Centre Hall reporter. [volume] (Centre Hall, Pa.) 1868-1871, 1871-10-20
The Prairie and Timber Fires.
a Vast Ertent Of Cbentry Bbrned
t-.Hundrsds y Lipes Lost
Whole Farms iStesps Clean and
0feps Desirogpd,

Opet-.Hundfeds y Lires Lost
d Whole Farms S,eqpt Clean and
Drops Ds'trogpd,
The West, which many people 70.
gard as a sort Of Eldorado, where mon
ey Is TO be had for the trouble Of pick
ing il up. aud where. as Douglas Jer'
rold said Of one OF the British colonies
the earth has only TO be iickled with
the hoe 10 make Il laugh Silh the har'
vest-the great WSst has boen peou'
liaTly unfortunate this year. A
drought of almost unexAmpled seveTi'
~ aud persistence has parched and
! and baked its scil. dried up It's water
: : courses, and in ali possible ways been
injurious 10 ito resources, aud now, all
!. things having been prepared therefor
tires ara sweeping lie noble forest lands
: from the face Of the earth. Perhaps
the distress caused in this way, though
more poignant 10 those who are now
directly suffering il than 10 the future
inhabitants Of the West. will last h
10 the latter as settled and steady
grievance. The prairiss. too, are iB
flames. and what this means no one
!, who has not lived Ia the WoSt can
even imagine. The flames Of the prAi-
rie south Of Breckinridge. Minn. ran
faster than the feetest animals, aud
soon reached the "Big Woods hun
dred and tiity miles from whore they
started. There they seized upon the
underbrush, which was as dry rs tin.
der. and presently the trees were bur.
ming in all directions, and o clear
sweep Of the heavy timber was made
for fifteen miles, till the FIRE reached
Smith Lake. The grain and hay Of
the suttles. their live stock and farm.
houses, were burnt In an Instant
Here the FIRE in the woods probably
extended as far as Grow River. while
that in the prairie ran TO the north.
ward, destroying everything material
that came in its way. There IL. In
such cases. no escape possible except
facing the flames, or the dangerous
device Of mabing "dre 6ght Ere" A
man barely saved bis life by adopting
the former plan. He was returning
from Fort Abercrombie with Eve hor-
ses when he saw the flames behind
him rs his only chance Of safety he
turned about and headed his horses
flor the wall of Gre, dashed through
burning his overcoat from his back
and injuring his beasts 70 such an sx-
tent as TO make them almost worth.
less. Here many small towns we're
completely swept out Of existence, aud
at last accounts the big woods about
Glencoe, Leseni, Mankato, and New
lUlm were blazing. Il will give one q
lnnliop OF over how vast an extent Of
Territory this work Of destruction 10
going ON to know that the most sxten.
Isiye fres have ragged in Minnesota.
Michigan, Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, and
Indiana. The Michigan newspapers
give most sAddening accounts Of what
the FIRE has already done il that State
TO the north Of the Saginaw River. on
beth the eastern and western shores Of
Lake Huron, the woods have been ON
FIRE for several weeks, and for ten days
the cities and villages of the Saginaw
Valley had been covered with dense
clouds Of smoke, growing heavier day
by day % the FIRE advanced. The au.
thorities OF these places found il neces-
sary TO take most stringent measures
TO compel captains Of tugs plying in
the river 10 see TO il that, 40 far as il
was in their power 10 prevent IL, no
sparks should Communicate from
smoke stacks 10 the shores and la
Saginaw between one hundred and
two hundred men employed By city
authorities for the express purposes
of keeping the fres away from it
Notwithstanding oil their eIertions
by Monday night many houses and
places of business had been burned 10
East Saginaw entAiling loss of from
twenty 70 twenty-five thousand dollars.
Trains we're delayed, telegraph lines
knocked down BY burning trees falling
upon them, and the heat and binding
smoke will for some time prevent their
reconstruction. People who travel on
the roads yet open, are covered with
cinders and SCOT, and look as though
they bad been working in q coal mine.
Back Of Csrrolltop The woods aFe on
fire, and by this time the place has
probably been destroyed. The bridge
across the Cas- river is burned, as also
are many houses in the village.
HemlOck City is in ashes, and Nc
Donald & Crawford's mill there was,
most unfortunately, insured In the
Estate Insurance Company ofChicago.
Terrible fires are reported in thewoods
back Of the shore, near Tawas AndAu-
Sable this section Of country 10 doom
cd. All that part Of the State east Of
Saginaw Bay aud north Of forty miles
above Port Huron has been completely
swept by fire. The villages Of Forset-
Vile, White Rock, Elm Creek, Sand
beach and Huron City are utterly de-
stroyed, and it is improbable that Port
Crescent have escaped, Heart-sicken-
ing accounts Of women and children
burned TO death come 10 uB from all
sections. At Holland, on the east
shore Of Lake Michigan, not build
ling 10 lefi. Professor Charles Scott.
Of Hope College perisbed miserably in
i'm the flames.
In Minnesota 6res are raging in
Watonwan and other counties, their
course being towards the southeast.
They are making rapid progress
through the woods of Siblsy county,
between New Auburn and Washing
ton Lake and in Mcleod county
!. they are still raging and entAiling
frightful loss oflife aud property. At
Mankato on last Wednesday, the
smoke was so thick that objects could
not be seen from one side Of the street
to the other. The Mcleod County
Cheese Factory alone lost 130 tons of
hay. Settlers in the region have alb
solutely lost everything.
So also in Wisconsin the woods and
prairies are blazing in NIL directions,
and the farmers are suffering fearfully.
Thirty men are reported 10 have been
burned TO death at Fensaukee, where
they were surrounded in 3 mill, and
being unable 10 escape, were roasted
alive. In abandoned camps In the
4 woods handa hnoin and charred bo.