YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY
CHARLES H. HAMILL
YALE 1890
MEMORIAL FUND
GIFT OF MRS. HAMILL

CHICAGO IN 1818.

THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION.

CHICAGO: ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.
EMBRACING A DETAILED NARRATIVE OF THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION IN
THE NORTH, SOUTH, AND WEST DIVISIONS :
ORIGIN, PEOGEESS AND EESULTS OF THE FIEE.
PROMINENT BUILDINGS BURNED, CHARACTER OF BUILDINGS, LOSSES AND
INSURANCE, GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF THE FLAMES, SCENES AND
INCIDENTS, LOSS OF LIFE, THE FLIGHT OF THE PEOPLE.
ALSO,
A CONDENSBD HISTORY OF CHICAGO, ITS POPULATION, GROWTH AND
GREAT PUBLIC WORKS.
AND
A STATEMENT OF ALL THE GREAT FIRES OF THE WORLD.

BY JAMES W. SHEAHAN AND GEORGE P. UPTON,
ASSOCIATE EDITORS OP THE CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE.

WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS.

UNION PUBLISHING CO. :
165 TWENTY-SECOND STREET, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.
176 WEST FOURTH STREET, CINCINNATI, OUIO.
26 SOUTH SEVENTH STREET, PHILADELPHIA, PA.
1871.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by
E. S. DeGOLYER,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

PREFACE

This volume is devoted to a connected account of
the great Chicago conflagration, with an incidental
narrative of the destruction caused by the terrible
forest fires in Wisconsin and Michigan, and a neces
sarily brief statement of the great fires of the world,
which may serve for purposes of comparison. It is
the account of witnesses of, and actors in the terrible
scenes that closed with the destruction of a great
city. No person saw the whole, or even any con
siderable part of the fire field. It was too mighty and
vast. We have sought to comprehend in our ac
count all that is vital to an intelligent conception of
the origin and progress of the fire, and the condition
of the city, both before and afterwards ; and in so
doing to make the work valuable as a book of refer
ence. With this end in view, it is compiled as a
condensed statement of the commercial and industrial
resources of the city, its private enterprises and great
(3)

4 PREFACE.
public improvements, and the record of its marvellous
growth. The work opens with the very beginning of
the fire and follows it, street by street, along its terri
ble path of devastation; describes the prominent
buildings consumed ; the thrilling, heroic and even
humorous scenes in the streets, during the fire, and
gives careful estimates of the losses, somewhat in de
tail, and a statement of insurance from official sources.
The operations of the Relief Society are touched
upon sufficiently to give the reader a general idea of
the manner, in which charity has been disbursed.
The losses in churches, schools, and institutions of
music, art and amusement, as well as the public
libraries, are also dwelt upon somewhat at length.
In order to arrive at official reports as far as possible,
the pages of the book have been held open to the
latest possible moment, and thus much valuable
matter has been secured. Liberal space has also
been given to the narrative of the Northwestern
fires, the great fires of the world, and the work of
rebuilding the city. With this preliminary state
ment the authors give their work to the pubhc.
Chicago, December 1, 1871.

J-J-^J

CHICAGO IN 1818.
CHICAGO IN 1871. View from City Hall, looking south and southeast.
CITY HALL before the fire.
CITY HALL after the fire.
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE before the fire.
DRAKE AND FARWELL BLOCK, Wabash avenue, before the fire.
FIELD, LEITER & CO.'S BUILDING before the fire.
VIEW OF THE RUINS from Harrison street, north on Wabash avenue.
VIEW ON CLARK STREET, south from Washington, before the fire.
TRIBUNE BUILDING before the fire.
ILLINOIS & MICHIGAN CENTRAL R. R. DEPOT before the fire.
ILLINOIS & MICHIGAN CENTRAL R. R. DEPOT after the fire.
BOOKSELLERS' ROW, State street, before the fire.
SHERMAN HOUSE before the fire.
UNITY (Mr. CoUyer's) AND NEW ENGLAND CHURCHES before the fire.
CHICAGO CITY WATER WORKS before the fire.
PALMER HOUSE, State street, before the fire.

(5)

6 ILLUSTRATIONS.
SHEPHARD BLOCK, Dearborn street.
PALMER HOUSE, State street, after the fire.
RUSH MEDICAL COLLEGE after the fire.
SAND'S BREWERY after the fire.
ILLINOIS CENTRAL R. R. LAND DEPARTMENT after the fire.
PACIFIC HOTEL after the fire.
BIGELOW HOUSE after the fire.
ST. JAMES CHURCH after the fire.
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, South side, after the fire.
SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH after the fire.
UNITY (Mr. CoUyer's) CHURCH after the fire.
NEW ENGLAND CHURCH after the fire.
CHURCH OF THE HOLY NAME, CATHOLIC, after the fire.
MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DEPOT after the fire.
OGDEN'S RESIDENCE, only residence left on North Division of burned district.
METHODIST CHURCH BLOCK after the fire.
ST. PAUL'S CHURCH (UNIVERSALIST,) after the fire.
ST. JOSEPH'S PRIORY (GERMAN CATHOLIC,) after the fire.
WHERE THE FIRE BEGAN.
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND COURT HOUSE after the fire.
POST OFFICE AND CUSTOM HOUSE after the fire.
CROSBY'S DISTILLERY after the fire.
FIRST NATIONAL BANK after the fire.
REPUBLIC LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY after the fire
MASONIC TEMPLE, Dearborn street, after the fire.
DESTRUCTION OF THE CENTRAL ELEVATOR, at the mouth of Chicago river.
THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION as it appeared from the prairie.
DIAGRAM, showing the origin of the fire, and situation of the most prominent
buildings destroyed.
A COMPLETE MAP OF CHICAGO, showing the burned and unburned districts.

CONTENTS

Chicago as it Was
Situation — Plan of the City — Indian Trading Post — Gen.
Wayne's Treaty — First Land Sale — First Settlement in
Chicago — Pioneer Settlers — Mission Church and School —
Village Taverns and Cabins — Fort Dearborn — Land
Grants and Public Improvements — " Town of Chicago "
Laid Out — The Beginning of Chicago — Growth of the
Town — The City of Chicago Incorporated, 1837 — Increase
of population till 1871 — How the City was built — Improve
ments, &c, &c.  19
The Water Works
The Old Water Works, 1839— The Second Works, 1853—
Plan and Capacity of Works— The Drainage— Defective
and Obnoxious System — The New Water Works— The
Great Tunnel under the Lake — Description of the Works —
Water supplied through the Tunnel in 1867— General
Enlargement of the Works— Capacity of the Works-
Water Supply — Another Tunnel Contemplated — Cost of
the Works— Character of Machinery .... 29
The Streets Total Length— Pavements— Wooden— McAdam— Boul
ders— Cinders — Gravel . . ... • • .39
Sewerage
Total Length of  39
(V)

8 CONTENTS.
Gas How the City was Supplied—" Chicago Gas and Coke
Company" — " Peoples' Gas Company " . . . .39
Bridges and Tunnels
Pivot Bridges, Connecting Divisions of the City — Wash
ington Street Tunnel — La Salle Street Tunnel . . .40
River and Canal
Character of the River— Its Uses — A Nuisance Trans
formed into a Blessing — The Current of the River
Reversed — The Water of Lake Michigan flowing " up the
Chicago River," at an expense of $3,750,000 . . .40
Chamber of Commerce
Building Erected, 1864— Description of Edifice — Board of
Trade  42
The Grain Market
Beginning and Growth of— Shipments of Wheat— Corn
and other Grains  42
Elevators Number and Capacity of  44
Cattle Yards v
Area of— General Description of— Cattle Trade — Receipts
and Shipments of Cattle, Sheep and Hogs . . . 44
Lumber Trade
Magnitude of  45
Trade Exhibit, for 1870
Lake Commerce
Number and Character of Vessels engaged in . 46
Railroads Number of-Miles of Track-Trains Arriving and Depart
ing Daily  46

CONTENTS. 9
Taxable Property
Amount of  47
City Debt Amount and Character of— Limited . . . .47
Manufactures
Value of  47
Banks
Number of— Aggregate Capital  47
lost Office
Third in business in the Country — Description of Build
ing — Government Offices  48
The Court Bouse
The Building — Location, extent and use of . .48
The Police Number of  49
Fire Department
How Organized — Number of Engines— Other Machines . 49
Population Population by Wards for 1870 and 1871— Extent of De
struction in each Ward — The Character of Improvements
in the several Wards — Description of Streets and Edifices
— Churches, Halls and other Buildings . . . .50
Parks and Boulevards
Lincoln Park — Location, Extent and Plan of— Humboldt
Park — Central Park — Douglas Park — North Park— South
Park  57
fa-
Business of Chicago
Statement from the Tribune— Growth of Trade— Direct
Importation— Bonded Warehouses — Tea Trade . . 59

10 CONTENTS.

THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION.
Fire of Saturday
Where and when the Fire began — How it Spread — What
was Destroyed— The Ruins— The Loss ,. . . .63
Fire of Sunday in the West Division
The Alarm— The Fire, its Origin and Spread — The Gale —
The Fire Line — The Firemen — Struggle against the Fire-
Fiend— Course of the Fire— Progress of the Fire — The
air filled with Brands — 150 Acres in Flames before Mid
night — The Fire Leaps Across the River — It Rushed as in
a Field of Snow — Sublime — Terrific — Appalling — The
Field of Destruction  64
The South Division
A Fiery Messenger at Midnight — Spread of the Fire in
South Division — Flight of the Inhabitants — Showers of
Coals and Fire Brands — Flames Leaping from Roof to
Roof— Great Hotels, Great Blocks of Business Houses
— Court House, Churches, Public Halls and Private Resi
dences Wrapped in Flame  .73
Prominent Buildings
Depots — Hotels — Banks — Opera Houses — Theaters — Mu
seums — Churches — Art Buildings— Chamber of Commerce
— Court House— Custom House and Post Office. . . 80
Scenes from the Tribune Office
A Turning Point
Workings of the Fire
Tornado of Flame— Sheets of Fire— Showers of Cinders-
Billows of Smoke— White Heat— Steady Roar of advanc
ing Flame, the Carnival of Fire and the Howl of the
Blast — Destructive Power of the Fire. . . . 85

CONTENTS. 1 1
Street Scenes
How the Fire Affected Men — Mobs of Men, Women and
Children rushing wildly through the Streets — Efforts to
Save Goods — Efforts to Save Valuables — Efforts to Save
Life — Destruction of Liquor — Men and Boys reeling
through the Streets to Destruction  88
Character of Buildings
Tribune Building — Crosby Opera House — McVicker's
Theatre — Farwell Hall — Voung Men's Christian Associa
tion — Academy of Design — Academy of Sciences — Busi-
Houses, &c  93
Fire in the North Division
Course of the Fire in the North Division — The Court
House — The Sherman House — No More Efforts to Arrest
The Flames — The City Conquered by the Fire Fiend-
Destruction Complete  105
Flight of the People
The Inhabitants Driven from Place to Place — Refuge in
the Lake — In the Great Parks — On the Plains — Aged,
Infirm, Sick and Dying Fleeing for Life — Perilous
Escapes  Ill
Intense Heat
Complete Combustion — Wood, Iron and Stone alike
Consumed.  119
Losses and Insurance
List of Losses and Amounts of Insurance — Buildings and
Stores— Churches  124
Insurance Companies
Losses of Companies by States— New York Companies —
Rhode Island Companies — Connecticut Companies —
Massachusetts Companies— Ohio Companies— Aggregate. 129

12 CONTENTS.
Destruction of Property
Sidewalks Destroyed
Churches Burnt
Episcopal — Presbyterian — Congregational — Baptist —
Methodist— Unitarian— Roman Catholic— Universalist. . 135
Value of Goods Destroyed
Ale Breweries
The Newspapers
The Principal Buildings Destroyed
Complete of noted Buildings, public and private de
stroyed—Hotels — Churches— Theatres— Banks — Savings
Banks — Railway Stations  146
The Fine Arts
Losses in Literature — A.rt — Music and the Drama —
Libraries — and Art Galleries destroyed — Places of Amuse
ment — Young Mens' Christian Association Library—
The Florists  l."2
Statement of the Fire Marshal
The Fire Marshal Interviewed — What be said of the fire. 160
Statement of the Assistant Fire Marshal .
The Patrol Duties
Incidents and Scenes  171
Pro clamations
The Governor of Illinois — The Governor of Wisconsin 
The Governor of Michigan — The Governor of Iowa — The
Governor of Ohio— Mayor of Chicago— Lieutenant Gen
eral Sheridan— Secretary of "War— Official Orders— The
Mayor of New York ....... 173

CONTENTS. 13

INCIDENTS.
Bookseller's Row  193
The Rescue of the Dead  194
Destruction of Trunks  196
Eccentricities  200
Domestic Animals  201
The Grave Yards  204
Weddings and Marriages  206
The Ogden Mansion  209
A Courageous Banker . . , . . . . 211
A Faithful Clerk  212
A Baby Rescued  212
Safe Vaults  213
A Deranged Woman •  213
Roche the Teamster  214
What Cider Accomplished  217
The Post Office Cat  217
Fire Humors  218
A Narrow Escape  220
A Scene in the Tunnel  222
Puritan Relics  223
Advertisements  223
An Heroic Woman  224
Coolness  224
Unfortunate Benevolence  225
A Plucky Merchant  225
Fire Proof Buildings  226
What a Determined Man did  228
A Fearful Trotting Match  232
Fatal Leap for Life  236
A Wedding Postponed ....... 239
Unprofitable— Deep Grief  241
The Children  242
The Indians  • 243

14 ' CONTENTS.
Through the Tunnel  244
The Court House Bell ....... 845
Labors of Love  246
Reflections and Suggestions  248
After the Fire ...-.•... 853
Chicago by Moonlight  255
The Spine of Chicago  261
Wanted to see the Ruins  262
Anouncements  263
A Mournful Case  264
Mrs. Lander's Letters •  266
Escape and Death  273
The Petroleum Stone  277
Generous in Danger  280
Views of an Expert  281
Experience of Hon J. N. Arnold  286

RELIEF MEASURES.
Meeting in Boston  294
Statements of the Relief and Aid Society .... 297
Ladies' Relief Society  • 300
Donations  301

RELIEF INCIDENTS.
Scenes in the " Church of Refuge" . . . 307
Robert CoUyer's Sermon in Boston ..... 311
Feeling in England  _ glg
Sidney H. Gray's Letter  3jg
Resumption of Business.
Receipts and Shipments in two days— Receipts and Ship
ments for weeks ending November 11th and 18th, 1870
and 1871, compared . . . . _ 327

CONTENTS. 15

NEW CHICAGO.
"Resurgam"  329
Rebuilding Chicago  336
The Work of Rebuilding  339
The Future — The Missouri Republican .... 343

EMINENT CITIZENS OF CHICAGO.
Charles Toby— John Van Osdel  347
Philip A. Hoyne— Hon. Digby N. Bell . . . .348
Hon. Isaac V. Arnold — Thomas Church .... 349
Col. Geo. B. Armstrong — James H. Brown . . . 350
John V. Farwell— Wm. F. Codbough . . . .351
William. Heath Byford— F. G. Welsh— Samuel Hoad . 352
Julius Bauer  353
James H. Hoes  354

POEMS.
Chicago — John Q. Whiltier  357
The Smitten City— Geo. Alfred Townsend . . .361
Chicago — Bret Harte  364
Out of the Ashes — Howard Glyndon .... 365
Paris and Chicago — New York Post  367

NORTHWESTERN FIRES.
Wisconsin. What the Sufferers saw and Experienced— Appearance of
Peshtigo after the Fire— Before the Fire— The Extent of
the Burned District in the State— The Track of the Tor
nado—Green Bay Region— Oconto County— Losses in
Farming Districts  371

•16 CONTENTS.
Michigan.
Fires in Huron and Sanilac— Relief Labors— Destruction
of Timber — Story of a Citizen near Port Huron . . 386
Losses of Life Summed up  .393
THE GREAT FIRES OF THE WORLD..
Rome, A. D. 64  399
Moscow, 1812  ' . .401
London, 1666— New York, 1835, 1843 . . ; ' .'. 404
» * i / ¦..»¦•
Pittsburgh, 1845  . . .405
Philadelphia, 1865— San Francisco, 1851— Portland, 1866. 406
Charleston, 1838— Chicago, 1867-9, 1866-8 . . .407
Other Great Fires  409
Comparison  412
Fire in the Air — A Remarkable Theory .... 416
APPENDIX. '
The Origin of the Chicago Fire
The Fire Alarm — Official Investigation — Testimony of
Alarm Operators  419
Court House Watchman-
Statement of Matthias Brown  421
Mrs. O'Leary, "Owner of the Cow"— Other Witnesses
Examined  433
Mayor Mason's Address
Meeting of Council to Inaugurate the Mayor Elect . 439
Mayor Medill's Message
The Condition of the City— The Pioneers— Municipal
Losses — Fire Department— Police Department — Board of
Education — Other Municipal Losses — The Records— Com
bustible Character of Chicago — What the Future Fire
Limits Should be — Independent Water Supply for Fires
— Conclusion  44O

MAP SHOWING EXACT LOCATION AND BOUNDARY AND ORIGIN OF FIRE

CHICAGO AS IT WAS.

Richard Cobden, it is said, once remarked that no
man ought to die without visiting America to see
Niagara and Chicago. The City of Chicago has
been regarded as one of the marvels of the age.
Her rapid growth and her stately magnificence
have been the astonishment of the world. Her
early history, when contrasted with her wealth and
grandeur on the 7th of October, 1871, becomes of
peculiar interest, even to those whose particular
concern for Chicago dates with the recent calamity.
Chicago is situated near the head of Lake Mich
igan ; has an elevation of five hundred and ninety-
one feet above the sea. It is situated upon both
sides of the Chicago river, a slow stream, which at
a point little over half a mile from the mouth, is
formed by the junction of two streams, or branches,
one flowing from the northwest, and the other from
the southwest. The river and branches divide the
city into three natural parts, legally known as the
South, North and West Divisions. The South
Division included all the territory east of the south
2 (19>

20 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION  CHICAGO:
branch, and south of the main river. The North
Division included the area east of the north branch,
and north of the river ; while the West Division
included all that part of the city west of the two
branches. From 1681 to 1 795, during the time of
the French possession, and after its cession to Eng
land, very little is known of Chicago or the surround
ing country. After the declaration of peace, between
the Colonists and the English, the latter, by intrigue,
stirred up the border Indian warfare, which be
came general in the Western States, and continued
until 1795, at which period, having been effectually
chastised by General Wayne, the chiefs of the seve
ral tribes of Indians, by his invitation, assembled at
Greenville, Ohio, and there effected a treaty of
peace, which closed the War of the West. Among
the numerous small tracts of land where forts and
trading posts had been established, then ceded by
the Indians to the United States, was one described
as follows: One piece of land, six miles square, at
the mouth of the Chikajo River, emptying into the
southwest end of Lake Michigan, where a fort for
merly stood.
Here we have an account of the first land trade
of Chicago — the first transaction in that line of
business which has at times distinguished Chicago
above every other city of the nation — the first link
in the chain of title to thousands upon thousands of
transfers that have been made of the soil thus parted
with by the Indians.
When the first settlers of Chicago began to con-

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 21
gregate and erect their cabins, with the view of
forming the nucleus of a town, the point selected as
the most available for village purposes, was the
tract on the west side, at the junction of the north
and south branches, and at first called Wolf's Point.
In addition to the few buildings that were standing
in 1818, we have only to mention this group at
Wolf's Point, two or three buildings on the south
side, between the point and the fort, and the
Miller House, on the north side. ,
The Miller House stood on the point of land
between the north branch and the main channel.
It was a log structure partly sided, and was erected
by Mr. Samuel Miller, who resided here with his
family and a brother by the name of John Miller.
This house was used as a tavern. A little above its
mouth on the north branch, was a log bridge, which
gave access from that quarter to the business of the
agency, and the little trade which may have con
tinued up to this time on the north branch.
But the centre of attraction was at Wolf's Point,
opposite the Miller House. Here, too, was another
tavern, the public house, par excellence, of Chicago
— the school house and church, as well as the store.
On the south side, the most prominent object of in
terest was the tavern kept by Mr. Elijah Wentworth,
a man familiarly known as " Old Geese," not as a
burlesque on the worthy landlord, but as a compli
ment to his distinctive and original character. This
building was partly log and partly frame, and was
situated on the ground north of Lake Street Bridge,

22 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
now occupied as a lumber yard. North of this
tavern was an oblong building which had been
erected by Father Walker, a missionary of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, for a place of worship,
and for a school house. Mr. Walker had at times
ministered to the spiritual wants of the settlement,
from this rude temple. Mr. W. had a residence in
the country known as Walker's, which distinguished
the locality at that time, which is now Plainfield,
Will Co. This log tabernacle was the meeting
house of the town. Mr. See, who, it seems, was
the local preacher or exhorter, and who resided at
the Point, was the supply which was most generally
afforded. Preaching was upon a par with other
callings and employments of the place. Mr. Went-
worth's tavern was the best one kept in Chicago.
It was the place where men of character who visited
the town always stopped. It was the headquarters
of Gen. Scott, when he came to Chicago with the
troops for the Black Hawk War, in 1832. The
distinctive name of this celebrated tavern, as famil
iarly used by all the settlers, was "Rat Castle," in
contrast with its rival in distinction on the north
side, "Cobweb Castle," and in commemoration of a
large class of regular boarders that infested its prem
ises, as well as every other cabin on the river shore.
Next south of Wentworth's tavern was the resi
dence of James Kinzie. Next to these were low
cabins, in which resided Alexander Robinson, and
here occasionally, resided Billy Caldwell, whose wife
was the wild daughter of an Indian dief, and her

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 23
presence did not always hallow his wigwam with
the sanctity of peace. Still further south of these
was the store-house of Mr. Robert A. Kinzie, son
of Mr. John Kinzie, who had succeeded his father
in the Indian trade, and his stock consisted of gro
ceries, Indian goods and supplies for the settlers,
and was the store of the village, as essentially as
Wentworth's was the village tavern. Across the
south branch, on the east side, resided Mark Beau-
bien, brother of Gen. J. B. Beaubien, who also kept
tavern. In 1831 his establishment had risen to a
two-story dwelling, painted, with green blinds, and
soon attained to the title of the Saganash Hotel —
which was the Indian name of Billy Caldwell — and
so called in honor of that distinguished chief and
man of the times, for he was then one of the promi
nent residents of Chicago. It stood near what is
now the southeast corner of Lake and Market
streets. By this time there had been a place of
amusement started in a little, low, log shanty, where
was set up a billiard table, at which citizens of lei
sure amused themselves in knocking about three
cracked balls. Farther up the south branch was
the residence of a French Indian trader by the name
of Bourissa. In the South Division, near the
"slough" that drained the marshes of the south
side, and emptied into the river at State street, was
the trading house of Medert Beaubien — son of Col.
Beaubien — a cabin of smaH pretensions. Upon the
Lake shore, a little distances south of the fort, Col.
Beaubien resided in the cabin which he had pur-

24 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION  CHICAGO:
chased of the American Fur Company, in 1817 —
which he had elevated to the dignity of a homestead,
and which was now familiarly known among the
settlers by the name of the " Wigwam." Near this
residence was his store, in which the American Fur
Company kept a stock of goods for the Indian trade.
Further south, the old Dean house had started on
the way to ruin; the water of the lake had gradually
encroached upon the shore, until it had undermined
the foundations of the cabin, and it had fallen back
ward down the bank, where it lay, a type of ruin,
an emblem, in the estimation of the croakers (who
existed at that time, as well as the present), of the
future of Chicago. Another settler about this time
had taken up his residence in the suburbs, to be
rated with the other "outside settlers," who had
linked their fortunes with Chicago, for better or
worse — and this was Dr. Harmon, the father of
Isaac D. Harmon, who had made a claim a mile
and a half south, on the lake shore, on the site of
the Indian battle ground of 1812, and was making
a fine improvement there. This was the place since
known as Clark's, the site of which is now occupied
by some of the finest residences in Chicago.
In the year 1804 the United States erected Fort
Dearborn upon the south bank of the river, just
east of the present Michigan avenue. Mr. Kinzie
and his son, John H., Indian traders, were the only
white residents until the war of 1812, when the
post was abandoned. The small garrison, in
attempting to escape, were captured by the Potta-

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 25
watomies, and massacred at a point now represented
by Twelfth street and Michigan avenue. In 1816
the fort was rebuilt, and the Kinzies returned, and
the fort served for many years as a resting place for
emigrants passing to the West. The inhabitants did
not exceed half-a-dozen families, until in 1827 Con
gress made a grant of land to aid in the construction
of a canal to connect the waters of Lake Michigan
with those of the Illinois river. In 1829 the State
Legislature appointed a commission to mark out
the route of the canal, and a surveyor arrived to
mark out the town. Beside the garrison at that
time, there were eight families, engaged mostly as
Indian traders, in the place. Gov. Bond, the first
Governor of Illinois, in his inaugural, in 1818, called
the attention of the General Assembly to the im
portance of opening a canal to connect Lake Michi
gan with the Illinois river. In his valedictory, in
1822, he again urged its importance. The session
of Congress, 1821-2, passed an act, granting "per
mission to the State of Illinois to cut -a canal through
the public lands connecting the Illinois river with
Lake Michigan, and granting to it the breadth of
the canal and ninety feet on each side of it," coupled
with the condition, " that the State should permit
all articles belonging to the United States, or to any
person in their employ, to pass toll free, forever."
With a hard and protracted struggle by numerous
individuals, and especially by Daniel P. Cook, Esq.,
who was at that time Representative in Congress,
and from whom Cook county was named, an act

26 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
was passed by Congress, March 2d, 1827, granting to
the State for the construction of this work, " each
alternate section of land, five miles in width, on each
side of the proposed canal." We make mention of
these facts, because it was from this act of Congress
the State acquired the title to those lands which have
formed the basis for many of its most important
financial transactions ; from which originated the
titles to the valuable canal lands, on which a large
portion of the city is built — on which, too, villages,
towns and cities have sprung up, all along its line.
In the autumn of 1829, commissioners authorized
the laying out of the " Town of Chicago," on the
alternate section which belonged to the canal lands
— lying upon the main channel of the river, and
over the junction of the two branches. The first
map of the original town of Chicago, by James
Thompson, surveyor, bears date, August 4 th, 1830.
This was the first beginning of Chicago, as a legally
recognized place among the towns and cities of the
world — the first official act of organization, which
must accordingly be dated as its birth, or real start
ing point, and the town was comprised within the
limits of what are now known as Madison, State,
Kinzie and Halstead streets, or about three-eighths
of a square mile. Hence this city, with its popula
tion of 330,000 — the leading mart in the world for
grain, pork, lumber, will have arrived on the 4th
day of August, 1872, at the precocious maturity of
forty-two years. In 1831 Cook county was organ
ized, embracing, in addition to the present county,

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 27
the territory which now is known by five other
large and populous counties. The prospective
work on the canal was attracting population,
but, in 1832, the cholera visited the incipient city,
and was very severe. In 1832 the first public re
ligious worship was held in a log hut erected for
that purpose. The tax list for 1832 amounted to
$148.29. Lake street was laid out the same year.
In 1833 the settlement had increased enough to
have a post office and postmaster, and a weekly
mail ; and late in the year, the Chicago Democrat, a
weekly paper, was started by John Calhoun. On
the 10th of August, the voters of Chicago held an
election to determine whether they would become
incorporated, and to elect trustees. Every man
voted, and the number of voters was twenty-eight,
many of whom are now living ; and the levy for
city taxes, in 1834, was $48.90. In 1834 the num
ber of voters had increased to one hundred and
eleven, and a loan of $60 was negotiated for public
improvements. In 1835 the number of voters was
two hundred and eleven. In 1836 the town
appHedto the State Bank for a loan of $25,000, and
was refused. In 1837 the Legislature incorporated
the City of Chicago, and in May following the Hon.
William B. Ogden was elected Mayor of Chicago.
Thus, on the first Tuesday in May, 1837, twenty-
four years ago, commenced the City of Chicago,
which then contained a population of 4,179. The
following is a statement of the population of Chi
cago, for each year since that time :

28

THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:

Tear.

Population.

Year.

Population

1837 . .

. 4,179

1854 .

. 65,872

1838 . .

4,000

1855 .

. 80,023

1839 . .

4,200

1856 .

. 86,000

1840 . .

4,470

1857 .

. 93,000

1841 . .

5,500

1858 .

not taken

1842 . . .

6,590

1859 . .

. 90,000

1843 . .

7,580

1860 .

109,263

1844 . . .

8,000

1861 .

120,000

1845 . .

12,088

1862 .

137,030

1846 . .

14,169

1863 .

150,000

1847 . .

16,859

1864 .

161,288

1848 . .

20,023

1865 .

187,446

1849 . .

23,047

1866 .

200,000

1850 . .

. 28,269

1867 .

. 220,000

1851 . .

34,000

1868 .

. 242,383

1852 . .

38,734

1870 .

. 298,977

1853 . .

60,662
v» + Vi o flvfvi.

1871 .

. 334,270

wonderful city.
The natural line of the site of Chicago, was but a
few feet above that of the lake, and there was no
drainage, and in seasons of rain the surface was
covered with water. In the winter of 1855-6 the
city ordered a change of grade, raising the height of
the carriage ways an average of eight feet. This
placed the lower or ground story of each building
several feet below the level of the street ; but the
inconvenience was rapidly overcome by raising all
the buildings, brick, stone and wood, up to the level.
All the large buildings, including many hotels,
business blocks, warehouses, &c, were raised, by
means of screws, from their foundations a height of

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 29
from six to ten feet, and new foundations built under
them. This secured deep, dry cellars and admitted
a thorough system of sewerage. The city ordered
an effective dredging of the harbor, and the clay
thus obtained served to fill the streets to the new
grade. For several years, while this process was
going on, the passage of Chicago streets was a work
of trying difficulty to pedestrians. The expense was
great, but was cheerfully borne by the property
holders. Then commenced the works of permanent
improvement in the city, and how far they had pro
gressed may be seen by the following comparative
tables :

Year 1854.

Tear 1871.

6i
600
miles. feet.
160 40
miles
Nicholson
pavement, .
Stone pavement, . . .
n
5
Water pipe and drains,
30
miles.
400
Sidewalks
(plank), . .
159
u
900
Sidewalks
(stone), . .
500
feet.
30
The Chicago Water Works.
Chicago has always had the reputation of a boast
ful city, but the truth is, its growth, expansion and
increase have always exceeded the predictions of its
own most sanguine people. This is in nowise more
clearly shown than in its water supply, the history
of which at once tells the story of an enterprising
people and of the city's extraordinary progress. In
1839, a company was chartered to supply Chicago
with water. It erected a reservoir on the lake shore
30 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION  CHICAGO:
at the corner of Michigan avenue and Water street,
and with a pump, the. motive power of which was a
small engine of twenty-five horse power, drew water
from the lake into the reservoir, and this water was
distributed through logs, having a bore of from three
to five inches.
In 1851, a new company was formed, and in the
fall of that year a plan was adopted, which was
based upon the estimate, considered ridiculous at
the time, that in 1866 the city would have 100,000,
inhabitants. This company selected a site on the
lake shore. A crib made of wood 20 by 40 feet
was sunk 600 feet out in the lake, and from this a
wooden inlet was constructed, through which the
water was introduced to a large well, 25 feet deep.
Over this well was erected a pump. This pump,
moved by a steam engine, forced the water .into the
mains. At three points in the city were erected
large stone reservoirs, in which the water accumu
lated and received a head, which forced it through
the distributing pipes. A large tower was erected
in the engine house, serving the double purpose of
a chimney for the boilers, and a chamber for the
standing column of water. The engine was of 200
horse power. In December, 1853, the water was
first pumped, and in February, 1854, water was first
introduced into buildings. In the meantime rail
roads had been laid down to and from Chicago.
The city had three trunk lines of rail communica
tion to the Atlantic seaboard, and as many west to
the Mississippi river. A road had been built with

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 31
two nearly parallel lines southward, the whole
length of the State. Immigration was pouring in.
In 1862, the length of water pipe laid exceeded 105
miles and the demand was greater. In 1860, the
city had exceeded 109,000 inhabitants, and the in
crease after the beginning of the war had received
a new impetus. The commerce on the river or
harbor had grown immensely. Simultaneously
with the water system, the city had established a
system of sewerage. Under the plan adopted the
sewerage all found its way into the river. As the
water was extended, the closets of all buildings were
connected with the sewers. On the banks of the
river and its branches were erected large distilleries
with their accompanying cattle pens; the drainage
all flowing into the river. The packing houses
which had become numerous, with extensive busi
ness, emptied their refuse into the river. A result
was that the river became a horrible nuisance. Its
odor was terrific; as the wind happened to blow,
so were the various parts of the city suffocated with
this fearful stench. The river itself had no current
save when the wind blew off shore, when the putrid
stuff slowly escaped into the lake where its inky
waters might be traced for miles ; when there were
heavy rains, the current carried out the blackened,
sickening water, and for a few days after each of
such floods, the river was clean again. The smells
of Chicago river had become as historical as those
of Cologne. The worst evil, however, was that when
ever the wind was from the south or east, the water

32 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
of the river escaping into the lake was carried up
to the crib, through which the water works ob
tained its supply. It was thence redistributed to
the public. At times the stench in dwellings from
this fearful liquid was intolerable. It was not only
black, with a shocking odor, but was greasy to the
touch. It became necessary, therefore, not only to
provide better water, but also to provide for a supply
commensurate with the growth of the city.
In 1863, the city was authorized to construct a
tunnel under the lake to obtain a supply of pure
water. A careful survey was made, and such a
proceeding was pronounced feasible. On the 9th
of September, 1863, bids were opened and the con
tract awarded to Dull and Gowan, of Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania, for $315,139. Ground was broken
on the 17th of March, 1864. The shore shaft was
first sunk. The original intention to have this shaft
exclusively of brick was abandoned because of some
quicksands, and a cylinder was sunk, 26 feet, to the
bottom of the sand bed. This cylinder is 9 feet
in diameter inside, and 2£ inches thick.
From the shore shaft the tunnel is 5 feet wide
and 5 feet 2 inches in height, the upper and lower
arches being semi-circles. The masonry consists of
brick 8 inches thick, laid in two rings, the bricks
being laid lengthwise. The bottom of the tunnel
where it connects with the lake shaft is 66 feet
below the level of the earth, and 64 below the level
of the lake. The inclination towards the shore is
2 feet per mile. By closing the gate at the crib

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 33
the tunnel will empty into the shore shaft, and can
then be inspected and if necessary repaired. The
work was prosecuted incessantly by night and .by
day. Stiff blue clay was first met with in the bore,
and with the exception of a few slight pockets of
sand, the whole work was carried through the same
formation. A railway was laid in the tunnel, and
cars were filled with clay and drawn to the mouth
by mules ; the returning cars carried back bricks
and cement. There were several niches or turnouts
constructed, having a double purpose of affording
convenience and of giving strength to the work.
In July, 1865, or nineteen months after the com
mencement of work at the shore end, the monster
crib, built for the lake end of the tunnel, was
launched, and towed safely to its destination, and
sunk. It was of large proportions. The dimen
sions were imposing. It was of a pentagonal
form, 40 feet high, with a circle of 98| feet
in diameter was built of square logs having
three walls 11 feet distant from each other, leaving
in the center a space equal to a circle of 25 feet ; in
this inner circle or space was sunk and fixed an
iron cylinder 9 feet in diameter, extending from
the water line 64 feet to the tunnel. The water at
that point is 33 feet deep, and the cylinder is there
fore 31 feet below the bottom of the lake. To
safely anchor this important structure so that it
might withstand the fury of lake storms and the
incessant beating of the waters, was no easy matter.
It contains an equivalent to 750,000 feet of lumber,

34 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
board measure; 150 tons of iron bolts, and is loaded
with 4,500 tons of stone. Its whole weight is 5,700
tons. The structure stands 12 feet above the water
line. As soon as this was safely anchored and the
cylinder sunk, the whole was covered with a build
ing to protect the workmen. The earth excavated
was loaded upon scows, which brought back with
them bricks and cement. The work on the tunnel
proper did not begin at this end until December,
1865, when the first brick was laid. The whole
length of the tunnel was 2 miles. On January 1st,
1865, there had been 4,825 feet of the tunnel built
from the shore end. After that time work pro
gressed from both ends. On December 6th, 1866,
the wall between the two gangs was broken, the
men shook hands, and the last brick was laid by
Major John B. Rice. The water was not, however,
furnished to the city until March, 1867, when there
was a grand civic celebration.
The increase of water supply necessitated an in
crease of distributing power. The old engine and
pump house was greatly enlarged. A new tower
of stone, 130 feet high, was erected some distance
west of the pump. Within this tower is an iron
column, three feet in diameter, to the top of which
the water is forced from the tunnel by the powerful
pumping machinery, and thence by its own pressure
is forced through the mains and distributing pipes
of the city. The total cost of this grand work com
plete, with new engines and all things pertaining to
the enlarged works, was about $1,000,000.

CHICAGO WATER-W08KS.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 37
Since then, the laying of water mains has been
pushed extensively. In 1 854 the first pipe was laid.
At the close of 1860, 71 miles of pipe had been laid.
When the water was admitted in March, 1867,
it flowed through 154 miles of pipe. In 1867 and
1868, 50 additional miles were laid, and on the 1st
of April, 1870, the total length of pipe laid was 239
miles 4,763 feet, when the fire occurred there
were about 275 miles of pipe laid.
The increase in the consumption of water upon
the procurement of a pure quality was surprising.
The total amount supplied in 1866, averaged 8,600,-
000 gallons daily. In 1867, the first year of the
pure water, it averaged 11,560,000 gallons daily.
In 1869 its average during the whole year was
18,633,278 gallons daily, though on some days it
equalled 20,000,000 gallons. In 1870 the average
had increased to 21,000,000 gallons daily. In 1871
no official report had been made, but the consump
tion was fully up to 24,000,000 gallons daily. So
greatly had this demand exceeded even the most
sanguine expectations, that it was feared the capacity
of the works would not be sufficient. So this
enterprising people resolved to extend the tunnel
from its present shore end, west of southwest in
an air-line, a distance of nearly three miles under
the city, and under the main river and its south
branch, and there erect a duplicate works. It
was also contemplated to build another tunnel
under the lake to secure an additional supply of
water, to be used in case of any accident to the one
3

38 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
now in use. The capacity of the present tunnel
is 57,000,000 gallons daily.
The quality of the water is most excellent. It is
very pure and free of all earthy substances. Even
in the most stormy seasons, such are the admirable
precautions at the crib, that little or no sand enters
the tunnel, and what does enter is caught in the
catch basins before reaching the shore wells. The
engraving represents the exterior of the works with
the tower. The surrounding grounds had but re
cently been put in order, and the whole presented a
handsome landscape, the broad lake spreading far to
the eastward an appropriate back-ground.
The annual expense of the pumping works, or
operating expenses including repairs and salaries,
was about $80,000, and the cost of delivering water
per million of gallons was less than $10,000. The
annual income from water service was about
$650,000, paying the interest on the water debt, all
expenses, and leaving a surplus to pay for exten
sions of the service pipes.
The machinery of the water works was of the
most excellent character. It had recently been
augmented by an enormous engine, not surpassed in
power or excellence of workmanship by any like
production in the country. This engine was put in
place in September. The fire destroying the sup
ports of the roof, let the burning mass fall upon this
machinery. It was then exposed to the intense heat
borne by the gale for twelve hours. The effect was
damaging. As soon as possible a force of mechanics

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 39
were put at work, and in eleven days an engine was
in operation, again supplying the city with water.
The Streets of Chicago.
The whole length of streets in Chicago numbers 531 miles.
Of which there were improved :
By wooden blocks,  37.60 miles.
" boulders,  3.77 "
" McAdam,  11.26 "
" cindering,  2.40 "
" gravelling,  6.43 "
Total miles improved, . . .61.46 "
The annual assessments upon abutting property
since and including 1869, for street improvements,
exceeded $2,000,000. Sewerage.
The total length of sewerage constructed to
April 1st, 1870, was 1361 miles; in 1870 and 1871
about 50 miles additional were laid.

Gas.
The North and South Divisions were supplied by
the Chicago Gas and Coke Company, whose works
were at the junction of Adams and Franklin streets;
and the West Division by the People's Gas Com-
-pany. The former company had just completed new
works north of the city, and in six days after the
fire, was again furnishing gas to the people, resident
in that portion of its territory not swept by the fire.

40 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION— CHICAGO :
Bridges and Tunnels.
Communication between the several parts of the
city was kept up by pivot-bridges, spanning the river
and its branches. During the fire all the bridges
on the main river, four in number, were destroyed,
and three were burned on the south branch. As
these bridges had to be swung open to permit vessels
to pass, the interruption to passengers and vehicles
was so great that other means were demanded.
For this purpose, in 1869, a tunnel was built under
the south branch, under the line of Washington
street. This tunnel has a double roadway for
vehicles, and a. twelve feet passage for pedestrians.
In September, 1871, another but much better
tunnel was constructed under the main river, on
the line of La Salle street. In both cases the skill
of the engineers and the success of the mechanics
have been remarkable. These tunnels were not
injured by the fire.
The River and the Canal.
To understand the last grand triumph of the enter
prise of the people of Chicago, it must be borne in
mind that the river is the receiver of the entire
sewerage system of Chicago. Into that river there
is forever falling the foul discharges of the hundreds
of miles of sewers, and in Chicago all the water
closets are connected with the sewers. The wash
ings of the distilleries and of the packing-houses also

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 41
flow into the river. As the river, though deep, is but
in fact an estuary of the lake, there is no current, save
when the wind is off shore, and consequently none
of this filth was ever carried out, save when contin
ued heavy rains would produce a current. The
river, therefore, was offensively odorous; in the
winter, when covered with ice, the foul gases did
not escape, but at other seasons it was intolerable.
The Illinois and Michigan canal was connected
with the south branch of the river by a lock, the
canal being several feet above the river To supply
the canal with water, pumps were erected, and the
city was forced to hire these pumps to pump the
water from the river into the canal continuously, thus
drawing pure water into the river from the lake. But
as the sewerage increased, the efficacy of the pumps
diminished, and finally the consent of the Legisla
ture was obtained and the city resolved to so deepen
the canal as to establish a continuous flow of water
up stream from the lake, through the river into the
canal. Many miles of the excavation was of solid
rock, and the first estimate of $2,500,000 was ex
hausted. Finally, in June, 1871, the work was
completed at a cost of $3,750,000, the locks were
torn away, the river poured its inky stream of fetid
water into the canal, and in twenty-four hours the
water in the river was as pure as that of the lake. It
continues to work admirably, much to the astonish
ment of those who insist, even in the face of this con
trary demonstration, that the water of a river will not
flow up stream. There is a current of several miles

42 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
per hour constantly flowing to the head of the
stream, keeping the river pure and inodorous.
During the suspension of the water works, since the
fire, water from the river has been pumped into the
mains and distributed to the people. It was smoky
but otherwise good.
¦ Chamber of Commerce.
In 1864-5 the Chamber of Commerce was built
at the southeast corner of Washington and La
Salle streets, at a cost including the lot, of $4.90,000.
In this magnificent building, built of marble, the
Board of Trade, consisting of 1400 members, met
daily for the transaction of business. It contained,
also, offices occupied by two banks, insurance agen
cies, brokers, and commission merchants. The hall
where the daily business was transacted was as fine
as any in the country, and was the scene of many
an exciting event. This building was swept by the
fire as if it were made of wood.
The Grain Market.
Chicago had long since become the leading grain
market of the world. The growth of this trade is
but an illustration of the general growth of the city
in all its branches of commerce. After the disas
trous events of 1837, Walker & Co., in 1838
commenced as an experiment the shipment of grain
and the shipment of that year was 78 bushels of
wheat. Flour was not exported until 1844. The

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.

43

record of corn shipments commenced in 1847. A
few statements will show the progress of this trade :

Shipments of Wheat.

Tear.

Bushels.

Tear.

Bushels.

1838, . .

78

1860, .

. 12,402,197

1841, . .

40,000

1861, .

. 15,835,935

1844, . .

. 891,000

1866, .

. 10,118,907

1848, . .

. 2,160,000

1868, .

. 10,374,683

1855, . .

. 6,298,155

1870, .

. 16,432,585

Com.

Tear.

Bushels.

Tear.

Bushels.

1847, .

67,315

1816,

. . 24,322,725

1851, .

. 3,221,317

1866,

. . 32,953,530

1854, .

. 6,626,054

1869,

. . 21,580,808

1860, .

. 13,700,113

1870,

. . 17,777,377

1871,

to October.

Of all Grains.

, Reducing the flour shipped to bushels of wheat,.
the aggregate of all kinds of grain shipped in both
forms is thus shown :
Tear.
1841,1350,1854,1860,
Bushels. 40,000
1,830,938
12,932,320
31,108,750
Tear.
1862, 1866,1870,
Bushels.
56,484,11066,736,66054,745,903
The receipts and shipments during 1871, prom
ised to exceed by many millions of bushels those
of any previous year.
44 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
Elevators.
The machinery by which this vast amount of
grain was handled was the monster elevators, of
which there were seventeen, with a total capacity
of holding 11,580,000 bushels in store. The trains
were run to these elevators and quickly emptied of
their contents, while the business of loading a
vessel was proportionately speedy. The elevators
were built on the river, thus admitting of receiving
from the cars on one side, and delivering to vessels
on the other. Of these elevators there were six de
stroyed, having an aggregate capacity of 2,630,000
bushels. They contained at the time 1,650,000
bushels of grain. The other elevators yet remain.
Those destroyed will rapidly be replaced.
Cattle Yards.
Another institution of this city was its stock yards,
which were opened in December, 1 865. Their area
is 345 acres ; 100 acres in pens ; used for hotel and
other buildings 45 acres; 31 miles of drainage; 12
miles of paved streets and alleys ; 3 miles of water
troughs; 12 miles of feed troughs; 2,300 gates;
1,500 open pens; 800 covered pens; the whole
supplied by water from an artesian well. The hotel
is large. The establishment has its national bank,
telegraph office, newspaper, and is reached by the
tracks of 21 railroads and their tributary roads.
These yards are uninjured by the fire.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.

45

The number of animals received and shipped at
these yards during the year 1870 is as follows :
Cattle. Eeeeipts. Shipped.
Cattle,  532,964 391,709
Sheep  349,855 116,711
Hogs, live,  1,693,158 924,483
Hogs, dressed,  260,214 171,188

Lumber Trade.
The magnitude of the lumber trade may be briefly
stated in the following statement of the receipts :
Tear. Lumber, feet. Shingles. Lath.
1867-8, 882,661,770 447,039,275 146,846,200
1870-1, 1,018,998,685 652,091,000
More than half of these receipts of lumber are
shipped hence to all parts of the west by rail and
canal. Other Articles in 1870.

Eeeeipts.

Shipments.

Pork, barrels, . . . 40,883

165,885

Provisions, pounds

52,162,881
112,433,168
Lard, pounds, .
. 7,711,018
43,292,249
Beef, barrels,
20,554
65,529
Seeds, pounds,
18,681,148
6,287,615
Wool, pound,
14,751,089
15,826,536
Hides, pounds,
28,539,668
27,245,846
Salt, barrels, . .
674,618
571,013
Coal, tons,
887,474
110,467
Lead, pounds,
14,445,622
7,855,471
Hogs, packed, '(
9-
70
2,595,233
46 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:

Lake Commerce.
The aggregate number of vessels arriving in Chi
cago during the year 1870, was 12,739, with a
tonnage of 3,049,265 tons. The vessels owned in
Chicago in 1870, are thus recorded : No. Tons.
Steamers  3 467
Propellers,  10 4,256
Tugs,  53 1,752
River steamers,  4 376
Steam canal boats,  14 1,226
Barks  34 11,753
Brigs,  7 1,553
Schooners,  242 45,201
Scows  41 2,956
Barges,  8 3,103
418 72,764
Canal boats,  224 20,56.4

Railroads.
The number of main lines of railway entering
Chicago was 21, including their extensions and
branches 45, with nearly 10,000 miles of track
through the country tributary to this city. The
number of passenger trains arriving daily was not
less than 120, and of freight trains, about the same
number.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 47

Taxable Property.
The assessment for municipal taxation of per
sonal and private property for the year had just
been completed, and was about $287,000,000. This
did not include public property, and only so much
of the personal as was visible. It was perhaps one-
third less than the real or selling value. It did not
include the churches, charitable or school property,
all of which was valuable.

City Debt.
The debt of the City of Chicago in April, 1871,
was $14,103,000, of which $1,500,000 was held in
cash intended for the extension of the water works.
The increase of the debt was prohibited by the Con
stitution of 1870. Manufactures.
The manufactures of Chicago during 1870, pro
duced an aggregate of about $76,000,000. The
heaviest of these establishments were destroyed.
Banks.
The City of Chicago had 25 banks, 17 of
them national banks, with an aggregate capital
of $13,000,000, and of deposits amounting to

48 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
$35,000,000, all these banks, save the Prairie
Savings Institution, were located within the burnt
district, and their buildings destroyed. In no case
was any money lost, though most of them lost their
books.

The Post Office.
The Chicago Post Office was in general business,
the third in the country, ranking next after Phila
delphia, but in the number of letters received and
mailed, it was exceeded only by that of New York.
The building was erected in 1855, and was sup
posed to be fire proof. It was of Athens marble.
The exterior walls are standing. The building also
contained the Custom House, United States Deposi
tory, United States Courts, and Marshal's offices.
All the books and records were destroyed. The
gold in the depository was recovered, having melted
down, but the $1,300,000 of greenbacks and na
tional bank notes were consumed.

The Court House
Was a large building made of Lockport granite.
It was three stories high, with a basement, used as
a county jail. During 1870, the city erected a
large wing on the west side of the square, and the
comely-like structure on the east side. These were
occupied in March last for the first time. They

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 49
had been handsomely and expensively furnished
throughout. All the records of all the courts, and
of the city and county, including the record of
deeds, were consumed in the fire. On the dome of
the center building was recently erected a clock,
with four dials, and on the belfry was hung a
powerful fire alarm bell. The bellman did not
abandon his post until the roof of the building was
in flames.

The Police.
The police force consists of 450 men, under the
general charge of a Board of Police Commissioners.
The force is generally effective.

Fire Department.
The Fire Department consisted of four hook and
ladder trucks ; two hose elevators ; 17 steam engines ;
54 hose carts; one fire escape, and 11 alarm bells;
with 48,000 feet of hose. It was a paid depart
ment. Until this calamity, it had proved to' be
brave, vigorous and prompt, though there was a
growing impression that its executive officers were
not what they ought to be, neither the Police,
nor Fire Department had become political or parti
san attachments, though the Commissioners are
elective.

50 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:

The Population.
In June, 1870, the Federal census was taken,
and in June, 1871, it was again taken by private
enterprise. The following are the results :
¦Wards. Tear 1870. Tear 1871.
1  6,522 8,103
2  14,320 13,449
3  17,681 17,934
4  12,174 14,022
5  11,566 14,991
6  19,445 22,918
1  13,854 15,590
8  22,911 25,420
9  27,817 30,778
10  13,771 17,292
H  15,065 16,212
12  13,970 15,018
13  8,928 9,740
14  9,035 9,339
15  20,361 25,706
16  14,045 ' 16,380
1-7  18,07« 18,814
18  17,084 18,805
19  8,716 9,237
20  13,628 14,522
Totals>  298,977 334,270
The destruction by the fire was nearly complete
in the wards in which it occurred. The fire origin
ated in the Ninth Ward, burning out the northeast
corner of that ward. Four blocks of the Tenth
Ward had been destroyed the night before. I

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.

51

then crossed the river in the Second Ward, burning,
leaving but a dozen dwellings in that ward, and de
stroying twenty-five or more in the Third Ward ; it
swept every house in the First, Twentieth, Nine
teenth, Eighteenth, and Seventeenth Wards, and
four-fifths of the Sixteenth Ward. This renders
the computation of those rendered homeless, a mat
ter of easy computation. Taking the census of
1871, as the basis, the following is the population
whose habitations were destroyed. We follow the
course of the fire.

Wards.

Inhabitants.

Wards. Inhabitants

9 . .

. . 2,000

19 ... . 9,237

10 . .

250

18 ... . 18,805

3 . .

250

17 ... . 18,814

2 . . .

. 13,449

16 ... . 13,650

1 . .

. . 8,103

»

20 . .

. 14,522

Rendered homeless, 98,860

The First Ward was, with but few exceptions,
built of stone or brick ; the streets were all paved,
but in many cases the board sidewalks had not yet
given place to the stone. In this ward were concen
trated all the city and county buildings; all the
banks; all the insurance brokers, and real estate
offices; nearly all the wholesale dry goods, groceries,
jewellers, clothing, crockery and glassware, boots and
shoes, drugs, oils and paint, and leather dealers ; all
the hotels, save those built since 1869, the opera house,
and all the theatres. During 1869 and '70 State
street had been improved by the erection of some
thirty or forty marble front business buildings, all

52 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
six stories high. In this street were most of the
large booksellers and publishers. East of State
street, and in the same ward, the improvements have
been on an equal scale. There were but two
churches in this ward, the Second Presbyterian, a
stone building, and St. Mary's Koman Catholic.
Adjoining the latter was the Convent of the Sisters
of Mercy, which included a large boarding house
and school. Near by, on Michigan avenue, was the
marble residence of Bishop Foley. In the same
ward were all the newspaper offices and principal
publishing houses, including Callaghan & Cochroft,
Law Publishers, who lost the plates of the reports
of several States. The Opera House had been re
fitted at a cost of $90,000, and was to open on
Monday night. McVicker's Theatre had been sub
stantially rebuilt, at great cost. The United States
Post Office, Custom House and Depository, was in
the same part of the city. Though the ward covered
a large area, the resident population was compara
tively small, those doing business there residing in
other parts of the city. It contained large factories,
in which were employed many thousands of women.
At six o'clock in the evening the various working
people, clerks, and others, male and female, would
throng the streets in long processions, returning to
their homes in various parts of the city. The va-
' rious horse railways had their common starting point
On State street.
Michigan avenue, until within a few years, was
the grand place of residence. Built only upon one

ill iff*™

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

iff

Ff'j
i:J WMm
Hi I, II III1:! I

Mil yl 1 1 ¦ "r^v*-^" ')- %SM
rS3U

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 55
side, the dwellings looked out upon the broad lake,
with an intervening park. Next to this was Wabash
avenue, hardly less desirable as a residence, but the
growth of business had become such that residence
after residence was abandoned, and business, whole
sale principally, was converting once proud private
mansions into places of traffic. Not a house stands
on either avenue, north of Congress street; there
one block was saved, including the Avenue Hotel.
To the west of this the fire burned down to Harri
son street, the southern boundary of the Second
Ward. The Second Ward contained a large proportion
of wooden buildings, which were, however, giving
way to those of stone and brick. It included the
Palmer Hotel, opened in March; the Bigelow
House, just furnished, but not opened; and the
Pacific Hotel, hardly completed. These three
hotels were intended to surpass any of the other
great hotels for which the city was proverbial. In
the First Ward was the great Union Passenger
Depot of the Illinois Central, Michigan Central,
and Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroads,
and all the freight depots of the same roads. In
the Second Ward was the magnificent and costly
passenger depot of the Pock Island and the Michi
gan Southern Railroads. The buildings were all of
stone. Crossing the river to the Twentieth Ward, the
fire entered a field of more combustible material.
For three blocks north of the river the buildings
4

56 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
were generally of brick, and for three blocks west
of the lake the private residences, most of them
costly, were of stone. Along the river were two
elevators, McCormick's reaper factory, a freight de
pot, and various manufacturing establishments. On
Kinzie street was the great meat market, to which
all the slaughtered meat was brought, and from
which most of the butchers got their daily supply.
North of these parts and for miles, the buildings
as a general thing, were of wood, and were con
sumed as so much kindling wood by the fire, driven
by the furious gale. In this section there were
several handsome churches — St. James, Episcopal,
stone ; Cathedral of the Holy Name, R. C. ; St.
Joseph's Church, R. C, German ; Unity Church,
Rev. Robert CoUyer's; New England Church; be
sides numerous frame churches. The Roman Catho
lic Orphan Asylum, stone, and two hospitals, were
also in this part of the city. One stone Public
School, of the modern style, and four brick schools
were also within the area swept by the fire. To the
east, near the lake shore, were the water works al
ready mentioned, and also several large breweries. In
the same part of the city were located the supposed
fire proof buildings of the Chicago Historical Society
and Rush Medical College. The population of this
North Division, except along the streets near the
lake, was mostly of foreign birth. The Sixteenth
and Seventeenth Wards were almost exclusively
Germans. The Eighteenth was principally settled
by Irish. The Nineteenth and Twentieth had a

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 57
more mixed population, but the Germans were in
the majority. The buildings destroyed in the Ninth
and Tenth Wards have been described as wooden.
The population dislodged were mainly Irish, but in
cluded, also, a settlement of Bohemians in the Ninth
Ward.

