their 
 eyes, but heard no word of consolation. An invalid, brought 
 to the water's edge on a mattress, breathed her last, but the 
 knowledge of her death was received with stolid indifference. 
 Not until late in the afternoon did the position of those on the 
 " Sands " grow less precarious. At last the fury of the fire 
 abated somewhat, and some of the more daring ventured to 
 cross over into the West Side, others made their way out onto 
 the- pier and were rescued by tugs and steamers, but most of 
 the unfortunates did not leave the beach until Tuesday 
 morning. 
 
 But man himself added the greatest horror to the terrible 
 situation, as is brought out with fearful intensity in the follow- 
 ing description of an eye witness: 
 
 The tragedies upon the " Sands " differed from those where broader limits marked 
 the encampment of victims of the fire. The prairies seemed to give relief to pent-up 
 agonies and nerve the soul to silent endurance; even the park and graveyard, bleak and 
 sombre as they were, seemed to impart an atmosphere of personal security, that was 
 not possible upon the "Sands." There, on the scorching earth, that held the heat and 
 sent a shimmering, ceaseless wave of blasting air and sand from underneath the feet, 
 parching the flesh and drying up the fountains of blood and life, the spirit of infernal 
 revelry prevailed. As in the region of the damned, told of by Dante, the evil nature of man- 
 kind glared forth to vex the tender souls of those whom fate had sent into their presence. 
 
 155
 
 Imagine the scene of the horrid drama. No possibility of escape a raging fury at 
 the rear a p!t;less expanse of lake in front, a small area filled with human creatures, 
 maddened animals, delicate and refined women, pure and innocent children, the aged, 
 the infirm, the weak, the dying, the despairing; young girls whose artless lives were 
 unfamiliar with even the name of crime, men of well ordered lives and Christian minds, 
 brutes in human form, who were not only ready to do acts of crime, but whose pollut- 
 ing wickedness was rank, and cast off prison fumes upon the air. All kinds and 
 conditions and grades of life all forms of death, from calm and peaceful passing to a 
 welcome rest to that which follows in the train of vicious deeds. Here, huddled close and 
 helpless, the purest girlhood was forced to endure the leering of the vile, and if a chance 
 protector spoke in her defense, the wicked laughed and jeered and cursed until the 
 stoutest heart grew faint with apprehension. Women whose claim to womanhood was 
 long since lost, tookfiendish delight in adding indefinable shame and terror to the misery 
 of those who shrank from crime. Think what it would be to place a loved one in the 
 lowest haunts of vice, and there bend over the death bed of that failing friend while all 
 about the din of wickedness was sounding in the ears. Increase the circumstance of 
 grim necessity and add the weight of a consciousness that home, treasures, everything was 
 gone, and this the only, the enforced spot where death must meet the loved father, 
 mother, sister, friend. Could all the powers of hell itself devise a keener form of anguish? 
 Yet these lines are drawn from actual knowledge, and the shudder awakened at the 
 recollection of sights stays the pen. 
 
 The creatures who there tortured the helpless were no longer human vice had 
 dulled their moral instincts and despair transformed them for the moment into demons. 
 Their orgies were born in malice, they delighted in their sins; they shrieked aloud with 
 glee to see the innocent rush from them and plunge into the lake, that for the instant the 
 sight might be shut out. The dying were not always comforted with the caress of love. 
 Upon a burned and blackened blanket lay the dead body of one poor woman whose 
 babe lay by her side crying in shrill alarm. The crowd about this type of life and death 
 gave no more heed than if it was the natural order of events. All night the corpse lay 
 there untouched. If fate preserved the babe, the writer does not know of the fact. 
 Above the terror of the fire for that emotion grew pangless as the hours progressed; 
 above the loss of worldly riches; above the grief of death, for death seemed then the 
 only mercy-bringing power; above all the conditions of the scene that added elements of 
 horror, the mingling of the hvo extremes of vice and virtue, and the momentary triumph 
 of the bad, in their malicious show of wickedness, seemed the most appalling quality of 
 this immediate spot. 
 
 Among the first to arrive at the " Sands " was I. N. 
 Arnold, with his servants and children. He had fought the 
 flames from his beautiful mansion to the last moment, and 
 when finally compelled to flee, he could save only a small 
 bundle of valuable papers. All else was destroyed his choice 
 library, costly bric-a-brac and fine paintings. Arrived at the 
 lake shore he took in the situation, and resolved, if possible, 
 to work his way out on the long pier just then being com- 
 pleted by W. B. Ogden. This pier, which prolonged the left 
 bank of the river out into the lake, was not as yet planked over, 
 and it was with difficulty that the party clambered over the 
 rock filling to the end. A small row boat was found, and all 
 
 156
 
 were taken to the ligut-house, lying beyond the pier, and there 
 they, with Judge Goodrich, Edward I. Tinkham and others, 
 were hospitably received. Even here, however, the fire 
 threatened them, and a fire company was formed to fight the 
 "flames from a burning propeller, which drifted past them, and 
 to put out the brands blown from the lumber piles further up 
 stream. About 4 o'clock in the afternoon the tug " Clifford " 
 rescued the prisoners, and after a perilous voyage up the 
 river landed them in safety on the West Side. 
 
 A WOMAN'S STORY OF THE FIRE. 
 
 * Telegraphed to the New York Tribune. 
 
 CHICAGO, October I2th. Where shall I begin? How shall 
 I tell the story that I have been living during these dreadful 
 days? It's a dream, a nightmare, only so real that I tremble 
 as I write, as though the whole thing might be brought to 
 me again by merely telling of it. 
 
 We lived on the North Side, six blocks from the river. 
 We were quiet people, like most of the North Siders, flatter- 
 ing ourselves that our comfortable wooden houses and sober, 
 cheery New England looking streets were far preferable to the 
 more rapid, blatant life of the South Side. 
 
 Well, on Sunday morning, October 8th, Robert Collyer gave 
 his people what we felt to be a wonderful sermon, on the text : 
 " Think ye, that those upon whom the tower of Siloam fell, 
 were sinners above all those who dwelt at Jerusalem?" and 
 illustrated it by a picture of the present life and our great 
 cities, their grandeur, their wickedness, and the awful though 
 strictly natural, consequences of our insatiable pursuit of 
 worldly prosperity, too often unchecked by principle. 
 
 I came out, gazing about on our beautiful church, and so 
 we passed the pleasant, bright day, some of us going down to 
 the scene of the West Side fire of Saturday night, and espying 
 
 * By Miss Cordelia Kirkland, now living in California. 
 157
 
 from a good distance the unhappy losers of sc much property. 
 About 5 :3<3 o'clock our neighboring fire telegraph sent forth 
 some little tintinnabulations, and we lazily wondered, as D 
 played the piano and I watered my ivy, what they were 
 burning up now. 
 
 At 10 o'clock in the evening the fire bells were ringing 
 constantly, and we went to bed, regretting that there must be 
 more property burning up on the West Side. Eleven o'clock, 
 12 o'clock, and I awoke my sister, saying: "It's very 
 singular; I never heard anything like the fires to-night. It 
 seems as if the whole West Side must be afire." One 
 o'clock, 2 o'clock; we get up and look out. "Great God! 
 The fire has crossed the river from the south! Can there be 
 any danger here?" And we look anxiously out, to see men 
 hurrying by, screaming and swearing, and the whole city to 
 the south and west of us one vivid glare. " Where are the 
 engines? Why don't we hear them as usual?" we asked 
 each other, thoroughly puzzled, but even yet hardly person- 
 ally frightened by the strange aspect of the brilliant and 
 surging streets below. Then came a loud knocking at the 
 door : " Ladies, ladies, get up ! Pack your trunks, and prepare 
 to leave your house. It may not be necessary, but it is well 
 to be prepared." It was a friend who had fought his way 
 through the La Salle street tunnel to warn us that the city is 
 on fire. We looked at each other with white faces. Well 
 we might. In an inner room slept an invalid relative, the 
 object of our ceaseless care and love, the victim of a terrible 
 and recurring mental malady, which had already sapped much 
 of his strength and life, and rendered quiet and absence of 
 excitement the first prescription of his physicians. Must we 
 call the invalid? And, if we did, in the midst of this fearful 
 glare and turmoil, what would be the result? We determined 
 to wait till the last minute, and threw some valuables into a 
 trunk, while we anxiously watched the ever approaching flame 
 and tumult. 
 
 158
 
 Then came a strange sound in the air, which stilled for a 
 moment the surging crowd. Was it thunder? No. The 
 sky was clear and full of stars, and we shuddered as we felt, 
 but did not say, it was a tremendous explosion of gunpow- 
 der. By this time the blazing sparks and bits of burning 
 wood, which we had been fearfully watching, were fast becom- 
 ing an unintermitting fall of burning hail, and another shower 
 of blows on the door warned us that there was not another 
 moment to be lost. "Call E " (the invalid), " do not let him 
 stay a minute, and I will try to save our poor little birds." 
 My sister flew to wake up our precious charge, and I went 
 down stairs repeating, to make myself remember, " birds, deeds, 
 silven jewelry, silk dresses," as the order in which we would 
 try to save our property if it came to the worst. 
 
 As I passed through our pretty parlor how my heart ached ! 
 Here lay a relic of my father's library, a copy of a bible 
 printed in 1637, on one table; on another my dear Mrs. 
 Browning, the gift of a lost friend. What should I take! 
 What should I leave ? I alternately loaded myself with gift 
 after gift and dashed them down in despair. Lovely pictures 
 and statuettes, left by a kind friend for the embellishment of 
 our little rooms, and which had turned them into a bower of 
 beauty must be left? At last I stopped before our darling, 
 a sweet and tender picture of Beatrice Cenci going to execu- 
 tion, which looked down at me though the dismal red glare 
 which was already filling the rooms, with a saintly and wierd 
 sweetness that seemed to have something wistful in it. I 
 thought, " I will save this if I die for it," but my poor parrot 
 called my name and asked for a peanut, and I could no more 
 have left him than if he had been a baby. But could I carry 
 that huge cage ? No, indeed. So I reluctantly took my 
 poor little canary, who was painfully fluttering about and 
 wondering at the disturbance, and kissing him, opened the 
 front door and set him free only to smother, I fear. 
 
 What a sight our usually quiet street (Dearborn avenue) 
 
 159
 
 presented? As far as I could see a horrible wall a surging, 
 struggling, encroaching wall like a vast surface of grimacing 
 demons, came pressing up the street a wall of fire, ever 
 nearer and nearer, steadily advancing on our midnight help- 
 lessness. Was there no wagon, no carriage in which we 
 could coax our poor E , and take him away from these mad- 
 dening sights ? Truck after truck, indeed, passed by, but 
 filled with loads of people and goods, and carriages rushed 
 past drawn by struggling and foaming horses, and lined with 
 white, scared faces. 
 
 A truck loaded with goods dashed up the street, and, as I 
 looked, flames burst out from the sides, and it burned to ashes 
 in front of our door. No hope, no help for property ; what 
 we could not carry, we must lose. So, forcing my reluctant 
 parrot into the little bird's cage, I took him under one arm and 
 a little hand-bag on the other, just as my sister appeared with 
 E , who, thank God, was calm and self-possessed. At last 
 the good friend who had warned us appeared, and, leav- 
 ing all his own things, insisted on helping my sister save ours, and 
 he and she started on, dragging a trunk. They were obliged 
 to abandon it at the second corner, however, and walked on, 
 leaving me to follow with E . ' Come E , let us go," said I : 
 " Go where ? I am not going. What is the use ?" he 
 answered, and he stood with his arms folded as if he were 
 interested merely as a curious spectator. I urged, I begged, I 
 cried, I went down on my knees. He would not stir, but pro- 
 posed going back into the house. This I prevented by entreaties, 
 and I besought him to fly as others were doing ; but no. A 
 kind of apathetic despair had seized him, and he stood like a 
 rock while the flames swept nearer and nearer, and my entreat- 
 ies and even my appeals to him to save me, were utterly in 
 vain. Hotter and hotter grew the pavement, wilder the cries 
 of the crowd, and my silk and cotton clothing began to smoke 
 in spots. I felt beside myself, and seizing E , tried to drag 
 him away. Alas ! what could my woman's strength do ? 
 
 1 60
 
 There followed another shout, a wild push back, a falling wall, 
 and I was half a block away, and E was gone. Oh ! God, 
 pity these poor worms of the dust and crush them not utterly, 
 was my prayer. 
 
 How I passed the rest of that cruel Sunday night, I scarcely 
 know. Wandering, staring, blindly carrying along my poor 
 parrot, who was too tired to make a sound, I seemed to go in 
 a dream. Starting north to get help, running back as near 
 the flame as I could, in the vain hope of finding E , bitterly 
 reproaching myself that I had ever left him for an instant, I 
 passed three hours of which I can hardly give any account. 
 I know that, as I turned wildly back once more, I saw the 
 beautiful Episcopal church of St. James in flames. They 
 came on all sides, licking the marble buttresses, one by one, 
 and leaving charred or blackened masses. But the most 
 wonderful sight of all was the white and shining church 
 tower, from which, as I looked, burst tongues of fire. 
 
 Constantly faces that I knew flashed across me, but they 
 were always in a dream, all blackened and discolored,- and 
 with an expression I never saw before. Very little selfishness 
 and no violence did I see. * * * * Some friend it was 
 days before I knew who took my parrot and forced a little 
 bottle of tea and a bag of crackers into my hand as I 
 wandered. 
 
 At last I found myself opposite Unity church. I was 
 grieving enough, heaven knows, over my private woes, but 
 I awoke to new miseries when I saw our pastor's great heart, 
 which had sustained the fainting spirit of so many, freely give 
 way to lamentations and tears, as his precious library, the slow 
 accumulation of twenty laborious and economical years, fell 
 and flamed into nothingness in that awful fire. I turned 
 away, heart-sick, and resumed my search for the face which 
 I now felt almost sure I should never see again. A new sight 
 soon struck my eye. What in the world was that dark, lurid, 
 purplish ball ? that hung before me, constantly changing its 
 
 n 
 
 161
 
 appearance, like some fiendish face that grimaces at our 
 misery? I looked and looked again. May I never see the 
 sun, the cheerful, daily herald of comfort and peace look like 
 that again. It looked devilish, and I pinched myself to see if 
 I was not losing my senses. It did not seem ten minutes since 
 I had seen the little moon look out, cold, quiet and pitiless, 
 through a rift in the smoke cloud, from the deep blue of the 
 sky. * * * * Exhausted and almost fainting, weeping 
 and sorely distressed, I finally landed in a friendly house far 
 up on La Salle street. As I stepped inside the door, E 
 appeared, quite composed, and almost indifferent. Burnt? 
 Oh, no; he was all right. Did I suppose he was fool enough 
 to stay and be burned? There was D too, if I wanted to 
 see her, in the parlor. Did I feel reverently thankful. Ask 
 yourself. 
 
 SCENES AT THE MOUTH OF THE RIVER. 
 
 By midnight Sunday the down town streets were thronged 
 with fugitives from across the river and spectators from the 
 North and South Division. When it became evident that the 
 city was doomed the people fled to the North and South Sides 
 and the lake front. Thousands also, among them many of 
 the guests of the big hotels, made their way to the mouth of 
 the river below Rush street bridge. Here, on the very brink 
 of the stream, with the great lake just beyond, all believed 
 themselves safe the more so as the spot was shut off from 
 the flames by the massive stone depot building of the Illinois 
 Central railroad and by the substantial brick and stone ware- 
 houses at the foot of Randolph and Lake streets. Hundreds 
 of persons crowded on the vessels lying in the river, thinking 
 that if the worst came, the boats would put out into the lake: 
 and so escape destruction. As long as Rush street bridge 
 stood untouched hundreds hastened across it into temporary 
 safety on the North Side. But when it burned those who 
 still remained at the mouth of the river were numbered by the 
 
 162
 
 thousands, and not nearly all of them could crowd on the 
 neighboring ships. The terrible flames were steadily advanc- 
 ing on the wretched fugitives, and there were no small boats 
 at hand by which they could gain the opposite bank of the 
 stream. Suddenly the great Illinois Central elevator "A" 
 caught fire from one of the blazing pieces of wood that were 
 borne aloft by the wind, and in an instant more the whole 
 structure burst into flames. But a few hundred feet away 
 stood elevator " B," and in the slip between the two were 
 vessels which would readily communicate the flames to the 
 further elevator. The smoke and heat from the burning 
 building were stifling, and it seemed that all those not on the 
 vessels were caught in an awful trap. As the flames had grad- 
 ually approached the ships and steamers had crossed to the 
 north bank of the river so as to be as far as possible out of 
 harm's way, and now when they tried to get out into the lake 
 it was found that the terrific southwest gale bound them as 
 with steel cables to the bank. Then it was in that moment of 
 terrible need that Providence furnished a rescuer. The sav- 
 ing of the vessels and people at the mouth of the river was 
 due to the heroism of the captain and crew of the tug "Mag- 
 nolia," and in those hours of brave deeds and cool courage 
 the acts of Captain Joseph Gilson and his crew, stand unex- 
 celled as to bravery, unequaled as to the amount of good 
 accomplished. 
 
 Owing to the heavy southwest wind no vessels were mak- 
 ing the harbor, and so there was no towing to be done. All 
 the tugs but the " Magnolia " were lying up the river in the 
 neighborhood of South Water and Wells streets. When 
 needed at the river's mouth the burning of the intervening 
 bridges prevented them from getting below even Clark 
 street. The " Magnolia," however, chanced to be lying in 
 the Illinois Central slip and her steam was up. When Captain 
 Gilson learned of the enormous proportions of the fire he 
 resolved to leave the tug in the hands of the engineer and 
 
 163
 
 fireman, Nicholas Dutcher and Joseph Sweetman, and to 
 himself go over to the North Side to save what he could from his 
 house. So the "Magnolia" landed Gilson on the north bank 
 and the crew were given orders to take her well out into the 
 lake, where she would be safe. In another moment the little 
 tug was cleaving her way to safety. Gilson turned and 
 started for his home. Suddenly, obeying an irresistible 
 impulse, he looked toward the lake, and in a second more the 
 horror of the situation flashed upon him. Providence had 
 called this man back for the salvation of thousands of human 
 beings. In the fierce glare of the burning elevator he saw 
 the black masses of humanity standing on the decks of the 
 ships and the struggling, surging mob on shore. With the 
 quick eye of a sailor he noticed that not all the vessels were 
 steamers and instinct told him that even the propellers could 
 not swing clear of the river bank to which they were bound 
 by the gale. All this came to Gilson in the twinkling of an 
 eye, and scarcely realizing what he did, he shouted for his tug 
 to return. The men heard his call and obeyed. Leaping 
 aboard his boat Gilson started for the burning elevator. As 
 he went down the stream he got two life-boats from the har- 
 bor master, and gave them to volunteer crews who straight- 
 way began the transfer of persons from the south to the north 
 shore of the river. Gilson himself transferred several hundred 
 people, among others, General McArthur, then president of the 
 Board of Public Works, and Edward I. Tinkham, a promi- 
 nent banker. McArthur was hurrying over to see what could 
 be done to protect the water works, and Tinkham was trying 
 to save a roll of money, almost a million dollars, from his 
 bank. But soon more important work demanded the services 
 of the " Magnolia." Gilson began to tow out the vessels in 
 the slip between the two great elevators. It was hoped that 
 the flames would not leap across to elevator " B." Soon, 
 however, the fire attacked the building from the coal shed 
 adjoining, and it seemed that nothing could save it. / Some one, 
 
 164
 
 however, had discovered, on a flat car near by, a new steam 
 fire engine, marked for forwarding to Racine, Wisconsin, and 
 had fired it up and gotten it into such a position that water 
 could be drawn from the river. Hose was at hand, and the 
 flames were vigorously attacked. Just as victory seemed 
 certain the steamer stopped running for want of oil. The 
 elevator had been shut down for some time, and no lubricants 
 could be found in it. The " Magnolia " was finally hailed and 
 Gilson was called upon to divide his scanty supply of oil, 
 which he did willingly. The steamer started again, and this 
 time the flames in the coal shed and engine room of elevator 
 " B " were entirely extinguished and the great structure 
 saved. 
 
 In the meantime the immense lumber piles on the north bank 
 of the river in the yards of the Peshtigo Company began to 
 burn. Lying near these yards were the propellers : " Ira 
 Chaffee"and "Navarino," the steamer " Alpena," the barge 
 " Advance " and a Canadian schooner. Not one of these 
 boats could move from the northern shore of the river, and 
 the various captains signaled furiously for the " Magnolia." 
 Gilson first towed out the " Ira Chaffee," and so preserved a 
 place of refuge for more than a thousand persons. Then he 
 saved the " Advance," on which there were several hundred 
 persons, among them Judge McAllister. 
 
 On attempting to move the " Navarino," Gilson found that 
 his boat did not have power enough to stir the big propeller, 
 and although he blew out his government valve, (raising the 
 steam pressure on the "Magnolia's " boiler to 150 pounds, or 60 
 pounds more than allowed by law), he had to give her up. 
 The refugees were transferred from the " Navarino " to the 
 "Alpena," and "Manitowoc," and with the "Magnolia's" 
 aid, both these vessels reached the outer harbor in safety. The 
 "Navarino" and the Canadian schooner were now wrapped 
 in flames and Gilson had just time to get a tow-line on the 
 propeller " Sky Lark " and start her down the river, when 
 
 166
 
 the fire swept up to the very spot where she had been lying. 
 In addition to the fugitives on board the " Sky Lark," were 
 many valuable books and papers of the Goodrich steamer line. 
 
 The flames were now sweeping the river in one place, from 
 shore to shore, but Gilson turned the " Magnolia " back for 
 the last time. Ringing for full steam, he sent his boat through 
 the sheet of fire and came out on the other side unhurt. 
 There he picked up two policemen whom he found standing 
 in despair on the south shore of the river. Then the little tug 
 was turned around and the run under the flames made once 
 more. This time Captain Gilson was not so fortunate, and the 
 woodwork of the tug was found to be blazing in several places. 
 The fire was finally put out, but not until after considerable dam- 
 age had been done. 
 
 Nothing now remained for Gilson to do at the mouth of the 
 river, and the "Magnolia'" was turned toward Light House 
 (or Ogden's) slip, near where the fugitives on the "Sands" 
 were congregated. Here again Gilson's arrival was most op- 
 portune. The fierce heat had driven hundreds of people into 
 the lake near the slip, and just as the " Magnolia " appeared 
 the schooner " Swallow," which had been lying in the slip, 
 caught fire, burned her moorings, and enwrapped in flames 
 bore down upon the poor wretches in the water. Before this 
 they were almost suffocated, and had the smoke ,and heat 
 from the burning schooner been allowed to increase their suf- 
 ferings, the loss of life would have been appalling. Three 
 hundred feet away iron railroad tracks were curling up like 
 shavings in the terrible heat, and now they were threatened 
 with this burning vessel in their very midst! But Gilson 
 skillfully approached the blazing schooner, got a line on her. 
 and before it was burned off, had the boat well out of the 
 neighborhood. Returning to the shore, the " Magnolia " 
 began carrying people from the water and the west pier to 
 the propellers lying out in the lake. His boat would hold only 
 50 or 75 persons, and Gilson was forced to make repeated trips 
 
 167 . ,.'
 
 to get all the fugitives to a place of safety. Large sums of 
 money were offered him by the wealthy if he would save them 
 first, but the plucky captain showed no favor and as before 
 refused all money offers for his heroic work. 
 
 In the afternoon the "Magnolia " made her way back to the 
 mouth of the river. It was an exploring tour to discover 
 whether the city had been totally destroyed. Slowly the little 
 boat made the dangerous journey. Near Rush street the 
 groans of a man were heard, and finally a poor fellow was 
 discovered in the river clinging to a post. He was fearfully 
 wounded and burned about the head and arms and had been 
 almost suffocated by the smoke. For eight hours he had 
 been in his dreadful position, keeping under water as much of 
 the time as possible, and lifting his face up only often enough 
 to breathe. Gilson immediately put about and took him to 
 one of the propellers in the lake. Then he returned and was 
 rejoiced to find that the West Side was still unburned. On 
 reaching South Water street he notified the various tug own- 
 ers of the condition of affairs, and a fleet of forty tugs was 
 soon at work bringing the people from the vessels in the outer 
 harbor to the West Side. 
 
 The daring and bravery of Captain Gilson and his crew and 
 their noble self-forgetfulness, stand out in white beauty 
 in the darkness and gloom that had fallen around Chicago; 
 their actions restore that faith in humanity which had been 
 shaken by the story of the pillaging of the South Side and the 
 terrible scene on the " Sands." * 
 
 'Joseph Gilson was horn in Chicago in 1846 in the old "Coffee Exchange." As a 
 mere youth he gained celebrity by the reckless daring he displayed in saving the crew 
 of the schooner "Albany" during a terrific gale, in which none of the thousands of 
 spectators, who lined the lake shore, dared venture forth. The schooner was being 
 pounded to pieces on a sand bar and Gilson, in his tug, was forced to make six trips out 
 to her before he could get near enough to rescue the men. The water was so shoal that 
 when the tug 3ank in the trough of the sea, her stern post struck the bottom of the lake 
 and heavy leaks were sprung. Gilson persisted in his efforts, however, and finally 
 brought off every man from the vessel, which in another moment was merely a mass of 
 wreckage, beaten about by the great billows. In 1892 Gilson, then in command of one of 
 the World's Fair steamers, again saved the crew of a wrecked vessel, which he discovered 
 in the lake. At present Captain Gilson commands one of the fleet of steamers which 
 run from Chicago to the World's Fair grounds. 
 
 1 68
 
 ON THE PRAIRIE. 
 
 Slowly and heavily rose the sun on the morning of October 
 loth. The air was close and sultry; smoke and vapor still lay 
 over the whole city. It was a desolate, a heart-rending scene. 
 There on the prairie lay many a man, broken in spirit, who 
 but the day before had fought the battle of life with undaunted 
 courage. But the situation had already changed the reac- 
 tion had set in. After the intense exertion of all the forces of 
 body, mind and soul, followed a corresponding relaxation. 
 What had been undergone was enough to severely test the 
 moral and physical power of the strongest. 
 
 It had been a fearful night, hardly less cruel and terrible 
 than the preceding one when the fire columns had marched 
 relentlessly northward. Their danger had keyed the people 
 up to the highest pitch of nervous tension but it had passed now 
 and they broke down helpless. They could have continued 
 their flight but this awful quiet they could not endure. With 
 rest came reflection and the thought of horrors undergone. 
 From the gloom of his present misery rose each man's happy 
 past as in a vision, but when he roused himself it was to see 
 the future barren and hopeless before him. With mental 
 anguish came worry as to the uncertain fate of friends and 
 families and the lack of physical necessities tortured the fugi- 
 tives. 
 
 Small wonder that many lost their reason, that the eye of 
 many a soul was blinded forever; small wonder that many a 
 life conceived the germs of death during the horrible hours of 
 that long Monday night, and that the number of those who 
 languished and died only weeks after the fire was far greater 
 than of those who met death in the flames. 
 
 Twilight should have fallen about 6 o'clock, but on that Mon- 
 day evening no darkness followed the setting of the sun, for 
 great columns of fire still illumined the scene. On the prairie 
 lay 50,000 persons, who wondered if their cup of misery was 
 
 169
 
 not already filled. Was the uncontrollable element to leap the 
 river for a third time, and so return to the side of the city 
 whence it had come? All eyes were turned toward the fire 
 which was working its way to the Division street bridge. It 
 was but a matter of moments when the flames would reach 
 the bridge, when at last the long-prayed for rain began. With 
 tears of joy the multitudes gave thanks for heaven's blessing 
 the fire ceased to spread and gradually died out. All too 
 soon however, the wretched, houseless, ill-clothed fugitives 
 realized that they were exposed to the cold, drenching rain. 
 All night and all day they had been scorched by the heat of 
 the conflagration and stifled by its smoke and gases, now unfed 
 and unprotected, they shivered and gasped in the down-pour- 
 ing torrents. Side by side stood the beggar who, having had 
 nothing, lost nothing, and the millionaire rendered penniless over 
 night. Wherever the eye turned, the same picture : wagons, 
 laden with household goods, piles of rescued property, cows, 
 horses, dogs, men, women and children all huddled together 
 in the greatest confusion. On her trunk sits the wife of a rich mer- 
 chant, holding in her arms some saved trinket, and on her trunk 
 sits the wife of a poor laborer, and in her arms holds the babe 
 whose eyes reflect all her happiness and all her misery. Happy 
 he who can count his dear ones all. Many a family is sep- 
 arated to remain so for days. The stronger had stayed behind 
 to fight the flames or to try to save property while the weaker 
 had gone on in advance. In the great throng on the prairies 
 search for missing friends is a fruitless task. 
 
 Meanwhile the rain has formed little puddles and pools of water, 
 and these serve to moisten parched lips and cleaving tongues. 
 
 Dire necessity stimulated as ever the genius of invention. 
 Tents were made from carpets and blankets, and held up by 
 such sticks and branches as could be found. Hundreds found 
 some shelter under sidewalks and in culverts, and every inch 
 of neighboring houses and barns was occupied. But the 
 great mass of the people on the prairies was unprotected. 
 
 170
 
 They were crowded together, but on the whole behaved 
 well. Misfortune purified their instincts. While contemplat- 
 ing his own loss, no one could forget that his neighbor's was 
 as large. All were equally miserable. After a time the men 
 became resigned to their fate, and later felt a certain reckless- 
 ness as to what the future might have in store. The women 
 distinguished themselves by greater energy, and proved their 
 greater mental elasticity. They had their children to care 
 for, and it was ever the mother who, when the camp fire 
 burned low, kept it going, or, when the rain fell mercilessly, 
 covered her loved ones as best she could even with her own 
 body. So the night wore on, and before darkness fell again 
 almost every one had found more comfortable shelter./ 
 
 INCIDENTS OF THE GREAT FIRE. 
 
 Most of the human lives sacrificed to the flames on the 
 North Side were lost on Wesson and Townsend streets. 
 This, to a certain extent, is explained by the fact that these 
 streets were short and narrow, terminating abruptly in culs- 
 de-sac. As soon as Chicago avenue bridge became impass- 
 able first because of the congestion of vehicles there, and 
 later in consequence of the fire sweeping away the bridge 
 itself a great many wagons and pedestrians started north for 
 Division street bridge, on Wesson and Townsend streets, but 
 were caught in a fiery trap, from which escape was almost 
 impossible. Scores perished; but in almost all cases the 
 charred remains of the victims could not be identified. Besides 
 those who came down these streets from Chicago avenue, the 
 flames surprised not a few of the persons who lived in this 
 locality. On Townsend street lived a Mr. Geyerstanger, 
 publisher of a German humorous paper. With his wife and 
 his four children he succeeded in saving a part of his house- 
 hold goods. While three of the little ones and his wife went 
 to the West Side with what had already been saved, he and
 
 his twelve year old daughter attempted to save some books 
 from his splendid library, but the flames were down upon 
 them before they were aware of it, and they were unable to 
 escape. Of the seven bodies afterwards found in this locality, 
 it was impossible to tell which were those of the unfortunate 
 man and his little girl. A neighbor, named Hecht, met his 
 death in the same manner, while attempting to save his old 
 invalid father-in-law. When the fire attacked his home, 
 Hecht, Aneas-like, took the weak old man on his shoulders, 
 and carried him from the burning house. In the yard he 
 put down his precious burden, and, as it is supposed from 
 the position of the bodies when found, returned to the 
 house for some valuables. While inside he was overtaken by 
 the flames, and the unfortunate old man also fell a victim to 
 the fury of the fire. 
 
 A horrible incident occurred near the water works. Three 
 men had stayed too long in the brewery near by and on com- 
 ing out were forced to seek instant shelter from the flames. 
 They crept into some large water mains which were lying in 
 the street, but the fierce heat of the conflagration turned the 
 pipes into iron shrouds, and the next moring the bodies of the 
 men were found roasted almost beyond recognition. 
 
 The loss of an occasional life aroused but little attention. 
 Alexander Frear, a New York alderman, was crossing Lake 
 street bridge, the rail of which had been torn away. In 
 front of him was a man with a heavy load of clothing. Sud- 
 denly he noticed the poor fellow stumble and fall into the 
 water. The crowds on the bridge rushed madly on, and no 
 one in the many passing boats paid the slightest attention to 
 the drowning wretch, who finally disappeared, swallowed up in 
 the black waters of the river. A driver fell from the high 
 seat of his heavily laden truck, striking his head OP the stone 
 street and breaking his neck the horses dashed on and the 
 crowds passed by heedless of the corpse lying near at hand. 
 A woman near the St. James hotel knelt in the street holding a
 
 crucifix before her. Her dress skirt blazed up, but she did 
 not notice it. In another instant a runaway truck dashed her 
 to the ground. On another bridge the crushing mob lifted a 
 young girl from her feet and literally forced her over the hand- 
 rail of the bridge. For a moment she clung feebly to this 
 slight support, but was soon brushed off, and with a despair- 
 ing cry, fell into the water below. No action to save her was 
 taken either by those in boats on the river or by those hurry- 
 ing across the bridge. Terror had banished every feeling of 
 chivalry, even of common humanity. 
 
 At the Sherman House three hundred guests were quartered 
 Sunday night. Among them were many ladies without escorts, 
 and five single ladies were sick in bed. Early in the evening the 
 night clerk and his assistant had all the valuable papers of 
 the hotel conveyed to a place of safety, and when the flames 
 threatened the hotel the guests were all aroused. The ladies 
 were taken to the lake shore and put in charge of police offi- 
 cers. The sick were put in a carriage and started off, when 
 suddenly the clerk was seized with an awful foreboding. A 
 glance through the carriage windows showed but four persons 
 inside and he knew there were five invalids in the house. 
 Wrenching an axe from the hands of a fireman, and with a cry 
 to his assistant, he rushed back through the smoke-filled corri- 
 dors of the great hotel. Reaching the door of the room 
 where he believed the fifth sick woman lay, he forced an 
 entrance with a couple of blows of his axe. The woman was 
 there, sitting up in terror in her bed, having had no previous 
 knowledge of the fire. The men hastily threw a heavy dress 
 and cloak about her, dashed the contents of the water pitcher 
 on a woolen blanket, and wrapping the woman up in this and 
 protecting their own heads as well as they could, hurried 
 down stairs with the invalid in their arms. The clerk was 
 quite badly burned, but all finally reached the street. In a 
 few moments more the upper stories of the hotel had fallen 
 into the fiery embraces of the basement, 
 
 173
 
 The saving of the Lind block, directly east of the Randolph 
 street bridge, was due to the energetic efforts of Alderman 
 Walsh and I. C. Richberg, a well known attorney. These 
 gentlemen saw at a glance the danger the West Side would 
 be in the moment Lind's block should be attacked. They 
 immediately organized a volunteer corps, and after consider- 
 able difficulty induced the crew of the engine " R. A. Wil- 
 liams " to take their steamer from Canal street, where it was 
 lying idle, to Market street. By keeping the exposed side of 
 the building drenched with water, drawn from the river, and by 
 tearing down all awnings and wooden signs the structure was 
 finally saved. This prevented the flames from crossing to the 
 West Side by the Randolph street bridge, but there was also 
 great danger that the fire would leap the river at the foot of 
 Erie street, or cross by means of the Chicago avenue bridge. 
 The prevention of this calamity was largely due to the efforts 
 of John Buehler, the banker. He took charge of the firemen 
 sent down from Harvard station and of a part of the Milwau- 
 kee fire department. He also had the local steamer " Chicago " 
 put on a tug boat and in this way secured excellent service. 
 When the burning tar from the gas works, on the east side of 
 the river, drifted across the stream, Buehler pressed the 
 spectators into service and extinguished the flaming mass. 
 After all danger to the West Side was over, Buehler took his 
 steamer to the North Side pumping station to render such aid 
 as was possible. 
 
 Several men on the top of the big Wheeler elevator tried 
 to save it by throwing from its roof the burning shingles and 
 brands which rained upon it, but despite their efforts the flames 
 attacked the building from a lower story, and they suddenly 
 found it necessary to flee for their lives. Four of the eight 
 on the roof dashed through the fire and smoke of the interior and 
 reached the ground safely; the other four were cut off from 
 the skylight by the flames. One piece of the roof after the 
 other fell into the fiery sea below, leaving smaller and smaller
 
 the spot where the men huddled together. Repeated attempts 
 were made to throw them a rope, but all failed. Flames and 
 dense black masses of smoke were now pouring from the ele- 
 vator. At times the men were concealed from the view of the 
 anxious spectators. Finally a piece of brick was fastened to 
 a long twine and thrown them. By means of the twine, the 
 heavy rope was pulled up and the end quickly made fast. In 
 another moment all were in safety but none too soon, for the 
 last man touched the ground just as the rope, burned through 
 at the top, fell in coils around him. 
 
 Besides the mansion of Mahlon D. Ogden but one house 
 stood in the burnt district of the North Side after the fire. 
 This was the little wooden cottage on Lincoln place, belong- 
 ing to Bellinger, a policeman, who saved his property only 
 after a terrible struggle. He made every preparation for 
 defense tearing up the wooden sidewalk, raking up and burn- 
 ing the dry leaves in his yard, and finally covering his little 
 home with carpets and blankets soaked with water. At the 
 critical moment the water supply gave out, but Bellinger had 
 a quantity of cider in his cellar, and with this he kept the 
 blankets and carpets drenched until the fire had swept past. 
 
 The last house to burn was probably that of Dr. John H. 
 Foster, on Fullerton avenue, near Lincoln park, which was 
 attacked at 10:30 Monday night, about twenty-six hours after 
 the fire began. Some authorities give the house of John A. 
 Huck, north of the city limits, as the last one to burn; but 
 the flames raged in coal and lumber yards and in other places 
 where there were piles of combustible material, until far into 
 Tuesday. 
 
 An unfinished stone building in the South Division, corner of 
 La Salle and Monroe streets, did not burn, as there was 
 absolutely no wood work about it, even the partition walls and 
 floors being of brick. 
 
 The scores of people, who found temporary safety on the 
 old North Pier, were furnished with some food by the crib
 
 keeper, but this provision was soon exhausted, and the 
 prospects for a very hungry night seemed most excellent. 
 Finally a true American remedy was tried: a meeting was 
 held, with Judge Goodrich presiding. It was proposed to 
 send a tug up the river in search of provisions, and all being 
 agreeable a tug was hailed, and twa young men were sent 
 with an order in blank from Judge Goodrich and E. I. Tink- 
 ham, the banker. Supplies were in this manner procured, 
 and the hungry hundreds relieved. 
 
 About 3 o'clock Monday morning, when the Washington 
 street tunnel was crowded with men trying to get to their 
 down-town stores and offices, to personally satisfy themselves 
 of their losses, and with others trying to get from down-town 
 to the unburnt West Side, the gas lights suddenly went out. 
 The gas works had exploded, and Stygian darkness reigned in 
 the long, narrow pathway. The danger of a collision between 
 the streams of humanity running in different directions was 
 the greater, as many of the fugitives from the South Side were 
 heavily laden with effects saved from the conflagration. All 
 at once a man with remarkable presence of mind called out in 
 a stentorian voice : " Keep to the right," which cry imme- 
 diately passed from mouth to mouth, from one end of the 
 tunnel to the other, and all confusion was averted. 
 
 Hundreds of children were lost during the fire, and for days 
 afterwards the police were kept busy finding parents to match 
 the various youngsters who filled the station houses. One 
 officer found a baby, three months old, alone in a blazing 
 street. Two children of H. Claussenius, the German consul, 
 were separated from their parents, and it was Wednesday 
 evening before they were heard from. A friend of the 
 family had found them and taken them to his home in 
 Evanston. 
 
 Property was saved with the greatest difficulty. A bank 
 officer got $600,000 from his vaults, and had to pay an 
 expressman $1000 to take him to the depot, where he could 
 
 176
 
 take a train for Milwaukee. Ex-Lieutenant Governor Bross 
 saw a wagon standing in front of his beautiful home, and 
 supposing that some member of the family had hired it, filled 
 it with the most valuable property from his house, but when 
 the wagon was loaded the driver quietly drove away, and 
 was never heard of again. Louis Ibach had just furnished a 
 new hotel on Wells and Randolph streets, and when he went 
 to save some few of the fine blankets he had just purchased, 
 he found thieves already looting the place. On introducing 
 himself and good-naturedly asking for a blanket or two, the 
 rascals gave him one and told him to clear ou/ 
 
 When the roofs of a block of houses on State street, near 
 Van Buren, suddenly flared up, a ghastly scene was wit- 
 nessed. The occupants of the upper stories, anxious to save 
 their property, began to throw things down into the streets 
 below. Out flew books, pictures, looking glasses, beds and 
 finally, a coffin, containing the body of a man. A procession 
 of men, carrying elegant coffins down to the lake front, was 
 one of the strange sights of the fire. They were saving the 
 contents of an undertaking establishment, but when the lake 
 shore was reached every coffin was filled with some tired 
 mortal, eager to enjoy a few hour's repose in the soft upholst- 
 ery. The appearance of these coffins, filled with sweetly 
 sleeping men and women, presented a singular picture as 
 dawn broke over the lake. 
 
 Of course there were ludicrous as well as pathetic incidents. 
 Before the burning Bigelow House an old lady marched up 
 and down, shouldering a .cavalry sabre. Another old lady, 
 wanting more light on the subject, paraded through the 
 streets with a burning lantern in each hand. The mania for 
 saving something no matter what was epidemic. Men and 
 women were seen with empty bird cages, old boxes and dirty 
 baskets, with bedding, tinware and wash tubs. Women, 
 who supposed they were saving their jewel boxes, often 
 found, after a time, that they were hugging some bundle of 
 
 12 
 
 177
 
 worthless rubbish. Many carried anything that v^ .s forced 
 upon them, and one well-known banker was found carefully 
 treasuring .a caM-away frying pan. 
 
 A WALK THROUGH THE RUINS. 
 
 It was a dismal, wet morning which dawned on tht. unfortu- 
 nate, city after the terrible night of the pth. A stiff north- 
 west wind was blowing over the still smoking ruins, but the 
 copious rain which had fallen had stopped the spread of the 
 flames. The picture presented by the burnt district was that 
 of gloomy waste and overthrow. Now for the first time the 
 immensity of the calamity was realized. When the fire was 
 driving the fugitives from place to place, no other thought than 
 that of self-preservation entered men's minds. But now the 
 poor victims could comprehend in its full extent the terrible 
 blow which so quickly and unexpectedly had fallen upon them. 
 From so small an elevation as the top of a wagon one could 
 see men standing on the ground three miles away, across 
 what had been the most densely and substantially built por- 
 tions of the city. In awful desolation the spectacle was one 
 to boldly challenge that which burned Rome or Persepolis 
 once displayed. Of the proud marble buildings that had 
 seemed built for all time, there remained but shapeless piles of 
 debris. Here and there portions of a church still stood with 
 bald walls rising sadly to heaven. Only with great effort can 
 one work his way through the blackened ruins which block- 
 ade the streets. 
 
 , Yesterday this was South Water street. Here lay the 
 treasures of all zones, brought by the ships of enterprising 
 merchants to the banks of the Chicago river. Here were the 
 immense storehouses in which the products of the world were 
 heaped up. This formless mass is wet with precious wine 
 from the Rhine and Burgundy; in it, destroyed and buried, lie 
 sweet fruits ripened by the sun of the tropics, the spices of the 
 
 178
 
 West Indies, boxes of tea from China, rich stuffs from the 
 Orient. It is difficult to keep the right road. Of the splen- 
 did court house the four walls still stand, but "in the windows 
 gloom abideth." Where but yesterday the hum of busy mul- 
 titudes was heard, where deliberative bodies held session, 
 where justice had her seat and an army of men kept the 
 machinery of the local government in operation, all is now 
 grewsome and deserted, and only the storm howls through the 
 empty window openings and threatens to shake down the tot- 
 tering walls. Clark street is leveled flat. From a distance the 
 federal building seems still intact, and one thinks that here at 
 last some work of man has defied the elements. Mere delu- 
 sion ! In the interior all is burnt out. The walls stand, but 
 unfit for future use. Even the "fire-proof" vaults are 
 destroyed. Only the Tribune building is found to have made 
 any real resistance to the flames. The interior is completely 
 wrecked, but the walls are not damaged, and can be used 
 again in the erection of a new home for the paper. With 
 the exception of the walls of the postoffice and of the build- 
 ings mentioned, nothing meets the eye of the beholder but 
 shapeless heaps of rubbish. Where formerly stately edifices, 
 stood, signs are now being put up bearing the laconic 
 
 inscription : " - REMOVED TO ." 
 
 A walk down Wabash avenue seems a dream this vast 
 chaotic field was once Chicago's " Broadway." The branches 
 of half-burned trees which once ornamented the Corso of the 
 Garden City and made this street particularly attractive, stretch 
 dismally upward. Where is Michigan avenue the Faubourg 
 St. Germain of the city? The overthrown pillars which only 
 a few hours ago adorned the palaces now strewn in dust, alone 
 answer the question. They have shared the fate of the mod- 
 est frame houses the fierce flames have leveled all. The 
 place where once stood the great hotels, the Palmer, the Sher- 
 man, the Fremont, the St. James and the others, are now 
 marked only by smoking debris. 
 
 i So
 
 The picture of the burned North Side is not as interesting 
 as the modern Herculanum of the South Division. It is more 
 pathetic however, to all who know how many happy homes 
 once stood upon this scene of barren desolation. There are 
 few picturesque ruins the frame houses and stores that haas, 
 stood there are swept away, leaving no trace behind. Here 
 
 \* ' s 
 
 and there stands a wall of a church or brick building 
 everything else is bare and level from the river to Lincoln 
 Park. 
 
 But already the sound of the carpenter's axe fills the air and 
 strong arms are erecting little shanties in the midst of the 
 fire's havoc. American pluck and self-reliance, undaunted by 
 disaster, start out at once to repair the work of devastation 
 to rebuild a city. Men do not await help from outside, but 
 begin at once to help themselves. They had built a great 
 metropolis on a swamp and are now determined that Chicago 
 shall rise again more splendid than before. 
 
 Hundreds of men have lost everything and are glad to earn 
 a penny in any way. One man, dressed in the broad-cloth 
 suit he had on when the fire drove him from his home, and 
 with a pasteboard sign fastened to his high silk hat, is peddling 
 cigars, another has dug up various odd things from the ruins 
 and is selling fire relics. Here the way is blocked by a group 
 of men trying to open a safe just drawn from a basement. 
 The face of the owner is a study. His whole future depends 
 on the condition of the contents of the safe his money, papers 
 and valuables. The door is at last wrenched open and in a 
 moment more he sees the inside is nothing but charred paper 
 and ashes, w r hich the wind whirls away into the air. Then the 
 strain is over and the man knows he has to begin life again 
 with nothing but his two hands and his own energy. One can 
 turn to no spot in the burnt district without finding evidences 
 of activity, courage and hope. The gas and water works are 
 quickly repaired and one great source of inconvenience and 
 discomfort is done away with. 
 
 181
 
 ACTION OF THE AUTHORITIES. 
 THE POLICE. 
 
 On the day after the fire the popular excitement resembled 
 a panic. For a time most persons firmly believed that the 
 great disaster was the work of a band of incendiaries. Vigi- 
 lance committees were formed on the South and West sides 
 and absurd rumors of the capture and summary disposal of 
 the incendiaries filled the city. Every citizen claimed to have 
 seen one of the wretches strung up to a lamp post or shot 
 down in the act of firing a building, and the newspapers con- 
 tained numerous rumors of the application of " Lynch law." 
 On the West Side it was dangerous to light a cigar on the 
 public street. While it is not to be denied that various 
 attempts were made to start another general conflagration, 
 and that several men were killed for so doing, still the 
 majority of the rumors of lynching, etc., were due to the over- 
 heated imagination of the narrators. When a great disaster 
 has occurred it is but human nature to seek for some tangible 
 object to hold accountable for all the misery caused, and to 
 punish accordingly. The people demanded a sacrifice, and as 
 they could not call Providence or any other abstract being to 
 account, they sought some living creature on whom they 
 could revenge themselves for the misery that had befallen 
 them. In consequence of this feeling among the people, the 
 police authorities swore in 1500 special policemen, but this 
 force had to be disbanded very shortly, as a number of 
 thieves and criminals were found in its ranks. Allen Pinker- 
 ton, chief of detectives, issued a characteristic proclamation 
 informing the public that the police had orders to shoot on 
 the spot any man who touched property that did not belong 
 to him. At 3 o'clock on the loth, Mayor Mason issued his 
 first bulletin as follows : 
 
 PROCLAMATION. 
 
 Whereas, in the providence of God, to whose will we humbly submit, a terrible 
 calamity has befallen our city, which demands of us our best efforts for the preservation 
 of order and the relief of the suffering, be it known that the faith and credit of the city 
 
 182
 
 of Chicago is hereby pledged for the necessary expenses for the relief of the suffering. 
 
 Public order will be preserved. The police and special police now being appointed 
 will be responsible for the maintenance of the peace and the protection of property. 
 
 All officers and men of the fire and health departments will act as special policemen 
 without further notice. 
 
 The mayor and comptroller will give vouchers for all supplies furnished by the 
 different relief committees. 
 
 The headquarters of the city government will be at the Congregational church, 
 corner of West Washington and Ann streets. 
 
 All persons are warned against any acts tending to endanger property. All persons 
 caught in any depredation will be immediately arrested. 
 
 With God's help, order and peace and private property shall be preserved. 
 
 The city government and the committees of citizens pledge themselves to the com- 
 munity to protect them and pave the way for a restoration of public and private welfare. 
 
 It is believed that the fire has spent its force and all will soon be well. 
 
 R. B. MASON, Mayor. 
 
 CHARLES C. P. HOLDEN, President Com'n Council. 
 
 F. B. BROWN, President Police Board. 
 
 Never before had Chicago stood in so great need of a 
 strong, firm hand at the municipal helm, and never had a 
 more incapable man stood at the head of the city government. 
 
 In his private capacity the aged mayor was worthy of the 
 highest esteem, but he could not fulfill the demands of his 
 public position in those hours of need. He completely lost his 
 head, and no longer knowing how to help himself, and cherish- 
 ing the absurd idea that the ruins of Chicago were overrun 
 with robbers and cut-throats, he sought military protection, 
 " entrusting the preservation of the good order and peace of 
 the city to Lieutenant-General Philip H. Sheridan, United 
 States Army." This act, contrary to the sovereign rights of 
 the State of Illinois, caused considerable friction, as Governor 
 Palmer had already dispatched to Chicago his adjutant- 
 general, with several hundred state troops. Soon the control of 
 the military proved an intolerable nuisance, the more so in 
 view of the fact that exemplary order and quiet prevailed. 
 Among the private citizens enlisted for guard duty were a lot 
 of youngsters, with no idea of the seriousness and responsi- 
 bility of their position. 
 
 The culmination of the bitter feeling against martial law 
 was reached on October 2oth. On the evening of that day 
 Col. Thomas W. Grosvenor, a universally esteemed citizen,
 
 who had served throughout the civil war with honor and 
 distinction, was shot and killed by a Douglas University student, 
 named Treat, who was acting as guard. Colonel Grosvenor 
 was returning home about midnight, and when the guard 
 called to him to halt and give the countersign, he passed on 
 without reply* The guard called to him again, and as no 
 answer was returned, he was shot down. Treat was tried 
 for murder but was acquitted, as the jury decided he had acted 
 in good faith and that the responsibility for the affair devolved 
 upon those who had organized the body of militia, to which 
 Treat belonged. A lively correspondence sprang up between 
 Governor Palmer and Mayor Mason and President Grant, but 
 without definite* result. At the time many people believed 
 that the United States troops, which Sheridan ordered to 
 Chicago, were of the greatest use in preserving order, but the 
 emergency was one which the state militia could have met 
 fully, and there was not the slightest necessity for the regular 
 troops. The result of the action of the mayor in putting the 
 city under martial law, was to spread abroad false impressions 
 of the real state of affairs in Chicago. There was no anarchy 
 here, there were no lynching outrages; the people of the city 
 deported themselves with the most admirable conservatism and 
 discretion. The police did their full duty, and public recog- 
 nition of their bravery and faithfulness is the more due them 
 as there was at one time a tendency to make scape-goats of 
 them and the firemen. Neither department was in any way 
 responsible for the great calamity which had befallen Chicago ; 
 both had done all that men could do. 
 
 THE FIRE PEPARTMENT. 
 
 Owing to the unprotected position of Chicago on the fiat 
 prairie, storms from whatever direction swept over it with 
 full fury. This circumstance and the fact that, like other 
 quickly constructed American cities, it consisted largely of 
 
 184
 
 wooden buildings, so greatly increased the danger of fire that 
 a most excellent fire department was organized. It consisted of 
 twenty-one steamers, with the necessary hose carts and hook 
 and ladder trucks. The men had given repeated proofs of 
 their courage and ability, and the populace placed the greatest 
 confidence in this department of the local government. As a 
 matter of fact Chicago owes it to the excellence of the fire 
 department that the catastrophe of October 8th and pth, 
 1871, was so long deferred. 
 
 On the day of the fire the firemen did all that could have 
 been expected of resolute, brave, efficient men. They yielded 
 to the flames only when their clothes began to burn. During 
 the fire eight steamers, three carts and three trucks were 
 abandoned, as the men had kept up their stubborn resistance 
 to the flames so long that these machines could not be gotten 
 away before the fire was upon them. An official account of 
 the fire and the work of the" department fully exonerates the 
 men from any cow r ardice or inefficiency. In an interview after 
 the fire, Chief Fire Marshal Williams said: " When I got to 
 the fire, I should think there were six or seven buildings 
 ablaze sheds and out-houses. We got it under control, and 
 it wouldn't have gone a foot further, but the next thing I knew 
 they came and told me that St. Paul's church, two squares 
 north, was on fire. The ' Rehm' stood on the corner of Church 
 and Mather streets, working that plug, and it was so hot 
 the engineer had to put up a door to protect himself. The 
 'Gund' was on the east side of the church, and the 'Coventry' 
 on the north. * * * * The next thing I knew the fire 
 was in Bateham's planing mill. When I got there I found 
 that the match factory was going, as was the lumber just 
 north of it. We got two streams in there, but couldn't do 
 any good, as the fire was thick and heavy, and ran along to 
 another lumber yard, north, and spread east to the old red 
 mill. I went north to head it off, and found it was down to 
 Harrison street. Commissioner Chadwick came to me, and 
 
 185
 
 said: ' Don't you know the fire is ahead of you?' I told him 
 it was getting ahead of me in spite of all I could do; it was 
 just driving me right along. I got down to Van Buren street 
 and was working the engines there, but it was so hot the 
 men were obliged to run for their lives, leaving their hose on 
 the ground. They came to me and asked what they were to 
 do about hose. I said, ' God only knows.' 
 
 We got the ' Gund ' located at the corner of Van Buren 
 and Canal streets. * * * * The flames rolled over the 
 men who were with the engine on the corner, and I told the 
 foreman to get her out or we would lose her. I asked some 
 citizens to help, and we ran up to uncouple the suction from 
 the plug, and others commenced to uncouple the hose. Just 
 then a wave of flame came rolling over the street, and I was 
 obliged to get away. Hose was afterwards attached to the 
 axle of the ' Gund,' and the citizens pulled her up on the side- 
 walk, where she was burned up. 
 
 " I met Alex. McGonigle, fireman of the ' Long John,' and 
 he told me there was a fire on the South Side. I told him to 
 go for it, and I jumped on a hose cart and went over too. I 
 got the ' Economy ' to work on the corner of Washington and 
 La Salle streets and lead the hose in through the stairway 
 opposite. We were not in there three minutes before a sheet 
 of flames rolled over us and the boys dropped the pipe and 
 ran for their lives. The wind was blowing so hard that the 
 water would not go ten feet from the nozzle of the pipe. We 
 could not strike a second story window. I then went to work 
 and got my two engines to play on the Sherman house. I 
 thought we would be able to save it on account of the open 
 space opposite. But, my God! there was a piece of board 
 six feet long that came over and landed right on top of the 
 old Tribune building on Clark street, and it was not two min- 
 utes before that row was on fire. While I was wetting down the 
 Sherman house, I heard that the water works were on fire. I 
 jumped into my wagon and drove over to see if it was true, 
 
 1 86
 
 and when I got near there I saw that the roof was all on fire, 
 and the flames rolling out of every opening of the building. 
 I saw that the fate of the city was sealed, that we could no 
 more save the North than the South Side." 
 
 The facts here given will prove to those who did not wit- 
 ness the catastrophe, that nothing but a cloud burst or the ces- 
 sation of the hurricane could have checked the flames. The 
 water works were a mile from the Sherman house, but both 
 were on fire at the same time. Even the strongest and best 
 fire department must yield to a gale which carries burning 
 brands for miles and scatters them on frame houses that a long 
 continued drouth has turned to tinder. 
 
 LOSSES AND INSURANCE. 
 
 The losses occasioned by- the great fire were enormous 
 Chicagoesque. To give the area of the burnt district, 
 the number of houses destroyed or of persons rendered 
 homeless, affords but little idea of the enormity of the catas- 
 trophe. Although, for example, the burned buildings were 
 less than a third of the whole number of buildings in the city 
 17,450 burning and 42,000 remaining still the value of the 
 ones destroyed equaled that of those which were uninjured. 
 
