CHICAGO CONFLAGRATION, IWCLLIttSU THE ORir.IN AND PROORKSS OK ,. HAKROU i IL\. CA Ooirroot roil MALE KY M. I.4M IS BOOU A M> >:>VS < O. i:, ao LAWRENCE J. GUTTER Collection of Chicogoono THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO The University Library THE GREAT CHICAGO CONFLAGRATION THK FIRST NEWd. THK SATURDAY XIGHT FIRE, [From tfce St. Louis Times, October lltb.J What will doubtless prove the moat de- structive conflagration of modern times baa been raging tor two days and nights in our sister city of Chicago, laying waste alike the dwellings of the poor and the pal- aces of the rich, magnificent stores, with thir millions of merchandise, hotels and public buildings, gas-works, depots and waterworks; everything, in fact, that ilay in the broad swarth of the destroyer for miles. The city, which at the close of the week was bustling with prosperity and proud in its greatness, is now. for the great- er part a lurid waste. A hundred thou- sand are homeless, and thousands beside are beggared. It is the GREATEST FIRE IN MODERN HISTORY. Considering the magnitude of the inter- ests involved, the wholesale devastation, the untold wretchedness that it has caused, the effect upon commercial interests ana transportation that must follow, it may be set down as the greatest calamity of a sim- ilar character of which there is any reconl. VTe do not except even THK GREAT FIRE IN LONDON, for the aggregate losses will undoubtedly be greater now than then. If our later ad- vices are correct that upwards of ten thou- sand buildings havobeeii burned; it already approaches the L/ondon conflagration m magnitude, when but thirteen thousand houses were destroyed. Our fears are that it may even exoeeo,it. There seems to have been two distinctive fires, one occurring Saturday night of which notice was published in the Sunday morning papers, and which we were led to believe bad been brought under the entire control of The department. The tire started in the large planing mill situated between Clinton and CinaL and Van Baren and Jack-sun streets, about the center of the block formed by these streets. The wind was blowing very fresh and the flames spread with almost incredible rapidity, and in a few minutes the entire structure was a mass of tire. The immediate vicinity was built up mainly with small wooden tenement houses and two-story frame buildings, oc- cupied as groceries, saloons, io. The In- mates of man.v of the houses, startled from slumber, had barely time to rush from the houses in the scanty attire of night, leav- ing their household goods to destruction. In several instances children were hastily wrapped in blankets and quilts to break the force of their fall, and thrown from the second story windows to the ground. INDESCRIBABLE SCENES. The scenen in the vicinity of the confla- gration the brief telegraphic dispatch said were indescribable. Half the population of the city seems to have gathered there. Tugs in the river were engaged in towing to places ef safety the ve*se'.s moored in the neighborhood, while locomotives were hastily pulling out the great number of cars standing on the track in the path of the flames. The loss in property by this fire, which swept over about twenty blocks, has never been carefully estimated, being submerged by the overshadowing calamity. of the fol- lowing day. THE SUNDAY MIGHT VIRE. HOW THE FIRE ORIGINATED. I-ate Bundav evening a boy went into a stable on De Kowen street, (marked K. on the map,) near the river, on the west side, to milk a cow, carrying with him a kerosene lamp. This was kicked over by the cow, and the burning fluid scattered among the straw. This wa the beginning of the great tire. A single extinguisher on the* ground, or active work of the police In tearing down one or two shanties, would have prevented the spread- ing of the flames; bat the engines were waited for, and when they arrived the tire men, stupefied by exertion at the tire Satui - day night, worked slowly and clumsily. THKIR EFFORTS WERE UNAVAILING The wind from tne southwest ble w a gale. Rapidly the flames shot from house to house and board yard to board yard, until the district burned the night before was reached. Meanwhile the flames crossed the river north of Twelfth street on to the South side, and made for a brick and stone business block, the railroad freight depots and manufacturing establishments. The full extent of the danger was then realized for the first time. The fire department, al- ready tired, worked like heroes The mayor and his city government, who had supinely rested, now began to exert them selves, but THE OPPORTUNITY HAD BEEN LOST. The time when a thorough organization could have blown up buildings or prepared for the emergency was neglected. It was now a fight for life. A stiff gale had pos- session of the flames, and the beautiful building*. Chicago's glory, lay before them. Harrison, VanBuren, Adams, Mon- roe and Madison were soon reached. The intervening blocks from the river to Dear- born street on the east were being con- sumed. Three quarters of a mile of brick blocks were consumed as if by magic. THE FURIOUS INTENSITY OF THE FLAMES. All that mnn could do was to blow uy buildings, but this availed but little. The Times. Tribune, Post, Republican, Journal and other newspaper offices. Western News company 's block, Field & Letter's * stab lishments. a brick block lecently built. Farwell & Co. were soon in ashes. It seemed that no sooner had the flames struck a wall than they went fii > -rly through, and a very few minutes mtiioecl to destroy the most elaborately built niruo- tnre. The walls melted and the bricks were consumed. The wooden pavements took fire.making a continuous (-beet of flame two miles long by one mile wide. No human bein* could possibly survive many minutes. Block af- ter block fell, and the red hot coals shot higher and higher, and spread further and further, un-il the North side. Lake side and South wan a vast sheet of flames from the river to the lake At one time so hemmed in were the people tbat it wis expected thousands must perish. TUB WORK OF A SIGHT. One block in all toe vast business section remained at dayligbr, the Tribune block. The custom house and Honore block, on Dear hoi n street, had burned, and those who ban fouclit the flames here thought at last this tuoek could be saved. A oatrol of men, under Sam. Medili, swept off the live coalH. and put out flames on the side- walks, and another lot of men, under the direction of Hon. Joseph Medili, watched the roof. At 7,^2 o'clock this appeared safe, and most or the men went to get a rest or food- A number went to sleep in the Tribune building, but there was a change of wind. The flames reached Wabash avenue, State street and Michigan avenue, and soon McVicker's theater caught fire. In a few moments the Tribune was in flames, and at the last moment the sleeping men were aroused and rescued from the flames. By 10 o'clock in the forenoon this remaining block was In ashes. Now was to be t-nau the most remarkable sight ever beheld in this or any other country. THE FLIGHT OF A PANIC STRICKEN MULTI- TUDE. There were from 50,000 to 75.000 men women and children fleeing by every available street and alley to the southward and westward, attempting to save their clothing and their lives. Every available vehinle was brought into requisition for use, for wbich enormus prices were paid, and the street-* and sMewalks presented the sight of thousands of persons and hordes inextricably commingled; poor people of all colors and shades and every nationality, from Europe, China and Africa, mad with excitement, strug- gled with each other to get a way. Hun- dreds were trampled under foot; men and women were loaded with bundles and their household goods, to whose skirts, were clinging tender infants, half-dressed and barefooted, all seeking a place of safety. Hours afterwards these might have been seen in vacant lota or on the streets, far out in the suburbs, stretched in tne dust. FIVE HUNDRED BURNED TO DEATH. It is fearful to think or the loss of life. It is conjectured, and with good cause, that near rive hundred have been burned to death. We saw four men enter a burn- ing building, and in a moment they were overwhelmed by a falling wall. There was a crowd of men around the corner of the 1 1 aiding, trying to save the property, when, the wall yielding, some of them were buried beneath it. These were on the South side. Ou the North side twelve or fifteen men, women and children rushed info the building of the Historical society, a tire proof building, for safety. In a few minutes the flames burst up and they were burned to death. AN ACCOUNT BY AN EYE WITNESS. The following eloquent and truthful de- scription of the tire was furnished by a gentleman who participated iu the work throughout. No one bur, AN EYK- WITNESS can form an idea of the fury and power of the fire Mend, as he reveled among the pa- latial buildings and warehouses. On the south side, with the wind blowing a hurri- cane, at times it emed but the work of a moment for the fire to enter the south ends of the buildings fronting on Randolph, Lake and Water streets, and reappear at the north doors and windows, belching forth in fierce flames, wbich often licked the opposite buildings Then tbe flames, belching from the buildings tin both slues of the street, would unite and present A SOLID MASS OF FIRE, completely tilling the street from Bide to side, and shouting upward a hundred feet into tbe air. Thus was street after street filled with flame and fire, and the exulta- tion