Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1871-10-20

t. 49, o1l7 vac hame which wal
written nt the head of these lin mo nave ave
rarely Deen spoken but with some fo,Has
typical supcrlative. When M iBofm OF
visited us some score Ct years oco LIFcner
pressed her anxiety to 70 70 10 n cue ex-
SEQ Chicago, chic home Of I,ni<i ""@st 10
the supernatural Forces SII nor,
Larope there WAS The samo - over
cfedulous wonder as 30 this me- ne a1d
IOWA which had risen from the ~ao 'el9n8
OF the great lake. with the sutIdenr D-A-SLrt
| ease Oh an eX6alation. There was 70 uAa
LOO Wild to obtain credencc ,gLoa 'Y .iY
scene was laid In Chicago. It va, w. the
New YORK, the best known mn eiter
EUROPE lor every village and hamlot, n
sen1 SUM oI tnelr enterpriSIg cbi,a -au
there' VINO wrote letters homo I'M ,-t!iA
strange VIVA lie o. that stronr Drv Iat we
Ii was scarcely considered an - A," lahd
city among the simple n - Alaerican
Europe. The genial S>u,b Try Ct
though it colony Of Austin r,y Iei aAan
dlsh farmers regarded it IS =, a dc owe
OF the Scandinavian race. Even liz ftanase
LOVING trenchman felt that tberai,o. lone
be among friends ard kindred = r. So1d
ed by these delicate chords - :. touch
world. '-'P IL tie
At home, where no clement Of s,,
tered Into cur ideas, the ctv 10y 1' On.
scarcely less remarkable in il, crcr- 1Io'lie
its robust Individuality. Wish = iess - ,I.14u
lation than many Others. il has fo,, t9il-
time claimed, with genera. aascnf i3Ls
sltlon OF the second city on III, c6nt; 20
There was breadth Of rQuDicirnI ne
force ana Hlgor OF commercial aotiyitr
caeofy ana confident sC.f.a6Sartion w%;.S
impressed the c0uctrV, ana r,al]a -. ISA
! the lTShV frr cit -
IN readiness or resource, IL tie aDrl;n,t;
OF force to the novel problems gr,sin. ,+ T..
lts rapid growth and dcvelormrott' 0tl
seemed TO take rank with tho CROFT :.
tails. 1t seemed sufficient for il,.rf;',
emergencies. TO handle Tue vast ,,- - ~
Of grain which the frGitfaI prairie ', J','l.
into its bins, it invented tbs Eieyatnr :,
lifted itself out of its marshes and r,;.',
its own grade by several feet. Il ,1 "'ol';
stone palaces bodily and held tglfo n y
air while it built Easements u1I,r ti.' '''
When it wanted fresh water. il Err.n.,'
for milo CT two under Lake Miriio.'
and, with an audacity toward ualuro"0,-''
equaled in history, it tapped tie bot,a,'.
OF the inland sea. The dAtos Of lis li,t.,,
seem moro fantastic than any fiction
John hlnzIe built his cabin there in l>uf
The Indians mastered tic gaYri.n,
/ N,li
were twelve houses scattered .,bont Il
marshes, giving n shelter to Lun1rrl
parti-colored squattors, and in 1870. when.
the hair OF the 1irst-bcra willie native -,
the town had not begun TO grille ~,
census takers found 100000, and rlvs
mortal otlenso to 80, OC0 nore, who insist
ed they We're not counted. 4 week qo,
Buffalo he'd in store G9J, 800 bashe. f..
grain; Montreal, OIL, 2lO; st. Louis. VIM
Milwaukee,, 1922 33j; Toledo, l,2s2is
Chicago, G. 07S, $50. There is nnglc IN
these ciphers, which to the practrI
American mind means moro dian sllg
baptism of poetry and romance.
Since yesterday Chicago la4 gained
another title to e-cmiIcncc. Uncga.!J
before in enterprise and good fortune. sh4
is now unappToachable in CALAMITY. unr
nGmG Is lusepGrabIy connected with tLc
greatest diaster Of modern timce. III,
burning OF New York in 1531 has slRay.
been regarded rs terrible visitation, aud
elderly gentlemen IL Wall street stoutly
asserted yesterday that the Chicago fir,
was no greater. But the accounts Of tb,
J, time say that GlS houses were Gc.tro5cd-
IA grave calamity Of course. bat ttllnr
whom compared with the 1000 hou.eiN
ashes III what was Chicago. The GrcY.
fire OF London, which struck the world with
horror and gave not unworthy iuspila
ton to the noble verse OF Dryden, IaydnCa
n track OF 1876 acres. But five square
miles Cf blaCkened and smoking ruins alc
ghastly credentials whi.h Chicago Offers
in support of her claim 10 pro-cminclee
III disaster. When 1.-THE OF tic wealth
of a community perishC5, it seems THAT tie
sources of existence arc capped. Iti9cs
timated that fully one-half OF The value q
| Chicago has been anuihilatCi by one dAs
destruction.
1t is one of these scenes where the Wild
est words arc weak TO describe the dey.s-
tatiOn. 1t is only by Imagining New York
obliterated from Madison square to the
Battery that we can form some idea Of the
extent of the catastrophe. The fire broL3
out among the dry frame buildings Of tne
south Division, and was famed and driven
by q southwest gale-Ono of those fierce
and unchecked tempssts that blow oyor
the lake and tho prairic-into the yor5
heart Of the city, over theatres, hotels, liz
courts and the churches, the :enon4On
business houses and the luxurious dgc.
lipgs that made the young city SO b.aGtl-
full and impressive, until, growing with wI3t
it fed on, and still scourged by The gale i
leaped the river and ravaSed the rich aid
thickly settled northern suburb. LlttIs
of the city except its southern ana western
borders are left-the shell from which tAt
kernel has been gnawed away.
The ultimate result is not doubtful. Like
Moscow, like London, like New York,
like Portland, the city viii DO bnilt agar
It has too much Of life and elasticity f.
succumb even to blow So terrible as this
It has its place in the economy of the II
ton and the world to fill, and cannot be
spared. In the end it will certainjyrC,
cover. But there is much of uncertainty
and difficulty in the interval. The sud
den withdrawal of this great and busy
community from the sphere Of commercial
| life will produce q widespread confusion
and disturbance of values and relation
Chicago is heavy creditor Of New 10lf'
and the whole North West i8 the creditor
of Chicago. At time when money Is 4''
over-plentlful, there comes this sudden
and unexpected demand for large sum u
meet this fearful exigcncy. We hope En'
prudence and GOODNESS which the eLaeF-
gency requires will not fail. There Il 10
Justification for panic. There scene.
some danger of one yesterday in Inc n[''
shock of the frightful intelligence, bal tEe
tendency was handsomely surmounteii -
the afternoon. There is little doubt tu''
our insurance companies will bo abe U
pay all their losses. When this IS done
all can then unite in deVi5lDR tic l.lslH'