The Parks and Boulevards.
Chicago had just entered upon a system of parks
and boulevards, which, when completed, would have
been unequalled by those of any other city of the
world. The first of these was Lincoln Park, a tract of
land within the northern limits of the city, contain
ing one hundred and fifty-three acres, and with a
broad front upon the lake. This park had been
already comparatively completed and was a great
pubhc resort. The plan embraced a boulevard with
a roadway 250 feet wide, proceeding from the
northern extremity of this park westwardly about
four miles, where it entered Humboldt Park, a
tract of 290 acres. This park had only been com
menced ; it was enclosed and was partially planted.
About two miles south of this, and connected by a
like boulevard, was Central Park, containing 236
acres, and a mile south of this park was Douglas
Park, containing 232 acres. All of these parks
were but in their infancy, but with the speed with
which all such things progress in Chicago, would in a
few years have become handsomely decorated places

58 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
of resort. From Douglas Park, the boulevard upon
the same extended to the south and east, until it
reached North Park, a tract of over 500 acres, just
south of the city. A mile and a half to the south
and west of this park was South Park, which con
tained nearly 500 acres ; both parks containing com
bined 1,055 acres. The North and South Parks
cost over two millions of dollars, for which the
bonds of the South Division have been sold. Work
on these parks will probably be suspended for years,
as the property to be taxed for their improvement
and maintenance has been destroyed. When com
pleted, as they would rapidly have been had not this
fire occurred, they would have been unequalled. The
length of boulevard, or broad paved avenue planted
on both sides, would have been nearly twenty-five
miles, exclusive of the roadways in the parks. No
other equal extent of drives can be found in any
other city of this day. The park system will be
suspended, but not abandoned, and before five years
are over, no other calamity intervening, the work
will be resumed. The lands for parks and boule
vards have been purchased, and will be held until
the city recovers some of her lost greatness and
wealth.

its past, present and future. 59

The Business of Chicago.
On the 5th of October, only a day or two before
the fire, the Chicago Tribune had the following
editorial concerning the trade of the city:
" Our Washington despatches of yesterday show,
that one more obstacle to the shipment of goods
from foreign ports direct to Chicago has been re
moved. This is the permission of the Treasury
Department to carry foreign goods, on which there
is no duty, in the same bonded cars with goods upon
which the duty is to be collected here. Few per
sons, except those directly engaged in the import
trade of this city, are aware of what important
changes have resulted from the recent removal of
the unnecessary restrictions in regard to cars, and
locks, and guards, that were imposed a year ago
upon the shipment of goods direct from foreign ports
to this city, Our leading dealers in dry goods,
ribbons, hosiery, carpets, liquors, crockery, &c, say
that they are importing from five to six times as
much as they have ever done before at the same
season of the year. It is only within a year that
Chicago merchants have ever thought of keeping
their own exclusive agents in Europe. Now, at
least four prominent houses keep either members of
their firms or an exclusive agent in Europe, the
greater portion of the year, moving from one mar
ket to another, now buying German cloths, now at
Basle for ribbons and hosiery, and again in England

60 THE great CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
for carpets, &c. During the last four weeks a thou
sand tons of railroad iron have been received in
Chicago, direct from England via Montreal, and we
hear of another thousand tons afloat for here, that
will arrive within the next few weeks. When we
say that our merchants are importing six times as
many goods as ever before, at this season of the year,
it is not meant that their stock is six times as great
— though there is a vast increase also in that respect
— but mainly that they are buying six times as many
of their goods direct from the foreign manufacturer,
instead of buying them of middlemen in New York
and other Eastern cities. As far as direct trade
with Europe is concerned, this great change has
been effected by relieving the Chicago importing
merchant from the necessity of doing his warehousing
in New York city instead of at home. The Chicago
merchant now pays nothing until his goods arrive
here, he gives his bond here, the goods are appraised
here, and he can withdraw any portion of them
from warehouse on any day and have them in his
store without the former delays. In this connection
it may be mentioned that the increased demand for
Government bonded warehouse room has increased
so much, that the Michigan Southern Company are
now building a bonded warehouse on Harrison
street, and the company, in conjunction with others
to New York, intend to bond their lines, in order
to make a specialty of carrying goods imported
direct to Chicago. But it is not only with Europe
that the direct foreign trade of Chicago has been so

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 61
extensively increased this fall. The increase of the
tea trade exceeds even that of the dry goods trade.
It is a fact of great significance in this connection,
that whereas the total quantity of teas in Govern
ment bonded warehouses in this city, on September
30th, 1 870, was only 2,500 chests, it is now nearly
15,000 chests, all of which has come direct on
through bills of lading from Hong Kong and Yoko
hama, through San Francisco to Chicago, without a
day's unnecessary delay, and there are further re
ceipts of teas now via the North Western and Rock
Island Railroads every day. This great increase of
the direct importing trade of this city has been
mainly within the past two months, as will be seen
by the following table of the amount of duties paid
at this custom house, during each month of the first
quarter of the current fiscal year, as compared with
the same time last year, viz: 1870. 1871.
July,  $63,141 $70,375
August,  76,803 87,608
September,  55,909 174,706
Total,  $185,853 $332,689
It will be seen that the amount of duties paid
during September this year were over three times
as great as during the same time last year.
" As regards the tea trade there seems no reason
why Chicago will not become the great distributing

62 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
market for all 'the central part of the continent, be
tween the Allegheny and the Rocky mountains.
As prominent cities as Cincinnati and St. Louis will,
of course, do a portion, but the superior facilities of
Chicago, in her constantly increasing network of
railroads, are practically acknowledged by the New
York tea houses, four or five of which have their
resident agents here, receive their teas here via the
overland route, and distribute them from this point
all over the northwest. These agents receive but few
teas from New York, and there is no longer any
question of competition, as regards the route by which
the teas consumed in the States west of Pennsylva
nia and New York shall come. The trans-continen
tal railroad on the one hand, and the increased
facilities for direct importation on the other, are
revolutionizing the foreign trade of the United
States. We see evidence of this not only in the.
increased direct importations of Chicago merchants,
but in the exports of products. As instances, the
steamship Great Republic, which sailed from San
Francisco, on October 1st, took 21,000 barrels of
flour for Hong Kong; the ship Ringleader, which
sailed the same day, took $100,000 worth more for
the same port; and every regular Pacific steamer
now takes more or less flour. If China and Japan
continue to take our breadstuffs, at that rate, it will
leave less to go to England, and will have the effect
to make a better average of prices for the grain
produced in the northwest."

1. Sherman House.

11.

Tremont House.

2. Briggs' House. , .

12.

Opera House. St. James' Hotel.

3. Metropolitan Hotel.

13.

Field & Leiter's Store.

4. Chamber of Commerce.

14.

First National Bank Building,

5. Republican Office.

15.

Chicago Times.

6. Meller's Jewelry Store, and Baker &

16.

Booksellers' Row. Western News Co

Co.'s Engraving Rooms.

17.

Drake & Farwell Block.

7. Matteson House.

18.

Tribune Building.

8. Adams' Express Office.

19.

Custom House and Post Office.

9. A. M. N. Express Office.

20.

Evening Post and Staats Zeitung.

10., U. S. Express Office.

21.

Farwell Hall,

22. Bigelow Hotel.
23. Academy of Fine Arts.
24. Palmer House.
25. Ogden Hotel.
26. Jones' School.
27. Michigan Southern & Chicago, Roc :
Island & Pacific Railroad Depot,
28. III. Central R. R. Land Department.
29. III.Cen.R.R. Depotfc Freight House.
30. GalenaDepot. Chicago^ N. W. R. R.
31, Historical Society,

Turner Hall.
M. Ogden's House. Not Burned.
Water-Works and Water Tower,
Lynn Block. Net Burned.
P. F.W.&C. R.R.Depot. NotBurned.
Milwaukee R. R. Depot, Chicago &
North-Western R. R, NotBurned.
C. &N. W. R. R. Depot. NotBurned.
Adams' House.
Massasoit House,
City Hotel.

42. McVicker's Theatre.
43. Armory Police Court.
44. Gas-Works.
45. Elevator A.
A. Methodist Church, (Wabash Avenue.)
Not Burned*
B. Elevator. Not Burned.
X. Bridges Burned.
Tunnels under the River at Lasalle St.,
connectingvN. & S. sides; at Wash
ington St., connectingS.&W. sides.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 63
THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION.
The Fire of Saturday.
About 10 o'clock on Saturday night, Octobei
7th, 1871, a fire broke out on South Clinton street,
just north of Van Buren street. A fierce wind
from the southwest was blowing at the time, and
despite the exertions of the firemen it destroyed all
the buildings within the area bounded by Adams on
the north, Clinton on the west, Van Buren on the
south, and the river on the east, excepting a few
valueless buildings on the northwest corner of
Clinton and Adams, a row of frame buildings on
Van Buren street from Clinton to Canal, and
Murray Nelson's grain elevator, which was situated
east of Canal street, and near Adams street bridge.
The buildings destroyed were not very valuable,
being mostly two-story frame buildings occupied as
laborers* boarding houses. In one of these was a
corpse of a woman, and her friends were holding a
"wake" over her remains. The friends fled before
the fire, leaving the dead body to be consumed.
Between Canal street and the river were a number
of coal yards, and the extensive lumber yard of
Chapin & Foss. The piles of coal and lumber
burned all day on Sunday, and when night set in
the sky reflected the brilliant light of the blazing
mass below. The loss of property by this fire
which swept an area of about sixteen acres was

64 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
about $300,000. The neighborhood was visited
during the day by thousands of persons. About
one hundred families were turned out of their
homes by the fire.
The Fire of Sunday in the West Division.
At precisely half-past nine o'clock on Sunday
evening the fire-bell sounded an alarm, and simulta
neously a bright light appeared in the southwest.
To the great majority of persons this appeared but
a revival of the fire of the previous night. It was
just as the churches were out and the congregations
were returning to their homes. No special attention
was given to the fire, and many hundreds of families,
after noticing that it was at a great distance, went
to their homes, and later retired to sleep, all uncon
scious that the demon was unloosed which would
disturb and expel them before many hours. Stand
ing to the west of the territory covered by the fire
of Saturday, we readily discovered that the alarm
was not called for by any revival of the embers of
that conflagration. Proceeding directly to the scene
we discovered that it had originated in a cow-shed
in the rear of a one-story frame building, on the
northeast corner of Dekoven and Jefferson streets.
The origin is a mystery. The story that an attempt
to milk a cow by the light of a kerosene lamp, had
ended in the overturning of the lamp, and the rapid
firing of the cow-shed, is now known to be untrue.
It must always be borne in mind that for thirty-six

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 65
hours previously the wind had been blowing with
unusual violence from the southwest. The flames
immediately spread to the adjoining sheds in the
interior of the block, the wind bearing them far in
advance. By reference to the map it will be seen
that from the initial point of the fire to the water
works, the direction is directly northeast, and in the
light of what followed from the first outburst, it
seemed as if the fire and the gale had united to
mow a breadth of desolation from the one place to
the other in the shortest possible space of time.
From the beginning the fire rushed forward in a
varying breadth, directly before the wind in a literal
air line, to the destruction of the water works. Be
fore the firemen had reached the scene, the fire had
crossed Taylor street, thence into Forquer street,
burning a breadth of from fifty to eighty feet,
leaving behind it the blazing buildings to spread
the conflagration to the right and the left. It then
reached Clinton street, just south of Polk street,
still confining its breadth to two buildings, some
times to three; but cutting diagonally through the
blocks, it included within its path the ends of many
other buildings. The firemen posted themselves in
front of the fire, struggling to arrest it, but their
labors were in vain; they might as well have at
tempted to arrest the wind itself because at this time
the wind and the fire were the same thing, the blaze
often reaching across the streets, and burning brands
were carried far in advance of the actual fire. There
had been no rain in Chicago, of any account, for

66 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
nearly six weeks, and the wooden buildings, tene
ments, lumber piles, and sidewalks, were as dry as
paper and burned as readily. Though the wind
carried the original fire directly before it, it also, by
its eddies and currents, extended it. Though the
northwest" and southeast corners of the block, where
the fire began, escaped destruction, it turned back
to Jefferson street at a point two blocks north, and
burned all the buildings on the east side of that
street to a point one-half a block north of Harrison
street. To the east it extended gradually from the
point where it crossed Taylor street to Canal street,
and thence to the river, which it crossed at Polk
street, destroying the bridge, and setting fire to the
extensive works of the Chicago Hide and Leather
Company. The main fire — the advance guard after crossing
Polk street — soon reached the rear of several planing
mills and factories, the buildings being all of wood ;
these furnished the peculiar aid this fire needed
to make it irresistible. It would lift a bundle of
blazing shingles and bearing it upon the wind would
deposit them on the roofs of buildings far in ad
vance. The line of the continuous fire was thus
considerably hastened. The result was as if a corps
of men were firing the city at various points simul
taneously. As the continuous fire came along before
the wind, it found buildings already ablaze and
still others in advance already ignited. While this
was going on in advance the fire at the base was ex
tending to the east, and as each building caught,

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 67
the wind carried the flames forward, making the
breadth of the destruction forever wider and wider.
In this way all the area between Jefferson street and
the river north of Polk and south of Van Buren
street was soon enveloped in flames. The scene at
this time was grand to the spectator. The wind
seemed to gain fresh intensity. The blazing brands
were thick, and their flights long. Before the fire
had reached Van Buren street, blazing faggots
shingles and other brands had commenced falling
in the North Division. At 11.30 o'clock the ad
vance of the fire reached Van Buren street, the
south line of the fire of the previous night, and here
had there been no more than an ordinary gale, it
would have stopped. Before it were the broad six
teen acres which had been swept of its combustibles
the night before. When the fire enveloped the
buildings on Van Buren street, there was behind it
in full blaze a conflagration covering perhaps 150
acres — the food for which was planing and saw
mills, dwellings, barns, factories and shops, lumber
yards, coal depots, all of the most combustible
character. It was, notwithstanding its terrors, a
brilliant spectacle. The smoke, except immediately
in front, did not obscure the view, but everywhere
was a broad sheet of flame leaping, darting, and
sending forth, as if from some grand pyrotechnic
preparation, the most brilliant, dazzling meteors of
living fire.
Here was the grand turning point in the confla
gration. Here the fire, under ordinary circumstan-

68 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
ces, would have stopped; here it had consumed
everything that had been in its path. To the north
lay the plain laid waste the night before, and hav
ing nothing to consume except the coal, already on
fire, and the Nelson elevator at its northeast ex
tremity. To the west was the wind ; to the east
was the river. But afar off to the northeast beyond
two rivers, beyond the great structures of hotels,
banks and warehouses, beyond the towering walls
of marble and of brick, away off in the northwest,
two miles distant, were the water works, the only
possible human agent that could save the city from
annihilation, and to that the grand objective point
of wind and fire, this conflagration seemed deter
mined to reach. Precisely at midnight, a blazing
board carried by the wind fell upon a cluster of
miserable shanties, striking them just at the point
where the roofs of several made a sort of junction,
affording a secure lodgement. These buildings
were on Adams and Franklin streets, east of the
river, a third of a mile from any burning building of
any size west of the river. In a moment a blaze
sprang up instantly, and the wind carried it to
the northeast, leaving between the two fires the
large building used for police business by the city,
and known as the Armory, and the buildings of the
south side Gas Company, various coal yards, and
numerous other buildings, large and small, in the
area between the two fires. The progress of the
fire was immediately forward. The blazing torches
were carried by the wind far in advance, and where-

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 69
ever they fell they produced a fire. From that point
until the fire crossed Madison street, there were
several distinct fires, widely-separated, burning simul
taneously, with large blocks of buildings between.
But the continuous fire followed, overtaking these
advance conflagrations, gathering new strength from
them, and forever sending forth its pioneers— forever
keeping its due course to the water works, the
only hope of the doomed city. The operations
of the fire after it had crossed or jumped the
river from Canal and Van Buren to Adams and
Franklin, belong to the history of the South
Division. But, from a point of observation to
the windward of the fire, the scene was, perhaps,
unequalled. No thought of any serious devastation
had occurred to any one, until the fire crossed the
river. Until this time no one had supposed it would
amount to any more than the destruction of
the frame buildings which it had engulfed. All
had anticipated that it would stop upon reaching '
the boundaries of the district burned the night
before ; but the general alarm which was now rung
out in all parts of the city, the blazing lights which
marked its path for over nearly a mile in one di
rection, and half a mile in another, had aroused all
Chicago. The people of the comparatively remote
North Division were aroused, and for an hour,
gazed upon the extraordinary spectacle spread out
to the south and west of them, hardly admitting
that there was any danger to them. But when the
fire burst forth in Franklin street, at Adams ; when

70 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO.
it rushed as in a field of straw, through the alleys
and intervening streets to Wells, and eventually to
Madison ; when blazing boards and lumps of fire
were falling thick and heavy on Lake and Water
streets; and far away in" the North Division, when
fires broke out at intervening distances, far in ad
vance of the main fire ; when, standing to the west,
there could be plainly distinguished five distinct fires
in the route of the wind, each a little in advance of
the other, and behind all these a sheet of con
tinuous flame, reaching a mile and a half to the
southwest, the effect so far exceeded any previous
observation as to defy description. It was sublime,
yet terrific ; magnificent, yet appalling. Even while
the brave watchman in the court house tower
made the old bell peal forth its warning notes,
the flames had not only reached the stately build
ings facing the square, but had broken out on the
north side of the river, beyond State street, and
were making their way directly to the water
works. In the meantime, the fire on the West Division
had gone on in its lateral extensions. Jefferson street
runs due north; the wind, in its fury had carried
the fire far to the north and to the east; but this
did not save Jefferson street. The east side of
that street presents remarkable instances of the
course of the fire, governed only by the wind.
There are a number of houses left on that side of
the street, the fire having burned all the adjoining
buildings, and then, passing to the rear of these, re

WHERE THE FIRE BEGAN,

S^F

1 ! i mm

OGDEN'S RESIDENCE. ONLY RESIDENCE LEFT ON NORTH DIVISION
OF BURNED DISTRICT.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 73
turned to Jefferson street, north of them, again. It
was not until eleven o'clock next day, fifteen hours
after the beginning of the fire, that the half dozen
buildings to the north and east of the one where the
fire originated, were burned. The fire had burned
back to them in the very teeth of the wind. It is
also remarkable, that though Jefferson street in that
part of the city is very narrow, not exceeding forty
feet, including both sidewalks, not one house on the
west line of the street was burned, and none of them
were scorched or blistered. The wind in its force
had blown back the fire from the street and had also
blown back the heat. Until the destruction of the
water works, the people in the neighborhood, to the
windward of the fire, had fought and resisted it by
the use of water, but when the great engines ceased
to pump, all means of defence were lost, and the city
was at the mercy of the wind. In the reaction of
the fire, after it commenced on the South Division,
the bridge over the river at Adams street, was
burned, and also Nelson's elevator, which had es
caped the night before.
The South Division.
There was probably not a person in the South
Division who imagined for a moment that the fire
would extend beyond the portion of the city in
which it originated. Indeed, when it approached
the burned district of the previous Saturday night's
conflagration, there was a universal sigh of relief,
5

74 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION  CHICAGO:
for here certainly it would be stayed, notwithstand
ing the furious wind. The hope was a futile one.
At just twenty minutes past twelve, a huge blazing
brand was blown across the river. Onward it sped,
like a fiery messenger of doom, and lodged upon
the roof of a three-story tenement house, which was
as dry as a tinder box. The roof was immediately in
a blaze, and almost instantly every part of the build
ing emitted furious jets of flame. The house was
about midway between Adams, Monroe, Wells and
Market streets, and surrounded by one and two-
story wooden houses, and alleys littered with all
sorts of inflammable materials. Through this wooden
nest, the fire spread with inconceivable rapidity and
soon attacked another group of low, wooden build
ings known as Conley's Patch, densely covered with
saloons, tumble-down hovels and sheds, and peopled
by the lowest class in the city. For years this
spot had been the terror of the neighborhood be
yond it, and had been stained with every conceiva
ble crime. The male residents were absent at the
fire in the West Division, and as the flames seized
upon it, squalid women' and children rushed out in
droves. Most of them escaped, but undoubtedly
some were overtaken by the fire and miserably
perished. Right and left the flames spread as fast
as a man could walk, and soon the Gas Works and
huge piles of coal in the yard took fire, and a red
glare shone all over the doomed city. Down the
south line of Monroe street, it sped with lightning
like rapidity. A fearful mass of flames leaped the

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 75
street, lapping up John V. Farewell's stables and
those of the United States Express Company, and
burning many of their noble animals. Across
Wells street it sped, sweeping everything before
it and driving out hundreds of women and child
ren, who fled in all directions without saving a scrap
of household property. The fire was now beyond
the control of the firemen and henceforth was to go
on its way with no one to check it. Northward
and eastward the flames progressed crossing Mad
ison street and extending east to La Salle street, at
the same time destroying stone, brick and wooden
structures alike.
Another column of fire crossed the river further
north and now it sped on its way with the same
terrible power and swiftness. Great masses of flame
from each division leaped far in advance of the main
columns, and kindling new fires returned to com
plete the work of destruction. In almost an incon
ceivably short space of time the entire tract of the
South Division, between the river and La Salle street,
was in flames, and south of Van Buren, the fire was
working steadily against the wind, taking the splen
did depot of the Michigan Southern Eailroad for a
starting point, south to Harrison street, thence de
stroying a narrow strip along the river as far south
as Taylor street.
The two main columns sent out detachments
which entered every street with the regularity of an
advancing army. Standing at the lake end of any
one of the eleven streets between the river and

76 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
Michigan 'avenue, the spectator saw a furious
shower of livid coals and fire brands sweep round
the corners, followed by a sheet of dazzling flame,
which would suck into the windows and instantly
fire the buildings. At the same time the fire en
tering the alleys burst through the rear of buildings
on either side, swept through them, and dashing
through the fronts united in one solid, writhing,
twisting column of fire, which -would shoot up
into the air a hundred feet, and then, seized by the
wind, leap to roofs in the next block and fire them.
The progress was aided by huge, blazing brands,
which the blasts would send crashing through win
dows into the interiors of buildings, or into awnings,
setting everything afire adjacent to them. The very
goods which were tumbled into the streets aided the
march of the destroyer.
The main column of the fire had now crossed
Washington street. The Chamber of Commerce,
the Telegraph Office and the lofty insurance blocks
were all in flames. The Court House bell rung peal
after peal, ringing its own knell, for the flames
speadily leaped to its dome and fired it. For a few
minutes its blazing trellis work, sheeted with flames,
stood out against the sky in splendid relief. Then
in every window at the same instant, an ominous
glare appeared. The flames burst out, the dome
fell in, and then a crash told that the interior walls
had yielded and the Court House was no more. The
Sherman House was the next to go, and crossing
Clark street, Hooley's Opera House, Wood's Mu-

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 77
seum, the Matteson House, the Tremont House
and whole squares of palatial business blocks melted
away before the destroyer as snow melts in water.
In the meantime, still another column was sweep
ing over the South Division. The great Ogden
House, which covered an entire square, and which
was nearly finished, was a mass of flames from
basement to roof, and from its towering height and
grand proportions, presented a sublime spectacle.
The new and beautiful Bigelow House was next
wrapped in the flames, and so, on they went, taking
successively the new Honore and Shepherd blocks
on Dearborn street. At this point, for a time, the
solid walls of the post office presented a barrier.
Thwarted here, the flames spread down Clark street
to the north, and then, turning Madison, came up
the south line of the street like a whirlwind, and,
turning Dearborn, melted away the Reynold's block
almost immediately, bringing them to the north
side of the post office ; while another column,
coming east in Monroe, attacked it on the west
side. Before this joint attack, it yielded, and
although its walls stood bravely its interior was
soon gutted. When the flames turned the corner of
Madison and Dearborn streets, a huge column shot
across diagonally and fired the Dearborn Theatre,
further north, and from this point both right and left
destruction spread anew. To the left, it went down
to Washington street, and again crossing, caught
the roof of Crosby's Opera House. In almost the
time it takes to write these lines, that noble build-

78 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION  CHICAGO :
ing, with the handsomest operatic auditorium in
the country, with its wealth of bronzes, paintings,
statuary and rich ornamentations, was destroyed,
while the St. James Hotel adjoining it on the east,
which had two or three times before stood the test
of fire, at last yielded and fell. To the right, the
flames quickly reached the corner of Madison and
Dearborn streets, opposite the Tribune office. A
vacant lot, formerly occupied by the Dearborn
School, intervened, but the fire quickly passed round
it and came up on the other side. The Tribune
building, one of the noblest structures in the city,
on the southeast corner of Dearborn and Madison
streets, had already stood the test bravely. The
fire came down on the south side of it from Monroe
street and dashed against its walls in vain. It was
the key to that vicinity, and if it should stand, much
varoarble_pjoperty it was hoped might yet be saved.
But far to the south the flames had seized the
huge eight-story Palmer House, and came sweep
ing northward with fearful rapidity to McVicker's
Theatre, separated from the east wall of the
Tribune building only by a narrow alley. This
new onset of the fire was irresistible. From the
other three attacks, it had become heated to an in
tense degree and was ready to kindle at the slight
est sparks which should penetrate to its inte
rior. Its roof yielded. The iron shutters on the
alley side, bent by the fire, sprung out of place, and
speedily the whole interior was in a mass of smoul
dering ruin. Of the strength of the structure, it

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 79
may be said that on the day after the fire the
walls were still standing. Some of the floors were
intact, and in the basement the presses, boiler and
engines sustained little damage beyond the burning
of the wood work, and a slight warping of some of
the iron work.
At Field & Leiter's mammoth establishment, on
the corner of State and Washington streets, a deter
mined effort was made to save the building but it
was useless. The flames attacked it from the north
and _ eastwardly in the rear, and it soon yielded.
There was still a narrow strip bounded by Wash-
i:,gtou street on the north, Harrison street on the
south, State street on the west, and the lake on the
east, two blocks in width and about half a mile in
length, not yet burned. The fire to traverse it must
burn against the wind, and strong hopes were
entertained that this tract might yet escape. But
all the heavy warehouses at the north termini of
these streets were in flames. There was no water
to check it, for before this time, eight o'clock on
Tuesday morning, the water works in the North
Division had been destroyed. Slowly but surely
the fire worked up these streets, right and left.
AVest of State street, the fire, hours before, had
reached Harrison and stopped. On Third and
Fourth avenues buildings were torn down. On
State street and Wabash avenue, buildings were
levelled to the ground by General Sheridan's orders;
and the splendid manner in which the Wabash
avenue Methodist Church, one of the oldest struc-

80 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO :
tures in the city, resisted, also held the fire in
check at the corner of this avenue and Harrison
street. On Michigan avenue the fire did not reach
Harrison. There were no buildings on the east side
of it. The west burned slowly, the last building
consumed being the Terrace block. Hon. J. Y.
Scammon resided in the extreme south house, and
between this and Congress street was a vacant lot.
Here the fire was checked, and those living south
of Harrison street breathed more freely.
Prominent Buildings.
Let us glance for a moment at the principal build
ings destroyed by the south side fire, for in them
was contained almost the entire business wealth of
Chicago. The list includes the Michigan and Il
linois Central Depots, two of the finest passenger
structures in the United States, and their adjacent
freight depots ; the old and familiar Tremont House,
Sherman House, Briggs House, Matteson House, St.
James Hotel, Nevada House, Adams House, Mas-
sasoit House, Girard House, Metropolitan House,
all substantial brick or stone hotels, the magnificent
Ogden House, covering an entire square, the walls
of which had already reached the top story, the new
Bigelow House, which had just received $80,000
worth of new furniture, and the new eight-story
Palmer House, on State street, which had be'en in
successful opeiation a few months ; every bank build
ing in Chicago except the small Twenty-second Street

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 81
Savings Bank. Every insurance building; seven
daily and numerous weekly newspaper offices;
Crosby's Opera House with its brilliant auditorium,
the finest in the United States ; McVicker's Theatre
which had just been completely renovated and had
been open but a few weeks ; Hooley's pretty little
f^ijou of an Opera House ; Wood's Museum with its
large collection of curiosities, and the Dearborn
Theatre which had been the home of minstrelsy ;
the great book house of the Western News Com
pany, S. C. Griggs & Co. and W. B. Keen & Cooke;
the First Methodist Church ; St. Mary's (Catholic) ;
First and Second Presbyterian ; Trinity (Episcopal) ;
St. Paul's (Universalist) ; and the Swedenborgian
Church, the Academy of Design, with its fine gal
lery of paintings, by American and foreign artists,
and its splendid collection of casts from the antiques;
the Chamber of Commerce, only the day before the
scene of busy life and traffic ; the Telegraph Office ;
the Court House, with all the valuable city and
county records; the Post Office and Custom House;
the Armory, the Jewish Synagogue ; such magnifi
cent stone blocks as the Terrace, Armour, Shepherd,
Honore, McCormick's Merchant's Insurance, Orien
tal, iEtna, Birch, Drake, Farwell, Lombard, Stur-
gess, Stone, Arcade and Hubbard; Crosby's Music
Hall, Metropolitan Hall, so intimately associated
with the early history of Chicago, in music, litera
ture and art ; Farwell Hall, one of the most elegant
and spacious auditoriums in the country, and hun
dreds of other palatial structures.

82 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:

The scene from the Tribune Office.
The sight from the upper windows of the Tribune
office, a few hours before that structure was consumed,
was one of the wildest and grandest ever seen by
mortal eye. About one o'clock, a cloud of black
smoke rose in the southwest, which, colored by the
lurid glare of the flames, presented a remarkable
picture. Due west another column of smoke and
fire rose, while the north was lighted with the flying
cinders and destructive brands. In ten minutes
more the whole horizon to the west, as far as could
be seen from the windows, was a fire cloud with
flames leaping up along the whole line, just showing
their heads and subsiding from view like tongues of
snakes. Five minutes more wrought a change.
Peal after peal was sounded from the Court House
bell. The fire was on La Salle street, had swept
north, and the Chamber of Commerce began to
belch forth smoke and flame from windows and
ventilators. The east wing of the Court House was
alight; then the west wing; the tower was blazing
on the south side, and at two o'clock the whole
building was in a sheet of flame. The Chamber of
Commerce burned with a bright steady flame. The
smoke in front grew denser for a minute or two,
and then bursting into a blaze from Monroe to
Madison streets, proclaimed that Farwell Hall and
the buildings north and south of it were on fire.
At 2.10 o'clock the Court House tower was a glo-

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 83
rious sight. At 2.15 o'clock the tower fell, and in
two minutes more a crash announced the fall of the
interior of the building. The windows of the office
were hot, and the flames gave a light almost dazzling
in its intensity. It became evident that the whole
block from Clark to Dearborn, and from Monroe to
Madison, must jzo ; that the block from Madison
to Washington must follow; Portland Block was
ablaze, while everything from Clark to Dearborn,
on Washington street, was on fire. At 2.30 the
fire was half-way down Madison street; the wind
blew a hurricane ; the firebrands were hurled along
the ground with incredible force against everything
that stood in their way. Then the flames shot up
in the rear of Reynold's block, and the Tribune
building seemed doomed. An effort was made to
save the files and other valuables, which were moved
into the composing room, but the building stood
like a rock, lashed on both sides by raging waves
of flame, and it was abandoned. It was a fire proof
building ; and there were not a few who expected
to see it stand the shock. The greatest possible
anxiety was felt for it, as it was the key to the whole
block, including McVicker's Theatre, and protected
State street and Wabash and Michigan avenues,
north of Madison street. When the walls of
Reynold's block fell, and Cobb's building was no
more, the prospects of its standing were good.
Several persons were upstairs and found it cool
and pleasant — quite a refreshing haven from the

84 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION— CHICAGO :
hurricane of smoke, dust and cinders that assailed
the eyes.
Meanwhile the fire had swept along northward
and eastward. The Briggs House, the Sherman
House, the Tremont House, had fallen in a few
minutes. The bridges from Wells to Rush street
were burning; the Northwestern Depot was in a
blaze, and from Van Buren street on the south, far
over into the north side, from the river to Dearborn
street, the whole country was a mass of smoke,
flames and ruin. It seems as if the city east of
Dearborn street and to the river would be saved.
The hope was strengthened when the walls fell of
Honore's noble block without igniting that standing
opposite. The vacant lot to the south seemed to
protect it, and at 7 o'clock on Monday morning
the whole of the region designated was considered
saved, no fire being visible except a smouldering
fire in the barber's shop under the Tribune office,
which being confined in brick walls, was not con
sidered dangerous. Every effort was made to
quench it, but the water works had burned, and
the absence of water, while it announced how far
north the flames had reached, forbade any hope of
quenching the fire below.

A Turning Point.
There was one remarkable turning point in this
fire, in which everything was remarkable ; and that
was at Madison street bridge, where every one ex-

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 85
pected to see the fire re-cross to the west side, and
commence upon a new path of destruction. Directly
across this bridge were the Oriental Flouring Mills,
which were saved from destruction by the immense
steam force pump attached to the mill, by which a
powerful stream of water was thrown upon the ex
posed property, hour after hour. This pump un
doubtedly saved the West Division from a terrible
conflagration, for if the Oriental Mills had burned,
the combustible nature of the adjoining buildings
and adjacent lumber yards would have insured a
scene of devastation too heart -sickening for con
templation. Workings of the Fire.
The scene presented when the fire was at its height
in the South Division, is well nigh indescribable.
The huge stone and brick structures melted before
the fierceness of the flames as a snow-flake melts
and disappears in water, and almost as quickly. Six-
story buildings would take fire, and disappear forever
from sight, in five minutes by the watch. In nearly
every street the flames would enter at the rears of
buildings, and appear simultaneously at the fronts.
For an instant the windows would redden, then great
billows of fire would belch out, and meeting each
other, shoot up into the air a vivid, quivering column
of flame, and poising itself in awful majesty, hurl
itself bodily several hundred feet and kindle new
buildings. The intense heat created new currents

86 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO :
of air. The general direction of the wind was from
the southwest. This main current carried the fire
straight through the city, from southwest to north
east, cutting a swath a mile in width, and then, as
if maddened at missing any of its prey, it would
turn backward in its frenzy and face the fierce wind,
mowing one huge field on the west of the north
division, while in the south division it also doubled
on its track at the great Union Central Depot, and
burned half a mile southward in the very teeth of
the gale — a gale which blew a perfect tornado, and
in which no vessel could have lived on the lake. The
flames sometimes made glowing diagonal arches
across the streets, traversed by whirls of smoke. At
times, the wind would seize the entire volume of fire
on the front of one of the large blocks, detach it
entirely and hurl it in every direction, in fierce masses
of flame, leaving the building as if it had been un
touched — for an instant only, however, for fresh gusts
would once more wrap them in sheets of fire. The
whole air was filled with glowing cinders, looking like
an illuminated snow storm. At times capricious flur
ries of the gale would seize these flying messengers of
destruction and dash them down to the earth, hur
rying them over the pavements, with lightning-like
rapidity, firing everything they touched. Inter
spersed among these cinders were larger brands, cov
ered with flame, which the wind dashed through
windows and upon awnings and roofs, kindling new
fires. Strange, fantastic fires of blue, red and green,
played along the cornices of the buildings. On the

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 87
banks of the river, red hot walls fell hissing into the
water, sending up great columns of spray and ex
posing the fierce white furnace of heat, which they
had enclosed. The huge piles of coal emitted dense
billows wf smoke which hurried along far above the
flames below. If the sight was grand and over
powering, the sound was no less so. The flames
crackled, growled and hissed. The lime stone, of
which many of the buildings were composed, as soon
as it was exposed to heat flaked off, the fragments
flew in every direction, with a noise like that of
continuous discharges of musketry. Almost every
instant was added the dull, heavy thud of falling
walls, which shook the earth. But above all these
sounds, there was one other which was terribly fas
cinating, it was the steady roar of the advancing
flames — the awful diapason in this carnival of fire.
It was like nothing so much as the united roar of
the ocean with the howl of the blast on some stormy,
rocky coast.
Of the destructive power of this fire, Hon. Wm.
B. Ogden, in a letter to a member of his family,
briefly but very succinctly says : " How it could be
that buildings, men or anything could encounter and
withstand the torrent of fire without utter destruc
tion, is explained by the fact that the fire was accom
panied by the fiercest tornado of wind ever known to
blow here, and it acted like a perfect blow-pipe,driving
the brilliant blaze hundreds of feet with so perfect
a combustion, that it consumed the smoke , and its
heat was so great that fire proof buildings sunk be-

88 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
fore it, almost as readily as wood. Nothing but
earth could withstand it."
Language can hardly convey to the reader an idea
of the terrible scenes in the streets. The struggle
of humanity was more fearful even than the horrors
of the fire. In the latter there was an element of
the beautiful, even of the sublime, which continually
enforced itself, notwithstanding the wide-spread de
struction it was causing ; but in the various phases
developed by this struggling, toiling, and despairing
tide of humanity in the streets, there was nothing
which would give pleasure. Street Scenes.
Great calamities always develop latent passions,
emotions, and traits of character, hitherto concealed.
In this case, there was a world-wide difference in
the manner in which men witnessed the destruction
of all about them. Some were philosophical, even
merry, and witnessed the loss of their own property
with a calm shrug of the shoulders, although the
loss was to bring upon them irretrievable ruin.
Others clenched their teeth together, and witnessed.
the sight with a sort of grim defiance. Others, who
were strong men, stood in tears, and some became
fairly frenzied with excitement, and rushed about
in an aimless manner, doing exactly what they
would not have done in fcheir cooler moments, and
almost too delirious to save their own lives from the
general wreck. Of course, the utmost disorder and

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ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 91
excitement prevailed, for nearly every one was, in
some degree, demoralized, and in the absence both
of gas and water, had given up the entire city to its
doom. Mobs of men and women rushed wildly
from street to street, screaming, gesticulating, and
shouting, crossing each other's" paths, and intercept
ing each other as if just escaped from a madhouse.
The yards and sidewalks of Michigan and Wabash
avenues, for a distance of two miles south of the
fire limit in the South Division, were choked with
household goods of every description — the contents
of hovels, and the contents of aristocratic residences,
huddled together in inextricable confusion. Elegant
ladies, who hardly supposed themselves able to lift
the weight of a pincushion, astonished themselves
by dragging trunks, and carrying heavy loads of
pictures and ornamental furniture, for a long dis
tance. Some adorned themselves with all their
jewelry, for the purpose of saving it, and struggled
along through the crowds, perhaps only to lose it
at the hands of some ruffian. Delicate girls, with
red eyes and blackened faces, toiled, hour after hour,
to save household goods. Poor women staggered
along with their arms full of homely household
wares, and mattresses on their heads, which some
times took fire as they were carrying them. Every
few steps along the avenues were little piles of
household property, or, perhaps, only a trunk,
guarded by children, some of whom were weeping,
and others laughing and playing. Here was a man
sitting upon what he had saved, bereft of his senses,

92 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
looking at the motley throng with staring, vacant
eyes ; here, a woman, weeping and tearing her hair,
and calling for her children in utter despair ; here,
children, hand-in-hand, separated from their parents,
and crying with the heart-breaking sorrow of child
hood; here, a woman, kneeling on the hot ground,
and praying, with her crucifix before her. One
family had saved a coffee-pot and chest of drawers,
and raking together the falling embers in the street,
were boiling their coffee as cheerily as if at home.
Barrels of liquor were rolled into the streets from
the saloons. The heads were speedily knocked in,
and men and boys drank to excess, and staggered
about the streets. Some must have miserably
perished in the flames, while others wandered away
into the unburned district, and slept a drunken sleep
upon the sidewalks and in door-yards. Thieves
pursued their profession with perfect impunity.
Lake street and Clark street were rich with treas
ure, and hordes of thieves entered the stores, and
flung out goods to their fellows, who bore them away
without opposition. Wabash avenue was literally
choked up with goods of every description. Every
one who had been forced from the burning portion
of the division had brought some articles with them,
and been forced to drop some, or all of them. Valu
able oil paintings, books, pet animals, musical*
instruments, toys, mirrors, bedding, and ornamental
and useful articles of every kind, were tramp led
under foot by the hurrying crowds. The streets
leading southward from the fire were jammed with

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 93
vehicles of every description, all driven along at
top speed. Not only the goods which were depo
sited in the streets took fire, but wagon loads of
stuff in transit, also kindled, and the drivers were
obliged to cut the traces to save their animals.
There was fire overhead, everywhere, not only on
the low, red clouds, which rolled along the roofs, but
in the air itself, filled with millions of blazing fag
gots, that carried destruction wherever they fell.
Those who did rescue anything from the burning
buildings, were obliged to defend it at the risk of
their lives Expressmen and owners of every de
scription of wagons, were extortionate in their de
mands, asking from twenty to fifty dollars for con
veying a small load a few blocks. Even then there
was no surety that the goods would reach their
place of destination, as they were often followed by
howling crowds, who would snatch the goods from
the wagons. Sometimes, thieves got possession of
vehicles, and drove off with rich loads of dry goods,
jewelry, or merchandise, to out-of-the-way places.
A mere tithe of the immense treasures piled up in
these palatial warehouses was saved.
Character of the Buildings.
Many of the buildings destroyed were models of
their kind. Among these was the Tribune office,
which was probably one of the most complete and
elegant newspaper establishments in the world. It
was a four-story stone structure, and having nothing

94 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
but brick division walls, and corrugated iron ceil
ings, was supposed to be fire proof. It was com
pleted in April, 1869, at a cost of about $225,000,
and its contents, including furniture, two of Hoe's
eight-cylinder presses, boiler and engine, several
folding machines, and a complete assortment of
miscellaneous machinery, tools and apparatus
necessary to carry on a great paper at $100,000
more. As we have already stated, it stood the
ordeal bravely, hour after hour, until McVicker's
Theatre took fire, penetrating its interior with a
terrible volume of flame, which speedily consumed
all the wood work and badly cracked and twisted
the walls. Its honesty and strength of construction,
however, assured the safety of every safe within its
walls and parfially saved its great presses in the
basement. The Crosby Opera House, had been closed during
the summer and fall for renovation. Its proprietor
had expended $80,000 upon it in ornamentation,
upholstery and frescoing. It was to have been re
opened to the public on Monday evening, the
night after the fire, by the Theodore Thomas
orchestral troupe, and on Sunday evening, only
an hour or two before the fire, it was lit up for
the first time, that its effects might be seen by gas
light. It was a gorgeous auditorium and fairly
dazzling to the eye, and its frescoes were exquisitely
beautiful. The carpet and upholstery were made
expressly for it in France, and the bronzes imported
for it alone cost $5000. Its illumination a few

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 95
hours later was more brilliant and gorgeous, but
alas in a few brief minutes the labor of years had
gone. In addition to the auditorium proper, there
was connected with the house a cozy little music
hall, capable of seating about 1500 people, an art
gallery from which most of the paintings, including
Bierstadt's great picture of the Yo Semite Valley,
and Dieffenback's " Christmas Tree," were saved ;
several artist's studios which were involved in com
mon ruin, the art rooms of Mr. Moore, a well known
connoisseur, filled with pictures, and one of the most
valuable art libraries in the United States ; the Opera
House Restaurant, and the three great music houses
of Roof & Cady, Bauer & Co., and J. W. Kimball.
Mr. Crosby at one time had contemplated devoting
the entire house to business purposes, as being more
profitable than art, but under the advice of friends,
changed his intentions, and then set himself about
the work of making it the handsomest temple of
music in the country. He had succeeded in it, and
was just about to throw wide open its doors to the
public when the fire came ; and on the night when
its beauty was to be admired, and its dazzling audi
torium ring with plaudits, it was a heap of smoulder
ing ruins, broken stones, jagged walls and twisted
iron. McVicker's Theatre was probably one of the
coziest as well as handsomest dramatic establish
ments in the country. Like the Opera House it had
been closed for the summer and entirely remodelled
and refitted throughout at heavy expense. It had

96 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
been open but a few weeks, when the fire occurred,
and was already beginning to repay the management
for the large sums expended, when the fire came
and swept it away. Wood's Museum, on Randolph
street, had a wide-spread reputation, for in addition
to the theatre proper, it also contained the largest
department of- curiosities in the West, embracing a
superb ornithological and entomological cabinet,
choice specimens of minerals, a considerable number
of paintings, and many live animals, all of whom
perished. The museum was originally established
by Cok J. H. Wood, who, after bringing it to a
remarkable pitch of success, retired, leaving its con
trol in the hands of Mr. Frank Aiken, the theatrical
manager. Its success, however, falling off consid
erably, Mr. Aiken had retired from it to take the
management of Hooley's new Opera House, on
Clark street, and early in the fall, Col. Wood re
sumed possession. He had just reorganized the
curiosity department, and opened the museum with
an entirely new company, when the fire closed its
doors forever. Hooley's Opera House, owned by
the well known Brooklyn manager, was also one of
the pleasantest little theatres imaginable. The
building was originally known as Bryan Hall, and
for many years had been used for concert purposes,
and was the scene of some of the sanitary fairs
during the war. When Mr. Hooley pu chased the
property, he remodelled the entire interior, changing
it into a theatre, and like all the others, he had just
opened it with a new company, and was in the full

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 97
tide of success. The Dearborn Theatre, on Dear
born street was the home of burnt-cork minstrelsy,
and had no rival in the United States. Indeed, no
other company in this country ever enjoyed the
advantage of performing in an elegant and thor
oughly appointed theatre.
Farwell Hall was the home of the Young Men's
Christian Association. It was a spacious and ele
gant auditorium, and probably one of the largest in
the country, as it was capable of comfortably seating
3,500 people. Its ornamentations and frescos were
of the most elaborate kind, and a large and hand
some organ had just been placed upon the stage.
Metropolitan Hall, on Randolph street, was one of
the oldest in the city. Sixteen years ago, Adelina
Patti, then a mere child, had sung in it, and for
many years it was intimately associated with the
musical progress of Chicago. For some time prior
to its burning, the hall and other rooms in the
building had been leased by the Young Men's
Library Association, and its destruction involved the
loss of their library, which numbered about 20,000
miscellaneous volumes, including a complete set of
the British patent office reports, the only set in the
country. The loss of the Academy of Design involved a
terrible blow to art. The gallery had in it about
three hundred paintings by home and foreign artists.
Some of the larger ones, including Rothermel's great
historical painting of the Battle of Gettysburg, were
saved, but the most of them were lost. Nearly all

98 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION  CHICAGO :
the prominent artists in the city made the Academy
their home, and they consequently suffered heavily
in the destruction of their studios. In the art
school connected with the Academy was a large
and valuable collection of casts of the most celebrated
antiques, which had been presented to the Academy
by Hon. J. Young Scammon, all of which were lost.
The building occupied by the Academy of Sciences
was supposed to be fire proof, but it was utterly
destroyed, together with the following valuable
cabinets : —
" 1. The Audubon Club collection, consisting of 400
finely-mounted specimens of game birds and mammals.
" 2. The State collection of insects, recently purchased,
of great scientific value for the number of types it contained.
" 3. Cabinet of marine shells, purchased of William
Cooper, the most complete in the country.
" 4. The Florida collection, made by Mr. E. W. Blatch-
ford and the Secretary in two winters, containing a full
illustration of the zoology of Florida.
" 5. The cabinet of minerals recently purchased by
subscription of the estate of Col. G. W. Hughes.
" 6. Splendid series of specimens illustrative of the
natural history of Alaska.
" 1. The Smithsonian collection of Crustacea, undoubtedly
the largest in the world, which filled over 10,000 jars, and
contained types of all species described by Prof. Dana and
other American authors, and hundreds of others, described
only in manuscripts lost in the fire.
" 8. The invertebrates of the United States, North Pacific,
the majority undescribed except in manuscripts destroyed.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 99
"9. Collection of Marine shells of the coast of the United
States, made in twenty years' dredgings from Maine to
Texas. " 10. Herbarium of the late Dr. F. Scammon, consisting
of 6,000 species of plants, with numerous duplicates.
" 11. The Scammon collection of ancient Central Ameri
can pottery, and other implements, collected by Dr. Van
Peston. " 12. The Arctic collection of the late Robert Kennicott
from 1859 to 1861 ; one of the most important features of
the museum.
"The general collection contained 2,000 mammals, 30
mounted skeletons, including 2 mastadons, 10,000 birds
1,000 nests and eggs, 5,000 fishes, 10,000 species of insects
with other specimens in proportion.
" The library contained about 2,000 volumes, chiefly the
publications of other societies. At the time of the fire the
academy was in communication with 15 American, and 100
European institutions. The manuscript department was
also valuable."
Of the general character of the business structures
destroyed, it is only necessary to say that they were
of the most solid and massive description, and many
of them exceedingly beautiful in an architectural
point of view. The entire portion of the South
Division which was consumed was almost exclu
sively built of stone and brick, but even these
substantial structures offered no apparent resistance
to the terrific fury of the fire. Indeed the destruc
tion of many of the heaviest stone buildings was
much more rapid than that of wooden buildings, as

100 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
they had become so thoroughly heated that the
moment the flameis seized upon and swept through
them, they melted away and disappeared. The
intensity and ferocity of the fire has never had a
parallel. It twisted iron into all manner of fanciful
shapes. In crockery stores, it fused glass and china
together in beautiful forms, and many sight-seers,
after the ruins of such stores had cooled, carried away
as relics, great masses of glass, china, mortar, brick
and earthen ware, cemented together in the most
incongruous manner. In some streets it burned
the blocks of the Nicholson pavement to the earth
beneath them. It twisted many of the rails of the
street railroads into perfect U's, which stood inverted
on the pavement. In such seething masses of
flames, chasing after each other for twelve hours
like billows along a beach, the very Pyramids
would have yielded had they received the full force
of the fire. In the entire burned portion of the
South Division but two buildings were uninjured.
One was an unfinished stone structure at the corner
of La Salle and Monroe streets. There was no
wood work in the building at all, the walls being of
stone and the partitions and floors of brick. The
buildings adjoining it were small wooden structures,
while those opposite to it, though of stone, were
very shallow, being only about twenty feet in depth
and fell almost immediately. The second was the
Lind block, which was comparatively isolated.
Of the detail of losses in this division it is im
possible to speak with any accuracy. It was the very

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 101
heart of Chicago and it contained the larger part of
the treasures of the city. In its destruction, every
newspaper office in the city, both daily and weekly,
every public library, every place of amusement,
every bank but one, every first-class hotel with one
or two exceptions, the two great depots of the city,
every insurance office, seven churches, every public
building of any size, the gas works, the post office
the custom house, the marine hospital, several Roman
Catholic charitable institutions, the city hall, the
chamber of commerce, every art gallery, the telegraph
offices, nearly every lawyer's and physican's office, all
the best restaurants in the city, two thriving commer
cial colleges, thousands of business offices, and all
the great warehouses of wholesale business, piled to
their utmost capacity with goods laid in for the fall
trade, were involved in common ruin. The wreck was
as complete as the wreck of Pompeii and Hercula-
neum. The Feeling of the People.
And yet in the face of this universal and crushing
disaster, when it seemed as if both banks and in
surance offices were so crippled that utter bank
ruptcy and financial ruin must ensue, the faith and
undaunted courage of the men who had built Chicago
never faltered. While yet the fires were blazing all
about them, there was but one expression of opinion
and that was that the Garden City must be the
Phoenix City. On the very next morning after the
disaster, scarcely a pile of bricks that marked where

102 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
a building had stood, but bore a rudely extempor
ized sign that Messrs. So and So had removed to No.
 , and would continue their business as hereto
fore. The newspapers were the first to resume
business. On the second day of the fire, the
Tribune, Post, and Journal appeared as usual, the
others following as rapidly as they could reorganize.
The following editorial which appeared in the
Tribune in its first issue, reflected the universal sen
timent of the people :
"cheer dp.
" In the midst of a calamity, without parallel in the
world's history, looking upon the ashes of thirty years' ac
cumulations, the people of this once beautiful city have
resolved that, "CHICAGO SHALL KISE AGAIN.
" With woe on every hand, with death in many strange
places, with 2 or 300,000,000 of our hard-earned property
swept away in a few hours, the hearts of our men and women
are still brave, and they look into the future with undaunted
courage. As there has never been such a calamity, so has
there never been such cheerful fortitude in the face of deso
lation and ruin.
Thanks to the blessed charity of the good people of the
United States, we shall not suffer from hunger or nakedness
in this trying time. Hundreds of train loads of provisions
are coming forward to us with all speed from every quarter,
from Maine to Omaha. Some have already arrived, more
will reach us before these words are printed. Three-fourths
of our inhabited area is still saved. The water supply will

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 103
be speedily renewed. Steam fire engines from a dozen
neighboring cities, have already arrived, and more are on
their way. It seems impossible that any further progress
should be made by the flames, or that any new fire should
break out that would not be instantly extinguished.
" Already contracts have been made for rebuilding some
of the burned blocks, and the clearing away of the debris
will begin to day, if the heat is so far subdued that the
charred material can be handled. Field, Leiter & Co., and
John V. Farwell & Co., will recommence business to-day.
The money and securities in the banks are safe. The rail
roads are working with all their energies to bring us out of
our affliction. The 300,000,000 of capital invested in these
roads is bound to see us through. They have been built
with special reference to a great commercial mart at this
place and they cannot fail to sustain us. Chicago must rise
again. " We do not belittle the calamity that has befallen us.
The world has probably never seen the like of it — certainly
not since Moscow was burned. But the forces of nature, no
less than the forces of reason, require that the exchanges
of a great region should be conducted here. Ten, twenty
years may be required to reconstruct our fair city, but the
capital to rebuild it fire proof will be forthcoming. The
losses we have suffered must be borne ; but the place, the
time and the men are here, to commence at the bottom and
work up again, not at the bottom neither, for we have credit
in every land and the experience of one upbuilding of Chi
cago to help us. Let us all cheer up, save what is left yet,
and we shall come out right. The Christian world is com
ing to our relief. The worst is already over. In a few
days more all the dangers will be past and we can resume
the battle of life with Christian faith and Western grit. Let
us all cheer up 1"
This was the first public announcement by the
press, and it had the ring of the true metal in it.

104 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION— CHICAGO :
As a matter of public record, we append the first
proclamation of the Mayor of the city :
" 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
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 pro
tection of property.
" All officers and men of the Fire Department and Health
Department 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 head-quarters of the city government will be at the
Congregational Church, corner of Ann and West Washing
ton streets. All persons are warned against any acts tending
to endanger property. All persons caught in any depreda
tions will be immediately arrested.
" With the help of God, order and peace and private pro
perty shall be preserved. The city government and com
mittees of citizens pledge themselves to the community to
protect them and prepare the way for a restoration of public
and private welfare.
" It is believed the fire has spent its force and all will soon
be well.
R. B. Mason, Mayor."

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 105

The Fire in the North Division.
At twelve o'clock the fire crossed the south branch
of the river, and entered the South Division at
Adams and Franklin streets. Taking a due course
to the northeast, it found the Court House and Sher
man House in its path. Precisely at twenty minutes
past two o'clock, the roof of the centre building of
the Court House fell in, and before that event, and
about the time that the Sherman House was ablaze,
the fire, carried by the wind, had fallen upon the
north side, and broke out just north of the bridge,
at State street. North of the bridge was a long
viaduct of wood, erected on trestle work. West of
this roadway, and near the river, was a long, low
building, used as a freight depot by the Northwest
ern (Galena branch) Railway. To the east was
Wright's large livery stable, both buildings of brick,
but of shingle or flat roofs. Farther to the east
was the Galena elevator, also of wood. The build
ings, all within the course of the fire, had been
ignited by burning brands. To the west and further
north of the freight depot, were rows of small frame
buildings, used as cheap boarding houses, all made
of wood. In the alleys, and in the rear of these
buildings, were stables, all of wood, dry as tin
der, and over all of which the intense heated wind
had been blowing for hours, and upon which had
been falling the blazing brands of the fire during its
previous advance. Simultaneously, the fire blazed

106 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
up in half a dozen places, within a distance from east
to west of one hundred and fifty yards. No sooner
had these been fairly under way, than the ever
growing fire from the southwest cast its brands still
farther on in advance ; and long before the fire in
the South Division had levelled a path, or was visible
in a burning house on the south line of the river,
the fire on the north side had gone six or eight
blocks through the frame buildings on the north
side of the river. As the base of the fire on the
south side of the river widened to the west, it
crossed the river, to find inflammable materials, all
prepared to continue it, and at each new crossing it
formed a new line, which swept on with new fury.
The work of destruction on the north side was rapid.
Though the houses were not built so closely to one
another, yet the proportion of them of wood was
greater. There was no longer an attempt to stop
its progress. It was its own director. Iri one hour
after its first breaking out it swept onward in an
unbroken sheet of flame, extending at its base from
Rush street westward to Clark street, burning in a
due line to the northwest. It rushed onward, sweep
ing everything before it. At half past three o'clock
the great breweries near the water works were
ablaze, and soon after, engineers and firemen in the
water works building, opening the valves, were forced
to abandon their posts to save their lives. The roof,
which was of shingles, soon burned, the rafters fell
in, the machinery was disabled, and Chicago was
left without a drop of water. The fire, in the mean-

==~ tMi y^H ¥Z& 111 1 *-'

will

•mm.- - - -

PALMER HOUSE, COR. STATE AND guiNUY STREETS.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 109
time, had extended to the eastern point of the South
Division, and had burned all on the north side of the
river (Rathbone's stove warehouse excepted). On
the east everything had been burned to the lake.
The wave of fire which had swept the breweries
and the water works, had expended itself a few
rods farther in the lake. But new lines were ad
vancing on the west flank. The advance of the fire
was in the order known in military practice as
echelon, with the right in the advance. As the most
advanced reached its destination, the next to the
left moved forward, and as fire was forever widen
ing and forming new extensions to the left, it was
soon obvious that it would leave nothing unde-
stroyed. Persons living north of Chicago avenue and west
of Clark street, considered themselves as safe, be
cause they were out of the line of the wind. But
each half hour enlarged the sweep of the wind.
When day dawned upon that awful morning, the
fire had worked westward along the river to Wells
street, destroying the large elevator, and the Galena
Passenger Depot at that point. It rapidly swept
all before it, each new line of fire going straight
through to the northeast, until it struck the lake.
Some fugitives from dwellings destroyed east of
Clark street, about five o'clock, were kindly shel
tered by a lady residing on Oak street, near La
Salle, and she prepared a bountiful breakfast for
them. By nine o'clock both guests and hostess
were alike fleeing for their lives before the roaring,
1

110 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
sweeping stream of fire which pursued them. Thus,
all day, from morning until midnight of that dread
ful day, did the fire rage in that doomed division of
the city. Twenty-four hours after it started on De-
koven street, it was igniting fresh fires near the
northern limits of the city, having in the meantime
consumed all within its scope for a distance of four
miles north, in an average belt, seven-eighths of a
mile wide.
The north branch of the river shortly after leav
ing the main river, diverges to the west, and is locked
in by the west division, no fire coming from the west,
a few tenements near the river were saved, but as a
general thing by 10 o'clock in the forenoon, the fire
extended from the river on the west to the lake on
the east, in a line running from the southwest to
the northeast. In this form it continued to advance
northwardly, until the west end reached Fullerton
avenue, which it did not cross west of Orchard street.
East of Orchard street it destroyed everything to the
lake, and then during the night, having consumed
all that there was to consume, it finished its work
by destroying the dwelling of Dr. J. H. Foster.
Except some indifferent shanties near the bridges,
and some scattered dwellings in the northwest
corner of the Sixteenth Ward, not a dwelling was
left north of the river, except that of Mr. Ogden.
The principal buildings in this part of the city
have been enumerated elsewhere. The width of ter
ritory swept in that division was nearly one mile by
nearly three miles long. The once teeming place is as

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. HI
silent as the graveyard. To the east there are some
fragments of churches and of walls, but these are
exceptions, — the whole surface being, as a general
thing, as level as the original prairie. The streets
were for a large part paved and their grade raised.
The few bricks left have fallen into the basements,
the sidewalks have disappeared, leaving to the streets
the appearance of embankments to permit passage
through a marshy region, or like the pathways
through the vats of an extensive tannery. Nothing
was so desolate — not a sound to break the solitude,
nor a building to change the wide-spread, blackened
landscape. The north side was highly ornamented
with trees, many of them of choice varieties, and
of many years' growth. All these have been swept
away, — not even a skeleton of them left. One pecu
liarity of the destruction is, that amid all the ruins
there are no charred or half burned boards or tim
bers; not even in the streets is there anything
wooden. The fire in its intense heat destroyed every
thing combustible, leaving nothing whatever to sur
vive it. Even the floors in the basement of the
largest buildings have been eaten up by the fire.
leaving not a sign that such things existed.
The Flight of the People.
The residents of the North Division had all re
tired to sleep long before the fire had assumed any
serious proportions. When it had crossed into the
South Division from the west, and thus threatened

112 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
the centre of the town, the incessant clanging of
the bells, the gorgeous illumination, the intense heat
and smoke, and the unfailing shower of brilliant
sparks, fully aroused them. No one, however,
stirred. The merchants and bankers crossed to
their places of business to do what could be done ;
but when the court house fell, when the massive
blocks of stone and brick opposed the progress of
the fire no more successfully than so much straw,
and when at last the blaze broke out in a half-dozen
places north of the river, there was a preparation
for flight. Those within the immediate range of
the first advancing column of fire fled with such
hastily gathered articles as they could to the lake
shore. Those who were fortunate enough to own
carriages, put their families and valuables in and
drove off to the north. Wagons and teams were
gathered and loaded, and furniture and families
moved to Washington Park. This small park was
at one time packed with furniture and people of
every age, including many lifted from beds of
sickness. In .two hours the fire had got to the
west far enough to include this park in its sweep,
and then the flight was begun anew. This time all
the property that had been rescued was left behind,
so close upon them was the fire, and the weary men,
women and children on foot took up their precipitate
march further to the northward ; occasionally they
would stop to rest ; occasionally some delicate woman
would faint from exhaustion or anxiety ; occasionally
some child would fall to the ground, unable any

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 113
longer to walk. But the fire followed close. The
shower of sparks and blazing fragments never
ceased to fall upon them. Time and again the
clothes of the women and children would be on fire,
and on they had to march, enveloped in a cloud of
smoke and fire, and followed by the roar of blazing
buildings and the terrible howling of the gale.
Thus they were driven from block to block, and
street to street, until daylight found them on the
boulevard road along the lake shore, far beyond the
city limits.
Those who fled directly to the eastward, to the
lake beach, passed hardly a less pitiable night. Be
hind them was the fire, south of them the lumber
yards on the beach and pier was ablaze. Hemmed
in between pier and lumber yard, were many fugi
tives, men, women and children, of whom many are
known to have perished, and it is feared the number
is very great. Along the beach were judges, mer
chants, doctors, workingmen, women and children;
among whom, as they lay on the sand, fell the rain
of fire. The clothing of the women was repeatedly
on fire, and bundles of rescued articles had to be
thrown into the lake to extinguish them. The
scorching heat, the falling fire, the horrible roar,
the blinding smoke and cinders, the raging thirst,
and the hot sand, were terrible to endure, and there
these people remained until the next afternoon
before they dared turn their faces towards the yet
blazing but destroyed city behind them.
Farther to the westward, among the habitations

114 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
of the poor, the distress was even more terrible.
Quickly dislodged, the flight was precipitate. Each
family had its small corps of helpless children.
Fathers and mothers struggled against the blinding,
burning atmosphere, with their little ones, for
safety. Here and there sidewalks would fall in,
precipitating all upon them into the vaults beneath.
It is assumed, that of necessity, many hundreds
perished in this flight. Exhausted women, sur
rounded by their helpless children, would fall upon
the street, the next moment to be shut out from
mortal aid by the far-reaching, whirling flames. In
every case, so high was the wind, the flames of a
burning building extended across the street, con
suming everything within their reach.
In a district embracing 75,000 people, there were
necessarily many who were upon beds of sickness.
These had to be rescued by their immediate friends,
or perish, and too often, the only immediate friends
were helpless children. The mind shudders to
think of what happened to both sick and well.
Until the day shall come when the ruins of these
20,000 habitations shall be critically examined, the
number of those who thus perished — whole families
— will never be known.
During that terrible night the wife of one of the
State officers, he being in another part of the State,
was in the pangs of labor, when necessity compelled
her removal. In that perilous state she was con
veyed to the house of a friend a mile north, and far
beyond any supposed reach of the fire. She reached

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 115
there with her babe born during the removal, but
three hours later had again to be carried to another
part of the city to escape the fire which had followed
her. This was but one of many cases equally dis
tressing, though not all so fortunate. Other women
in the same condition were removed, who did not
survive the fright. There were numerous cases of
ladies who trying to escape on foot, were overtaken
by the pangs of maternity, and upon the- street, or
in front yards, or on doorsteps, became mothers.
Thus hastily forced by the ever pursuing fire, they
fled they knew not whither, away from the roaring,
fiendish storm of fire. Some who had escaped into
the West Division found shelter in human habita
tions, and comparative comfort. But throughout
the city, in every large group of fugitives, there were
painful incidents of the effects of the terror pro
duced by the flight for life.
An ex-member of Congress, fled with his family
out on the north pier. The fire followed him, burn
ing the pier and enveloping him in its dense smoke,
and burning them with its terrible heat. He re
mained until the next afternoon, when there was
nothing before him but the lake and the skeleton
frame of the light house, and the fire fifty feet in
his rear, when hailing a tug boat he got on board
with his family, and running the risk of destruction,
steamed up the river between two sheets of fire, and
landed on the west side of the north branch. It
was a desperate venture, but rendered necessary to
avoid the death which was fast approaching him.

