New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-10-14
THE GREAT FIRE.
Chy-The Line 81 the Ffre-Destttus
ifon Of the Citfxeus-TombstOnes De.

iien Of the Cirfzess-Tsnbstones De
stroyed.
From the St. Louis Democrat
CHICAGO, October lO.-The following elo
,, 4uent aud truthful description, of the tr
has been furnished bv gentleman WIN
|; participated in the WORK throughout. Non
but an eye witness can form an idea OF tn
reyeled among the palatial buildings ant
warehouses on the south side with the wine
blowing hun icane. At times it seemed
but the work of q moment for the fire Il
enter the south ends of buildings, fronting
on Randolph. Lake and Water streets, ant
reappear at the north doors and windows
belching forth in fierce flames which OTTER
licked the opposite buildings, and then the
flames belchlng from buildings on botl
a solid mass Of fire, constantly filling the
street from side to side, and shooting up
ward hundred feet into the air above tie
house tops in their mad career. aud thus
wss s.eet after street +: lied with flame end
flc, and The eAr'tation of the fire tiend was
| given vent TO in roar which can cI'y be
e4usled by combining the noise OF the
ocean, when its waters are driven during a
tcmnest upon rocky beach, with the howl
of tie blast.
Huge walls world topple and fall mo tie
sea Of tie, without apparently giving a
sound. as the roar Of the fiery cement was
| so eccat that al the minor sounds were
| swallowed up. aud the fall of walls was
| only perceptIble to the eve and not to the
| ear. If our readers vi recall TO rhe;-
| m'uds the tiercest snow storm in their ex-
| pei ence, and imagine the snow to be fire
as it srrged hitht.. and thither before the
iurv Of the tend. they will be able to fol n
4aut concept ion Of the flames as they
| ragged through the streets Of our doomed
| city. Many Of the buildings situated along
South Water street buried their red hot
rear walls in the waters of the river. into
which they plunged With hiss l;ke unto
nOtbiug EARTHLY. throwing up billow of
water, which would gradually subside, IN.
til other walls would follow.
The heat was SO intense at times from
some OF the burning building that they
could not be approached within one hr-i-
dred and fifty feet. which accounts for the
manner in which tue fire worked back. ard
often against the wind. The fire, after
reaching the business parts Of Randolph
aud South Water streets, leaped the river
on to the north side IN an Incredibly short
space Of time. and thence among the
wooden buildings on that side it reached
the lake shore after touching block after
block Of happy dwellings with its fierce
blast. A scene of more pOwerles efforts TO
fight an enemy was never presented than
that of this. The people were Il, ing 10
combat the fire tiend, and the com:,a, was
not Of long duration. for the people bowed
their beads in ang, ish of 0 irit, and suffered
the tend to have rutrameled run-and well
and thoroughly has he done his work-and
as there is nothing in the past history of
civilized nations which chroricle anv
efforts OF his to which this present one can
be compared. so in all future tue The
great Chicago fire." when mentioned. will
bring to the hearts of its participants a
paug Of anguish: u future generations. a |
simile OF everything that is fearful and ter |
rible.
While there are great many instances
OF generous devotion on the part Of rich |
there are painful instances of uneasiness
and selfshness. One man was TRYING to re.
move valuable papers from an office. and
asked two hremen to help him. which tley
refused unless be paid them fifty dollars.
The papers were destroyed. Drivers of ex-
press wagons had taken one hundred, and
even five hundred dollars, for an hours use
Df their vehicles in getting distressed peo-
pie away.
The suffering on north side is heart.
'end'rg. Men. women aud cbildren-ffrv
thousand Of them-are huddled together
ke SO many wi'd ANIMALS and in another
'lace seventeen thousand Germans and
!, SD are PRAYING for relief: helpless chill
lren asking for brea'; hear broken pareurs
Who know not which way 20 tura or what
0 say. There is moth no to do but await
must be slow proceeding, as there are
arfs of the bur ned districts over which i
J almost impossible t" travel. Women ~
he paius OF chi'd-birih. aud p.ien who
ave been reused from beds Of sick ness 4,
ave lives that at best were nearly spent. {
'ere all exposed to the rain of last D,oit
nd to the cold. raw .nds Of to day. sew r
raj deaths have Occur led in Lincoln Park,
nd three women have brought children | {
ito the world only to de.
Among the sad accompaniment of TIE !
'!amty was 10 see hundreds of men and j.
,ys beastly intOx 'cat:d around the st,ee;s
the north division. where the saloon. keep j
8 stocks were / nued INTO the street. fur J,
sh!ng convenient opportunity for the
a..hcatIon OF slavish prOpersitjes. and $
ere can be no doubt that many of these "
'or wretch found their death in the
mes, from which they were to HELPLESS N
escape. One poor man had craw,ed tor ~
1uge INTO water main lying in the street %
ar the waterworks, but the fire tiend
1nd him even there. before be could get o.
BODY wholly IN safety, and robbed him ..
his life. st
There are people who, in the bitterness Of 6
cir soul, ascrlbe the cal unity to Gods -
1gmcnt.
4 German said to me, This is a second
dom and GomOrrah, and the curse is on
Another night mrst be spent ia Lincoln
TX and the blick fields at Division street,
I yet another and another Each train {
q extra is loaded to its fullest capacity. ba
ing people away, who. in MANY ins tances. al
re no place to go. vet cannot STAY here ~
every train is obliged to leave i've times m
many as t takes. Every precaution is
Dg taken by the authorities to guard the
pie tonight, and it morning comes with 10
rObberies, murders. or a renewal Of az
$. then all will thank God and 90 forward To-
b courage. Mi'
here is a ru,nor that in q hurna1 HAL. Str
tn shop on Rush street the bodies of fiji. Nv -
q men We're found burned to a crisp. ,ba
= having rushed into the shop to escape inc
u the flames which had surrounded lS-i
III, before they had discovered the tiend. mit
immense number of people are missing. =
1or the purpose Of aiding IN the discov- We
OF missing ones. a central intelligence agg
&c mas been established. where the names W. We.
he police. e''~1 a pSa
he large hotel in the west division. inst Rec
lpleted. has been taken nv Gage aga
theirs a Rice. late of the sherman Eos
Use, and they will omen in ten DAYS. II PIN;
be known AS the Sherman House. tt
he entire north division is swept clean. quo
the Chicago river to Wriyht:s Grove
stance of more than three miles.
ut one house, that of MahlOn n oyder S 40;