of the fire fiend was given vent in a roar which can oaly be likened to the noise of the ocean when its waters are driven by the tempest upon a rooky- beach; com- bined with the howl of the blast. nCOE WALLS WOULD TOPPLE and fall into the sea of flame without ap- parently giTing a sound, as the roar ef the fiery element was so great that all minor sounds were swallowed up, and the fall of walls was only perceptible to the eye and not to the ear. If our readers will call to their minds the fiercest snow storm in their experience, and Imagine the snow to be fire, as it surged hither and thither be- fore the fury of the storm, they will be able to form a faint conception of the scene as the flames raged through the streets of our doomed city. Many of the buildings situated along South Water street burled their red hot rear walls In the waters of the river into which they PLUNGED WITH A HU8 like unto nothing earthly, throwing up a billow which would gradually subside un- til other walls would follow. The heat was so intense at times from some of the burning buildings tnt they could not be approached within one hundred and fifty feet, which accounts for the manner in which the fir* worked back often against the wind. The fire, after reaching the business pare of Randolph and South Wa- ter streets, leaped the river on to the North side in an incredibly short space of time, and thence, among the wooden build- ings on that side, it reached the lake shore, after touching block after black of happy dwellings with its fierce blast. A scene of more POWERLESS EFFORT to fight an enemy was never presented than this. The people tried to combat the tire, but the combat was not of long dura- tion, and they bowed their heads in an- guish of spirit, and suffered the fiend to have untrammeled sway, and well and thoroughly has he done his work. As there is nothing in the history of civilized nations that chronicles any effects to which this can be compared, so in all fu- ture time THE GREAT CHICAGO FIRE, when mentioned, will bring a pang of an- guish to the listeners of future genera- tions. Ic will be a simile of everything that is fearful and terrible. While there are a great many instances of generous devotion on the part of rich and poor in dividing with the destitute, there are pain- ful ilWTANCES OF CUPIDITY AND SELFISHNESS. One was trj mg to remove valuable papers from an office, and asked two firemen to help him. which they refused unless he paid them fifty dollars. The papers were destroyed. Drivers of express wagons have taken one hundred, and even five hundred dollars for an hoar's use of their vehicles from distressed people. Among the sad accompaniment* of the calamity were to be seen hundreds of men and boys BEASTLY INTOXICATED .around the streets. The Nona division, where the saloon keepers stock was turned into the street, furnished a convenient op- portunity for the gratification of such pro- pensities, and there can hardly be a doubt that many of tneee poor wretches found their deaths in the flames, from which they were too helpless to escape. A MISERABLE DEATH. One poor man had crawled for refuge in- to a water main, lying in the street near the waterworks, but the flre fiend found him even there, before he could get hi* body wholly In safety and robbed nim of his life THE ENTIRE NORTH DIVISION is swept clean from Chicago river to Wright's grove, a distance of more than three miles, but one house, that of Mahlou D. Ogden, formerly the Hon. Win. B. Og- den's, remains standing iu the entire dis triot. A large portion of the population, driven from this desolated ground, are en- camped on the prairie to the north, where they have nothing but the canopy of heav- en to cover them, and scarcely sufficient food to satisfy their hanger. THE LANDSCAPE. Singly or in clusters are the ruins of many churches looming against the sky. among the most noticeable of which are the North Presbvterian, Episcopalian, cor- ner of Cass and Superior streets, tne Ger- man Lutheran, Robert Collyer's church of the Unlt>, the New England Congregation- al, the German Reform, St. Joseph's and St. Michael's (Catholic), and others. The ruins of Sand's, Lill's, Henck's, and Bosh & Brand's breweries are also prominent features. Towards the northeast, the wa- terworks tower lifts its beautiful propor- tions uninjured to the sky, bat THE WATERWORKS. immediately to the east of it, and hun- dreds of feet from other buildings, is a complete wreck, the engines and mas- sive machinery within presenting a scene of utter destruction and desolation. Near the junction of the north and south branches of the river were FOUR IMMENSE ELEVATORS, which succumbed to the flames about 10 o'clock on Monday morning, and are heaps of burning grain and timber. Near Rush street bridge, on the North side, the Gale- na elevator is but a mass of smouldering ruin. McCormick's Reaper works, to the east, and the sugar refinery beyond, have also been swept away. A CEMETERY INVADED The fire even entered the old cemetery at North avenne, and licked up the trees and shrubbery, cracking and destroying the tombstones in its way. THE MOST REMARKABLE FEATURE of all, is the fact that the brick of build- ings was burnt to ashes the same as If wood, so that for the most part the rubbish does not present a formidable appearance, there being but here and there a projection of wall. Hundreds of acres are almost as clean as nicely cleared fields Stone work, both sand and limestone, melted down, for the most part, into one disintegrated mass. THE ST. LOUIS TIMES' SPECIAL TELEGRAPHIC ACCOUNT. TUB ORIGIN OF THE GREAT FIRE. The fire on Saturday evening, as has been already stated, occurred in the plan- ing mill on the corner of Ualstead and Ca- nal streets. It spread with alarming ra- pidity, and before it wu subdued bad swept away a large portiou of South Chi- cago. Tbe damage, however, was compar- atively within bounds, most of the build- ings deetrojed being frame and of email sise. THE GREAT FIRE. The origin of the Sunday night fire lias already been stated. It was occasioned by the explosion of a kerosene lamp in a barn near DeKoven street. The tUnies at onoe enveloped the stable and spread to adjoining wooden buildings, which were soon in a blaze. A strong wind prevailed at the time, and all efforts to subdue the lire were unavailing. In a few minutes it had reached a large rooting establish- ment, where over 1000 barrels of tar were Mtored, and this it was which gave it its fearful velocity. The conflagration be- came general and roared like a vast fur- nace. Iron buildings, which were suppos- ed to be fire proof, melted down in a few minutes, and solid stone chnrches s-ink be- fore it as it blown up by powder. I counted TWENTY-NINE RUINS OF CHURCH K8, many of them as fine structures as any In the country, and which cost not less on an average than 975,000 each. A few bare walls onlyare lelt TO tell the story of their former grandeur. Laavlng the corner of Congress street and Michigan avenue, and driving along the lake and through the up per portion of the oit * to Lincoln park, for five miles, the eye rests upon nothing but a shapeless mass of wreck and ruin. The great cathedral, the bishop's man- sion, Potter Palmer's hotel pal- ace, hundreds of elegant and expensive stores and dwellings all fell before the flame storm, which consumed in twen- ty-four hours five hundred millions of dol- lars worth of property. A 8HJOCLAR CIRCCM8TAKCE is the entire absence of rubbish aside from the walls left standing. Scarcely a stone or brick or a scrap of iron can be seen on the ground. It is all reduced to powder. The fire passed by and around the water tower fronting the avenue, without even shattering a pai.e of glass, and attacked the rear building, burning out all the wood works and injuring the engines so as to render them powerless. This cut off the supply of water, and left the great city en- tirely at the mercy of the merciless fiend. TIIK HEAVIEST SUFFERERS. I had a lengthy conversation with M. D. Ogden, sq , the largest lumber dealer m the West. His residence alone escaped, and now stands solitary and alone in a wilderness of desolation, cover- ing an area three miles long by one mile wide. It is a double frame structure, two Btories high, with a Mansard rowf, and es- caped without being even scorched. The flames came sweeping down Dearborn street, leaving scarcely one stone upon another, and was caught by a counter cur- rent of wind just at bis house, and chang- ing its course, shot in another direction, leaving naught m iu wake but wreck and ruin. In other portions of the city Mr. Ogden was less fortunate. His vast lum- ber yards were swept away, including three and a half million feet of pine and other lumber, and entailing upon him a loss of fully two millions of dollars. A SAD SCEXK His nephew, Wm. Jones, is among the many victims who were devoured by the flame*. He removed his family from his residence, and had parted with his wife but a few moments, when his horse and buggy were seen dashing along the streets, and it is prerUtnert that the young man was thrown out and burnt before he could escape. To add to his losses, Mr. Ogden received a telegram yesterday announcing that his lumber mills at Pestigo, on Green Bay, Wisconsin, had been destroyed, together with the town, buruing alive thirty souls, including his partner, wife and three children, his nephew and wife and his superintendent and family of three. The dispatch added: " The woods are all ablaze and we fear your piuery will be destroyed." Mr. Ogden