davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The record-union., 1894-09-04
SANDSTONE WIPED our.
A Small Shack All That Remains of 6
Once Prosperous Village.

Small Shack All That Kemains of a
Once Prosperous Village.
SANDSTONE (AIinn.), Sept. 3.-All that
remains Of what was once the prosperous
village of Sandstone is the small shack
used by the Sandstone Company for an
office, and this would have met the fate of
the other buildings but for the fact that it
was located near the quarry and the
flames missed it. Crowded into this
building and ferry-house were over 200
people. who lost their homes ana every-
thing they possessed except the clothing
they wore.
When the st. Paul and Duluth relief
train, which left Duluth at 4 O'Clock, ar
rived at Miller's junction, word was re-
ceived that the town OF Sandstone was
entirely burned and tho people were in
need of immediate assistance. \ part of
the relief committee aboard the train
started with provisions to look alter the
destitute people. After passing the East
ern Minnesota tracks. and Just before
coming TO the glowing Goals and asnes
that marked all that remained of Sand
stone, several bodies We're seen, the VIC
TINS apparently having been overtaken
by the flames as they were fleeing to
safety. On reaching the quarry below
the town the people who were saved were
who were injured were sent forward to
the relief train, about four or five miles.
Among those who were burned were
number of children, who were left in the
office building until tomorrow, when
they will be cared for by another relief
train.
Ali those saved at Sandstone were in
the river while the cyclone of flames
passed, and only managed to escape by
wading III the water as far as possible and
then throwing water over each others
heads. The coming of the flames sounded
like thunder. and with such rapidity did
they come that the people who lingel ed
to save property or neglected to seek
safety in the river perished in the flames.
AS far IS could be learned between forty
and fifty bodies were scattered about the
streets, burned TO crisp. The relief
COMMITTEES had paid but little attention to
the bodies, as the living required imme-
diate attention. The town boasted OF
water works plant, but as one OF the citi-
zens remarked, the whole of Kettle River
would not have have had any effect on the
solid sheet of flame that advanced on the
town and swept it out of existence in less
than an hour.
The record-union., 1894-09-04

opened their hearts, homes and public
buildings to the stricken neighbors all
was hustle and activity. Coffee with plain
fare was served to all comers. The Court
house, school-hous and many private
homes were thrown open.
akEvery blanket IN town was called into
service. Before daylight arrangements
for the relief of the destitute were taken
up where they were dropped at midnight.
Before O'Clock a construction train
loaded with bridge material for repairing
the bridge across Sandstone River at
Hinckley came up from Rush City. A
couple of hundred loaves of bread and
other light provisions were placed on
board.
A party of laborers to dig graves and
inter the bodies were collected and the
train proceeded into the burned country.
At Hinckley provisions were loaded on
20 haudcar and a start was made across
shaky bridge TO Miller.
From Miller they expect to work east
from Sandstone, about five miles across
the country on the Eastern Minnesota
Railway, where there are between forty
five and fifty dead and couple of hun
dred living, who were saved in Kettle
River and III the great sandstone quar-
rieS.
About IL o'clock the bridge was suffi-
clentiy repaired TO admit OF the passage
OF the train and engine, and freight car
ana caboose with a plentiful supply of
food and meager store of collins was
sent north.
The record-union., 1894-09-04
: The relief train took about 245 people to
Duluth for aid
FOR AID.
proclamation Issued by the Governor
OF NIinn naSOta

