The New York Herald Newspaper, October 10, 1871, Page 7

WEW YORK HERALD. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1871—QUADRUPLE SHEET _ FIRE AND-DEATH IN CHICAGO. Tie Most Disastrous Piiiecsation That Ever Occurred in America---Over One Third of the City in Ruins---Map of the Destroyed City. oY. is ‘ Ym the above map will be conveyed an idea @ the ravages of the fire devil from the start- Jag of the fre up to « late hour yesterdsy evening, but it is regrettable to add that even the wide area of desolation shadowed in its Wark lines does not embrace the whole extent of the calamity owing to the yeering of the fickle wind from the ‘vouthwent to the north, This occurring too late to be indicated on the map, it must be Jmaagined that the entire portion of the city pouth of Iarrison street and between the south aranch of the Chicago River and Lake Michi- if not wready devastated, is doomed. jondreds of thousands of people of all ages are bomeless, hangry wan- wexen Ten thousand houses are, at Jeast, wrecked and the city yearns or relief, The first fre, which ca 8 ywuch alarm, broke out on en a at & Holmes’ planing factory, on Canal near Van Buren, In the western Riviaion, and consumed foar blocks. This Seenflagration was got under by the exertions ef the firemen, and Chicago rested, as it were, ‘after one of its sensations, happy that the fire had been stayed. The feeling of security wes doomed to be of short duration, for on Sunday night the insetinte mgnster again gpreed hie lurid wings, and this time with the ¢ of doom in the murky breath from his fey nostrils. The southwest wind was blow. ‘g's gale, and the fire, which hurled its ‘plasing brands and showers of glittering ‘wparks ‘aloft, caused the cheeks of those who q@itnessed it to blanch, as they caw it stretch out its long-reaching arms ‘gver the neighboring buildings and wrap them Jn his frightful glory. This was at ten o'clock at night, and occarred at the corner of Jefferson and Dekoven streets, again in the ‘Western division, Onward the tide of Gre ‘polled, revelling, crackling and roaring in its ) @estraction. {t caught the combustible manv- Tectaring places in its vicinity and hurried along with the cruel wind in the direc- ton of the northeast, There was © hope succeeded in every breast to the fright of the previous hours, It was that the river ‘would arrest the progress of ite enemy, the fire, Up to the water's edge it rolled, and \prayere were sent up that, like the waters of de, Ret Sea, 1 would interpore as Dopefal » battles % the dames as RAR ee ee ene eee RES that did to Pbaraoh’s host. The fire still lapped along the edge of the river, and still, as in a savage hate of man, over whom ithad for once triamphed, flung its sparks and brands farther, further into the water, trying to plant some messenger of de- struction where it longed to be itself, By the glare of its burning the night became a mock- rey of day in its abnormal, shifting light. Was there no foothold on which it could cross? This was the question asked by the fire. ‘The bridges! the bridges!” shouted the multitude, and one by one their ponderous ligneous lengths were swong around and left heading up and down the stream. At length the fre answered its questions by flinging a shower of burning brands upon the Adams street bridge, and the wind, the friend of the fire, fanned jhem_ util | th the bridge was all aflame. Now it iad. a shorter distance to leap, and with a savage bound the fire was in the heart of the city—in its fat, rich heart, where aclive wealth had piled its palaces of commerce and housed its treasures in with fron and stone and thought it was free from the sweep of flood or flame. Eastward the fire journeyed with its fevered stride, eating like © withering canker throagh the yilals of the ~ Sr. Ie was not long before ‘the ~ Michigtn snd Southern depot had risen up im smoke and blaze and fell in ruins, scattering a deeper volume of destruction aronnd than ever before. Now northward the hell angel strode to the empo- rium of rich prodace it was longing for. Now it bung around s bank, barst open its doors, shivered ite windows, scorched throngh its roof and toiled and burned its flercest till the great safe—ab, the safe! bad succumed to its blasting, melting breath, The fire bells all over the city were booming continually—s terrible tocsin, with the one word fire in its scorching throat. The people had but to wake to know what was the matter, The danger seemed everywhere. Out in the street, half clad, dragging what could be snatched in the hurry of flight, the strong man, the half-fainting women, the children with ter- ror pictured in their wide-open eyes, all hur. rying, with ‘nowhere to go.” All the fire force in the city wae combating the flames as fearlessly ae brave men with their hearths and homes at stake well might, Without regard | tq whom it reached the pagting fire licked "send out ite vandal breese, M/CH/GAN CANAL and consumed hotels and stores. Now the Court House, now the Sherman Hotel, the Western Union Tele- graph Company’s office, then the Tremont House, next the Chamber of Commerce, anon far-famed Farwell Hall—whatever lay in its fated path—until it flung itself upon the great Union depot with its spread of buildings, and had sacked with ita cremating arms the corn-stored grain ele- vators by the lake and river side. Again it met the water and again it leaped them landing on the north side of the town. Here it had nothing