The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1871-11-28


for Poland? Have they forgotten, too
that he fought side by side with our owl
Washington at Georgetown, when his
sword was useless to his native land
Has the memory Of the sacking of Prague
and the scige of Warsaw been efface,1
from historic recolectons, and do those
who delight to honor this representative
of the great autocrat, know that brave
Poland is crushed so low in the dust by
the iron heel of Russian tyranny, that i,
is crime for the Poles to practice their
national religion. aye, to communicate
with each other in their native language
Here is n subject for the friends oppress.
ed humanity to agitate during the expect.
ed visit, in the hope that not greater
clemency but some little justice be shown
to this down-trodden, but brave people
+ $50 mote it be-" remain truly yours
PnooD.
The Northwest Fires.-Graphic Ac-
count Of the Destruction of Peshtigo.
tFrom the Fon du Lac Commonwealth
The first news Of a great disaster is
generally exaggerated, but the first rc.
ports Of the recent fires in the northwest.
crn part of this State fell far short of the
truth. When we heard that Peshtig0
vas burned, and sixty lives lost, every
one said it must be an exeggeration
They could not understand how, in u
village so many lives could be lost but
a recent visit to the fields of desolation
and death made us wonder how any were
saved.
From Oconto, twenty-five miles north
of Green Bay, we went by teams through
the burnt district to the sugar Bush, Pesh-
tigo, and Marinette. The fire came close
to Oconto, the people having to work
heroically to save the city. For the first
eight miles north of the city the country
was burned over, destroying immense
quantities of timber and some houses.
Scarcely an acre of ground escaped un.
burned. If the owners could cut the
pine which was burned so hardly as to
kill it, and get it manufactured into lum-
Der this year, the loss would not be so
fearful; but it would be impossible to
cutYso much in one year.
Eight miles north of Oconto the torna-
do began its terrible work of destruction
From this point to Peshtigo, a distance
of twelve miles, the timber was very
heavy. Where the tornado began the
timber was mostly pine, and further Oh
it consisted Of oak, beach and maple,
many trees running up eighty feet to the
first limbs. 1t is probable that the tor
nado carried the fire along with it with
fearful rapidity. For mile after mile
not tree of any size was left standing,
only a sapling here and there, bending to
the blast, withstood the storm. The trees
were blown down, the roots in many in
stances, after the trees had fallen. stand.
ing from twelve to fifteen feet high, witt,
rocks and dirt among them. The ground
was either covered with ashes or burned
until it looked red The underbush, the
small limbs Of the trees, the bark, the
leaves-were all burned 1t seems i'm
possible that a week ago it was forest
OF evergreen trees,
Whenever there was culvcrt in the
road built of logs, and covered with
ground, it was burned also the logs in
the corduroy road, leaving the ground
hollow. There was no sign Of life, either
animal or vegetable, Deer and partridges
were lying along the road burned to death.
About fifteen miles north OF Oconto is the
lower Sugar Bush Settlement The road
through the bush runs cast and west
The land is cleared back and cultivated
about three.quarters of a mile on each
side of the road. The farm-houses were
scattered along this road for distance
of five miles. Not building nor a fence
is left The clover fields were burned
over as if stubble every stump was burn
ed black, and in many instances in plow-
ed fields the stumps were burned entirely
up, leaving holes in the ground where
the roots had been. We saw the iron
of wagon by the road side, and there
was no evidences of any combustibe
material near the wagon, aud yet not IA
splinter Of woodwork of the wagon was
left The skeins had dropped into their
proper places, with the tires lying around
them. The chain used to fasten thu
oxen to the wagon was stretched out
from where the forward axle would have
been and at the other end of the chain
lay the irons of the end of the tongue.
Near by where every farmhouse had
stood, were lying dead horses cattle an
hogs. Some Of the horses were harness
ed and bridled. Through this settlement
runs small stream Of water the fish in
it were dead. In this district but one
family were saved. They ran down into
a creek behind small mound of earth /;
others went into the stream. but We're
found dead. None of the inhabitan,
were burned in their houses. They were
found scattered in the fields. Twenty
six bodies were found in the field.
\ Mr.. May was found three quarters
Of a mile northwest of his house, his wife
about the same distance north, and his
little boy, four years old, the same di~-
tance northeast. The Newberry families,
consisting of seventeen persons, were all
iosi' ihcJ H'cu hc"i caon othei. ihey
owned mill and three farms. Old Mr..
Newberry was not found, Charles New
berry ran about half a mile and fell,
and his two little boys, running hand in
hand, were found little beyond the father
lying side by side, while wife aud mother
was found on the road near bridge; she,
forgetiu Of her own sufferings, tried TO
save her babe. Her charred hand Was
pressing the head of her child upon the
ground, so that it might not breathe the
fire. The chld's face was all that WAS
uninjured One OF the Newberrys was
found dead under the bridge. Warren
Church, probably TO escape a worse
death, cut his throat with ii jack knife.
Charles Lamp took his wife and four
children in wagon when the fire began