Proclamation Issued by the Governor
OF Minnesota.
ST.. PAUL, Sept. 3.-Governor Nelson
tonight issued the following proclama-
ton:
10 the People Of Minnesota: Informa-
ton OF an Official character has reached
me that the villages of Hinckley, Sand
stone. Mission Creek and neighboring
towns and farms have been destroyed by
forest fires. that hundreds of lives have
been sacrificed and suffering and desti-
tuition are on every hand; that the sur
VlVors OF this terrible devastation are in
immediate need Of food, clothing, shelter
and everything that makes existence
possible. This appalling disaster appeals
70 every heart OF generous impulse, and
the case is one that demands immediately
OF every good citizen of this State.
Now, therefore, |, knute Nelson, Gov
ernor of the State, in view of this awful
calamity which has befallen our country,
ana by virtue of the authority in me
vested, do hereby appeal TO all liberal
pubhc-splrited citizens, to all munich
pailtIes and to all religious and benevo-
leut institutions of this State TO take inn
mediate action toward securing contribu-
tons toward the prevailing distress.
hereby appoint the following State
commission, authorized to receive con-
trlbutions OF money and supplies and TO
eApend and disburse the same: c. A.
PlIisbury, Minneapolis; Kenneth Clark,
81. Paul; Matthew O. Morton, Winona:
hastings Hart, st. Paul, and a Duluth
man yet to be named"
The record-union., 1894-09-04
GRANTED a RESPITE.
Thomas st. Clair VIII Not be Hanged
on September 21st.


on September 21st.
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 3.-Thomas St.
Clair, one of the murderous sailors of the
bark Hesper's crew, under sentence to
be hanged OH September 21st, has been
granted respite until November I'd by
President cleveland.
Two others of the crew are under sem
tence of death for the same crine-killino
OF Mate titZgerald-and the execution OF
st. Clair is delayed, pending the action of
the United States Supreme Court on an
appeal of their cases.
A similar appeal in St. Clair's case has
already been passed on and the sentence
of the lower court was sustained, so there
is little probability of contrary decision
in the other cases. 1t is PROBABLE that the
three mutinous sailors will be hanged to-
gether.
The three condemned men were of the
crew that conspired to kill Oft all of the
officers of the Hesper, including the
Captain, save his wife, who was 10 be
kept prisoner, and then 10 cruise as
pirates in the Southern Seas. The kill
ing of Mate Fitzgerald as he paced the
quarterback one dark night was the first
muider agreed upon. Fitzgerald's body
was thrown overheard by the murderers,
and when the Captain came on deck
early in the morning he was told that
the Mate had accidentally fallen into
the sea and drowned, but there on
the quarterback were the telltale
blood stains that the murderers had been
unable to wash from the boards. Before
night came on again one of the conSpir-
ators confessed all to the Captain, and the
plotters were thus foiled
The record-union., 1894-09-04
IRRIGArIoN coNGREss.
Third Session of the National Body
Convenes at Denver.

Third Session of the National Body
ConVeneS at Denver.
DENVER, Sept. 3.-The third National
Irrigation Congress convened to-day.
Some zoo delegates, representing seven
teen States and Territories, were present.
besides representatives from Canada,
Russia, Mexico and other foreign coun-
tries. William E. Smythe, Chairman of
the National Executive Committee. de-
livered the opening address. Governor
Waite. Mayor Van Horn and President
Byers of'the Chamber of Commerce well
coined the delegates
Ex-Governor Prince of New Mexico
introduced resolution giving every Der.
son who has come to the convention the
right to participate, regardless of the rep
resentatlon liked by the Los Angeles
| Convention. 1t was referred to the Com
mittee on Credentials
Hon. IL. q. Cannon of Salt Lake was
unanimously chosen temporary Chair
man.
The Committee on Credentials submit
tea resolution, WIch was adopted to the
effect that each State and Territory repre-
sented be entitled to its full vote. and
that all persons appointed by any author
lily be permitted to vote in determining
how the vote of his State or Territory
shall be cast.
HermAnAnE
organization, Resolutions and Rules, and
Order OF Business, each consisting of one
delegate from each State and Territory
was the next business transacted. After
a short recess the Committee on Perma-
nent Organization recommended for per-
manent officers of the congress Edward
Mead OF Wyoming, President: John C.
Foster of Kansas, First Vice President:
Thomas L. Smith of Colorado, Secretary;
A NJ. West of California, First Assistant
Secretary; ii. V. HinckIey of Kansas.
Second Assistant Secretary. Vice-P Presi-
dents from each State and Territory were
announced. The report was unanimously
adopted.
Several resolutions were introduced,
which were referred; one by Mr.. Pierce
of Texas, who asked that the congress be
requested to appoint, and also to ask the
Republic OF Mexico to appoint Irrigation
Commissions for AGREEING uDon tho di-
visions of the waters of the Rio Grande.
Mr.. Dennis of Canada ked that Canada
be included in the resolution, which was
agreed to.
The delegates we're stirred up by the
receipt of the following letter from j.
Sterling Morton, Secretary of Agricult-
ure, in which he paid his respects to the
convention as follows: 1.-THE questions
considered by these irrigation conven-
tions have nothing to do with practical
irrigation. They an. aunt simply to the
coming together of body of citizens for
the purpose of petitioning Congress for
grants of lands and accession of whatever
control or ownership the General Gov
ernmeDt may have of the waters of the
arid region"
delegate objected to the words of Mr..
Morton as an insult to the convention,
and moved that the document be returned
to Washington. J: E. Leet appeared in
the role of peacemaker. and the letter was
placed on file,
The record-union., 1894-09-04
HINCKLEY IN RUINS.
Only Two or Three Buildings Lef
Standing.

