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CHICAGO'S DESOLATION. 
THE GREAT FIRE OF SATURDAY. SUNDAY AND 
MONDAY, OCT. 7. 8 AND 9. 
THE ENTIRE BUSINESS PORTION OF 
THE CITY CONSUMER. 
100,000 Person* Homeless. 
It seemed that no sooner bad the flames suburbs, stretched in the dust. These are every city in the Union, Canadas and from 
struck a wall than it went directly through, 
and a very few minutes sufficed to destroy 
the most elaborately built structure; the 
walls melted, and the very bricks were con¬ 
sumed. The wooden pavements took fire, 
the suffering lambs whom Christ now calls 
on the rich world to feed and clothe. 
Tho Dleirneied People. 
One of the most pitiful sights was that of a 
middle-aged woman, on State street, loaded 
making a continuous sheet of flame, two with bundles, struggling through a crowd 
miles long by a mile wide. No human be- singing, " The Mother Goose Melody,” 
ing could possibly survive many minutes. “ Cbickcry, Cliickery, Crany Crow,” “ I went 
Block after block fell, and the red-hot coal to the well to wash my toe,” &c. There 
shot higher and higher, aud spread farther were hundreds of others likewise distracted, 
and farther until the north side of Lake and many made desperate by whisky or 
England. The world knows how large were 
the hearts aud liberal the hands of Chicago¬ 
ans whenever appealed to to relieve suffering. 
And it seems as if everybody’s heart aches 
and band is ready to relieve Chicago, now 
that she suffers. This active, operative sym¬ 
pathy seems to he fully proportionate to the 
magnitude of the affliction. 
And although the business of the whole 
No rhetorical effort, beyond the simple street was a vast sheet of flame from the 
statement of facts, is needed to tell the story \ 
of the destruction of Chicago in such a man- | 
nor as to make all hearts ache with sympa¬ 
thy' and cause all to shudder at the contem¬ 
plation of the appalling loss of life and prop¬ 
erty, and the consequent suffering which this 
unparalleled disaster has entailed—to open 
every heart mi l quicken every hand to do 
all that can be done to give relief to the suf¬ 
fering, starving, poverty-stricken, homeless 
and houseless ones in Chicago. The active 
and material expressions of such sympathy 
in t.liis country and Europe, already demon¬ 
strated,shows how the public heart is stirred, 
how warm and humane it, is, and how thor¬ 
oughly' the situation is comprehended and 
commiserated. We know that, there need 
lie no furt her appeal than the following con¬ 
densed history of events compiled from the 
telegrams received. 
.Tlio Fire of Oct. 7tli 
Originated in a planing mill (at 11 P. M.) in 
the block hounded by Clinton, Canal, Van 
Burnt and Jackson streets on the west side 
of the river. The drouth had been severe, 
and every wooden house was a tinder box. 
'J'he wind was fresh, and this mill being in 
the midst ot a part of the city buU t almost 
exclusively' of wood and covered with lum¬ 
ber, the (ire spread with groat rapidity, burn¬ 
ing over the four blocks bounded by Clin¬ 
ton, Adams and Van Huron streets and the 
river. This fire was finally got tinder con¬ 
trol, the losses being estimated at $300,000 
aud the life of one woman. 
The Fire of Oct. Stli unit Ilrli. 
In the Monday morning New York papers 
was a dispatch dated Chicago, Oct. 8, 11 P. 
M., stating “ a fire is now raging in the West 
Division which appears to he as large as the 
great fire last night. The alarm was given 
at 9.43 P. M.” Before noon the newspaper 
bulletins announced that Chicago was burn¬ 
ing up. The statements were discredited. 
