A century has passed since Mrs. O'Leary's cow made her legendary kick at a lantern and touched off the Great Chicago Fire-time enough, one would think, to get the story straight. Now, in observation of the conflagration's Oct. 8 anniversary, the Chicago Association of Commerce and Industry has published a new version of what happened.
In the association's account, the cow was not the culprit. The guilty party was a one-legged neighbor of Mrs. O'Leary, Dennis ("Peg Leg") Sullivan, who went to the O'Leary barn for a nightcap, lit his pipe and ignited the hay. As he tried to flee, his peg...
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