 The most authentic report as to the area burned over and 
 the amount of property destroyed, states that in the West 
 Side, where the fire originated, the number of acres burned 
 over was 194. There were 500 buildings, mostly of an 
 inferior class, destroyed, which were inhabited by about 2500 
 persons. The burned area in the South Division comprised 
 460 acres. This district, though comparatively small in 
 extent, was the business center of the city. It contained a 
 majority of those structures which were costly and magnificent, 
 and were filled with the merchandise which made the city 
 the great emporium of the northwest. All the wholesale stores 
 of considerable magnitude, the daily and weekly newspaper 
 
 187
 
 offices, the principal hotels, the public halls and places ot 
 amusement, the great railroad depots and a large number of 
 the most splendid residences, in short, the great bulk of the 
 wealth and the chief interests of the city were located in this 
 district. In this division alone, there were 3650 buildings 
 destroyed, which included 1600 stores, 28 hotels, 60 manu- 
 facturing establishments and the homes of about 22,000 peo- 
 ple. In the North Division, not less than 1470 acres were 
 swept by the flames, destroying 13,300 buildings the homes 
 of 75,000 people, about 600 stores and TOO manufacturing 
 establishments. 
 
 The total area burned over in the city including streets, was 
 2124 acres, or nearly 3^ square miles. This area contained 
 about 73 miles of streets, 18,000 buildings and the homes of 
 100,000 people. 
 
 The loss on buildings amounted to $53,080,000; on produce, 
 $5,262,000; on merchandise, not produce, $78, 700,000; on per- 
 sonal property, $58,710,000; miscellaneous losses, $378,000; 
 making a grand total of $196,000,000. In foundations and 
 available building material there was a salvage estimated at 
 $ 10,000,000. The municipal losses city hall, bridges, sewers, 
 water works, mains, etc., police and fire department buildings 
 and sidewalks amounted to $2,415,180. 
 
 Eighty of the destroyed business blocks had been worth 
 $8,515,000; the value of the burnt railroad depots, warehouses 
 and Chamber of Commerce was $2,700,000; of the hotels, 
 $3,100,00, and of the churches and contents, $3,000,000. Of 
 the church losses the Catholics suffered to the extent of 
 $1,350,000; the Methodists, $355,000; Baptists, $80,000; 
 Episcopalians, $337,500; Presbyterians, $465,000; Unitarians, 
 $175,000, and the various Jewish synagogues, $55,000. 
 
 Of Chicago's total loss of almost $200,000,000, about $5<V 
 000,000 was made good by the insurance companies. The 
 great eastern companies discharged their obligations promptly 
 and paid dollar for dollar; but the Illinois, and especially the 
 
 1 88
 
 local Chicago compares made a wretched showing. The 
 poorer classes had insured in these local companies and received, 
 on an average, less than 10 per cent of the value of their 
 policies. 
 
 In addition to the insurance, Chicago received large contri- 
 butions of both money and supplies. The whole world showed 
 its sympathy and kindly interest. While the fire was still burn- 
 ing relief trains were on their way to the unfortunate city. At 
 7 o'clock Monday, October pth, two car loads of provisions 
 arrived in Chicago from Milwaukee. Cleveland, Cincinnati, St. 
 Louis and New York followed suit. Not since the fall of 
 Fort Sumter had the heart of the nation been so touched. 
 More than 10,000 meetings were held in behalf of the fire suf- 
 ferers. The governors of the various states issued proclama- 
 tions and relief committees were organized over the whole 
 Union. It was through the wonderful instrumentality of the 
 press that the sympathy of the nation was so forcibly appealed 
 to. As men ate their breakfast, dinner or supper, they read 
 the dispatches in the papers which told them that at that very 
 minute 100,000 of their fellow-men were wandering comfort- 
 less, shelterless and destitute over the still smoking ruins of 
 their homes. Of the hundreds of eloquent appeals made in 
 Chicago's behalf, the following delivered in Faneuil Hall in 
 Boston, by Edward Everett Hale, is typical: 
 
 MR. MAYOR AND GENTLEMEN: It is but a single word that I have to say here. I 
 have simply to remind you that this is no mere matter of voting in which we are engaged. 
 I have to remind you that these people, our people in Chicago, by their munificence, by 
 their generosity, by their strength, by their public spirit, have made us debtors to them 
 all. There is not a man here the beef upon whose table yesterday was not the cheaper 
 to him because these people laid out that world-renowned and wonderful system of 
 stock-yards. There is not a man here the bread upon whose table was not also cheaper 
 because these people in the very beginning of their national existence invented and 
 created that marvelous system for the delivery of grain, which is the model of the world. 
 And remember that they were in a position where they might have said, that they held 
 a monopoly. They commanded the only harbor for the shipping of the five greatest 
 states of America and of the world, and in that position they have devoted themselves 
 now for a generation to the steady improvement, by every method in their power, of the 
 means by which they were going to answer the daily prayer of every child to God, when 
 we pray that He will give us our daily bread. We call it their misfortune. It is our mis- 
 fortune. We are all, as it has been said, linked together in a solidarity of the nation. 
 Their loss is no more theirs than it is ours. In this great campaign of peace, in which we 
 
 189
 
 are engaged, there has fallen, by this calamity, one of our noble fortresses. Its garrison is 
 without munitions. It is for us, at the instant, to re-construct that fortress an J to see that 
 its garrison is as well placed as it was before, in our service. Undoubtedly it is a great 
 enterprise, but, as our friend has said, we can trust them for that. We are all fonJ of 
 speaking of the miracle by which there in the desert there was created this great city. 
 The rod of some prophet struck it, you say, and the city flowed from the rock. Who was 
 the prophet? What was the rock? 
 
 It was the American people who determined that the city should be there, and that it 
 should rightly and wisely and in the best way distribute food to a world. The American 
 people has that duty to discharge again. I know that these numbers are large numbers. 
 I know that when we read in the newspapers of the destruction of a hundred million 
 dollars worth of property, those figures are so large that we can hardly apprehend them. 
 But the providence of God has taught us to deal with larger figures than those, and 
 when, now not many years ago, it became necessary for this country to spend not one 
 hundred, not one thousand millions, but more than one thousand millions of dollars in a 
 great enterprise, which God gave this country in the duty of war this country met its 
 obligations. And now that in a single year we have to re-construct one of the fortresses 
 of peace, I do not fear that this country will be backward in its duty. It has been truly 
 said, that the first duty of all of us is that the noble pioneers in the duty that God has 
 placed in their hands, who are burned and suffering, shall have food ; that by telegraph 
 and railroad they shall know that we are rushing to their relief; that their homeless shall 
 be under shelter, and their naked clothed;, that those who, this forty-eight hours, have 
 felt as if they were deserted, should know that they have friends everywhere in God's 
 world. As God is pleased to order this world, there is no partial evil, but from that 
 partial evil is reached the universal good. The fires, which our friends have seen sweep- 
 ing their western horizon over the plains in the desolate autumn, only bring forth the 
 blossoms and the richness of the next spring and the next summer. 
 
 I can well believe that on that terrible night of Sunday and all through the hours of 
 yesterday, as those noble people, as those gallant workingmen threw upon the flames the 
 water that their noble works the noblest that America has seen enabled them to hurl 
 upon the enemy, that they must have imagined that their work was fruitless ; that it was 
 lost toil to see that stream of water playing into the molten mass and melt into steam, 
 and rise innocuous into the heavens. It may well have seemed that their work was 
 wasted, but it is sure that evil shall work out its own end, and the mists that rose from the 
 conflagration were gathered together for the magnificent tempest of last night, which, 
 falling upon those burning streets, has made Chicago a habitable city to-day. See that 
 the lesson for this community, see that the lesson for us who are here, that the horror 
 and the tears, with which we read the dispatches of yesterday, shall send us out to 
 ministries of truth and bounty and benevolence to-day. 
 
 The work of properly caring for the donations which came 
 pouring into the city, and of distributing the money and sup- 
 plies among the needy and worthy, assumed so great propor- 
 tions that on October i3th, Mayor Mason turned the whole 
 thing over to the Chicago Relief and Aid Society a local 
 organization long established, and possessing in the highest 
 degree the confidence of all classes of citizens. At first the 
 homeless were sheltered in the churches and school houses of 
 the unburnt portions of the city and suburbs and in the tents 
 furnished by the national government and "state authorities. 
 
 190
 
 As soon as possible the Relief and Aid Society began the 
 erection of cheap frame houses for the poor, and by Novem- 
 ber 17, 5 22 6 houses were put up. The Ladies' Relief 
 Society co-operated with the general society and rendered 
 most efficient services. 
 
 Within the first three months after the fire over $4,200,000 
 was contributed to Chicago sufferers as a practical expression 
 of the sympathy of the world. These contributions came not 
 only from the United States and Canada, but from Europe 
 and even Africa, Japan and India. The Common Council of 
 London voted 1,000 guineas, and the great London bankers 
 and railroads sent $35,000. The Liverpool Chamber of 
 Commerce voted $25,000, and Edinburg, Berlin and Frank- 
 fort-on-the-Main contributed generously 
 
 Of the larger American donations may be mentioned the 
 following: A. T. Stewart, of New York, $50,000; Brooklyn, 
 $100,000; New York Stock Exchange, $50,000; District of 
 Columbia, $100,000; President Grant, $1000; London, Can- 
 ada, $5,000; Kansas City, , $26,000; Montreal, $20,000; 
 Toronto, $10,000; St. Louis, $300,000; Boston, $400,000; 
 Pittsburg, $300,000; Buffalo, $100,000; Cincinnati, $225,000; 
 Rochester, N. Y., $70,000; San Francisco, $100,000; New 
 Orleans, $30,000; Philadelphia $260,000; Baltimore, $200,- 
 ooo; Indianapolis, $75,000; Portland, Oregon, $20,000; 
 Quincy, 111., $15,000; Newark, N, J., $30,000; Trenton, N. J., 
 $17,000; Bloomington, 111., $15,000; Erie, Pa., $15,000; 
 Detroit, $30,000; Lancaster, Pa., $25,000. 
 
 From the State of Illinois, the Chicago authorities received 
 $3,000,000 a sum large enough to again organize the public 
 works and police and fire departments. The spirit of the peo- 
 ple may be judged from the fact, that within six weeks after 
 the fire 212 permanent stone and brick buildings were in course 
 of erection in the South Division alone. 
 
 Typical of the mood of the people were the brave words 
 which Robert L. Collier, pastor of the Church of the Messiah, 
 
 191
 
 uciivered the week after the lire. After scouting the idea, 
 advanced by certain fanatics, that Chicago had been visited by 
 the wrath of God on account of her sins, he concluded with 
 these words : 
 
 What is lost ? First, our homes. Thousands of families are homeless and penni- 
 less. Second, our business. This is temporary. Third, our money. This is a great 
 misfortune, but one Which we can repair. We have not lost First, our geography. 
 Nature called the lakes, the forests, the prairies together in convention long before we 
 were born, and they decided that on this spot, a great city should be built The railroads 
 and energetic men have aided in fulfilling the prophecy. Second, we have not lost our 
 men noble, generous, and of genius. Third, we have not lost our hope. The city is 
 to beat once rebuilt, and " the glory of the latter house shall be greater than that of the 
 former." 
 
 Rev. Dr. Robert Collyer, of Unity church, also met his 
 people the Sunday after the fire. Their church was burned, but 
 they met fronting the ruins, sang some hymns, read a few pass- 
 ages from the bible and formally resolved to rebuild their beloved 
 church. In a recent letter to a friend making inquiry as to what 
 he had said on that gloomy Sunday, Dr. Collyer replied: "I 
 doubt if there was any true report of the words I said or could 
 be, because so much of it came thick through the pain and 
 tears. But we grew cheerful, I remember, before we got 
 through and went home with our heads up, and our hearts made 
 good our resolutions, and the last dollar of the debt was paid 
 when I left Chicago."
 
 Chicago's Architectural Development. 
 
 THE FIRST STAGE TO 1853. 
 
 The following article on the architecture of Chicago was 
 written expressly for this book, by Frederick Baumann, in a 
 double sense one of the city's first architects. 
 
 The earliest survey record as to a settlement near Fort 
 Dearborn bears date of August 4, 1830. It was made for the 
 canal commission, by James Thompson, and shortly afterwards 
 was used as a record for the incorporation of the village. 
 
 The accompanying chart shows a plan of this " original 
 town." The site is flat generally, but three to four feet 
 above the level of the lake; near and parallel to .the shore of 
 which is a sandy ridge, with an added height of five or six 
 feet. Before the construction of piers and other shore protec- 
 tions, this ridge, as a product of the water's motion, was ever 
 subject to change, being increased at shielded places and 
 broken into at others by the violence of the rolling waves. 
 The bi-forked Chicago river is, as a matter of fact, but a 
 narrow bayou, with standing water. It has no current from 
 any source beyond the occasional floods produced by heavy 
 rains or melting snows. But these occasional floods may be 
 severe and destructive, for the area of level ground about 
 Chicago, inclusive of that tributary to the upper course of the 
 neighboring Des Plaines river, comprises fully seven hundred 
 square miles. Sometimes heavy snows fall, and do not melt 
 until the latter part of March. This was the case about the 
 middle of the 8o's, but nature was gracious. The spring was 
 backward, the snow melted slowly, and over a week elapsed 
 before all the water had run into the lake. As a result no 
 serious damage was done, the high water not assuming the 
 
 13 
 
 193
 
 proportions of a flood. In 1849 however, under similar con- 
 ditions, spring began with a sudden, warm rain, and melted in 
 twenty-four hours the masses of snow with which the plains 
 were covered. The consequence was a terrific rush of water 
 through the narrow channel of the river, which overflowed 
 its banks and carried away, not only all the vessels lying in 
 the stream, but even the bridges which spanned it. Every- 
 thing was swept clean by the flood, which, if repeated to-day 
 and what is there to prevent its recurrence? would destroy 
 millions of dollars' worth of property. The present Drainage 
 Board is, however, giving attention to this problem, and, when 
 the drainage channel is completed, it is understood that ample 
 provision will have been made for these flood waters. 
 
 Chicago's first actual settlement was upon the sands of the 
 north bank of the river. Later in 1845 or thereabouts a 
 large hotel was erected on the spot. It was built of brick, and 
 stood as a landmark until destroyed by the great fire. Many 
 smaller buildings had been erected on both sides of the river, 
 some of brick, two or three stories in height, but the greater 
 part of them small frame houses. It was the general custom 
 to construct the frame buildings of scantling and boards, in the 
 so-called " balloon-frame " fashion, as distinguished from the 
 heavy timber frame, in use in the old country. The " balloon- 
 frame " is distinctively an American invention, saving material, 
 and, above all, time. Foreigners are always astonished at 
 the short time required for the construction of an American 
 frame building. 
 
 The speculative tendency of the villagers soon widened the 
 boundaries of the " original town." Kinzie's addition, the 
 school section addition and Fort Dearborn addition were 
 made, and numerous other additions followed in the course of 
 time. 
 
 During Chicago's early years the construction of buildings 
 was, as a matter of necessity, entrusted entirely to the mechanics 
 and builders. Business convenience, .however, soon required 
 
 194
 
 CHICAGO 
 
 1830.
 
 that the foremost among these men that is those who under- 
 stood something about drawing arid making specifications 
 establish themselves as professional architects. The lead was 
 taken by John M. Van Osdel (died in January, 1892), Edward 
 Burling (died March, 1892), and Asher Carter (died in 1876). 
 Each of these gentlemen enjoyed a large and prosperous 
 business to the end of his days. The writer hereof, having 
 arrived at Chicago in July, 1850, became associated with Mr. 
 Burling, in February, 1852. Two years thereafter other 
 architects settled in Chicago, and at the time of the fire there 
 were in all twenty architects in the city. The number has 
 increased to fully three hundred at the present time. 
 
 The first Chicago settlers were not, as a matter of course, 
 men of wealth. They had come here to make their fortune. 
 Hence the earliest buildings were, with very rare exceptions, 
 of the plainest and simplest character. Common bricks were 
 made from beds of clay which were found in several parts of 
 the city. Pressed bricks were shipped from Indiana and Wis- 
 consin. Lumber came from the shores of the great lakes. 
 The lumber trade soon assumed gigantic proportions and made 
 Chicago the greatest lumber market in the world. Cut stone 
 caps and sills came from Joliet and from eastern points, notably 
 from Buffalo. 
 
 The narrow waterway which divided the city into three 
 parts necessitated the early establishment of ferries and later 
 the erection of bridges. The ferries were propelled by pull- 
 ing on a line, which ran from one shore to the other, and was 
 dropped for the passage of vessels. It sometimes happened 
 that owing to carelessness a vessel broke the line and in some 
 cases even ran down the ferry with its passengers. In one 
 instance sixteen persons were drowned owing to a collision be- 
 tween the ferry boat and a passing vessel. Bridges were soon built 
 to span the river at Clark, Wells, Randolph, Kinzie, Madison, 
 Van Buren and Twelfth streets. The bridges were con- 
 structed in three pieces, the central section was movable, one 
 
 196
 
 end resting on a scow in the river and the other being pivoted 
 to one of the bridge abutments. When it was necessary 
 to open the river for navigation, the scow was swung around 
 close to the shore and left an opening in the bridge large 
 enough for a vessel to pass through. This method of bridge 
 opening soon proved too primitive and slow for early Chicago 
 and in 1853 the first swing bridge was erected at Lake street, 
 not, however, without the solemn protest of a large majority of 
 the property owners on Randolph street, who were afraid that 
 such "competition" in river crossing would depreciate the value 
 of their property. The present steel, steam swinging bridges of 
 Chicago are but an outgrowth of the Lake street bridge of '53. 
 
 From the first the traffic of the city dirty even while 
 little was very active. The streets were crowded with peo- 
 ple who had no leisure. Every one in Chicago was always in 
 a hurry. Hundreds of wagons crowded the unpaved streets 
 which, in order to secure drainage for the buildings, were 
 laid out lower even than the average level of the city's site. 
 Narrow wooden sewers, discharging into the river, were laid 
 directly under the planks which covered the streets in place of 
 a real pavement. Sometimes the sewers became choked up, 
 and the heavy rains were not drained off. The planks, when 
 loosened by heavy travel, floated away on such occasions, 
 and citizens marked the places where there were no planks 
 with signs inscribed "no bottom." 
 
 In the winter Chicago was very quiet, for there were no 
 railroads, and the extensive fleet of the city lay still and fast 
 in the ice-bound river. Only a few farmers, coming to town 
 with their products, enlivened the deadness of the streets. In 
 the second stage, 
 
 CHICAGO TO 1871, 
 
 all this was changed. Numerous railroads were built and 
 kept the city's trade and commerce lively the year round. 
 Excellent water works were established and their development 
 
 197
 
 has kept pace with the city's growth, until now (1893), a new 
 p-foot tunnel, running out for four miles into the lake, supplies 
 the city with pure water. 
 
 Extensive quarries were opened at Athens, 20 miles south of 
 Chicago, in beds of Silurian limestone, large deposits of which 
 are found throughout the state. These beds vary in thickness 
 from four inches to three feet, and the stone was for many 
 years used on the best buildings in the city. It did not, how- 
 ever, prove durable, disintegrating on its exposed surfaces and 
 splitting easily when quarried in large blocks. Its use, there- 
 fore, is now confined to footings, flaggings, copings and the 
 like. Other kinds of stone were soon brought from different 
 states; oolitic limestone from Indiana; many kinds of sand- 
 stone from Ohio, marble from Vermont; granite from New 
 England, Missouri and Wisconsin. The trade in such building- 
 stone has so materially increased that at this day there are 
 probably more than a hundred kinds of free-stone and granite 
 on the local market, certainly as many if not more than 
 could be had at any other city in the world. 
 
 Brick making was soon done by machinery and the demand 
 is at present so great that probably not more than five per cent 
 of the bricks used are produced in the old-fashioned way. Face- 
 bricks of all kinds and colors came gradually into demand; St. 
 Louis, Baltimore and Philadelphia, supplied the first brick of 
 superior quality, but now they are manufactured in scores of 
 places. 
 
 More and more attention was being paid to architecture, 
 although appearances were still, to a large extent, sacrificed to 
 economy. In 1852 the six-story Exchange Bank building, 
 corner of Lake and Clark streets, was erected in a style of 
 Greek Renaissance, with both fronts of Athens limestone. 
 The next year the four-story Marine Bank, corner of Lake 
 and La Salle streets, was put up, likewise with both fronts of 
 Athens limestone, though the style was not as consistent and 
 elaborate as in the case of the other bank building. Several 
 
 198
 
 Unity Church.
 
 other buildings for store and office purposes were erected 
 before 1857, when the great financial crisis put an end for sev- 
 eral years to all building activity. None of these early build- 
 ings could bear judgment purely from the standard of high 
 art. They resulted from productive energy and that conscious 
 pride which has at all times been the father of art, but their 
 development was slow. It may well be doubted, however, 
 whether the ablest architect, under the same circumstances and 
 with the same means, could have produced results essentially 
 different. Most of the better buildings were in the style of 
 the Renaissance, but greatly simplified in order to save expense. 
 One of the finest buildings was that of the First National 
 Bank, corner of State and Washington streets. Residences 
 of luxurious elegance were exceedingly rare as yet. 
 
 In 1871 Chicago had become the metropolis of the north- 
 west, and was endowed with a feverish activity. Its inhabi- 
 tants numbered over three hundred thousand. Great things 
 were expected from the future, but all at once the city was 
 almost wiped from the face of the earth by the great fire. 
 Nothing but a portion of the South and West Divisions re- 
 mained to mark the spot where the young giant had stood. The 
 very elements had conspired for the city's annihilation. The 
 peculiar dryness of the atmosphere and the remarkable fierce- 
 ness and power of the flames gave rise to a scientific theory 
 that the air of the earth had become impregnated with gaseous 
 exhalations from Donati's comet, which at that time was in its 
 nearest approach to our planet. Another attempted explanation 
 of the great catastrophe assumed that the near presence of the 
 comet had generated a large amount of atmospheric electricity, 
 and that this contributed to the rapid spread of the flames. 
 
 THE CHICAGO OF TO-DAY. 
 
 The smoke had not lifted from the burnt city when, in the 
 heart of every patriotic citizen," it had been decided that 
 Chicago should be rebuilt. Within a year the down-town 
 
 200
 
 quarter had been well nigh rebuilt, and before two years had 
 passed almost all the scars of the great conflagration had been 
 effaced. Where formerly there had been vacant lots, or two 
 and three story frame buildings, large brick and stone struc- 
 tures were now erected. In fact, so active was the building 
 that more stores and offices were put up than were needed, 
 and only those first constructed were filled with tenants. For 
 buildings not centrally located no adequate rents could be 
 obtained. As the insurance in the burnt district was light, 
 most of the buildings were put up with borrowed money, and 
 the scarcity of tenants proved a great embarrassment to own- 
 ers. All buildings had been erected at an increased cost, 
 owing to the high prices of material and labor. The panic of 
 1873 caused numerous failures, and fortunate indeed was the 
 landlord who could keep himself afloat by the assistance of a 
 magnanimous mortgagee. 
 
 As a matter of course the new buildings erected just after 
 the fire did not differ materially from those they replaced. 
 Artistically considered, the new structures were no improve- 
 ment on the old. For nearly ten years after the panic, build- 
 ing was very dull, and it was the latter part of the 8o's before 
 it grew active again. Since 1890, however, the amount of 
 money annually expended on new buildings, is in excess of 
 that used the first year after the fire. Since 1871 the archi- 
 tects of Chicago have steadily increased in number, and have 
 done great work in the re-construction of the city. Many of 
 these men have graduated from the best schools in the east, 
 and not a few have been educated in Europe. Local educa- 
 tion in architecture has been provided for in the new 
 University of Chicago, where careful instruction will be given 
 in this art. 
 
 Chicago architecture in general is that of the English 
 school, which is in vogue in the east as well as the west. 
 Only lately has the French school made its influence strongly 
 felt on American architecture. It is, nevertheless, not too 
 
 202
 
 much to say that the English architects have not equaled 
 their French, Italian and German competitors. The ideas of 
 the Renaissance were neither so kindly received nor so fully 
 understood in England as on the continent in fact, the influ- 
 ence of the late so-called classic Renaissance of the first 
 decade of this century, was but slightly felt in England. 
 Greek art and all art derived therefrom and thereon depend- 
 ing, can by no means, be attained by a series of mechanical 
 measurements with rule and compass. It is so subtle, so 
 delicate in essential details, that it requires the genius of the 
 true artist. In recent years, however, English architects have 
 been quite happy in their work to a degree that one rriight 
 speak of it as belonging to a new school, that of the modern 
 English. Their style abounds in odd and abnormal forms, 
 which sometimes go so far as to violate the principles of 
 sound construction, and yet the result is pleasing to the eye. 
 This modern English school has had great influence on 
 Chicago, particularly in so far as residences are concerned. 
 Chicago homes are not only handsome and elegant, but like- 
 wise solid and comfortable. They take an endless variety of 
 forms, and all monotonous repetitions are avoided. Even in 
 solid rows of dwellings, each individual house bears, on its 
 narrow front, some peculiarity of design that relieves the 
 general similarity. 
 
 "7 Modern office buildings are of immense_sjze ; running from 
 .twelve to twenty stories in height. ^They "e built with an 
 irorTbr steel sTceletorT, wTnCh-trphoicls the various floors and 
 gives solidity to the structure. The facings, walls and floors 
 are made of stone, brick and terra cotta. Numerous eleva- 
 tors are an essential part of the equipment of all high buildings. 
 The interiors of the modern buildings are a vast improve- 
 ment over the style of a decade ago, being clean, light and 
 airy; but the immense windows and certain other fixed 
 details involve the sacrifice__of the frontal beauty of many 
 of the great structures. In frequent cases the architect, 
 
 204
 
 Woman's Temple.
 
 despairing of giving the large, uniform fronts any strength or 
 expression, has simply built a plain wall, regularly pierced with 
 windows. ; r -Some exceptions to this rule are to be noted: first, 
 ~~ffte~"" Insurance Exchange," which, though not a remarkably 
 costly structure, has a front that is clever in spite of its sever- 
 ity and a portico which is charming, then the " Rookery " and 
 " Phenix " buildings, both of ornate design and pleasing exte- 
 rior, and finally the "Woman's Temple." The Rookery and 
 Phenix are independently conceived in forms derived from 
 medieval productions, and are cheerful and pleasing. Prob- 
 ably no other office building in the country compares with them. 
 They give evidence of the fact that the true architect is the 
 inventor of his designs. The rudiments of these forms are in 
 existence and it is for the thinking mind to work them up and 
 so assign them as to produce a work of art. 
 
 The store buildings are not as high, on the average, as the 
 strictly office buildings. All those of recent construction are 
 fire-proof so far as possible, but it is doubtful whether they 
 could withstand the heat that would be generated by the mer- 
 chandise which they contain if a fire ever got well started. 
 Their fronts are massive and imposing. Chicago theatres are 
 numerous, the largest being the famous "Auditorium," which 
 has the greatest seating capacity of any theatre in the world. 
 The new " Schiller" is a model of beauty and elegance. 
 
 The city's hotels are for the most part, fire-proof, and are 
 built in splendid style and of the best materials. One of the 
 new hotels is fourteen stories high. The numerous apartment 
 buildings are a feature of the city. These are beautiful 
 structures, fire-proof, of excellent construction, and ranging 
 from six to twelve stories high. 
 
 THE CHICAGO OF THE FUTURE. 
 
 Chicago now has a population of one and a third million, and 
 judging the future by the past, It is safe to assume that the 
 city will enjoy an annual growth of at least 80,000 souls. At
 
 this rate the population of Chicago in 1940 would be five 
 millions. But what changes and improvements will have to be 
 made to accommodate such an enormous increase in popula- 
 tion ! As to sewers, it may be confidently asserted that the 
 new drainage canal will forever dispose of that question. The 
 new four-mile tunnel will provide a fair supply of water for 
 the immediate future, but the demand will in time exceed the 
 supply, and new works will have to be constructed and new 
 tunnels made. Still with the great lake at its doors the ques- 
 tion of Chicago's water supply is not serious. The streets of 
 the city are filled with underground sewers, gas, water and 
 steam pipes, wires, cables and pneumatic tubes. The pave- 
 ments are constantly being torn up to lay new pipes or wires 
 or to repair old ones. All this must be changed, and the best 
 way to arrange for all interests concerned is to construct 
 large tunnels under the principal streets, and in them all the 
 wires, pipes and sewers can be placed. 
 
 Chicago's enormous street traffic offers a problem difficult of 
 adequate solution. This traffic is constantly increasing, while 
 the size of the streets is fixed. No proposition to widen down- 
 town thoroughfares can be seriously entertained. Two solu- 
 tions of the difficulty have been suggested. The one provides 
 for tunnels under the streets, the other for elevated roads. 
 With proper construction, the elevated road seems to offer the 
 most satisfactory means of intra-mural communication. The 
 present elevated road, with its cumbersome trestle and dirty, 
 noisy engine, must be done away with, and a light, graceful 
 one substituted. Electricity the power of the future must 
 be used to silently and rapidly move the cars of the new road, 
 which would then prove entirely adequate to the demands of 
 a great city, and underground railroads, with their many dis- 
 advantages, would not be seriously considered. 
 
 The bridge nuisance also demands early solution. At pres- 
 ent the three divisions of the city are connected by swingin^ 
 bridges, elevated on an average fifteen feet from the surface 
 
 207
 
 of the river, so as to afford passage without opening the bridges 
 to tugs, scows and canal boats. For all large vessels, how- 
 ever, the bridges must be swung open while all neighbor- 
 ing street traffic congests and much valuable time is lost. So 
 inconvenient has the swing bridge been found, that it has 
 been seriously proposed to establish a new harbor for the city, 
 somewhere on the lake front, and to abandon the river. This 
 suggestion has been met with the greatest opposition from 
 river dock-owners and vesselmen. The latter declare that no 
 lake front harbor could provide facilities equal to the river 
 with its sixteen miles of docks. A better solution of the ques- 
 tion is to build stationary bridges the full width of the street 
 at a reasonable height say thirty feet from the water. The 
 greater width of the new bridges would counterbalance the 
 objection to the increased grade and the fact of their being 
 stationary would permit elevated roads to cross them without 
 difficulty. On the other hand, vesselmen would find that the 
 inconvenience of the new arrangement would be more than 
 off-set by its advantages. With fixed bridges, the masts of 
 vessels would have to be so constructed that they could be 
 laid flat on the decks when the harbor was reached. This 
 arrangement could be provided for by the use of a little inge- 
 nuity, and the cost of the installation and maintenance -of the 
 new arrangement would not amount to so much as would be 
 saved by the increased rapidity of river communication. There 
 would be no tedious delays in waiting for bridges to open and 
 the river channel, now blocked up with the great center pier 
 of the swinging bridges, would be free and open, for the new 
 fixed bridges could span the river without support except from 
 the two banks. 
 
 Another reform demanded by the Chicago of the future is 
 the removal of railroad tracks from the street level. The 
 tracks must be either raised or depressed. The loss of life at 
 grade crossings is so great some three hundred lives being 
 sacrificed yearly as to imperatively demand a change. 
 
 208
 
 Popular clamor is for the elevation of tracks, although Jie roads 
 themselves protest that they cannot afford to make the change, 
 and the enormous interference with all business seems to be 
 entirely overlooked. But granted that the tracks were raised, 
 what would be the benefits? The streets are even now over- 
 crowded and cable cars, although already occupying most of 
 the down-town thoroughfares, are proving unequal to the 
 demands of the present population. One elevated road has 
 been completed and others are being constructed. Relief is 
 already being sought. Elevated railroads and elevated side- 
 walks are regarded as the only means of relieving the present 
 congested condition of the streets. All this now, with a pop- 
 ulation of 1,300,000 what then will be the condition of affairs 
 with a population of five or ten millions? The question must 
 be squarely met and answered. 
 
 If we are to face the future, let us do it with unbandaged 
 eyes. Our city is unparalleled. It has become a mighty 
 metropolis in less than a half century, and within the next fifty 
 years its progress will be no less wonderful. The questions 
 it presents for solution are of a peculiar character. They 
 have not been dealt with by other large cities, but are new 
 with Chicago. We must solve our own problems, and to 
 that end the writer makes these suggestions: 
 
 1. Do away, as far as possible, with all railroad tracks in 
 the central part of the city, leaving only those that are abso- 
 lutely necessary for the handling of freight. 
 
 2. Depress, to the level of the lake, those that are allowed 
 to remain. 
 
 3. Put permanent bridges on all streets crossing these 
 depressed tracks. 
 
 4. Put tramway tracks about twenty-four feet above the 
 level of the streets. 
 
 5. Make the bridges across the river fixed, and so provide 
 for the elevated tramways between different divisions of the 
 city. 
 
 210
 
 6. Locate the railroad depots at the outskirts of the city, 
 and allow passengers to take the elevated roads to their 
 hotels or homes. If these suggestions were adopted, the 
 incoming traveler in 1940 might thus describe his experiences: 
 "The train stopped in the suburbs, for the depot is situated 
 several miles from the heart of town, and I was directed to an 
 elevator, which took me to the second story of the depot 
 building. This is on a level with the elevated tramway 
 tracks. My car soon appeared and I boarded it, and in ten 
 minutes reached the center of the city. We were not delayed 
 by open bridges, for the new Chicago has done away with 
 its swinging bridges, and the river is now spanned by fixed 
 ones, under which the vessels pass with lowered masts. I got 
 off the car onto a platform, from which I went down about 
 eight feet, and then found myself on an elevated or second 
 story sidewalk. I observed that most of the retail business 
 was done on this second story level, and that the display 
 windows in the stores were on this floor. I crossed the street 
 by a narrow bridge, went down a flight of stairs, and for the 
 first time reached the real sidewalk on the original street level. 
 I called a cab, and started for my destination in another quarter 
 of the city. We passed over several depressed railroad tracks, 
 and under numerous elevated tracks, which were of such a 
 light and graceful construction as to be neither disfiguring to 
 the city nor objectionable on the ground of darkening the 
 streets. The electric cars ran noiselessly and rapidly, and I 
 soon saw that these people had solved the questions which, 
 thirty-five years ago, had threatened to check the growth of 
 the city." 
 
 211
 
 Chicago's Art Development. 
 
 It is self-evident that so young a city as Chicago can have 
 no history of art proper, for art can flourish only where there 
 are firmly established conditions of life, and wealth and comfort 
 generally prevail, for only then is there a desire to 
 adorn and to improve life by art culture. All these conditions 
 were wanting in the arduous life of the pioneer, and had first 
 to be created by the hard work of many years. Notwith- 
 standing this, we find, shortly after the foundation of Chicago, 
 pioneers of art at work, preparing the rough and barren 
 ground to the best of their ability. Among the first blos- 
 soms thus obtained were those which showed themselves on 
 the field of music. Though the work was never so hard and 
 the prospect never so discouraging, the innate energy of the 
 true pioneer, his enthusiasm undampened by disappointment, 
 successfully overcame all difficulties. 
 
 The Chicago Harmonic society gave a concert of considera- 
 ble pretensions as early as December, 1835, and in 1844 there 
 were two music instructors in the city. P. T. Barnum 
 brought a concert troupe with Italian artists to Chicago in 
 November, 1840, and in 1845-46 there was given a series of 
 concerts of real merit. The Choral Union was founded in 
 1846, with J. Johnson as leader. In 1849 it was reorganized 
 as the Mozart society, \vith W. N. Dunham and Frank Lum- 
 bard as musical directors. An effort to give regular con- 
 certs was made in 1848-1849, when Mr. Christopher Plagge 
 organized the Philharmonic society, by which popular com- 
 positions for the piano, violin and flute were performed. But 
 the meager support given to his enterprise so discouraged 
 Mr. Plagge that he gave up the attempt and returned to the 
 east. Mr. Julius Dyhrenfurth, an accomplished amateur, and, 
 
 212
 
 for those times, an excellent violinist, was the next who tried 
 his luck with concerts. He induced twelve good musicians to 
 remove from New York, and with their assistance gave, in 
 Tremont Hall (1850-1852), popular or promenade concerts. 
 To Mr. Dyhrenfurth, therefore, belongs the honor of having 
 made the first attempts to give orchestra concerts, although 
 on a smaller scale. However, it soon became clear to Mr. 
 Dyhrenfurth that in Chicago a mercantile career promised 
 more than an artistic one, and he relinquished art and devoted 
 himself to business. The musicians then living in Chicago 
 founded the Great Western band, which under their leaders, 
 A. T. Vaas and C. Romanus, did good work, both as a 
 military band and as a string orchestra. Soon after the great 
 immigration of '48 there was formed an association in which 
 social as well as artistic ends were to be cultivated. This was 
 the Chicago Meennergesangverein, which was formed 1852, 
 and at first under Emil Rein, and later on under Julius Unger, 
 did excellent service, giving in 1855 three operatic perform- 
 ances in the Deutsche Haus: " Mordgrundbruck," "Czar 
 and Carpenter," and " Alexandro Stradella." The great mu- 
 sical event of the year 1853 was the first Chicago appearance 
 of Adelina Patti and Ole Bull, who gave concerts in April, in 
 Tremont Music Hall. 
 
 The splendid Germania Orchestra was disbanded in Boston 
 in 1853, and its eminent conductor, Carl Bergmann, was induced 
 to come to Chicago to take up the concerts abandoned 
 by Mr. Dyhrenfurth. But Chicago life did not suit him, and 
 after one season he went back to New York without having 
 accomplished much of anything. Henry Ahner, a former 
 member of the Germania Orchestra, came to Chicago in 1856 
 and conducted the newly established singing society, " The 
 Freie Sasngerbund." For several years he gave successful 
 orchestra concerts (evening and afternoon), at Metropolitan 
 Hall, corner of La Salle and Randolph streets. Ahner was a 
 genuine musical pioneer. He had great energy, a never- 
 
 213
 
 tiring perseverance and that degree of enthusiasm which 
 easily overcomes all difficulties. Besides this, he was a good 
 musician. The whole fashionable world of Chicago patron- 
 ized his concerts, and it seemed as if they would become a 
 lasting success. Unfortunately, his rather delicate constitu- 
 tion proved unequal to this exacting mode of life, and he died 
 in the summer of 1858. 
 
 During this period (1855-60), excellent chamber concerts 
 were given, first at Tremont Hall and later on in Metropol- 
 itan Hall, by the pianists Paul Becker and Mrs. Henry Band, 
 later Mrs. Kloss, the violinist, Henry De Clerque, and the 
 violoncellist, Albert Melms. These concerts, in point of merit, 
 would favorably compare with similar entertainments of the 
 present time. The Nordwestliche Sasngerbund, which had 
 been founded in Milwaukee the year before, gave its second 
 great Sasngerfest in Chicago, in June, 1857. Besides three 
 Chicago societies, there participated in this festival, societies 
 from Milwaukee, Manitowoc, Madison, Dubuque, Davenport 
 and St. Louis. All the singers, numbering 250, were quar- 
 tered in private families. The orchestra, of thirty-five, was 
 composed of Chicago musicians. The festival consisted of 
 one principal concert at Metropolitan Hall, with orchestra 
 and choral numbers, and one popular concert at the 
 " Deutsche Haus," with solo singing by the different societies, 
 on which occasion the Milwaukee musical society won the 
 highest distinction by singing Kuecken's chorus, " On the 
 Rhine." Mr. Christian Wahl was the president, and Mr. Hans 
 Balatka the musical director of the festival. The principal 
 numbers of the concert in Metropolitan Hall were : Jubilee 
 Overture for orchestra, by Weber; a fantasia, for cornet, 
 by Vivier, played by Mr. H. Ahner, and Weber's Concert- 
 stueck, played by Mrs. Henry Band. The grand choruses 
 were: "Warrior's Nightwatch" with orchestra, by Eckert, 
 Zoellner's "Mountain March," and "The Alps," by T. 
 Froehlich. 
 
 214
 
 In 1859, another American choral society was organized, 
 the " Musical Union." It was under the musical direction 
 of Mr. C. M. Cady, who, one year later, transferred it to Mr. 
 George F. Root. Choruses from oratorios, cantatas, and, later 
 on, Haydn's " Creation," but with piano accompaniment only, 
 were produced by this society. Its accompanist, Mr. A. W. 
 Dohn, to whom the progress of the Musical Union appeared 
 too slow, founded the " Mendelssohn society," which entered 
 into successful competition with the " Union," and produced 
 Sterndale Bennett's, " May Queen," Mendelssohn's 42d 
 psalm and other choral works by the same master. 
 
 The drama, even in those early days, was flourishing. 
 Rice's was the first theater building, and while some of the 
 entertainments given there were crude and with but little 
 artistic merit, others were given by the best actors in America. 
 Joseph Jefferson and his wife and their boy, the celebrated 
 Joseph Jefferson of to-day, appeared in Chicago in 1837. 
 "Hamlet" was first produced in 1839. An early Chicago 
 favorite was Mrs. Hunt, now Mrs. John Drew one of 
 America's oldest and most famous actresses. Junius Brutus 
 Booth made his first appearance in 1848. 
 
 In 1855, under the auspices of the Msennergesangverein, 
 the " Deutsche Haus " was built, corner of North Wells 
 and Indiana streets, where, it was hoped, the German 
 drama would find a lasting home. In the beginning, every- 
 thing went well and the Deutsche Haus became the center of 
 German art and society. But dissensions and jealousies 
 soon made their baneful influence felt and gradually the 
 Deutsche Haus, theatre and all, went to ruin. 
 
 In regard to painting, the advent of two famous artists is to 
 be noted; the German, H. Merkle, and the Irishman, E. Healy. 
 Healy stood very high in Paris and Rome, where he was hon- 
 ored by an order to paint the portrait of Pope Pius IX. 
 
 Music in Chicago received a new impetus by the produc- 
 tion, in the Cathedral of the Holy Name, of Mozart's 
 
 215
 
 "Requiem." Miss Emilie Garthe, soprano in the cathedral 
 choir, had conceived the idea, but there was at that time 
 no one in Chicago to undertake the work. Hans Balatka, 
 of Milwaukee, who had already gained a national reputa- 
 tion by his success with the Milwaukee musical society 
 and his management of several large Sagngerfests, was 
 suggested as the proper person to direct the production 
 of the " Requiem." He was accordingly invited to come 
 to Chicago and undertake the work. He accepted the 
 invitation, and about the middle of September, 1860, the 
 " Requiem " was given under his direction, by a chorus of 
 sixty voices, with an orchestral accompaniment of thirty 
 pieces. The soloists were Miss E. Garthe, soprano; Miss L. 
 Farrel, alto ; A. Maus, tenor, and Messrs. Christian Sonne and 
 H. de Passio, bassos. The performance was, in every par- 
 ticular, an unqualified success. A committee of the most influ- 
 ential musical people, among them Messrs. E. I. Tinkham, 
 J. G. Shortall, E. Stickney, Otto H. Matz and Dr. Brainard, 
 invited Mr. Balatka to make Chicago his future home, and to 
 take charge of a new musical organization. Mr. Balatka 
 accepted this invitation also, and in October, 1860, the Phil- 
 harmonic Society of Chicago was formed. In November its first 
 concert was given in Bryan Hall now the Grand Opera 
 House and from that time concerts took place monthly. 
 Their success was unprecedented. Almost all of Beethoven's 
 symphonies were performed, as were several from Mozart, 
 Haydn, Mendelssohn, Gade and Hugo Ulrich. There were 
 also rendered a great number of important overtures and other 
 orchestral works of the modern school, alternating with vocal 
 and instrumental solos. The demand for tickets was so great 
 that several weeks before the beginning of a new season, 
 every seat'in the hall was taken. In 1862, Balatka accepted 
 the leadership of the Musical Union, and in the spring of 1863, 
 produced the oratorio of "Elijah." In 1864, he produced at 
 McVicker's theater the opera " Czar und Zimmermann," 
 
 216
 
 (Czar and Carpenter). At this time, Mr. Paul Becker gave 
 numerous successful chamber concerts at Lyon & Healy's, 
 and Mrs. Kloss, piano, Dr. Fessel, violin, and Balatka, cello, 
 gave a series of classical concerts in the First Methodist 
 Church. 
 
 The musicians of Chicago, early in the 6o's, had separated 
 into two rival organizations, the Great Western band and the 
 Light Guard band, but in 1864 all were re-united under the 
 name Great Western Light Guard band, and instituted the 
 popular Sunday afternoon concerts, in North Side Turner 
 Hall, which still continue. 
 
 The erection of Crosby's Opera House, in 1864-65, and of 
 Farwell Hall, marked a new epoch in Chicago musical his- 
 tory. Crosby's Opera House was opened with a four weeks' 
 season of Italian opera, given by such famous artists as Zucchi, 
 Morensi, Kellogg, Mazzoleni, Massimiliani and Bellini. The 
 Philharmonic society transferred its concerts to the new opera 
 house, but owing to the greater popularity of the opera the 
 patronage of the concerts gradually diminished and they were 
 finally abandoned. From 1866 to 1868, Balatka gave symphony 
 concerts in Farwell Hall and supplemented them with several 
 series of afternoon concerts, but the financial success of the 
 new departure was indifferent and these concerts, too, were 
 given up. 
 
 In the realm of vocal art things went somewhat better. 
 The Musical Union was re-organized under the name of the 
 Oratorio society, and gave, in Farwell Hall, a series of brilliant 
 performances, with a chorus of 400 voices, and such soloists 
 as Parepa Rosa, Nielsson, Gary, Nordbloom, Whitney and 
 Rudolphson. Not only the artistic, but even the financial suc- 
 cess of these concerts was complete. The Maennerchor socie- 
 ties now received a new impetus. Hans Balatka assumed the 
 directorship of the Germania Maennerchor and worked to 
 make the society the center of all German art and society in 
 Chicago. His remarkable talent for organization soon brought 
 
 217
 
 about the desired result and the Germania Maennerchor com- 
 pared favorably with the Liederkranz and Arion societies of 
 New York. At the time of Lincoln's funeral, the Germania 
 Maennerchor rendered several German choruses. Later 
 some members of the Germania, under Otto Lob, formed the 
 Concordia Maennerchor, and now a healthy and profitable 
 rivalry sprang up between the two societies. The result was 
 a series of highly enjoyable concerts and other musical enter- 
 prises, which, in 1870, culminated with the performance, by the 
 Germania, of the operas " Der Freischuetz" and "Stradella" 
 and the rendering of the " Magic Flute," by the Concordia, 
 The solo parts were given by amateurs only, but so much 
 care had been bestowed upon them that the performances 
 were fully equal to all requirements of art. The mount- 
 ing of the operas and the ensemble were much better 
 than Chicago had ever seen before; for the Italian and 
 Parepa's English opera troops had had a chorus of but 
 forty voices and an orchestra of twenty-five or thirty pieces, 
 while the choruses of these societies numbered over one hun- 
 dred singers and the orchestras consisted of sixty musicians. 
 The great Saengerfest of the North American Saengerbund, 
 which was held in Chicago in the month of June, 1865, formed 
 an important episode in the musical life of the city. It was 
 distinguished from other festivals of the kind by being not 
 only of a national, but also of an international character. 
 Thirty-six clubs belonging to the American Saengerbund, and 
 the two leading New York societies, the Arion and Lieder- 
 kranz, were represented. Mr. Emil Dietzsch, the secretary of 
 the festival, was instructed by the executive committee to send 
 invitations to every singing society in Germany. A delega- 
 tion of German singers actually took part in the festival. The 
 three grand concerts were given in the skating rink, corner of 
 Wabash avenue and Jackson street. The chorus consisted of 
 1 200 singers, while the grand orchestra, for the first time 
 on such an occasion, numbered one hundred musicians. 
 
 218
 
 Gerniania Maennerchor Club House.
 
 The artistic and financial successes were equally great. 
 The receipts of the concerts gave a surplus of about 
 $4000, which sum was divided among the seven Chicago 
 societies that had arranged the festival. Encouraged by the 
 great success of its concerts and operas, the. Germania 
 Masnnerchor, celebrated, December 17, 1870, the one hun- 
 dredth anniversary of Beethoven's birth by the production of 
 the master's immortal Ninth Choral Symphony. 
 
 Meanwhile the number of theatres had increased from two 
 to seven, and the character of their general work was excel- 
 lent. The German drama still languished in a state of total 
 impotency, but Chicago became well known among Ameri- 
 can cities for its high standard of dramatic art. The stock 
 company system was still in vogue. The great stars traveled 
 from city to city, where they were supported by local companies. 
 Chicago's stock companies were from the first composed of 
 actors of the highest ability. Many a man who graduated 
 from one -of McVicker's stock companies has since achieved a 
 national reputation. Though not the pioneer of the Chicago 
 'drama, James H. McVicker has contributed more to the city's 
 development in that line than any other half dozen men. 
 Himself -a comedian of the highest ability, he made his first 
 appearance in Chicago in April, 1848. At that time Rice's 
 theatre was the home of the dramatic muse, and young 
 McVicker was engaged as the comedian. He was very suc- 
 cessful, but in 1851 left the city and began a starring tour 
 through the United States. In 1855 he went to England, 
 where he continued his successes. In 1857 he returned to 
 Chicago, and on November 5th opened McVicker's theatre 
 the most costly, substantial and convenient theatre in the 
 west. Its seating capacity was 2500, its stage of ample size, 
 and its properties and scenery-complete. From the first, plays 
 of standard merit were performed by actors of no mean 
 ability. Mr. McVicker organized a stock company that made 
 his theatre famous, not only in America, but even in England. 
 
 220
 
 Occasionally McVicker himself appeared, as was the case 
 when the celebrated actor, James E. Murdoch, visited Chicago 
 in December, 1857, giving a repertoire of Shakespearean plays. 
 In the January following, Charlotte Cushman played at 
 McVicker's, and in May Edwin Booth made his first appear- 
 ance. Miss Mary McVicker, afterwards Mrs. Edwin Booth, 
 appeared at her father's theatre in August, 1859. The cele- 
 ebrated Adah Isaacks Menken, the elder Sothern, J. Wilkes 
 Booth, Edwin Forrest, J. H. Hackett, America's most famous 
 " Falstaff," Daniel E. Bandmann, the German tragedian, and 
 Lawrence Barrett were other stars who played at McVicker's 
 before the fire. 
 
 Among Chicago artists at this time were G. P. A. Healy, 
 S. P. Tracy, Howard - Strong, E. Schwert, Daniel F. 
 Bigelow and Leonard W. Volk. In May, 1859, tne 
 first Art Exposition was held in Chicago. The contribu- 
 tors numbered seventy, and the catalogue showed 
 twenty pieces of statuary, twenty works in water 
 color and over three hundred in oil on exhibition. 
 So great w r as the success of this enterprise that the local 
 artists formed the Chicago Art Union. Shortly before his 
 nomination for the presidency, Abraham Lincoln sat for L. W. 
 Volk, the sculptor, who executed an excellent bust, which was 
 afterwards exhibited at the Paris Exposition of 1867. In 
 1866 the Chicago Academy of Design was founded by several 
 professional artists who were eager to foster local art. 
 
 During the war George F. Root gained a national reputa- 
 tion by his war songs, ' The Battle Cry of Freedom," 
 "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp," "Marching Through Georgia," 
 and others. 
 
 The great fire wiped out of existence most of Chicago's 
 musical societies. The Oratorio Society had just finished 
 rehearsing the two great oratorios of " Eli," by Costa, and 
 "Judas Maccabaeus," by Ilandl, which were to be produced 
 about the middle of October, when both the music and instru- 
 
 221
 
 ments of the society were lost in the fire. The society 
 was re-organized in the fall of 1872, with J. A. Butterfield as 
 conductor, and the Handl and Haydn Society of Boston came 
 to its assistance with a donation of several hundred volumes 
 for its library. A concert was announced in the spring of 
 1873 in the Congregational Church, near Union Park, on the 
 West Side, but on the night before the concert the church 
 was destroyed by fire, with all the music and instruments of 
 the society. Some steps were taken to keep up the organiza- 
 tion, but its misfortunes had been too great, and it ceased to 
 exist. But soon there was a new ray of hope. The inhabi- 
 tants of Chicago had quickly recovered from the effects of 
 the terrible blow, and showed unexampled energy in rebuild- 
 ing the city. As if by magic new residences and commercial 
 palaces arose from the debris and ruins, trade and commerce 
 revived, wages were high, and the newly-acquired wealth 
 created a desire for adorning life by the fine arts. The Ger- 
 mania Msennerchor, under Julius Fuchs as director, found a 
 new home in the Greenebaum building, and resumed its former 
 activity, although on a smaller scale. 
 
 Of especial importance in the musical development of 
 Chicago was the organization of the "Apollo Musical Club," 
 early in the summer of 1872. George P. Upton was its presi- 
 dent, and S. G. Pratt the conductor. The office of conductor 
 afterwards passed into the hands of Mr. A. W. Dohn, a 
 thorough musician, who tried to make the Apollo club a 
 Meennerchor after the fashion of the German societies. Of 
 the original number, no one ever dreamed that the club would 
 attain the exalted position which it enjoys at present, not 
 only in Chicago, but in the whole country. Its first con- 
 cert was given January 2ist at Standard Hall, and the singing 
 was so excellent that none of the German societies could have 
 competed with it. Mr. Dohn soon resigned the conductorship 
 of the club to W. L. Tomlins. Under the new leader its 
 development was rapid. Mr. Tomlins was not only a thor- 
 
 222
 
 ough musician, but had the personal magnetism necessary to 
 make a great society. He soon developed the highest ability 
 as a choral leader, and to-day stands unrivalled in this line of 
 work. He not only changed the whole style of the club's sing- 
 ing, but made it a mixed, instead of a male chorus. The popu- 
 larity of the concerts was phenomenal and constantly increased. 
 They were given exclusively for its associate members, 
 and the number of these rapidly grew. The society dedicated 
 McCormick's Hall, in the North Division, then the Central 
 Music Hall on State street, and in 1889 the great Auditorium. 
 In its repertory are to be found nearly all the standard works of 
 the great masters of ancient and modern times, and it produced 
 recently some new works for the first time in America among 
 them Becker's " Reformation Cantata," Sullivan's "The 
 Golden Legend," the " Te Deum," by Berlioz. Not 
 content with such brilliant achievements, it instituted in 
 1882-1884, in connection with Theodore Thomas, grand 
 musical festivals at the Exposition building, with the assistance 
 of such celebrities as Materna, Nielsson, Gary and Winkelmann 
 Toedt, Remmertz, Whitney, Scaria. It had a chorus of one 
 thousand singers and an orchestra of 120 musicians. The 
 club is at present in the most flourishing condition, giving to its 
 associate members several concerts every season. These con- 
 certs are always repeated for the wage workers. The num- 
 ber of its activj members is five hundred. It can successfully 
 compete with any similar European organization, and proba- 
 bly surpasses them all in efficiency. To George P. Upton, 
 the club's first president, the cause of art in Chicago is much 
 indebted. Mr. Upton is an art critic of rare ability and has 
 always given the heartiest support to the advancement of the 
 musical interests of the city. His just criticisms and his keen 
 appreciation of all that is excellent, have been a source of 
 inspiration and encouragement to local artists, especially. 
 
 Balatka returned from Milwaukee in the fall of 1873 and 
 organized the Chicago Liederkranz, which not only inaugu- 
 
 223
 
 rated successful concerts at the North Side Turner Hall, but 
 in 1874, produced at McVicker's theatre, the opera of "Mas- 
 aniello," which was equally successful from an artistic and finan- 
 cial standpoint. About the same time another American 
 society, the " Beethoven Society," came into existence. Mr- 
 Carl Wolfssohn, the leader, was a musician of excellent taste, 
 a fine pianist and a great admirer of Beethoven. The society 
 existed for about six years, during which period it produced 
 such works as : Mendelssohn's " Elijah " and " Loreley " and 
 Verdi's " Requiem," Bruch's " Odysseus " and " Lay of 
 the Bell," and Hoffmann's " Melusine " and " Cinderella." 
 Although the society prospered at first, the rivalry of the 
 Apollo Club at length proved too much for it and it dis- 
 banded. 
 
 The great commercial crisis of 1873 was not without its 
 influence upon matters of art. The general necessity for strict 
 economy left nothing for the support of the arts. The ILied- 
 erkranz went under and the other German society languished. 
 A new musical club, the " Abt Society," was organized in 
 1876 from the ranks of the best American singers, with C. 
 Loesch as director. It was, however, composed of only solo 
 singers, who would not submit to the indispensable choral dis- 
 cipline, and disbanded in 1879, after having given several good 
 concerts at McCormick's Hall. In 1877, the first series of 
 summer night concerts was inaugurated by George B. Car- 
 penter at the Exposition building, with Theodore Thomas as 
 conductor. These concerts proved very successful until 1891, 
 when the Exposition building was torn down to make room for 
 the new Art Institute. Ten years ago chamber music received 
 particular attention in Chicago. The Trio evenings, given 
 by Carl Wolfssohn, the classical concerts of Adolph Liese- 
 gang and the chamber music soirees of Mr. Clarence Eddy and 
 William Lewis, in connection with Miss Agnes Ingersoll, were 
 especially noteworthy. Mr. Wolfssohn's concerts are still 
 an attraction every season. In the year 1881, Chicago was 
 
 224
 
 again honored with the authority to organize another of the 
 great musical festivals of the North American Saengerbund. 
 Besides the usual male choruses a grand mixed chorus was to 
 participate in the event. The president of the festival was 
 Lewis Wahl, and the conductor was Hans Balatka. Singers 
 of great reputation were engaged; among them, Madam 
 Peschka-Leutner, soprano; Miss Gary, alto; Messrs. Candidus, 
 tenor; Remmertz, baritone; Whitney, basso. The first concert 
 was given Wednesday, June 2pth, in the Exposition building, 
 when Bruch's " Odysseus " was produced with a mixed 
 chorus of 1 200 singers from Chicago, Milwaukee and Cincin- 
 nati, accompanied by an orchestra of 150 pieces. On the 
 following Thursday the male chorus sang alone. When the 
 grand chorus of 2200 men opened with Moehring's " Prayer 
 before the Battle," an indescribable enthusiasm prevailed in the 
 audience. Such an overpowering body of sound nobody had 
 ever heard before. Equally effective was the singing of the 
 other choruses : " Salamis," by Max Bruch, and " The Con- 
 secration of Solomon's Temple," by Titl. Everything indi- 
 cated the grand success of the festival. But fate had decreed 
 otherwise. On Saturday morning, July 2d, during rehearsal, 
 came the terrible news of the assassination of President Gar- 
 field, and all enthusiasm was at an end. The concert in the 
 evening, at which Beethoven's ninth Symphony and scenes from 
 Wagner's " Lohengrin " were given, found no sympathetic 
 ear, although the most famous soloists in the world took part 
 in it. 
 
