Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-10-27

"STAYING TO SEE IT OUT.'-A man named
Allison Weaver, foreman in a shinge mill near
FOrestville, Michigan, has singular expert
ence TO relate of the recent cOnfagration. When
the fire approached, and the mill was abandoned
by the proprietor and his fellow workmen,
Weaver, having no property to lose or family 10
take care for, determined, as he expressed it, to
stay and see the circus out" AS soon as he
found himself alone he set to work aud buried
all the provisions left in the house, together
with the knives, belts and other light machinery
of the mill as well as a stove and lot OF crock
cry ware. There was plenty of water IN the
vicinity of the mill, so he filled several barrels
full, and, besides wetting down house, mill,
stock and everything which would burn scat
tered several hundred pailsful of water on the
ground around the buildings. About 10 o'clock
at night the light and the roaring in the forest
indicated the near approach of the fire, and
Weaver set himself to work to prepare 70, it.
In levelng up the ground around the Single
mill, earth had been obtained by digging here
and there, and Weaver went TO work and dug
one of those pits deep enough for him to stand
up in. He then filled it nearly full of water,
and took care to saturatc the ground around it
for a distance of several rods. Going TO the
mill he dragged out a tour-inch plank, sawed it
IN two, and saw that the parts tightly covered
the mouth of the little well. 81 calkelated it
would be tech and 90" said he, "but it was the
best ] could do" At midnight he had every
to hear. The air became oppressive, cloud of
dust and cinders came showeriug down, and
then he could see the fame through the trees
1t did not run along upon the ground, nor leap
from tree to tree, but it came on like tornado
a sheet of fame reaching from the earth
to the top of the trees. As it struck the
clearing he jumped into his well and closed
over the planks. He could no longer see, but he
could hear. He says that the flames made no
halt whatever, nor ceased their roaring for an
49, l. l..
closed before the house and mill were roaring
like tinder and both were down in five minutes
The smoke came down on him powerfully, and
his den was so hot he could hardly breathe He
knew that the dry planks above him were on
fire, but remembering their thickness he waited
till the roaring of the flames had died away
and then with his head and hands turned them
over and put out the fire by dashng up
water with his hands. Although it was a cold
night, and the water had at Iirst chilled him.
the heat gradually warmed it up until he says
that he felt very comfortable He remained
in his den until daylight, frequently turning
over the planks and putting out the fire,
until the worst had passed. The earth
around was on fire in spots, house
and mill were gone, leaves, brush and logs were
swept clean away as if shaved off and swept
with broom, and nothing but SCOT and ashes
were TO be seen. After the fire had somewhat
cooled off, Weaver made an investigation of his
cdches, and found that considerable of the prop
erty buried had been saved, although he lost all
ms provisions except piece ofdried beef, which
the fire had cooked as in an oven without spoil
ing it. He had no other resource than to re-
main around the place that day, during the
night, and the greater part of the next day,
when the ground had cooled enough so that he
could pick his way to tile sight of the burned
village. He was nearly twelve hours going the
twelve miles, as trees were falling, logs were
burning, and the falling timber had in some
places heaped up a breastwork over which no
one could climb. He finally reached Port HUI
ron, where he related his story 10 wondering
auditors, and became the hero Of the hour.