Show 40 ay 10 Q ik X CW 0 V ok tw g by ELMO SCOTT WATSON years ago tills month S 1 I occurred a disaster which takes I 1 rank as one of the leading events in american amerlean history for october 9 Is B j the ahe anniversary of the great chicago ore 4 and although this country tina has known many catastrophes catH strophes since 1871 it holds a unique place la IQ the aft sf f abst americans Ameri calilL just this be lanot Is not easy to deter mine on reason may be because it was not only the first great catastrophe in our history y to send its thill ot horror wd and sympathy for ite U victims all over the nation but it was the calamity that had ever ani any community perhaps the better reason Is that its aftermath was what we like to think Is so BO typically american here was a city that by persistent energy daring enterprise and tar far reaching plans had been built up to a high position with unlimited possibilities for the future in ORO one right night all the effort of 44 years was swept away A hundred bundred thousand people were homeless anif and out ot of employment build buildings logi ind had been destroyed and kr property worth nearly two hundred of at dollars had vanished la Is the face of all uda it wo would U 14 seem that human nature would give five way to despair desia lr but the hardy pioneer stock of Chi cagos citizenry was not net the kind that was easily daunted for them there wits was no situ bitting 11 g down among the desolation of their city and giving themselves up to mourning over their shattered bred hopes the moment the telegraph wires had been repaired her bankers with nothing but the future greatness of their city to offer as security were borrowing millions igns from eastern capitalists and her merchants were ordering new stocks of goods the ease case of oal merchant was typical before the smoldering ruins of his store had bad cooled he put op a sign on the site which read all gone but wife children and energy I 1 out of her travail chicago with her motto of 11 M will ollir ili arose to begin building spin again and within three years there stood a new city beside the lake new in brick and stone and new flew in spirit within twenty years congress had chosen chicago as the site alte tor for the worlds fair to celebrate celeb the four hundredth anniversary of the d discovery of america Arac tift and the worlds columbian exposition of 1803 tet set a new mark in such celebrations fifty five years later finds chicago citizens planning an even oven greater exposition tor for 1931 one which will celebrate her centennial ind and will show to the world that in a hundred years she hits has arisen toa to a position which challenges the achievements of any city no matter how bow many hundreds of bearg year of history if has behind it to appreciate how great was the disaster dimter that overtook this city on october 9 1871 it Is necessary ai to review her brief history before the blow fell the first f permanent inhabitant 09 0 the site 0 Chicago was jean baptiste point au all sable a west indian negro who built ik a rude cabin at the mouth fit the chicago river in 1700 A frenchman jumped his claim and later wd sold it to john kintle who la Is aft often called the father of Chlo I 1 igo pi in I 1 1803 the war depart depar iDt built a fort t T on watho the banks of of the river the first fort whose Iii history story was to end so tragically in UM massacre of sit 1812 A second fort dearborn was hullt in 1816 and occupied for SO 80 years but even the protection prote cdon it afforded failed to attract settlers i and in IM chicago could claim only three families first gift platted eted and named rn h connection tion with the survey for a canal ro route ute to in 1830 the town covered only some three eights of a aquart mile and when it was Inco in 1837 ita it alth there ere haa a been albohm after the black hawk war of 1837 caused a period of stagnation and chicago alive was tho the canal project and the indomitable grit ot of men who toressa a if great future tor toi the city A steady began after 1842 RZ with witha temporary set babli hythe panic of f 1857 and continued through gh ta by thi sUme the entrance of 0 rall PW AMP roads the development of manufactures ant its ili strategic location as a trading cent center IF had caused chused chicago to forge corp ahead until it was iwu becoming truly a wonder city by 1871 it had a 4 population of from to in M 34 years yeat in ita ila appearance thi the chicago of 1871 kwas was laid 1414 to tb have hate resembled bad somewhat Bome what the greit great city of 0 paris mansard rd roots roofs imported from rom Parl parisian slad architecture were much in evidence an aa was rho also the light colored building stone which had the appearance of the famous part parla marble it had many beautiful homes and gardens and an elaborate park system so that it was often referred to as the garden city into the midst of all this peace and pio prosperity came the fire dragon one sunday evening As churchgoers ere were returning to homes homei they were staf startled fled to hear th the alarm eslam of fire from the courthouse bell etwas it was the second alarm that had been sounded within 24 hours for the night before the city firemen had bad battled a stubborn blaze all night long befort before they had sti succeeded in sub dulog duing it 11 cackling geese saved items borne and ft a kicking cow destroyed chicago the fire of october 8 originated to in the barn of mrs patrick oleary an irishwoman living at do de koven hovell street streek who kept a cow and sold muk milk to her neighbors tradition has always had it that mrs 01 oleary leary was milking her cow that fateful night but recent researches into the history afi th the event shows that it was one of the neighbors and not mrs oleary who was milking the cow at the unseemly hour of p V perhaps if mrs MM oleary had been doing it the history of chicago would have bare been different however that way may be the fact remains that the cow kicked over the lant lantern erik the barn was ignited and the great chicago fire are had begun it made strong headway despite the th efforts of the firemen wearied to tb exhaustion by bf their experience of the tight eight becom before and was soon out oat of au al CORI control L the flames swept east toward the river and there it paused although as ax though selecting its point of attack or on the east side lot the river between adams and monroe streets stood the tb south side gas works A ai ablaing plank wax was blown across the river find and lighted on these buildings