The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1911-03-02
BIG CHICAGO FIRES
Beginning With 1871 City Has
Suffered Heavily.

SSEV
Lives, Occurred During Holiday
ssason-slxty Killed In
Burning Of Crib.
Chicago-Chicago In its short his
tory has endured many trials by IRE.
The great confiaSration Of 1871. which
takes rank a. the greatest dre Of
modern times. burned ove about
three and one-half square miles Of
ground and destroyed 1880 buildings.
Two hundred persons lost their lives.
and $500 were made homeless. The
loss val s1se.0o0.000.
The IRE started Oct. 8, in the rea
Of the property owned by Patrick
O'Leary In the vicinity Of Jefferson
and Do Koven streets. Il spread with
irresistible swiftnsss. lsapins the river
and continuing it, work Of dsstruc-
ton on the South and North sides.
wiping out some Of the finest business
and residence properties in the city.
30 staggering was the blow that for
. time It was doubted whether Chi
cage could recover from It. Food and
clothing and vast sums Of money were
sent to Chicago from Ill parts Of the
country. The spirit Of the Inhabitants
ross to NEST the disaster. and on the
ruins Of the old city was reared the
more splendid Chicago Of today.
Two Of the three other great nres
since the CONGREGATION Of 1871 oc-
ANoAA6 L. khA -NAtAA AAaaN~-$hA h,SNn.
ing Of the 1roQuois theatsr. Dec. 80,
1909, In which more than 900 lives
we're lost, and the disaster at the
ssvsnty-third street orb. Jan. 80. 1900,
In which sixty men were killed.
The other IRE. which had moro in
common with the stock yard disaster.
Has July 10. 1898. Fifteen nrsmsn
oasths afternoon OF that day, were
trapped in . lofty tower Of . cold stor-
age warehouse on the worlds fair
grounds. Out on BY IRE. they lsaped
ssvsnty.dve feet to their death.
The 1roQuois thsater hre va tho
most horrible in the history Of Chi
cago, and one Of the worst in the an
mails Of modern times. It started du-
ring = matinee performance Of q
Christmas b~urlesque. In the space Of
q few moments the theater wal con-
vsrted into . smoke-blaokensd NOR
Cue.
The nre originated on the stage. A
spark from q defective spot light was
communicated to the dimsy draperies.
A thin thread Of flame. sped BY q
draught, ran along the proscsnium
arch. The cry Of IRE was raised.
Panic seised upon the audience. A
stampede for the exits ensued, in
which many were tramplsd under foot
nd LETT ~senselsss on the floor. Some
Of the exits were locked, others were
hsaped high With . barrier Of bodies,
and behind this human debris the. sur
vtvors battlsd desperately for life.
For . time the snormity Of the dis
aster daunted the rssouers, but In the
theatsr itself many anonymous deeds
Of heroism were performed.
The whole city vas plunged into
mourning for tho dead. No visitation
so terrible had been experienced in
the annals Of the world since tho de-
struction Of the Ring theatsr at vi:
emma. when 100 lives were blotted out.
Only last year the burning Of the
ssvsnty-third street temporary crib
cost Chicago sixty lives. The fimsy
structure Of wood above tho icy va
tiers Of the lake housed 116 workmen
employed BY the George w. Jackson
company. inc. when the IRE started.
It was supposed that one Of tho work
mea had entered the powder maya
- with . lighted pipe in his hand.
There was q mufned explosion; and
flames. envslopsd the structure. The
laborsrs. reused from sleep, found
themselves struggling Is in an oven.
Some Of them lsaped into the lake,
whore they persisted, from cold and
exposure. Others remained in the
crib. whence their charrsd bodies
were later removed in gunny sacks
and tumblsd into q common grave at
South Chicago. Most Of them were
buried unidentified.
The catastrophe at the worlds fair
was witnessed BY $4,000 pleasure
seekers who watched the lremen
drop to their death.
On the day Of the dre flames were
discovered near tho crown Of the
stack. Assistant Battalion Chief
James Fitzpatrick led his men to a
platform thirty feet below the flames
With . lead Of hose. While they were
dghting the ire above it ate rapidly
down the stack under them and Fitz,
patrick saw that they were trapped,
He ordered his men to Jump, and they
were sssn SHAKING hands on the tower
when . coil Of rope was hurled to
them from below. It was no sooner
secured. however. than it began to
burn. and q the mon slipped down
it, lsngth they plunged into a fiery
pit below.
IAta In March NJ last war fonrtoan