The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1889-04-11
A WAVE OF FIRE.
Villages and Towns Leveled to the Ground,
Farm Houses, Barns and Live Stock
Consum ed-Losses Aggregating
Millions of Dollars.

nesota have been swept by series oi
wind storms which have caused hun.
dreds of thousands of dollars damage to
property, and several lives have been
lost. The storm started Monday night
and swept over large area South OF
the Northern Pacific Railroad in
Dakota, and extending into the South
ern tiers of Counties in this State.
The greatest damage has not been
caused by wind alone. but in many
places the fires, famed into fury by
the storms, have wiped out of existence
several small villages and hundreds of
farmers houses.
The towns almost completely de-
stroyed are Violin, Olivet, Pukawana,
Lesterville and Mount Vernon, and
three or four villages were badly
damaged. At Violin every house in
the place except three were demolished
and 100 people are without homes.
Lesterville is flattened to the ground
and twenty families are without roof.
A terrible gale of wind struck Mount
Vernon and fire started from a small
house that was blown over early last
night. No human power could stop
the flames, and in an hour the best
portion of the place was one great rag
ing fire. Nearly 2OO families are home
less and the loss will foot up 5000, ,0G0.
1t is reported that several persons lost
their lives in this fire, but no confrma-
ton has yet been received. Four large
elevators and the Milwaukee depot
were destroyed.
Near Clunt, one man lost 500 head of
sheep which were caught in the
prairie fire. Several head of horses
were saved by swimming the river. In
many places the crops were covered
by loose sand and dust and will have
to be replanted.
Travel was suspended on some lines
of road so great was the force of the
wind. Clouds Of dust prevented the
engineers from seeing the track. A
report from Gary says the sun was
almost totally obscured, and the super
stitious thought the end of the world
had come. Farm houses and barns
were swept away and horses and cattle
were burned to death by scores.
Near Milbank fifty head Of live stock
are reported lost, and fire has swept
over twenty miles of country, causing
immense losses. --..-
The storm has abated somewhat, but
the wind is yet high enough to keep
the fire burning fiercely, and further
heavy losses are almost certain. The
damages in Minnesota is much less
than in Dakota, as the force of the
storm was pretty we'll spent before it
reached the boundary.
A dispatch from Yankton, Dakota,
says: The records of the Signal Office
show that during the prevalence of the
fires in this region the humidity was
but seven per cent.-a condition of
dryness, Sergeant Oswald says, never
before attained in this region. The
maximum humidity is 100; the mean
annual humidity here is 20. This
shows that the atmosphere was almost
devoid of moisture. The velocity of the
wind was forty-six miles an hour. The
losses in South Dakota will foot up
$1,000, 900, at low calculation.
ST. PAUL, April "A Lake Benton,
Mimi, special says: The most devas-
tating prairie fire ever known ragged
over the prairies West and North of
Lake Benton Tuesday. The wind was
a hurricane for nearly twenty-four
hours, and swept the fire along with
resistless force, passing the widest fire
breaks as nothing and leaping plowed
fields with bound, itllcked up houses,
barns, stock and in some places human
lives. The greatest destruction of
property and loss of life is in Dakota.
Rec Heights, a town West on the
Northwestern road, is almost Destroy
ed. Denpster, station of the Wa
tertown branch, is reported destroyed.
Spaulding's Ranch, near there, is also
reported consumed. Crossing into
Lincoln County, over a tract of land
comparatively little settled and covered
with heavy growth of grass, it swept
on with renewed velocity. 1t is re-
ported that Henry Kourth, Mr.. Berg,
6. NJ. Moon and others near here lost
nearly all their buildings with con-
tents
A Jackson, Mimi, special says: The
prairie frss prove more general than
was at first believed. Additional losses
are reported from all directions, and
messengers bring news Of stubborn
fights to save endangered property.
Fires were raging in every direction,
and each seemed to pursue a distir ct
course Of its own. The fire which
would have swept this village from the
face of the earth has been traced to its
origin. The search eliminated in the
arrest Of James Traynick. When ar
raigned he pleaded guilty and was sen.
fenced to pay s25 and costs, or in de.
fault thereof sixty days in Gail. Much
dissatisfaction is expressed about thi:
sentence. Public opinion is that justice
has been too highly tempered will
mercy.
The Miller, Dakota, correspondent O
the Pioneer Press telegraphs: TIL
prairie fires Tuesday night destroye'
about forty houses, many barns, a larg