Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1889-04-12
MILES OF FLAME.
DakOta's Broad Prairies Swept by Fire
Towns and Scores of Home
steadS Swept Out,
The Losses in South Dakota Alone Will
Aggregate Two Million Dollars
A Number of Lives Lost
The Various Reports.

MITCHELL, Oak, April 4.-Nobody but
a man who has stood before prairie fire
and tried to stay its awful lush and roar
when it is famed by fresh wind, can ap-
preciate its almost resistless force. The
fires that have brought so much loss and
suffering to Southeastern Dakota in the
last few days were practically irresistible.
Flames In some instances leapsd 100 feet
of plowed ground and rushed away again
on their career of destruction. Ali ordin-
ary precautions were vain. The spring
has been very dry and the top of the
ground has been dusty or baked. The
signal observer at Yankton says that the
humidity of the air was bat per cent
TUESDAY, condition of drypess never
before attained. As the mean annual hu-
mildly is 20, this shows that the atmos-
phere was practically devoid of moisture.
Then the wind from the northeast ble~
between forty and fifty miles an hour,
tanning the flames into fury.
Under these conditions wherever fire
touched the grass it burst out with Fl ash
almost like powder, and shot away across
the prairie like an arrow, its course ever
widening. To extlnguish it by water, of
course, was out of the Q uestion. Flowing
fireworks was slow work and the high
wind often drove the flames across them
1t WAS 3 O'Clock when the people of
Mt. Vernon saw the wide spreading prai-
rie northwest of them break out into a
blaze. The smoke was dashed into and
through the town on the wings of the
wind. The flames rushed after with say
age fury. Mitchell was teleg egraphed 10 for
help and 100 firemen with hook and lad
der were sent at once. The entire popu-
lation of Mt. Vernon and the men from
Mitchell met the furious flames on the
odtskirts of the town, and fought with
desperation, but in vain. No lives were
lost, but forty-tive buildings were burned
and 100 families left homeless. The loss
is put at $4,000. Outside of the town,
it Is impossible to say what the loss is.
Lonely farm houses scattered over the
prairie are wiped out by dozens. Stories
of losses of life may come in later.
As near as can be estimates this morn
ing the losses in South Dakota will reach
$2,0000O0.
HURRICANES OF FIRE.
YANKToN, Oak, April 4-The stories of
the terrible losses by the hurricanes
of fire that swept over the country north
of here continue to come in. Columns
might,be written of the horrors of the last
few days and the heroic struggles to save
home and property that the farmers have
worked so hard to secure. Violin village
has only three buildings standing; O.ivet
hutchinson county, was burned, and
Pukwanna wiped out. Tbs losers in
Iankton county are: M. M. Johnston, R.
Anderson, F. OFT. Mrs. Stock we'll, R.
Pringle, j. F. Olson, David Perley, James
Hoxing, John Hundershot, Leroy Jencks,
H. Holbrook, Z. S. Violin, A. H. Violin,
Joseph Bsckmeir, Henry Raks, Charles
Stencil, William Randall, s. NJ. Howe.
In the vicinity of GAINESVILLE, twelve
miles north of Yankton, eight farmers
sustained losses running from 81 900 to
$4,000 each. Among these were n. John
ston, Charles Houk, Wallace Brothers
and Z. G. Cook. Around GAINESVILLE the
loss will foot up $4,000. One mau lost
1000 which he had in his coat on a
piece of plowed ground, 300 feet from
the grass Two new wagons were burned
loo feet from the fire. Sixty miles of
Western Union wires were blown down
between CentrevilIe and Huron.
BLUNT, OAK, April 4.-The stories Of
the fury of the fire continue to be
brought into town by straggler4. They
say that the wind would gather up the
loose tinder, and, hurling it high into
the air, carry 1t ahead of the surface fire,
aliehting on barns and houses and ig-
hitting the prairie fifty yards in advance
of the prairie fire. Houses and barns
were burned where the fire was carried
over 100 yards across new broken grouud
The losses are estimated at 5000 900 iu
this vicinity.