It. seemed impossible to conceive of a dis¬ 
aster one-lntlf as great a3 the bulletins and 
extras indicated, and better news was antic- 
pated ; but the flay waned and night, camo 
on and every succeeding dispatch made the 
story worse and worse. Excitement grew, 
and yet all ability to comprehend the possi¬ 
bility that the magnificent piles of marble, 
granite and iron which were said to have 
passed away could be burned — Custom 
House, Court House, Opera House, Hotels, 
Newspapers offices, Halls, Theaters, blocks 
of Btores—all gone! It was incredible. The I 
braiu refused to respond with belief to what 
the eyes saw heralded as irut.lt. Never have 
we seen, in New York or elsewhere, such 
incredulity concerning news which stared 
the people in the face and was cried into 
their ears from the throats of hundreds of 
irrepressible newsboys. And this is the 
story we read: 
How the Fire Originated. 
Sunday evening a hoy went into a stable 
on Dekoven street, near the river on the 
west side, to milk a cow. He carried a 
kerosene hnnp. The cow kicked the lamp 
over aud the hunting fluid was scattered 
among the straw. This was the beginning. 
The fire spread rapidly. The alarm was 
given, the firemen appeared but were ex¬ 
hausted by' the work of the night previous 
and worked slowly. The wind blew a gale 
from the south west, and the fire swept rapid¬ 
ly from house to house and from lumber yard 
to lumber yard, down the river until the dis- 
river to the lake at one time, so hemming in 
and many made desperate by whisky or 
beer, which from excess of thirst they drank 
in absence of water in great quantities, who 
the people that it was expected thousands 1 spread themselves in every direction, a terror 
no 
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MAP Oie CHICAGO, SHOWING THE 13UUJST1’ DISTRICT. 
oftical. 
were hundreds of others likewise distracted, count ry suffers, because of the severance of 
the arteries of commerce which centered in 
Chicago, men have forgotten their own 
losses and till that affects their interests and 
have, sent forward supplies with liberal 
from the south west, aud the fire swept rapid- must P er ' sl1 - Sherman, Tremont and other 
]y from house to house and from lumber yard hotels were empt ied ot their guests, and a 
to lumber yard,down the river until the dis- remarkable eight, presented itself in the liur- 
trict burned over the night previous was tying throngs with trunks, sacks or hags on 
reached. Meantime the high wind had car¬ 
ried the fire east of the river north of Twelfth 
street, where it found food for consumption 
iu the shape of lumber yards, railroad depots 
and business blocks. The momentum of the 
shoulders, fleeing amid flames for their lives. 
Those who could, made for the remaining 
bridges, others got next to the Lake shore, 
and so South. 
Now was to he seen the most remarkable 
to all they met. Many persons became crazed 
and jumped iuto the river, while several 
stabbed and killed themselves in their des¬ 
peration 
Wlntf Need to Multiply Words? 
Our map tells the story of destruction. 
The part of the city left, in blackness on the 
map is, according to the telegrams, shrouded 
hand. We have no space to even attempt 
to catalogue the donations. We only thank 
God that out of the darkness and gloom 
which this calamity lias east, arises the 
Angel of Mercy, ill the shape of a glorious, 
liberal, warm-hearted people, to the rescue! 
If the suffering has been great the blessing 
■of giving, to the American people, lias been 
HANNAH JANE. 
BY PETROLEUM V. NASBY. 
[Abel Meiumweatreu. Representative InCongross 
from the Thirty-third District of Indiana—Lawyer 
Writer, Orator—solves one Social Problem.] 
SHE isn’t half so liuudsotm; as when, twenty years 
ngone, 
At her old homo In Plketon Parson Avery mndo us 
otto i 
The great house crowded full of guests of every 
degree, 
The girls alt euvytng Hannah Jane, the boys all 
envying me. 
Her fingers then worn taper, and her sktn was white 
as milk, 
Her brown hair— what a mess it was', and soft and 
fine as silk ; 
No wind-moved willow by a brook had ever such a 
grace. 
The form of Aphrodite, with a pure Madonna lace. 
She had but monger schooling: her little notes to me 
Were full ot crooked pot-hooks, and the worst or¬ 
thography. 
Her ‘‘dear” she spoiled with doubler, and “kiss” 
witli hut one a ; 
But whoil olio’s crazed with passion, what's a letter 
more or less ? 