bore up bravely under this scries of appalling dis- asters, merely remarking. "If this be true. T shall lose 13,000,000 moie and ba a ruined man." This is but one of the many terri- ble stories I hear hourly. VOTTEK PALMER'S LOSSES are immense. Two miles of magnificent stores on State street are in ruins and his grand hotel, tbe Pacific house, is gone. He had invested millions of dollars in building up Chicago, and to do this had mortgaged heavily the larger part of his improved property. It was but a short tiine before the fire, that he secured a loan of $650,000 at 7 3 10 per cent, and he has nothing left to meet his heavy loans hut barren lots and what little improved property may have been spared in the southern part of the city, eutirely inade- quate to make him whole. He was largely insured in home companies, most of which are bankrupt and unable to meet their losses. THE GRAIN BONFIRE. The elevators, which completely envi- roned the city, and which contributed largely to the trade of Chicago, were swept away in a few moments. There are bin four left standing, two owned by Muan & Soott, one by Flint & Thompson, and the Central elevator on tho lake. Three mil- lion bushels of grain are still burning, making monstrous bonfires, which, with tbe acres of coal on fire, cast a dismal glare over the ruins at night, and present a heart sickening spectacle. THK LOSS OF LIFE cannot at present be computed, but it has doubtless been fearful. Already over a hundred charred bodies have been dug from the ruins, and hundreds of frantic persons are scouring the city in search of their loved ones, who have been missing since Sunday. An old French woman, who barely escaped with her life, told me to- day that she counted no less than forty persons, men, women and children, in the river at one time, all of whom met a wa- tery grave. A FEARFUL REPORT. The servants at the Tremont house were in the top story of the hotel at the time of its conflagration, and as none of them havu been seen since, it is feared that they were burned to death. There were about forty of them. WHAT IB LEFT OF THB CITT. The entire business portion of the city is deetrojed. Tte pride of Chicago, State street, with its large atone rows, Randolph. Madison. Monroe and Washington streets, with their jcranrt hotels, massive insurance and baukiug establishments and wholesale houses, are laid In ashes. The West side stands as before, bur, with fw exceptions, contains nothing but frame buildings. Portions of Wabash and Michigan avennes and the North end remain, with some hand- some residences, but the valuable and ele- gant portions of the cicy are a mass of mouldering ruins. The postofflce and custom house suffered less from the con- flagration perhaps than most of tb build- iogs. Everything of an inflamma- ble nature was consumed, but the walls are Intaot and the e dittoes can easily be rebuilt. The same is true in part of the Tribune building. Its exterior is nearly Intaor, bur it is otherwise iu ruins. It is stated to day that the four and MIX cylinder presses are but slightly in- jured, and can be put in running order in a few day s. The Trem nt house. Revere house, Pacific house, Dunlap house. Mas- sasoH bouse aud other hotels destroyed, and board of trade building were literally razed to the ground. The only prominent buildings remaining are the Michigan Ave- nue hotel, L%c1e.de hotel, Denison house, Heeney & Campbell's planing mill, the Vulcan Iton works, Keboe's blocks, Hoerber'8 block, the convent, St. John's Congregational church, the Park Congre- gational church. Turner hall, Salem Ger- man Lutheran church. Jesuit cathedral, coileg* and school house, three elevators, the railroad machine shops and car works and Burlington hall A HEART BENDTCG SCENE. I went out yesterday to the prairie, where the houseless sod homeless suffer- ers toek shelter, and I never before wit- nessed snch a heart rending spectacle. Bpread out upon the ground were some sev- enty-fire thousand persons, most of them without a blanket to cover them, and all suffering from cold and neglect. They in- formed tun that their sufferings had been in- tense, and that during th night over a doten ol tteir number had died. One poor woman waa vainly striving to give nour- ishment to an infant about four weeks old, whl e by her side lay the dead body of a little girl of three jesrs They are being conveyed to the city and afforded shelter, raiment and food as rapid'y aa possible. GAS AD WATER. A portion or i bn city h* been in dark- n*-** tore*- days, owing t" thn destruction of the gas workn in the east and sooth por- tions of the city. The western works rj the proprity uf C. K. Garrison, Esq.. of New York, and a brotner of the St. Louis raraily of Garruon*. Pipes are now beiu* Laid through the tunnel u> couueoi the east fad, ani gas will be turned on in a few dajs Them being but one residence ou the South side, it ia not probable that lhe*e works will be rebuilt for some time to come. Labor will be speedily commenced on the waterworks, aued in forcing water into ihn pipes for d*ily rousuiup'lou, aud ft eble streams art> ruuntog in uiutit parts ot the (turned d'.atriut THH XBWSPAl-KHS TO GO OU. The Journal, Mail and Tribune have ap- peared, in abb eviated form. They are oeing published at Edwards' printing house until new buildiogs can be erected. The Times will b out in its ususal drees and slzd a coon as tne type can be shipped from the Bust. HOW CHICAGO ANS TREAT THB MATTER. Routs have advanced enormously on all empty and tenautabie houses, the owners being quick to tke advantage of the ter- rible situation. I was shown a small six- room dwelling u> day, for which 975 a mouth is demanded, that could have been rented at $12 six days ago. The same spirit is manifested b> dealers generally, exorbitaut prices being demanded far all the necessaries ef life The few hotels left standing are asking $8 per day. and in- ferior accommodations at tnat. This la all wrong, aud IA loudly condemned by the better class of citizens, who lastly think that ''charity should begiu at home " THE WORK OF RECONSTRUCTION. Despite the terrible condition ot affairs, which has swept away in a few brief hours the fortunes of half the community, there is a fixed determination on the part of most of them to tight over the battle of life on the old stamping ground. Space has been obtained on the Michigan avenue ctiiimons for business firms, who are baay erecting small frame offices, and from al- most every private residence may be seen the signs of well-known wholesale and re- tail dealers. A few of the more enthusiastic talk of making Chicago more formidable than ever in five yean. The railroad managers have agreed to furnish their full chare of means, and Boston and New York capital- ists have telegraphed that they will ad- vance. |5,ooo,ooo if necessary. This will go greatly towards repairing the injury, but u far abort of tsOO.ott.ooO, th aggregate loss. THE NEW YORK TKlBUXE'g SPK- ClAL TELEGRAPHIC ACCOUNT. I have just returned from the ghaatlieat promenade ever seen IB the world. From Congress street to Lincoln park, and beyoiid to Wnght'a grove, four miles of what waa last week the business and most vigorous city of the West is now one WIDE SPREAD DESOLATION, marked by rc>>rvberl and calcined ohim- Lnyp, by mounds of glowing brick and stone, ail covered like a wintry piain with a fail of whitening a*he. The vaatneaa and uionoto > of the view ia as weaiisome and Oepreiteing as that of THE DESERT. Formerly every quarter of the city had itu distinctive character, and aloug the banks of Like Michigan to the south ot the river, rose the staieiv mansions of the men whose energy aud industry made Chicago what it waa Few streets in any cuy could present so uniform a display of wealth and tate in their residences a Wabaah and Michigan avenues. Ia (he sp*oe bounded on tbre sides by the lake and the Cnlc go river, and on the south by VanBuren street, there were embraced some of the finest busineaa houses on the continent, and a higher average of beauti- ful and COSTLY ARCHITECTUKB than had ever been applied in the world to purpoees of trade. Along the river, on ither side, the tall, ungainly terms of the elevators, the MONSTROUS GROWTH of the commerce of the Northwest mirror- ed their awkward angles in the turbid wa- ters. IN THE NORTH DIVISION the ground to the west, occupied by large manufacturing establishments, and to the east by the modest and tasteful houses of the trading classes all this variety and distinction have been obliterated in a day by the LEVELING HAND of the conflagration. The loveliest garden on the avenue, which was just below ray window, is as squalid and miserable with the wild trampling of the hoofs of this disaster as any back-yard of a soap boiler on Canal street. The wretched tenement houses which shelter the laboring poor are nowjclean and WHITE IN THEIB ASHES and their chimneys form a shapeless monument; there is equality at least be- tween a hovel and palace in their SHROUDS OF DESOLATION. What most impresses one in the aspect of the burnt district, is its utter loneli- ness, the debris which encumbered the streets the day after the lire has in a great measure been cleared away. The sidewalks are somewhat littered still by the ruins, but circulation is perfectly free throughout the quarter. In the center of the city, there is a certain number of CURIOUS SPECTATORS lounging and chatting among the ragged and tottering walls. The hotels have migrated also, carrying their names and their traditions with them. The