Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1894-09-07

oerty, the bank vault and one ap-
,olutely uniDjured Clubhouse is al
that IS left to mark the site OF
Hinckley, where yesterday st" i,
a score Of store buildings ~
dozen times as many ama,,,.c
houses,
The town W. built of wood
The school'ho' 4se, erected last yeal
ct cost OF $4,000, and one.half
the Duluth roundhouse were the
only brick structures in the city.
By a peculiar freak the Eastern
Minnesota, round. house and water
tank, on the southwestern edge of
the town, escaped, though they
stood directly in the path OF the
flames.
All yesterday forenoon the
townspeople were apprehe nsiye.
The smoke rolling mp from the
woods toward the south told a
plain story to persons accustomed
to a wooded country. The fire ad-
yanced before a gale, and at about
IL o'clock the fire company got out
It's ehglne and laid 1900 feet of
hose to the southern outskirts OF
the town. The hose was all too
short for the measure of protection
desired and a telegram was sent
Rush City for moro. Five hundred
feet were sent, bat it never reach
ed Hinckley. The main part oil
the village lies in the north fork
made by the crossing of the Du
luth and Eastern tracks the lat
ter to the east and the former on
the west.
JUMPED INTO THE TOWN.
On the west slide OF the Dulu til
tracks were a few small houses be-
longing to the railway employees.
The firemen's attention was manly
directed to keeping the fire away
from these, as the main business
part of the city was built in Solldly
Just across the track. About 3
o'clock in the afternoon the fire
literally Jumped into the town as
if to overtake everything fleeing
before it and then burned back
ward at it's leisure.
1t is described by those who
witnessed its progress at Hinck-
ley and elsewhere as if it were
forced along by cyclones of Its own
generation. The intense heat
would develop a verltable whlrl-
wind of fame that actually twisted
Of poplar trees several inches in
thickness and carried them for
ward from forty to eighty rods.
The brave fighters, when they
gave up the battle, were already
too late In many instances to save
themselves. The Eastern Mime
sofa train from the South had just
come In and tina people of the pan
ic.stricken city fed to it for safety.
WILD RUSH FOR SAFETY.
A number of box cars were cod
pied on. These were filed and
covered with men, women and
children. Some were bareheaded,
some were coatless, some few
cIutched a pitlful bundle of the
more precious of their portable
possessions. Families were sep2-
rated. Children j)ined the throug
and left their parents. Ia all
there was a molly crowd Of about
450 or more persons.
The train pulled out just ahead
OF the fire and ultimately reached
Duluth. This circumstance, while
fortunate in degree that cannot
be estimated, had made the con.
fusion greater for it is not known
who escaped in this way, ard
many people are reported dead
who may be safe. At about the
same hour the accommodation
train on the HInckley and St.
Cloud Branch left for the latter
place with about twenty-five
passengers. Its path law exactly
across that of the fire AMI the
situation of the pasSeDgersspeedily
became desperate. The ties were
burning, the rails were heating
and the trestIes were sagging
under The train.
The smoke had Increased so
that the engineer was helpless.
He could not see the train behind
him. Burning trees lay on the
track and were tossed aside by
the engine Suddenly the track
gave way and the train toppled off
to one side. NJ one was injured
aud they pressed on to POksgama
station, q few rods ahead. Only a
few feet 10 front of the engine was
discovered a gorge go feet wide
and 40 feet deep, where the trestie
la I&aa,, hurnad owav Tho