The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-10-28 00:00:00

GROWTH OF CHICAGO.

In an article beaded "Chicago (barred," the Nile
lborld givcs the toll wing interedting particulars
the growth of the city :

s.
n In 1e33 the two woo first wool thy of that naive, and In
1037 it was granted a charter. The first veasel unloaded at
its wharf June 11th, 1034 and in 1837 its population, outside
of hog, demoralised helms, and dogs, was 4,170, Ia tem
there were thirty-five houses, mostly log huts. To give stone
idea of its human advance it is only necessary to know that
1044 it numbered 7,95 e smile, in 1e47 it was 1e,05.9. in ISSO it
totalled 28,20, In ldee it counted 00,023 in lieo it rose to
109,2003: in Ise., it embraced 17e,50ei, and the census of 1870
allows Valle city proper .299,370, while including its suburbs
it footed up at least 3e0,000 souls. All the world cried,
' Well done, Chicago,' and wherever enterprise, vigour, and
push were coupled with success, Chteago had its full
share of glory. Like all Western cities, is w loult
at first principally of wool, and, indeed, its comparative
cheapness, coupled with the scarcity and dearness of other
building material, insole this a necessity. /Milt origimilly in
the midst of swamp land, it was subject to the periodical
overflow from the rising of the waters of Lake Michigan, and
the result was that much valuable property en thus annually
destroyed. Besides, its drainage was defective, owing to the
how level of the greater part of the land on which the city
was built. In Itlros this led the City lathers tot take a ledd
step. alid the proper authorities havilig been gained, it was
ordered that the entire city be raised. houses and all, to froni
three to eight, and in some eases to fifteen feet above its then
level. The difficulty of this feat and the manner in which it
was surmounted is a standing boast among the worthy
citizens of the fated town. In the outlying districts, where
the streets and avenues have not been raised to the co-
quille' level, it is common to see the sills of the doors
of the houses built here and there along the route
raised ten or twelve feet above the pathway, with a
wooden stair ton either site leading to a platform along
the front of the store or domicile, as the cage may be. South
Chicago, the district most terribly visited by the tire, lies be-
tween the Chicago river, the south branch anti the lake, and
comprises the entire business portion, the very heart of the
city, from which Ito commercial lifeblood flowed, and where
its social amenities centred. The Courtliouse, the great
hotels, banks, theatres, and newspaper offices svere here.
Splendid avenues formed a delightful drive, and were much fre-
quented by the citizens when free Iron their go-ahead
toil. To the east of Central-avenue, into which Ithhigan-
act nue runs, stood a few hours ago perhaps the largest rail-
road depet on the Continent, that of the Illinois Central and
Michigan Central Railroads. On the Lake side of the square
which tide forms, alid allele the mouth of the Chicago River,
were situated most of the tall grain elevators which are, tor
were such a feature in the city. Their hoss, together with
the grain they contained, will be very serious. Along
the Chicago river, on Water-street and take, were the
houses of the commission brokers, where most of the
transfer business of the city is carried on. The north
and west elites near the rivers are occupied by the
vomiting manufacturing interests ineitlental to the features of
its trade, such as Saw and planing mills, pork packing, tee.
The remainder of the city, with certain exceptions serves as
dwelibigs for the people, and such business so domestic
wants require. To picture all this wonderful, brilliant,
powerful city of yesterday, nith its financial, commercial,
at ouial, and thomestie roots StrlAChfsi oat to, the remote quar-
ters of the earth, its 'market quota' and ropinit 1111.0111:
OtlrSofreS, its prices of emote, hides, anol Isimber in Ellrope,
Its t1:1411, vonnections reaching through San Francis. to
China anti Japed,, and its personal family ties everywhere,
practically kited a maddened pauper before the world, is
sickening to contemplate."

