Warning: Undefined variable $num in /home/shroutdo/public_html/courses/wp-content/plugins/single-categories/single_categories.php on line 126

Warning: Undefined variable $posts_num in /home/shroutdo/public_html/courses/wp-content/plugins/single-categories/single_categories.php on line 127

the reading of the week, “Did the Cow Do It? A New Look at the Cause of the Great Chicago Fire” by Richard Bales, revolves around breaking the myth that a cow supposedly started the firestorm that swept Chicago.  Bales faced the problems that arise in history, in which stories and gossip turned into fact due to lack of contrary evidence. and as the years pass by, it becomes into truth because there is very little confrontation against it.  as jessicabode mentions, Bales does a great job in using primary sources in his writings, from people that lived there. in addition, he also had access to The Chicago Times from the time of the Chicago fire, tracking down one of the sources that spread the myth of the cow.  Bale spent a lot of time reconstructing the event by using witness and newspaper accounts that were in microfilm.  i find it very interesting that he admits that the odds are stacked against him because the fire took place over a 100 years ago, meaning that key information to finding out the truth is lost forever because it was destroyed or hidden away due to being forgotten.  yet this should not deter historians from attempting to find out the truth, either actually finding out what truly happened or clearing away the myth that has evolved around the historical event. by doing research that answers questions, in this case finding out who started the fire, allows us to better understand the past rather than just simply accepting stories as the historical truth.