St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-09-27
HOMELESS DkKOTANS
The Emmons County Prairie
Fires Swept Everything
Before Them.
Hundreds Of Families Lose
Their Homes and Their
Grain.
The Total Loss to Stock and
Property Will Reach
$500,0CO.
Some Loss Of Life Reported
From Wisconsin Forest
Fires.
Specials to the Globe.

CpecldIs 10 the OlODe.
DAWSON. n. D., Sept. 2S.-To- days
reports from Emmons county, North
Dakota, say nearly half the county is
blackene d waste. Wheat fields, mead
ows, farm houses and miles Of fences
were swept away by the resistless
flames, and half dozen people are
known to have been burned to death.
Whole herds of cattle, hemmed in by
the awful confagratiOD, were burned to
death. The prairies are strewn with
carcasses, aud the total loss to property
and live stock will foot up the appalling
total of S50O,00O Hundreds of families
are homeless and penniless. and in
many instances they had to flee from
their abodes with only the clothes Oh
their backs. There is certain to be
great suffering this winter unless assist
ance comes to them from the outside.
The fire which started this great con-
f1agration was set by a threshing
machine. Reports from the west side
of the Missouri are of an equally dis
couraging nature. The Sioux Indians,
careless and ignorant, did not pillow fire
breaks, and the flames, once started, ate
their way over miles of wheat fields,
running the crops and in places abso-
lutely baking the potatoes in the ground.
The suffering among the reds, however,
will not be great, as the government
must furnish them with food.
Among the lives lost were those Of
man, his wife and son, who were trying
to save their farm property. Several
hundred men managed to stop the prog
ress of the flames just as they reached
the boundary of Mcintosh county,
where the fires would have had clean
sweep. The people in the district
burned over in Emons county are in a.
pitiable plight without food or shelter
BLACK RIVER FALLS. Wis, Sept. 26.
Reliable reports from the east fork of
the county to-day say that forest fires
are raging in that vicinity. Lumber
ing camps. timber and hay are being re-
duced to ashes. Even the flooding dams
on the streams are not spared by the
raging flames. Bears, deer and all man.
ner of small game are seeking the
streams for place of safety, and the
presence of man will not drive them
from their refuge. In this vicinity fires
are raging on every side, and a large
amount of property has been destroyed.
Last night smoke was so thick in the
streets that one could not detect man
distance of three feet in the immediate
vicinity of the electric light.
GREEN BAY, Wis, Sept 26. All yes
terday the smoke from the surround
Ing forest fires has hung like black
pail over the city, and last night, away
to the west the flames could be seen as
| they leaped from tree to tree in the
| great pine forest. The situation on the
Upper peninsular, especially in ADra-
! hams district. is growing desperate.
! Thousands of men are out battling with
the fire in an almost vain attempt to
| stop its course. Southwest of this city
the little hamlet of Snyderville is threat
| ened with destruction. 1t is reported
that fifteen farm houses to the south
west in the path of the fire were de-
stroyed. At Peshtigo all the inhabitants
are engaged in digging fire trenches as
safeguard against the fire, which is
drawing dangerously near.
TURTLE LAKE, Mimi, Sept. &c.
Word has reached this village that the
family of Mr.. Nesse, farmer living a
short distance out of town. consisting OF
himself, his wife and several small
children, were hemmed in by the flames
and no doubt burned to death, as nc
help could reach them.
CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis, Sept. 3d.
Forest fires are raging all over Chip
pewa county. Considerable timber
land, barns containing summer crops
stock, etc., have been burned. Severa
villages have been burned. On all side;
reports of fires spreading rapidly are
coming in. The air in this city is thicl
with smoke.