Homeless Citizens Taking Refuge from the Flames

Homeless Citizens Taking Refuge from the Flames

Homeless Citizens Taking Refuge from the Flames among the Ruins, 1871
(Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper) The Refugees

Few experiences elicited such a wide range of response as the gatherings of refugees caused by the fire. To some they were a moment in which social and economic distinctions were forgotten in a cooperative democratic community. To others they represented forced contact with strangers and the poor in an unstable and dispiriting situation where there was no protection or regulation.
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Lambert Tree, whose home was on Ohio Street between Cass and State, was one of the most distinguished North Division residents. He went downtown to save as much as he could from his office by the Courthouse, and when he crossed back over the State Street bridge it was already on fire. He and his family soon were forced to head to the lake for safety. They later hired a wagon to carry them to the West Division. Of the people huddled on the lake shore, Tree wrote: "The crowd itself was a study. In some instances whole families were huddled around their little piles of furniture, which was all they had left that morning of their yesterday's home. Here and there a mother sat upon the ground clinging to her infant, with one or more little ones, who, exhausted by the prolonged interruptions to their slumbers, were now sleeping, with their heads reclining on her lap, as peacefully as if nothing unusual was transpiring. Several invalids lay helplessly stretched upon mattresses, but still surrounded by relatives and friends, who were endeavoring to soothe their fears. One young girl sat near me, with a cage containing a canary bird on her lap, whose life she was seeking to protect. She had covered the cage with her shawl, and from time to time raised it to see if the bird was all right. An hour or two later, while she was moving to a place of greater safety, I saw her little pet tumble from its perch to the bottom of the cage. It was dead; and the poor child, who doubtless had met her first sorrow, burst into tears."


	Homeless Citizens Taking Refuge from the Flames among the Ruins, 1871 (Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper)	The Refugees
	Few experiences elicited such a wide range of response as the gatherings of refugees caused by the fire. To some they were a moment in which social and economic distinctions were forgotten in a cooperative democratic community. To others they represented forced contact with strangers and the poor in an unstable and dispiriting situation where there was no protection or regulation. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Lambert Tree, whose home was on Ohio Street between Cass and State, was one of the most distinguished North Division residents. He went downtown to save as much as he could from his office by the Courthouse, and when he crossed back over the State Street bridge it was already on fire. He and his family soon were forced to head to the lake for safety. They later hired a wagon to carry them to the West Division. Of the people huddled on the lake shore, Tree wrote: "The crowd itself was a study. In some instances whole families were huddled around their little piles of furniture, which was all they had left that morning of their yesterday's home. Here and there a mother sat upon the ground clinging to her infant, with one or more little ones, who, exhausted by the prolonged interruptions to their slumbers, were now sleeping, with their heads reclining on her lap, as peacefully as if nothing unusual was transpiring. Several invalids lay helplessly stretched upon mattresses, but still surrounded by relatives and friends, who were endeavoring to soothe their fears. One young girl sat near me, with a cage containing a canary bird on her lap, whose life she was seeking to protect. She had covered the cage with her shawl, and from time to time raised it to see if the bird was all right. An hour or two later, while she was moving to a place of greater safety, I saw her little pet tumble from its perch to the bottom of the cage. It was dead; and the poor child, who doubtless had met her first sorrow, burst into tears."