The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1871-10-11

scanty amount of furniture and cloth
ing. The sight is truly pitiful and
narrowing. They must receive i'm
mediate relief, or may, from exposure
and starvation, perish.
CHICAGO, October 10.
The people commenced moving;
horses were brought into requisition
to take proprietors and others to the
eonaagration. What a scene met
their gaze! The Board of Trade,
Court House. Western Union Tele
graph and Associated Press office, and
hundreds of other buildings, were in
flames. The air was filed with live
Goals, which were hurled to the north
and east, a Bosom of destruction
Five engines were powerless for say
ing all that men could do were to
blow up the buildings, but this availed
but little. The Times, Tribune, Post,
Republican, Journal, and other news
paper Offices, Western News Co.,
Blockield & Letters establishment,
the Drake block ~(recently built), Far
well q Co.'s-all were soon in ashes.
1t seemed that no sooner had the
flames struck a wall than they were
directly through, and in a very few
moments sufficed to destroy the most
deliberately built structure; the walls
melted and the very bricks were con
sumel. The wooden pavements took
fire, making a continuous sheet OF
flames two miles long by a mile wide
Block after block fell, and the redho
Goals shot higher and higher and
spread further and further, until the
North Side to the lake and south was
IL vast sheet of flame from river to
lake.
All the books and papers of the
Historical Society, including the orig
inal copy of the famous emancipation
proclamation of President Lincoln,
for which the society paid s25, 900,
were destroyed. 1t is feared that
large numbers of children, inmates
Of the Catholic Orphan Asylum, on
State street, were also burned. as
many of them r missing. On Chi
cago avenue a father rushed up stairs
to carry three children away when
he was overtaken by the flames and
persisted with them. The mother was
afterwards seen on q street Oh the
Northwest Side, a raving maniac
In the same neighborhood a family of
five persons persisted. The list of ia
t~alilies is very long, and a only be
fully verified after the smoke shall
have cleared away. There are hun
dreds of families on that side who
saved no clothing, but barely their
lives; among them is the family of
Perry Smith, formerly President of
the Northwestern Railroad Company.
Later-A careful survey OF the in.
surances to-day show that there were
written on the property destroyed
ove two hundred million of dollars.
Add another hundred million to this
sum-, and a fair estimate can be reach
ed of the loss. All the leading mer-
chants who have been e express a
determination to resume business at
once This includes the heavy houses
of John V. Narewell, Field, Letter q
Co., and Sprague, Warner d c.
Farewell 81 Co. and Field, Letter "
Co. saved in exchange from three hun
dred thousand to a hali million dollars
worth OF goods, and both firms have
already established headquarters on
the West Side.
Private and special dispatches from
Chicago say that this fire is still raging
in the northern part of the city, There
was Il heavy rain last night, hutit was
OF short duration, and the weather Is
cold to day.
Crowds are roaming the streets,
making turbulent demonstratins ana
taking possession of what they choose,
entering houses and alarming the in
mates. There are but few military,
but companies of troops r being hur-
ried up from various points. There
is abundance of food, but q great deal
is being wasted from lack of system
in its distribution or of persons to
take charge of it. Large quantities
are dumped from cars along the track,
and there are a hundred barrels Of
flour with the heads knocked out
Only cooked food should be sen at
present-brcad, crackers. meat, &c.
The fire continued to burn all last
night on the North Side, but this
morning it is under control. 1t is
literally rue to say that there is no:h-
ing remaining of that side from the
north to Lincoln Park, and
the north branch of the river
west to the lake on the cast. This
of the city, except along Main
and the river, where there were bust
ness blocks. was occupied by dwell
and two-thirds of the population
is German and Scandinavian. There
are now homeless, and others were or
the prairies without shelter through
put the day.