Puzzle Description:

Mrs. O'Leary's cow. There are many stories that explain the start of The Great Chicago Fire of 1871, one of the worst fires in American history. But the most colorful and enduring of all the stories is the one about a dairy cow owned by Catherine and Patrick O'Leary. "Daisy", (or Madeline, or Gwendolyn depending on whose version was told), supposedly kicked over a lantern in the barn, starting the fire that eventually spread out of control, killing an estimated 200-300 people and destroying nearly 4 square miles of the city. Chicago Tribune reporter, Michael Ahern, later admitted he had fabricated the story "because it would make good copy". Whether Daisy (or Madeline, or Gwendolyn) resented being branded the villain is a moooooot (sorry, I couldn't help it) point as she, too, perished in the fire. For more information on Mrs. O'Leary's cow and the Great Chicago Fire, please visit these websites: http://www.chicagohs.org/fire/oleary/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_O'Leary http://www.thechicagofire.com/

#1: Susan Duncan (medic25733) on Oct 2, 2010

Excellent puzzle Linda! Thanks for the history lesson too.

Thanks, Susan. I love anything having to do with old myths, folklore, etc.

I just loved everything about this puzzle--the image, the solve, the explanation. Nothing like a good story about a scapecow.

One of the best things about the puzzle was that I had no idea what it was until I was about 3/4 done with it (I had Lizzie Borden stuck in my head after I saw the title of the puzzle).

thanks, liz! scapecow - i love it!

I agree with all of the above. Liz, you wrote everything I was going to say. I feel that Daisy/Madeline/Gwendolyn got a raw deal. Right, blame the poor cow. ... Who put the dang lantern there in the first place? I say the one to blame is the one with the presumably higher I.Q.!!! Thanks, Linda, for the history lesson and pretty action-packed puzzle! :o)

lol, mrsthing. i agree with you 100%. what fascinates me is that even after the reporter confessed to making up the "cow story", people still believe daisy dunnit!

Thanks for a very entertaining entry Linda!

thank you, jota. this is a fun topic.

Great puzzle and fun image. I was about 2/3s done when I had that ah-ha moment.

Fabulous, fabulous puzzle. I love everything about it! Creative idea, dynamic composition and a fun solve.

sarriemom said what i was going to

This one is great! Love the history lesson and such a wonderful puzzle! :) Of course, from you, I expect no less.

thanks for entry, Linda ...i grew up, in Chgo, with that story about the cow lol

thank you so much for the comments, everyone. i really appreciate it!

Congrats Linda.... loved it also

thank you, tom! this was a lot of fun!

Fantastic! This puzzle was so well designed. A great challenge to solve, and what a delight to have that "Aha!" experience almost at the end. Wonderful image. It's so nice to see your original creative art put into puzzles like this.

If you were here or I were there, I'd give you a great big hug for providing us with consistently first-rate puzzles.

I had the same thought as Liz (see comment #3)!

wow, teresa - that is quite the compliment coming from my favorite puzzlist! here's a virtual hug from me to you!

thank you amy, and thanks for solving my puzzle :-)

I love the image! It's really cool the way you captured everything but it's still really clear what it is. Cool perspective too. Very fun puzzle!
Congrats on 2nd place, well deserved :)

hi kylie - thank you so much! i really appreciate that :-)

Ditto everyone above! Wonderful tale and image. Thanks much!

hi carol! thank you for the comment! :-)

Remember to not put links in the puzzle description.

http://www.chicagohs.org/fire/oleary/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_O'Leary http://www.thechicagofire.com/

nice puzzle and tale

adam - thank you so much for the tip! i was wondering why the links never turned blue and couldn't be clicked on. (duh...) thanks for adding them here.

thank you for the comment, vaggelis!

I LOVED THIS PUZZLE!!!! One of, if not THE best that I have completed so far!

thank you so much, sdubois! i really appreciate the comment.

such a great, dynamic image!

I also enjoyed that I couldn't tell what it was until I was nearly done.

I thought Lizzie Borden too - then I thought "Bull in a China Shop" when I started to see the image. Nice puzzle Linda!

Quite, quite fun. Great story and a wonderful rewarding image.

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