Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1894-09-04
ossTRUoT ON AT sINoKleY

obtainable.
 DEsTRUCT, ON AT HlNcKIEY. The Entire Town swept Away With
 Appalling Loss of Life.
 ST. PAUL., Sept. SIX towns. with, perhaps. more than 800 dead. Is tho record made by the forest fires in this state.
 In Hinckley. Sandstone, Pogogame, Sandstone Junction, Skunk Lake and Mission Lake there are S55 known dead. In addition. several hundred are miss ing, while from 1000 to l200 are scat tered on farms throughout the district burned over.
 The destruction was complete in most of the towns named. but some of the forest land escaped. The loss, however, will be up ill the millions and the loss of life will not be definitely known for sew eral days, if ever.
 The relief train brought supplies sent out from the cities of Minneapolis, Du- luth and other Minnesota towns, and the sufferers are being handsomely cared for at Pine City and other points.
 The walls of the schoolhouse. the iron fence around the town hall, the bank vault and one absolutely uninjured out house is all that is left to mark the site of Hinckley, where Saturday stood q score of store buildings and twice as many dwellings.
 All Saturday forenoon the townspeo. pie were apprehensive. The smoke roll ing up from the south told story un- mistakably plain to those accustomed to wooded country. The fire kept ad- vancing, famed by the wind, which was blowing gale.
 About 3 o'clock in the afternoon the fire literally jumped into the town. It's appearance was not gradual, It did not eat its way along. devouring everything in its path, but came in huge leaps as if to overtake everything fleeing before 1t and then burned back at its leisure.
 1t is described by those who witnessed it's onward progress at Hinckley and elsewhere, as if it were forced along by the cyclone of it's own generation It's intense heat would develop veritable whirlwind of flames that actually twisted off poplar trees several inches in thickness and carried huge blazing fire brands high in the air, carrying them forward from 40 to 80 rods, there anew.
 The fire first struck Hinckley on the east side of the Duluth track and the brave firefignters for the first time gave up the unequal battle, and already too late, in many instances, turned their at tention to their personal safety.
 The Eastern Minnesota train from the south had just come in and the panic stricken people of the city hoclzed to it for safety. A number of boxcars were coupled on and covered with men, wo- men and children. Some were bare headed. some were coatiess, some few clutchea pitiful bundle of the more precious of their portable possessions. Families were separated. Children joined the throng and left parents. In all, there was motley crew of about 450 or more people. The train pulled out just ahead of the fire and succeeded in ultimately reaching Duluth.
 The people who were left in the city were in what seemed to be an almost helpless condition. Egress by the only means of transportation that could hops to distance the sw ftly advancing flames was out of the question. Horses were harnessed to buggies and wagons Wo. men and children were hurriedly loaded and in some cases attempts were made to carry off household goods, but i.l most instances the people had not thought for aught but their lives. Prob ably 200 of them left town on foot or in vehicles, plunging into the woods to the north across Grindstone river, which skirts the town.
 The fire gave them no opportunity to go further. Some abandoned their teams and ran into the lower portions of morass, but the fire sought them out. Not one was left to tell the tale, and in space of little more than five acres were counted over a3O eorpses. There !, were many families of five, six and sew en, and there they lay, the msn geners ally little in advance. the mother sur