Chapter 364

Chapter 364: Burning

On the night of October 8, 1873, chaos engulfed Chicago, the city on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. The entire city was awake, and its skyline was ablaze. People from all over Chicago had gathered on the West Side, watching in shock and horror.

Chicago, often called "The Windy City," was now a sea of flames, with the sky lit up by the fiery inferno. Buildings collapsed, flames soared into the heavens, and thick smoke billowed into the night.

The Chicago branch of Hechingen Bank, led by its President, Odyssey, and a group of employees, stood on the third floor of their bank, gazing at the devastating scene. Even amidst the chaos, they had to strengthen security to protect the bank. The security team patrolled the premises armed with guns.

Odyssey couldn't help but comment, "Oh, God bless! Fortunately, the low property prices in Chicago have saved us."

The Hechingen Bank Chicago branch had an unusual location, situated in a less developed area of the city. This peculiar location allowed them a clear view of the fire consuming downtown Chicago.

Chicago, once a small town founded in 1834 with a population of fewer than 1,000, had rapidly transformed into a bustling city after the Civil War. Factors such as agriculture, animal husbandry, forest resources, iron mining, canal and railway connections, and the meatpacking industry had led to a population boom, with Chicago boasting 350,000 residents within a few decades. It had earned the title of "the slaughterhouse of the world" due to its dominance in the global meat trade.

In stark contrast, the cities of the Central Province in the East African Kingdom, including First Town, Dar es Salaam, and Bagamoyo, had much smaller populations. Combined, they could barely match half of Chicago's population. The United States, with its allure for immigrants from around the world, was a land of opportunity, attracting people from diverse backgrounds, including the UK, Ireland, Poland, Sweden, Germany, Italy, China, India, and more.

The development of Chicago was impressive and left East African cities feeling comparatively inadequate. The Chicago branch of Hechingen Bank, despite its suboptimal location, had still managed to attract customers due to the bank's growing reputation in North America.

The bank's initial argument for choosing the West Side location, based on cheap land prices, was easily debunked. The cost of land redevelopment in this area could have easily matched the cost of a more desirable downtown location.

In fact, the North American headquarters of Hechingen Bank had ample financial resources. It had even constructed a luxurious seven-story building in Manhattan, demonstrating its financial strength and garnering the trust of depositors.

The German-speaking community in the United States, which constituted a significant customer base, played a crucial role in the bank's success. Many wealthy German businessmen and individuals chose to deposit their funds with Hechingen Bank, making it a favored institution. The checks issued by Hechingen Bank could be directly exchanged in Europe, making it a convenient choice for remittances.

However, despite the benefits of this customer base and the bank's financial strength, the decision to keep the Chicago branch in the less-developed West Side had perplexed Odyssey and many others. It was a choice that seemed motivated by cost savings, even though the North American headquarters had more than enough resources.

Today, as Chicago burned in the distance, Odyssey found himself surprisingly grateful for the West Side location of their branch. He praised the North American headquarters and expressed deep sympathy for the tragic situation faced by their colleagues in the city.

The Chicago branch of Hechingen Bank had initially undertaken measures to replace wooden structures in the surrounding area with masonry. Chicago was known for its extensive use of wood, both in its buildings and even its roads and sidewalks. However, it wasn't until the Chicago Tribune criticized the city's wooden structures as "fire traps" that concerns about the risk of fires began to arise.

The situation worsened when Chicago experienced a drought, with no rainfall since July. The city's wooden buildings and structures, vulnerable to fire, became a significant hazard. It wasn't until the night of October 8 that disaster struck, with fires breaking out both within the city and in nearby forests, sparking widespread destruction.

The cause of the fires remained unknown, and Chicago found itself engulfed in flames, becoming one of the most devastating fires in American history.

(End of this chapter)