Thomas Dove Foster

“ In more modern times the great fire of London holds the center of the stage. In extent and results it was not unlike the Chicago fire of two centuries later. How little does man profit by the lessons and the losses of the past! ”

“ At eleven-fifteen these brands set fire to the roof of a church about three hundred yards from the main fire. I went to see this before there was the sign of a blaze; (I adopted the plan of keeping before the fire, so that in case it spread I should not be cut off from my hotel) some men got on the roof and tried to put it out but they could not. So an engine came, and dilly-dallied about for a few minutes, until a volume of thick black smoke rolled up from it and in two minutes it was in flames. The edifice was wood and it went like a matchbox ”

“ The fire lasted thirty-six hours, during that time clearing everything before it for a distance of five and a half miles, commencing in a point, and finishing two miles in width; about fifty thousand tons of coal caught fire, which burned for a week quite bright, always keeping the sky aglow with its light. It is still burning but no fire can be seen. I must add here that Mr. Kenny did not turn up the whole afternoon, and I began to fear the worst. However he [Pg 40] made his appearance between seven and eight o’clock, all safe and sound and relieved my mind. ”

“ Delicate people, young children of all classes, huddled together without any comforts; a great many people died, and no wonder. However, they are all pretty well provided for now, supplies are plentiful, the only fear is that the charity will be abused. ”

“ The wind was blowing in the direction from 1 to 6, so I thought the fire would wear out at the lake, and not be able to cross the river to the North Side. In this I was mistaken, for when I went to look at the fire, after deposing our things at the express-man’s house, as before stated, we found the bridge we had just crossed was on fire, and that the North Side was doomed unless the wind changed (this was three o’clock) so we turned back to move our traps again. Whilst walking up, we met a man pulling a large trunk. ”

“ At two o’clock we walked down together and found the flames stopped by blowing up of several streets of houses. The North Side was swept out clear and clean, right into the country, burning up Lincoln Park and a Catholic Cemetery. Seventy-five thousand people resided on the North Side, and every house with one exception was burned to the ground, not even the walls standing. Altogether one hundred thousand people were rendered homeless, and had to [Pg 39] camp out on the prairie without any covering for two days and two nights, having little to eat and scarcely any water to drink. ”

“ Children clung to parents, or old friends, too frightened to cry; infants alone made noise, as the mothers had not time to sit down and soothe them. Others of them slept peaceably in the mothers’ arms, ignorant of all danger and care. ”

“ The people were mostly looking at the fire, but as soon as they saw their homes in danger, a general packing up could be observed in all the houses, and soon after a regular exodus, everyone, old and young, carrying something. ”

“ Many of the store owners saved what they could, then opened the doors and told the multitude to help themselves. One of the largest jewellers out of New York did this, and a few lives were sacrificed in his place; people being so venturesome that they went once too often, and got caught with a falling building. One piano store owner commenced pulling pianos out of a third story window. ”

“ Possibly no fire of modern times has [Pg 8] received as much publicity as the one which swept over Chicago on Sunday night, October the 8th, 1871, and the following day. Exactly who was responsible for starting the fire is a matter of conjecture, but until about a dozen years ago it was generally believed that an obstreperous cow, belonging to a certain Mrs. O’Leary, was the culprit. Now cows in history, from the time of the Golden Calf, have oftener been infamous than otherwise, and Mrs. ”

“ This account has been carefully compared with authentic records published immediately after the fire, and in no case have any important discrepancies been discovered.
Order followed chaos; the citizens formed themselves into Home Guards under General F. T. Sherman, and Foster patrolled a beat on State Street, with a rifle over his shoulder, from midnight until four A.M. Later, the city was put under military control with Lieutenant-General Philip H. Sheridan commanding.
In 1830 Chicago had a population of 70 ”