to atay its steps. Wooden honses were but fuel in ite way, and greedily it enveloped and devoured them. On- ward for a mile it stretched as the day broke, fear before and ruin and ashes bebind. Animals burst forth from keeping and rushed blind among the flames, adding to the terror of the scene as they gave forth their cries of dread. The homeless began to multiply in number throngh the blackened light of morning that paled but did not subdue the flames. A hor- rid thought flashed to the mind of all. “The water works are in danger if the wind lives,” Up to Chicago avenue the fire raged unabated in its fary, The rumor that haman beings were perishing in the flames became a certainty, and what made the agony deeper was that none could tell how many. Can it ever be told? Eastward from Chicago avenue, with the whole portion of the city to the south one seething, reeking sea of fire, it went and suddenly the water supply failed, It was aid that the water works were burned. It was denied, reaffirmed and again denied. The men in power, with the Mayor at their head, were acting with the greatest energy. To the other cities of the West went forth a cry for firemen, and one and all the cities responded. To the world went out the simple tragic demand, which, in ite breyity and pith alone tells its harrowing story:—“Send us food for the suffering. Our city is in ashes,” Houses were blown down that the fire might be arrested, but it seized on the débris and burned that too, Would the wilting wind never die? It did not fall, it only changed, asif it had exhausted all the demons whence it came and then had called upon the North to It came and the beart of the sity was fanned afresh, and os oight fl) it swept down again upon the sonth ani dashed its torches againat the homes of the wealthy on Wabash and Michigan avenues. Down it came, an incendiary avalanche of fire. Not a theatre, hotel, newspaper office, or any building, pretentious or unpretentions, was spared. It is still raging southward, below the streets upon our map, and will not be sated until it has died in the funeral pyre of the greatest city of the West. Its damage cannot be estimated. It may count from $50,000,000 to $150,000,000, but its most ap- palling items of loss which touch the heart and wring our sympathies will be that, perhaps, of hundreds of lives, the loss of homes and shel- ter to those who have toiled and hoped through years to a competency only to find it frittered in anight, in the shivering women and chil- dren, in the nakedness and hunger of gaunt poverty staring 100,000 souls in the face. Itis a terrible visitation, a dire catastrophe! May God, who rides on the whirlwind and directs the storm, stay the terrors of His hand. Let man, woman and child solace those whom He has stricken, AID FOR THE SUFFERERS. ‘Work for the Rellef Association in Ciacinnati— Prompt Ferwarding ef Supplice—Blunkets, Crackers, Savenges and Dollars Hurried Ferward—The Risks in the Cincinsat! In. eurance Offices, far CINCINNATI, Oct. 9, 1871, ‘The Chicago news to-day paralyzed public in- dustry, Business was generally neglected, and the citizens turned out en masse wo hear tho Jatest in- telligence from the burning city. Newspaper offices were crowded to excess al day and are to-night thickly surrounded by people whose expressions of sadness and commiseration revive the memory of the war, when news of defent reached the loyal masses, Private subscriptions started by the Chamber of Commerce foot up $100,000, The City Counell passed a resolution to appropriate $100,000, A com- mittee of the most wealthy and imfuential citizens are acting as receivers and disbursera, Three large steam tire engines, four hose reels and 4,000 feet of hose were despatched by special train at eleven A, M., and reached Chicago at six P. M. by special train. A second special train left at five P. M. with 4,000 bianketa, 150 barrels crackers, 4,000 pounds bread, 5,000 pounds dried beef, 3,000 pounds san sages and $10,000 cash, It will reach Chicago a lute after midnight, and committees are receiving cooked food, the donations of tadies, which will be went by reguiar train in the morning. The reef movement was inspired by Gevernor hayes, who came down from Columbus early thig morning, and Jshored with an energy and effectiveness worthy the Uighest commendation, Shelter tents were telegraphed for, but the gov- ernment has no store here, and the despatch was sent w Washington for an order on Jeffersonville, where there are immense numbers, Of course they will not be withheld. The following is a list of Cni- cago risks by Cincinnati insurance companies:— Merchants and Manufacturers’, $27,000; Globe, $30,000; Commercial, $41,000; Eureka, $4,500; Evans, Lindsay & Cassilly’s agencies, $299,000; Miamt Valley, $50,000; Washington, $60,000; Union, $25,000; People’s, $25,000; Burnet, $11,000; Cincin- nati, $60,000; Franklin, $15,500; Fire and Marine $30,000. The Andes say they will be able to meet all their losses, The Etna’s risks are not known in the Cincinnati office. They were all taken on the parent office in Hartford, Coan. The Aid Movement in Buffalo—One Hun- dred Thousand Dollars Promised— Insur- ance Companies Supposed to be velved. BUFFALO, Oct. 9, 1871. ‘The Chicago fire is the princtpal topic of «discus. sion among all classes, Business on the docks ts entirely suspended. Crowds of people now sur- round the telegraph oMices asking for the last re- port. ‘The President of the