| Only Two or Three Buildings Left
Standing.
HINCKLEY (Minn.), Sept. "a gentle
| rain fell to-day and quenched the burn
ing embers of the immense forest fires
| that did so much damage to this city.
The blackened ruins of two or three
buildings are all that remains standing OF
the once prosperous town of Hlnckley,
with LOO people and its busy railroad
and lum bering interests. The town is a
junction point of the St. Paul and Duluth
and Eastern Railway, Mimi, and both
those roads have suffered losses that cam
not be now estimated, while the loss to
the tim ber interest is something beyond
computation. This is to-day place of
mourning, and the burial of the charred
and unrecognizable bodies of hundreds oil
victims has saddened the survivors even
more than the disaster itself.
The fire was so overwhelming in its in
tensitv that none in.the first terror of the
moment could realize how great was the
loss. Each was SO intent on saving his
own life that little thought was given to
the disaster in general by the most. al
though many cases of unselfish heroisln
have been reported.
The bodies thus far recovered have been
placed in rough pine boxes for burial, and
the majority were buried without the
knowledge of their identity. The wires
that were down this side of Pine City
have been so far put in shape that the
Associated Press operator is able to send
his report as he sits on an empty keg in
the open air, there being no shelter OF any
kind III town. Most of the survivors
went to Pine City yesterday for food and
shelter and the women and children are
still there, but many men have returned
THAR TnlnQd hninnG n CON hxyfa
possibility anything remains.
Engineer Root, whose gallant conduct
with his train is on the tongue of every
BODY when she fire is mentioned. was
taken to his home at White Bear. Physi-
clans hope he may recover, although in
haling the hot fumes of smoke and air
may prove too much for him. The glass
III the cab windows broke and he was
badly cut about the head, while his
clothes were nearly burned from his
body. One piece of glass laid bare his
jugular, and it seems miraculous that he
escaped alive. His only thought was for
the safety of his passen gers He said in
reply TO the remark that he had become
the hero OF the country, II only did my
duty
n train OH the Eastern Minnesota was
dltched near Pokegama, short distance
west OF Hinckley, but the passengers all
escaped. The train was probably burned
after the passengers and crew escaped,
although no definite news was received
No trains are running to-day. All the
bridges have burned and in some places
the track is useless. The rails are twisted
cut Of shape and the ties burned
Only one additional body has been
found at this place this morning, and it is
likely that the dead here will not exceed
200, the figure given last night.
All the bodies will be buried TODAY. as
it Will be impossible to keep them ary
longer. A call has been sent to Twin
Cities for more shovels aud mel to bury
the dead, and they will get here on relief
trains during the afternoon.
The record-union., 1894-09-04
DEATH AND DESTRUCTION.
Awful Scenes Which Met the Eye IL
the Burned Districts.