great business houses (are crowding relics of their stock into shops that burst with richness, and far down Michigan ave- nue, in that safe stretch of lake side that lies beyond Michigan terrace, the last and loveliest sacrifice to the flames, you see the names of banks and insurance compa- nies hastily SCRAWLED N TIN SHINGLES and hung at the doors of decorous pri- vate houses on the low sand beach that lies below Michigan avenue. They have projected a line of temporary business houses, and the first of them went up all at once, and as quickly as a bouse of cards under my window this evening. A dozen will probably be built tomorrow. There eeeus to be NO BRAVADO, no ostentations pluck and audacity, but a resolute, manly determination to make the most of a bad situation. These superb merchants and business men do not seem to think there is any- thing fine in their attitude, but the world will certaintly not deny them its hearty admiration. The city is ORDERLY AND TRANQUIL, the hungry are fed and the naked are clothed. The churches and the public buildings of the West side give shelter to the homeless. The railway a convey to their friends all who desire to go . The best people devoutly trust that th e term of severest stress and panic is over. THE CHICAGO KVENENG JOURNAL'S ACCOUNT. The Chicago Evening Journal of Tues- day, October loth, tha first paper of that city to make its appearance after the gen- eral destruction of the newspaper press, contained the following items of interests relative to the great fire: THE RUIN. The great fire of Chicago laid waste over 1800 acres, upwards of 18,000 buildings and rendered about 85,000 persons homeless. As to pecuniary loss no fire which ever occurred In the world has been attended with that suffered by Chicago, as in no city was there such an amount of valuable merchandise, or so many expensive build- ings destroyed. Most of our merchants had received their winter stocks of goods, none of which they were able to save. The loss in merchandise alone at this last great conflagration will be double that suffered by London and Moscow combined. But the great heart of Chicago is not broken, nor her spirit of enterprise crushed. She will arise from her ashes, with an energy that will eclipse all her former efforts, and speedily regain her for- mer position. GENERAL APPEARANCE. One thing particularly strikes the pas- sengers through all the streets the ab- sence of everything of a combustible na- ture. Brick, stone and iron abound, and make up whatever is left of the most magnificent and costly structures. Dirt, in the ordinary sense of the term, has vanished; all is clean, but oh how desolate. Another thing is the uniformity of the destruction. The marble palaces and cheaper brick and mor- tar blocks lie in common disorder. There is no distinction, except in the presence ol iron pillars, and marble door and window ornaments. WHAT IS LEFT. The only buildings left intact between the river and the lake and the river and Madison street are Hathaway's coal office, one of the Buckingham elevators on the lake shore, and the Lind block, at the cor- ner of Randolph and Market. Not a ves- t'ge of any wooden structure is left in sight, ana the walls of the majority of the buildings in the district described are lev- eled with the ground. In some instances, partition walls have not altogether fallen, but rear their pointed heads high above the surrounding ruins. THE COURT HOUSE. Bleak, smoked, hollow and desolate, up- on the scene, rear the walla of the court house scene of many a distressing and exciting trial of local legislation and pub- ic business. Not only have the roofs "buckled" but the entire structure looms np from where we write, a ruined monu- ment of departed greatness. The old fence remains with the tessellated pavements, but the glory of the tribunals and the council chamber are things of the past. LAKE STREET. From the Tremont to the great Union depot is not far, but its wealth of mer- chandise and stately edifices were known far and near throughout the West, but the eye dims and the pulse goes slow when the ruin of this noble mart meets the sight. SOUTH BIDE. The scene in this section of the city is too appalling to be dwelt upon with other words than those which will in the most adequate manner convey an idea of the reality, which seeius beyond the power of tongue or pen to relate. The streets that are burnt over are Madison, Monroe, Adams, Jackson, Van Buren, Congress.and Michigan avenue, where it was checked, the Michigan avenue hotel being saved. On W abash it burned through to Harrison street. The last house burned on the east oirte of Wabaeh avenue. On the west fide. Dr. McChesney's (the Wabash avenue Methodist) church was not burned at the northeast corner of Harrision and Wabash avenue. On State street, 356 was the last number burned. This was the south limit HO far west as the track of the Michigan Southern railroad track. The long freight houses (in and out freight) were burned with all their contents; cars and every- thing as far south as Taylor, aad west of the east track. Taylor street, the north limit of a great lumber district, was not crossed to the south. Thus, in short, there is only one building within the limits above described which is not burned to ashep, and this seems to have teuaped through a mira- cleit is numbered 91 to 99 Harrison street, on the corner of North avenue. The streets which run north and south are Michigan avenue Wabash avenue. State, Dearborn, Clark, LaSalle, Wells. Sherman, Griawold and Market streets. This section of the city contained the glory of our architecture, and the palatial resi- dences of some of our most wealthy citizens. The names of individual owners cannot b<) given, but the prominent business structures were the depot of the Lake Shore, and Chicago, and Rock Island and Pacific railroad, on Van Buren. from Sherman to Griswold, and south to Harrison; the Pacific hotel, which was ready for the roof, and occupied a block; the custom house, which is gutted, the heavy whitened walls alone standing; Honore's blocks, finished and _ unfinished, on Dearborn, from Monroe to Adam's; the Tribune building, the Times office, the Post building, the office of the Staiitu Zeitung and numerous publications. The Hlegaut structure known as the Lake Side Press building, on Clark, the Young Men's Christian association library, the Republic Insurant's building, Far well ball. Mc- Vicker's theater, th Clifton house, the academy of Design, Conn & Ten Broeck's Manufacturing company's building, on Adams street; the Palmer house. St. Mary's, 8t. Paul's Catholic church, Universalist, Second Presbyterian, Trinity Episcopal church. First Presbyte- rian church, Michigan avenue, Terrace ri>w, the Chicago cluh, Potter Palmer's new hotel, unfinished, Robert Law's coal yard, Rogers & Co. '8 coal yard, the largest firms of the city, the Jewish pynagogue,northeast corner of Fourth ave- nue and Harrison street*, the New Club on Harrison and State, the Bigelow house, on Dearborn and Adams, which would have been opened this week. All of the Bridges over the river from Madison to Twelfth streets are burned. On the West Side the ravages were dire, sweeping away the great manufactories and mills and the elevators of that section lying were burned, together with two large ioe houses; section C of the warehouses alone being saved. The apex of the field of desolation, which is an horizontal cone, is at the corner of DeKoven and Jefferson street, and from there the burnt track sweeps northeast, widening and widen- ing for a distance of some five miles, while the distance to the lake Is almost between Jefferson and the river east and west, and Van Buren and DeKoven, the first street north of Twelfth, north and south, and from any point can be seen a dozen or more tall chimneys marking the site of as many enormous manufacturing buildings. None of them can 1)6 named accurately. The Chicago Dock company ' ware house, on Taylor street, and the Pittsburgh and Fort Wayne railroad. BANK VAULTS. One of our reporters made the tour of the banks (that were) this morning. The indi- cations were that all the vaults were safe. The currency and securities, which could not be replaced ( not counting the United States bonds, which could be) locked in those vaults must be several hundred mil- lions. At this writing, only one vault has been opened, that of the Commercial National. Everything was found in a perfect state of preservation. There were all sorts of wild rumors afloat about the total destruc- tion of this and that bank, including vaults and safes. Many safes may be seen among the debris of the burnt district, ap- parently in a good state of preservation. REAL ESTATE TITLES. All the records of deeds and mortgages are destroyed. This includes all the real estate, not only in Chicago, but in Cook county, with its numerous suburban towns. Fortunately the abstracts of titles in the office or Shortall & Hoard, conveyancers, are known to be safe. A leading member of the Chicago bar gives it as nis opinion that the title to all the property in the county can here-estab- lished by means of these abstracts. The Legislature will probably pass some enab- ling act to cover the case. As to the value of real estate, it is now entirely indeterminate, because it is im- possible to divine where the future busi- ness center will be. The latter will de- pend upon the location selected by the leading business houses, which are already in consultation. THE FOUR EXCEPTIONS. There are only four buildings standing