The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-04-08
SUNS WAR ON. EARTH.
FEARFUL RAvAoEs or HEAT. IN AUS
TRAuAN COLONIES.

rid weather - busn Ftres Dessroy many
Large Farms-Clouds Of Biindins Smoke
FIJI the Air-Typhoid Fever Rages.
Disaster and desolation beyond de-
scription have overtaken two colonies OF
Australia. Passengers arriving at Van
couver. b. O.. by the Aorangi the Other
day, blooming in straw hats and blazers,
tell startling story Of the terrible heat
rays which are whitening up cont,
nent. At noon in Melbourne, Victoria,
the sun focused whitening ray on the
city. Water in the wells sunk into the
parched earth, streams dried up and
rivers visibly sank as in falling tide.
Hysterical women proclaimed the end OF
the world. Men, women and children
gasped for breath as they prayed to be
delivered from a horrible end. The
weakest were dying and did not see the
dense, Opaque vapor which, as the day
waned, rolled in from the burning for
ests and shut out the scorching sun.
Another evil was upon them. The air
was thick and murky. alive with blind
ing cinders. Men would have suffocated
or gone blind had they not shut them
selves away from the overpowering in
fluence Of the mountain of smoke that
settled over the city and blotted it out
even from the suns hateful light. But
the darkness was worse than the light,
and the air was harder to breathe. Re-
lief was soon to come, nature could do
no more, but the trial by fire was not
over. The elements must kill a few
more. Only the strongest must survive.
Down from the sky above came a thun-
derbolt. then another and ave her. Sew.
eral buildings were wrecked, and as the
people cautiously peeped from their
houses the sitting, overpowering smoke
fumes were gone and binding sheet Of
rain was falling from the black vapor
that had lifted above them. They rush
ed into the rain and danced and shouted
for Joy. Nature had decided not to de-
stroy Melbourne.
The darkest hour had passed, and
after that rain the atmosphere was
worth 81, 600, 900 a minute to those poor
souls and an hours respite prepared
them for the next period Of suffering.
The mortality was very large. Besides
deaths from heat 255 cases of typhoid
fever broke out, with large percentage
of deaths. In the country matters are
much worse. Miles of farms are burned,
and in New Zealand, as well as in VIC
toria, bush fires have blotted out whole
townships. Settlers are focking to the
towns in hundreds and thousands, half
naked and terror stricken. A few actual
experiences chronicled by the easy going
Sidney Mail and Australian Telegraph
show more truth than fiction.
A Wellington correspondent says bush
fires are destroying everything from
Hoonsville's Gully to Burnside, over q
magnificent farming country. The fire
jumped from bush to farmhouses, 500
feet, defying the efforts of farmers to
stay its course. The sun became eclipsed
by the dense volumes of smoke. A
Methodist camp meeting was overtaken
by fire and the people, mostly women,
fled for their lives. Five minutes after
the 500 tents were deserted they were in
flames. The people ran for miles till
they reached sheep station, where all
the women took refuge in sod dairy
and poured milk on the roof all day long
as the fire ragged around them. The men
went on to town. The women were left
behind. When rescued, they had slip
ped their clothing off, dipped it in milk
and spread it on the roof In the mean
time thousands of homes were being
licked up by the flames.
Crowds continue to come into town
blind with smoke, being badly burned.
Half of those who reach the town fall
into dead faint from reaction, some
never to rise again. Many refused to
leave their destroyed homes. One man
sent his family to place of safety.
walked back to his burning house and
dropped at the door.
Heartrending reports Of suffering
come from all over the colony. Thou
sands are arriving in the towns, almost
naked and terribly blistered. The most
awful experiences are from Poowong.
All Poowong-north, south and west
is gone. The flames came quickly,
jumping like live, fiery furies from bush
to bush, tree to tree and house to house.
The residents left all and fed to save
their lives. In some cases fight was
impossible. Hundreds of children were
lowered into wells in tubs, and those
who escaped drowning were saved from
the fire. w. G. Pratt dragged his moth.
er-in-law, aged 80, through three miles
of bush and saved her. w. Treadwell,
his wife, son and daughter, got into q
dam and staid there all night up tc
their necks in water. When taken out,
they were parboiled, as the fires had
heated the water to boiling point q.
Pratt and two men covered themselves
with wet sacks. They are alive, but all
blind. All who are alive are wandering
about badly burned and naked. Scores
Of families tell the same story.
They raced with flames, but they
dropped from exhaustion. When hal.
unconscious, they would again be arous
ed by the advancing flames sweeping
upon them with the noise Of a dozer