St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1894-09-06
A HORRIBLE STORY
Of Devastation by Fire in Minnesota
and Northern Wisconsin.

OF Devastation by Fire In minnesota
and Northern Wisconsin.
Horrible fires are reported in Min
nesota and Wisconsin as result OF
the burning OF forests. Hinckley
MINI, has been wiped out, and other
towns are in ashes; train load OF
passengers are believed to have per-
ished in the flames, and altogether
nearly five hundred lives are thought
to have been lost. Hundreds OF fam
lilies are homeless and in want. and
measures for their relief were
promptly taken. The following
tirely wiped out. Hardly a single
building is standing in Shell Lake,
Baronnette, and Bashaw, Wis,
Henckley, Miller, Finlayson, Rut-
ledge, Sturgeon Lake, Partridge and
Sandstone, MINI. The aggregate
population of these towns was 1900
to 5000 Two hundred and forty
seven bodies had been recovered up
to Monday, 200 at Hincklev, 46 at
Sandstone, and / at Baronnette.
Most OF the bodies are so badly
burned they cannot be recognized. The
injur ed list includes about everyone in
the locality of the fire. Between Par
bridge and Sandstone eight bridges
burned down. Partridge and Sand
stone are wiped from the earth.
At Sandstone 46 people are dead,
lying in the streets, the remain
der, some 400, are alive, having
taken to the Kettle river and stood
in the water with only their heads
out. The survivors have nothing left.
The fires are now working north of
Partridge and burning fercely
There were a great many in Sand
stone who went to a small pond
which is near the city and stood in
the water to their necks and held
their children while others threw
water over them. Hundreds of them
went nearly wild and rushed around
the streets like so many wild animals.
Many of them were not able to get
to any place where they would not
be caught by the flames, and being
overcome by the heat and smoke,
they fell by the roadside and either
smothered or burned to death.
There are a great many who went
out toward the timber and who will
probably never be found, as the fire
lasted so long that it would entirely
consume their bodies.
The fire, driven by a southwest
gale, reached the southern end of
Baronnette and in a few minutes
there was only a pile of glowing en-
bers and one dwelling to mark the
site of a town of 500 people, who
clothes. A mill and 100 million feet
Of lumber were destroyed. The loss
is 100000, The aggregate total
property loss in Wisconsin is ST ,42O,-
900, about one half insured.
A dispatch from Pine City, MINI,
says the number of victims in and
near that place from the forest fires
will reach at least 425.
Nothing is yet definitely known as
to the loss of life by the forest fires in
Northern Wisconsin,. The loss on
property is over a million dollars.
Three hundred houses in Cadott have
been destroyed.
A company of United States in
fantry left Fort Smelling for Hinckley
with blankets and tents for the home
less people and 10 guard property.
At late hour Monday it was esti-
mated that between 500 and 1900
people had been burned to death or
sufoca ted in the forest fires in north
ern Minnesota. The wide discrepancy
in these figures is but proof of the
utter impossibility of getting reliable
information. The full facts cannot
be known till thorough search has
been made in the 40 miles square of
fre-swept forest.
A dispatch OF the 4th says: Near
~ all those who survived the terri
bic forest fires in northern Minnesota
have now been removed to places of
safety in Superior and Duluth and as
heavy rain has quenched the flames
there will be no further casualties.
The work of searching for the dead
is progressing in earnest. Twenty
six towns are known to have suffer
ed from the fires