# John McMonagle
# Testimony before the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners, session of Tuesday 28 Nov. 1871 (day 5), as reported in the Chicago Tribune of 1871-11-29, page 4
# Source: Library of Congress, Chronicling America (lccn sn82014064): https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn82014064/1871-11-29/ed-1/?sp=4 ; OCR text https://tile.loc.gov/text-services/word-coordinates-service?segment=/service/ndnp/dlc/batch_dlc_clark_ver03/data/sn82014064/no_reel/1871112901/0004.xml&format=alto_xml&full_text=1
# Page-OCR lines 919-956; uncorrected OCR; written 2026-09-14T06:28:05Z.
# STATUS: NEWSPAPER REPORT (reported speech with some direct quotation) -- not the stenographic transcript. 

JOHN M’MONAGLE,
Foreman of the steamer Long John. On going to
e 'i ha a t° o °ived orders from Assistant
sllal f* la S 1° 6° north of the fire, but had
iJ?SS gradually driven away. On telling Mr.
tllat another lira had started on the
South Side, he received orders to go there at
once, and going there found the Economy there
already. When pumping into tho pipes on Mon
day a lino of hose tras sent across tbo river. No in
ducement ‘was offered to force a stream on tho
coal pile from the engine—npQQ him noaitlvpu?
me wamus, Bf* he coma stoea£
M water 6£i uuo eoal pile for an hour. He let the
stream nm for an hour longer, and then turned
it on to the water mains. He denies hayingheard
tmmey being paid to his men for a diver
sion of the stream. Mr. Sheridan said citizens
were complaining that such was tho case, but the
witness denied it most unqualifiedly. The water
was sent across the coal pile on Wednesday. On
m r ?s l ho ll^,? ee ei7c<11113 orders to get to
7 9 r^, al 1110 toot of II ashmgton street to pumn
into the water mains, and tEere the line was at
tached to the coal piles. The horses attached to
the Long John were found at Riverside. All ifis
men were with him except Coffin, who did notre
port until Tuesday morning at the Williams’
house. H® believed that he nad been workin—
with some Ottor company, having been told that
ids engine was burned. All tho rest of his men
were with him, and sober since the first alarm.
He knew that in ail the alleys at tho back ot tho
hanks and big buildings there wore very many
ftamo buddings containing carpenter's shops, en
graver S rooms, and so forth. Saab was the case
with the Oriental Building, and these caught the
sparks shed by the loftier buildings. t tUo