USA > Illinois > Cook County > Chicago > Stories and sketches of Chicago; an interesting, entertaining, and instructive sketch history of the wonderful city "by the sea" > Part 7
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THE GREAT FIRE, AS SEEN FROM THE LAKE.
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a few weeks, just around the corner 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, Jeannette, 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 Cincin- nati. That would have made a splendid wedding suit, wouldn't it?
" The city is building up lively. Work is lively, 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 said that Frank did not decline that invitation, nor did he consent to postpone the wedding a year, or any longer than a new outfit could be provided.
How a Woman was Saved in the Great Fire by Brave Men --- A Narrow Escape.
The following thrilling episode connected with the great fire 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 !"
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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 seizea a rope, ran up the ladder, and entered the lower window. He was lost to 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 mean- while 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-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 essayed 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 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
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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 com- panion.
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.
A Dreadful Scene in the Washington Street Tunnel During the Great Fire.
While the great fire was raging in the South Division a thrilling scene occurred in the Washington street tunnel. which led to the West Side. 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 divi- sion to the other.
At a moment when the passage-way was filled with pedes- trians, 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 cool- ness and courage; not a man lost his presence of mind; but all. as with one accord, bore to the right. each calmly enjoin- ing 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 darkness with almost military preci-
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sion, 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.
How a Cat in the Old Postoffice Saved its Life by Jumping into a Pail of Water
One of the features of the Postoffice was the "official cat." This notorious feline may or may not have had a name; at any rate it is not now known. It had been once before burned out, and was, therefore, in a measure prepared for this calamity.
On the night of the great 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-spir- ited employe to go without permission.
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When the work afterward of removing the safes was in progress, the tearing away of a partition revealed the faith- ful 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 a liv- ing being who passed Sunday night and Monday in the burnt district.
A Remarkable Incident in the Great Fire, where a Man Saves his House by Throwing Hard Cider on it.
A policeman named Bellinger lived in a small, white, wooden cottage on Lincoln place. When he saw the fire coming 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, Bel- linger cast a pail into his cistern and it was dry. The blankets were on fire.
Then the Bellinger genius rose triumphant. He assaulted his cider barrels, and 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!
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The Hon. Isaac N. Arnold's Personal Experience in the Great Chicago Fire-A Graphic Description of that Wonderful Conflagration.
The Hon. Isaac N. Arnold, the friend and biographer of President Lincoln, whose name is well known in this and other countries, and who is still a resident of Chicago, de- scribes his own thrilling adventures in the great fire as follows:
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 3 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 1 until after 3, when young Arthur Arnold, a lad of 13, called to his father: "The barn and hay are on fire!"
"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 an- nouncement.
" Now, for the first time," says 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?" An effort was made to cut down some portraits, a landscape of Kensett, Otsego Lake, by Mignot-it was too late! Seizing a bundle of papers, gathering the children and servants together, and leading forth the animals they started. But where to go?
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BRYANT &ST TTON'S CHICAGO BUSINESSMOI
ATLANTIC RAPH FFICE
VIEW OF BUSINESS CENTER OF CHICAGO, BURNT IN A SINGLE NIGHT, FROM COURT HOUSE LOOKING SOUTH-EAST.
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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 dis- tance 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 pictures, 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 apparently snatched from her bed when she left. There was a singular mingling of the awful, the lu- dicrous, 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 circumstance which added to the anxiety of the wanderers.
After toiling along W. B. Ogden's pier, they hired a small row-boat, and were conveyed to the lighthouse, where they were cordially received by the authorities, and other refugees who had preceded them. The party remained prisoners in the lighthouse, and on the pier on which it stood, for several hours.
The shipping above in the river was burning; the im- mense 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 distance
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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 lighthouse. 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 burning mass. A fire com- pany 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 running along the north shore of the river. The river and the fire prevented an escape to the south, west, and north. The fire was still raging with unabated fury.
The party waited for hours, hoping the fire would sub- side. The day wore on, noon passed, and 1 and 2 o'clock, and still it seemed difficult, if not dangerous, to escape to the north. Mr. Arnold, leaving his children in the light- house, went north toward Lill's, and thought it was prac- ticable 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 lighthouse. 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 lighthouse? If it and the pier, the lum- ber 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 know that Mrs. A. and little Alice were safe.
