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Writing from Lake Forest on October 19, young Justin and
his brother attempted to save their home from flying sparks by putting water on the roof before
their family had to flee. He described the scene depicted above: "We tried to get a wagon
but could not so we put two trunks on a wheelbarrow and each of us shouldered a bundle
and we marched for the old skating park I leading my goat." This charming sketch of their
adventures, in which Justin proudly labeled himself "ME," does not capture the full terror
of the experience. According to the letter, they lost a trunk, were lashed by wind and sand,
and Justin's mother's clothes caught fire.
It is likely that Justin's last name was Butterfield. In his memoir, Judge
Lambert Tree wrote, "Accordingly, my wife, son, father, sister, the mother of Mrs.
Bliss, the French girl, and myself, and also Mr. and Mrs. Butterfield, their
daughter Clara, and their son Justin, with his pet goat, which he had been carefully
trying to shelter and protect through the day, all packed ourselves into the
wagon and started for the West Side."
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A Visual Record 