Birmingham age-herald., 1894-07-29
GREAT FOREST FIRE
Which Ragged Throughout WisoOn-
 sin Under Control.
THREE TOWNS WIPED OUT
And Thousands Destitute and Homeless-GenerouS Citizens
 Respond to Calls for Aid.

hCSOOllO IO OcAliS tOi fAtSs
 MlLwAUKEE, Wis.,. July 2s.-General | Manager H. F. Whitcomb of the Wiscon- sin road this noon made the following au- thentic statement in regard to the forest | fires in the northern part of the state: Trains from the south have reached the south end of the Phillips yard. Trains
 from the north have reached the first bridge
 north of Phillips, about one mile north of | the station, this bridge having been dam aged by fire. Nearly the whole city of | Phillips is destroyed, including the saw
 and blaming mills and box factory ot the | John R. Davis lumber company and | Shaw's tannery. About thirty houses are | left standing in Phillips.
 | Aside from the people rendered home-
 less by the destruction of the city Of Phil | lips, great many settlers along our line l have lost their homes aud all of their be- | longings. The fires in the forests are still
 burning, but some rain fell last night and
 the fires are not spreading. The loss is
 estimated at several million dollars.
 The town of Phillips, the county seat of
 lage of Mason, in Bayfield, county, are l wiped of the map. Phillips was town of | 5000 inhabitants. Most of these are home- | less. The less at Mason will reach $1 ,0O0, l JUL: LlAb at IullllpS GuF6S blIu65 Iudb LluCus The entire northern portion of the state, | the lumber region, is full of forest fires, | which doing immense damage to | standing timber.
 It is reported that many lives have been
 lost, but of these no authentic reports have | been received.
 AID BEING SENT. | MILWAUKEE, Wis. July 2S.-The total | destruction by fire of the prosperous town
 of Phillips, in Prince county, as result of | the devastating confiagration during the
 week, brought quick and generous re- | aponses to the appeals for succor rom ali | parts of the Badger state today. The
 bare news that 5000 men, women and chil- | dren had been suddenly rendered homeless | and destitute of the necessaries of exist'
 ence was sufficient to awake practical ex- | pression of sympathy, in which the state | authorities and business men Of Milwaukee | were leaders.
 | The escape of all the unfortunate victims
 from death or burning was considered as | miraculous, when they were surrounded | by the flaming forests and buildings of the | town. The Big Elk river, which runs
 through Phillips, afforded a haven of
 refuge to many of the inhabitants. Ihe | destruction of Phillips was followed by the
 prayed for rain, which soon quenched
 the forest fires along the North | ern Pacific, Omaha and South Shore
 roads between West Superior and Ashland,
 as we'll as the destructive confagrations to | the south on the line of the. Wisconsin Gen.
 tral and in the Michigan peninsula and l Gogebic range region. Fifteen carloads of | provisions, clothing and tents are either in | the hands of the Phillips victims tonight or | will be tomorrow.
 | The report from Mason, in Bayfeld
 county, and Shores Crossing, which partly
 burned, show that the people are in want | of the necessaries of life.
 | Quartermaster- General Auer today re-
 ceived the following dispatch from the | governor:
 "OcoNoMowoC, Wis.,, July 29.-Meet
 me at the St. Paul depot, Milwaukee, at 3:30 Arrange for two or three cars on the
 Wisconsin road to send relief to Phillips
 tonight. Buy 100 barrels of floor and 2000 | pounds of bacon, hams, etc. Buy 1000
 loaves of bread. Get the things under way
 and we will arrange the rest on my ar
 rival. GEO. PECK, -
 The following dispatch was received by
 Governor Peck from B. w. Davis, chair
 man of the county board at Phillips, and
 repeated to General Auer:
 | "PHILLIPs, Wis. July 2S.-To Governo or | Peck: Send tents aud blankets for 100G I people. 'B. w. DAVIS" Y" f The following message was received CD
 'change today:
 "PHILLIps, Wis.,, July 2S.-Our city is
 ontirel destroyed by fire, leaving 5000
 Please take immediate steps and send re- | lief. 'B. w. DAVIS, sChairman Relief Committee.
 Mayor Rock received an appeal from Phil | lips and immediately notified President
 Hansen of the Merchants and Manufactur-
 ers' association and call for meeting of | that organization at Il o'clock this fore | noon was issued. It was decided 10 send l three car loads of provisions, consisting of | bread, crackers, meats and other articles
 donated, on the S:35 o'clock passenger | train over the Wisconsin Central. The
 first contribution to the Phillips sufferers | was carload of flour from the Milwaukee 1 nillers.
 Reports from Phillips received at the l central ofiicss this afternoon state that fonr | car loads of provisions have already been
 rec .ived for the fire sufferers. Wausau, | Ashland and Portage each sent car load, | while car load of meat in transit at Fair
 field was also turned over to the relief | committee. Eight cars of provisions are | already on the road to Phillips. l SUMMARY OF THE RESULTS. The following is a summary oi the fire
 losses: Tbeisity of Phillips, entirely wiped out; the city of Mason, practically de- stroyed with the White River I.uu Der con- | pany and 30,000, ,0C0 feet of lumber; head l quarters of the Ashland Lumber company,
 near Shores Crossing, entirely wiped out; | special train of the Chicago, St. Paul, | Minneapolis and Omaha, consisting of six teen cars and two locomotives, all | burned, broke through inc burning bridge l near Ashland JuEc.ion; camps or the | thompson Lumber company burned at | White river; two bridges on he main line of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and | Omaha railroad, one near Ashland Junc- | ton and ono near Mason; the bridges of I the Wisconsin Central railroad, one at | Chelsea and be other nenr Phillips, both l or he main line south of Ashland. | Several parties of berry pickers narrowly l escaped with tbeir lives, and it is rlmoss | certain that some of the lone honest eaeitrs scattered throughout the burning uIstrict | have perisEed iu ihe flames, II less they l have in snmA pnaryalpus way