The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1915-02-18
An Incident of the
Chicago Fire
BY JOHN TURNLEE

ner. l was present and have occasion
to remember the date perfectly. The
9Th Of October that year fell on Sun
day. How l happen to remember this
will appear as / proceed with my sto-
~. Two other events in Burroughs
life were celebrated at that dinner. 1t
was a farewell to his bachelor friends,
for he was to be married the next
evening, and he came into possession
of $4,000 invested in negotiable Sc
curities.
The autumn Of 1871 was a very dry
season. Chicago, the city In which We
were living, had experienced series
Of fires While we were dining fire en-
gines went changing by necessarily.
Lifting curtain of west window,
saw great yellow glare. In less than
an hour every one Of us had left the
dinner table and gone out to witness
the beginning of the great Chicago fire.
Burroughs wedding did not take
place the next day, for his home, the
home Of his fiancee and the church he
was to have been married in were all
either in flames or In ruins What
troubled Burroughs most was fear
that his securities might have been de-
stroyed. They were in the keeping of
his guardian, and his guardian was
among those who were missing after
the fire fiend had satisfied its hunger.
A soon as the ruins had cooled Bur-
roughs began a search for his fortune
1t was not found at the safety de-
posit company where his lawyer, Sam
uei Coolidge. had kept valuables. The
Office safe had tumbled from the
fourth story Of the building. and ev-
erything in 1t had been burned 10 pow
der. These two incidents taken to-
gether convinced Burroughs that be
had lost his fortune. for the securities
were not OF the registered kind, but In
the nature of banknote. At any rate,
| IL he recovered any of his inheritance
he could do SO only after long proc
eSs.
of this he went to his hancee and or
fered to release her. She wept and
moaned and vowed that she could new
er love, any one else, but did not give
any definite answer to his offer. But
when a month had passed and her low
er was hard pressed for money to meet
his immediate expenses she turned
him down. We who had attended our
| friends bachelor dinner felt that he
| had made q narrow escape. Miss Eth
erling. the lady in question, had in her
own right something like $4,000. This
gave her an income of but $1,000
year. and she needed much more than
that to enable her to keep up her po-
sition In society.
One day about three months after
the fire met Burroughs on the street.
He approached me with a radiant
| countenance.
You've found your fortune" said.
Guess again"
"Give It up"
| 1--we got new sweetheart"
you don't mean It
| He briefly told. me how a girl who
had loved him long had been grieved
at his engagement with Miss Ether
ling and had consented to take him
with his poverty. congratulated him
heartily, and we parted each about his
own affairs. Burroughs new love--a
Miss Tisdaie-was poor as a church
mouse, and l feared that since Kim
bali had been brought up to expect
fortune they would have a hard life.
| We were all very busy after the Chi
cago fire, and I saw nothing of Bur-
roughs for some time. On returning
from a business trip found on my
desk an invitation from him for an
other bachelor dinner previous to his
marriage with Miss Tisdale, to be Civ
en- at the most expensive hotel In the
city. ! was too busy during the day
to learn anything further about his
affairs and went to the. dinner with
no knowledge of them except what
have stated. The guests were all seat
ed at the table when l entered. and
Burroughs stood at one end.
He beckoned me to vacant seat be-
side him, but since he was standing
with a glass of wine in his hand, as If
about to give toast, 4 remained stand
4 lug, duU WdALeI hACu h1J Sioo0. -
was evident from Burroughs manner
and that of his guests that something
important was to be announced
my friends" he said. perhaps some
Of you have not heard Of my good for
tune. so l will inform you. Recently
the debris left by the fire has been
cleared away for building to be erect
ed on La Sale street Under the ruins
was found a safe. the contents OF
which were in perfect condition. One
bundle of papers turned out to be my
securities
'The remains of a man were d1scov-
cred also and identified as those OF my
guardian, Samuel Coolidge. He had
doubtless removed the contents Of his
firms box from the safety deposit
vaults and carried them out into the
street Driven by the fire into another
building. he had found an opportunity
to put them into a safe, but. penned In
by flames, was unable to escape.
II propose his memory. standing and
In silence"
1t is quite likely that there were
many other cases Of devotion to duty
during that pandemonium. the heroes
and the heroines of which were buried
under the ruins. not to be exhumed.
Burroughs and his wife. their chill
dren and their grandchildren are living.
a happy and united family. Miss Eth
ia