 It seemed now that the idea to give Chicago a society 
 after the manner of the Liederkranz and Arion of New York 
 was about to reach its fulfillment. A movement was set on 
 foot to combine the German singers in the Germania Maenner- 
 chor, which had given much encouragement to the festival of 
 1881. But opposing elements arose and defeated the plan, at 
 the same time striking a blow at the cultivation of German 
 song in Chicago. For, whereas, the vocal forces of native 
 
 is 225
 
 Americans became more and more united until the Apollo club 
 grew to be the one great exponent of choral music, the German 
 forces have gradually scattered. There are remaining, how- 
 ever, some good German societies which give occasional 
 concerts. Among them are: The Germania, Concordia, 
 Sennefelder Liederkranz, Orpheus Masnnerchor, Teutonia, 
 Fidelia, Liedertafel Vorwaerts, Frohsinn and North Chicago 
 Liedertafel. 
 
 A leading feature of Chicago's musical life is the Amateur 
 Musical club, members of which are exclusively ladies highly 
 accomplished in music. It numbers about two hundred active 
 and five hundred associate members. It arranges fourteen 
 concerts every season, seven of which are for the active mem- 
 bers only, and the other seven for the entire membership. 
 Besides these concerts, this club gives several entertainments 
 each season for the benefit of charitable institutions. Among 
 the musical events of the last period, the three of overshadow- 
 ing importance are the grand opera festival of three weeks' 
 duration at the Exposition building in 1885, with Pattias prima 
 donna; the opening of the Auditorium, December 9, 1889, by the 
 Abbey and Grau Italian opera company, with Patti again princi- 
 pal; and the organization of the Chicago Orchestral associa- 
 tion under Theodore Thomas. 
 
 The Auditorium is one of the largest and best equipped 
 opera houses in the world. Its interior is not surpassed in 
 elegance and comfort anywhere, and its acoustics are admira- 
 ble. For large political meetings it will accommodate an 
 audience of 5000, but by an ingenious contrivance this 
 capacity can be reduced for purposes of grand opera 
 and for ordinary plays. The Chicago Orchestral associ- 
 ation was formed in 1891 by fifty citizens of Chicago, who 
 guaranteed its expense for three years by subscribing a fund 
 of $150.000. The trustees of the association are N. K. Fair- 
 bank, C. N. Fay, E. B. McCagg, E. D. Hamill and A. C. 
 Bartlett. The officers are: N. K. Fairbank, president: C. 
 
 226
 
 N. Fay, vice-president; P. A. McEwan, treasurer, and Milward 
 Adams, manager. Theodore Thomas was engaged to take 
 the orchestra in charge, and now makes Chicago his home. 
 The orchestra gives twenty first-class concerts annually, each of 
 which is preceded by a so-called public rehearsal, at which the 
 entire programme of the following concert is given. The 
 first season was financially unsuccessful, but the second 
 showed a great improvement in this respect. From 
 the first, the work of Chicago's new orchestra was, 
 artistically considered, most excellent. The entire credit 
 for its accurate conception and splendid execution is due 
 to its celebrated leader, Theodore Thomas, who resigned 
 the leadership of the Metropolitan Orchestra in New York 
 to organize the greater Chicago institution. Under 
 Mr. Thomas' management the work of Chicago's orchestra 
 compares favorably with similar organizations both in Europe 
 and America. His fidelity to the Wagner school and his 
 marked preference for the severer classical music at first 
 detracted from the popular appreciation of the work of the 
 great orchestra under his control. But the masses were 
 quick to feel the educating stimulus of his work and the result 
 must be highly gratifying to Mr. Thomas. 
 
 Owing to his position as one of America's leading musicians, 
 Mr. Thomas was chosen as the musical director of the 
 World's Fair. Mr. Tomlins was made choral director. They 
 have made extensive arrangements for the work in their 
 department, and the cause of music in Chicago will receive 
 the greatest impetus during the World's Fair period. 
 
 As disseminators of musical taste and culture, the 
 numerous music schools and art institutes finally deserve 
 a special mention, most of them being provided with 
 excellent and conscientious teachers. The prominent among 
 these institutes are the American Conservatory of Music, 
 Apollo Musical school, Athenaeum, Balatka Academy of 
 Musical Art, Chicago Conservatory, Chicago Musical Col-
 
 lege, Gottschalk's School of Lyric Art, National Conservatory 
 of Music and F. W. Root's Music school. One of 
 the potent promoters of musical art and education in 
 Chicago is the Newberry Library. It was endowed 
 by Walter L. Newberry, and a great part of the endow- 
 ment is devoted to the enlargement of its musical equip- 
 ment. The works there that have an especial interest for 
 musicians include a great number of oratorios, operas, cantatas, 
 symphonies and chamber music, in most cases, with vocal and 
 instrumental parts, biographies, histories of music, musical dic- 
 tionaries, history of instruments and instrumentation, letters 
 and writings of musicians, special editions of rare volumes 
 and all prominent works published by subscriptions. The 
 rarest work in the whole collection is probably the 
 original edition of the opera of " Euridice," by Taiopo Peri, 
 printed at Florence in 1600. It was the first opera that was 
 ever performed, and it is believed that the Chicago copy is 
 the only one of the edition of 1600 now in existence. It was 
 purchased at Florence at a high price. The great advantage 
 which this library offers to the student is that he can study 
 musical literature and history from original sources, without the 
 necessity of going abroad. For the cultivation of the drama the 
 later Chicago has erected over twenty new theatres of great 
 splendor, in which many works of true art are performed. More 
 than one of the modern stock companies have favored Chi- 
 cago with the first productions of some of the cleverest Eng- 
 lish and American comedies, which afterwards found great 
 favor with audiences in the east and in England. Enterpris- 
 ing dramatic managers * have thus recognized Chicago's 
 importance among American centers for the drama. 
 
 The fine arts have enjoyed for many years a fostering care 
 from the Chicago Art Institute, formerly situated at the corner 
 of Van Buren street and Michigan avenue, but now about to 
 occupy a magnificent new building on the Lake Front at the 
 foot of Adams street. This new temple of art is a pride to 
 
 230
 
 the eye of every citizen of Chicago, and will be one of the 
 enduring forces to turn the public mind toward higher culture, 
 and to enlarge and dignify the artistic and aesthetic element in 
 Chicago life. Valuable works of art, both in painting and 
 sculpture, are collected there (some original and more copies, 
 ancient and modern) through the munificence of wealthy 
 patrons. The rooms, which are certainly designed with 
 as much wisdom as those of any art building in the world, are 
 open to the student as well as to the general public every 
 day. On Sundays access to the galleries is free. Among the 
 greater works there are original masterpieces by Murillo, 
 Van Dyke, Rembrandt and Rubens. 
 
 It is apparent that Chicago's growth in lines of the fine arts 
 has been an arduous progress, impeded by many reverses and 
 painful disappointments, but crowned often with a flattering 
 degree of success. No small glory has the city won in its 
 efforts to cultivate matters of art and keep them apace with 
 its development in commerce and industry, but the future 
 has much to accomplish in order to place the city at the 
 head of American centers of art. The past four years 
 have been years of marvellous strides in that direction and 
 give reason, not only for hopefulness in the work yet to be 
 accomplished, but also for pride in the work already done. 
 
 231
 
 The Public Library. 
 
 There is perhaps no public institution in this country that 
 has had so wonderful a development as the public library. 
 While as yet we have not the largest libraries, we have the 
 most useful. Collections of books for the use of the masses 
 are justly called "the universities of the people," and their 
 educational influence upon the people cannot be measured. 
 The knowledge books impart is, as a rule, concise and compact, 
 and libraries have, therefore, an advantage over schools. 
 Schools need the positive individual learning of the teachers 
 and their practical skill to impart it, and in proportion to these 
 they are successful in accomplishing their ends, while mere 
 technical knowledge and skill on part of the administration 
 suffice to make a library comparatively useful. This, in con- 
 junction with the energy and generosity of the American 
 people, explains the marvellous development of the American 
 libraries. 
 
 It is perfectly natural that the public library of Chicago 
 should have surpassed those of its older sister cities. Its his- 
 tory is but a parallel to the history of the city itself. The 
 library is to-day by far the most used in the land. The 
 use of a library that is, its conditional usefulness is 
 dependent partly on the completeness of its collection and 
 partly upon the character of its administration. The Chi- 
 cagoans, then, have every reason to be proud of the former 
 and to be satisfied with the latter. But the Chicago Pub- 
 lic Library can show in its favor, besides these subjective 
 conditions, also objective proofs of its excellency and supe- 
 riority. Among these it will suffice to mention the fact that the 
 library received the award of a gold medal at the Paris Inter- 
 national Exposition of 1889, the only distinction ever awarded 
 
 232
 
 to an American library at any competitive international expo- 
 sition. But the library speaks best for itself. The beginnings 
 were small and the- conditions the most adverse imaginable. 
 We will have to go back somewhat beyond the beginnings 
 of the present institution in order to understand how it grew. 
 Just as a private library, collected and used by its owner, indi- 
 cates the degree of the latter's mental acquirements, so public 
 libraries indicate the mental status of a community. The 
 history, then, of the efforts of a community in this direction is 
 of the utmost importance, and it may even be said to be its 
 actual history, since the visible happenings are but the effects of 
 the invisible causes in the life of entire communities as well 
 as of individuals. It is natural that the material interests of the 
 young city required at first all the time and energy of its 
 inhabitants. But no sooner was the material existence of the 
 commonwealth assured than the mental needs of the people 
 began to assert themselves. Those who recognized and were 
 in position to do anything towards satisfying these needs, made 
 various efforts in that direction. How numerous were the 
 obstacles and how great the difficulties in a young community 
 working out its own existence, can be understood only by 
 those who know the circumstances produced by entirely 
 new political and social conditions. The population of the 
 young city was very peculiar, and, in a commonwealth of such 
 magnitude, without precedent. It had not grown in the normal 
 way and was not composed of elements of kindred descent 
 and homogeneous nature. The majority of those to 
 whom the city is indebted for what it is to-day, had 
 come here in riper years from other parts of the United 
 States and from foreign countries. What this heterogene- 
 ous mass of people possessed in the way of intellectual 
 treasures was as different as their outward qualities, and, in 
 the case of a great many of them was very insignificant. The 
 schools sufficed, it is true, to give to the children of the settlers 
 a common, practical education, but they could not do anything 
 
 233
 
 toward satisfying the mental needs of the adult portion of the 
 population. The less so as these were compelled as yet to 
 employ their entire time for their material necessities. Churches, 
 too, of all denominations, grew up rapidly, but the church and 
 other similar moral institutions have but a one-sided educa- 
 tional influence upon the mental faculties of man. 
 
 Public lectures which have for their object the mental 
 development and training of the masses, and public institu- 
 tions of like tendency, as the theatre, the museum and other 
 "high schools of the liberal arts," can nowhere do less than 
 in a young community in which the fermentation is still going 
 on and this is so partly because their efforts must needs be 
 of a general nature, requiring in all the same grade of mental 
 culture, and partly because they consume more time than the 
 people can spare. Under such conditions, then, no educating 
 power is left but literature, and no other means to make it 
 accessible to all the people but free public libraries. And it is 
 in this direction, therefore, that we see turned the efforts of 
 those who had recognized the mental needs of Chicago's 
 early population. Before the great fire these efforts were 
 only occasional and individual, and being often prompted by per- 
 sonal ambition or other egotistic motives, met with but little 
 success. There were, in fact, but three libraries worth men- 
 tioning, and after the fire, which destroyed them all, none 
 were re-opened. These libraries, those of the Chicago His- 
 torical Society, the Young Men's Christian Association and the 
 Young Men's Library Association, had in no way been 
 adequate to the needs of the people. The Young Men's 
 Library Association had had a very promising beginning, and 
 was fairly under way to become what a public library should 
 be. Its first president was Walter L. Newberry, who by his 
 later bequest of over three million dollars, has given the city 
 the great Newberry Library, which, under the able and 
 experienced management of Dr. William F. Poole, is rapidly 
 coming to the front rank of American libraries. Quite a num-
 
 her of Chicago's best, most cultured and wealthiest citizens 
 also belonged to the association that had established this 
 library. But Illinois had at that time no library law and the 
 Chicago Library was, therefore, a subscription library, and, 
 having no certain income adequate to its requirements, was of 
 but limited usefulness and unable to comply with the increas- 
 ing demands upon it. At the time of the fire it was heavily 
 in debt. That the unsatisfactory condition of affairs was fully 
 appreciated will be seen from the following extract from the 
 Chicago Tribune, of September 10, 1871, a month before the 
 fire: 
 
 "We are a community of nearly 350,000 inhabitants, and have absolutely no public 
 library deserving the name. Not only is there no library in this city where a 
 scholar could solve a difficult question in literature, or art or science, or where an edu- 
 cated man, to whom reading and study are a necessity, could find books to satisfy his 
 modest desires.but there is not even one where he who wants to get a common educa- 
 tion could find the means to this end. * * Chicago has no lack of educated people, 
 but they are chiefly among those classes who do not enjoy the means necessary to acquire 
 a library of their own. But even if that were not so, the blame would nevertheless be 
 attached to us as a civilized community, for not being in possession of a public library." 
 
 But the agitators for a public library had not rested. Just 
 before the fire, strenuous efforts had been made, and a bill 
 presented to the State Legislature by William H. King, 
 of Chicago. This provided that free public libraries be 
 established in the larger cities of the state, to be maintained 
 by general taxation. But the intended results of all these 
 efforts were frustrated by the vigilant and active opposition of 
 a strong minority of the tax-payers, who lacked that unselfish- 
 ness and public spirit which are the very essence and found- 
 ation of a democratic commonwealth. Then came the fire and 
 wiped out of existence the makeshift libraries that had, in a 
 measure, hidden the urgent necessity for a first-class public 
 institution. But it did more. It also paralyzed the opposition 
 to a free public library by widening the bonds of sympathy 
 on the one hand, and by directing the attention of some of the 
 opponents to their own interests on the other. Schiller says 
 that " man grows with his higher aims," and this applies also 
 to communities of men. The new city had to be built up 
 
 235
 
 again upon a broader basis and in accordance with a higher 
 plan. Some were still in hopes that the " Chicago Library " 
 could be re-established. Mr. Robson, the former librarian of 
 that institution, took the utmost pains to revive the interest of 
 the officers of his association. Fortunately it was soon recog- 
 nized that a city like Chicago must have a public library, and 
 Mr. Robson himself was quite willing to go to England, his 
 native land, in the interest of the free public library, which 
 it was proposed to establish. Meanwhile the great misfortune 
 that had visited Chicago had called forth the warmest sympa- 
 thy in England, where it was decided to send to Chicago a 
 miscellaneous collection of books, to form the nucleus of a new 
 library. At the head of this movement stood Thomas 
 Hughes, assisted by men like Disraeli and Burgess, and high 
 and low, from the Queen down to the most humble man of 
 the people, took an interest and part in it. Many a compara- 
 tively poor man contributed towards the noble and lasting 
 monument his country was about to erect to itself in the new 
 world. Contributions poured in upon a call from Hughes and 
 Burgess, the president and secretary of the executive com- 
 mittee, that had been at once formed. During this time, 
 however, the people in Chicago were by no means idle. A 
 plan for the proposed people's library was worked out and 
 the necessary steps were taken for its immediate execution. 
 A number of competent and experienced men drew up proper 
 bills to be substituted to the Legislature, so that the cause 
 might not be delayed when the proper time came. The first 
 public action was January 5, 1873, when twenty-eight promi- 
 nent citizens requested Mayor Joseph Medill to call a general 
 mass meeting of the citizens of Chicago, for the purpose of 
 establishing a free public library. 
 
 On Monday evening, January 8, 1872, a meeting was held 
 in Plymouth Church, and the matter thoroughly discussed. 
 Many thought that such a library could be supported only 
 through private munificence, but Mr. Daniel L. Shorey, an 
 
 236
 
 experienced lawyer and later president of the library board, 
 expressed himself decidedly and strongly in favor of public 
 taxation for the purpose. This brought decision and clearness 
 into the deliberations. No one, perhaps, had given the sub- 
 ject as much thought as Mr. Shorey, so his arguments, ably 
 and clearly presented, convinced all. Thereupon Mr. E. C. 
 Larned presented a resolution, which was at once adopted, 
 giving it as the sense of the meeting that "a free public 
 library was of the utmost importance to the best interests and 
 welfare of the people of Chicago, and that the present time 
 was the most favorable for its establishment." The resolution 
 further called upon the people of the city for active assistance 
 in carrying out the plan, and expressed to Mr. Hughes and 
 the English friends associated with him, the warmest thanks 
 of the meeting. It is a remarkable fact that Mr. Larned, in 
 his speech introducing his resolution, expressed himself very 
 decidedly in favor of Dearborn Park as the best site for 
 the library the very place where now, twenty-one years 
 after that meeting and after long years of struggle for the 
 spot, the new library building is being erected. By another 
 resolution the mayor was empowered to appoint a committee to 
 at once take steps necessary to the establishment of such 
 library, to prepare bills for the Legislature, and to further the 
 project with all possible energy and speed. This committee 
 consisted of Messrs. Thomas Hoyne, W. E. Doggett, E. C. 
 Larned, S. S. Hayes, James Warrack, D. L. Shorey, J. M. 
 Walker, W. B. Ogden, Henry Greenebaum, George S. 
 Bowen, Judge Henry Booth, Levi Z. Leiter, George Schneider, 
 Edwin L. Brown, Wm. Bross, Jno. V. Farwell, C. H. McCor- 
 mick, Julius Rosenthal, J. Y. Scammon, Carter H. Harrison. 
 Now the work was begun in good earnest. All the gentle- 
 men on the committee were men of great experience and 
 uncommon energy, and were well acquainted with all legal 
 forms and requirements. The first great result of their work 
 was a law passed by the Legislature of the state as early as 
 
 237
 
 February 22, 1872, which empowered the council of each 
 incorporated city in Illinois " to establish and maintain a public 
 library and reading room for the use and benefit of the inhab- 
 itants of such city, and to levy a tax of not to exceed one mill 
 and in large cities one-fifth of one mill annually." The law 
 provided further that every such library was to be governed 
 by a board of directors of nine members, to be appointed by 
 the mayor and confirmed by the council. The law went into 
 effect the yth of March of the same year, and immediately 
 thereafter the city council of Chicago adopted an ordinance 
 creating a "free public library" and providing for its estab- 
 lishment and maintenance in every particular. At the next 
 meeting the mayor sent in the names of nine of the most 
 prominent citizens of Chicago, whom he had appointed 
 to compose the first board of directors of the public library. 
 These gentlemen were: Thomas Hoyne, Robert T. Queal 
 and Daniel L. Shorey, to serve one year, Willard Woodard, 
 Elliott Anthony, Julius Rosenthal, to serve two years, and 
 Hermann Raster, James W. Sheehan, Samuel S. Hayes, to 
 serve three years. The unequal terms are explained by the 
 provisions of the law requiring the appointment of three 
 directors each year, the term of office to be three years. The 
 appointment of the nine gentlemen mentioned was promptly 
 confirmed by the council. A great deal more than might be 
 supposed depended on the first work in the direction of mak- 
 ing the library a real public library a library for the people. 
 The present admirable condition, popularity and usefulness 
 of the institution is in no small degree due to the founda- 
 tion laid by the first board. Literature is of universal 
 character; it is the common property of mankind and 
 its mission is therefore an international one. A large library 
 cannot confine itself to a particular language, except, per- 
 haps, in the lines of common, domestic literature. The 
 board of directors of the Chicago public library met for its 
 first session. March n, 1872, and organized by electing its 
 
 2 3 8
 
 officers and appointing its standing committees. Mr. Thomas 
 Hoyne, who had shown himself very zealous in the cause, was 
 elected president, and within a short time the services of a 
 capable secretary were secured in the person of William B. 
 Wickersham, who has faithfully served the board and the 
 library to the present time (1893 ) . Everything being ready for 
 action, great zeal and energy were used to open the library to 
 the public at as early a date as possible. The first aim was to 
 equip a good reading-room, where the best newspapers and 
 journals of the world could be consulted by every one. As 
 early as January, 1873, such a room was opened and became 
 at once popular. So large was the attendance on the part of 
 the general public that no less than 50,035 persons visited the 
 room during the first five months. But this was only the 
 beginning! Meanwhile, the books began to pour in from 
 England, Germany, France, Ireland and Scotland. Among 
 them were very valuable gifts, as, for instance, the 
 English patent reports, a complete collection of 2800 vol- 
 umes sent by the commissioners of British patents. This collec- 
 tion is annually augmented by 1 40 volumes. Learned institutions, 
 among them the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, sent 
 costly contributions, and so likewise did a number of prominent 
 individuals. Most of the books coming from England bear the 
 inscription on a special book-plate : " Presented to the city of 
 Chicago, towards the foundation of a free library, after the 
 great fire of 1871, as a mark of English sympathy." In all, 
 these gifts amounted to 7000 volumes from England and about 
 half that number from other countries, chiefly from Germany; 
 5000 additional volumes were purchased the first year, so 
 the library proper could be opened to the public on 
 May i, 1874. 1 J anuar y f tnat year, the foremost of 
 American librarians, Dr. William F. Poole, who was called 
 from Cincinnati, assumed charge of the institution. When 
 the Newberry library was organized, Dr. Poole resigned 
 his position to go to the new institution, and Frederick
 
 Hild was made librarian, with E. F. L. Gauss, assistant. 
 How great and how general the need of a free public 
 library was at that time, and how heartily it was welcomed by 
 the masses, is shown by the experience of the institution 
 during its first weeks. An average daily circulation of 138 
 volumes in the first week had nearly doubled itself in the 
 second, and in the fifth amounted to 555 volumes daily. This 
 unparalleled growth is the more remarkable when it is known 
 that the Boston public library, until recently, the most prosper- 
 ous and most patronized library of the land, circulated at the 
 close of its fifth year only 310 volumes daily. A few further 
 figures illustrating the wonderful development of the library, 
 will be of interest: 
 
 v No. of Vols. in No. of Vols. cir- 
 
 the Library. cufeted. 
 
 1874 18,183 [first month] 7,659 
 
 1875 39,236 399,156 
 
 1876 ... 49,024 424,030 
 
 1877 51,408 428,090 
 
 1878 57,984 429,506 
 
 1879 60,423 558,428 
 
 1880 67,722 416,751 
 
 1881 77,140 468,801 
 
 1882 87,272 479.977 
 
 1883 94,606 525,883 
 
 1884 106,341 622,313 
 
 1885 111,621 651,469 
 
 1886 119,510 766,056 
 
 1887 129,129 835,295 
 
 1888 132,946 993,339 
 
 1889 149.1J6 1,078,210 
 
 1890 156,242 1,225,784 
 
 1891 166,475 1,265,117 
 
 1892 177,178 1,414,469 
 
 At present the library contains 187,000 volumes. In the 
 preceding figures the number of periodicals used in the several 
 reading rooms is not included. From June ist, 1891, to 
 June ist, 1892, the number of these circulated, was 700,917. 
 Besides the above there, were also used in the reading rooms 
 51,846 bound volumes of periodicals and other books. In point 
 of use the Chicago public library is now the first in the 
 United States. In the year 1888 it surpassed the Boston 
 public library, until then the foremost, by 58,746 volumes in 
 
 240
 
 the annual circulation of books. In proportion to the respect- 
 ive number of volumes the two libraries then contained, this 
 difference appears still greater the Boston library's book col- 
 lection amounting to 492,596 volumes and that of our own to 
 but 132,946. 
 
 When an institution, coming into life under such great diffi- 
 culties and by such heavy sacrifices, has finally been successfully 
 established, and enters upon a merely natural development 
 and existence, the more interesting part of its history has 
 come to a close, and further interesting features can be found 
 only in the line of its work proper either in method or effect. 
 
 Of utmost interest is "the modus operandi of a large library, 
 and it was the illustration of the same, in all its details, by a 
 systematic arrangement and display of the various blanks used, 
 that secured for the Chicago library the before mentioned 
 reward at the Paris Exposition of 1889. 
 
 A library that is not complete is chiefly dependent for its 
 selection of further books upon the catalogues of antiqua- 
 rians, book auctions, sales of private libraries and occasional 
 opportunities to purchase stray books. As a rule, current 
 publications are not the most valuable, nor are they the most 
 numerous purchases of a growing library. Large libraries 
 find it necessary to have permanent agents at the several 
 book-centers of the world. To them, the orders made up 
 from various sources, are sent for collection. The books are 
 generally allowed to accumulate and are then shipped in con- 
 signments of several cases. When the books arrive, they are 
 carefully examined as to their condition and correspondence 
 with the order and are then checked with the bill or other list 
 accompanying the shipment. The lot, when found to be in 
 order, is entered in the so-called "accession catalogue," each 
 single book or work receiving a separate number. The 
 Chicago public library has improved and perfected its acces- 
 sion catalogue as experience suggested, until now it is not 
 infrequently copied. The several items that are here entered 
 
 16 
 
 241
 
 referring to each book or work, are the following: after the 
 number, are columns for the author and title, the place of 
 publication, the year, the number of copies of the book or 
 work, the number of volumes comprising the same, either new 
 or replacing worn out and lost books, number of pamphlets, 
 size of book or pamphlet, kind of binding, source of acquisi- 
 tion, purchase price and remarks, such as discount, nature of 
 accession, if not purchased, etc. In this way a complete 
 description of the book is recorded, and can be looked up any 
 time by means of the ' accession number," which, together 
 with the date of entry, is written on the back of the title page 
 of the entered book. Thereupon the book is catalogued upon 
 slips of even size, according to established rules. These slips, 
 arranged alphabetically under their main parts, comprise the 
 so-called card catalogue, an American invention, and by far 
 the most famous and important of late years in the line of 
 library economy. It would fill a volume to go into all the 
 details of cataloguing, which is often very difficult and intricate, 
 requiring great care, untiring pains, good judgment and 
 large knowledge. It will suffice to mention here the 
 main features and principles of the system. The first slip or 
 card bears upon the upper line the name of the author of the 
 book or work, with complete surname, if obtainable; upon the 
 second line the title of the work, and on the next the 
 imprint of it, i. e., place and year of publication, and in addi- 
 tion, the number of volumes composing the work.- This 
 " author card " is distinguished from the others referring to 
 the same work by also containing the " accession number,"- 
 that is, the number under which the book was originally 
 entered. Other cards are either " title cards," " subject 
 cards," or "reference cards," which terms explain themselves. 
 On them the title or subject or that to which " reference " is 
 made, is the main feature, followed by the author and the 
 same descriptive detail as w r as placed on the " author card." 
 If several subjects are treated of, in one and the same work, 
 
 242
 
 "subject cards" are made under each. Every card also 
 bears the shelf letter and number. A single example will 
 make this clear: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 B 1764 
 
 
 
 SEEGER, 
 
 EUGENE. 
 
 125603 
 
 Chicago and 
 
 the 
 
 Columbian 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 
 Chicago, 1893. 
 
 3 V 
 
 in 2. f 
 
 vo. 
 
 
 CHICAGO, 
 
 
 B 1764 
 
 
 and the 
 
 Columbian Exposition. E. 
 Chicago. 1893. 3 
 
 Seeger. 
 v. in 2. 8vo. 
 
 
 COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION, 1893. 
 Chicago and the. E. Seeger. 
 Chicago, 1893. 
 
 B 1764 
 3 v. in 2. 8vo. 
 
 It is seen from this example that the cataloguing of books 
 requires also their classification and numbering the former 
 being usually signified by means of letters under which main 
 classes are arranged, the latter by successive numbers under 
 each letter. This arrangement permits of a general and sub- 
 classification. To this end the books are again entered in the 
 "shelf lists," under a certain number, but only under the 
 author and title, the number of volumes and number of copies. 
 A memorandum of the shelf-letter and number is also made 
 upon the back of the title page. The books then go to the 
 printer, where they are stamped and otherwise marked, labeled 
 and numbered; here also the circulating books receive a card- 
 pocket on the inside of the front cover, which securely holds 
 the book borrower's card. The books are then ready for use 
 in the several departments of the library. In the reference 
 and reading rooms any respectable person is admitted and 
 books and periodicals are given out for temporary use in the 
 
 243
 
 rooms. To draw books from the library for home use a card 
 is necessary, which is issued to residents of Chicago and those 
 regularly employed there, upon the guarantee of a responsible 
 tax-paying resident of the city. The card entitles the holder 
 to draw books from the library for the term of two years, one 
 volume at a time, or in case of small-sized volumes, two of the 
 same work. Each book may be retained two weeks, and may 
 be renewed once. If a book is not returned or renewed on 
 time, a fine of three cents for each day is charged. This fine 
 is an absolute necessity to insure the prompt return of books, 
 since popular works are always in great demand. The 
 amount received in fines last year was not less than $5,943.31. 
 The method of changing books is, in its simplicity, exceedingly 
 interesting, especially when it is borne in mind that the daily 
 average circulation is in the neighborhood of 4000 volumes. 
 Whoever desires a book, presents his card with the shelf- 
 letters and numbers of several books, any one of which he 
 wishes to draw, or the letter and number of a specific book he 
 wants. The attendant procures the book desired and charges 
 it on a little slip which bears the number of the book. These 
 slips are afterwards arranged in numerical sequence and so 
 kept that they can be easily found when the books are returned. 
 A new and ingenious device has recently been introduced by 
 which is determined the percentage of books used in the vari- 
 ous departments. 
 
 Recently the library has extended the sphere of its useful- 
 ness by establishing five branch reading rooms in various parts 
 of the city. Another and far greater step in the develop- 
 ment of the institution is the securing of a suitable site for 
 the erection of a new library building. The library has long 
 needed a home of its own, and in fact its usefulness has to 
 some extent been impaired by the inadequacy of its quarters. 
 For ten years the board of directors have been indefatigable 
 in their efforts to secure a site for the new home of the insti- 
 tution. No suitable site could be purchased, for there were 
 
 244
 
 no funds available for such a purpose, but when, recently, 
 the ownership of Dearborn Park, a half block bounded by 
 Washington and Randolph streets and Michigan avenue, was 
 vested in the city, the friends of the library secured the right 
 from the municipal authorities to build on this property. No 
 better location could have been secured, and after a compromise 
 was effected with the Grand Army of the Republic, which 
 claimed certain rights in the property, preparations for building 
 were at once made. It was agreed that the library board should 
 put up a building covering the entire ground, and that a suitable 
 part of the same should be set aside for a " Soldiers' and Sail- 
 ors' Memorial Hall" for a term of fifty years, after the expira- 
 tion of which time the entire building and site is to revert to 
 the public library. 
 
 After the first victory, a still greater question was to be 
 solved by the library authorities : How are the means for build- 
 ing to be procured? To this question there was but one 
 answer by taxation. To this the legislature was induced to 
 give its sanction by special law, giving the city the power to 
 increase the tax for the library from ^ mill to two mills 
 annually for the term of five years. This gave the library a 
 little over one and one-half million dollars for building purposes, 
 and insured a fine and well equipped- structure. Then the 
 work began in earnest. A prize was offered for the best plan 
 and the competition was free to all. The best design was sub- 
 mitted by Rutan, Shipley & Coolidge the plans calling for a 
 severely classic structure which will, nevertheless, prove a 
 model of convenience and excellence. The foundations, 
 already laid, are remarkably heavy and massive and will 
 worthily uphold the beautiful building, which, according to 
 present plans, will be ready for occupancy in the fall of 1895. 
 
 246
 
 The Labor Movement. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE EIGHT-HOUR AGITATION. 
 
 Chicago is even now enjoying the material blessings of the 
 future, in that here mechanical industry has reached that high 
 development which promises to coming generations a pros- 
 perity unknown to those of the past. In use of labor-saving 
 machinery and in juster distribution of the benefits derived 
 therefrom, Chicago is in advance of the age. In former times 
 the working man had no empiric knowledge of the word leis- 
 ure; he may acquire it in busy, pushing, practical Chicago 
 to-day. 
 
 The very fact that capital has attained such enormous 
 strength in commercial Chicago has had a powerful tendency to 
 secure to labor its full rights, and has paved a way for a gen- 
 eral perception of the truth that the interests of capital and 
 labor are identical. It is not only organized labor which won 
 from capital its just dues, but an enlightened public opinion 
 would no longer tolerate starvation wages. More than any 
 other industrial center, Chicago proved the falsity of the law 
 "das eherne Lohngesetz" (iron wage law) that the 
 raising of wages necessarily raises the price of the manu- 
 factured product. Wages were increased in Chicago and 
 it was found that the standard of labor had been corre- 
 spondingly raised, and that consequently the productive capac- 
 ity of the laborer was increased. The manufacturers also 
 learned that by raising wages and so increasing the purchasing 
 power of the laboring classes, they likewise increased demand, 
 and, therefore, stimulated production and cheapened its meth- 
 ods. Nor have the relatively high wages which Chicago's 
 working people receive, even in such industrial branches as 
 
 247
 
 come in competition with the products of other manufacturing 
 towns, weakened in the least the city's competitive ability. 
 On the other hand, these high wages have proved the basis for 
 the city's general welfare, a welfare in which the immigrants 
 the Germans, Irish, Poles, Bohemians, Scandinavians and Ital- 
 ians have not been slow to participate. More than three- 
 fourths of the present population of Chicago are of European 
 birth or are the children of immigrants. They have all fallen 
 into the American habit of expecting material prosperity and 
 have learned to a greater or less extent, the American trick of 
 realizing their expectations. They not only expect meat three 
 times a day and some leisure, but they also have these things. 
 Chicago's laboring classes are at the head of legitimate, healthy 
 labor movements in the United States. The reason for this 
 is first, the powerful impulse given to local industries; and 
 second, that Chicago's foreign (especially the German) work- 
 ingmen and their friends, aided by a powerful press, have 
 taken the lead in the intellectual development of the laboring 
 classes. Legitimate labor movement, which on the whole is 
 but an attempt to attain a rational and natural end in harmony 
 with the development of modern machinery and methods of 
 manufacture, should be sharply distinguished from its morbid 
 outgrowth the anarchistic and communistic madness. The 
 first and the real purpose of the labor movement is to secure 
 shorter hours of labor. The demand for the adoption of the 
 eight-hour day comprises most of the other demands of the 
 wage workers in regard to the adaption of the old economic 
 life to the newly created conditions so much so that it can be 
 permanently obtained only by a general international organi- 
 zation of wage workers. The agitation for shortening the 
 hours of labor dates as far back as the beginning of this cen- 
 tury. Then, as now, the leaders in the movement were the 
 workingmen engaged in the building trades. The ship-build- 
 ers of New York established a union in 1803, and in 1806 the 
 carpenters followed suit. At that time the master builders 
 
 248
 
 were in the employ of the merchants, who regarded these 
 organizations and their demand that ten and not fourteen hours 
 should constitute a working day, with anything but a friendly 
 spirit and relentlessly persecuted all members of unions. The 
 movement, however, gained strength, and in 1832-3 the car- 
 penters and plasterers of New York and Philadelphia were 
 successful in their attempt to secure the ten-hour day. How 
 strong and popular this idea was, even then, is proved by the 
 fact that in 1840 President Van Buren proclaimed the ten- 
 hour day for all workingmen in the government navy yards. 
 In June, 1845, workingmen held great mass meetings in Pitts- 
 burg and Alleghany City, which were followed by a very 
 general strike, which, however, did not result in favor of the 
 strikers. The first national convention of workingmen took 
 place in New York, October 12, 1845. At this convention the 
 formation of a secret brotherhood was proposed. In the 
 winter of 1845-6 the general demand for a ten-hour day was 
 proved by the numerous mass meetings held in New England, 
 New York and Philadelphia and by the many strikes 
 which took place. The establishment of a ten-hour day in 
 England by an act of Parliament in 1847, greatly strengthened 
 the movement in this country. In 1848 petitions fairly poured 
 in on Congress in favor of a general ten-hour day and of a law 
 forbidding the working of children more than eight hours a 
 day and requiring employers to provide such children with a 
 certain amount of schooling. 
 
 In June, 1850, the National Congress of workingmen met 
 in Chicago. Many new trades assemblies were organized and 
 it was decided to enforce the ten-hour day in all large cities 
 by means of strikes. In 1853 in many cities of the country 
 an eleven-hour day was introduced. In spite of this, however, 
 the majority of the manufacturing towns continued the four- 
 teen-hour day in force as late as 1865. After that year the 
 eleven-hour day was generally adopted as a result of repeated 
 and bitter strikes. Massachusetts, Rhode Island and other 
 
 249
 
 eastern states passed laws enforcing the ten-hour day, and in 
 1868, Congress passed a law fixing ten hours as the working 
 day for all laborers in the employ of the government. Two 
 years before, in August, 1866, a labor congress in Baltimore 
 resolved to organize the workingmen independently of polit- 
 ical parties and to create a national labor party for the pur- 
 pose of bringing about the eight-hour day. The next year 
 saw many strikes, but none of them resulted favorably to the 
 workingmen. In 1869, the Boston Eight-hour League was 
 established, and in the winter of the same year the order of the 
 Knights of Labor was founded in Philadelphia. 
 
 The participation of the German Social Democrats in the 
 American labor movement began in the years 1870 and 1871, 
 when the International Labor Association in Europe resolved 
 to establish a branch association in the United States. From 
 that time the influence of the German workingmen in this 
 movement has steadily gained strength. In the summer of 
 1872, about 100,000 men in New York organized a strike, and 
 the following trades won the eight-hour day : The brick-layers 
 and their assistants, the stone-cutters, carpenters, plasterers, 
 plumbers, paper-hangers, painters and wood carvers. 
 
 During the winter of 1873-74, which was unusually severe 
 and caused much misery among the poorer classes through- 
 out the country, great labor demonstrations took place in New 
 York, and finally terminated in bloody conflicts with the police. 
 From 1873 to 1878 there were repeated large strikes in New 
 England, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Maryland, 
 Ohio and New York. 
 
 Of the actual existence of the " social question," of 
 strong, unreconciled differences between capital and labor, the 
 people of the United States were forcibly reminded by the 
 great Pittsburg riot of 1877. In July of that year the organ- 
 ized laborers throughout the country believed the time had 
 come for the introduction of the eight-hour day, and they 
 wanted no decrease, but rather an increase in wages. They 
 
 250
 
 wished to begin operations with the railway companies. In 
 several eastern cities strikes were organized which caused 
 considerable bloodshed, and in Pittsburg several hundred peo- 
 ple were killed. The local militia having refused to aid the 
 city authorities in the maintenance of order, several regiments 
 of militia from other parts of the state were ordered to the 
 seat of trouble. They were undoubtedly badly commanded. 
 Notwithstanding the fact that they were not strong enough 
 to cope with the thousands of rioters, they attacked them 
 indiscreetly and were repulsed. Finally the strikers drove 
 the militia to the round-houses and car shops of the railroads, 
 and afterwards burned the railroad property cars, depots and 
 other buildings. 
 
 From there the fever spread to Chicago. On July 23, a 
 great mass meeting of laboring men took place on Market 
 square, and several speakers advised forcing a strike of all 
 workingmen of the city. The next day (Tuesday) troops of 
 laborers went through Chicago demanding that all their fel- 
 lows should strike. Railroad traffic was suddenly brought 
 to a complete standstill. In the evening another mass meeting 
 was to be held, but the police prevented it. Mayor Heath 
 issued a proclamation to the citizens, telling them to organize 
 for the protection of property, and the militia was called to the 
 armories. Gen. Joseph T. Torrence commanded the militia. 
 Many Union veterans volunteered their services. Mayor 
 Heath ordered the police to report to Gen. Torrence for 
 duty. On Wednesday there were serious encounters between 
 the police and the strikers near McCormick's factory, on the 
 Van Buren street bridge, near the Burlington & Quincy 
 round house, on Sixteenth street and at other points in the city. 
 It was evident that the police could not successfully cope 
 with the rioters, and so Gen. Torrence ordered out the militia. 
 It was of the utmost importance that the water works should 
 be protected, and also the railroads, when they should again 
 be put in operation. On Thursday, July 26, the First regi- 
 
 251
 
 merit was ordered to go into camp near the Exposition build- 
 ing on the lake shore, and the Second regiment was quartered 
 near the Rock Island depot. Lackey's Zouaves, the North 
 Chicago Light Guard and one company from the First regi- 
 ment were despatched to the corner of Milwaukee and 
 Chicago avenues, where the police were in great danger. At 
 ii o'clock in the morning the First regiment occupied Twelfth 
 street bridge, and the Second regiment were assembled at the 
 Twelfth street police station. In the evening the troops held 
 the following positions: Four companies of the Second regi- 
 ment were at Halsted street viaduct, three were between the 
 viaduct and Twelfth street, two companies of the First regi- 
 ment on Twelfth street bridge, two on Jefferson street and 
 two near the Twelfth street Turner Hall. The main body of 
 the rioters had been earlier concentrated on the Halsted 
 street viaduct, but were driven away by a clever movement 
 on the part of the militia assisted by a company of the 
 mounted veteran volunteers. During the day two companies 
 of United States regulars arrived in the city, coming directly 
 from an Indian war in the northwest. Although they were 
 not accoutred in the highest military style, as regards uni- 
 forms, every man had a rifle on his shoulder and a full cart- 
 ridge belt around his waist. Few of them showed even a 
 vestige of army blue, and there were not a dozen " soldier 
 caps " among them. They had just come from a hard and 
 exhaustive campaign, but the long, swinging stride, soldierly 
 bearing, bronzed, bearded faces proclaimed them the " regu- 
 lars," and every man who saw them felt impressed with the 
 knowledge that they represented the strength and dignity of 
 the United States government. Their influence was remark- 
 able. Strikers realized that these men made war their busi- 
 ness, and they were not be trifled with. The militia were 
 brave, energetic and willing, but the mob held them in con- 
 tempt. The appearance of a militiaman too often acts on a 
 rioter as a red flag does on an angry bull, but the appear- 
 
 252
 
 ance of " regulars " always has a wonderfully soothing 
 effect on law-breakers, who, naturally enough, are quick- 
 est to judge accurately of the forces opposing them. Finally, 
 however, the display of legal power subdued the strikers. 
 The excitement lasted seven days and then with the return of 
 good order, everything seemed to be forgotten. 
 
 This outgrowth of the Pittsburg riots is interesting more as 
 local history than for any bearing it has on the labor move- 
 ment as such. It is in the nature of things that in every 
 modern metropolis there will gather people who cannot con- 
 trol themselves or be easily controlled by others. In times of 
 public excitement, insignificant saloon brawls may finally lead 
 to as serious conflicts with the police as could have been insti- 
 gated by the incendiary speech of some hair-brained dema- 
 gogue. In such riots there is no trace of system. But few 
 of the workingmen who tried to bring about the eight-hour 
 day and dreamed of a social millennium, thought seriously of 
 riot and revolution. The whole uprising fell flat, and the few 
 who had fled the city, fearing plundering and bloodshed, were, 
 later, the target of much ridicule. 
 
 But the general labor disturbances throughout the land, 
 especially the riots in Pittsburg, brought the " social question" 
 prominently before the people. In 1878, Congress appointed 
 a committee of seven to investigate the labor troubles. On 
 July 4, 1878, and again in 1879, there were large labor 
 demonstrations in favor of the eight-hour day. The year 
 1880 was of especial interest as regards the labor movement, 
 owing to the establishment of the "Federation of Organized 
 Trade and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada." 
 This most important association adopted the English trades 
 unions as a model for organization, and fashioned its demands 
 after those of the conservative German socialists. 
 
 In October, 1884, the convention of the Federation met in 
 Chicago and fixed May i, 1886, as the day on which the adoption 
 of the eight-hour day should be widely demanded. As a result, 
 
 253
 
 a general strike ensued in Chicago on that date, and mem- 
 bers of the building trades, cigar makers, plumbers and paint- 
 ers' unions succeeded in obtaining the eight-hour day, which 
 theretofore, in Chicago, had been enjoyed only by the stone- 
 cutters. In the states of California, Connecticut, Illinois, Penn- 
 sylvania and New York, the eight-hour day was established by 
 law, and laws for the regulation of woman and child labor 
 were passed. Such laws, however, are of practical value only 
 where labor organizations are strong enough to secure their 
 enforcement. Otherwise they are largely dead letter. 
 
 THE CHICAGO ANARCHISTS. 
 
 The eight-hour movement and in fact all legitimate labor 
 movements received a terrible set-back in May, 1886, by the 
 dynamite throwing in Haymarket Square in Chicago. The 
 attack was the direct result of the riot which had occurred 
 at the McCormick Reaper works, Monday, May 3 ; 
 but was the outgrowth of a long and violently radical agita- 
 tion against law and the established order of society by cer- 
 tain anarchists belonging to an organization called the "Inter- 
 national." The leaders of this organization had for over a 
 year been preaching to the laboring classes the most radical 
 form of anarchy and had done everything in their power to 
 bring about the general strike of May i not that they 
 wished to secure to labor shorter hours, but that they 
 hoped the strikers might be induced to join the ranks of 
 the anarchists. The " International " was represented in Chi- 
 cago by eight " groups," and two papers the " Arbeiter 
 Zeitung," a daily afternoon paper published in German and an 
 English semi-monthly, called the " Alarm " were its organs. 
 These two papers, their editors and other prominent 
 members of the " groups " advocated, openly and persistently, 
 the use of dynamite to overthrow society and bring about 
 anarchy. At the time of the trial of the anarchists this was 
 not even denied. 
 
 254
 
 The trouble at the McCormick works dated back as far as 
 Feb. 1 6, 1886, at which time the works were suspended owing 
 to the demand of the several thousand workmen there em- 
 ployed, that wages be increased and that only Union men be 
 given work. In April the company granted the first request 
 and resumed operation, refusing, however, to discriminate be- 
 tween union and non-union men. May I was the day set for 
 the general strike for obtaining the eight-hour day. On Mon- 
 day, May 3, several thousand strikers congregated near 
 Cormick's works and after listening to an inflammatory speech 
 by August Spies, editor of the "Arbeiter Zeitung," proceeded 
 to attack the factory and the police guarding it. In the 
 struggle that followed, twenty or more of the strikers were 
 wounded by the police, several probably fatally. As soon as 
 he had the mischief well started Spies took a street car 
 and hied him directly to the newspaper office where he wrote 
 his celebrated "Revenge circular," later translated for use at 
 the anarchist trial as follows: 
 
 "Revenge! Revenge! Workmen, to arms ! Men of labor, this afternoon the bloodhounds 
 of your oppressors murdered six of your brothers at McCormick's! Why did they mur- 
 der them? Because they dared to be dissatisfied with the lot which your oppressors have 
 assigned to them. They demanded bread, and they gave them lead for an answer, mind- 
 ful of the fact that thus people are most effectually silenced. You have for many, many 
 years endured every humiliation without protest; have drudged from early in the morn- 
 ing till late at night; h,ave suffered all sorts of privations, have even sacrificed your chil- 
 dren. You have done everything to fill the coffers of your masters everything for them; 
 and now when you approach them and implore them to make your burden a little lighter, 
 as a reward for your sacrifices, they send their bloodhounds, the police, at you, in order 
 to cure you with bullets of your dissatisfaction. Slaves, we ask and conjure you, by all 
 that is sacred and dear to you, avenge the atrocious murder which has been committed 
 upon your brothers to-day, and which will likely be committed upon you to-morrow. 
 Laboring men, Hercules, you have arrived at the crossway. Which way will you decide ? 
 For slavery and hunger, or for freedom and bread? If you decide upon the latter, then 
 do not delay a momont; then, people, to arms ! Annihilation to the beasts in human form 
 who call themselves rulers; uncompromising annihilation to them! This must be your 
 motto. Think of the heroes whose blood has fertilized the road to progress, liberty and 
 humanity, and strive to become worthy of them. YOUR BROTHERS." 
 
 May 4, Adolph Fischer, a prominent anarchist, had dis- 
 tributed circulars in German and English, reading as follows : 
 
 "Attention Workingmen! Great .mass meeting to-night at 7:30 o'clock, at the Hay- 
 market, Randolph St., bet.-Desplaines and Halsted. Good speakers will be present to 
 denounce the latest atrocious act of the police, the shooting of our fellow-workmen 
 yesterday afternoon. Workingmen, arm yourselves and appear in full force ! 
 
 THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE." 
 
 255
 
 In response to the circular several hundred men and boys 
 gathered in the Haymarket and listened to Albert R. Parsons, 
 August Spies and Samuel Fielden all well known anarchists 
 and labor agitators. In an alley opening on the square stood a 
 truck, from which the speakers addressed the meeting. After 
 harangues by Parsons and Spies, Fielden addressed the 
 assembly. Following is a short-hand report of a part of his 
 speech : 
 
 "There are premonitions of danger. All knew. The press say the anarchists will 
 sneak away ; we are not going to. If we continue to be robbed, it will not be long before 
 we will be murdered. There is no security for the working-classes under the present 
 social system. A few individuals control the means of living, and hold the workmen 
 in a vice. Everybody does not know. Those who know it are tired of it, and know the 
 others will get tired of it, too. They are determined to end it, and will end it, and there is 
 no power in the land that will prevent them. Congressman Foran said : ' The laborer can 
 get nothing from legislation.' He also said that the laborers can get some relief from 
 their present condition when the rich man knew it was unsafe for him to live in a community 
 where there were dissatisfied wo rkingmen, for they would solve the labor problem. I 
 don't know whether you are Democrats or Republicans, but whichever you are, you wor- 
 ship at the shrine of rebels. John Brown, Jefferson, Washington, Patrick Henry, and 
 Hopkins said to the people : ' The law is your enemy. We are rebels against it.' The 
 law is only framed for those that are your enslavers. [A voice: ' That is true.'] Men in 
 their blind rage attacked McCormick's factory, and were shot down by. the law in cold 
 blood in the city of Chicago, in the protection of property. These men were going to do 
 some damage to a certain person's interest, who was a large property-owner; therefore 
 the law came to his defense. And when McCormick undertook to do some injury to the 
 interest of those who had no property, the law also came to his defense, and not to the 
 workingman's defense, when he, Mr. McCormick, attacked him and his living. [Cries of 
 'No.'] There is the difference. The law makes no distinction. A million men own all 
 the property in this country. The law has no use for the other fifty-four million. [A voice, 
 ' Right enough.'] You have nothing more to do with the law except to lay hands on it, 
 and throttle it until it makes its last kick. It turns your brothers out on the wayside, and 
 has degraded them untii they have lost the last vestige of humanity, and they are mere 
 things and animals. Keep your eye upon it. Throttle it. Kill it. Stab it. Do every- 
 thing you can to wound it, to impede its progress. Remember, before trusting them to 
 do anything for yourself, prepare to do it for yourself. Don't turn over your business to 
 anybody else. No man deserves anything unless he is man enough to make an effort to 
 lift himself from oppression. Is it not a fact that we have no choice as to our existence, 
 for we can't dictate what our labor is worth ? He that has to obey the will of any is a slave. 
 Can we do anything except by the strong arm of resistance ? Socialists are not going to 
 declare war ; but I tell you, war has been declared upon us, and I ask you to get hold of 
 anything that will help to resist the onslaught of the enemy and the usurper. The skir- 
 mish-lines have met. People have been shot. Men, women and children have not been 
 spared by the capitalists and minions of private capital. It had no mercy, so ought you. 
 You are called upon to defend yourselves, your lives, your future. What matters it 
 whether you kill yourselves with work to get a little relief, or die on the battle-field resist 
 ing the enemy ? What is the difference ? Any animal, however loathsome, will resist 
 when stepped upon. Are men less than snails and worms ? I have some resistance in 
 me ; I know that you have, too. You have been robbed, and you will be starved into a 
 worse condition." 
 
 256
 
 Just at this stage 180 policemen, led by Inspector John 
 Bonfield and Captain William Ward, appeared. The inspector 
 had been advised of the nature of the speeches by detect- 
 ives who had been at the meeting, and resolved that it would 
 be for the interest of the city" to disperse the gathering and 
 under the law of Illinois it was his duty to do so. * It 
 was late at night and men were being incited to deeds of vio- 
 lence by speakers who had long preached the most radical 
 kind of anarchy. 
 
 When within a few feet of the speaker Capt. Ward said: 
 " I command you, in the name of the people of the state of Illi- 
 nois, to immediately and peaceably disperse," to which Fielden 
 replied, "We are peaceable," but a second later a bomb, 
 thrown from behind, whizzed through the air and fell with a 
 terrible explosion in the midst of the police. Sixty-seven 
 officers were wounded seven of them fatally, but they closed 
 their ranks immediately, and drawing their revolvers, pro- 
 ceeded to clear the streets. But little resistance was offered 
 them and order was at once restored. The first officer to die 
 of his injuries was Mathias J. Degan, and it was for his mur- 
 der that the anarchists were later punished. Arrests began at 
 once the police throwing out their drag-nets for all suspected 
 of being leaders in the supposed anarchistic conspiracy, or of 
 being tools of these conspirators. Of the large number 
 arrested many were immediately discharged. Some were 
 held as witnesses, and the following men were indicted 
 for murder: August Spies, Samuel Fielden, Louis Lingg, 
 George Engel, Adolph Fischer, Michael Schwab and Oscar 
 Neebe. Albert R. Parsons fled the city, but at the beginning 
 of the trial voluntarily appeared In court and gave himself 
 up in a very theatrical manner an event which confirmed 
 many people in the belief that the defendants could not be 
 
 'Section 253, Chapter 38, Revised Statutes, provides that "when twelve or more 
 persons, any of them armed with clubs or dangerous weapons, or thirty or more, armed 
 or unarmed, are unlawfully, riotously, or tumultously assembled in any city ... it shall 
 be the duty of each of the municipal officers .... to go among the persons so assembled 
 .... and in the name of the state command them immediately to disperse." 
 
 17 
 
 257
 
 legally connected with the bomb-throwing, and so punished 
 for murder. 
 
 Police investigation soon discovered in the haunts of the 
 defendants, many bombs and quantities of bomb material, and 
 it was a matter of general knowledge that the accused had 
 openly and publicly advocated the use of dynamite and the 
 wholesale slaughter of the rich and the introduction of anar- 
 chy. The files of the "Alarm" and "Arbeiter" gave ample 
 evidence of the teachings of the accused, but it was impossible 
 to prove that any of the defendants had any direct connection 
 with the bomb-thrower. It was generally believed that 
 Schwab's brother-in-law, Rudolph Schnaubelt, really hurled 
 the bomb, and although he was at one time in the hands of the 
 police, he was later released, by accident, and disappeared. 
 
 His connection with the case was not proved, however, and 
 in the absence of the identification of the bomb-thrower, many 
 believed that it would be impossible to convict the accused. 
 Others maintained that there was ample evidence to prove 
 that the bomb-throwing was the result of a conspiracy. 
 In June the trial began, and 21 days were consumed before 
 the twelve jurors were selected from the 981 men who had 
 been summoned for the purpose. The trial proper began 
 July 14, and August 20 the jury rendered a verdict, finding all 
 the defendants but Neebe guilty of murder and fixing the 
 penalty at death. Neebe was found guilty of murder, but the 
 penalty attached was but 15 years in the penitentiary, as the 
 States Attorney had said that he did not think this defendant 
 should be punished with death. 
 
 The fate of the seven was sealed from the time that the 
 presiding judge, Joseph E. Gary, gave the decision that to 
 prove that the defendants were guilty of murder, it was not 
 necessary to prove that any of them threw the bomb or sug- 
 gested positively that that particular bomb be thrown at that 
 particular time. Having repeatedly advocated the use of 
 dynamite to overthrow society and to kill the rich, the anarch- 
 
 258
 
 ists, so soon as their advice was followed, became murderers 
 co-conspirators in a plot and morally responsible for the deed. 
 The defense made the objection that the accused had given 
 only general advice as to the overthrow of law and that they 
 could not therefore be charged with the responsibility for a spe- 
 cific crime which they did not personally execute. The point 
 came up when the prosecution attempted to show that the 
 defendants had had bombs in their possession at various times. 
 The defense objected to the testimony unless it was to go to 
 prove that the accused furnished the particular bomb that caused 
 the death of Degan. In deciding the point, Judge Gary said: 
 
 " If it is agreed to use violence for the destruction of human lives upon an occasion which 
 is not yet foreseen, but upon some general principle on which the conspirators substan- 
 tially agree; for example, if a large number of men agreed to kill the police if they were 
 found in conflict with the strikers, leaving the date to the agencies of time to determine; 
 whenever the time and occasion do come for the use of that violence, and when that 
 violence is used, are not the parties who have agreed beforehand to use the means of 
 destruction equally guilty? Suppose that there was a general agreement that weapons 
 of death should be used if the police got into conflict with the strikers; that is, if the police 
 undertook to enforce the laws of the state and prevent a breach of the peace and de- 
 struction of property if the police undertook to do BO, that then they would attack and 
 kill the police, but the time and occasion of the attack itself were not foreseen; the time 
 and occasion being to be determined by the parties who were to use the force when in 
 their judgment the time and occasion were to come; and then, when the police were 
 found attempting to preserve the peace, some persons who have been parties to this 
 agreement do kill them, are not all of these persons equally guilty? If there was a 
 general combination and agreement among a great number of individuals to kill police- 
 men if they came into conflict with parties with whom they were friendly meetings of 
 workingmen, and bodies of strikers; if it was the combination and agreement to kill the 
 police in their attempt to preserve the peace; if there was such a combination and agree- 
 ment among a great number of men, the object of which was something beyond mere 
 local disturbance, whether it was the object to offer a new form of civil society or 
 not, if there was such an agreement to kill the police upon some occasion that might 
 occur in the future, whether the proper time had arrived being left to their j udgment, then 
 if that violence was used and resulted in the death of the police, then those who were party 
 to the agreement are guilty of the death. It is entirely competent for the state to show 
 that these several defendants have had such missiles in their possession to be used on 
 occasions that they might anticipate. There need not be an agreement that they should 
 be used on this specific occasion, but on some occasion that might arise in the future. 
 Any one case where such violence was used may involve the showing of the entire con- 
 spiracy from beginning to end." 
 