on the South Side below VanBuren street. Those four are the custom house, the court house, the First National bank building and the Tribune building. They were all completely burned out, nothing re- maining except the walls and parts of par- titions. We doubt if any of them can ever be used again, except the custom house. Those immense walls seem to have stood Map of the Great Thflblro't Rhailin.tr shows the extent of day night conflagration, at tbejnnc the fire, which covers an area of a mile in DeKoven and Jefferson streets; B the < width, by five miles in length, or over 3000 house; C, the postoffioe; D, the II acres. A is the starting point of the Sun- Central railroad depot; E, Board of 1 tire in Chicago. mini building: F, G and J, the Mattepon, Tre- Central renetvoir. Of that portion in light reont and Sherman hotels; H, the Michigan shade, 0017 part Is built up. Lincoln Southern railroad depot; I, the St. Louis, park joins the extreme north,, which, waa Alton and Pittsburgh depot, and K, the tbe upper limit of the fire. 10 the fire teat without flinching. The mason- ry of the ether three has been very ae- no'iely impaired. BANKS. There is not a bank left in all Chicago, Hnleaa it be sotuejlittle house remote from what was the center of business. The at- tnal losses of the bankers cannot be com- puted, even approximated, in any one case. One thing we are authorized to stat positively. The banks will resume regular business in a few days It should be added that tbe Union Stock Yards National bank is tbe ;> and bathing rooms, corner Mauinou and Wahash avenue, loss $1300: insurance $300. Equitable, Chicago; loss total. Cook & Monroe, loss on srock and ma- chinery, $2500; no insurance. M. Donahue, insured in th Great West- ern of Chicago for $1000 on household fur- niture; his total IOSB is about $3000 E. D. Swain, dentist, No. 139 8tat street, ollioo f urni'ure and instruments, $800. Gillet. McCullooh A Co. were at, 61 Michi- gan avenue, proprietors Gillet's chemical works, flavoring extracts, baking powder, A.-3., the largest in the West; loss $80,000. THRILLING INCIDENT-* OF THK GKKAT We copy from the New York Sun the fol- lowing thrilling incidents : A YOUNG LADY'S STOBY. Mies Rollins bad a most narrow escape from a ttery death. She was surrounded by the flames, and dashed through a space where the wcoden pavement had kindled into a blaza. Sho tells the following story : When the second fire broke out in the South division, nearly all the people be- came insane with terror. I never cm tell of the universal horror of those hours. They were years.. I don't wonder that men seemed demented and woni-n hysteti- cal One of the little girls that attended my school became lost. I found her cry- ing as though her heart would break. She is but seven j ears old, and she could not tell what had become of her parents aud family. There were many such cases. As we went on further the throng increas- ed, until the streeU and tiaewalks were black with people It was like a fieshet. and poured in the one direction of safety. Bj and by we found the fire getting around us as though escape would be cut off. and we would be entombed in one trrand pyre of flame. "Go the other way; we are headed off!" was now and then the cry, and the multitude would turn back struggling in a new direction. I saw some women and children and one man. exhausted, ita down in the gutters to die in the hopeless- ness of dest>eratiou. Others would seize and urge them along Suaoke and cinder* and flame and tcorching heat filled the tt CHILDREN fcCREAMED IN TEBROR and begged Tor water. 80 m would catch up water from puddies ue*r hydrants aud moisten the njouth "This is the day of judgment! this must be the end of the world!" exclaimed more than one. The degree of sympathy that prevailed was wonderful. Theie seemed to ha one in- stinctive throb of feeling, and the strong helped the weak. I believe that thieves had a great deal to do with the fire. If they did not start it in the first place they kindled llarues in fresh places. I savr houses that bad been deserted entered by ill-looking fellows, who ransacked bureaus and closets. There was no time to speak to them. Once or twice when they were spoken to they professed to have been sent by tbe owners to save things Many peo- ple in the haste of their escape abandoned 13 everything, even to jewelry and money. I aaw one fellow's pooEet half full of jewelry and watches I spoke of it, but in an In- stant he lost himself in the crowd. I saw a colored man with a lady's chatalaine chain suspended awkwardly at his vest. The little girl I bad walked until the hot pavements blistered her little f*et. Then we carried her. "la papa and mamma burnt up! is Neddie burnt np dead!" she piteously asked. L*te at ntght we found them all safe. It was nearly morning be- fore we obtained shelter and food. I never want to set eyes upon Chicago again. MR. LOCKWOOI/8 8TOKY. Miss Roliins's story ia not so thrilling as that of the gentlemen, especially Mr Lock- wood, who. in company with Mr Wallace, escaped across the river in a boat, the bridges being useless. Thence they crossed the lumber district, which had commenced to blaze. la one instance they had to lean over the burning timber Upon roof they clambered to get a breath, and reit and view. They said : " We had au awful sight from here. Four dray horses were penned up in a eat yard, on either side of which were alls of lumber blazing, crackling and snapping fiercely. The air was intensely hot and the smoke stifling. The poor ani- mals had got loose and ran to and fro, their nostrils expanded, their eves aglare with terror, and uttering all the time wild, despairing cries, pawiug the ground, roll- ing in the dust and rearing IQ fury. We sickened at the sight and hastened away, for oar own salvation was none too cer- tain. Arriving at me Court house, we poshed through the multitude and finally obtained a place m the tower. Here we bad an extended vision of the devastation. The night was hideous with scenes and sounds more infernal than human. Below us in the square among the crowd we re- cognized A ILLS WHO PREACHES INK1UKL SEBMOKS. or rather tirades from tbesfpB, and fre- quently was stopped by the people on ac- count of the great disturbance, he incited. Now he was wringing his hands as if In ageny, and wailing and shouting: "Where is God now! Where is God now 1 Show as thn angel*:" k >. This he COD tinned until an otlicer collared and thrust him into the basement, where his raving were less audib'e. The crowds could be seen in the streets huddled together, stupefied with fear, gazing like demented ones upon the awful panorama. The lurid glare gave every- thing a crimson hue, and the moving figures in the avenues seemed like imps of brimstone Horces were terrified, and snorted and neighed a* they were trem- blingly forced to go. The cries of chiidrm and parent" seeking each other in vain were more than heart-rending. Very few of the rougher classes were intoxicated, and even these seemed awed into decor- um. On and on with remarkable speed came the flaming procession. It leaped the river, and strided on with unopposed foxy. The multitude now began to leave. All the hotels had been emptied, and flight waa imperative. A HOKHIliLE TRAGEDY. Jast now occurred a scene that froze our blood. At the intersection of Randolph and Market streets was a largn building. (Call*m's> used for offices. The janitor re- sided on the fourth floor with his family, consisting of a wife and four children. By some means they ware unable to escapn. Surrounded by the tire, they ascended to the roof. The babe was in the mother's arms, and another child, a little boy, clung TO her skirts. Two girls were clasped iu the arms of the father. Their shouts were but faintly heard over the howl of the winds and the roar of the names. At last the heat became so intense that the woman was overcome and lell to the roof. The father wildly threw out hip hand and stag- gered, writhed, and funk by bis wifp'a ride. That was all of that tragedy. We sickened at the sight, and hurried down to the street, which by this time was pretty well deeerted. Then along the banks of the lak* we wandered, more like dead than living men. We. heard aud saw mourning and agony and suffering that all the books in the world could not hold the account of. We were comfortably flred in lite one week ago; now we are penniless. We have no doubt that incendiaries did pan of the wotk. and for robbery and ravage." The shoes and clothing of all the party attested the severity of the ordeal threugh which they had passed. THE TKRHIBLE 8OKSKS OF MON- DAY. The follow4ng is from the Chicago Tri1>- une ot October 12th: SCENES ON WAHASH AVENL'K. The scene presented on Wabaeh avenue on Monday, for a period extending from 4 o'clock A M. till late in the day, was a most extraordinary one, calling to mind moat vividly the retreat of a routed army. The lower part of the avenue had. at an early hour, been occupied by residents of burning quarters, who sought safety for themselves- and their chattels by depositing them on the grata plats skirting the sidewalks. For a long distance these plats were occur ied by families, mostly of the lower classes, with their household goods. They sup- posed that they had discovered a place of security. but their confidence ia this regard proved unfounded. As the tire commenced spreading up the avenue a wild scene of confusion ensued. The street waa crowded with vehicles of ail descriptions, many drawn by men, who found it impossible to- procure