Board of Trade states that Buffalo will contribute $100,000 in cash. Fears are entertained that the Western, Buffalo City ana the Buffalo Fire and Marine Insurance Companies of this city wi!l have to suspend in con- sequence, Superintendent J. Tillinghast, of the New York Central Railroad, and Super- intendent Hatch, of the Lake Shore, have issued orders that contributions intended for Chicago be forwarded by fast train free. The City Council at a regular meeting this after- noon authorized the issue of $100,000 of city bonds for the immediate use of the Chicago sufferers, A committee of the Council leave to-night with a car- load of provisions for Chicago. The officers and exhibitors at the International Industrial Exnibt- tion raised ten thousand loaves of bread, to be forwarded at once for the relief of the sufferers, Owens’ bakery, the largest im the city, nas been asuthor- ized by the city oMcials to commence withont delay and bake night and day andl further orders for Chicago, The excitement here ts intense, and the sympathy of the citizeus of all classes te thoroughly aroused, Denations from Obie and Seuthern Cities. CINcINWATI, Oct, 9, 1871, Announcements are coming in from ail parts of the West and Southwest of liberal subscriptions of Money and provisions for the sufferers at Chicago. ‘Trains laden with fire engines and provisions are being sent there from all points, with promises of more to follow, Wheeling, Columbus, Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit, Indianapolis, Terre Haute, Evans- ville, Mempbis and Nashville, ag well as iarger cities, are contributing liveraily, The Odd Fellows in fechester Send Aid. Rocnestgr, N. Y,, Oct 9, 1871, Toronto Lodge, No, 8, I. 0. of 0, F., contributed this evening $250 to the sufferers by the great fire im Chicago, The other lodges of the order in tnis city propose making similar donations. Ifthe ad- dress of the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the State of Lnots was made public by telegraph It Would facilitate the sending of funda, The citizens Of Rochester manifest much concern about the Chicago fire, aad extra precautions have been taken sqainat Are jm thus city, Menseree are peng instituted to hold a public meeting in relation ta this terrible disaster. Elizabeth (N. ) Gives Her Mire. Exizapern, N. J., Oct, 9, 187, The City Connct!i met to-night and unanimously voted an appropriation of $1,000, to be forwarded ta the Mayor of Chicago, toward relieving the suffererd by the great Ore. They also passed resolutions of sympathy, and adjourned without doing any oust. neas, after Senator Willy, the President, had ap~ pointed a committee to collect, donations from the citizens for the same object. The Transportation of Sapplies Over Wester Railways. New York, Oct, 9, 187. , The officers of the Great Western and Michigan Central Ratlroads also announce that they will transport, free of charge, from Suspension Bridge to Chicago, all supplies addressed to tne Mayor of Chicago, contributed for the relief of the sufferera from the great fire. DESTRUCTION OF THE GOVERNMENT RECORDS. WASHINGTON, Oct, 10, 187. From despatches received here to-day it t¢ learned that the records of the Custom House and nternal revenue offices at Chicago have been de troyed. Even if it be any longer possibie to ascere tain the public debtors and the amounts of thelr Indebtedness, collections can scarcely be enforced against a bankrupt community. In the face of sa ruinous @ disaster Congress may feel warranted in giving expression to the national saympathy by remitting the collection of taxes for @ year, at least, The large sums involved in unsettled and disputed revenue cases are lost to the Treasury beyond question. Seventeen national banks, repre- senting @ capital of $1,000,000, are threatened with insolvency through the destruction of tne material security for their investments ana the collaterat basis of their large temporary loans. The records of the Military Division of the Missouri, including those transferred from General Shermén’a former headquarters at St. Louis, have snared the common fate. These were principally of value im connection with Indian affairs, and it is not expect~ ed that any practical injury will result from their destruction. The papers and vouchers per- taining to the Montana Indian war claime are also lost, but the gross amount of those committee of Congress, and the amounts due to claimants can be determined with suMicient accuracy. Chicago was one of the largest depots of the Quartermaster and Commis} sary Departments for supplying the posts inthe Northwestern Territories, and those departments have probably lost considerable quantities of army supplies. From feapatches received here this evening It &p- pears that the county land records of Cook county have veer destroyed, and i will be impossible to escape mach future litigation over~ titles to real estate of Chicago. A large portion of that city was once included in the military reser va tuon, which was some thirty years ago laid, cut and sold by the war debartment. Tho record of those gales is anporstood to be no longer in possession of that department and It nas not been there for many years, nor can any Information be suppited from the geueral land oMce. ot the ‘The Grand Master of the Freemasons mbia has ordered a special te Dy for tomorrow Right to rand Lod, PR... for ‘extending ‘Masonic mity of the ill-fated city. CONTINUED ON SIXTH AND NINTH PAGES,