St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1881-11-12
A THRILLING PICTURE OF
TEE RECENT FOREST
FIRES IN MICHIGAN.
detroit Free Press.

lac, Huron and Tuscola counties
but no one apprehended any dan
ger. Farmers had set fire to saash
ings to clear the groaod for fal
wheat. but this happens every fall
and the fact that not a diop OF water
had fallen for from fifty to seventy
days was not considered by those
who saw the smoke-clouds and re-
piled that there was no danger.
There was danger: Behiud that
pail of smoke was a greater enemy
than an earthquake, and it had a
tornado at its back aEd .wo hun
dred miles of forest in the front
From noon until two o'clock a
strange terror held the people in its
grip; then all of a sudden The heay-
ems took fire, or SO it seemed to
hundreds. In some localities it
came with the sound of thunder.
In others it was preceded by ter
rible and fearful roaring, as if a
tidal wave were sweeping over the
country. Almost at the same min
ute the flames appeared in every
spot over district of country tLir-
ty miles broad by one hundred in
length.
At Richmondville, ten miles above
Sanilac, one hundred and fifty peo-
pie had comfortable homes, stacks
of hay and grain, teams, cows, pigs,
sheep, and no fear of the fire which
they knew was burning a mile
away. At two o'clock the flames
rushed out of the woods. leaped the
fences, ran across the bare fields,
and swallowed every house and
roasted alive dozen people. 1t is
hardly, forty rods to the beach of
the lake. and yet many people had
no time to reach the water. Others
reached it with their clothing on
fire and faces and hands blistered.
The houses did not burn siugly. but
one billow of fame seized all at
once. and reduced them to nothing
in ten minutes.
I saw many and many spot
where the pillows of fire jumped a
clean half mile out of the forest to
clutch a house or barn. The Thorn
ton family were wiped out, with the
exception of boy. Thornton had
hitched up his team to drive the
family TO place of safety, but when
he saw that they were all surround
d by the flames, he unhitched the
horses in despair. Before they
could be Embarrassed they bolted
n different directions, and the old
nan became 50 confused that he
IAN directly toward big slashing, ,
which was tien perfect mass of
lame, and dropped and died with
lis head toward 1t. In the mean .
;ime the mother and children had
AIKEN refuge in the root house.
This was structure mostly sunk :
n the ground, and the roof well .
covered with earth. Here they 9
we're all right for time, but when
he father failed to join them, one
,f the sons went out to see what :
'aused the delay. He was hardly .
'ut Of the place before the door /.
hrough which he had passed was =
n flames. In this emergency he .
an to dry creek, and by lying on =
lis face and keeping his mouth to ;
be ground, he lived through it.
I talked with o woman who lived
ear to the Thorntons. and who es- :.
aped by fleeing to field of plowed y
round. This was only a few rods
rom the root house, and she said ,
was fully an hour before the !.
creams and shrieks and groans =
rom the people inside grew quiet !
, death. One by one they were !
ufocated by heat and smoke, and