Chamberlin began his newspaper career as a seventeen-year-old proofreader for the '' Chicago Evening Post , '' where his brother Everett was employed . In October , 1871 he was one of the first eyewitnesses on the scene of the Great Chicago Fire and his reports were some of the first to go out to the world . He then worked for a short time in Indianapolis for the '' Indianapolis Daily Journal '' before returning to Chicago and work for the '' Chicago Times '' in 1873 . He rose to a managing role at the '' Times '' before resigning and moving east in 1880
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
Joseph Edgar Chamberlin