Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1881-09-29

prayers and sermons than for the past
ten years. In some Of the churches
funeral services over the dead, who Of
necessity were hastily buried, were
spoken. and scores of people in and out
OF the churches, were
IN DEEPEST MOURNING.
Many Of the inhabitants recall with
anguish the experience Of tensyears
ago, but none have witnessed a sun.
day Of such appalling sOlemnity. and
the prayer Of all is that they may new
or see the like again. This morning
the Times correspondent made the
journey 90 Port Hope. thriving town
eight miles north Of sand Beech and q
tour OF the desolated district north and
west Of the town. The fiery visitation
was found 10 be- similar TO that related
OF other sections Of Huron and Sanilac
counties. but with the exception of
Parish township. Huron county, no
where Is the death-list so large. 10
was observed also that the fire cut n
wider swath from a point about four
miles southwest Of Port Hope 60 the
lake shore. The standing dead timber
and the poplar growth were quite
thick, and, all being extremely dry.
burned like finder. Scarcely anything
Is left in its path. Occasionally n
house. barn, or straw stack was found
unscathed. but the devastation is al
most complete. Hundreds of cattle
were stricken down. and ON all sides of
the state road leading 10 Port Hope
the decaying carcasses Of cattle, sheep.
and hogs were emitting
sTIFLrNo doors
under the rays Of the bright sun. As
yet the beople have not had time To-
bury them. They must be removed
soon or they will breed disease and
death that will add 90 the horrors of
the holocaust. Here and there a farm
house and barn were found Overcrowd-
cd with people whose houses had been
burned, and many OF them were short
OF provisions and clothing. AT one
house three persons who had been bad
ly burned were found. They were
lying upon the floor. there being but
one bed In the house. and that occu-
pied by n man and woman stricken
with fever. An effort 20 construct 4
couch Of rude boards was being made
by a man outside the house. None Of
the five had received medical atten.
ton.
Not far from Sand Beach n young
man named Holm was encountered.
He said that on the day of the fire nc
took his aged mother from her bed ON
which she had been lying in for some
days, and carried her as far as he could
before he was overcome by the heat.
lie laid her down and crawled some
distance along the road. lie was saved
but his mothers
CIIARRED REMAIN,
were found where he had left her
Had he carried her half u dozen rods
further. she too would have escaped.
One instance of surprising lack of even
brute affection was related by suffer.
er. "A boy. IL years Of age, was living
III OF n fever, was almost insensible
when the fire approached. His mother
two sisters, and brother hurriedly babe
him goodbye and ran from the house
Fortunately for the lad the house did
not burn, and he is recovering. Mrs.
II. Wade. Of RubicOn township. not far
from Fort Hope. was found leaning
against charred tree. having died i'm
the throes of childbirth. Numerous
instances OF equal horror and others of
narrow escape were heard i'm the
neighborhOOd. At Port Hone very
little has been done for the sufferers
except by the people of the Immediate
neighborhood, many Of whom have
sustained heavy loss. The PRINCIPAL
sufferer In the town is w. II. Stafford
whose loss will reach $4,000 His
mill, three thousand barrels of salt
dock. and four hundred tons of hay
were swept away. Some other parties
lost few tons OF hay. The reports
that have been sent out regarding the
total destruction Of the town are false.
They have been caring for over two
hundred people. but the number IA
now less. They are In great need of
provisions and household furniture of
all kinds. also lumber. They have
enough clothes. What they need is
shelter and housekeeping utensils. IL
has finally been definitely ascertained
that the deaths in the FIVE townships
OF sand Beach, Rubicon, Gore. Huron,
and bloomfield number thirty-two. Ac.
cording to the best authority the mum.
Der OF deaths In Paris township was
fOrty-three Owing 20 the hurry I'm
burying some Of the dead and the fact
That some OF the surviving relatives
have left the township. IL Is impossi.
Ole 70 obtain n correct list now. I'm
bingham township the deaths number
twenty. In sherman township there
were two deaths. two little children Of
George Shadrach perishing in the
flames. In Sheridan. old man Hubbell
and another named Johnson died from
the effect Of burns. According TO this
statement the number of deaths re-
sulting from the Gre Is ninety-nine
There IL no question that thece figures
are reliable. At least they are not ex-
aggerated. The total lost Of property
In the county cannot be stated, and n \
VIII 10 some time before anything like
reliable figures are secured. II
The insurance companies principally
interested In the losses are the Farm
ers' Mutual and Mercantile. of Tnscola-
Sanilac. and Huron. 10 Is believed |
that the losses Of these companies have
been 30 heavy In the two counties thew
VII not DO able to pay out by consider
ao.e Inc other companies that have
$50 . are The Home. Manhattan, De-
uolt FIRE and Marine. and North
American. The loss in the town will
reach $4,000. Tho total loss In We
roma township. In which Verona Mills
sna bad Axe are located, will reach
tzoOOOl. and perhaps the estimate Is
700 LghI Although no lives were
sacrificed In Bad Axe. no people In the
desolate district had a narrower escape
from sudden and awful fate Ac-
cordlng 10 the statement Of County
Clerk Carr, The air was filled with Gre.