Awful Scenes Which Net the Eye in
the Burned Districts.
ST. PAUL, Sept. "a Pine City special
to the Pioneer Press says: Words cannot
tell the story of death and destruction
that is revealed to the traveller in the st.
Paul and Duluth relief train from Mis-
sion Creek to 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 he
reaches the camp which was once the
town of Hinckley is still more strongly
impressed upon the mind as be journeys
northward. This morning the smoke had
lifted, revealing landscape bare and
black, the few standing trees being
charred to hight of forty feet. while the
ground was of that peculiar tint of brown
sand mixed with gunpowder, for the
grass had heen burned even to the roots.
Here and there IN the bleak and dreary
stretches of country. in what is now a
great lone land, was seen the body of q
deer whose fleet feet had not been able to
outrun the flames, or of q human being
who had been absolutely powerless
against the grim destroyer.
A Pioneer Press man accompanied
Judge Nethaway of saltwater and the
members of a relief party which started
on handcar loaded with provisions
to relieve the people of Sandstone, who
were reported in great distress. Two
miles above Hlnckley they found lying
by the trunk of tree the body OF man
which was evidently that of a lum ber-
man. The party proceeded as far as
Skunk Lake. where the Duluth limited
train was burned. Here they found
Engineer Williams in charge of gang of
men rebuilding the burned bridges.
From them it was learned that the people
living st Sandstone had been taken to
Duluth by special trains on Sunday
night, and their pressing necessities re-
lieved. so the help from Pine City was
not needed.
Tha party therefore resolved itself into
one of search for bodies of victims of the
disaster. The house OF John Robinson
was near Skunk Lake in the edge of the
woods, and the family sought refuge in the
cellar. There was no escape from the
fire. and the party found the bodies Of
John Robinson and his wife and Mary,
their eldest daughter, and two small chill
dren. All the clothing was burned from
the bodies, but the victims had evidently
been suffocated before the flames reached
them. The hands of the eldest daughter
were uplifted with palms together. In an
attitude OF prayer.
Within 600 yards of the spot where
Engineer Root stopped his train was a
long trench running from the little body
The record-union., 1894-09-04
Reported.
snecial TO the REconp-UN1ox.

Special to the REcoRD-UNIoN.
ST. PAUL, Sept. Slater details simply
confirm the reports received yesterday as
to the magnitude of the Hinckley dis
aster. The most conservative estimates
of deaths in the six towns of Pine County
is 362. and from that figure up to 1,000
Although the exact number of dead
will never be known, enough is known
to make this one of the most appalling
disasters IN American history. More
have perished, but never so many in so
terrible manner.
AS to the property loss. all thought has
been of death, and few could be made to
talk about their business losses. 1t was
probable the loss at and around Hinckley
will exceed 8, zoo, 900. although no careful
estimates have yet been made, nor can
they be made where all papers and rec
ords have gone up in the same flames
that SO quickly devoured all the houses,
the vegetation and almost the land in d
large section of Pine County.
Rains to-day cleared the air somewhat
from smoke, but were not heavy enough
to entirely quench the fires, which would
break out on the slightest provocation if
they had aught to feed on.
OF the fires across in Wisconsin, less is
known here up to midnight, but there
has been no loss of life reported, and it is
hoped that it is over. Notwithstanding
to-day's shower, however, the grain is
dry and parched, and all vegetation is so
dry it would ignite easily, and would
burn with horrible rapidity.
The record-union., 1894-09-04
IN PENNSYLVANIA.
Fire Raging Along the Buffalo. Roch-
ester and Pittsburg Road.