116 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
To comprehend the horrors of that flight let the
reader imagine a population of 76,000 men, women
and children, suddenly driven from their homes,
hemmed in by a roaring blaze on each side, with a
far reaching fire impelled by a furious gale in the
rear ; let him imagine these people forcing along in
a few streets, trying to keep families together, envel
oped in clouds of smoke, and covered at every step
with blazing cinders; the horrors of the exodus
made more terrible by the wild foray of horses and
cattle, terrified by the fire, madly running hither
and thither, kicking and trampling, often in herds
of a dozen, aimlessly trying to escape and instinct
ively following or plunging through the human pro
cession. This terrible flight of 76,000 people during that
night and morning, pursued by the relentless fire,
and often headed off in their march by a building
fired by a brand from the fire behind. There was
no shelter, no refuge, no escape, but to push on
through the narrow streets to the north. The few
bridges to the northwest were thronged, but soon
became gorged with broken vehicles, and it was
almost death to attempt to pass them. Time, in
fact, did not permit their use ; the fire was in the
rear, roaring, and sending forward its incessant dis
charge of blazing brands, shingles, and fragments
of timbers. Occasionally, above the roar and din,
above the shrieks and shouts of the moving mass,
above the wild neighing and snorting of the fren
zied horses and cattle, would be heard the explosions

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 117
of drug stores, distilleries, warehouses, and the fall
of stone walls. Then would come the shower of
fiery projectiles, the horrors of which were often
aggravated by the pitiable sight of dismembered
portions of human bodies, the victims of explosions.
Any one who has witnessed the passage of an army
of 75,000 men, moving through the streets in perfect
order, discipline, and with the surroundings of a gala
show, can get a faint picture of this terrible flight
of the inhabitants of the North Division, by substi
tuting for this army of disciplined soldiery, the same
number of terrified men, women and children, most
of them half clothed, bearing their sick, their dying,
their aged, and their helpless, with the sidewalks on
fire, the buildings in a blaze in every direction, the
horrible roar behind, the stifling smoke and cinders,
and all this fearful procession hastening forward as
best it could — going no one knew where. When
one fell it was almost certain death. The ever
surging crowd could not stop to pick up the
exhausted or the feeble, but over the fallen bodies
rushed on — on, away from the monster that was pur
suing them. How many thus perished will never
be known ; but the next day, when the fire was out,
and the scattered families called their rolls, over two
thousand children were missing, the most of whom
were of an age as to exclude all hope of their
safety by their unaided exertions. The horrors of
that flight were greatly increased by the fact that
men and women could not understand that the fire
was irresistible, and delayed their departure until

!
118 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
the flames actually drove them forth. Many sought
to carry valuables and clothing, but these impedi
ments to rapid movement were soon abandoned,
though in many cases they were held too long, — so
checking flight, that the blaze which often encircled
a block of buildings, crossing the street ahead of the
fugitives, and thus destroyed all escape.
One wealthy citizen occupied a costly mansion
erected in the very centre of a block. The square
was thickly planted with trees and shrubbery, and a
large portion devoted to conservatories ; the whole
enclosed with a board fence ten feet high. Time was
wasted in packing valuables, and when the family
and servants came out from the building, they found
the whole fence in flames, the sidewalks on all four
sides ablaze, and the trees already burning. Thus
imprisoned within a very wall of fire, with the
building, stables, and conservatories all on fire, they
rushed wildly about, with no visible means of escape.
Rescue from without was impossible. While thus
reduced to despair, while thus environed by a circuit
' of fire, and the trees over their heads in flames, a sec
tion of the wooden fence fell down, but still blazing ¦
beyond it was the wooden sidewalk, eight feet wide,
also on fire. It was a desperate chance. The old
and the young made a speedy rush, bounded over
the fallen blazing fence, jumped upon and over the
burning sidewalks and thus reached the street, on
each side of which there was an equal fire. Rush
ing with the speed of desperation, men and women
reached a few blocks north, when were they com-

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 119
pelled to halt to extinguish the burning garments
of the women. This was accomplished with great
difficulty, and with great injury to all. The flight
was continued, and for twenty-four hours these peo
ple wandered on the distant prairie, unable to
return to the city. The Intense Heat.
The most striking peculiarity of the fire was its
intense, devouring heat. Nothing exposed to it,
escaped. Amid the hundreds of acres left bare, there
is not to be found a piece of wood of any descrip
tion, and unlike most fires, it left nothing half
burned. The innermost timbers, floorings, doors,
window sills, were all reached and wholly consumed.
From the wreck of the many thousand buildings,
there is not a vestige of timber or charred wood.
The excavators turn up brick, stone, glass, iron,
silver, gold, bronze, brass and all other remnants of
merchandise, household goods and building mater
ials, but not a particle of wood. The combustion
was complete. The fire swept the streets of all the
ordinary dust and rubbish, consuming it instantly.
Nothing was left but the incombustible. In repeated
instances the popular building stone, the Athens
marble, a free limestone, which when first uncdvered
in the quarry is soft, but rapidly hardens, and which
was universally used in the city, when broken and
falling upon the bed of burning coal, was of itself on
fire — burning as does the ordinary stone in the lime
kilns.

120 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
But this does not account for the intense heat.
Various theories are stated. One is that the blazing
fire evolved a gas which was carried on before by the
wind ; that it penetrated and filled all the buildings
on the line; that the blazing brands reaching these
buildings, being fanned into flame as soon as they
touched the roofs or windows, communicated instan
taneously with the gas, producing a fire of the great
est heat, and general in all parts of the building.
It is argued that as the gas escaping from an ordinary
furnace, if economized and again subjected to flame,
produces a heat far in excess of that proceeding
from the fuel in its original form, so this gas,
escaping unconsumed from the fire, when again
brought in contact with flame in large bodies and
in comparatively confined rooms, produces not only
instantaneous combustion, but intense heat.
Whatever may be the true theory as to the cause
of the extraordinary heat, the fact is evidenced by
countless examples of its destructive power. It
made little or no difference what the material was
of which the building was built, whether of brick,
or stone. The effect on all was alike — marble
structure perishing with hardly less speed than that
of the frame shed. The First National Bank was
supposed to be fire proof. It was situated on the
northeast corner of a block, with north and east
fronts. On the south it was flanked by a row of
marble front brick buildings, and the same on the
west. It had no party walls. It was built after the
other buildings, with independent walls, on the south

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 121
and west ; it was protected from the fire and wind
by its own walls and those of the adjoining buildings.
In front was a street one hundred feet wide. The
only result of this double protection was that its
walls are standing, but the intense heat, borne by
the eddies of the wind, entered the building on the
fronts not exposed to the wind ; the furniture and
window casings were burned, and so great was the
heat coming from without, that the monster iron
girders expanded upward, breaking the iron ceilings,
crashing the exterior walls, and leaving the building
a wreck and a ruin. Precisely the same effect was
produced in the Tribune building, also fire proof.
The furniture in the building, if all collected and
fired, would not have produced heat enough to
seriously damage the room in which it was burned;
but the intense heat borne into the building seemed
to so feed the blaze of the burning tables, chairs and
desks, that the iron girders and ceilings expanded
upward and downward to such a degree that they
tore down, shattered, or forced outward into the
streets, walls that it was supposed nothing short of
an explosion of the first magnitude could disturb.
The intensity of the heat may be judged, and the
thorough combustion of everything wooden may
be understood, when we state that in the yard of
one of the large agricultural implement factories,
was stacked some hundreds of tons of pig iron.
This iron was two hundred feet from any building.
To the south of it was the river, one hundred and
fifty feet wide. No large building but the factory

122 -THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
was in the immediate vicinity of the fire. Yet, so
great was the heat, that this pile of iron melted and
run, and is now in one large and nearly solid mass.
The effect of the heat is also shown in the cases
of the large anchors and cables at the warehouses.
These cables of every size were kept upon the side
walks in huge coils. Since the fire they present a
most curious appearance, the coils having melted
each into a solid mass, just preserving enough of its
original form to show what it had been. Perhaps
no city of the country used more of the useful
articles known as hand trucks, than this city. They
are made of hard wood shafts, fitted into strong
iron frames, and every store in this city had its. full
supply of them in use. They were actively in use
during the night in the removal of goods from the'
stores to the wagons, and were abandoned, many of
them on the sidewalks, and thousands of them have
been found in the ruins. They are remarkable
looking skeletons. The two small iron wheels, the
bands, and all the iron work, are perfect, but not
a sight of the wood work. A gentleman escaping
from one of the hotels with his wife, obtained one
of these trucks, and placing on it two trunks
hastened to that part of the lake shore occupied by
the base ball enclosure. This enclosure was merely
a high fence with wooden benches at one end for
spectators. He had been there' but a few minutes
when he was certain the fire would reach him, so
hastily digging a hole, he put the trunks in it,
covered them with earth and left the trucks ex-

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 123
posed; This was in the middle of the base ball
diamond, remote from the fence and the seats.
When he returned ^iext day, the wooden work of
the truck, which could not have come in contact
with any fire, was consumed. The intense heat,
acting on the iron had fired the wooden parts, and
they were burned.
There can be no question that the intense heat
was the result of the gale. The fire once under
way, the gale gave to it the intensity given to flame
by the blow pipe. The heat itself thus generated
would have produced an extensive conflagration,
had there been no burning faggots. These latter,
lodging on cornices, roofs, in crevices on wooden
sidewalks, in yards, on wood piles, were kept alive
by the wind, forced into flame, and spread the fire
with rapid speed. Hundreds of persons, who rushed
from their residences in the North Division to look
after their stores and warehouses in the South Di
vision, on their return found their dwellings in
flames and their families fugitives.
The fire left but little of architectural adornment.
The marble mantels were not only broken, but con
sumed. A gentleman visiting the Tribune building
after the fire, after climbing over broken walls, and
shaking iron stairs to an upper room, discovered
one of the carved shields which had ornamented one
of the marble mantels. Hastily seizing it, intend
ing to preserve it as a memento, it crumbled in his
fingers as so much lime. It had preserved its shape,
but the substance had been consumed by the furnace

124 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
heat. The power of the blow pipe in producing
heat from flame, is well understood, and the most
rational explanation of the astonishing heat of this
fire is that the gale operated on the flame as does
the blow pipe, and before that concentrated heat
everything combustible was consumed, and all else,
melted and destroyed. I
Losses and Insurance.
It is impossible, even at this late date, to give the
details of losses. A close estimate, however, fixes
the loss at about $200,000,000, divided substanti
ally as follows : Losses.
City Corporation  $5,000,000
Churches,  3,000,000
Dry Goods,  10,000,000
Clothing  -J. 5,000,000
Hardware,  4,000,000
Boots and Shoes,  2,000,000
Groceries,  10,000,000
Drugs,  8,000,000
Jewelry  2,000,000
Elevators and contents,  3,000,000
Hats and Caps  fi,000,000
Shipping,  750,000
Railroad Corporations,  1,000 000
Dwellings,  3o'oOoioOO
Stores and Business Blocks, .... 80,000,000
0fflces  1,000,000
Opera Houses, and Theatres, .... 2,000,000
Libraries, paintings and miscellaneous, 31,250,000 '
Total»  $200,000,000

UNITY (MR. COLLYER'S) AND NEW ENGLAND CHURCHES.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 127
Products.
The principal losses of products were as follows :
Wheat  628,900 bush.
Corn,  394,500 "
Oats  234,900 "
Rye  115,000 "
Barley,  260,000 "
Total of grain  1,634,300 bush.
Pork  6,000 bbls.
Lard,  4,000 tierces.
Cut meat  1,500,000 lbs.
Broomcorn  2,400 tons.
Lumber,  50,000,000 ft.
Coal,  , . . . . 80,000 tons.
Churches.
The following is a list of the principal churches
destroyed, with their estimated value :
South Side.
First Presbyterian,  $200,000
TJniversalist  100,000
Trinity, (Episcopal,)  150,000
Swedenborgian,  75,000
8

128 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
St. Mary's Church and Mission, (Catholic,) $250,000
Second Presbyterian,  60,000
First Methodist Episcopal,  400,000
Other smaller churches,  250,000
Farwell Hall, . . . -  400,000

North Side.
North Church, (Presbyterian,) .... $75,000
Westminster, (Presbyterian,) .... 75,000
M. E. Grace Church,  150,000
Moody's Mission  125,000
St. James, (Episcopal,)  150,000
Two Catholic churches with nunneries, . 300,000
New England Church,  150,000
Robert CoUyer's Unitarian Church, . . 100,000
Nearly seventy-five churches, mission schools,
etc., were destroyed. The New England church,
one of the most elaborate structures in the city,
was laid in ruins, as was the home of every mem
ber of the church. The First and Second Presby
terian churches, the First Universalist, Trinity
Episcopal and the New Jerusalem churches were
among the ruins. The Roman Catholics suffered
greatly, losing as many as seven churches, six con
vents, eight schools and two hospitals.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 129

Insurance.
It is still more difficult to ascertain the insurance
losses, but the following list is sufficiently accurate
as a general statement up to the time of writing :
Maine,  $22,500
Boston, Mass  3,252,500
Worcester, Mass.,  307,500
Springfield, Mass.  450,000
Providence, R. I.,  1,985,000
Hartford,  8,500,000
Connecticut  735,000
New York City,  13,476,500
Brooklyn,  935,000
Buffalo,  1,730,000
Albany,  1,200,000
Philadelphia,  1,590,000
Pittsburgh,  136,500
Pennsylvania  870,000
Baltimore  309,000
Cincinnati  1,241,800
Cleveland  1,948,000
Columbus,  330,000
Toledo  10,000
Michigan,  165,000
Chicago,  25,000,000
Illinois  1,000,000
Wisconsin,  245,000
St. Louis,  462,500
San Francisco,  3,100,000
Foreign,  5,798,000
Miscellaneous,  287,000
Total,  $74,986,800

130 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
An approximate statement of losses, as furnished
by companies, exhibits the effect produced upon the
business by the sudden and overwhelming disaster.
Superintendent Miller, under date of November
11th, 1871, gives the particulars relating to the

New York Companies.
The following New York companies have ceased
to do business, and gone into liquidation. The
gross assets of each, as stated in the annual report
of December 21st last, is given in the absence of
any present report: Gross assets.
Jan. 1, 1S71.
¦^tna,  $442,709
Astor,  405,571
Atlantic,  548,194
Beekman  261,851
Excelsior, .  335,724
Fulton,  359,227
Irving,  321,745
Lamar,  548,402
Lorillard,  1,715,909.
Manhattan,  \ 40*7 ^sg
Market  '704^684
North America,  Y70 305
Security.  1,860,333
Washington,  774,411
Albany City,  397^646
CaPital  293,766
Buffalo City,  370,934
Buffalo Fire Insurance,  4*73 577
Western,  580,'547
Yonkers, N. T.,  S6g933

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 131
The following companies sustaining losses are
continuing in business. Total losses by
Gross assets. Chicago fire.
Adriatic  $261,500 $8,500
American  1,013,393 30,000
American Exchange, . . 280,887 58,000
Buffalo, German, .... 308,716 5,000
Citizens  722,068 35,000
Columbia,  468,595 3,400
Commerce, (Albany,) . . 762,000 450,000
Commerce Fire, (N. Y.,) .. 253,865 26,000
Commercial  317,451 5,000
Continental,  2,847,307 1,400,000
Corn Exchange, .... 359,880 61,000
Exchange  207,374 2,500
Firemen's Fund  182,030 32,500
Firemen's Trust, .... 241,700 5,000
Germania,  1,135,332 226,500
Glen's Falls,  554,962 13,000
Greenwich,  472,070 10,000
Guardian,  286,984 45,000
Hanover  750,000 250,000
Hoffman,  217,460 30,000
Home  4,813,561 2,139,213
Howard,  894,360 473,110
Humboldt  362,786 24,000
Importers' and Traders', . 308,189 22,500
International,  1,466,726 546,911
Jefferson  447,391 42,500
Kings County, .... 292,562 31,000
Lafayette,  224,643 7,500
Lenox  247,800 32,000
Mechanics'  236,356 22,500
Mechanics' and Traders', . 518,062 37,000
Mercantile,  292,335 112,000
Merchants',  463,864 10,000

132 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO: Total losses by
Gross assets. Chicago Are.
National,  $300,000 $37,500
New York,  389,904 15.000
Niagara  1,321,420 225,000
Pacific,  451,405 12,500
Phoenix,  1,870,076 350,000
Relief,  323,125 40,000
Republic  682,382 208,140
Resolute  254,024 109,927
Sterling  266,581 7,500
Williamsburgh City, . . 531,364 60,000
Other Suspensions.
The following Rhode Island companies have sus
pended : Assets, Jan. 1. Losses.
American,  $374,964 $400,000
Atlantic,  326,614 300,000
Hope  211,673 150,000
Providence Washington, . 415,150 550,000
Roger Williams, .... 278,966 100,000
The following Connecticut companies have sus
pended : Assets, Jan. 1. Losses.
Charter Oak,  $251,951 $200,000
Connecticut  400,000 200,000
Merchants,  540,096
North American, .... 456,503
Putnam  785,783
Norwich,  381,730 350,000

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 133
The following Massachusetts companies have sus
pended : Gross Assets,
Jan. 1. Losses.
Hide and Leather, . . . $419,211 $800,000
Independent,  646,050 900,000
New England Mutual, . 1,080,970 700,000
The following Ohio companies have suspended :
Losses.
Alemania of Cleveland,  $500,000
Cleveland,  400,000
Sun,. , . .  100,000
Fourteen Chicago companies were completely
prostrated. Their entire assests being swept away,
and not amounting to over 10 per cent, of their
losses.

Aggregate Losses.
249 American companies, and 6 English doing
fire insurance business in the United States, suffered
loss. The aggregate loss was as follows :
249 American companies, .... $82,821,122
6 English companies,  5,813,000
Total loss of Insurance Cos., . $88,634,122
The aggregate assets of these companies are :
American companies,  $74,930,216
English companies,  71,949,305
Total capital,  $145,879,521

134 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
The total loss falling upon only a portion of the
companies, and upon others only in small sums, has
crushed out the losing companies, leaving the in
sured sufferers to perhaps $50,000,000, on their
insured property alone.

The Destruction of City Property.
The following is an estimate of the losses of City
Property by the fire, made by the Board of Public
Works: City Hall, including furniture, . . . $470,000
Water works engines,  15,000
Water works buildings and tools, . . 20,000
Rush street bridge, .  15,000
State street bridge,  15,000
Clark street bridge,  13,800
Wells street bridge  15,000
Chicago avenue bridge,  26,700
Adams street bridge,  37,800
Van Buren street bridge,  13,470
Polk street bridge, '  29,450
Washington street tunnel,  2,000
La Salle street tunnel,  1,800
Lamp posts  25,000
Fire hydrants,  15)000
Street pavements,  250,000
Sidewalks and crossings  70,000
Reservoirs  15^000
Docks  10,000
Sewers  10000
Water service,  15)000
Total»  $1,085,080

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 135

Sidewallcs Destroyed.
The extent and value of the sidewalks destroyed
by the fire has been officially computed. The
whole length of sidewalks laid on the 8th of Octo-
ober was 680 miles, of which 12If miles were
destroyed. The details of the destroyed work are
thus stated: Lin. feet. Cost.
North Division, stone and
flag sidewalks  10,194 $58,215
South Division, stone and
flag sidewalks  33,050 479,164
Plank sidewalks, .... 599,597 404,000
\ 
Total,  642,841 $941,379

The Burned Churches.
Within the past ten years Chicago has won
an enviable reputation for the number and beauty
of her churches. The various denominations have
vied with each other in building superb church
structures, which have long been the admiration
of strangers for their architectural beauty and
admirable adaptation to purposes of worship. The
fire made no distinction in its destruction.
Almost every denomination suffered to a large
extent.

136 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:

The Protestant Episcopal.
The Episcopal denomination lost St. James
Church, one of the most elegant in the city, loss
$250,000, on which there was a moderate insurance,
most of whicli is available; Trinity Church, loss
$110,000, on which there was $40,000 insurance,
about half of which is available ; the Church of the
Ascension, loss $15,000, without insurance; and St.
Ansgarius (Swedish), loss $11,000, the insurance
upon which is not secure.

Presbyterian.
The Presbyterians lost three churches; the First
Church, loss $80,000, with its two mission school
buildings, one attached to the church, and the other
on La Salle street, both valued at $47,000; the
Second Church, not occupied at the time of the fire,
the congregation having temporarily united with
the Olivet Church, until their new building should
be erected, loss $55,000 ; and the North Presbyte
rian, loss $65,000, and its mission school, $8,000.

Congregational.
The Congregationalists lost their beautiful New
England Church and a small mission school. Total
loss $106,500.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 13"
Baptist.
The Baptists lost property as follows:

North Church and furniture, . . .

$15,000

North Star Church and furniture, . .

20,000

Swedish Church and furniture, . . .

7,000

Lincoln Park Association Building, .

' 1,000

10,000

. 25,000

In addition to the above there were other indirect
losses in this denomination, which will swell the
amount to $200,000. Methodist.
The Methodist losses were as follows:
Grace Church, one of the most beautiful in the city, loss
$100,000. The First Methodist Church and Block, loss $100,000.
The Wabash avenue Methodist, damaged to the amount
of $35,000.
The Scandinavian Methodist, $7,000.
The German Methodist, $7,500.
The African Methodist, $8,000.
The Garrett Biblical Institute property, $90,000.
Unitarian.
Unity Church, over which Rev. Robert Collyer
presided, was the only Unitarian Church burned in
the city; loss $225,000.

138 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO."

Roman Catholic.
The Roman Catholic denomination suffered more
severely than any other. The detailed statement
of the losses is as follows .
Church of the Holy Name, 196 by 75 feet in dimensions,
costing $275,000 ; and residence attached, valued at $5,000.
St. Mary's Church, at the corner of Madison street and
Wabash avenue, 110 by 50 feet, costing $40,000.
Church of the Immaculate Conception, 110 by 50 feet,
with residence, $25,000.
St. Michael's Church, 200 by 80 feet, costing $200,000.
St. Joseph's Church, 130 by 55 feet, $100,000.
St. Louis' Church, 110 by 40 feet, $10,000.
St. Paul's Church, 100 by 40 feet, valued at $15,000, with
a $3,000 residence.
The following schools, convents and hospitals were also
destroyed :
Christian Brothers' Academy, on Yan Buren street, near
Fourth avenue, cost $80,000.
St. Francis Xavier's Academy of the Sisters of Mercy,
with House of Providence, $120,000.
Holy Name Parish Schools— for girls, $15,000 ; for boys,
$8,000. Immaculate Conception Parish School, $10,000.
St. Louis' Parish School, $5,000.
St. Paul's Parish School, $5,000.
Redemptionist Convent, $20,000, with parish school for
accommodating 1,200 children.
Benedictine Convent, $20,000, with schools costing
$11,000. Alexian Brothers' Hospital, $40,000.
Orphan Asylum, $30,000.
House of the Good Shepherd, $80,000.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 139
House of Providence, under Sisters of Charity, $4,000.
The Bishop's palace, corner of Madison and Michigan
avenues, cost $40,Q00, exclusive of furniture.

Universalist.
The Universalists lost but one church, St. Paul's,
on Wabash avenue, loss $75,000.
There were in addition to the above, two Jewish
Synagogues burned, loss $40,000; the North Side
German Lutheran, loss $30,000, and a few wooden
churches ,of the same denomination, which may
swell this amount to $50,000. Probably about
twenty-five per cent, of the insurance on the above
churches can be made available. The gross losses
may be summed up as follows :
Episcopalian  $360,000
Presbyterian,  255,000
Congregational  106,500
Baptist  78,000
Methodist,  347,500
Unitarian  225,000
Roman Catholic,  1,161,000
Universalist  • . 75,000
Jewish, ....  40,000
Lutheran,  50,000

Total  • . . $2,698,000
This sum represents only the losses on buildings.
Other losses of some of the denominations, like the

140 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION  CHICAGO:
Presbyterian for instance, will reach a much larger
sum. The Value of Goods Destroyed.
The latest estimate of the losses of goods and
stocks on hand, is the following:
Dry Goods,  $6,045,000
Groceries,  2,452,500
Clothing houses,  1,911,000
Stationers, blank books, &c, . . . 1,110,000'
Jewellers, watches and clocks, . . . 1,335,000
Hardware,  1,280,000
Millinery,  1,100 000
Hotels  1,210,000
Church societies and corporations, . 4,240,000
City property,  1,005,000
Railroads,  2,000,000
Boots and shoes,  975,000
Drugs, paints and oils,  621,000
Books,  864,000
Hides and leather,  428,000
Restaurants, saloons, &c, .... 528,000
Furniture,  510,000
Music dealers,  775 000
Hats, caps and furs, ...... 423,000
Glassware, crockery, &c  133,000
Auctioneers,  306,090
Tailors and outfitters  178,000
Commissions, &c,  128,000
This does not give the losses on real estate, lum
ber, coal, and many other things ; nor does it pretend
to state personal losses, accurate information of
which never can be obtained. It merely gives the

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 141
proportions, and will probably be found to err very
little in that regard.

Ale Brewing Business \
One of the large branches of business in Chicago
was the manufacture of ale and lager beer. Large
sales were made to the South and Southwest.
With few and minor exceptions, all these establish
ments were in the range of the fire. The following
is a list of those destroyed and their values:
Lill's Brewing Company,  $500,000
J. A. Huck  400,000
Sand's Brewing Company,  335,000
Bush & Brand,  250,000
Buffalo Brewery,  150,000
Schmid, Katz & Co.,  60,000
Metz & Stage,  80,000
Doyle Bros. & Co.,  45,000
Mloeler Bros.,  20,000
K. G. Schmidt,  90,000
George Hiller  35,000
Schmidt & Bender,  25,000
Mitinet & Puopfel,  12,000
John Behringer,  15,000
J. Miller,  8,000
William Bowman,  5,000
George Wagner,  5,000
Total  $2,025,000
Little or no valuable insurance was on these
buildings, nevertheless, the majority of the owners
have already taken steps to renew their business.

142 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
One of the Chicago religious papers, in its
first issue after the fire, said, the "fire also
fortunately destroyed a large number of breweries
and saloons." The brewers deny the morality of
this statement.

The Newspapers.
The daily newspaper offices were mostly located in
the same neighborhood. The Tribune, Times and
Journal were on Dearborn street, in sight of each
other. The Post, Mail, and Stoats Zeitung were in ad
joining buildings, on Washington street, near Dear-'
born, and the Republican was on Washington street,
in the same vicinity. The Tribune and the Times
owned the buildings in which they were published.
Thelossesof the several offices may be thus estimated:
Tribune, on building, partially saved, $150,000
Presses and other property, . . 80,000
Times, building, total loss,  50,000
Presses and other property, . . 75-,000
Journal, presses, &c, including job office, 75,000
Staats Zeitung, presses, &c,  45,000
Post,  40,000
Bepublican, including job office, . . . 60,000
Total newspaper property, . $575,000
The Times' building was a total* wreck, but was
insured. The Tribune building was injured to the
extent stated, and there was no insurance. The in
terruption to the issues of the paper was, under the

1|Hh1

FIELD, LEITER &. CO.'S BUILDING, COR. STATE AND WASHINGTON STREETS

SHERMAN HOUSE.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 145
circumstances, very short. The Journal on Monday
evening issued from a job office a little sheet, four
by six inches ; on Tuesday issued a sheet somewhat
larger, and on Wednesday evening a large sheet. The
Tribune issued on Wednesday morning as large a sheet
as the only set of column rules in the city would allow.
The next day the Post and Mail issued papers, and
the Republican got out its first number of any kind
on Sunday. The Times issued its first paper about
the 18th.
During the week preceding the fire there had
been numerous fire alarms, and there was put in
type, intended for the Sunday issue of the Tribune,
an editorial discussing the subject of insurance, and
pointing out the criminality of the mode in which
insurance companies were taking risks, at ruinous
rates, spending their receipts in commissions to
brokers and agents, imperilling honest risks in case
of fire, and inciting by reckless over insurance in
cendiarism and false swearing. This article was
crowded out on Sunday morning, but was enlarged
by some references to the fire of Saturday night,
and was actually printed in the Monday morning's
paper on the "first side." The second side never
got to press, and the whole edition was burned up.
Chicago is now reaping in the bankruptcy of all her
local companies the fruits of the ruinous policy
adopted of taking risks at any rate, and for any
amount on any description of property.
9

146 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:

The Principal Buildings Destroyed.
The following is a list of the more prominent
buildings destroyed.
Academy of Design, Adams, between State and Dearborn.
A. H. Miller's building, corner State and Madison.
Andrew's building, La Salle, between Madison and Monroe.
Andrews & Otis's building, Clark, bet. Monroe and Adams.
Arcade buildings, Clark, between Madison and Monroe.
Berlin block, corner State and Monroe.
Blake's building, Washington, bet. Fifth avenue and Fraklin.
Boone block, La Salle, between Washington and Madison.
Bowen's building, Randolph, bet. Michigan and Wabash ave.
Bryan block, corner La Salle and Monroe.
Burch's block, Lake, bet. Wabash avenue and State street.
Calhoun block, Clark, between Washington and Madison.
Chamber of Commerce building, corner La Salle and
Washington.
Chicago Mutual Life Insurance building, Fifth avenue,
between Washington and Randolph.
The Chicago Times building, Dearborn, between Wash
ington and Madison.
City Water Works, corner Chicago avenue and Pine.
Cobb's block, corner Lake and Wabash avenue.
Cobb's block, Washington, between Clark and Dearborn.
Cobb's building, Dearborn, bet. Washington and Madison.
Commercial building, corner La Salle and Lake.
Commercial Insurance Company's building, Washington,
between La Salle and Fifth avenue.
Court House, Randolph and Washington, between Clark
and La Salle.
Crosby's building, State, bet. Randolph and Washington.
Custom House, corner Dearborn and Monroe.
De Haven block, Dearborn, between Quincy and Jacfoon.
Depository building, Randolph, bet. Clark and La Salle.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 147
Dickey's building, corner Dearborn and Lake.
Dole's building, corner Clark and South Water.
Drake's block, corner Wabash avenue and Washington.
Ewing block, North Clark, bet. North Water and Kinzie.
Exchange Bank building, corner Lake and Clark.
Flander's block, foot South Water.
Fry's building, La Salle, bet. Washington and Randolph.
Fullerton's block, corner Washington and Dearborn.
Gallup building, corner La Salle and Madison.
Garrett block, corner Randolph and State.
Hartford Fire Insurance building, La Salle, between Ran
dolph and Lake.
Holt's building, Washington, bet. La Salle and Fifth ave.
Honore block, Dearborn, between Monroe and Adams.
Illinois Central Land Department building, Michigan ave
nue, between Lake and South Water.
Keep's building, Clark, between Madison and Monroe.
Kent's building, No. 153 Monroe.
King's block, corner Washington and Dearborn.
Lakeside building, corner Adams and Clark.
Larmon block, corner Clark and Washington.
Lincoln block, corner Lake and Franklin.
Link's block, corner La Salle and Lake.
Lloyd's block, corner Randolph and Fifth avenue.
Lombard block, corner Monroe and Custom House place,
between Clark and Dearborn.
Loomis's block, corner Clark and South Water.
Lumberman's exchange, corner South Water and Franklin.
McCarthy's building, corner Dearborn and Washington.
McCarthy's building, corner Clark and Randolph.
McCormick's block, corner Dearborn and Randolph.
McCormick's building, corner Michigan ave. and Lake.
McKee's building, corner Wabash ave. and Randolph.
Mackin's building, State, between Madison and Monroe.
Magie's building, corner La Salle and Randolph.
Major block, corner La Salle and Madison.
Marine Bank building, corner Lake and La Salle/

148 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
Mechanics' building, Washington, bet. La Salle and Fifth ave.
Mercantile building, La Salle, bet. Madison and Washington.
Merchant's Insurance building, La Salle and Washington.
Methodist Church block, corner Clark and Washington.
Metropolitan block, corner Randolph and La Salle.
Monroe building, corner Clark and Monroe.
Morrison block, Clark, between Madison and Monroe.
Morrison building, Clark, bet. Madison and Washington.
Newbury block, corner Wells and Kinzie.
Norton block, Nos. 136 and 138 South Water.
Old Board of Trade buildings, South Water, between La
Salle and Fifth ave.
Open Board building, Madison, bet. Clark and La Salle
Oriental building, La Salle, bet. Washington and Madison
Otis block, corner Madison and La Salle.
Otis building, corner State and Madison.
Pacific Hotel, corner Clark and Quincy.
Pardee's building, corner South Water and Fifth ave.
Phoenix building, La Salle, bet. Randolph and Washington.
Pomeroy's building, No. 160 South Water.
Pope's block, Madison, between Clark and La Salle.
Portland block, corner Dearborn and Washington.
Post Office, corner Dearborn and Monroe.
Post Office building, Dearborn, bet. Madison' and Monroe.
Prairie Farmer building, Monroe, between, Dearborn and
Clark.
Purple's block, corner North Clark and Ontario.
Raymond block, corner State and Madison.
Republic Life Insurance building, La Salle, between Madi
son and Monroe.
Reynold's block, corner Dearborn and Madison.
Rice's building, 74 to 81 Dearborn.
Scammon's building, corner Randolph and Michigan ave.
Shepard's building, Dearborn, between Monroe and Adams.
Sherman House block, corner Clark and Randolph.
Smith & Nixon's block, corner Clark ari Washington.
Speed's building, 125 Dearborn.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.

149

Staats Zeitung building, Madison, bet. Dearborn and Clark.
Steam's building, Washington, bet. La Salle and Fifth ave.
Steel's block, corner La Salle and and South Water.
Stone's building, Madison, between Clark and La Salle.
Taylor's block, corner Franklin and South Water.
Tribune building, corner Dearborn and Madison.
Turner's building, corner North State and Kinzie.
Tyler block, La Salle, between Lake and South Water.
Uhlic block, North Clark, between Kinzie and Water.
Union building, corner La Salle and Washington.
Yolk's building, 197 Washington.
Walker's block, Dearborn, between Lake and Randolph.
Warner's block, 123 and 125 Randolph.
Washington's block, Clark, bet. Washington and Madison.
Wheeler's block, corner Clark and South Water.
Wicker's building, corner State and South Water.
Wright Brother's building, corner North State and Kinzie.
Five Public Schools.

Hotels.

Palmer House.
Sherman House.
Tremont House.
Pacific Hotel.
Adams Housa
Briggs House.
Mattson House.
Revere House.

Bigelow

Everett House.
Metropolitan Hotel.
Central House.
Howard House.
City Hotel.
Clifton House.
Clarendon House.
Orient House.
House.

Episcopal. Presbyterian. .
Methodist. .
Unitarian. Swedenborgian.

Churches.
. 3 New England. . . 1
. 5 Congregational. . 1
5 Catholic  5
, 2 Jewish  3
. 2 Lutheran  2

150 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
• Theatres.
Crosby's Opera House. King's Opera House. "
McVicker's Theatre. Olympic Theatre.
Hooley's Opera House. German Haus.
Dearborn Theatre. Turner Hall.
Wood's Museum.
Banks.
Chicago Clearing House Association, 82 Dearborn street.
City National Bank, 156 Washington street.
Commercial National Bank, 55 Dearborn street.
Commercial Loan Company, 44 North Clark street.
Cook County National Bank, Honore block, corner Dear
born and Monroe streets.
Corn Exchange Nat. Bank, room 2 Chamber of Commerce.
Fifth National Bank, northeast corner Clark and Dearborn.
First National Bank, southwest cor. State and Washington.
Fourth National Bank, southeast corner Dearborn and
Washington streets.
Germania Bank, 40 South Clark street.
Hibernian Banking Association, southwest corner Clark
and Lake streets.
Illinois Mutual Trust Com. 147 and 149 Randolph street.
Manufacturers' National Bank, northwest corner Dearborn
and Washington streets.
Marine Company of Chicago, 156 Lake, northeast corner
La Salle street.
Mechanics' National Bank, 154 Lake street.
Merchants' National Bank, 108 La Salle street.
National Bank of Commerce, 87 Dearborn street.
National Bank of Illinois, 95 Washington street.
Northwestern National Bank, 1 Chamber of Commerce.
Prairie State Loan and Trust Company, northwest corner
Randolph and Jefferson streets.
Real Estate Loan and Trust Company, 105 and 107 Mon
roe street, Lombard block.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 151
Second National Bank, corner Lake and Clark streets.
Traders' National Bank, 44 Clark street.
Third National Bank, cor. Randolph and Dearborn streets.
Uniou Insurance and Trust Company, 133 Dearborn street.
Union National Bank, southwest corner La Salle and
Washington streets.
J. R. Valentine & Co.

Savings Banks.
Chicago Savings Institution and Trust Company, basement
southwest corner State and Washington streets.
Com. Loan Company, No. 60 North Clark street.
German Savings Bank, Nos. 34 and 36 La Salle street.
Hibernian Saving Bank Associations Savings Bank, south
west corner Clark and Lake streets.
International Mutual Trust Company, 135 La Salle street.
Marine Company of Chicago, No. 156 Lake street.
Merchants' Farmers' and Mechanics' Savings Bank, No. 13
Clark street.
Merchants' Saving Loan and Trust Company, southwest
corner Lake and Dearborn streets.
National Loan and Trust Company, 92 La Salle street.
Real Estate, Loan and Trust Company, next west of the
Post Office.
State Savings Institution, 82 and 84 La Salle street.
Union Insurance and Trust Company, 133 Dearborn street.
Railway Stations.
Michigan Central and Great Western of Canada, Union
Depot.
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern.
Illinois Central.
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy.
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific.
Chicago & Northwestern (Galena division.)

152 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:

Losses in Literature, Art, Music, and the Drama.
The loss to Chicago in places of public amuse
ment, libraries and art galleries it is almost impos
sible to calculate. It could only be accomplished
by personal reports from every one of the thousands
of sufferers who were driven from their homes in
the South "and North Divisions. An approximate
idea, however, may be formed, when it is considered
that nearly 30,000 houses were burned, and that
many of them on the avenues of the South Division
and on the Lake front of the North Division, were
among the most elegant in the city, and occupied
by citizens whose wealth and culture had combined
in the accumulation of rare treasures of literature
and art.
The chief places of amusement destroyed in the
city, were Crosby's Opera House, Hooley's Opera
House, the Dearborn Theatre, McVicker's Theatre,
and Wood's Museum. The last four had just been
refitted and re-ornamented and opened for the regu
lar fall and winter season, while Crosby's Opera
House was to have been opened on Monday evening,
October 9th, the second night after the fire, by the
well known Thomas Orchestral Combination. During
the winter of 1870, Mr. Crosby had hesitated for some
time whether to continue in the amusement business,
and had even employed his architect to draw plans
for changing the auditorium into commercial offices.
The persuasion of friends, however, and the brilliant

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 153
operatic and otherwise musical prospects for the
season of 1871-72 induced him to abandon the idea.
Early in the summer the house was closed and the
work of adornment commenced. Eighty thousand
dollars were expended in seating, upholstery, fresco
work, painting and gilding, superb bronzes, luxurious
carpets and costly mirrors. It was finished on Sat
urday, October 7th, and when on Sunday evening,
October 8th, only an hour or two before the fire, the
house was lit up that its effect might be seen under
gas light, not one of the few who were present but
pronounced it to be the most gorgeous auditorium
in America. A few hours after when Theodore
Thomas and his orchestra arrived, a pile of smoking
ruins was all that was left of this beautiful temple
of art. It was formally dedicated to music in April,
1865, and during the six years of its existence had
been the locus in quo of some of the most memorable
seasons of English, French, German and Italian
opera, Chicago ever enjoyed.
McVicker's Theatre had also been not only orna
mented anew, but completely re-modelled. Nothing
remained of the old theatre but the outside walls,
and these were raised an additional story by means
of a lofty Mansard roof. The entire interior of the
theatre was removed and a new one substituted
upon an entirely different model. It had been in
operation but a few weeks when the fire occurred,
having opened to stock business in the most suc
cessful manner. Mr. Jefferson (Rip Van Winkle)
was to have commenced a season, October 9th, and

154 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
like Mr. Thomas arrived in Chicago just in time to
witness the destruction of the theatre.
Hooley's Opera House was constructed a little
more than a year ago, by remodelling Bryan Hall,
one of the old concert halls of the city. During
the first year of its existence it was devoted to burnt
cork minstrelsy. During the summer of 1871, the
house was refitted, the stage enlarged and thoroughly
equipped, and in September it was regularly
opened as a comedy theatre, under the management
of Mr. Frank Aiken, who a month or two later
associated with himself Mr. Frank Lawlor, and
leased the building for five years. It had been in
operation but a few weeks, when the fire swept it
away. Unlike Hooley's Opera House, the Dearborn
Theatre first opened as a dramatic house, under the
management of Mr. Frank Aiken, who after a few
months took the management of Wood's Museum.
The Dearborn then changed colors and was, up tc
the time of its destruction, known as the Home of
the Dearborn Minstrels, under the management of
Messrs. Brand and Van Fleet.
Wood's Museum, which combined the attractions
of a theatrical stage and curiosity department,
was one of the old established institutions of the
city. During its long existence, it had met with
many vicissitudes, and was rapidly going from worse
to worse, under different managers, when Col. Wood,
who for many years had been associated with Mr.
Barnum, assumed the management and made it a

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 155
success. Two or three years ago, however, he re
tired and Mr. Aiken stepped in. It did not succeed
under his management, and last summer Col. Wood
once more was prevailed upon to try his fortune with
it. He completely refitted it, enlarged the curiosity
department, and had just opened with an entirely
new theatrical company, under the management of
Mr. J. S. Langrishe, when it was burned.
In addition to these regular places of amusement,
the following public halls were burned: Farwell
Hall, one of the most elegant in the country, the
home of the Young Men's Christian Association,
capable of seating 3,200 people ; Metropolitan Hall,
used mostly for lectures ; Crosby's Music Hall, ad
joining the Opera House; Uhlich H all, occupied by
the Germania Msennerchor; North Market Hall,
occupied by the Concordia Msennerchor ; Turner
Hall, erected by the North Division Turn-Vereins ;
and the German Hall, the home of German
drama. The principal public galleries of paintings were
three in number, viz. : the Opera House, Academy
of Design and Historical Society's collections. The
paintings in the Opera House Gallery had remained
without any important changes, as they were at the
last annual reception, in the winter of 1870. The
most noted picture of the gallery was Bierstadt's
" Yo Semite Valley." Nearly every picture in the
collection was saved through the energy of the super
intendent, Mr. Aitken.
The managers of the Academy of Design were

156 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
not so fortunate. The gallery was a large one,
containing some two hundred and fifty or three
hundred works by the best American artists.
Rothermel's historical work, " The Battle of Gettys
burg," and some pictures by Bierstadt and the Harts
were saved, but the greater number were lost, as
the artists, many of whom had studios in the build
ing, had no means of removing them. In addition
to the paintings, the splendid collection of casts
from the most celebrated antiques, which were in
the antique school connected with the Academy,
were also lost.
The collection at the rooms of the Historical
Society was known as the Healey Gallery, and with
the exception of an original Conture (" The Prodi
gal Son") were painted by Mr. G. P. A. Healey, the
eminent portrait painter, now in Rome. Among
them were portraits from life, of Daniel Web
ster replying to Hayne, Clay, Calhoun, Buchanan,
Pierce, Louis Phillippe, Marshal Soult (a copy),
Miss Sneyd, the famous English belle, and many of
the founders and officers of the society.
In the destruction of private libraries, the losses
were very severe. Horace White, Esq., the editor
of the Chicago Tribune, lost a valuable political and
classical library. Hon. J. N. Arnold, and Messrs.
Perry Smith, George L. Dunlap, Obadiah Jackson,
J. T. Jewett, and other residents of the North
Division, lost valuable miscellaneous libraries. E.
B. McCagy lost one of the most valuable philologi
cal libraries, and J. Y. Scammon, one of the most

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 157
extensive Swedenborgian libraries in the United
States. R. M. Moore, a widely known art con
noisseur, lost one of the most elegant art libraries in
the country. Fifteen or twenty clergymen were
burned out, and their libraries were in most cases a
total loss. The Sanitary Department has a list of
nearly 200 physicians who were burned out. Many,
if not all of these, lost their offices, instruments and
books ; and at least five hundred lawyers lost their
libraries also. It is probably a fair estimate to set
the loss of theological, medical and law libraries
alone at $500,000, while the accumulations in the
book stores would swell this amount into millions.
The Young Men's Association Library numbered
20,000 volumes, including a complete set of the
British Patent Office Reports, the only one in the
country. The library of the Historical Society was
one of great historical value and embraced 50,000
bound volumes; 145,000 pamphlets; a large col
lection of manuscripts and several complete news
paper files. The library of the Academy of Science
numbered 5,000 volumes, devoted to the specialties
of that institution. The Young Men's Christian
Association, during the past two or three years, had
accumulated 10,000 volumes, mostly of a theological
character. The Union Catholic Library, although
commenced quite recently, numbered 5,000 volumes,
mostly of a sectarian character. The Franklin
Library, which pertained to " the art preservative
of arts," was organized two or three years since by
a printer, and had already reached the handsome

158 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO'.
number of 3,000 volumes, many of which were
exceedingly old and rare. Placing the libraries
of smaller Associations at 10,000 volumes, we have
in all a loss of over 100,000 volumes in the public
libraries. It may be considered absurd to attempt
to form an estimate of the number of books de
stroyed by the fire, but estimating moderately, we
are inclined to think that it will reach between two
and three millions — a literary holocaust, compared
with which the destruction of the Alexandrinian
and Strasburg libraries seem insignificant.
The following is a complete list of the news
papers and periodicals which were burned out:
Art Review, the Augrstana, Bouquet, Programme,
the Lorgnette, Chicago Advertiser, Board of Trade
Report, Chicago Collector, Commercial Bulletin,
Commercial Express, Chicago Democrat, Dry Goods
Price List, Evening Journal, Mail, Evening Post,
Home Journal, Happy Hours, Journal of Com
merce, Legal News, Homcepathic Magazine, Med
ical Times, the Lens, Microscopical Journal, the
Schoolmaster, Railway Review, Railway Gazette,
Republican, Chicago Union, Chicago Cynosure, the
Progress, Commercial Report and Market Review,
Congregational Review, Chicago Magazine of
Fashion, Die Freie Presse, Evening Lamp, Every
body's Paper, the Present Age, the Fremad, Gamla-
och Nya, Gem of the West, Soldier's Friend, Heav
enly Tidings, Home Circle and Temperance Oracle,
Little Corporal, Staats Zeitung, Volk's Zeitung,
the Amerikanische Farmer, Lakeside Monthly, Life

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. / 159
Boat, Lyceum Banner, Manford's Magazine, Mis
sionaries National Prohibitionist, National Sunday
School Teacher, Song Festival, Song Messenger,
Lyon and Healey's Musical Journal, Northwestern
Christian Advocate, the Choir, Northwestern Re
view, the Bureau, the Examiner, Nya Veriden, Our
Boys, Present Age, Real Estate and Building Jour
nal, American Builder, the Arts, the Bright Side,
the Catholic Weekly, Chicago Weekly, Chicago
Ledger, Chicago Mercantile Journal, Chicago Times,
Chicago Tribune, the Chronicle, the Detector, the
Family Circle, the Herald, the Independent, the
Interior, the New Covenant, the Land Owner, the
Landewerth and Hausfreund, the Mechanic and
Inventor, the National, the Prairie Farmer, the
People's Weekly, the Reporter, the Restitution, the
Spectator, the Standard, the Sunday School Helper,
the Workingman's Advocate, the Young Messenger,
Western Catholic, Western Railway Guide, Rand
and McNally's Railway Guide, Western Rural,
Young Folk's Rural, Young Pilot and Little Men,
the Advance, Bryant and Chase's Commercial Col
lege Paper, and Author's Sketch Books. Total 107.
The Florists.
There was one business in Chicago which was
utterly burned out, and not a store left in the
city. It was that of the florists who were located
as follows: Dr. Farrell in the Tribune building;
Desmond and McCormack on Dearborn street;

160 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
Gordon Brothers, on Washington street; Charles
Reisig, on Washington street ; Samuel Muir, on
Lake street; Edgar Sanders, on Dearborn street;
Krick Bros., Miller and Sons, Pettigrew and Reid,
in the North Division. In curious coincidence, the
seed stores of Hovey, Emerson and Stafford, P. S.
Meserole, Carpenter and Johnson, the Chicago Seed
Co., and Fogg and Son, embracing every seed store
in the city were also consumed.

Statement by the Fire Marshal of Chicago.
On the 14th of November a reporter of the Chi
cago Tribune "interviewed" the Fire- Marshal of
Chicago, when the following conversation took place
between them:
Reporter. I desire you to give me a statement
in regard to the fire — its progress from the time it
commenced until you ceased your attempts to sub
due it.
Marshal Williams. I had been to Box No. 28
— I cannot tell the exact time. I was just crossing
Franklin street, going to my house, when that alarm
came in. While returning from 28 I told my driver
that we were going to have a "burn," as I felt it in
my bones, and I said to him, " I am going to bed so
as to get some sleep." I went to bed, and was asleep
when my gong struck; that was between half-past
9 and 10 o'clock. When I got to the fire I should
think there were some six or seven buildings ablaze'

DRAKE AND FARWELL BLOCK, WABASH AVENUE.

ILLPNOIS AND MICHIGAN CENTRAL RAILROAD DEPOT.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 163
— sheds and outhouses. We got it under control,
and it would not have gone a foot further, but the
next thing I knew they came and told me St. Paul's
Church, about two squares north, was on fire. I
told George Raw, foreman of Hook and Ladder 2,
to put his longest ladder on the truck and go to the
church, because I knew the wind was blowing so
hard that we couldn't raise a stream high enough
to strike the roof. The citizens got hold of the
ladder, threw it down, and broke it into two pieces.
I was on the north side of the fire then, and I went
up to the church. When I got there I asked Raw
where the ladder was, and he said the citizens had
broken it. We surrounded the church fire — I had
three engines working on it; the Rehm stood on
the corner of Clinton and Mather streets, working
that plug, and it was so hot there that 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. We got it checked; it was not gain
ing any headway; the church had fallen in. There
was a drug store on the opposite side of the street —
on the northwest corner, and a row of buildings
north of it, and these caught fire several times. We
held the fire at bay, and the next thing I knew the
fire was in Bateham's planing mill. When I got
there, I found that the match factory between Bate
ham's and Clinton street was going, as was the
lumber in a yard near by, 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
10

164 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
another lumber yard north, and spread east to the
old red mill. I went north then to head it off, and
found it was down to Harrison street. Commis
sioner Chadwick came to me and said: "Don't you
know the fire is ahead of you1?" 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 that 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, and 1 said: "God only
knows." Reporter. Hadn't you any hose in reserve?
Williams. Not a foot. Every foot of available
hose was in use. The statement that several thousand
feet of hose was burned in the Armory is not true.
After the Burlington warehouse fire every foot of
it was taken out of there and put in service. When
the fire was raging on both sides of Canal street, and
among the furniture that was piled up in the street
— mattresses, bureaus, tables, chairs, and everything
of that nature had been piled upon the east side of
the street, and helped amazingly to set the buildings
on that side of the street on fire — several of the en
gines were obliged to pull up and leave their hose. The
foremen came to me and asked for hose, and I told
them I had none to give them, and the steamers
were entirely useless. We got the Gund, located
on the corner of Van Buren and Canal streets, and
led her hose up Van Buren street into an alley

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 165
running south, and tried to cut off the fire in the
rear of the corner building, because I knew, if it
came through that building the long row on the
north side of the street was sure to go, and it wouM
be hot around there. 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 for help, and we ran up
to uncouple the section from the plug, and others
commenced to uncouple the hose, and I thought if
we got the engine away, we would lose 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 into the sidewalk, where she
was burned up. When I got on to Canal street, I
met Alec McGonegal, foreman 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 was satisfied that the fire on
the west side could not burn any further north,
because of the space left by Saturday night's fire,
and that the wind would prevent it from going west.
I thought, if the fire had reached the south side, I
must go and look after it.
Reporter. Where were the Assistant Engineers'?
Williams. Where they were, I could not tell at
that time. I had been falling back before the fire,
and I didn't know where anybody was. When I
reached the south side — 1 went across Madison
street bridge — the Long John was ahead of me. I

166 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
went south on Market street, and when I got to
Monroe street, I found that the gas works were on
fire. I took a look around, and saw that the Ar
mory and the block up to Wells street was going
fast. We formed a line, and had two steamers
fighting the fire on Monroe street, and keeping it
from getting into the express barn near Wells street,
and another building west. We played on those
buildings and kept the fire from spreading west.
The Economy's stream was in the block between
Monroe and Adams streets, and the men were afraid
the gas reservoir would explode and blow every
thing to pieces. I took a view of the property, and
saw it was bound to go, despite our efforts. I ran
out of the yard and went over to Monroe street
again and got another steamer to work. It was of
no use; the fire jumped over our heads and ignited
some of the frame buildings in the rear of those
fronting on Madison street. I knew, there was no
use remaining where <we were, so I ordered the fore
men to take up. When I reached Madison street.
1 found that there was fire in the rear of the Oriental
Building, in the centre of the block. Prescott's row,
on the north side of the street, was not touched; the
fire was all in the rear, among the shanties and
barns. I got the Economy to work on the corner
of Washington and La Salle streets, and led the hose
in through the stairway opposite. We were not in
there three minutes before a sheet of flame rolled
over us and the boys dropped the pipe and ran for
their lives. The wind was blowing so heavy at the

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 167
time that the water would not go ten feet from the
nozzle of the pipe. We could not strike a second
story window. When we came through the stair
way on La Salle street, the Court House was on fire,
and the next thing the Board of Trade was ablaze.
At this place I learned that Alderman Hildreth was
around with powder to blow up buildings. He came
to me and said, "We have got to let everything go,
and begin to blow up. Where will we make a
start?" I said, "I don't know, for the fire is going
so fast, we can't have time to make a start and know
that everybody is out of the buildings." I said if
we did anything then, we had better take the corner
building — the southwest corner of La Salle and
Washington streets. I told him to be sure to get
all the people out, as there were many in it then. I
then went to work and got my two engines to play
on the Sherman House to keep it from burning, 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 Tribune building on
Clark street, and it was not two minutes before that
row was on fire. The flames went from there into
Wood's Museum, and from there it went in all
directions. A fire then started in the rear of the
Sherman House among those stables, and away
everything went. I couldn't tell how it did go. It
went whichever way it pleased. Miller's jewelry
store was set on fire by the awnings in front of the
windows; they were regular bags to catch sparks.