A great deal of suffering necessarily occurred among
the people, who were obliged to camp ilia on the
prairie on Monday night. Quite a number of deaths
have resulted from exposure. General Sheridan ivued
800 tents on the Tioixday evening, mei 10,000 more were
to be issued on the Thursday. The Relief 'emmittee
impressed all kinds of vehicles to carry water and pr.,
don s to the starving people, and took them into the
eloov,hes and schoolhouses on the weat and south sides.
All the 1'144i/311X leading out of I Meow, conveyed free
of charge such of the Imeleo, 118 had friends in other
places.

About 500 people escaped on a barge, which for-
tunately lay in the slips in the river. They floated
out awl down to a pier, whence a steamer towed them
mt in the lako where they remained for some time. In
Chicago there were 14 whisky distilleries. Prior to
the tire these had a daily producing capacity g
lirg,(Xio.ooo gallons, the tax if which yid, led the Cgovern-
went the sum of 227,500 dols.

The Do iPy News of 111on1ay has the following leader
in conneetion with tlj nuparelleled calamity, and it
may be added that in, Is the time to help those who
are so bravely trying to help themselves !-
Chicago Is aiding herself, and the s.ster cities of the Felon
are coming nobly ti her help. The Banks and the Insurance
Cowpanies are confident in their ability to meet their re-
sistrpsinifiticar

........
If England's sympathy with the sufferings of the people of
Chicago needed any fresh i.tiumlant, a new impulse would
surely have been given by these signs of dauntless energy in
the midst of unparalleled sulfuring. Po what we can, read
What we may, exert our imagination to the uttermost, we
nin.t still thad it hard to realise the state of the population
or t higsgir during this awful crisis. Think, to begin with,
of the simple fa.2t that here were the inhabitants of a
great city left in fi few hours without a court-house
or a public office: without E. railway station, an hotel,
newspaper-office, a theatre, or place of emusement
of any kind. Rut this, after all, was nothing. People
could wait for the re-building of theatres and milway
Stations, and even hotels and newspaper offices. Let us try
to umizrztend the condition of a population suddenly left
without himiss. One slight touch of detail nmy help Oslo
comprehend what this lamina, ilalUdressed women are in
the streets carrying their infants in their arms. They are
wild with affright. But they do not run as frightened women
carrying babies might be expected to it,,. They stand still.
' They have no place to go to. One street is as good as
another. Whichever way they turn they see tames
lighting up the aky, and hear the wild shrieks of sufferers,
and the shouts of those who are trying to dispute the ground
tech by inch with the conquering fife. So they stand still,
helpless and calm in mere dispair, and they look Llankly on
at the teseilde pageant before them. The morning begins to
dawn at last, and the light of day brings out new details of
the pietule. A cart-load of corpses goes by—the bodies of
men, women, and children, which had been raked somehow
out of the ashes and ruins of falling buildings. A tre-
mendous crash like that of an earthquake is -herd, loud
above all groans and shouts, and the noise of tumpling
walls ; and It is known that elherlilan and hia sohniters
are blowing up whole blocks of houses in stately Wabash-
seem.. the l'ark.lane of I Menge in toe hope of stiqlou the

event ir hell he made Ins famous ride of twenty miles to the
Lett le-field, where all was so nearly lost, until his sudden
appearance on the scene and his tremendous energy retrieved
the fortunes of the day—not even then could he have felt
more thoroughly the terrible responsibility of the hoer. But
the boldneas and resolution that mild cheek a Con-
federate advance are of little avail before the rush
of the tierce enemy is ith o horn Sheridan now has
to [dispute the field. In vain the Engineers and
Sappers work ; in vain the palaces of Wabashavenne are
Moen up. It is doomed, Intl its neighbour and rival,
Michigan-avenue, Is doomed as well. lake one or two
in-
divines! instances as an illustration of hundreds. One of
the ;most eminent of Chicago's citizens, Mr. Blass, the prin.
ciparpropietor of the Chicago Tribmie, the most ieff uential
newspaper of the West, teams at one moment that the mag-
Uitlereit pile of buildi up which coultitutes the offices .1f the
journal is a rein, and that his own house in NI ichigamavenue
is utterly lestroyed. The beautiful church, trent SO lately for
the Rev. Robert Collier has fallen along with Mr. Collier's
private residence. of many ‘d those Will) IltiVC suffered by the
lire, it (night he justly said that they bust lu a few hours all the
merely materal things which belonged to the daily irrnninneaa
and domestic combet of their lives. The plaee is gone to
which they went every morning for busbies., the place is gone to
which they returned every evening for rest. If this lieenl2l
calamity in the Matinees we have specially mentioned, think
what it must have been in the thousands of olusure and name-
less examples where,w ith the home that sin:lb:red and the bust-
nen place which emple)ed, went the means of getting bread.
Strung the smouldering strtets may he seen crowds of poor
people trying to cook a morsel of food in the open air for
their children ;airri theseafew hours before had laid down to
tent in 110'lleS that were decent, prosperous, and happy. It
is not easy to get into the mind the full reality and meairing
of all this.

