New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-10-26

| rroups broke In all directions In wild panic
OF flight and terror. few took refuge in cleared field
bordering tho town. Here nat upon the ground, with
faces pressed tho sand helpless sufferers lay and
roasted. But few survived the dreadful agony. The
next day revealed picture exceeding In horror any bat
uehed. Mothers with children Rugged closely lay In
rg1d groups the clothes burned on and the poor nesh
scared to o CRISP One mother sollcitous only for her
babe embalms her unuttcrabe love in tho terrible pic
ture left these woef sands. With her bare fingers
abe had scraped out pitt as the solders did before
Petersburg and pressing the little into this she put
her body above II shield. aud when the day
light came both deadthe little baby faoo I'M
SCARED, but the mother burnt almost to cndors.
These hardy lumbermen not wont to eIaggerate,
and perfect accord Of every story and incident con-
firm every episode OF this tragedy. Faithful to the
helpless stout woodman carried out on his shoulders
one deadly sick OF fever He burrowed for the helpless
body sandy sepulchre, and then began tho struggle
for his own nfe He had fingered too long, and his
Scared body found near the refuge Of the man his
heroism had preserved.
The tornado played through the desolated streets,
and swept the river and the low land adjoining. Tho
timber of the mill floating down among the people, made
additional labor and danger and daylight broke terribly
the saturated survivors before they dared drag their
cramped limbs from tho Icy waters The mingled crowd
Of women, and children, cows, and swine had held
this watery refuge since 10 O'Clock of the night before
OF the hundreds Of human beings that entered the
many under the waters; the bsterng heat blinded many
who CROPPED hopelessly about In the current and finally
sunk To this day none can tell how great was tho
slaughter the waters After the burning heat OF the
night numbing chill followed, and the water-soaked
group crawled over dead bodies and hot sands
to the only blazing building in all the
waste about them. Groups Of dead were found within
stones throw of the water. Families rushing downward
for breathing place had been blown upon by the rush
ing blasts and struck feess The CHASTITY throng hud-
died. shreking and bewang about the faring embers,
and the terrible roll Of the missing soon called from
end to end Of tho ashen waste No vestige OF human
habitatiOn remained, and the steamng, freezing,
wrctched group crazed by the unuterabe terror and
despair plead with each other to restore the lost ones
The hot blasts Of the night had blinded Them and they
could but vaguely recognize another in the murky
J light Of the new day. n..
AFTER THE CONFEDERATION.
Long after the flames had died out, when there was no
more to feed the hot sands rendered moving ABOUT
an exquisite torture and long into the dismal midday
the survivors were confined to the narrow circuit near
the river As the day help came In slowly from
the northward Several railroad gangs had escaped an
initiation and one gang, led by an ex prize-hShter
named Mullgan, came with nromptness and efficiency
| to the rescue through miles OF burning prairie
and blockaded roads On Sunday night something over
1000 people assembled within the confines OF this
Industrious prosperous city the dreadful morning light
came upon haggard, manacal multitude Of less than
ZOO When the work OF began 1t found that
great plumber had escaped by the bed Of the river and
the northern road to the port and the day advanced
halfnaked straggers unkcmpt and blackened began to
stream into the sparse settlement As the molten sands
cooled off, the wOfu work Of recognition began. Peerng
into blackened faces mothers, fathers, brothers trem
| bingly sought out missing ones
Some in the Unreasonable anguish Of the moment had
dashed themselves against the sands and let out the HE
| with their own hands that the licking flames coveted
Men, too distant from the river to hope for rescue or
safety had cut the thrOas of their choking children and
found in groups sometimes unsecured by the hames
In the streets full twenty cOrpses were found with no
apparent injury abrasion Fatuous tradesnen, In the
sudden rush Of flame had thrown their valuables into
wells for security every well in the city turned into
flaming pit and the very waters half evapofated by the
heat Survivors attest that women and children cut on
from the rivers were pnt into wells and covered with
bedding. have looked into every well IN the , ash
covered clearing and there is possibility that living
thing could have endured the flames that boiled and
For hours the unreasoning search was continued by
remnants but TO tb s o ay fs: the
tSe Streets where the stood the
6nman ashes was idle. Tho next night the longprayed
for rain gratefully to the living ard kindly to the
over the bay cities and towns was allayed and the
threatened danger nearly gone Before DIRK help came
The wounded were taken ly boat to Green Bay,
| whence some were forwarded TO Milwaukee ,,,.
| From O'Clock Sunday night until dusk OF Monday
may be taken as the time Of the main action in this ter
s dTaS BY Nv TS MSSdSy th nsS n sight
stu further aided the workOf rescue The ravages oae
SnG ToSh the solid growth Of timber clean swah
of backeDed sumps and roots marked the course OF the
cafe and frequently With the carcases Of bears and
deer while the bitches and cleared fields were srewn
vicinity sadder relies were found, for those who
penetrated outward through the wall Of hame
Remote dwelers on hGhroad, warned of the great
danger, with their families SAFELY pagSed on Their great
security but the flames engufed them In the heart Of
the woods and the tbe road hSer from Marnete
the last town the Northern Wisconsin border. The
RreaE in the encrcDg belt Of woods where the pretty
Episcopal Church stOOdthe last TO burn In the fatal
Of dead cattle cuIn6ered the wooded street Among
pines lay, not burnt, but smothered to death
and Children were picked up, more or less in
jured by fire.. In great many instances the human
remains we're distinguished from animals by the teeth
alone. One hoOrstrnck relative recognized the relics
Of his nepew by as II az s
stanaly the indispensable horrors OF these succeeding
%as fSS e calm IL waters the peous
stances of hundred Tragedies during
underes the terrible story al that frightened human
nature was capable Of came into play that drefu night
mission the part Of man. No unseemly panic aided
natural causes in achieving comparatively. the com
spperhuman daring and energy were put into active
operation to mitigate preteFnat9Tsl norrors the IN
Completeness Of this devastation, but Chicago, with all
ts Noes has not twohirds Of Its citizens 10 deplore
dead. !.
with one Of the who passed through that night OF
destruction I wandered over the pretty rising plain
where PeshtegO spread Its thriving stores and hand
some houses. Save where the houses were built with
cellars which very rare, there Is no trace of q
former habtation. Here and there are metallic rem
nants Of sew1ng-machines and cracked stones. The
hardware and drug store leave almost the only remind
ers Of thiRRs that baokened mortar stands idly
in . wild confusion Of melted glass and lead with the
pestle ready for new decoction. Two or three men
| with troubled faces were moving about putting up
shed for the Relief Committee They answered civilly