Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-10-16
WISCONSIN'S GREAT HOLOCAUST
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Five Hundred Persons Burned TO
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Towns and Villages swept Away.

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Towns and Villages Swept Away.
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Slekening Stories OF Suffering.
-sros Correspondence Milwaukee Sentinel.
20 MENoMINEE, Oct. 8, 1s71.-The village
OF Peshtigo is burnt to the ground, and from
1000 to Loo persons are out of employ
ment. The fire was seen last night at half
past eight, and at ten P. NJ, every building
was on fire, together with the Great Peshti-
go Manufacturing Co.'s pail and tub factory.
The wind came from the southwest, and
was heard coming an hour before it burst
upon the town, and many were awakened
from sleep with barely time to hasten to the
river and sink themselves in the water to
save their lives. No mortal man could live
in such heat. The flames rolled noun
tains high, and swept every building, stable
and fence, and left scene most horrible to
behold. Mr.. j. j. Taur nearly persisted in
saving his family, and lost three in the
flames, and Mr.. Beebe's family,
one child; and some one took this
child to the river. The whole town
ran for the river, hanging on to logs
and booms, and had frequently to duck
their heads to save their lives. As many as
seventy-fiye are supposed to have been
burnt to death. Children and mothers, and
husbands and wives, are separated by the
tlre-king, never to meet again. The people
have been fighting for two weeks the sugar
bush south and west of town-and then
the fire-king moved on the town, blowing
great pillows of flame. The five-story fac
tory of the Peshtigo Manufacturing Com
pany was lost, with all the stock and ma
chinery and stores and warehouses, and the
Peshtigo House, all the stores and property
to the amount of five to ten millions. Just
hear of the death of seventy-fiye persons,
who COULD get to no water, and were
strangled and burned to death. Horses,
cattle and wagons, and all movable property,
were burnt, and many are ON board this
boat, the st. 10, with heads burnt, and
eyes burnt out, and ears of. Some
saved themselves by hiding in wells
and burying themselves in the sand, and in
one case five women persisted by log turn
ing, when they all sank to rise no more.
Fires are raging near this place, and one
hundred or more are fighting the flames of,
and all men who can are helping their
neighboring families, and many entire fami-
lies are burnt. The loss cannot be counted.
A small village, eighteen miles from here,
of eighteen persons, persisted at Burch
Creek; and it is sickening to see the suffer-
ers come with eyes out and fearful manned
some of them for life. Many children
were lost wandering from their homes to
the river. The whole west coast is on fire,
from Green Bay to Menominee The Manu-
featuring Company were making from two
to three thousand pals daily, and the whole
farming country and numbering for miles
around Peshtigo are burnt over. The streets
are hard as brick, and some predict it never
will be rebuilt.
1t was said in thirty minutes after the aw-
full roaring was heard from the woods the
whole town was in flames, and in Peshtigo
no lumber was to be found to make collins
to bury the dead. One man was passing the
benzine house with his family when it ex-
ploded, and his whole family was lost except
himself
THRILLING STORIES OF FUGITIVES.
FoND DU LAC, Oct. 11.-Direct accounts
from Peshtigo inform us that the great
number of lives lost there occurred thus:
Fires had been raging around the village
some days before; had become subdued, and
the people felt secure; when on Sunday
night, all of sudden, when the wind was
blowing a tornado, it again broke out from
the fires of the camps of the hands working
on the railroad, and Immediately overwhelm-
ed the village, inmates of houses having only
time to escape as they arose from their beds
The village could not have contained more
than five or six hundred, or thousand at
the most, of residents; but it is estimated
| that one thousand transient men were in
| the place-lumber men mainly. The river
runs directly through the village and there
was but one beside. The people living in
| the main portion of the village were driven
| by the rushing flames directly towards the
| river, and, horrible to contemplate, cattle
| had preceded them and blockaded up the
/ passage to the bridge; consequently human
| beings had to take to the water, when a
| large portion were either burned to death
| or drowned.
| One man who escaped reports that he
| sank his entire body into the water, occa-
! sionally raising portion of his head to get
! breath, and that he saw several women
perish right alongside of him. When res
cued his eyes were completely blinded, but
are now partially restored.
Some $50 men, finding escape cut off took
! c large barn belonging to the Peshtigo Com
pany, and were burned up in it.
| He, as well as boat load who escaped,
came down to Green Bay on the steamer
| yesterday, while there was another boat
| load left behind awaiting coming boat.
/ A lady who came through here has her
| hair and one side of her face burnt to a
. crisp. She says there was no smoke from
the burning buildings, but it was one COM
| plete glare of glowing blaze, awful to behold.
Not a vestige of anything wooden is left of
/ the place. Those that came through have
scattered throughout the State wherever
I hey have friends.
DESCRIPTION OF THE STORM OF FIRE.
From the Marinette and Menominee Eagle.
| MARINETTE, Wis, Oct. 9, 1S71.-The
| fires which have bren lurking in this viein-
ity for weeks have at last eliminated in the
holocaust of destruction. Last night the
wind raised and blew fearfully from the
! south. The swamp lying back of DIR. Halls
became ignited, and the flames spread
through it with inconceiyable rapidity.
! The fire was about three-fourths of mile
| distant from Marinette, and shooting above
! the tallest tree-tops, Lit up the whole coun-
| try with fierce, lurid glare. The fire fiend
was holding high carnival, having selected
the towns of Peshtigo, Marinette and Meme
kaune as its prey. Every available force
that could be brought to bear to stay the
force of the fire was brought into requis;-
! ton.
Standing out ON the Peshtigo road, we
were a witness to the awful scene. The
fires swept through the swamp and de-
stroyed several out buildings in the rear of
the Boom Co.'s place and DR.. Halls to-
gether with large barn containing nearly
100 tons of hay. The hay was the property
of Mr.. Bentley, of Marinette. At this time
the direction Of the wind changed rapidly,
! blowing froIa oovoral points Of tho compass
alternately; first from the southwest, then
from the west, then from the northwest,
then back again to the south, during which
time We were visited by series of whirl-
winds, which showered cinderS and sparks
in every conceivable direction. The fire
having partly spent its fury here, cries Of
distress were heard down the river in the
/ d;ranfin1 IF tho mouth Cfaov,a 1yI,ic{loe "a