The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1871-10-19

, aNake or close n land, the create
{ fart being absent at the scene OF tn
flre across the riI r, while the wOmeI
! and and childrv.I were in bed an,
! asleep. A cry OF horror and alarm
: vas at once raised, but not sooI
{ enough, It Is almost certain, to enabl
, the sleeping inhabitants to save them
selves. The frightened wretehes came
: crowding out Of the blazing tenement
bat sooner than we can write it,all es
cape from the lower part was cut of
and there Is every reason to suppOs,
that from five to ten human being,
perished in the flames at this point.
RIGHT AND LEFT
the fire spread, travelling among the
dry tenement houses, thickly distrib
uted, at rate of speed faster than 6
nan could walk. Within sixty sec,
0ndS the space of one block had beeI
trayersed, and the south line Of Mon.
roe street was reached for nearly the
entire distance between Wells and
Market streets. A lurid mass Ol
flames was hurled bodily across Mon
ree street, toward the north, tapping
Up the stables of John F. Farwell
Gp., and the American Merchants
Union Express Company, before more
than half dozen of the hundred odd
magnificent horses could be rescued
the remainder of the noble and valu-
able animals being either burned oI
/ sdffOcated within two minutes.
ACROSS WELLS STREET.
4 By this time the fire had crossed tc
the east side Of Wells street, and was
rapidly working eastward, sweeping
FezeFything In its course. It Is impOs-
sible to estimate the number OF lives
lost in this locality, the area of which
was wholly covered with wooden
frame structures, all of them crowded
to the utmost with poor people. In
Tie terror and confusion which pre-
vailed, hundreds of women, with
their brOOds of children, were seen
l wandering about in a state OF hope
less bewilderment, many of them
! doomed, beyond a doubt, to be over
taken and surrounded and lost in the
wilderness of flame.
EORTHwARD AND EASTWARD
the flames progressed, crossing Madi-
son street, and extending east to La
Sale street at the same time. Stone,
brick or wooden structures fell alike,
and with almost the same degree of
rapidity, and it had now become ap-
| parent that the entire business pOr-
ton TO the lake shore was doomed.
| No one could doubt this as soon as q
fresh display of light further south an
nounced the fearful fact that the West
Side fire had
= LEAPEO THE RIVER.
AtRbOut quarter. to / o'clock n
regular chain Of fire from west to east
established, the junction being effect
ed across the river, at or near Van
BeTen street bridge, where the rows
OF wooden buildings on Market street,
and the remaining portion of COnley's
Patch, south Of Adams street, formed
rapid route for the progress of the
devastating element. What the first
fi-eon the South Side had left behind,
the second one took up, and, working
eastward even more rapidly than the
other had done, so that by / o'clock it
also had reached La Sale street. A
coalition was effected between the
two departments of flame at about
this time, and there the awful work
went on more furiously than ever.
FASTER THAN IT COULD BE TRACED,
or, at least, faster than, from any po-
sition OF observation, the locker on
could accurately note the precise
buildings which were Overtaken in
their order, the flames now ragged to-
ward the river and the lake. The fin
est Of Chicago's business architecture
and this the marvel Of all America
was included in the ragages of the
fire. At O'Clock in the morning the
line Of flame and ruin in the South
Division extended from above HRrri-
sOIr street northward to the main
branch of the rivers distance OF about
one mile, having included the Michi-
gan Southern depot, the mammoth
OR<en House, covering an entire
block Of ground; the new and unoccu-
pied BigelOw House, both OF HOnore
blocks, Lombard and Reynolds
blocks, Farwell Hall, all the line of
seYen story marble buildings on La
Sale street, the Chamber of Com
merce, Court House, Sherman House,
Briggs House, fremont House, Cros-
by's Opera House, the Dearborn Thea
ter, Woods Museum, Hooley's Opera
House, the Post, Mail, Staats Zeitung,
Volks Zeitung, Times, Republican
and Journal offices, so that the Trib-
une was the only daily newspaper in
Chicago left untouched, McVicker's
the only theater and the Planter
House the only first class hotel. The
fire had not crossed
DEARBORN STREET, SOUTH OF MADT
SON,
and it was confidently hoped that the
end of the destruction could Row he
predicted. People began to lift up
their heads aud thank God that some
thing was to be left Of Chicago, and at
half past six O'Clock in the morning
there was good reason To- believe that
the .cOnfiagration had spent itself
Thankful and contented in this be-
lief, large numbers Of tired watchers
went to their homes, If they had any,
to get little food and rest. 1t was
as well that they went, for they
were spared the fearful renewal which
occurred so soon afterward. At about
: o'clock I'm the morning Il sudden
gust Of wind,
PERFECT WHIRLPOOL,
swept and eddied through Dearborn
street, beginning at Jackson street,
where, at that time, the fire had died
down 10 embers. Beds of living Goals
were caught up bodily by the hurri-
cane, and hurled against and upon the
wooden structures across the street,
and in a moment the fire had gained
O fOothOld, and swept on once more to
the nOrthward and eastward. All
4L,E IoJ haa,, loft trnforahad hatuaau
Jackson and Madison streets, and
Dearborn street and the lake shore,
was now doomed 10 destruction, and
as the fury of the first hurricane of
wind subsidized, there came almost
lull, so that the fire began tn work
southwark and westward.
WABASH AVENUE AND STATE STREET.
As the fire progressed up Wabash
avenue and State street,it seemed rs If
it would be impossible to stop it.
Only two engines were In that sec
tion of the city, and these were pow
erless from want of water. After the
cOnflagration had successfully passed
Adams, Jackson, and Van Buren, and
had arrived at Congress street, a de-
termined and vigorous effort was
made at Harrison street, on the west
line. Leaving the block between
Congress, Harrison, State, and Wa
bash avenue as certain prey for the
flames, efforts were concentrated on
the line Of buildings on the north side
Of Harrison. On the corner of State
was a wooden building which was too
inflRmmable to be allowed to stand.
The proper method OF stopping was
here adopted, and the principal actor
in the contest was thereafter a red
capped chap in a square box wagon in
which were also placed several hun
dred pounds Of powder. The wooden
building on the northeast corner of
State and Harrison streets, was first
to go, and was laid fat by two charges
of powder.
Next to this, on the east, was a
three story double brick, which met
the same fate as its neighbor, and in a
moment only the front walls remain
ed. The effect of this was seen in a
moment, and the fire was effectually
checked, at least as far as the high
reaching, dangerous flames were con-
cerned. Between the brick house just
mentioned and the church, which oc-
cupied the corner of Wabash, was a
small frame building, which was an
extremely dangerous customer, and