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BAKER-00:CHI.
CHICAGO ONE DAY AFTER THE GREAT FIRE.
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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 bank of the river, were still burning, but the fury of the fire had ex- hausted itself.
The party resolved to go through this narrow canal or river to the south bank, outside the burning district. 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 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 put 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 exposed wood in some parts was blistering. " Snatching a handker- chief," says Mr. Arnold, " I dipped it in water, and covering the face and head of Arthur, whose hat the wind had blown away, I made him lie flat on the deck, as we plunged for- ward through the fiery furnace. On we sped past Clark and Wells streets."
" Is not the worst over?" asked Mr. Arnold of the Captain, as the boat dashed on and on.
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" 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, whom he found had gone to Evanston. It was not until the next night that the whole family were united at the residence of Judge Drummond.
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STORIES AND SKETCHES OF CHICAGO.
Singular Incident in Connection With the Great Fire.
On State street was the fine row of five-story marble- front buildings known as "Booksellers' Row." These magnificent buildings were one hundred and ninety feet deep, and, including the basements, were filled with books and stationery. Griggs & Co., besides a large stock of im- ported works, had whole floors of school books. The West- ern News Company, besides its immense sales-room, had a force of sixty persons 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 single 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 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.
Bits of History.
CHICAGO had a debating society as early as 1831, with J. B. Beaubien for the first President. It was considerable of an "institution " during its day.
HON. JOHN WENTWORTH arrived in Chicago Oct. 25, 1836, and, as he laughingly asserts, was in time to see the first white man hung, which occurred on the open prairie, south of the Court House.
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THE first will on record is that of Alexander Wolcott, filed April 27th, 1831, before R. J. Hamilton, Judge of Pro- bate.
EVEN Chicago was " slightly tainted " with negro slavery. " Black Jim " was a negro slave, owned, it is said, by John Kinzie, who brought the sable brother to Fort Dearborn in 1804.
THE first lady visitors to Chicago from New England were Mrs. Lydia Pomeroy and Mrs. Beard (mother of the cele- brated artist by that name) and wife of Captain James Beard, who commanded the vessel "Selina," and entered the port of Chicago in the summer of 1809.
LOCAL rivalries made their appearance in the young city as early as 1831. At that date there were only two mer- chants, and one of these-R. A. Kinzie-was located on the West Side, at " Wolf Point," which was the name given to the "settlement " at the junction of the north and south branches of the river. The other merchant, Geo. W. Dole, resided in "the lower village." on the South Side near where the Tremont now stands. After much advice and mature deliberation, P. F. W. Peck, a third merchant, who arrived in 1831, determined to locate in the "lower village," be- lieving it would ultimately be the future Chicago.
MORE than half a century since, I first came to Chicago on horseback, from Saint Louis, stopping on the way at the log-cabins of the early settlers, and passing the last house at the mouth of Fox River. I was married in Chicago, having to send a soldier one hundred and sixty miles, on foot, to Peoria, for a license. The northern counties in the State had not then been organized, and were all attached to Peoria County. My dear wife is still alive and in good health; and I can certify, a hundred times over, that Chicago is a first-rate place from which to get a good wife .- David Hunter, Washington, D. C., 1879.
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DREXEL BOULEVARD AND SOUTH PARK.
WONDERS AND BEAUTIES.
The Parks and Boulevards.
The parks and boulevards of Chicago are remarkable for their numbers, magnificence, beauty, and the short space of time in which they have been brought to such a high degree of perfection. What was recently but a dry, dead level, and comparatively barren prairie, as if by magic has been changed into magnificent spaces of rivers, lakes, lawns, and groves, with all the park accompaniments of older cities. The visitor should, therefore, as he glides through these immense pleasure grounds, remember that about all he sees that make up the Chicago parks has been "imported," and that all this has been effected with much labor of head and hand, and at great expense.
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VIEW OF FOUNTAIN IN LINCOLN PARK
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The Boulevards, as shown in the accompanying map, con- nect the principal parks, and will form, when completed, a continuous drive of 30 miles, with a width varying from 150 to 250 feet.
SONO-CO.
