Ollie Escapes the Great Chicago Fire Read online

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Chapter 1: A Lucky Break

  Chapter 2: An Unexpected Wake-Up

  Chapter 3: To the South Side

  Chapter 4: Into the Lake

  Chapter 5: New Plans

  The Great Chicago Fire

  Glossary

  Make a Fire Escape Plan

  About the Author

  About the Illustrator

  Copyright

  Back Cover

  Cover

  Title Page

  Table of Contents

  Start of Content

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  back cover

  Chapter 1

  A Lucky Break

  October 8, 1871—Sunday evening

  “Almost finished, Ollie?” Mrs. Burnham called as she came into the parlor.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Ollie said, glancing up from the desk. “We’re just finishing up Leo’s lessons.”

  The Burnhams’ five-year-old son, Leo, looked very relieved about that. He was slouched next to Ollie in his fine mahogany chair, kicking at the legs and sticking out his lip.

  “I’m tired of lessons, Mother,” Leo said.

  Ollie ruffled Leo’s hair. Ollie was proud of himself. He had only been working for the Burnhams for six months, and he was getting better all the time at learning how to manage all his daily duties, which included tending to Leo and giving him his lessons. By now, Ollie figured he was almost as good at his duties as a grown-up would be, even though he was only twelve. He knew how important it was to keep his job. And that meant keeping the Burnhams happy.

  “We can end for today, ma’am,” Ollie said, closing his book. “Leo did well.”

  “Wonderful,” said Mrs. Burnham. “And did you finish polishing the silver?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Ollie stood and helped Leo to his feet. “I’ll get Leo to bed soon. I just need to clean the wagon first. Morris put the horse away already.”

  “Thank you. I’ll come kiss you good night in a bit, Leo,” said Mrs. Burnham, bustling off again.

  “Will you tell me a story, Ollie?” Leo asked, gleeful now. Leo adored Ollie, and looked up to him like a big brother.

  “I sure will,” said Ollie. “I’ll come up as soon as I’ve cleaned the wagon.”

  At least they are a nice family, Ollie thought to himself as he rounded the outside of the Burnhams’ mansion to where the family’s wagon stood. He could see their groom, Morris, leading the horse to the small barn. The Burnham house sat in the Washington Square Park neighborhood of Chicago, near the Mahlon Ogden mansion on Walton Street, which was just as impressive as the Burnhams’. Ollie had never thought he’d see a place this grand, let alone live in it.

  He knew he was lucky that the Burnhams had taken him in. He knew plenty of orphans that hadn’t fared as well. Ollie’s dad had died a few years ago in the Civil War—the war between America’s Northern and Southern states—while fighting for the Union Army in the north. Then, a year ago, his mom had died of a disease that attacks the lungs called tuberculosis. Ollie’s father had been a carriage driver for the Burnhams, who were charitable people. When Ollie’s mother died, they kindly gave Ollie a job helping the footman and the housekeeper. Once they saw how good he was with Leo, they expanded his duties to taking care of Leo, as well.

  Ollie squinted around the neighborhood. The huge elm trees around Washington Square swayed in the hot, dry wind blowing up from the southwest. It hadn’t rained in months. He nervously scanned the sky. Chicago was a busy, bustling place full of wooden buildings and raised wooden sidewalks. Many of the buildings had roofs made of tar or shingles, which caught fire easily. There had been lots of fires in the city lately—more than twenty in just the past week. It was because of the dry air, and because of all the wood.

  Ollie swept out the wagon, making sure there were no traces of dust or dirt, then came back to find Leo waiting for him at the foot of the stairs. Mr. Burnham walked in and gave his young son a smile.

  “Did you learn your numbers with Ollie today, Leo?” Mr. Burnham asked.

  “I learned all the way to one hundred,” Leo said proudly. “But we mostly did reading.”

  “Good boy. Off to bed with you, then,” said Mr. Burnham. “Mother and I will be in to say good night in a moment.”

  Ollie led Leo upstairs to his room and got him dressed for bed.

  “Don’t forget my bedtime story,” Leo said as he climbed into bed.

  Ollie smiled. He set the oil lamp he’d brought up with him onto the table. Then he started telling Leo one of the stories his mother used to tell him, an old fable with witches, kings, and queens.

  Leo listened with wide eyes.

  Ollie never told Leo, but his heart always felt heavy when he told these stories. They made him think of his little sister, Eliza. While Ollie had found employment with the Burnhams, Eliza, who was only eight, had been put into a home for orphans, a few blocks from the courthouse. Ollie had wanted to beg the Burnhams to also take in Eliza, but he knew he was lucky to get the position he had. He could not ask for their charity.

  The Burnhams had given Ollie a chance, but it wasn’t common for wealthy families to adopt the siblings of their servants. He knew several siblings who had been separated after their parents died. Often, older siblings were able to work while younger ones were sent to orphanages. There just weren’t many places for young orphans to go.