draught animals. The bide walks were filled with a hurrying crowd, bear- ing in their arms and upon their backs anti heads clothing, furniture, to. Ladieu dressed in elegant coatumea, put on with a view of preserving them, and with costly apparel of all kinds thrown over their aruis and shoulderi". staggered along un- der the unwonted burden. Poor women with mattresses upon their heads, or weighed down with furultuie, tottered with weary steps np the crowded street. Nearly every one wore a stern expresfrloo.. and moved on without a word, as if they had Uraoed up their mlnde to ndure the worat without manifesting any emotion. Occa- sionally, however, the wail of women and children rent the air. bringing teara to the eyea of those who witnessed the inamfea- 14 tatlons. Poor little children shivered in the cold night air, and looked with wide open eyes npon the scene they could not com- prehend. Ludicrous Incidents -were of oc- casional occurrence, lighting up with a sort of horrible humor the terrible realities <>f the situation. Women would go by with dogs in their arms, their pets being all they had saved from the ruins of their homes. An octogenarian ran in a yard, with a large cat enf elded in his feeble em- brace. Men dragging wagons wore green veils over their f HC- A to protect their eyes from t"e blinding dust. Drunken men staggered among the crowds, apparently possessed of the idea that the whole affair was a grand municipal spree, in wiiich they were taking part as a duty that should be discharged by all good citizens. Trucks passed up street loaded wltli trunks, on which sat ladies in costly garb, and with diamonds on their fingers. But one day before they would have scorned the idea of riding in anything less imposing than a luxurious landau or coupe; but Their pride was leveled in the presence of the univer- sal imminent danger, and they were thor- oughly glad to get the humblest cart in which to place themselves aud their valu- ables. The great portion of the people knew not whither they were going. All they knew was that the horrible tire was behind them and they must move on. The stream poured southward for hours the broad av- enue being tilled from house to house with men, women, children, horses, mules, vehi- cles, wheelbarrowseverything that could move, or could be moved. Truckmen and express drivers were hailed from the steps of houses, or eagerly pursued by the ooau- pants, with the view of securing their aid in removing household goods to places of ttafety. In many instances the appeals were unsuccessful, their services having been previously engaged by other parties; but when they were disengaged they charged the moat exorbitant prices, rang- ing from $5 to $100 for a load, and turning up their noses at offers of amounts less than they asked. This class of people made great profit out of the calami ties of their fellow-citizens. Their pockets may be heavy to-day, but their consciences, if they have any, should be still heavier. Tne instances of generosity were, bow- ever, far In excess of those of greed and Helfiehness. People from districts which had not already burned, or who had se- cured their on goods, turned in with a will and worked to aa-it their friends, and frequently rendered aid to persons whom they did not even know. Good angels, In the shape of women, distributed food among tne sufferer*, and spoke kind words to those who memed to labor under the severest affliction Human nature, God be thanked, nas us brunt as well as its dark sides. In addition to the crowds pressing south- ward tbrongs of people moved northward to see what they could see. And these counter currents frequently caused a jam that was almost Inextricable. But after great effort, interspersed with considerable loud talking and no small degree of pro- fanity, the dead-look would be removed, and the opposing surges would again make slow progress. When the churrh on the corner of Wa- bash avenue and Harrison street took fire It seemed as If no limit could be placed to the southward march of the monster. An Immense throng was collected in the vi- cinity of Harrison street and Hubbard court, and word was passed among them that Laird Collier's church was about to be blown up. The intelligence spread with rapidity of lightning, and then ensued a terrible race for life. The masses fled precipitately up the avenue, helter-skel- ter, pell-jneil. It was everyone for him- self, and tne devil take the hindmost. L'*- tie consideration was had to age or sex. Fortunately, however, no one was seriously injured in the fearful rush, and the people poured in disjointed masses towards the various side ntreets, many not deeming themselves safe until they had placed sev- eral blocks between themselves and the point from which the danger was expected to proceed. And so the day wore on, the living kaleid- oscope making constant changes, but ever presenting the same aspect. Excitement, sorrow, grief, terror, panic, madness, col- . ored everything, relieved simply by a few touches of ludicrousness that were abso- lutely grotesque In their relation to the all pervading norror. ESCAPE OF PEOPLE INTO THE WEST DIVI- SION. 80 soon as the people west of Clark street began to see tkat there was no hope, and thatithe fire was really bound to go north- ward to an indefinite point, they turned all their minds to gutting over in the West di- vision, where tuere was comparative safe- ty from the flames and plenty of vacant ground on which to encamp. So, since Chicago avenue bridge was useless, the whole tide turned toward Division, which, from Grove to Halsted. was untouched, aud promised to remain so. It was not many minutes before a steady stream of carriages, drays, express wagons and ve- hicles of every description were rushing pell-mell across that bridge, interlocking and breaking, while the southern streets leading up to Division were jammed v i:b wagons, which occasionally caught hre. The expressmen and draymen, stimulated by the immense prices thy were receiving twenty to fifty dollars a load drove their heavy teams recklessly forward, breaking down the weaker teams and forc- ing their way across the river, in order to return as soon as possible for another load. Sometimes they themselves catue to grief, and then, unfastening their horses, tried to find another wagou. THE ROADS WKRE KILLED WITH PEOPLE crazed by excitement and liquor, or stupe- fied with smoke, and no regard at all was paid to them by the drivers, so tnat at all those points numerous accidents were con- stantly occurring. One man was driving up Clark street with a heavy load, when he fell from his seat AND IN8TAMTLT BROKE HIS NECK. The team was loaded with trunks marked "Barton Edsatl." Mrs. Edaall was taken from her house in a half insensible condition quite early in the morning. THE WANDERERS crossing Division street either scattered 15 thenmlves north or went straight west, while many encamped themselves upon Orove Island, which lies between the North branch and Ogden canal. When the trams moved a little watthy found their way blocked by the care of the Northwest- ern road, which bad been run up there to avoid ftie fire, aad people were compelled to make long detours to get through them. Many nnable t force their way through the oonf UBion of Division street, which was almost equal tu that at the crossing of the Beresina. turned into the side streets, and made their way to North Avenue bridge, where they were able to get out without great difficulty, though much hampered by the railroad trains after they got acrocs there; not only teams, but foot passengers, carrying In their arms children and some lit'le articles of furniture or wearing ap- parel, wended their weary way in toe same direction. One woman had nothing but a eilk sack, and another was accompanied by a child, who bad in its arms a couple of cats and a little dog, and crying itself, sobs out. "Don't cry, mammy." After getting out upon the prairie, they settled down wheiever they could find room, some sit- ting in rocking chairs, and others upon blanketa on the ground. None of them said anything, but all sat looking intently at the tire, which was immediately before them. Many who had teams went as far west as the Artesian well, where they en- camped around the large pond. wMch sup- plied them with water. There they re- mained in the most forlorn and uncomfort- able condition, which was aggravated by the rain, which began falling at 11 o'clock on Monday night, and which caused a change from the warm and comfortable temperature of the day to the piercing chillness of yesterday viornlntr. LATE OS MOSDAY EVENING Chicago avenue bridge caught tire and soon fell into the river. It was even then al- most impossible to get over at Division street on account of the teams which were even then crossing Everywhere the wilr future inettU^s. The THE GRKAT FIRKS OF HISTORY. 'XSSX? the B P prox,mat Among the great tires of modern hi.- losses of the various cooipanit- a were re- tory, the mind naturally reverts to H turtrord/uf Harr.rord ............. ti,800,00o the conflagration in London in iLsnraDi-e company of Korea 1606 as the most destructive. Rela- Arueric*. of Philaflelpbla .......... 700.00O Aineru-an Ontrai. of 8'. LOUIB ____ 275.000 tively, such it was for it continued Franklm. or Philadelphia ............. 600000 f j d nisrhts and oonsnined Under wn W asency, of N. Y. . . . 700 000 nignra, ai Pbreuix, of H^rif.u-d ............... 720,000 nearly five-Rixths of the city within Howard, of New York ................ 