 This position of the court, undoubtedly correct under the 
 Illinois statutes and Supreme Court decisions*, was the turn- 
 ing point of the trial. The stand taken by Judge Gary was 
 
 * In the case of Brennan vs. The People (15 Illinois Reports, 511), the Supreme 
 Court of Illinois held: "There is a fatal obj ection to the eighteenth, twenty-first and 
 
 259
 
 made still clearer in his remarks upon refusing to grant the 
 defendants a new trial. After reading from the "Arbeiter" 
 and "Alarm," copious extracts to prove that the defend- 
 ants had attempted, in a long series of public articles, to incite 
 the working classes to make unlawful attacks on persons and 
 property, Judge Gary said : 
 
 "The jury were not inshucted to find the defendants guilty if they believed that they 
 participated in the throwing of that bomb, or encouraged or advised the throwing of that 
 bomb, or had knowledge that it was to be thrown, or anything of that sort. The convic- 
 tion has not gone upon the ground that they did have actually any personal participation 
 in the particular act which caused the death of Began; but the conviction proceeds upon 
 the ground, under the instructions, that they had generally, by speech and print, advised 
 large classes of the people, not particular individuals, but large classes, to commit 
 murder, and have left the commission, the time and place and when, to individual will 
 and whim or caprice, or whatever it may be, of each individual man who listened 
 to their advice, and that in consequence of that advice, in pursuance of that 
 advice, and influenced by that advice, somebody not known did throw the 
 
 bomb that caused Degan's death Perhaps I can make my view 
 
 upon that subject clearer by an illustration. Suppose that the radical tem- 
 perance men should, for a long period of time, by speeches and publications, 
 declare that there was no hope of stopping the evils of the liquor traffic except by 
 blowing up saloons and killing saloonkeepers; that it was useless to expect any reform 
 by legislation, that no prohibition laws nor high license laws nor any other laws would 
 have any effect in their estimation, and that therefore they must blow up the saloons 
 and kill the saloonkeepers and j ustif y that course; suppose that in addition to that, they 
 taught means by which saloons could be blown up and saloon-keepers killed, and then 
 called a meeting in West Lake street, in front of No. 54 West Lake *, and while some 
 speakers were denouncing the liquor traffic, and saying to an audience, 'If you are ready 
 to do anything, do it without making any idle threat,' and another speaker says, 'Throttle, 
 kill, stab the saloon business, or it will kill, throttle and stab you,' and then, while 
 that speaking is going on, some unknown man out of the crowd, with a bomb of the 
 manufacture of the temperance men, explodes No. G4 Lake street, and kills the occupants 
 of the house I apprehend that none of the parties who are objecting to the insufficiency 
 of this proof in this case would have any hesitation in saying that the men who had 
 advised that conduct were guilty of it." 
 
 Had Judge Gary not given this interpretation to the law, 
 the conviction of the defendants would have been impossible. 
 
 twenty-second instructions asked by the prisoners. These instructions required the jury 
 to acquit the prisoners unless they actually participated in the killing of Story, or unless 
 the killing happened in pursuance of a common design on the part of the prisoners 
 to take his life. Such is not the law. The prisoners may be guilty of murder, although 
 they neither took part in the killing nor assented to any arrangement having for its 
 object the death of Story. It is sufficient that they combined with those committing the 
 deed to do an unlawful act, such as to beat or rob Story, and that he was killed in the 
 attempt to execute the common purpose. If several persons conspire to do an unlawful 
 act, and death happen in the prosecution of the common object, all are alike guilty of 
 the homicide. The act of one of them, done in furtherance of the original design, is in 
 consideration of law, the act of all, and he who advises or encourgages another to do an 
 illegal act is responsible for all the natural and probable consequences that may arise 
 
 from its perpetration Nor need the advice or encouragement that may 
 
 make one an accessory to crime be by words, but by any word or act, sign or motion 
 done or made for the purpose of encouraging the commission of a crime. 
 
 *Many of the meetings of the anarchists were held in the saloon at No. 54 West Lake 
 street. 
 
 260
 
 They could not be directly connected with the bomb-thrower, 
 but, according to Judge Gary's interpretation, this was unnec- 
 cessary. The prosecution had to prove only that the defend- 
 ants had systematically and for a considerable time, in word 
 and by writing, advocated the very crime which the bomb- 
 thrower put in execution. This proof was easy to establish. 
 Indeed, the defendants and their counsel so strongly felt their 
 inability to contradict it, that they made their strongest fight to 
 overthrow Judge Gary's interpretation. Spies, Parsons and 
 Fielden had preached their crazy doctrines publicly and per- 
 sistently ; they had never hesitated in their advocacy of open 
 rebellion against law and order and the destruction of all estab- 
 lished institutions. They repeatedly declared that recourse to 
 violence, bomb-throwing and the like, was the only salvation 
 of the proletariat. Their past and the indisputable fact that 
 they had formed " armed groups " to use dynamite against the 
 officers of the law, stamped the accused, according to the 
 court's interpretation of the law, as the moral instigators of the 
 Haymarket massacre. The jury could do nothing else than 
 find them guilty. The assertion that the jury and state's attor- 
 ney were bribed by capitalists is too silly to merit attention. 
 
 Notwithstanding Judge Gary's ruling, the state's attorney, 
 Julius S. Grinnell, tried to make assurance doubly sure by prov- 
 ing especially through informers, states' evidence men, who 
 tried thus to save their own necks that the accused had actu- 
 ally belonged to an anarchist conspiracy which had plotted to 
 make a bomb attack on the evening of May 4, that 300 
 bombs were to have been thrown, but that later, the plan was 
 changed and that the bomb actually thrown was hurled by a 
 conspirator who had not been advised of the change. It was 
 also alleged to be a part of this plot, to take advantage of the 
 terrible panic caused by the bomb explosions to rob the banks 
 and proclaim anarchistic dictatorship under the sceptre of 
 August Spies. From pieces of the bomb actually thrown, it 
 was conclusively proved, by chemical analysis, that the engine 
 
 261
 
 of destruction was the work of Louis Lingg, one of the 
 accused, and it was also shown that Lingg and others were 
 busy all the afternoon of May 4 with filling bombs which 
 were afterward distributed to various conspirators. But not- 
 withstanding this proof, the state's attorney would doubtless 
 have acted more wisely had he not insisted in carrying out his 
 prosecution on this general line, for justifiable as was his moral 
 conviction that the anarchists had planned a fiendish and dia- 
 bolical attack for the evening of May 4, the evidence he 
 furnished before the court was not sufficient to dispel all 
 doubts on the subject. The existence of the plot was not 
 definitely proved, and although this proof was unnecessary to 
 establish the guilt of the defendants, it gave a pretext for 
 criticism on the part of anarchistic sympathizers. 
 
 It was probably another error of the prosecution to allow 
 an utterly irresponsible fellow named Gilmer to take the 
 stand and pose as an eye-witness to the alleged fact that Spies 
 himself lighted the bomb. The character of this witness 
 imprinted on all testimony of the state so far as it sought to 
 establish a direct connection between the accused and the 
 bomb-thrower the stamp of manufactured evidence. Nor was 
 there anything gained by it, for the guilt and liability of the 
 defendants could not have been thereby increased by the 
 weight of a feather, for the mere fact that they had advised 
 the act was sufficient, under the statutes of Illinois, to hold 
 them guilty as charged. 
 
 After the verdict the defendants asked for a new trial, 
 which was denied. Then the opportunity to say why sen- 
 tence should not be pronounced was afforded each man, and 
 three days were consumed in speech-making. Then Judge 
 Gary addressed the condemned men for the last time: "I am 
 well aware," said he, " that what you have said, although 
 addressed to me, has been said to the world; yet nothing has 
 been said which weakens the force of the proof, or the con- 
 clusions therefrom, upon which the verdict is based. You 
 
 262
 
 are all men of intelligence, and know that, if the verdict 
 stands, it must be executed. The reasons why it shall stand, 
 I have already sufficiently stated in deciding the motion for a 
 new trial. I am sorry, beyond any power of expression, for 
 your unhappy condition, and for the terrible events that have 
 brought you to it. I shall address to you neither reproaches 
 nor exhortations. What I shall say will be said in the faint 
 hope that a few words from a place where the people of the 
 state of Illinois have delegated the authority to declare the 
 penalty of a violation of their laws, and spoken upon an occa- 
 sion so solemn and awful as this, may come to the knowledge 
 of, and be heeded by, the ignorant, deluded, and misguided 
 men who have listened to your counsels and followed your 
 advice. I say in the faint hope; for if men are persuaded 
 that because of business differences, whether about labor or 
 anything else, they may destroy property, and assault and 
 beat other men, and kill the police, if they, in the discharge of 
 their duty, interfere to preserve the peace, there is little 
 ground to hope that they will listen to any warning. 
 
 " Not the least among the hardships of the peaceable, frugal 
 and laborious poor, is to endure the tyranny of mobs, who 
 with lawless force dictate to them under penalty of peril to 
 limb and life, where, when and upon what terms they may 
 earn a livelihood for themselves and their families. Any gov- 
 ernment that is worthy of the name, will strenuously endeavor 
 to secure to all within its jurisdiction, freedom to follow their 
 lawful avocations in safety for their property and their persons 
 while obeying the law. And the law is common sense. It 
 holds each man responsible for the natural and probable con- 
 sequences of his own act. It holds that whoever advises mur- 
 der, is himself guilty of the murder that is committed pursuant 
 to his advice ; and if men band together for forcible resistance 
 to the execution of the law and advise murder as a means of 
 making such resistance effectual, whether such advice be to 
 one man to murder another, or to a numerous class to murder 
 
 263
 
 men of another class all who are so banded together are 
 guilty of any murder that is committed in pursuance of such 
 advice. 
 
 " The people of this country love their institutions. They 
 love their homes. They love their property. They will never 
 consent that by violence and murder those institutions shall 
 be broken down, their homes despoiled, and their property 
 detroyed. And the people are strong enough to protect and 
 sustain their institutions and to punish all offenders against 
 their laws ; and those who threaten danger to civil society, if 
 the law is enforced, are leading to destruction whoever may 
 attempt to execute such threats. 
 
 " The existing order of society can be changed only by the 
 will of the majority. Each man has the full right to 
 entertain, and advocate, by speech and print, such opin- 
 ions as suit himself, and the great body of the people 
 will usually care little what he says; but if he proposes 
 murder as a means of enforcing them, he puts his own 
 life at stake; and no clamor about free speech, or evils to 
 be cured, or wrongs to be redressed, will shield him from the 
 consequences of his crime. His liberty is not a license to de- 
 stroy. The toleration that he enjoys he must extend to others, 
 and not arrogantly assume that the great majority are wrong 
 and may rightly be coerced by terror or removed by dynamite. 
 
 "It only remains that for the crime you have committed, and 
 of which you have been convicted after a trial unexampled in 
 the patience with which an outraged people have extended to 
 you every protection and privilege of the law which you 
 derided and defied, the sentence of that law be now pro- 
 nounced." Then on the pth of October, 1886, Judge Gary 
 pronounced sentence upon the defendants. 
 
 The contemptible remnant of the anarchistic societies of 
 course impugned the justice of the trial and hurled calumny 
 at those who had assisted in the prosecution of the murderers. 
 Despite the sensational stories about the anarchists, their pure 
 
 264
 
 and lofty purposes, etc., they were, as a matter of fact, a very 
 cheap crew. Spies, who is generally regarded as the leader, 
 was phenomenally vain, and was far more inspired by news- 
 paper notoriety than by capitalistic outrages. His salary as 
 editor of the " Arbeiter " was a mere pittance, and yet he 
 lived like a prince. He was famous for his connection with 
 numerous labor picnics, which were invariably characterized 
 by so fine an adjustment of expenditures to receipts that there 
 was never a surplus. All the anarchists regarded Johann 
 Most as a leader, and justice must certainly hold him respons- 
 ible for the Haymarket outrage. He had been driven out of 
 Austria, Russia and England, only to come to the United 
 States to spread broadcast his infamous doctrines and establish 
 his anarchistic " groups." The organization of the " groups," 
 to which Spies, Parsons, Lingg, Fielden, Engel and the others 
 belonged, is traceable directly to Most. It dates from his visit 
 to Chicago in 1884, when, after winning Spies to his cause, 
 he completely changed the policy of the " Arbeiter Zeitung," 
 which theretofore had been only socialistic in tendency. After 
 Most's visit, however, it became a pronounced anarchistic organ, 
 and its pernicious activity was largely responsible for the sub- 
 sequent catastrophe. Most's writings were the gospel of his 
 Chicago followers, whom he taught to believe that they could 
 control the whole labor movement. Most's damnable 
 " Handbook on Anarchistic Warfare," with its minute receipts, 
 was the direct cause of the manufacture, in Chicago, of dyna- 
 mite bombs. This unique work contains not only exact 
 formulas for the manufacture of dynamite and other explosives, 
 but also directions " for easily setting policemen on fire from 
 behind, chemically and without danger of discovery," for 
 making and using fire-bombs, for poisoning " capitalistic 
 beasts," and for other enterprising methods of anarchistic 
 activity. During the trial this book was introduced as evi- 
 dence, but its author, though morally responsible for the 
 bomb-throwing, remained unmolested in New York. Many 
 
 265
 
 prominent lawyers were of the opinion that Most should have 
 been indicted and that he could have been convicted 
 with the others, but Chicago's states attorney thought 
 otherwise. Justice sometimes has strange fancies! The 
 anarchists were condemned to death for being morally 
 responsible for the murder of Degan, but their teacher, the 
 actual head of all anarchists in the United States, was not 
 even -indicted simply because he happened to be in New 
 York. It would seem that fate wished to spare the doomed 
 men the further infamy of being in death the companions of 
 him whose tools and dupes they had been in life. 
 
 A romantic incident of the trial was the proxy marriage of 
 August Spies to a girl named Nina Van Zandt. The girl regu- 
 larly attended the trial, and became attached to Spies, who was 
 a rather good-looking young fellow. She was, of course, unable 
 to marry Spies himself, but finally united to him by proxy, his 
 brother standing in his place, for August could not be reached 
 even by the hand of love. At the time it was generally sup- 
 posed that the girl had merely a morbid craving for notoriety, 
 but she afterward stated shortly before a subsequent mar- 
 riage that one of the principal attorneys for the defense had 
 made use of her passing sentimental emotion to mislead her 
 into such sensational deportment as he hoped would arouse 
 for his client the interest and sympathy of influential and senti- 
 mental women of Chicago and of the men controlled by them. 
 
 The supreme court of the state affirmed the judgment of 
 the criminal court, and the day of execution first set having 
 passed, fixed November n, 1887, as the day for the execution 
 of the sentence. The friends of the doomed men left no stone 
 unturned to secure their pardon from Gov. Oglesby, and for 
 one reason or another received support and assistance from 
 even those who believed the sentence just. The firmness 
 displayed by Gov. Oglesby was admirable. He was deeply 
 affected by the entreaties of the relatives of the anarchists, 
 but in his decision was guided not by feelings of personal pity, 
 
 266
 
 but by regard for the general welfare of the community He 
 commuted the death sentence of Fielden and Schwab to 
 imprisonment for life, after receiving from these two men a 
 petition for mercy, in which they expressed their profound 
 regret for the catastrophe. Parsons, Spies, Engel and Fischer 
 atoned their crime on the gallows; Lingg. the day before the 
 execution, killed himself by taking a dynamite cartridge in his 
 teeth and exploding it. The execution of the sentence was 
 without interference or demonstration, although the appre- 
 hension that something tragic might happen was not wholly 
 causeless. In spite of the vigilance of the jail authorities, 
 Lingg succeeded in smuggling into his cell quite a number of 
 dynamite cartridges and bombs, but all were discovered before 
 the day of execution. Lingg's personal courage was remark- 
 able, and had opportunity afforded itself he would undoubtedly 
 have blown up the jail, and if necessary all within it. 
 
 For so celebrated a case there has been a vast deal of 
 popular misunderstanding in regard to the anarchist trial. In 
 an article published in the " Century Magazine," for April, 
 1893, Judge Gary alludes to this fact, and adds: "The 
 anarchists were not tried for being anarchists, but for procur- 
 ing murder to be done, and being, therefore, themselves 
 guilty of murder." The distinguished jurist feels called upon 
 even to explain his motives in publicly discussing the case, 
 and states that the principal one was " to demonstrate to my 
 own profession, and to make plain to all fair-minded, intelligent 
 people, that the verdict of the jury in the case of the anarch- 
 ists was right; that the anarchists were guilty of murder; 
 that they were not the victims of prejudice, nor martyrs for 
 free speech, but in morals ; as well as in law, were guilty of 
 murder," and further, "to show to the laboring people, of 
 whom the anarchists claimed to be the especial friends, that 
 that claim was a sham and pretense, adopted only as a means 
 to bring manual laborers into their own ranks; and that the 
 counsel and advice of the anarchists, if followed by the work- 
 
 267
 
 ingmen, would expose them to the danger of becoming, in 
 law, murderers," and, finally, to " show that the real passions 
 at the bottom of the hearts of the anarchists were envy and 
 hatred of all people whose condition in life was better than 
 their own, who were more prosperous than themselves." 
 
 As to the guilt of the accused, Judge Gary, in the same 
 article, says that " the publications in the ' Arbeiter ' and 
 ' Alarm,' and the speeches of Spies, Parsons, Schwab, Fielden 
 and Engel (whose speeches were proved at great length on 
 the trial, all of them advising their hearers to arm themselves, 
 among other things, with dynamite) were acts in furtherance 
 of the design and purpose of the conspiracy, by conspira- 
 tors, and therefore, upon legal principles, acts of the whole 
 body and each individual of the co-conspirators; that the 
 general advice given to all readers and hearers was advice to 
 each and every individual of those readers and hearers; that 
 advice to pursue a course of conduct embracing or including 
 a particular act is a'dvice to do that act ; that it is inconceivable 
 that the man who threw a bomb made by Lingg, one of the 
 conspirators, was not by some of those publications or speeches 
 encouraged so to do, and therefore the whole body of the 
 conspirators were accessories to the act of throwing it, and 
 responsible for it, whether it was thrown by one who was 
 himself a member of the conspiracy, or who was some hair- 
 brained fool, or some criminal who wished to avenge himself 
 for some grievance, real or fancied, that he had suffered at the 
 hands of the police.' r 
 
 In speaking over the graves of the anarchists, two days 
 after the execution, William P. Black, of the counsel for de- 
 fence, said: 
 
 "I loved these men. I knew them not until I came to know them in the time of their 
 sore travail and anguish. As months went by and I found in the lives of those with whom 
 I talked the witness of their love for the people, of their patience, gentleness and cour- 
 age, my heart was taken captive in their cause I say that whatever of fault 
 
 may have been in them, these, the people whom they loved and in whose cause they died, 
 may well close the volume, and seal up the record, and give our lips to the praise of 
 their heroic deeds, and their sublime self-sacrifice." 
 
 268
 
 Referring to this speech in the magazine article already 
 quoted, Judge Gary writes as follows : 
 
 "If these words have any meaning, they refer to the acts of the anarchists which I 
 have, in part, told; ' the people whom they loved ' they deceived, deluded, and endea- 
 vored to convert into murderers; the ' cause they died in ' was rebellion, to prosecute 
 which they taught and instigated murder; their 'heroic deeds ' were causeless, wanton 
 murders done; and the ' sublime self-sacrifice ' of the only one to whom the words can 
 apply was suicide, to escape the impending penalty of the law incurred by murder. For 
 nearly seven years the clamor, uncontradicted, has gone round the world that the anar- 
 chists were heroes and martyrs, victims of prejudice and fear Right- 
 minded, thoughtful people, who recognize the necessity to civilization of the existence 
 and enforcement of laws for the protection of human life, and who yet may have had 
 misgivings as to the fate of the anarchists, will, I trust, read what I have written, and dis- 
 miss those misgivings, convinced that in law and in morals the anarchists were rightly 
 punished, not for opinions, but for horrible deeds." 
 
 The last development in the case occurred in April, 1892, 
 when the United States Supreme Court gave its decision in 
 the appeal which had been made to it by the attorneys for 
 Schwab and Fielden. A reversal of judgment was demanded 
 on the technical ground that the defendants had not been pres- 
 ent, in person, when the State Supreme Court had rendered 
 its decision, affirming the judgment of the lower court; but 
 the United States Supreme Court decided against the appel- 
 lants. 
 
 As a monument in honor of the policemen who fell in the 
 discharge of their duty, on the night of May 4, 1886, the grate- 
 ful citizens of Chicago have erected a statue the figure of an 
 officer in heroic size on the very spot where the bomb fell. 
 A more emphatic expression of their resolution to suppress 
 every attack against law and order was the request of Chi- 
 cago citizens that the federal government establish, near the 
 city, a fort with an adequate force of United States troops. In 
 addition to their request the citizens donated to the govern- 
 ment a site suitable for the desired fort, and within a few 
 months Fort Sheridan on the lake shore, an hour's ride from 
 the city was established. To one familiar with Chicago's 
 history the following comparison must occur: Fort Dear- 
 born, in its time, was erected to protect the little settlement on 
 the Chicago river from the attacks of the barbarous red man, 
 and when the danger from the Indians ceased, the fort was 
 
 269
 
 done away with. In 1886, red anarchy threatened Chicago with 
 another form of barbarism, and Fort Sheridan was erected to 
 protect civilization and maintain peace. In three decades 
 Fort Dearborn had outlived its usefulness. Fort Sheridan 
 will doubtless endure for a longer period, although from it can 
 never come the final answer to the social question. It will 
 stand as a stronghold of peace, an imposing demonstration of 
 the force and power of the state-conserving elements. 
 
 The oft-repeated assertion that anarchy in the United States 
 is a curse for which the Germans are particularly responsible, 
 is entirely erroneous. In judging a morbid social condition 
 which, like anarchy, makes its appearance in all states of Europe 
 as well as in America, there should be no room for national 
 prejudices. It was owing to the lax administration of the 
 city's laws and to demagogy in local politics that the anarch- 
 ists of Chicago dared prepare for a " propaganda of deed." 
 There was a time, before the bomb-throwing, when certain 
 local politicians truckled to the anarchistic element. One must 
 not too closely scrutinize the causes which warranted a Parsons 
 or a Spies in believing that he was a power in the common- 
 wealth if one does not wish to come to the logical conclusion 
 that anarchy, in the form in which it prevailed in Chicago, was 
 strictly of American development, and that nowhere else in the 
 world could it have attained so rank a growth. Demagogy 
 alone was responsible for the Haymarket massacre. There 
 the political demagogue and the labor demagogue lent each 
 other helping hands. Parsons and Spies were typical leaders 
 of the anarchists Parsons who boasted his descent from the 
 Englishmen \vho landed in Narragansett Bay in 1622, and 
 Spies who confessed to becoming first a socialist and then an 
 anarchist after coming to the United States. But it is imma- 
 terial what language madness speaks. Anarchy has no father- 
 land. It breaks out in France, Spain, England and Germany 
 as well as in America. Only, owing to the national institution 
 of demagogy, it was for a long time not only tolerated in Chi- 
 
 270
 
 cago, but was even fostered as a legitimate political insti- 
 tution. 
 
 The story of the Haymarket massacre and the anarchist 
 troubles in Chicago is here incorporated in the chapter on the 
 general labor movement not because the anarchists had any 
 legitimate connection with labor development but for purposes 
 of contrast. As has been stated, legitimate labor movement 
 consists principally in the absolutely justifiable and almost 
 necessary strife for a reasonably short working-day. Only 
 when the time made free by ingeniously contrived machinery, 
 which replaces human power and human skill, is given to pro- 
 ductive laborers of the world, will there be a just and general 
 participation of all mankind in the material blessings which 
 have resulted from the reformation of industrial affairs through 
 modern technic. Calamitous, indeed, would be the result of 
 any attempt to artificially prohibit the adaptation of things to the 
 new economic conditions of existence, but still more pernicious 
 would be the effect of unduly hastening this change. There 
 must first be developed a social basis upon which the working 
 world may be granted its share of leisure time and increased 
 material comforts made possible by modern machinery. The 
 question can never be adjudicated one-sidedly or sporadically, 
 but only in the slow and difficult way of international co-opera- 
 tion. Never with force ever in peace and harmony. 
 
 The labor movement in Chicago is healthy and has met 
 with great success. It is legitimately progressive, and the 
 intelligent foreign workman has his full share in its develop- 
 ment. Great reforms cannot be brought about over night, 
 but must be achieved with patience, self-denial and persistence. 
 Such is the way of the world, and he who knows it not, suffers 
 for his ignorance. 
 
 271
 
 The Cronin Case. 
 
 The history of the development of cosmopolitan Chicago is 
 rich in extraordinary features, which strongly reflect the char- 
 acter of the elements that have formed the city. It is in this 
 connection that the Cronin tragedy is to be considered here. 
 The murder of Dr. Cronin, aside from its peculiarly brutal 
 and cowardly execution, is particularly remarkable as it is 
 closely connected with the Celtic movement in America for the 
 freedom of Ireland. Not that the crime was the natural or 
 legitimate result of Irish agitation, for it was not, but because 
 it brought to public notice the magnitude and theretofore 
 almost hidden power of a movement in which a large number 
 of American citizens were interested. 
 
 May 4, 1889, in a lonely little cottage in the northwest part 
 of Chicago, Patrick Henry Cronin, an Irish patriot and Ameri- 
 can citizen, was beaten to death by a band of assassins. His 
 accusing voice forever stilled, the murderers disposed of their 
 victim's body, and turned to the work of assassinating his 
 character. Their plans were cunningly laid. Every detail of 
 the cowardly conspiracy had been fixed in advance. There 
 seemed no chance of failure. But somebody blundered 
 crime always blunders. And so the mutilated body of the 
 man they martyred was discoved in the Lake- View sewer; 
 the plot to kill his character failed; some of the conspirators 
 were punished, others died miserably, and Cronin, dead, 
 became a greater power than Cronin living. 
 
 Irishmen killed him, but no thoughtful man will sympathize 
 with those Americans, or Englishmen, or Germans who hold 
 
 272
 
 the Irish race responsible for Dr. Cronin's death. No Irish- 
 man worthy the name but condemns the brutal murder. John 
 F. Finerty spoke for his countrymen, when at a meeting, in 
 the interest of the Irish National League in August following 
 the murder, he said: 
 
 I would deem it under other circumstances quite unnecessary to emphasize before 
 the American people the unwavering devotion of Irish American citizens to the govern- 
 ment of the United States, but a tragedy was recently enacted in our midst, the victim of 
 which was one of our own race, that has been made the occasion of venting upon us as 
 a people, and upon our society as a body, the spleen and venom of persons who, claiming 
 to be super-loyal to the republic, have not the claim to honest loyalty which we, as a race, 
 hold upon this continent. 
 
 It has been asserted by those instrumental in covering us with defamation that we 
 wish to screen the murderers of Dr. Cronin. We meet here to-day, among other reasons, 
 for the purpose of vehemently denouncing his atrocious murder in our capacity as 
 American citizens ; but we claim that, as Irish Americans, we should no more be held 
 responsible for that foul atrocity, than any other element of the body politic for crimes 
 committed by persons to whom they are kindred. We devoutly hope that the officers 
 authorized by the law will succeed in bringing to justice the assassins of Dr. Cronin. 
 
 We repudiate, both as American citizens and as Irish-Americans, the claim made by 
 the enemies of our race that the Irish element has any desire, or any purpose, to make 
 the soil of America the theatre of acts of vengeance because of feuds, factions or 
 disagreements growing out of political differences or personal heartburnings. 
 
 Mr. Finerty was right. The Heights of Abraham, red with 
 the blood of Montgomery; the waves of Champlain, brilliant 
 with the victory of McDonough; the plains of Chalmette, still 
 radiant with the martial fire of Jackson; the convent of Cheru- 
 busco, still ringing with the war shout of Shields; the sunken 
 road at Antietam, that saw the green flag of Meagher's Irish 
 brigade rise and fall beside the stars and stripes as color-bearer 
 after color-bearer went down before the withering breath of 
 the rebel front of flame ; the valley of Cedar Creek, in which 
 the heroic figure of Phil. Sheridan lives as immortally as that of 
 Napoleon at Marengo all these examples and more could 
 be summoned to the bar of public opinion, if it were necessary, 
 to convince the American people that the Irish-Americans do 
 not lack patriotism. 
 
 Fiction furnishes no tale of crime so sinister, so cold-blooded, 
 so cowardly as the murder of Cronin. Gaboriau never con- 
 ceived a plot so intricate, Dumas never told a story of more 
 enthralling interest. But why was the " removal " of Cronin 
 
 18 
 
 273
 
 desired ? Who were his enemies, and how had he gained their 
 enmity? How would his death benefit them? These were the 
 questions that confronted the officers of the law upon the 
 disappearance of the physician. They found a theory 
 ready on the tongues of Cronin's friends, that he had 
 had fallen a victim to a political conspiracy, the conspirators 
 being scattered over two continents, the ramifications of the 
 plot extending in several directions, involving people of high 
 reputation and their tools of no reputation. The motto of the 
 conspirators was "Dead men tell no tales;" their object was 
 the deliberate taking-off certain men, Cronin among the num- 
 ber, in order that certain secrets affecting the reputation of 
 Irishmen of great power and high standing might not be made 
 public. Upon the discovery of the body the officers of the 
 law adopted this theory, the coroner's jury and grand jury sub- 
 sequently indorsed it, and finally, upon circumstantial evidence 
 of its correctness, twelve men sentenced three of the tools 
 who did the bidding of the arch-plotters to the penitentiary 
 for life. Here the officers of the law rested. But Cronin 
 will not down. While they live, his friends will continue the 
 search for evidence against his murderers. 
 
 Patrick Henrv Cronin was an Irish enthusiast. Born 
 
 i 
 
 in the town of Mallow, in County Cork, August 7> 
 1846, he was brought to the United States while a 
 babe in his mother's arms. His childhood was spent 
 in New York City, his education gained in the Christian 
 Brothers' Academy, of St. Catherine's, province of Ontario. 
 Manhood found him running a drug store in St. Louis and 
 studying medicine at the Missouri College. He was identi- 
 fied with the state militia, and in 1877 did valiant service 
 during the labor riots in St. Louis. After a year in Europe 
 he returned to Missouri, accepting the professorship of materia 
 medica in the St. Louis College of Physicians and Surgeons. 
 He came to Chicago in 1882 and continued to practice suc- 
 cessfully 
 
 274
 
 He was identified with many political, secret and social 
 societies. At the time of his death he was president of the 
 Celto-American Club of Chicago, Deputy Grand Regent of 
 the Royal Arcanum, Past Commander of the Knights of 
 Pythias, Chief Ranger of the Catholic Order of Foresters, 
 member of the Royal League, Legion of Honor, Ancient 
 Order of Hibernians and Ancient Order of United Work- 
 men. 
 
 Personally, Dr. Cronin was a typical Irishman brave, loyal 
 and warm-hearted; impulsive, vindictive and relentless; a friend 
 for life and a foe till death. His only surviving relatives are a 
 sister, Mrs. Carroll, living at St. Catherines, Ont., a brother 
 John, living on an Arkansas farm, and two nieces, Sisters in a 
 Canadian convent. Dr. Cronin was nearly six feet tall, well 
 proportioned, of dark complexion, with black hair and eyes. 
 
 IN THE CLAN-NA-GAEL. 
 
 All his life Cronin was identified with organizations having 
 for their object the liberation of Ireland. The most powerful 
 of these organizations was and is the United Brotherhood 
 (Clan-na-Gael). It counted its camps by hundreds, its mem- 
 bers by thousands and tens of thousands. Its agents were 
 everywhere. Its strength was enormous, its wealth great and 
 its movements as silent as the grave. Founded in 1869, m 
 ten years it had penetrated every part of the North American 
 continent. The membership of the organization was divided 
 into districts and the districts into local lodges or "camps." 
 Each district had its general officer, to whose authority each 
 local camp was subject, and the district officers in turn made 
 up an executive board. This body possessed absolute control 
 of the organization. 
 
 In 1 88 1 the United Brotherhood held a national convention 
 in Chicago. It had never been so powerful so prosperous. 
 Irish patriots, by the thousand, had become associated with it, 
 moved by its principles. Irish politicians, in almost like 
 
 275
 
 numbers, were attracted to it by the secret political influ- 
 ence it wielded. Irish vagabonds joined, where they could, for 
 what there might be in it. The Chicago convention changed 
 the system of government of the Brotherhood, confiding the 
 supreme control to an executive board of five men, three of 
 whom formed a quorum. Alexander Sullivan, of Chicago, 
 Michael Boland, of Kansas City, and D. C. Feeley, of Roch- 
 ester, were elected to this board, and, working together, con- 
 trolled it. From the day the convention adjourned, this 
 " triangle " assumed a despotic sway over the order. Although 
 they found a full treasury they soon promulgated an order 
 that each camp should forward to the national executive 
 committee nearly its entire receipts in lieu of the ten per cent 
 formerly demanded. As a result of this order it has been 
 estimated that the " triangle " had placed at its disposal 
 between three and four hundred thousand dollars. 
 
 About this time true friends of Ireland were shocked at the 
 inauguration of what was termed a " physical force " policy. 
 In the next few years there occurred in various parts of 
 England dynamite explosions, each followed by the capture 
 and subsequent imprisonment of the men supposed to be 
 primarily concerned. In almost every case the apprehension 
 and arrest of the foolish tools were made under such circum- 
 stances as to indicate clearly that the dynamitard was betrayed. 
 In the five years, between 1881 and 1885, twenty-nine Irish 
 revolutionists were sent from America into English prisons. 
 A prominent Irish-American has declared that each of these 
 men w r as betrayed to the British government before he landed 
 on British soil. The fact that few of the men got far enough 
 along with their missions to do any damage, supports this 
 theory. The conclusion was that men in the confidence of the 
 friends of Ireland in America were plotting to wreck the Irish 
 cause. They found plenty of ignorant tools who could be 
 persuaded that no crime was too dreadful if done to free 
 Ireland. The plotters told the tools what to do and how to do 
 
 276
 
 it, and at the same time warned their English allies as to what 
 was going on. A record of the arrest and conviction of these 
 deluded men was compiled and published by Henry M. Hunt, 
 in his story of the Cronin case. It is here reproduced: 
 
 DATE OF 
 
 SENTENCE. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 CRIME. 
 
 SENTENCE. 
 
 1881. 
 May. 
 
 1 James McGrath. 
 ) James McKevitt. 
 
 Attempt to blow up Liver- 
 pool town hall. 
 
 Life. 
 20 years. 
 
 1882. 
 Jan. 31. 
 
 John Tobin. 
 
 Illegal possession of nitro- 
 glycerine. 
 
 7 years. 
 
 July 31. 
 
 Thomas Walsh. 
 
 Illegal possession of nitro- 
 glycerine. 
 
 7 years. 
 
 1883. 
 May 28. 
 
 f Thomas Gallagher. 
 A. G Whitehead. 
 H. H. Wilson. 
 i John Curtin. 
 j William Tansey. 
 Pat Noughton. 
 I Pat Rogerson. 
 [James Kelly. 
 
 Illegal manufacture of nitro- 
 glycerine at Birmingham 
 and transfer of it to Lon- 
 don Exposition at Wes- 
 ton house in Galway. 
 
 Life. 
 Life. 
 Life. 
 Life. 
 14, years. 
 8 years. 
 12 years. 
 2 years. 
 
 July 30. 
 
 f Timothy Featherstone. 
 1 Dennis Deasy. 
 j Pat Flannigan. 
 [ Henry Dalton. 
 
 Illegal possession of infer- 
 nal machines. 
 
 Life. 
 Life. 
 Life. 
 Life. 
 
 Dec. 21. 
 
 f James McCullough. 
 Thomas Dewanney. 
 Peter Callahan. 
 Henry McCann. 
 ! Terrance McDermott. 
 1 Dennis Casey. 
 I Pat McCabe. 
 James Kelly. 
 James Donnelly. 
 [_ Patrick Drum. 
 
 Outrages at Glasgow in 
 January, 1883. 
 
 Life. 
 
 Life. 
 Life. 
 Life. 
 Life. 
 7 years. 
 7 years. 
 7 years. 
 7 years. 
 5 years. 
 
 1884. 
 July 29. 
 
 I John Daly. 
 1 J. F. Egan. 
 
 Illegal possession of infer- 
 nal machines. 
 
 Life. 
 20 years. 
 
 1885. 
 March. 
 
 Patrick Levy. 
 
 Explosion at Mill street 
 Barracks. 
 
 1 year. 
 
 May 18. 
 
 j J. G. Cunningham. 
 j H. Burton. 
 
 Explosion at Tower of Lon- 
 don. 
 
 Life. 
 Life. 
 
 Nov. 18. 
 
 J. Wallace. 
 
 Murder at Solihall. 
 
 20 years. 
 
 Cronin and his associates attributed the "physical force" 
 policy to the executive board of the United Brotherhood. 
 
 277
 
 They also believed that the poor fellows who had been com- 
 missioned to perform the deeds of violence were betrayed. 
 The sentiment of the civilized world was turning against Ire- 
 land. On the heels of this feeling, which was giving the loyal 
 members of the United Brotherhood the greatest concern, 
 came a call from the executive committee for more money. 
 No member of the order, save the "triangle" and its few 
 confidants could understand .the dissipation of the vast sum 
 that had filled the treasury at the time of the Chicago conven- 
 tion. An investigation was asked. The "triangle" refused 
 it. The refusal served to heighten the suspicions of the men 
 who were foremost in the opposition to the Messrs. Sullivan, 
 Feeley and Boland. Cronin, with John Devoy, of New York, 
 and Luke Dillon, of Philadelphia, led in the attack. In the 
 Clan-na-Gael camp of which he was a member, Dr. Cronin 
 read a letter from a camp that had been expelled by the "tri- 
 angle." For this he was tried in 1885, pronounced guilty of 
 treason and expelled from the order. 
 
 Other expulsions followed, but these radical methods did not 
 quell the rising storm. The United Brotherhood was split 
 in twain. Hostility to Sullivan, Boland and Feeley crystallized 
 rapidly. Men of ability and force directed the opposi- 
 tion, and gradually the " triangle " gave ground until it was 
 completely out of office. Cronin, Devoy and Dillon kept up 
 their attack, directing it personally against Sullivan. In 1888 
 an attempt was made to reunite the Brotherhood. Leaders 
 of both wings of the society met in Chicago. It was decided 
 that the acts of the executives of the Brotherhood from 1881 
 should be investigated and that its accounts be audited. A trial 
 committee, composed of three men from each faction, was 
 appointed. The men named on this committee were: 
 
 Dr. P. H. Cronin, Chicago. 
 
 Dr. P. McCahey, Philadelphia. 
 
 James J. Rogers, Brooklyn. 
 
 Christopher F. Byrne, Saxonville, Mass.
 
 P. A. O'Boyle, Pittston, Pa. 
 
 John D. McMahon, Rome, N. Y. 
 
 The trial board met in New York in September, 1888. 
 Boland, Feeley and Sullivan were on hand. The latter filed 
 a statement alleging that Cronin was his personal enemy, that 
 he had expressed opinions in the case, and that he was a 
 perjurer, unfit to sit on the trial board. His protest was over- 
 ruled. Then the trial began. John Devoy and Luke Dillon 
 filed charges against the " triangle." They alleged misap- 
 propriation of funds of the Brotherhood, desertion of men sent 
 on the society's business, illegal manipulations of conventions 
 and the like. The trial, of course, was secret. At its conclu- 
 sion, McCahey and Cronin were the only members of the 
 board who voted " guilty." The majority acquitted the 
 " triangle," and voted that every record of the trial be 
 destroyed. Cronin demanded that the evidence be written up 
 and sent to every camp of the Clan, together with the verdict. 
 This being voted down, he refused to surrender his private 
 notes of the trial. He and McCahey prepared a minority 
 report, and demanded that it be published. This demand was 
 also refused. Cronin still insisted on publicity, and, finally, 
 announced his intention of making an open statement of the 
 whole affair at the meeting of the Irish National League of 
 America, which was to assemble at Philadelphia in 1889. On 
 his return to Chicago he read the report of the minority in his 
 own camp. From this time until his death, Dr. Cronin was 
 active in his determination to publish to the world what he 
 believed to be the treachery of the Sullivan wing of the 
 United Brotherhood to the cause of Ireland. If the men the 
 physician accused were innocent of treachery as the law has 
 held them to be innocent of his death the murder was a 
 greater misfortune to them than to the victim. In the minds 
 of a majority of his fellows Cronin was a martyr the men he 
 accused must live and die under a cloud. 
 
 279
 
 THE PHYSICIAN DISAPPEARS. 
 
 Dr. Cronin had not been missing from his home twenty- 
 four hours when his intimates declared their belief that he had 
 been murdered. The Monday following his disappearance 
 he was killed Saturday night Patrick Cooney, one of the 
 actual instruments in the physician's death, was in New York, 
 attempting to lure John Devoy to a similar fate. Luke Dillon 
 and P. McCahey, of Philadelphia, completed the quartette 
 marked for "removal." The blunder in the disposition of 
 Cronin's body seems to have unnerved the plotters; its dis- 
 covery and the active investigation that followed completed 
 their rout ; exposure and conviction followed, and such of the 
 murder gang as escaped sought their holes. 
 
 As has been said, the plan for the "removal" of Cronin was 
 carefully matured; every detail was thought out and failure 
 seemed impossible. A lonely cottage was rented from an 
 ignorant landlord. A plausible business agreement was 
 arranged between a man who lived near the cottage and 
 Cronin, in order that the physician would respond to a call at 
 any time without telling his friends where he was going. An 
 officer of the law, who could do so without attracting atten- 
 tion, hired a horse and buggy to carry the victim to his doom. 
 A stranger in Chicago was found to do the driving. Human 
 tools were secured who w r ould beat to death any one they were 
 told to providing only that they could strike from behind and 
 in the dark. Other human tools were told off to strip the body, 
 stuff it in the trunk and hurry it through the darkness to the 
 lake shore. A tug in charge of "trusty" men was assigned 
 to meet the body and sink it in the lake. The clothes were to 
 be shipped to London. "Witnesses" were assigned who 
 remembered, after the disappearance, of seeing Cronin on the 
 way to a railroad depot the night of May 4. Other "wit- 
 nesses" were chosen who saw him in Canada the following 
 week. Still others were selected who should see him in New 
 York and on the ocean and in Paris. Finally a body, dressed 
 
 280
 
 in his clothes and bearing documents making him out a traitor 
 to the Irish cause, was to be found in the river Thames. And 
 then the men whose reputation he had assailed would be 
 "vindicated." 
 
 Condemned to die by a secret court from whose decision 
 there was no appeal, Dr. Cronin sat in his office in the Wind- 
 sor theatre building on the last night of his life, dismissing a 
 patient preparatory to attending a meeting of the Celto- Amer- 
 ican club, of which he was president. There came a hurried 
 ring at the door; Mrs. T. T. Conklin, the landlady, 
 answered the call. A rough stranger brushed past her into 
 the house, demanding to see Dr. Cronin. His manner was 
 excited, his eye furtive, his nervousness ill-concealed. In the 
 physician's presence he produced a printed business card 
 from the O'Sullivan Ice Company. 
 
 " Doctor," he said, " one of P. O'Sullivan's workmen has 
 been terribly injured. Unless a physician sees him at once, he 
 will die. O'Sullivan is out of town, but he has often told us 
 to come to you if any of the men got hurt." 
 
 The physician hesitated, glanced at his watch, and said: 
 " I'll be with you in a moment." 
 
 " I have a fast horse at the door," said the stranger. Cronin 
 seized his instrument case, donned his hat and coat, and led 
 the way to the sidewalk. At the curb stood a buggy, with a 
 white horse in the shafts. As the doctor started to climb into the 
 waiting vehicle, Frank T. Scanlan approached. " I cannot be 
 at the meeting to-night, Frank," he said, " there has been an 
 accident out in Lake View, and I have been sent for." In 
 another instant he was in the buggy, the ill-favored stranger 
 sprang to his seat beside him, gathered up the reins, and they 
 rattled away northward. His friends never saw the physician 
 alive again, but the first link of evidence against his murderers 
 was already forged. Scanlan and Mrs. Conklin, from the 
 window of the flat above, had seen the mysterious driver and 
 the white horse. 
 
 281
 
 All that long Saturday night the Conklins listened in vain 
 for the home-coming of their tenant. Mrs. Conklin told her 
 husband of the mysterious caller. The tell-tale card was 
 found on the doctor's office table. Early Sunday morning 
 Conklin drove to Lake View, and sought out O'Sullivan. 
 The iceman denied all knowledge of the affair. Conklin's 
 fears were verified. He and his wife had been Cronin's con- 
 fidants. They knew his life had been attempted on previous 
 occasions. The police were notified. The services of the 
 Pinkertons were enlisted. The search for the white horse and 
 the mysterious driver began. 
 
 Two policemen on duty in the vicinity of Clark and Diversey 
 streets reported that soon after midnight of Saturday, a light 
 wagon, drawn by a bay horse, with three or four men and a 
 large trunk in the wagon passed north on Clark street at a 
 rapid rate. Several hours later the wagon rattled past them 
 again, this time headed toward the city. The trunk was not 
 then in the wagon, but the next day a trunk, the interior 
 stained with blood and partially filled with bloody absorbent 
 cotton, was found near Evanston avenue and Sultzer street. 
 The trunk was new, and large enough to hold the body of a 
 man six feet tall. The lock of the trunk had been smashed, 
 and in their haste to remove the body of their victim the mur- 
 derers had thrown the cover back with such force as to break 
 the sheet-iron hinges. On closer examination of the bloody 
 cotton, a lock of black hair, evidently torn from the scalp of 
 a man, was found. This hair was declared by Dr. Cronin's 
 friends to be from the missing man's head. 
 
 An examination of the neighborhood about the spot where 
 the trunk was found, developed a fresh trail of wagon tracks 
 to the lake shore, near Hollywood and Bryn Mawr avenues. 
 The next day Officer Wade, of the Edgewater police, reported 
 that about i oclock Sunday morning he saw a horse and 
 wagon standing on the lake shore, at the point indicated by 
 the wagon tracks. Wade asked the men in the wagon what 
 
 282
 
 they were doing there at that hour. One of the men replied 
 that they were looking for the Lake Shore Drive. When the 
 officer told them that they were two miles off the road, they 
 turned their horse's head toward Evanston avenue and drove 
 hurriedly away. Wade saw the trunk in the wagon. 
 
 Stimulated by the evidence thus gathered, the police pushed 
 their investigations with energy. All the livery stables on the 
 North Side were visited, in an attempt to locate the white 
 horse and his mysterious driver, described by Frank Scanlan 
 and Mrs. Conklin. The search proved of no avail. The 
 man who could have furnished the desired clue held his peace 
 for the time. The lake shore was examined for traces of a 
 grave. Ponds in the neighborhood were raked, and, finally, 
 the river was dragged for a distance of several hundred feet, 
 either way, from the Fullerton avenue bridge, over which the 
 wagon with its bloody freight was supposed to have crossed. 
 No further clue was found. Dr. Cronin had disappeared as 
 magically as if the earth had yawned and swallowed him up, 
 and the bloody trunk promised to remain a mystery. 
 
 Thursday, May 9, five days after Cronin disappeared, the 
 West Side police arrested Frank J. Black, alias Woodruff , who 
 was attempting to sell a horse and wagon for $10. When 
 put upon the rack the horse-thief told a lurid story about being 
 hired to haul a trunk from the rear of 528 North State street 
 at 2 o'clock Sunday morning. He stole the horse and .wagon 
 from Dean's livery stable, where he was working, and claimed 
 to have been horrified when he discovered that he was haul- 
 ing the corpse of a young woman. His story was so worded 
 as to implicate Dr. Cronin as one of the men who employed 
 him. He claimed to have driven over the route already known 
 to the police and to have thrown the bloody trunk from the 
 wagon at the point where it was found. His story did not 
 hang together on cross-examination, but the police were satis- 
 fied that he knew something of the crime and he was detained. 
 
 Although there had been a blunder in the disposition of the 
 
 283
 
 body of their victim the expected tug not having met them 
 on the lake shore Dr. Cronin's murderers now proceeded to 
 carry out their scheme of assassinating his character. Vague 
 rumors from various sources began to find their way into the 
 newspapers. It was hinted that he had left the city of his own 
 free will and that his alleged mysterious disappearance was a 
 scheme of his own, conceived for the purpose of attaining a 
 sensational notoriety. He was represented as being an 
 erratic, ambitious individual who thirsted for sensationalism. 
 These innuendoes were echoed by certain members .of the 
 police force then as now honey-combed with the triangle influ- 
 ence. Following hints came alleged statements of facts. Miss 
 Annie Murphy, an employe in the Recorder's office, an elo- 
 cutionist who had figured on programs at Irish entertainments 
 with Dr. Cronin, and who would consequently be able to 
 readily identify him, came forward the day after Woodruff's 
 alleged confession with a statement that she had seen the phys- 
 ician on a Clark street car about 9 o'clock on the night of his 
 disappearance. He had his instrument case in his hand, she 
 said, and was bound down-town. Next came William Dwyer, 
 a North Chicago street car conductor, who corroborated Miss 
 Murphy's statement in detail. 
 
 When the body of the doctor was found two weeks later it 
 was learned that Miss Murphy's father was a member of the 
 triangle wing of the United Brotherhood and an officer in a 
 local camp. Conductor Dwyer was not known to be a mem- 
 ber of the Clan, but he suddenly threw up his position with the 
 street car company and went to Canada " for his health." But 
 we anticipate. 
 
 On the night of Friday, May 10, several Chicago newspa- 
 pers received from Toronto dispatches to the effect that Dr. 
 Cronin had been seen in Jhe Canadian city, alive and well. 
 These dispatches were from Charles T. Long, whose father 
 was publisher of a Toronto newspaper. Previously Long had 
 been a reporter on one or more of the Chicago dailies; he 
 
 284
 
 knew Dr. Cronin well, and thus his reports were looked upon 
 as practically clearing up the disappearance of the physi- 
 cian. Saturday morning the Chicago Herald printed the 
 following : 
 
 Dr. P. H. Cronin is in Canada. He was seen, recognized and spoken to here to-day 
 by a former Chicagoan, and in return told of his troubles, bitterly denouncing a number 
 of Garden City people, Alexander Sullivan particularly. The missing and supposed-to- 
 be murdered physician seemed to be slightly deranged. C. T. Long, who for three years 
 was intimately acquainted with Dr. Cronin in Chicago, was walking down Yonge street 
 shortly after 11 o'clock this morning, and when opposite the Arcade, came face to face 
 with the missing Irish nationalist. He was accompanied by a man of shorter stature. 
 
 " Hello, Doc, what are you doing here ?" was Long's greeting. 
 
 To this the doctor answered " Hello," and then pausing and drawing himself up in an 
 injured manner, continued : "You have me at a disadvantage, sir. What do you 
 want?" 
 
 "Why, Cronin, is it possible that you don't remember me?" 
 
 "I do not know you, sir, and shall have you handed over to the police in case you 
 bother me further." 
 
 Having thus delivered himself the doctorturned the corner of the Arcade and quickly 
 followed the retreating footsteps of his friend, who turned down Victoria street, and 
 together they were soon lost in the crowd. While on the way to police headquarters Long 
 again caught sight of the pair walking rapidly down Toronto street. Slipping into a 
 doorway he waited until they had passed, and then noticed that Cronin had adjusted a 
 pair of goggles, but otherwise was attired precisely the same as when seen on Yonge 
 street. Stepping up to the doctor, Long put the point-blank question: "Cronin, what 
 are you doing in Toronto when your friends in Chicago are hunting the earth for you?" 
 
 '' Now, look here, Long," he replied, " fo'r God's sake, let up on me. I have already 
 had enough notoriety and don't want to be bothered." 
 
 " Come in and let us talk the matter over," said Long, leading the pair into a conveni- 
 ent saloon. Cronin appeared to be out of his head. He talked in a rambling way about 
 Chicago affairs and wound up by denouncing in frenzied terms Alexander Sullivan and 
 other prominent Irishmen. His friend here whispered to him and thereafter he refused 
 to talk. 
 
 A more circumstantial story followed the next day. The 
 public began to turn against the physician. Woodruff's story 
 was recalled, and it was hinted that Cronin had fled the city 
 to escape the consequences of a criminal operation. In 
 another direction it was charged that the doctor was a second 
 Le Caron. One of his enemies gave out for publication a 
 statement that agents of the English government were about 
 to put another American informer on the stand in the Parnell 
 inquiry. Cronin was said to be the man. His Chicago 
 friends were staggered but not deceived by the Toronto dis- 
 patches. Patrick McGarry was sent to Canada. He enlisted 
 the services of the Toronto police. Long's circumstantial 
 story was torn to shreds. It was a tissue of lies. 
 
 285
 
 FINDING OF THE BODY. 
 
 May 14, there came a complaint to the Lake View Board of 
 Public Works that the sewer catch-basin at the corner of 
 Evanston avenue and North Fifty-ninth street was stopped up, 
 and that the stench arising from the stagnant water was a 
 nuisance in the neighborhood. For nearly a week the com- 
 plaints continued to come in, and finally, on May 22, workmen 
 were dispatched to the scene to clean out the basin. They 
 found the ditch that was supposed to drain into the basin 
 choked with sand, and spent the better part of the day in 
 clearing it. Just at dusk the job was completed, and before 
 knocking off work, the foreman knelt on the iron grating that 
 covered the basin to see that all was clear. 
 
 " There's a dog in here," he said, " and that's what's mak- 
 ing this stench." 
 
 " That's strange," said one of the workmen kneeling beside 
 him, " how the deuce could a dog get in there ? " He pressed 
 his face close to the bars for an instant. 
 
 " My God," he cried, "it's a corpse." 
 
 The heavy plank top of the trap was wrenched off and 
 there, in the foul slime of the sewer, floated the bruised and 
 bloated body of Patrick Henry Cronin. It was naked, save 
 for a towel tightly knotted about the neck. At the morgue, 
 where identification by friends was instantaneous, the physi- 
 cians found five wounds, any one of which would have proba- 
 bly proved fatal. The absence of wounds on the hands 
 showed that the first blow was delivered unawares. 
 
 In the catch-basin, where the body was found, a human 
 finger was picked up. In his guilty haste, one of the mur- 
 derers had replaced the heavy cover with a crash, crushing off 
 his own finger. This man was not apprehended at the time 
 of the trial, but Cronin's friends know who he was, and proba- 
 bly could convict him to-day if he were alive. He died of 
 delirium tremens not many months after the murder. With 
 
 286
 
 the discovery of Dr. Cronin's body, the county authorities 
 took charge of the case. 
 
 Chief of Police Hubbard issued the following order to his 
 captains : 
 
 In view of the fact that the mutilated body of Dr. Cronin has been found in a catch- 
 basin in the town of Lake View, and that much public comment will be aroused, you will 
 instruct your officers to note the nature of any such comment that they may overhear, 
 and follow up all clues that may thus be obtained. This order is sent out, because some 
 person, having some criminal knowledge of how Dr. Cronin came to his death, may be 
 indiscreet enough to make some statement, when excited, that would lead to the solving 
 of the mystery. 
 
 The above order is re-printed here to show that the police 
 had awakened to the magnitude and extent of the conspiracy 
 with which they had to deal. 
 
 Following the autopsy, ordered by Coroner Henry L. Hertz, 
 Dr. Cronin's body was buried. The funeral was imposing. 
 The murdered man's brother, John T. Cronin, and his sister, 
 Mrs. John Carroll, were the only relatives present, but friends 
 were there by the hundred. The day before the funeral, the 
 body lay in state in the Cavalry Armory on Michigan avenue, 
 guarded by Knights of St. Patrick. Twelve thousand passed 
 before the catafalque, between the hours of noon and mid- 
 night. Sunday, May 26, at 10 o'clock, ten thousand men, 
 members of the many societies with which Dr. Cronin was 
 identified, formed in procession, and followed the hearse 
 from the Cavalry Armory to the Roman Catholic cathedral 
 on North State street, where the requiem mass was celebrated. 
 The burial was at Calvary cemetery. 
 
