The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1871-10-20
INTERPRETATION IN WISCONSIN
Singular Features of the PesiltigO
Fire.

\ relief committee. from Milwaukee
report that the fire which DESTROYED
Peshtigo on the evening Of the Sth, is
without parallel in destructiveness.
Shortly after the church-going people
had returned from the evening service,
an ominous sound was heard, like the
roar Of the sea, or of coming storm.
This increased in intensity, and soon the
inhabitants became alarmed and appre-
hensive of coming danger. Balls OF
fire were observed to fall in all direc-
tons like meteors, igniting whatever
they came in contact with. By this
time the whole population were thor
oughly aroused and alarmed, and
caught up their children and what val.
uables they could hastily seize, and be-
gan to flee for place Of safety. Now
bright light appeared in the south
west horizon, gradually increasing till
the heavens were aglow with light.
But few moments elapsed after this
before the horrible tornado Of fire came
upon the people, and enveloped them in
flame, smoke, burning sand and cinders.
Those who had not now reached the
river or some other place Of safety were
sufIocated and burned to cinder before
they could advance half dozen steps
further. God only knows the terror and
terrible suffering Of the whole town Of
Peshtgo on that memorable Sunday
night. 1t seemed as if the love Of God
had been Withdrawn from the place,
and the fury fiends of hell had been
Ioosened to wantonly vex and torment
the people.
No tongue can tell, no pen can de-
scribe, no brush can depict the realities
Of that night. Exaggeration would be
utterly impossible. 1t deties human
Ingenuity. 1t was the destruction Of
Sodom re-enacted. 1t seemed as if the
wickedness of the place had Knocked
God until his fiery thunderholts were
loosened for It's destruction. But now,
he who had been boldest in sin, was
first to call upon his Maker for succor.
The character OF the fire was unlike
any we have ever seen described before.
1t was flame famed by a hurricane.
and accompanied with various electrical
phenomena. Those that survived the
terrible ordeal testify that they received
electrical shocks, while they saw cleo
trical flames flash in the air and dance
over the surface Of the earth around
them. But the fury Of the flash was
past in half an hour, though the fire
continued to burn more or less tierceiy
during the whole night.
The tornado came from the southwest,
and swept over a tract OF country eight
or ten miles in width and of indefinite
length. The timber in its course was
felled bv the wind and burned by the
fire, and every vestige Of fence and
building was swept away, with two or
three exceptions. Sometimes the wind
struck the earth with such force that
the small underground was torn up
and kept in winrows, while at other
times it would skip away from the
earth.
Other indescribableS Scenes.
From the Oconto Lumberman, 18th.
Early Wednesday morning every
available horse and wagon was brought
into requisiton for the purpose OIL
reaching the sufferers in the different
settlements within the range of the tor
nado of Saturday nights fire. Parties
of men with axes were employed in al
vance of the teams to chop away the
fallen trees and. render the roads pass
able. The bridges, culverts, &c. were
burned and much time was taken up IL
actually building way through.
We saw we cannot describe the scenes
we cannot. Infants clasped in mother
arms; fathers, brothers, sisters stiff IN
their last embrace; actual lines of deac
from the once happy farmhouse to the
adjoining creek; charred groups, black
ened corpses, crumbling bones, lacerated
and torn members the smiling baby
hood Of a few hours past, the adde's
cent the old, in one horrid heap O.
death, is all that is left of the country
travelled over. The roadsdes art
strewn with dead horses, oxen, cows
swine and fowl. Even the Unframed
beasts of the forest flew towards
civilization for relief, but only tc
find death in their flight. Deer
bear, rabbits, were discovered in protu
sion burned to crisp. And all thi:
within a few miles OF our city. From
the few left 70 tell the tale there can bt
little obtained in their half-crazed situa
tion. We ourselves saw the father con
SIGN to their last resting places all tina
was left of a family Of six. We cared little
about questioning, and he seemed tt
care as little about speaking. Having
given him few morsels OF bread 10,
necessary subsistence, we passed on an'
saw the babe in its mother 5 arms, th'
how the Girl, in nakedness; the youn!
woman, the mother, the father, in ont
sad group of death. Again, family
apparently, for there was nothing let
but bones, and hardly bones at that
Yes, there was one Of that family o
which there was little left. 1t va
the baby. The poor mother, iorgettu
of herself, chung to her innocent OF
spring, and her last effort must hav
been to save her Young ones life. Tn
mothers hand, or the charred remain
thereof. we're on the babes head, as
engaged in pressing it to the groun
&c Sovnyards to save it from suffocs
ton: the little face was all that wa
uninjured. A prominent young n, ma
was found with his throat cut, and n
Enife was lying alongside of him. II
must have been crazed by tortures, {
nrelerred immediate death to linger'n