It was the completeness of the wreck; the total desolation which met the eye on every hand; the utter blankness of what had a few hours before been so full of life, of associations, of aspirations, of all things which kept the mind of a Chicagoan so constantly driven.
Who Said It
Elias Colbert and Everett Chamberlin Chicago and the Great Conflagration, 1871
Added Wed, Mar 11 2009 at 11:15PM UTC by