The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1871-10-20
The Chicago CONFEDERATION.

entire blocks, was followed by a fire
last night which cannot be described,
sweeping the whole city between the
river and the lake, a distance of half
mile in width, consuming everything in
its course, jumping three or four blocks
at time, consuming the
LARGEST STONE BUILDINGS,
Which, i'm five minutes after catching,
would be leveled TO the ground, large
cinders flying i'm the air for miles. The
fire beginning at De Koven street,
distance of nearly two miles from the
heart OF the city, burning everything,
sweeping across the north branch OF the
river, cleaning the whole North side,
taking Lincoln Park in its course, max
ing a desert plain of the finest park of
the city; thence bearing away TO the
extreme limits of the North Side.
THE PRISONERS WERE FORGOTTEN
I'm the Court House, and all burned or
blown into the air by forty or fifty bar
rels Of powder slowed away for safety.
This latter loss of life has been contra
oHcted, with some hope of its being the
truth. Men, women and children, being
so anxious to save everything We're, he-
fore knowing il, completely surrounded
with smoke or destroyed by fire.
MANY MOTHERS AND CHILDREN
Are crowding the streets, crying for lost
ones. The scenes are really heartrend-
ing. Firemen are being conveyed in
wagons by dozens TO places of safety,
completely eXhausted-sOme nearly
burnt to death. From morning up to
p. NJ. the streets were crowded with
anxious looking human beings. Drunk
en- men by scores are seen; not
being able TO get water they took to
something stronger, and are lying
around the cutters in n frenzied state.
THE ONLY SKELETONS OF BUILDINGS
Standing are the Postoflice and one ele-
vator on an extreme point of land.
The Lake Water Works were burned to
the ground at 3 p. VI. Last night water
was at a premium of a dollar per buck
ct, and five cents a glass. Up to IL
o'clock F. VI. the fire is still raging on
the North Side. There are
No HOPES OF SAVING \ THING.
! All assistance is given up. At bend
i'm the river the fire jumped to the West
Side and is burning at furious rate.
All the hotels, banks, places of amuse-
ment, churches, sugar houses, druggists,
dry goods, Chamber of Commerce, and
Court House are leveled to the ground.
The gas works of South Chicago blew
up, tearing the whole of the buildings
in pieces. The report could be heard for
miles. The coal yards are i'm a blaze, il
being impossible tD 90 within block
of them on account of the extreme heat.
Dozens of buildings have been
BLOWN UP BY POWDER
To stop the course of the fire, but of no
use. 1t would take two entire blocks
and level them TO the dust in less than
half an hour, The West Siders were
awake all night for fear the wind would
change and blow from the east and finish
Chicago.
\ STEADY SOUTH GALE
Commenced Sunday morning early, and
has kept up until this time. At about
. z. NJ, it began to sprinkle; all We're in
hopes il would have rained enough To
stop the further destruction, but il only
lasted for a few moments. All the tele-
graph companies are burned out. In
surance policies are worth nothing; one
man offered a $500 policy for weeks
board, then fora cup Of cOtiee-bOth Were
refused.
AssFW NJ
Confusion and chaos reign here su-
prems. Amid this pandemonium !
have gathered some incidents Of the
horrid scene. The loss of life is terrible
and its extent cannot be ascertained
now. Even the Imagination will utterly
fail to picture to your minds any posi-.
BILE conception of the horrors of this fear.
full night.
/ A Hsp N,TTC. NOTIFIED prrerrEs rN-aro TIM
FLAMES.
Michigan and Wabash avenues. one,
! the home of wealth and luxury, are
now n mass of smouldered ruins, anC
] the ruined residents stand gazing upoT
I the charred embers of their homes in
silent grief. While the flames wer,
madly leaping from house to house, anC
the affrighted inmates We're flying from
the insufferable heat, woman raj
shrieking from group to group, seeking
her child, who, il is supposed, had per
ished in the flamesi and at last seeming L
realize the terrible truth, she broke from
those who endeavOred to detain her anC
rushed headlOng into the hell of flame
which instantly Tapped her up, leaving
nothing but few charred bones.
a FALLING WALL CRUsHEs \ GROUP.
A few moments after the horrors o
this scene had been enacted, and befor
the terrified group who witnessed il haC
time to move a topping wall fell int
their midst, crushing into lifeless shape
eight of them. The binding heat an,
smoke rendered it impossible for am
effort to be made TO help those who wer
only injured, and the agOnies of thei
death was enhanced by the blisterin,
heat.
In this quarter alone it is impossible
to estimate the loss of life. Those VIII,
are saved look and act like maniacs
Wherever the heat is not too great the,
stand and gaze with black luster eyes ol
the ruins. Women who never kney
anything but luxury, are shivering il
the cold wind and wondering wher
they are to find food and shelter tO-mor
row.
HUGGING THE RUINS FOR WARMTH.
In some places where enough of tn
walls are left standing to form partia
shelter, groups of women and children
are huddled together for warmth. Tn
!, piteous vail of babes mingle with tn
moan of helpless mothers.
THE TERRIBLE HEAT.
+ Near the corner of Madison street
. where the flames seemed to have spen
their utmost fury, the very earth
burnt into an almost impalpable pow
, der. No vestige of any wood work II
mains, and the very stones and brick
are fused into shapeless masses. Ful
ther down the avenue the destruction
, while equally great, was not so fierc,
and the remains keep still some of tn
appearance of what they We're.
, NINE-TENTHs or THE VALUATION
OF Chicago has been swept away in on
E short day. Two hundred blocks of tn