 While Dr. Cronin's body lay in state in the Cavalry Armory, 
 evidence against his assassins was accumulating rapidly. 
 Spurred by the rising indignation of the people, the officers of 
 the law redoubled their efforts to reach the murderers. The 
 day after the discovery in the Lake View sewer, the police 
 located the slaughter-pen where Cronin was beaten to death. 
 Patrick O'Sullivan, the iceman, resided at the corner of Bos- 
 worth and Roscoe streets, in Lake View. On Ashland 
 avenue, less than two hundred feet from O'Sullivan's home, 
 
 287
 
 stood a vacant cottage, one story and basement, with entrances 
 to the main story by flights of wooden steps at front and rear. 
 Fifty feet behind that gloomy cottage was a smaller building, 
 occupied by Jonas Carlson, his wife and son John. Mr. Carl- 
 son owned both buildings, renting the Ashland avenue struc- 
 ture when he could. Only the Carlson cottages and O'Sulli- 
 van's house stood in the space, as large as the average city 
 square, and the neighborhood was sparsely built up in every 
 direction. The day following the discovery of the body, 
 Captain Schuettler, of the city police, Captain Wing, of the 
 Lake View police, and States Attorney Longenecker held a 
 consultation. They decided to send for O'Sullivan. The ice- 
 man weakened under a rigid examination. He said he 
 believed that something mysterious had been going on in the 
 Carlson cottage. In March, he said, two strangers had leased 
 the place of Carlson, telling him they were going to work in. 
 O'Sullivan's ice-house. They paid a month's rent, but had 
 not occupied the building. He declared that he did not know 
 the men, and had made no agreement to give them employ- 
 ment. He reiterated his earlier statements, that he knew 
 nothing of Cronin's disappearance. 
 
 Schuettler and Wing ordered that O'Sullivan be detained 
 while they drove to the mysterious cottage. Even before 
 they entered the building, evidence of a crime was noted. 
 Blood-stains were to be seen on the planks that spanned the 
 ditch from the sidewalk to the road. Dark stains marked the 
 planks of the sidewalk, and a trail of blood led up the wooden 
 steps to the cottage door. Bursting open the latter, the two 
 officers followed the gory trail into the front room of the little 
 building. Here the evidence of a life-struggle was sicken- 
 ingly plentiful. Blood-stains were everywhere, and from the 
 fact that they were not as heavy as those outside the building, 
 it was argued that the blood had soaked through a carpet that 
 had since been taken up. In the room were a bedstead, 
 dressing case, washstand, with pitcher and bowl, and a cheap 
 
 288
 
 rocking chair, one arm of which was broken off and lay on the 
 floor. After the blood was shed, a man in bare feet had made 
 a hurried and bungling attempt to conceal the stains by 
 smearing them over with reddish brown paint. In the base- 
 ment of the cottage were found the paint pot and brush, 
 dropped by the wretch who had made such an ineffectual 
 attempt to cover up the traces of the bloody struggle. 
 
 Leaving the slaughter pen, the two policemen sought the 
 Carlsons. They did not need any urging to tell what they 
 knew. March 20, a young man giving his name as Frank 
 Williams, had called and rented the cottage, paying a month's 
 rent in advance. He said his two brothers and a sister, who 
 were coming from Baltimore in a few days, would live with 
 him, took the keys and departed. Three days later the new 
 tenant moved some cheap furniture into the building. Noth- 
 ing was seen of him after that, until he called April 20, and 
 paid the second month's rent. In explanation of his failure to 
 occupy the cottage, the man said his sister was sick. Mon- 
 day, May 13, Dr. Cronin had then been missing nine days 
 a stranger called at the Carlson's home and tendered the third 
 month's rent, although it would not be due for a week. By 
 this time the Carlsons began to suspect something was 
 wrong, and they refused the proffered money unless Williams 
 should occupy the house. May 18, Carlson received a note 
 dated Hammond, Indiana, signed " F. W," which read as 
 follows : 
 
 My sister is low at present and my business calls me out of town. If you will please 
 put the furniture in your cellar for a few days, I will pay you for your trouble. My sis- 
 ter told me to paint the floor for her so that it v/ould not be so hard to clean. I am sorry 
 now that I gave the front room one coat. 
 
 That afternoon Carlson went over to the cottage to examine 
 it. The condition, as found by the police, filled the ignorant 
 man with alarm. The first impulse was to notify the officers, 
 but after a family council the old landlord decided to do noth- 
 ing until Frank Williams called for his furniture. Questioned 
 by Captain Schuettler, Carlson remembered that, when his 
 
 ia 
 
 289
 
 mysterious tenant first secured the keys from him, he walked 
 across the prairie towards O'Sullivan's house. The iceman 
 was standing by his buggy, and Carlson heard the stranger 
 say, as he approached him: "Well, the cottage is rented." 
 Later, when Carlson complained to the iceman about the mys- 
 terious actions of his tenant, his neighbor assured him that the 
 man was " all right." 
 
 The next step of the police was to trace the furniture found 
 in the cottage. It bore the trade-mark of A. H. Revell & 
 Co. Investigation at the furniture establishment showed that 
 a bill of goods, corresponding to the articles found, was sold 
 February 17 to a man giving the name of J. B. Simonds, and 
 delivered to rooms 12 and 15, 117 Clark street, This build- 
 ing was directly opposite the Chicago Opera House block, 
 where Dr. Cronin had his down-town office. It was devel- 
 oped that the Clark street flat was deserted March 23 the 
 day Frank Williams moved into the Carlson cottage and 
 with the location of the expressman, who hauled the goods to 
 Lake View, another link in the chain of evidence was forged. 
 It is conjectured that the assassins originally intended to lure 
 Dr. Cronin into the Clark street flat and murder him there, 
 but that the idea was abandoned because of the hazard in dis- 
 posing of the corpse. 
 
 When the news of the discovery in the Carlson cottage was 
 made public, William Mertes, a Lake View milk dealer, came 
 forward with a story that confirmed the theory that here Dr. 
 Cronin had met his death. Mertes was passing down Ash- 
 land avenue about 8 130 o'clock on the night of May 4, and, 
 when near the corner of Roscoe street, a top buggy, drawn 
 by a white horse, drew up in front of the cottage. A man, 
 answering the description of the murdered physician in every 
 particular, jumped from the buggy and hurried up the . steps. 
 He was expected, for Mertes heard a bolt fly back as the tall 
 man reached the door. He had no sooner passed inside than 
 the milkman was astonished to see the man who remained in 
 
 290
 
 the buggy bring the whip down on the back of the 
 white horse and rattle off in the darkness. As he 
 passed down the street, Mertes heard a crash, like the 
 fall of a heavy body, in the dimly-lit and closely- 
 shuttered front room of the cottage, followed by angry 
 voices. In an instant all was still. The murder had been 
 accomplished. 
 
 THE WHITE HORSE LOCATED. 
 
 About the time Milkman Mertes came to police headquar- 
 ters with the story of what he had seen, Patrick Dinan, a 
 liveryman, in business at 360 North Clark street, called upon 
 Chief of Police Hubbard, with what proved to be the most 
 important single bit of evidence in this remarkable case. 
 Attached to the East Chicago avenue police station, then com- 
 manded by Captain Michael J. Schaack, who did brilliant work 
 in the anarchist case, was Detective Daniel Coughlin. On 
 the morning of the fateful Saturday that Dr. Cronin disap- 
 peared, Coughlin is reported to have gone to Dinan's stable, 
 and said: "I want you to reserve a rig for a friend of mine, 
 who will call for it to-night. Say nothing to any one about it. 
 I will be responsible." 
 
 Coughlin often hired rigs of Dinan when on detective duty, 
 and the request of secrecy seemed natural to the liveryman. 
 Between 7 and 8 o'clock that night Coughlin's friend appeared. 
 Dinan's description of him tallied with the description given 
 by Mrs. Coughlin and Frank Scanlan of the man who drove 
 Dr. Cronin away. The stranger called for the rig that 
 Coughlin had ordered. He was given a white horse in a top 
 buggy without side curtains. He objected to the color of the 
 horse and the absence of curtains, but Dinan was in a surly 
 mood and would make no change. Finally the man climbed 
 into the rig and drove north on Clark street in the direction of 
 the Windsor theatre building. About 9 130 o'clock the stranger 
 drove back to the barn, tossed the reins to a hostler and hur- 
 
 291
 
 riedly disappeared. The horse was warm, and had evidently 
 been driven hard. 
 
 The following Monday the newspapers, in telling of the dis- 
 appearance of Cronin, minutely described the horse and buggy 
 that had driven him away. Without thinking there was any- 
 thing wrong, Dinan concluded to report to Captain Schaack. 
 The first man he met at the police station was detective 
 Coughlin. 
 
 "Hello," said Coughlin, "Who are you looking for?" 
 
 "Captain Schaack," said Dinan. 
 
 "What for?" demanded the detective. 
 
 "Well," replied the liveryman, "there are so many inquiries 
 made about the white horse that was out Saturday night the 
 one I let your friend have- that I think I had better tell him 
 about it." 
 
 "Now, look here, Dinan," said Coughlin, "there is no use 
 making a fuss about this thing. You keep quiet about it. 
 Me and Cronin have not been good friends, and if you go to 
 talking you may get me into trouble. Everybody knows him 
 and me were enemies." 
 
 Dinan appeared to acquiesce in the detective's plan, but 
 later in the day he called at Captain Schaack's house and 
 told his story. That officer questioned Coughlin closely in 
 the matter, but accepted the detective's statement that he had 
 hired the rig for a man named Smith, from Hancock, Michi- 
 gan, who was " all right." 
 
 Dinan finally carried his story to Chief of Police Hubbard. 
 Hubbard at once sent for Coughlin. He was subjected to a 
 rigid cross-examination. His replies were evasive and unsat- 
 isfactory. Frequently he contradicted himself and at times 
 refused to answer at all. When he left the room he was under 
 arrest. Later, at the trial, Dinan testified to the facts as given 
 above in his statement to Chief of Police Hubbard. 
 
 In the meantime, Patrick O'Sullivan's contract with Dr. 
 Cronin was being investigated. The fact developed that, 
 
 292
 
 although no employe of the iceman had been injured in four 
 years, he had recently agreed to pay the physician $8.00 a 
 month regularly, the latter to respond to a call whenever one 
 of O'Sullivan's cards should be presented him. To disarm 
 suspicion the contract had been negotiated through Justice 
 Mahoney, of Lake View, a particular friend of Cronin's. The 
 stranger who drove the doctor away with Pat Dinan's white 
 horse had presented the stipulated card. The stranger \vho 
 rented the Carlson cottage hurried to apprise O'Sullivan of 
 the fact. The meshes of the law were tightening about the 
 iceman. May 27 he was arrested on complaint of Dr. 
 Cronin's brother. May 28, after hearing the evidence thus 
 far gathered, the grand jury indicted Daniel Coughlin, detec- 
 tive; Patrick O'Sullivan, iceman; and Frank J. Black, alias 
 Woodruff, the horse-rthief, for conspiracy to commit murder. 
 
 Following the indictments by the grand jury came the 
 coroner's inquest. The jurors visited the catch-basin where 
 the body of Dr. Cronin was found, the Carlson cottage, and 
 examined the furniture and the bloody trunk. Mrs. Conklin, 
 Frank T. Scanlan, Patrick Dinan, Jonas Carlson, Justice 
 Mahoney, Milkman Mertes and others told their stories. 
 Captain Schaack's testimony before the jury was of such 
 nature that Chief of Police Hubbard, yielding to a popular 
 clamor, suspended him from the force on which he had served 
 w r ith such distinction. He has since, however, been rein- 
 stated and now occupies a position of honor in the police 
 department. 
 
 One of the main obstacles in the path of the men who set 
 for themselves the task of hunting down the murderers of 
 Cronin was the police force. Every station in the city had its 
 spies. Every move of the detectives who were honestly 
 striving to unravel the mystery was promptly communicated 
 to the other side. On one occasion, Patrick Cooney who is 
 known to have been one of the men in the cottage at the time 
 of the murder was located in a New Jersey town. Two 
 
 293
 
 hours after an officer left Chicago to arrest him, Cooney had 
 received a warning. Dr. Cronin's friends aver that the man 
 who gave the warning was a high official of the police depart- 
 ment, who has since retired on a pension. 
 
 The sensational feature of the coroner's inquest was the 
 attempt to show that Alexander Sullivan desired, and proba- 
 bly directed the physician's " removal." So strong was the 
 circumstantial evidence of Thomas F. O'Connor, Patrick 
 McGarry, J. G. Hagerty, Luke Dillon and others that the 
 coroner's jury recommended that Sullivan be held to the 
 grand jury along with Coughlin, O'Sullivan and Black. He 
 was arrested on the night of June 12, but three days later 
 Judge Tuley admitted him to bail in the sum of $20,000. 
 November 8, the case against him not having been pushed, 
 his bondsmen were released and he himself declared dis- 
 charged. 
 
 In 1886, there came from Ireland to the United States, an 
 athletic young man named Martin Burke. He reached Chi- 
 cago in 1887, and soon joined the Clan-na-Gaels. He was 
 admitted to Camp 20, of which John F. Beggs, a lawyer, 
 Daniel Coughlin and Michael Whelan, city detectives, were 
 the leading lights. Beggs, through Alexander Sullivan, got 
 Burke a position in the city sewer department. He was 
 naturally a loafer and spent much of his time in bar-rooms, 
 where his mouthings soon earned for him the reputation of 
 being a tool of the triangle. After the murder, he disap- 
 peared. Burke was not unknown to the police force, and it 
 occurred to officer John Collins, who was detailed on the 
 Cronin case, that he might know something of it. His dis- 
 appearance only confirmed the theory. Collins finally 
 procured a group picture, in which the fugitive's face was 
 shown. The Carlsons unhesitatingly picked him out of the 
 group as Frank Williams, the man who rented the cottage. 
 The expressman, who hauled the furniture from the Clark 
 street flat to Lake View also recognized the picture as being 
 
 294
 
 that of the man who employed him. Descriptions of Burke 
 and copies of the photograph were scattered over the United 
 States and Canada. June 16, Chief of Police McRae, of 
 Winnipeg, Manitoba, arrested the suspect as he was leaving 
 the city to take ship for Liverpool. After a legal struggle 
 that lasted six weeks, during which time Burke was mys- 
 teriously supplied with money and able counsel, a warrant of 
 extradition was issued, and officer Collins brought his prisoner 
 back to Chicago. 
 
 While this was going on, the police began a search for 
 Patrick Cooney, known to his intimates as " the Fox." 
 Cooney came from the west of Ireland and was a bricklayer 
 by trade. He answered the description of the man who 
 bought the furniture and rented the Clark street flat. For a 
 month previous to the murder he was frequently seen with 
 Coughlin and Burke, and he had been heard to denounce Dr. 
 Cronin as a British spy. The week after the murder he was 
 seen in New York, and twice after the search for him began 
 he was located, but each time eluded arrest. 
 
 June 24 the grand jury learned from reliable witnesses that 
 there was an inner circle in Camp 20 of the Clan-na-Gael, and 
 that a trial of Dr. Cronin was ordered by this inner circle in 
 February, 1889. For a year or more he had been denounced 
 in this camp by Coughlin, O'Sullivan, Burke, Cooney and 
 others as a British spy. A case was finally manufactured 
 against him, and the trial ordered. John F. Beggs, senior 
 guardian of Camp 20, selected the trial committee. The com- 
 mittee met in secret, and rendered its verdict to the senior 
 guardian. Dr. Cronin's friends say that on May 4, 1889, the 
 verdict was executed. 
 
 The final result of the long deliberations of the grand jury 
 was the indictment of John F. Beggs, Daniel Coughlin, Patrick 
 O'Sullivan, Patrick Cooney, Martin Burke, Frank J. Black 
 and John Kunze. Kunze was believed to be the man who 
 drove the white horse. He had done some " stool-pigeon " 
 
 2 95
 
 work for Coughlin, and thus fell under suspicion. At the 
 trial he was first sentenced to three years in the penitentiary, 
 but he was afterwards acquitted. By an agreement of the 
 prosecution Black was granted a separate trial, and, finally, as 
 he was wanted in Kansas for horse stealing, and the police 
 had no evidence against him but his numerous confessions, he 
 was taken to Olathe, Kansas, where he was convicted and 
 sentenced to two years in the penitentiary. At the conclusion 
 of this term, he was taken to Lansing, Kansas, on another 
 charge of horse stealing. He was again convicted, and this 
 time sentenced to five years in prison, where he died of 
 typhoid fever, October 10, 1892. 
 
 The Kansas prison officials say that Black talked freely 
 during his last illness. He said it was a fact that he drove 
 the wagon containing the corpse of Dr. Cronin. The Chicago 
 police evidently blundered in letting Black go. Had he been 
 tried, he might have revealed the names of the men who were 
 with him the night of May 4. Certain it is that the murder- 
 ers have not all been brought to book. 
 
 ON TRIAL AT LAST. 
 
 Friday, August 30, less than four monHis after the murder, 
 the trial of Beggs, Coughlin, O'Sullivan, Burke and Kunze 
 was commenced in Judge McConnelPs court. Able lawyers 
 represented the accused men, and the states attorney was 
 supported by some of the foremost men of the bar. Nearly 
 two months were consumed in securing a jury. When the 
 case had been on hearing for more than a month, a sensational 
 development, indicative of the powerful and sinister influence 
 at work in behalf of the prisoners, was made public by the 
 states attorney. Two court bailiffs had been discovered in an 
 attempt to bribe the jury. One man had been offered $5000 
 if he would get on the jury and stand out for an acquittal. A 
 number of citizens had been similarly approached. Happily, 
 for the cause of justice, the bailiffs approached the wrong 
 
 296
 
 men, and the plot failed. As a result of the discovery six 
 men were indicted by the grand jury, and sent to jail for a 
 term of years. 
 
 To rehearse, or even summarize the evidence heard at the 
 trial would be but to repeat the story, as here set down. It 
 was on Monday, December 16, that the jury returned a ver- 
 dict. Beggs was acquitted, while O'Sullivan, Burke and 
 Coughlin were found guilty of murder, and sentenced to the 
 penitentiary for life. January 20, 1893, the supreme court 
 granted a new trial on a technicality. The court reviews the 
 evidence presented at the trial, and dwells upon the fact that 
 it is purely circumstantial. The theory of the prosecution, 
 that a conspiracy was hatched by Coughlin and others to 
 bring about the murder of Dr. Cronin, is recited, together 
 with the connection which it sought to establish between the 
 crime and the Clan-na-Gael, of which all save the defendant 
 Kunze were members. The supposed purposes of that organ- 
 ization, the declaration that Dr. Cronin was a British spy and 
 the investigation set on foot by the members of Camp 20, are 
 considered. The matter of the competence of Jurors Bon- 
 tecou and Clark, who admitted, on examination, that from 
 \vhat they had read in the newspapers, they believed the 
 prisoners guilty, was taken up and reviewed at great length. 
 Their examination is repeated, and the propriety of the chal- 
 lenge for cause made in each case by defendant's counsel and 
 refused by the court, is taken under consideration. Many 
 authorities are quoted to show what is and what is not a com- 
 petent juror. The conclusion is reached that Jurors Bontecou 
 and Clark were disqualified by prejudice, and that, therefore, 
 the defendants did not receive a fair trial. The decision 
 declares that the evidence fails to show that the Clan-na-Gael 
 was an unlawful or criminal organization, or that, as an 
 organization, it had anything to do with the murder. The 
 court forbears to express an opinion as to the other questions 
 presented to it, but reverses the judgment of the lower court 
 
 297
 
 in the case, and remands it to the criminal court of Cook 
 county for a new trial. Justices Magruder and Scholfield 
 dissented from the opinion. 
 
 Thus Coughlin is now, April, 1893, in the county jail, 
 awaiting a new trial. Martin Burke and Patrick O'Sullivan 
 died in prison. The fatalities connected with the Cronin case 
 have been singularly numerous. In addition to the death of 
 the two principals, while serving life sentences in Joliet peni- 
 tentiary, and that of Black in the Kansas prison, more than a 
 score of suspects and witnesses have been called before a 
 higher court. Martin Burke died December 9, 1892, of con- 
 sumption. The same disease carried off Patrick O'Sullivan 
 May 5, 1892. John F. Beggs, the senior guardian of Camp 
 20, died April 5, 1892, and Patrick Dinan, the owner of the 
 white horse, died March 28, 1892. 
 
 Edward Spellman, the wealthy distiller, of Peoria, whose 
 evidence on the stand stamped him a bitter enemy of the Doc- 
 tor, died in December, 1891, literally losing his head in a 
 frightful fall from a ladder. He was a prominent Clan-na- 
 Gael, and contributed largely to the defense fund. Thomas 
 Desmond, of San Francisco, anorher Clan-na-Gael, who came 
 to advise and assist the defense, is a permanent cripple, sus- 
 taining .a compound fracture of the leg on Clark street by a 
 fall one night while on his way to a secret meeting. Matthew 
 Dannehy, of Camp 20, kept a saloon on Chicago avenue, 
 which the Clan-na-Gaels were known to frequent. He was 
 an alibi witness for the defense. He never prospered after 
 the trial, his place being finally closed up, and he died soon 
 after. Michael Gannon was a bartender in Patrick Dolan's 
 saloon, another resort of the order, and is supposed to have 
 known a good deal, his testimony, however, being unim- 
 portant. During the trial he caught a severe cold one night 
 while intoxicated. It quickly developed into pneumonia, and 
 while in a fit of coughing he choked to death and died without 
 the services of a priest. Frank Shea was another pneumonia 
 
 298
 
 victim. It is supposed his part in the trial was that of drilling 
 alibi witnesses. A horrible death was that of Peter McGee- 
 han, the Philadelphian, who was accosted on the street by Dr. 
 Cronin about a week before the murder, and charged with 
 being in the plot to murder him. He died some time between 
 the coroner's inquest and the trial. He had obtained employ- 
 ment at a South Side rolling mill and fell into a pit, sustaining 
 severe injuries. He was taken to the County Hospital and died 
 shortly after, a raving maniac. Like Gannon, he is said to 
 have had no priest to console him in his dying moments, and 
 there has always been a mystery about his burial place. The 
 death of Robert Gibbons, who was an alibi witness for Burke, 
 was tragic and violent. Two years ago, while in the Lake 
 View Exchange, near Hooley's Theatre, he attacked Captain 
 Schuettler, of the police force, who had been active in running 
 down the conspirators. Schuettler shot and fatally wounded 
 him, and, as proven in the coroner's inquest, was fully justi- 
 fied in doing so. 
 
 With the new trial of Coughlin still pending, it is, of course, 
 impossible to give the finale of the great tragedy. 
 
 2 99
 
 "Chicago The Main Exhibit." 
 
 Under the above heading, Mr. Julian Ralph, in an article 
 appearing in the February, 1892, number of " Harper's 
 Monthly," gave, in epitome, many Chicago characteristics, 
 which, while hardly the proper subject-matter for a history of 
 the city, still complete and supplement that history and enable 
 the stranger to form a more correct idea of the distinguishing 
 traits of Chicago and Chicagoans. His treatment, however, 
 was so generous, his praise so unstinted, that only the fact 
 that he is a New Yorker permits the reproduction, in a Chi- 
 cago book, of the following extracts from his article: 
 
 "Chicago will be the main exhibit at the Columbian Expo- 
 sition of 1893. No matter what the aggregation of wonders 
 there, the city itself will make the most surprising presenta- 
 tion. Those who go to study the world's progress will find no 
 other result of human force so wonderful, extravagant, or 
 peculiar. Those who go clear-minded, expecting to see a 
 great city, will find one different from that which any prece- 
 dent has led them to look for. 
 
 "While investigating the management and prospects of the 
 Columbian Exposition, I was a resident of Chicago for more 
 than a fortnight. A born New-Yorker, the energy, roar, and 
 bustle of the place were yet sufficient to first astonish and then 
 to fatigue me. I was led to examine the city, and to cross- 
 examine some of its leading men. I came away compelled to 
 acknowledge its possession of certain forceful qualities which 
 I never saw exhibited in the same degree anywhere else. I 
 got a satisfactory explanation of its growth and achievements, 
 as well as proof that it must continue to expand in population 
 and commercial influence. I acquired a respect for Chicago 
 
 300
 
 such as it is most likely that any American who makes a sim- 
 ilar investigation must share with me. 
 
 <: The city has been thought intolerant of criticism. The 
 amount of truth there is in this is found in its supervoluminous 
 civicism. But underlying the behavior of the most able and 
 enterprising men in the city is this motto, which they con- 
 stantly quoted to me, all using the same words: 'We are for 
 Chicago first, last, and all the time.' To define that sentence 
 is, in a great measure, to account for Chicago. It explains the 
 possession of a milllion inhabitants by a city that practically 
 dates its beginning after the war of the rebellion. Its adop- 
 tion by half a million men as their watchword means the forc- 
 ing of trade and manufactures and wealth ; the getting of the 
 World's Fair, if you please. In order to comprehend Chicago, 
 it is best never to lose sight of the motto of its citizens. 
 
 "I have spoken of the roar and bustle and energy of Chicago. 
 This is most noticeable in the business part of the town, where the 
 greater number of the men are crowded together. * * * 
 The whole business of life is carried on at high pressure, and 
 the pithy part of Chicago is like three hundred acres of New 
 York Stock Exchange when trading is active. European vis- 
 itors have written that there are no such crowds anywhere as 
 
 / 
 
 gather on Broadway, and this is true most of the time ; but 
 there is one hour on every week-day when certain streets in 
 Chicago are so packed with people as to make Broadway look 
 desolate and solitudinous by comparison. That is the hour 
 between half past 5 and half past 6 o'clock, when the famous 
 tall buildings of the city vomit their inhabitants upon the 
 pavements. Photographs of the principal corners and cross- 
 ings, taken at the height of the human torrent, suggest the 
 thought that the camera must have been turned on some little- 
 known painting by Dore. Nobody but Dore ever conceived 
 such pictures. To those who are in the crowds, even Chicago 
 seems small and cramped; even her street-cars, running in 
 breakneck trains, prove far too few ; even her streets that 
 
 302
 
 connect horizon with horizon seem each night to roar at the 
 city officials for further annexation in the morning. 
 
 "We shall see these crowds simply and satisfactorily 
 accounted for presently ; but they exhibit only one phase of the 
 high-pressure existence ; they form only one feature among the 
 many that distinguish the town. In the tall buildings are the 
 most modern and rapid elevators, machines that fly up through 
 the towers like glass balls from a trap at a shooting contest. 
 The slow-going stranger, who is conscious of having been 
 'kneaded' along the street, like a lump of of dough among a 
 million bakers, feels himself loaded into one of those frail- 
 looking baskets of steel netting, and the next instant the ele- 
 vator-boy touches the trigger, and up goes the whole load as 
 a feather is caught up by a gale. These elevators are too 
 slow for Chicago, and the managers of certain tall buildings 
 now arrange them so that some run 'express' to the seventh 
 story without stopping, while what may be called accommo- 
 dation cars halt at the lower floors. 
 
 " The cable cars of Chicago make more than nine miles an 
 hour in town, and more than thirteen miles an hour where the 
 population is less dense. These street cars distribute the peo- 
 ple grandly, and while they occasionally run over a stray 
 citizen, they far more frequently clear their way by lifting 
 wagons and trucks bodily to one side as they whirl along. It 
 is a rapid and a business-like city. The speed with which cat- 
 tle are killed and pigs are turned into slabs of salt pork has 
 amazed the world, but it is only the ignorant portion thereof that 
 does not know that the celerity at the stock-yards is merely an 
 effort of the butchers to keep up with the rest of the town. 
 
 "I do not know how many very tall buildings Chicago con- 
 tains, but they must number nearly two dozen. Some of them 
 are artistically designed, and hide their height in well-balanced 
 proportions. A few are mere boxes, punctured with window- 
 holes, and stand above their neighbors like great hitching 
 
 304
 
 posts. The best of them are very elegantly and completely 
 appointed, and the communities of men inside them might 
 almost live their lives within their walls, so multifarious are the 
 occupations and services of the tenants. The best New 
 York office buildings are not injured by comparison with 
 these towering structures, except that they are not so tall as 
 the Chicago buildings, but there is not in New York any 
 office structure that can be compared with Chicago's so-called 
 Chamber of Commerce office building, so far as are concerned 
 the advantages of light and air and openness and roominess 
 which its tenants enjoy. * * * With their floors of 
 defty-laid mosaic work, their walls of marble and onyx, their 
 balustrades of copper worked into arabesquerie, their artistic 
 lanterns, elegant electric fixtures, their costly and luxurious 
 public rooms, these Chicago office buildings force an exclama- 
 tion of praise, however unwillingly it comes. 
 
 " They have adopted what they call ' the Chicago method ' 
 in putting up these steepling hives. This plan is to construct 
 the actual edifice of steel framework, to which are added thin 
 outer walls of brick or stone masonry, and the necessary par- 
 titions of fire-brick and plaster laid on iron lathing. The 
 buildings are therefore like enclosed bird-cages, and it is said 
 that, like bird-cages, they cannot shake or tumble down. The 
 exterior walls are mere envelopes. They are so treated that 
 the buildings look like heaps of masonry, but that is homage 
 paid to custom more than it is a material element of strength. 
 The Chicago method is expeditious, economical, and in many 
 ways advantageous. The manner in which the great weight 
 of houses so tall as to include between sixteen and twenty- 
 four stories is distributed upon the ground beneath them is 
 ingenious. Wherever one of the principal upright pillars is to 
 be set up, the builders lay a pad of steel and cement of such 
 extent that the pads for all the pillars cover all the site. 
 These pads are slightly pyramidal in shape, and are made by 
 laying alternate courses of steel beams crosswise, one upon 
 
 306
 
 another. Each pair of courses of steel is filled in and solidified 
 with cement, and then the next two courses are added and 
 similarly treated. At last each pad is eighteen inches thick, 
 and perhaps eighteen feet square ; but the size is governed by 
 the desire to distribute the weight of the building at about the 
 average of a ton to the square foot. 
 
 " This peculiar process is necessitated by the character of the 
 land underneath Chicago. Speaking widely, the rule is to 
 find from seven to fourteen feet of sand super-imposed upon a 
 layer of clay between ten and forty feet in depth. It has not 
 paid to puncture this clay with piling. The piles sink into a 
 soft and yielding substance, and the clay is not tenacious 
 enough to hold them. Thus the Chicago post-office was 
 built, and it not only settles continuously, but it settles 
 unevenly. On the other hand, the famous Raokery building, 
 set up on these steel and cement pads, did not sink quite an 
 inch, though the architect's calculation was that, by squeezing 
 the water out of the clay underneath, it would settle seven 
 
 inches. 
 
 ***** 
 
 " Chicago's great office buildings have basements, but no 
 cellars. I have referred to the number of these stupendous 
 structures. Let it be known next that they are all in a verv 
 small district, that narrow area which composes Chicago's 
 office region, \vhich lies between Lake Michigan and all the 
 principal railroad districts, and at the edges of which one- 
 twenty-fifth of all the railroad mileage of the world is said to 
 terminate, though the district is but little more than half a 
 mile square, or 300 acres in extent. One of these buildings 
 and not the largest has a population of 4000 persons. It 
 was visited and its elevators were used on three days, when a 
 count was kept, by 19,000, 18,000 and 20,000 persons. Last 
 October there were 7000 offices in the tall buildings of Chi- 
 cago, and 7000 more were under way in buildings then under- 
 going construction. The reader now understands whv in the 
 
 O O *> 
 
 308
 
 flasonic Temple.
 
 heart of Chicago every work-day evening the crowds convey 
 the idea that our Broadway is a deserted thoroughfare as 
 compared with, say, the corner of Clark and Jackson streets. 
 
 " Four-story and five-story houses that once were attractive 
 are no longer so, because their owners cannot afford the con- 
 veniences which distinguish the greater edifices, wherein light 
 and heat are often provided free, fire-proof safes are at the 
 service of every tenant, janitors officer a host of servants, and 
 there are barber shops, restaurants, cigar and news stands, 
 elevators, and a half-dozen other conveniences not found in 
 smaller houses. One of the foremost business men in the city 
 asserts that he can perceive no reason why the entire business 
 heart of the town that square half mile of which I have 
 spoken should not soon be all builded up of cloud-capped 
 towers. There will be a need for them, he says and the 
 money to defray the cost of them will accompany the demand. 
 The only trouble he foresees will be in the solution of the 
 problem, what to do with the people who will then crowd the 
 streets as never streets were clogged before. 
 
 " This prophecy relates to a little block in the city, but the 
 city itself contains 181^ square miles. * * * The 
 true reason for the enormous extension of municipal juris- 
 diction is quite peculiar. The enlargement was urged and 
 accomplished in order to anticipate the growth and needs of 
 the city. It was a consequence of extraordinary foresight, 
 which recognized the necessity for a uniform system of 
 boulevards, parks, drainage and water provision when the 
 city should reach limits that it was even then seen must soon 
 bound a compact aggregation of stores, offices, factories and 
 dwellings. Chicago, in her park system, makes evident her 
 intentions. Chicago expects to become the largest city in 
 America a city which, in fifty years, shall be larger than the 
 consolidated cities that may form New York at that time. 
 ***** 
 
 l< Without either avowing or contesting any part of the 
 
 310
 
 process by which Chicago men account for their city's import- 
 ance or calculate its future, let me repeat a digest of what 
 several influential men of that city said upon the subject. 
 Chicago, then, is the center of a circle of 1000 miles diameter. 
 If you draw a line northward 500 miles, you find everywhere 
 arable land and timber. The same is true with respect to a 
 line drawn 500 miles in a northwesterly course. For 650 
 miles westward there is no change in the rich and alluring 
 prospect, and so all around the circle, except where Lake 
 Michigan interrupts it, the same conditions are found. More- 
 over, the lake itself is a valuable element in commerce. The 
 rays or spokes in all these directions become materialized in 
 the form of the tracks of thirty-five railways which enter the 
 city. Twenty-two of these are great companies, and at a 
 short distance sub-radials, made by other railroads, raise the 
 number to fifty roads. As said above, in Chicago one-twenty- 
 fifth of the railway mileage of the world terminates, and serves 
 thirty millions of persons, who find Chicago the largest city 
 easily accessible to them. Thus is found a vast population 
 connected easily and directly with a common center, to which 
 everything they produce can be brought, and from which all 
 that contributes to the material progress and comfort of man 
 may be economically distributed. 
 
 "A financier, who is equally well known and respected in 
 New York and Chicago, put the case somewhat differently as 
 to what he called Chicago's territory. He considered it as 
 being 1000 miles square, and spoke of it as ' the land west of 
 the Alleghanies, and south of Mason and Dixon's line.' This 
 region, the richest agricultural territory in the world, does its 
 financiering in Chicago. The rapid increase in wealth of 
 both the city and the tributary region is due to the fact that 
 every year both produce more, and have more to sell and less 
 to buy. Not long ago the rule was that a stream of goods 
 ran eastward over the Alleghanies, and another stream of 
 supplies came back, so that the west had little gain to show. 
 
 312
 
 But during the past five years this back-setting current has 
 been a stream of money, returned for the products the west 
 has distributed. The west is now selling to the east and to 
 Europe and getting money in return, because it is manufac- 
 turing for itself, as well as tilling the soil and mining for the 
 rest of the world. It therefore earns money and acquires 
 a profit, instead of continuing its former process of toiling 
 merely to obtain from the east the necessaries of life. 
 ***** 
 
 " When we understand what are the agricultural resources 
 of the region for which Chicago is the trading-post, we 
 perceive how certain it was that its debt would be paid, 
 and that great wealth would follow. This midland country, 
 of which Chicago is the capital, produces two thousand 
 million bushels of corn, seven hundred million bushels of oats, 
 fifty million hogs, twenty-eight million horses, thirty million 
 sheep, and so on, but in no single instance is the region pro- 
 ducing within fifty per cent, of what it will be made to yield 
 before the expiration of the next twenty years. Farming 
 there has been haphazard, rude and wasteful; but as it begins 
 to pay well, the methods begin to improve. Drainage will add 
 new lands, and better methods will swell the crops, so that, 
 for instance, where sixty bushels of corn to the acre are 
 now grown, at least one hundred bushels will be harvested. 
 All the corn lands are now settled, but they are not improved. 
 They will yet double in value. It is different with wheat; 
 with that the maximum production will soon be attained. 
 
 "Such is the wealth that Chicago counts up as tributary to 
 her. By the railroads that dissect this opulent region she is 
 riveted to the midland, the southern, and the western country 
 between the Rockies and the Alleghanies. She is closely 
 allied to the south, because she is manufacturing and distribut- 
 ing much that the south needs, and can get most economically 
 from her. Chicago has become the third manufacturing city 
 in the Union, and she is drawing manufactures away from the 
 
 313
 
 east faster than most persons in the east imagine. To-day it 
 is a great Troy stove-making establishment that has moved to 
 Chicago; the week before it was a Massachusetts shoe factory 
 that went there. Many great establishments have gone there, 
 but more must follow, because Chicago is not only the center 
 of the midland region, in respect of the distribution of made- 
 up wares, but also for the concentration of raw materials. 
 Chicago must lead in the manufacture of all goods of which 
 wool, leather and iron are the bases. The revolution that 
 took place in the meat trade when Chicago took the lead in 
 that industry affected the whole leather and hide industry. 
 Cattle are dropping 90,000 skins a week in Chicago, and the 
 trade is confined to Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Omaha, 
 and St. Paul. It is idle to suppose that those skins will be sent 
 across the Alleghanies to be turned into goods and sent back 
 again. Wisconsin has become the great tanning state, and all 
 over the district close around Chicago are factories and factory 
 towns, where hides are turned into leather goods. The west 
 still gets its finer goods in the east, but it is making the 
 coarser grades, and to such an extent as to give a touch of 
 New England color to the towns and villages around 
 Chicago. 
 
 " Chicago has in abundance all the fuels except hard coal. 
 She has coal, oil, stones, brick everything that is needed for 
 building and for living. Manufactures gravitate to such a 
 place for economical reasons. The population of the North 
 Atlantic division, including Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, 
 and acknowledging New York as its center, is 17,401,000. 
 The population of the northern central division, trading with 
 Chicago, is 22,362,279. Every one has seen each succeeding 
 census shift the center of population farther and farther west, 
 but not every one is habituated to putting two and two 
 together. 
 
 " Chicago is distinctly American. I know that the Chica- 
 goans boast that theirs is the most mixed population in 
 
 3H
 
 the country, but the makers and movers of Chicago are 
 Americans. * * * The dominating class is of that 
 pure and broad American type which is not controlled by 
 New England or any other tenets, but is somewhat loosely 
 made up of the overflow of the New England, the Middle and 
 the Southern states. 
 
 " But the visitor's heart warms to the town when he sees its 
 parks and its homes. In them is ample assurance that not 
 every breath is 'business,' and not every thought commer- 
 cial. Once out of the thicket of the business and semi-business 
 district, the dwellings of the people reach mile upon mile away 
 along pleasant boulevards and avenues, or facing noble parks 
 and parkways, or in a succession of villages green and gay 
 with foliage and flowers. They are not cliff dwellings, like 
 our flats and tenements; there are no brown-stone canons, like 
 our up-town streets; there are only occasional hesitating hints 
 there of those Philadelphian and Baltimorean mills that grind 
 out dwellings all alike, as nature makes pease and man makes 
 pins. There are more miles of detached villas in Chicago 
 than a stranger can easily account for. As they are not only 
 found on Prairie avenue and the boulevards, but in the popu- 
 lous wards and semi-suburbs, where the middle folk are con- 
 gregated, it is evident that the prosperous moiety of the 
 population enjoys living better (or better living) than the same 
 fraction in the Atlantic cities. 
 
 ***** 
 
 " A peculiarity of the buildings of Chicago is in the great 
 variety of building-stones that are employed in their construc- 
 tion. Where we would build two blocks of brown-stone, I 
 have counted thirteen varieties of beautiful and different 
 building material. Moreover, the contrasts in architect- 
 ural design evidence among Chicago house owners a com- 
 plete sway of individual taste. It is said, and I 
 have no reason to doubt it, that the clerks and small 
 tradesmen, who live in thousands of these pretty little 
 
 316
 
 boxes, are the owners of their homes; also that the tene- 
 ments of the rich display evidence of a tasteful and costly 
 garnering of the globe for articles of luxury and virtu. A 
 sneering critic, who wounded Chicago deeply, intimated that 
 theirs must be a primitive society where the rich sit on their 
 door-steps of an evening. That really is a habit there, and in 
 the finer districts of all the western cities. To enjoy them- 
 selves the more completely, the people bring out rugs and 
 carpets, always of gay colors, and fling them on the steps 
 that the ladies' dresses may not be soiled. As these step 
 clothings are as bright as the maiden's eyes and as gay as 
 their cheeks, the effect may be imagined. For my part, I 
 think it argues well for any society that indulges in the trick, 
 and proves existence in such a city to be more human and 
 hearty, and far less artificial than where there is too much 
 false pride to permit of it. 
 
 ***** 
 " It is in Chicago that we find a great number of what are 
 called boulevarded streets, at the intersections of which are 
 signs bearing such admonitions as these: ' For pleasure driv- 
 ing. No traffic wagons allowed;' or, 'Traffic teams are not 
 allowed on this boulevard.' Any street in the residence parts 
 of the city may be boulevarded and turned over to the care of 
 the park commissioners of the district, provided that it does 
 not lie next to any other such street, and provided that a 
 certain proportion of the property-holders along it are minded 
 to follow a simple formula to procure the improvement. 
 Improved road-beds are given to such streets, and they not 
 only become neat and pretty, but enhance the value of all 
 neighboring land. One boulevard in Chicago penetrates to 
 the very heart of its bustling business district. By means of 
 it men and women may drive from the southern suburbs or 
 parks to the center of trade, perhaps to their office doors, 
 under the most pleasant conditions. By means of the lesser 
 beautified avenues among the dwellings, men and women may
 
 sleep of nights and hide from the worst of the city's tumult 
 among green lawns and flower beds. 
 
 " Chicago's park system is so truly her crown, or its diadem, 
 that its fame may lead to the thought that enough has been 
 said about it. That is not the case, however, for the parks 
 change and improve so constantly that the average Chicagoan 
 finds some of them outgrowing his knowledge, unless he goes 
 to them as he ought to go to his prayers. It is not in extent 
 that the city's parks are extraordinary, for, all told, they com- 
 prise less than two thousand acres. It is the energy that has 
 given rise to them, and the taste and enthusiasm which have 
 been expended upon them, that cause our wonder. Sand and 
 swamp were at the bottom of them, and if their surfaces now 
 roll in gentle undulations, it is because the earth that was 
 dug out for the making of ponds has been subsequently 
 applied to the forming ol hills and knolls. The people go to 
 some of them upon the boulevards of which I have spoken, 
 beneath trees and beside lawns and gorgeous flower beds, 
 having their senses sharpened in anticipation of the pleasure- 
 grounds beyond, as the heralds in some old plays prepare us 
 for the action that is to follow. Once the parks are reached, 
 they are found to be literally for the use of the people who 
 own them. I have a fancy that a people who are so largely 
 American would not suffer them to be otherwise. There are 
 no signs warning the public off the grass, or announcing that 
 they 'may look, but mustn't touch,' whatever there is to see. 
 The people swarm all over the grass, and yet it continues 
 beautiful day after day and year after year. The floral dis- 
 plays seem unharmed; at any rate, we have none to compare 
 with them in any Atlantic coast parks. The people even pic- 
 nic on the sward, and those who can appreciate such license 
 find, ready at hand, baskets in which to hide the litter which 
 follows. And, O ye who manage other parks we wot of, 
 know that these Chicago play-grounds seem as free from 
 harm and eyesore as any in the land. 
 
 320
 
 21
 
 "The best parks face the great lake, and get wondrous 
 charms of dignity and beauty from it. At the North Side the 
 Lincoln Park commissioners, at great expense, are building 
 out into the lake, making a handsome paved beach, sea-wall, 
 esplanade, and drive to enclose a long, broad body of the 
 lake water. Although the great blue lake is at the city's edge, 
 there is little or no sailing or pleasure-boating upon it. It is 
 too rude and treacherous. Therefore these commissioners of 
 the Lincoln Park are enclosing, behind their new-made land, 
 a water-course for sailing and rowing, for racing, and for 
 more indolent aquatic sport. The Lake Shore Drive, when 
 completed, will be three miles in length, and will connect with 
 yet another notable road to Fort Sheridan, twenty-five miles 
 in length. All these beauties form part of the main exhibit at 
 the Columbian Exposition. Realizing this, the municipality 
 has not only voted five millions of dollars to the Exposition, but 
 has set apart $3,500,000 for beautifying and improving the 
 city in readiness for the Exposition and its visitors, even as a 
 bride bedecketh herself for her husband. That is well ; but 
 it is hot her beauty that will most interest the visitors to 
 Chicago. * * * * 
 
 "Whatever these visitors have heard or thought of Chicago, 
 they will find it not only an impressive but a substantial city. 
 It will speak to every understanding of the speed with 
 which it is hastening to a place among the world's capitals. 
 Those strangers who travel farther in our west may find other 
 towns that have builded too much upon the false prospects of 
 districts where the crops have proved uncertain. They may 
 see still other showy cities, where the main activity is in the 
 direction of "swapping" real estate. It is a peculiar industry, 
 accompanied by much bustle and lying. But they will not 
 find in Chicago anything that will disturb its tendency to 
 impress them with a solidity and a degree of enterprise and 
 prosperity that are only excelled by the almost idolatrous 
 faith of the people in their community. The city's broad and 
 
 322
 
 regular thoroughfares will astonish many of us who have 
 imbibed the theory that streets are first mapped out by cows; 
 its alley system between streets will win the admiration of those 
 who live where alleys are unknown ; its many little homes will 
 speak volumes for the responsibility and self-respect of a great 
 body of its citizens. 
 
 "The discovery that the city's harbor is made up of forty- 
 one miles of the banks of an internal river will lead to the sat- 
 isfactory knowledge that it has preserved its beautiful front 
 upon Lake Michigan as an ornament. This has been bor- 
 dered by park and parkways in pursuance of a plan that is 
 interrupted to an important extent only where a pioneer rail- 
 way came without the foreknowledge that it would eventu- 
 ally develop into a nuisance and an eyesore. Its splendid 
 hotels, theatres, schools, churches, galleries and public works 
 and ornaments will commend the city to many who will not 
 study its commercial side. In short, it will be found that those 
 who visit the exposition will not afterward reflect upon its 
 assembled proofs of the triumphs of man and of civilization 
 without recalling Chicago's contribution to the sum." 
 
 323
 
 Libraries, Educational and Charitable 
 Institutions. 
 
 It has been too generally the custom to regard Chicago 
 exclusively in the light of its industrial activity, to note its 
 commerce and manufactures without considering its humani- 
 tarian endeavors. Yet the latter by no means fall short of the 
 city's achievements in purely material lines. When money 
 getting is mentioned as a Chicago characteristic, liberality 
 should be given as an equally prominent one. Aside from 
 the great public charitable institutions of the city and county, 
 there are almost countless hospitals, homes, asylums and mis- 
 sions supported wholly by private charity. To individual 
 munificence also, are due Chicago's higher educational insti- 
 tutions, the great libraries, the Art Institute, and especially the 
 new University of Chicago. In no city of the world are 
 greater public spirit and private beneficence displayed than in 
 restless Chicago. The number of these institutions makes it 
 advisable to mention only the most prominent. First of all, 
 from an educational standpoint, is the great University of Chi- 
 cago, which received its first students in October, 1892. Its 
 campus and buildings are on Midway Plaisance, its equipment 
 complete and its endowment ample $3,600,000 having been 
 contributed to it by John D. Rockefeller alone. 
 
 All of the prominent colleges of America contributed 
 to its faculty, and several of its professors came from 
 Europe among them being the distinguished German his- 
 torian, Von Hoist, of Freiburg. The dormitory system is 
 used at the university, and the dormitories, already erected, 
 will accommodate 2,000 students. The college fees and the 
 actual living expenses of the students are remarkably small for 
 so large an institution, and, in addition, scholarships are pro-
 
 vided for deserving students. The university is co-edu- 
 cational, and a part of its faculty is engaged exclusively in the 
 work of " university extension." The Northwestern Univer- 
 sity, with its college of liberal arts and theological and pre- 
 paratory departments located in Evanston, a suburb of Chi- 
 cago, has its professional schools in the heart of the city. The 
 same is true also of Lake Forest University. 
 
 The Newberry Library, on the North Side, facing Wash- 
 ington Square, came to the city as the result of a clause in the 
 will of Walter L. Newberry, which provided that if his two 
 daughters should die without legal issue, then on the death of 
 his wife his executors should divide one-half of his fortune 
 among his brothers and sisters and their children, and should 
 devote the other half to the foundation and support 
 of a free public library. Both the Misses Newberry died 
 without marrying, and on the settlement of the estate in 1886, 
 $2,149,201 was turned over to the proper trustees for library 
 purposes. This sum has increased to over three million dol- 
 lars in the hands of the trustees, and the library building, 
 erected at a cost of half a million dollars, is ready for occu- 
 pancy. The building, which is 300 feet long and 60 feet deep, 
 is a model of convenience, beauty and safety, and so designed 
 that other buildings can be added to it from time to time as 
 they may be found necessary. Dr. Wm. F. Poole, formerly 
 of the Chicago Public Library, was made librarian of the new 
 institution, and, with his assistant, Dr. Carl Pietsch, immediately 
 began the purchase of books. An early and very valuable 
 acquisition was that of the celebrated Probasco Library, in Cin- 
 cinnati. The library now contains 107,157 bound volumes and 
 39,501 pamphlets. The great difference between the Newberry 
 and the Chicago Public Library is that the former will contain 
 fewer works of fiction and that none of its volumes can be 
 taken from the library building. There will be, of course, 
 many books written purely for amusement, but the specialty 
 will be reference works for students and experts, rare vol- 
 
 325
 
 umes and costly editions. A recent accession to the 
 library was the Robert Clarke collection on fish, fish- 
 culture and fish-sport. This collection numbered 1453 
 bound volumes and 429 pamphlets. Many of the vol- 
 umes are exceedingly rare and the bindings rich and 
 elegant. Some of the accessions during the year 1892 are 
 those on antiquities and folk-lore, 1063 volumes; on music, 
 7776 volumes; on language, 11,527 volumes; on medicine. 
 3081 volumes, and 324 dictionaries of various languages. 
 Among the most valuable of the smaller accessions to the 
 library are the "Basilica di San Marco," "Biblia Latina 
 Argentorati," a four volume edition of the Scriptures published 
 in 1480, and the first printed bible to have a commentary; a 
 complete set of the "Astronomische Nachrichten," 135 vol- 
 umes, running from 1823 to 1892, and two remarkably sumptu- 
 ous and artistic volumes on the life of Christopher Columbus, 
 printed in Barcelona in 1892. In the public reading room 338 
 of the best periodicals of the world can be found. 
 
 A third public library for Chicago was provided for by the 
 will of the late John Crerar, who, after making bequests to 
 the extent of $500,000 to various public and private charities, 
 gave the remainder of his estate for " the erection, creation, 
 maintenance and endowment of a free public library, to be 
 called 'The John Crerar Library,' and to be located in the 
 city of Chicago, the preference being given to the South 
 Division of the city." This gift, now under the trustee- 
 ship of Huntington W. Jackson, will probably amount to 
 $2,000,000. The Chicago Law Library, the establishment of 
 which was due chiefly to the efforts of Julius Rosenthal, is the 
 most valuable technical library in the city, and consists of 
 20,000 volumes. 
 
 The Chicago Historical Society, another of the humanizing 
 institutions of the city, was founded in 1856, and at the time 
 of the fire had a valuable collection of 20,000 volumes, numer- 
 ous manuscripts, complete files of the local newspapers, the 
 
 326
 
 original draft of the emancipation proclamation, and other 
 treasures of Chicago's early days. All were destroyed, how- 
 ever, by the great fire, and a subsequent collection was 
 destroyed by the second Chicago fire, in 1874. The society's 
 endowment, however, was not lost, and under Judge John 
 Moses, its curator, a new collection has been made, and the 
 society is. in flourishing condition. It will soon occupy the 
 splendid building now (April, 1893) being erected for it. 
 
 A typical Chicago institution is the Armour Mission. It 
 was established in November, 1886, and owes its origin to a 
 provision in the will of Joseph F. Armour, bequeathing 
 $100,000 for the founding of a free non-sectarian institution, 
 which would provide the poor with such advantages as are to 
 be derived from a day nursery, kindergarten, reading room, 
 dispensary, bath-rooms, manual training school, Sunday 
 school and lecture course. The work of carrying out his 
 design Mr. Armour left to his brother, Philip, and that gentle- 
 man has added to the original endowment more than a million 
 dollars from his own fortune. The mission building, on 
 Thirty-third street and Armour avenue, is a handsome struc- 
 ture, and besides a creche, kindergarten room, library, kitchen, 
 dispensary, bath-rooms and administration rooms, contains a 
 main audience hall for social and literary purposes, that will 
 hold an audience of 1300 persons. The Armour Institute, 
 established in connection with the mission, was founded for 
 the purpose of giving to young men and women the oppor- 
 tunity of securing a liberal education. It is not intended for 
 the poor or the rich, as sections of society, but for all who 
 are seeking practical education. Its aim is broadly philan- 
 thropic. The founder has conditioned his benefactions in 
 such a way as to emphasize both their value and the student's 
 self-respect. Armour Institute is not a free school, but its 
 charges for instruction are merely nominal. 
 
 The Chicago Athenaeum, founded in 1871, is another insti- 
 tution devoted to the cultivation of body and mind. It has a 
 
 328
 
 large library, pleasant reading-rooms, a well-equipped gym- 
 nasium and eight class rooms, where over a thousand pupils 
 are taught daily. It is not a charity institution, but each bene- 
 ficiary pays at least some part of the cost of the instruction 
 and privileges given him. The Athenaeum building on Van 
 Buren street, near Wabash avenue, is among the fine office 
 buildings of Chicago. 
 
 Like every great city, Chicago has numerous hospitals, 
 homes and charitable societies, dependent either on private 
 munificence or supported by one or more of the many churches 
 of the city ; two only of these institutions are so peculiar to 
 Chicago as to merit special mention : the Lincoln Park Sani- 
 tarium and the Flower Mission. The Lincoln Park Sani- 
 tarium is the outgrowth of a project originating in 1883, with 
 Mrs Eleanore Shoneman. It is open only in summer, and is 
 intended for infants and little children who are suffering from 
 the numerous ailments incident to babyhood in warm weather. 
 The sanitarium is in Lincoln Park, directly at the edge of 
 Lake Michigan. Little ones are taken to it during the sum- 
 mer, and, aside from the fresh air and cool breezes from the 
 lake, are given, gratis, the best medical attendance and proper 
 nursing and food. The sanitarium is supported by individual 
 contributions, collected and disbursed by a local paper. The 
 Flower Mission has branches in every quarter of the city. Its 
 members, women and girls, who give their services, collect 
 flowers from the city parks and from country donors, and dis- 
 tribute them in the hospitals and among the poor and unfor- 
 tunate of the city in general. Of all Chicago's charities, none 
 is more gracious and kindly than the Flower Mission. 
 
 330
 
 The Chicago Press. 
 
 The newspapers of Chicago, typical as they are of its push, 
 energy and liberality, have been powerful factors in the devel- 
 opment of the city. Their fearless criticisms and able and 
 intelligent handling of the news, places them in the front rank 
 of the journals of America, which means of the world. With- 
 out resorting to catch-penny methods, sensationalism or 
 malignity, the typical Chicago paper of to-day is progressive 
 and enterprising, and is unrivaled as a news collector. The 
 influence of the Chicago press is not merely local, but extends 
 over the whole northwest. As regards general appearance, 
 typographical excellence and quality and quantity of news- 
 paper illustrations, the Chicago press, as a class, is without 
 equal. The average weekly cost of a great Chicago daily is 
 $20,000, or $1,000,000 a year, and the daily telegraph tolls 
 average $500. 
 
 The oldest of the morning papers is the Chicago Tribune, 
 and its editor and proprietor, Joseph Medill, is the Nestor 
 of Chicago journalism and the most reputably successful 
 newspaper man on record. Mr. Medill belongs to the old 
 school of journalists, like Thurlow Weed, Horace Greeley, 
 Wilbur F. Storey and Charles A. Dana. He dominates his 
 paper. His personal principles, not his counting-room, 
 determine its policy. Thus, at the time the order of know- 
 nothings was most powerful and influential, Mr. Medill vio- 
 lently and tirelessly opposed it. He pointed out the evils that 
 would arise from checking immigration and to fight the new 
 order on its own ground, established the "know-something 
 order." This, in its time, did great service in protecting and 
 encouraging immigration, and thus materially assisted in the 
 development of the west in general and Chicago in particular. 
 
 331
 
 The brightest newspaper men of the west have been, at vari- 
 ous times, associated with the Tribune. Ex-Lieutenant-Gov- 
 ernor Bross, Horace White, now of the New York Evening 
 Post, Dr. Charles H. Ray and James W. Sheahan, George P. 
 Upton, R. W. Patterson and Fred. H. Hall, have all served 
 on its staff. Mr. Sheahan was at one time part owner of the 
 Chicago Times, and wrote a " Life of Stephen A. Douglas," 
 and various pamphlets and works of smaller scope. George 
 P. Upton, art critic and litterateur, at present the senior 
 editorial writer on the Tribune, is well known for his transla- 
 tions from the German especially for his translation of Max 
 Mueller's "Story of German Love" for his art and literary 
 criticisms and his connection with the various musical societies 
 of the city. The Tribune has always been the leading organ 
 of the Republican party in the northwest. 
 