Stic blundered In her writing, and she blundered 
when she spoke. 
And every rule Of syntax that old Murray made sho 
broke. 
But she was beautiful and fresh, and I—well, I was 
young: 
Her form and face o’orbalanced all the blunders of 
her tongue. 
I was but little better. True, I'd longer been at 
school: 
My tongue and pen were run, perhaps, a tritle moro 
by rule; 
j But that was all. The neighbors round, who both of 
us well knew. 
Said—which l believed—sho was the better of the 
two. 
All's changed : the light of sevontoen's no longer in 
her eyes; 
Her wavy hair is gono—that loss the coiffeur's art 
supplies; 
Her form is thin and angular; she slightly forward 
bends; 
lfor lingers, once so shapely, now are stumpy at tho 
ends. 
She knows but very little, and In little are wo one ; 
The beauty rare that moro than hid that groat defect 
Is gone. 
Sly parvenu relations now deride my homely wife, 
A nd pity me I bat I am tied to such a clod for llfo. 
I 1 know there is a difference ; at veeoption and levoo 
I Tho brightest, wittiest and most famed of women 
smile on me; 
And every where I hold my placo umong the greatest 
men. 
And sometimes nigh, with Whittier's Judge, “Alas! 
it might have been.” 
When they all crowd around mo, stately dames and 
brilliant belles. 
And yield to mo the homage that all great success 
compels, 
Discussing urtimd state-craft, and literature as well. 
From Uouier down to Thackeray, and Swedenborg 
on ” Hell,"— 
1 can’t forgot that from those streums my wife has 
never quaffed, 
lias never with Ophelia wopt, nor with Jack Falstuff 
laughed ; 
Of authors, actors, iirtists—why, she hardly knows 
this names; 
She slept, whllo 1 was speaking on tho Alabama 
claims. 
I can’t forget— Just at this point another form ap- 
pea rs— 
Tho wife 1 wedded us she was before my prosperous 
years; 
I travel o’er the dreary road wo truvolod side by 
side. 
And wonder what my share would be If Justico 
should divide. 
Sho had four hundred dollars left her from tho old 
estate; 
On that wo married, and, thus poorly armored, faced 
our fate. 
I wrestled with my books; her task was harder far 
than mine— 
’Twits how to make two hundred dollurs do the work 
of nine. 
At last I was admitted ; then I had my legal lore,— 
An ofllco with a stove and desk, of books perhaps a 
score; 
She had her beauty and her youth, and some house¬ 
wifely skill. 
And lovo for me and faith In me, and back of that a 
will. 
1 had no friends holilnd me—no influence to ntd : 
I worked and fought for every little Inch of ground 
1 made. 
And how sho fought beside me ! never woman lived 
on less; 
. In two Jong yoars sho never spent a single cont for 
• dress. 
in the blackness of (Insolation. Nine miles greater. Let us all remember Hint, winter is 
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fire seemed irresistible. It was Sunday sight ever beheld in this or any oilier conn- square, the telegraph informs us, is laid at handi llmL shelter, fuel and eloilung must 
Bight and the people were secure in their try. There were from fifty to seventy-five " ante. Doubtless the outlines of the fire, as he provided for the tens of thousands who 
night and the people were secure in their 
homes, confiding in the excellence aud ef¬ 
ficiency of the lire department. Soon, how¬ 
ever, it became apparent that the entire busi¬ 
ness portion of the city was iu danger. The 
hulls began to ring a continuous alarm. The 
thousand men, women and children fleeing shown on the map, should be somewhat ex- 
by every available street and alley lo the tended. We have reports that it has reached 
southward and westward, aliempiing Losave south along the lake shore as fur as 16111 
their clothing and their lives. Everv avail- street; and one account says to 23d street; 
were happy and prosperous yesterday and 
to-day are penniless and homeless. 
