The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1881-09-16

once separated. Many took refuge in wells and
root-houses, thinking to escape, hut in almost
every instance were suffocated. Details OF the
disaster IN Huron are az bad az here. be-
lieve that when the returns are in 1000 per-
sons will be- found TO have persisted i'm the
flames. Forester township will turn out Thurs
day TO bury the dead cattle, sheep and horses.
the stencil from which IN unbearaoe. The Rev.
w. L. Abingdon found sixteen dead bodies near
peckerville. Only five buildings were left be-
tween that place and Minden. John Flytewa-
gers femily seven children and wife, were
all burned together in Paris township, with fif-
teen others. The Day family were burned.
Morris Clifford, wife and child. A msn and
woman arc lying dead In the road tetween
Donner's raill and Tyre. Fifteen families were
burned IN Moore and Argyle. Five hundred
families are reported at Minden having
been burned out A woman aud seven head
Of cattle were burned at Smiths mill, half
q mile from Tyre. Wherever house il left
people flock to II like sheep 10 the fold, i'll some
places as many Ak six families being IN a log
shanty. They must have relief from the blow
or great suffering will be the result. saw many
families to-day who had not one meal since
Monday. and who do not know when they will
get one. Their teams are all gone, and their
COWS and other stock burned. Desolahon stares
them IN the face They talk about their misfort-
une, and many of them say, bad as ii ia, it might
bea great deal worse. They are glad TO get away
with their lives. Many OF the men are Cana
and have just begun to get things in comfort
able shape. Many need medicine and medical
attendance"
The following appeal has been issued by the
committee of citizens of Port Huron. headed
by Senator Conger, Mayor Carleton and others:
To the People Of the United States:
A most appalling disaster has fallen upon
large portion OF the counties of Huron and
Sanilac, with some adjacent territory, q section
of country recently covered with forest and
now occupied by nearly $4,000 people, largely
recently settled, and either poor or in very
moderate circumstances. In the whole OF this
section there has been but little rain during
The past two months, and everything was dry,
when on Monday, Sept. B, hurricane swept
over 1t, carving with 1t sheet OF flame that
hardly anything could withstand. We have
advices of 200 persons burned to death,
many of them by the roadside or in the fields
while seeking places of safety, and 1t Is
probable that twice this number have persisted.
We have reports from twenty or more
townships, in which scarcely a. house, barn
or supplies of any kind are left, and
thousands of people are destitute and help
less. All of these people require immediate
assistance, and most Of them must depend ON
charity for months to come. We are doing
all in our power to succor them, but the
necessities of the case are so grea, that con-
tributions from charitable people through
them throughout the winter We. therefore,
appeal to you to send money, clothing, bed
ding. provisions. or any other supplies that
will help maintain the sufferers, and enable
them TO provide shelter for themselves, and
begin work again on their farms. Contribu-
tons NAV be sent to the Mayor, f. G. Carleton,
Chairman of the Relief Committee appointed by
the citizens of Port Huron, who have sent
agents through the burned district to ascertain
the wants OF the sufferers and distribute sup
plies.
DETROIT, Sept. 10.
The forest fires in the lower peninsula of this
State have been quite generally quenched by rain
after ravaging thirty-six townships, and the ex-
tent of the awful calamity is beginning to reveal
itself. The devastation is even more wide
spread than had been feared by the most de-
spondent. 1t seems, from present reports
that about thirty-one townships in Tuscola,
Sanilac and Huron counties have been
swept over by the flames. In this
district are about fourteen villages utterly de-
stroyed, and the surrounding country shorn 80
close by the fire as to leave the ground cleared
like newly-sown field. No estimate Of losses
or deaths can be made with any degree Of ac-
curacy but news from Trustworthy sources
leads to the BELIEF that the estimate on 200
lives lost is very low and that 300 is near
or the reality. The awful details are be-
RlIlllnR 10 COflo I'd nduO. lnty are Oh n
character to make strong mon shudder. Com
muncation with the burnt district has been
again opened and assistance Is being rapidly
furnished. Many persons are still missing in
the burned districts, and the exact loss cannot
be known for some dayl Among reports Of
burials are the following:
Paris township. %
Austln 10
mlhueh''
DelaWare'.
AByie'''. ''''..'................
1t Is said that twenty-seven dead have been
found IN the country between Bad Ak and Port
Hope. dispatch from Ludington estimates
that the probable loss OF life Is from 800 to
400 IN Sanllac county alone. The towns of
Watertown. Flynn, Elmer, Moore, Argyle, Ever
green, Greeneaf and Eaton have suffered fear
full loss in lives, and the destruction of proper
~ IN these townships is immense. EVERYTHING
Is gone, and the people are congregated at
these places.
In some localities whole families have per-
ished in the flames, and on the eastern and
north border Of the county their condition is
pitiful in the extreme. The facts are more
horrible than heretofore reported, and many
have suspended business to attend TO tho un-
fortunates. On the other side OF Cass
river, the condition is deplorabe, and the
sufferers are without homes, food or clothing.
Immediate relief IL contributed literally. but
TIC OullOOh lOI Tue future III OhTk lnuce0.
Men who have grown old clearing land and
were enjoying the fruits OF their labor in COM
Portable homes, have lost everything and been
made paupers.
The territory burned over is peopled by AZ
least DC, 900 inhabitants, one-half of whom have
settled here within ten years. The conditions
which made the fire so destructive were these:
Fully two-thirds OF the timber over the entire
burned tract was destroyed by the great fire OF
1871, and was piled up in miles OF windfalls,
or, If standing, was mere kindling- wood. The
settlers preferred burned lands as being easily
! cleared, and hundreds Of new homes were sur
rounded by great tracts Of fallen
timber. The roads were lined on either
side by it, and many who persisted
were caught on these roads and hemmed
in by labyrinths of this burning hemlock,
black ash and pine. There had been no rains
over this region since spring to wet down any
depth. Even swamps which were usually GOV.
cred with one or two feet Of water had become
dry as finder. For weeks there had been nc
heavy winds. The prevailing winds had been
| from Lake Huron, with which fires did not run.
On the day of the great fire there was not q
square mile In all tho burned region that did
not hold more or less fire. Monday morning
opened with cloudless sky, the mercury grad
ually rising to 100 and over. The wind was
| south, running to southwest, and bv noon in.