The Forrest City times., 1894-09-07
her. Her expeetence was dramatic
Monie McSeirs Pathetic story.

| My name IS MplAle hc-Nell, ShS
 said. ..and lived with my mother and sister in Hinckley the past sixteen years. noticed the fire coming at S:3O | Saturday afternoon, and rushed out of | the house with two dresses. grip and two hats and started up the railroad tracks. On both sides and in front of me was living wall of fire and smoke | everywhere. How l ever got through I do not know, for people were fall | ing on every side of me. l kept going, dropping everything l had | by degrees. Twice my dress caught fire. A mile north of | Hinckley, I saw an engine. The en- gineer helped me on and news agent l carried me back to the baggage car. | All the cars got on fire and l saw men | crazy with fear jump right through | the windows into the flame. Think of that! Wasn't it horrible? The train backed up to Skunk Creek, where l re- mained in the swamp all night. put | my face in the mud to cool it and some one plastered mud all over my hair. Of course, I thought my mother and sister were lost and you may imagine
 
 sound in Pine City yesterday at noon. ] Mother is over 70 years old and didn't get scratch. Her hand was but slightly burned. We'll, am thankful and all want now is to get situa- ton somewhere and we will begin life anew"
 | She did not find her trunk
 An nI1 nnar.tor Xyh, Sa.r;6oa,I II,s T t|a to Duty.
 | X local searching party this morning | found the body of Thomas Dunn, aged | 9, late operator at the St. Paul x Du | luth station. When the fire started he remained at his post and it was only | when the advancing flames drove him | from the station that he left his key. He hurried over to the river and per | ished there with numerous others. His brother was among the searching party that found his body and he se- cured his watch and ring, which were the only means of Identification. l Robert Bowling, baggage agent at the Hinckley station of the St. Paul & Duluth, was going about this morning with badly scorched hand and face He states that there was large crowd of people at the station waiting for the Duluth limited, due at APO p. m.. when the fire came down upon the town with resistless fury, and gale of wind fore ing it at forty miles an hour. Bowling started for his home, but could not get near the house. He ran up the track and fortunately got on the limited mile north of town. In trying to save lad from jumping from the train he burned his hand. The boy jumped into the flames alongside the track and per- ished.
 Bowling states that among the in- tending passengers at Hinckley with whom he talked were a woman and two children for Wyoming and two women and two children for St. Croix Falls, Wis. A girl named Fitzgerald was going to the latter place.
 Twenty -One Baskets of Charred and Biackened Remains.
 At this writing 12 noon) there are twenty-one caskets containing charred and blackened remains alongside the track at Hinckley. Nos. l. ?, 5. 1, }, 6 and were unidentified absolutely. Mo- 12, Mrs. sherman and two children: No 13, two Sherman children: No. II, Mrs. Hathen and youngest child: No. l5, two children of Mrs. IIathen; No. l6, supposed to be children of Mrs. Hanson; No, F, Mrs. Costigan and boy: No. IS, two children, SUD- posed to be Costigan's boy of 7; girl, 5 years old, supposed to be young Cur -. s.s bodies already deposited and await ing burial in the cemetery trenches. Searching for the Remains of Missing
 Friends.
 John Blanchard, St. Paul & Duluth car repairer, who came up from Pine City this morning, afler escaping to that town Saturday, was looking for the remains of his wife and children. He found them in caslxets at the ceme tery and had them removed for ship ment to Hinckley for burial
 Lee Webster, president of the will lage council, reports that his wife is still missing. He is morally sure she is among the lost. The last he saw of her was when he directed her, to run to the gravel pit. He was at the ceme- tery this morning. but failed to iden- tify his wife's remains among the dead It is now the generally accepted belief that many more people would have been saved at Iiinckley had they squat ted in the river or stayed in the gravel pits, but everyone was panic stricken Many who started for the gravel pits. lost heart when they got there and pressed ownward to the river and then many ot the latter pressed on beyond the river to a neighboring village All l.l. lot 1,af,