2no,WKi ite walL Y et, although more than Sg^"VJ&:3i:: *5;SS ^* hou . e ft fr PnccnLr, of Brooklyn .................. 70o,oto ecription then common in the thickly Narragansetc, of Providence ...... 30,ooo settled portions of the city were de- North British and Mercantile ..... 2 .'<* strayed, the area laid waste was only SSSitf oT^d:::::::::: 'SB *< ****** and thi rty - 8 5x acres, W>IPTI hv iir w % n ' '^ , Fireaen'aFuafiof SauFratitiioi).. 400.000 Kussian governor, KoHtopcb in, it was Aator, of New York .................... 300,000 set on fire in five hui .-_ inf . t A a - atta t a .t of \ Phinawn was th Empire Ciry, of New York ........ 250000 uas ^ devastated Chicago, wj New Amsterdam, of New York... 350,000 ***** fire m New York 1D Fulton, of New York ................... 700,000 1835, which extended from east of North American, of New Yora ...... 800000 Broadway and sourh or below Wall Independent, Of Bet, destrojing 0-1 Northwestern, af Milwaukee ...... I75,t'o0 chantb 7 exchange and the bontn Dutch Brewers', of Milwaukee ................ 160,000 church. Loss estimated at ^20,000,000. Atlantic, or Brooklyn.... .......... Eoo.ooo Other great fires occurred in Manhattan, of New York .......... 1,600000 pharl a ^,n <4rnth Pflrnlina Anril O7 HoBoe, c>f New York ................ 4.000000 wleston, feoutli Carol na, Apr J7, -*tna, of Hartford ...................... 5,000,000 1838, when Ilu8 buildings, covering Patoaiu. or Hartford ................. 900,000 145acres, were burned ; in New York, CUart*r O*k, of Hrtfuid .......... 600,000 a2ain September 6, 1839, lose $10,000,- Audee, of Cincinnati ............... 1,500 ooe P-.+ K.V A! m iir in/'A Lamar, of New York ................. 1000 fcOO ~ 5 m Pittsburgh, April 10,1845,1000 Beekman, of New York ............ 300,000 buildings, loss $6 000,000 ; in Quebec, People'*, of San Francisco ............. 400.COO May 28, 1845, 1500 buildings, and in Hide and Leather, of Boston ......... 700000 Inrifi of thn ame vear 1300 buildis? YonkerH of New York 750000 same ye*r, it North American, of Hartford*.'."*.'. 500.000 in N w York Jal ? 19 1845 - 30 *~ stores Eaterprlee, of Philadelphia ....... (iOO.Ooo and dwellings, loss $6,000,000 ; in Al- Norwicb.of CoDnecticut ............. roo.coo bany, September l>, 1848 '24 acres burnt Teutoaia. of Cleveland ............... 350.000 nvr ami -WO hnilrtirum destrovdl \rtftn Cleveland, of Cleveland ................ 700,000 r , y .! \o^ City Fire, of Hartford... 900000 S3.000.000 ; in St. Loam, July 9, 1849, Alps, of Erie, Pd ................... 350000 :550 buildings, loss $3,000,000 ; in San LyroiniriK, of Pa ................... J.ooo.ooo Francisco, May 3, 1851, '2500 building, Arieman&cieVeund:::::::::::: SS S.-fif??.?!ft an ? a ^n^n e -^ Hibemia, of Cleveland ............. 300,0(0 1851, 500 buildings, loss $3,000,000; and Ueriuan, of Cleveland ................. aoo.ooo at Portland, Me., July 4,1866, when tioual of Boston ...... 600.0M 10,000 people were rendered homeles*, w^^^l^J. ^ . 1 ?.::::: VtS * Buffalo Fire and Marine .............. 400,000 t*troyt-d. 18 HOKBIBLR SCENES. (Prom the N. Y. Tribune, Got. 14 ] The lamentable tragedy at the Historic il Society building is the darkest t*plsode of thi* day; the people in the edifice confi- dent of ite atreugth gathered their moat valued possessions and crowded the cel- lars in assurance of perfect safety. Among them were citizens of note, the venerable Col. Stone and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Able and two daughters, Mr. and Mrs. Car- penter, Dr. Lead and family, with several others notao well known. While the fright ened group were moving a tcuok, the libra- rian c*ugh r > eight of a flame, and, snouting to the rest, rushed from the fatal place. The others, at least twenty in number, were not seen to emerge, and there is no doubt that they perished, as the building was soon tottormg in utter wreck. Tue original copy of the Lincoln Emancipation proclamation perished among the most cherished memorials of this society. Death came to the crowds in the open air as well as in the buildings. A grat following of ruffian?, emboldened by the absence of the polios and half maddened with liquor, assaulted several saloons on the verge of the tire and held the ground against the advancing flime. When the moment of ued came they were too drunk to get away. In this portion the fire oaiue on with eu-h incredible rapidity that mothers threw their children down from the windows and then flung themselves. Throughout the day and night every foot of advance was a complete surprise. lu Chicago avenue, a noble thoroughfare one hundred feet wide, the people were confi- dent of eaoapo, and took little or no pre- caution. Here, as on Wabash avenue, when the tire did come, panic aided the devastation. Thoughtless women pitad mattresses and fragile goods in the street, and the dropping cparks took bat an instant to inaUe the avenue a glowing pathway of fire. The tiile streets were built wholly of wood, and the thin walls burned like shavings. This region, over by the lake and the great Lincoln park, eeeim d to offer safety. So a great rush was made for the park, and the refugees made tbeni- nelven comfortable in the delusion of secu- rity. After ravaging to the limits of the city, with the wind dead against it. the fire naught the dried graeses, ran along the fences, and in a moment covered in a burning glory the Catholic cemetery and the grassy stretobua of the great park. The marbles over the graves cracked and baked, and fell in glowing embers on the hot tuif . Flames shot up from the resting places of the dead, and the. living fugitives, ncreamiag with horror, made, for a mo- ment. The ghast iest spectao e that ever fell upon living eyes. The receiving vault, solidly built and shrouded in foliage, fell under the terrific lUmo.aud the deal burst from their coffins as the fire tore through t.ie walls of the irightful oharnel house. In the broad light of to day the place is the most ghastly I ever saw, not even Cold Harbor exceeding it in aw- ful suggest! veneaa. Above the gravra oharred stones stand grim sentinels of the dead, no more memorials of anything but disaster. Every inscription has disap- peared, and even the dead are roboerf by the flames. The park turned into a wilder- ness of fire, the crowds doubled backward and made for the srenues leading west- ward and to the south, to reach which they must crus i the river. Many of the bridge*! were in flames; the rest were already choked wlr.h the heavy wagons which, tearing their way tnrough, cruelly aggra- vated the distress of the tbousands of foot- sore women and weary men. Fully 30. coo people were afoot in tins quarter, and this mass densely wedged into barricaded streets, batween trampling horee, kpr. up a ceaseless stream far into the night. With the nigbt, new volumes of flime shot out on the air, and new crowds were hurled among the fifing masse*. There was no hope of saving the city, the struggle was simply for life Half-clad women fiad moaning througn the streets, and At this time, it is asserted, robberit* were perpetrated in some of the remote private residences. A vast throng reached cue prairie, and sunk exhausted on the ground; the air was filled with a torrid heat and even at this great distance immense par tic lea of cinders fell in showers. The dreadful agony of separated families came to add ita horrors to the calamity. Babies were found alone in the multitude, and countless little people crept auout crying wildly for their parents. A blessed ram came down slowly, and the fire, stayed in ite advance, rolled backward and flamed up with greater fierceness in the immense coal piles in the very center of the town. Then a new agony earn 9 upon the people. The only untouched portion of the town was brilliantly illuminated, and for a time ic seemed as though not a roof was to be left in the great city. CONDITION OF THE CHICAGO BANKS. The following statement is made up from the latest returns received at the office or the controller of the currency, The out- standing circulation is secured by United States bonds, deposited by the banks with the treasurer of the United States. De- ducting from the liabilities the capital and accumulated profits which the banks owe to their own stockholders, it will be seen that the aesota are more than tut ojo.ow greater than the remaining liabilities. The following are the aeaeta ana liabili- ties of the national banks in Chicago. June 10, 1871 : ASSETS. Bills receivable $19,586.735 United States and other bonds and atocfcs B.716637 Due from other banks 5,394,290 Real and personal property 729,333 Expenses to be paid 462.63$ Checks and cash items 1,810.091 Money 6,480,462 Total 1*1,178.177 LIABILITIES. Capital $6,950,000 Accumulated profits 3,323,727 Circulation outstanding 5.811.280 Deposits 19.269340 ae to banks 9,089,699 Bills payable 244,112 Total $41,178.177 Number of banks, sixteen. In response to tbe call of the controller for n ports from tbe banks, showing their condition on the 21 inst., bat five Chicago banks have forwarded their official state- ment*. These oame to-day, and possibly more may be received to-morrow. After that date it is not expected at the depart- ment that any further deposit* will be re- ceived. Partial returns will, however, be promulgated by the controller's office, to- gether with the usual promulgation of Na- tional bank reports. THE FUTURE OF CHICAGO. What will be the future of Chicago ! This question is on the lips of everybody. Strangers ask it of Chicagoans, and Chi- cagoans of strangers. Here is a