Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1871-10-18
GREAT FIRES IN CHICiGO
Most Valuable Portion Of tht
City Burned,
LOSS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS

LOSS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
MANY PERSONS KILLED
CHICAGO, Oct 8.-A confaeration
| last night destroyed the buildings in
the four squares bounded on the north
| by Adams street, west by Clinton. south
by Van Buren and east by the Chicago
River. Some four or five buildings
within the limits named remain min
jured, among them Vincent, Nelson &
/ Co. s grain warehouse, one of the lare-
est IN the city, which escaped any Sc
rious damage. The ground burned
over was covered with lumber yard,
coal yard, wood yard, planning mill, a
vinegar factory. and large number Of
dwellings and saloons of the poorer
class. A close estimate of the entire
/ loss places it at from two hundred and
fifty to three hundred thousand dollars,
with probably onehalf that amount in
surance.
CHICAGO, Oct 8, I1:3OP. NJ M-Anoth-
er terrible confagration is now raging
here. The fire commenced near Tay-
ior street, midway between Delevan
and Jefferson, is spreading in every di-
rection; and covers at least ten blocks
at this hour, and still seems beyond
control. The blocks are built up SOL
idly, almost exclusively OF two-story
frame houses, occupied as residences,
| boarding houses, saloons, groceries,
etc.
12:45 A. NJ, 9th-The confagration
has already devastated at least twenty
blocks, mostly composed of the smaller
class of dwellings,, inhabited mainly by
hundred buildings have been entirely
destroyed, and more than that number
of families rendered homelesss. The
district already burned over embraces a
large number of lumber yards, freight
depots of the Chicago & st. Louis and
Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne & Chicago Rail
roads.
A board from the fire was blown
across to the east side of the river and
set fire to a wooden building directly
adjoining the Chicago gas house. The
flames spread in every direction, the
adjoining buildings being all of the
tinder-box kind The prospect is That
the gas house will be destroyed and the
city wrapped in darkness.
The bridge across Van Buren street
is burned, the shipping in the river,
the cars on the track of the Chicago and
Alton and Fort Wayne roads, with the
immense freight house there, are swept
away.
| 9, A. Mover one-half of the South
Side and large portion of the North
| side are rednced to ashes. The city is
ablaze from Twelfth to Erie streets, and
the fire is spread rapidly in all direc-
tions making a clean sweep along It's
| course.
The streets are literally packed with
thousands of wagons loaded with fur
n1tnre and valuables, saved from the
burning buildings. The loss of life is
great AS yet no estimate of the num-
Der can be made. Thousands are leav-
ing the city to seek new quarters.
The Court House, Chamber of Com
merce, Western Union Telegraph office,
! Revere, Sherman snd Palmer Houses,
several elevators and railroad depots
| lie in ruins.
Assistance from all parts is hurrying
to the city.
Business is entirely suspended. All
the inmates of the jail under the Court
| House were roasted alive. Their num-
Der is not known. All communication
with the East destroyed
LATER, $50 A. M.-7FarweQ Hall, the
Opera House, Field, Letter & Co. s dry
goods house, fremont House, Tribune
and Postofice and Water Works are all
burned.
LATEST, 1870 A. M-The whole cent
tral, eastern and north side business
portions of the city are consumed, and
the fire is still under full h Roadway. Nc
description can convey an idea of the
suffering community.
From the Chicago Ledger Monday afternoon.
At about nine o'clock last evening,
flames broke out in small barn Oh
Farquahr street, near Jefferson, in the
West Division about one-quarter of a
mile from the South Branch of the
river How those flames originated, we
do not know, though rr1mor has it that
they were the result of incendiarism,
and also that they sprang from care.
lessly used pipe or cigar. Be this as il
may, the fire soon spread to ad,
joining buildings, and i'll a few mo
ments more the entire department was
, called out. A more unfavorable time
to check and extinguish fire has never
t been known in this city. The weather
f has for weeks been unusually dry, and
: becoming dryer every day.
l All the buildings were parched III
= and in fit condition to be burned like
tinder. A strong wind amounting tt
quite a gale, was blowing from th,
southwest, and the rap1dity with which
the flames spread, in northeastern
. direction, was fearful Despite tht
, most vigorous efforts of the fire depart
= ment, the lurid flames leaped from roo
l to roof and from building to building
rapidly enveloping block after block Il
their consuming embrace. The effort
e of the fremen-worn down and iadeC
: as they were by the previous night
rough toil-seemed utterly inadequat
to stay the onward career of the de
e vouring element, and ere long it be
came apparent that the city wa
s doomed to suffer the most appalling
d visitation of the fire fend that it ha
ever experienced. By the combine
a efforts of firemen, policemen and cit
e zens the flames were kept from movin
e further west than Desplaines street
S and while the "burnt district of th
Saturday night fire checked the fir
/ from going north on that side of th
3 river of Van Buren street bridge, whic
structure was speedily consumed. Blu
after taking all the buildings, lumbe
piles, &C., within the area specific,
above, the confagration broke ou
afresh on the east side of the river
This sudden transfer of the devourini
flames to the South Division was tn
result of the large shower of spark
and cinders which were carried acros
the stream by the gale, many of then
lodging on wooden roofs, cloth awning
and other cOmbuStible material ant