The Ottawa free trader., 1874-07-18
ANOTHER BIG CHICAGo BLAZE.

n ton of the greasy rags, Is not Kho"h ou
0 there seemed to be no one near the buiid'n!
. at the time, and the alarm was gwen by som'
! prostitutes who occupied room just west
D il. The fire alarm was raised, but the flames
y spread with fearful rapidity, and before al
engine reached the ground, half dozen o
the pine rookcrics in the vicinity were in
blaze The first large building that fell into
the embrace of the destroyer was the brcE
oil refinery of Fitch Brothers, near 18TH anc
Dear born streets, and soon the whole build
ing, with its huge tanks of oil, was all ablaze
The heat of the burning oil and surrounding
pine shantles was SO intense that il was i'm
possible to get within effective distance will
the engines, and as the breeze stiiicncd Will
the heat, burning fragments were carried
blocks away from the center Of the confag
ration, klndling new fires wherever they aligh
ed by 8 O'Clock the fire had swept diagon
ally across the block from Clark to the cor
ner of Taylor and Dearborn streets (4tll
Avenue0 and although the utmost energy
was eXerted to arrest 1t here, it crossed the
street and the Olivct Baptist church was first
to fall n prey on the cast side, and in half an
iboIr more the fire was among the wooden
rookeries lon State street. ranging north
to Polk street BY great eXertion Twelfth
street was maintained as the southern bound
airy of the fire. On State street the ruic was
twostory frames, and among these for time
the fire was in its glory. The wind increas-
ing in fury, the fire next broke through the
alley dividing State street from Wabash
avenue, and then began to feed upon the ars-
tocracy. Here Thousands of dollars were
consumed every minute. The win1 still IN.
creasing, Michigan Avenue seemed also
doomed; and yet, strange TO say, the narrow
alley that runs between Wabash and Nichi-
gan avenues, known as Eldridge court saved
the latter, and the fire turned its blazing head
northward, taking three blocks abreast 1t
fought in flank, the effort being to drive it
into the lake By o'clock the fire had been
driven from Clark street, SO that there was no
danger of its spread westward. Extending
also driven from Dearborn street, and at Van
Buren il was driven out Of State street, the
st. James Hotel being the last building to
succumb Beyond the st. James northward
was an open space several hundred feet
square. Opposite the St James stood a row
of 4 story marble fronts These were divided
from the building south by single lot, 25
feet wide. A mere bagatelle said everybody,
and nobody anticipated that that little open
space would check the flames But it did
Fortunately a splendid fire proof wall had
been reared 10 the south. Madly the flames |
beat against it, and went clear over the build |
ing, setting fire to the ST. James, but this |
wall stood the test grandly, and though there |
was fire to the south and fire to the east, and
not pint Of water thrown upon il, the build |
ing stands there al this writing, a savior of
untold millions. 1t was the citadel of the |
eoEfiagratiOn It's surrender would have Civ
En- the whole city over to the ravaging enc.
my. Instinctiyely every one in sight of the
scene, appreciated the Importance Of the po-
sition, and when the building to the south
iumbed together with Numbering crash
thereafter harmlcss-
A,uOUT FROM FIFTY THOUSAND THRoATs
rose high above the rear OF the conllagration. |
Il was the moment of moments during the |
p-ogreas Of the fire, and fiily was It common. !
GRATED
But one other bulding--a / story brick
out Of all danger on the corner of
Wabash Avenue and Van Buren, street, took
Ere aIter this, and here the devastation was
stayed. In its dying efforts, however, itiurn.
sd yenomCusly upon Michigan Avenue,
which had hitherto escaped, but the Oceanic
building and thcstructure that after the other
great fire had done duly rs the fremont house,
vcrc the nearest approach it made.
la all the obstruction involves fifteen
blocks covering a space of about 90 acres
which are swept as bare rs nature made
.lem."
The distance swept over contained few |
n~'el buildings. though man, particularly on
sac street anl Wabash Avenue, wore marble
-
insS Among Me mos: noted are, I. The Post
Office which yas once Methods. church,
and stood on the -oaAcn. tgc of the crca,
FIRE Of f-;l The haiFgn- was worth about
5000 some postal cards and stamps were
lost, ga- ayinc neWsp4pGrs. but the rest Of the |
mails woe saved to the .lst letter 2 The
AdnIphI, or Aiken = Theatre situated on ;hc
northwest corner OF C0Hgres- street and Wa. |
bash AyanGa. The building had been los.
slg concern tr in IL first erection. and coat /
about $joO4 3 The Harrison street schoo, /
1t was a new building, dedicated ahou, aycarI
ago. and hal cost $4,000. T. The S. James /
llol3 cora0r of State and Van BgfeH streets /
1t Wa, a prclcntious ) story building, cover
ing nearly half a block, and had cot SlOO |
600, viii. fixtures; and 9Th and Glh the Con
lnentl and Woods Hotel, each worth about