Landmarks Gone. 
able vehicle was brougijt into requisition for 
roar of the fiery sea as it swept along was use, for which enormous prices were paid, this news, 
terrific. The heat became so intense as to and the streets and sidewalks presented a Tin 
shrivel and melt metal and stone ere the sight. Thousands of persons and horses in- must have b 
flames had reached them. AH human agency extricably commingled; poor people of all fusion it is m 
was powerless to check the tornado of fire colors aud shades, and of every nationality, nor how mat 
which whirled death and destruction for- from Europe, China aud Africa, mad with of the discov 
ward with irresistible impetus. Meantime excitement, struggled with each other to get islied of who 
the people of the city began to realize the away. more of the 
danger. They left their peaceful homes to Hundreds were trampled under fool. Men sheltered om 
resell etlieir own and other’s endangered pro- and women were loa led with bundles and exposure, hu 
sireet; aiui one account, says 10 siicei; yy E j U( '|j Cn te by figures on our map, some 
but we have at this writing no confirmation of the landmarks'’reported destroyed. Other 
perty. Despite their efforts the Custom 
House and Post Office, Board of Trade, Court 
House, newspaper offices ami hundreds ol 
lheir household goods, to whose skirts were 
clinging tender infanta, half dressed and 
barefooted, all seeking a place of safety. 
other building's, the pride and glory of Chi- Hours afterward these might have been seen 
cago, molted away. The dispatches say : in vacant lots or on the streets, far out in the 
The Dcntmction of Life 
must have been very great. Amid the con¬ 
fusion il is not yet possible to determine who 
nor how many are lost. Every dispatch tells 
of the discovery of bodies. Many have per¬ 
ished of whom no trace will be found. Many 
more of the sick, infirm, distracted and un¬ 
sheltered ones are reported to have died from 
exposure, hunger and thirst. 
To the Romcuo 
of the city went the firemen of Cincinnati, 
St. Louis, Milwaukee and other cities. To 
the relief of the sufferers messengers of mercy 
and material aud money have been sent from 
buildings as costly and containing immense 
stocks of goods, grain, &c., are gone But we 
hope to hear that many reported burned are 
left at least in a holer condition than we have 
reason to fear is the ease. 
i. Rode Island and Mich. Southern R. R. 
depot. 2. Custom House and Post, Office. 
3. Court House. 4. Farwell Hall. 5. Mc- 
Vicker’s Theatre. G. Tribune office. 7. 
Sherman House. 8. Tremont House. 9. 
Museum. 10. Second Presbyterian Church. 
It. Water works. 12. Gas works. 13. Ill. 
Central Elevators—one saved. 14. McCor¬ 
mick’s Reaper Factory. 15. Belcher's Sugar 
Refinery.—[Sec News page. 
All.' how sho cried for joy when my first legal tight 
was won. 
When our eclipse passed partly by, and wo stood iu 
the sun t 
The fee wua fifty dollars—'twas tho work of half a 
year— 
First captive, loan aud scruggy, of my legal bow and 
spear. 
I well remember when my coat (tho only ono I had) 
Was seedy grown and threadbare, and, In fact, most 
*' shocking bad,” 
The tailor's stern remark when I a modest order 
made: 
“ Cash Is tho basis, sir, on which wo tailors do our 
trade.” 
nor winter cloak was in his shop by noon that very 
day; 
She wrought on hickory shirts at night that tailor's 
skill to pay. 
I got a coat, sml wore it; but alas! poor Hannah 
Juno 
Ne’er went to church or lecture till warm weather 
came again. 
Our second season Bhe refused a cloak of any sort, 
That 1 might have a decent suit in which't appear 
in court; 
Sho rnudo lier last year’s bonnet do, that I might 
have a hat: 
Talk of the old-time, flame-enveloped martyrs after 
that I 
No negro over worked so hard : a servant’s pay to 
save, 
She made herself most willingly a household drudgo 
and slave. 
What wonder that sho never read a magazine or 
hook, 
Combining us sho did in one, nurse, house-maid, 
seamstress, cook! 
