Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-09-04
LINED WITH DEAD.
The Path Of the Red Destroyer
of hinckley.
A Whole Family Found Dead in Their
Cellar, and One Of the Victims
in the Attitude Of
Prayer.
Loss OF LIFE NOW STATED AT ss4.

a List Of liz Names of Those Who Per-
fshed at Hinckley and Other Points
Remarkable Escape Of Cattle and
Horses-Burial OF the Botiies-sixty
Dad n Sandstone. with the Names Of
the misunderstanding of the Flames
River the Only Refuge.
ST. PAUL, Sept. A Pine City special
TO The Pioneer Press says: Words cannot
tell the story of death aud destruction
that is revealed to the traveller on the St.
Paul and Duluth railway from Mission
Greek to two miles above the little town
OF Miller. or Sandstone Junction. The
awfulness of the desolation which strikes
upon the eye OF the observer as he reaches
the camp which was once the town Of
Hinckley is still moro strongly impressed
on his vision as he Journeys northward.
Sunday morning the smoke had lifted, re-
vealing a landscape bare and black. the
few standing trees being charred to a
height of forty feet, while the ground was
of that peculiar tint of brown sand mixed
with gunpowder. for the grass had been
burned even to the roots. And here and
there in the black and Groary stretches of
country was seen the body Of deer whose
fleet feet had not been able TO outrun the
absolutely powerless against the grim de-
stroyer.
With Hands Upraised In Prayer.
A Pioneer Press man accompanied Judge
Nethaway, of Saltwater. and the members
OF relief party which started with \
handcar loaded with provisions to relieve
the people of Sandstone, who were re-
ported in great distress. Two miles above
Hincklsy they found lying oy the trunk Of
tree the body OF a man which was evil
IDENTIFY that Of lumberman. The relief
party little later learned that relief was
not needed a: Sandstone. The party
therefore resolved itself into one of search
for bodies of victims of the disaster The
house of John Robinson was near Skunk
lake, in 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 daugh-
ter, and two smaller children. All the
clothing was burned from the bodies, but
INC NAS-iillS Bhu
before the flames reached them. The
hands of the oldest daughter were up
raised with palms together in an attitude
OF prayer
Otto RouIe.'s Fatal Mistake.
Within 500 yards of the spot where En-
gineer 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 a swamp
| on the lake Following along this trench
| the party came upon the partly-clothed
body of man who in personal appear
| ance correspondent to the description of
General Passenger and Freight Agent
| Otto Rowley, Of the Duluth and Winnipeg
| railroad. An examination of the dead
| mans shirt collar bowed the name O.
| kowiey and it is supposed that he was a
| passenger on the limited. and in taking
to the ditch expected to reach the lake.
Had he remained in the shallow body of
water by the side Of the burning train he
would have saved his life.
Other bodies found by the party were
those OF a man and a woman who had
| evidently fled from farm house near by,
and the bodies of two men who are sup
posed to have been passengers on the
burned train