The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1894-07-30
FOREST FIRES RAGE
And Fare Walls are About All That is Left
of the Town OF Phillips

Phillips, Wis, July 29.-At daybreak this
morning a dense smoke covered an area OF
forest a hundred miles square ana the
center was this desolate, hre-S"ept Atlle
city More than 2,50e persons nave lleo
To the forest or TO the villages near by
The town this morning was a heap o.
ruins and the smoke was SO dense that the
headlight Of a locomotive could not be
seen fifty feet away. Three relief trans
reached Phillips soon after O'Clock TINS
morning.
Provisions for the Destitute.
As soon as he arrived Governor Peck call
cd his staff together and directed the work
Of unloading tho provisions. Ihere were
several carloads of food and a warehouse
was opened in one of the few buildings
that are left standing in the town. Through
the dense smoke Governor Peck started out
on a tour of inspection. He soon found
two walls of masonry which marked the
place where two banks had stood ON m
curry It was learned that the vaults OK
the banks contained $4,000 and Governor
Peck Immediately sWore in i dozen men
10 guard the money in the vaults TheY
were armed with Winchesters and order|
to remain on duty in two shifts, day 1hd
night.
The loss by the great conflagrati9h III
its entirety is difficult to estimatZ OUT
of 500 buildings in the town, only %hlrty-
seven remain. b. w. Davis, of thk Davis
Lumber Company, estimates the 1otaI loss
at 81, 100000 with scarcely half Of the Iull
amount covered by insurance !
The loss OF lifeI
There is no way of estimating the num-
Der of lives lost in the fire, Ynd even after
forty-nine hours have passed. no one can
be found who ventures any opinion of the
loss of life. When the/ people fled be-
fore the wave of fire tHey became sepa-
rated and can give n2 account OF each
other.
ished On a raft that burned in the bayou.
The charred bodY of Anton f. Lentzer
ney. The man HAS attempting to carry
his trunk from X burning dwelling, when
the brick CHIMNEY fell on him, crushing out
his life.
AS the fire <wept towards the bridge a
number of children were seen to take ref
uge in the big lumber yard. Their cries
We're heard/by others who fled towards the
water, buy the children have never been
OF INF sixteen persons who lost thei
livec On the raft that burned in the
bayou eight are yet in the water The
body /of Frank Gloss, a machinist, was
founI under a pile of driftWood at noon
todN. The bodies of his wife and chill
dr9n We're recovered afterWard.
/ Searching for the Drowned.
/
bayou and number of bodies were raised
by this means. Jim Locks body was
brought to the surface. He was the
butcher who was drowned with his child
in his arms.
The true story Of this Inflated raft has
never been told. The only man who tells
q comprehensive narrative of the horror
is Joseph Bollen, a lumberman. He was
standing d boathouse when num-
Der of women and children came toward
him. There were three four men fol-
lowing. They went to the raft and at
tempted to push it from the shore, when
if caught fire. Some jumped into small
boats and others remained on the raft
All these persisted. AS the boats were
overloaded they sank. The raft burned
to the waters edge.
More Bodies Found.
Stevens Point, Wis, July 29-Late this aft
ternoon two additional bodies were taken
from the bayou at Phillips, making ten IN
NUMBER