The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1891-05-15

Tonight the lumber farming towns OF
Austin, Costello, Galeton and Moore's
Run, in Potter county, are on the
verge of panic, two especially being
threatened with annihilation from fires
that seem to form an impenetrable
wall on every side.
For several days the skies have been
lighted up with fires apparently in
every direction, but little fears were
entertained by the people living in the
towns, as those threatened and in
danger were farmers in the country
districts or lumber camps in the midst
of the blazing forest. In spite Of
every effort, however, the flames crept
steadily in towards the helpless towns
until it was seen the people must fight
back the flames or have their houses
burned down over their heads.
At Moore's Run, on the pretty
Sinnemahoning road, a crowd of
seventy-five willing men, sent out from
Austin Sunday night, had been fight
ing back the fire. They made
trenches, piled up earth and lighted
back fires, but were finally obliged to
retreat. The men hastily boarded the
train and started to make run to an
other point when it was found they
were hemmcd in by the forest fires on
one side and a huge skidway of logs
on the other. 1t was finally decided
to dash past the burning skidway, and
the engineer and firemen, with
faces covered with dampened cloths
and their hands and arms wrapped in
wool, mounted the little engine and
pulled out through the wall Of fire.
The men gathered in groups on the
flats for protection or lay on their
faces on the floor. AS the blazing
furnace of logs was approached the
heat became unbearable and the
smoke so binding and sitting the men
were obliged to cover their mouths
with cloths. Just opposite the mil.
lions of feet of burning logs, where
the heat and smoke and flames were.
the greatest, terrible thing ocurred.
The engineer had forgotten that such
great heat would surely spread the
rails, and he pulled the throttle wider
In the hope of sooner escaping from
the torment Of heat and smoke. Then
then there was a lurch, an ominous
heaving and shrek Of dispair as the
train toppled over into the hell of fire
underneath. A scene ensued never to
be forgotten by those who escaped,
though every man will bear to his
grave mark of that awful moment.
The cars caught fire and the men half
blinded and scarcely realizing any
thing, except that they were being
slowly roasted to death, struggled fear
fully to regain the track where safety
lay, for time at least. Those un-
injured from the fall, and smarting
from the pain of intense heat, bravely
turned their burned, blackened hands
to aid their more unfortunate fellows.
AT this hour it is impossible to Sc
cure details, though enough is known
of the scene that followed the hurting
Oh the struggling mass OF men into the
furnace of flames, to say its like had
never occurred before.
Superintendent Badger, of the Sen
nemahoning Valley Road, was in
charge of the relief train and had
worked the hardest of them all to save
the properties Of others. When the
train d;tched and rolled over SO sud
denly he must have been injured SO as
to be unable to nelp himself, and ow-
ing to the smoke and panic he was not
found until too late -jammed in the
wreck he had evidently slowly burned
to death.
AT this time, $50 p. m., 1t is known
that six others also miserably perished
at once or died soon after, and thirty
others of the party were badly burned,
many probably fatally, owing to the
fears that they inhaled the flames
Seven others of the party are missing