Lincoln Park.
This popular park is located on the lake shore, two miles north of the Court House, and is easily accessible by the Clark or Wells street line of street cars, or-in the summer- by excursion boats, which usually start from Clark street bridge. A more pleasant way, perhaps, would be to take a carriage and pass into the park via the celebrated "Lake Shore Drive," which you will enter at the North Side " Water Works." Lincoln Park has a frontage on Lake Michigan of two and a quarter miles, and contains 250 acres.
LAKE SHORE DRIVE AT LINCOLN PARK.
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It is noted for its chain of miniature lakes in the center, the magnificent view of Lake Michigan along its eastern boundary, its beautiful flower beds, zoological gardens, and extensive groves of natural foliage.
It is said that fully 1,500,000 persons visited these lovely grounds during the past year, and that as many as 3,000 vehicles passed through it in a single day.
In the northern portion of the Park will be found several extensive hot-houses and hot-beds; also the " French Flower Garden," in the center of which is the fountain presented by Perry H. Smith, Esq. The lover of flowers will be highly delighted with a visit to this region of Lincoln Park.
The Zoological Gardens in Lincoln Park.
In this fine collection will be found buffalo, elk, wolves, foxes, and other animals. A sea lion has been recently introduced, and the lakes are tenanted by swans, geese, ducks, and other fowls.
The " Bear Pit" is an interesting place at the north end of the Park, which the visitor should not fail to see. Here the bears-a wild specimen of which was killed within the " city limits" not a great many years ago-are snugly "at home," and are quite willing to show their dexterity, at least occasionally, by climbing to the tip-top of the snarly oak tree at the mouth of their caverns.
There are also several specimens of " the great American eagle," with room enough to " spread their wings," and other native birds, comfortably housed in this Park.
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BOND- CHANDLERA
THE PARKS OF CHICAGO.
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UNION PARK
Union Park.
This is a little gem park in the West Division, bounded by Ashland and Ogden avenues and Madison and Lake streets. It abounds with rustic bridges, miniature lakes, etc., and is a popular resort. Take the Madison or Randolph street cars west to Ogden avenue, distant one and a half miles from the business center.
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STORIES AND SKETCHES OF CHICAGO.
South Park.
South Park, including South Park proper, the Lake Shore Park, and the Boulevards, contains 1,003 acres, located in the southern part of the city, about six miles from the Court House. These parks are approached by two magnificent roadways, known as the Drexel Boulevard (sometimes called the Grove Parkway) and the Grand Boulevard, each 200 feet in width, the former having a continuous stretch of fine floral ornamentation in its center. There are fourteen miles of driveway and thirty miles of walks in these parks. It is said, when fully completed, as a park system they will be
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unsurpassed by any grounds in the world. Enough has already been done to render them exceedingly attractive. The "South Open Green" -- said to be the largest un- broken lawn in the world-which greets the eye of the visitor as he enters the north end of the "System," is but the preface page of the wondrous beauties now being de- veloped in these parks. The Drexel Boulevard is, perhaps, not surpassed by any similar driveway in the country. No visitor fails to see it, as well as the whole South Park Sys- tem, for it is worth while to see a park " in process of erec- tion," as well as the grounds, which are ultimately to be- come the finest in the world.
Visitors can easily reach the South Park by taking the Cottage Grove avenue cars on State street and going to Thirty-ninth street, where connection is made with steanı cars, or phætons (in the summer), to the park. It can also be reached by railroad from the depot at foot of Lake street; also by carriage drive up Michigan or Wabash avenues to South Park avenue, and thence over the Grand Boulevard.
Central Park.
Central Park is located near the western limits of the city, about four miles from the Court House, and is accessible to visitors by the Madison street cars, which carry passengers to the main entrance. This park covers 185 acres, and contains some very beautiful artificial lakes, lawns, groves, etc., and the foundations of the unfinished "Fire Monument," which was to have been built out of the many great iron safes ruined by the great fire.
Humboldt Park.
This park, which covers 200 acres, is located in the north- western part of the city, and may be reached by the Milwau- kee avenne cars. It is noted for its fine lakes and band stand. Humboldt, Central, and Douglas Parks are con- nected by boulevards 250 feet in width.
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