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| You can appreciate the advantage of a lake with the descriptor "Crystal" |
Just
got back from the kitchen where I filled my glass with crushed ice from the
automatic dispenser on the refrigerator and added some ice-cold water as
well. We take the simplicity of both ice
and water for granted these days. Meat stays frozen until we need to throw it on
the grill, and milk is always cold and fresh.
Back
in the middle of the nineteenth century things were far different, and
Chicagoans trying to get through the sizzling days of summer depended on the
iceman, working for companies that had harvested ice during the long winter and
stored it until it was needed.
Places
as far away as Lake Geneva in Wisconsin and Wolf Lake in Indiana furnished ice
for the city, ice that was the product of fresh, unpolluted lakes in the middle
of the countryside. Clearly, though, it was far cheaper to harvest
ice from the river that ran right through the middle of the city and store it
in warehouses that were right on that river.
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| Ice Harvest on Lake Calumet (Chicago Daily News Archive) |
There
was only one problem, though. The river
was really, really filthy. One can
clearly see that from a letter written to The
Chicago Tribune and published on this date, March 24, in 1858.
Referring
to an earlier article that listed the establishments polluting the river, the
writer named, one after another, the businesses that dumped their waste into
the stream that ran along their property lines. On the North Branch there was
a large slaughterhouse near Clybourne Avenue, and next to it was a hog feeding
establishment where at least a thousand hogs were kept. Then came a glue factory next to which were
two ice houses.
There
then came a half dozen tanneries where sheep skins were washed in the river,
and just before the junction with the main stream was Crosby’s distillery which
dumped all of the used mash into the stream that ran in front of it. Opposite the distillery was one last glue
factory that was “the general depository for all the hogs that are suffocated
on the various railroad trains entering the city; also for dead horses, cattle,
&c., in fact for any animal substance that can be manufactured into
glue. The refuse matter from the cooking
of all this animal substance, of course is run into the river.”
The
writer then turned to the ice that was being harvested from the waters of the
river. He wrote, “Imagine what filthy
stuff it must be—a compound of all the refuse of our tanneries, glue factories,
slaughterhouses, cow stables, &c., to say nothing of the immense number of
cess pools which the new sewerage system now empties into the river!”
He
described his encountering a gang of ice cutters on the south Branch, noting
that as he approached the operation “the stench caused by the exposure of the
water to the atmosphere, upon the removal of the ice-blocks, was overpowering.”
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| Harvesting ice on Wolf Lake in Indiana (Chicago Daily News Archive) |
Then
the writer poses the question . . .
“What
a compound of villainous substances must it [ice from the river] contain? And this is the pure crystal ice sold at
twenty-five or thirty cents per cwt., which is to cool our lake water for the
strictly temperate man, or the champagne, brandy smashes, sherry cobblers,
cocktails, slings, and other drinks too numerous to mention, for the use of
those who believe in taking ‘a little for the stomach’s sake and their other
infirmities.’”
The
conclusion of the letter offered a suggestion to dedicate the ice harvested
form the river to the Roman goddess Cloacina, who presided over the sewers of
ancient Rome rather than touting it as having the “sparkling and bright spirit
of purity and cleanliness” that one would expect but that was obviously not delivered.
“Should
not our city authorities forbid the vending of such an article as this? Each year’s addition to our city
manufactures, too , must make the matters worse. Let us look to the purer source for a cooling
beverage,” the letter ended.
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2 comments:
Nice article, Jim! Ice harvesting was a big industry in Dubuque as well. Thought you might find this interesting: http://www.encyclopediadubuque.org/index.php?title=ICE_HARVESTING
Thanks Jason. I've got the link . . . Looking forward to reading what it says. Hope the seeds are planted and starting to grow!
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