Vet there Is something that, after all, is capable of giving
a new surprise - that is, the energy of restoration which is
already following the fury of destruction. The moment the
worst was known the people of Chicago began to make the
best of it. There was a time when it seemed likely that the
games would spread Over all quarters of the city, soil
when the population had made up their minds to betake
themselves to the prairie. Rut the rain, rather than any-
thing human help could do, put out the lire. The area of
destruction, however great, hail found its limits. " After
all, Chicago still lives," cries one spirited voice. And this is
tree, although no such calamity as hers has ever been known
before in the civilized world. Let us endeavour to make this
clear, though by a very Imperfect mode of Must ratb at. sup-
pose a tire id relative proportions bail seized Upon Lotabdt.
Suppose the Strand and Fleet-street, oxford-street and
liegmit-street, the palaces if the Queen, all the houses of
Piccadilly and Park-lane, all the clubs, theatres, and news-
paper ottloes, the British Museum, the National Gallery, and
Westminster Palace- - suppose all these and the area they
embrace awes heup of slookieg ruins. This womb/ not be any
greater tor 1.0/Itioil thi,ni the has been for chicago. But
still there would remain all the outer region, containitig, in-
deed, none of the due shops, 110110 of the handsome private
houses, mute of the public buildings, but containing moat
of the manufactories, the warehouses, the industrial arsenals
lind great workshops, the materials and applistuies by which,
at whatever rest, the destruction could sometimes be re-
paired. Such is the case with Chicago, she has lost the
shops, the theatms, and the mansions which her industrial
enterprise created for tier; but the places where the in-
I ustrial °Melia ise did its work have for the most !tart been
saved haim Injury. This is the consolation whiell already
the pride arid energy of Chicago offer to the people.
There seems to or something admirable and character
istic in the elasticity and courage which thus leap up the
moment the Abell, of devastation has done its uttermost,
and cry out, "We are not wholly conquered after all let
us go to work at once and retrieve what we can." Nov
, there are even men in Chicago, N/11,1, having lest the fortune
' of many years' accumulation, are heard all eady to say that
the fire has taught a useful lesson ; that all the obliterated
: part of tile city was built on an bad plan, and that it mist. be
, better done this time. The vastness of the calamity is fully re-
cognised ; indeed it is written in letters of blitml and dame.
which defy any misinterpretation. It Is told by the living alit
by the dead t by the heeseless wanderers as well as by the
earth-al of mimes. (tin proclaimed by what reniains a, well
as by what has fallen. It is simply a story of sudden de.
struction which stands alone in history But the one fact
retindns—Chicago still lives ; the Colltilee which springe
up at once front the ground to proclaim that fact is the
grandest evidence that the ruin will yet be repaired, cer-
tainly, if any people on earth ever deserved help, these people
to, who are thus so ready and resolute In help themselves
The claim to the sympathy and succour of the English nation
which were given to chiertgo by her unparalleled misfortune,
eon only be atrenwithentil and increased by her indomitable
Mirage.