In October 1997, the City Council of
Chicago passed a resolution stating that both Mrs. Catherine
O'Leary and her cow, Naomi, were not responsible for the
fire that destroyed Chicago during the last century. Many from
the news media interviewed Mrs. O'Leary's relatives for
their feelings in the wake of this declaration of her innocence.
While the interviews were interesting, there were
one-sided-only Mrs. O'Leary's relatives. The
descendents of her cow were never asked about how they felt.
After much research in the archives of the Holstein Association
located in Brattleboro, VT, I was able to trace the relatives of
Mrs. O'Leary's cow. Naomi's nearest relative lives
on a small farm at the last turnoff of a county road in Northern
Indiana. John Sanders, a dairy farmer, owns one of the
descendents of the cleared cow.
John was gracious enough to allow me to talk
with his cow but was a little concerned about being beset by a
hoard of media types. He doesn't want all the commotion of
their trucks, cameras, and lights disrupting his quiet farm. He
would prefer that the media quote from this interview instead of
stopping by his homestead. The use of this interview would allow
his cows the peace and quiet necessary for good milk production.
I would ask that you honor his request. Anyone interested in the
cow's story may reproduce this interview with my permission.
Merely footnote where you obtained the material. Thank you.
Al: Thank you for allowing me to
interview you. John told me that your name is Elvira: How did you
get that name?
Elvira: You must be kidding. Just
move back and take a good look at me. Don't I look like an
Elvira to you? I'm a prize-winning Holstein. I normally
produce eight gallons of milk a day. That's more milk than
other cows although my butterfat is only 3.5%. For years, farmers
have used us for bringing up the volume of milk that they take to
the creamery. I come by my name honestly-see what I mean?
Al: Well, now that you mentioned it, you
do look like an Elvira: May I call you Elvira?
Elvira: Sure.
Al: I can call you, Elvira, and Elvira,
when you call me, you can call me, Al.
Elvira: That has a nice sound to
it.
Al: Elvira, you have probably heard that
the City Council of Chicago exonerated Mrs. O'Leary and
Naomi for the Great Chicago Fire. As one of the descendents of
the absolved cow, what can you tell me about your feelings
regarding the decision to clear your family's name?
Elvira: I certainly appreciate your
willingness to talk with me. All the other writers interview the
relatives of Mrs. O'Leary. However, my forebears were there
in the barn that night, and several of them were killed. We feel
like the press has ignored us. My relatives and I didn't
like being made scapegoats, as it were, for an accident committed
by humans late that night, the 8th of
October 1871. As far as I'm concerned, the City
Council's decision is long overdue. However, I guess that
it's better late than never.
Al: What actually happened 126 years ago
in Mrs. O'Leary's barn? If it wasn't Naomi's
fault, whose fault was it?
Elvira: Family tradition has it that
the fire started around 9pm Sunday night. The now debunked story
of the origins of the fire was that it was started by one of my
relatives. Naomi was supposed to have kicked-over a lantern while
Mrs. O'Leary was milking her. Now, I ask you, have you ever
been on a dairy farm?
Al: Yes, as a matter of fact, I spent
many summers of my youth on a farm owned by my relatives in
Oxford, PA. They milked about fifty head, and most were
Holsteins.
Elvira: That's great. Then you
will be able to answer this question. When did they milk the
cows? 9pm?
Al: No, it was always late in the
afternoon. We milked at 5am and then again in the evening about
5pm. Milking of the herd took place every twelve hours.
Elvira: That's right. Imagine
what a cow would feel like after eating all day from early
morning to 9pm! If you had an utter, you'd feel like you
were going to explode. An hour past milking time, I get to feel
downright uncomfortable-believe me.
Al: Elvira, believe me, I can only
imagine. However, if it wasn't an accident while milking a
relative of yours, how did the fire start from your historical
perspective?
Elvira: While it is clear that those 126 years
have blurred the real truth, there are some things that we do
know. My relative wasn't being milked at 9pm, and she
didn't kick over the lantern in the barn at 137 Dekoven St.
That's for sure. However, there are several rather plausible
theories about the possible origins of the fire.
The first is that Daniel "Peg
Leg" Sullivan was responsible for the fire that burned over
2000 acres of the city. Peg Leg was the first on the scene.
Perhaps, he was already there and accidentally started the fire
by careless smoking, or he could have kicked-over the lantern.
Some suggest that he might have been drinking too much that night
and accidentally started the fire himself.
On the other hand, Peg Leg's story is
that he was sitting on his front porch and saw the fire just
after it started. That was impossible because, according to
documents of the time, existing buildings would have blocked his
vision. My relatives confirm this also; he couldn't have
seen the barn at all-they never saw him sitting on his porch
as he alleges. In addition, how could someone with a wooden leg
arrive upon the scene before anyone else was able to get there?
He had to have already been in the barn when the fire started.
