Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-10-15
THE FLANESWEPT CITY.
More q, the Scenes Among the
Ruins Of chicago.
lneendiaries Shet Down The. Horrors
of the COnfiagratiOn.
AN AFFECTING INCIDENT.

ablaze, the spectators saw the lurid light ap-
] peal. IN the rear windows of Speeds Block
4 Presently man, who had apparently taken
time to dress himself iefsurely, appeared on
the extension bsiiit up 90 the secbnd story OF
two of the stores He coolly looked down
the thirty feet between him and the ground,
while the excited crowd first cried Jump;
and then s0mea0 them more considerably
looked for aladders A long plank was soon
found and answered. the same as a
ladder, and was placed at once against
the window down which the man
soon after slid, But while these, prepar-
atoms were going. ON there suddenly appeared
another man at a fourth story window
OF the building below, which had no proiec-
ton, but flush from the top to the ground
tour stories and a basement. His escape.
by the'stairway was evidently cut off, and
he looked despairingly down the fifty feet
between him and the ground. The crowd
grew almost frantic at the sight, for it was
only choice of death before hinl-by fire
or by being crushed to death by the fall.
Senseless cries of jump jump went up
from the crowd zsenseless, but full of sym
pathy, for the sight was absolutely agOniz-
1 ing. Then for minute or two he disap-
peared, perhaps even less, but it seemed SO
long a.time,the supposition was that he had
fallen, sufiocated by the, smoke and
heat. But no; he. appears again.
First he throws, a bed; tlaensome bed clothes,
apparently ). why, probably even he does
not know. Again he looks down the dead,
sheer wall of fifty feet below him. He
hesitates, andwell he may, as he turns again
and looks Behind him. Then he mounts to
the window sill His whole form appears,
naked ..tost the shirt, and his white limbs
1sgleam against the dark wall in the bright
! light is he swings himself below the win
dow. .Somehow-how none can tell-he
drops and catches upon the top of the win
| dows below him of the third story. He
stoops and drops again and seizes the frame
with his hands, and his cleaning body
once more straightens and hangs prone
downward, and then drops instantly and
accurately upon the window sill of the third
| story. A shout, more Of Joy than applause,
goes up from the GREATNESS crowd,
and those who had turned away their
tsheads, not bearing ioek upon him as he,
seemed about to drop to Sudden and certain
| death, glanced up at him once more, with
ray of hope, at this daring and Skillful feat
Into this window he crept 10 look, possibly,
for a stairway, but appeared again pres
desperate and hopeless as it was. Once
more he tlropped-his body, hanging by his
hand. The crowd screamed. and waved to
him to swing himself over the projec-
ton from which the other man had
just been rescued. He tried to do
this, and vibrated like a pendulum
from side to side, but could not
reach far enough to throw himself upon its
roof. Then he hung by one hand and
looked down; raising the other hand, he
took fresh hold, and swting from side to
side again TO reach the roof, In. vain; again
he hung motiOnless by one hand, and slowly
| turned his. head over his shoulder, and
gazed into the abyss below him. Then, gath
ering himself up, he let go his hold, and for
a second CLEAN of white shot down full
forty feet, to the foundation of the basement.
Of course it killed him. He was taken toa
| drug store near by, and died in ten minutes,
- -Froah the OiAcagc Juurnai, ott-1f.
A THRILLING INCIDENT.
One of the most thrilling and painful lit
tie incidents of the conaagration on the
North Side, was mentioned to us this NOR
ming. -.- - -i.-. = ~. ~
4 couple of families, the heads of which
were teamsters, living near the lake shore,
homes tiii-tfre last moment, m the hope of
saving-a portion of theirefects. : Phey were
cut off by the flames, however, and com
PEELED to flee as they could, but the only di-
rectioif IN which they could go was into the
lake., The men succeeded In getting their
teams hitched up, and hastily putting them
selves and families on the truck wagons, they
drove into the lake as far as possible without
drowning. This was at 8 O'Clock on Monday
morning. There they were obliged to-
remain through that hye-long day, scorched
by the heat almost beyond the power of en-
dHrance, and obliged to dive into the water
at frequent intervals to keep from being con-
sumed. At 6O'clock in the evening, a small
tug approached the group of sufferers, and
took away the women and children, but
could not take the men. The husbands and
fathers were left there for twelve hours
longer, and finally, on Tuesday morning
were rescued by another boat. All of the
party found each other at last, at the houses
Of friends on the West Side, but the suffer
ings and exposure of the weaker ones may
vet terminate fatally.
DEATH TO INCENDIARIEs.
-- The following reports have been gathered
| with reference to incendiaries killed:
A boy attempted to help on the cOnfa-
! grafton by igniting clothes line saturated
with kerosene and throwing it into a build
| ing on Thirty-second street. He received
his deserts at the hands of the firemen, who
saw the act, and !'Aow. sleeps in the valley"
A man, name unknown, was shot by
| negro at the corner of State and Thirty-se-
eond streets. His offense was that he set
fire to building to obtain better opportu-
| mites for piliage.
Bridget Hicly was arrested for setting
| fire to barn in the rear of a house on
| Burnside street. BY some mistaken idea
of cIemency, she was not hanged,
Two men, who were caught trying to set
| fire to the Jesuit Church, on the West Side,
| were disposed of without ceremony, and the
lookers-on were pleased TO say, Served 'em
right.
About noon yesterday, barn on the cor
| ner of Burnside and Twentieth streets was
observed to be on fire. Knowing that it
must have been the work of incendiary,the
neighbors united to eXtinguish it, filling
| their coats and hats and everything they
could get. hold Of with sand. The fire was
| extinguished in good time, and man found
| in there captured. 1t is stated that he was
shot. Whether the report is or is not cor
rect is not known.
AT about IL . CLOCK yesterday forenoon,
man also, residing on Fourth avenue, caught
! a man in the basement of his house, NUM-
| Der unknown, armed with hay and matches.
He gave the alarm, and the incendiary was
caught and stoned and battered to death,
He lies on the avenue yet, near Fourteenth
! street.
From Commissioner 7. B. Brown the fol-
| lowing incident was learned. On his au-
| thority it is correct without doubt: At about
| l O'Clock yesterday afternoon aeolored man.
| name unknown, observed a white man
snealing round his house on Fourth ave-
nue. He fired the barn in the rear of the
house, and was instantly shot dead.
Among the special policemen sworn on
the South Side yesterday was negro nam
! ed sDick" Costello, who was assigned to a
| beat on Wabash. Avenue near Hubbard
court. About four o'clockin the afternoon,
a white man, whose name is unknown, was
| locking upon the ruins, when Costello
warned him off,. He answered that he was
only spectator and was doing no harm,
when the negro raised apiece of lead pipe,
with which he was armed, and smashed in
+l,a mans sLull. killing him on the spot.