Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1871-10-19
From the Chicago Democrat OF Saturday, Oct 10
CHICAGO in RUINS
2.8oo Acres Of Solid Build
ings Burned.
$400, 100000 Worth of
Property Destroyed.
10000 PERSONS HOMELESS
Great LOSS of Life

summary OF the great nre In Chlca-
90 on the Sth and 9th of Oct. 1871.
The burnt District nearly 1890 acres.
No. of square miles burnt over 25
to 30-This includes the whole
business portion of South and North
Chicago
The amount of population burnt
out in the North Division 70,S00.
There is but one building of any kind
left standing in North Chicago, and
that is the private residence of Mahlon
B. Ogden.
The fire district OF South Chicago
extends from Harrison street to the
river. Entire desolation reigns here
as in the North Division. There re-
main standing only the bare walls of
the Court House the Tribuoe Block
and the Post office. Such an example
of the power Of fire sweeping with the
bosom of destruction great City was
never before seen in all human his
tory. 100000 to 10000 of people
thrown out of houses and homes.
Total loss at least S400,000,00O.
At aJout ten o'clock on Sunday
night fire broke out at the corner of
18th and DeKoven street on the west
side, and after some two hours raging
it leaped the river and the destruction
of property commenced in South
Chicago, and the finest of Chicago
Architecture, and it was the marvel
of the world, was in a few hours q
mass of ruins. Such Wholesale and
total destruction of property was
never before witnessed in the history
of the world. 1t was owing to the
burning of the Water Works that the
fire had snch run.
All the principal hotels, all the
public buildings, all the banks, all
the newspaper offices, all the places
of amusement, nearly all the great
business editices, nearly all the rail
road depots, the water works, the gas
works, several churches and twenty
thousand of private residences and
stores have been consumed. The
proud, noble, magnificent Chicago or
yesterday. is to-day mere shadow
Of what it was; and helpless before
the still sa eeping flames the fear is
that the entire city will be consumed
before we shall see the end.
Sunday is gene1ruy = day of drunk
enness and debauche!.y in the city of
Chicago. The liquor saloons are all
in full blast, contrary to law, and the
streets are mostly filled with rcughs
whose profanity make them unfit for
the presence of church going people.
On Sunday, Oct, Sth. which records
the obstruction of the city, many per-
sons might have seen in the neighbor-
Polk Sts., where the fire originated
hundreds of
DIsstPATED MEN & WOMEN
walking to and fro as if dissatisfied
with life and tird Of the pangs con-
sequent to violated passion. In
many of the houses fathers were
heard cursing the mothers of their
own children who fed from the scenes
of strife and danger like lambs es-
tranged from the fold. The naked
ness of this vast number of outcasts
told too plainly of the work of in
toxication in the homes which should
afford them shelter and comfort
This scene was characteristic of the
whole city. 1. seemed that
SATAN WAS CELEBRATING
his triumph over morality and decen-
cy by visiting nis followers with that
spirit which always gives the highest
degree of pleasure to dissipation and
which is always followed /by some
work of the hand of retrIbution and
justice.
At half past eight o'clock when
every saloon in the great metropolis
was overfowing with dissipation,
when every vile house was busy with
its traffic of human souls, when
cursing and swearing was sounded
from thousand lips in the same mo-
ment, when a hundred congregations
were listening to
SERMONS OF ARISToCRACr
in brilliantly lighted and highly orna-
mented churches; when a mighty
city was filled with wickedness and
outrages against God upon the Sab
bath and when tie so called ministers
servants of God were, to satisfy
the demands of political treachery,
sealing their lips from the utterances
ofa shamed conscience, heaven spoke
and the almighty arm of retribution
was unloosed. The seeds of q con-
suming fire were dropped from
INsULTED HEAVEN
into a small cottage on Jefferson
Street, where, almost in a moment of
time the answer was echoed back on
the wings Of fame. The first blow
was struck, and from that moment de-
struction of ihe city was sealed. The
flames leaped from block to block
and in the short space of half an
hour dozen buildings were leveled
with the ground and hundred more
crumbling beneath the element-The
great vault of heaven was painted as
only terrible fire could do. Thous-
ands flocked from every quarter of
the city to behold the scene. Great
enthusiasm prevailed and the crowds
seemed delighted with the awful
granduer of the situation. The
CURLING FLAMES
reached their borders from street to
street driving before them the alarm
ed inhabitants. In less than one
hour the fire had shown the depart
mcnt their utter incapability to check
its course. All became conscious
that the destruction of the city was
inevitable and took Immediate steps
to save their lives and property from
the flames they rushed from the
scene and began to remove their
furniture to parks and open lots or
to wherever there was any probability
the flames would not reach. Amid