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This illustration, which appeared on November 4, 1871, allegorizes the condition of the
city on the day the fire ended. As in the Armitage painting, Chicago is depicted as an
injured maiden whom the world has come to help, but the mood of this illustration is far
less serene, since the different elements that surround the foreground figures suggest that the
future is uncertain. The setting is a wasteland ambiguously dominated by a fire angel who
carries a club-like torch in her right hand. On the left other maidens fight off predatory
dogs with their bare hands, as crows or vultures hang expectantly overhead.
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Blazing Visions 