 The Chicago Times, a Democratic organ, owed the period 
 of its greatest prosperity, as well as of ill-fame, to Wilbur F. 
 Storey, who concentrated in himself all that is characteristic- 
 ally good and bad in the modern American newspaper. He 
 was as unscrupulous as fearless, as debauched as brilliant, as 
 sensational as intelligent. Belying his venerable and 
 respectable appearance, he was a journalistic Robespierre, 
 guillotining the reputation of the decent by thousands. Feared, 
 though despised, patronized and pandered to even by those he 
 attacked, his death the signal for rejoicing among all classes 
 but the criminal brought to an end a life certainly remark- 
 able for brilliancy, audacity and intelligence, but misspent, 
 inglorious, vicious. Mr. Storey opposed the war, not from 
 principle, but for sensationalism, and his personal abuse of 
 Lincoln and his attacks on Union soldiers so incensed the 
 people that they broke into the Time's office, and the paper 
 was suppressed for two editions. The w r orst feature of 
 Mr. Storey's paper was the mingling of the good and the 
 bad. Thus, while he prostituted the moral taste of the city 
 and attacked the private lives of men who stood above 
 
 332
 
 reproach, he also attacked various public abuses, and above 
 all printed the news. He gathered around him a staff of 
 exceptional ability, including such men as Frank B. Wilkie, 
 Andre Matteson, Alexander Botkin, Charles R. Dennet, Mar- 
 tin J. Russell and Horatio W. Seymour. Mr. Wilkie wrote 
 " Sketches Beyond the Sea," and one or two other books, and 
 made numerous translations from the French. Martin J. 
 Russell, the present editor-in-chief of the Times, is remarkable 
 for his terse, epigrammatical style. After the death of Mr. 
 Storey, in 1884, the Times, theretofore highly successful, 
 entered on its period of adversity. In November, 1891, Carter 
 H. Harrison, the World's Fair mayor of Chicago, bought the 
 paper, and since that time it has regained much of its lost 
 prestige. 
 
 The Chicago Inter Ocean was founded in 1872 as a strictly 
 Republican paper, and has always been a pronounced party 
 organ. Financially, the paper was never remarkably prosper- 
 ous until within the last three years, H. H. Kohlsaat, a suc- 
 cessful business man, bought the controlling interest in it. 
 Mr. Kohlsaat furnished the necessary capital to push the 
 paper, and has made it one of the leading journals not only of 
 the city but of the northwest. The editor-in-chief is William 
 Penn Nixon, one of the best known of Chicago newspaper men 
 and continuously identified with the Inter Ocean since its 
 organization. One of the special features of the paper 
 has been its dramatic department, under Elwyn A. Barren, 
 a critic of intelligence and the author of several successful 
 plays. 
 
 The Chicago Herald has achieved the most remarkable 
 success of any of the recently-founded American newspapers. 
 Its first number appeared in May, 1881, and for a time the 
 paper was Republican. It is now, however, independently 
 Democratic. At first the Herald did not prosper, but in 1883 
 John R. Walsh, James W. Scott and Martin J. Russell gained 
 control of it, Since that time it has enjoyed unexampled 
 
 334
 
 prosperity, due in no small degree to the shrewd and at the 
 same time liberal business policy pursued by James W. Scott, 
 who has been its publisher since Mr. Walsh bought the con- 
 trolling interest in the paper, and with his large fortune put it 
 on a sound financial basis. The managing editor of the Her- 
 ald is Horatio W. Seymour, one of the ablest writers con- 
 nected with the Times under Storey. The Herald staff is 
 very large, and its corps of special writers the brightest in the 
 west. 
 
 The Chicago Evening Journal was established in 1844, and 
 during its long career has been always prosperous. Andrew 
 Shuman was its first editor, and was assisted by George P. 
 Upton and Benjamin F. Taylor, the poet. Mr. Shuman con- 
 tinued to edit the paper until his death, in 1890. Aside from 
 his newspaper work he held various public offices, among 
 others that of Lieutenant-Governor of the state. John R. 
 Wilson is the publisher of the Journal and Slason Thompson 
 the present editor-in-chief. Mr. Thompson is one of Chi- 
 cago's cleverest newspaper men, and, since getting control of 
 the Journal, has, without changing its policy of respect- 
 ability and reliability, infused into it something of his own 
 intense energy and virility. Slason Thompson, and Martin J. 
 Russell are the two most vigorous and forceful editorial writers 
 of the city. 
 
 In 1875, the Chicago Daily News was founded as a one- 
 cent, independent evening paper. For a time the new 
 departure led a precarious existence, but in 1877 the enter- 
 prise of its controlling spirit, Melville E. Stone, put it on a 
 sound basis, and its success has been so great that, from a 
 purely commercial standpoint, it is probably one of the most 
 profitable newspaper properties in the world. Mr. Stone was 
 a practical newspaper man, and gave his personal attention to 
 the editing of the paper. In 1876, Victor F. Lawson pur- 
 chased a half interest in the News, assumed the business 
 management, and, like Mr. Stone, proved remarkably suc- 
 
 335
 
 cessful in his line of work. In March, i88r, the News pub- 
 lished a morning edition, which at first, although the most 
 enterprising of all Chicago papers, and remarkably clever as a 
 newspaper, was not financially successful. After Mr. Stone 
 sold his interest in the paper to Mr. Lawson, the latter gentle- 
 man put the price of the paper down to one cent, cultivated a 
 large out-of-town circulation, and, with Dr. F. W. Reilly as 
 managing editor, put the morning edition on a paying basis. 
 In 1892 he changed the name of the morning edition to the 
 Morning News Record, and recently to sharply distinguish 
 it from the evening edition, with which it has no real con- 
 nection again changed it, this time to the Chicago Record. 
 Under Mr. Stone's management, the Morning News, inde- 
 pendent in politics, was a powerful factor in various local 
 reforms. Perhaps the most enduring, and, as far as the public 
 at large is concerned, profitable piece of work ever undertaken 
 by the News, was when, under Dr. Reilly, it proposed and 
 championed the drainage channel, which is at present being 
 constructed. Mr. Stone was as prodigal of his money as of 
 his own energy. He gathered about him a staff of excep- 
 tional ability such men as Joseph K. C. Forrest, one of Chi- 
 cago's oldest and brightest newspaper men ; John Flynn, John 
 F. Ballantyne, Slason Thompson, Eugene Field, Robert B. 
 Peattie and Van Buren Denslow. 
 
 The Chicago Evening Post is one of the cleverest of the 
 afternoon papers. It is independent, bright and newsy. Like 
 the Herald, it is published by James W. Scott, while much of 
 its success, from a newspaper standpoint, is due to the ability 
 of its managing editor, Cornelius McAuliff. 
 
 The Chicago Mail is a one-cent evening paper. It gained 
 considerable popularity under Joseph R. Dunlop, one of the 
 best known of the Storey graduates of the Times, and one of 
 the shrewdest of Chicago newspaper men. When Mr. Dun- 
 lop founded, recently, the Chicago Dispatch, Mr. Charles 
 Almy was made managing editor of the Mail, The Dispatch 
 
 336
 
 is the last daily to appear in Chicago. Its publisher, Mr. 
 Dunlop, has had sufficient experience in the business to war- 
 rant the prediction that it will achieve as great success as 
 the other papers with which he has been connected. 
 
 Among the early Chicago newspaper men was Charles A. 
 Dana, of the New York Sun, managing editor of the one- 
 time Chicago Republican. The paper was backed by ample 
 capital, was a handsome and attractive sheet, and had the best 
 possible editorial ability, and still was a failure. Mr. Dana 
 has never forgiven Chicago for not appreciating him, and the 
 malignant but impotent attacks of his New York papers are 
 undoubtedly due to this fact. Chicago reporters are among 
 the brightest in the country, and scores of the best New York 
 men received their training in Chicago. 
 
 In the difficult task of digesting and assimilating into the body 
 politic the large numbers of non-English speaking immigrants 
 who come to America, the "foreign" papers have rendered 
 most efficient aid. The fact that they are published in a 
 foreign tongue does not prevent them from handling the news 
 substantially as do the papers printed in English, and in gen- 
 eral, these foreign papers are animated by the same prin- 
 ciples and follow the same general ideas as their English con- 
 temporaries. In this way they educate foreign immigrants to 
 American modes of thought and life, and instruct them in the 
 laws of the land and their duties as citizens, even before the 
 newcomers master the English tongue. In this regard the 
 German press deserves especial mention, and the best German 
 dailies compare not unfavorably with papers of the same class 
 printed in English. 
 
 In 1846 Chicago's first German paper, Der Volksfreund, 
 was founded by a New York compositor named Hoeffgen. 
 It was a weekly, and Mr. Hoeffgen wrote it exclusively with 
 the shears. He did his own type-setting, printing and 
 delivery of papers, and, despite his intense interest in his 
 paper, it was not enthusiasm alone that prompted him to 
 
 22 
 
 337
 
 sleep on and under the " exchanges." Francis A. Hoffman, 
 later Lieutenant-Governor of the state, at one time contributed 
 to the Volksfreund, and his editorials exerted a marked influ- 
 ence upon the Germans. After a two years' struggle the 
 paper died, but Hoeffgen at once founded, in connection with 
 Dr. Helmuth, the Illinois Staats-Zeitung. Dr. Helmuth was a 
 young physician just arrived from Germany, and, after a year, 
 found his time so taken up with his practice that he resigned 
 the managing editorship of the paper in favor of Col. Arno 
 Voss. Helmuth did not entirely sever his connection with the 
 Staats-Zeitung, however, and until 1852 wrote occasionally 
 for it. Since then he has devoted himself exclusively to his 
 profession. Up to this time the Staats-Zeitung had been a 
 weekly, but now George Schneider came from St. Louis, 
 assumed editorial charge of the paper and made it a daily. It 
 was at once successful, and Schneider won a great reputation. 
 He had been a revolutionist, and was condemned to death in 
 Germany. During the stormy days preceding the war he 
 took an active part in public affairs, and was a persistent and 
 implacable foe to slavery. He gathered an excellent staff 
 and the paper became the leading German organ of the north- 
 west. At the close of the war, Mr. Schneider was sent to 
 Denmark on a diplomatic mission, and, since his return, has 
 been chiefly engaged in commercial life, being at present 
 the president of the National Bank of Illinois. When 
 Schneider went abroad, Lorenz Brentano purchased the 
 paper, and afterwards sold a half interest to A. C. Hesing. 
 Brentano was dictator of Baden during the German revolu- 
 tion, and had been a prominent statesman and jurist in Ger- 
 many. In America he identified himself with German-Amer- 
 ican interests, and before and during the rebellion was a 
 staunch supporter of the Republican party. In 1867 he sold 
 his interest in the Staats-Zeitung to A. C. Hesing and went 
 to Europe, where, owing to his influence with the European 
 press, his knowledge of international law and his ability
 
 as a jurist, he was able to create a favorable public opinion as 
 to the rights of the United States in the Alabama claims. In 
 recognition of his services, President Grant appointed him as 
 consul to Dresden, in 1872, and in 1876, on his return to the 
 United States, he was elected to Congress. He died in Chi- 
 cago in 1891. 
 
 When he gained control of the Staats-Zeitung, A. C. Hesing 
 exerted considerable influence in practical politics. He still 
 owns a controlling interest in the paper, but pays little atten- 
 tion to its management. In 1866, Mr. Hesing brought Her- 
 mann Raster from New York, and made him managing editor. 
 With him was associated Wilhelm Rapp, who, on Raster's 
 death, in 1891, assumed full charge of the paper. 
 
 Hermann Raster was one of the foremost journalists of 
 the country, and was a recognized power in political circles. 
 He was a highly educated man, and, like many other of 
 the prominent Germans of the past forty years, was a 48'er. 
 Soon after his arrival in America he did such brilliant work 
 on the New York press as to win an international reputation. 
 He was active in the founding of the Republican party, and 
 during the war created a European sentiment in its favor by 
 his correspondence. His articles in the German press assisted 
 the government in disposing of many of its bonds in Germany. 
 The Staats-Zeitung achieved its greatest success under his 
 editorship his articles being copied by the German press of the 
 whole country. In 1872 he was internal revenue collector, but 
 later resigned to be able, more consistently, to advocate Grant's 
 re-nomination. Raster was a member of the board of educa- 
 tion, and held other offices of trust and honor, although he 
 accomplished his greatest good as a journalist. He died in 
 Germany, but was buried in America, being honored by one 
 of the largest public funerals ever held in Chicago. William 
 Vocke was formerly city editor of the Staats-Zeitung, but 
 later resigned to practice law. He has written a popular 
 work on American jurisprudence, has translated considerable 
 
 34
 
 classic poetry from German into English, and is a well-known 
 leader of German thought in Chicago. 
 
 The Chicago Telegraph and the Union, General Lieb's 
 paper, were two German ventures that proved unsuccessful. 
 
 In 1871, the Freie Presse was founded as an illustrated 
 weekly, but later was published as a daily. Like the world, 
 it was created out of nothing, but the latter creation was slow 
 and tedious. Richard Michaelis was the editor and publisher, 
 and was greatly assisted by his wife, a lady of considerable 
 literary ability. Gradually, however, all difficulties were 
 overcome, the paper became financially independent and pros- 
 perous, and very influential. It has five editions, two daily, 
 two weekly and one Sunday. It is distinguished for its bitter 
 fights against anarchy and all violent and radical labor move- 
 ments. Aside from his reputation as editor of the Freie 
 Presse, Mr. Michaelis gained considerable renown by his 
 " Looking Further Forward," a reply to Edward Bellamy's 
 "Looking Backward." Michaelis' book has been translated 
 into various foreign languages, and has received excellent 
 criticisms in all political science circles. 
 
 In 1889, Fritz Glogauer established the Abendpost, a popu- 
 lar independent evening paper, which from the first met with 
 the most extraordinary financial success. 
 
 The Tageblatt is a more recent addition to the German 
 press of the city, and is designed especially as the organ of 
 the German Lutherans. 
 
 The National Zeitung led a brief but, from a literary stand- 
 point, a glorious career. It was an exceptionally brilliant 
 journal, but lacked subscribers and advertising patronage, and 
 was forced to go under. Joseph Brucker was the publisher, 
 and Paul Haedicke the managing editor. He was assisted by 
 Dr. Edmund Markbreiter and Miss Dorothea Boettcher, a 
 German writer of note in both prose and verse. When 
 Mr Brucker retired from the paper and it ceased to appear as 
 a daily, all was not lost, for it continued to appear as a
 
 weekly, and bids fair to become a success. Another German 
 weekly of importance is the Rundschau. 
 
 Two well-known German writers, who occasionally contri- 
 buted to the press, were Caspar Butz and Emil Dietzsch. 
 Butz was a poet of real genius, helped to unify, by his writ- 
 ings, the German sentiment against slavery, and gained a 
 reputation not only in America, but also in Europe. His 
 poems have been printed in book form. 
 
 Emil Dietzsch was among the German pioneers of '48, and 
 came to Chicago in 1853. He was a man of culture, a fine 
 poet, a prolific writer on social and political topics, and an 
 orator who could and did speak on all occasions with the 
 greatest felicity. He was highly esteemed by his countrymen, 
 over whom he exerted the greatest influence. 
 
 Of the Scandinavian papers, the most important is the 
 Skandinaven, published by John Anderson. It has a daily and 
 weekly edition, and not only goes to every state in the Union 
 and to Canada, but also to Denmark, Sweden, Norway, 
 Australia and the Sandwich Islands. The paper is well-edited, 
 newsy and highly successful. 
 
 There are numerous other foreign papers published in Chi- 
 cago, in Italian, Swedish, Polish, Bohemian, French and other 
 languages, and all are doing a good work in teaching the new- 
 comers something about American ideas, and the duties of 
 American citizenship. In addition to the general press, Chi- 
 cago has journals published in the interest of almost every 
 large trade and industry. 
 
 34 2
 
 Germans ana German Influence in 
 Chicago. 
 
 There is no other American city that has so large a Ger- 
 man element as Chicago. The Germans are far stronger, 
 numerically, than any other nationality in the city, but neither 
 their political influence nor their social achievements are in 
 proportion to this numerical strength. This is due to the 
 peculiar individualism of the Germans to their lack of har- 
 mony among themselves and their frequent inability to 
 co-operate with each other in large enterprises. This 
 national characteristic is being overcome, in a measure, by 
 Germans both abroad and at home. Especially noticeable 
 has been the reaction since 1870, when the unification of the 
 German nation became the forerunner of unity among all 
 Germans in both sentiment and interest. It is slow work, 
 however, to change the habits of centuries, and the German ele- 
 ment in Chicago is still suffering from the differences and dis- 
 sensions of the past. None more keenly appreciate this fact 
 than the Germans themselves, and they recognized their fail- 
 ing even before the reaction set in. It was in 1871 that 
 Eduard Schlaeger, then editorial writer on the Staats-Zeitung, 
 sharply criticized German customs in America. Mr. 
 Schlaeger was a close student, and in his general char- 
 acterization was correct, when, as the result of his twenty 
 years' experience among the Germans of Chicago, he said: 
 " The history of the development of the German- Americans can 
 be divided into three periods ; or, better stated, perhaps, can 
 be regarded from three main points of view. At first the 
 German immigrants regard themselves as a German colony, 
 as missionaries, as modern Greeks the salt of the earth. 
 America seems to them a very barbarous and unpleasant 
 
 343
 
 country, as a colorless present, to escape from which as soon as 
 the necessary number of the almighty dollar can be procured 
 must be the first and highest aim of every sensible person. 
 Until this end is attained they seek, as far as possible, to repro- 
 duce Germany in America, and the more exclusive and 
 reserved they are in their conduct toward Americans, the 
 more does everything go ' gerade wie in Deutschland ' (just 
 as in Germany). This reproduction of Germany has, of 
 course, very different stages according to the education of 
 each individual German ; missionary.' In little places in 
 which the Germar element is represented by the simple, not 
 to say simpletons the German colony confines itself to spend- 
 ing evenings and Sunday afternoons in some modest tavern 
 over the foaming barley juice, to mocking the hypocritical 
 Yankees, with their eyes turned heavenward and their 
 thoughts otherward, and finally to singing some sentimental 
 song of the fatherland. Where the Germans are more 
 numerous and better educated they go a few steps further, 
 build theatres, music halls, organize turning and singing 
 societies, and regard these achievements as great deeds, 
 entitling them to have their names entered in the book of his- 
 tory especially the history of culture in red ink. The 
 highest performances in this line are the great saengerfests 
 and productions of German opera by members of these sing- 
 ing societies. It is impossible to accurately set the time limits 
 to this first period of the German colonists ; each new relay goes 
 through the same process of development and is fooled by the 
 same delusions as its predecessors, which, meanwhile, have 
 entered the second period that of indifference to specific Ger- 
 man endeavors and of approach to American methods. Of 
 these, to be sure, the colonist learns only the disagreeable ones, 
 the greed for gold and the business shrewdness, unrelieved 
 by the other American traits liberality, public spirit and 
 interest in the affairs of the city, state and nation. * * * 
 These indifferent mules, who are neither donkeys nor horses, 
 
 344
 
 The Humboldt Monument.
 
 neither Americans nor Germans, offend the ear of the edu- 
 cated with their miserable English, and soon forget the mag- 
 nificent German language and murder it as badly as they do 
 English. Sometimes, however, these fellows of the second 
 period fall back into the first period, when the number of 
 their countrymen is so great as to bring some big political 
 office into reach. Once elected, however, the ' professional 
 Germans ' immediately kick over the German ladder on which 
 they have climbed into prominence. 
 
 " It is harder to trace the beginnings of the third period 
 of the development of the German-American when he is 
 assimilated into American civic life, to which he contri- 
 butes the desirable and adaptable characteristics of his 
 nationality. Gradually, however, from the level mass of 
 Germans some individuals spring forth into prominence, 
 and each year more follow. Certain businesses fall 
 entirely into the hands of these leaders especially is this 
 true of the wine and tobacco trade and of the handling of 
 porcelain. In manufactures and the arts the Germans take a 
 prominent place, and all the best gold and silver work is 
 done in German work-shops. Of course it goes without 
 saying that the Germans are at the head of the beer 
 industry." 
 
 When this characterization of the Germans was writ- 
 ten it was more or less true, but times have happily 
 changed. In strong contrast with Mr. Schlaeger's pessimism 
 the following optimistic quotation may be made from a 
 biographical essay written by Emil Dietzsch : " It will be my 
 especial contention," he wrote, "that it is the German element 
 which has chiefly assisted the native Americans in the incom- 
 parably rapid development of the city, for although the Amer- 
 icans must, as a rule, be characterized as liberal and magnan- 
 imous, it is still, unfortunately, true that they are very loath to 
 make the well-deserved public recognition of the services 
 which the immigrants (and, most of all, their blood relations,
 
 the German immigrants) have everywhere rendered through- 
 out the land. On this account the author feels especially 
 called upon to assert that the labor of the actual erection of 
 the miles of magnificent houses of our young metropolis on 
 the shores of Lake Michigan, was, for the most part, per- 
 formed by Germans. And this is true in spite of the fact 
 that the number of the Germans has never exceeded one- 
 third of the total population of the city. 
 
 "Yea, where the sparks fly and the bellows blow, where 
 the hammer beats, and the anvil rings, where the dust falls 
 from file and saw and the chips from chisel and plane, where 
 carpenters and masons toil and sweat, in north, east, south 
 and west of this great and glorious land, there for the most 
 part is it the dextrous hand of the German which builds and 
 shapes and makes real the great thoughts of the engineer and 
 architect. 
 
 "And when far from out the thick, primeval forest, over the 
 nodding heads of the wheat fields and through the climbing 
 vines of the vineyard floats a joyous, touching melody, the 
 listening wayfarer knows it is from the lips of a German, for 
 with German hearts ever wander, over land and sea, music 
 and German song. And the listener's heart rejoices and an 
 inner voice whispers very gently to him: 'O, son of the 
 Fatherland, what a precious factor thou hast become in the 
 great folk-conglomerate of this nation! Thy reliability, thy 
 sense of justice, thy industry and earnestness in home life and 
 public life have made thee the kernel people of all the peoples 
 of this republic, and in future time the fully developed Amer- 
 ican nation will itself have unmistakable characteristics, cus- 
 toms and methods of thought as witness of thy potent influ- 
 ence.'" 
 
 It is certainly due to the idealistic and philosophic influence 
 of the Germans that life on this continent and to a remark- 
 able degree in cosmopolitan Chicago has been relieved of its 
 wearying monotony, its toil and burdens. In marked contrast 
 
 343
 
 to the Puritan, who tries to force everyone to be happy 
 according to his own stern and sober notions, is the German 
 with his light-hearted philosophy, strong love for music and 
 art, and hearty enjoyment of the rational pleasures of life. 
 The Germans aim at the broader development of man, and 
 take life more easily and poetically, not allowing themselves to 
 be totally absorbed in daily toils and money-getting. It were 
 a mistake, however, to suppose that German influence upon 
 the American people is due entirely to the Germans in 
 America. It is from the great centers of German learning 
 and culture that much of this influence comes, from German 
 universities, music and art schools from German prose, and 
 German poetry. Thus, as has already been pointed out, in 
 spite of many and manifold stimulating elements, and their 
 numerical strength, the Germans in Chicago have not, as 
 such, been able to exert Hue influence, either in the line of 
 culture or politics. The inability to subordinate petty per- 
 sonal interests to great ends; that constant squabbling about 
 personal rights, which the Americans call " Dutch quarrels," 
 still stand in the way of full and free German- American pro- 
 gress. There are, however, many mitigating circumstances. 
 Not all those who come from the other side appear in real 
 life as they are depicted by Fourth of July orators or stump- 
 speakers shortly before election. Not all of them' are men, 
 who, animated by a glowing impulse for freedom, have come 
 here to escape the tyranny of bloody despots at home, and to 
 develop, unhindered, their moral ideals in this land of freedom. 
 Whoever has seen the steerage of an ocean steamer, knows 
 this. Not the thirst for freedom, but the hunger for bread, 
 brings most to America. Only the few come from intellect- 
 ual or moral reasons; the many are moved by urgent neces- 
 sity of a purely material nature. 
 
 The girl who has been working in almost slavish depend- 
 ence, for a miserable pittance, hears from some friend in 
 America of the great servant girl paradise across the seas ; 
 
 350
 
 the younger son of some petty farmer who has given his 
 little all to his oldest boy on condition that he be cared for in 
 his declining years, prefers going to America than serving his 
 brother at home ; the rural tradesman, a vegetarian against 
 his will, who has heard that in America people have meat 
 three times a day ; the strong, vigorous day laborer, made 
 stupid by too much work ; the mill-hand grown stolid with 
 more than his share of the burdens of life ; the father of a 
 big family who, on the evening of his life, tears himself from 
 the dear old home, and with a heavy heart, transplants him- 
 self into foreign soil solely for the sake of his children ; the 
 walking delegate, who, tired of working with his hands, 
 wants to give his mouth a chance ; the fellow who can't get 
 along harmoniously with the state's attorney ; the unap- 
 preciated genius who has striven in vain for recognition ; the 
 spendthrift fleeing from his creditors -all these are typical 
 figures among immigrants, come they from Germany or else- 
 where. And first of all, these people have to provide for 
 their bodily wants to earn bread. Only after they have 
 lived in America and have laboriously worked out of their 
 poverty, and have begun to read German papers, and gradu- 
 ally German books even, do any considerable number of them 
 become good Germans that is to say that they first learn to 
 understand and appreciate German culture and German ways 
 in America. Some of them never get beyond the struggle 
 for daily bread. Others again fail absolutely to comprehend 
 the question of culture, intellectual and artistic endeavor and 
 the feeling of nationality they know only the " stomach 
 question," and as between a sausage and a symphony, they 
 would jump for the sausage. In addition to all this, even 
 those Germans who are intelligent and in easy circumstances 
 are politically unschooled, and prefer to leave governing to 
 the government, and, much to their own detriment, take only 
 a passive interest in politics, looking upon the doings of the 
 politicians much as circus spectators look upon the per- 
 
 351
 
 formers quite oblivious to the fact that they are in reality 
 part of the political circus themselves. 
 
 All these considerations must be borne in mind in judging 
 Chicago Germans; but' despite these handicaps, the Germans 
 will doubtless, in course of time, assume, both in poli- 
 tics and society, a position in accordance with their numerical 
 strength. 
 
 In social life they have their own theatres and theatrical 
 entertainments, their clubs, societies and charitable institutions. 
 As a rule they attend their own churches, which are numer- 
 ous and well supported. Their professional men stand well 
 and their business men are successful. They form a large por- 
 tion of the small tax-paying class, and, more than any other na- 
 tionality of the city, the Germans own the homes they live in. 
 
 During the war the Germans proved themselves faithful to 
 their new fatherland. As a class they are sound on matters 
 of public policy, have always opposed the inflation of the cur- 
 rency, for instance, and no German paper ever dared, or 
 wished to advocate " fiat " money or free silver coinage. Dur- 
 ing the last twenty years there has been a constantly recur- 
 ring agitation as to the advisability of teaching the German 
 language in the public schools. The desire of the Germans 
 to have their language taught publicly is, they claim, often 
 misunderstood. It is by no un-American spirit that the leaders 
 in the movement are animated. They claim that the teaching 
 of one of the great modern languages in the public schools 
 of a cosmopolitan city like Chicago is of the greatest benefit 
 to the children, that far from being a detriment to the teach- 
 ing of English, the teaching of German is a positive help to it, 
 that the cost of the instruction is insignificant compared to the 
 benefit derived, and that were the teaching of German given 
 up it would result in the removal from the public schools of 
 thousands of children who would be sent to private schools, 
 even though they should fail to there receive the thoroughly 
 American education afforded by the public schools. 
 
 352
 
 Population, 
 
 The last school census of the city of Chicago, taken May, 
 1892, showed a total population of 1,438,010, of which 760,143 
 were males, and 677,867 females. The present (estimated) 
 annual growth of the city is 100,000 souls, so that with this 
 increase and the thousands gained by annexation within the 
 year, the present population of Chicago is estimated to be 
 1,618,010 souls. 
 
 The last general census (1890) showed a population of 
 1,208,669, f which there were 645,890 males, and 562,779 
 females. The different nationalities were represented as 
 follows : 
 
 Germans ........................... 384,958 
 
 Native-born Americans ............ 292,463 
 
 Irish ................................ 215,534 
 
 Bohemians ......................... 54,209 
 
 Poles ............................... 52,756 
 
 Swedes ............................ 45,877 
 
 Norwegians ....................... 44,615 
 
 English ............................. 33,785 
 
 French ............................. 12,963 
 
 Scotch .............................. 11,927 
 
 Russians ........................... 9,977 
 
 Italians ............................. 9,921 
 
 Danes .............................. 9,891 
 
 Dutch 4,912 
 
 Hungarians ; 4,827 
 
 Roumanians 4,350 
 
 Welsh 2,966 
 
 Swiss 2,735 
 
 Mon golians 1,217 
 
 Greeks 689 
 
 Belgians 682 
 
 Spaniards 297 
 
 Portuguese 34 
 
 West-Indians 37 
 
 Hawaiians 31 
 
 East-Indians ... .28 
 
 Canadians .......................... 6,989 
 
 The third largest element of Chicago's foreign population are 
 the Scandinavians the Norwegians, Swedes and Danes. 
 Thrifty and prosperous, the Scandinavian citizens of Chicago 
 closely resemble, in general characteristics, their German 
 cousins, and, like them, have their own churches, societies and 
 newspapers. The Norwegians were among the first settlers 
 of the city, and contributed largely to the development of lake 
 navigation. The Bohemians of Chicago now number about 
 60,000 persons, equally divided between the Slavonic and 
 
 23 
 
 353
 
 the Germanic element. Of the 60,000 Poles in the city, most 
 belong to the unskilled laboring classes. 
 
 For the last few years, Chicago has received an unusually 
 large p.er cent of the total number of immigrants coming into the 
 country. But of late, with the desirable immigrants, there has 
 come a very undesirable class, hailing, for the most part, from the 
 Polish provinces of Russia and the south-eastern part of Europe 
 in general. The result of this latter class of immigration is that 
 the people of the west have ceased to regard every increase in 
 population as a necessary index to increased prosperity. They 
 have learned to scrutinize the character of the immigrants and 
 have found that, with the easily assimilated German, Scandi- 
 navian and Irish immigrant, come others whom it is almost 
 impossible to assimilate into the body politic. The problem of 
 governing the great American cities is becoming, therefore, 
 alarmingly difficult. Under liberal naturalization laws, these 
 undesirable elements enjoy all the rights and privileges of a 
 citizenship for which they are totally unprepared and unfit. 
 Local politics in Chicago are thus growing more demoralized 
 year by year, and demagogues, who make it a business to 
 organize these un-Americanized masses for selfish ends, are 
 alarmingly prosperous. It is to be regretted that the courts 
 are so notoriously lax in their examination of candidates for 
 citizenship, and fail to make use of such means as are at their 
 command for the exclusion of the vicious, ignorant and unfit 
 applicants. The national laws in regard to pauper and con- 
 tract-labor immigration would form a barrier to a great part 
 of the undesirable influx from abroad, were they only rigidly 
 and conscientiously enforced. And it is to be hoped that pub- 
 lic opinion, already aroused on the question, will soon prove 
 so strong as to force a remedy adequate to the evil. 
 
 354
 
 Trade, Commerce and Manufactures. 
 
 Chicago is pre-eminently the American city. American 
 enterprise, American methods, and the true American spirit 
 have made it. As the typical city of progress, Chicago 
 eagerly adopts every new invention, utilizes every new 
 method, and encourages every new idea. Nowhere else in 
 the world does life bear so plainly the stamp of progress; 
 nowhere does the struggle for existence so plainly betray the 
 changes brought about by the employment of modern 
 machinery, which, replacing human labor, increases pro- 
 duction a hundred-fold, nowhere can one obtain a glimpse 
 into a happier industrial future. Civilization is striving for 
 new forms, new methods, and it is no exaggeration to say, that 
 the great problems with which the present age is struggling 
 are seeking their solution here. The mere wish for it does 
 not make progress, which is always the result of hard work 
 sometimes made easier, to be sure, by chance and circum- 
 stance. Thus, in Chicago, all conditions are favorable for 
 rapid evolution. Modern industry and machinery necessitate 
 a new order of things, and Chicago has more readily adapted 
 itself to this new order than have the older cities of the' world. 
 This is one cause of Chicago's success, and also of the fact that 
 so many energetic and progressive elements concentrate here. 
 Another cause is the city's geographical position, lying in the 
 line of all great trans-continental railways, in the centre of a 
 fertile territory of thousands of miles in extent, and at the foot 
 of Lake Michigan, which, connecting with the Atlantic ocean, 
 affords the city a water commerce, equal in tonnage to that of 
 London itself. 
 
 10,556 vessels, with an aggregate tonnage of 5,966,626 
 tons, arrived at the port of Chicago in 1892, and the clear- 
 
 356
 
 ances numbered 10,567 vessels, with a tonnage of 5,968,337 
 tons, giving a total tonnage of 11,934,963 tons for the year 
 1892, against 11,031,552 tons in 1891. Chicago's tonnage 
 exceeds that of Liverpool, and also the combined tonnage of 
 San Francisco, Boston and Havre, but does not quite equal 
 that of New York. The most extensively used ship-canal of 
 the world is within the commercial sphere of Chicago, the St. 
 Mary's Fall's canal ("The Soo"). The tonnage carried on 
 the great lakes aggregated 30,299,006 tons, comprising 
 28,295,959 tons in the United States coast-wise trade, and 
 2,003,047 tons in the United States foreign trade. The ton- 
 nage which passed through the St. Mary's Falls canal aggre- 
 gated 8,454,435 tons, and that which passed through the 
 Detroit river was 21,684,000 tons the tonnage which at the 
 same time passed through the Suez canal was 6,890,094 tons. 
 The number of vessels on the northern lakes June 30, 1891, 
 was 3,600, aggregating a tonnage of 1,061,882 tons. Of 
 these vessels 310 were steamers of more than one thousand 
 net registered tons. The combined fleets of the Atlantic and 
 Gulf coast, the Pacific coast and the western rivers, contained 
 at the same date only 213 steamers of more than one thousand 
 tons register. The aggregate tonnage of these steamers on 
 the northern lakes was 512,787 tons, exceeding the combined 
 tonnage of this class of vessels in all other ports of the United 
 States by 193,000 tons. On December 31, 1891, there were 
 eighty-nine steel vessels on the lakes, with a tonnage of 127,624. 
 tons, and valued at about $14,500,000. Five years before 
 there were on the great lakes but six steel vessels, with a 
 total tonnage of 6,459 tons, and a total valuation of $694,000. 
 Since 1891 over fifty steamers have been built, and others are 
 now in process of construction. The deepening and improv- 
 ing of channels on the great lakes have brought about the 
 construction of these enormous lake steamers, which, in turn, 
 have been the cause of the reduction in lake transportation 
 rates. In 1859, the cost of carrying a bushel of corn from 
 
 357
 
 Chicago to Buffalo by water, was 15^ cents; in 1890, the 
 average rate was 1.9 cents; in 1891, it was carried at i cent per 
 bushel, but during the latter part of the season rates advanced 
 to about 3 cents per bushel. The commerce consists chiefly of 
 grain, iron and copper ore and lumber, and, of course, the value 
 of the cargoes carried by lake steamers is not nearly so great 
 as of those carried by ocean vessels of the same kind. 
 
 Chicago's railway system developed with fabulous rapidity. 
 About 1835 Chicago had to get the large part of its food- 
 stuffs from other states. In the early 4o's the neighboring 
 farmers produced enough for themselves and Chicago. Soon 
 the necessity was felt for an outside market for the surplus 
 products. In the winter of 1842-3 the prices of all kinds of 
 farm products fell below the cost of production. Dressed 
 hogs, for instance, sold for 12 shillings a hundred pounds; 
 lard, $3.50 per hundred; flour, $5.00 a barrel; oats and pota- 
 tos, 10 cents a bushel; eggs, 4 cents a dozen; chickens, 5 cents 
 apiece. These prices, of course, were ruinous, and caused 
 the farmers to keep their surplus produce over winter and 
 ship it to New York in the spring. Then the large freight to 
 New York absorbed most of the profits. It took the farmers 
 on the Rock river five days to get 30 bushels of wheat to 
 the market, and then they never got more than $12 a load. 
 During the early 5o's farmers brought their products to Chi- 
 cago from as far as 300 miles away, but never got in return 
 more than enough to buy groceries with. They often camped 
 east of State street, in large numbers. With the arrival of the 
 first locomotive, of course, all things changed. Less than forty 
 years have elapsed since then and Chicago to-day is the term- 
 inal of twenty-six trunk lines, and has various smaller branch 
 roads. Over 90,000 miles of railroad now terminate in Chi- 
 cago, connecting the city directly with the principal Atlantic, 
 Pacific and Gulf ports, with Canada and Mexico. For the 
 last ten years Chicago's east-bound freight has averaged 
 4,000,000 tons annually. 
 
 358
 
 In 1892 Chicago received 256,000,000 bushels of grain (in- 
 cluding flour in its wheat equivalent) ; the elevators, which are 
 under the control of the Board of Trade, have a capacity of 
 30,325,000 bushels. One of these elevators holds over 3,000,000 
 bushels of grain. In 1892 there were received at the Chicago 
 market 7,714,435 hogs, 3,571,796 cattle, 2,145,079 sheep, 
 149,496,436 pounds of dressed beef, 68,371,502 pounds of lard, 
 64,252,364 pounds of cheese, 134,196,828 pounds of butter, 
 5,500,000 bushels of potatoes, 18,000,000 pounds of broom- 
 corn, 23,500,000 pounds of tallow, 104,688, barrels of oatmeal, 
 28,388,364 pounds of wool, 1,243,721 barrels of salt, and 
 2,203,874 feet of lumber. 
 
 While all else in Chicago was making rapid progress, the 
 clearings of the Board of Trade fell from $104,083,529.67 in 
 1891 to $69,295,992.62 in 1892. This, however, simply shows 
 that there has been less speculation on the board not that 
 less legitimate business was done. While the clearings of the 
 Board of Trade showed this decided falling off, the bank 
 clearings in Chicago showed an increase from $4,456,885,- 
 230.49 in 1891, to $5,135,771,186.74 in 1892. 
 
 Commenting on this falling off in the speculative business 
 of the Board of Trade, its secretary, George F. Stone, in his 
 annual report says: 
 
 "The business of buying and selling for future delivery was unsatisfactory through- 
 out the year. Never was the speculative business of this board so harrassed. Legislative 
 meddling (the Hatch and Washburn bills in Congress, proposing laws against ' dealings 
 in futures') silver discussion, unfavorable weather conditions early in the year in the win- 
 ter wheat belt region, despondent foreign markets occasioned by heavy stocks purchased 
 at high prices, heavy failures in prominent continental markets, steady accumulations of 
 grain at easily accessible points for shipments, all not only disturbed, but subdued the 
 markets all over the world, and speculators grew weary waiting for business and dis- 
 trustful of indications which under normal conditions would have infused animation to 
 trade. 
 
 Every attempt to advance prices of wheat, the leading speculative cereal, was unsuc- 
 cessful, and farmers rushed their grain to market, even while expecting the Hatch bill to 
 become a law. They had joined the tirade against speculation, and could not withdraw; 
 but however plausible the arguments of politicians, they knew that there was no hope 
 for better prices should the Hatch heresy succeed. Hence the volume of receipts of 
 grain at this great center was limited only by the capacity of transportation facilities to 
 . bring it hither. This was the real expression of the farmers' opinion of the Hatch bill, 
 and which was diametrically opposite to his expression of that document as made known 
 in some instances to his congressional representative." 
 
 360
 
 The value of foreign merchandise imported directly to the 
 city was, in 1892, $17,388,496, and the duty on the same 
 amounted to $7,490,578.91. In 1891 the duty on mer- 
 chandise imported by Chicago amounted to only $5,983,589.72, 
 and in 1890 to but $5,048,771.85. 
 
 Chicago's great factories, equipped with every modern 
 appliance and machine, are principally due to the enterprising 
 spirit of the capitalists, most of whom are native Americans. 
 The skilled laborers in the factories are, however, chiefly for- 
 eigners. Chicago boasts, among its capitalists, more "self- 
 made men " than any other city in the world. The city has 
 quickly repaid the foreign and eastern capital which once ruled 
 it and is now financially independent, being reckoned no longer 
 as a debtor, but as a creditor city. In 1890 the factories of 
 Chicago numbered 3250 and represented an investment of 
 $190,000,000. They employed 177,000 men who receive I 
 $96,200,000 in wages and produced merchandise to the 
 amount of $558,000,000. The manufactures of Chicago 
 include almost everything needed by man. The city contains 
 100,000 more males than females, which fact accounts, in 
 part, for the very rapid growth of manufacturing and building 
 industries, transportation facilities, wholesale trade and 
 the banking business. Over 1000 firms and corporations 
 are engaged in transportation. They employ about 60,- 
 ooo persons, as follows: railways, 31,000; street rail- 
 ways, 8500; express companies, 1500; navigation com- 
 panies, 8000; teaming and livery companies, 10,000 etc. The 
 textile trades represent 1500 firms, employing 55,000 
 persons. Other trades and industries are represented as 
 follows : clothing and furnishing goods, cloaks and milli- 
 nery, dry goods and notions, 1000 firms, with 35,000 em- 
 ployees; hides, wool, leather, boots and shoes, harness, belt- 
 ing and other leather and rubber goods, 325 firms, with 12,- 
 ooo employees; food, drink, tobacco, drugs and agricultural 
 products 3300 firms, with 110,000 wage-workers, of whom 
 
 362
 
 the meat packers employ about 30,000, the hotels and res- 
 taurants about 10,000, etc. ; lumber, wooden ware, furniture, 
 boxes and cooperage, 7000 firms, with 45,000 employees; 
 metal trades and manufactures, 1500 firms, with 88,000 
 employees steel rails, machinery, stoves, heating apparatus, 
 velocipedes, scales, tinware, brass goods, musical and electrical 
 instruments and hardware being manufactured in large estab- 
 lishments; printing, publishing and paper, 1000 firms, with 26.- 
 ooo employees; building trades, 4000 firms, with 60,000 
 employees; dealers in coal and wood, 1000 firms, with 5000 
 employees; gas companies, with 2000 men ; miscellaneous trades 
 (chemicals, crockery, etc.) 200 firms, with 2000 employees; 
 banking, real estate, insurance, amusements, etc., about 3500 
 firms and corporations, with 12,000 employees. Department 
 stores are extending their trade in various lines and easy pay- 
 ments at installment stores, have revolutionized the retail busi- 
 ness in household goods. Six of the large wholesale and 
 retail department stores employ over 15,000 persons. 
 
 The industrial interests of the city are highly centralized; 
 thus three foundries employ 1920 men; four machinery man- 
 ufactories employ 6800 men; one glue works employs 600 
 men; three planing mills, 900 men; four musical instrument 
 factories, 2000 men; three furniture factories, 2500 men; three 
 carriage and wagon factories, 900 men ; two soap factories, 
 1300 men; two electric works, 2500 menj one boot and shoe 
 factor}-, 900 men ; one cloak factory, 700 men and women ; 
 two millinery concerns, 800 persons; one retail store, 2200 per- 
 sons; one bicycle factory, 1000 men; two brass factories, 1900 
 men; one car factory, 4500 men; one printing house, 1000 
 men; one restaurant, 325 men; three hotels 1550 persons; one 
 brewery, 300 men. 
 
 In the retail business 33,000 firms and 135,000 persons are 
 engaged. Among the retail business houses are 3500 grocery 
 stores, 7000 saloons, 2200 meat markets, 1056 bakeries, 1385 
 barber shops, 1350 shoe stores, 561 blacksmiths and horse- 
 
 364
 
 shoers, 175 book stores, 1400 confectionery and fruit stores, 
 1500 cigar stores, noo coal dealers, 231 crockery stores, 850 
 clothing and gentlemen's furnishing goods stores, 1430 dry 
 goods and notion stores, 730 drug stores, 568 dentists, 141 
 dyers, 587 flour and feed stores, 240 florists, 700 hardware 
 stores, 429 jewelers, 800 laundries, 1250 milk dealers, 570 
 millinery stores, 225 musical instrument stores, 600 plumbers, 
 400 furniture stores, 150 photographers, and 330 undertakers. 
 This shows one person employed in retail business for every 
 eleven of the city's inhabitants. 
 
 The foregoing figures were furnished largely by Joseph 
 Gruenhut, city statistician, who makes the following comment 
 on the industrial activity of modern cities: "In the large 
 manufacturing, establishments of to-day, the productive capa- 
 city of every workman is enormously increased by the use of 
 steam and labor-saving machinery. One workman in a large 
 modern factory can do from 5 to 10 times as much productive 
 work as could the workman of 50 years ago, who performed 
 in his own little shop, all the various processes of manu- 
 facture. Then the cost of the labor so increased the price of 
 the manufactured articles as to limit demand, and few 
 workmen were formerly employed in industries now 
 using thousands of workers. Thus, for example, very 
 few persons make all parts of a watch to-day ; but each 
 worker in a factory makes some one particular part of the 
 completed product. The result is that the process has so 
 cheapened the cost of watch production as to greatly increase 
 the demand. Great factories mass people together in cities 
 like Chicago, and the presence of factories of different kinds, 
 so cheapens the cost of the production of the various articles 
 manufactured, as to make them come within the reach of an 
 ever increasing number of men, and thus an increasing popu- 
 lation is easily cared for. Were this not true, no city would 
 attract a population of 1,500,000 people. Liberal use of capi- 
 tal has made the great factories possible and increased the 
 
 366
 
 productivity of human labor, with the result that there has been 
 an actual or real increase in the wages of the working classes. 
 
 " The distribution of merchandise to the consumer the retail 
 trade is a personal service, and does not admit of the use of 
 labor-saving machinery in any great degree. Stores increase 
 with the increase and spread of the population, but the number 
 of the great factories becomes less, and the small factories are 
 no longer profitable. On the other hand, certain industries 
 are absorbed into trusts, and thus all the benefits of competi- 
 tion are gradually lost. This modern tendency is noticed in 
 the monopoly of gas-works, distilleries, petroleum and india 
 rubber, and attempts have already been made to check the 
 evil by a law, which shall not prevent the benefits of a central- 
 ization of interests, but will, nevertheless, secure to the gen- 
 eral public the benefits of competition." 
 
 In his report for 1892, Secretary Stone, of the Board of 
 Trade, touches on the same ground when he says: 
 
 " The crops of the country, which constitute the basis of all departments of business, 
 have been large, and have given to the grain receivers a great activity and volume of 
 business, which has been fairly remunerative. It is regretted that this prosperity has not 
 been generally diffused, and that the business connected with the board has exhibited 
 the prevailing tendency of the principal industries to concentration and monopoly, so that 
 the comparatively small merchant has not met with that full participation in the advan- 
 tages resulting from the heavy receipts of the year which he had a right to expect." 
 
 During the year 1892, 3,010,543^ barrels of beer were 
 brewed in Chicago, and 2,875,818^4 barrels were sold. The 
 tax from this source amounted to $2,660,132. Overpro- 
 duction and bad faith among the brewers in living up to their 
 mutual agreements, have caused a great falling off in the 
 brewing profits of Chicago. Capital in breweries is no longer 
 regarded as a gilt-edged investment, and the English syndi- 
 cates, who bought up so many American breweries, are still 
 waiting for the fabulous profits they were promised. The 
 Chicago production in distilled spirits in 1892 amounted to but 
 6,858,249 gallons, as against 8.979,958 gallons for 1891, and 
 10,778,000 gallons in 1890. Like the brewing industry, the 
 distilleries are suffering from over-production. 
 
 368
 
 Indian Group in Lincoln Park.
 
 Chicago is the great market for small retail dealers of the 
 west. The competition between the lake transportation com- 
 panies and the railroads does much to keep freight rates down 
 and to assist in making Chicago the great market for the 
 "jobbing trade." In 1890, Chicago's business in this line 
 amounted to $486,600,000. Of this sum there was expended 
 $93,730,000 for dry goods, $56,700,000 for groceries, 
 $25,000,000 for boots and shoes, $25,500,000 for paper and 
 carpets, $22,000,000 for musical instruments, $20,035,000 for 
 raw iron, $20,400,000 for jewelry, watches and diamonds, 
 $15,580,000 for building iron, and $13,500,000 for spirituous 
 liquors. 
 
 The suburban train service and the city street railway both 
 of which have their terminals in the down-town portion of 
 Chicago have contributed largely to the building up of great 
 department stores, which tend to do away with the small 
 retail stores throughout the city. In thirteen of these great 
 central retail stores, lying between State and Wabash avenue, 
 and Washington and Adams streets, over 12,000 persons are 
 employed, three-fifths of the number being women. It is 
 impossible for the smaller retail stores of the city to success- 
 fully compete with these great institutions. In thirteen of 
 these large retail department stores are employed one-fifth of 
 all the persons engaged in the city's retail trade. 
 
 Chicago's real estate and building interests are, of course, 
 enormous. In the year 1890 the real estate transfers amounted 
 to $227,000,000, but in 1891 and 1892 they fell off consider- 
 ably. In 1886, they aggregated $86,000,000; in 1887, 
 $95,000,000; in 1888, $93,000,000; in 1889, $135,000,000, 
 and in 1891, $178,600,000. In building activity, the years 
 1891 and 1892 far surpassed all previous records. From iSSi 
 to 1888, the average annual expenditure for new buildings 
 was $19,000,000; in 1889 it was $25,065,000; in 1890, 
 $47,322,000; in 1891, $55,360,000; in 1892, $64,740,800. 
 
 The banking business of the city is a simple index to its 
 
 370
 
 business growth. The total capital of the twenty-six national 
 banks in Chicago, in 1892, was $23,300,000, and of the 
 twenty-three state banks $12,577,000, and in addition there 
 were numerous private banks representing a large capital. 
 In 1890, the clearings by the associated banks of Chicago 
 were $4,093,145,904; in 1891, $4,456,885,230; in 1892, 
 
 The increase in the deposits of Chicago banks is enormous, 
 exceeding, in the last six years, the deposit increase in the 
 New York banks by 125 per cent. This is a significant fact, 
 and shows that Chicago's commercial development is more 
 than twice as rapid as New York's, and that the financial 
 center of the country is destined to be Chicago. 
 
 The Chicago post-office does an immense business. In 1892, 
 322,555,709 pieces of mail matter were received and handled 
 at the post-office. The postal receipts for the year 1892 were 
 $4,265,975.14, the expenditures were but $1,552,640.37, leav- 
 ing the government a net income, from the Chicago post- 
 office, of $2,713,334.770 In spite of the fact that it is far more 
 than self-supporting, the national government does not see fit 
 to equip the Chicago post-office with a force large enough to 
 adequately perform the enormous amount of work to be done. 
 In the year 1891 the Chicago post-office forwarded more 
 printed matter than the offices at Boston, Cincinnati, New 
 Orleans, Buffalo and Baltimore together, and more than all 
 the post-offices of the thirteen southern states, including the 
 St. Louis' office. Over 20,000,000 of Chicago newspapers 
 were mailed in Chicago during the year 1892.
 
 Miscellaneous Information. 
 
 Chicago's Municipal Resources Statistics Public Schools -Municipal Health 
 Department The Drainage Channel The City Government. 
 
 Chicago is 850 miles, by the most direct rail communication, 
 from Baltimore, the nearest sea-port, 1000 miles from New 
 York, and 2,417 miles from San Francisco. Its mean height, 
 above the lake level, is fourteen feet, and its altitude above 
 the sea, 591 feet. The city contains 181 square miles, or 115, 
 328 acres. The revenue of the city of Chicago for the year 
 ending December 31, 1892, was $31,863,218.82, and the 
 expenditures, $30,069,963.65. The principal sources of 
 income were: general taxes, $10,260,036.70; special asses- 
 ments, $6,600,310.69; water fund, $2.901,428.49; licenses, 
 $3,908,948.96 (of which the saloon licenses amounted to 
 $3,472,618.03) ; school fund, $2,657,328.90. The principal 
 expenditures were for the (department of public works, 
 $2,422,085.07; for the fire department, $1,504,854.38; police 
 fund, $3,008,990.39; school fund, $2,650,167; school tax fund, 
 $4,229,974; special assessement fund, $6,799,094; street lamp 
 fund, $1,015,410, and water fund, $3,330,342. The total 
 bonded debt of the city is $18,476,450. The work of making 
 special assessments in Chicago has so increased as to make 
 this bureau the largest sub-department, in the magnitude of its 
 work, in the city. The cost of such public improvements, as 
 paving, sewer-building, street and alley-grading, sidewalk 
 building, laying of water service pipes, and erection of lamp- 
 posts, is defrayed by special assessments levied on the prop- 
 erty most benefited by and lying nearest to the public 
 improvement. In 1892, the assessments for wooden block 
 pavement amounted to $6,056,442.19; for sewer construction, 
 
 372
 
 Water Works Tower.
 
 $3,864,7 J 4 5 f r miscellaneous street and alley improvements, 
 $1,301,491.99, which, with all other special assessments, made 
 a grand total of $14,505,701.79, as compared with $42,635 in 
 1862, $62,222.25 in 1872, $1,227,169 in 1882, and $8,790,443 
 in 1892. This levy is made for improvements to be made 
 during the year. 
 
 Chicago property is not taxed according to its value, but 
 according to an absurd system of equalized valuation. The 
 evils of this system are apparent, for it throws on the tax- 
 paying property owners of to-day all the burden of improve- 
 ments, the benefits of which will accrue to posterity, The 
 actual value of property in the city cannot be less than two 
 billion dollars, but the equalized valuation is only $243,- 
 732,138 $12,867,657 less than the equalized valuation of 
 1891 and almost $55,000,000 less than the property valuation 
 in 1875, when the city comprised but thirty-seven square 
 miles, as against the 181 square miles of to-day. 
 
 By the constitutional limit, city bonds can be issued only to 
 the amount of 5 per cent on the assessed valuation of city 
 property, as equalized. On a proper valuation bonds could be 
 issued to the amount of from fifty to one hundred millions 
 of dollars, at a low rate of interest, and the proceeds of the 
 sale be used to make much needed improvements that are 
 now entirely paid for by the heavily taxed property owner of 
 to-day. The rate of taxation could be reduced, from its 
 present figure 7 per cent, on the present valuation- to not 
 over 2 per cent on a proper one. The rate in New York, 
 in 1891, was 1.90. 
 
 Chicago's public and private school system is excellent. 
 The enrollment of children in the public schools for the year 
 1891-92 was 157,743- The seating capacity of all city school 
 houses was in February, 1893, 150,746, and of this capacity 
 all but 10,455 were seats in buildings owned by the city.. The 
 city owns about 250 school buildings, twenty-five of which 
 were opened during 1892. In addition to these 250, all other 
 
 374
 
 LaSalle Street. ,Front oOhe'Clty Hall.
 
 buildings are rented for school-house purposes. In February, 
 1892, 3,217 teachers were employed in the public schools, and 
 during the same month in 1893, therewere 3,483 teachers. 
 
 The following figures are taken from such municipal reports 
 for 1892, as have been published up to date (April, 1893) : 
 
 Miles of street paved in 1892 108 
 
 Miles of paved street in the city 878 
 
 Miles of street in the city 2,370 
 
 Buildings erected in 1892 I3>!94 
 
 Their cost $64,740,800 
 
 Miles of sidewalk built in 1892 799 
 
 Miles of sidewalk in the city 3,637 
 
 Gallons of water furnished in 1892 71,035,000,000 
 
 Miles of sewers in the city 992 
 
 Lumber received (in feet) 2,203,874,000 
 
 Lumber shipped (in feet) 1,060,017,000 
 
 Shingles received 395,206,000 
 
 Shingles shipped 140,227,000 
 
 Tons of coal received 5,529,468 
 
 Tons of coal shipped 942,068 
 
 Pounds of lard received 68,371,502 
 
 Pounds of lard shipped 39 8 >9 I 5,55 8 
 
 Pounds of dressed meats received I 79,9 6 5,327 
 
 Pounds of dressed meats shipped 1,212,344,343 
 
 Barrels of pork received . v 16,934 
 
 Barrels of pork shipped 294,781 
 
 Pounds of butter received 134,196,828 
 
 Pounds of butter shipped 140,494,155 
 
 The following figures are taken from the report of the pre- 
 ceding year: 
 
 Number of social clubs in Chicago 60 
 
 Number of churches 513 
 
 Number of railroads entering the city 35 
 
 Miles of street car tracks in the city 395 
 
 Miles of cable car tracks 68 
 
 Number of police 2,298 
 
 Number of fire engines 72 
 
 Number of fire boats 3 
 
 Number of chemical fire engines 23 
 
 Number of firemen 998 
 
 Number of bridges across the Chicago river 53 
 
 Number of viaducts over railroads 31 
 
 376
 
 The high buildings in Chicago in 1892 were equipped with 
 almost 7000 elevators. The number of daily suburban trains 
 in 1880 was 128; in 1890, 670; the number of through pas- 
 senger trains in 1880 was 260; in 1890,940; number of hotels 
 in 1880, 140; in 1890, 267. Since the great fire, 68,774 build- 
 ings have been erected in Chicago, at the cost of $320,- 
 000,000. 
 
 Chicago is the healthiest large city on the globe, having a 
 death rate lower than any other city having a population of 
 500,000 persons or upwards. In 1892 there was an increase 
 in population of 180,000, with a decrease of 1535 in the total 
 number of deaths. The death rate per thousand in 1892 was 
 18.23 in Chicago and 24. in New York. Although there were 
 several sporadic cases of small-pox in Chicago last year, no 
 cases were communicated in the city itself, all cases being 
 early diagnosed and removed to the municipal hospital before 
 the contagion spread. 
 