168 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION— CHICAGO :
From there the fire went as it pleased. The Fire
Department got separated; some went east, others
west, and others south. Where Hildreth did the
blowing up, I don't know. I heard that he tried to
blow up Nixon's building, but don't know whether
he did or not. While I was wetting down the front
of the Sherman House, and was doing well, I was
told that the Water Works were on fire. I jumped
into my wagon and drove over to see if it was true,
and when I got near there I saw that the roof was
all on fire, and burning rapidly, and the flames roll
ing out of every opening of the building. I made
up my mind then that the whole city was gone.
There was no possible chance for the north side,
any more than there was for the south.
Reporter. Do you know what took place on the
southern line of the fire?
Williams. No; I had my hands full where I
was, so thatl could not tell what happened there.
Reporter. Did you see any of the Assistant
Engineers? Williams. I did not see Schank, the First As
sistant, during the whole fire. I do not know where
he was, but he was around" somewhere. I saw Wal
ters on the west side and again in front of the
long John's house. Brenner was on the south line
of the fire, and can tell you about that.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 169

Statement of Mr. Brenner.
Matt Brenner, the Third Assistant Marshal, was
also interviewed, and, after giving an account of his
adventures on the west side, which consisted of
ordering pipemen in here and pipemen in there to
save buildings, and prevent the spreading of the
flames south detailed his experience on the south
side He and the men under his command had
worked hard on the west side, and kept the build
ings south of the southern line of the fire damp as
long as the water lasted. Everything was con
sidered safe, when he was told that there was fire
on the south side. He left one engine on the
corner of Taylor and Canal streets, and ordered the
others over to the south side. Two got over all
right, but the third was detained for nearly an hour,
by a train of cars standing across Twelfth street.
When he reached the corner of Harrison and Clark
streets, he found the T. B. Brown at work. A row
of buildings on the northeast corner had just caught
fire, and he ordered, the pipemen to lead the hose
into the rear of them. Water at this time was very
scarce, there being hardly enough for a "decent
stream." Two leads of hose were put on, but before
water could be got into the second lead the Jewish
Synagogue, on the corner of Harrison street and
Fourth avenue, ignited. An effort was made to pull
the plaster off, so that throwing water in the build
ing would do some good, but the ceiling was so

170 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
high, it could not be done. The fire eat its way
east very fast, omitting to gut a block or a building
at intervals ; and Brenner meeting Schank, the First
Assistant, left him in charge there, and went after
the fire. He went over to Wabash avenue and
found the Rice and another engine forming a line
to take water from the basin at the foot of Van
Buren street. The hose was not long enough to
reach the buildings on fire, which were on the west
side of State street. It soon became so hot that the
men were driven away from where they were sta
tioned, and the flames came so near the Rice that
she had to be moved. Her withdrawal broke the
"line," and no more water could be obtained. A lot
of hose was also lost, the occupants of the dwellings
on Wabash avenue having piled their household
goods on it, and these catching fire it was burned
up. After this Brenner went over to Michigan
avenue, and there saw two young men in a wagon,
which was filled with powder in kegs. One of them
asked him where he wanted the powder, and he told
him to go south to Harrison street, and wait until
he came up. He subsequently went after the pow
der, but could not find the wagon. He then went
to the corner of Harrison street and Wabash avenue,
and heard " a blow up." He looked around, and
presently found Aid. Hildreth and several others,
who were about to blow up a brick building on
Harrison street, near the church. A keg of powder
was put into the basement, but it only shattered the
house. Some parties then suggested that the church

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 171
be blown up, and it was sometime before they could
be convinced of the uselessness of it, as the church
was strong and well built, and able to stop the fire.
Several brick buildings on Wabash avenue were
also blown up, and this checked the spread of the
flames. In the afternoon it became evident that
the fire would not go further south, and everything
being considered safe, Brenner went home. He did
not learn until the next day that the fire had spread
over the north side, and was surprised when told
such was the case. The Patrol Duties.
For several nights after the fire, citizens organized
themselves into patrol parties and watched their
property. Several very humorous episodes occurred
during these night watches.
A great rush was made by the poor for passes
out of the city on Wednesday. Among one of the
most persevering applicants was an unlucky Ger
man. After two days' patient but unsuccessful
waiting, without a roof to shelter him and utterly
friendless, he was left at night to wander through
the streets. His loitering pace aroused the suspi
cions of one of those Argus-eyed "patrols" whose
uneasily-worn honors gave — as it did to too many of
the class — an enlarged idea of his own importance,
and who, believing that vigilance was the price of
safety, exercised his newly acquired authority upon
late walkers with no slight exhibition of pride. He

172 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
startled the sleepy German with the stentorian
challenge, "Who goes there?" and with a haste
that indicated his dread of a too close intimacy with
the "unknown," followed the challenge with, "Halt,
and give the pass."
The limited acquaintance of the German with the
English vernacular prevented him from making a
satisfactory reply, when the excited sentinel sounded
the alarm, and the patrolmen coming to his rescue,
they unitedly bore off in triumph to headquarters
struggling Hans. Not doubting they had caught
an incendiary, preparations were made for an im
mediate court-martial, the German all the while
struggling with his captors and his English. The
severe cross-examination was about to begin, when
the mystery was explained by a lucky speech of the
German, who, gesticulating wildly, exclaimed: "Vat
for you bring me? Ich bin arm. Ein hundred mensch
say in alles strausse, 'Your bass;' and anoder say,
u Your bass;' ven I try ein, und anoder, und drie
day to get vun bass to go a little vay, und every
body gives me no bass, und you" — pointing to the
vigilant patrolman, imitating his actions — " say, give
me ein bass, ven I no get vun bass for myself."
The shout of laughter which followed this dram
atic defence of the German convinced him of the
good-will of his captors, but that vigilant patrolman
at whose expense the laugh arose is yet badgered
with the question: " By the by, have you got your
pass yet?"
One other incident will illustrate another aspect

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 173
of this "patrol business," which, while we have no
doubt it was as a temporary expedient very necessary
to the safety of the city, was also a "war measure,"
endangering lives almost as much as it protected
property. A bold son of Erin was initiated into the mys
teries of a patrolman's duties, and being placed at a
dangerous post in a dark and lonesome alley, was
told to allow no one to pass if they did not say,
"Sheridan," which was the countersign for that
night. The night was dark, and the captain of the
patrol thought he would go see how Paddy was
getting along. Turning into the alley he came
suddenly upon the valorous sentinel intrenched be
hind a wood-pile, who bringing his gun to his
shoulder, cocked it and aimed it at the intruder all
in the same moment, and only paused before firing
to shout at the captain: "Halt ! and say Sheridan /"
His services as a patrolman were no longer required.
i Proclamations.
The following proclamations are worthy to be
preserved as mementoes of the great fire:
by the governor of illinois.
State of Illinois, Executive Department.
John M. Palmer, Governor of Illinois, To all
whom these presents shall come, greeting :
Whereas, in my judgment, the great calamity
that has overtaken Chicago, the largest city of the

174 THE great conflagration — CHICAGO:
State; that has deprived many thousands of our
citizens of homes and rendered them destitute ; that
has destroyed many millions in value of property,
and thereby disturbing the business of the people
and deranging the finances of the State, and inter
rupting the execution of the laws, is and constitutes
"an extraordinary occasion" within the true intent
and meaning of the eighth section of the fifth article
of the Constitution.
Now, therefore, I, John M. Palmer, Governor
of the State of Illinois, do by this, my proclamation,
convene and invite the two Houses of the General
Assembly in session in the city of Springfield, on
Friday, the 13th day of the month of October, in
the year of our Lord 1871, at 12 o'clock noon of
said day, to take into consideration the following
subjects: —
1. To appropriate such sum or sums of money,
or adopt such other legislative measures as may be
thought judicious, necessary, or proper, for the
relief of the people of the city of Chicago.
2. To make provision, by amending the revenue
laws or otherwise, for the proper and just assess
ment and collection of taxes within the city of
Chicago. 3. To enact such other laws and to adopt such
other measures as may be necessary for the relief

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 175
of the city of Chicago and the people of said city,
and for the execution and enforcement of the laws
of the State.
4. To make appropriations for the expenses of
the General Assembly, and such other appropria
tions as may be necessary to carry on the State
government. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my
hand and caused the great seal of State to
[seal.] be affixed. Done at the city of Spring
field, this 10th day of October, A. D. 1871.
John M. Palmer.
By the Governor,
Edward Rummell,
Secretary of State.

BY THE GOVERNOR OF WISCONSIN.
To the People of Wisconsin :
Throughout the northern part of this State fire«
have been raging in the woods for many days,
spreading desolation on every side. It is reported
that hundreds of families have been rendered home
less by this devouring element, and reduced to utter
destitution, their entire crops having been consumed.
Their stock has been destroyed, and their farms are
but a blackened desert. Unless they receive instant
aid from portions not visited by this dreadful cal
amity, they must perish.

176 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
The telegraph also brings the terrible news that
a large portion of the city of Chicago is destroyed
by a conflagration, which is still raging. Many
thousands of people are thus reduced to penury,
stripped of their all, and are now destitute of shelter
and food. Their sufferings will be intense, and
many may perish unless provisions are at once sent
to them from the surrounding country. They must
be assisted now.
In the awful presence of such calamities the people
of Wisconsin will not be backward in giving assist
ance to their afflicted fellow-men.
I, therefore, recommend that immediate organized
effort be made in every locality to forward provi
sions and money to the sufferers by this visitation,
and suggest to mayors of cities, presidents of vil
lages, town supervisors, pastors of churches, and to
the various benevolent societies, that they devote
themselves immediately to the work of organizing
effort, collecting contributions, and sending forward
supplies for distribution.
And I entreat all to give of their abundance to
help those in such sore distress.
Given under my hand, at the Capitol, at Madi
son, this 9th day of October, A. d. 1871.
Lucius Fairchild.

its past, present and future. 177
by the governor of michigan. *
State of Michigan, Executive Office,
Lansing, October 9.
The city of Chicago, in the neighboring State of
Illinois, has been visited, in the providence of Al
mighty God, with a calamity almost unequalled in
the annals of history. A large portion of that beauti
ful and most prosperous city has been reduced to
ashes and is now in ruins. Many millions of dollars
in property, the accumulation of years of industry
and toil, have been swept away in a moment. The
rich have been reduced to penury, the poor have
lost the little they possessed, and many thousands
of people rendered homeless and houseless, and are
now without the absolute necessaries of life. I,
therefore, earnestly call upon the citizens of every
portion of Michigan to take immediate measures for
alleviating the pressing wants of that fearfully af
flicted city by collecting and forwarding to the Mayor,
or proper authorities of Chicago, supplies of food as
well as liberal collections of money. Let this sore
calamity of our neighbors remind us of the uncer
tainty of earthly possessions, and that when one
member suffers all the members should suffer with
it. I cannot doubt that the whole people of the
State will most gladly, and most promptly, and most
liberally respond to this urgent demand upon their
sympathy; but no words of mine can plead so
strongly as the calamity itself.
Henry P. Baldwin,
Governor of Michigan.

178 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
BY THE GOVERNOR OF IOWA.
To the People of Iowa:
An appalling calamity has befallen our sister
State. Her metropolis — the great city of Chicago —
is in ruins. Over 100,000 people are without shelter
or food, except as supplied by others. A helping
hand let us now promptly give. Let the liberality
of our people, so lavishly displayed during the long
period of national peril, come again to the front, to
lend succor in this hour of distress. I would urge
the appointment at once of relief committees in
every city, town, and township, and I respectfully
ask the local authorities to call meetings of the
citizens to devise ways and means to render efficient
aid. I would also ask the pastors of the various
churches throughout the State to take up collections
on Sunday morning next, or at such other time as
they may deem proper, for the relief of the sufferers.
Let us not be satisfied with any spasmodic effort.
There will be need of relief of a substantial char
acter to aid the many thousands to prepare for the
rigors of the coming winter. The magnificent public
charities of that city, now paralyzed, can do little to
this end. Those who live in homes of comfort and
plenty must furnish this help, or misery and suffei
ing will be the fate of many thousands of our neigh
bors. Samuel Merrill, Governor.
Des Moines, October 10, 1871.

its past, present and future. 181
by the governor of ohio.
Chicago, October 12.
To the People of Ohio:
It is believed by the best informed citizens here
that many thousands of the sufferers must be
provided with the necessaries of life during the
coming winter. Let the efforts to raise contributions
be energetically pushed. Money, fuel, flour, pork,
clothing, and other articles not perishable should be
collected as rapidly as possible — especially money,
fuel, and flour. Mr. Joseph Medill, of The Tribune,
estimates the number of those who will need assist
ance at about 70,000.
R. B. Hayes, Governor of Ohio.
BY MAYOR MASON.
Whereas, in the Providence of God, to who?e
will we humbly submit, a terrible calamity has be
fallen 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
of Chicago is hereby pledged for the necessary ex
penses for the relief of the suffering. Public order
will be preserved. The Police, and Special Police
now being appointed, will be responsible for the
11

182 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
maintenance of the peace and the protection of
property. All officers and men of the Fire Depart
ment and Health Department will act as Special
Policemen without further notice. The Mayor and
Comptroller will give vouchers for all supplies fur
nished by the different Relief Committees. The
head-quarters 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 per
sons caught in any depredation will be immediately
arrested. With the help of God, order and peace and pri
vate property shall be preserved. The City Govern
ment and committees of citizens pledge themselves
to the community to protect them, and prepare the
way for a restoration of public and private welfare.
It is believed the fire has spent its force, and all
will soon be well.
R. B. Mason, Mayor.
George Taylor, Comptroller,
(By R. B. Mason.)
Charles C. P. Holden,
President Common Council.
T. B. Brown,
President Board of Police.
Chicago, October 9, 1871.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 183
1. All citizens are requested to exercise great
caution in the use of fire in their dwellings and not
to use kerosene lights at present, as the city will be
without a full supply of water for probably two or
three days.
2. The following bridges are passable, to wit: All
bridges (except Van Buren and Adams streets) from
Lake street south, and all bridges over the North
Branch of the Chicago river.
3. All good citizens who are willing to serve, are
requested to report at the corner of Ann and Wash
ington streets, to be sworn in as special policemen.
Citizens are requested to organize a police for
each block in the city, and to send reports of such
organization to the police head-quarters, corner of
Union and West Madison streets.
All persons needing food will be relieved by ap
plying at the following places:
At the corner of Ann and West Washington ;
Illinois Central Railroad round house.
M. S. R. R. — Twenty-second street station.
C. B. & Q. R. R. — Canal street depot.
St. L. & A. R. R— Near Sixteenth street.
C. & N. W. R. R— Corner of Kinzie and Canal
streets.

184 the great conflagration — Chicago:
All the public school houses, and at nearly all the
churches.

4. Citizens are requested to avoid passing through
ie burnt districts unti
standing can be levelled.

the burnt districts until the dangerous walls left

'o

5. All saloons are ordered to be closed at 9 P. M.
every day for one week, under a penalty of forfeiture
of license.
6. The Common Council have this day by ordi
nance fixed the price of bread at eight (8) cents per
loaf of twelve ounces, and at the same rate for loaves
of a less or greater weight, and affixed a penalty of
ten dollars for selling, or attempting to sell, bread at
a greater rate within the next ten days.
7. Any hackman, expressman, drayman or team
ster charging more than the regular fare, will have
his license revoked.
All citizens are requested to aid in preserving the
peace, good order and good name of our city.
R. B. Mason, Mayor.
October 10, 1871.

ITS past, present and future. 185

BY LIEUT.-GEN. SHERIDAN. Chicago, October 9.
To General Belknap, Secretary of War:
The city of Chicago is almost utterly destroyed
by fire. There is now reasonable hope of arresting
it if the wind, which is yet blowing a gale, does not
change. I ordered, on your authority, rations from
St. Louis, tents from Jeffersonville, and two compa
nies of infantry from Omaha. There will be many
houseless people, much distress.
P. H. Sheridan, Lieut. -Gen.

Chicago, October 9.
W. W. Belknap, Secretary of War:
The fire here last night and to-day has destroyed
almost all that was very valuble in this city. There
is not a business house, bank, or hotel left. Most
of the best part of the city is gone. Without exag
gerating, all the valuable portion of the city is in
ruins. I think not less than 100,000 people are
houseless, and those who had the most wealth are
now poor. It seems to me to be such a terrible s-
fortune that it may with propriety be considered a
national calamity. P. H. Sheridan, Lieut- Gen.

186 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
Washington, October. 10.
Lieu tenant-General Sheridan, Chicago :
I agree with you that the fire is a national
calamity; the sufferers have the sincere sympathy
of the nation. Officers at the depots at St. Louis,
Jeffersonville, and elsewhere, have been ordered to
forward supplies liberally and promptly.
Wm. W. Belknap, Secretary of War.
Head-quarters Military Div. of the Missouri,
Chicago, October 11, 1871.
Governor John M. Palmer, Springfield:
Seven companies of United States troops are
Jiere or coming, and a regiment is being organized
for twenty days' service, from the old soldiers in
the city, — which I think will be ample. Shall keep
your volunteers for a day or so. Thanks for them.
P. H. Sheridan.

Head-quarters Military Div. of the Missouri,
Chicago, October 12.
To his Honor the Mayor : —
The preservation of peace and good order of the
city having been entrusted to me by your Honor,* I
am happy to state that no case of outbreak or disor
der has been reported. No authenticated attempt
at incendiarism has reached me, and the people of
the city are calm, quiet, and well-disposed.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 187
The force, at my disposal is ample to maintain
order, should it be necessary, and protect the district
devastated by fire. Still, I would suggest to citizens
not to relax in their watchfulness until the smoulder
ing fires of the burnt buildings are entirely extin
guished. P. H. Sheridan, Lieut.- Genl.

Head-quarters Military Div. of the Missouri,
Chicago, III., October 11, 1871.
General F. T. Sherman:
Dear Sir: — With the approbation of the Mayor
of this city, Lieutenant-General Sheridan directs
that you organize a regiment of infantry, to consist
of ten (10) companies; each company to consist of
one (1) Captain, one (1) First and one (1) Second
Lieutenant, and sixty (60) enlisted men, to serve as
guards for the protection of the remaining portion
of the city of Chicago, for the period of twenty days.
Very respectfully, Your obedient servant,
James B. Fry,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
"The regiment was partly composed of companies
of the State militia ordered by Lieutenant-General
Sheridan, or some of his subordinates, to report to
him or them, and of recruits enlisted under their
authority. An extract from the order of Lieuten-

188 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
ant-General Sheridan, mustering these troops out
of service, will show its organization:
Head-quarters Military Div. of the Missouri,
Chicago, III., October 24, 1871.
General Orders, No. 5.
The First Regiment Chicago Volunteers, raised
with the approbation of the Mayor, and in pursuance
of orders dated October 11th, 1871, from these
head-quarters, is hereby honorably mustered out of
service, and discharged.
This regiment was constituted as follows:
Colonel Frank T. Sherman, First Chicago Volun
teers, commanding.
Major C. H. Dyer, Adjutant.
Major Charles T. Scammon, Aid-de-Camp. ,
Lieutenant-Colonel H. Osterman, First Regiment
National Guards, Illinois State Militia.
Major G. A. Bender, First Regiment National
Guards, Illinois State Militia.
Captain Fischer's Company (A), First Regiment
National Guards, Illinois State Militia.
Captain Pasch's Company (D), First Regiment
National Guards, Illinois State Militia.
Captain Cronas' Company (G), First Regiment
National Guards, Illinois State Militia.
Captain Paul's Company (H), First Regiment
National Guards, Illinois State Militia.

its past, present and future. 189
Captain Kelter's Company (I), First Regiment
National Guards, Illinois State Militia.
Captain Rogers' Company (B), First Chicago
Volunteers, Lieutenant Adams, commanding.
Captain Merrill's Company (C), First Chicago
Volunteers. Captain Baker's Company (K), First Chicago
Volunteers, recruited by Captain Whittlesey.
Captain Colson's Company, University Cadets.
Captain Crowley's Company, Montgomery Light
Guards. Captain McCarthy's Company, Mulligan Zouaves.
Captain Ryan's Company, Sheridan Guards.
Captain Suiter's Company, Chicago Cadets.
Captain Williams' Company, Hannibal Zouaves.
The Norwegian Battalion of National Guards.
Major Alstrup, commanding.
Ole Bendixen, Adjutant.
Captain Paulsen's Company (A).
Captain Eck's Company (B).
Captain Johnson's Company (C).
Captain Beutzen's Company (D).

Head-quarters Military Div. of the Missouri,
Chicago, October 25, 1871.
To the Adj. Gen'l of the Army, Washington, D. C. :
Sir: — The disorganized condition of affairs in this
city produced by and immediately following the late

190 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
fire, induced the city authorities to ask for assistance
from the military forces, as shown by the Mayor's
proclamation of October 1 1th, 1871. [Copy herewith
marked A.] To protect the public interests, en
trusted to me by the Mayor's proclamation, I called
to this city Companies A and K of the Ninth In
fantry, from Omaha ; Companies A, H and K of the
Fifth Infantry, from Leavenworth ; Company I,
Sixth Infantry, from Fort Scott ; and accepted the
kind offer of Major-General Halleck to send to me
Companies F, N and K of the Fourth, and Company
E of the Sixteenth Infantry, from Kentucky. I also,
with the approbation of the Mayor, called into the
service of the city of Chicago, a regiment of volun
teers for twenty days. [Copy of this call enclosed
herewith, marked B.] These troops, both regulars
and volunteers, were actively engaged during their
service here in protecting the treasure in the burnt
district, guarding the unburnt district from disorders
and danger by further fires, and in protecting the
storehouses, depots and sub-depots of supplies, es
tablished for the relief of sufferers from the fire.
These duties were terminated on the 23d inst., as
shown from letters herewith (marked C, D and E),
and on the 24th inst. the regulars started to their
respective stations, and the volunteers were dis
charged, as shown by special order No. 76, and gen
eral No. 5, from these head-quarters. [Copies here
with,] It is proper to mention that these volunteers
were not taken into the service of the United States,
and no orders, agreements, or promises were made

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 191
giving them any claims against the United States
for services rendered. I am, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant, P. H. Sheridan,
Lieutenan t- General Commanding.

by the mayor of new york.
Mayor's Office, New York,
Afternoon of October 9.
A disaster has fallen on the great city of Chicago,
which not only has destroyed the best part of its
dwellings, and paralyzed its industry and its busi
ness, but threatens the gravest consequences to the
commerce and prosperity of our country. It has
also reduced thousands of people to houselessness
and privation. A despatch from the Mayor of Chi
cago comes in these words: — "Can you send us
some aid for a hundred thousand houseless people.
Army bread and cheese desirable." I have respon
ded that New York will do everything to alleviate
this disaster ; and I now call upon the people to
make such organization as may be speediest and
most effective for the purpose of sending money and
clothing and food. I would recommend the imme
diate formation of general relief committees, who
would take charge of all contributions, in order that
no time may be lost in carrying relief to those of
our fellow citizens who have fallen under this dis
pensation of Providence. I suggest that the Cham
ber of Commerce, the Produce Exchange, the Board

192 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
of Brokers, and the united presidents of the banks,
and all religious and charitable associations immedi
ately call a meeting of their respective members,
and from them select independent relief committees,
who shall solicit subscriptions of money, food, and
clothing within their appropriate spheres of action.
In the meantime, I am authorized to state that con
tributions of food and clothing sent to the depots of
the Erie and Hudson and Central Railroads (under
early and spontaneous offers of Jay Gould and Wil
liam H. Vanderbilt), in even small quantities, from
individuals or business sources, will be at once for
warded through to Chicago free of expense. I can
not too strongly urge upon our citizens immediate
attention to this subject.
A. Oakey Hall, Mayor.

by allan pinkerton.
Office of Pinkerton's Police.
Orders are hereby given to Captains, Lieutenants,
Sergeants, and men of Pinkerton's preventive police,
that they are in charge of the burning district, in
the South Division. Any person stealing, or seek
ing to steal any property in my charge, or attempting
to break open the safes, as the men cannot make
arrests at the present time, they shall kill the persons
by my orders. No mercy shall be shown them, but
death shall be their fate.
Allan Pinkerton.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 193

INCIDENTS.
Concerning the incidents of that fearful nieht in
the streets of the South Division, volumes mio-ht be
written. Of course the most exaggerated reports
and startling incidents were forwarded by the corre
spondents of Eastern papers to their respective
journals, and for a time the whole country believed
that incendiaries were hanging by the scores to
lamp posts ; that bridges were swung, filled with the
hurrying crowds, who were thus suspended over the
river and burned to death ; that hundreds of women
rushed from dwellings with their clothes in a blaze ;
that the prisoners in the jail and Bridewell, were
left in their cells and burned to death ; and so on
through the gloomy catalogue of horrors.
Leaving out what may be attributed to excited
imaginations, and the mere desire to furnish sensa
tional letters, there was still much that was startling
and many striking incidents of heroism and suffer"
ing that are true. In the pages immediately fol
lowing we have grouped together a number of these
incidents and general facts, which will prove of in
terest to the reader. Bookseller's Roiv.
On State street was the fine row of five-story
marble front buildings known as " Bookseller's
Row." These buildings were 190 feet deep, and

194 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
including the basements were filled with books
and stationery. Griggs & Co., besides a large
stock of imported works, had whole floors of
school books. The Western News Company, be
sides its immense salesroom, had a force of sixty per
sons engaged in packing goods. All these stores
were elaborately finished, and of course included
heavy stocks of paper and other stationery. An
exploration of the ruins failed to discover a book, or
a sheet or a quire of paper. The only legible thing
found was a single leaf, badly scorched, of a Bible
and this is said to have contained, though we did
not see it, that part of the first chapter of Jeremiah
which opens :
" How doth the city set solitary that was full of
people, how she became as a widow."
" She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are
on her cheeks."
That is all that was left of the more than a million
of books contained in all these immense stores.
The rescue of the Dead.
On Saturday, a man residing in the North Division
died, and the body was prepared for burial on Sun
day. In the meantime the fire came along, and a
brave son seized the coffin, and struggling under
the load slowly tried to escape. The fire moved
faster than he did, and getting help he hastened to
the lake shore. But the coffin was reached by the
heat, and to save it and the body from burning, it

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 195
* was thrown into the lake, with a large stone attached
to keep it from being carried away.
The horrors of the dreadful night were intensified
by the painful exhibitions of relatives bearing away
from the advancing flames, the bodies of children,
mothers and fathers who had died during the
twenty-four hours preceding. All other things
were abandoned in order to rescue these bodies of
their loved ones. In most cases the work had to be
performed by the family unaided; and in a majority
of such cases, the corpse had to be abandoned at last,
even after having been carried a mile or more
through the rain of fire. The grief and wailings of
the survivors was piteous in the extreme; often
men threw away such of their own property as they
were saving to aid these afflicted sufferers, but as a
rule, and without any actual selfishness, each family
had as much as it could possibly do to get beyond
the range of the stifling smoke and the ever gain
ing heat and blaze.
The story is told, but it needs more confirmation
before being accepted as true, that a German woman
being ill and near death, when the fire reached the
premises, the family, unable to remove her, decided
not to let her burn, and placing her on a mattress,
dropped her into the neighboring river, when she
was instantly drowned. It was a choice of deaths,
and the decision was one of loving hearts, who
unable to save, sought to lessen the horror and
physical pain of the last moment.

196 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
Destruction of Trunks.
The destruction of trunks during the fire was
very great. Almost every person who had one
endeavored to carry off a trunk full of the best
things he had. As a result the majority of these
trunks were unusually heavy, and more than any
but a practiced hand could carry alone for any
distance. Thousands of trunks were removed from
houses and dragged some of them a short and many
a long distance, but taking the city as a whole, it is
safe to say, that not over half of these trunks escaped
destruction in the owner's hands. Those who were
so fortunate as to depart early and Secure the aid of
vehicles, of course saved their trunks, provided they
moved beyond the final range of the fire; but
hundreds who escaped before daylight, were over
taken again before noon, and obliged to fly, leaving
this time to be burned up all that they had rescued in
their earlier flight. Owners of express and other
wagons in some instances kindly aided in the escape
of families and removal of baggage, but avarice
was too powerful for others. $50 and $100 were
demanded in advance before they would remove a
single trunk. One of the government officers after
having done his duty at the office returned to his
residence to find it threatened by fire. He found
an express wagon, and offered to pay $30 for
carrying three trunks a few blocks to a railrcad
depot. When the trunks were in the wagon, he
demanded his money, and though he knew Jie

VIEW FROM HARRISON STREET NORTH ON WA8ASH AVENUE.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 199
officer personally, threw the trunks out when the
latter said he had but $25 with him. As the fire
progressed, the sums demanded increased. The
clerks of a law publishing house rescued the electro
type plates and a number of works, and piled them
on the sidewalk. $100 was demanded to move
them out of the range of the fire, and because the
clerks could not pay him that sum in advance, he
drove away, and $10,000 worth of electrotypes
were, an hour later, melted into a mass.
This avarice soon degenerated into dishonesty, and
drivers refused to hire on any terms and coursed the
streets picking up abandoned trunks, and other
property which they carried off as their own. Still
the amount of property stolen on that night and
the day succeeding was comparatively insignificant.
There was no time for stealing. The thief lingered
behind the fugitive owner to appropriate what the
latter had left, but the fire was immediately at hand.
No article of bulk could be stolen without the aid
of a horse and vehicle, and these, in order to reach
a place of safety, had to make circuitous journeys
so long that no second trip was possible. That much
was stolen by rogues on foot and rogues in drays,
wagons and other vehicles is most true, but it was
of little profit. Except in the case of money or
jewelry or other like light valuables, all such stolen
property was in the main abandoned, and both
robber and robbed joined in the race for life and
safety beyond the reach of the flame, and beyond
the influence of the consuming heat.
12

200 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:

Eccentricities.
It was amusing, if it were not too painful, to
notice the strange tastes and feelings shown by those
who sought to save some portions of their property.
The children, of course, were first in order ; next a
trunk, in which were packed so many things as often
to render the trunk too heavy to be moved. Others,
having neither children nor trunks, would carry a
looking glass, a joint of stove pipe, a pine table, one
or two chairs, a child's cradle or cup, a water pitcher,
or some other article of the least possible value.
On Monday at noon, we saw a young woman, who
had fled before the fire from four, o'clock in the
morning. Over the left arm she had a small bundle
of clothing and in the right hand, held between the
fingers, were three small wine glasses. These were
all she had saved, and these wine glasses she had
carried on her long journey for eight hours.
One of the favorite articles which the thieves
who had use of vehicles appropriated, was pianos.
Hundreds of these were got out of the houses,
but were necessarily abandoned for want of trans
portation. The thieves seeing these, would back
up, put the piano on the dray or wagon, and
drive off with it. What was done with them?
Many of them of course were deposited temporarily
in open lots, and were afterwards overtaken and
destroyed by the fire. Others were held for ransom,

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 201
but we have no doubt that scores were secreted to
be sent elsewhere, in time, to be sold by the thieves.
The same dishonest gentry were special admirers of
the fine arts, and boldly entered houses and tore
down valuable paintings, of which there were very
many in Chicago. These were packed in wagons.
The art galleries were also extensively robbed, under
the pretence of saving, and in time these pictures
will teem up in other parts of the country for sale.
The Domestic Animals.
The number of horses in Chicago was very great,
far in excess of the proportion owned in most cities.
The work of filling the streets an average depth
of seven or eight feet, had built up here an immense
business in the way of two horse wagons designed
for that business. These wagons were of a peculiar
construction. The part above the running gear was
a skeleton. When this wagon was to receive a
load, one or two boards are placed on the edge at
each side, against the posts, giving a depth of two
feet or more. Other loose boards, about six inches
wide each, are then arranged compactly for the
bottom. A tail board serves the double purpose of
keeping the side pieces in their places, and of com
pleting the temporary box. The work of unload
ing is very expeditious. The tail board is removed,
then one of the side pieces, and then the bottom
boards are turned on edge, one after the other
letting the load fall under the wagon.

202 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
The great business done here in lumber, and in
hauling sand from the lake, in addition to the wants
of an active commercial city, gave employment to
many thousands of horses. A result was that a
stable or barn was a necessary appendage to the
great majority of houses, including the unpretending
domiciles of the teamsters. Large numbers of these
teams were put in use on the night of the fire,
removing goods and persons, but a much larger
number of the horses were let loose or broke loose.
They were uncontrollable. The fire and heat, and
the terrible roar, seemed to madden them, and they
rushed at full speed through the streets, turning
round corners, and forever returning as near to their
old places of shelter as the fire would permit. Even
ihose in harness felt the excitement, and their terror
was paiuful to witness. Many sunk to the street,
overcome by fear. The heat, the blaze, the inces
sant fall of fire, the smoke and cinders, and above
all, the fearful roaring of the gale of fire, seemed
to paralyze many of these faithful animals. Of
those who were loose, and madly careering through
the streets, large numbers perished, being hemmed
in by the fire, or rushing frantically into alley ways
and courts were caught in the flames, and life
extinguished almost instantly.
True to their natural instincts, the cats refused
to leave the houses, and many which were forcibly
rescued escaped, and went back again into the
burning buildings.
Chicago has been notorious for its rats. The

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 203
wooden sidewalks have been conducive to their in
crease. Beneath these structures they were safe from
dogs and men, and burrowing deep were protected
even in the coldest weather. This fire spared
nothing that came within its reach, and it is not at
all extravagant to say, that on that night five mil
lions of rats of all ages were destroyed. The dogs,
save those unfortunates which were chained, shared
the retreat of their owners. Though many of them
were lost by being shut up in the houses. The howl-
ings of the poor animals chained or otherwise de
tained, added to the horrors of that eventful night.
On Madison street, opposite Farwell Hall, was a
store in which were kept a large collection of birds
of many varieties. Parrots, macaws, mocking birds,
sparrows, and an immense collection of imported
singing birds, especially of canaries. There were
also in the same store three or four monkeys, and
in the basement specimens of various choice breeds
of poultry. The fire attacked the building suddenly
and fiercely. The time was barely sufficient for
the human inmates to escape. But from the im
prisoned inmates there was a combined appeal,
seemingly an agonized shriek that was piteous in the
extreme. Had they been released they would have
perished in the atmosphere without, and as soon as
the glass front of the store was broken, the heat and
smoke rushed in, extinguishing the life of every
breathing thing within as if done by magic. Chick
ens, birds, monkeys, parrots all became instantly
silent, the hot air had literally consumed them.

204 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:

The Grave Yards.
A mile or more north of the water works and ex
tending to within 200 yards of the lake, was the
Roman Catholic grave yard, and next it was a Ger
man grave yard. Interments had ceased in these
some years ago, but all the bodies had not been re
moved to the new cemeteries farther up the lake.
These cemeteries had been contemporary with the
city. A large part of them was donated to the
graves of the poor and strangers. As a general thing
surviving friends, who had the means, long since re
moved the bodies of their kindred; those who
remained had been the husbands, wives and children
of the poor, but were none the less dear. • These
graves were marked with wooden boards, upon
which were painted or cut the initials of the dead,
and occasionally some beyond. In the one yard,
the inscriptions were in German. Even in these
abandoned cities of the dead, hundreds would spend
the long summer afternoons trimming the sandy
mounds, straightening the loose boards, and bring
ing water from the lake to refresh the parched
plants and flowers which affection had planted upon
the graves. Into these grave yards many fugitives had
fled during that Sunday night and Monday morning.
With them were carried some household goods.
Stands, beds, chairs, tables, the whole presenting a
strange collection. The occupants were of all classes.
Strong men, hard working able bodied men; weak

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 205
and delicate women; many of the occupants of
fashionable dens of vice; refined and cultivated
women; merchants, lawyers and bankers ; servant
men and women, but the great bulk were the
families of small tradesmen, and working people of
the neighborhood. Of course there were troops of
children, all huddled in groups, with backs to the
fire, to protect their eyes from the blinding smoke
and consuming heat. Incessantly there fell among
them the flying sparks and cinders. In vain did
these poor fugitives seek to cover their packages of
clothing with sand. The fire would fall upon them
and set them ablaze. At last the fire approached
them; it seized upon the long wooden sidewalks
of the streets beyond, and with the speed of light
ning traversed block after block, encircling every
place with a cordon of fire. The fences one after
another caught, the twigs, and scattered lumber,
with here and there a house, a stable, or a shed
seemed to furnish food enough to carry that fire
along. At last it reached the grave yard, the fences
caught and blazed; the heat prepared everything
for the advancing column of fire. Group after
group fled before the flame ; the straw beds, chairs,
tables, the trunks, the bundles of clothes and the
household goods, soon were on fire ; head board
after head board blazed as a brazen mirror reflect
ing light. The little fences around the burial lots,
the scanty trees and shubbery all took fire, and
each fed -the rapacious flames. The living had to
abandon even the desolate grave yard, and the

206 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
fire swept from above the earth everything that was
consumable. Stout trees were burned down below
the ordinary level of the soil in which they grew.
These cemeteries before the fire were desolate — one-
half the dead having been disentered, and the monu
ments and valuable adornments removed, and now
came the fire to make desolation more desolate, not a
vestige remains of anything in these silent cities
of the dead save the blackened embers of the once
erect grave signs, and of the little property carried
there for safety and then overtaken and consumed
by the insatiable fire.

Weddings and Marriages.
The fire played sad work with a number of wed
dings which were to be celebrated within a day or
two after the date of the fire. In one case the
daughter of one of our most celebrated clergymen
was to have been married on Tuesday. The circle
of her acquaintance included the majority of the
respectable people of all sects in the city. The
groom was equally respected. In anticipation of the
marriage, a house had been built for the new couple,
and had been furnished throughout. Everything
was in readiness, and upon their marriage they were
to commence housekeeping the same day. These
young people had fondly watched the erection of
that home, had visited it together during its pro
gress, and after its completion had selected the fur-

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 207
niture and directed its arrangement throughout.
Tuesday was to begin a new era for them. The
fire came on Monday morning. It destroyed the
new house and its contents ; it destroyed the home
of the groom and of his parents and relatives. It
destroyed the church in which they were to be
married, and then the house of the expectant bride
and of her father; all the wedding clothes were
carried off by the flames ; all her other clothing save
the few articles she had put on in her hasty flight
were in like manner destroyed. It was night on
Monday before these close bound neighbors could
find one another, but the wedding was not to be
postponed. Though the fondly anticipated assem
blage of friends and joyous house warming had to
be abandoned, the marriage itself — the union of
hearts and of hands, was still to go on. So on the
next morning, at the same hour originally fixed
upon, in plain attire, the marriage took place. The
only serious difficulty in the case was in the matter
of under clothes for the lady. That line of goods
was a luxury in Chicago for several days. But very
few who saved any clothes it seemed saved these ;
there were none to be borrowed and none to be
bought, and it is said that the whole of Tuesday
was consumed before proper garments for the lady
could be found. The young couple, however, in
sight of the smoking ruins of their promised home,
commenced life, happy in the consciousness of mu
tual affection, and grateful that in their large family
circle all had been saved and protected from that

208 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
loss of life and health which had befallen so many
thousands of others.
Other weddings fixed for that eventful week, and
which would have been accompanied with all the
fashionable display so general at this day, were cele
brated under improvised homes, in borrowed cloth
ing, but with no less happy hopes and charming
anticipations. Not so happy, however, was the result in all cases.
One bright blooming girl of nineteen years was to
have been married on the Thursday following the
fire. She was the daughter of a wealthy merchant,
and her intended was a member of a large business
firm. In that dreadful night she with her father's
family escaped on foot, and in the tumult and the
confusion of the prolonged flight before the fire, she
was separated from her friends. In her ignorance
of the localities she wandered from place to place,
but forever pursued by the fire, until at last it is
supposed she got beyond the northern limits of the
city. In vain did her friends seek for her ; no one
had seen her, nor could any inquiry be prosecuted
amid the universal separation of friends and fami
lies. Finally, on Thursday morning, about day
light, the citizen's patrol, in a part of the city far
remote from where she had been lost, discovered a
woman but partially clad, walking listlessly along;
occasionally she would in feeble voice call as if for
help, again she would mutter unintelligible senten
ces, and again recite in plaintive tones some little
verse or childish song. She made no resistance to

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 209
the gentlemen when they kindly asked her to go
with them. They carried her to a dwelling near
by when she was passively placed in a warm bed,
and a physician summoned. She would gaze upon
the kind faces of those around her, as if in search
of some familiar features, but beyond this betrayed
no intelligence. She was kept for a few days and
every attention given to her, but she grew no better.
In changing her clothing a photograph was found
with a well known name upon it. This, person was
informed, and with his wife hastened to embrace
their daughter. She failed to recognize them. The
long exposure and want of rest, combined with the
protracted terrors of that fearful night, had destroyed
her reason; and this beautiful and accomplished girl5
whose marriage had been so joyfully expected, is
now insane, though it is hoped, that time and care
and affectionate ministrations may bring back the
intelligence that seemingly has gone forever.
The Ogden Mansion.
One of the great objects of interest in the city is
the house of Mahlon D. Ogden. Its escape is a
marvel. In every direction as far as the eye can
reach is the blackened prairie. It stands an oasis
in the desert. On the night of the fire the family
was absent from the city, but two or three gentlemen
were there. They fought to save the building.
They tore up the carpets, and used all the blankets
on the premises. These they spread over the fronts

210 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
of the house and of the barn exposed to the fire;
with brooms and buckets of water they kept the
roofs free of falling fire. In front of the house and
between it and the approaching fire was a small
park — just one vacant block. But this park early
in the night was filled with fugitives and their fur
niture. In time the fire came, driving out the
refugees, and seizing upon the beds and bedding
and furniture and household stuff, burned them as
if they were so much straw. On the north and on
the south flanks of Ogden's house the fire raged
with fury, and in front was the grand blaze from
the accumulated furniture of fifty families. So long
as the water works continued to furnish water,
those in charge of Ogden's premises easily kept the
carpets and blankets and other woollen protections
wet. But when the hydrant ceased to furnish water
they were driven to a cistern which they knew was
not inexhaustible. Several barrels of cider were
used to saturate the carpets, and to throw upon the
burning cinders. In the meantime a house in the
rear of Ogden's caught fire. It was thus sur
rounded on all sides by blaze, and the heat borne
down upon it by the relentless gale. Yet it was
saved. A dozen times did the fences catch, but a
ready bucket of water or cider put it out. The
wooden sidewalk burned on one side of the building
but the wind carried the fire beyond the house.
The fire in the park soon burned out. Everything
between the house and the wind was rapidly con
sumed, and when day dawned, after three or four

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 211
hours of hard labor, the blazing torrent had passed
on to the north, leaving nothing but this solitary
building in an area of 2,600 acres. On Sunday
Mr. Ogden lived in the centre of a densely popu
lated city. The immediate district in which he
lived contained 75,000 persons. In the early dawn
his nearest neighbor was miles away, and standing
in his doorway the view was as unbroken by habi
tations as it was fifty years ago when it was a track
less prairie. Next to the ruins, and to many far
before the ruins, in popular interest is the house
that the fire did not burn, the house from which the
fire turned to the right and the left to avoid, closing
again in its rear, and carrying everything as before
in its fearful destruction.

A Courageous Banker.
A remarkable instance of courage and presence
of mind is told of Mr. E. I. Tinkham, of the
Second National Bank. On Monday morning, be
fore the fire had reached that building, Mr. Tink
ham went to the safe and succeeded in getting out
$600,000. This pile of greenbacks he packed into
a common trunk, and hired a colored man for
$1,000 to convey it to the Milwaukee depot. Fear- '
ing to be recognized in connection with the precious
load, Mr. Tinkman followed the man for a time at
some distance, but soon lost sight of him. He was
then overtaken by the fire storm, and was driven
toward the lake on the south side. Here, after

212 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
passing through several narrow escapes from suffo
cation, he succeeded in working his way, by some
means, to a tugboat, and got round to the Milwau
kee depot, where he found the colored man waiting
for him, with the trunk, according to promise. Mr.
Tinkham paid the man the $1,000, and started
with the trunk for Milwaukee, and the money was
safely deposited in Marshall and Illsley's bank of
that city. A Faithful Clerk.
Mr. Nathaniel Bacon, of Niles, Michigan, student
at law with Messrs. Tenney, McClellan & Tenney,
slept in their office. On waking at about one
o'clock, and seeing the Court House on fire, he saw
that the office, which was immediately opposite,
would surely go. Judging that one of the safes in
the office would not prove fire proof, he promptly
emptied the contents of his trunk on the floor of
the doomed building, and, filling it with the interior
contents of the safe, books, valuable papers, money,
&c, shouldered the trunk and carried it to a place
of safety on Twenty-second street — losing thereby
all his own clothing and effects except what he
had on. A Baby Rescued.
In Ontario street, near Clark, where the fire sud
denly leaped across westward through the North
Division, a baby ten months old was thrown from a

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 213
fourth-story window, and caught in a blanket by
men congregated below. It started head down
wards, like Sam Patch in his last leap, but gradually
regained the perpendicular, and alighted on its feet
like an athlete. The infant was somewhat worried
for breath at first, but it gradually recovered equili
brium, and in five minutes was serenely sucking its
thumb. The father climbed down by the tin water
pipe at the corner of the building.
Safe Vaults.
A vase of wax flowers was taken from a vault on
Dearborn street, and was found perfect — not having
been injured in the least. From another safe on
Dearborn street was taken a box of matches, as
new in appearance as when turned out of the fac
tory. The vault of the Tribune also yielded all its
contents in perfect order, even to a box of matches.
A Deranged Woman.
One of the most pitiful sights was that of a
middle aged woman on State street, loaded with
bundles, struggling through the crowd singing the
Mother Goose melody :
"Chickery, chickery,
Craney crow,
I went to the well to wash my toe," &c.
There were hundreds of others likewise dis
tracted, and many rendered desperate by the

214 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
whisky or beer which, from excessive thirst, in
the absence of water, they drank in great quantities,
spread themselves in every direction, to the terror
of all they met. Roche the Teamster.
James Roche, a teamster, lived at 40 Glen street.
While attempting to save his furniture a faggot
fell in the wagon he was loading and lighted the
straw bed in which his wife had deposited $300.
While he was trying to save something from the
wreck of the load she came rushing out of the house
in a blaze, and ran up the street. Roche made
chase, overtook her, thrust her into a door, and
stripped her of every remnant of her flaming garb.
Nothing was left upon her. This house was on fire
in another minute. Roche rushed into the street
and seized a horse-blanket, which he gave to his
wife, and then returned to his house. Here he met
another woman in flames, and handled her with
similar roughness, and discovered that she was his
only daughter. He sent her after her mother down
the street, as nude as my lady Godiva, and let us
hope that every eye similarly respected her. She
found her mother, and the two, in one horse-blanket,
crept under the sidewalk and made their way thus
to North avenue bridge, where they lay secreted all
through the rainy night and far into the next day,
until relief was brought.

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 217
What Cider accomplished.
One building that remains, an oasis in a bleak
and black Sahara, is a small, white, wooden cottage
on Lincoln place. A policeman named Bellinger
lived here. He hauled up the sidewalk, raked up
the leaves and burned them, hewed down the fence
and carried it into the house in pieces, and
notified his neighbors that, live or die, he would
stick to that house. The fire advanced and gave
battle. It flung torches into his porch, it hurled
them through the windows. It began and kept
up a hot bombardment of flaming shot upon
the roof. He met it at every point ; with hands
and boots, with water and wet blankets, and finally
as the last wave of fire enveloped the building in a
sirocco and whirled through the crackling tree-tops
and gyrated madly over the adjacent walls and
wavered and whirled over the smoking roof, Bellinger
cast a pale into his cistern and it was dry. The
blankets were on fire. Then the Bellinger genius
rose triumphant. He assaulted his cider barrels, and
little by little, emptied their contents on the roof-
It was the coup de guerre. It gave him victory.
His blankets were scorched, his hands blistered, his
boots distorted, and his cider spilled, but his house
was saved. The Post Office Cat.
One of the features of the post office was the
official cat. This notorious feline may or may
not have had a name ; at any rate it is not now
13

218 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
known, she (or he) had been once before burned
out, and was, therefore, in a measure prepared for
this calamity. On the night of the fire the cat was
present and assisted in the removal, though she did
, not go herself. Nobody invited her, and she was
too much of a public spirited employee to go without
permission. When the work of removing the safes
was in progress, the tearing away of a partition
revealed the faithful public servant in a pail partially
filled with water. She had rented this as temporary
quarters and apparently enjoyed the cool shelter
which it afforded. From her position it appeared
impossible that she could have gone away and
returned after the fire, and so she may be set down
as the only living being who passed Sunday night
and Monday in the burnt district.

Fire Humors.
It was a remarkable feature of the fire that it
developed humor as well as pathos. One merchant,
who found his safe and its contents destroyed,
quietly remarked that there was no blame attached
to the safe ; that it was of chilled iron, and would
have stood, but that the fire had taken the chill
all out.
A firm of painters on Madison street bulletined
their removal as follows, on a sign-board erected
like a guide-board upon the ruins of their old
establishment :

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 219

MOORE & GOE,
House and Sign Painters,
Removed to 111 Desplaines ct.,
Capital, $000,000.30.

An editor of a daily paper received several
poetical effusions suggested by the late disaster;
but he declined them all, on the ground that it was
wasteful to print anything which required every line
with a capital, when capital was so scarce.
A bride who entered the holy married state on
Tuesday evening determined to do so in a calico
dress, in deference both to the proprieties and the
necessities of the occasion. But she desired that
her toilette de chambre should be, if possible, on a
more gorgeous scale. Being destitute of a robe de
nuit of suitable elegance, she sent out to several
neighbors of her temporary hostess to borrow such
a garment, stipulating that it must be a fine one.
So peculiar is the feminine nature, however, that
her request excited no enthusiasm in her behalf
among the ladies to whom it came.
A signboard stuck in the ruins of a building
on Madison street, read : " Owing to circumstances
over which we had no control, we have removed,"
etc.

220 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:

A Narrow Escape.
The following thrilling episode is narrated by an
eye witness :
A woman was seen at the window of a building,
shrieking for assistance. The building was on fire
within, and the only hope of escape, the staircases,
had been destroyed. The walls were still safe, and
a short ladder was procured. A man with long
silvery hair mounted a box and cried out: "A
hundred dollars to any brave man who will go to
her rescue!" A dozen men sprang forward, and
the leader said: "We don't want your money, but
we will try !" Throwing off his coat, the stranger
seized a rope, ran up the ladder, and entered the
lower window. He was lost from view for a
moment, but soon returned, his shirt blackened
with the smoke and burned by the falling embers.
"Let some one come up," he shouted; "I want
some help." Another followed, and the ladder was
drawn in and pushed up through the burning flames
at the staircase. They mounted to the story above
and repeated the process. They were now within
one story of the poor woman. She meanwhile had
been caught by the flames, and to save herself had
been obliged to tear off her outer clothing. Not a
moment was to be lost, and when the men appeared
at the window — with hair curled with the intense
heat, their clothing in rags and partially burned —

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 221
and sent down the coil of rope for a new ladder,
(theirs having been broken by a falling timber) all
hope seemed gone. But by great efforts they raised
the ladder to where they were, and once more es
sayed to reach the hapless woman above them.
But the flames were too hot, and they were forced
back from the interior to the window. Here they
essayed to throw the rope to the woman, but in the
excitement of the occasion they could not succeed.
The leader, however, was a man of resources,
and lowering the rope again, he started for the
hook. One was attached, and when drawn up he
managed to hand the rope to the woman, and
shouted to her to make it fast and to descend to
them. She tied the rope to some place, still strong
enough to sustain the strain, but could not, in her
weakness, risk herself in the descent. All seemed
lost; but the crowd soon beheld the first of the
men slowly ascending the rope, hand over hand.
Cheer after cheer hailed him as he drew himself
into the window. In a moment the woman was
lowered to the story below, where she was seized by
the second brave rescuer, who drew her into the
room and waited for the descent of his companion.
The rope was not long enough to reach from where
it was attached to the pavement, but a second was
produced, and a piece of twine attached to a stone,
was thrown in, which enabled them to haul it up.
The two then lowered the woman, almost " in natura
puribus," to the street and the first lowered the
second and then came down himself.

222 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:

A Scene in the Tunnel.
While the fire was raging in the South Division,
a thrilling scene occurred in the Washington street
tunnel. Several of the bridges over the South
Branch being on fire, the tunnel was resorted to by
thousands of people who desired to pass from one
division into the other. At a moment when the
passage way was filled with pedestrians, rushing
wildly in either direction, the gas suddenly gave out
and all were left in total darkness. A terrible panic,
a collision, and the trampling to death of the weaker
by the stronger, seemed inevitable. But, strange as
it may seem, everybody in that dark recess seemed
at once to comprehend the necessity for coolness
and courage ; not a man lost his presence of mind ;
but all, as with one accord, bore to the right, each
calmly enjoining upon others to be cool and steady,
and to march steadily on till the end of the tunnel
could be reached. Rapidly, but without confusion,
the two columns moved on through the thick dark
ness with almost military precision, the silence being
broken only by frequent shouts of " right," " right."
There was no collision, and no one was harmed, but
all reached the ends of the tunnel in safety, and
then, for the first time in almost ten minutes,
breathed freely.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 223

Puritan Relics Unharmed.
The beautiful New England Church, in the North
Division, was one of the most perfect Gothic struc
tures in the country, was utterly destroyed, with
the exception of the Scotch granite columns at the
entrance, some Puritan relics from Scrooby Manor,
and a piece of the Plymouth Rock, which were
inserted in the main archway, above the door. With
genuine Scotch persistency and Puritan firmness,
these refused to yield to either wind or flame, and
still remain there. In a similar manner, all that
remain of St. James' Church is the memorial monu
ment to her sons who fell in battle.

Advertisements.
Taking up the first issue of the Chicago Tribune,
after the fire, the advertisements are singularly sug
gestive of grief, uncertainty and penury. Many
begin as follows : " Wanted to find, Swedish girl
Sophia, formerly living in my family ;" " A lost cow
can be found at," etc. ; " Two stray trunks can be
heard from at," etc. ; " Taken out of the flames, a
dark bay mare ;" " Ten dollars reward, and no ques
tion asked, for a pailfull of dental instruments taken
from," etc. ; " If the grey-whiskered man who was
seen removing trunks from," etc. ; " Mr.  ,
please call at  , and get your boy ' Georgie ;' "
«Mr.  ¦ — , go to number  ; your father

224 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
is there." " Agnes  will find her father at
 ." And so on for two long, closely-printed
columns. There is also a fearful number of " miss
ing" notices, and a column of the very finest type is
devoted to a record of those who are " lost and
found."
An Heroic Old Woman.
A young lady who escaped from the burning city,
in the course of a graphic account of the great fire,
tells the following : " Two blocks beyond where I
lived in Halstead street lived an old German, an
almost helpless cripple, whose sole support was his
wife and young son. The latter went away in the
morning and did not return. The fire rapidly ap
proached with deadly omen, and the old couple were
not only distracted at the absence of the boy, but fear
ful of their possible fate. At last the flames came
so near that they must fly or die. In the strength of
her affection the old woman seized the poor cripple,
placed him upon her back, and thus staggered
along for a distance of two blocks, when some men
placed him in a grocer's wagon and drew him to a
place of safety." Coolness.
Another writer says : " I met a friend on Tues
day, walking thoughtfully around with a piece of
lead pipe. As I approached and saluted him he
stopped, slapped the lead pipe down on a brick wall,

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 225
it smashed flat, and then said, ' Joe, that pipe's all I've
got in the world, but I begin again to-morrow.' I
met a- man on the night of the fire who had lost
first his store and then his handsome residence on
Michigan avenue. He was lugging around a mar
ble mantel with the heavy sides attached. He
laughed as he saw me, and remarked, ' That's all
there is now; but I'm going to see if I can't find
another and build a house to fit.' "

Unfortunate Benevolence.
Ah Iowan heard of the fire on Monday morning
and took passage to Chicago to succor the family of
his son, who was living there. At a wayside sta
tion not far from Chicago he heard that the water
works were burned, and that there was a scarcity
of water. Not being familiar with the geographical
position, he purchased a cask and brought it full of
water to Chicago. A philanthropic expressman
charged him $50 dollars for carting that barrel
to his son's residence.

