Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1871-11-01
Episodes of the Chicago Fire.

/ wonder If it often happens in the history
OF tne world fand when | -"v the world. of
course I mean our world. the world 80 society.
of white ki5 gloves. and rs-plerdent wcdlir z
cards) that proper peoI le in good and regular
standing m the kid glove churches. pop into
ono anotheT's houses uninvited. and quietly
domiciliate themselves for a week. 'zcitin-
BY this conduct no con ment whatever, and
creating TO surprise. ! do hereby solemnly
asseverate that | am not Bohemian nor a
fugitive rlave-UoT rat; and Vet q at did
just a week ago yesterday morning, drop
down upon house Whcrc ! had ney.T e. D
before. and to whose inmates / had never
been introduced, and there | have stayed
week As we lived in North Chicago of
course we were burned out. and having teen
routed out in our night clothes and dressing
gowns at ; o'clock in the morning, cqualIy y
Of course we could secure neither carriage
nor wagon, horse nor wheclhaTruw, v here
others had heen fleeing all night. At first
took refuge far up Lasalle street. where
we expected of course 10 he safe But there
1t was our fate to see regular successlun
If streets come up 70 us. that is. streets AZ
represented by the friends who lived in them
and 80 we actually watched the progress of
the fire by the successive refugees 10 seem
ed as If the phantoms Of those unhappy and
ravaged districts We're stalking, walIIng- and
sohhing nOrthwards. and rt tlecting the aw q }
scenes they had witnessed in the scared ant
pallid faces Of their human representatives
At last, alter seeing Erie street Huron.
Superior. Chicago Avenve and all the streets
up to Goethe and Schiller come sweeping up,
our turn came again, and we lied for the
second time through crowds Of rearing horses,
and worn and weary people toward Lincoln
Park. There at least. we SAID, we shall be
safe But oh, the sights we saw II passing.
One family Of friends | remember whose
altered aspect nearly broke my heart. We
had spent Saturday evening with them at thrlr
sweet and cheerful home. here we had gaiiy
compared our plants newly housed Tor the
winter. and teazed each other about the com
parative merits Of terra-cotta vases. wire
baskets. and jardiniereS. The old father OF
nv particular friend, the young lady daugh
ter interrupted our nonsense by declaring
that be had lived in that house eighteen years,
and that there had been this fuss about
flowers every winter, but that he had never
seen their flowers live till spring yet, and be
did not believe he ever SHOULD. " Wei,
youl see this year, father, if we don all
burn up first" lsughingly exclaime ms
daughter. How strangely that talk ali came
back to me. as | saw the old father pass
slowly by on that cruel Monday morning,
looking as though he had had a mortal blow,
while his usually gay daughter, with an old
wooden shawl wTapt round her head, tried TO
distract his attention and persuade him that
all WAS not or might not be lost. Poor old
man, | knew he bad plodded faithfully
through a long life Of extr' mely moderate
success, below the average Of western men,
ONLY to sre himself ruined now, when brig 1ter
prospects had become to come to him Then
saw a grandmother, who | knew bad been
bed-rIdden for years, hobblIng along sup
ported by her faithful son and daughter
but knew by her face that the escape could
not be for long, and that there would soon
be no further fear Of flame or Hood FOR her
But. although you may taink | am long
in coming to that which | promised. L must
til YOU some Of the ludIcrOus features OF the
scenes which spread themselves out with In-
cessant Kaleidoscope changes before our eyes.
The curious inequality OF the value OF the
prOperty saved struck our sense OF the ludl
c Gus, even in the midst Of the terror ot our
party of fugtIves. One man walked along
apparently perfectly happy IN Juggling out
of danger in one band Kerosene lamp ana
in the other an ornamental c.logue bottle
Here struggled an enormously lat German
woman. who held by the middle cord TO
which was attached at one end a little KID,
and at the other terrier dog. Oh the in
,ane behaviour of that unwilling and uu-
naturally united couple With what Won
derlul ingenuity they succeeded in entaDgllng
the legs of unwary aud absent-minded lu-
gitives, till one unhappy man, who was laoo-
riousiv escaping with part of a gas fixture
end an umbrella, fairly succumbed to this
new obstacle, and measured his length on
the Pavement with his treasure, while the
dog and kid pranced wildly over his PROSTATE