The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1871-10-19

those who witnessed the manifesta-
tons Poor little children shivered
IN the cold night air, and looked with
wildly open eyes upon the scenes they
could not comprehend. IudierOus in
eidents were OF occasional occurrence,
/ lighting up with = sort OF horrible
humOr the terrible realities Of the
situation Women would GO by with
dogs in their arms-their pets being
all they had saved from the ruins OF
/ their homes. An OetOgenarlan ran
/ in yard with large cat EMBODIED in
his feeble embrace. Men dragging
I wagons wore green veils over their
/ faces to protect their eyes from the
/ binding dust. Drunken men stag
I gering among the crowds, apparently
I possessed Of the idea that the whole
affair was a grand municipal spree, in
which they were taking part as duty
l that should be discharged by all good
citizens. Trucks passed up street
( loaded with trunks, on which sat
ladies in costly garb, and with dia-
mOnds in their ears and on their fing.
eFs. But one day before they would
have scOrned the idea Of riding in
I anything less imposing than a ldxur-
GUS landau or coupe; but their pride
was leveled in The presence Of the un-
Z iversally imminent danger, and they
were thoroughly glad 70 get the hum
blest cart in which to place themselYe
and their valuables.
The great portion of he people
/ knew not whittier they were going.
All they knew was that the horrible
! fire was behind them and they must
move on. The stream poured south.
ward for hOurs-the broad avenue be-
ing filled from house to house With.
men, women, children, horses, mules,
vehicles, wheelbarFOws-eyerything
that could move, OT could he moved.
Truckmen aud express drivers were
hailed from the steps uf houses, or
eagerly pursued by the occupants,
with the view Of securing their aid in
removing hOu-ehuld goods To places OF
safety. In many instances the APP
peals were unsuccessful, their services
having been previously engaged by
other parties; but when they were dis
engaged they charged the most exor-
bitant prices, ranging from s. to 500
for load, and turning up their noses
at offers of amounts less than they
asked. This class of people made
great profit out OF the calamities OF
their fellow citizens. Their pockets
may be heavy to-day, but their con-
sciences, il they have any, should be
still heavier. The instances Of gener-
Osity were, however, far in excess Of
those Of greed and selfiShness. People
from districts which had not already
been burned, or who had secured their
own goods, turned In with q will and
worked to assist their friends, and
frequently rendered aid to persons
whom they did not know. Good an
gels, in the shape OfwOmen, distribut-
ed food among the sufferers, and spoke
kind words 10 those who seemed 70
labor under the severest affiiCtfOn.
Human nature, God be thanked, has
its bright as well as its dark sides.
In addition to the crowds pressing
thrOngs Of people moved
nOrthward to see what they could see.
And these cOuntercurrentsf frequently
caused jam that was almost inextrica- |
bic. But after great effort, interspers-
ed with considerable loud talking, and !
no small degree Of profanity, the dead |
lock would be removed, and the OppO- /
sing surges would again make slow
progress.
When the church on the corner Of
Wabash avenue and Harrison street |
took fire, 1t seemed as II no limit !
could be placed to the southwark 4
march of the monster. An immense I
thrOng was collected in the vicinity I
OF Harrison street and Hubbard court, |
and word was passed among them /
that Laird Golfers Church was about |
to be blown up. The intelligence /
spread with the rapidity Of lightning, |
and then ensued q terrible race for |
life. The masses fed Preeipitately up |
the avenue, helter-skelter, pell-meH. /
1t was everyone for himself, and the !
devil take the hindermOst. Little |
consideration was had for age or sex. |
Fortunately, however, no one was-so-l
riOusly injured in the fearful rush and /
the people poured i'm disjointed mass
es towards the various side streets, |
many not deeming themselves safe |
till they had placed several blocks be- |
tween themselves and the point from /
which the danger was expected to |
proceed.
And so the day wore on, the living |
kaleidoscope emakingconstant changes |
but ever presenting the same aspect. |
Excitement, sorrow, grief, terror, pam |
ie, madness covered everything, re-
lieved simply a few touches Of ludi- !
crousness that were absolutely gro
tesque in their relation to all the per- |
vaGing horror.
ESCAPE OF PEOPLE INTO THE WEST !
DIVISION.
So sOOn as the people OfClaTk began /
to see that there was no hope, and |
that the fire was really bound to go /
tl an indefinite point, they |
turned their attention to getting over /
to the West division, where there was 4
safety from the flames I
and plenty of vacant ground Osi WHICH 4
to encamp. So, since Chicago ayen-
ue bridge was useless, the whole tide 4
turned toward West Division, which |
from Grove to Halsted, was untOuch-
ed, and promised to remain 50. 1t 4
was not many minutes before steady /
stream Of carriages, 1rays, express /
wagons, and vehicles OF every de-
scriptiOn, were rushing pell-mell |
across that bridge, interlOcking and 1
breaking, while the southern streets 4
leading up to Division were jammed /
with wagons, which occasionally 1
caught fire. The expressmen and 4
draymen, stimulated by the immense |
prices they were receiving-S20 to $50 /
a lOad-drOve their heavy teams reck-
Iessly forward breaking down the !
weaker ones and forcing their way |
across the river, in order to return "a |
soon as possible for another load
they themselves came to |
grief and then unfastening their |
horses tried to find another wagon.
TIE ROADS WERE filled WITH PEO-
PILE
eFazed by excitement and liquor, or |
by smoke, and no regard at /
all was paid to them by the drivers, |
so that at those points numerous ac-
cidents were constantly occurring
One man was driving up Clark street |
with a heavy load when he fell from |
mis- seat and instantly broke his neck. |
The team was loaded with trunks, |
marked "Bart0n Edsall." Mrs Edsall |
was taken from her house in a half
insensible condition quite early in the |
morning.
THE WANDERERS
crossing Division street either scatter |
ed themselves north or went straight
west, while many encamped them !
selves on Grove Island, which lies be-
tween North Branch and Ogden can
al. When the trains moved q little
west they found their way blocked by
the cars of the Northwestern road,
which had been run up there TO avoid !
the fire, and people were compelled |
to make long detOurs to get through |
them. Many unable 10 force their
way through the confusion at Divis-
ion street, which was almost equal to
that at the crossing Of the Bressina,
turned into the side streets and made
their way to North avenue bridge,
where they were able to get out with
out much difficulty, though much
hampered by the railroad trains after
they got across there. Not only teams,
but foot passengers, carrying in their
arms children or wearing apparel,
wended their weary way in the same
direction. One woman had nothing
but a silk sack, and another was ac-
eompanied by a child, who had in its
arms a couple Of eats and little dog,
and crying itself, sObs out, "DOn't
cry, mamma" After getting out up
on the prarie, they settled down wher-
ever they could find room, some sit