information about Chicago

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Chicago


The queen of the west


One dark night, when people were in bed
Mrs. O' Leary lit a lantern in her shed,
The cow kicked it over, winked its eye, and said,
There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight






Many don't know that Chicago is not an English word but Algonquian, one of several languages the Native Americans spoke. In that language Chicago meant "strong smell" the reason for this name was that the place occupied by the city today was originally vast fields where the Native Americans grew onion the strong smell of it gave the place its name




Chicago's black day came on Sunday, October 8, 1871, in the west of the city lived Mrs. Catherine O’Leary with her husband, children, a horse, and five cows. That evening Mrs. Catherine's animals were grazing quietly in the back yard of the house at around nine o'clock one of the cows was suddenly bored so it decided to leave the back yard and go to the back barn where there was a kerosene lamp, the cow kicked the lamp so the kerosene spilled and the floor caught on fire and soon the house burned down then the neighbors' houses also burned down. When the firefighters arrived it was too late, they found the fire raging out of control .The wind was strong so the fire spread everywhere. Within an hour the whole city was engulfed with flames.17, 000 buildings were destroyed 300 people were killed. The estimated total of the damage totaled nearly $200 million and left a third of Chicago’s 300,000 residents homeless. Between two and three million books were destroyed from private library collections




Tens of thousands of dollars were pumped into Chicago from all over America to rebuild it, dozens of shelters were opened and they provided food, clothing, and medical care for thousands of homeless families. In a few years Chicago was more beautiful and stronger than before and it was called:Queen of the west




This event is like a scar in a beautiful face recalled by Chicagoans from time to time sorrowfully and emotionally. The word fire acquired a different meaning for them. The fear of fire has led to the city's development of the best firefighting system in the world. A fire fighting academy was established on the site of Mrs. O’Leary house where the great fire started





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