Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 38, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 October 1891 — VAST SEA OF FLAME. [ARTICLE]

VAST SEA OF FLAME.

FRICHTFUL DEVASTATION IN THE NORTHWEST. MiUiocs of Feet of Standing Timber Burned In Minnesota—Duluth In Semt-Darknesx and the Fog Horn Necessary to Guide Vessels. Finlay son’s Night of Terror. , Away from the scene of devastation 9y fire in the Northwest the situation has been but little understood. Ninetyfour in the shade, 113 in tho sun, was the torrid tale told by Twin City thermometers. The public schools were closed for a woek. It v has been hard work to check the fires In forosts and fields, and they are still burning, in many places furiously. The greatest damage so far reported is at Bradleys, Dak., tho business portion of the little town reduced to ashes. The total loss Is figured at $60,000, almost wholly uninsured. Not a single business house remains. The buildings burned were ono church, one hotel, soveral general stores with all their stock, and two or three dwellings. The country adjacent to Bradley is said to have beon almost entirely devastated ovor an area twelve miles wide by twen-ty-five long, tho destruction being almost entire to crops and farm property. The fires in North Dakota are pretty well under control, except around Oakes, where several miles of wheat fields are reported burned over.' Otto Fredericks, engaged In plowing a fire break, was overtaken and burned to doatb, together with his team.

Flnlayson, Minn., had a night of terror. Tho village wan thrown into the wildost state of excitement by the report that a windstorm was driving a forest fire directly toward tho town, and complete destruction was threatened. The news had scarcely reachod the citizens before tho smoke and smell of burning pine trees came on the wings of tho wind. Telograms were at once despatched to th i officials of the St Paul and Duluth Road to stop the limited train golug east at Flnlayson and hold It until tho women and children of tho town could bo sent away. This was done and the train was held until the weaker ones of all the families wore placed aboard and sent down the road.

The flames had reached tho outskirts of the vilago, and tho male mombors of the families commenced tho work of saving tho buildings. All night long thoy.battled with tho flames, and, aided by tho cessation of the wind, were finally successful. Tho fires around Pino City have been quenched. At Hinckley, Minn., ulso, the fire company and citizens did battle with tho fierce tiros. Scorched by the l aines and suffocatod In the blinding smoke, they have fought an entire day for their homos. The wind subsided and the fires diod down, but again a stiff breeze, which soon blew into a ga'o, sprung up in tho southeast and fanned the smo dering fire into fierce life. Tho initiates of tho Lamvers lumber camp escaped by got ting In the river and stuyln r there all night. A party of six men startod from ono of tho Brennan Lumber Company camps to go to anothor about two miles away. I .’an Sullivan, Ids brother, of Mora, and Tom Johnson, of Kau Claire, were of this party After going a short ways they got in front of tho fire and Dan Sullivan, missing his brother, went back with Johnson to look for him. That was the last seen of them till their remains wore found by John Brodio and their campmatos. Tho bodies were lying about twenty-four foot apart Sullivan was buint to a crisp, but Johnson’s body was only badly scorched. Fino ashes and burnod leaves fell in a shower over Duluth, whllo the sky was so colored and tho sun so obscured that the Government fog whistle at tho harbor mouth was forced to'blow to guide In vessels. East, toward Ashland, fires are doing immense damage to settlers and crops, besides wip ng out vast quantities *of standing pine. Tho intensely hot weather has mado the wooded regions like tinder. Thu range of the Arles is toward Ashland, and their progress is aidod by tho fact that a week ago a heavy wind blow down much\imbor, the foliage of which has now dried out sufficiently to aid tho flames. Passongois arriving in Duluth from the south’say that all along the line of the St. Paul and Duluth Road fires are raging and great damage has been done the towns of iiarnum, Mahtowa, Sturgeon Lake and Kettle River. In t(io standing timber near tho railway on the ilnp of tho Eastern Mlnnosota ; north of Hinckley, considerable valuable timber has been ruinoJ and fires are still raging. On the Northern Pacific, east toward Ashland, fires are doing Immense damage to settlers and crops, besides wiping out vast quantities of standing pine. Near Iron River, thirty miles east of Duluth, where there are many settlers, they are losing valuable property while working hard to save their houses. The fire destroyed several hundred acres of grain near Nicholson, N. D The heavies losers are W. Crams and John Swoetman. A man and boy whose names are unknown were fatally burned while plowing a fire-break. The four horses they were using were also burned. The fire caught from a*.“Soo" freight train. * A large area of South Dakota, after days of sweltering heat and fire fighting, was visited by a soaking rain which brought relief to people almost in the last stages of exhaustion.