A Plucky Merchant.
A Chicago merchant who was in New York when
the great fire destroyed his store and stock of mer
chandise, at once bought a large invoice of sugars
and syrups and started for home, telling his mer
chants that -by the time the goods reached Chicago

226 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
he would have his store rebuilt to receive them.
He kept his word. On the 19 th inst., he tele
graphed his New York friends :
" We enter a new store to-morrow, made since
the fire, and resume payment in full and at matu
rity." Fire Proof Buildings.
Horace White, Esq., the Editor in Chief of the
Chicago Tribune, in an extremely interesting com
munication to the Cincinnati Commercial, thus
clearly shows the reasons why the supposed fire proof
buildings in the city succumbed to the flames.
" The Post Office was lost by defective internal
construction. There was hardly any wood work in
it except furniture. The floors were of stone or
clay tiles, the window-casing of iron, and all the
outer doors iron. But then there were no interior
walls, or next to none. In place of these were up
right iron columns and girders, these supporting
iron beams, and these again furnishing the resting
places for the brick arches which held the several
floors. The building itself was surrounded on the
four sides by streets, though one of these was narrow
as Nassau street, New York. It had no point of
contact with any other building. But the heat from
the narrow street set the furniture on fire. This
warped and sprung the great iron columns which
supported the floors, and so the whole interior came
down into the cellar. The Tribune building was

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 227
constructed with a view to avoid this defect. There
were no iron columns in the interior except where
they were employed to give greater strength to the
brick walls. Consequently the interior is nearly all
standing, the two eight-cylinder presses uninjured
to all appearance, except by the burning of the
tapes and feed boards, the beautiful engines, whose
noiseless strength I have so often admired, scarcely
soiled, the boilers perfectly intact, and most wonder
ful of all, two or three barrels of printers' ink under
the alley not burned or upset. For all this, the heat
generated by a whole square of combustible, five-
story buildings, of which the Tribune was one cor
ner, was greater than that of an ordinary blast fur
nace. It was more than sufficient to melt cast iron.
Our brick walls were a great protection, but the
exterior wall on the south side, eighteen inches thick,
next to a wholesale stationery store, is bulged inward
at one place near the bottom fully two inches. This
was not enough to let the wall down, and as it was
braced with iron beams all the way up it was kept
from falling on our printing machinery. A small
segment fell out of the front of the building on
Madison street. This was caused by the weight of
an immense iron safe belonging to the Charter Oak
Life Insurance Company, which stood against a
wall in the second story. The iron beams getting
more or less displaced by the expansive power of
the heat, the weight of the safe was brought to
bear upon them with a leverage which pried a hole
ten or fifteen feet wide out of the Madison street

228 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
front, and of course every thing which rested upon
it came down.
" These two buildings are types of all the so-called
fire proof structures of the city, seven or eight in
number. It is ascertained that no stone ever used
in the business part of the city is worth a farthing
in such a fire. Brick is the only thing that comes
out whole, and is ready to try it again. The future
Chicago will be a city of bricks. But it is not fair
to say that an absolutely fire proof building cannot
be erected. I think it can be. At all events, the
architects of the world should come here and
study." What a Determined Man did.
The manner in which Mr. John G. Shortall, of
the firm of Shortall & Hoard, saved their numerous
abstracts and indices of real estate transactions, which
in the destruction of the public records are invalu
able as evidences of title, shows what a determined
man can do in an emergency. Mr. Shortall had
returned from church to his home in the southern
part of the city, and from some unaccountable
impulse went down to the fire and watched it for
an hour or more, when he began to fear that his
office in Larmon block, opposite the court house,
might be in danger. His own account of his expe
riences from this point on is as follows :
" On reaching the office I found great danger
existing from the awnings, which were outside the

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 229
buildings, the embers dropping down very thick on
the roofs of the buildings, and on the front, and
sighs, and awnings. I ran up stairs, got into the
office and tried to cut away the awnings in front of
our building, and that of the building adjoining;
but, owing to the absence of anything adequate, I
had to give that up, and simply press them up close
to the wall, that the embers might drop off them,
and not be caught in them. Even then I scarcely
believed it possible that the Larmon block could take
fire, and I requested the men in the upper portion
of the building, with buckets of water, to put out
any embers that might fall there and endanger the
building. In another half hour I felt more appre
hensive, and went in the street to find an express
wagon. This must have been ah hour and a half
before the building actually burned. I stopped,
probably fifteen different trucks and express wagons,
offering them any pay to work for me in saving the
books. Seven of them, at least, I engaged, one after
another, they faithfully promising me that they would
come back when they had carried the load and done
the work in which they were engaged ; but no one
came back. At this juncture, I met a friend, Mr.
Nye, who was looking out, as I was, for the danger.
I told him I needed him, and he answered me
promptly that he was at my service. We both
watched some time longer for express wagons; but
could find none. At last, when the court house
cupola took fire, I told my friend that we must have
an express wagon within the next five minutes or

230 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
we were utterly lost. He stood on Clark street and
I on Washington, determined to take the first
expressman we could find. The first one happened
to come along on his side. He seized the reins with
one hand ; and, taking a revolver from his pocket
with the other, " persuaded" the expressman to haul
up to the sidewalk, notwithstanding his cursing and
swearing. When I came back from my unsuccessful
watch, I found the expressman there, and my friend,
handing the lines and revolver to me, went up stairs
to help our employees, who were then in the office,
to carry down the volumes. We got round with the
wagon to Washington street entrance, and after
filling the wagon, found that we had but about one
quarter of our property in it.
" Just at that critical moment I saw a two horse
truck drive up to where I was superintending the
packing of the books, and my friend Joe Stockton,
who was so covered with smut and dust that I did
not recognize him until he spoke, turned over the
truck and driver to me, with the remark, ' I think,
John, this is just the thing you want' I never felt
so relieved or so thankful as I did at his appearance
with that substantial aid at that moment. We
unpacked our impressed expressman immediately
and set him adrift with $5 in his pocket for his five
minutes' work, and commenced to pile our property
on friend Stockton's truck. Meanwhile the flames
were roaring and surging around us. Six of our
boys were carrying down the volumes as rapidly as
they could, and I, standing on the truck, was stowing

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 231
away the books economically as to space. About
that time they told me the court house bell fell down.
I lost all idea of time. It must have been about two
o'clock. I never heard the bell fall, I was so excited.
Toward the last, when we had got our indices all
safely down, and were trying to save other valuable
papers and books, many of which we did save, it was
stated that Smith & Nixon's building was about to
be blown up. Our truck was headed toward that
building. The sky was filled with burning embers
which were falling around us thickly. As soon, I
think, as the information was given that that building
was to be blown up, the crowd rushed past us down
Washington street, toward the lake, terribly excited,
shouting and warning everybody away. My driver
was very nervous, and on one pretext or another
would start his horses up for a rod or two, swearing
that he would not be blown up for us or for the whole
country; but I succeeded in stopping him eight or
ten times during the terrible excitement. In the
meantime our men were coming down the stairs
laden with our property, and returning as rapidly
as they could. I was standing on the books, packing
them in the truck, and the embers were flying on
them, and I picked them off as they fell and threw
them into the street, until a rod at a time, we reached
the corner of Dearborn and Washington. Messrs.
Fuller and Handy were the last to leave the office,
and they did not leave until Buck & Rayner's drug
store was on fire. The store, as we believed, was
full of chemicals and explosive matter. At that time

232 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
the court house was a mass of flames, our building
was burning, and other buildings in the immediate
vicinity were entirely destroyed.
" Three of us then started with the truck for my
house, which we reached about three o'clock that
morning. I had our property unloaded and placed
securely within; and, after giving the driver and
others some refreshments, I started again for the
fire to see what aid I could give other sufferers."

A Fearful Trotting Match.
On the morning of the fire occurred the most
fearful trotting race on record. It was a race between
the flames and Mr. Fred. Blackmar, with his brown
mare " Kittie." Mr. Blackmar was a junior partner
in one of the largest publishing houses in the city,
and his little brown mare had won a reputation as
one of the fastest roadsters in the city. A corre
spondent tells the story of the race as follows :
" Kittie, who had become a well known equine
to all those who frequented the boulevards, was
stabled in a barn on Dearborn street, almost opposite
the post office. The fire had eaten far into the heart
of the city, and was rapidly swallowing building
after building in its rapacious jaws. Southward and
northward along famed Newspaper avenue, as Dear
born street was sometimes called, the fire was driven
by the fierce gale, which swept in eddies from over
the prairies.

BURNING OF THE CENTRAL GRAIN ELEVATOR AT THE MOUTH OF THE CHICAGO RIVER.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 235
" Blackmar, who lived in the West Division, had
gone down early in the fight to assist in saving prop
erty from the store, and it was not until late on
Monday morning he thought of Brown Kittie.
Then he started for the barn only to find the front
of the building was one vast sheet of flame. No
where could he see the hostler. Through a back
door he rushed into the stable, and there stood his
pet shivering in every limb. With a cry of joy she
recognized her master, and while he was unfastening
her halter the grateful creature placed her nose
against his face and gently rubbed his cheek. A
moment later arfd the mare was hitched to the light
road wagon, the back door was thrown open, Fred
sprang into his seat, and while the burning hay
dropped down upon him in fiery flakes he drove
forth into a perfect hell of flame. There was a nar
row alley with buildings on fire on either side of it
for him to drive through, and faster than Kittie ever
went before went she through that gauntlet of flame.
Once a tongue of flame reached across the alley and
scorched poor Kittie's handsome mane, and almost
burnt out one of her bright eyes, which were almost
human in their expression, but Fred spoke gently
to her, and with never a skip she went onward and
onward across State street, and no chance to turn
to the right or left, with buildings blazing up in front
and Death with the double team crowding him
closely in the rear. Now Wabash avenue was
reached, and like lightning the little darling turned
the corner and flew with the speed of thought south-
14

236 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
ward along the broad thoroughfare, whose western
side was already one long row of flame. With a
straight road before him, perfectly level and laid
with Nicholson pavement, Fred sent the mare faster
and faster. Away off toward Jackson street he
could see the black smoke and the red flames
reaching across, trying to seize upon the opposite
side of the way, and should they succeed before he
passed the spot, then all escape was impossible.
' Gently, Kittie, gently!' They were the first words
he had spoken for some time. 'Now, then my little
lady,' and for the first time in all his life he touched
her with the whip. The mare broke into a run, and
there was no stopping her. Like a thoroughbred
she sped before the wind, and almost in a trice she
had cleared the fire and was still running desper
ately toward the southward. Presently Blackmar
succeeded in pulling her down to a trot, and finally
he jogged her along at a pace so slow no one would
have supposed her the best little equine in all Chris
tendom." Fatal Leap for Life.
Just north of Madison street, on the east side of
Dearborn street, stood Speed's block, consisting of
five four-story brick buildings, with stone fronts.
The upper parts of the buildings were occupied as
offices, and some of the occupants slept in the rooms.
When the fire had reached Madison and Dearborn
streets, from the west, a man, who had evidently

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 237
taken full time to dress himself, appeared at a
window in the rear. He coolly looked down the
thirty feet between him and the ground, while the
excited crowd cried to him to "jump !" and then some
of the more considerate searched for a ladder. No
ladder could be had, but a long plank was found
and placed at once against the window, and the
man seating himself on it, slid safely to the ground.
But before this was accomplished, another man ap
peared at a window of the fourth story, in the
adjoining building; there was no projecting bal
cony — the wall was flush to the ground for the dis
tance of four stories and a basement. All escape
by the interior was cut off — the building being
then on fire within, and he looked out in seeming
despair. The crowd was helpless, so far as doing
anything for his rescue, and grew frantic in their
excitement. From the Tribune office the whole
scene was visible, lighted up by the blaze of a hun
dred buildings, and by the never-ceasing shower of
fire. Senseless cries of "jump ! jump !" went up
from the crowd; senseless, but full of sympathy,
for the sight was absolutely agonizing. Then for a
minute or two he disappeared, perhaps even less,
but it seemed so long that the supposition was that
he had fallen suffocated by smoke and heat ; but
no, he appears again. First he throws a bed, then
some bed clothes apparently ; why, probably even
he does not know. Again he looks down the dead,
sheer wall of fifty feet below him. He hesitates,
and well he may, as he turns again and looks behind

238 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
him. Then he mounts to the window sill. His
whole form appears, naked to the shirt, and his
white limbs gleam against the dark wall in the
bright light as he swings himself below the window.
Somehow — how none can tell — he drops and catches
upon the top of the windows below him, of the
third story. He stoops and drops again, and seizes
the frame with his hands, and his gleaming body
once more straightens and hangs prone downward,
and then drops instantly and accurately upon the
window sill of the third story. A shout, more of
joy than applause, goes up from the breathless
crowd, and those who had turned away their heads,
unable to look upon him as he seemed about to
drop to sudden and certain death, glanced up at
him once more with a ray of hope, at this daring
and skilful feat. Into this window he crept, to
look, possibly, for a stairway, but appeared again
presently, for here was the only avenue of escape,
desperate and hopeless as it was. Once more he
dropped his body, hanging by his hands. The
crowd screamed and waved to him to swing himself
over to the projection from which the other man had
just been rescued. He tried to do this, and vibrated
like a pendulum from side to side, but could not
reach far enough to throw himself upon its roof.
Then he hung by one hand and looked down ; rais
ing the other hand, he took a fresh hold, and swung
from side to side again to reach the roof. In vain;
again he hung motionless by one hand, and slowly
turned his head over his shoulder, and gazed in the

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 239
abyss below him. Then, gathering himself up, he
let go his hold, and for a second a gleam of white
shot down full forty feet to the foundation of the
basement. Of course, it killed him. He was taken
to a drug store near by and died in ten minutes.
Who this person was no one knows. What be
came of his remains has never been ascertained.
The drug store to which he was taken was burned
within a few hours after, and every other building
for half a mile south, and it was impossible to carry
the body, if taken away at all, in any other direc
tion. He had evidently been asleep, and was not
awakened until the building was on fire.
A Wedding Postponed.
A wedding fixed for the week after the fire, was
postponed by a letter of the lady to her lover, who
was in an Eastern city. She was the daughter of a
wealthy merchant, and in the letter after telling him
of the fire, she wrote :
" Our wedding will have to be postponed for at
least one year, as I am in no condition at present to
be married ; not that I love you less than ever, for
you know that better than I can tell you, but that
we have no house to live in and my father is rendered
almost destitute by the fire. His place of business
was, as you know, in the burnt district, and was
swept away in company with a number of others the
second night of the fire. We expect to have a new
house built in a few weeks, just around the corner

240 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
from where we formerly resided, near  street
and  avenue. I am very glad you did not come
to this city when you intended, for then you would
be as the rest of us, half scared to death. Father
was up at the time, and saved two suits of clothes —
the one he had on and another — but we, that is, Mar,
Jeneatte, and I, were less lucky. You would have
been surprised to see me, the morning after we were
driven out of the house, with a pair of Jim's old
pants on, one slipper, one shoe, and a waterproof
cloak. This was, indeed, my complete outfit, and it
was not until yesterday that I received some other
clothes from my cousin Mary, who sent them from
Cincinnati. That would have made a splendid wed
ding suit, wouldn't it %
" The city is building up lively. Work is plenty,
but a number of laborers have left this, the doomed
city. " Frank, please come on and see us as soon as you
can ; I want to see you very badly." >—-
It is not likely that Frank declined that invitation,
or that he consented to postpone the wedding~aryear,
or any longer than a new outfit could be pro
vided. Such a man would be out of place in a city
which in three days after having been destroyed,
was " building up lively," or worthy of the fair lady,
who, notwithstanding she had no house to live in and
her father was destitute, had time to note in her
distress the cheering fact that " work was plenty."

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 241
Unprofitable Servants.
A prominent lady of Wabash avenue had been
deserted by her servants as soon as it became cer
tain that the house was doomed ; they had gone off,
taking with them whatever they could lay their
hands on. She, her daughter, and her invalid hus
band, were alone in the house, and the flames were
rapidly approaching. There was not a moment to
spare, and the two women actually carried away in
their arms the sick man, and brought him in safety
beyond the reach of the fire.
Deep Grief.
Men, driven by that blind instinct which makes
them, though hopeless, return to the scene of that
disaster which has ruined them, sought the spots
where once their homes had stood, and sitting down
on some pieces of fallen timber, actually wept and
wrung their hands in anguish.
One of these wretched beings sought his home,
and, in stepping on a half-charred beam, caused it
to spring up, and from beneath it came a sickly
odor. He madly turned and pried away the timber,
and saw beneath it the dead body of his son; a young
man of about twenty years of age, who, probably
returning to the house to save something he prized,
had fallen in the flames and been burned to death
— roasted alive.
At another point a strong man sitting upon a

"242 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
wayside box, weeping like a child, his wife mean
while cheerily boiling coffee with some bits of the
unlaid Nicholson pavement, and his children play
ing hide and seek among the cast-out wares.
The Children.
The most pitiable sights were the sick children
half dead, lying crouched on the sidewalks, in many
cases with barely any covering on them. A pathetic
scene was noticed on the corner of La Salle and
Randolph streets, where two little girls were lying
terror-stricken by the side of their dead sister, whose
remains presented a harrowing spectacle. She had
been too late to escape from under a falling build
ing on Clark street, and had been extricated and
carried to the corner by her almost dead sisters.
At the Tremont House the elevator became use
less, and the sleeping guests, with a large number
of babies, hurried down stairs. The removal of
trunks and the hurrying of domestics impeded the
passageways. Several persons, in their eagerness,
jumped over the banisters and limped away. Others
in their haste left beneath their pillows, watches and
money, only discovering their losses, when they had
reached the Michigan Central Depot — then sup
posed to be a perfectly safe place. A crowd of per
sons hastened thither, some carrying beds, some
sewing machines, and one lady had six canary birds
in a cage in one hand, and an immense family Bible
in the other. She said: "I was determined to

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 243
bring these off, if I lost all the rest." Another
young woman was seen carrying two large paintings,
evidently those of her father and mother. She was
but partially clad, and amongst all her household
wealth, sought to preserve these filial mementos as
being to her most precious.
The Ludicrous.
Several incidents combine the pathetic with the
ridiculous. An Irish woman was seen tugging
along a half-grown pig, which kicked and squealed
with all its might, until the panting female, over
come by the flames, abandoned the animal to its
fate. A colored woman shouldered her week's wash
ing in a huge wicker-basket, and grabbed with the
other hand a frying-pan and some muffin-rings.
Huge cinders fell on the clean, starched clothes and
set them smoking. In this way the woman, already
half-beside herself with terror, trudged along for
several blocks, until the burning rags fell upon her
neck and caused her to look around. With a howl
of dismay and an expression of horror that can never
be reproduced, she dropped her burden and fled for
dear life. An immense Dutchman trundled a wheel
barrow along, loaded with a keg of lager beer, some
sausages and clothing. His wife and children fol
lowed, all laden with sundry articles, two dogs bring
ing up the rear. He toiled and puffed along until
the approach of the flames rendered more rapid
flight necessary. The wheelbarrow was then aban-

244 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
doned, but not until the beer-keg was opened and a
parting drink was taken all around.
Through the Tunnel.
At 2 o'clock on Monday morning, the people were
fleeing in desperate fury from the death fiend pur
suing in hot haste on flaming wings. The bridges
on both sides were on fire, and the flames were
writhing over the decks of the brigs in the river,
and winding their fierce arms of flame around the
masts and through the rigging, like a monstrous,
luminous devil-fish. The awful canopy of fire drew
down and closed over Water street, as the shrieking
multitude rushed for the tunnel — the only avenue
of escape. The gas works had already blown up,
and there was no light in any house, save the illumi
nation, which flamed up only to destroy. But into
the darkened cave rushed pell-mell, from all direc
tions, the frenzied crowd — bankers, thieves, dray
men, wives, children — in every stage of undress, as
they had leaped from burning lodgings, a howling,
imploring, cursing, praying, writhing mob, making
their desperate dive under the river. It was as
dark in the tunnel as it is in the centre of the earth,
Hundreds of the fugitives were laden with furniture.
household goods, utensils, loaves of bread and pieces
of meat, and their rush through the almost suffocating
tunnel was fearful in the extreme. ' They knocked.
each other down, and the strong trod on the help
less. Nothing was heard at the mouth of the

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 245
cavernous prison, but a muffled howl of rage
and anguish. Several came forth with broken
limbs and terrible bruises, as they scattered and
resumed their flight under the blazing sky to the
North Ward.

The Court House Bell, Chicago.
The court house bell, which for so many years
had given hourly warning of the flight of time
rung forth joyous peals in honor of military and
civil victories, told of the presence of fire in the
city, and sounded the death toll of the distinguished
dead, now lies an almost shapeless mass, surrounded
by heaps of brick, mortar and stone, in the east
wing of the court house. On the fatal Sunday night,
the old bell, even while surrounded by fire, sounded
a solemn, continuous and final peal ; and those who
heard it above the din produced by falling walls, the
hoarse roaring of the flames, the crackling of falling
embers, and the shouts and screams of alarmed
citizens, say they will never forget how awful the
sound appeared. Scarcely had the bell cooled after
the fire, when hundreds of curiosity hunters went
in search of it, armed with cold chisels and hammers.
As a consequence, about two-thirds of the metal has
disappeared. Pieces of it have sold at high figures,
while others have found their way by mail to neigh
boring cities, to be converted into rings, scarf pins,
brooches, etc.

246 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:

Labors of Love,
Amidst all the ruins and sufferings there were
many acts of love and charity to soften the hard
fate that had fallen upon the people. Many noble-
hearted ladies, bred to scenes of luxury and ease,
went about doing good with a zest rivalled only by
the energy of the men who resolved to rebuild their
city and their manufactories.
Grace Church, on Wabash avenue, is one of the
few buildings left standing, and with a true Christian
zeal the congregation turned it over to the Relief
Committee, for such uses as were deemed necessary.
Here, under the able management of the Rev. Dr.
Locke, were groups of ladies, delicately reared,
acting as the almoners of the world's rich bounty.
Most of the people who thronged about the, church
had been fed quite exclusively, since the fire, on
bread or crackers; the reception, therefore, of
cooked meat, baked beans, and other plain condi
ments, was peculiarly acceptable. Porters were
constantly entering, bearing in hats, aprons, pillowr
cases, baskets and barrels, supplies of food, which
were deposited in convenient places for distribution.
Generally the applicants represented families or
groups of friends, and though they solicited heavy
supplies, there was, thanks to the benevolence of
sister cities, a goodly portion for each.
This latter class hastened away to the temporary
lodgings, while others, who came for themselves,

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 247
received their share, and walking quietly from the
church, ate their food on the street.
There we saw Germans, Irish, Scandinavians,
Jews, Italians, and representatives of other nations,
laboring men and women, and children of all classes
of life, now reduced by hunger and poverty to a
common footing.
While this ceremony was attracting the attention
of the unfortunate in the church proper, the spa
cious chapel was filled by day with another party of
ladies, working into sandwiches the fresh bread and
sweet ham that had been received. These ladies
were principally Sabbath school teachers and the
daughters of leading citizens ; but their fine round
arms were bared to the work, and they shaved and
sliced as if their very lives depended on their activ
ity. In front of them filed a steady stream of little
children, with empty stomachs and ragged clothes, who
in regular turn received a hearty meal. These soon
after disporting themselves amid the adjacent ruins.
In the evening, however, we witnessed spectacles
in the chapel of the church which seemed more
touching than those of the day. As the sun went
down, and the air grew chilly little squads of men
and women, leading by the hand or bearing on the
arm, babes and children, marched timidly to the
porch, and asked permission to lie down during the*
night. Many of the benches had been removed,
and on the bared portion, cushions were stretched,
and the careworn visitors invited to make themselves
as comfortable as possible. Here, during hours

248 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
that appeared lengthened beyond measure, these
distressed people endeavored to catch a few moments
of repose. Some who had been vainly seeking
shelter for many days, slumbered heavily; others
groaned and started as delirious dreams grew in
their brain; while here and there, babes uttered
shrill cries for nourishment, and the sleep that came
tardily to them. At all hours of the night pilgrims
approached this Mecca, and by the time the sun
glanced through the windows, one would have made
slow progress in passing about the chapel.
Reflections and Suggestions.
Major D. C. Houston, of the Engineer Corps of
the U. S. army, published the following interesting
paper on the situation of Chicago.
" The spirit displayed by the business men of this
city in rebuilding is astonishing, and deserving of
the highest praise after a calamity so terrible as the
recent conflagration. That Chicago will rise again,
and not only resume her old position, but become
in time the first city on this continent, seems to me
to be as certain as the perpetuation of our govern
ment and the increase of our population.
" It should be borne in mind at this time, that
there were certain defects in the plan of Chicago,
arising from the rapidity of its construction, which
seemed beyond remedy, except at enormous cost;
but now it is possible, by considering the subject in
time, and taking advantage of the experience of

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 249
other cities, to make such re-arrangements as will
make the plan and accommodations of this city
suitable for the metropolis of America.
" The present burnt district, on the south side, is,
by universal consent, to become the centre of the
city, and every consideration indicates that it should
be so. Were the whole city to be laid out anew,
the natural features of the country and the railroad
communications would point to the south side as
the centre. The business operations will commence
here, and radiate, as heretofore, to the south, west,
and north, but more to the south, owing to the fact
that the communication is uninterrupted by natural
obstacles. Into this centre hundreds of thousands of
people will pour daily, coming from the residence por
tion of the city, the suburbs, and the whole country.
"There is always, in great cities, an immense
amount of time lost in going to and fro from busi
ness, and in the absence of proper accommodations
for doing business, after the business centre is
reached. Persons familiar with the city of New
York understand this fully. Two or three hours of
the day are consumed in travelling to and fro, and,
owing to the crowds in the streets, the contracted
markets and places of exchange, the time required
to transact business is doubled and trebled.
" Now the points which seem to me to be consid
ered at this time and to be fully provided for, are :
" 1. The laying out of certain lines for steam
communication from the centre of business to the
suburbs, to be so arranged as not to obstruct the

250 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
street travel, or be interrupted by it. This most
essential element of a modern metropolis can never
be secured or arranged for, so well as at present.
" 2. The arrangement of commodious and central
depots for the great lines of railroads centring in
the city.
"3. A commodious levee along the river for
pubhc docks, a grand market, a grand plaza, where
all can go without paying tribute. Instead of having
buildings built close down to the river bank, let
there be an open space on each side of the river
devoted to the above purposes.
"4. The great leading lines of business should
be consolidated or concentrated on certain streets
running north and south. There should be a finan
cial centre, a dry goods centre, a hardware centre,
etc. " 5. An open square for public meetings and out
door business. The Court House square suggests
itself at once. Let the court house go further
south and leave the present square open.
" Let it be surrounded by banks, brokers' offices,
etc., and there will be room for everybody. These
suggestions are hurriedly thrown out, but they
should be considered, and a committee representing
all interests, should be appointed to draw up a
scheme by which these desirable results can be
secured. In the rebuilding of the city these mat
ters can all be arranged for the benefit of all.
"The business portion of Chicago had already
become overcrowded with the street cars, omnibuses,

MASONIC TEMPLE, DEARBORN STREET.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 253
other vehicles, and foot passengers. The limit of
capacity had almost been reached.
" You believe in Chicago's future, and a few
minutes' reflection will convince any one that more
space is needed for the future, and that concentra
tion and co-operation on the part of business men
is necessary, to make the best use of the ground
now available." After the Fire.
On Friday, October 15th, 1871, people had so
collected themselves as to remember the ludicrous
scenes which occurred around them in the awful
hours of the burning. Then were called to mind
the man who fled with a single joint of stove-pipe
under his arm and left his papers to the flames ; and
the other man, who, abandoning his pictures escaped
with a feather dusting broom; and that tenderer
picture of the little girl who passed up Michigan
avenue, barefooted and bareheaded, struggling under
the weight of a box containing four new-born pup
pies. An eye-witness told us of the attempt to blow
up the building occupied by a clothing establish
ment, Brown & Hammond's, if I am not mistaken.
By some accident the fuse did not communicate with
the powder intended to do the work. Just after
the fuse had gone off, four thieves issued from the
building and deliberately walked away with their
arms full of clothing. Among the stories of extor
tion, we have heard this one. An undertaker with
15

254 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
f
a hearse attempted to charge fifteen dollars for con
veying a coffin from the burnt district over on to the
west side, and the corpse put his head out and re
monstrated. An enterprising Chicagoan, it appears,
had formed a plan of getting across the river at a
reasonable rate ; and so terrified was the undertaker
that the ruse succeeded beyond expectation. The
coffin was " dumped out " at its destination, and the
driver of the hearse never waited for any pay at all.
Saturday after the fire a rain-storm set in, fol
lowed by a terrific gale at sunset. All night long
the trees under our window rocked and wailed.
There can have been little sleep in the City until to
ward morning, when the wind abated. Some of the
most picturesque, and at the same time the most
dangerous, of the ruins were blown down. Sunday
opened a bright, cool day. The burnt districts were
early thronged with people in carriages, express-
wagons, omnibuses, and on foot. Every one, with
scarcely an exception, that I can remember, had a
clean, washed-up appearance. It must be that the
poorer sufferers by the fire did not visit the ruins on
Sunday, or else the charity of the outside world has
been swift, to clothe and cleanse them. So admir
able, indeed, have been the arrangements of the
relief committees, that one has to go to the churches
or other place of refuge for the homeless, to come
face to face with positive suffering.
The churches were thronged on this Sabbath
morning. Denominations and creeds were forgotten.
Societies whose regular places of worship had been

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 255
burned, met and were cordially received at the
churches yet standing. In some instances services
were held in the open air, in front of the ruined
sanctuaries. Just outside of what was once his
church, Robert Collyer is said to have spoken as
only he can speak. We could not get there until
the afternoon, when the neighborhood was almost
deserted. We were fortunate enough, however, to
be present at the services in front of one of the
Methodist churches. Nothing in modern times, I
think, has come so near to primitive Christianity in
circumstance and spirit, as this preaching of mutual
helpfulness in the face of universal loss and in that
desert of rains. Chicago by Moonlight.
Only the moon, just rising in the east, casts an
uncertain lustre over the scene. The busy men
are gone. Nothing is heard but the steady footfall
of the patrolman, or the quicker steps of some one
hurrying to reach his home. The ruined wall and
shattered masonry are softened and refined by the
clear, mild light. Dark nooks and deeply-shaded
recesses, which by daylight would lose their secrecy,
and be nothing but waste blanks, are in the even
ing full of the charm of mystery and of darkness.
Fancy peoples those secluded spots with the crea
tures of her imagination, and they seem fitting
homes for ghoul and afrit; — creatures who lurk
among the ruined tombs and devour the belated-
wanderers there. The long, black lines of pave-

256 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
ment stretch out into the infinite dim distance as if
they led to the quiet homes of the dead. Here
and there the vast bulk of undestroyed buildings
tower up, silent and uninhabited, like the watch-
towers which Vathek saw at Istakhar. Through
their open windows streams the moonlight, and half
hides and half reveals the fallen walls and shattered
floors within. There are inscriptions on them, but
it is too dark to spell out the names of supervisors
who tried to secure immortality, and have passed
successfully through this ordeal of fire.
In this indefinite light all things are old, and all
things are Strange. It is no longer Chicago, the
sky above is. clear and starry enough to look upon
the Rhine and Arno, instead of the Chicago river.
Telegraph posts are transfigured into burned and
branchless trees, and in this blue land of supreme
fancy, the prosaic and the commonplace have dis
appeared forever. There are slight, faint sounds,
which may be the imagined voices of the night, or
the pulsations of the lake, or the sighing of the
wind ; but there is no hum of myriads, no many-
voiced utterances of men.
Yonder, burnt and bruised and blackened, stands
the church, its pealing organ stilled forever.
Through its gaping portals no more wedding parties
shall pass. It has buried its last dead, and there it
remains its own monument. Those who have been
baptized there are scattered far and wide, and have
forgotten the font over which they were once held.
The young men vho, in the intoxicfttion of first

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 257
love, followed their sweethearts there, and endured
the sermon for the sake of being near the beloved,
have outlived the passionate ardor of them, and will
not regret the ruined sanctuary, which, to them, was
the temple of Cupid, and not of Jehovah. The
light glancing through the wide window, falls full
upon the untouched memorial of marble. All the
artificial aid to devotion, the cushioned pews, the
soft foot stools, the elegantly bound books, have dis
appeared, but it remains, unmoved, while all around
is in ruins. The monuments of the dead outlast by
far the homes of the living. Here there is no feel
ing of newness. It might be a page taken from
middle age history. Cowled and girdled monks, or
corpulent friars, might have dwelt there, and the
odor that one perceives might be a reminiscence of
frankincense and myrrh, consumed in swinging
censers, rather than »that peculiar smell which fol
lows a fire. It is so dark that one cannot see the
ivy on the walls, but one knows that it is there, and
if it were not so hackneyed, one would be apt to
quote certain lines concerning Melrose Abbey. But
on such occasions people do not express their feel
ings in the words of another. They do not seek to
express them at all, but float along idly, borne by
the current of their thoughts, like a boat drifting
on the bosom of the river.
At another point one can faintly distinguish
twisted and distorted iron beams, half covering and
half covered by massive blocks of stone. There
they lie, in one chaotic mass, dumb witnesses

258 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
of some terrible conflict. By the light of day
we could tell how recent had been their over
throw; but now, by the uncertain beams of the
moon, we cannot tell but what they are 'as venerable
as the world itself, and sitting there, we can recon
struct them as we will. Story by story rises the
airy pile. Bright lights gleam from its windows,
and strains of music mingle with the tread of the
feet that cross its marble floors. But the flickering
flame, still fitfully burning in the centre of the ruins,
suddenly dies out, and the lights disappear, and the
building goes down as suddenly as it rose; and with
it, the guests that thronged its halls. Beyond it is
something that was once a pile of wheat. Now it is
a hill which dwarfs those in Lincoln Park, and from
its sides come intermittent jets of fire and smoke.
Were it only higher, then imagination could easily
convert it into a new Vesuvius.' Its flames serve to
light up the building beyond, and cast a dim, un
certain glare upon the river, a rival of the light
house, and an unsafe guide for sailors.
It is a great pity, for purely artistic reasons, that
there are not more walls standing. These poor
half-story remnants have not half the pathos of a
building, which, destroyed within, still uprears itself
and bids defiance to fate. It is a blind Samson, but
a Samson still powerful for good or evil ; and the
architect will come along in the morning, and will
scan the vast, though scarred proportions, and will
dose him with bricks and mortar, and whitewash
him, and restore his flowing locks — to wit, put a

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 259
Mansard roof on him, and he will look about as
good as new, though the traces of the wounds are
still visible, if you only know where to look for
them ; or else the Fire Marshal will order the walls
to come down, and, in the act of doing it", two or
three Philistines will be slain, and the coroner will
be called upon to hold an inquest, and will find a
difficulty in doing so, since the county is too poor to
pay twenty-five cents per head to jurymen, and
there are no more inducements to accept the posi
tion. For office seeking is at an end for the moment,
and when the court house was burned, more than
half the candidates promptly withdrew. To these
buildings, thus left partly standing, there is a won.
derful expression, varying with their condition.
There are those which seem to implore, and those
which seem to threaten. Some are weary of the
contest with fortune, while others are still obdurate,
and unwilling to give way; but about these odds
and ends of brick and mortar there is no expression
whatever. No life remains in them, and nothing
can lend them the power to charm. But the eye
lingers fondly over hanging cornices and projecting
pinnacles, one moment bright with the moon, and
then shading away into darkness.
Over to the left there is nothing. There no walls
remain, and the eye can distinguish nothing but a
succession of slight hollows and slight elevations.
It might have been anything — a water- washed field,
or a space of ground, on which had been de
posited dust heaps or the refuse of a furnace.

260 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
Beyond that lies a black chasm where the river
flows, and as one gets nearer, the gleam of the
moonlight upon the waves at once changes the char
acter of the scene. Then there was a dark abyss,
beyond which grimly rose a long vista of half-
destroyed and threatening walls. Now, the glancing
and sparkling waters have dispelled the loneliness
and wildness of the spot. For who can feel solitary
when he is near a stream that is pure enough to
mirror the firmament in its bosom, and whose slight,
inarticulate noises furnish him company, and invite
him, like the song of the sirens, to come nigher and
nigher 1 While the brook is a child, with which
one laughs and babbles, the river is a full-grown
man, wherewith we can hold reasonable converse,
and wherefrom we can gain rare information, to be
found nowhere else. For a moment the moon is
eclipsed, and the powers of night have fully resumed
their control. By the dim starlight, one can see
only the vaguely outlined forms of objects near at
hand. The river has gone from sight, and the
buildings beyond are swallowed up in the darkness.
Far away are the blazing coal heaps, burning up
like mimic volcanoes, and farther yet, the gas lamps
of the west side ; but they seem infinitely remote,
and on the verge of the horizon of the night. All
other sights, all sounds, have died away, and there
remains only a sense of desolation and ruin, so
great and terrible that one can linger no longer, but
gropes his way as best he can back to the light, and
the homes of men.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 261

The Spine of Chicago,
A son of Mayor Mason was engaged in the stove
business and was at Troy, New York, at the time
of the fire, he returned to Chicago, arriving Tues
day morning. The Troy Times tells what he did in
view of the calamity :
" He is a young man and just commenced busi
ness life. Married a little over a year ago, he was
established in a prosperous stove trade, and had just
completed a new house for himself and wife. Every
thing was swept away, except his wedding presents,
which were at the house of his father. This house
was saved. The fires were hardly out before young
Mason gathered these presents together and started
with them for New York. He sold them to Tiffany
& Co. for $5,000. With this money he will now
re-establish himself, opening a store, at present, in
the basement of his father's elegant residence. A
car load of stoves was shipped to him on Saturday.
The young man shows the real Chicago pluck."
Another instance is shown in the following dis
patch of a merchant whose wife and family were in
New York. The telegraph was not in operation
until Tuesday, when among the first business was
the following : "Mrs.  ,
«  Hotel, N. York.

" Store and contents, dwelling and everything lost.
Insurance worthless. See  , immediately; tell

262 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
him to buy all the coffee he can get and ship it this
afternoon by express. Don't cry."

Wanted to see the Ruins.
The following story is said to be literally true,
and serves to explain how the dashing enterprise of
this city is appreciated in the rival cities :
At the East St. Louis depot on last Monday eve
ning, considerable confusion occurred among the
passengers who were boarding the passenger train
for Chicago, by an individual, carpet-bag in hand,
and very much excited, shoving and pushing the
crowd in his desperate efforts to reach the cars.
He crowded aside and elbowed men, women, and
children, making a nuisance of himself generally.
Finally a gentleman whose ribs had been crushed
by the excited man's elbows, and his temper ruffled
by the unceremonious manner in which he had been
bustled, inquired in sharp tones :
"What the devil is the matter with you, old
fellow?" Individual in a hurry. " Must get that train."
Other Man. " Well, there is plenty of time —
the train does not start for ten minutes; and,
besides, there are several other people here who
want that train."
Excited Individual. " I must get that train, and
that's fixed. I'll get that train if it costs me my
life."

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 283
Other Man. " What in h — 1 is the necessity of
your reaching Chicago by this train, anyway V
Man in a Surry. " I must get to Chicago to-mor
row on this train, or those people up there will have
built up the whole d  d town again, and I won't
see them ruins  !"

ANOTHER.
On the Monday morning of the fire, at about 6
o'clock, at which hour the Tribune Building was
considered safe, and the people began flocking into
Dearborn street, a man was observed carefully
examining the bricks of the ruins of Reynolds'
Block, picking them up carefully and "feeling"
them. An observer asked him to explain his conduct,
when he replied :
" I was just seeing if they were cool enough to
build with again !"

Announcements.
Following the fire, the sense of ruin and pros
tration soon gave way to that other spirit which
makes the best of every thing. During Wednesday,
and the few days that followed, boards were stuck
by each man amid the ruins of his place of business
with a sign, stating where he would be found " until
this building can be rebuilt." Some of the signs

264 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
were facetious. One^of them by a real estate dealer
read: — "Everything lost but wife, baby and energy.
Office, No.  Canal street."
Wood's Museum was wholly destroyed, and con
spicuously upon the bricks was placed a sign, in
scribed :

"COL.

WOOD'S MUSEUM.

Standing

ROOM ONLY.

R. MARSH,

Treasurer."
Another sign read :
" Owing to circumstances over which we have no
control, we have removed."
Carl Pretzel, the publisher of the broken English-
German Magazine, had upon the ruins of his place
of business this legend :
" Carl Pretzel, gon avay."
A Mournful Case.
One of the numerous correspondents of Eastern
papers, writing from this city, relates the following
incident, which is substantially true :
ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 265
" But by far the saddest case here was that of a
beautiful and refined woman, known, I understand,
in art and operatic circles, whose husband is missing,
and who escaped herself in only a night-wrapper,
was driven to distraction by the terrors of the wild
flight, and was picked up in Lincoln Park in a
state of more than half insanity. In the direst
need of care from her own sex, ready to die, almost,
from extreme exhaustion, and wandering in mind
most of the time, she had received last night only
the nursing and help which two men could give,
and now lay on a pallet upon the church floor,
directly behind the rear pew on one side.
" A young woman cared for her during the day,
but at night female imagination lent partial in
sanity too great terrors, and care which should have
fallen to womanly sympathy devolved on the rude
though kind and skilled hands of men. The man
whose brave and clear head gave him chief charge
had had experience in a hospital ; but it was pitiful
that womanly protection should not be at hand, and
that the couch of such a sufferer should not be ten
derly spread under a private roof. Unhappily, the
. entire length of burnt Chicago intervened between
all these sufferers, on the north side, and that part
of the city where suitable care could have been
secured for them."
This accomplished lady was carried from her resi
dence in delicate health, and eventually found
refuge in a German Lutheran Church, spared by
the fire, several miles from her residence. A gen-

266 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
tleman residing in that neighborhood discovered her
among the destitute, who had fled to the building
for shelter. He carried her to his own house,
where she had every care and attention that kind
ness and skill could provide. But all was unavail
ing. On Sunday morning she died. The shock to
her mental faculties had been too severe, and kind
ness and care had come too late. Her husband was
not at home when the fire attacked her residence,
nor did he find her until Thursday. This lady be
longed to a gifted family — one historically identified
with the opera in the United States.
Mrs. Lander.
The accomplished Mrs. Lander, who was stopping
at the Sherman House on the night of the fire,
was forced to fly. She procured the assistance of a
friend, and together they dragged or carried a
couple of trunks from the burning hotel, and a few
hours later, found a safe resting place a mile dis
tant. In a letter to a lady friend, written on the
Sunday after the fire, she thus sketches the dread
ful night, and gives an exposition of the indomita
ble energy of the people of the city :
" My Dear Friend :
A word from me, with an assurance of my
mother's and my own safety, will perhaps be wel
come. In the hurry of the alarm, at the dead of
night, the sparks and flakes of fire, thicker than

.ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 267
the heaviest flakes of an Eastern snow-storm, cared
for by an entire stranger, we escaped to the shelter
of a friend's roof, a mile beyond, where at last the
fire was checked; and now a week has passed, yet
our nerves are not quieted. Constant alarms of
fresh fires keep us anxious and excited. Every
block provides its own patrol guard. Every passerby,
after nightfall, is stopped and questioned, such
is the dread of incendiarism. We have no gas,
but none is needed; the immense piles of grain
(2,500,000 bushels) in what were the limits of
great grain elevators, and the heaps of coal in the
storeyards, the smaller heaps in each coal cellar,
with their respective yellow and blue flames re
flected in the clouds over the burned and unburned
streets, light with a fearful red glare, suggesting,
where the clouds hang low and heavy, new cause
for alarm.
" Think ! Four square miles of thickly populated,
and on the business side, densely-built streets.
First the business offices of the great merchants
of this great electric business-mart, then their
luxurious homes on the north side, homes in which
treasures of the Old World were collected, pic
tures, sculpture, books, and gems, combined with
the workmanship and products of the New World ;
costly carving, rich furniture, carriages, horses — the
estimate in all cannot fall short of one thousand
millions — all swept away by the accidental overturn
of a lamp in a little Bohemian shanty or cow-shed.
It seems inconceivable how the fire could at first

268 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
have been fed. Amid low one or two-story build
ings, through two blocks on the west side, it began,
the wind helping from the southwest. It scorched,
but left the larger building?, to return when rein
forced by flames from the bridge and shipping, and
lumber and coal yards. Then the big flakes of fire
and flame crossed the river, taking a diagonal course
over the south side, seizing all in its way to the
court house, passing the new Pacific Hotel (nearly
finished), and sweeping the Sherman House and all
between the square and the river. Crossing the
street, the whirlwind of flame drew into its circle
block after block to the right. Hooley's Opera
House to Dearborn street, First National Bank,
showered its flakes on the Tremont House, followed
on to the Illinois Central depot and the lake, seizing
on the lower end of State street and Wabash and
Michigan avenues. Then came the marvel : in the
teeth of a hurricane of wind, the fire-fiend ate its
way in great swirls of flame backward, where people
had rested and goods were heaped to the windward
' of all barm.' It pushed back and back, until
men, women and children, the sick and the aged,
teams, carriages drawn by horses or men, ladon
down with goods, were fleeing away, many nevor
stopping until the southern limits of the city were
reached. Wild rumors of the rapidity of the com
ing flames caused doubt a mile from the fire. At
last, by trusting to Sheridan, and blowing up a few
insignificant buildings, the scourge was stopped to
the south. But, in the mearitime, what had it done

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND COURT-HOUSE.

POST-OFFICE AND CUSTOM-HOUSt.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 271
north 1 While the men had been fighting the
flames round their business houses, and the few,
comparatively few, houses of their friends, the flames
had recrossed the river, burning away all the
bridges, forming impassable volcanoes of fire to their
homes, surprising, in many instances the unguarded
inmates. If at the south the horror was felt, it
yielded in all respects to the terrors of the north
side of the city ; here it was striven against — there
it revelled unchecked.
" Nothing but the destruction of Pompeii can out
line the savageness and rapidity of its career. It fed
on everything — the Nicholson pavement of the
streets, the sidewalks, the fences; for example, one
instance in many, a lady and her children took
refuge four times, and four times that flaming sword
pointed "onward!" until she found shelterless safety,
with hundreds of others, five miles from home, on
the open prairie, where they passed the fearful
"night. Others were surrounded by the fire and
rushed into the lake, where, by plunging under the
water as the heat became unbearable, they saved
their own and children's lives. Again, delicate
women fled along the streets, their footsteps lickei'.
by the dogging flames, igniting their hastily- donne I
clothing. *A cry! a stop! and the fire is put out by
some friendly hand; that brief stop is almost fatal,
and the utmost speed is needed to regain lost ground
in this race for life. Into the old graveyard — over
the graves of the dead — fled the living, as through
the dry grass and over the fences and trees crept or
16

272 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
leaped their enemy, beyond all houses, into Lincoln
Park, on to the barren lake shore ; and there, ex
hausted, they sank thankful on the sand.
" But in this struggle what became of the weak,
sick and infirm among the thousands of families
turned out on that pitiless night, separated, and
lost — how many forever in time 1 Weeks must be
past before the sad list can be completed. What
stayed the fire on that side God knows.
" And now, after this visitation — in which court
house, churches, water works, gas house, depots,
hotels, theatres, post office, telegraph, wholesale
and retail stores, grain elevators, breweries and over
30,000 houses were destroyed, and 150,000 people
left homeless — see the hopefulness, energy, and
cheerful determination of everybody. Men have
sketched plans for their new buildings by the light
of the element destroying their old ones. No
despondency, even with a conviction of bankrupt
insurance companies staring them in the face. Even
the most sanguine repudiate the idea of insurance
money for destruction on so large a scale ; and
imagine how their hearts warmed ,and throbbed
when communication with the outer world was
re-established, when the sympathy and aid of the
whole nation — the whole world — was theirs. The
first telegram flashed over the restored wires from
St. Louis was followed by others from city after
city ; before the fires had ceased raging, trains laden
with food and clothing arrived, and now relief is
pouring in a steady stream.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 273
" To-morrow morning at 10 o'clock all the banks
resume business. Insurance offices are ready to pay
all demands, the ruins are being cleared off, a hun
dred wooden buildings are already a story high for
temporary use ; on Thursday water is promised, in
a week gas ; and while the city will be rebuilt, the
Chicago Aid and Relief Society will supply shelter
in wooden barricks, and administer to the needy
and sick the funds so lavishly bestowed.."
Escape and Death.
The clearing away of the debris has disclosed the
fact that the loss of life has been much greater than
was supposed. Nothing but business blocks have
yet been searched, and the number of bodies found
exceed 300. When the sites of the many thousand
of dwellings shall be explored, the additions to this
number, it is now feared, will be astounding. Recent
facts disclose the tragio end of a well known citizen,
the particulars of which are in themselves but the
history of hundreds of cases.
Mr. John E. Donovan removed to Chicago some
years ago from Sauk county, Wisconsin, where he
had served as sheriff of the county, and where he
was well known. In this city he had for several
years been known as the lessee of Pope's Block,
adjoining the new Open Board Building. At the
time of the fire he was stopping with his wife and
child (a little girl about two years old) in the Post
Office Block, on the corner of Dearborn and Mon-

274 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
roe. streets, east of the post office. During Sunday
night Mr. Donovan had watched the burning of the
main portion of the business centre of the city; had
witnessed the burning of Pope's Block, Farwell
Hall, Board of Trade, Court House, Sherman House,
etc., having in his own mind concluded that the
Post Office Block would not burn. But in the
morning the fire had assumed such a shape that it
at once became apparent that the block could not be
saved. He then removed his wife and child to a
place of safety on the corner of State and Monroe
streets, while he returned to his room to secure some
papers. What followed will appear from the fol
lowing letter from Mrs. Ackley, the last person, so
far as is known, who saw Mr. Donovan :
Wyoming, Jones County, Iowa,
November 19, 1871.
Mrs. Donovan: Dear Madam: — I regret that
your letter was not receive.d sooner, I sympathize
with you, and would be glad to give you something
definite regarding your husband if possible. All I
can say is that, just before the building burned, I
went up to my room, leaving my son Jesse on State
street to watch my trunks. In a few minutes a
man came up and told me to leave the building
immediately, saying, " Those old stables are all on
fire." I supposed he meant those wooden buildings
in the rear of the block, but looking out I saw no
fire, and did not think be meant the buildings oppo
site, on Monroe street I then stepped into your

its past, present and future. 275
room, No. 29, seeing Mr. Donovan there, and said
to him, " that man is more scared than hurt," to
which he replied, " that is just what I think— I
don't see any fire." The man, speaking as he did,
using the word "stables," is what deceived Mr.
Donovan, as well as myself. This is all the conver
sation I had with him. I cannot tell positively
whether he had anything in his hands or not — he
was standing or walking in about the middle of the
room. I saw him no more. On going to my room
my boy came running in perfectly wild with fright,
saying, " Mother, you will be burned alive here !"
We ran down the Monroe street stairway ; in the
excitement I never thought to stop at your room
and ought to have called to Mr. Donovan, but you
know how it is at such times. We ran to The
Tribune corner, and found ourselves in a situation
where suffocation seemed inevitable. When we
went on Monroe street it was black with smoke.
Jesse says it was when he came up, and he says he
did not see any one either in the building nor in
street. I did not see any one. I did not think of
anything but being burned alive. The fire was
coming on us from the opposite side of Monroe
street. I cannot tell whether our building was then
on fire, but Jesse said : " We cannot go to the trunks
— we must go down Dearborn street." It was hot
on the street. We kept on our side of Monroe
street, ran around the corner, and down the east
side of Dearborn " street until we reached The
Tribune office. Jesse says he looked back when in

276 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
range of McVicker's Theatre, and he says (but you
must not rely too much on it) that he thinks that
the Post Office Block was then on fire — at least, he
says, there was a fearful body of fire back of us. I
cannot remember as well as he can. The only way
of escape for us from The Tribune corner was along
Madison street to the Madison street bridge. This
was a fearful journey — beyond description. All this
distance, of about seven blocks, had just been burned
down, and the smoke and heat and wind, and some
times the flames, were terrible. I saw no one but
men, and their faces were as white as this paper. I
do not give up easy, but if a gentleman, escaping the
same way had not helped me, I should never have
got over the hot piles of brick burning my feet, and
the hot coiled telegraph wires tripping me at every
step. I lost everything but the clothes I wore. Mrs.
Donovan, my heart aches for you ! I presume this
letter does not contain one grain of anything satis
factory ; if you do find your husband, please write
to me the particulars. Very truly, Mrs. Ackley.
Nothing further was known concerning the fate
of Mr. Donovan until Saturday, November 18th,
when the workmen in The Tribune Building found
the remains of two men. Their bodies lay under
the pavement, on the north side of the building, and
about thirty feet east of Dearborn street. About
five feet from the door which led into this "News

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 217
boys' room," lay the body of Joseph P. Stubbs, a
young man who had recently come to the city, and
who was associate editor of one of our daily papers
at the time of his death ; ancl beyond him, about ten
feet to the east, was found the body of John E.
Donovan. Both men were found with their heads
to the east, their hair burned, features destroyed,
and limbs consumed. The broken pavement fell
on these bodies, and the watch taken from Mr.
Donovan's pocket was crushed, and stopped at 18
minutes to 10. Under this pavement then, these
men had been driven for safety — where, doubtless,
they were secure, until the expanding of the iron
joists caused the north wall of The Tribune
Building to fall, crushing them instantly.
Mr. Donovan was held in high esteem by all who
knew him. A friend informs us that he often heard
him express his confidence that The Tribune
Building needed no insurance, because it could not
be destroyed by fire. Driven to the corner of Dear
born and Madison streets, as he must have been
very soon after Mrs. Ackley's escape, in that awful
moment he chose the protection of this building to
the desperate chance through burning ruins for the
distance of more than half a mile.
The Petroleum Stone.
Since the fire there have been numerous publica
tions of a statement to the effect that a large pro
portion of the stone used in building in Chicago

278 the great conflagration-^— Chicago:
was charged with petroleum; that this exuding
from the stone presented an inviting material to the
fire, and that the sudden wreck of the buildings
was occasioned by the consumption of this inflam
mable petroleum stone. A writer in Chambers'
Journal of Science relates that an immense deposit
.of this kind of stone lies within a few miles of
Chicago, and that the quantity of ore contained in
a few square yards of the rock is great. This para
graph in Chambers, has been made the most of
by the sensationalists. A city built of stone from
which petroleum is forever exuding ! It would be
a marvel, if true ; it would be intensely disagreeable
if the fact was as stated, and it would be an admira
bly devised means of spreading fire from house to
house. Now for the facts.
The stone used in building in the city was mainly
what is known as Athens, or Illinois marble. It is
found in large quantities between this city and
Joliet, and large quarries have been opened along
the canal. This stone is used for ordinary walls,
for curbing, for flagging for sidewalks, and for the
polished and ornamented fronts of buildings. It is
easily worked, is abundant, admits of a handsome
polish, and was the general material used. There
was used also, but not until lately, a somewhat simi
lar stone, a shade or two darker, and known as the
Cleveland stone. A few buildings were constructed
of a harder stone, brought from Lockport, New
York. A half dozen others were made of a stone
manufactured by machinery, and there were two

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 279
others going up, which were using a deep red sand
stone from Lake Superior.
There was but one building of any size built of
what has now been called petroleum stone. This
was the Second Presbyterian Church, on the corner
of- Wabash avenue and Washington street. The
petroleum part of the story is due to the fact that
the rock is deeply mottled, from a strong gray to a
deep dull black. The obscuration of the natural
color is owing to what seems to be an exudation of
dark matter. If this be an exudation, it is inex
haustible, for this church has been built nearly
twenty-five years, and there has never been any
change in its appearance.
The quarry from which this stone is obtained is
situated in the northwestern part of the city, and
the stone was used largely for foundation walls.
When the oil- wells were discovered in Pennsyl
vania, it occurred to some persons that this exuda
tion upon the stone might be an indication of oil.
As a speculation the property was purchased, and
boring commenced. At a depth of several hundred
feet the drill struck water ! and from that well, ever
since, during the six or more years that have inter
vened, there has been a copious flood of pure water,
but not the slightest indication of oil ! Not a grease
spot has ever been discovered. Another well was
subsequently sunk, and to a greater depth, but
water and not oil has been the result. The petro
leum theory was thus effectually exploded, and was

280 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
forgotten until it was revived by the sensationalists
after the fire.
Another fact, showing the absurdity of the story
of petroleum-bearing rock spreading the flames, or
occasioning the instant melting down of stone walls,
is that the walls of the only large building in the
city, built of that stone, did not crumble or fall
down under the heat, but survived the conflagration
in all their integrity.
The true cause of the destruction of the stone
walls was that the gale operated with the force of
the blow pipe, intensifying the heat to that degree,
that nothing could resist it.
Generous in Danger.
Mr. Kerfoot, son of the late Dr. Kerfoot, of Penn
sylvania, gives the following graphic account of his
escape from the fire with his wife and children:
" Being the owner of a horse and carriage which I
used to go to and fro from my business, when I
became satisfied that my house would soon be en
veloped, I brought my horse and carriage before the
house, and placed my wife and children in it. There
was no room for me, so I mounted the back of the
animal and acted as postilion. While driving
through the flame and smoke- which enveloped us
'on all hands, I came across a gentleman who had
his wife in a buggy, and was between the thills
hauling it himself. I shouted to him to hitch his
carriage or Vhind mine, which he did, and then

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 281
got in beside his wife. I then drove forward as
fast as I could, for the flames were raging around
us. After proceeding a short distance, another
gentleman was found standing beside the street,
with a carriage, waiting for a horse, which was not
likely to come. I directed him to fasten on behind
the second carriage, which he did, and in this way
we whipped up and got out of the way of the flames
with our wives and children, thank God."

