One of the most famous disasters in 1871 was the Great Chicago Fire. Only one person started the fire and that was Daniel “Pegleg” Sullivan. He went to the bran to get some more beer for the people who attended the party.. There are lots of great reasons he started the fire, for one, He started it by kicking over a lantern while he was going to get some more beer for the people at the O’Leary’s party. Another, He accidentally dropped his smoke pipe with some fire still burning inside, remember, the whole city was entirely made of wood, then it would easily catch on fire.
Lastly, he did start the fire, but didn’t want to signal any signs that he did so, everyone thought it wasn’t him, but another reason. He started the fire by knocking down a lantern when he went to get some beer for the people at the party. In the article “What ‘or Who’ caused the Great Chicago Fire” it says, “The board also questioned a suspect named Daniel Sullivan, who lived directly across from the O’Leary’s on DeKoven Street, and who had first alerted Patrick O’Leary to the fire.
Sullivan, known as “Peg Leg” for his wooden limb, said he had attended the party and left about half past nine. As he stepped out into the night, he said, he saw a fire in the O’Learys’ barn. He ran across the street hollering,’Fire, fire, fire! ” He was at the party, but didn’t say anything about how the fire started by him. So, he really didn’t tell the truth. If he was telling the truth then, Mrs. O’Leary would have never gotten framed for milking Daisy, the cow, in the middle of the night because who will milk their cow in the night when everyone else is sleeping?
There is no possible way that Mrs. O’Leary did it because she didn’t need money to be able to afford her house and all of the animals’ food. She wouldn’t have done it just to get revenge or because she needed money, so she never did it. If she did do it, then everyone will have evidence, but no one has a person’s opinion/perspective or footage of the occurrence. Sure, it started in the O’Leary’s barn but, that doesn’t specifically means she did it. So maybe Daniel “Pegleg” Sullivan did it.
He accidentally dropped his pipe, so the fire that was still burning inside it was what caused the fire to spread all over Chicago. In the article “Stories and Legends” it states that Daniel “Pegleg” was lying, “Daniel “Pegleg” Sullivan testified that he had been two houses down from the barn when he had seen the fire ignite. He had sprinted 200 feet to the barn and attempted to rescue the animals before having to leave to save his own life. But that story seems impossible to be true, as there would have been a house and a high fence in his line of sight.
Also, it seems difficult to believe that he sprinted 200 feet on a wooden leg in a time as fast as he said he did. So some theorists think that Sullivan caused the fire himself, either by kicking over a lantern, dropping his pipe, or through some other method. ” If he really did save the cows they would already be dead as soon as he got there, or they would be almost dead and starting to heat up. If he has a peg leg and runs to the cows then he will be there not as fast as he said he did. So, he was lying just to seem like a hero or trying to brag about “saving the cows” because he didn’t.
The comet didn’t cause the Chicago Fire because how could one come strike in the middle of the night when everyone was sleeping? There is no scientific evidence that the comet did it because if there was a piece of evidence that was scientifically true then, everyone would believe that theory is true instead of Mrs. O’Leary starting the fire. So if the comet didn’t start the fire who did, Daniel “Pegleg” Sullivan did it. He did start the fire but, didn’t want to say he did.
In the article “Odds Improve That A Hot Game Of Craps In Mrs. O’leary’s Barn Touched Off Chicago Fire” it states the proof of the real culprit,”These inconsistencies led Bales to conclude that Peg Leg had actually started the fire himself, perhaps while feeding his own family cow on the O’Learys’ hay, and lied to cover it up. ” He did start the fire but, just lied to the people and they actually believed him but, he was the only one who knew the truth. Louis Cohn didn’t start the fire because if he wanted to cau the fire there must be a reason to do it or it would have been an accident.
Luis would have proof or would explain what happened if he did start the fire. Could he have started the fire? Maybe if there was enough evidence to make us believe Pegleg is the one to blame. Make sure to consider that everyone was asleep and didn’t know what was happening and everyone was tired and didn’t want to go anywhere. Is “Pegleg” the one to blame about this hot night? YES! Always remember that he had the materials to start this catastrophe and the whole city was made of wood. One day in the future, the mystery will be revealed to the world and everyone will know.
