River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1889-04-11
a FIERY FATE.
More Victims OF the Blazing Prairies-
Scenes of Horror ia the Burned District
Terrible Plight of "A Young Girl.

More Victims OF the Blazing PraIries-
scenes of Horror in the burned District
Terrible Plight of "a Young Girl.
/ ST. PAUL, Mimi, April 6.-The list Of
losses by prairie fires in Dakota increases
ana the descriptions of hair breadth escapes
( are very thrilling. In Aankton County alone
the damage is placed at sij0000 Near
Rapid City Prof. q. f. Baileys ranch
was destroyed When a party of neigh
/ bors drove through the binding smoke
10 the rear OF the house an appalling
sight met their gaze Standing in a
little hollow below the ruins Of the house
was Eloise Madison, blistered and scorched
and burned, with hardly shred of clothing
/ upon her. The poor girl must have been in
the condition in which she was found for at
least quarter of an hour. Her clothing,
save the collar of her dress, part of the
stocking on her right foot and the right shoe,
had been completely burned from her body
which presented an awful appearance,
| hardly spot upon her escaping unburned
I Standing unaided and conscious OF her ter
rtbie condition, she greeted he first per-
son who came to her assistance with the
4 ejaculation
My Code Can't You do something for
me?'
1 Strong men shuddered, and for moment
turned away but for a moment only, when
ready hands did every thing that could be
done for her
I Mrs. G. J.. Bailey il whose employ the
| young girl was, and William Ashton the
hired man. had a very narrow escape and
as it was suffered painful but not danger
Gus injuries Mrs Bailey says when the fire
caught the dwelling house it blazed up like
/ finder and allowed them no alternative but
| TO run for their lives. This they did Mr.
I Ashton taking each of the women by the
| arm and starting with them through
/ the smoke and flames. They had gone but
a short distance when Miss Madison fell
| The smoke was so thick that when they
stopped TO look for her she could not be
seen, and, thinking that she had gone in
another direction, they resumed their eff
4 forts to escape After "A severe struggle
they succeeded in getting to the wirdward
SIDE of the fire and made their way to a
neiehboring ranch
| At George Hunts place the family had
/ just seated themselves at the dinner table
when Mrs Hunt saw sparks flying in
/ through crack in the kitch en-.
Selling blanket apiece the people
/ in the house threw them over their
/ heads and started from the building
/ By good fortune all succeeded in reaching a
! place OF safety. For twenty feet their path
was through q sheet of flame fifty feet high.
! Thousands OF dollars worth of property
was destroyed within ten miles Of Freeman.
| Thirty-two families lost their homes. only
escaping partly clothed Machinery, grain,
/ hay and a great amount of stock were
/ burned. The unfortunate farmers are en-
| tirely destitute and without food or shelter,
! In Douglas County the fire was one of the
worst ever known Many farmols lost every
thing and are homeless and destitute. The
| house OF William Cline was burned, Mrs
4 Cline perishing in the flames. She was 20
/ years old, and was the mother of T. W.
/ Cline, prosecuting attorney of Douglas
| County
At Ashton the air was so full of dust that
a person could not see 100 yards distant.
| Several buildings in this town were stripped
| of their tin roofs, while numerous small
! buildings and fences were blown down.
Near lakewood lake lives Frank Goodfel-
\ low. He was away from home when the
/ fire came. Mrs. Goodfellow and her three
children herociallv fought the flames for
/ several hours, and then were forced to get
/ down on their knees while the flames passed
over them Mrs Goodfellow is SO badly
/ burned that she win probably die.
In Brule County casualties are being re-
! ported daily Fully 100 families have lost
/ everything, the loss reaching Sl)u.NuU Two
women were burned to death near Cham
berlain. 1t is reported at the latter place
that the fire was started by Indians on the
reservation. Crow Creek agency had q
narrow escape.
YANKToN, =. T., April 1.-THE stories of
4 the farmers who suffered by the flames
| Tuesday show that it was no ordinary
\ prairie fire. 1t licked up every thing COM
/ bustible, and grass and stubble and wood
/ broke into flame seemingly without COM
| ing in contact with fire. The combustion
/ was almost spontaneous in the dry and
\ heated condition of the atmosphere set
! in motion by the terrible gale. The condi-
/ tions seemed similar TO those existing at the
1 time of the great Chicago fire and the fires
/ in the Wisconsin woods when the atmos-
/ phere was almost ready TO ignite and burn.
4 An intense electrical condition also pre-
vailed All things considered, the vista
4 ton was as remarkable as it was calam-