Reports were that he rescued a cow. That cow, a relative of mine,
passed down her eyewitness report to her offspring and they in
turn to the next generation. In the process the story got
confused and altered over time.
Al: You said that several theories had
come down over the years about the great Chicago fire.
Elvira: Yes, another possibility was
that some boys were playing cards and drinking in the barn that
night. Peg Leg could have been one of them. However, a man named
Louis Cohn actually claimed that he had been gambling in the
hayloft that night. In fact, after his death in the early 1940s,
someone found in his journal this confession of sorts, "When
I knocked over the lantern, I was winning." He surely must
have had a hot hand-hotter than he knew at the time.
An interesting aside to the Cohn
story is that there is some evidence that suggests that James
O'Leary, the youngest son of Catherine, was one of the boys
gambling with Cohn on that infamous night. It's funny how
Mrs. O'Leary and her cow get exonerated and in the process,
her son gets implicated. If this story of the boys gambling in
the hayloft is true, they were responsible of the destruction of
over 18,000 buildings and leaving over 100,000 Chicagoans
homeless. It shouldn't be a surprise that they would have
wanted to implicate someone else or some cow for starting the
fire.
James grew up to become Big Jim
O'Leary, a notorious and successful gambler. He was a
gambling entrepreneur. He started off-track gambling parlors and
his casino on South Halsted was one of the première gambling
houses in the Midwest. However, he never owned up to being there
in the barn that night, but Louis Cohn did. It has taken 126
years to get my family's name cleared of that holocaust.
Al: Are there other theories that you
have heard over the years from your relatives?
Elvira: Actually, yes. Another conjecture has
come down through the family that blamed a comet for that
cataclysmic fire. It had been a particularly dry
summer-everything was brown and just waiting for a spark.
This wasn't the only fire that night. In fact, some of my
Wisconsin relatives told me about a really bad fire at Peshtigo,
which allegedly was caused by a comet. Some have speculated that
a comet might have started both the Peshtigo and Chicago fires.
The resultant fire in Wisconsin caused many times more deaths
than the one in Illinois. They also told me about other fires
around the same time in several other places worldwide including
Siberia. I don't know about this theory-I'm not
into extraterrestrial theories-but who knows. Stranger
things have happened.
Whatever the cause of the Chicago
fire, it caused 200-300 deaths in that three-square-mile area. I
have heard it said that a third of the city's valuation went
up in smoke during the fire.
Al: Well, at least you and your
relatives are off the hook for starting the fire.
Elvira: True. I have had a beef about
this for a long time. My follow cows have been maligned for years
in history books and by the media. Either we get bad press or no
press. Sometimes, I wish that I lived in India.
Move a little closer, I want to tell you
something on the Q.T. This is just between you and me. John is a
good guy. He feeds and treats us well. However, I think that even
John buys that old lie about Naomi starting the fire. When you
get a chance, look in the barn. You won't see a lantern
anywhere. I think that he feels that he is playing it safe not
having a lantern around milk cows. Old myths die slowly.
Al: Is there anything else that you
would like to get off your chest, as it were, about being cleared
of causing the fire?
Elvira: Aside from the scapegoating
issue? Well, doesn't it strike you somewhat strange that the
Chicago City Council spent all this time and money clearing a cow
while corruption runs like a wild-fire through city government
today? I'm glad my family's name is cleared but get
with it you public officials! We didn't kick over the
lantern years ago nor did we get kickbacks from people doing
business with the city. Talk about hypocrisy! Sure, I'm glad
that we have finally been cleared of the fire, but government
needs to clean up its act if they expect to have any credibility.
Al: Well, Elvira, thank you for taking
the time to give me your thoughts on the action of exonerating
Naomi for causing the great fire. I don't want to cause you
any discomfort by delaying your milking.
Elvira: I guess that John forgot to tell you. I'm expecting in less than three weeks. So, John
hasn't been milking me for months.
Al: That's great. Can I come back
after you deliver and see your baby?
Elvira: Of course, I'd want my
offspring to know you. You're the first of your species to
take time to talk with me about our side of this fire
controversy. Humans often think they are at the center of the
universe. We all share this planet, and our histories are linked
together. We just want our views known.
Al: What do you think that you will
have, a male or female?
Elvira: I don't know-just
as long as it has four cloven hooves.
Al: Have you thought of possible names
for your calf?
Elvira: I haven't given it much thought. I've been too busy getting ready for the
delivery to come up with any names.
Al: I'll try to think of some names
for your calf. Tell John to call me when you deliver.
Elvira: I'll look forward to hearing some
suggestions. John's a good farmer but when it comes to
naming us, he needs some help. He named some of our herd with
numbers-no names just numbers. Can you believe that?
Al: I'll
do my best with some possible names. In the meantime, take care
of yourself and good luck with your delivery. Thanks again for
the interview.
11/97
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