Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1894-09-06


Mission creek, two miles further south,
only TO find that village in ashes. Con-
ductor Sullivan issued immediate or
ders to his crew to back into Hincklcy,
but before the train, running at TWEEN
lty 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 baggage car caught fire.
The train quickly resumed It's back
ward journey toward Duluth and the
very motion of the cars famed the
| flames 10 fury and they soon envel-
oped the sleepers, passenger coaches
land the smoker. While the train was
stopping at Hinckley nearly 200 panic
striker people of the place rushed upon
the platforms 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 horrible picture, A mile out of
Hinckley people on the platforms, rem
dered frantic lunatics by the heat and
their terror, began to jump from the
ears and plunge into streams, into
santi-heaps or into the smokc-encom-
passed forest A little farther on those
in the cars, stified with smoke, began
to smash the windows of the coaches
| fresh air. Driven back by the flames
eating their way up the sides Of the
! freshly vanished coaches, they stood
in batfied amazement for moment,
when dozens of them in sheer deSper-
g ton 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. In
spite of the fact that the train was on
fire from engine to rear end the crew
brayely stood at their posts and ran
the train back six miles to Skunk lake,
where the passengers rushed out into
the water. Some of them were in such
a state of exhaustion that they were
unable to walk, and half a dozen We're
entirely unconscious All of these lat
ter were rolled in the mud and water
and laid on their backs just far enough
out into the lake to keep the water
from running into their mouths. En-
gineer James Root, who has so brayely
pilcted the train through that awful
six miles Of fire, was found to be fatal
~ burned. Conductor Sullivan, cool
through the awful journey, had, after
it was all over, become a maniac.
One of the saddest fea lures of the
calamity is the impossibility of identi-
fication in such a large proportion Of
the cases. OF ninety-six bodies exam
ined by many of the surviving resi-
dents of Hinckley, but four could
be identified. Sharles Anderson, AXel
Hanson. Dennis Ryan and Mrs. Will
liam Grinder. One searching party
went up the Duluth track to the north
and picked up thirty-one bodies be-
tween the river and Skunk lake. The
bodies were wrapped in blankets and
such clothes as could be obtained and
laid by the side of the track where the
depot had stood. Citizen volunteers
harnessed up the available vehicles
saved in the gravel-pit and went out
to the swamp across the Grindstone.
They brought in ninety-six bodies.
which were carried out to the desolate
burying ground mile east Of town.
There was neither time nor opportu-
nifty to observe the sacred formalities
usually surrounding death.
Milwaukee, Sept. 4.-Specials to the
Sentinel from Cadott and Fifeld deny
the reports that those places were Wis
tied by forest fires.
Spooner, Wis, Sept 1.-THE destruc-
ton of Barronette was complete. one
lone building is left of 700 inhabitants,
One man was burned. The total loss
is quarter of million. Shell Lake
has fifty-two dwellings burned with a
total loss of $4,000. Three hundred
and sixty people are homeless and
many are without dollar Of insur-
anee.