Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-09-04
a Scene of DesoIation.

a Scene of Desolation.
PINE CITY, Mimi, sept. Words can
not tell the story of death and destruc-
ton that is revealed to the traveller on the
st. Paul and Duluth from Mission Creek,
two miles above the little town of Miller,
or Sandstone Junction.
The awfulness of the desolation which
strikes upon the eye of the observer as no
reaches the camp which was once the
town OF Hinckley is moro strongly inn
pressed on his vision as he journeys north
ward. The smoke has lifted. revealing
n landscape bare and black, the few stand
ing trees being charrcd to a height of 10
feet, while the ground is of n peculiar
tint Of brown and mixed with gunpow-
der, for tho grass has been burned to the
roots
Here and there in the bleak and drcary
| stretches of country in what Is now a great
| lono land is seen the body of n deer whose
feet had not boon able to outrun the flames
or of q human being who had been abso-
lutely powerless against the grim destroy
er.
The latest verification reports of the
number of dead do not materially alter
| the former estimates. In fact, that est
mate is proving remarkably exact, con
sidering the confusion Of the first day.
The element that makes close figuring
| very difficult is the fact that bodies seen
| In the woods and along the track arc not
infrequently reported at two points and
sent out from each as among its dead.
The number of dead at Hinckley is
placed at 200. Your correspondent has
| actually counted 1874 of these, and the
margin allowed Is about all that is noCes-
sary. The figures are rs follows:
Hinckley, 200; Sandstone, 81: Miller,
IL; between Skunk Lake and Miller, II;
Pokegama, IS: in lumber camps and
| scattering, estimate 80; total, 374.
The following is the list of known dead
at Hinckley partially identified:
The Dead at HinckIey.
Mr.. and Mrs. Abbey and two children
| Mrs. Dan Donoghue and three children,
! John Weslund and child, Mr.. and Mrs
John Rodgers d thrco children, Mr.. and
| Mrs. Mike Curr and boy, - Sherman
Paul Leske, Mrs. McCleverc and foul
children, Thomas Dunn, Mrs. blanchard
and two children, Mrs. Martin Martinsor
| and four children, Axcl Hanson and moth
or, Mrs. Catherine Grissinger, Callie Girls
| singer, aged Il; Manuel Grissingcr, ageC
| 3; Mr.. and Mrs. William Ginder and TIVE
boys, Winfield Ginder, aged Il; c. q
| Anderson, Mrs. Hans Paulson and fOul
children. Mr.. and Mrs. Chambers and tw,
children, Henry Hanson, Emily Anderson
|
Mary Robinson, Otto Rowley of Duluth
Israel Schurmski of Chicago. F.. Richett
sen of Minneapolis. David Kane of Rocl
Creek. MIR. and Mrs. John Best, Georg
Best. aged "a; Fred Best, aged %; vii
Best, aged 81; Bertha Best. aged Il: Vic
tor Best. aged $; Mrs. Antony Wiegel
Minnie Wiegel, aged Q; Miss Annie Trutt
aged 90. of Diamond Bluff, Wis: DIR
Kelley of New Brighton, - Lambeson
l. III. I'll
and two children. Mr.. and Mrs. L. hey
nOlds and two children, lin Boon, Han
Mattison, Sandy Henderson OF Pine City
Johnny Henderson of Pine City, Thoma
Jones, Charles Hanson. Dennis Riley
John Anderson, wife and two children
Peter Robertson, Louis Nelson, Emm
Dolan, Belle o Brien, Anna Wallace, Mrs
Costigan and three children, William
Pinnohr, Patrick Murphy, Henry Hoffman
and wife of Sandstone, Mrs. John Mona
mara and child.
Yardmaster Dave Williams of Dulut
is something of a hero himself. He is tn
man who grasped the situation, acted q
his knowledge promptly and relieved tn
people of Sandstone
He received message from Mile
which said: There arc $50 people Q
Sandstone without food or shelter. FC
Gods sake get them out of there"
Within an incredibly short time an eli
CINE in charge of Yardmaster William
was on the way to Sandstone. Tho eI
= tire road after tho burned district wa
reached was patrolled, and the engir
kept up an inccssant whistling, so thi
any persons who were near by woul
some ut once to the track When II
train arrived at Sandstone Junction,
Miller, as 1t Is generally called, it WI
met by nearly the entire population
Sandstone and Miller.
The depot platform at Miller had bee
burned, and there was not a house lie
standing anywhere in view. About l.
people were taken aboard and messcn
ger sent to Sandstone, who informed tn
J people of the arrival of the relief Ver
few remained but those with loved one
lying dead
There was no attempt to caro- for til
dead who lay scattered through the street
Of the town. Everything inflammable q
Sandstone was destroyed, and invostig'
ton brought the number OF dead at the
place up to 62, with 81 people missing.
II Mr. Webster, tho father of Mayor Ia
Webster In this town, was among I'll
lead, and Mr.. Webster sent to Sandstor
10 bury his father and mother. Tho scoT
st Sandstone. as described by Mr.. Wei
ster, was heartrending.
Scenes In Sandstone.
Il The streets OF tho town were only lint
Of sand between heaps of ashes. With
these lines lay 40 bodies scattered at raj
dom, and % moro were found dead in Il
outskirts of the town and IN the hollow
y and marshes toward the river bank. III
bodies were lying exposed to the sun an
rain and were rapidly accomplishing. The
were identified as far as possible and wi