The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1881-09-12
VOLUME XXX.--NUMBER II.
THE FOREST FIRES.
The Loss Of LIGe-Terrible stories ofsuf
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DETROIT, AIIcH,, September 10. The hor
rurs Of the Michigan forest fires Of the pres
ent week will never be contemplated in al
their reality without personal visit to tht
burned district. Your correspondent ha,
this evening returned from hurried trip 10
one section lately devastated, and IS con.
vinced that OF the many heaEtrendina
stories Of the ravagcs Of the 6re, not more
than one'hah has yet been told. The burn.
ed district comprises not less than 750,0 900
acres Of land, he fires runs about sixty
miles OneYay, and thirty.fye to forty mile,
THE other way, Everything Is swept away
save hero and there house, which In some
way escaped the fury Of the flames.
| Your correspondent paused before one
section above Sand Beach, where formerly
stood q piece ot woods covering at least
900 acres, To-day not tree is left. That
5O0.acre tract Is 4 blaCkened waste. Driy-
ing along the roadside, where once had
stood the homes Ot thrifty, well,to,Clo
farmers, as seen from the steamboat on
lake Huron a month ago, yine.Clad amid
the waving green, the beholdersees paught
but ashes, and It IL among the flrming
community that the blow falls with the
greatest severity. Many came there pio.
neets when the country wus Qn unbroken
wilderness, There they have toiled for
more than quarter OF u century, paying
for their lands, building substantial homes,
good barns and stocking their farms with
improved stock, educating their children,
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them pay for them, finally, settling down
to enjoy u comfortable old age and the
fruits ofhonest toll. In less than an hour
their entire possessions arc destroyed by
fire, Here Is where the blow will be felt
as It was not in 1871. These old men and
middIO.aged cannot take hold as they did
then, They must be placed upon their
etand aided in more ways than one, or
they will soon become paupes, tramps
and exiles. .t,
Later returns indicate tllnt the loss Of life
has not been Overstated Thenumber who
periShed Is ut least GOO, and may run up to
1000, as soon us the back country can be
reached, The number OF homeless persons
will not fall short Of $1,000
Thus far l60 bodies have been buried at
EhHu Iehu WuIlu' AHSSS uOuleS MeIC
found in bitches, wells and water pools,
where the victims had taken refuge with no
avail. Many were found on the roadside
and some on the open fields, where they
were evidently overtakcn by the heat and
smoke.
: The fires are still burning IN the swamps
In the northern pert Of SanilNc cOnnty,and
II rain docs not soon fall more damage will
be done. One hundred and fifty refugees
from the burned district have arrived In
Detroit. They are all Poles who have
friends here. As they told their stories in
the native tongue, their quivering lips and
terrified eyes gave evidence that they had
passed through trying Ordeals, These per-
sons lived In Paris, where at last accounts
fOrty-eight bodies had been found.
Several persons state that while the fire
was raging the most tercely, the slnOke
was so great that no flames could be seen,
but their terrible roar could be heard, add.
ing to the horror Of the situation. The
black cloud was accompanied by terrific
hurricane and al OvUrpOwGrng heat,
which rendered breathing almost impOssi.
bic. When II pissed away the sky again
became red and finally brown. ! .li
The town OF Charleston, consisting Of
twenty-five buildings, WIS entirely de-
stroyed in iorty.hve minutes, but the great
est destruction was done In the townships
back Of IIinden, from some Of which no
one escaped to toll the story Of their fate.
Oyer in Tuscola county the loss Is csti.
mated ata quarter Of d million dollars.
There, as In Huron and Snniac, no pen
can portray the scene of ofdevastation or the
heroic fight and hair-breadth escapes from
horrible deaths, Nassar is crowded with
homeless sufferers In this county the
number Of families burned out was about
three hNndre,E. Cairo has escaped, but all
about Il, Is ruined, and on Wednesday
night the flames were within q quarter Of u
mile Of Nassar, anil nothing but the sud.
den shifting Of the wind saved the town
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