The Views of an Expert.
Frederick Law Olmstead, Esq., writes a long let
ter to the N. Y. Nation under date of November
2d, from which we take the following :
"I have had an opportunity of looking at Chi
cago at the beginning of the fourth week after jthe
fire, and, as you requested, will give you a few
notes of my observation.
" Chicago had a central quarter, compactly built,
mostly of brick, stone, and iron, and distinguished
by numerous very large and tall structures, com
parable to, but often more ostentatious than, Stew
art's store in New York. They were mostly lined,
to the fourth, fiffh, or sixth floor, with pine-wood
shelves, on which, or in pine-wood cases, a fresh
stock of — larger at the moment than ever before —
dry goods, or other inflammable materials, was set
up, with plentiful air-space for rapid combustion.
This central quarter occupied a mile and a half

282 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION  CHICAGO:
square of land. On one side of it was the lake; on
the other three sides, for the distance of a mile, the
building, though irregular, was largely of detached
houses, some of the villa class, with small planted
grounds about them, and luxuriously furnished, but
generally comfortable dwellings, of moderate size,
set closely together. There were also numerous
churches and tall school buildings, and some large
factories. At a distance of two miles from the
centre, and beyond, houses were much scattered,
and within a mile of the political boundary there
was much open prairie, sparsely dotted with cabins
and a few larger buildings. It will be seen that a
much larger part of the town proper was burned
than a stranger would be led to suppose by the
published maps.
" The fire started half a mile southwest, which
was directly to windward, of the central quarter,
rapidly carried its heights, and swept down from
them upon the comparatively suburban northern
quarter, clearing it to the outskirts, where the few
scattered houses remaining were protected by a
dense grove of trees. The field of ruin is a mile
in width, bounded by the lake on one side and
mainly by a branch of the river on the other, and
four miles in length, thus being as large as the half
of New York City from the Battery to the Central
Park, or as the whole of the peninsula of Boston.
The houses burned set ten feet apart would form a
row over a hundred miles in length. I judge that
more than a third of the roof-space and fully half

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 283
the floor-space of the city, the population of which
was 330,000, was destroyed.
"Familiar with these facts and comparisons
before I came here, and having already seen many
who had left the city since the fire, I now feel my
self to have been able but slightly to appreciate the
magnitude of its calamity. Besides the extent of
the ruins, what is most remarkable is the complete
ness with which the fire did its work, as shown by
the prostration of the ruins and the extraordinary
absence of smoke-stains, brands, and all debris, ex
cept stone, brick, and iron, bleached to an ashey
pallor. The distinguishing smell of the ruins is
that of charred earth. In not more than a dozen
cases have the four walls of any of the great blocks,
or of any buildings, been left standing together. It
is the exception to find even a single corner or
chimney holding together to a height of more than
twenty feet. It has been possible, from the top of
an omnibus, to see men standing on the ground
three miles away across what was the densest, lofti
est, and most substantial part of the city.
" Generally, the walls seem to have crumbled in
from top to bottom, nothing remaining but a broad
low heap of rubbish in the cellar — so low as to be
overlooked from the pavement. Granite, all sand
stones and all limestones, whenever fully exposed
to the southwest, are generally flaked and scaled,
and blocks, sometimes two and three feet thick,
are cracked through and through. Marble and
other limestones, where especially exposed, as in

284 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
doors and window-dressings, especially if in thin
slabs, have often fallen to powder. Walls of the
bituminous limestone, of which there were but few,
instead of melting away, as was reported, seem to
have stood rather better than others ; I cannot tell
why. Iron railings and lamp-post, detached from
buildings, are often drooping, and, in thinner parts,
seem sometimes to have been fused. Iron columns
and floor-beams are often bent to a half-circle.
The wooden (Nicholson) asphalt-and-tar-concrete
pavements remain essentially unharmed, except
where red-hot material or burning liquids have
lain upon them. Street rails on wood are generally
in good order ; on McAdam, as far as I have seen,
more often badly warped.
# * # * *
" You ask whether it is in the power of man ade
quately to guard against such calamities — whether
other great cities are as much exposed as was
Chicago'? All the circumstances- are not established
with sufficient accuracy for a final answer, and one
cannot, in the present condition of affairs, make full
inquiries of men who must be best informed ; but to
such preliminary discussion as is in order, I can
offer a certain contribution.
" The prevailing drought was, I think, a less im
portant element of the fire in Chicago — whatever
may have been the case as to those other almost
more terrific fires which occurred simultaneously in
Wisconsin and Michigan — than is generally as
sumed ; yet doubtless it was of some consequence.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 285
As to the degree of it, I learn that there had been
no heavy rain since the 3d of July, and, during this
period of three months, it is stated by Dr. Rauch,
the Sanitary Superintendent, the total rain-fall had
been but two and a half inches. The mean annual
rain-fall at Chicago is thirty-one inches. With re
gard to the cause of the drought, it is to be con
sidered that millions of acres of land hereabouts, on
which trees were scarce, have been settled within
thirty years by people whose habits had been
formed in regions where woods abound. They have
used much timber for building, for fencing, rail
roads, and fuel. They have grown none. They are
planting none to speak of. The same is true of
nearly all parts of our country in which a great de
struction of forests has occurred or is occurring. If
the reduction of foliage in any considerable geo
graphical division of the world tends to make its
seasons capricious, as there is much evidence, the
evil both of destructive droughts and devastating
floods is very likely to extend and increase until we
have a government service which we dare trust with
extensive remedial measures. It is not a matter
which commerce can be expected to regulate.
" I can obtain no scientifically definite statement
of the force of the wind. Several whom I have
questioned recollect that they found it difficult,
sometimes for a moment impossible, to make head
against it; but I think that no year passes that
some of our cities do not experience as strong a
gale, and that every city in the country must ex-

286 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
pect to find equal dryness coinciding with equal
force of wind as often, at least, as once in twenty
years. " The origin of the fire was probably a common
place accident. The 'fire started in a wooden build
ing and moved rapidly from one to another, close at
hand, until the extended surface of quickly-burning
material heated a very large volume of the atmos
phere, giving rise to local currents, which, driving
brands upon the heated roofs and cornices of the tall
buildings to leeward, set them on fire, and through
the rapid combustion of their contents, loosely piled
tier upon tier, developed a degree of heat so intense
that ordinary means of resistance to it proved of no
avail." Personal Experience of Hon. I. N. Arnold,
The adventures of Hon. I. N. Arnold, formerly
member of Congress, on the eventful night of the
fire, were very exciting, but probably not more so
than those of thousands of others. His story,
which he contributed to the Chicago journals, is
therefore the story of many others, and will serve
to illustrate some of the terrors of that fearful
night :
Mr. Arnold's house was situated almost in the
centre of a block, and surrounded by a garden
which the owner believed afforded ample protection
against the approach of the fiery foe. Accordingly
no attempt was made to save any of his valuables,
but the efforts of his household, consisting of him-

SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

SHEPHARD BLOCK, DEARBORN STREET.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 289
self, three children, and the servants, were directed
towards protecting the house, in which they were
for a time successful. The narrator says: "During
all this time the fire fell in torrents; there was
literally a rain of fire. It caught in the dry leaves ;
it caught in the grass ; in the barn ; in the piazza ;
and as often as it caught it was put out, before it
got any headway. When the barn first caught, the
horses and cows were removed to the lawn. The
fight was continued, and with success, until three
o'clock in the morning. Every moment flakes of
fire falling, touching dry wood, with the high wind,
would kindle into a blaze, and the next instant
would be extinguished. The contest after 3 o'clock
grew warmer and more fierce, and those who fought
the devouring element were becoming exhausted.
The contest had been going on from half past one
until. after three, when young Arthur Arnold, a lad
of thirteen, called to his father. ' The barn and
hay are on fire1?' 'The leaves are on fire on the
east side,' said the gardener. ' The front piazza is
in a blaze,' cried another, ' the front greenhouse is
in flames, and the roof on fire.' ' The water has
stopped!' was the last appalling announcement.
' Now, for the first time,' said Mr. A., ' I gave up
hope of saving my home, and considered whether
we could save any of the contents. My pictures,
papers and books, can I save any of them V An
effort was made to cut down some portraits, a land
scape of Kensett, Otsego Lake, by Mignot — it was
too late! Seizing a bundle of papers, gathering
17

290 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
the children and servants together, and, leading
forth the animals, they started. But where to go 1
They were surrounded by fire on three sides ; to
the south, west and north raged the flames, making
a wall of fire and smoke from the ground to the
sky; their only escape was east to the lake shore.
Leading the horses and cow, they went to the
beach. Here were thousands of fugitives hemmed
in, and imprisoned by the raging element. The
sands, from the Government pier north to Lill's
pier, a distance of three-quarters of a mile, were
covered with men, women, and children, some
half clad, in every variety of dress, with the motley
collection of things which they sought to save.
Some had silver, some valuable papers, some pic
tures, some old carpets, beds, etc. One little child
had her doll tenderly pressed in her arms, an old
woman a grunting pig, a fat woman had two large
pillows, as portly as herself, which she had ap
parently snatched from her bed when she left.
There was a singular mingling of the awful, the
ludicrous, and the pathetic."
Mrs. Arnold and her little daughter, Alice, had
been sent away to the residence of Mrs. Scudder,
and the party were accordingly separated, a circum
stance which added to the anxiety of the wander
ers. After toiling along W. B. Ogden's pier, they
hired a small row boat and were conveyed to the
light house, where they were cordially received
by the authorities, and other refugees who had

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 291
preceded them. "The party remained prisoners
in the light house, and the pier on which it stood
for several hours. The shipping above in the river
was burning; the immense grain elevators of the
Illinois Central and Galena Railroads were a mass
of flames, and the pier itself, some distance up the
river, was slowly burning toward the light house.
A large propeller fastened to the dock a short dis
tance up the river caught fire, and the danger was
that as soon as the ropes by which it was fastened
burned off it would float down stream and set fire
to the dock in the immediate vicinity of the light
house. Several propellers moved down near the
mouth of the river and took on board several hun
dred fugitives and steamed out into the lake. If
the burning propeller came down it would set fire
to the pier, the lighthouse, and vast piles of lumber,
which had as yet escaped in consequence of being
directly on the shore and detached from the burn
ing mass. A fire company was organized of those
on the pier, and with water dipped in pails from the
river the fire kept at bay, but all felt relieved when
the propeller went to the bottom. The party were
still prisoners on an angle of sand, and the fire run
ning along the north shore of the river. The river
and the fire preventing an escape to the south,
west and north. The fire was still raging with un
abated fury. The party waited for hours, hoping
the fire would subside. The day wore on, noon
passed, and 1 and 2 o'clock, and still it seemed dif
ficult, if not dangerous, to escape to the north. Mr.

292 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
Arnold, leaving his children in the light house, went
north towards Lill's, and thought it was practicable
to get through, but was not willing to expose the
females to the great discomfort and possible danger
of the experiment."
" Between 3 and 4 in the afternoon the tug-boat
Clifford came down the river and tied up near the
light house. Could she return — taking the party up
the river — through and beyond the fire to the west
side, or was it safer and better to remain at the
light house; If it and the pier, the lumber and
shanties around should burn during the night, as
seemed not unlikely, the position would not be
tenable, and might be extremely perilous ; besides,
Mr. A. was extremely anxious to Jcnow that Mrs.
A. and little Alice were safe. The officer of the
tug said the return passage was practicable. Rush,
Clark, State and Wells street bridges had all
burned and their fragments had fallen into the river
The great warehouses elevators, storehouses, docks
on the banks of the river, were still burning, but
the fury of the fire had exhausted itself. The
party resolved to go through this narrow canal or
river to the south bank, outside the burning dis
trict. This was the most dangerous experience of
the day. The tug might take fire herself, the
wood work of which had been blistered with heat
as she came down ; the engine might get out of
order and the boat become unmanageable after she
got inside the line of fire, or she might get en
tangled in the floating timber and debris of the

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 293
bridges. However, the party determined to go. A
full head of steam was gotten up, the hose was at
tached to the engine, so that if the boat or clothes
caught it could be put out. The children and ladies
were placed in the pilot house, and the windows
shut, and the boat started. The men crouched
clear to the deck behind the butt works, and with
a full head of steam the tug darted past the abut
ments of Rush street bridge ; as they passed the State
street bridge the pilot had to pick his way carefully
among falling and floating timber. The extent of
the danger was now obvious, but it was too late to
retreat. As the boat passed State street the pump
supplying cold water ceased to work, and the ex
posed wood in some parts was blistering. ' Snatch
ing a handkerchief,' says Mr. Arnold, ' I dipped it in
water, and covering the face and head of Arthur,
whose hat the wind had blown away, 1 made him
lie flat on the deck, as we plunged forward through
the fiery furnace.' On we sped past Clark and
Wells streets. 'Is not the worst over V he asked
of the Captain, as the boat dashed on and on.
' We are through sir,' answered the Captain. ' We
are safe.' ' Thank God !' came from hearts and lips
as the boat emerged from the smoke into the clear^
cool air outside the fire lines."
The party went ashore at Lake street, and Mr,
Arnold, commenced a search for his wife and child,
who he found had gone to Evanston. It was not
until the next night that the whole family were re
united at the residence of Judge Drummond.

294 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
RELIEF MEASURES.
The greatness of the calamity was equalled by
the greatness of the generosity which followed it.
The world has never known such an outpouring of
charity before. Scarcely had the telegraph borne
the news of the disaster abroad, when in every city,
town and village of the country meetings were held
for the relief of -Chicago. The movement was a
universal and spontaneous one, city councils, cor
porations, railroads and steamboat interests, banks,
churches, Sunday schools, theatres, men, women and
children, vied with each other in generous deeds.
Cash contributions and car loads of provisions of
every description poured into the city until there
was absolute danger, that in the plethora every
thing would be wasted. Meeting in Boston.
Among the many stirring appeals, none were more
eloquent than that of Rev. Edward Everett Hale, of
Boston, at Faneuil Hall, as follows :
" Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen : — It is but a sin
gle 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 munifi
cence, by their generosity, by their strength, by their
public spirit, have made us debtors to them all.
[Applause]. There is not a man here, the beef upon

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 295
whose table yesterday was not the cheaper to him
because these people laid out their world-renowned
and wonderful system of stock-yards. [Applause.]
There is not a man here, the bread upon whose table
to-day is not cheaper because these people, in the
very beginning of their national existence, invented
and created that marvellous system for the delivery
of grain which is the model and pattern of the world.
[Applause.] And remember that they were in a
position where they might have said they held a
monopoly. They commanded the only harbor for
the shipping of the five greatest States of America
and the world, and in that position they have devo
ted 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 praying
that He will give us our daily bread, through their
enterprise and their struggles. We call it their
misfortune. It is our misfortune. 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
are engaged. There has fallen by this calamity one
of our noblest fortresses. Its garrison is without
munitions. It is for us at this instant to reconstruct
that fortress, and to see that its garrison are as well
placed as they were before in our service. Un
doubtedly it is a great enterprise ; but we can trust
them for that. We are all fond of speaking of the
miracle by which there in the desert there was ere-

296 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION  CHICAGO:
ated this great city. The rod of some prophet, you
say, struck it, and this city flowed from the rock.
Who was the prophet 1 what was the rock? It was
the American people who determined that that city
should be there, and that it should rightly and wisely,
and in the best way, distribute the food to a world.
[Applause.] The American people has that duty
to discharge again. I know that these numbers
are large numbers. But the providence of God
has taught us to deal with larger figures than
these, and when, not many years ago, it became
necessary for this country in every year to spend not
a hundred millions, not a thousand millions, but
more than a thousand millions of dollars in a great
enterprise which God gave this country in the duty
of war, this country met its obligation. And now
that in a single year we have to reconstruct one of
the fortresses of peace, I do not fear that this coun
try 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 suffering, shall have food and cloth
ing ;' that those who for forty-eight hours have felt
as if they were deserted, should know that they have
friends everywhere in God's world. [Applause.] Mr.
President, 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 sweeping over the plains in the desolate
autumn, only bring forth the blossoms and richness
of the next spring and summer.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 297
" I can well believe that on that terrible night
of Sunday, and all through the horrors of Monday,
as those noble people, as those gallant workmen,
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 those streams of water playing into
the molten mass, and melt into steam and rise in
nocuous to 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. [Applause.] See that the
lesson for this community, see that the lesson for us
who are here, that the horror and tears with which
we read the despatches of yesterday, shall send us
out to do ministries of truth and bounty and benev
olence to-day. [Applause.]"
Statement of the Relief and Aid Society.
"The Executive Committee of the Chicago Relief
and Aid Society are aware that the public desire to
know the amount of the subscriptions to the relief
fund. It is impossible at present to give a detailed
account of the amounts, for the reason that purchases
made in some cities — invoices of which have not
yet reached us — are to be deducted from the gross

298 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
amounts of the subscription. The previous report
of our treasurer stated the amount actually received
at that date. We are now able to' give the amount
received to this date, November 7th, and the prob
able amount of the entire subscriptions with ap
proximate accuracy. We have actually received
$2,051,023.55. "Arrangements have been made by which the
society draws 5 per cent, on all its balances in bank.
So far as our present information goes, and we
think we have advices of all sums subscribed, the
entire fund will vary but little from three millions
and a half dollars. This includes the funds in the
hands of the New York Chamber of Commerce,
amounting to about six hundred thousand dollars,
and the balance of the Boston fund, about two
hundred and forty, thousand ; both amounting to
eight hundred and forty thousand dollars, not yet
placed to the credit of this society, but which may
be relied upon to meet the needs of the future.
"As to our disbursements, we can only say that
we are at present aiding 60,000 people at our regu
lar distributing points. Some of this vast number
we relieve in part only, but the greater portion to
the extent of their entire support. This is in addi
tion to the work of the Special Relief Committee,
for people who ought not to be sent to the general
distributing points, and which is largely increasing
upon our hands. It is also in addition to the ex.
penditures of the committee on. existing charitable
institutions.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 299
"The great matter pressing upon your committee
is shelter for the coming winter. We may feed
people during the mild weather, but where and
how they are to be housed — permanently housed —
we regard as the serious question. To this end we
have been aiding those burned out to replace small
but comfortable houses upon their own or upon
leased lots, where they can live, not only this win
ter but next summer, and be ready to work in re
building the city. Of these houses (which are
really very comfortable, being 16 x 20 feet, with
two rooms, one 12 x 16 feet and one 8x16 feet,
with a planed and matched floor, panel door and
good windows), we have already furnished over
4,000, making permanent houses, allowing five to
a family for twenty thousand people, and with the
seven thousand houses which we expect to build,
shall have houses for thirty-five thousand people.
These houses, and some barracks, in both of which
is a moderate outfit of furniture, such as stoves,
mattresses, and a little crqckery, will consume, say
a million and a quarter dollars, leaving two million
and a quarter with which to meet all the demands
for food, fuel, clothing and general expenses from
the 13th of October last, until the completion of
the work, which cannot end with the present winter.
"The committee need hardly say that if the de
mand should continue as great as at present the
fund would be exhausted by mid-winter ; but we
hope to cut this down very largely as soon as we
can get people into houses, so that they can leave

300 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO.
their families and find work. Indeed, this is being
done already. Within a few days we shall arrive
at the exact daily expense of food and fuel rations.
But the demand is a fluctuating one. If the
weather is good and men can work, it falls off;
if cold and stormy, it increases at a fearful rate.
"The work has so pressed upon us night and day
that we cannot present a detailed report to the pub
lic, but furnish this statement for the purpose of
affording a general idea of what we have done and
are trying to do, with an organization necessarily
composed of unskilled forces, but the only one at
hand for the emergency. We shall soon be able
to give a detailed report of all sums contributed.
Ladies' Relief Society.
In connection with the Relief Society, a Ladies'
Relief Society was organized on the 19th of Octo
ber, at the house of Mrs. Wirt Dexter. One of its
primary objects was to seek out those sufferers by
the fire, who shrank from making their wants
known, even to the bureau of special relief, and to
relieve them as quickly and as delicately as possible.
For the supply of clothing, the society had an
Employment Bureau. Rooms were opened where
seamstresses were furnished with work. From
thirty to fifty, under a competent forewoman, were
busily engaged in making garments for the Chicago
Relief and Aid Society. This work was under the
careful supervision of the ladies, who allowed no

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 301
waste of materials in cutting, or carelessness in sew
ing. Through this Employment Bureau poor, home
less girls, whose means of living were taken away
by the fire, by the loss of their machines, or their
places, or both, and who were rapidly coming to
the extremity of poverty, found useful work, and
true, kind friends. The officers are as follows :
President — Mrs. John Mason Loomis.
Vice President — Mrs. Robert Laird Collier.
Recording Secretary — Mrs. S. H. Gay.
Corresponding Secretary — Mrs. Wirt Dexter.
Treasurer — Mrs. George M. Pullman.
Assistant Treasurer — Mrs. Martin Andrews.
Employment Committee — Mrs. J. W. Foster, Mrs.
G. M. Pullman, Mrs. L. Z. Leiter, Mrs. J. M. Wal
ker, Mrs. M. Andrews, Mrs. G. C. Gore, Mrs. Wirt
Dexter, Mrs. R. L. Collier, Mrs. J. C. Hilton, Mrs.
S. Reeve, Mrs. A. C. Badger, Mrs. Palmer Kellogg,
Mrs. N. R. Fairbank.
Distribution Committee — Mrs. Wirt Dexter, Mrs.
G. M. Pullman, Mrs. Palmer Kellogg, Mrs. D. A.
Gage, Mrs. F. M. Mitchell, Mrs. R. L. Collier, Mrs.
L. Z. Leiter.
Visiting Committee — Mrs. C. H. McCormick, Mrs.
Dr. Locke, A. C. Badger, Mrs. F. M. Mitchell, Miss
N. J. Lunt, Miss N. T. Agnew, Mrs. J. M. Walker,
Mrs. M. Andrews, Mrs. N. R. Fairbank.
Donations.
To give all the donations sent to Chicago in

302 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
detail would fill a large volume of itself, and we
therefore content ourselves with a few of the more
prominent, as follows :
St. Louis, '  $200,000
Boston,  400,000
Pittsburgh,  300,000
Buffalo  100,000
Cincinnati,  225,000
Rochester, N. Y,  -. . 70,000
San Francisco,  100,000
Toronto,  10,000
New Orleans  30,000
Philadelphia  260,000
Baltimore,  200,000
A. T. Stewart, N. Y.,  50,000
Robt. Bonner  10,000
Kansas City, Mo.,  10,000
Indianapolis  40,000
Montreal Board of Trade,  10,000
Portland,  20,000
Leavenworth,  10,000
Quincy, 111., .,  15,000
San Francisco Stock Exchange, . . . 8,000
Lawrence, Kansas,  10,000
Syracuse, N. Y  25,000
Haverhill, Mass.,  10,000
Oswego, N. Y.,  12,000
Newark, N. J.,  30,000
Trenton, N. J  17,000
Manchester, N. H.,  15 000
Terra Haute, Ind.,  10 000
Bloomington, 111.,  15,000
New York Gold Exchange,  12,000
Erie, Pa.,  15 000
Detroit,  30,000
Lancaster, Pa.,  25 000
Layfayette, Ind.,  10,000

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 303
We have only given the above as indications of
the immense volume of charity which flowed into
Chicago. The feeling of sympathy extended to
Europe, and from all the large cities of England,
France and Germany, came generous contributions,
which were swelled by donations from tile royal
purses. From the king on his throne to the poor
woman in her hovel, all gave their mite. The fol
lowing incident told of Mr. Edward Hudson, an
Illinois Railway Superintendent, shows in a humoi>
ous way the universal sympathy, and the degree of
charity to which it actuated people :
Upon hearing of the burning of Chicago, his first
act was to telegraph to all agents to transport free,
all provisions to Chicago, and to receive such arti
cles to the exclusion of freight. He then purchased
a number of good hams and sent them home
with a request to his wife to cook them as soon
as possible, so they might be sent to Chicago.
He then ordered the baker to put up fifty loaves of
bread. He was kept busy during the day until 5
o'clock. Just as he was starting for home the baker
informed him the hundred loaves of bread were
ready, " But I only ordered fifty." said Ed.
"Mrs. Hudson also ordered fifty," said the
baker. "All right," said Ed., and he inwardly blessed
his wife for the generous deed.
Arriving at home he found his little boy, dressed

304 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
in a fine cloth suit, carrying in wood. He told him
that would not do ; he must change his clothes.
"But mother sent all my clothes to Chicago,"
replied the boy.
Entering the house he found his wife, clad in a
fine silk dress, superintending the cooking. A re
mark in regard to the matter elicited the informa
tion that she had sent her other dresses to Chicago.
The matter was getting serious. He sat down to
a supper without butter, because all that could be
purchased had been sent to Chicago. There were
no pickles — the poor souls in Chicago would relish
them so much.
A little put out, but not a bit angry or disgusted,
Ed. went to the wardrobe to get his overcoat, but it
was not there. An interrogatory revealed the fact
it fitted in the box real well, and he needed a new
overcoat anyway, although he had paid $50 for the
one in question only a few days before. An exami
nation revealed the fact that all the rest of his
clothes .fitted the box real nicely, for not a " dud "
did he possess except those he had on.
While he admitted the generosity of his wife, he
thought the matter was getting entirely too personal
and turned to her with the characteristic inquiry ;
" Do you think we can stand an encore on that
Chicago fire."

LAND-OFFICE, ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD.

<5,

CROSBY'S DISTILLERY!

REPUBLIC LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY.

FIRST NATIONAL BANK.

i
ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 307
RELIEF INCIDENTS.
A lady connected with relief operations, after the.
fire, says :
" Once within [the church of refuge] we found
plenty to do. Beds had been hastily improvised
from the seats in the lecture room for the sick.
Here was a poor old grandmother, with the skin all
burned from her hands. There the doctor was
attending to a man whose head had been crushed.
Everywhere were lost children crying pitifully, who
needed comforting. One boy had gone out of town
to |pend the night with a friend, and when he re
turned, his father's house, barn, everything was
gone, not so much as a fence-panel left of his splen
did home. But, sadder than that, he could not find
father, mother, brothers or sisters. No one could
give him any information, nor any of the other poor
lost children. We could only see that they had
warm clothing, and urged them to eat ; and, thanks
to the ready forgetfulness of childhood, they all had
good appetites. And didn't we give them strong
coffee and tea, and all sorts of indigestible things,
though ? for already loads of good things were arriv
ing from all the blessed country. There were boiled
hams and tongues, roasted sirloins of beef, turkeys,
chickens, cakes and genuine country dried beef,
cheese and butter, and the poorest beggar in Chi
cago had the privilege of dining with the Mayor
and his staff of assistants. ' There are no big-bugs

308 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
here now,' said an old Irish woman, not, I think,
without satisfaction.
" On one seat lay a beautiful babe about eight
months old, that had been found on the sidewalk.
It lay sucking its thumb, and gazing as contentedly
up at the bright windows as if it had always lived
in a church.
" In one corner was a German woman, with nine
children, of all sizes. ' Where is your husband 1 '
we inquire.
" ' Ach, Gott in Himmel ! I took the children and
he took the feather bed, and he was so slow I think
he got burned up, mit the feather bed. There was
no water, and all the men on the north side drilled
beer and whisky, and then they could no go fast.
If I had taken the feather bed mineself, now I
would have it.'
" ' Yes ; but you should be thankful that you have
all your children,' I suggested.
" ' Aber ! What can I do mit the children, mit-
out a feather bed ? ' she asked in astonishment.
" Not feeling equal to a reply, we turned to an
other group. It is a woman who is clinging tight
to her baby, and with sobs of despair telling sympa
thizing listeners how yesterday she had a pleasant
home, a dear, kind husband and five children ; now
this little child is all she has left. They had slept
so soundly they did not waken until their own house
was burning. She had snatched her babe and es
caped, she knew not how, through the flames and
smoke, calling to her husband to follow with the

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 309
other children. But he was too late. There was
nothing left of the husband, children and home but
a sickening little heap of ashes ! ' Let me have the
baby,' said a tearful listener : 'I will give it some ,
warm milk, while you lie down and rest. I hope it
will be a comfort to you.' So saying she undid the
shawl that was wrapped around it, but quickly closed
it again with a look of horror, but not soon enough
to prevent the mother from seeing that her darling
was dead in her arms. It had either inhaled the
flame, or the mother, in falling, had killed it, and
had been carrying it for miles, not knowing it was
dead. The shock was too much for her. We could
see from her wandering eyes that her reason had
gone forever, and we could not help feeling that it
was a blessing.
" In another room is a woman who has been hav
ing convulsions all day. She brings a note to the
pastor, saying that her husband was cut in twain by
a fire-engine. " The next day we spend in giving out clothes.
What wonderful boxes have come ! What a beau
tiful exhibition of divine charity throughout the
whole land ! People were in such nervous haste
thev did not stop to consider what was most needed,
but sent everything they could lay their hands on —
ball dresses, theatrical costumes, white vests and lav
ender gloves, piled in with homespun jeans. Only
Boston, never in her intellectual pride impulsive,
telegraphed to know what was most needed ; and

310 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
what elegant clothing the noble citizens of the Hub
sent when they received the answer ' Everything.'
" Some dear old lady has sent some brocade silks,
made in the style of 1700, with immense sleeves,
puffed out with eider down, and short waist with
big puffs. They are really too precious to give
away, say the ladies. We will have tableaux in the
church this winter for the benefit of the sufferers,
and use them in that way.
" And what wonderful contrasts there are in the
people who come for clothes ! Side by side with the
miserable Irish beggars, who want something be
cause the Poor House is burned down, come a for
eign Consul, Judges of the Supreme Court, lawyers,
editors, professors and merchants. An English gen
tleman on his bridal tour, stopping at one of the
hotels, lost his trunks and money. Although he
offered a man $500 to assist him, he could get no
assistance. Even his wife's clothes she Jiad on
caught in the flames, and had to be torn from her
back. His order called for the very best we had to
give, but our very best would make a strange outfit
for a wealthy young bride. ( *
" There comes a lady in a black silk velvet suit,
with diamonds to match. She put on her finest
clothes to save them, and has come to ask for a
calico wrapper, so that she may not be so splendid
in her poverty.
" We were perfectly overwhelmed with calls for
baby clothes. It seemed as though every family
who was burned out was blessed with a baby — and

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 311
a good many orders called for clothes for twins.
They were of all ages, from two hours to two years.
" Many who had escaped from the flames with
good clothes on, in wandering over the ruins fell
into vaults and sewers, and lost them in that way.
" One poor Norwegian woman, who had been sit
ting in stony despair with her children by her cook
stove, the only thing she had been able to save, on
being told that she could get a bucket of hot soup
every day all winter, without money and without
price, burst into tears and insisted on shaking hands
with everybody in the church, and then taking
heart, fell to polishing her stove with such a will
that it shone almost as bright as the blessed charity
that had cheered her."

Rev. Robert CoUyer's Boston Sermon.
On the 12th of November, Rev. Robert Collyer,
the eminent Unitarian divine of Chicago, preached
at Rev. E. E. Hale's Church in Boston, from the
text, "A crown of life," in which he made the fol
lowing allusion to the Chicago fire:
" There were men in Chicago who were wearing
and had already won that coronation of life. They
saw in that calamity the work of the best part of a
life, as it were swept away in an instant. And what
a work it was, what homes they had made for
themselves ! This morning they are what the
world calls ruined men, all the savings of all the
years melted before their eyes in fervent heat, not

312 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
even the home remaining. But, thank God, there
remains that which made their homes prosperous
and happy. And yet I will say. that I never before
saw such a divine opportunity opened before these
men to win this noble coronation, the crown of vic
tory. Already we have seen dozens of them right
on the way to this coronation, so clearly and com
pletely victorious, standing among the ashes of
their burnt homes and their blasted hopes, that I
should not feel more sure of their divine coronation
if I saw the chariots of God and His angels stand
ing with their trumpets at their lips ready to sound
the glorious consummation of their lives. And yet
it is a very simple thing that I have witnessed in
that city since the calamity — only the shining of
clear, strong eyes, only the beating of steadfast
hearts, only in the hand as clasped that of a neigh
bor's, only as they stood on their burnt houses ready
to begin again. And I tell you if the blessed angels
above knew nothing of such heart-breaking as we
have had to go through there, yet I know that if
they witnessed such high courage as our men have
shown, and are showing, they will have anticipated
God's will already done, and will have already re
ceived the crown eternal. I have a small', delicate
man in my parish ; I have him now in my eye ;
slightly dwarfed, and I know how I used to wonder
how he could carry himself along the streets ; when I
met him he would tell me his business was not doing
much for him, and that he was very poorly ; all the
time I had a little ache in my heart for that little man.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 313
But he had a splendid wife, and a house full of
children. God bless him for that ! When the fire
came it burnt him up clean. He has a rich nephew
down at the East, who telegraphed at once to him,
offering him a home for the winter, and to give him
a new start in the spring. But that little, delicate
man telegraphed back, 'I can't leave the ranks,'
and he hasn't left them ; he is working hard, has a
nice little home, and there he lives as pleasant, com
fortable and contented as ever he was." Alluding to
the work which women in Chicago had done, Mr.
Colly er said : " I think that in these weeks the good
women of our city have already won their crown5
and the angels have sung their praises. They have
done such work as men never could have done ; they
have been as steadfast and calm through all the
terrible scenes as great captains who know the
whole fate of an army lies in their hands. The day
of the fire was their coronation day. They not only
worked hard necessarily to save their own children,
sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, but any who
happened to come in their way. Through those
dark days they had shown a courage and heroism
far above the men ; for by their example men were
sustained, cheered and roused to greater effort.
They could not well afford to have another such a
fire, in one sense, but if such a fire would again call
forth such a display of courage and devotion he
would say heartily, ' God's will be done.' The only
great example of hope and courage displayed any
where during the great fire came out of the example

314 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION  CHICAGO.
of woman ; out of the ruins of our city a crown has
been gained and a coronation for every one." Mr.
Collyer then referred to the many young men and
young ladies, born,. brought up and educated in the
best manner which money could effect, who would
be bettered by the experiences they had passed
through, and who would now be enabled to commence
life with a purpose in view, and with such an incentive
as never before actuated their breasts. Speaking of
his personal feeling in regard to the fire he said:
" When that great calamity settled down upon us
I thought I ought to try and find some view of the
better meaning of it. I was fighting it for a whole
week. But 1 couldn't find it. I said this whole
thing is just as bad as it can be. The evil one, the
devil, has got loose in this town, and has overcome
the good God. And when I stood on the stone that
had fallen from the crown of our poor church, with
my poor flock around me, there was still a bitter
drop in my heart, and I said, sometime we may
thank God for this, but He won't expect us to do it
to-day. Now I take it all back just as Job did. I
said it because I couldn't say anything better; I
couldn't bring myself to thank God for what he had
wrought upon us ; I hardly thought he could have
done it ; I thought the devil had overthrown God,
and had wrought the destruction of our beautiful
city. But I have altered my mind since then ; I
have begun to talk more like 'Brother CoUyer.'" In
conclusion, Mr. Collyer alluded to the event of a new
church for himself and congregation; he couldn't

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 315
ask his congregation to build it, but he would ask
the Unitarians of Boston; it was their duty and
their right. As long as it pleased God to give him
life, no other man should stand over his congrega-
tion ; it was his right until his mission was fulfilled,
and he heard a voice saying : " Well done, good and
faithful servant ; thou hast been faithful unto me in
a few things, I will make thee ruler over many.
Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
The Feeling in England.
One of the best statements of the feeling in Lon
don produced by the details of the fire, is contained
in the following letter to the Chicago Tribune, from
its own correspondent in that city :
London, October 28.
No event has occurred to divert the attention
which the fires at Chicago attracted from the first.
Money continues to pour in, and were it not for the
persuasion which some of the influential are endeav
oring to use, viz. : that America herself has already
met the emergency, the supplies would be very much
larger. People anxiously wait to learn the amount
of suffering that exists ; whether there is sufficient
shelter ; what has been saved ; what are the
methods of recovery. The history of the Chicago
Tribune has been printed in every journal of the
land, and the names of three or four of its staff have
become familiar. For my part, I search every mail
that comes in for a copy. I know it will soon be

316 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO.
forthcoming, and that we shall have its every
characteristic, freely examined and described.
The electric telegraph is freely used in connection
with the Chicago intelligence. The Cunards and
other steamers are boarded, and the contents of the
latest papers are put on the wires without much
abridgment. It was the Silesian that brought us
the first long despatches. She arrived at Plymouth,
from which port the news is republished, but in this
instance an exception was made. The haste with
which the New York press printed the early details
sent from your city prevented even an ordinary dis
crimination from being exercised, and English read
ers, accustomed, I am bound to say, to more exact
itude and accuracy, are puzzled to find so much that
is stated contradicted a little further down. The
illustrated papers were sorely tempted, and some of
them " fell." We had pictures last week in two of
the papers, of Chicago on fire, and this week the
Illustrated London News supplies, a cartoon of the
kind. It. is scarcely possible that, even at this com
paratively late period, any genuine artistic reproduc
tion can have come to hand. If the idea once gets
bruited around that the cartoons in the illustrated
papers are drawn from imagination, they will suffer
in material fortune as well as in fame.
As soon as order is restored the authorities at
Chicago will, no doubt, send some report to the
people here of the mischief done and the means
that have been taken to remedy it. I will suggest
that this be transmitted to the Lord Mayor of Lon-

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 317
don. The Lord Mayor, like the Sovereign, never
dies. The present gentleman, under whose care the
Chicago fund was established, retires into private
life next week. But it is to the Lord Mayor
the people will look, whoever that gentleman may
happen to be. I may say that the despatches of ac
knowledgment already transmitted by the Mayor of
Chicago are deemed most touching and appropriate.
People shed tears on reading them, so strong are
the feelings aroused. The Queen's donation was
made with expressions which reveal her. truly fine
and sympathetic nature. The Queen reads every
line from Chicago that is printed in the papers, and
I am sure she will be gratified if she is made to
know that the republicans of the Far West give her
credit for recognizing a common human life. I am
jealous of Chicago at this particular crisis of her
history. I want nothing to escape her that can be
laid hold of by the envious and by the misanthro
pic. She has been made famous alike by her pros
perity and by her adversity. Let all her public acts
be governed by high aims, and let the official com
munications with European friends be made by men
who are distinguished by delicate taste as well as
by good judgment. Something is thought in such
circumstances even, of phrases.
Your readers would smile in the midst of their
trouble could they peruse some of the curious re
flections to which the peculiar calamity at Chicago
has given rise. The " unco' guid" see in it a judg
ment by Heaven, imagining that those upon whom

318 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO.
this " Tower of Siloam" fell were worse than the
rest of the world. Others account for it by engi
neering defects — blunders in building — downright
recklessness. Some of the philosophic class, who
look at all these- things through the most powerful
microscope their faculties supply, propound a lazy
kind of theory that Chicago was proceeding too ra
pidly altogether to be safe. She existed in fact,
through friction ! As to the future, the sort of pre
dictions uttered and written concerning you are
amazing. The general belief appears to be that you
are to be rebuilt — in striking contrast to the origin
of Rome — " in a day." In ruins yesterday — stately
marble to-day. Jonah's gourd was nothing to it.
You are credited with superhuman powers, and the
English public will be sadly disappointed if they
don't hear very soon that " not a trace of the late
calamitous fire is to be seen."
Letter from S, H. Gay.
Mr. Sidney Howard Gay, who speaks from actual
personal knowledge, and from thorough acquaint
ance with the workings of the Relief Society, has
written a letter to the New York Tribune, from
which we make this extract, as it shows very clearly
what the society has done, and is from the pen of
one in a position to know of what he writes. After
alluding to the fire, and the number of people left
homeless, Mr. Gay says :
"Of this 100,000 people, 20,000 probably left

ITS PAST, PEESEXT AND FUTURE. 319
the city in the course of a few days. The Trans
portation Committee alone has issued passes to
7,000, which the different railroads have duly
honored; the railroad officers have passed many
more of their own motion, and a large number have
gone out of town, in various other ways than by
rail, to the towns and country round about. Then
15,000 more, perhaps, found refuge with friends in
the city, or could command the means to establish
themselves in some sort of an abiding-place of their
own. But making thus all possible deductions,
there would remain from 60,000 to 70,000 persons,
absolutely destitute of everything, to be fed, and
clothed, and sheltered , and, indeed, now — more
than a month after the fire, and when a large
decrease has been made, from various causes, in the
number of those who cannot take care of them
selves — there stand recorded upon the books of the
Relief Society 13,000 families who need to be sup
ported wholly or in part. It is not likely that they
average much less than five to a family, and that
would give about 60,000 as the number who have
to be looked after daily by the Relief Committee.
It is a complicated business to care for an army of
60,000 men, duly mustered and in quarters, its
command divided and subdivided, so that each man
is under the immediate and personal supervision of
a superior officer, its Commissary Department fully
provided for, its whole machinery thoroughly syste
matized and in perfect running order, with all its
traditions and regulations and checks and balances

320 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
as accurately adjusted as in an eight-cylinder print
ing press and a first-class steam-engine. Given first
this great and perfected machinery, and given then
the men who are accustomed by long habit to run it,
and your army of 60,000 men goes on smoothly
enough, provided every man is careful and diligent
in his special duty, provided no screw gets loose
anywhere, and no hitch occurs anywhere from the
Commissary General down to the drummer-boy's
rations. But conceive of an army of 60,000 to be
composed, not of marshalled, organized, and trained
men, where there is a place for every man and
every man knows his place, but of men and women
anil children, without organization or cohesion,
huddled together in extremity of distress, weary,
hungry, houseless, naked, cold, and in despair, and
the problem is how to feed and clothe and shelter
them — a problem to be solved instantly or they per
ish — not to be ciphered out at leisure with time
enough to devise plans and appoint officers of tens
and of hundreds of thousands, to provide material
and places, to divide and subdivide work and duties
— but the whole thing to be taken in a lump then
and there, and then and there done before sun
down/ Conceive of this, and you have an idea of
the work that was hurled at the Relief Society ; of
the chaos out of which they had to evolve order ;
of the prayer for salvation which came from those
tens of thousands of pleading eyes, and those tens
of thousands of outstretched hands. They did what
they could ; it is wonderful they did so well ; none

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 321
but that Power which said, ' Let there be light, and
there was light,' out of such darkness could have
commanded the perfect day.
" It was fortunate for Chicago that it had such an
organization as this Relief and Aid Society. It has
been in existence nine or ten years, has taken upon
itself, during all that time, the care of such of the
poor of the city as were not absolute paupers, and
has been managed by picked men from among its
lawyers, physicians, clergymen, and merchants. As
in all such cases, the work had devolved upon a
few, but those were men who, voluntarily, and from
conscientious and benevolent motives, took this work
of charity upon themselves, and reduced it to a
system of scientific accuracy. On Monday, the 9th
of October, in the first confusion of that dire disaster,
and when the city was like the first resting-place
of a routed and fugitive army, with no water save
that dipped from the lake by hand; no gas in
streets or houses ; a third of the people without
food, or shelter, or clothing; that pitiless south
west gale unabated in its fury, and over all that
fierce glow of the smouldering fires, shedding down
upon us a lurid light from a brazen sky, like a
moonlight red with blood — then we turned for suc
cor where we could. The first generous supplies
of provisions, and clothing, and money, that poured
in from all sections of the country were used with
out discrimination or judgment, and, though they
relieved much, suffering, where relief could hardly
go amiss, there was enormous and lavish waste, as

322 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
well as cruel, selfish greed. And in another sens?,
also, we were like a defeated army flying, with all
the people round about, before a relentless enemy,
for the birds of prey scented death and disaster, and
gathered for the feast, and filled the air with their
clamor. Here were millions of money coming, -and
thousands upon thousands to be dependent upon
bounty, and disbursements to be made which, both
as to those who made and those who received them,
would be a fruitful source of power and of profit.
The November election was only a month away,
and to the foul brood of city politicians, it seemed
that their father, the Devil, had come in just the
nick of time to their assistance. A Board of Alder
men, a majority of which has aspired to be the
Tamany of Chicago, and so far as it has failed, has
failed for want of opportunity and ability, and not
because of any fear of either God or man, counted
now upon retaining place and putting their enemies
under their feet, with the personal and pecuniary
power which the handling of the relief fund and
provisions in kind would give them. For the first
three days, from Tuesday to Friday, the danger was
that affairs would fall completely into the hands of
this class of political bummers, and the struggle
they made to retain their hold upon them was as
desperate as the clutch of death.
" It was the crisis in the fate of Chicago. Whether
it should ever recover from the terrible calamity
that had swept over it, or whether the ruin should
be utter and irrevocable, depended altogether upon

MICHIGAN SOUTHERN R. R. DEPOT.

PALMER HOUSE, STATE STREET.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 325
the character of the men into whose hands should
fall the essential government of the city at this mo
ment. That essential government would rest with
those into whose control should come the care of
the needy and suffering ; who should keep them in
a condition for wholesome labor, and should provide
it for them ; should keep away from them all temp
tation to desperate remedies for desperate circum
stances ; and who should use wisely and economi
cally the generous bounty in provisions and money
which was pouring in from every quarter. Of that
rich fund we should, without doubt, have seen the
end ere this, had things gone on as they begun, and
the laboring people of Chicago, instead of being
cheerfully at work at good wages, would have been
at this moment a starving, discontented, turbulent
population, feeling that they were defrauded of
that which an overwhelming sympathy for suffer
ing had given for their relief, that a gang of thiev
ing politicians might carry out their purposes in
attaining or keeping political power, and grow riqh
upon the sustenance of the poor. But, fortunately,
the Mayor of Chicago was a man of common sense,
who would not give up to party what was meant
for humanity. He recognized the distinction that
the succor sent to Chicago was sent to the people,
and not to the municipality ; that it no more fell by
necessity and right under the control of the Board
of Aldermen or the Common Council than under
that of the Board of Trade, but that it ought to go
where there was the best assurance that it would
19

326 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
be used for the purposes for which it was given,
and where those who gave it would have some con
fidence that it would be so used. By timely procla
mation, therefore, three days after the fire, but
when time enough had elapsed to justify the wis
dom and necessity of the step, Mayor Mason handed
over the whole business of the care of the needy
and the custody of everything bestowed on their
behalf to the Relief and Aid Society. The 'Ring'
did not submit to this decision without a desperate
struggle ; but fortunately the Executive Committee
of the society were not only men of high standing
in this community, but men of firmness and quick
decision. Accepting the great trust imposed upon
them, they entered instantly and vigorously upon
the great work before them, heedless of partisan
clamor, deaf alike to threats and offers of compro
mise. In three days the question was settled, and
the almoners of the largest beneficence that the
world, perhaps, has ever seen for a purely humane
purpose, sat in perpetual session at Standard Hall,
organizing and carrying out a system of relief and
aid for. this stricken people, so that not a dollar
should be wasted or unaccounted for, and not one
in this great multitude of sufferers should go hun
gry, or unclothed, or without shelter. There are,
no doubt, here, as there would be everywhere un
der like circumstances, other men who, from like
motives and with like ability and integrity, would
have discharged the responsibilities of such a trust;
but it is no more than common justice to say that

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 327
every one of these men gives his invaluable services
at great sacrifice of his personal affairs, and it is
simply an obvious reflection to add that it was most
fortunate for Chicago that such a body of men was
already picked and chosen, ready and willing for
so sudden and so urgent an emergency.
The Resumption of Business.
The following table will illustrate how quickly
this city resumed its ordinary business, even with
the want of depot facilities by many railroads. We
give two days' buisness one month after the fire,
and one two weeks later, compared with the busi
ness of the corresponding days of the preceding
year :
Eeeeipts and Shipments during 48 hours, Nov. *lth and
8th 1870, and Nov. 1th and $th, 1871.

1870.

1871.

1870.

1871.

Flour, bbls., . .

12,826

11,443

6,596

15,088

Wheat, bushels, .

135,515

128,300

123,955

58,521

Corn, bushels, .

247,730

68,100

158,185

89,874

Oats, bushels,

53,758

37,016

136,273

35,562

Rye, bushels, . .

28,616

5,333

18,872

Barley, bushels, .

32,400

14,940

63,192

5,895

Grass seed, lbs., .

124,838

37,665

50,919

19,734

Flax seed, lbs., .

30,000

3,686

21,380

51,410

Broom corn, lbs.,

373,100

209,869

54,900

196,871

Cut meats, lbs., .

146,230

43,520

278,694

471,779

Beef, bbls., . . .

2,870

389

2,013

7,602

Pork, bbls., . .

16

. . .

1,285

670

Lard, tcs., . . .

74,520

.

287,764

280,020

Tallow, lbs., . .

16,514

48,490

.

Butter, lbs., . .

126,010

107,490

71,637

30,980

s8 THE GREAT

CONFLAGRATION-

—CHICAGO :

. 1870.

1871.

1870.

1871.

Live hogs, No., .

5,275

5,182

5,182

381

Cattle, No., . .

1,971

904

904

1,467

Sheep, No., . .

625

.

. i .

394

Hides, lbs., . .

184,056

373,872

165,226

215,180

High wines, bbs.,

867

508

238

750

Wool, lbs., . .

268,675

56,266

38,878

144,890

Potatoes, bushels

9,397

15,460

.

3,012

Lumber, M., . .

14,616

15,273

3,007

4,225

Shingles, M., , .

8,283

3,957

2,427

4,190

Lath, M., . . .

493

553

416

490

Salt, bbls., . .

12,135

28,865

1,718

3,625

Eeeeipts and Shipments for the weeks ending Nov. llth and
Nov'. 18th, 1871. Compared with corresponding week in
1870.

RECEIPTS.

Not. 18,U871. ]
Tot. 11, 1871.
Not. 19, 1870
Flour, bbls., . .
28,586
35,272
36,050
Wheat, bushels, .
222,345
390,538
310,570
Corn, bushels, .
846,549
817,904
291,688
Oats, bushels,
349,382
270,367
136,559
Rye, bushels, . .
19,991
26,474
22,539
Barley bushels
61,450
87,530
41,630
Dressed hogs, No.,
71
26
453
Live hogs, No., .
102.544
56,036
65,726
Cattle, head., . .
13,652 SHIPMENTS
10,051
12,597
Flour, bbls., . .
17,499
19,156
38,966
Wheat, bushels, .
146,639
413,909
549,286
Corn, bushels, . .
777,953
547,634
296,388
Oats, bushels, . .
450,649
473,134
178,767
Rye, bushels, . .
42,468
37,570
51,114
Barley, bushels, .
' 72,980
108,726
15,750
Dressed hogs, No.,
. . .
•
> • >
Live hogs, No., .
27,566
26,570
20,131
Cattle, head, . .
4,728
3,498
5,207
THE NEW CHICAGO.
From the wreck and ruin of this great calamity,
there is no one who questions the restoration and
continued growth of Chicago. The first issue of
each of her papers proclaimed, as its motto, Resur-
Gam. That was the universal sentiment. In three
days after the fire there was no one selfish enough
to complain of his individual losses, nor any one
weak enough to doubt the reconstruction, and on a
grander scale, of this great marvel of the world.
Chicago has hitherto attained a world-wide fame as
the greatest grain market of the world, and to thou
sands in the United States even, it is supposed that
that is the great business which sustains her. A year
or more ago the project of shipping grain to the At
lantic by means of barges on the Mississippi river,
and by rail, was for a time seriously considered, and so
strongly was the impression that Chicago owed all
she had to that trade, and depended on that for a
continuance, that a Cincinnati paper seriously pro
pounded the question, " What, then, is the future
use of Chicago 1 "
That this grain trade has been of immense conse
quence, and that it was the original means of build
ing up the immense commerce that is done here, is
true, but the grain trade itself is a consequence of
the natural location of Chicago. The railroads
(329)

330 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
worked a revolution in the transportation business.
First the passengers and soon the freight abandoned
the slower means of wagon and boat, for the
speedier transit of the rail. Nevertheless, water
transportation is cheaper than rail, and cost of trans
portation is the important item in the value of grain.
Each penny added to, or taken from the cost of
moving grain from the. farm to New York, is a penny
taken from, or added to, the value of the grain in
the producer's hands. It soon became an ascer
tained fact, that it was as cheap to send grain to
Chicago, by rail as to haul it to any town on a water
course. Here it had cheap water navigation direct
to New York by lake and canal. The grain came
to Chicago, because Chicago was the only point
where it could find a market large enough to receive
all that was sent, and with facilities for shipping it
to the East at comparatively small cost. The fact
of this great market at the head of lake navigation
has been of immense value in the filling up of the
Northwest. Every man in selecting a location in
the West estimates the value of his land, and of its
products, by computing the distance to Chicago, and
the rates of transportation. In. this way the West
has grown up around Chicago, and each additional
mile of railway laid down towards Arkansas, Kansas,
New Mexico, and the territories round to the ex
treme north, but brings within the circle of her tri
butaries, additional fields of production, additional
people for whom she is to be the great market of sale

ITS past, present and future. 331
and supply. The Pacific railway already constructed,
and the others to follow, are but enlargements of the
means by which this city is to extend her commerce.
The St. Lawrence, so long neglected, will, as a route
for ocean commerce, at last, fill the expectations of
its early explorer, Champlain. The increase in the
transportation of grain to the seaboard by rail, has
given cause to many forebodings that the business
will eventually pass away from the lakes, and be
done by railway from local points where grain
can be accumulated. So long as grain can be
delivered cheaper by water than by rail, and the
time is not too long, the cheaper route will be
maintained. An enlargement . of the Erie canal
to meet the enlarged demand for transportation,
the use of steam exclusively on the lake and on the
canal, and a repeal of the extortionate rates of toll,
will keep pace with an increase of railroad move
ment of grain. When, however, the St. Lawrence
shall be adapted to the use of steam propellors of
large capacity to and from Montreal, then Montreal,
and not New York, will regulate the price, and
water transportation to Montreal will approximate
in time to that of rail to New York, at one-half
the cost.
The position of Chicago marks it as the great
centre of distribution. Hence the Northwest is
supplied with all it needs. The whole range of
manufactures, domestic or imported, must find their
market here. The Northwest is teeming with

332 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
woollen mills, but their goods must be sold here,
as all those of New England are sold at Boston and
New York. Chicago, as a distributing point, has
the advantage over these points, that it furnishes
direct to the consumers. It is in the centre of the
increasing population. A thousand cities are rap
idly growing up within twelve hours' travel. These
are, commercially speaking, suburbs and work
shops of Chicago. They manufacture ; they buy
material ; they sell to consumers ; but the seat of
all this commerce is in the city of Chicago. Their
growth is her growth. As they grow with the rapid
settlement and increasing products of the districts
around them, so Chicago grows with the increase
of these numerous cities. She is the commercial
agent of the West — she has States and cities for her
constituencies. The grain trade, however, has long since ceased
to be the supreme or principal item in her com
merce. It is, of course, immense, and is forever
growing. But there are other things equally promr
ising, and the city is not dependent upon a good
crop for business. Manufactures are coming to the
West. The man who pays out of his corn the cost
of sending it to market, and of bringing back the
exchange goods, knows the value of distance as
well as time. Within reasonable distance of Chi
cago are inexhaustible beds of coal. The coal
fields of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois have been more
developed by Chicago capital and enterprise within

its past, present and future. 333
the last five years, than they had ever been before.
Large portions of this coal are specially adapted for
the manufacture of iron. Upon Lake Superior
are the inexhaustible deposits of iron ore, far richer
in yield than any other in the land. Chicago
stands midway between these ' coal fields and this
ore, and whether the ore be carried to the coal, or
the coal to the iron ore, or both be brought to
Chicago, there to be converted into merchantable
iron, the result is the same, that Chicago, in a very
few years, will be the great distributing point from
which the whole West will be supplied with its
iron. Rolling mills and furnaces have already
been put in operation, but when the artificial
restraints upon the consumption of iron shall be
removed, and each man be free to use more iron,
and have it at less cost, these iron furnaces and
mills, and all the forges and machine shops, steel
and cutlery establishments, and all other manufac
tures using iron to any extent, will gather in and
around this grand centre, all adding their contri
bution to the ever growing, ever extending volume
of Chicago's trade and commerce.
With these additions to her industry of course
comes the wealth and power of population. The
tables of population in June, 1871 showed a total
of 332,000. At first it was supposed the fire would
retard the increase which had hitherto marked the
history of the city ; but this is a delusion ; in thirty
days after the fire there were as many men at work

334 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
as there were before that event. A demand was cre
ated for extraordinary numbers of skilled workmen.
Masons, carpenters, plumbers, painters, furniture
makers, and all other mechanical trades have come
hither in large numbers, but for years the supply
will not equal the demand. There is not a work
shop where iron and machinery is fashioned that
has not been working day and night continuously
since the fire, nor will they, or any of the additional
ones to be put in operation at once, have any cessa
tion of business for the next five years. By that
time the old Chicago will have been forgotten in
the proportions of the new. With a population in
1876 of not less than half a million of people, and
possibly many thousands more, with the burnt dis
tricts all restored, but this time in solid masonry;
with the buildings now standing all replaced with
buildings of a new architecture, and of durable
materials, she will be the great market in which
twenty five millions of people will buy and sell, and
from which will be distributed the supplies of ex
change products. With her trunk railroads extend
ing directly to every point of the Atlantic coast;
from Portland to Galveston ; with her water com
munication direct to Europe, retaining her charac
ter as the granary of the continent, and seated in
the very heart of population, she will draw trade
and commerce from all sections, and be the great
heart sending forth life blood to every extremity of
the American empire.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 335
The city itself will be grand. Even in her com
parative infancy precautions have been taken for
the future. She has already purchased and in pre
paration a series of parks and boulevards, the di
mensions of which have been given, which will be
unequalled in their extent, beauty, and natural
location, by anything of that kind on this conti
nent. The Chicago of 1870-71 planned and bought
these parks and boulevards. Their completion may
be delayed a few years, by the sudden calamity of
the great fire, but there are men already past middle
age, who will see this grand system of improve
ment, so extensively carried out as to be one of the
great objects of interest in the great republic.
The fire swept through the city while the people
were considering the propriety of erecting a free
public library. The fire settled that question and
in the affirmative. Every public library, with few
exceptions ; every private library of any pretensions
in the city, was destroyed. The next library will be
a public one, and a free one, and on a scale worthy
of a great city, as this is to be. Intimately connected
with this plan is that of a school of practical science,
which will have all the advantages of the most
approved models in Europe, without their defects.
Such schools, embracing the widest range of utility,
are destined, under the support of an intensely
practical people, to become here in Chicago the
great educators of the future men of the country.
The men who are to-day excavating the debris of the
Chicago of 1871, are but clearing the ground, and

336 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
repairing the foundations on which is to be built
the great city of Chicago, the seat of commercial
and manufacturing industry of the continent, the
home, within this century, of a larger population
than has ever been attained by an American city,
and distinguished by the adornments, wealth, power,
and public institutions which are incidental to a
people whom no reverses can depress, to whom suc
cess is but an incentive to still greater effort.