  So it was going to be up to Ollie to save Eliza. He had made a plan to work as much as he could and get an education himself. When he had saved up enough money, he would collect Eliza from the orphanage, and he would take care of her. He was all she had.

  The Burnhams let Ollie visit Eliza every Sunday for an hour, so at least he still got to see her. But he missed his sister badly. And he knew she missed him too.

  Little Leo fell asleep before Ollie could finish, which often happened. Ollie tucked him in, grabbed the oil lamp, and left the room, tiptoeing across the wooden floor.

  He headed to his own room, climbing the last flight of stairs to the small attic space.

  Ollie sank down in his little chair. His bones felt tired, like they did at the end of every day. There was a photograph of Eliza on his bedside table. It had been taken after their parents died. Eliza
wore their mother’s beloved silver bracelet on her wrist in the photo, but she had no smile. She had always been so lighthearted when both their parents were alive. But ever since they had died, it was like Eliza’s light had gone out.

  The resolve hardened in Ollie’s heart. He would get her out of the orphanage and keep her with him. And somehow, he’d also find a way to continue his education. He’d earn enough money to take care of Eliza and make sure she was never alone and scared again.

  He pulled out the book he’d borrowed from Mr. Burnham’s wonderful library, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Reading was one of the few luxuries Ollie had. Mr. Burnham knew how much Ollie loved to read, so he let Ollie borrow books. So far, Ollie had read Mark the Match Boy, Little Women, Great Expectations, and Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

  Ollie must have fallen asleep as he read, because the next thing he knew, he was slumped in his chair, and the book had fallen to the floor. His first thought was that he’d done what servants were never supposed to do, which was to fall asleep in their uniform. Servants couldn’t risk getting them wrinkled or torn.

  There was a frantic knocking on the door.

  “Ollie!” Josephine, one of the housemaids, burst into the room. Her face was pale and frightened. “Ollie, there’s another fire! Down south. The family is packing to leave!”

  Chapter 2

  An Unexpected Wake-Up

  “What time is it?” Ollie stumbled to his feet, bleary-eyed. Beyond his open bedroom door, he heard raised voices downstairs.

  “Half past one in the morning,” Josephine said.

  Ollie staggered after her down the stairs, glad he’d broken the rules and fallen asleep in his day clothes—even wearing his shoes.

  The house was in chaos. People were shouting, Leo was crying somewhere, and servants were yelling.

  “Another fire, this one monstrous,” Mr. Burnham called when he saw Ollie. “It’s jumped the south branch of the river. The gasworks exploded more than an hour ago. Some people think it won’t jump the main branch of the river too, but we won’t take chances. The firemen are overwhelmed. Not enough of them, and not enough water! Go and help Morris pack the wagon, Ollie. Quick!”

  “Ollie!” Leo, partly dressed in his day clothes again, ran over wailing and threw himself at Ollie. “Are we all going to burn to death?”

  Ollie gave him a quick hug. “It’s all right, Leo. We’ll make sure none of us burns to death.”

  Ollie left poor little Leo howling in the foyer. He hurtled outside to find Morris loading bundles of clothing and food from the larder onto the wagon, which was already hitched to the horse. The horse was skittish, scuffing the ground, snorting and sniffing the air. Next to the wagon, Morris had piled trunks and more bundles to load.

  To Ollie’s shock, the sky had taken on a strange reddish hue in the south.

  “This is a bad one,” Morris said. “Some folks aren’t worried, but it’s jumped the river once already.”

  “What are they doing?” Ollie cried, pointing toward Walton Street and the Mahlon Ogden mansion. People were piling something against the side of the building.

  “Wet carpet,” Morris explained, heaving a trunk onto the wagon. “To prevent the flames from catching.”

  “But—” Ollie caught his breath, “if the fire is south—I have to get my sister!”

  Eliza was still at the orphanage, right in the path of the fire!

  Before Morris could say anything, Ollie raced inside and found Mr. Burnham.

  “Sir,” he panted. “Please. I need to go and get Eliza. She’s in the path of the fire!”

  For a terrifying moment, Ollie was afraid his master would say no, and that he would be forced to disobey and lose his job in order to save his sister.

  But after a moment, Mr. Burnham nodded.

  “Of course,” he said. “You must go to her, Ollie.”

  Ollie sprinted out of the house and ran south down Clark Street. Eliza’s orphanage was just south of the main branch of the river.

  He saw several people standing on rooftops, watching the fire to the south, shouting that it would never jump the river and come to the North Side. The farther south he went, though, the more chaotic things got. The red in the south sky was creeping north and getting brighter.

  And then he heard a child’s scream behind him. “Ollie!”

  Ollie turned. Leo was standing in the middle of the street!

  Ollie’s heart stopped. “Leo!” he cried, running up to him. “You shouldn’t have come after me!”

  Leo clung to Ollie. “Come back home,” he begged.

