Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-04-05
Parts of Dakota and Mime
sofa Swept by Fire,
AS WITH BEsOM OF DESTRUCTION
The Terrible Prairie Fires lrresisti'
BILE March Over Farm
house and Town.
Associated Press Dispatches to the HERALD.

storms, which have caused millions OF
dollars Of damage to property and several
lives have been lost. The storm started
Monday night and swept over a large
area south of the Northern Pacific in
Dakota, extending into the southern tier
of counties in this State. The greatest
damage has not been caused by the wind
alone, but in many places fires have been
famed into fury by the storms and have
wiped out of existence several small
villages and hundreds OF farmers
houses, rendering hundreds OF families
homeless. The towns almost com
pletely destroyed are Violin, Olivet, Suk-
wana, Testerville and Mt. Vernon and
three or four other villages badly dam
aged.
Many head of cattle, sheep and horses
have also perished. In many places the
crops are covered by loose sand and dust,
and will have to be replanted. Travel is
suspended on some lines of road so great
waathe force of the winds. The storm
has abated somewhat, but the wind is
vet high enough to keep the fires burn
ing freely, and further heavy losses are
almost certain. The damage ia Minne-
sofa is much less than in Dakota, as the
force of the storm was pretty well spent
before it reached the border. The losses
in South Dakota are $2,000,0 900 at low
calculation.
MITCHELL, Oak April 4.-Nobody but
a man who has stood before prairie fire
and tried to stay its awful rush and roar
when it is famed by fresh wind, can
appreciate its almost resistless force. The
fires that have brought SO much loss and
suffering to southeastern Dakota In the
last few days, were practically irresisti-
BILE. The flames in some instances leaped
100 feet of plowed ground, and rushed
away again on their career of destruction.
All ordinary precautions were vain. The
spring has been very dry, and the top OF
the ground has been dusty or baked, and
an extremely high wind prevailed during
the fires. Under these conditions, when
ever fire touched the grass it burst out
with flash almost like powder and shot
away across the prairie like an arrow, its
course ever widening. To extinguish it
by water, of course, was out OF the ques-
tion Flowing fre-breaks was slow work,
and the high wind often drove the flames
across them.
1t was O'Clock in the afternoon when
the people Of Mt. Vernon saw the wide
spreading prairies, northwest OF them,
break out into blaze. The smoke was
dashed into and through the town on
the wings of the wind. The flames
rushed after with savage fury. Mitchell
was telegraphed to for help, and 100
firemen with hook and ladders were
sent. The entire population of Mt.
Vernon and the men from Mitchell met
the furious flames on the outskirts of the
town and fought them in vain. The
town was burned and 100 families are
homeless. The loss is $50, 900. Outside
of the town, it is impossible yet to say
what the loss is. Lonely little farm
houses, scattered over the prairie, are
wiped out by dozens. Stories of losses
of life may come later.
YANKToN, OAK, April 3.-Stories OF
fire that swept over the country north Of
here continue to come in. Violin village
has only three buildings standing;
Olivet, Hutchinson county, was burned
Puklanna was wiped out. In Yankton
county about twenty families were burned
out. In the vicinity of Janesville, twelve
miles north of Yankton, eight farmers
sustained losses ranging from 81 600 to
SIS, 900 each. Around Janesville the loss
will foot up SIC, 900. One man lost 81 900
in money which he had in his coat on a
piece of plowed ground three hundred
feet from the grass. Two wagons were
burned one hundred feet from the Ore.
sixty miles of telegraph was blown down
between Centerville and Huron.
BLUNT, OAK, April 4-Stories of the
f1rh of fire continue to be brought into
town by stragglers. They say the wind
would gather up loose tinder, and, hurl-
ing it high in the air, carry it ahead OF
the surface fire, alighting on barns and
houses and igniting the prairie fifty yards
in advance of the surface fire. Houses
and barns were burned merely where the
fire was CARED over 100 yards across
newly broken ground. The losses are
estimated at 5000 900 in this vicinity.
HIGHMoRE, OAK, April A destruct-
i've prairie fire started on the evening Of
the list, five miles from Highmore, on
the farm of James Ingram. While he
was smoking his pipe, his barn caught
fire and was destroyed. The fierce wind
carried the fire to the prairie, and the
work of destruction began. Houses,
barns and stock were burned. Tuesday
morning the wind reached a terrific gale.
No ordinary fire-break made any resist.
ance to the sweeping flames. At 3 p. NJ.
the fire reached the Heights,
some fifteen miles east of High
more, where the thirteen residences
in the town were destroyed. At sun
down, Tuesday, another fire started in
the northern part of Hyde county, sweep
ing away six homes, burning to death
Mrs. Annie SweeneT and her 5-year'
old baby. Eugene Tibbs, and Mrs.
Tibbs and Mr.. and Mrs. Ruby are dan-
gerously burned, the two former fatally:
The losses will reach many thousands OF
dollars.
SCOTLAND, Oak, April At would he
impossible to take $2,000,0OO to cover
the loss in this county. The Hutch
ison Herald Office is burned. The loss
amounts to $50, 900 with less than $6 900
insurance. The farmers places near
Olivet were completely bnrned, and
another fire east of Scotland destroyed
everything on the farms of A. o. Fansky,
Gus Evanson and M. Shock. On the
stock farm of E. s. Sweet three barns
were burned. Loss, $1,000. Twelve
miles west of Scotland a prairie fire
ragged. Twenty farmers are known to
have lost everything.
ABERDEEN, Oak, April A terrible
story of the destruction of Leola, the
county seat of Mcpherson county, noted
in last nights dispatches, has been