Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1894-09-06
The Minnesota Fires.

over three hundred blackened bodies dil-
tributed at various points, bore witness to
the fierceness Of the flames.
The fires had been burning for sever al
days, but or Saturday swept over everything
eombusti BILE in the section near Hinckley.
small town on the Grindstone river
This town was completely destroyed. POD
persons burned and property to the value
| CT hundreds of thousands destroyed ST.
| Cloud Is situated on the western edge of
the fire and from that point east every
| thing was blazing. Tne fires spread with
| great rapidity.
An estimate of the dead was: At Hinck-
| ley 200; Sandstone As; Sandstone Junction
| %; Pokegama 26 Skunk Lake %; miscel-
laneous 80. Total $50.
The story of the catastrophe which
wiped out Hinckley is short one.
The town was built of wood. The
school house, erected last year at a cost
of SIC, 900, and one-half the Duluth round-
house were the only brick structures in the
city. The Eastern Minnesota rOundhouse
and Wa ter tank ON the southwestern edge
Of the town, almost in the woods, escaped
the hameS-a circumstance the more re-
markable from the fact that it stood di-
! rectly in the path OF the fire. which seems
| to have jumped it as clsanly as if playing
leap frog.
About 3 o'clock. Saturday afternoon, the
fire literally jumped into the town. Its
| approach was not gradual. 1t did not cut
it way along, devouring everything in its
path, but came in hugh leaps, as if to
overt axe everything fleeing before it, and
| then burned back at its leisure.
II is described by those who witnessed
its onward progress at Hinckley and else
| where. as ifit were forced along by cy-
clones of its own generation. The intense
heat would develop veritaDle whIrlwind
of fame that actually twisted off poplar
trees several inches in thickness and
gathering huge blazing firebrauds high in
| the air, and carrying them forwa for from
40 to 50 rods, there to fall and begin e
| work of devastation anew.
Some escaped by a train which pulled
out just before the fire reached the town.
| The people who were eft in the place
seemed to be in an almost hopeless condi
tion.
Horses were harnessed to buggies and
wagons Women and children were hur-
riedly loaded. In some cases attempts
were made To carry off some household
goods; bat in most instances the people
had no thought for aught but their lives.
Probably 200 of them left town on foot
or in vehicles, pluuging into the woods to
the north across the Grindstone river,
which skirts the town. Over the hill that
rises beyond the Grindstone is a swamp; to
this most Of the peopls with teams headed
but it proved no protection.
The fire gave them no opportunity to 60
further Some abandoned their teams aud
ran into the lower portions Of the morASs,
but the fire sought them out. Not one was
eft to tell the tale aud there ia a space of
little less than four or five acres were
counted 13O corpses There were many
families of FIVE, SIX aud seven. aud there
they lay, the men generally little in ad-
qance, the mother, surrounded by her lit
tie ones, cut off by the most horrible of
deaths.
Nearly all the bodies were nude. the fire
having burned every vestige of their cloth
ing and blacken5d aud charred many of
the corpses beyond recognition. and
where whole families were wiped out as
they were and some of the bodies CO m
pletely incinerated Identification is abso-
lutely out Of the question
The people who remained IN Hinckley
Jared the best of all The Eastern Nina e.
sofa tracks mark the eastern edge of the
city proper. Just beyond, the road owned
tract of land probably embracing at least
ten acres. 1t was purchased for gravel
pit to furnish material foi the fill-up sp-
proach to the company's bridge across the
Grindstone, and at other points on its
line.
To the fact that it has been used for this
purpose almost to its exhaustion about $50
Hinckleyites owe their lives. The whole
area indicated had been excavsted to a
depth in the centre OF 80 or 40 feet. There
was stagnant pool of rain water in the
centre three feet in depth.
The people went in here as the Eastern
train pulled out few minutes after 4
o'clock, and here they remained until after
s, while the smoke and flames from the
burning city rolled over their heads. They
dashed water over each other and covered
their heads with wet cloths to prevent
suff0cation. One unknown man succumb-
ed to the smoke or the terrible strain AMI
fell in the water and was drowned So far
as known this was the only tragedy of the
gravel pit.
The vicinity of Kane, this State. is the
scene of large forest fires, which are ioi ng
much damage to property. Trains are
delayed and unless there is rain soon the
fire will reach the heart of the oil fields
near there. The roaring of the fire can be
heard for miles Across in New York state
the sun has not been visible for weeks on
account of the dense smoke from the fires
there.
Near Elwood City, there was an exten-
sive fire, but it was fought hard by the
farmers, and kept pretty we'll under con-
troll, but unless there is rain soon there
will be destructive fires all around the
place. No water can be found aud every
thing is as dry as tinder.
! The general executive committee in
charge of the relief work has made re-
port of the dead bodies recovered thus far,
as follows: Hinkley, 271; Sandstone, II;
Miller. 10; between Skunk Lake and Miller,
u; Pokagama, %; in lumber camps, 80
| Total, $50.
The following returns show the destruc
tion done in the Minnesota, Michigan and
Wisconsin towns and counties by the fires:
| Minnesota towns-Totally destroyed:
Hinckey, Pokegama, Sandstone, Sandstone
Junction. or Miller. Partridge, Cromwell,
Curtis, Cushing Masslon creek. Partially
destroyed: FinlaysOn, Mansfield, Rutledge,
| Milaca.
Minnesota counties-Totally destroyed:
Pine. Partially destroyed Kanabee,
Carlton. Benton, Altkin, Mile Laces,
| Morrison.
Wisconsin towns-Totally destroyed:
Comstock, Benert, Barrone., Poplar, Mar
engo, Granite Lake. Partially burned
Spencer, Highbridge. Ashland junction,
Washburn, Cartwright, Grautsburg, Tur-
tie Lake Rice Lake, Muscoda, Bashaw,
Shell Lake, South Range.
Wisconsin counties-Partly burned: Bar
ron, Washburn, Florence, Ashland, Tay-
lor, Chippewa Burnett, Marinette, Price,
Grant Douglass, Marathon, Bayfield,
Miahiyan partiallv hurnpl