Rebuilding Chicago.
Nature, since the memorable day of wrath on
which Chicago was left half in ruins, has smiled
upon the city, and the work of reconstruction has
gone earnestly on, aided by the beautiful hazy
weather peculiar to the Northwest, and known as
the Indian Summer; but, recently a snow storm
came on suddenly, and the heaps of debris and the
half-built walls were covered with snow-heaps that
seem to defy further progress. The snow, however,
has merely impeded, not stopped the work of rebuild
ing ; for everywhere is heard the clink of trowel and
the stroke of hammer. Owners, contemplating
round rents, are anxious to have their buildings up ;
and mechanics, in the enjoyment of wages which
two months ago would have been thought fabulous,
are quite superior to all meteorological inconveni
ences. If any one thinks that Chicago has lost her
population, and with it her enterprise, he should

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 337
stand upon Madison, Randolph, or Lake street
bridges at dusk, and watch the myriads of laborers
and mechanics that, having finished their day's work
in the ruins, crowd over those structures to their
homes in the West Division. So innumerable are
they that they seem to rise from the brick heaps
like coveys of wild fowl. It is gratifying to know
that these men are toiling not only to rebuild Chi
cago, but, under skilful direction, and backed by
shrewd capitalists, to rebuild it of marble. The
foundations that they are laying are broad and deep,
and the superstructures that are to rise upon them
will be massive and magnificent. There is earnest
promise of this in nearly all that in the way of re
building has already been done ; and builders who
propose to await the spring's coming before laying
their foundations, do so that they may form their
plans on the same magnificent scale.
The work of removing debris was and continues
to be one of appalling proportions. Notwithstand
ing that the teaming facilities of the city are large,
and that these are reinforced by farmers, who drive
in from a circuit of 150 miles, yet the demand far
exceeds the supply. Teamsters and their wagons
receive about $6 a day. Potter Palmer, desirous of
at once commencing work on the re- erection of the
magnificent store which was occupied by Field &
Leiter, sought to contract for the removal of the de
bris. The lowest bid he could obtain was $5,000,
but, rather than pay this extraordinary sum for
work which ordinarily would be performed for

338 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
$1,000 at the utmost, he set to work himself, and is
rapidly accomplishing the removal. Palmer, though
a millionnaire, is, when he wishes to be, an earnest
worker. He watched the construction of this very
building from foundation stone to turret, was
prouder of it than of any of his palatial structures,
and means that it shall, under his own eye, rise to
greater than its old proportions.
Fortunately the basin, which is formed on the
lake shore, by the outlying track and break-water
of the Illinois Central Railroad, afforded a conveni
ent dumping place for the immense quantities of
rubbish taken from the ruins. If some such place
were not afforded, the expense attending the re
moval would be increased incalculably. This rub
bish, though Avorthless in itself, is of great value to
the >city, since it is making land for the city at the
rate of $1,000 a day. The basin, and the adjoining
land, which is known as the lake front, is nearly a
mile in length, and in some places is three hundred
feet in depth. Under existing laws it can be used
for no other than park purposes, and, before the
fire, was undergoing improvement as a park. The
exigency, however, authorized the Board of Public
Works to convert it, temporarily, to business pur
poses, and now down its entire length, rearing their
piue fronts on Michigan avenue, is a row of tempo
rary buildings, devoted mainly to the wholesale
trade. Leases have been made for one year, at the
expiration of which the buildings are to be removed.
The rental was fixed at $500 for every twenty-five

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 339
feet, but many of the merchants, on what principle
of equity it is impossible to imagine, are of the
opinion that the city will never enforce the collec
tion of the rent. It is estimated by competent per
sons that in the course of time, with the accretions
made in the manner described, the land may be sold
(the needed authorization having of course been
obtained) for a sum equal to the city debt, which is
now, in round numbers, $13,000,000. The railway
companies which had their depot at the foot of Lake
street, the Illinois Central, the Michigan Central,
and the Burlington and Quincy, are, and have long
been desirous of extending their depot facilities,
and for this purpose have sought to acquire the fee
to three blocks of the lake front. The Legislature
sold these blocks to the companies some years since
for $800,000, which sum they were to pay the city,
which was to apply it to park purposes. The pay
ment was made, but before the companies obtained
possession certain property holders who owned land
abutting on Michigan avenue, and who claimed cer
tain rights in the lake front, the most prominent of
these rights being an easement, brought the matter
into chancery, where it now languishes.
The Work of Rebuilding.
Wonderful as were the manifestations of the fire,
the energy with which the business men of Chicago
set about the work of rebuilding was even more
wonderful. At first business sought a place for

340 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO.
itself in temporary wooden shanties hastily thrown
together. Once housed, merchants then commenced
the permanent work. Within six weeks after the
tragedy closed, many of the most enterprising and
courageous were actively reconstructing two hun
dred and twelve permanent brick and stone build
ings in the burned district of the South Division
alone, covering a total street frontage of 17,715
feet, or 3| miles. The fact seems almost incredible
when it is considered what an amount of brick, stone
and iron has had to be removed, also the sudden
advance in price of all kinds of building material,
and the coldness and general unfavorable ness of the
weather for out-door operations. The general ap
pearance of the new Chicago will be greatly changed,
It is the almost unanimous determination of build
ers to secure massiveness and solidity at the expense
of ornamentation. With few exceptions the walls
are of the straw colored brick, the fronts of red
pressed brick, the trimmings of stone and iron, and
the cornices principally of brick. It is safe to say
that there will be no more eight inch walls in Chi
cago. Sixteen and twenty inches will be the rule ;
and where timber is used at all, it will be excessively
heavy. The 212 buildings referred to are already
commenced. Next spring Chicago will be a busy
hive of labor, as the architects' books are literally
crammed with orders for new and elegant buildings,
some of them of the most magnificent description
The buildings spoken of, are located as follows :

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. (SOUTH SIDE.)

ST. JAMES' CHURCH. (EPISCOPAL.)

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 343
River street  >j
South Water street,  12
Lake street  10
Randolph street,  g
Washington street,  g
Madison street,  29
Monroe street, .  26
Adams street  2
Quincy street,  1
Jackson street,  1
Yan Buren street,  1
Harrison street,  2
Polk street  1
Michigan avenue,  8
Wabash avenue,  17
State street,  24
Dearborn street,  6
Clark street,  16
La Salle street,  4
Fifth avenue,  6
Franklin street,  9
Market street  3
Miscellaneous  21
Total,  212

The Future.
Said the Missouri Republican : — "Chicago, though
stricken in purse and person as no other city recorded
in history ever has been, is not crushed out and
destroyed, and her complete restoration to the place
and power from which she is temporarily removed
is only a question of time. It would be sad, indeed,
if a conflagration, though swallowing up the last
20

344 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
house and the last dollar of a great commercial
, metropelis, could fix the seal of perpetual annihila
tion upon it, and declare that the wealth and pros
perity which were once should exist no more for
ever. Such might be the case, perhaps, were there
none other save human forces at work ; but into the
composition of such a city as that which the demon
of fire has conquered, enter the forces and necessi
ties of nature. Chicago did not become what she
was, simply because shrewd capitalists and energetic
business men so ordained it. That mighty Agent,
who fashions suns and stars, and swings them aloft
in the boundless ocean of space, marks out by immu
table decree the channels along which population
and trade must flow. When the first settlers landed
at Jamestown and Plymouth, and began to hew a
path for civilization through the primeval forest, it
was as certain as the law of gravitation, that if this
continent were destined to be a new empire, fit to
receive the surplus millions of the eastern hemis
phere, and contribute to the progress and enlighten
ment of mankind everywhere, there must and would
be a few prominent centres, so to speak, around
which the vast machine could revolve. Those cen
tres were determined by geography and topography
of the country ; and when the advancing tide of
immigration touched them they began to develop
as naturally and irresistibly as the flower does
beneath the genial influences of sunshine and
showers. For practical purposes neither Jamestown
nor Plymouth were of any special consequence;

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 345
therefore tlie one has ceased to exist altogether, and
the other remains an insignificant town. But the
inner shore of Boston harbor, the island of Man
hattan, the site of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cin
cinnati, New Orleans, St. Louis, and San Francisco,
furnished the required facilities, and we see the
result to-day. Nature declares where great cities
shall be built, and man simply obeys the orders of
Nature. "The spot where Chicago river empties into
Lake Michigan belongs to the same category as
those we have mentioned. It was designed and
intended for the location of a grand mart to supply
the wants of the extreme Northwest — that portion
of the central plateau lying on the line and to the
north of the Union Pacific Railway, and the west
ern part of the British possessions. The trade from
these sections seeks an outlet there, and finds it
better and more available than anywhere else. This
fact was settled before the first brick was laid in
Chicago; was settled when Chicago rose to the
rank of the fifth city in the republic, and is settled
just as firmly now, when, to all human appearances,
her destruction is well nigh accomplished.
"Natural advantages, then, must compel the re
construction of Chicago, even though every foot of
its soil passes out of the hands of the present pro
prietors. And if we examine what the fire has
spared, it will be found that the nucleus of a new
and rapid growth is not wanting. Not more than
twenty per cent, of the lumber supply has been con-

346 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
sumed, thus affording ample material for building ;
the largest elevator and perhaps one or two of the
smaller ones are safe; the stock yards are uninjured,
and with these avenues for business open, business
itself is sure to come speedily. Indeed, it is an
nounced that several vessels received full loads of
wheat from the elevators as early as Wednesday,
and departed on their accustomed voyages to Eastern
ports. There is also good reason to believe that at
least one-half the insurance will be paid, and as this
cannot be much less than $100,000,000, money will
not be lacking. If we add to these resources the
railway lines converging to that point, which repre
sent an aggregate capital of $300,000,000, and
remember that every railway is directly interested
in the process of reconstruction, and will aid it in
all possible ways, it may not be difficult for even the
most incredulous to see why and how Chicago must
grow again. That she is absolutely ruined or per
manently disabled is a sheer impossibility which no
sensible person will for a moment credit.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 347
EMINENT CITIZENS OF CHICAGO.
As samples of the class of men who built up and
gave character to the great city now in the struggle
of rebuilding, after an almost total destruction of
its material structure, biographical sketches of a few
of the leading citizens are here inserted.
Charles Tobey
Was born in 1831, in Denis, Cape Cod, and is one
of the most prominent manufacturers of the West.
In 1855 he entered Chicago without a friend
there, or even a letter of introduction.
He, however, soon obtained a clerkship, and in
1856, with a $500 loan from a friend at Boston, he
began business on his own account, and succeeded
beyond the most sanguine expectations.
He is a man of business, promptness, efficiency,
positiveness, enterprise, and indomitable persever
ance, and his success in life, according to all ac
counts, is amply deserved. John Van Osdel.
Among the men who have risen with Chicago,
contributing to its wonderful greatness, is Mr.
John Van Osdel, a native of Baltimore.
He was born in 1811, his father being a car
penter. He was the pioneer of the famous grain elevators

348 THE GREAT FIRES OF THE WORLD.
of New York. Then, after engaging for a time
in the iron foundry and machinery business, he re
turned to his early choice of architect. Recognized
as the best in the city, his employment increased
with the city's growth, and he accumulated a large
fortune. From his early struggles, his energy and readiness,
his zeal in self-education, he well deserves the posi
tion he has attained.

Philip A. Hoyne.
Mr. Hoyne was born in New York, in 1 824, and
when he was thirteen he entered a book-bindery.
In 1841 he settled in Chicago, and commenced
the practice of law. Becoming tired of that pro
fession, he went to Galena, where he remained ten
years. He then returned to Chicago, and is now
United States Commissioner for the Northern Dis
trict of Illinois. His impartiality and critical acu
men have made the name of Commissioner Hoyne
very popular. Hon. Digby N. Bell.
The Hon. Digby N. Bell was born in 1804, and
commenced his active life as a sailor. Soon tiring
of that drudgery, he went with his young family and
settled in Michigan. After farming awhile, he set
tled, in 1851, in Chicago, and established there the
first Commercial College in Illinois. He has de-

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 349
voted the latter years of his life in advancing the
cause of education.

Hon. Isaac N. Arnold.
This eminent merchant of Chicago was born in
Hartwick, Otsego, county, New York, November
30th, 1815. His parents were natives of Rhode
Island, whence they emigrated to New York in 1800.
At the age of fifteen he was thrown wholly upon
his own resources. He resolved to become a law
yer, and in 1836 he removed to Chicago, at that
time a mere village. He has since filled the posi
tion of City Clerk, State Senator, and finally mem
ber of Congress. He was the intimate friend of
President Lincoln, of whom he wrote a life.
Thomas Church.
Thomas Church was born in Onondaga, New
York, November 8th, 1801.
His early life was a hard one ; and one of his
first experiences was earning six and a quarter
cents for a day's labor in picking stones.
Become a man, his first idea was to farm, but he
afterward took to commerce.
In 1834 he removed to Chicago, built a house,
and opened a store. His business steadily increased,
and in 1840 he took Mr. M. Salterlee into partner
ship, their stock consisting of groceries, paints, oils,
and domestic dry goods. In 1848 he began his

350 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION  CHICAGO*.
real estate transactions and built largely. He has '
been one of the busiest of men, and- is president of
the Chicago Firemen's Insurance Company.

Col. George B. Armstrong.
Col. Armstrong was born in Ireland, in 1822.
When he was quite a child his parents emigrated
to the United States, and settled at Newark, New
Jersey. In 1833 the family went to Virginia, and
the succeeding year settled in Baltimore. In 1854,
young Armstrong went to Chicago, where, four
years afterwards, he inaugurated a new system of
distributing letters.
In 1864 he was authorized by the post office to
test his system, and he has now made it a grand
success.

James H. Bowen.
The subject of this brief sketch was born in
1822, in New York State, his father being a car
penter. In 1836 he left home to become a clerk,
and in 1839 he removed to Little Falls, New York.
In 1842 he was elected secretary and treasurer of a
large commercial company. In 1857 he settled in
Chicago, and with his two brothers started the firm
of Bowen Brothers, which soon became one of the
foremost even in that city of mammoth concerns.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 351
John V Farwell
Was born in 1827 in Steuben county, New York.
In the spring of 1855 he worked his passage, on
a load of wheat, to Chicago, and set his foot in that
city with three dollars and twenty-five cents capital.
He obtained a situation in a dry goods house, stead
ily progressed therein until he became partner, and
soon, by his energy, the firm was doing the vast
business of ten million dollars per year.
He founded, and in a measure sustained, the Illin
ois Street Mission for Outcast Children, and has
been an earnest friend and associate of the Young
Men's Christian Association, and is still in the prime
of fife.

Wm. F. Coolbaugh
Is a native of Pike County, Pennsylvania, and was
born in 1821.
He began business in 1842, at Burlington, Iowa.
He has long occupied a leading position in the
State Legislature, and as a financier stands deserv
edly high.
In 1862 he removed to Chicago, and started a
banking house, afterward the Union National Bank,
and he soon became President of the National Bank
ers' Association for the West and Southwest. These
positions show conclusively how Mr. Coolbaugh is
regarded in the Great West.

352 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
Wm. Heath By ford.
ft
Mr. Byford first saw the light in Eaton, Ohio, on
March 20th, 1817, and at the age of twenty he placed
himself under the guidance and guardianship of
Doctor Joseph Maddox, of Vincennes, Indiana;
commencing practice on his own account at Owens-
ville in 1838, and obtaining a regular diploma from
the Ohio College in 1845
He has filled many important public positions,
and is widely known as an author of many learned
medical works.
With the burden of fifty years upon him, Doctor
Byford is still stalwart, erect in person, and as vigor
ous as ever.

F. G. Welch.
F. G. Welch was born in Ohio, 1833. After
various mercantile experiences in Colorado, San
Francisco, and other towns, he emigrated, in 1863,
to Chicago. His success has been great. He is
the editor of the Farmer's Friend of that city, and
has recently established the Merchants' and Com
mercial Travellers' Association.

Samuel Hoard.
This energetic man was born at Westminster,
Mass , May 20th, 1800. Before he was six years of

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 353
age both his parents died, and he then lived with
relations, who gave him a good education. Com
mencing the study of the law, he grew dissatisfied
with his progress and entered a store as clerk. In
1833 he removed to Chicago and settled as farmer,
but his active mind was not satisfied with agricul
tural pursuits, and in 1840 he was appointed to take
the State census for Cook county, Chicago, which
then contained about 5,000 inhabitants. In 1842
he was elected State Senator, and was soon after
appointed Clerk of the Circuit Court. In 1845 he
formed a partnership with J. T. Edwards, the emi
nent jeweler, and the firm soon became a great
success. He was appointed by President Lincoln postmas
ter of Chicago, which position he retained till Andy
Johnson's accession. Julius Bauer.
Among Western business men who have achieved
success with no other capital than intelligence and
perseverance, few are more deserving of notice than
Julius Bauer, the musical instrument maker.
Twenty-two years ago he landed in New York, a
stranger in a strange land.
He started in business in New York, afterward
went to Philadelphia, and in 1857 caught the Chi
cago fever, and started a branch house there, in the
famous Crosby Opera Building.
His business progressed at the usual prodigious

354 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
Western rate, and in 1862 he became the agent of
William Knabe & Co., the piano manufacturers.
By his energy, attention to business, and identifica
tion- with the real wants and interests of our people,
Mr. Bauer is a fair type of the self-made man.
James H. Hoes.
James H. Hoes left his father's home at the age
of fourteen, and started on his life-task in the year ,
1835. He set out from Kinderhook, N. Y. — his native
town — and went to Towanda on foot.
Having decided to go into the jewelry business,
he applied to the best watchmaker in the place for
a situation, and after entreating him to give him an
opportunity of learning the trade, James succeeded
in getting employment.
Through his industry and tact Mr. Hoes gained
the good wishes and esteem of Mr. Langford, his
employer. At the end of a year he offered to give
him a share in the business, having already gradu
ally promoted him to high positions.
In 1840 they both prepared to remove to New
York, and enter into business there, but as sickness
prevented Mr. Langford from carrying out his plans,
Hoes became superintendent of a concern at Os
wego and after going to Binghampton, where for two
years he did business on his own account, he returned
to Oswego and bought out Mr. Wilson, his former
employer.

ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 355
Young Mr. Hoes was thus, by his own unaided
exertions, in possession of the finest establishment
in that part of the country.
Having married, and removed his business to
Danville, he continued in his labors at that place
for eight years, at the end of which time he resolved
to try his fortune in the West. He went to Mil
waukee, and from there to Chicago. He bought
the stock of Hoard & Avery, and began business in
the Garden City. Here, after a period of unex
ampled success, he sold out, in 1867, to one of his
former partners, and retired from active life to enjoy
the fortune which he had so honorably accumulated.
But absolute retirement soon proving impossible, he
finally accepted the management of the Northwest
ern Silverware Company.
In social life Mr. Hoes has always been considered
a just and charitable man.
His circle of acquaintances, which comprise the
most distinguished and honored citizens of Chicago,
unite alike in their praise of his private and profes
sional character.

POEMS.
From the great number of poems inspired by the
great calamity we select the following, as among
the best. The number of those published was well
nigh legion, but only a small proportion of them
were ever worthy to appear in print.
Chicago.
BY JOHN G. WHITTIER.
Men said at vespers : All is well !
In one wild night the city fell ;
Fell shrines of prayer and marts of gain
Before the fiery hurricane.
On threescore spires had sunset shone,
Where ghastly sunrise looked on none ;
Men clasped each other's hands, and said :
The City of the West is dead !
Brave hearts who fought, in slow Betreat,
The fiends of fire from street to street,
Turned, powerless, to the blinding glare,
The dumb defiance of despair.
A sudden impulse thrilled each wire
That signaled round that sea of fire ; —
Swift words of cheer, warm heart-throbs came ;
In tears of pity died the flame I
V ' (357)

358 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
From East, from West, from South and North,
The messages of hope shot forth,
And, underneath the severing wave,
The world, full-handed, reached to save.
Fair seemed the old ; but fairer still
The new the dreary void shall fill,
With dearer homes than those o'erthrown,
jPor love shall lay each corner-stone.
Rise, stricken city ! — from thee throw
The ashen sackcloth of thy woe ;
And build, as Thebes to Amphion's strain,
To songs of cheer thy walls again I
How shrivelled in thy hot distress
The primal sin of selfishness !
How instant rose, to take thy part,
The angel in the human heart 1
Ah ! not in vain the flames that tossed
Above thy dreadful holocaust ;
The Christ again has preached through thee
The Gospel of Humanity I
Then lift once more thy towers on high,
And fret with spires the western sky,
To teH that God is yet with us,
And love is still miraculous 1

NEW ENGLAND CHURCH. (CONGREGATIONAL.)

3-"fagipg^ CA
NITY CHURCH. (DR. COLLYER.)

THE SMITTEN CITY. 361

The Smitten City.
BY GEORGE ALFRED TOWNSEND.
I heard a parson of the school of Baalarn
Lift up the lesson of the flaming town,
And, like a pedler in the will of Heaven,
Show how its sins invoked the Sovereign frown.
Thus the dead lion ever is insulted
By asses' colts, whose pity is a blow,
And fallen empires find their last misfortune
In shallow platitudes from fool and foe.
Bright, Christian capital of lakes and prairie,
Heaven had no interest in thy scourge and scath ;
Thou wert the newest shrine of our religion,
The youngest witness of our hope and faith.
Not In thy embers do we rake for folly,
But like a martyr's ashes gather thee,
With chastened pride and tender melancholy, —
The miracle thou wast, and yet will be I
Not merely in the homages of churches,
Or bells of praise tolled o'er the inland seas, —
Thou glorified our God and human nature
With meeter works and grander melodies.
Of cheerful toil and willing enterprises,
Of hearty faith in freedom and in man ;
The hoar old capitals looked on in wonder
To see the swift strong race this stripling ran.
How like the sun he rose above the marshes,
And built the world beneath his airy feet,
And changed the course of immemorial rivers,
And tapped the lakes for water cool and sweet.
21

362 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
How skilfully the golden grain transmuted
To birds of sail and meteors of spark,
And, like another Noah, bade creation
March in the teeming mazes of his ark.
Yet in his power, most frank and democratic,
He roused no envious witness of his joy,
And in the stature of the Prince and hero,
We saw the laughing dimples of a boy.
Still wise and apt among the oldest merchants,
His young example steered the wary mart,
And amplest credit poured its gold around him,
And trade imperial gave scope for art.
His architectures passed all heathen splendor,
The immigrating Goth drew wandering near ;
To see his shafts and arches tall and slender
Branch o'er the new homes of this pioneer.
The Greek and Roman there might see rebuilded
In vastness equal and in style as pure,
The merchants' markets like a palace gilded,
With marble walls and deep entablature.
His two score bridges swinging on their pivots,
The long and laden line of vessels sped,
While he, impatient, marched beneath the sluice,
His hosts, like Cyrus, in the river's bed.
Then, when all weak predictions proved but scandal,
And the wild marshes grew a sovereign's home,
A dozing cow o'erset an urchin's candle, —
Once more a fool fired the Ephesian dome.
The artless winds that blow o'er plains of cattle,
And cooled the corn through all the summer days,
Plunged like wild steeds in pastime or in battle,
Straight in the blinding brightness of the blaze.

THE SMITTEN CITY. 363
And down fell bridge, and parapet, and lintel,
The blazing barques went drifting, one by one ;
The mighty city wrapped its head in splendor,
And sank into the waters like a sun !
Oh ! thou, my master, champion of the people,
Tribune august, who o'er kept righteous court,
Long after fire had toppled church and steeple,
Thou stood'st amidst the ruins like a fort.
High and serene thy cornices extended,
Though scorched by smoke and of the flame the prey,
Above the vault where, grim and calm, and splendid,
The sleeping lions of thy presses lay.
Till looking round on the wondrous pity,
Thyself alone erect, intact, upreared,
Disdaining to outlive the glorious city,
With innate heat transfigured, disappeared.
Set, from the grave Chicago's wondrous spirit
Comes forth all brightness, o'er the darkened town,
To say again : " Lo ! I am with you, brethren ;
With all my thorns, I wear my civic crown.
" To die is sweet embalmed in your compassion ;
Tour oil and wine make life in every rent.
Oh ! let me lean a little while upon you,
And walk to strength in your encouragement."

Cincinnati, October 13, 1871.

364 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:

Chicago.
BY BRET HARTE.
Blackened and pleading, helpless, panting, prone,
On the charred fragments of her shattered throne,
Lies she who stood but yesterday alone.
Queen of the West : by some enchanter taught,
To lift the glory of Aladdin's court,
Then lose the spell that all that wonder wrought.
Like her own prairies by some chance seed sown,
Like her own prairies in one brief day grown,
Like her own prairies in one fierce night mown.
She lifts her voice and in her pleading calls,
We hear the cry of Macedon to Paul,
The cry for help that makes her kin to all.
But happy with wan fingers may she feel,
The silver cup hid in the proffered meal,
The gifts her kinship and our loves reveal.

October 10, 1871,

OUT OF THE ASHES. 365

Out of the Ashes.
BY HOWARD GLYXDON.
Oh ! fallen with the falling leaves,
And level with the dust as they 1
Thy beauty, City of the lake,
Is but a thing of yesterday.
Thou wondrous blossom of the West 1
We were so passing proud of thee :
" See," said we to the elder world,
" How cities grow when men are free."
Thy senior sisters, looking on
With dazed, half unbelieving eyes
Saw thee, like Hercules of old,
Swift into ripe estate arise.
And seeing thee so fair, how high
The hearts of all thy children were I
We would not blame them if to-day
They bowed their faces in despair ;
Or, newly risen from troubled sleep,
Stared, with uncomprehending eyes,
On homesteads smouldering, black and bare,
Beneath the mild October skies ;
Where, here and there, but yesterday
Towered up such sumptuous witnesses
Of their devoted hearts and hands —
God help them in this sore distress 1
And saying this, the Nation takes
These homeless children of the West
Into her motherly embrace,
And hides the homeless in her breast.

366 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
Not houseless while our homes have room !
Not homeless — all cur doors are wide I
The welcome that we send to day
Is tinctured with exulting pride.
For who has heard one craven cry,
Though thousands wander lorn and pale ?
Oh 1 strong young city, sorest tried,
There's bravery even in thy wail
To where thou sitt'st we bring the world,
, And show thy ruins, saying, " See I
She is not broken, only bent ;
For hearts are strong when men are free."

PARIS AND CHICAGO. 367
Paris and Chicago-
(From the New York Evening Post.)
0 bird with a crimson wine
And a brand in thy glowing beak,
Why did'st thou flutter o'er seas to brine
A woe that-we dare not speak ?
By the light of a flaming sword,
Did the beautiful Queen of the East
Behold the awful avenging word,
And drink the blood of the feast.
Her fires went out on the hearth,
And the glory of Paris has fled ;
Could her maddening wiles and unseemly mirth,
Unstop the ears of the dead !
Did out of her ashes arise
This bird with a flaming crest,
That over the ocean unhindered flies,
With a scourge for the Queen of the West ?
See homes at its bidding fall I
At its fiery fierce attack !
While the fiends of the air hold earn ival
In the light of its lurid track.
The joys that were held so dear,
On the glow of its breath expire ;
While treasures and palaces disappear,
Consumed by its vengeful ire.
Fly hence on thy wing of fla me ,
0 bird I for thy work is done ;
And the queens of a different clime and name
In their ruin and grief are one.

THE NORTHWESTERS" FIRES.

THE GREAT CONFLAGRATIONS

IX THE STATES OP

MICHIGAN AND WISCONSIN.

GREAT FIRES (0F THE WORLD
ROME, MOSCOW, LONDON,

HEW YOEK, PITTSBURGH, CHARLESTON, CHICAGO, PHILADELPHIA,
SAN FEAHCISCO, PORTLAND,

OTHER GREAT EIRES.

THE NORTHWESTERN FIRES.

Wisconsin.
The great fires which devastated the northern and
northeastern portions of Wisconsin and Michigan
appropriately belong to a work of this kind, for the
burning of Peshtigo, Manistee, Holland and the
numerous villages along the shores of Green Bay,
will always be associated with the destruction of
Chicago, more especially as the principal towns
were destroyed on the same evening. .While the
loss of property may not have been so great, the loss
of life was much more terrible and the areas burned
over incalculably larger. The same causes in a
certain degree conspired to produce this destruc
tion. The summer had been an excessively dry
one, and the usual prairie fires which occur every
fall, were burning over wider tracts than usual.
Had it not been for the combination of wind and
fire, it is doubtful whether any material loss would
have occurred. Prairie fires in these regions are so
common as to attract no attention, even when they
get into the woods, for green timber offers little food
for combustion. The people of Peshtigo for in
stance, were resting in perfect security on that fatal
Sabbath. The fires were about them in every
(371)

372 THE NORTHWESTERN FIRES.
direction, but they had fought them off with the
appliances so familiar to frontiersmen, and dreamed
of nO danger. At sundown there was a lull in the
wind and comparative stillness. For two hours
there were no signs of danger; but at a few minutes
after nine o'clock, and by a singular coincidence
precisely the time at which the Chicago fire com
menced, the' people of the village heard a terrible
roar. It was that of a tornado, crushing through
the forests. Instantly the heavens were illuminated
with a terrible glare. The sky which had been so
dark a moment before burst into clouds of flame.
A spectator of the terrible scene says the fire did
not come upon them gradually from burning trees
and other objects to the windward, but the first
notice they had of it was a whirlwind of flame in
great clouds from above the tops of the trees, which
fell upon and entirely enveloped everything. The
poor people inhaled it, or the intensely hot air,
and fell down dead. This is verified by the appear
ance of many of the corpses. They were found
dead in the roads and open spaces, where there
were no visible marks of fire near by, with not a
trace of burning upon their bodies or clothing. At
the Sugar Bush, which is an extended clearing, in
some places four miles in width, corpses were found
in the open road, between fences only slightly
burned. No mark of fire was upon them, they
lay there as if asleep. This phenomena seems to
explain the fact that so many were killed in com
pact masses. They seemed to have huddled together

THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — WISCONSIN. 373,
in what were evidently regarded at the moment as
the safest places, away from buildings, trees or other
inflammable material, and there to have died to
gether. Fences around cleared fields were burned
in spots of only a few rods in length, and elsewhere
not touched. Fish were killed in the streams — as
at Peshtigo.
Another spectator says :
"Much has been said of the intense heat of the
fires which destroyed Peshtigo, Menekaune, Wil-
liamsonville, &c., but all that has been said cannot
give the stranger even a faint conception of the
reality. The heat has been compared to that engen
dered by a flame concentrated on an object by a
blow-pipe, but even that would not account for some
of the phenomena. For instance, we have in our
possession a copper cent, taken from the pocket of a
dead man in the Peshtigo Sugar Bush, which will
illustrate our point. This cent has been partially
fused but still retains its round form and the inscrip
tion upon it is legible. Others in the same pocket
were partially melted off, and yet the clothing and
the body of the man was not even singed. We do
not know any way to account for this, unless, as is
asserted by some, the tornado and fire were accom
panied by electrical phenomena."
It is the universal testimony that the prevailing
idea among the people was that the last day had
come. Accustomed as they were to fire, nothing like

374 THE NORTHWESTERN FIRES.
this had ever been known. They could give no
other interpretation to this ominous roar, this burst
ing of the sky with flame, and this dropping down
of fire out of the very heavens, consuming instantly
everything it touched.
Wo two give a like description of the great tornado
as it smote and devoured the village. It seemed as
if " the fiery fiends of hell had been loosened," says
one. " It came in great sheeted flames from heaven,"
says another. "There was a pittiless rain of fire and
sand." " The atmosphere was all afire." Some speak
of " great balls of fire unrolling and shooting forth
, in streams." The fire leaped over roofs and trees
and ignited whole streets at once. No one could
stand before the blast. It was a race with death,
above, behind and before them.
The appearance of Peshtigo after the fire, and the
effects of the flames is well told in a letter to the
Milwaukee Wisconsin. The writer says :
"Yesterday afternoon I rode out several miles
from Menominee to the opening in the woods, where
Peshtigo was. It is a level and sandy road, bordered
mainly by blackened stumps and pine. We came to
the Peshtigo opening. Fox river, where so many
had been saved or drowned, was flowing placidly
over the half-burnt dam ; heaps of mortar, brick and
iron, showed where the factory, dry house, mills,
foundry and machine works stood, — all else was a
naked waste of drifted ashes and sand. Fording the
river with our team, we continued our drive for a

THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION  WISCONSIN. 375
few miles westward into the Sugar Bush settlements.
The trees had been cut and pulled aside from the
roa-l. Burned culverts and small bridges filled up
with logs. Outside the road on either hand, was
seen the work of the tornado. Great forests of
maple, oak, beach, hemlock and pine were torn as
by the power of a hundred whirlwinds, and hurled
length wise and cross-wise on the ground. The
whole forest had been mowed down like grass ; not
one tree in twenty was standing. Mingled with the
work of the winds, is seen the black wrath of the
flames. Green maples and oaks, three feet in diam
eter, went down in a whirl, and were eaten up by
the red flames in an hour. It was this double rage
of tornado and flame that burst in upon the ill-fated
village of Peshtigo. Not all the fire steamers in
the world could have stayed its destruction.
" Out among the clearings of the Sugar Bush, not
a trace of fence or farm buildings is seen, but a few
black embers by the road side and the relics of stoves
and kettles by the chimney pile.
"There were two hundred and twenty families
burned out in the Sugar Bush, two hundred and fifty
in Peshtigo, and full a hundred elsewhere in the
track of the tornado. Nothing was saved among
the farmers, except now and then a stray horse or
cow and a few scanty rags that hung to their bodies.
The villagers fared no better. A few attempted
flight with bundles and carpet bags, but they were
snatched up and devoured by the flames. No one
as yet can sum up the number of the dead. One

376 THE NORTHWESTERN FIRES.
hundred and forty dead bodies have been found and
identified in the lower Sugar Bush, fifty in the middle,
and seventy-seven in the upper. It is thought that
nearly all the farm settlers have been discovered. It
is difficult to get at the number of the Peshtigo dead.
There v> ere many woodsmen, railroad men, and others,
strangei s in town. Up to Saturday eighty-eight bodies
had been found and registered, while fully as many
more were mixed with charred bones and indistin
guishable remains. There were twenty-two corpses
among the fifteen families at Birch Creek, and half as
many up the Menominee." ,
Before the fire, Peshtigo was in all respects the
most beautiful village between Green Bay and Mar
quette. A six mile railroad extended to it from
the mouth of the river, where were situated the
great Ogden mill and pier. It contained the works
of the Peshtigo Company, including the great tub
and pail factory, machine shop, foundry, saw, flour
and planing mills. The pail factory alone cost over
$250,000 and was the largest of its kind in the
United States. The Company's property in the
village was estimated at a million dollars., They
employed over five hundred workmen. The village
proper, on both sides of the river, covered about a
mile square, and at the time of its destruction num
bered about fourteen hundred people.
The whole burned district in Wisconsin takes in
Brown county, at the head of the Bay, and most of
the country — say fifty miles west and seventy miles
north on the west, and nearly the whole peninsula

CHURCH OF THE HOLY NAME. (ROMAN CATHOLIC.)

ST. PAUL'S CHURCH. (UNIVERSALIST.)

THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — WISCONSIN. 379
on the east to Lake Michigan. It also took in a
strip ten to twenty miles wide on the Fox river,
between Lake Winnebago and Green Bay. The
fire raged in this section, more or less, for two
months. It is estimated that about a third of the
standing timber was killed by the fire. Up to the
time of the great tornado on the 8th, settlers gen
erally had been able to save their buildings and
crops, but lost heavily in fences, bridges, culverts,
corduroy roads, and all wood property.
The track of the great Sunday night tornado, on
the west side, commenced about six miles north of
Oconto, extending fifteen miles in width, and run
ning parallel thirty miles northward down the- h||f;
The track on the east side, commencing in the town
of Humboldt, twelve miles east from here, ranged
ten miles in width, sweeping northeast forty miles
to Big Sturgeon Bay. The west side district took
in the village of Peshtigo, the Sugar Bush Settle
ments, the village of Menekaune, at the mouth of
the Menominee, and the Birch Creek Settlement,
eight miles beyond in the borders of Michigan. All
were swept out of existence.
The Green Bay region was not so sparsely popu
lated as is usually supposed. The census tables of
1870 show that Oconto county then contained 8,322
people; Door county, 4,869; Kewaunee county,
10,281; Brown county, 25,180. Nearly every
township in the three last named counties contained
settlements of people engaged in farming, and
many villages clustered about the saw mills.
22

380 THE NORTHWESTERN FIRES.
The people in Oconto county were generally found
in villages, occupied at this season of the year in
the saw mills or manufacturing establishments. The
villages of Oconto, Peshtigo, Marinette and Pen-
saukee had, in the aggregate, over 5,000 inhabi
tants. Besides the counties above named, large
portions of the following counties have been par
tially swept by the fires : Manitowoc, having 33,369
people; Calumet, 12,334; Outagamie, 18,435. All
the Green Bay region has increased in the numbers
of its people at least one-fifth.
Of the losses in the farming districts immediately
contiguous and tributary to Peshtigo, the Peshtigo
and Marinette Eagle of October 2 1st, says : " Allow
ing, at least, two townships of good farming land
to have been entirely devastated by the fire, one-
half of the same was more or less improved. Esti
mating the loss on improvements, stock and farm
products to have been $1,000 to each forty acres of
such land, the loss amounts to $576,000. Valuing
the timber on the entire tract at $500 per forty
acres, and we have of loss $576,000 more. We
think the foregoing estimate low enough in all con
science. This makes a grand total loss of property
in Peshtigo village and vicinity of $2,883,800.
Add losses at Menekaune, at Menominee, and
the farms up Menominee river, and the Menomi
nee pine, the mill property in the vicinity and
settlements, and the total loss will reach nearly
$4,000,000 on that* fatal and long-to-be-remembered
Sunday night."

THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — WISCONSIN. 381
The roll of actual sufferers, not including those
who had means to help themselves, was 3,500 ; the
roll of the dead who perished in these terrible
flames, about 1,500.
A civil engineer doing business in Peshtigo, in a
letter describing his escape, says : " I went to bed
about 9 o'clock, but did not go to sleep, as there
was "considerable noise in the house (the Peshtigo
Hotel). Before long the bells rang and the whistles
blew for fire, but this had happened almost every
night for a fortnight. I looked out of my window,
but as the sky was black, I went to bed again. Be
fore long I looked again, and the sky was red. I
then threw open the window, and the loud roar which
I heard warned me of approaching danger." The
writer dressed and looked out into the street, and
though he saw no flames then, he had only time to
assist two friends to carry out their trunks before
the sparks flew in clouds and the smoke became
suffocating. He immediately started for the bridge,
and when he reached it the fire had not extended
to the river. Before he could cross, a mill at the
other end was in flames, presenting a fiery blockade.
'• I turned back," he says, " and for the first time
the horror of the situation burst upon me. Fire on
all sides ; the bridge I stood on afire ; the air hot
and full of flame; crowds of people screeching,
cattle bellowing, horses dashing through the crowds
and the wind blowing a hurricane. A wooden ware
factory blew in before the fire touched it." He
struggled back to the other end of the bridge,

382 THE NORTHWESTERN FIRES.
though knocked down once by cattle, threw himself
into the water and made the best of his way up
stream, sometimes swimming and then wading, as
the depth allowed, to get as far from the burning
buildings as possible. "The heat increased so
rapidly," he continues, "as things got well afire,
that, when about 400 feet from the bridge and the
nearest building, I was obliged to'lie down behind a
log that was aground in about two feet of water, and
by going under water now and then, and holding
my head close to the water behind the log, I man
aged to breathe. There was a dozen others behind
the same log. If I had succeeded in crossing the
river and gone among the buildings on the other
side, probably I should have been lost, as many
were. It was thought at first that the fire would
not cross the river, as it is here four or five hundred
feet wide ; but it proved to be no obstacle at all, and
those who crossed wTere glad enough to get back into
the water. For about an hour I lay and gasped for
breath, but after that the worst was over and I
crawled upon the log to get out of the water, for it
was very cold and I was chilled through. I lay
there an hour and a half, and then was able to go
ashore. It was so smoky we could not go near the
burning ruins, so we built a rousing fire on the
shore and tried to get dry and keep warm until
morning. My watch ran through it all, and there
fore I knew the length of time I was in the water.
Had it not been for the watch I would have thought
I was there four hours at least."

THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — WISCONSIN. 383
Another statement will be all that is necessary to
give the reader an idea of this terrible scene. Mr.
James B. Clark, of Detroit, who was at Uniontown,
Wisconsin, writes: "Fires were blazing through
the forests and along the prairies in every direction.
At sundown there was a strong breeze, which at
9 o'clock increased to a furious gale, blowing toward
the lake. The whole surface of the country to the
westward, eastward and southward seemed to be
one mass of flame, which almost reached to the
lowering clouds, and rushed along at race-horse
speed. _ Beyond, toward the lake, was the settle
ment of Williamson's Mills, comprising about four
teen families. The fire suddenly made a rush like
the flash of a train of gun-powder, and swept in the
shape of a crescent around the settlement. It is
almost impossible to conceive the frightful rapidity
of the advance of the flames. The rushing fire
seemed to eat up and annihilate the trees. He
says the roar of the blast was as loud as the whir
of a great mill. As we stood looking on, say at
about 10 o'clock, we heard another strange sound.
Straining our eyes toward the fire — about seven
miles distant — we could just discern something
moving; now it would appear like a black mass,
then it would separate into fragments, swaying to
and fro, and bobbing up and down. It came toward
us directly from the lurid wall of flame. S6 intense
was the glare of light all about us that our eyes
were dazed ; they ran with water, and we could see
only by constantly using our handkerchiefs. At

384 THE NORTHWESTERN FIRES.
last we made out by sight and sound that the
moving mass was a stampede of cattle and horses
thundering toward us away from the flames, bellow
ing, neighing and moaning as they galloped on.
Finally they came rushing past with fearful speed,
their eyeballs dilated and glaring with terror, and
every motion betokening delirium of fright. Some
had been badly burned, and must have plunged
through a long space of flame in the desperate effort
to escape. Following considerably behind came a
solitary horse, panting and snorting and nearly ex
hausted. He was saddled and bridled, and, as we
first thought, had a bag lashed to his back. As he
came up we were startled at the sight of a young
lad lying fallen over the animal's neck, the bri
dle wound around his hands, and the mane being
clinched by the- fingers. Little effort was needed
to stop the jaded horse, and at once release the
helpless boy. He was taken into the house, and
all that we could do was done ; but he had inhaled
the smoke, and was seemingly dying. Some time
elapsed and he revived enough to speak. He told
his name — Patrick Byrnes — and said: 'Father and
mother and the children got into the wagon. I
don't know what became of them. Everything is
burned up. I am dying. Oh, is hell any worse
than this 1 '
" The poor fellow lay in a critical condition when
I left. The next morning we drove down to the
settlement. The first house we came to was that
of Patrick Byrnes, father of the lad before spoken

THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — WISCONSIN. 385
of. It was a heap of ashes. The brick chimney,
the cooking stove and iron portions of farm tools
were the only remnants of the place. The forest
was burnt down close to the ground, the stumps
only being left, smouldering and smoking. Every
thing was hot. Even the road was baked and
cracked by the beat. About a mile further on we
came to a horrible spectacle. Along side the road
in a gully lay the bodies of six persons and two
horses, roasted to a crisp. The iron tires of the
wheels, and braces and bolts of the wagon were
scattered about. Here the fire had surrounded and
engulfed them. Evidently the animals in their
mad struggles had reared, plunged, and fallen head
long from the road to where they died.
"We hurried on. All along the road lay the
carcasses of cattle, sheep, hogs and dogs, burned to
a crisp. The smaller animals were almost entirely
consumed. Now we came to the village. Nothing
was left but piles of ashes, smoking and smouldering.
In the cellar of one house we found eight bodies.
One of a man was in a stooping position over that
of a child, as though he died trying to ward off
the flames. This was very likely the body of Mr.
Williamson, the owner of the mills, who, with his
entire family, is said to have perished. In the rear
of the yard of the next house were four bodies,
apparently those of a mother and her children.
They were scorched, not burnt crisp, and one cheek
of the youngest, a girl of six, retained an expression
of calmness that seemed to indicate a painless death

386 THE NORTHWESTERN FIRES.
by suffocation. But the most horrible of all was at
Boorman's well. Mr. Boorman's house was the
largest in the village, and in the centre of the yard,
midway between the house and barn, was a large
but shallow well. Several of the neighbors were
supplied with water from this fountain, and it is
likely that in the conflagration, when all hope was
cut off, the neighbors, insane with terror thronged
with one purpose to this well. The ordinary chain
and wheel pump used in that place had been re
moved, and the wretched people had leaped into the
well as the last refuge. Boards had been thrown
down to prevent them being drowned ; but evidently
the relentless fury of the fire drove them pell mell
into the pit, to struggle with each other and die —
some by drowning, and others by fire and suffoca
tion. None escaped. Thirty-two bodies were found
there. They were in every imaginable position;
but the contortions of their limbs and the agonizing
expressions of their faces told the awful tale."
Michigan.
The destruction in Michigan was not so terrible
to life as in Wisconsin and yet was very disastrous
in its consequences both to property and life. The
principal losses were in Huron and Sanilac coun
ties, which contained about 24,000 inhabitants. Of
these fully 10,000 were rendered homeless, and in
other parts of the State nearly 5,000 more. On the
west shore of Lake Huron the towns of Verona,

THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION  MICHIGAN. 387
New Eiver, Sand Beach, Huron City, a portion of
Port Hope, Crescent, Centre Harbor, Ellen Creek,
White Rock, Paris, Cracow, Meriden, Forrestville,
and a Polish settlement near Forrestville were ut
terly destroyed. Further north and on the shore
of Lake Michigan, Muskegon and Manistee in part,
Glen Haven on Grand Traverse Bay, and other
settlements south of Mackinaw were burned.
Of the losses, the State Relief Committee of
Michigan say: "From 10,000 to 15,000 people at
least in Michigan have lost their homes, food,
clothing, crops, horses, and cattle. On the night
of the Chicago fire 2,000 people on the east shore
of Lake Michigan, and 5,000 to 6,000 on the west
shore of Lake Huron were reduced to almost abso
lute destitution. Within two or three weeks other
small villages and settlements have been blotted
out. The number of individual farm houses, barns,
and frontier dwellings which have been destroyed
by the all prevailing fires cannot, from want of infor
mation, be accurately calculated. The fires are still
burning and new ones spring up. The area of ruin
and devastation is daily increasing and much suf
fering exists. A long, hard, and cold winter is
approaching, and large numbers of people are
accessible only by water, and navigation will soon
be closed."
In regard to the destruction of timber the Huron
county News thus estimates for one county alone :
" The loss to this county by the burning of pine
and other valuable timber is very great. It is too

388 THE NORTHWESTERN FIRES.
soon to make anything like an accurate calculation
of the total loss from this source, but from converse
during the week with the supervisors and others
from different parts of the country, we know we
are safe in saying that it will exceed one million dol
lars. Francis Crawford, of Caseville, estimates his
loss by the destruction of timber at $100,000. That
of the Port Crescent Company cannot be much less.
Of the Rock Falls pine, comprising many millions of
feet, hardly a green tree remains. Already immense
tracts of this burnt* timber have been laid flat by the
high winds that have since blown upon them. But
not until spring will the full effect of the damage be
seen ; then, when the earth becomes softened by the
rains and departing frost, will these forest monarchs
bow before the blast, and green timber land will
be the exception in the country — perhaps almost a
novelty. Where the pine is scattering, it will not
pay to get it out from these 'wind falls;' where it
has stood thick, much of it will be got in, though at
a much increased cost of lumbering. During the
next two winters doubtless an extra effort will be
made by all our lumbermen to rescue as much of
this pine from entire destruction as possible, — as
the destructive worm will be busily at work, and
the chances of further burning will be largely
increased." In connection with the Michigan fires the story
of Allison Weaver, who lived near Port Huron, is
full of interest. A Detroit paper thus tells how
the old veteran stayed to see it out :

THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — MICHIGAN. 389
*
"Weaver is a single man, about fifty years old,
and served all through the war in an Ohio regiment
of infantry. Up to two weeks ago he was at work
for a man named Bright, ten miles from Forrestville,
as fireman of a shingle mill. Two or three days
before the approach of the flames, which eventually
destroyed that section, Bright and his family left
for Forrestville, and the next day all the men em
ployed about the place either followed his example
or made haste to reach their homes. On leaving,
Bright informed his men that the fire would sweep
that way, and warned them to lose no time in
making their escape. Having no property to lose,
or family to take care of, Weaver determined, as he
says, ' to stay and see the circus out,' meaning that
he intended saving the mill if possible. He has a
stubborn sort of spirit, and the fact that everybody
else went induced him to stay.
"As soon as the men left he set to work and
buried all the provisions left in the house, and
during the day buried the knives, belts and other
light machinery of the mill, as well as a stove and
a lot of crockery ware. There was plenty of water
in the vicinity of the mill, and he filled several
barrels full, besides wetting down house, mill, stock
and everything that would burn, scattering several
hundred pailsful of water on the ground around
the buildings.
" When night came and the fire had not appeared,
"he began to jeer his absent comrades. But his self-
conceit soon left him. About ten o'clock the

390 THE NORTHWESTERN FIRES.
heavens were so light tha't he could see the
smallest objects around him, and there was a roaring
in the forests which sounded like waves beating
against rocks on the shore.
" He began to suspect that he would soon receive
the visit predicted, and accordingly made prepa
rations for it. In leveling up the ground around
the shingle mill, earth had been obtained by digging
here and there, and Weaver went to work and dug
one of these pits deep enough for him to stand up in.
" He then filled it nearly full of water, and took
care to saturate the ground around it for a distance
of several rods. Going to the mill, he dragged out
a four inch plank, sawed it in two, and saw that the
parts tightly covered the mouth of the little well.
' I kalkerated it would be tech and go,' said he, ' but
it was the best I could do.' At midnight he had
everything arranged, and the roaring then was aw
ful to hear. The clearing was ten to twelve acres
in extent, and Weaver says that for two hours before
the fire reached him there was a constant flight across
the ground of small animals. As he rested a
moment from giving the house another wetting down,
a horse dashed into the opening at full speed and
made for the house. Weaver could see him tremble
and shake with excitement and terror, and felt a pity
for him. After a moment the animal gave utterance
to a snort of dismay, ran two or three times around the
house and then shot off into the woods like a rocket.
" Not long after this the fire came. Weaver stood
by his well, ready for the emergency, yet curious to

THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — MICHIGAN. 391
see the breaking in of the flames. The roaring in
creased in volume, the air became oppressive, a
cloud of dust and cinders came showering dowh, and
he could see the flame through the trees. It did not
ran along the ground, or leap from tree to tree, but
it came on like a tornado, a sheet of flame reaching
from the earth to the top of the trees. As it struck
the clearing he jumped into his well, and closed
over the planks. He could no longer see but he could
hear. He says that the flames made no halt what
ever, or ceased their roaring for an instant, but he
hardly got the opening closed before the house and
mill were burning tinder, and both were down in five
minutes. The smoke came down to him powerfully,
and his den was so hot he could hardly breathe.
" He knew that the planks above him were on
fire, but, remembering their thickness, he waited till
the roaring of the flames had died away, and then
with his head and hands turned them over and put
out the fire by dashing up water with his hands.
Although it was a cold night, and the water had at
first chilled him, the heat gradually warmed it up
until he says that he felt very comfortable. He re
mained in his den until daylight, frequently turning
over the planks and putting out the fire, and then
the worst had passed. The earth around was on fire
in spots, house and mill were gone, leaves, brush
and logs were swept clean away as if shaved off and
swept with a broom, and nothing but soot and ashes
were to be seen.
" After the fire had somewhat cooled off, Weaver
made an investigation of his caches, and found that

392 THE NORTHWESTERN FIRES.
considerable of the property buried had been saved,
although he lost all his provisions except a piece of
dried beef which the fire had cooked as in an oven
without spoiling it. He had no other resource than
to remain around the place that day, during the
night, and the greater part of the next day, when
the ground had cooled enough so that he could pick
his way to the site of the burned village. He was
nearly twelve hours going the twelve miles, as trees
were falling, logs were burning, and the fallen tim
ber had in some places heaped up a breastwork, over
which no one could climb."
To these accounts we have only to add that on or
about the 8th of October, Iowa, Minnesota, In
diana and Illinois were severly devastated by prairie
fires ; that terrible fires raged on the Alleghanies,
the Sierras, and the Rocky Mountains, and in the
far away regions of the Red river of the North ;
that at Halifax, N. S., a fearful gale destroyed great
numbers of vessels ; that Montreal and Toronto were
visited by a tornado which blew down numerous
houses ; that Galveston, Texas, experienced the rav
ages of a tidal wave ; and that attempts were made
to burn the cities of San Francisco, Louisville, Ky.,
Toronto and London, C. W., and Syracuse, N. Y.
Add still to these, the Franco-German war, the fear
ful Chinese typhoon, the rapid spread of Asiatic
cholera, and the unprecedented visitation of famine
and plague combined in Persia,^and the year 187 1
must forever be regarded as the black year of the
world's history.

THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — WISCONSIN. 393

A Summing up of the Loss of Life and Property by
the Wisconsin Fires.
A correspondent of the Milwaukee Wisconsin,
who has travelled through the burned regions in
Wisconsin, thus sums up the loss of life and prop
erty in the country through which he passed :
" After making a deduction for exaggerations, I
had supposed that 500 would cover the number of
dead on the west side of the bay. I now learn from
reliable sources that the actual number of inter
ments up to Monday night counted up to 504.
Add another hundred for remains of ashes and
charred bones at Peshtigo, and I think we have
not far from the true number on the west side.
Add 150 for the east side — making 750 in all — and
the death-roll is nearly complete.
" It is impossible to figure the aggregate losses
of pine timber and farm property with any degree
of closeness. It is the interest of mill men to
underrate the amount of fallen pine that must be
secured this winter to save it. A medium esti
mate of damage to pine land in the Green Bay
region is figured at $400,000. The damage on the
Wolf is figured at $300,000. The loss to the fifteen
saw mills burned, is put at $225,000. The loss of
cord- wood, ties, hemlock bark, &c, is set at
$200,000. The losses of fences, buildings, wagons,
cattle, crops, among the six hundred farmers, cannot
be less than $600,000— making a total aggregate

394 THE NORTHWESTERN FIRES.
of more than $3,000,000, aside from those of
Peshtigo. " The country through from Brown county north
to Big Sturgeon Bay, for 400 square miles, is utterly
devastated. At least 400 farms in this tornado
section alone are left desolate — stripped of every
improvement. Fences, barns, dwellings, imple
ments, furniture, wagons, harness, and crops, all
went up in a ' whirlwind of five.' It will take thirty
years, in that cold, hard soil for their timber to
grow again. In the aggregate, their losses must
foot up to $1,000 a family. Farmers here have
saved half of their teams that were let loose in the
woods, and a third of their stock. But they have
no hay, straw, grain or feed of any sort — not even
the poor chance of browse in the woods. Nearly
all, with large families, have lost their last cow and
pig. In a ride of six miles, on nearly a straight
line, I saw but three hens and a fanning mill — the
only farm implement left in town. In the Belgian
settlement, on Red river, sixty-two families were
burned out in a row ! Not a house, not a shed,
not a coop — not one fence-rail left upon another.
The families had fled, almost naked, and breathless,
to the few cabins on the outskirts that were saved.
" There were 300 or more, wounded sufferers
remaining in hotels, boarding houses, and hospitals
about the bay. Fifty of the Peshtigo sufferers
were at the Dunlap House, Marinette. Half of
them were able to be about. Burned ears, faces,
hands and feet were common to nearly all. There

BIGELOW HOUSE.

PACIFIC HOTEL.

SAND'S BREWERY.

RUSH MEDICAL COLLEGE.

ILLINOIS AND MICHIGAN CENTRAL R. R.
AFTER THE FIRE.

THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — WISCONSIN. 397
were women with great burns on the sides and
Umbs, with faces like kettles and hands like claws,
burned to the bones. Men could fight better, and
dare more than women. Most of them perished
by suffocation. Little children are sadly maimed
in their feet and faces. I saw one with a heel
gone, and another with an eye. Nearly all will
recover without loss of sight or limb. I could fill a
book with stories of the hospital. Most of them
suffer more from hurts of mind than body. I have
a sad memory of a poor widow who lost her crip
pled boy, who went on crutches, and a sprightly
girl, who fell between the burning logs. They were
all her family. ' The screams of both,' she said,
' seemed forever sounding in my ears.' There is a
future, and no doubt compensations for all these
suffering ones.
"Most of these cabins that are left are crowded
with two or three families each. I saw one with
four men, five women, and sixteen children — two
of them suckers. They had just received an out
fit of clothing — warm stockings, knit hoods, thin
shawls, thin gaiters, and light colored dresses for
the women and girls ; old fashioned hats, bursted
boots, thin jackets, and summer coats and pants for
men and boys. There were some occasions of
laughter, but none of ridicule ; all were glad and
surprised at getting what they did. I saw no imme
diate want of provisions,. Flour, pork and hard
bread are distributed to all — packages of tea and
coffee to most. There are nearly potatoes enough
23

398 THE NORTHWESTERN FIRES.
in the country, if distributed. Their stock that
is left has been driven off to meadows and fields
not burned over. One large-hearted old farmer was
keeping eighty odd cattle belonging to his unfortu
nate neighbors. Without stopping to consider the
ways of Providence, or the uses of philosophy,
these simple-minded people seem to have under
stood the art of helping one another."

THE GREAT FIRES OF THE WORLD.

Rome, A. D. 64.
A history of the great Chicago conflagration would
be incomplete without some allusion to the other
great fires in the history of the world, by means of
which comparisons in losses and extent may be
made. The first which naturally occurs to the
memory is the destruction of Rome, thus narrated
by Tacitus :
"There followed a dreadful disaster; whether
fortuitously, or by the wicked contrivance of the
prince (Nero), is not determined, for both are as
serted by historians — but of all calamities which
ever befell this city from the rage of fire, this was
the most terrible and severe. It broke out in that
part of the circus which is contiguous to Mounts
Palatine and Ccelius, where, by reason of shops, in
which were kept such goods as minister aliment to
fire, the moment it commenced it acquired strength,
and being accelerated by the wind, i^ spread at once
through the whole extent of the circus ; for neither
were the houses secured by enclosures, nor the tem
ples environed with walls ; nor was there any other
obstacle to intercept its progress; but the flames
(399)

400 the great fires of the world.
spreading every way impetuously, invaded first the
lower regions of the city, then mounted to the
highest; then again, ravaging the lower, it baffled
every effort to extinguish it, by the rapidity of its
destructive course, and from the liability of the city
to conflagration in consequence of the narrow and
intricate alley, and the irregularity of the streets in
ancient Rome. Add to this the wailings of terrified
women, the infirm condition of the aged, and the
helplessness of childhood ; such as strove to provide
for themselves, and those who labored to assist
others; these dragging the feeble, these waiting for
them; some hurrying, others lingering; altogether
created a scene of universal confusion and embar-
' rassment ; and while they looked upon the danger
in the rear, they often found themselves beset before
and on their sides ; or if they had escaped into the
quarters adjoining, these, too, were already seized by
the devouring flames; even the parts which they
believed remote and exempt, were found to be in
the same distress. At last, not knowing what to
shun or even where to seek sanctuary, they crowded
the streets and lay along the open fields. Some from
the loss of their whole substance, even the means of
their daily sustenance, others from their afflictions
for their relations, whom they had not been able to
snatch from the flames suffered themselves to perish
in them, though they had an opportunity to flee.
Neither dared any man attempt to check the fire,
so repeated were the menaces of many who forbade
to extinguish it, and because others openly threw

MOSCOW. 401
fire-brands, with loud declarations, ' that they had
one who authorized them;' whether they did it
that they might plunder with less restraint or with
orders given.
" At length, on the sixth day the conflagration
was stayed at the foot of Esquilse, by pulling down
an immense quantity of buildings, so that an open
space, and as it were, void air, might check the
raging element by breaking the continuity. But
ere the consternation had subsided the fire broke
out afresh, with no little violence, but in regions
more spacious, and therefore with less destruction
of human life, but more extensive havoc was made
of the temples and porticos dedicated to amuse
ment. * * Nero seemed to aim at the glory of
building a new city, and calling it by his own
name ; for of the fourteen sections into which Rome
is divided, four were still standing entire, three were
levelled with the ground, and in the seven others
there remained only here and there a few remnants
of houses, shattered and half consumed."

