The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1894-09-06

traveller on the st. Paul and Duluth
railroad from Mission Greek to two
miles above the town OF Miller or
Sandstone junction. The awfulness
of the desolation which strikes upon
the observer as he reaches the camp
which was once the town of Hinckley
is still more strongly impressed on his
vision as he journeys northward. This
morning the smoke had lifted, reveal
ing landscape bare and black, the
few standing trees being charred to
height OF 40 feet, while the ground is
of that peculiar tint of brown saEd
mixed with gun powder, for the grass
had been burned even to the roots.
Here and there the bleak and dreary
stretches of country, in what is is now
great lone land, was seen the body
of deer whose fleet feet had not been
able to outrun the flames or human
being who had been absolutely pow.
erIess against the grim destroyer.
A Pioneer Press man, accompanied
by Judge Nethaway of saltwater
and the members OF a relief party
which stared on hand car loaded
with provisions TO relieve the people
of Sandstone, who were reported in
great distress Two miles above
Hinckley they found lying by the
track the body of man, which was
evidently that of a lumberman. The
relief party proceeded as far as Skunk
Lake, where the Duluth limited train
was burned. Here they found En-
gineer Williams in charge of gang
of men rebuilding the burned bridge
From them it was learned that the
living at Sandstone had been taken to
Dull ..th by special trains on Sunday
night and their pressing necessitie
relieved, so that aid from Pine City
was not needed. The party therefore
resolved Itself into one of searchers
for bodies of victims of the disaster,
The house Of John Robinson was
near Skunk Lake, on the edge of the
woods, and the family sought refuge
in the cellar. There was no escape
from the fire, and the party found the
bodies of John Robinson and his wife,
Mary Robinson, their eldest daughter
and two smaller children. All the
clothing was burned from their bodies
but the victims had evidently been
suffocated before the flames reached
them. The hands OF the eldest daugh-
ter were appraised with the palms to-
gether in the attitude OF prayer,
Within 900 yards of the spot where
Engineer Root stopped his train was
a long trench running from the little
body of water which proved place Of
safety for the passengers on the
limited to swamp on the lake. Fol-
lowing along this trench the party
came upon the partially clothed body
of man, who in personal appearance
cOrresponded to the description OF
General Pas senger aud Freig ht Agent
Rowley of the Duluth and Winnipeg
railroad An examination Of the dead
mans shirt collar showed the name of
o. R)wley and it is supposed that he
was passenger on the limited and in
taking to the ditch expected 70 reach
the lake. Other bodies found by the
party were those of man and q
woman who had evidently fled from
farmhouse near by and the bodies
of TWO men who are supposed to have
be On passengers on the burning train.
The latest verified reports of the
number OF dead no not materially
alter the former estimates. In tact,
that estimate is provin g remarkably
exact, considering the confusion OF the
first day. One element that makes
close figuring very difficult is the fact
that the bodies seen in the woods and
along the track are not infrequentiy
reported to two points and sent from
each as among it's dead. Then, too,
the tendency OF the occasion, bad as il
is, is to eXaggeTatiOn. However, eli.
minating these elements as far as pos
sible from it's approximation, the
Pioneer Press is convinced that the
tota. is as nearly exact as possible.
The number o; dead at Hinckley is
placed at 200. The Pioneer Press COR
respondent has actually counted 1914
of these, and the margin allowed
about all that is necessary. The 6g.
ures are as follows; Hinckley, 200;
Sandstone, 81; Miller, II; between
skunk Lake and Miller, II; Poke
CANA, Is. In lumber camps and scat.
teripg, estimated, so; total, 1854. The
following is list of tbs known dead
at HinckIey, partially identified, go
far as known at late hour last night:
Mr. and Mrs Abbey and two chill
dren, Mrs Ronohue and three chill
dren, John Westland and child, MI
and Mrs John Rodgers and three
children, MIR and Mrs Mike Curry and
boy, Mr. Sherman, Paul Leske, Mrs
McLever and and four children,
Thomas Dunn, Mrs Blanchard and
two children, Mrs Martin Msrtinsou
and four children, AXel Hanson
andmOther, Mrs Catherine Grissinger,
Mabel Grissenger aged 3, Mr. and
Mrs William Gender and two boys,
Winnifred Gender aged years, G g
Anderson, Hans Paulson and four
hildrp1 Mr. and Mrs Cham berg and