The Dickinson press., 1894-09-08
OF death that had ovcrtakcn them.

SOIL was hartl as flint. 1t had been
baked to crust by weeks of drouth
aud almost solitlificd by the fire. The
work progressed slowly. OF in the
corner Of the clearing two smaller
graves We're being dug. One was for
MIS-. William Grisinger and her two
DaDy girls, Caroline. aged six, and Ma
Del. aged three. The husband and
1ather had recognized them in the
gfistly heap, and was hard at work
preparing for them final resting
pace apart from the trench designed
Tor the unidentified, his labors dulliny
Tor the time, the acuteness of his
anguish. The othnr grave was for tho
Hcst family, whose numbers make
their destruction notable even in this
time Of death. '<'
9om Best, Jr., was digging the pit
WIN the friendly assistance of two
helshpois. Laid in row.. decently
| covered, We're the bodies of John Best.
ST. Mrs. Best. Fred Best. aged %:
Bertha, aged II: Mrs. Annie Wigel. n
married daughter. and her threc-ycar-
oid daughter Minnie; Miss Annie
Ituttman of Diamond Bluff. Wis. n
visitor. aged 90, and Victor Best. aged
o. Two other sons, George, aged o..
anu Willie. aged p, are missing, ana
are certainly dead. And of this whole
1amlly OF three generations only tho
sorrowing grave digger and his wifa
ana child, who took refuge in n ding.
out are left. They all lived together
ABOUT two miles southeast of Hinck.
ley; The only others of these ninety
| ouu' VINO were recognized, werp
Charles Anderson, cashier of the bank .
Mrs. William Gindcr and her daughter
Wlnifrcd. aged q. One or two others
are imperftstly Identified, but IT was
largely Ellesswork. Enough rude boxes
We're Knocked together from rough
| Doafus to contain most of these bodies
ana they were rapidly laid AWAY nm.
der the sand, but not before other
podies began to come in. In fhe
swamp across the GrindstOnc, where
tnese corpses We're found Yesterday
there were about thirty-five others
winch We're brought in this morning
making a total of upward of 13O dead
Ill this little space of four or five acres
Dowll near the river was found the
body of Thomas Dunn, the Duluth
operator at Hinckley. Dunn was horn
ana raised here and was n universal
vavoritc. He stuck to his kcy until
.me depot WAS burning over his head.
me ueily i'll locating his body lead
HIS friends to hope that he might have
escaped, but this morning the finding
OF his blackcnCd cOrDse nut an cnd tn
all uncertainty.
up the st. Paul Il Duluth right of
way We're found three or four moro
Oouies. Among those who perisbed
north or town was Eric Kettson, of
Solo FOLK street northeast, Mnncapo-
lis, who was here visiting his SON. lie
went out III wagon with Dave Kane
OF NocK Creek, also Il visitor here, and
Dotf persisted, though the horses came
out unscatllcd.
lhe busiest point at Hinckley was
the Associated Press telegraph office.
1t Is not much of an office. but II
served to serve the public with the AS
soclated Press report. the only press
report sent out of Hinckley TODAY.
The wires We're brought down to n
burned stump Of Il pole. A dry goods
box near by furnished the operator
with desk. A cracker box made him
Il comfortable seat. A burned railroad
spike held down the copy in the brisk
breeze. A rough board, one end rest
Ing on the operators table and the
other OH a milk can furnished the AS
soclated. Press correspondent his desk.
ana ms seat was Il beer keg-cmpty
Here. under these circumstances was
prepared and sent the story of the
day iii this stricken city. An occas-
ional shower blurred the copy, but it
was rapidly fed to the eager wire
despite the discomfOrts of the occasion.
The Associated Press correspondent
took fivc-mile tramp out through the
woods to the north Of town this morn
ing through a scene of desOlation
Which rarely falls beneath the eye of
man. The country is absolutely swept
clean. There is but one settlers house
standing within an unknown radius
OF miles. II is that Of Mike Dean, OH
the edge Of the river, three miles east
OF town. 1t WAS Il new house and
very substantial. Dean and Il neigh
bor fought the fire until they had to
abandon hope. They got the women
and children into the water. Covering
their head with clothes kept wet by
dashing water over tllcm, and when
the fire had passed they came out ulii-
hurt and were much surprised to find
their buildings standing. and this
morning when the Associated Press
correspondent entered the clearing the
house dog barkcd as savagely and the
rooster crowcd as Justify as If they
had not come within an ace of death.
The hand car party which went
north this morning hns just returned.
1t met the Duluth construction rain
about eight miles up the track with
word that the city of Duluth had fur
nlshed the necessary relief at Sand
stone and Miller. They accordingly
turned back and Oh the way in To-.
Gated eleven bodies swelling the total
on the Duluth track between Hinck-
ley and Skunk Lake to about fifty.
One of them was recognized as Otto
NoWlcy OF Duluth. general freight
agent Of the Duluth & Winnipeg.
He was passenger ON the limited
south OH Saturday, and had left the
main body of refugees and passengers,
running back toward the lake. His
body was identified by his name on his
collar Near another body, evidently
that of passeDgcs. was found let
ter addressed to Israel Schrumski, Chi
cago, and u charred business card
bearing the same name. Three others
of the bodies were probably those of
passengers on the i'll fated train. An
other was young man, splendid
specimen of physical manhood, and
from his clothing and high laced boots,
was apparently Il prospcctor or crris-
er., The other five We're the family
Of settler named John Robinson, con-
sisting of himself, three women and
an infant.
| Above Skunk Lake the work train
reported twelve bodies on the right Of
way, presumably settlers. In retro
spection, the most sorrowful feature
Of the terrible fatality ut Hincklcy is
the though: that had the situation been
realized in time not single life among
the residents need have been lost. The
Great Northern gravel pit, where only
IL hundred sought safety, is about ten
acres in extent, broad enough and
long enough to have sheltered every
soul In Hinckley with all their do
nestle animals. There is Il pool Of