city of three hundred thousand inhabitants that has suddenly lost several hundred millions f dollars and two-thirds of its facilities for living and transacting business. The country at large has subscribed enough in provisions and money to bridge over the first period of physical sufferiug. The in- surance companies and banks will pay something, buc not more than a twentieth f what would repay the losses. The im mense agriculiual region tributary to Chi- cago is unharmed, aad productive as ever. Coioago has bought ics grain and supplied its demand for meretaadiM. The profits on this work for thirty years has been swept away. Ic was these profits that built up Chicago, and if it is rebuilt a similar accretion, year by year, must again be the agency. The capital can not come from any other source. The tension of credit at Caioago JVas always beeu extreme. The city is largely in debt and so are its citizens. The appeal for a heavy loan from government, without col- lateral, Is absurd. It Is commerce that builds large cities, and no subsidies can keep them afloat. Much of Chicago's busi- ness must be, at least, temporarily divert- ed to her rivals. But whatever the condi- tions, she most siart atresh and by her own energy regain her position, mak good her losses, and be content to know that this will be a task for uany years. There is no magic to accomplish it in a twelve-month. Another ugly fact must be faced IB Caloago. Cicieu built of wood must be de- stroyed by dre. All ov*r the globe this law has no exception. Therefore, Chicago mast tear down aa well as build up. Until ahe uses brick, stone and iron in her edi- fices capital will be afraid of her, and her history will be replete with dlswter. wbere the prevailing winds are so boister- ous there is a double need of solid build- ings, and a splendid fire department The wise and thoughtful will be more anxious to know how this city will be re-created than at what rapidity. The winter, with its snows and rigors, is near at hand, and after the tremendous exqitementa of the fire must ome the re- Action of facing the realities of a plodding. every day existence Everything her* must com* down at once to a basis of utility. Embellishment must be sec- ondary to use. The butterflies of the city will take flight, and the totally impover- ished will be tempted to seek other scenes. The classes who have still some property left will strive to render it valuable again, and to them we must look to rebuild Chi- cago, aided by such energetic strangers as may seek their fortunes here, replacing the bankrupt and disheartened. Time alone can determine the extent to which Chicago in ashes can hold its customers and keep them contented. For a year, at least, the charitable of other cities must be ready to contribute t the destitute of i Chicago, and an organization should be perfected here which could be officially recogniz'd, and whose requests lor aid would be cheerfully accepted as right and proper. BKMARKABLE ESCAPE A ROOF <;KO\VJ>KU WITH WOMEN FALL- ING IN. [Prom the New York Sun, October nth 1 Mr. and Mrs. William 1 Spiring, an Eng- lish couple, who have just arrived from Chicago, homeless and friendless, told their story thus : W left Salt Like last week, and started for London, our former home. We have been living in Salt Lake nine years. We ^topped to spend Sunday at Chicago. In the fire of Sunday night we were driven from our hotel with scarcely any clothing, barely getting out of the building, losing our trunks, oiothlng, and $500 in money, all we had. We wandered about tbe city all day Monday in the rai a in search of fod. We obtained from some charitable people sufficient clothing to keep us from expos- ure. The suffering was mtense. aa neither food nor water could be provided until Tuesday for the homeless people. Afcer that uhey were provided for by the author- ities. On Tuesday the mayor issued a pro- clamation, announcing he would issue passes over any road to all who wished to leave the city. We availed ourselves of this opportunity and want to Pittsburgh, whence the Pennsylvania Central passed us to New York, where we arrived this morning. They directed us at the mayor's office to come out here. There was a sad scene at the office of tin mayor of Caloagi the morning following the issue of ni proclamation. Before 6 o'clock in the morning a large crowd had gathered In the street, and formed in line, awaiting the arrival of the mayor to get their passes out of the city of DtBOLATEU HOMES AND WRECKED FOR- TUNES. Befor the mayor arrived (10 o'clock) the line filled several streets. From this time until 6PM patsas were issued as fast as tbeyoould be written. At 6 the delivery of passes ceased, leaving thousands of half-naked and starved men, women and children, covered with ashes and black with smoke, to seek a night's lodging be- neath the sky. Churches, school house* aad dwellings ware thrown open for the 20 shelter of the suffering. Still thousands were compelled ti> camp upon the prairie, with darkness for a covering and the earth .for a bed. Many died from hunger, thirst ar<1 exposure. Exprtssinen, hackmen and drivers of every conceivable vehicle, goaded their horses through the throngs of men, women and children, trampling them down in their uiad haste to depot-it their loads and re- tarn for more plunder. An expressman Made this reply to a son and daughter who had carried their sick father in their arma in in a third story to the street, and who offered this expressman $15 to carry him a fuw blocks out of danger: "Don't talk about $15 to me. Say $1000 and I will talk to you." They had no more money, and tried to carry their father, who urged them to abandon him and save themselves; but they would not, and were OVKRTAKKN 11 Y THE FLAMES AND PERISHED. The horrors as well as the extent oi the tire were no doubt aggravated by incen- diarism and pillage. The police had to die ttitmte arms among the citizens to protect their property . Two men who stood guard- ing their goods were stabbed by roughs. One died The murderer was caught and hanged to a post. Many were hanged and shot. A man was discovered with a bundle or straw and a kerosene can in hia arms in the rear oi some buildings. He waa shot down. On an, inbound train, while the fire was raging, a fellow said he was glad uf it, and hoped that the whole city would barn. The paseengers became so exasperated that they attacked the man, and the conductor pur, him off the train. All the prisoners in the armory were re- leased before the fire reached the building, but we did nht her whether those under the court bouse and in the north side sta- tion were released, but we presume they were, or we should hav heard it men- tioned. We saw twenty-five or thirty ser- vant girls rush to the roof of one of the large hotels to leap into the streets below, but the whl rnor fell in and THEY M ERE ENGULFED. The fire uiuebt-u me liver b> large em- bers and burning boards several feet equare, which were borne across by the vale Never did a fire burn so rapidly. The flames rolled two hundred leet into the air. Curling buck, they would dart across th street, and in an instant another blwck would be in flames. Imagine the un- burned streets at iiight filled with furni- ture, men, women, children and teams, lit only by the lurid glare of the pursuing Humes. No sounds but groans and criee, mingled with the oaths or drivers and the roar of the sea of fire, whose hungry waves were liubjue them no. THK <;Kt..xi i>i i-iur MO v KM i NT. Never before in the history of any great public calamity was there exhibited tuch a large hearted, spontaneous effort to re- lieve the distress of those who suff-ire.1. London has subscribed, through its com- mon council, $>ooo, anil private individuals >.,.( ii more. The great bankers of London gave $5000 each, amounting to $35 Otx) in all Liverpool has given $20,000, the Ameri- can chamber of commerce contributing $15,0v;0 Of this. At Berlin, Frankfort-on-the-Maia and Paris, subscriptions are going on. Alto- gether, the contributions from abroad will amount to over one million of dollars. New York has given over two millions, of which Alex. T. Stewart gives $Y).000, Robert Banner $10.003, and the leading bankers, $5000 each. Boston contributions amount already to $300,000 in cash, with the prospect of more. Cincinnati has contributed $200,600, ex- clusive of clothing and supplies. 8t. Louis merchants have given $140 O'JO in cash, besides $60,000 in supplies. The Pittsburgh common council appro- priated $100,000. beside forwarding large amounts from its citizens Philadelphia will give about $200.000; Baltimore, $100,000, New Orleans, $50000; Memphis, $25,000, and all the smaller towns in proportion. Up to Saturday, the 14th, there had been contributed by the various cilies and towns of the United States, an aggregate of $3,660 820, which h*s doubtless b sen swelled by this time to upwards of $i 000,- 000. Adding the foreign cubfcriptions the total will not fall short t>f seven or eight; millions of dollars in cash, beside the value of a million in food, clothing, \ From all over the country the relief af- forded has been prompt, and spontaneous. Committees of distinguished citizens are now in Chicago from St. Louis, Cincin- nati and Pittsburgh, peisonally superin- tending the disbursements of their boun- ties. No tl'ing has ever occurred ia this country to call out such generous and profound sympathy with genuine distress, which, deplore the occasion as much as we may, cannot but fill the heart of every true American with pride.