  Ollie’s heart thundered even more. He glanced north, toward safety. Could he stash Leo somewhere close by while he ran to get Eliza? Quickly, he realized this was a terrible idea. Across the bridge, buildings were already catching fire. That meant many of them were already collapsing too. But he didn’t have time to bring Leo all the way back to the Burnhams and then turn around again to go get Eliza. A good servant, he knew, would bring Leo back to his parents. But Ollie was not going to let Eliza die. If he wanted to rescue her, it was now or never. With any luck, it would be quick, and then they could just hurry back north.

  “Leo,” he said. “I’ll bring you back to your parents, but first I need to get my sister. If you want to come with me you’ll have to be very brave and run very fast. All right?”

  Leo nodded again and took Ollie’s hand, then batted at the air as more embers rained down on them.

  “Come on!” Ollie said. Together they raced toward the orphanage.

  Chapter 3

  To the South Side

  Ollie crossed the Clark Street Bridge as quickly as he could, pulling little Leo along with him. Already some panicked people were racing north. Ollie and Leo jostled past them as they headed the opposite direction. The heat grew more intense, and Ollie felt his first twinge of doubt. The sky looked like blood in the south. Rooftops burned. His heart lurched. Had he made a mistake in bringing Leo?

  The moment they were off the Clark Street Bridge, he turned left and raced east, toward the orphanage. Swirling embers and whorls of fire drifted through the air, landing on his face and clothes. He did his best to brush them aside, but still they singed his skin. The air was stifling hot, and smoke stung his lungs.

  “Keep your head down and protect your face, Leo!” Ollie called, tightening his grip on the little boy’s hand. He led Leo right into the thick of the crowd, dodging the ash and embers that swirled in the air as thick as snow. He tried not to get trampled by the tide of people stampeding around them and the animals frantically pulling carts.

  Ollie had seen many fires in Chicago, but never anything like this. The South Side was being eaten alive, he could see that much. People were fleeing from the south, screaming and rushing toward the bridges, loaded down with belongings. Some were in carts and wagons, but many were on foot. He passed a fire engine, with several exhausted-looking firefighters trying to hose down a raging rooftop fire. It obviously wasn’t working.

  The orphanage was a few blocks east. Surely they had evacuated the orphans already—but where would they take them?

  For the first time in his life, Ollie saw every kind of person there was in the city, all smashed together. People of all different races. There were poor orphans, like him, next to ladies dressed in fine clothes and jewelry. He saw one lady with a birdcage, and several people helping sick or older relatives. He saw some carrying mattresses on their backs. Other people dropped their belongings in order to run faster against the hot, swirling winds. Everyone wailed and shouted in panic.

  “The opera house is burning!” he heard someone moan.

  “And the courthouse!” someone else yelled.

  The courthouse! Ollie’s heart plunged again.

  Little Leo was red-faced and coughing, but he ran along as quickly as his short legs could carry him. It seemed like it took forever to battle their way to the familiar block with the rickety wooden orphanage.

  “Here it is, Leo!”
Ollie cried.

  Then Ollie gasped. A small part of the orphanage’s roof was already in flames! Ollie knew it was a matter of time before the roof collapsed and the whole building caught fire.

  Then he saw two nuns shepherding some children away from the building. One of them looked up. He recognized her—Sister Margareta, who ran the orphanage.

  He dashed over to them.

  “Where’s Eliza?” Ollie cried.

  “We couldn’t find her,” Sister Margareta said, her face covered in ash and soot. “We got most of the children out, but there were some we couldn’t find. We just came back to look for those. We called and called for her, but she didn’t come. We had to get the others out. I’m sorry, Ollie.”

  Ollie looked at the burning building and balled his fists. “She’s in there! I know she is!”

  “It’s going to collapse, Ollie—you’d best run to safety!” Sister Margareta turned as if to hurry off with her train of children.

  Ollie thought of something. “Please, Sister Margareta, will you watch over Leo for just a moment? This is Leo Burnham, John Burnham’s son. I’m going to find Eliza. Leo, stay with Sister Margareta.”

  Before either of them could protest, Ollie launched into the building. Heat singed his skin, and the dark smoke burned his eyes and lungs, making it hard to see and harder to breathe. He started coughing. He heard the creak of beams.

  “ELIZA!” he screamed, coughing. “It’s me, Ollie!”

  He waded deeper into the smoke, listening to the crackling beams above him. He shouted Eliza’s name again and again.

  After a few horrible seconds, he heard coughing, and then a small voice called out. “O-Ollie?”

  “Eliza!” He plunged toward the voice.

  He pushed past scattered furniture until he got to the back corner. It looked like a roof beam had already fallen. And the voice was coming from underneath it!

  “Ollie, I’m stuck!” he heard the voice say.

  He staggered toward her. The small, sooty figure of Eliza was crumpled in the corner. A fallen beam had pinned her leg to the floor. Above them, more beams creaked as the fire crawled over the roof.

  “I tried to run after everyone, but this fell on me,” she gasped.

  Coughing even harder, almost blind now from the smoke, Ollie bent and grabbed the beam. With all his might, he hoisted it off her leg. It was so heavy his back and legs ached from the effort, but he let out a sigh of relief when he saw Eliza wriggle out from under it.