Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1891-10-01
Finlayson,s Night of Terror.


Finlayson's Night OF Terror.
Away from the scene of devastation
by fire in the Northwest the situation
has been but little understood. Ninety
four in the shade, liz in the sun, was
the torrld tale told by Twin City ther
mometers. The public schools were
closed for week. IL has been hard
work to check the fires in forests and
fields, and they are still burning, in
many places furiously. The greatest
damage so far reported is at Bradleys,
OAK, the business portion of the little
town being speedlIy reduced co asnes.
The total loss is figured at 100000, al
most wholly uninsured. Not single
business house remains. The buildings
burned were one bank, one church, one
hotel, several general stores with all
their stock, and two or three dwellings.
The country adjacent to Bradley is said
to have been almost entirely devastated
over an area twelve miles wide by twen-
ty-five long, the destruction being almost
entire to crops and farm property.
The fires in North Dakota are pretty
well under control, except around Oakes,
where several miles of wheat fields are
reported burned over Otto Fredericks,
engaged in plowing fire-break, was
overtaken and burned to death, together
with his team.
Finlayson, Mimi, had night of ter
ror. The village was thrown into the
widest state OF excitement by the re-
port that windstorm was driving a
forest fire directly toward the town, and
complete destruction was threatened.
The news had scarcely reached the
citizens before the smoke and smell
OF burning pine trees came on the
wings of the wind. Telegrams were
at once despatched to the officials of the
St Paul and Duluth Road to stop the
limited train going east at Finlayson
and hold IL until the women and chill
dren of the town could be sent away.
This was done and the train was held
until the weaker ones OF all the families
were placed aboard and sent down the
road.
The flames had reached the outskirts
of the village, and the male members of
the families commenced the work of
saving the buildings. All night long
they battled with the flames, and, aided
by the cessation of the wind, we're
finally successful The fires around
Pine City have been Quenched.
At Hinckley, Minn., also, the fire COM
pany and citizens did battle with the
sutfocated In the binding smoke, they
have fought an entire day for their
homes. The wind subsded and the fires
died down, but again stiff breeze, which
soon blew into gale, sprung up in the
southeast and famed the smo.dering
fire into fierce life ThAi A~s-@.f-si--
n.ummers lumber camp escaped by get.
ting in the river and staying there all
night A party of six men started from
one OF the Brennan Lumber Company
camps to go to another about two miles
away. Dan Sullivan, his brother, of
Mora, and Tom johnson, of Eau Claire,
were of this party After going short
ways they got in front of the fire and
Dan Sullivan, missing his brother, went
back with johnson to look for him
That was the last seen of them til their
remains were found by John Brodie and
their campmates. The bodies were lying
about twenty-four feet apart Sullivan
was buint to crisp, but Johnson's
body was only badly scorched.
Fine ashes and burned leaves fell In
shower over Duluth, while the sky was
so colored and the sun so obscured that
the Government fog whistle at the har-
Dor mouth was forced to blow to guide
in vessels East, toward Ashland, fires
are doing immense damage to settlers
and crops, besides wiping out vast guam
titles of standing pine. The intensely
hot weather has made the wooded re-
gious lfke tinder. The range or the ffres
is toward Ashland, and their progress
is aided by the fact that a week ago a
heavy wind blew down much timber, the
foliage OF which has now dried out suffi-
ciently to aid the flames.
Passengers arriving in Duluth from
the south say that all along the line of
the st. Paul and Duluth Road fires are
raging and great damage has been done
the towns OF Barnum, Mahtowa, Stur-
geon Lake and Kettle River. In the
standing timber near the railway on the
line OF the Eastern Minnesota, north of
Hinckley, considerable valuable timber
has been ruined and fires are still
raging.
On the Northern Pacific, east toward
Ashland, fires are doing immense dam
age to settlers and crops, besides wiping
out vast quantities of standing pine.
Near Iron River. thirty miles east of
Duluth, where there are many settlers,
they are losing valuable property while
working hard to save their houses.
The fire destroyed several hundred
acres of grain near Nicholson, n. ID
The heavies losers are w. Grams and
John Sweetman. A man and boy
whose names are unknown were fatally
burned while plowing fire. break. The
four horses they were using were also
burned. The FIRE caught from $500"
freight train.
A large area OF South Dakota, after
days Of sweltering heat and fire fighting,
was visited by q soaking rain which
brought relief to people almost in the
last stages Of exhaustion.