Money and Water Start to Flow

Tuesday, October 17, 1871

General Sheridan assures Mayor Mason that rumors of arson, shootings, and vigilante lynchings are without basis.  The troops and the volunteers will continue to patrol Chicago for another week.  The national banks in the city have now re-opened for business.  Recent rains have lowered anxieties about additional fires.  The Board of Health bans the use of water closets until water service is restored.  The repaired engines in the waterworks on Chicago Avenue start operating in the evening, and water is flowing to the South Division the next day.  Pressure will become uneven as the Board of Public Works tries to extend service, and there are complaints about non-essential use of water creating shortages for vital purposes.  In the absence of gas, people are resorting to candles and kerosene.  The Board of Education meets and resolves to open the public schools, to whatever extent possible, the coming Monday.