Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1871-10-25
a}npyrjlle aHerAlg Chruaifle,
OCTOBER rs, 1871.
CHICAGO

George Alfred Townsend has recently
visited the Phoenix city, for such we must
call it, and gives a graphic account of his
train, he says:
The haunted, haunting something (which
tells the unwelcome tale ives still half Wis
ible on every side, although we saw no
vivid desolation. We were entering Chi
cago by the still intact West side, and the
first queer Specification was the very many
children pressing their noses against the
windows of the frame shanties, rs If each
humble habitation held Improbable guests;
next the quantity of people carrying wa
tering pails--everybody bare-footed or
booted, had q bucket, and still there were
no visible wells; it was puddle water.
Next again, the men were all listIess and
idle, and we saw one philosophic son of
toll beating his wife, as if, by woman, fire
rs well rs sin entered into the world. The
town seemed to have stopped like the
movements and figures in an old box-or-
gan, and it was like rainy Sunday without
church or an early Sunday school rally
ing.
At shed depot of the country pattern
we heard the summons, Chicago ~
What is this we see-caTriages? Yes, a
score of them; fare only one dollar and
half to the hotels. And omnibuses, too,
at the old tariff Of fifty cents head, bag
gage included.
"Where do you want to go, sir?n
I don't know. There are no hotels, of
course -
Eyes; the Briggs House, Barnes House,
Michigan avenue Hotel. Plenty of board
ing houses on the West and South sides"
The newsboys are crying: Tribune,
Republican, Prairie Farmer and Happy
Hours, only five cents.n
We see everything of former times ex-
cept women. The city appears to contain
but one sex.
Still superstitious and expectant of ter
Tors, we peer from the omnibus as we gall
lop over the clean Nicolson pavement, and
all that we see of the great disaster is one
group of tall castellated ruins, much re-
sembling the ruined wreck of Pierrefords
in Plcardle. \ couple OF grain elevators
look ostentatiously down from the river
bank, as if to say This is Chicago, of
course ~ The river is by no means desti-
tute of tugs, steamers and Vessels-few
moving indeed, but enough in numbers
to strike the imagination. Mighty depart
IRE trains of freight move over the North
western Railway track, treading hard like
elephants. Directly I'VE are at clean, new
tavern, labeled, Barnes House :" then
we see bran new brick edifice, five stories
high, with center and wings, on the front
of which blows in the wind muslin sign,
SHERMAN House, Soon we distinguish
stalwart corner block of brick, newly let
tered Briggs House."
The Briggs House is full of pressing peo-
pie, but we go up and say with an incred-
ulous smile:
No rooms, of course ?n
Yes, sir. Just register your names; we
shall turn nobody away
"How much for lodging?n
{" -Four dollars a day for regular board ;
just as before at our old stand.n
TransiXed with the fact and the land
lords quiet bearing we inwardly remark
u The fire has had no effect, except to
make Chicago better mannered.n
Then we sit down to breakfast not
worse than in other parts of the world
fresh eggs and wine, rich ham, fair steak
and water drawn from the Chicago River.