somethings burning

 Chicago burned over 150 years ago today

    The fire started Oct.8 and burned until Oct. 10.

    I just watched a Heather Cox Richardson video on the fire.   It was short, but summed up the situation nicely.

    There were 5 major fires in the midwest that day.  Chicago burned, but the deadliest fire took place in Wisconsin, centered in Peshtigo.  That fire claimed over 1500 lives while the Chicago fire claimed about 350.

    We all know about Mrs. O'Leary amd her cow.  What started as a rumor was soon legitimized  by the people o f the city.

    But she didn't start it.  Nor did her cow.  Possibly a discarded cigar, or a drunk who fell asleep with his cigar were the culprits.....maybe.

    There is a theory that debris from a comet may have caused all the fires, spread throughout the Midwest.

    But there is no evidence that was a cause.

    I used to have a book written by a survivor of the Peshtigo Fire. He was a minister and he and his family jumped into a well one their property as the flames roared overhead.  It was a truly frightening read.

    Others jumped into the Peshtigo River, unfortunately some also drowned trying to escape the flames.

    There is a mass grave in Peshtigo, next to the Fire Museum.  If I remember, some 300 unidentified victims are buried there.

    Jackie and I stopped at the museum twice on our way up to Mackinaw Island.  It is small, because very few items survived the inferno.

    This is the week I traditionally change batteries in all our smoke detectors.  I suggest you do too.

    And if your smoke detectors are older than 7 years I think experts recommend replacing them.

    And stop blaming Mrs O'Leary and her cow!

Peace and Love