 The drainage channel, now being constructed to connect 
 Chicago with the Gulf of Mexico by means of the Illinois 
 and Mississippi rivers, is intended to make Chicago a still 
 healthier city by at once and forever settling the question of 
 the city's sewage disposition. The primary object of the 
 drainage channel is simply to dispose of Chicago's sewage, 
 but it will incidentally open a waterway from the great lakes 
 to the Gulf of Mexico and furnish a water power of the great- 
 est value to the manufacturing interests along its proposed 
 route. The simple drainage channel is to be built at the expense 
 of the " Sanitary District of Chicago," the work being done 
 under a legislative enactment of 1889, which created 
 the sanitary district and gave the right, under certain 
 limitations and restrictions, to cut a channel through the 
 "divide" so that the sewage of Chicago could be discharged 
 into the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. This act also provided 
 for the issue of $15,000,000 of twenty-year bonds, and the levy- 
 ing of a tax of not over one-half of i per cent per annum on 
 
 377
 
 the assessable property in the district, with the further provis- 
 ion that special assessments could be levied on property 
 especially benefited by the work. This tax of one-half of I 
 per cent a year is to pay all the cost of making the channel 
 salaries, office expenses, construction expenses and principal 
 and interest of the bonds. The bonds are issued and sold for 
 the purpose of getting money with which to push the work to 
 completion in four years, but the taxpayers will pay them off 
 only at the rate of one-half of i per cent a year. The cost of 
 the simple drainage channel is now estimated at about $25,- 
 000,000. Over 80 per cent of the work has been contracted 
 for, and it is expected that the channel will be completed by 
 1897. The cost to date has been $1,500,000, and if the ship 
 canal feature is carried out, the cost of the whole work will 
 reach $50,000,000 but for this latter feature the co-operation 
 of city, state and nation must be secured. 
 
 Joliet first pointed out the commercial advantages of a 
 canal connecting Lake Michigan with the Illinois and Missis- 
 sippi rivers. Gallatin wrote about it and others urged it at 
 various times. In the early 5ojs Col. J. D. Webster pointed 
 out the fact that Chicago was emptying its sewage and filth 
 into its drinking vessel Lake Michigan and urged the con- 
 struction of the channel as the solution of the question of 
 proper sewage disposition. City Engineer E. S. Chesbrough 
 discussed the matter from an engineering point some years 
 later, but it was 1885 before the agitation for a drainage channel 
 was seriously regarded. August 3, 1885, there was a very 
 heavy rainfall and the waters of the Chicago river reached the 
 crib and polluted the city's water supply. L. E. Cooley, an en- 
 gineer, Ossian Guthrie, a well-known geologist, and Dr. F. W. 
 Reilly, of the Chicago News, discussed the situation, decided 
 the drainage channel was the only proper (and sooner or 
 later the inevitable) solution of the sewage disposal question, 
 and at once began to agitate for legislative action, authorizing 
 the organization of a drainage district with power to raise money 
 
 378
 
 for the purposes of constructing a drainage channel. Mr. 
 Stone, of the News, was induced to lend the influence of 
 his paper to the scheme, but the greatest opposition was 
 encountered in various quarters. Finally, however, the san- 
 itary district was created, and the idea slowly became popular. 
 September 14, 1892, seven years and seven days after the 
 enterprise was first urged upon the people, the first shovelful 
 of earth was turned in the great undertaking. In his address, 
 delivered at that time, Trustee L. E. Cooley said: 
 
 The work this day begun is to cover the Chicago Divide, forty miles from Lake Michi- 
 gan to Lake Joliet, with over thirty miles of channel complete for navigation. The cost 
 will be greater than to extend fourteen feet for 280 miles further to the Mississippi. The 
 volume of water will give steamboat navigation in the lower river without obstructing 
 locks and dams, in which nature, assisted by art, may develop increased depths. Per- 
 manent works are required for the gap of fifty-five miles between Joliet and Utica, but 
 this problem is simpler than that of the Chicago divide. 
 
 The policy underlying the law is an open river below Utica, to be improved pro- 
 gressively in conjunction with a water supply from Lake Michigan; works above Utica 
 so designed as to permit future increase of capacity, and such a plan for the Chicago 
 Divide as will facilitate enlargement to any requirement of water supply from the lakes 
 to the Mississippi the entire work to be carried out through the co-operation of city, state 
 and nation. The augmented volume southward will raise the call down to the Gulf for 
 all the lakes can spare. The lake region and the Mississippi Valley will join in the 
 largest useful development. And so, the sanitary needs of that future which no man can 
 now forsee, will surely become the incident of a commercial purpose that enlists the 
 nation. 
 
 This is the logic of our policy. To-day we cut the Chicago divide for an urgent sani- 
 tary need which rouses our city ; and in so doing we sever the gordian knot which has 
 fettered all projects, loosen possibilities of which statesmen have dreamed for a century ; 
 and in the manner of our doing, we set the gauge which shall govern the waterway of a 
 continent. He who sets his conception as the limit of human achievement writes in his 
 designs the obituary of his enterprises. This city, this state, this nation, are but in youth, 
 and we can only dream of what they may seek to do in manhood and maturity. We do 
 well if we work in the line of a continuing policy and construct no barriers. 
 
 North to the frozen zone, east to the Alleghanies, south to the Gulf, west to the 
 Rockies an imperial domain of resources in forest, field and mine, as yet but scarcely 
 opened the population this may sustain, the civilization that may mature, is beyond 
 prophetic ken. Point out the areas of richest soil, where food will be most abundant, 
 and there ultimately will it be densest. Find the spot where the commerce of this people 
 may be most cheaply handled, to which food, raw material and power shall most readily 
 assemble, and from which manufactures may be best distributed, and there will be the 
 chief city. No accident placed the urban population of the United States on navL 
 gable waters, determined wealth along their shores, and located the most valuable rail- 
 way properties in competition therewith. 
 
 Look at the position of Illinois in respect to these resources, in respect to transporta- 
 tion by rail and water, and in respect to climate is she not to be the central ganglion of a 
 marvellous growth ? Look at her chief city ; where is site more favored ? Provide for 
 health, develop the facilities which nature invites, follow a policy as though our estates 
 were vested in one man, and that man's life prolonged through the generations, and we 
 rise to the level of our opportunities. What we do to-day is but the beginning. An 
 object vital in itself is to be attained as soon as practicable ; yet, in achieving it, we but 
 
 3 80
 
 Carter M. Harrison.
 
 unfold larger purposes, purposes that, in their consummation, are but added resources, 
 developing our estate to fuller fruitfulness by works that involve no tax for operation, 
 .maintenance and renewals, carvings on the bosom of mother earth that will persist in 
 usefulness until nature in her cycles renews the face of continents. 
 
 Machines will vanish in rust, the proudest monument of man will sink to rubbish 
 heaps, and his greatest work trail in curious mounds, while this goes on as nature's self, 
 an added feature to mother earth as though it had always been. 
 
 The municipal government of Chicago is vested in exec- 
 utive and legislative departments. The mayor is at the head 
 of the executive department, and also ex-officio chairman of 
 the city council, the legislative department of the local govern- 
 ment. The city council is composed of two aldermen from 
 each ward in the city. All appropriations are made by this 
 body. The mayor, in his executive capacity, is at the head of 
 a great corporation. He has under his general control and 
 supervision, the fire, police and water departments, the special 
 assessment bureau, the health department, $ie legal depart- 
 ment, etc. The present mayor of Chicago is^the Hon. Carter 
 H. Harrison. He has already filled the office for four terms 
 1879 to 1886 and his recent election by an overwhelming 
 majority, in the face of the political or personal opposition of 
 every prominent paper of the city with but two exceptions 
 is a proof of his popularity. Mr. Harrison thoroughly under- 
 stands the business of the city government, and is mayor in 
 fact as well as in name. He is a gentleman" of distinct social 
 and literary attainments, and his broad,, liberal, democratic 
 public policy makes him a great favorite among the masses of 
 the people especially among the foreign-born citizens of the 
 city, who have the greatest confidence that their rights and 
 privileges will be protected under his administration. 
 
 382
 
 The World's Fair. 
 
 CHICAGO, 1893. 
 
 Christopher Columbus. 
 
 April 25, 1890, Benjamin Harrison, President of the United 
 States, approved an act of Congress providing for the cele- 
 bration of the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of 
 America by Christopher Columbus, by holding an interna- 
 tional exhibit of arts, industries, manufactures and the products 
 of the soil, mine and sea, in the city of Chicago. Three years 
 and a week after the act of Congress became a law, the 
 greatest peaceful undertaking of modern times was an 
 achieved fact. The history of the World's Columbian Expo- 
 sition is a tale of miracles. It is a string of wonders that 
 surpasses fiction in strangeness, and that will stand forever as 
 
 333
 
 a mighty monument to the admirable enterprise and indomit- 
 able spirit of Chicago and its people. 
 
 It was on the evening of July 22, 1889, that the first public 
 step was taken in regard to securing the fair for Chicago, and 
 then began the memorable struggle between New York and 
 the city by the lake. The city council, on the date named, 
 formally resolved that it would be good policy to make every 
 effort to secure the fair, and took the initiative by authorizing 
 Mayor Cregier to appoint a committee of 250 citizens to 
 superintend the preliminary work. This committee was 
 appointed by the mayor July 30, 1889, and held its first meet- 
 ing in the council chamber at the city hall August 2. The 
 best known, wealthiest and most truly representative citizens 
 of Chicago attended that meeting, and not a man of all those 
 called upon declined to serve. Before the meeting adjourned 
 a stock company, with a capital of $5,000,000, had been 
 started, and its affairs were placed in the hands of a small 
 executive committee. Next day the work of the committee 
 of 250 was divided among numerous sub-committees, and 
 popular enthusiasm in the work began to develop. By Sep- 
 tember 20, the necessary funds had been subscribed. No 
 sooner had the public announcement been made that the 
 $5,000,000 was raised, than New York's opposition to Chi- 
 cago developed. The tidings that the eastern city was a can- 
 didate for the fair came September 25, and it was said that it 
 would raise the sum of $10,000,000 as a guarantee for the 
 proper performance of its contract if given the fair. From 
 September, 1889, to February, 1890, the fight between the 
 rival cities was waged without ceasing, in and out of Congress, 
 and there are few who forget the immense amount of wire- 
 pulling and political maneuvering that marked the struggle. 
 All the forces of the east were arrayed against the influence 
 of the west, but Chicago won the fight. 
 
 The first congressional reports, made in the last week of 
 October, 1889, were favorable to Chicago, but its representa- 
 
 384
 
 George R. Davis. 
 
 25 
 
 3^5
 
 tives relaxed no efforts until the great struggle finally ended in 
 victory February 24, 1890, when Congress passed the act cre- 
 ating the World's Columbian Commission. Chicago had won 
 its victory, but its difficulties were only j.ust beginning. New 
 York had agreed to raise $10,000,000 as a starting fund for 
 the fair, and among the conditions imposed on Chicago by 
 Congress was one to the effect that it must do as New York 
 had promised to do. Consequently the next few months were 
 spent in work among the aldermen of Chicago and the state 
 legislators at Springfield, in an effort to secure the appropria- 
 tion of the second $5,000,000 by the city. Finally a special 
 session of the Legislature at Springfield, Illinois, called June 
 12, 1890, authorized the city of Chicago to increase its bonded 
 indebtedness $5,000.000 in aid of the fair. 
 
 The Jackson Park site was first mooted February 25, the day 
 after the national house of representatives at Washington had 
 declared in favor of awarding the fair to Chicago, and the 
 advantages of the site at once became so apparent that 
 it was chosen. That brilliant and lamented genius John 
 Wellborn Root, formulated plans for the building of the 
 White City, and although he did not live to see them carried 
 into execution, his successors found the conceptions of his 
 master mind so perfect, that the fair, as it stands to-day, is 
 practically what he pictured it before a spadeful of earth had 
 been turned. Jackson Park has been transformed from a dis- 
 mal morass into a city of white palaces, exemplifying the most 
 perfect architecture, and conveying to the mind of the visitor 
 profound admiration for the aggregated genius that has 
 achieved so much in so short a time. 
 
 From the outset of the exposition undertaking, the women 
 of America have exhibited the liveliest interest in it, and their 
 co-operation was early invited. On the day after the election 
 of George R. Davis as director-general, a board of lady mana- 
 gers was appointed, which, under the presidency of Mrs. Pot- 
 ter Palmer, of Chicago, has labored without ceasing for the 
 
 386
 
 Mrs, Potter Palmer, 
 
 337
 
 general good of the enterprise as well as in the specific direc- 
 tion of securing a complete representation of woman's work 
 for the exposition. In every state of the Union, and in every 
 country of the civilized world, the influence of the lady mana- 
 gers has been exerted, and as a consequence, one of the 
 most interesting of all the buildings at Jackson Park is the 
 woman's building. 
 
 Early in the history of the exposition, the Sunday-closing 
 question began to be agitated. Various well-meaning but 
 mistaken persons sought to influence public opinion by insist- 
 ing that the fair should be closed on Sunday. They were so 
 far successful as to induce Congress, when making its last 
 appropriation of $2,500,000 for the fair, to insert a clause in 
 the act providing that the gates of the exposition shall be 
 closed Sunday. 
 
 THE FAIR MANAGEMENT. 
 
 The management of the fair is vested first, in a Board of 
 Directors representing the Chicago stockholders of the cor- 
 poration, which board provides the funds for constructing the 
 buildings and preparing the grounds for the reception of 
 exhibits ; second, a National Commission, composed of two 
 commissioners from each state in the Union, representing the 
 United States government that took possession of the exposi- 
 tion after the dedication in October, 1892 ; and third, the 
 Board of Lady Managers, a branch of the National Commis- 
 sion that has jurisdiction in woman's work the world over, and 
 control of the woman's building. A list of the officers and 
 members of these three bodies follows : 
 
 THE LOCAL BOARD 
 
 OFFICERS. 
 
 President H. N. Higinbotham. 
 
 Vice-Presidents -J K; Wal'k?' 
 
 Secretary H. O. Edmonds. 
 
 Treasurer -Anthony ]'. Seeberger. 
 
 Auditor William K. Ackerman. 
 
 .Attorney W. K. Carlisle. 
 
 3 88
 
 DIRECTORS. 
 
 William T. Baker. 
 C. K. G. Billings. 
 Thomas B. Bryan. 
 Edward B. Butler. 
 Benj . Butterworth. 
 Isaac N. Camp. 
 William J. Chalmers. 
 Robert C. Clowry. 
 C. H. Chappell. 
 George R. Davis. 
 Arthur Dixon. 
 
 James W. Ellsworth. Thies J. Lefens. 
 G. P. Englehard. Andrew McNally. 
 Lyman J. Gage. Adolph Nathan. 
 
 Chas. Henrotin. Robert Nelson. 
 
 H. N. Higinbotham. John J. P. OdelL 
 Charles L.HutchinsonFerd. W. Peck. 
 Elbridge G. Keith. E. S. Pike. 
 William D. Kerfoot. Washington Porter. 
 William P. Ketcham. Alexander H. Revell. 
 Milton W. Kirk. Edward P. Ripley. 
 
 Edward F. Lawrence. A. M- Rothschild. 
 
 George Schneider. 
 Charles H. Schwab. 
 Paul O. Stcnsland. 
 Henry B. Stone. 
 Charles H. Wacker. 
 Edwin Walker. 
 Robert A. Waller. 
 Hempst'dWashburne 
 John C. Welling. 
 Frederick S. Winston. 
 Charles T. Yerkes. 
 
 THE NATIONAL COMMISSION. 
 
 President Thomas W. Palmer, of Michigan. 
 
 1st Vice-President. .Thos. M. Waller, Conn. 
 2d Vice-President.. .M. H. De Young, Cal. 
 3d Vice-President.. Davidson B. Penn, La. 
 4th Vice-President, Gorton W. Allen. N.Y. 
 
 tth Vice-President, Alex. B. Andrews, N.C. 
 
 Secretary John T. Dickinson, Tex. 
 
 Director-General George R. Davis, 111. 
 
 Vice-Ch'm'n Ex. Com., Jas.A.M'Kenzie.Ky 
 
 STATES. 
 
 COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 1 
 
 Bullock Augustus G 
 
 
 Allen, Gorton W^ 
 
 
 Wiedner, Peter A. B 
 
 
 Palmer, Thomas W 
 
 Michigan 
 
 I 
 
 district of Columbia J 
 
 Furnas, R. W- 
 
 
 Lindsay, William 
 
 
 Exall. Henry 
 
 
 McDonald Mark L. 
 
 
 Britton. Alex. T 
 
 
 Wilson, Albert A 
 
 
 Bromberg, F. G- 
 
 
 
 Hundley, Oscar R . . 
 
 
 Clendenning, J. H 
 
 Fort Smith 
 
 
 
 
 DeYoung, M- H 
 
 
 I 
 
 Forsyth, William 
 
 
 Goodell, Roswell E 
 
 
 t 
 
 Smith. J. H 
 
 
 Brainard, Leverett 
 
 H artf ord 
 
 t 
 
 Waller, Thomas M. . 
 
 
 Massey, George V. ... 
 
 Dover 
 
 I 
 Florida 
 
 Porter, Willard Hall.... 
 
 
 Bielly, C. F. A. 
 
 De Land 
 
 1 
 
 Turnbull, Richard 
 
 
 McLaws, Lafayette 
 
 
 t 
 Idaho j 
 
 Way, Charlton H 
 
 
 Manning, George A 
 
 . . . . Post Falls 
 
 1 
 
 Stearns, John E^ 
 
 
 Deere, Charles H 
 
 
 
 Ewing. Adlai T- 
 
 
 Garvin, Thomas E 
 
 EvansviUe 
 
 i 
 Iowa * 
 
 Martindale, E. B 
 
 
 Eiboeck, Jos 
 
 Des Moines 
 
 I 
 
 King, William F. 
 
 
 Holliday, C. K., Jr 
 
 Topeka 
 
 I 
 
 Barton, J. R 
 
 
 Bennett. John... 
 
 Richmond 
 
 ( 'McKenzie, James A 
 
 , ..Oak Grove 
 
 389
 
 STATKS. 
 
 COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 Maine 
 
 Maryland 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 Michigan 
 
 Minnesota 
 
 Mississippi 
 
 Missouri 
 
 Montana 
 
 Nebraska 
 
 Nevada 
 
 New Hampshire... 
 
 New Jersey 
 
 New York 
 
 North Carolina 
 
 North Dakota 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Oregon 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 Rhode Island 
 
 South Carolina 
 
 South Dakota 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 Texas 
 
 Vermont 
 
 Virginia 
 
 Washington 
 
 West Virginia 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 Wyoming 
 
 Alaska 
 
 Arizona 
 
 New Mexico 
 
 Oklahoma 
 
 Utah... 
 
 Penn, Davidson 13 Newrllton 
 
 Woodward, Thomas J New Orleans 
 
 Bixby, Augustus R Skowhegan 
 
 Davis, William G Portland 
 
 Hodges, James Baltimore 
 
 Lowndes, Lloyd Cumberland 
 
 Breed, Francis W Lynn 
 
 Proctor, Thomas E Boston 
 
 Lane, M. Henry Kalamazoo 
 
 Barbour, George H. Detroit 
 
 Moore, M. B Duluth 
 
 Tousley, O- V Minneapolis 
 
 Bynum , Joseph M Rienzi 
 
 Saunders, Robert L Jackson 
 
 Bullene, Thomas B Kansas City 
 
 Jones, Charles H St. Louis 
 
 Hershfield, L H Helena 
 
 Mitchell, A. H Deer Lodge 
 
 Martin, Euclid Omaha 
 
 Scott, Albert G Kearney 
 
 Haines, Jam es W Genoa 
 
 Russell, George Elko 
 
 Aiken, Walter Franklin 
 
 McDuffie, Charles D. Manchester 
 
 Sewell. William J Camden 
 
 Smith, Thomas Newark 
 
 Depew, Chauncey M. New York 
 
 Thatcher, John Boyd Albany 
 
 Andrews, A. B Raleigh 
 
 Keogh, Thomas B Greensboro 
 
 Rucker, H. P Grand Forks 
 
 Ryan, Martin Fargo 
 
 Platt, Harvey P ..Toledo 
 
 Ritchie, William Hamilton 
 
 Klippel, Henry Jacksonville 
 
 Wilkins, Martin Eugene 
 
 Ricketts. R. Bruce Wilkes-Barrc 
 
 Woodside, John W Philadelphia 
 
 Gpff , Ly man B Pawtucket 
 
 Sims, Gardner C Providence 
 
 Butler, A. P Columbia 
 
 Cochran, John R Walhalla 
 
 Day, Merritt H Rapid City 
 
 Mclntyre, William Watertown 
 
 Baxter, Louis T Nashville 
 
 Williams, Thomas L Knoxville 
 
 Cpchran, A. M Dallas 
 
 Dickinson, John T Austin 
 
 Mclntyre, Henry H W. Randolph 
 
 Smalley, Bradley B Burlington 
 
 Groner, Virginias D Norfolk 
 
 Harris, John T Harrisonburg 
 
 Drum, Henry Tacoma 
 
 Hopkins, Charles B J Spokane 
 
 Butt, James D Harper's Ferry 
 
 St. Clair, J. W Fayetteville 
 
 Allen, Philip. Jr Mineral Point 
 
 Coburn, John M West Salem 
 
 Beckwith, Asahel C Evanston 
 
 Hay, Henry G Cheyenne 
 
 DeGroff, Edward Sitka 
 
 Williams, Louis L Jur.eau 
 
 Coats, George F Phoenix 
 
 Meade, W. K Tombstone 
 
 Gutierres, Thomas C Albuquerque 
 
 White, Richard M Hermosa 
 
 Beeson, Othniel El Reno 
 
 Gammon' F. R Guthrie 
 
 Kiesel, Frederick J Og'lcn 
 
 Lannan, Patrick H Salt Lake City 
 
 39
 
 BOARD OF LADY MANAGERS. 
 
 OFFICERS. 
 
 President Mrs. 
 
 1st Vice-President, Mrs. Ralph Traut- 
 
 mann, of New York. 
 2nd Vice-President, Mrs. Edwin C Bur- 
 
 leigh, of Maine. 
 3rd Vice-President, Mrs. Charles Price, 
 
 of North Carolina. 
 4th Vice-President, Miss Katherine L. 
 
 Minor, of Louisiana. 
 5th Vice-President, Mrs Beriah Wilkins, 
 
 of the District of Columbia. 
 
 Potter Palmer, of Chicago. 
 
 6th Vice-President, Mrs. Susan R. Ash- 
 ley, of Colorado. 
 
 7th Vice-President, Mrs. Flora Beall 
 Ginty, of Wisconsin. 
 
 8th Vice-President, Mrs. Margaret 
 Elaine Salisbury, of Utah. 
 
 Vice-President-at -Large, Mrs. Russell B. 
 Harrison, of Montana. 
 
 Secretary, Mrs. Susan Gale Cooke, of 
 Tennessee. 
 
 MANAGERS. 
 
 At Large. 
 
 Alabama 
 
 Arkansas 
 
 California 
 
 Colorado 
 
 Connecticut. .. 
 
 Del aw. ire 
 
 Florida 
 
 Georgia 
 
 Idaho 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Indiana 
 
 Iowa 
 
 Kansas 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 Maine 
 
 Maryland 
 
 Massachusetts . 
 
 Michigan 
 
 Minnesota 
 
 Mississippi 
 
 Mrs. D. F. Verdenal New York 
 
 Mrs. Mary C. Cantr.ll Georgetown, Ky. 
 
 Mrs. M. S. Lockwood Washington, D. C 
 
 Mrs J. J. Bagley Detroit, Mich. 
 
 Miss E. A. Ford Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
 Mrs. Mary S. Harrison Helena, Montana 
 
 Mrs. I. A. E.Tyler Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 Mrs. Rosine Ryan Austin, Tex. 
 
 Miss H. T. Hundley Moresville 
 
 Mrs. A. M. Fosdick Mobile 
 
 Mrs. J. P. Eagle Little Rock 
 
 Mrs. R. A. Edgerton Little Rock 
 
 Mrs. P. P. Rue Santa Rosa 
 
 Mrs. J. R.Deane San Francisco 
 
 Mrs. R. J. Coleman Buena Vista 
 
 Mrs. S. R. Ashley Denver 
 
 Miss F. S. Ives New Haven 
 
 Mrs. I. B. Hooker Hartford 
 
 Mrs. M. R. Kinder :Milford 
 
 Mrs. J. F. Ball Wilmington 
 
 Mrs. M. C. Bell Gainesville 
 
 Miss E. N. Beck Tampa 
 
 Mrs. W. H. Felton Cartersville 
 
 Mrs. C. H. Olmsted Savannah 
 
 Mrs. A. E. M. Farnum Hanser Junction 
 
 Mrs. J. C. Straughan Biose City 
 
 Mrs. R. J. Oglesby F.lkhart 
 
 Mrs. F. W. Shephard Chicago 
 
 M iss W. R ei tz Evansville 
 
 Mrs. V. C. Meredith Cambridge City 
 
 Mrs. W. S. Clark I >es Moines 
 
 MissO. E. Miller Cedar Rapids 
 
 Mrs. J. S. Mitchell Topeka 
 
 Mrs. H. A. Hanback Topeka 
 
 M iss J. W. Faulkner I .ancaster 
 
 Mrs. A. C. Jackson Covington 
 
 Miss K. L. Minor Houma 
 
 Miss J. Shakespeare New Orleans 
 
 Mrs. E. C. Burleigh Augusta 
 
 Mrs. L. M. N. Stevens Portland 
 
 Mrs. W. Reed Baltimore 
 
 Mrs.A. Thomson Mount Savage 
 
 Mrs. J. H. French Boston 
 
 Mrs. Rufus S.Frost Chelsea 
 
 Mrs. E J. P. Howes Battle Creek 
 
 VI rs. S. S. C. Angell Ann Arbor 
 
 Mrs. F. B. Clark St. Paul 
 
 Mrs. H. F. Brov n : Minneapolis 
 
 Mrs. J. W. Lee Aberdeen 
 
 Mrs. J. M. Stone Jackson 
 
 39 1
 
 STATES. 
 
 MANAGERS. 
 
 . 
 
 Miss Phoebe Couzins 
 
 St. Louis 
 
 
 Miss L M Brown 
 
 Kirkwood 
 
 Mrs. Eliza Richards 
 
 Butte City 
 
 Nebraska j 
 
 Mrs C L McAdow 
 
 Helena 
 
 Mrs. J. S. Briggs 
 
 Omaha 
 
 Nevada 5 
 
 Mrs.E. C. Langworthy 
 Miss E. M. Russell 
 
 Seward 
 Elko 
 
 
 Mrs. M. B. F. Ladd 
 
 Lancaster 
 
 
 Mrs D Hall 
 
 Dover 
 
 Miss M. K. Busselle 
 
 Newark 
 
 New York 5 
 
 Mrs M B. Stevens 
 
 Hoboken 
 
 Mrs R Trautmann 
 
 New York City 
 
 
 Mrs. G. W. Kidder 
 
 Wilmington 
 
 
 Mrs. Charles Price 
 
 Salisbury 
 
 Mrs. S. W. McLaughlin 
 
 Grand Forks 
 
 OViin 5 
 
 Mrs W B McConnell 
 
 Fargo 
 
 Mrs. M. A. Hart 
 
 Cincinnati 
 
 Oregon - 5 
 
 Mrs \V Heartpence 
 
 Harrison 
 
 Mrs.' E. W. Allen 
 
 Portland 
 
 
 Mrs. M. Payton 
 Miss M. E. McCandless 
 
 ....Salem 
 Pittsburg 
 
 Rhode Island 5 
 
 Mrs. H A Lucas 
 
 Philadelphia 
 
 Mrs. A. M. Starkweather 
 Miss C F Dailey 
 
 Pawtucket 
 Providence 
 
 
 Miss F. Cunningham 
 
 Charleston 
 
 
 Mrs E M Brayton 
 
 Columbia 
 
 Mrs. J. R. Wilson 
 
 Dead wood 
 
 
 Mrs H. M Barker 
 
 Huron 
 
 Mrs. L. Gillespie. .. 
 
 Nashville 
 
 Texas j 
 
 Mrs S G Cooke . 
 
 Knoxville 
 
 Mrs. M. A. Cochran 
 
 Dallas 
 
 
 Mrs. I. L. Turner 
 Mrs. E M. Chandler 
 
 Ft. Worth 
 Pom fret 
 
 
 Mrs. E. N. Grinnell 
 
 Burlington 
 
 Mrs. J. S. Wise 
 
 Richmond 
 
 \Vashington . < 
 
 Mrs.K. S. G. Paul 
 Mrs. M. G. wings 
 
 Harrisonburg 
 Olympia 
 
 
 Mrs. A. Houghton 
 Mrs. W N. Linch 
 
 Spokane Falls 
 M artinsbnrg 
 
 
 Mrs L.I.Jackson 
 
 Parkersburg 
 
 Mrs. F. B. Ginty 
 
 Chippewa Falls 
 
 Wyoming j 
 
 Mrs.W. P. Lynde . 
 
 Milwaukee 
 
 Mrs. F. H. Harrison 
 
 Evanston 
 
 Alaska j 
 
 Mrs. F. E. Hale 
 Mrs. E K. Delaney 
 
 Juneau 
 
 Arizona j 
 
 Miss I. J. Austin 
 Mrs. I. J. Butler 
 
 Sitka 
 Prescott 
 
 New Mexico i 
 
 Miss 1^. Lovell. .. 
 Mrs. F. L. Allbright 
 
 Tuscon 
 Albuquerque 
 
 Oklahoma . ... ] 
 
 Mrs. E. L Bartlett 
 Mrs. M. P. H. Beeson 
 
 Reno City 
 
 Utah j 
 
 Mrs. G. Guthrie 
 Mrs. T. A. Whalen 
 
 Oklahoma City 
 Ogden 
 
 District of Columbia j 
 
 Mrs M. B. Salisbury 
 Mrs. J- A. Logan 
 
 Salt Lake City 
 Washington 
 
 Mrs. B. Wilkins 
 
 Washington 
 
 The officials who have taken the most prominent part in 
 the fair work are Director General Davis ; Daniel H. Burn- 
 ham, chief of construction ; Thomas W. Palmer, president of 
 the National Commission ; Mrs. Potter Palmer, president of 
 tlie Board of Lady Managers ; Lyman J. Gage, the first, and 
 
 39 2
 
 H. N. Higinbotham the last president of the Local Board ; 
 C. C. Bonney, president, and T. B. Bryan, vice-president of 
 the World's Congress Auxiliary, and Moses P. Handy, chief 
 of the Department of Publicity and Promotion. The fair 
 itself speaks for the work of most of the officers, but the labors 
 of Major Handy \vere unique. His was the duty to advertise 
 the fair at home and abroad, to popularize it, to make success 
 
 Thomas W. Palmer. 
 
 possible. An old newspaper man, Major Handy understood 
 the difficulties of the situation, organized his department at 
 once, went over the United States and Europe in the interest 
 of the exposition, and everywhere gave it a definite status, 
 interested people of all classes in the enterprise, and in no 
 
 393
 
 small degree contributed to the great world co-operation that 
 is making the fair a success. 
 
 Dr. T. W. Zaremba, of Mexico, proposed, as early as 1876, 
 that an international exposition be held in America in 1892 
 in honor of Columbus' discovery of the new world, and in 1882 
 Dr. A. W. Harlan revived the idea in a letter printed in a Chi- 
 cago newspaper. Thomas B. Bryan, of Chicago, was the first 
 
 Moses P. Handy. 
 
 man to make an energetic fight to secure the World's Fair for 
 Chicago, and when the World's Fair Exposition Company was 
 incorporated in 1889, Mr. Bryan was made chairman of the 
 committee on national agitation and Lyman J. Gage chair- 
 man of the finance committee. In a debate before a congress- 
 ional sub-committee, as to the site for the fair, Mr. Bryan 
 
 394
 
 argued in Chicago's behalf, and conducted the debate with 
 such masterly skill as to completely defeat Chauncey M. Depew, 
 who had spoken for New York. Mr. Bryan has thus been 
 identified with the fair from the first, but his greatest services 
 were his efforts to get the exposition for Chicago. The work 
 of Lyman J. Gage was also of the highest value. His great 
 ability as a financier helped to solve money difficulties and his 
 
 Thomas B. Bryan. ( 
 
 name lent the enterprise a standing in all financial circles. At 
 the close of his term of office as president of the Local Board, 
 Mr. Gage refused the salary attaching to the position, and also 
 the renomination, which was unanimously tendered him. 
 Thomas W. Palmer has served continuously as president of 
 the National Commission and, like Mr. Gage, has never 
 accepted any salary for his services. 
 
 395
 
 THE GREAT BUILDINGS. 
 
 Daniel Hudson Burnham, the friend and partner of John 
 Wellborn Root, built the White City. In so doing he has 
 marked himself not only as a man possessed of the very high- 
 est order of executive talent, but also as one having the high- 
 est appreciation of every department of art, learning and 
 
 Lyman J. Gage. 
 
 science. Immediately on being appointed as chief of construc- 
 tion he adopted a general plan for the work, and assigned to 
 the most prominent architects of the country the duty of 
 designing the great buildings for the fair. The work was 
 undertaken in the same generous spirit in which it was given, 
 and only the hearty co-operation of America's leading archi- 
 
 39 6
 
 tects made the great buildings a possibility. To Root, to 
 Burnham and to Frederick Law Olmstead, the landscape 
 gardener, chiefly belong the glory of the artistic success of the 
 fair, as far as buildings and grounds are concerned. 
 
 The dimensions and cost of the great exposition buildings 
 are indicated in the following table: 
 
 BUILDING. 
 
 Dimen- 
 sions in 
 feet. 
 
 Area in 
 acres. 
 
 Acreage of 
 floor space 
 including 
 galleries. 
 
 COST. 
 
 Manufactures and Liberal Arts 
 
 787x1 687 
 
 30 5 
 
 44 
 
 $1 500 000 
 
 Administration 
 
 262x 262 
 
 1 6 
 
 4 2 
 
 435 000 
 
 Mines 
 
 350x 700 
 
 56 
 
 8.7 
 
 265 000 
 
 Klectricity 
 
 345 x 690 
 
 5 6 
 
 9 7 
 
 401 000 
 
 Transportation 
 
 256x 960 
 
 5 6 
 
 9 4 / 
 
 
 Annex 
 
 425x 900 
 
 88 
 
 9.2 \ 
 
 370,000 
 
 Woman's 
 
 199x 388 
 
 1 8 
 
 3 3 
 
 138 000 
 
 Art Galleries 
 
 320x 500 
 
 3 7 
 
 4 
 
 
 Annexes (2) 
 
 120x 200 
 
 1 1 
 
 1.1 
 
 670,000 
 
 Fisheries 
 
 1G5X 365 
 
 1.4 
 
 2.4 
 
 
 Annexes (2) 
 
 135 diam. 
 
 .8 
 
 .7 
 
 224,000 
 
 Horticulture 
 
 250x 998 
 
 5 7 
 
 6.6 
 
 300000 
 
 Greenhouses (8) 
 
 24x 100 
 
 5 
 
 .5 
 
 25,000 
 
 Machinery 
 
 492x 846 
 
 9 6 
 
 17.5 ) 
 
 
 ' Annex 
 
 490x 650 
 
 62 
 
 6.2 ) 
 
 1,200,000 
 
 Power House, etc 
 
 lOOx 461 ) 
 
 
 
 
 Pumping works 
 
 77x 84 > 
 
 2.1 
 
 1.9 
 
 85,000 
 
 ' Machine shop 
 
 146x 250 1 
 
 
 
 
 Agriculture 
 
 600x 800 
 
 92 
 
 15. ) 
 
 
 Annex 
 
 300x 650 
 
 3.8 
 
 3.9) 
 
 618,000 
 
 ' Assembly, etc 
 
 125x 450 
 
 1 3 
 
 1.9 
 
 100,000 
 
 Forestry... 
 
 208x 328 
 
 2.6 
 
 2.6 
 
 100,000 
 
 Saw Mill 
 
 125x 300 
 
 .9 
 
 .9 
 
 35,000 
 
 Dairy .... .... 
 
 lOOx 200 
 
 .5 
 
 .8 
 
 30,000 
 
 Live Stock (3) 
 
 6Sx 200 
 
 .9 
 
 1.2 
 
 
 " Pavilion 
 
 250x 440 
 
 2.8 
 
 2.8 
 
 
 " Sheds 
 
 
 40. 
 
 40. 
 
 
 Casino... 
 
 120x 250 
 
 .7 
 
 .7 
 
 
 Music Hall 
 
 120x 250 
 
 .7 
 
 .7 
 
 210,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 U. S. Government .... ... 
 
 345x 415 
 
 153.8 
 3.3 
 
 199.9 
 6.1 
 
 $7,041,000 
 400,000 
 
 " Imitation Battleship 
 
 69.25X 348 
 
 .3 
 
 .6 
 
 100,000 
 
 Illinois State 
 
 160x 450 
 
 1.7 
 
 3.2 
 
 250,000 
 
 Wings (2) 
 
 
 .3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 159.4 
 
 209.8 
 
 $7,791,000 
 
 The site of the fair buildings, Jackson Park, embraces 553 
 acres, with an added area of 80 acres in Midway Plaisance. 
 All the buildings, with possibly one or two exceptions, will be 
 at once torn down and removed on the closing of the exposi- 
 tion, October 30, 1893. Lumber, structural iron and "staff" 
 are the building materials most used at Jackson Park over 
 
 397
 
 75>ooo,ooo feet of lumber and 20,000 tons of iron being required 
 for the work. Staff is a composition of plaster, cement and 
 hemp or similar fibre. It is lighter than wood, is fire-proof, 
 water-proof, and, if kept painted, will last for years. 
 
 The Agricultural building is located in the south end of the 
 grounds, near the lake shore. The rotunda is surmounted by 
 a glass dome 130 feet in height. Throughout the main vesti- 
 bule statuary has been placed, illustrative of the agricultural 
 industry. South of the Agricultural building is a spacious 
 structure devoted chiefly to an assembly hall for conventions 
 of live stock, agriculture and allied interests. 
 
 In the Agricultural building will be found, besides the vege- 
 table products of the soil, the literature and statistics of agri- 
 culture, the preserved meats and foods preparations exhibit, 
 pure and mineral waters, and the process of bottling and stor- 
 ing beverages. McKim, Mead & White, of New York, 
 designed the building, and W. I. Buchanan is the chief of the 
 department. 
 
 South of the Midway Plaisance entrance to the park, and 
 facing the lagoon, is the Horticultural building. The plan is a 
 central pavilion with two wings. From the centre of the 
 structure rises a crystal dome 187 feet in diameter and 118 
 feet high, under which are exhibited the tallest palms, bam- 
 boos and tree ferns that can be procured. Here will be shown 
 flowers, plants, vines, seeds and horticultural implements. 
 The exhibits requiring sunlight will be arranged in the wings, 
 which are almost entirely of glass. W. L. B. Jenney, of 
 Chicago, designed Horticultural hall, and J. M. Samuels and 
 John Thorpe have superintended the work of gathering the 
 exhibit it contains. 
 
 The Fisheries building, designed by Henry Ives Cobb, is 
 one of the most unique and characteristic structures of the 
 fair. There is a circular main building with two tank annexes 
 at either end, connected with the central structure by curving 
 arcades, The whole building conforms itself to the banana- 
 
 398
 
 shaped island on which it is located. The water capacity of 
 the aquaria is 140,000 gallons, nearly one-third of which will 
 be devoted to salt w r ater fish. Captain J. W. Collins is chief 
 of the fisheries exhibit. 
 
 The imposing building provided for the department of min- 
 ing, designed by S. S. Beman, is simple and straightforward in 
 construction, with wide galleries and sweeping ground spaces. 
 The principal fronts show enormous arched entrances, richly 
 embellished with sculptured decorations, emblematic of min- 
 ing and its allied industries. This building contains everything 
 pertaining to mines and metallurgy. Fred J. V. Skiff is chief 
 of the department. 
 
 In Machinery hall, Lieutenant R. W. Robinson has charge 
 of a marvellous exhibit. The building, designed by Peabody 
 & Stearns, of Boston, measures 500 by 850 feet, and is 
 spanned by three arched trusses. The interior presents the 
 appearance of three railroad train houses side by side, sur- 
 rounded on all the four sides by a gallery fifty feet wide. The 
 trusses are built separately, so that they can be taken down 
 and utilized. The power for the building is supplied from a 
 power house adjoining the south side of the building. The 
 floor area is 17.5 a cres, an annex measuring 490 by 550 feet 
 furnishing 6.2 additional acres. Adjoining Machinery hall is 
 a machine shop 146 by 250 feet. There is a power house, 
 100 by 460 feet. In this structure are stationed the engines 
 for the 24,000 horse-power provided for the exposition. One 
 of these engines is about twice the size and power of the 
 celebrated Corliss engine used at the Centennial Exposition, 
 Philadelphia, in 1876. Oil is used for fuel. 
 
 Transportation building, designed by Alder & Sullivan, the 
 architects of the Auditorium, is exquisitely refined and simple 
 in architectural treatment. It is Romanesque in style, and the 
 main entrance consists of an immense single arch enriched 
 with carvings, bas-reliefs and mural paintings, the entire 
 feature forming a beautiful color climax. 
 
 400
 
 The roof is in three divisions. The middle one rises much 
 higher than the others, and its walls are pierced to form an 
 arcaded clear story. The cupola, placed in the center of the 
 building and rising 165 feet above the ground, is reached by 
 eight elevators. These elevators naturally form a part of the 
 transportation exhibit, and as they also carry passengers to 
 the various galleries, a fine view of the interior of the build- 
 ing may easily be obtained. The main galleries of this build- 
 ing, because of the abundant elevator facilities, prove very 
 accessible to visitors. 
 
 The main building measures 960 by 250 feet. From this 
 extends westward to Stony Island avenue an enormous annex, 
 covering about nine acres. This is one story in height. In 
 it may be seen the more bulky exhibits. Along the central 
 avenue of the nave the visitor may see scores of locomotive 
 engines highly polished, and exceedingly novel. Willard A. 
 Smith has directed the collection of the transportation 
 exhibit. 
 
 The Manufactures and Liberal Arts building, George B. 
 Post, architect, is the largest building in the world. The main 
 roof of iron and glass spreads its giant spans 250 feet in air. 
 The galleries, 50 feet wide, circle the entire building, and pro- 
 jecting from these main galleries are 86 smaller galleries, 12 
 feet wide, from which visitors may survey the vast array of 
 exhibits on the 34 acres of floor space below. In the central 
 hall of this building, which is without a supporting pillar under 
 its roof, 755 persons could be seated, allowing each 6 
 square feet of space 
 
 Its unequalled size makes it one of the architectural wonders 
 of the world. It is three times larger than the Cathedral of 
 St. Peter, in Rome. It is four times larger than the old 
 Roman Colosseum, which seated 80,000 persons. If the great 
 pyramid Cheops could be removed to Chicago, it could be 
 piled up in this building with the galleries left from which to 
 view the stone. There are 7,000,000 feet of lumber in the 
 
 402
 
 floor, and it required five car-loads of nails to fasten the 215 
 car-loads of flooring to the joists. The Auditorium is the 
 most notable building in Chicago, but twenty such buildings 
 could be placed on this floor. There are eleven acres of sky- 
 lights and forty car-loads of glass in the roof. The iron and 
 steel structure of this roof would build two Brooklyn bridges, 
 while there is in it 1400 tons more metal than in the Eads 
 bridge at St. Louis. There are twenty-two main trusses in 
 the roof of the central hall, and it required 600 flat cars to 
 bring them from the iron works to Chicago. These trusses 
 are twice the size of the next largest in existence, which are 
 90 feet high and span 250 feet. The latter are in the Penn- 
 sylvania Railroad depot at Jersey City. 
 
 Here are a few facts regarding the size of the building and 
 its various parts: Dimensions, 1,687x787 feet; height of 
 walls, 66 feet; height of four center pavilions, 122 feet; 
 height of four corner pavilions, 97 feet ; height of roof over 
 central hall, 237.6 feet ; height clear, from the floor, 202.9 
 feet ; span of truss, 382 feet ; width of truss at base, 14 feet ; 
 at hip, 32 feet ; at apex, 10 feet ; weight of truss, 300,000 
 pounds; floor area, including galleries, 44 acres; cost, $1,700,- 
 ooo ; material, 17,000,000 feet of lumber ; 12,000,000 pounds 
 of steel in trusses of central hall ; 2,000,000 pounds of iron in 
 roof of nave. In the gallery space of this mammoth struc- 
 ture will be displayed the interesting and instructive exhibit 
 of liberal arts, embracing education, music, hygiene, medi- 
 cine and surgery, books and literature, engineering and archi- 
 tecture. James Allison and Selim B. Peabody have charge 
 of the show in the manufactures and liberal arts departments. 
 
 In the Electrical building, where Prof. J. P. Barrett, Chi- 
 cago's veteran electrician, has charge, Architects Van Brunt & 
 Howe, of Kansas City, have provided a structure especially 
 designed for illumination at night. There are ten towers and 
 four domes, the tallest two towers being each 195 feet high. 
 The floor area is 9.7 acres. A striking feature of this build- 
 
 43
 
 ing is a heroic statue of Benjamin Franklin. The exterior of 
 the building is richly decorated, and the pediments, friezes, 
 panels and spandrils have received a decoration of figures in 
 relief, with architectural motifs, the general tendency of which 
 is to illustrate the purposes of the building. The display ot 
 electricity and electrical appliances presented in this building 
 is the most complete exhibit of the kind ever made. 
 
 C. B. Atwood, designer-in-chief of the construction depart- 
 ment of the fair, conceived the palatial Fine Arts building, 
 where Halsey C. Ives has got together many of the great 
 paintings of the world. Unlike the other exposition buildings, 
 the Art Palace is constructed of brick, covered with staff. 
 Although designed as a temporary structure, it is necessarily 
 fire-proof, the walls being brick, and the roof, floors and 
 galleries iron. The main building, which is Ionic in 
 style, is entered by four great portals, richly ornamented 
 with architectural sculpture, and approached by broad 
 flights of steps. The walls of the loggia of the colonnades 
 are highly decorated with mural paintings, illustrating the 
 history and progress of the arts. The frieze of the exterior 
 walls and the pediments of the principal entrances are 
 ornamented with sculptures and portraits in bas-relief of the 
 masters of ancient art. 
 
 In Administration building, the masterly conception of 
 Richard M. Hunt, are located the offices of the exposition 
 management. This noble achievement of modern architecture 
 is universally admitted to be the artistic triumph of the fair. 
 Connected with the grand central dome, which is coated with 
 aluminium bronze, at a cost of $54,000, are four pavilions, 
 four stories in height. Around the base of this dome, on the 
 corners of the pavilions, are groups of statuary, emblematic of 
 art and science. The general design of -the building is in the 
 style of the French renaissance. The first story is in the Doric 
 order, the second the Ionic. The interior of the building 
 exceeds in beauty and splendor even the magnificent exterior. 
 
 404
 
 Administration Building.
 
 The Government building, designed by Architect Windrum, 
 does not meet with the favor of the critics. Its situation is 
 one of the most delightful in the park. The organic lines are 
 those of the capitol at Washington. Its central dome is impos- 
 ing, but at a distance is lost in the magnitude of the structure. 
 The dome is purely Roman and suggests that of St. 
 Paul's Cathedral at London. Many features of the building 
 suggest the Italian renaissance. The main and central entrances 
 follow that period of architecture. The interior, or that 
 portion devoted to artistic embellishments, is a comparative 
 failure. The dome, or rotunda, is supported by columns of 
 vivid and shaded green, in imitation of marble. 
 
 The Woman's building, designed by Sophia B. Hayden, is 
 chaste and beautiful. On the first floor are located a model 
 hospital and kindergarten, and much space is devoted through- 
 out to reform and charity work. A feature is the roof garden 
 and cafe. 
 
 The naval exhibit may be properly classed among the main 
 buildings of the exposition. It consists of a structure that is 
 to all outward appearance a full-sized model of one of the new 
 coast line battle ships. It is erected on piling on the lake 
 front in the northeast portion of the park. It is surrounded by 
 water and has the appearance of being moored to a wharf. 
 The structure has all the fittings that belong to an actual ship. 
 Its dimensions are as follows: Length, 348 feet; width amid- 
 ships, 69 feet 3 inches; from the main deck to water line, 12 
 feet. 
 
 HOUSES OF THE STATES. 
 
 All the states and territories participate in the exposition. 
 
 The following thirty-one states and two territories have made 
 
 appropriations through their legislatures: 
 
 Arizona $ 30,000 
 
 California 300,000 
 
 Colorada 100,000 
 
 Delaware 10,000 
 
 406
 
 Carried forward $ 440,000 
 
 Idaho 20,000 
 
 Illinois 800,000 
 
 Indiana 75,oo 
 
 Iowa 130,000 
 
 Kentucky 100,000 
 
 Louisiana 36,000 
 
 Maine 40,000 
 
 Maryland 60,000 
 
 Massachusetts 150,000 
 
 Michigan 100,000 
 
 Minnesota 50,000 
 
 Missouri 1 50,000 
 
 Montana 50,000 
 
 Nebraska 50,000 
 
 New Hampshire 25,000 
 
 New Jersey 70,000 
 
 New Mexico 25,000 
 
 New York 300,000 
 
 North Carolina 25,000 
 
 North Dakota 25,000 
 
 Ohio 125,000 
 
 Pennsylvania 300,000 
 
 Rhode Island 50,000 
 
 Vermont ' 15,000 
 
 Virginia 25,000 
 
 Washington 100,000 
 
 West Virginia 40,000 
 
 W isconsin 65,000 
 
 Wyoming 30,000 
 
 Total $3,441,000 
 
 These eight states have raised funds by stock subscrip- 
 
 tions: 
 
 Alabama $ 20,000 
 
 Arkansas 40,000 
 
 Florida 50,000 
 
 Georgia 100,000 
 
 Kansas 100,000 
 
 Oregon 50,000 
 
 South Dakota 25,000 
 
 Texas 30,000 
 
 Total $41 5,000 
 
 407
 
 Illinois furnishes by far the most pretentious of the state 
 buildings, and it may be classed as one of the great exposition 
 structures. The plan of the building forms a Greek cross, 
 whose main axis is 450 feet long by 160 feet wide, while the 
 shorter axis is 285 feet long with an average width of 98 feet. 
 At the intersection of the arms of the cross rises the dome, 
 with a diameter of 75 feet at the base, and a height of 1 52 feet at 
 the top of the inner dome. At the east and west are two large 
 entrances, at either side of which are rooms extending the 
 entire width of the building, and about 29 feet deep, occupying 
 the whole height, which is divided into three stories. The 
 rooms at the east end are chiefly used for school exhibition 
 purposes, a large one on the ground floor being fitted up as a 
 model kindergarten. Beyond this extends the great exhibition 
 hall, 381 feet long. 
 
 The design of the Arkansas building follows classic models, 
 it being in the French " Rococo" style of architecture, as 
 Arkansas was originally settled by the French. The exterior 
 is in plaster and ornamental staff work, tinted in light color. 
 The interior is tinted, and the ornamental work is brought out 
 in gold. The building has a ground area of 66 by 92 feet. 
 From a large circular veranda, which runs the width of the 
 building, an elliptical entrance opens to the rotunda, 30 by 30 
 feet, lighted by a central dome. In the center of the rotunda 
 is a fountain of Hot Springs crystals, lighted by electricity. 
 
 Next to Illinois California shows the largest state building 
 at the fair. Its dimensions are 144 by 435 feet. It is in the 
 style of architecture of the old California mission buildings. 
 The exterior is of plain plaster, artificially seamed and cracked, 
 giving it the appearance of the old mission buildings, while 
 recessed entrances give the walls that appearance of depth 
 and solidity characteristic of the old buildings. The south 
 front is a reproduction of the old mission church at San 
 Diego. 
 
 The Colorado building is in the Spanish renaissance style 
 
 408
 
 of architecture. The whole exterior is in staff of an ivory 
 color, and in the salient features of the design profusely orna- 
 mented, the ornamentation comparing to fine advantage with 
 the broad, plain surfaces of the building. The striking feat- 
 ure of the design is two slender. Spanish towers, 98 feet high, 
 rising from either side of the main entrance, on the east. 
 
 Connecticut shows a type of the old colonial residence, with 
 circular windows and piazza, and Florida's building is a repro- 
 duction of Fort Marion, St. Augustine. Indiana's house is in 
 the style of a French chateau. Iowa has a corn palace. 
 Kansas builds a typical house, and Maine's home is of granite 
 from the sea coast. 
 
 Massachusetts reproduces the historic John Hancock resi- 
 dence, which, until the year 1867, stood on Beacon Hill, 
 Boston, near the state capitol. The building is three stories 
 high, surmounted in the center by a cupola. The exterior is 
 of staff, in imitation of cut granite. It follows the lines of the 
 old house sufficiently to recall the original to the minds of 
 those who have seen it. Like the original, it is surrounded 
 by a terrace, raised above the street, and has in front and on 
 one side a court, filled with old-fashioned flowers and foliage, 
 in keeping with the character of the building. 
 
 Minnesota, Missouri, Montana and Nebraska have erected 
 handsome structures after approved styles of architecture. 
 The mountains of New Hampshire probably suggested the 
 Swiss cottage for its club house. The architecture of New 
 York's building is that of a big summer house, after the man- 
 ner of an Italian villa. Among the state buildings it ranks in 
 size next to Illinois and California. It is three stories high, 
 being 57 ^ ee t from the ground to the cornice. The exterior 
 is in staff, in imitation of marble, and in keeping with the style 
 of the main exposition buildings. Its decked roof is sur- 
 mounted and confined by a heavy balustrade. Each pedestal 
 of the balustrade supports a large Italian vase, in which grows 
 a bay-tree, giving the building, together with its other char- 
 
 410
 
 acteristics, the air of a Pompeiian house. On the north and 
 south ends of the building are circular porticoes, in each of 
 which is a fountain. The general dimensions are 160 feet 
 front by 105 feet deep. A broad flight of steps, guarded by 
 Roman lions, leads to the arched entrance. 
 
 Ohio shows a colonial house, and Pennsylvania's home is an 
 exact reproduction of old Independence Hall, having its 
 entrances, bell-tower, and spire. The famous independence 
 bell hangs in the tower. The rotunda within the entrance is 
 finished in tile and slate, like the old hall. The building is 
 rectangular in form, two stories high, with a ground area of 1 10 
 by 1 66 feet. Piazzas 20 feet wide surround the building, and 
 over them are verandas, with protecting balustrade. Outside 
 staircases, right and left to the rear, lead to the garden on the 
 roof. The outer walls to the roof line are of Philadelphia 
 pressed brick. Above the main entrance is the coat of arms of 
 the state, in bas-relief, and on either side of it are heroic 
 statues of Penn and Franklin. 
 
 Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and West 
 Virginia have characteristic houses. Wisconsin's house is of 
 native marble. 
 
 In all, there are over 400 separate structures on the fair 
 grounds, exclusive of booths, and there are 200 acres under 
 roof, 150 of which belong to exposition buildings proper, the 
 other 50 acres to concession buildings. 
 
 FINE ARTS AT THE FAIR. 
 
 The fine art collection at the fair not only far surpasses 
 every former American exhibition of the kind, but equals the 
 European standard of such exhibitions. There are several 
 reasons for this. The amount of space granted to the artists 
 of the world is but a fraction of what they desired and 
 asked for but this limitation of space has very largely 
 enhanced the standard of excellence. It is no disparagement 
 
 411
 
 of the 10,000 works of art to say that they have been rejected 
 by the World's Fair juries of selection. The works of art 
 selected are representative. They are as numerous as such 
 broad representation of the thousands of the world's artists 
 made possible. Another reason is that there is a better repre- 
 sentation from a greater number of nations than has ever 
 been brought together at any previous exposition. The 
 responses from foreign governments and the enthusiasm of 
 foreign artists, when the World's Fair art exhibit was thrown 
 open to them, far exceeded the most sanguine predictions of 
 two years ago. World's Fair visitors will therefore see not 
 only a great exhibit of American art, but the choicest produc- 
 tions of the world's great masters from across the sea. 
 
 The broad lines upon which the fine arts exhibit has been 
 planned will dispel the impression that statuary, oil and water 
 colors finish the category of fine arts. The application of 
 sculpture to architecture is illustrated on a scale that will create 
 admiration, and must prove educative to builders in this era 
 of advanced architecture. The World's Fair fine arts exhibit 
 of paintings is representative of all the different schools. 
 Lovers of the finesse in the French school will see master- 
 pieces by acknowledged leaders. The famous Dutch school, 
 the Russian, the less known but powerful Scandinavian, the 
 impressionist, and many others, will be represented by a 
 selection of the choicest productions from leaders. A critical 
 study of American art will not show characteristics of each of 
 the foreign schools, but distinct individuality. The American 
 section of the fine art exhibit will contain between 1500 and 
 2000 pieces, while Germany contributes 900 pieces, France 
 800, Dutch artists 300, England 600, Austria 300, Denmark 
 250, Sweden 200, Italy 600, Norway 180 and Belgium 400. 
 
 Foreign governments take care of the selection, installation 
 and insurance of the exhibits from their own artists. The 
 American artist exhibitors insure their own works. In the 
 case of valuable loan collections from private galleries, the 
 
 412
 
 exposition company carries the insurance. It were idle to 
 speculate as to the monetary value of the art collections. 
 Three paintings alone have been insured for $107,000, and 
 the commercial value of one painting is placed at $70,000. 
 There are, of course, hundreds of paintings that are not for 
 sale at any price. 
 
 Germany, France, England, Holland, Belgium, Norway, 
 Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Poland, Austria, Austria-Hun- 
 gary, Italy and Spain, applied for 300,000 square feet of wall 
 space at the World's Fair, but the total wall space in the art 
 galleries amount to only 200,000 square feet. After reserving 
 35,000 square feet to American art, Chief Ives had 165,000 
 square feet of wall space to give foreign countries. Although 
 little more than half what they asked for, this space is still 
 more than double the foreign space in the Centennial art 
 galleries of 1876. 
 
