Jasper County Democrat, Volume 9, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 May 1906 — FOREST FLAMES DO TERRIBLE HAVOC [ARTICLE]

FOREST FLAMES DO TERRIBLE HAVOC

One Hundred Square Miles Are Swept, Including Five Counties in Michigan. DIBABTEH HAS SPENT ITSELF Four Persons Known To Be Dead, Three of Whom Are Children. FATE OF SCORES IS YET UNKNOWN Foor Towns Completely Wiped Out and a Dozen Partly Destroyed— Many Prosperous T'arma Burned Over. Escanaba, Mich., May 22.—Out of the chaos resulting from the widespread forest fires of Friday order Is gradually being restored, the towns and isolated settlers are all preparing to repair the damage done, and all danger is now over, because the rain has extinguished the last smoldering fires.

Escanaba, Mich., May 21. Four known dead, a score or more persons missing, hundreds of families homeless, several millions of dollars in property burned, four towns wiped out entirely and a dozen more partly, five counties devastated and 100 square miles of territory fire-swept. This is the dreadful pieturethat the northern Michigan peninsula presents after the worst forest fire since the Peshtigo disaster in 1871 has spent itself. General Superintendent W. E. Wells, of the Escanaba and I.ake Superior road, along which right-of-way the greatest loss occurred, has returned from a trip of inspection over the fire-stricken area and says that the flames have gone down and for the time being the danger is over unless a new gale arises to again fan the embers into flames. Summary of the Havoc. The following summary briefly tells the story: The dead —Peter Lafond. a cook, smothered in a lumber camp near Katos; three unknown children dead at Quinnesec, Mich., separated from their parents while the village was burning, and perished. Scores of homesteaders and woodsmen missing, and many have probably i»erished in the flames. Territory devastated—five counties, Marquette. Menominee, Delta, Alger and Dickinson. The territory fire-swept is 100 square miles. Towns t«Xally_burned—Talbot Mich,. 300 population, only a few houses left standing: Quinnesec. Mich.. 400 population; only one house remains; Saunders, 150 population, all wiped out; Niagara,Wis., 300 population, all wiped out. Towns partly destroyed: Northland, Cornell, Antoine, Spring Valley, Kingsley, Woodlawn, Foster City, Sala. MetrojKilitan. Many Brave I>eeds Done.

Details of the fire are gradually coming out of the burned territory. All day long refugees and trainmen have been coming in telling tales of misery and suffering, as well as heroism and brave deeds, that were enacted while the fire was at its height. The burned over district extends from a point ten miles out of Escanaba to Talbot, on the south to Channing, and to Quinnesec on the west. Sands on the north and back to Escanaba. While this territory has not been swept over entirely the major portion of it north of the Northwestern line has. South of the line it burned in spots. The flames were fiercest along the Escanaba and Lake Superior line.

BEEN SMOULDERING LONG

But No One Thought of Danger - Then , a Big Wind Caine Up. It is in thi§ district that 1.000 or more of the small fires have been smouldering for weeks. Nothing was thought of these fires because they were not dangerous, but It only needed a wind to fan them Into a mighty sheet of flame. This wind came on Friday afternoon. Toward noon the wind began to blow from the west at the rate of thirty miles an hour. By 2p. m. the velocity was forty miles, and by 4 p. m. the small fires seemed to have united Into one large one that extended over a tifty-nille stretch and swept along with a fury that no human hand could stay. Throughout the territory hundreds of woodsmen were put to work to stay the fire, but It could not be fought. It marched on and it was only by diverting its iwths that some of the towns were saved. First to l>e driven out were the woodsmen in camp and the homesteaders. Hundreds of small and properous farms were in the territory, and the occupants of these hurried to the nearest towns for shelter. Cattle and stock and houses ami l*ams and their contents were left for the flames. Wagons were hurriedly loaded with personal effects, ami the race against the flames began.

In some instances whole families came In. Many, however, reported that some of the members had been separated and left behind and it is the fate of these that concerns most everybody. The flames came in as fast as the refugees. The latter then, with the people of the towns, turned out to help save the villages, and a desperate fight it was. Some of the towns were hemmed in on all sides, and it wan either save the towns or burn up. Maty

were saved, but some were not Talbot and Quinnesec are the most notable examples . At both a hard fight was put. up. but In the end the places had to be abandoned.

CURIOUS FHEAK OF THE FIKE Burna a Home; Leaves the Fences Un-touched-Wild Animals Scared. Milwaukee, May 21. —A staff correspondent of The Sentinel who made a tour of the district In the upper peninsula of Michigan covered by the forest fires in a special train, the first train to go through the district since the catastrophe, telegraphing to his paper says that the Are appears to be practically out in all of the district. Many curious things happened. One man who carried a coffin, with the corpse of his dead babe thirty miles to Escanaba in his escape from the fire, went back on the special train and found his home gone, but the picket fence surrounding the house untouched. The ashes of his home had been blown away by the gale, and the fence was the only evidence of human habitation. A remarkable feature of the fire is the fact that nearly all the refugees are not disheartened, but are determined to return and begin over. They have only the clothes they wear, but say this is the fortune of the frontiersman, and that if their homes are lost at least the fire has cleared the land for them, and this much labor is saved.

Win. Wells, general superintendent of the Escanaba and Lake Superior road, said* “The losses will not be as heavy as I had anticipated, but they will be serious, nevertheless. The woodsmen throughout the region have done noble work, and I cannot sjieak too highly of their efforts. I had rather an exciting time of it at Cornell. I had taken a relief train out there and the moment the train arrived men, women and children made a rush for it and deserted their efforts to check the fire. “There was almost a riot. The men and women almost stormed the train, but I told them that it was either save the town or let the train bum up with it. When they saw I meant it they went back to work and the town was practically saved; only half a dozen houses were burned. It goes to show under what strain the fires were fought.” The fire drove all the wild animals out of the woods and many of them took shelter on the right of way of the road, where the fire usually was checked.

One Death at Cobalt. Cobalt, Ont., May 21.—Fifty-seven-houses are burned and a dozen others are wrecked as the result of the forest which swept through the northern part of the town ns it passed the Ontario Powder company's dynamite magazine. Seven and a half tons of dynamite explode.] within fifty feet of tlje main ponicnr of the town, tearing bUiHiii gs from their foundations nnd spreading ruin in all directions. Only one fatality is so far reported, that of a child.