A moment later there was a explosion and the south side was to la darkness save g for the glare oi of the flames blown by a gals gale the fire baill bad enjoyed a devastating sweep of four miles through gha a line of wooden wooden buildings which were dry as the proverbial under for there had been no rain for weeks the fire department driven back steadily by the onrushing flames had hoped that the barrier of the river ilver would check the flames dames but when the fire reached this barrier about midnight and leaped across acres 9 they all but abandoned hope buildings of bf stone brick and iron in what to Is now the loop district which were supposed to be fireproof crumbled and melted before the terrific heat I 1 apparently sitting aiming at the courthouse the fire now selected as its avenue avenue of approach la salle street streel the financial renter center of the city and stead uy ate ili its way along madison and monroe streets only one structure ire the nixon building proved to be really fireproof As an tor for the others the limestone and even harder stone melted before the terrific heat and ran d down like lava from a volcano the cupola of the courthouse was framework and burst in name before ibe he remainder of the structure succumbed along after two in the morning wheat aie tha framework burned the sell 0 a a a in mechanical an evice device continued to toll toil its W warning g 6 to the he citizens but it was sounding bounding the be knell of a 8 doomed domed city on the north side stood the chicago water works containing the powerful engines which pumped the lake water for distribution through the city while mile the courthouse was burning a brand from it went hur hurtling fling through the air anil and lighted upon a wooden outbuilding a of a brewery illustrations illustration from chicago historical society from thaw the fire spread to the tower of the waterworks water works ind find soon the entire mechanism was disabled rod and the water supply cut off with it went the list last hope for or checking the flames it if indeed there still was was any hope As the fire swept on toward the lake gen phil FAirl fairlean dan co manding officer of the department ot the lakes hakea whose were in chicago and who bad and taken charge of the situation tried to check the spread of the fire by blowing up buildings aang wabash and michigan avenues AA A few ew structures were saved in this moaner manner but against the gale that was blowing but little could be accomplished bo be from early in the evening of october 8 until late at night on october 8 the conda conflagration gratton raged ft a vast rait ocean of flame dame sweeping over the city id fit mile long billows and bro breakers akers before if 1 fled a horde of humanity in n fren cled search for safety along the lake front but the refugees soon found that standing in the water was unsafe and they sought to escape by a mild mat rush to the south the horrors horror of the scene as well as some of the ludicrous phases of it are described by an eyewitness as follows the th means was indescribable the treat great dazzling light the tb flash and roar of the conflagration and the desp depenate de erste fight of ur the crowd they stood transfixed with ft a mingled tooling feline of horror and admiration and while they often exclaimed at the beauty of the scene cene therall they nil all devoutly prayed that they might niver never see fee such ouch another to the roar which the simple process of combustion always makes make magnified here her to so 0 o grand an extent was wai added the crash of falling failing buildings building and the constant cone lant explosion of toree stores of oil the rolie noise of the crowd was w nothing compared to wv chaos chabi of sound found I 1 saw aw mon men women and children in every variety of 0 f dress with a motley collection of effect of feete which they sought ought to save some had wiver soma om valuable bable papers paper some ome pictures picture carpet carpe tm beds oto eto one little child had her doll tenderly pressed la in her arme an old irlia woman was wa cherishing a grunting pig there was wa i a ain insular In fular vular mixture of the awful the ludicrous and the pathetic A torrent of humanity was wa pouring over the bridge drays express wag pagona onit trucks truck and conveyances conveyance of every conceivable ereole and also 1 I crowded across in indiscriminate beato Coll Colli lilon happ happened sned almost every moment the same ame long lon tins line of mu men dragging trunks trunk was wa here many of thom them I 1 tugging u over the tb ground with load which ft horie would train strain at women were there tag stag goring under weights upon thoice thel backs back now and then a tray stray Bc hooner onor came up my and the bridge must be opened then arose a howl of indignation along the line audible above tae M tumult by monday de determined ter mined efforts already were wag being made to bring order out of chaos two thousand extra police were sworn in to stop the plunder plundering int state troops were called out and sheridan Sheri dans s regulars took charge relief bureau were organized organ leed by the city officials Immedi immediately atell other cities came to the rescue of their stricken sister carloads of food ind and clothing were sent by SL louis and cincinnati Chi cagos trade rivals to counterbalance the scenes of horror and baser human passions which bad swept the city during the fire are was the wave of sympathy and help which came from all parts of tho the country it was in the form of money and provisions alons and offers of all kinds to help for several weeks the problem of living among the ruins rains was a real one 1 for even people of wealth the thousands of homeless people found shelter jn in hastily constructed sha shanties and lean tos tog their cooking in the open gradually hoider conditions we were re bettered and chicago emerged from fram the devastation and began the task of rebuilding the debris from the fire was wai ft dumpe i inta ehg lagoon jagoon that for formerly morly separated the trae tracks a of the illinois central railroad tron fron the lake front filling it up and paving the iral wa for fofI later ater improvements within a year the new chicago cad bad sprung phenly like from the ibe alamei abek and exactly two years liter later the great glass east domed building of the interstate Intent ate industrial ex position erected where institute now novi stands marked the rehabilitation of a great breaf ati after one of the greatest disasters in 61 stor at ass |