Mrs. Leary's Cow: A Legend of Chicago

"Mrs. Leary's Cow: A Legend of Chicago" by C. C. Hine is a comical narrative poem that imagines how the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 started. Through playful rhymes and entertaining pictures, the story blames Mrs. Leary’s cow, claiming it kicked over a lamp and sparked the disaster. The witty verses follow the unfolding chaos and highlight the challenges of insurance claims and social responses in a time of crisis. The author mixes humor with deeper observations about loss and how people and businesses behaved after the tragic fire. The poem becomes a way to laugh and think about how a city recovers, with a big dose of playful teasing towards insurance companies and human nature when things go wrong.