The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1894-09-08
AN AWFUL JOURNEY.
LIVES SAVED BY 4 BRAVE ENGINEER.
with his Clothes Ablass He Sticks to the
Throttls-Ths Cars Take Fire and
Many Persons Leap 70
Their Death.
TOOK DESPERATE CHANCES.

PINE CITY, Mimi. Sept 3.-The St.
Paul q Duluth train No 4, south
bound with eighty passengers, ran
into Hinckley at o'clock Saturday
afternoon and proceeded thence to
Mission Creek, Q miles further south,
only to find that village in ashes.
Conductor Sullivan issued immedi-
ate orders to his crew to
back into Hinckley, but before the
train, running at 20 miles an hour,
could reach Hinckley the place was in
flames. The train stopped at the depot
one fatal minute, during which the
woodwork of the engine and the bag
gage car caught fire. The train quick
ly resumed its backward journey
toward Duluth, and the very motion
of the cars famed the flames to fury
and they soon enveloped the sleepers,
passenger coaches and the smoker.
A Train on Fire.
While the train was stopping at
Hinckley nearly 200 panic-stricken peo-
pie of the place rushed upon the plat
forms and into the cars. When they
discovered the train on fire they began
to moan, shout and pray, which, with
the awful roar Of the flames, made a
horrible picture.
A mile out Of Hinckley people on the
platforms, rendered frantic lunatics by
the heat and their terror, began to
jump from the cars and plunge into
streams, into sand heaps or into the
smoke-encompassed forest. A little
farther on those in the cars, stifled with
smoke, began to smash the windows of
the coaches in frantic attempt to get
breath of fresh air. Driven back by
the flames eating their way up the
sides of the freshly vanished coaches,
they stood in baffied amazement for a
moment, when dozens of them in
sheer desperation tumbled themselves
out through the open spaces to the
ground below, some being instantly
killed by the fall and others lingering
in the horrible heat and smoke until
suffocated.
Took Refuge In the Lake.
In spite of the fact that the train
was on fire from engine to rear end
the crew bravely stood at their posts
and ran the train back @ miles to
Skunk lake, where the passen-
gers rushed out and into the
water. Some Of them were in such
state of exhaustion that they
were unable to walk, and half dozen
were entirely unconscious. AL Of
these latter were rolled in the mud and
laid on their backs just far enough out
into the lake to keep the water from
running into their mouths.t
All around the lake the forests were
roaring like the furnace of an i'm.
aginary 1000, 900 horsepower engine.
Many Of the people in the water stood
and offered prayers in loud voice for
deliverence. The scene was one of the
most remarkable ever witnessed.
Hero of the Throttle.
Engineer James Root, who had so
bravely piloted the train through thnt
awful miles Of fire, was found to be
fatally burned. He stood faithfully at
his post with his clothes afire, and
msnfully battled to save the lives of
those on his train.
Conductor Sullivan, cool and col
lected all through the awful journey,
after it was all over. became a raving
maniac. A little later he was put
aboard special and taken to q Du-
luth hospital