Directions: read the passage, and answer the question that follows. did the cow do it? on october 8, 1871, a fire raged through
chicago, illinois. the fire started at around 9 p m near the home of catherine and patrick o leary. within hours, the fire was completely out of control. mills, factories, office buildings, and homes quickly burned. thankfully, the fire began to subside on the morning of october 10, and fears that it might start again ended when the skies opened up and steady, soaking rains began to fall. however, the fire had destroyed an extensive area. about 300 people were killed. nearly 100,000 people were made homeless, and there was more than 200 million dollars in property damage. how did the fire begin? according to legend, a cow in the o leary barn kicked over a kerosene lantern, and the hay on the floor caught fire. however, many people are skeptical about the story because there is almost no proof of what actually happened. in late 1871, the board of police and fire commissioners investigated the fire, and more than 1,100 pages of written testimony were taken. however, the cause of the fire was never determined. even so, the legend of the o leary cow lives on. write a summary of the passage. remember, a summary should be much shorter than the passage. try to write between 2-3 sentences.