 The countries represented officially in the exhibit are 
 Germany, France, Great Britain, Austria, Spain, Italy, Bel- 
 gium, Holland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Canada, 
 Mexico and Japan. Next to the United States comes France 
 with 29,201 square feet, then Germany, Great Britain, Italy, 
 Belgium, Austria, and so on down to Mexico, which received 
 all it asked for 1,500 square feet. In previous art exposi- 
 tions, French art has been poorly represented when the exposi- 
 tion was held in Germany, and the Germans have withheld 
 their art works when the exposition w r as held in France, but 
 at Jackson Park there is nothing to interfere with a broadly 
 representative foreign exhibit. Each of the foreign govern- 
 ments appointed its own art commission. In France, M. 
 Proust, who was minister of fine arts under the Gambetta 
 regime, headed the commission. II. W. Mesdag, the 
 famous painter, headed the art commission for the Nether- 
 lands. For England the Royal Society of Arts, headed by 
 Sir Frederick Leigh ton, president of the royal academy, 
 undertook the World's Fair exhibit. The German cominis- 
 
 414
 
 sion is headed by Herr Schnars-Alquist, the Belgium com- 
 mission by Professor Ernest Slingeneyer, the Italian commis- 
 sion by Signer Giulio Monteverde, the eminent sculptor. 
 These commissions, in securing work by the leading European 
 artists for the World's Fair, have had a dual success. Not 
 alone the glory of achievement in a special school, or in a spe- 
 cial line of art, has induced the foreign artists to send their 
 best works. There is the ever present knowledge that within 
 recent years the United States has become the greatest art 
 market in the world and that the purchasing power of Amer- 
 ican art patrons seems illimitable. 
 
 In securing a good representation of American art, advisory 
 committees were appointed in the leading art centers of the 
 United States and in European centers where American art 
 colonies flourished. By an interchange of service, these 
 advisory committees became juries of selection. For a special 
 exhibition of retrospective American art, a committee was 
 appointed to solicit from private American owners and 
 societies a loan collection that would best exhibit historical art 
 in America. This committee has selected about a hundred 
 pieces that will be hung together in one of the galleries. The 
 collection will show the work of native artists from the earliest 
 known specimens down to 1867. 
 
 One of the special noteworthy foreign exhibits is a col- 
 lection of casts duplicating productions of monumental works 
 shown in the Museum of Comparative Sculpture in the palace 
 of Trocadero, Paris. This illustrates the history of French 
 sculpture, and the development of fine arts in France in 
 medieval and later times. There is also a collection of casts 
 from ancient Greek sculpture, which has been sent as a 
 special art exhibit by the Greek government. There is a loan 
 collection of 150 foreign masterpieces, owned in America, 
 which are hung in three adjoining galleries in the west end of 
 the east pavilion. These are all the property of American col- 
 lectors. They include all the illustrious names among artists, 
 
 416
 
 from the dawn of this century to the present time. From 
 Boston and San Francisco, from New York, Chicago, Phila- 
 delphia and other centers, these pictures come. Millet, Rosa 
 Bonheur, Carolus-Doran, John Constable, Millais, Meissonier, 
 Alma Tadema and a score of other famous names are rep- 
 resented. There are also figures and groups in marble, casts 
 from original works by modern artists, models, monumental 
 decorations, figures and groups in bronze and bas-reliefs in 
 marble and bronze. 
 
 The lighting arrangements of the galleries are well nigh 
 faultless. All the pavilions, including rotundas, courts and 
 galleries, are lighted from above. The modulation of natural 
 light in the day-time is simple and effective. The system of 
 artificial lighting at night will in itself be a work of art. 
 Myriads of incandescent lamps will shed a mellow radiance 
 over courts and galleries. The electric lamps are arranged 
 in clusters above each court, and also in continuous rows 
 around the galleries. The attractiveness of the art galleries 
 at night will be one of the features of the exposition. 
 
 FOREIGN PARTICIPATION. 
 
 The lake shore, north of the big pier at Jackson Park, is 
 studded with a number of beautiful buildings, the houses of 
 the foreign nations represented at the fair. Interest in the 
 exposition is general throughout the world. Appropriations 
 by various countries amount to $6,589,779? as follows: 
 
 Argentine Republic $100,000 
 
 Austria 200,000 
 
 Belgium 57,900 
 
 Bolivia 30,700 
 
 Brazil 600,000 
 
 Colombia ItO.OOO 
 
 Costa Rica 150,ooo 
 
 Denmark 67,000 
 
 Danish West Indies 1,200 
 
 Ecuador 125,000 
 
 France 733,400 
 
 Germany 820,000 
 
 Great Britain 291,'J90 
 
 27 
 
 4*7 
 
 Hawaii $40,000 
 
 Hayti 25,000 
 
 Honduras 20,000 
 
 Italy 35,000 
 
 Japan 63^,765 
 
 Liberia 7,000 
 
 Mexico 150,000 
 
 Morocco '. 150,000 
 
 Netherlands 100,000 
 
 Dutch Guiana 10,000 
 
 Dutch West Indies 5,000 
 
 Nicaragua 31,000 
 
 Norway 56,280
 
 Barbadoes 5,840 
 
 Bermuda ,. 2,920 
 
 British Guiana 25,000 
 
 British Honduras 7,500 
 
 Canada 100,000 
 
 Cape Colony 50,000 
 
 Ceylon 65,600 
 
 India 30,000 
 
 Jamaica 24,333 
 
 Leeward Islands 6,000 
 
 New South Wales 243,325 
 
 New Zealand 27,500 
 
 Tasmania 10,000 
 
 Trinidad 20,000 
 
 Greece 57,900 
 
 Orange Free State 7,500 
 
 Paraguay 100,000 
 
 Peru 140,000 
 
 Russia 400,000 
 
 Salvador 12,500 
 
 San Domingo 25,000 
 
 Spain 214,000 
 
 Cuba 25,000 
 
 Switzerland 23,160 
 
 Sweden 108,000 
 
 Turkey 17,466 
 
 Uruguay 24,000 
 
 Venezuela 30,000 
 
 Total $6,589,779 
 
 Guatemala 200,000 
 
 In all, 50 foreign nations and 37 colonies take part in the 
 exposition. Germany, France, Spain, Russia and Japan make 
 the finest displays. Germany's building is a work of the high- 
 est art. It is executed in polished woods, with a wealth of the 
 most costly stained glass, and each detail worked out with the 
 elaborateness and thoroughness characteristic of this govern- 
 ment. The exterior decorations are equaled only by the 
 interior, and the stately edifice, with its sightly turrets and 
 graceful roof, will be a mecca for visitors. It is the costliest 
 and generally conceded to be the finest foreign building on 
 the grounds. In its dome the Society of Bochum have hung 
 a chime of bells, intended, after the fair, for the use of the 
 Cathedral of Mercy at Berlin. These bells are masterpieces 
 of the German art of bronze founding. The walls of the 
 building are partly of stone and partly of plaster and are 
 elaborately decorated and painted with the escutcheons of 
 the states of united Germany. In the Manufactures building 
 2500 exhibitors are representing Germany, especially in 
 drugs, pottery, jewelry, glass, laces and musical instruments. 
 The great Krupp gun exhibit is in a detached building, and, 
 in addition to a monster 1 27-ton gun the largest gun in the 
 world Krupp shows smaller guns, armor plates, shells, 
 etc. The Krupp exhibit is one of the finest on the grounds 
 and represents an outlay of half a million dollars. The Ger- 
 man electricians 30 strong have a splendid exhibit, in- 
 
 418
 
 eluding a looo-horse power dynamo, enormous search lights, 
 motors and instruments of applied science. The German mines 
 are represented by selected ores forming the great Branden- 
 burg gate, and by another exhibit showing a mine in detail, 
 including smelters and all mining machinery. The German 
 women, under the Empress Frederick, have shown great 
 interest in the fair and have sent a fine collection of paintings, 
 embroideries, laces, carvings, and illustrations of activity in 
 educational and charitable matters. In the fine arts, trans- 
 portation and horticultural lines the German display is com- 
 plete and excellent. 
 
 Germany's Building. 
 
 Spain naturally takes a prominent place in a Columbus 
 exposition. Its gorgeous building will contain an exhibition 
 which promises to be unique as well as interestingly beautiful. 
 The Columbus exposition held in Spain last year has given up 
 all its treasures to make the show complete. Convents and 
 monasteries have been pillaged in a friendly way and their 
 treasures brought into the glaring light of a World's Fair. The 
 forest and the field will add their quota to the list. Historic 
 
 419
 
 relics from a land teeming with romance will add a charm to 
 the Spanish building. The latter itself is a poem in architect- 
 ure and is a reproduction of the exchange at Valencia. 
 
 France sends the finest display the nation has ever shown 
 outside its own borders. The surpassing exhibit in the Manu- 
 factures building will not overshadow the gay array of rich and 
 rare gems in the white building by the lake. Here all that is 
 delicate and artistic, all that is characteristic of La Belle 
 France, will be displayed before those who have an eye for 
 beauty in utility. It is said that there is a reason below the 
 surface for this magnificent display. France's old foe on the 
 
 British Building. 
 
 battlefield and rival in arts and manufactures, Germany, is 
 across the way with another brilliant display. 
 
 Italy, the land of olives, claims Columbus as a son, and 
 therefore she has resolved to do him honor in the most beauti- 
 ful way. Italy is rich in treasures of art, and many of 
 
 these are shown in the building set apart for them. The sub- 
 jects of King Humbert have been tardy in exhibiting, but their 
 display will not lack anything by delay. The silver workers, 
 
 420
 
 the wood-carvers, the bronze-casters and the cameo-cutters 
 will exhibit superb specimens of their handiwork. 
 
 The English display is not as extensive as it might be, but 
 endeavors to show that England is still supreme in certain 
 branches of manufactures. The Victoria house, standing on the 
 edge of the lake, is meant for an exhibition of such furniture as 
 one finds in typical English homes. It needs only the shady elms, 
 the long avenue of beeches, a well-kept lawn with stretching 
 fields to make it look like an English country house. In all 
 the departments English exhibitors are well represented. 
 
 Japan's quaint little national houses are located on Wooded 
 Island, in the lagoon, between Manufactures building and 
 Horticultural hall. They are the only buildings that will be 
 allowed to stand in the park after the fair, save perhaps the 
 palace of Fine Arts. Russia, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, 
 Switzerland, Greece, Bulgaria, Belgium, Holland and numer- 
 ous other countries make splendid showings, both as nations 
 and through their individual exhibitors. Canada, Brazil, 
 Mexico and the South American countries are all excellently 
 represented. 
 
 MIDWAY PLAISANCE. 
 
 The Midway Plaisance is the overflow from the regular 
 fair grounds in Jackson Park. It is a strip of land 600 
 feet wide, almost a mile long, and connects Jackson with 
 Washington Park. In the plaisance are located all the 
 amusements and attractions outside of the exposition 
 proper. In all, about 40 shows occupy the 80 acres of the 
 plaisance. People from all the corners and ends of the earth 
 will meet, exhibiting the characteristic manufactures and pro- 
 ducts of their distant homes, and their social, religious, domes- 
 tic and business customs. As the more advanced nations are 
 represented in the main exposition buildings, it has remained 
 for exhibitors in the plaisance to show in miniature the life of 
 many parts of the world about which little is practically known 
 
 421
 
 in America. This plaisance will be over a mile of wonders to 
 the simply curious, an inexhaustible field for the student of 
 sociology, and the most fascinating resort for thousands of 
 visitors every day during the great fair. 
 
 Among the shows to interest the visitors will be the 
 German village; the Austrian village; Bohemian glass fac- 
 tory; Dahomey village, with sixty native warriors of both 
 sexes; the captive balloon, which carries twenty people to a 
 height of 1 500 feet ; the ice railway, practically a toboggan 
 slide of artificial ice ; international beauty show, represented 
 by women of various nations, wearing native costumes and 
 busied with the occupations of their ordinary home life; the 
 Japanese bazaar, with its peculiar fire department; the 
 panoramas of the volcano Kilauea, and of the Bernese Alps; 
 a Chinese village, with a native theatre and 200 native artists; 
 the Hungarian dance hall, theatre and cafe ; Lapland village ; 
 original model of St. Peter's at Rome; model of the Eiffel 
 tower; Moorish labyrinth; the Turkish village, with horses 
 from the Sultan's stables; the Barre Sliding railway, run by 
 water power; natatorium;and the great Hagenbeck animal 
 show from Hamburg. This exhibit consists of trained animals, 
 including lions, tigers, dogs, cattle, horses, elephants, bears, 
 etc., all of which go through various performances \vhich 
 exemplify wonderful results in scientific training. In addition 
 to the other animals, there are 200 monkeys and 1000 parrots. 
 The animal pavilion seats 5000 persons. 
 
 The German village consists of a group of houses represent- 
 ative of a German village of the present time, and, in con- 
 nection with this, a German town of mediaeval times. There 
 are the houses of the Upper Bavarian mountains, the houses 
 of the Black Forest, a Westphalian farm house and other 
 typical scenes of German home life of various times and 
 districts. In these houses is installed original household 
 furniture, so characteristic as to be readily distinguished as 
 belonging to particular classes. There are thirty-six different 
 
 422
 
 buildings, all distinctively German. Emperor William gave 
 his sanction for their construction, and also granted the pro- 
 moters the privilege of recruiting two military bands from the 
 German army. Besides the village there is a reproduction of 
 a country fair, two German restaurants, a German concert gar- 
 den, a water tower, and an ethnological museum. In the 
 center is a castle, sixteenth century style, with moat and pali- 
 sades. Inside this castle will be found the most famous col- 
 lection of weapons in Germany. There are sixty iron dum- 
 mies in uniform and equipment, giving a complete and true 
 picture of the weapons and armor of Germany. 
 
 The town hall of the village will be used as a museum. 
 Goods will be shown and sold in the village market place. In 
 the concert garden, two military bands will furnish the music. 
 These are composed of forty people from the Garde regiment 
 and twenty-six from the Garde du Corps. 
 
 The street in Cairo is next to the German village, and will 
 undoubtedly be one of the most entertaining and instructive 
 shows on the plaisance. The street is lined with mosques, 
 dance halls, and shops filled with wares from Arabia and the 
 Soudan. There are many famous curiosities from the 
 museums in Cairo and Alexandria in a special museum. 
 Dogs and children and the general appearance will all remind 
 the visitor of a street in Cairo, and fortune-tellers will be on 
 hand. 
 
 The Irish village, just west of the glass exhibit, is intended 
 principally for the sale of Irish laces and linens. These will 
 be made by Irish women and exhibited in the building so the 
 visitor may see for himself just how the famous Irish goods 
 are made. The intention is to represent a perfect model of 
 the ancient Castle of Donegal, famous in song and story, refit- 
 ting some of the rooms in appropriate style to contain the 
 exhibit. Besides the lace makers, there will be Irish girls spin- 
 ning, weaving and making wool and butter. 
 
 The so-called Javanese exhibit both people and things 
 
 424
 
 come from the Fiji, Philippine, and Solomon Islands, Samoa, 
 Java, Borneo, New Zealand, and the Polynesian Archipelago. 
 Among other features of this exhibit will be a building sixty 
 feet long, in which the people from the Philippine Islands will 
 be employed in making cigars and peculiar kinds of cloth. A 
 theater with dancing girls will be one of the shows. The 
 Javanese inclosure and buildings are made of bamboo. All 
 the houses were built in Java and had been left standing until 
 the ship for Chicago was ready to sail. This village was got- 
 ten up by a syndicate of Dutch merchants. The great event 
 in its history will be the visit of the Sultan of Johore, who will 
 come to the fair during the month of July, with his suite of 
 native Rajahs. 
 
 The Ferris wheel is an exhibit in itself. It is 250 feet in 
 diameter, is swung on a 56-ton axle which is 36 inches in diam- 
 eter, 45 feet long and is the largest piece of steel ever forged. 
 It rests on steel towers 137 feet high and will be revolved 
 perpendicularly by a 2OOO-horse power engine. On its 
 perimeter will be hung 36 cars, each of which will hold 60 
 persons. On it 3000 incandescent lights will be used. The 
 weight of the wheel complete is 2300 tons. 
 
 The end of the plaisance is devoted to an encampment for 
 soldiers and for military display. In the plaisance also are 
 located divisions of the police and fire departments. 
 
 THE EXHIBITS. 
 
 The interior view of the great Manufactures building is 
 like a glimpse of wonderland. In the center of the 
 building rises a clock tower 135 feet, from which float 
 the sweetest peals of chimes to mark the passing hours. 
 Around this clock tower are quartered the exhibits from the 
 United States, France, Germany, Great Britain and the other 
 great powers of the earth. Beyond lie exhibits not nation- 
 alized. France has a pavilion in this building, but neither the 
 United States nor Great Britain are so represented. The Ger- 
 
 426
 
 man pavilion is the most beautiful thing in the great hall. Its 
 corner entrance, facing the clock tower, is flanked by two 
 monumental towers sixty feet high and surmounted by golden 
 eagles, which arrest the attention even from a distance. But 
 its most striking feature is the three ornamented iron gates, 
 thirty feet high, in the center of the east front, which are cer- 
 tainly marvels in that line of art. There are also canopies, 
 vestibules, colonnades, arches, statuary, painting, gilding, and 
 marble work almost without end. In general, the articles in 
 the Manufactures building are divided into 35 groups, 400 
 classes, and various sub-classes. All smaller manufactured 
 articles not otherwise provided for are to be seen in this build- 
 ing. In the gallery of the Manufactures building are the 
 exhibits of the department of liberal arts, chiefly educational 
 and natural history exhibits. The department of Ethnology 
 and Archaeology is housed in a special building. Native 
 American, Greek, Roman, Assyrian and Egyptian archasolog- 
 ical exhibits are remarkably full. Collections are also seen 
 from British Guiana, Africa, the West Indies, Mexico, Brazil, 
 Paraguay, Honduras and various other places. Russia has a 
 complete exhibit of customs and costumes of the Slavic races. 
 The folk-lore division pays great attention to the evolution of 
 modern games from those of barbarous races. The most 
 interesting ethnological exhibit is made by the various tribes 
 of North American Indians, including the Navajos, Apaches, 
 Blackfeet, Flatheads, Penobscots, Sioux, Winnebagoes, Sen- 
 ecas, Mohawks, Iroquois and various other tribes. There are 
 also cliff dwellers, Peruvian mummies, Esquimaux and Indians 
 from the far north. 
 
 The department of mines presents an exhibit that is remark- 
 able for its fullness and detail. The classification includes 
 twenty-eight groups, embracing minerals, ores, native metals, 
 gems, crystals and geological specimens; mineral combus- 
 tibles, oils, natural gas; building, grinding and polishing stone, 
 graphites, asbestos, limestones, salts, fertilizers, pigments, 
 
 427
 
 mineral waters, aluminum, tin, zinc, cobalt, antimony, arsenic, 
 alloys and amalgams. All the processes for the extraction of 
 the metals are shown, with practical illustrations in assaying. 
 There are also miniature mining plants, with all the tools for 
 boring, lighting, ventilation, hoisting, crushing, pulverizing, 
 timbering. The history of mining and the literature of the 
 industry are offered with great completeness, while models of 
 early mining are shown in contrast to the improved machinery 
 of to-day. 
 
 The electrical display is one of dazzling brilliancy. Amer- 
 ica leads in the extent of her exhibit, but France and Germany 
 excel in the excellence of hand-made machinery. All the 
 myriad phenomena of electricity and magnetism will be repre- 
 sented, including the electric telegraph, signals and cables; 
 dynamical electricity, batteries, machines for the generation of 
 electricity; appliances for the measurement of the force; for 
 the transmission and storage; motors; telephones, phono- 
 graphs, telautographs, kinetographs; plants for furnishing 
 heat, power and light; appliances for use in surgical and 
 dental work and in therapeutics; appliances that will relieve 
 pain and others that will destroy life; appliances for 
 use in chemistry, metalling, and kindred sciences; instru- 
 ments for taking photographs of objects hundreds of miles 
 away. The lighting of the grounds will in itself be the great 
 electrical exhibit. Of the 24,ooo-horse power furnished for 
 the exposition, 17,000 is used for electricity. In all, there are 
 2877 arc lights in the main buildings, and 56,622 incandescent 
 lamps on all the grounds. 
 
 In Transportation building, the locomotive supply, especially 
 the foreign one, is full and interesting. Every type of engine 
 and car, now or formerly in use, is shown here. The exhibit 
 includes street cars, vehicles for common roads, vessels, 
 aerial, pneumatic and other forms of locomotion, and also 
 models of the methods of naval warfare and coast defence. 
 
 In the Woman's building there is a model kindergarten, a 
 
 428
 
 kitchen in which the latest methods of cooking are illustrated, 
 and a magnificent collection of the work of women the world 
 over. 
 
 The most striking feature of the Fisheries building is the 
 exhibit made by the United States Fish Commission. One 
 entire section of the building is given up to their aquaria, and 
 in them are shown almost every species of salt and fresh 
 water fish. In the main building the great sea-coast nations 
 of the world make exhaustive exhibits of the products of their 
 fisheries. Models of fishing fleets at their work and speci- 
 mens of all manner of fish tackle and traps are also dis- 
 played. 
 
 In Machinery hall the great Allis engine is the chief 
 attraction. While this engine is larger by many thousand 
 horse power than that which furnished the motive power for 
 the entire machinery at the Centennial Exposition, it is only 
 one of nearly 50 of the great machines which drive the many 
 wheels of the World's Fair. 
 
 The crowning glory of the fair is the view from the east 
 front of the magnificent gilt-domed Administration building. 
 Directly in front is the beautiful McMonnies fountain, on either 
 side of w r hich are electric fountains, throwing prismatic streams 
 150 feet high. Then the grand basin, dotted with electric 
 launches and gay gondolas, flanked by patches of green-sward, 
 and rows of great figures of animals. At the farther end of 
 the basin stands French's golden statue of the Republic; on 
 either side are the Manufactures and Agricultural buildings, 
 the latter surmounted by the beautiful Diana; beyond all these 
 the white peristyle, its columns supporting heroic statues 
 and flanked on either side by the Casino and the Music hall, 
 and then, last of all, the great blue lake melting in the distance 
 with the blue of heaven. 
 
 Almost in front of the Manufactures building is the brick 
 ship the model of a United States cruiser that contains the 
 government naval exhibit. 
 
 430
 
 WORLD'S CONGRESS AUXILIARY. 
 
 The World's Congress Auxiliary constitutes the intellectual 
 and moral branch of the exposition. Tt is organized to pro- 
 vide for the presentation, by papers and discussion, of the 
 mental and moral status and achievements of the human race. 
 Under its auspices a series of congresses will be held in Chi- 
 cago during the progress of the fair, in which will participate 
 the leading professional men and women of the world. The 
 congresses will meet in the permanent Memorial Art Palace, 
 which the Chicago Art Institute and the exposition directory 
 have erected on the lake front at the foot of Adams street. 
 This will contain two large and several small audience rooms, 
 and, on occasion, the Auditorium will also be used. 
 
 The department of woman's progress will -hold the first 
 general congress of representative women of all countries, in 
 the middle of May. It will be followed at intervals one week 
 apart by the public press congress, the department of medi- 
 cine congress, the temperance congress, congress of the 
 department of moral and social reform, and also of com- 
 merce and finance. 
 
 The department of music includes the general divisions of 
 orchestral art, choral music, songs of the people, organ and 
 church music, musical art and literature, musical criticism and 
 history, opera houses and music halls. The congress of this 
 department will be held during the week commencing July 3 
 1893. 
 
 The department of literature includes the general divisions 
 of libraries, history, philology, authors, folk-lore and copy- 
 right. The congress of this department will commence on 
 July 10, 1893. 
 
 The department of education includes the general divisions 
 of higher institutions of learning and university extension; 
 public instruction, the kindergarten, manual and art training, 
 business and commercial education, education in civil law and
 
 28
 
 government, instruction of the deaf, education of the blind, 
 representative youth of public schools, college and university 
 students, college fraternities, psychology, experimental and 
 rational, physical culture, domestic and economic education, 
 agricultural education, authors and publishers. The con- 
 gresses of these general divisions will commence on July 17, 
 1893, and will be followed by the general educational con- 
 gress, in which all the departments of education will be prop- 
 erly represented. 
 
 The department of engineering includes the general divis- 
 ions of engineering; that of art includes the general divisions 
 of architecture, painting, sculpture, decorative art, photo- 
 graphic art, government patronage of art. The art congress 
 will begin July 31, 1893. 
 
 The department of government includes the general divis- 
 ions of jurisprudence and law reform, political and economic 
 reform, city government, executive administration, intellectual 
 property, arbitration and peace. Other congresses will be 
 held in the department of science and philosophy, labor, 
 religion, agriculture and public health, including the general 
 divisions of sanitary legislation, public health authorities, 
 governmental administration in relation to epidemics and con- 
 tagions, food inspection and other food problems. 
 
 FINANCES OF THE FAIR. 
 
 The value of exhibits at the fair undoubtedly exceeds $200,- 
 000,000 and the cost of making the display is estimated at 
 $60,000,000. This sum includes the amount expended in pre- 
 paring the grounds and main buildings, the foreign and state 
 buildings in making the foreign, state and individual exhibits 
 and the general expenses of conducting the fair. 
 
 The last statement of World's Fair finances submitted before 
 the opening of the gates on May i was issued by Auditor 
 Ackerman, of the local directory, April 15. This report 
 
 434
 
 showed that up to April i, 1893, there were spent in building 
 the fair $16,708,826.48 a sum equal to twice the total cost of 
 building the Paris exposition and at least $2,000,000 more 
 were spent during April. Of this enormous outlay, $14,411,- 
 506.74 have gone into the fair buildings proper, while $2,206,- 
 644 were spent in general expenses, salaries and dedication 
 day expenditures. Following are the figures let on contracts 
 made for work for the exposition proper: 
 
 CONTRACTS LET. AMOUNT 
 
 OK CONTRACT. 
 
 Administration building $ 463,213 
 
 Agricultural building 058,687 
 
 Galleries of fine arts 737,8 1 1 
 
 Dairy building 29,308 
 
 Electricity building 4 2 3>35o 
 
 Mines and Mining building 266,530 
 
 Forestry building 82,018 
 
 Fisheries building 217,672 
 
 Grounds and buildings office 61,665 
 
 Horticultural building 298,649 
 
 Machinery hall and boiler house I > 1 73>897 
 
 Manufactures and Liberal Arts building 1,727431 
 
 Art building, Lake-Front 200,000 
 
 Transportation building 483,183 
 
 Women's building 1 35>399 
 
 Propagating houses 3,65 1 
 
 Pumping station 36,736 
 
 Live Stock Exhibit building 62,259 
 
 Filters 20,000 
 
 Fencing 26,144 
 
 Water and sewer pipe and laying same 293,760 
 
 Water tank for locomotive and railroad material 174,863 
 
 Perron and train sheds 54,7' 
 
 Railway terminal station 225,384 
 
 Bridges 57,289 
 
 Grand fountains 122,300 
 
 Pumping works, city of Chicago 200,000 
 
 Choral hall 86,743 
 
 Anthropological building 85,666 
 
 Installing tools 7,35 
 
 Fire and police houses 75,^13 
 
 Police station, Hyde Park 47,59 
 
 Fire hydrants I 7,4 
 
 436
 
 AMOUNT 
 
 CONTRACTS LET. O F CONTRACT. 
 
 Fire and police alarm system $ !9,43 
 
 Hose and hose reels 75,35 
 
 Statue of Columbus 65,1 12 
 
 Statue of Benjamin Franklin 3,ooo 
 
 Statue of the Republic 9,467 
 
 Sculpture models and statuary 159,39 
 
 Piers and breakwaters 321,565 
 
 Accounting building 33,290 
 
 Finishing terraces and interior docking 197,979 
 
 Sewerage cleansing works 54,895 
 
 Sewerage ejectors 66,425 
 
 Ejector pits and stop gates 25,526 
 
 Roadways and sidewalks. . . 193,000 
 
 Roadway drainage '39,429 
 
 Warehouse for packing cases 35,863 
 
 Rent of land 75, 000 
 
 Seats and band stands 21,700 
 
 Rubber-covered wire and conductors 75,coo 
 
 Electric motors 5,5 
 
 Electric light plant 448,201 
 
 Arc lights and telephone circuits 213,282 
 
 Board of Architects 124,050 
 
 Garbage crematory 2,341 
 
 Children's building 22,218 
 
 Shoe and Leather building 89,442 
 
 Boiler plant 164,184 
 
 Music hall, Casino, and Peristyle 366,253 
 
 Oil plant 16,962 
 
 Saw mill 21 ,794 
 
 Uniforms for guards 30,000 
 
 Colonnade and Obelisk 98,945 
 
 Elevation of Illinois Central tracks 200,000 
 
 Temporary viaducts 28,600 
 
 Fire boat 7,5 
 
 Monastery La Rabida t 24,302 
 
 Public Comfort Building 26,828 
 
 Launches 12,625 
 
 Runways and traveling cranes 136,500 
 
 Machinery, belting, and shafting 55,753 
 
 Entrances and ticket booths 88,500 
 
 Coloring and decorating 158,216 
 
 Total $12,469,201 
 
 437
 
 In addition are the costs of foreign and state buildings, 
 foreign, state and individual exhibits, and of general running 
 expenses of the fair, including police, fire, janitor service, sal- 
 aries, music, etc. 
 
 Exclusive of the money spent by individual exhibitors, the 
 following is a statement of moneys raised for the exposi- 
 tion : 
 
 Appropriated by foreign governments $ 5,675,298.00 
 
 The compilation made by the Department of Pub- 
 licity and Promotion, from all sources 896,231 .00 
 
 Contributions by states of the Union 6,020,850.00 
 
 Original appropriation by United States govern- 
 ment 1,500,000.00 
 
 Appropriation by government of five million souvenir 
 
 coins 2,500,000.00 
 
 Appropriation by government for bronze medals and 
 
 diplomas 103,000.00 
 
 Appropriation for government board, 1892 408,250.00 
 
 Appropriation for government board, 1893 150,750.00 
 
 Appropriation for national commission, 1891 95,500.00 
 
 Appropriation for national commission, 1892 230,000.00 
 
 Appropriation for national commission, 1893 211,375.00 
 
 Receipts from stockholders 5,553,760.80 
 
 City of Chicago 5,000,000.00 
 
 Six per cent debenture bonds, due January i, 1894. . 4,094,500.00 
 
 Gate receipts to April 1 234,853.00 
 
 Interest 88,963.00 
 
 Miscellaneous receipts 295,504.75 
 
 Grand Total $33j 2 4 8 )93-55 
 
 As the stockholders are, almost without exception, Chica- 
 goans, it will be seen that the city has thus directly contributed 
 $10,553,760.80 to the fair, besides purchasing debenture 
 bonds and paying an enormous amount of the installation 
 costs. At first fostered and agitated in Chicago, the great 
 enterprise, although largely conducted under national auspices, 
 is, as these figures prove, essentially a Chicago institution. 
 
 438
 
 DEDICATION AND OPENING CEREMONIES. 
 
 [Opening chorus of Harriet Monroe's "Commemoration Ode," read and sung at the 
 dedicatory ceremonies, October 2t, 1892.] 
 
 Columbia ! Men beheld thee rise 
 
 A goddess from the misty sea. 
 
 Lady of joy, sent from the skies, 
 
 The nations worshiped thee. 
 Thy brows were flushed with dawn's first light; 
 By foamy waves with stars bedight 
 
 Thy blue robe floated free. 
 
 Now let the sun ride high o'erhead, 
 
 Driving the day from shore to shore. 
 His burning tread we do not dread, 
 
 For thou art evermore 
 Lady of love whose smile shall bless, 
 Whom brave deeds win to tenderness, 
 
 Whose tears the loss restore. 
 
 Lady of hope thou art. We wait 
 
 With courage thy serene command. 
 Through unknown seas, toward undreamed fate, 
 
 We ask thy guiding hand. 
 On ! though sails quiver in the gale ! 
 Thou at the helm, we can not fail. 
 
 On to God's time-veiled strand ! 
 
 Lady of beauty ! thou shall win 
 
 Glory and power and length of days. 
 The'sun and moon shall be thy kin, 
 The stars shall sing thy praise. 
 All hail ! we bring thee vows most sweet 
 To strew before thy winged feet. 
 Now onward be thy ways ! 
 
 The fair was formally dedicated October 21, 1892, and 
 opened May i, 1893 each occasion being marked by appro- 
 priate ceremonies. Wednesday, October 19, there was a 
 grand ball, reception and banquet at the Auditorium, given in 
 honor of the invited guests President Harrison's cabinet, 
 Vice-President Morton, the Supreme Court of the United 
 States, the foreign diplomatic corps, many senators and mem- 
 bers of the House of Representatives, ex-President Hayes, the 
 
 440
 
 
 \
 
 governors of nearly all the states and territories, with their 
 official staffs, many specially commissioned representatives of 
 foreign countries, the high officers of the army and navy, and 
 thousands of the most distinguished citizens of the several 
 states of the Union. 
 
 Thursday was marked by an imposing civic parade, and 
 Friday was dedication day proper. 
 
 One hundred thousand persons witnessed the dedicatory 
 exercises in Manufactures and Liberal Arts building. 
 Director General Davis opened the ceremonies. He said: 
 
 LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : By virtue of my official position, it is my pleasurable 
 duty to present the noted personages who, at this hour, in their several functions, are to 
 contribute to the exercises with which we here dedicate the grounds and buildings of the 
 World's Columbian Exposition. Of the great nations of the world, the United States is 
 the youngest; our resources are equal to those of any other nation. Our sixty millions 
 of people are among the most intelligent, cultured, happy and prosperous of mankind. 
 But what we are and what we possess as a nation is not ours by purchase, nor by con- 
 quest, but by virtue of the rich heritage that was spread out beneath the sun and stars, 
 beneath the storms and rains and dews, beneath the frosts and snows, ages before a 
 David, a Homer, or a Virgil sang, or before Italy's humble and immortal son had 
 dreamed his dream of discovery. This rich heritage is ours, not by our own might, not 
 even by our own discovery, but ours by the gift of the Infinite. * * * A single cen- 
 tury has placed this people side by side with the oldest and most advanced nations of 
 the world ; nations with a history of a thousand years. But in the midst of our rejoicing, 
 no American citizen should forget our national starting point, and the quality of the 
 manhood on which was laid the very foundation of our government. Our fathers were 
 born under foreign flags. The very best brain, and nerve, and muscle, and conscience 
 of the older governments found their way to this western continent. Our ancestors 
 had the map of the world before them ; what wonder that they chose this land for their 
 descendants ! * * * The World's Columbian Exposition is the natural outgrowth 
 of this nation's place in history. Our continent, discovered by Christopher Columbus, 
 whose spirits were revived as his cause was espoused by the generous-hearted Queen of 
 Spain, has, throughout all the years from that time to this, been a haven to all who saw. 
 here the promise of requited toil, of liberty and of peace. The ceaseless, restless march 
 of civilization, westward, ever westward, has reached and passed the great lakes of 
 North America, and has founded on their farthest shore the greatest city of modern 
 times. Chicago, the peerless, has been selected for the great celebration which to-day 
 gives new fire to progress, and sheds its light upon ages yet to come. Established in the 
 heart of this continent, her pulse throbs with the quickening cunent of our national life, 
 and that this city was selected as the scene of this great commemorative festival was 
 the natural outgrowth of predestined events. Here all nations are to meet in peaceful, 
 laudable emulation on the fields of art, science and industry, on the fields of research, 
 invention and scholarship, and to learn the universal value of the discovery we com- 
 memorate ; to learn, as could be learned in no other way, the nearness of man to man, 
 the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of the human race. This, ladies and gentle- 
 men, is the exalted purpose of the World's Columbian Exposition. May it be fruitful of 
 its aim, and of peace forever to all the nations of the earth. 
 
 Following the Director General, Mayor Hempstead Wash- 
 burne delivered an address of welcome and tendered the free- 
 
 442
 
 dom of the city to the guests. Then the Director of Works, 
 D. H. Burnham, delivered the buildings to President Higin- 
 botham of the local directory, who in turn delivered them to 
 President Thomas W. Palmer of the National Commission. 
 In the absence of the President of the United States, Vice- 
 President Levi P. Morton then formally declared the fair to be 
 
 H. N. Higinbotham. 
 
 dedicated. Henry Watterson, Chauncey M. Depew and Mrs. 
 Potter Palmer also spoke, Cardinal Gibbons prayed, and after 
 the benediction had been spoken, the booming of the cannons 
 firing the national salute announced to the world that Chicago's 
 great work was done, the fair was dedicated and ceased to be 
 a local and became an international institution. 
 
 443
 
 On Monday, May i, 1893, Grover Cleveland, President of 
 the United States, formally opened the fair. An immense 
 crowd, estimated at from 300,000 to 500,000, filled the grounds. 
 Spectators there were from every country on the globe, and 
 almost every country was officially represented. In front of 
 the great stand before the Administration building, where the 
 representatives of over fifty nations, the World's Fair officers, 
 the President and his cabinet, the United States Supreme 
 Court, the diplomatic corps and other distinguished guests had 
 gathered, there was a great mass of men, blending together 
 all the races of humanity from orient and Occident, from north 
 and south, from races new and vigorous, and from races old 
 and disappearing. 
 
 First came a grand crash of martial music, when 600 musi- 
 cians, at the nod of Theodore Thomas, began John R. Paine's 
 " Columbian March." Then after a prayer, the reading of a 
 poem in honor of Columbus, and the orchestral overture of 
 Wagner's " Rienzi," Director General Davis spoke as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 The dedication of these grounds and buildings for the purpose of an international 
 exhibition took place on October 21 last, at which time they were accepted for the objects 
 to which they were destined by the action of the Congress of the United States. 
 
 This exposition is not the conception of any single mind ; it is not the result of any 
 single effort ; but it is the grandest conception of all the minds and the best obtainable 
 result of all the efforts put forth by all the people who have in any manner contributed 
 to its creation. 
 
 The great commanding agencies, through which the government has authorized this 
 work to proceed, are the National Commission, the corporation of the state of Illinois, 
 known as the World's Columbian Exposition, consisting of forty-five directors, and the 
 Board of Lady Managers, consisting of 115 women. To these great agencies, wisely 
 selected by Congress, each performing its special function, the gratitude of the people 
 of this country and the cordial recognition of all these friendly foreign representatives 
 are due. 
 
 The department of works and its many bureaus of artists, architects, engineers and 
 builders, have transformed these grounds, which twenty-one months ago were an 
 unsightly, uninviting and unoccupied stretch of landscape, into the beauty and splendor 
 of to-day. They have conspicuously performed their functions, and these grand ave- 
 nues, these Venetian waterways, the finished landscape, the fountains and sculptures and 
 colonnades, and these grand palaces stand out as a monument to their genius and 
 their skill, supplemented by the labor of that great army of skilled artisans and work- 
 men, all citizens of this republic. 
 
 The chiefs of the great departments, who have exploited this mighty enterprise and 
 gathered here the exhibits forming the picture that is set in this magnificent frame, have 
 confirmed the wisdom of their selection. No state or territory in the Union has escaped 
 their voice ; no land on the globe that has a language but has been visited, and the
 
 invitation of the President of the United States personally presented. Fortunately, at the 
 inception of this enterprise, our government was, and still is, at peace with the whole 
 world. Commissioners were sent to Europe, to Asia, to Australia, British North Amer- 
 ica, and to the islands of the seas ; so that to-day the whole world knows and is familiar 
 with the significance of the great peace festival we are about to inaugurate upon this 
 campus, and all the nations join in celebrating the event which it commemorates. 
 
 This enclosure, containing nearly seven hundred acres, covered by more than four 
 hundred structures, from the small state pavilion occupying an ordinary building site, 
 to the colossal structure of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts building, covering over 
 thirty acres, is filled and crowded with a display of the achievements and products of the 
 mind and hand of man such as has never before been presented to mortal vision. 
 
 The habits, customs and life of the peoples of our own and foreign lands are shown 
 in the variegated plaisance ; those stately buildings on the north are filled with the his- 
 torical treasures and natural products of our several states. The artistic, characteristic 
 and beautiful edifices, the headquarters of foreign commissions surrounding the gallery 
 of fine arts, which in itself will be an agreeable surprise to the American beholder, con- 
 stitute the grand central zone of social and friendly amenities among the different 
 peoples of the earth. * * * 
 
 To the foreign nations who have a representation upon these grounds never before 
 witnessed at any exposition, as shown by the grand exhibits they have brought here, and 
 the hundreds of official representatives of foreign governments who are present on this 
 occasion, we bow in grateful thanks. More than $6,000,000 have been officially appro- 
 priated for these commissions in furtherance of their participation in the exposition. 
 The great nations of Europe and their dependencies are all represented upon these 
 grounds. The governments of Asia and of Africa and the republics of the western 
 hemisphere, with but few exceptions, are here represented. 
 
 To the citizens and corporation of the city of Chicago who have furnished $11,000,000 
 as a contribution, and in addition have loaned the management $5,000,000 more, are due 
 the grateful acknowledgement of our own people, and of all the honored guests who 
 share with us the advantages of this great international festival. 
 
 To the tens of thousands of exhibitors who have contributed on a larger amount 
 than all others combined, we are under the deepest obligations for their interest and 
 co-operation. 
 
 To the women of Chicago and our great land, whose prompt, spontaneous and 
 enthusiastic co-operation in our work turned the eyes of the world towards the exposition 
 as toward a new star of the east an inspiration for womanhood everywhere we extend 
 our cordial and unstinted recognition. 
 
 It is our hope that this great exposition may inaugurate a new era of moral and 
 material progress, and our fervent aspiration that the association of the nations here may 
 secure not only warmer and stronger friendships, but lasting peace throughout the 
 world. 
 
 The grand concerted illustration of modern progress which is here presented for the 
 encouragement of art, of science, of industry, of commerce, has necessitated an expendi- 
 ture, including the outlay of our exhibitors, largely in excess of $100,000,000. We have 
 given it our constant thought, our most devoted service, our best energy ; and now, in 
 .'.his central city of this great republic on the continent discovered by Columbus, it only 
 remains for you, Mr. President, if in your opinion the exposition here presented is com- 
 mensurate in dignity with what the world shoul 1 expect of our great country, to direct 
 that it shall be opened to the public, and when you touch this magic key, the ponderous 
 machinery will start in its revolutions and the activities of this exposition will begin. 
 
 When the Director General had finished speaking, Presi- 
 dent Cleveland arose and said: "I am here to join my 
 fellow-citizens in the congratulations which betit this occasion. 
 Surrounded by the stupendous results of American enter- 
 
 445
 
 prise and activity and in view of magnificent evidences of 
 American skill and intelligence, we need not fear that these 
 congratulations will be exaggerated. We stand to-day in the 
 presence of the oldest nations of the world and point to the 
 great achievements here exhibited, asking no allowance on 
 the score of youth. The enthusiasm with which we contem- 
 plate our work intensifies the warmth of the greeting we 
 extend to those who have come from foreign lands to illustrate 
 with us the growth and progress of human endeavor in the 
 direction of a higher civilization. We who believe that 
 popular education and the stimulation of the best impulses of 
 our citizens lead the way to a realization of the proud national 
 destiny which our faith promises, gladly welcome the oppor- 
 tunity here afforded us to see the results accomplished by 
 efforts which have been exerted longer than ours in the field 
 of man's improvements, while in appreciative return we 
 exhibit the unparalleled advancement and wonderful accom- 
 plishments of a young nation, and present the triumphs of a 
 vigorous, self-reliant and independent people. We have built 
 these splendid edifices, but we have also built the magnificent 
 fabric of a popular government, whose grand proportions are 
 seen throughout the world. We have made and here gath- 
 ered together objects of use and beauty, the products of 
 American skill and invention; but we have also made men 
 who rule themselves. It is an exalted mission in which 
 we and our guests from other lands are engaged, as we 
 co-operate in the inauguration of an enterprise devoted to 
 human enlightenment; and, in the undertaking we here enter 
 upon, we exemplify in the noblest sense the brotherhood of 
 nations. Let us hold fast to the meaning that underlies this 
 ceremony, and let us not lose the impressiveness of this mo- 
 ment. As by a touch the machinery that gives life to this vast 
 exposition is set in motion, so at the same instant let our hopes 
 and aspirations awaken forces which in all time to come shall 
 influence the welfare, the dignity and the freedom of mankind."
 
 With the concluding words, President Cleveland touched 
 the electric switchboard and inaugurated the World's Colum- 
 bian Exposition. It was a grand transformation scene. The 
 great machinery was set in motion, thousands of flags and 
 silken banners flashed and floated on the breeze, great jets of 
 water burst forth from silent fountains, the drapery that had 
 hidden the great golden statue of the Republic fell, cannons 
 thundered, bells pealed, a chime of steam whistles blew, and 
 then the great orchestra and the greater chorus gave Handel's 
 " Hallelujah Chorus," and the fair was open. 
 
 During the afternoon the Woman's building was formally 
 dedicated by Bertha Honore Palmer, president of the Board 
 of Lady Managers. After an elaborate musical and literary 
 program, Mrs. Palmer spoke as follows: 
 
 The moment of fruition has arrived. Hopes, which for more than two years have 
 gradually been gaining strength and definiteness, have now become realities. To-day 
 the exposition opens its gates. On this occasion of the formal opening of the Woman's 
 building, the Board of Lady Managers is singularly fortunate in having the honor to 
 welcome distinguished official representatives of many of the able foreign committees 
 and of the state boards which have so effectively co-operated with it in accomplishing 
 results now disclosed to the world. 
 
 We have traveled together a hitherto untrodden path; have been subjected to 
 tedious delays and overshadowed by dark clouds, which threatened disaster to our enter- 
 prise. We have been obliged to march with peace offerings in our hands lest hostile 
 motives be ascribed to us. Our burdens have been greatly lightened, however, by the 
 spontaneous sympathy and aid which have reached us from women in every part of the 
 world, and which have proved an added incentive and inspiration 
 
 It is not our province, however, to discuss these weighty questions, except in so far 
 as they affect compensation paid to wage-earners, and more especially that paid to 
 women and children. 
 
 Of all existing forms of injustice, there is none so cruel and inconsistent as is the 
 position in which women are placed with regard to self-maintenance ; the calm ignoring 
 of their rights and responsibilities which has gone on for centuries. If the economic 
 conditions are hard for men to meet, subjected as they are to the constant weeding out 
 of the less expert and steady hands (who are thereby plunged into an abyss of misery), 
 it is evident that women, thrown upon their own resources, have a frightful struggle to 
 endure, especially as they have always to contend against a public sentiment which dis- 
 countenances their seeking industrial employments as a means of livelihood. 
 
 The cry which exists among conservative people that the sphere of woman is her 
 home ; that it is unfemininc, even monstrous, for her to wish to take a place beside, or to 
 compete with men in the various lucrative industries, tells heavily against her, for manu- 
 facturers and producers take advantage of it to disparage her work and obtain her ser- 
 vices for a nominal price, thus profiting largely by the necessities and helplessness of 
 their victim. That so many should cling to respectable occupations while starving in fol- 
 lowing them and should refuse to yield to discouragement and despair, shows a high 
 quality of steadfastness and principle. These are the real heroines of life, whose handi- 
 work we are proud to install in the exposition, because it has been produced in factories, 
 
 447
 
 ps and studios under the most adverse conditions, and with the most sublime 
 patience and endurance. 
 
 Men of the finest and most chivalric type, who have poetic theories about the sanctity 
 of the home and the refining, elevating influence of woman in it theories which we have 
 inherited from the days of romance and chivalry, and which we wish might prevail for- 
 ever these men have asked many times whether the Board of Lady Managers think it 
 well to promote a sentiment which may tend to destroy the home, by encouraging 
 occupations for women which take them out of it. We feel, therefore, obliged to state 
 that in our opinion, every woman who is presiding over a happy home is fulfilling her 
 highest and truest function, and could not be lured from it by temptations offered by 
 factories or studios. Would that the eyes of these idealists could be thoroughly opened 
 that they might see, not the fortunate few of a favored class, with homes they possibly 
 are in daily contact with, but the general status of the labor market throughout the world, 
 and the relation to it of svomen. They might be astonished to learn that the conditions 
 under which the vast majority of the "gentler sex" are living are not so ideal as they 
 assume, that each is not " dwelling in a home of which she is the queen, with a manly and 
 loving arm to shield her from rough contact with life." 
 
 Because of the impossibility of reconciling their theories with the stern facts, they 
 might possibly consent to forgive the offense of widows with dependent children, and of 
 wives of drunkards and criminals who so far forget the high standard established for 
 them as to attempt to earn for themselves daily bread, lacking which they must perish. 
 The necessity for their work under present conditions is too evident and too urgent to be 
 questioned. They must work or they must starve. * * * * 
 
 We observe that there are two classes of the community who wish to restrain women 
 from actual participation in the business of the world, and that each gives, apparently, 
 very strong reasons in support of its views. These are, first, the idealists already men- 
 tioned, who hold the opinion that woman should be tenderly guarded and cherished 
 within the sacred precincts of the home which alone is her sphere of action. Second, 
 certain political economists, with whom may be ranged most of the men engaged in the 
 profitable pursuit of the industries of the world, who object to the competition that would 
 result from the participation of women, because they claim it would reduce a general 
 scale of wages paid and lessen the earning power of men, who require all their present 
 income to support their families. 
 
 Plausible as these theories are, we cannot accept them without pausing to inquire 
 what then would become of all women but the very few who have independent fortunes 
 or are the happy wives of men able and willing to support them. The interests of prob- 
 ably three-fourths of the women in the world would be sacrificed. Are they to be allowed 
 to starve, or to rush to self-destruction ? If not permitted to work, what course is open 
 to them? Our oriental neighbors have seen the logic of the situation far more clearly 
 than we, and have been consistent enough to meet it without shrinking from heroic 
 measures. The question is happily solved in some countries by the practice of poly- 
 gamy, which allows every man to maintain as many wives as his means permits. In 
 others etiquette requires that a newly-made widow be burned on the funeral pyre with 
 her husband's body, while the Chinese take the precaution to drown surplus female 
 children. It would seem that any of these methods is more logical and less cruel than 
 the system we pursue of permitting the entire female population to live, but making it 
 impossible for those born to poverty to maintain themselves in comfort, because they 
 are hampered by a caste feeling almost as strong as that ruling Inr'.ia, which will not per- 
 mit them to work on equal terms with men. These unhappy members of an inferior 
 class must be content to remain in penury, living on the crumbs that fall from the tables 
 spread from those of another and higher caste. This relative position has been exacted 
 on the one side, accepted on the other side ; it has been considered by each an inexo- 
 rable law. We shrink with horror from the unjust treatment of child-widows and other 
 unfortunates on the other sida of the globe, but our own follies and inconsistencies are 
 too close to our eyes for us to see them in proper perspective. 
 
 Sentimentalists should have reduced their theories to set terms and applied them. 
 
 448
 
 They have had ample opportunity and time to provide means by which helpless women 
 could be cherished, protected and removed from the storms and stress of life. Women 
 could have asked nothing better. We have no respect for a theory which touches only 
 the favored few who do not need this protection and leaves unaided the great mass it 
 has assisted to push into the mire. Babble it not, therefore, until it can be uttered not 
 only in polite drawing-rooms, but also in factories and workshops, without a blush of 
 shame for its weakness and inefficiency. 
 
 But the sentimentalists again exclaim: ''Would you have women step down from 
 their pedestal to enter practical life ': " Yes, a thousand times, yes. If we can really 
 find, after a careful search, any women mounted upon pedestals, we should willingly 
 ask them to step down in order that they may meet and help to uplift their sisters. 
 Freedom and justice for all are infinitely more to be desired than pedestals for a few, 
 I beg leave to state that, personally, I am not a believer in the pedestal theory never 
 having seen an example of it and that I always suspect the motives of any one 
 advancing it. Is it not the natural and fine relation between husband and wife, or 
 between friends, that they should stand side by side, the fine qualities of each supple- 
 menting and assisting those of the other ? Men naturally cherish high ideals of woman- 
 hood, as women do of manliness and strength. These ideals will dwell with the human 
 race forever without our striving to preserve and protect them. 
 
 If we now look at the question from the economic standpoint, and aside for good 
 and logical reasons, that women should be kept out of industrial fields in order that they 
 may leave the harvest for men, whose duty it is to provide for women and children, then, 
 by all laws of justice and equity, these latter should be provided for by their natural 
 protectors, and, if deprived of them, should become wards of the state and be main- 
 tained in honor and comfort. The acceptance of even this doctrine of tardy justice 
 would not, however, I feel sure, be welcomed by the women of to-day, who, having had 
 a taste of independence, will never relinquish it. They have no desire to be helpless 
 and dependent. Having the full use of their faculties, they rejoice in exercising them. 
 This is entirely in conformity with the trend of modern thought, which is in the direction 
 of establishing proper respect for human individuality and the right of self-develop- 
 ment. Our highest aim now is to train each to find happiness in the full and healthy 
 exercise of the gifts bestowed by a generous nature. Ignorance is too expensive and 
 wasteful to be tolerated. We cannot afford to lose the reserve power of any individual. 
 
 We advocate, therefore, the thorough education and training of woman to fit her to 
 meet whatever fate life may bring, not only to prepare her for the factory and workshop i 
 for the professions and arts, but, more important than all else, to prepare her for pre- 
 siding in the home. It is for this, the highest field of woman's effort, that the broadest 
 training and greatest preparation are required. The illogical, extravagant, whimsical 
 unthrifty mother and housekeeper belongs to the dark ages ; she has no place in our 
 present era of enlightenment. No course of study is too elaborate, no amount of 
 knowledge and culture too abundant to meet the actual requirements of the wife and 
 mother in dealing with the interests committed to her hands. 
 
 Realizing that woman can never hope to receive the proper recompense for her 
 services until her usefulness and success are not only demonstrated but fully understood 
 and acknowledged, we have taken advantage of the opportunity presented by the 
 exposition to bring together such evidences of her skill in the various industries, arts and 
 professions as may convince the world that ability is not a matter of sex. Urged by 
 necessity, she has demonstrated that her powers are the same as her brother's, and that 
 like encouragement and fostering care may develop her to an equal point of usefulness. 
 The fact that the Woman's building is so small that it can hold but a tithe of the beauti- 
 ful objects offered has been a great disadvantage. The character of the exhibits and 
 the high standard attained by most of them serve, therefore, only as an index of the 
 quality and range of the material from which we have drawn 
 
 Japan, under the guidance of its liberal and intelligent empress, has promptly and 
 cordially promoted our plans. Her Majesty, the Queen of Siam, has sent a special 
 delegate with instructions that she put herself under our leadership and learn what. 
 
 29 
 
 449
 
 industrial and educational advantages are open to women in other countries, so that 
 Siam may adopt such measures as will elevate the condition of her women. 
 
 The exposition will thus benefit women, not alone by means of the material objects 
 brought together, but there will be a more lasting and permanent result through the 
 interchange of thought and sympathy among influential and leading women of all 
 countries, now for the first time working together with a common purpose and an estab- 
 lished means of communication. Government recognition and sanction give to these 
 committees of women official character and dignity. Their work has been magnificently 
 successful, and the reports which will be made of the conditions found to exist will be 
 placed on record as public documents among the archives of every country. Realizing 
 the needs and the responsibilities of the hour and that this will be the first official utter- 
 ance of women in behalf of women, we shall weigh well our words words which should 
 be so judicious and convincing that hereafter they may be treasured among the happy 
 influences which made possible new and better conditions. 
 
 We rejoice in the possession of this beautiful building in which we meet to-day; in 
 its delicacy, symmetry and strength. We honor our architect and the artists who have 
 not only given their hands, but their hearts and their genius to its decoration. For it, 
 women in every part of the world have been exerting their efforts and talents; looms 
 have wrought their most delicate fabrics; the needle has flashed in the hands of fair 
 maidens under tropical suns ; the lacemaker has bent over her cushion weaving her most 
 artful web; the brush and chisel have sought to give form and reality to the visions 
 haunting the brain of the artist; all have wrought with the thought of making our 
 building worthy to serve its great end ; we thank them all for their successful efforts. 
 
 The eloquent president of the commission last October dedicated the great exposi- 
 tion to humanity. We now dedicate the Woman's building to an elevated womanhood, 
 knowing that by so doing we shall best serve the cause of humanity. 
 
 FORMER FAIRS. 
 
 There is every reason to believe that the World's Colum- 
 bian Exposition will far outshine all preceding world's fairs. 
 The number of acres under roof is equal to that of Paris in 
 1889, Philadelphia in 1876 and Vienna in 1873 combined. 
 There are more exhibitors, more interesting and numerous 
 exhibits, finer buildings, more spacious and beautiful grounds. 
 
 In London, in 1851, there were 6,039,195 visitors; in Paris, 
 in 1855, there were 5,162,330 visitors; in London, in 1862, 
 6,250,000 visitors; in Paris, in 1867, 10,200,000; in Vienna, 
 in 1873, 7,254,687; in Philadelphia, in 1876, 9,910,966; in 
 Paris, in 1878, 16,000,000, and in Paris, in 1889, 28,149,353 
 visitors. The largest attendance any single day in Philadel- 
 phia was 274,919, and in Paris, 1889, 400,000. The total 
 outlay for buildings and grounds in Paris in 1889 was 
 $8,300,000 in Chicago it will exceed twice that amount, and 
 it is to be assumed that the attendance will be in accordance 
 
 450
 
 with this increased expenditure. The fair has aroused the 
 greatest interest among the people, not only of the United 
 States, but also of the whole world. But more interesting to 
 the visitor from abroad than even the beauties and splendor 
 of the White City in Jackson Park, will be the development 
 and progress of a typical American city as exemplified in 
 Chicago, the wonder city on the shores of Lake Michigan.
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA