The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1894-09-14

. Pine City, AIinn., Sept. !. = Relief
partics sent out In various directions
return and report finding more bodies
aud it Ii safe to say That the loss Of
life in this part OF Mlnnesotl and
across the line In Wisconsin will not
be less than GOO and many think that
1t will reach q thousand.
The reaction has come Mt Hinck-
ley. The excitement which has buoyed
up SO many Of the survivors, even In
the face Of the fact that 30 many
friends and Ielatives had perishcd In
the fiery food, has passed away. and
dull, lethargic grief lns taken it's place..
The uninjurcd refugees at Pine City,
and there arc several hundred OF them,
stand about the street corners In little
knots and discuss the incidents of the
catastrophe which struck the town.
The probable death Of this one or this
hlmily, and the news of tile escape of
another, whc was Mt first supposed to
have perished, are all discussed with
the same benumbcd mir, expressing
neither sorrow OR despair In the one
case, nor elation or joy in the other.
The hospital patients demanded the
attention Of the physicians all night.
md the only druggist in Pine City
WIS kept busy until daylight filling
prescriptions and supplying lotions,
for most of the injuries were burns,
more or less serious. BY morning all
were in a state Of comparative cohl-
fort, and there were none whose hurts
were deemed fatal.
Among the good citizens Of Pine City
who had opened their hearts, their
homes and their public buildings to
their stricken ntighbors, all was hustle
and activity. The town hall was kept
open all night, and coffee and plain
fare served to all comers. The court
house, the school house and many u
private home was thrown open. Every
blanket In the town was called into
service. Tho women and children were
given the better quarters, aud the men
stretched out In rows OH the floors of
the two public buildings named. Be-
fore day light the town WIS astlr. The
arrangements for the relicf Of the dcs-
titute further up the line, where hun
dreds of men women and children are
not only homeless but absolutely with
out scrap Of food or bedding or extra
NAOtAAA6S WHY NlhSu uQ WuCEc THEY
were dropped at midnight. The ap-
pointed committees met and got their
work well In hand. Before Z o'clock
in the morning the construction train,
loadcd with bridge material for the
repair Of the bridge across the Grind
stone river mt Hinckiey, came up
from Rush City.
A couple Of hundred loaves of bread
,lnd other light provision were placed
on board In charge Of Judge J. q.
Nethaway Of saltwater, representing
the relief committee. A party Of labor
ers to dig graves md inter the bodies
was collected, and the train proceeded
into the burned country. At Hinck-
ley the provisions were loaded on to
hand cur manned by Judge Nctlla-
way and q volunteer crew, and a start
was made across the shaky bridge to
Miller, nine miles further north, where
are reported q dozen or more dead
and three or four times as mnny
hungry dnd homeless. From Miller
they expect to work east to Sandstone,
about five miles ucross the country on
the Eastern Minnesota railroad, where
there are between forty and fifty dead
and a couple Of hundred living who
were saved In Kettle river and in the
great Sandstone quarrics. About III
o'clock the bridge was sufficiently re-
paired to admit the passage of a train
and an engine, freight car and caboose,
with plentiful supply of food and
meager store of collins in charge of
Undertaken O'HallOEln of st. Paul,
WIS sent north.
Above Skunk Lake the work train
reported twelve bodies OH the right of
way, presumably settlers. In retro
spcctiOn, the most sOrrOwful feature.
Of the terrible fatality mt Hinckley is
the though: that Ind the situation been
realized In time not single life among
tile residents need have been lost. The
Great Northern gravel pit, where only
Il hundred sought safety, Is about ten
acres In extent, broad enough and
long enough to have sheltered every
soul In Hincklcy with all their do
mestic animals. There is a pool Of
water Of considerable depth. The
banks are bare Of grass or sllrubbery
AMI there was no inflammal,le material
near the brink on the side from which
the fire came. Those who did seek this
AhNNkA plCSGu kllG VI I'll
forced Imprisonment In comparative
comfort.
This morning q detail of twenty reg
ulars from Fort Smelling, under COM
mand Of Capt. Hale and Lieut.. Mccoy,
anu an army surgeon came in from st.
Paul. They brought some tents, but
fipding that Adjt. Gen. Biuehlberg had
sent up $50 state tents, the regulars
turned in aud put up fifty Of them for
the refugees with regular army expedi.
tion. The local physician was about
played out, and there was an abund.
ance Of work for the army surgeon.
A portion of the tents will be put up
ut Hinckley.
During the day at Pine City the ar
judgements for systematic aid wis
taken in hand by II. II. Hart, Of the
board Of corrections and charities, act
ing as registrar. Mr.. Hart was
equipped with blanks for the registra-
ton Of the name OF the applicant for
aid and his wife. their birtlplaccs,
their children, residence and length Of
time. In Minnesota; occupation, wheth
er he owns his home, IL mOrtgngetl.
ard for how much; amount of insur
ance, what property left and its value;
addresses Of friends. financial ability.
needs and where the applicant desires
10 80. The matter was attended to IN
great detail. During the Day Mr..
Hart registered seventy heads Of faml-
lies, representing upward 6f 100 per-
sons. The work will continue to-
morrow and until nll are registered.
The matter, of specific relief In each
case will then I,e taken up by the cx-
ecutlve committee, and the funds ana
supplies ut their command will he an.
liortioned in qccorsiance with the needs
1f each and the ability to supply them.
The committee appointed by the citl-
xans Of Minneapolis Inns arrived. 1t