Fire Raging Along the Buffalo. Roch-
ester and PittsburG Road.
BRADFoRD (Pa.l, Sept. 3.-Forest fires
are raging in and along the line of the
Buffalo, Rochester and PIttsburg Rail-
road. Reports from all points on the
narrow gauge roads state that the woods
are on fire for miles, and the damage will
be heavy unless rain should fall. The
woods along the pike to Corydon are on
fire for miles, ana the oil property in the
vicinity OF the west branch is threatened
Should the fire spread to the oil fields,
serious consequences would result. The
woods along the Bradford, Bordell and
klnsuna between here and Southport are
reported on fire, ana valuable property is
IN danger OF being destroyed Between
Mount Jewell and this city and the head
of the west branch, the woods are ablaze
and several oil well rigs are reported
burning. AS yet no loss of life is reported.
and the extent of damage can not be esti-
mated. A dispatch reached here this
evening from Lewis Run stating that the
woods are ablaze and the people fighting
the fire TO save their property.
KANE (Pa.), Sept. 3.-Forest fires are
within mile OF this town on all sides.
Should no rain fall the damage and loss
to property will be great. Men are watch
ing the ire, and are preparing to prevent
it from reaching the oil wells and nitro
glycerine magazines located here.
RUSSELL CITY (Pa.l, Sept. 3.-The
woods are on fire on both sides of this
place, and the fire extends over an area of
twenty miles. a large number OF men is
fighting the flames and digging trenches
to prevent the fire from spreading to the
oil and gas fields in this vicinity. The
Elkert Company has laid water lines in
all directions from their pumping sta
tions, and have a large pump ready for
an emergency. There are number of
sawmills and labor camps in the woods
south OF here, and nothing has been
learned as to their condition, and it is
feared the mills have been destroyed, and
that some loss of life has occurred.
The record-union., 1894-09-04
A child Killed by a Street Car.

TACOMA, Sept. 3.-To- night eight-vear
old Oscar Nelson was struck, killed and
run over by North Tacoma street car
loaded with passengers for the Interstate
EAR. The child had nearly crossed the
track before the car, when companion
shouted to him to come back. He started
to go back, when the car struck him.
crushing his skull and killing him in
stantly. The mother is half crazy with
grief. The father. carpenter, is now in
Portland. Coroner Hoskel held an in
vestigation and declared the car en-
ployes were blameless.
The record-union., 1894-09-04
APPEARANCE OF DEsoLArIoN,
Corpses of Men. Women and Children
Lie I'm Indiscriminate Heaps.

Corpses OF Men. Women and Children
Lie I'm Indiscriminate Heaps.
HINCKLEY, Sept. 3.-The visible situa-
ton has not materially improved over
night. Thirty or forty caskets and boxes
with their gruesome contents still lie
along the track whore they were placed
last night. No attempt had been made to
dress or embalm the bodies, and they
were already growing very offensive.
Fortunately the day was cool and cloudy
and grateful showers fell at intervals
during the forenoon. Undertaken j. ID.
Donnelly of st. Paul advised that the
bodies be put under earth as rapidly as
possible. Every attempt at Identification
had been exhausted. Out in the little
cemetery mile east Of town was scene
The record-union., 1894-09-04
ovERwHELMED WITH GRIEF.
Provisions Being Sent TO the Desti-
tute People.

PINE CITY (Minn.l, Sept. 3.-After the
deluge reaction has come at Hinckley.
The excitement which buoyed up so
many survivors, even in the face of the
fact that many relatives and friends had
perished in the fiery flood, has passed
away and dull grief has taken its place.
The uninjured refugees at Pine City stand
around in little knots and discuss the in
cidents of the catastrophe in awe-stricken
tones.
The hospital patients demanded con-
tnued attention of the physicians all
night, and the only druggist in Pine City
was kept busy until daylight filling pre-
scriptions and supplying lotions, for most
of the injuries were burns more or less
serious. by morning all were III state
of comparative comfort.
Among the citizens of Pine City who
The record-union., 1894-09-04
ALMOST TIE LAND is DEVOURED.
Nearly Quarter of the Popula-
tion Burned to Death.
THE LOSS OF PROPERTY UP IN
THE MILLIONS.

Destitute Being Temporarily Cared
for by Citizens of Neighboring
Towns-Aid Appealed For-Forest
Fires Raging in Wisconsin and
Pennsylvania, but No Loss of Life
Reported.
The record-union., 1894-09-04
LABOR'S HOLIDAY.
The Third Generally Observed in
Eastern Cities
LARGE PARADES AT CHICAGO AND
NEW YORK.

The Third National Irrigation Con.
gress Convenes at Denver, Repre-
sentatfves of Seventeen States and
Territories Being Present-The Del
egates Stirred Up by Letter From
Secretary of Agriculture Morton,