Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1894-09-04


out.
The little town OF Mission creek,
some little distance north OF Hinckley,
Ia also reported IN ashes.
The lUsHes IN this neighbOThUOl Of
st. Cloud, which IL on the western
edge " the free, nrs estimated nj
500, 900, Aud from that point east aud
nDun nearly everything Is uuruei.
The fires are raging IN Becker aud
Atkins counties, where many farm.
houses and much grain has been lost
as well rs timtet.
TERRIBLE DESTRUCTION.
The firc nr.t struck llinck ey on the
east side Ct the Duluth track, ami the
bfnve IRE Fighters Tor tue nfst time
gave up the unequal battle, R1d, a.
ready too late IN many iusta lcps,
turned their attention 10 their pufs lual
safety. rhe Eastern Minnesota rain
from the south had Just come In, aud
tue people OF the paulC. stricken city
ilJUke1 u u f0r AA'ety. A number VI
box cars were coupled on and nlled and
covered with men, women auI children.
SIme were bsfuhuadui, come were
c0atiess, some Tow ClutChU1 pltiiul
bundle Of the more precious Of their
portable possessions. Families were
separated, and In all this was a motley
crowd OF about 4lO or more people.
The train pulleI cut Just ahead Vt the
fire, aud succeeded IN ultimately
reaching Duluth.
About the same hour the accommo.
dalton train on the llinckley ami -.
Cloud branch LETT tor the latter place
with about twenty-five passengers. its
path lay directly across the path Of the
fire aud their situation speedily became
desperate, The tIcs were burning, ia
rails were Wrapping anu the tfestlus
were saggiug under the train.
Suddenly the track gave way aud
the train toppled OIL to one side. No
one was injured aud they pressed on
10 Pokegama station, few rous ahead.
The people who wefe lett IN the
city were In what seemed O. bsAn
almost helpless condition. Egres. by
the only means OF transportation that
could hope 10 distance the swiftly
advancing flames was out Of the
~ cstion. Tue men had been fight.
ing the fire for houis aud the wo.
men aud chilIiOn were In n panic.
stricken condition. Horses were
hatnessed TO buggloa anu wagons.
Women aud children were hurfiedly
loaded. Probably 200 OF them LETT
town ON foot or In vehicles, plunging
Into the woods north, acfOss tue Grind.
stone river, which skirts tho town on
the north. They were literally fleeing
bsicsu the pursuing demon.
over tho hill That rises beyond the
Gnndstonr n = swamp, aud TO this
most Of the people with teams headed,
but II proved no protection. some
abandoned their teams aui rau into
the lower portions VI the swamp, but
the fife = "a ,ht them out, Not one was
ieft 10 tell the tale, and THE morning,
In a space Of little more than Ave
acres, were counted over 1870 cotpses.
Nearly all the bodies were nude, TIA o
Ore having burned every vestige Of
their clothing and blackened AMI
chsTred the oorpscs, rendering many
Of them unrec0Rnizablr.
MAsY VICTIMS
a special to the Pioneer Pres from
Pine CITY, MINI, says:
Estimate OF the dead. Hlnckley,
200; Sandstone, ~; Sandstone June
ton, 20; Skunk lake, 20; miscellaneous,
80; total, 1896.
AT SANDSTONE.
The situation at Sandstone IL even
more AppAling than At HInckley, eK-
| cept In point Of numbers. or the 200
residents Oue.iOurth Afe dead,
Otto Stalerieldt, Of Sandstone, talk.
ing Of the disaster, said that last night
al about b;3O O'Clock tiames neated the
town, aud the people prepared to leave.
] rh. tuN lI.tU lE. a d. "a
the people were getting ready 10 leave
the he closed In on three sides. Not a
single person saved thing except his
clothes. About 100 went TO the river
and nifty or sixty were burned 20 death.
At O'Clock this morning he saw over
/ iOfty-hve bodies ChATfed Aud burned,
! lying on every side. The people are des.
titule OF everything.
In addition TO the forty.hve bodies at
| Sandstone thoTe arc twenty at Kettle
River Junction. All the settlers Ia the
vicinity are probably burned 10 death.
/ There are about eleven homeless
! families stlll ut Mission Creek, but
they have provisions Tor about twenty.
| four hours.
Brook Park, two miles west OF Hincll.
| Icy, IL burned, ami there are about 1876
| people there, many Of whom aroin need
OF Immediate relief.
A HEROIC GREW.
From the stories Of passengers on the
limited train which was burned near
| Hinokloy, tho entire train crew de.
serve to be placed on the roll OF honor
for personal herolHm. Engineer James
Root, Of White Bear, heads the list.
| lie was badly burned anu almost
blinded, anu fell from his seat unCOn.
scious Immediately on getting out OF
this fires.
When about two miles north OF
Hinckley, Root first discovered the
tires, which mad been raging on 10Th
sides OF the track, were racing him
for hia life Euu tbs lives Of his
passengers. Clndets were dying In
every direction, and the smoke was 90
dense that II was well nigh impUHlible
10 see beyond the cab windows, even
! with the aid VI tho powerful head.
light, which weto cJming after and
bearing down upon MIN at u sixty.
mile gait. When about mile aud
halt from Hinckley he discOyetri
the fire was too fast Tor him aud over
took tho train, Rnd Uvufleaped II 90
that II was literally turr0uudtd with
Names, The air was stltiing, aud tho
clothes OF bsth engineer aud fireman
caught lire. Fireman MoGowRu lsaptd
intO the wAtor tank, aud, tei1ins q
bucket, dashed tho water several timus
over this burning enlineet. Root
Hieahily kept az us post, although