When Chicago Burned

A detailed Summary of When Chicago Burned


The legend goes, the cow kicked over a lantern, the lantern set fire to the shed, and the shed set fire to the rest of Chicago. Although, Mrs. Patrick O`Leary swore under oath that she never took a lantern to the shed on the night of Sunday, October 8, 1871, many witnesses verified the ramshackle building on the West Side as the starting point of the fire. In Chicago, it had been a very dry autumn. Furthermore, nearly all the 300,000 people of the city lived in wooden houses. The fire department was aware of the danger as there had been a tremendous three-alarm fire on the West Side one-day prior. A constant wind, blowing from the southwest, fanned the flames roaring through the wooden structures of the city. By the time fire companies arrived the fire was far beyond their control. Approximately 18,000 buildings in the heart of the city; burned to cinders. Many people got away unharmed. Only an estimated three hundred perished. Citizens hurried into nearby parks, and out to the edge of the city. Thou


sands of people fled to the safe haven, of the beaches and shores along the edge of Lake Michigan. By Monday newspapers from all over were reporting the caustic disaster. Many artists began illustrating the devastating effect of the fire. Alfred R. Waud and Ralph Keeler, boarded a train for Chicago to cover the story for Every Saturday, A Illustrated Journal of America (p. 2). They arrived while the flame was still ablaze in some parts of the city. By midnight October 8, most of the city was engulfed in flames causing the sky above the city to dance with burning brands and hot coals stretched for hundreds of yards. The steady wind blew the amber colored coals to buildings still far from the portion of the city devastated by the advancing front of the fire. A fireman's account examines the condition of the city, "You couldn't see anything over you by fire ... No clouds, no stars, nothing else but fire." (p. 57) As the city grew aware of the circumstances they began fleeing the town, heading toward the o

Some common words found in the essay are:
Journal America, Patrick O`Leary, Chicago Tribune, , Waud Keeler, St Louis, Philip Sheridan, Lake Michigan, People Chicago, Ralph Keeler, sketches city, set fire, october 8, city burned,

Approximate Word count = 684
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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