Moscow, 1812.
It will be remembered that on the 15th of Sep
tember, 1812, the French Emperor entered the
city, which the Russians had resolved to sacrifice.
Allison says :
" On the night of the 14th a fire broke out in
the Bourse, behind the bazaar, which soon con-

402 THE GREAT FIRES OF THE WORLD.
sumed that noble edifice, and spread to a considera
ble part of the crowded streets in the vicinity.
This, however, was but the prelude to more
extended calamities. At midnight on the 15th, a
bright light was seen to illuminate the northern
and western parts of the city ; and the sentinels on
watch at the Kremlin soon discovered the splendid
edifices in that quarter to be in flames. The wind
changed repeatedly during the night, but to what
ever quarter it veered the conflagration extended
itself; fresh fires were every instant seen breaking
out in all directions, and Moscow soon exhibited
the spectacle of a sea of flame agitated by the wind.
The soldiers, drowned in sleep or overcome by
intoxication, were incapable of arresting its pro
gress ; and the burning fragments floating through
the hot air, began to fall on the roofs and courts of
the Kremlin. The fury of an autumnal tempest
added to the horrors of the scene ; it seemed as if
the wrath of Heaven had combined with the ven
geance of man to consume the invaders of the city
they had conquered.
" But it was chiefly during the nights of the 18th
and 19th that the conflagration attained its greatest
violence. At that time the whole city was wrapped
in flames, and volumes of fire of various colors
ascended to the heavens in many places, diffusing a
prodigious light on all sides, and attended by an intoler
able heat. These balloons of flame were accompanied
in their ascent by a frightful hissing noise and loud
explosions, the effect of the vast stores of oil, resin,

Moscow. 403
tar, spirits, and other combustible materials with
which the greater part of the shops were filled.
Large pieces of painted canvass, unrolled from the
outside of the buildings by the violence of the heat,
floated on fire in the atmosphere, and sent down on
all sides a flaming shower, which spread the confla
gration in quarters even the most removed from
where it originated. The wind, naturally high, was
raised by the sudden rarefaction of the air produced
by the heat, to a perfect hurricane. The howling
of the tempest drowned even the roar of the confla
gration; the whole heavens were filled with the
whirl of the volumes of smoke and flame which rose
on all sides, and made midnight as bright as day ;
while even the bravest hearts, subdued by the sub
limity of the scene, and the feeling of human
impotence in the midst of such elemental strife,
sank and trembled in silence.
* * * *
" Meanwhile the flames, fanned by the tem
pestuous gale, advanced with frightful rapidity,
devouring alike in their course the palaces of the
great, the temples of religion, and the cottages of
the poor. For thirty-six hours, the conflagration
continued at its height, and during that time above
nine-tenths of the city was destroyed. The re
mainder abandoned to pillage and deserted by its
inhabitants, offered no resources to the army. Mos
cow had been conquered ; but the victors had
gained only a heap of ruins. It is estimated that

404 THE GREAT FIRES OF THE WORLD.
30,800 houses were consumed, and the total value
of property destroyed amounted to £30,000,000."

London, 1666.
We must go back more than a couple of cen
turies to find a parallel to the terrible fire which has
wrapped the city of Chicago in a sea of resistless
flame. On the 2d of September, 1 666, the city of
London was almost entirely destroyed by what has
since been known as the Great Fire. This awful
conflagration gained headway with the same terri
ble rapidity as that of Sunday night, and in five
dreadful days of ruin and terror and panic laid
two-thirds of the English metropolis in ashes. Like
the fire at Chicago, it broke out upon a Sunday,
though at a different hour — two o'clock in the
morning. Nearly two-thirds of the entire city was
destroyed. Thirteen thousand houses, eighty-nine
churches and many public buildings were reduced
to charred wood and ashes. Three hundred and
seventy-three acres, within, and sixty-three acres
without the walls were utterly devastated.

New York, 1835-1843.
That great event in the history of New York,
the " great fire," occurred on the night of the 16th
of December, 1835. At between eight and nine
o'clock of the evening above stated, the fire was dis-

NEW YORK — PITTSBURGH. 405
covered in the store No. 25 Merchant street, a
narrow street that led from Pearl into Exchange
street, near where the post office then was. The
flames spread rapidly, and at ten o'clock forty of
the most valuable dry goods stores in the city were
burned down or on fire. In all, 530 buildings were
destroyed ; they were of the largest and most costly
description, and were filled with the most valuable
goods. The total loss, estimated at about $20,000,-
000, was afterwards found to be about $15,000,000.
Of the buildings destroyed 0ie most important were
the Merchants' Exchange, the Post Office, the offices
of the celebrated bankers, the Josephs, the Aliens
and the Livingstons, the Phoenix Bank, and the
building owned and occupied by Arthur Tappan,
then much despised for his anti-slavery sympathies.
The second great fire in New York began on the
morning of the 20th of July, 1843. Altogether
about 300 buildings were destroyed, among which
were the costly shrines of commerce and finance
and the abodes of the poverty stricken. A liberal
estimate of the total loss is made at $6,000,000.

Pittsburgh, 1845.
Pittsburgh, Pa., was visited by a most destructive
conflagration the 10th of April, 1845. By it a very
large portion of the city was laid waste, and a
greater number of houses destroyed than by all the
fires that had occurred previously to it. Twenty

406 THE GREAT FIRES OF THE WORLD.
squares, containing about 1,100 buildings, were
burned over ; the loss was estimated at $10,000,000.

Philadelphia, 1865.
In 1865, Philadelphia was the theatre of a terri
ble conflagration. The loss of property amounted
to about $500,000, and fifty buildings were de
stroyed. On Ninth street, from Washington to
Federal street, every building was burned.

San Francisco, 1851.
The most disastrous conflagration in San Fran-
ciseo began on the 3d of May, 1851, and was not
entirely checked until the 5th inst. The loss
caused by it amounted to $3,500,000 ; 2,500 build
ings were destroyed. Another large fire devas
tated a great portion of San Francisco in June,
1851. It occurred on the 22d of that month, and
500 buildings were destroyed by it. The loss was
estimated at $3,000,000.

Portland, 1866.
The terrible fire which laid in ruins more than
half the city of Portland, Me., commenced at five
o'clock on the 'afternoon of the 4th of July, 1866.
Beginning in a cooper's shop at the foot of High
street, caused by a fire-cracker being thrown among

CHARLESTON — CHICAGO. 407
some wood shavings, it swept through the city with
frightful rapidity. Two thousand persons were ren
dered homeless. In all the loss was estimated at
$10,000,000.

Charleston, 1838.
Charleston, S. C, was on the 27th of April, 1838,
visited by one of the most destructive fires that has
ever occurred in any city in this country. *A territory
equal to almost one-half of the entire city was made
desolate. The fire broke out at a quarter past eight
o'clock on the morning of the day mentioned, in a
paint shop on King street, corner of Beresford, and
raged until about twelve A. M. of the following day.
It was then arrested by the blowing up of buildings
in its path. There were 1,158 buildings destroyed,
and the loss occasioned was about $3,000,000. The
worst feature of the catastrophe was the loss of life
which occurred while the houses were being blown
up. Through the careless manner in which the
gun powder was used four of the most prominent
citizens of the city were killed and a number
injured.

Chicago, 1857, 1859, 1866, 1868.
On the morning of the 10th of October, 1857, a
fire occurred in Chicago which, though notable from
the amount of property destroyed, was made awful

408 THE GREAT FIRES OF THE WORLD.
by the loss of human life which it caused. The fire
broke out in a large double store in South Water
street, and spread east and west to the buildings
adjoining and across an alley in the rear, to a block
of new buildings. All these were completely de
stroyed. When the flames were threatening one
of the buildings a number of persons ascended to
its roof to fight against them. Wholly occupied
with their work, they did not notice that the wall
of the burping building tottered, and when warned
of their danger they could not escape ere it fell,
crushing through the house on which they were, and
carrying them into its cellar. Of the number four
teen were killed and more injured. The loss in
property caused by the fire amounted to over half a
million of dollars.
A fire the most disastrous after that of October,
1857, took place on September 15th, 1859. It broke
out in a stable, and, spreading in different directions,
consumed the block bounded by Clinton, North,
Canal, West Lake and Fulton streets, on which the
stable was situated. From this block the fire was
communicated to Blatchford's lead works and to the
hydraulic mills, whence it passed to another block
of buildings, all of which were destroyed. The
total loss was about $500,000.
Property to the amount of $500,000 was destroyed
by fire on the 10th of August, 1866. The fire origi
nated in a wholesale tobacco establishment on South
Water street, and passed to the adjoining buildings
occupied by wholesale grocery and drug firms. The

OTHER GREAT FIRES. 409
first two buildings and contents were utterly, while
the other was but partially, destroyed.
A fire, which destroyed several large business
houses on Lake and South Water streets, took place
November 18th, 1866. It originated in the tobacco
warehouse of Banker & Co., and the loss caused by it
was about $500,000.
The fire which occurred on the 28th of January,
1868, was the most destructive by which Chicago
had ever been visited. It broke out in a large boot
and shoe factory on Lake street, and destroyed the
entire block on which that building was situated.
The sparks from those buildings set fire to others
distant from them on the same street, and caused
their destruction. In all the loss was about $3,000,-
000. Other Great Fires*
The other great fires of the world have been as
follows :
Norfolk, Va., destroyed by fire and the cannon
balls of the British. Property to the amount of
$1,500,000 destroyed. January 1st, 1776.
City of New York, soon after passing into pos
session of the British; 500 buildings consumed.
September 20th and 21st, 1776.
Theatre at Richmond, Va. The governor of the
State and a large number of the leading inhabitants
perished. December 26th, 1811.

410 THE GREAT FIRES OF THE WORLD.

t

City of New York ; 530 buildings destroyed ; loss
,000,000. December 16th, 1835.
Washington City. General post office and patent
office, with over ten thousand valuable models, draw
ings, &c, destroyed. December 15th, 1836.
Philadelphia; 52 buildings destroyed; loss, $500,-
000. October 4th, 1839.
Quebec, Canada; 1,500 buildings and many lives
destroyed. May 28th, 1845.
i Quebec, Canada ; 1,300 buildings destroyed.
June 28th, 1845.
City of New York; 300 buildings destroyed; loss
$6,000,000. June 20th, 1845.
St. John's, N. F.; nearly destroyed; 6,000 people
made homeless. June 12th, 1846.
Quebec, Canada; theatre royal; 47 persons
burned to death. June 14th, 1846.
Nantucket; 300 buildings and other property
destroyed; value, $800,000. July 13th, 1846.
At Albany; 600 buildings, steamboats, piers,
&c, destroyed; loss, $3,000,000. August 17th, 1848.
Brooklyn, 300 buildings destroyed. September
9th, 1848.
At St. Louis, 15 blocks of houses and 23 steam
boats; loss estimated at $3,000,000. May 17th, 1849.

OTHER GREAT FIRES. 411
Frederickton, N. B. ; about 300 buildings de
stroyed. November 11th, 1850.
Nevada, Cal.; 200 buildings destroyed; loss
$1,300,000. March 12th, 1851.
At Stockton, Cal. ; loss, $1,500,000. May 11th,
1851. Concord, N. H. ; greater part of the business
portion of the town destroyed. August 24th, 1850.
Congressional library, at Washington. 35,000
volumes, with works of art destroyed. December
24th, 1851.
At Montreal, Canada, 1,000 houses destroyed ;
loss, $5,000,000. July 8th, 1852.
Harper Brothers' establishment, in New York ;
loss over $1,000,000. December 10th, 1853.
Metropolitan hall and Lefarge house, in New
York. January 8th, 1854.
At Jersey City, 30 factories and houses de
stroyed. July 30th, 1854.
More than 100 houses and factories in Troy, N.
Y ; on the same day a large part of Milwaukee,
Wis., destroyed. August 25th, 1854.'
At Syracuse, N. Y., about 100 buildings de
stroyed ; loss, $1,000,000. November 8th, 1856.
New York Crystal Palace destroyed. October
5th, 1858.

412 THE GREAT FIRES OF THE WORLD.
City of Charleston, S. C, almost destroyed. Feb
ruary 17th, 1856.
At Quebec, Canada, 2,500 houses destroyed; loss
$2,500,000. For comparison with these data are the following
facts connected with the Chicago fire. The area
of Chicago, including the recently annexed terri
tory west of Western avenue, and also including
streets, etc., is over 23,000 acres. Of this the
South Division embraces 5,363, and the North
Division, 2,533|. The total number of buildings
in this city was about 60,000, of which about
17,000 were on the south and 10,500 on the north
side of the river. On the north side there were
many elegant dwelling houses, but they were nearly
all east of Wells street and north of North avenue,
those lying near the river being of a very inferior
class. There were also large sections on the north
side on which there were no houses. The district
between the North Branch and the Ogden Canal
on one side, and Lincoln Park and the Old Cemetery
on the other, were unoccupied, and there was much
vacant ground further up on the North Branch.
On the south side the fire destroyed nearly every
thing in the First and Second Wards, and a light por
tion in the northwest corner of the Third. Its
southern limit on Michigan avenue was Congress
street ; on Clark, Harrison, and on Wells street, a
point a little below Polk. The area of the burned
district is 450 acres. There were destroyed 3,600

METHODIST CHURCH BLOCK.

ST. JOSEPH'S PfllORY— GERMAN CATHOLIC.

OTHER GREAT FIRES. ' 415
buildings, including 1,600 stores, 28 hotels, and 60
manufacturing establishments.
On the north side, 1,300 acres were burned over
out of the 2,500 in that division. The total num
ber of buildings destroyed was 10,000 including
over 600 stores and 100 manufacturing establish
ments. While the amount of ground burned over in the
West Division was not great, not exceeding 150
acres — and while much of that was occupied by
lumber yards, etc., those who did live there were
very closely packed together, so that between one
and two thousand people must have dwelt in the
burned district. The value of the houses destroyed
was comparatively small, they being nearly all frame
buildings. The whole immense area of the West Division,
with its miles of dwelling houses, its stores and
business blocks, is almost intact, while the south
side retains the great mass of its dwelling houses
of the better class, many manufactories, some of its
finest churches,- and the innumerable manufactories
of the better class.
A city of 290,000 inhabitants is still in existence,
with the energy to rebuild the burned district, and
once more make it the scene of active labor and
business enterprise. 24

416 ' THE GREAT FIRES OF THE WORLD.
Fire in the Air— A Remarkable Theory.
A writer in the New Yorh Evening Post sets up
a remarkable theory in regard to great fires. He
says: On the night of the 27th of December, 1835,
I was sitting with a literary friend, about 9 o'clock,
in one of the private boxes of Hamblin's magnifi
cent Bowery Theatre. Suddenly the big bell of the
City Hall boomed loud and long over the metropo
lis, and " Fire ! " "Fire ! " echoed around and within
the theatre. We were all, in an instant, rushing
out of the slamming doors, and onward toward the
scene of the conflagration, which was " glaring on
night's startled eye" away down town.
When we reached Wall street, near Water, the
Tontine Coffee House had caught, and dark smoke
in huge masses, tinged with flickering flashes of
bright flame, was bursting from all the upper win
dows. The night, as all who were out in it will
remember, was intensely cold. There was but little
wind, but as the fire advanced there was plainly per
ceptible the " food of fire " in the air, as I firmly
believe there always is in all great conflagrations ;
something mysterious as yet, and unexplainable.
It was so in our great fire, for I saw its evidences
myself, and I see that reports of the same evidences
are mentioned as features of the. still more terrible
and vastly greater conflagration in Chicago, which
has "roused the world." Science, there is but little
doubt, will find out, by-and-by, what this mysterious
power is, and tell us how it is worked and how it

FIRE IN THE AIR. 417
may be guarded against if not conquered. Whether
it is atmospheric or electric, or whatever else it may
• be, is yet to be determined. A word or two more
concerning this a little further on.
Our great fire travelled south and west faster than
a man could walk. Water froze in all the gutters ;
thick ice coated all the hydrants, crunched in the
hose pipes that encumbered the streets, and lay in
" floes " where there was a shadow from the heat
and the flame. But in a little while no water was
wanted. Engines were soon useless ; and no ener
getic " Sykesy " was required to " take the butt."
Clouds of smoke, like dark mountains suddenly
rising into the air, were succeeded by long banners
of flame, rushing to the zenith, and roaring for
their prey. Street after street caught the terrible
torrent, until over acre after acre there was rolling
and booming an ocean of flame ! "All of this I saw,
and part of it I was." The printing office of the
KnicJcerboc7cer, at first in South William street,
was moved three times far beyond the prevailing
fire, but was gradually followed by the raging
enemy, and finally devoured. ,
As we were standing upon the roof of the Ex
change, looking down upon the scene when in mid-
progress, buildings far beyond the line of fire, and
in no contact with it, burst into flames from the in
terior. The same thing, I observe, happened in
Chicago, and was attributed to incendiaries; but
there was no incendiaries suspected in our great fire.
What latent power enkindled the inside of these

418 THE GREAT FIRES OF THE WORLD.
advanced buildings, while externally they were un
touched? A scientific writer at the time contended,
I think in the old Daily Advertiser, that at a certain.
period there is what he called an "inflammable
vacuum" in the air, which is self-igniting and irre
sistible. Perhaps a hundred years or so from now,
some safeguard against this mysterious element, now
lying latent and sleeping in nature, may be dis
covered. It is not so very long since the old tea
kettle first lifted its lid to the science of steam, and
talking round the world under water is a much
younger wonder. ,

APPENDIX.

The Origin of the Fire.
Just as our volume is about to go to press an
official investigation as to the origin and progress
of the fire has commenced in Chicago, and we ap
pend the most relevant portions of the testimony
thus far (Nov. 27) taken, as it throws some addi
tional light upon the commencement of the great
conflagration. The Fire-alarm Operator.
William J. Brown, the operator in the fire-alarm
office, testified that he was on duty in the fire-alarm
office, in the court house, on the night of the 8th of
October. Mr. Schaffer, the watchman in the tower,
notified him, about half-past nine o'clock, that there
was a fire, and told him to strike Box No. 342. He
sent that box over the wires to the engine houses,
and then looked out of the office window facing-
south, and saw the reflection in the sky. In a short
time the watchman pulled him again, and said he
had been mistaken — that the fire was not so far off
as he had thought when he gave him Box No. 342,
which is located on the corner of Halsted street and
(419)

420 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
Canalpprt avenue. As the box was on the line of
the fire, Brown thought the firemen would not be
misled, so he did not strike a nearer box. If he did
so, confusion might ensue. About ten minutes after
the first alarm he struck a second, giving the same
box. A few seconds afterwards several boxes were
turned in, and thinking they were for the same con
flagration, he did not pay any attention to them, as
a second alarm had been given. Observing from the
window that the fire was increasing, he sounded a
third alarm, but did not cause the court house bell
to be rung. He was relieved by Mr. Fuller, about
quarter after twelve o'clock, and left the office. He
went to the corner of Randolph and Canal streets,
and, after remaining there a few moments, started
down Canal to Madison street. He crossed the
bridge and went south on Market street and saw
that a number of shanties near the gas works were
on fire. The gas works were not ignited up to that
time. He saw one steamer at work near the corner
of Monroe and Market streets, the pipemen having
their hose lead into an alley near Farwell's ware
house and playing on some wooden buildings which
were ablaze. He saw another engine, the Coventry,
he thought, while he was going through the blocks
to get to Madison street. He could not tell whether
she was working or not. When he reached La Salle
street, near Madison, he saw that the rear of the
Oriental Block was all on fire. The air wa sfull of
cinders and burning material, and he made his way
to the court house, where he remained until the

APPENDIX. 421
watchmen were driven out of the cupola, and the
office was on fire.

The Court House Watchman.
Matthias Schaffer, watchman in the court house,
corroborated the statement of Mr. Brown in regard
to the alarms given. After he told Brown to strike
Box No. 342, he took another look at the fire, and
was satisfied that he had located it about a mile
south of where it really was, and he informed the
operator of it. He was relieved at eleven o'clock
by Dennis Denene, but he remained in the cupola.
Sparks iu large numbers and burning material of
different kinds were blown over the court house
within half an hour after he had given the first
alarm. The wind was " terribly strong." He con
tinued watching the fire until twelve o'clock. Twice
before that hour the cupola of the court house
caught fire, and he got on the roof and stamped out
the fire with his feet. This occurred before the fire
fiend had crossed to the South Division. Some men
had been fixing up the clock in the cupola and left
a lot of shavings on the floor. The glass in the win
dow had been broken, and the sparks went through
the openings. There was a window on the south side
of the cupola that never had any glass in it since
he had been on duty in the tower, and sparks were
blown into the cupola there and set fire to the wood
work. He crawled in and tried to stop the spread
of the flames, but was driven out by the smoke. He

422 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
had no way of putting it out, and had to let it burn.
Between ten and eleven o'clock, he could not tell
the exact time, but thought it was ten o'clock, he
descried what appeared to be a new fire,, four or five
blocks north of the one he had given an alarm for ;
about twelve o'clock he left the court house, and
went ito look at the south side fire. The wind was
so strong that he could hardly stand up. He returned
to the court house, and helped put out two more fires
in the roof. His clothes caught fire several times,
and he was obliged to keep constant watch to pre
vent being burned up himself. He and the other
men thought they could save the court house, but
after the sparks went through the open window al
luded to and set the under side of the roof on fire,
he knew it could not be done. He halloed to Denene,
who was then on watch in the tower, to come down
or he would be cut off. He could not get down the
stairs, but had to slide down the banisters, his
whiskers being scorched, and his hands and face
badly burned during his progress. Every one had
to leave the building then to save their lives. When
he was driven out of the building he notified the
jailor in the basement that the court house was
going " sure," and that he must take care of the
prisoners, and not let them burn up. From seven to
ten minutes after this the cupola fell in.

APPENDIX. 423

JiZrs. O'Leary,

The owner of the cow, now so famous, which it
was claimed, kicked over the lamp and started the
fire, testified, that she and her family — her husband
'and five children — were in bed, but not asleep on
that Sunday night. They knew nothing of the fire
i;ntil Mr. Sullivan, drayman, who lives on the south
side of DeKoven street, awoke them and said their
ba\n was on fire. She took a look at the barn and
sau that it could not be saved. She became almost
crazy on account of losing all her property — a barn,
wagons, harness, six cows and a horse — and was
very mich excited. There were three barns — two
beside?, her own — on fire at the same time. A
family named McLaughlin lived in the same house
with hir, and she understood they were having a
" social We" on that Sunday night ; that they had
an oyster supper, and a Mrs. White had told her
that one of the family went into the barn to milk
one of the <pows. She had no knowledge of it and
could not say whether it was true or not. The first
she saw of the fire engines was one playing on Tur
ner's Block, o\ the corner of Jefferson and DeKoven
streets. She 'ihought it was a good while between
the time the Ire broke out and when she saw the
steamer, but it night have been working some time
before she saw i\. She was so excited in looking
after her family aud property that she didn't take
notice of much elsa.

424 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:

Catharine Sullivan,
Who lives on DeKoven street, east of Jefferson,
was washing dishes, when she saw a bright reflection
on the window panes of her dwelling. She ran into
the street, and saw that O'Leary's barn and two others
east of it were on fire. She had heard that the
O'Leary's were asleep at the time, and that somebody
awoke them. Her house caught fire several times, and
citizens threw pailsful of water on it. Her son and
Dennis Rogan woke the O'Leary's. She did not
know of her own knowledge, whether there was a
party in O'Leary's dwelling, but she had heard that
there was. Pat. McLaughlin, the fiddler, lived in
the front part of O'Leary's house. " 'Pen her
word," she could not tell how long a time elapsed
after she saw the fire until the engines made their
appearance. Dennis Rogan,
Of No. 112 DeKoven street, was ir> O'Leary's
house about half-past 8 o'clock on Sunday night.
O'Leary and his wife were in bed. He asked the
woman why she went to bed so early, and she said
it was because she had a " sore fit." He went
home, and after he had gone to bed — sometime
after 9 o'clock — he heard a neighbor say that
O'Leary's barn was on fire. He jumped up and
ran around to the barn and tried to save a wagon
that was there, but be could not. The heat drove
him away. There was company at "McLaughlin, the

APPENDIX. 425
fiddler's" and he heard music in there. He did not
know who was present. It was a quarter of an
hour, he thought, before the engines came. There
was a high wind at the time, and the sparks were
blown away some distance.
Catharine McLaughlin,
Of No. 137 DeKoven street, testified that she had
lived in the front part of O'Leary's house, but did
not reside there now. She knew nothing about the
origin of the fire. Some one cried out " Fire," and
she looked around the side of the house and saw
O'Leary's barn was burning, and the rear part of
Mr. Dalton's house was just igniting. There were
five young men and two young women at her house
that night. A " greenhorn" cousin of hers, had just
arrived from Ireland and her friends and cousins
came in to see him. Her husband played two tunes
on his fiddle, and one of the women danced a
"bout" and another a polka. That was all the
dancing that was done. One of the company went
out once or twice during the evening, and brought
in half a gallon of beer. They didn't eat anything,
and she didn't cook anything — did not start the
stove. "Before God, this day," she didn't cook
anything. The company was in the house at the
time the fire broke out. She got along pleasantly
with Mrs. O'Leary, and assisted in saving the house
from being destroyed. Boys could go into the alley
near the barn, as there was nothing to prevent

426 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
them. She did not notice any engines when she
went to look where the fire was ; but a few min
utes afterward there was a steamer on the corner of
Jefferson and DeKoven streets. She could not tell
exactly how long a time elapsed between the dis
covery of the fire and the arrival of the engines ;
but she thought about ten minutes. She did not
know whether Mrs. O'Leary was in the habit of
milking her cows at night. She lived in the front
part of the house, and the barn could have been
turned upside down and she would not have known
it. Mrs. O'Leary generally did the milking about
5 o'clock. The barn was about forty feet from the
house. None of the company went out to get milk
for punch. She never had such a thing in the
house. She did not know, of her own knowledge,
that Mrs. O'Leary had saved a calf from the barn.
Patrick O'Leary, whose wife owned the alleged
kicking cow, said he was in bed and didn't know
anything about the start of the fire. When he saw
it, only his barn was ablaze. He got on the roof
of his house to protect it, but not " before his barn
and the whole city was burned down." Dan Sulli
van called him out of bed, and told him his barn
was on fire. He put his children into the street,
and then threw water on his little house until after
one o'clock in the morning. He didn't see any
engines for a little while. One fireman, with a
stream, asked him if he was insured, and he said
"No," and the water was taken away from his
house. He could not tell what time the engines

APPENDIX. 427
arrived. Water was thrown on his house by the
pipemen. " They had enough to do beside that."
He did not know how the fire started. He had no
knowledge of it. " If he was to be hanged for it
he couldn't tell. He didn't blame any man in
America for it." His " woman" went to bed about
eight o'clock, and he followed her half an hour
afterward. He was asleep when Sullivan woke
him, or he would have saved a cow. Both doors
of the barn were open — the alley door and the one
on the south side of the building. The latter was
nailed back so that it could not be shut. On the
right hand side of the barn, going north, there
were some shavings and wood, and in a shed out
side were some coal and more wood. He some
times sprinkled shavings in the barn for his horse
to stand on. He thought the neighbors had shav
ings in their dwellings. The wind was very high,
and the fire spread very rapidly.
Daniel Sullivan, of No. 134 DeKoven street, was
in O'Leary's house about eight o'clock in the even
ing, and remained there about one hour. O'Leary,
and all his "young ones," except two, were in bed.
He asked the " old woman" why she went to bed so
early, and she said she didn't feel well. While he
was there O'Leary told the two children who were up
to go to bed. He left the house, and, while on the
opposite side of the street, at twenty or twenty-five
minutes past nine o'clock, he saw fire in O'Leary's
barn. He ran across the street as fast as he could —
he has a wooden leg — and cried out " Fire" as loud

428 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION— -CHICAGO :
as he could, which was very loud, as he has strong
lungs. He entered the barn, intending to cut the
ropes with which the cows were tied. He cut two
of them loose, but as they did not seem inclined to
leave, and the fire was increasing, he thought he
had better depart. As he was making for the door,
his wooden leg went between two boards, and he
half fell over, catching himself on his sound leg.
He caught hold of the wall and pulled himself out,
and just then saw a calf with a rope around its
neck. The hair on its back was on fire, and when
he caught hold of the rope it jumped six feet into
the air. He pulled it out of the barn; and, when
he reached the yard, he looked back and felt like a
" whipped dog," because he hadn't saved the cows.
O'Leary's house was, by this time, on fire, and
a man named Ragin came along and shoved in the
door, and awoke the inmates. Leary came to the
door, and scratched his head as " if there was a foot
of lice in it." His wife came out also, and clapped
her hands for grief on account of her cows being
burned up. The fire appeared to be on the right
side of the barn [where O'Leary said the shavings
were kept — Rep.] He did not notice any one
leaving McLaughlin's house. If any one had left he
would have seen him. His mother kept a cow, and
he frequently went to O'Leary's barn to get feed ;
and thus knew how the cows were tied. He had
never noticed shavings on the right side of the barn.
Wood and shavings were kept in the shed adjoin
ing the barn. There was no fire in the shed when

APPENDIX. 429
he got there. Quite a time elapsed before the
engines arrived — from ten to fifteen minutes. There
was any quantity of shavings in the houses of the
Bohemians in the vicinity. The barn door was.
open. The fire did not spread very rapidly. Two
barns were on fire when the engines came. There
might have been more, but he was positive two were
burning. The O'Leary barn was 16x20 feet and
14 feet high. There was a vacant shed, fronting on
the alley, opposite O'Leary's barn, in which the boys
of the neighborhood were in the habit of congre
gating. In front of it, facing Taylor street, was a
vacant house, which, he understood, was often occu
pied by vagrants and loafers as a lodging place. The
alley between the shed and barn was about twelve
feet wide.
The above testimony is from those who lived im
mediately adjacent to the locality where the fire
commenced, and although it does not give any very
definite idea concerning the origin of the fire, it is
quite evident that a drunken orgy of some descrip
tion was going on, which undoubtedly had much to
do with the more immediate cause of the fire. Be
low we append the testimony of one or two firemen,
which will give the reader some idea of the fire as
firemen regarded it, and of some of the difficulties
under which they labored:
Michael W. Conway, the pipeman of the steamer
" Chicago," testified that he worked on the Saturday
night fire" until half-past 4 o'clock on Sunday after
noon, and his eyes being full of cinders and his

430 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
physical condition such as to render him unfit for
duty, he went home and retired to rest. About 11
o'clock his wife awoke him, and said she was afraid
they would be burned out. He went over to the
engine house, and saw the steamer in front of the
building. The fire was then near the corner of
Harrison and Jefferson streets. The Chicago's
house is on Jefferson street, near Van Buren. Some
one told him the fire was on the south side, but he
did not believe it, as he thought it was the reflection
from the west side fire. The engine was short of
hose, so he took the cart and went down Desplaines
street to see if he could find any that had been left
behind by the engines. He found two or three
lengths, and went back to the house. The engine
was not working. The company had had a full reel
— 600 feet — of hose on Sunday afternoon, but it had
been lost. The Titsworth was at that time drawing
water from a plug on Jefferson, south of Van Buren
street. He did not know where the Chicago had
been. He asked the foreman what he intended to
do with the engine, and he replied that he was
" played out," and he (Conway) could take charge
of her. He told the foreman it was "all right," and
that he would go on the south side. There was no
one present to give him directions. He started and
attempted to cross Madison street bridge, but could
not. He crossed Randolph street bridge and went
east. He saw one engine at Wells and Madison
streets, another at La Salle and Madison streets, and
another at Clark and Madison streets, and when he

APPENDIX 433
reached the corner of Clark and Washington streets
he concluded that a line was being formed on Madi
son street to cut off the fire, and, as there was no
engine on Franklin street, he thought he would get .
a plug there. While passing the court house, he
noticed a fire on the roof, and asked the engineer if
he thought water could be thrown up there. The
reply was "Yes," and he was about to attach the
suction to a plug, when he noticed several men
come out of the cupola with buckets and brooms.
As the fire was very small, he thought they could
manage it, and he continued on his way to Franklin
street. He took a hydrant on Franklin street, near
Washington, and led south into an alley near Bar
ber's building. He had then about five hundred
feet of hose, having procured a lead from the fire-
escape hose, and worked two streams. He remained
at work there until Marshal Williams ordered him
to pick up and go to Schuttler's building. He led
up Randolph street, and threw water on the build-
hogs on the south side of the street. The flames
came from the basements of the stores, while there
was no sign of fire in any other part of the build
ings. Once while going from the engine to the
pipemen he saw a woman with a "duster" on her
head looking out of a fourth story window. He
threw up a stone or piece of wood to attract her
attention, and told her if she did not leave the build
ing at once she would be burned up. She had
hardly got into the street before the flames burst
out of the basement windows. The fire came from
25

434 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
the east down Randolph street. The light of the
fire in the cellars was a strange one. It looked as
if whiskey or alcohol was burning. He heardVa
great many loud reports during the night, but
thought they were caused by falling walls. He did
not know of any buildings being blown up that
night. The only marshal he saw until Tuesday
afternoon was Williams. He went from Schuttler's
to the corner of Randolph and Market streets, and
remained there until the rear walls of the Wash
ington house fell in, and the shanties on the north
east and southeast corners were burned down. He
saw the Metropolitan Hall burned, and did not
think it remained standing a minute after the fire
took hold of it. The dome in the Briggs House
caught fire. While the engine was working at
Franklin and Randolph streets, he took a walk
down to South Water street, and saw the Wil
liams at work on the corner of Fifth avenue and
that street. The air was oppressively warm and full
of sparks, and there was a perfect gale. His eyes
were in a wretched condition. While working on
Barber's building the window frames of the upper
floor caught fire, and, after he had kicked open the
door, two policemen Avent up and subdued the
flames. He was familiar with many of the build
ings that were burned. Their roofs were generally
of felt, saturated with tar and covered with pebbles.
The cornices were generally of wood. Now and
then there was a tin roof. Tin made the best roof
if people did' not walk on it. After he left the foot

APPENDIX. 435

of Randolph street he went across the bridge and to
the foot of Washington street. There he saw the
Richard's engine throwing water on the iron
works. They hadn't enough hose, so he let them
have two or three lengths, by order of the chief
marshal. The buildings were not on fire, but were
being cooled off. He afterwards went to the foot
of Franklin street, on the north side. This was
about daylight on Monday morning. He went first
to Ohio and Wells streets, but as he could obtain no
water he went to the river. The Coventry was
there when he arrived, and the Winnebago came
up soon after. He threw water on the east elevator,
and the pipemen of the other engines paid attention
to the Galena depot, by order of Marshal Williams.
The fire at that time was east of Wells street, and
as far north as he could see. He was not at work
on the south side over four or five hours, and did
not fail to obtain plenty of water while there. The
fire went diagonally from the river east, and then
eat its way west. He kept a look-out to the west,
so as to prevent being cut off. In case of an emer
gency he intended to run the engine into La Salle
street tunnel. He did not see a member of the Fire
Department drunk, but saw several citizens with
firemen's hats on who were. The citizens got the
hats from the hose carts. In a hot fire, such as
that, a slouch hat was preferable to a fire hat, as the
eyes and face could be shielded from the heat. A
man stole his fire hat, and a policeman shoved the
thief into the river, and the hat sunk. [Marshal

436 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
Williams stated that he took fire fiats from two citi
zens who were drunk.] While Conway was at the
Chicago's house, he saw no liquor. A citizen
who was there was intoxicated, but he did not re
main long at the house. No extra hats were carried
on the hose carts. He did not know of any money
being paid to firemen for special services.
Christopher Schimmels, foreman of the steamer
Chicago, said the first he knew of the fire was the
striking of the gong. He thought it was about
9.30. Box No. 342 was struck. This box is about
a mile southwest of where the fire was. He want
directly to the blaze, and took a hydrant on the
corner of Forquar and Jefferson streets, and led
the hose south. His was the only stream there.
After working from three to five minutes, the
engine was " shut down," and upon making inquiry
as to why it was done, the engineer told him that
a spring in the pump had broken. He told the
engineer to start up again, and run the risk of
breaking the pump to pieces. He did not see the
marshal or the assistants, and he asked the foreman
of the Illinois, which had come up, which side of
the fire he would take. He replied " north," so
Schimmels remained on the south line. He worked
there until Assistant Marshal Benner ordered him
to move and cut off the fire in the rear of some
buildings. The next thing he knew, a row of
buildings on Jefferson street, a little south of Tay
lor, were on fire. After working on them ten
minutes, orders came to move and put on two

APPENDIX. 437
streams. An order subsequently came to go further
north, and try to cut off the fire. It was impossi
ble to go up Jefferson street, so he went over to
Halsted and up to Harrison, and took a plug on
tie corner of that street and Jefferson. He led the
hose south, but was driven from his position by the
heat, and nearly lost his hose in retreating. He
attached another lead of hose to the engine, and
kept the ground near her cool. He then started
for a plug on Jefferson street, between Harrison and
Van Buren, but the Titsworth was there, and he
went around to Jackson and Jefferson streets. After
being there three or five minutes, he saw that the
fire was not coming that way, so he sent his men
over to the south side. He went to his engine
house, as he was completely played out, having had
no sleep for thirty hours. He had worked eighteen
hours on the Saturday night fire, and four of his
men were nearly blind. When the alarm came in,
these men, who had been at home, ran around to
the engine house, but as they were useless on
account of the condition of their eyes, he took
three volunteers and started for the fire. None
of his men were intoxicated. They all worked
faithfully. He did not know what time the fire crossed to
the south side, but thought it was about 2 o'clock
on Monday morning. His engine was in good order
at the Saturday night fire, but they had to knock
her suction from a plug to prevent her being burned
up, and the "goose neck " being out of order, she

438 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
could not draw water very well on Sunday. He
was short of hose. Two lengths were lost on Har
rison street, and there was none in reserve. There
were eigteen lengths in the engine house on Satur
day night, but some companies had taken it all out.
His engine was also on the north side. The engi
neer, who had charge, came back to the house about
7 o'clock on Monday morning, and said he came
near losing her three or four times. He met the
Chief Marshal about 11 o'clock on Monday morn
ing, and told him he had no hose. He was told
that there was some expected at the Milwaukee
depot, and went there to get it, but none had come.
When he returned to the engine house, a small boy
came in and said there was a Springfield steamer at
the foot of Taylor street, and the men with it wanted
to know where to go, as they could not see any fire.
He brought them up to the house, and asked them
for half of their hose — they had 1,000 feet — and
the foreman said he would let him have it, if he
would bring his engine out and work with him. He
said " all right," and hitched the truck horses to the
Springfield engine, and with his own steamer, started
for the north side, crossing Division street bridge.
The two engines worked on the gas works from 6
o'clock that evening until 7 o'clock on Tuesday
morning, when the Springfield steamer gave out.
The fire was then so as it would not spread any
more, and they returned to the house, finding two
strange companies in possession when they arrived.
The steamer was fixed up, and he slept until noon,

APPENDIX. 439
when orders came to go to the foot of Taylor street
and throw water on some coal. He was not offered
any money to play on any building, and did not
think anything more could have been done to stop
the fire. If there had been plenty of hose on at
first it would have made a difference. Coal was
scarce, and the citizens tore up the sidewalks to
furnish his engine with fuel. All the hose he had
had for three months previous to the fire was very
poor.
Mayor Mason.
At the meeting of the Common Council of Chi
cago, held on the 4th of December, for the purpose
of inaugurating the Mayor elect, the retiring Mayor,
R. B. Mason, in his address, said :
The appalling calamity which has befallen our
city made it necessary for the Mayor to assume re
sponsibilities entirely unexpected and unprece
dented. His sole object and aim was to secure
means that would be the most effectual, and the
soonest available, to meet the emergency, and it is
believed this was done without lowering the dignity
of his office or abrogating any of its powers. Our
great misfortune has called forth universal sympathy
and aid from almost every city and town in our own
land, and to a large extent in foreign lands. And,
to show our wants, it is simply necessary to state
that some 15,000 families are being aided, more or
less, at the present time. But all are sheltered, and
their most pressing wants are being supplied.

440 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
All of the funds which have been sent here for
the relief of our suffering citizens have been turned
over to the Chicago Aid and Relief Society, who are
operating under a charter from our State, and have
had ten years' experience in aiding the poor and
destitute of our city. This society is composed of
some of our best and most reliable citizens, and it is
confidently believed that the expenditure of this
world-wide bounty will be more judiciously done,
and accomplish more good, than under any other
organization, and that all will be satisfactorily ac
counted for. Our citizens will not soon forget the
great exertions made by the Aldermen and other
city officers, and that is now being made by the
Chicago Aid and Relief Society, to give shelter and
food to the tens of thousands of sufferers by the
great fire, and I tender to each and all of you my
thanks for the counsel and assistance rendered to
the Mayor at that trying time.
Message of Mayor Medill.
At the municipal election held since the fire,
Joseph Medill, the editor and one of the leading
proprietors of the Chicago Tribune, was elected to. the
office of Mayor. His inaugural message delivered
on the 4th of December, contains the following
statement and suggestions :
I have been called to the head of the City Gov-
ernment under extraordinary circumstances. A few
weeks ago our fair city, reposing in fancied security,

APPENDIX. 441
received a fearfully tragic visitation from fire, which
in a few brief but awful hours reduced a large por
tion thereof to ashes, cinder and smoke, consuming
one grand division, leaving but a fragment of L
another, and inflicting an ugly wound on the third.
In a single night and a day 125,000 of our people
were expelled from their homes and compelled to
flee for their lives into the streets, commons, or lake,
to avoid perishing in the flames. Many lost their
lives from heat, suffocation, or falling walls — how
many may never be known; and the multitudes
who escaped were fain to seek shelter and food at
the hand of charity. The greater part of our citi
zens, not burned out of their homes, lost their stores,
shops, offices, stocks of goods, implements, books,
accounts, papers, vouchers, business, or situations,
and it is difficult to find any citizen who has not1;
suffered directly by that fearful conflagration. Of
the total property in Chicago created by labor and
capital, existing on the 8th of October, more than
half perished on- the 9th. The money value of tha
property thus suddenly annihilated, it is impossible)
accurately to ascertain, but it can hardly fall short
of $150,000,000, a comparatively small part of
which will be reimbursed by the insurance com
panies. Such a tremendous loss cannot befall the
people at large without seriously affecting their
municipal affairs. The city as a corporation has
lost in property and income precisely in the same
proportion as have individuals in the aggregate.
The municipal government has no income except

442 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
what it derives from the citizens of Chicago, in the
form of taxes, licenses, and rents, or obtains on their
credit ; and to the extent that their property and
business are diminished by the terrible misfortune
that has smitten them, so is the revenue of the city
diminished; and, as our citizens are retrenching
expenses to meet the exigencies and keep within
their means, so must the municipal government do
likewise. Financial Condition of the City,
Heavy as the blow has been that has struck us,
I am not discouraged. Our municipal losses, like
those of the citizens, will soon be repaired, and by
judicious management of our city affairs, the
people will the sooner recover from their losses,
and thus be able, in a short time, to bear the
burdens of taxation without oppression. I shall
proceed to state, in brief form, the present fiscal
condition of the city, as I gather it from official
sources :
Bonded debt, December 1st, 1871, . . . $14,103,000
From this may be deducted bonds held
in the sinking fund,  557,000
Outstanding bonds,  $13,546,000
This debt is composed of the following items :
Funded debt — old issues,  $342,000
Funded debt — new issues,  2,192,500
School bonds,  1,119,500

APPENDIX. 443
School construction bonds,  $553 qoo
Sewerage bonds  2,680^000
River improvement bonds,  2 896 000
Water bonds,  4',82o',000
In addition to the bonded debt, it is officially re
ported to me that there is a floating debt consisting
of: Certificates of indebtedness,  $138,707
Unsettled claims for deepening the canal
in excess of the $3,000,000 authorized
by law  253,000
Current expenses for November, about, . 250,000
Tunnel balance, and other items, . . . 45,000

Total, about,  $686,707
The Comptroller estimates the general expenses
for the remainder of the fiscal year at $1,141,000
There stands to the credit of various special
funds the following unexpended balances:

Water fund, from sale of bonds, .
School building, from sale of bonds,
Special assessment, collected, . .
Bridewell fund, 
Reformed School fund, 

$897,262 148,152
435,467 45,451
30,000
Total,  $1,556,338
From these funds the City Government
has temporarily drawn for payment of
current expenses, to be replaced when
needed,  1,144,186

Balance on hand December 1st, 1871, $412,152

444 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
The Common Council, at a late meeting, appro
priated $140,000 of the water fund for repairs of
the water works and extensions of mains, which,
when expended will reduce the water fund to
$757,262. By the former mode of doing business with the
banks, nothing was paid by them to the city on its
deposits, while high rates of interest were paid by
the city for temporary accommodations — the money
loaned actually being the city's own funds. The
interest thus absurdly paid, amounted to a very
large item in the annual expenditure of the city.

Municipal Losses by the Fire.
As near as I can ascertain, the loss of city prop
erty by the fire, as estimated by the different
boards, is as follows :
In Care of Board of Public' Works.
City Hall, including furniture, .... $470,000
Bridges burned,  171,000
Damage to street pavements,  270,000
Damage to sidewalks and crossings, pay
able out of general fund,  70,000
Damage to water works  35,000
Damages to lamp posts,  15,000
Damage to fire hydrants, reservoirs, sewers,
water service, etc.,  60,000
Total,  $1,085,000

APPENDIX 445
To this must be added 121§ miles of sidewalks
destroyed (the replacement of which should be by
special assessment) valued at $911,380.
The Fire Department Loss.
Buildings worth,  $60,000
Furniture  7,500
Damage to engines,  8,200
Damage to hose  10,000
Damage to fire-alarm telegraph, .... 45,000
Total,  $130,700
Police Department Loss.
Buildings worth, . . ,  $53,600
Furniture, fixtures, etc.,  32,500
Total,  $86,100
Board of Education Lost.
Buildings, furniture, etc., worth, .... $251,000
Board of Health lost property worth, . . 15,000
Total losses,  $1,567,800
Add sidewalks,  941,380
Grand total, . ....... $2,509,180
All these burnt structures, machines, bridges,
sidewalks, fixtures, and furniture, must be rebuilt
and replaced at the earliest practical moment, as
they are indispensable to the city and citizens.

446 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:

Other Municipal Losses by the Fire.
But the destruction of this property is not the
only loss suffered by the corporation. The burning
of records, vouchers, books, papers, tax warrants,
assessment-rolls, etc., will necessarily occasion much
loss, confusion and embarrassment to the . city gov
ernment. But it is believed that a large part of
the apparent loss of official knowledge and data
can be supplied from other scources. Still, the
pecuniary loss to the city will be considerable in
the destruction of the evidence of delinquent taxes
and special assessments.

The Records.
This list of destroyed records and papers may con
vey an exaggerated idea of the actual damage done.
The system of keeping the city accounts was such
that but little loss will be sustained by the city by
reason of the destruction of the Comptroller's re
cords. To illustrate: The appropriation for the
Board of Public Works is nearly one-third of the
total annual appropriation, and, including special
assessments, is more than half of all the money ex
pended on city account. The board make out a
voucher for an expenditure and send it to the Comp
troller's office, keeping a duplicate in their own
office. The board also keep books of account, show
ing the expenditures of appropriations for and vou-

APPENDIX. 447
chers issued by the board. The Board of Public
Works saved their books, records, vouchers, etc.,
and to this extent the records of the Comptroller's
office can be replaced. So that it will be impossible
for claimants to defraud the city by false claims.
The appropriations for the Police and Fire De
partments, amounting to about $900,000, are largely
made up of the pay rolls of policemen and firemen,
and they were paid on Saturday preceding the fire,
except a few who were on special duty.
The usual course of business in the Comptroller's
office, combined with the personal recollections of
the Comptroller and his clerks, will enable that office
to prevent double payments, or fraudulent pay
ments, and the danger of such will be over with
when the payments for the month of November are
completed. It is in the destruction of the records, rolls and
warrants of the City Collector's office that I appre
hend the city will suffer the greatest loss. The
City Collector, when an assessment is made, or a tax
levied, receives a warrant for its collection, gives the
notices required by law, and reports once in each
year, generally in March, to the court, the delin
quents upon all real property and special assessment
accounts which come into his hands, the latter prior
to the 31st of October, and of the real property war
rants prior to the preceding second Sunday of De
cember.

448 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION— CHICAGO :

Combustible Character of the City.
No more important questions can engage your at
tention than those of the future fire limits, and a re
liable supply of water for the extinguishment of
fires. The first is in the nature of prevention, and
the second of cure ; and I shall briefly discuss them
in the order of their importance. On the 9th of
October more than 20,000 habitations and business
places were destroyed by fire in a single day. So
enormous a loss of property in so incredible short
space of time, finds no parallel in the history of con
flagrations. It is not difficult to explain the cause
of this sudden and tremendous destruction of prop
erty. There was no other city upon the face of
the earth where all the conditions for such a disaster
could be found in equal perfection. To begin with,
the city of Chicago is situates on the lake border of
a boundless prairie, swept continually by high winds.
It contained 60,000 pine-built structures, and a few
thousand of brick or stone. The prevailing winds
of the autumn are invariably from the west and
southwest. The solidly built parts of the city, and
containing the most values, lay to the eastward of
the combustible portions and were completely
flanked and commanded by them. Each year the
wooden parts of the city have filled up thicker and
thicker with the most inflammable of all building
materials, viz. : pine. For miles square there was
little but pine structures, pine sidewalks, pine plan-

APPENDIX. 451
ing mills, manufactures of pine, and pine lumber
yards. A hot, parching, southwestern gale of many days
duration had absorbed every particle of moisture
from the vast aggregation of pine, of which the city
was mainly constructed, and reduced it to the- con
dition of tinder. A fire broke out in the night in
the heart of this combustible material; the furious
wind spread it quickly and swept it onward resist-
lessly. When the storm of fire reached the South
Branch it had acquired such strength and volume as
to leap over it as though it were a tiny rivulet. It fed
on the dry pine tenements on its line of march, and
spreading right and left, swept everything before it
with the besom of destruction, until it died out for
lack of more pine to devour.
What lesson should this cruel visitation teach us 1
Shall we regard it as one of fortuitous occurrence,
which only happens at long intervals and is beyond
human foresight or control % Such a conclusion
constitutes our great future danger. A blind,
unreasoning infatuation in favor of pine for outside
walls, and pine covered with paper and tar for roofs,
has possession of many of our people, It is thought
to be cheaper than any other building material,
when, in point of fact, it is the dearest stuff, all
things considered, that can be used. It is short
lived; rots out in a few years; rapidly becomes
shabby in appearance, and of all building substances
is the most incendiary. There is no economy what
ever in erecting tenements of pine. The difference
26

452 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION  CHICAGO:
in first cost between it and brick is not to exceed 15
or 20 per cent., and this saving at the outset is soon
lost in higher rates of insurance ; larger consumption
of fuel ; more doctors' bills ; incessant repairs, and
greater discomfort. The value of real property is
reduced, and its advance retarded by the presence of
unsightly, decaying, and combustible wooden struc
tures, and the owners are unable to procure loans on
such property on terms satisfactory, either as to time,
amount, or rates of interest.
If we rebuild the city with this dangerous mate
rial, we have a moral certainty, at no distant day, of
a recurrence of the late catastrophe. The chances
of future destruction increase exactly in proportion
to the multiplication of combustible structures on a
given space. The sirocco blast from the southwest
visits us every year. We have strong winds at
nearly all times from the west. All the conditions
for great fires are, therefore, constantly present in
the dry season. With our present mode of supply
ing water, there is never an adequate quantity at
the point of need to combat and properly overcome
a great fire. But no supply is sufficient to quench
a fire with twenty minutes' start, among thousands
of tinder-box structures, and propelled by an autumn
gale in time of drought.
What the Future Fire-limiis shouldbe.
Can there be any doubt as to our duty in view of
these conditions and considerations % it seems to me

APPENDIX. 453
it is obvious and imperative. Those who are
intrusted with the management of public affairs
should take such measures as shall render the recur
rence of a like calamity morally impossible. The
outside walls and roof of every building, to be here
after erected within the limits of Chicago, should be
composed of materials as incombustible as brick,
stone, iron, concrete or slate. Self-preservation is
the first law of nature. So the preservation of the
city is the highest duty of its rulers. Except for
the most temporary uses, I am unalterably opposed,
from this time forward, to the erection of a single
wooden building within the limits of Chicago.
The fire limits, in my opinion, should be made
co-extensive with the boundaries of the city, and
when the latter are extended, so should be the for
mer. There is no line that can be drawn with safety
within those limits.
Any inner fire line would occasion endless dis
content, and will forever be assailed and broken.
Draw it anywhere inside the city limits, and it will
be continually forced inward, and shrink back
toward its old and useless boundaries. No satisfac
tory or logical reason can ever be given to interested
persons why those next to and within the line
should be prohibited from erecting incendiary struc
tures, while their neighbors on the opposite side of
the street or alley are permitted to indulge in that
dangerous luxury. Either let us forbid the construc
tion of those buildings which tend to jeopardize the
city, or allow all citizens an equal privilege toburn

454 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
down their neighbors. This is a land of fcqual
rights and privileges, and the rule in regard to
incendiary structures should also be equal and uni
form. I can see no other way of securing the safety of
the city, and satisfying the citizens, than by treating
all alike, and extending the fire limits to the city
boundaries. Special privileges are odious in a re
publican country.
In view of all the circumstances, I recommend that
your honorable body proceed to frame and perfect a
fire ordinance that will give security and perma
nence to the future city. The existing wooden
structures will gradually disappear by the ravages
of fire and decay, and the desire to replace them
with permanent edifices. In a few years we can
have a city solid and safe, durable and beautiful.
The enactment of a fire limits ordinance, compre
hending the entire city, will add tens of millions to
its credit abroad, and greatly appreciate the value of
its realty at home. It is the wisest financial mea
sure that can be enacted.
An Independent Supply of Water for Fires.
The future safety of the city demands a better
and more reliable supply of water for the extin
guishment of fires than is , afforded by the existing
system. This fact was painfully demonstrated in
the late calamity. When the pumping works suc
cumbed, not a gallon of water could be procured by
the Fire Department or the citizens with which to

APPENDIX. 455
fight the fire, and hundreds, perhaps thousands, of
houses perished in consequence thereof. The city
should not be left wholly dependent on those ma
chines, because they are subject to many contingen
cies in addition to that which disabled them. Boil
ers may explode and ruin the engines, or cut off the
supply of steam ; some of the machinery may give
way while the other engines are idle, awaiting re
pairs; valves may fail; a main may burst from over
pressure, or other cause ; fire may again invade the
works, or something else may happen at the critical
moment, which may again leave the Fire Depart
ment helpless and the city a prey to the unpitying
element. The topography of the city forbids an elevated
reservoir of capacity and* pressure sufficient for the
extinguishment of serious fires, such as they have in
Montreal, New York, Pittsburgh, and other cities.
But a simple, cheap, and reliable substitute can be
fo.und in the construction of a system of subterranean
reservoirs, one at every street crossing in the
densely built portions of the city, and at greater
distances apart in the more sparsely built parts.
These reservoirs may be connected by earthen pipes
such #s are used for sewerage purposes, of adequate
diameter, and supplied with water by artesian wells
placed at proper distanc.es apart. The water from
all the wells in each division of the city would thus
be connected and made to flow into any reservoir
from which the fire engines might be drawing water.
A dozen artesian wells in either division of the city

456 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION  CHICAGO".
would supply water faster than the whole depart
ment in action could consume it. The stock of
water in the reservoirs themselves would be invalu
able in great emergencies.
Only one engine can draw water from a fire hy
drant, and the others usually have to go long dis
tances to find hydrants, and their delivery power is
greatly diminished by distance and friction of water
in the hose, while the hose itself is burst and de
stroyed in great quantities at every severe combat
with fire. But from each of the proposed reservoirs
several engines could draw water, and thus, at short
range, concentrate an irresistible discharge upon the
fire and quickly master it.
Artesian water is so warm that it would never
freeze in the pipes, however shallow they were laid,
nor in the reservoirs, because the perpetual influx of
the warm water would always keep the temperature
above the freezing point. The outflow of this water
to the North Division and in the northern part of
the West Division could be conducted into the
North Branch of the Chicago river, and materially
aid in its purification, without expense to the city.
In other portions of the town, surplus water could
be run into the street sewers, thereby saving the ex
pense of " flushing " them, as now practiced. In
the season of street sprinkling, the watering wagons
could obtain water from the artesian fountains,
thereby leaving a larger supply for domestic pur
poses. There are various other uses to which the

APPENDIX. 457
waste water might advantageously be put, not ne
cessary here to enumerate.
The cost of the proposed supply of auxiliary water
would be insignificant when compared with its value
in preserving property and adding to the safety of
the city. The annual saving of insurance, resulting
from this independent water supply, would probably
exceed the first cost of procuring it. Bounteous
Nature has placed under our feet, within easy reach,
this fountain of water, awaiting our bidding to pour
forth. Have we the enterprise and sagacity to util
ize it 1 But I refer the further consideration of
this important subject 1p the wisdom of your honor
able body. Perhaps some better plan to accomplish
the end in view — the safety of the city from destruc
tion by fire — will be suggested by yourselves and
carried into effect. But we must be admonished by
the bitter and terrible experience of the past never
again to depend exclusively on our pumping works
for a sure and adequate supply of water for the re
duction of a great conflagration. Conclusion.
In concluding I point with pride and admiration
to the gigantic efforts our whole people are putting
forth to rise from the ruins and rebuild Chicago.
The money value of their losses can hardly be calcu
lated. But who can compute the aggregate of
anguish, distress and suffering they have endured
and must yet endure % These wounds are still sore

458 THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION — CHICAGO:
and agonizing, though they have been greatly alle
viated by the prompt, generous, and world wide
charities that have been poured out for their succor
and relief; and 1 claim in their behalf that they are
showing themselves worthy the benefactions re
ceived. They have faced their calamity with
noble fortitude and unflinching courage. Repining
or lamentation is unheard in our midst, but hope
and cheerfulness are everywhere exhibited and
expressed. All are inspired with an ambition to
prove to the world that they are worthy of its
sympathy, confidence and assistance and to show
how bravely they can encounter disaster, how
quickly repair losses and restore Chicago to her
high rank among the great cities of the earth.
Happily there is that left which fire cannot con
sume ; — habits of industry and self-reliance, personal
integrity, business aptitude, mechanical skill, and
unconquerable will. These created what the flames
devoured, and these can speedily re-create more
than was swept away. Under free institutions,
good government, and the blessings of Providence,
all losses will soon be repaired, all misery caused by
the fire assuaged, and a prosperity greater than ever
dreamed of will be achieved in a period so brief,
that, the rise will astonish mankind even more than
the fall, of Chicago.

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