The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1898-10-06
Cumber1and,s Awful scour.e.


Cumberland, Wis, Oct PA hurri-
cane of fire swept through Barron
county Thursday. For the past week
fires have been burning to the south
and west Of Cumberland and village,
of Almena, and Thursday afternoon
about o'clock violent wind set in
from the southwest. The smouldering
fires were famed into raging flames,
bearing directly on Cumberland, and
In a hour the city was completely
shrouded in smoke. Large burning
cinders were driven over the city from
the south and gave timely warning to
the inha bitants.
Everybody was called out to make
fight against the oncoming flames. In
two hours from the commencement
of the gale the whole timbered section
to the south and west was a mass of
flames. Burning embers were falling
like rain and igniting the marshes and
dry trees in close vicinity to the town.
Every one realized the nature of the
coming fight, the houses were vacated
aud the families gathered around them,
ready to extiguish the falling cinders.
With the roar Of the coming flames
in their ears and the smoke making.
the, day darker and darker, it!<is no
wonder that a panic seized the women
and children. They rushed about
wringing their hands, running into one
another, utterly bewildered.
3 At 4:3O O'Clock it looked as though
the whole city would be wiped out.
At the depot the railroad officials had
provided two special freight trains,
and 5 o'clock, when the fires were !
Igniting Residence After Residence,
! the women, children and old men, with
a common impulse, CROPPED their way
to the station and boarded the cars
At $50 the hurricane Of flame burst
upon the city. No fire protection in
the way Of engines, pressure or hose,
cound have made the results any diff
ferent. The train pulled out with
its sorrowful passengers and carried
them to Shell Lake. Those left be-
hind now realized that all hope OF es-
cape by train was shut off, and the
panic become intensified. Some took
a few valuables from their homes and
sought the lake shore west of the city.
Here it was that those remaining saw
safety.
About $50 o'clock the lumber yards
of the Beaver Dam Lumber company
caught and in less time than it takes
to write it fifty acres Of lumber piles,
together with the saw mill, shingle
mill and planning mill were all ablaze.
Most of the people were now on the,
lake shore, waiting for the end. On
the east side of the city, east OF the
RAILROAD track, dwelling after dwelling
was being ignited. A few desperate
residence owners remained att their
posts and fought until the intense heat
drove them back. All hope was given
up. The whole city
Was Apparently Doomed.
Never before was a shower of rain
more providential The fire had seem
ingly been followed by an electric
cloudburst. The rain fell in torrents,
flooded the streets, put out the flying
cinders, and, best Of all, gave a little
hope to the panic-stricke people. The
rain alone made it possible to save
the west SIDE Nothing could save the
lumber yards. mills or houses already
burning: the rain never touched those
fires, the heat was too intense.
At 10 O'clock the people again took
courage and moved back to the city.
They fought hard and saved the West
part of the town. Up to late hour
no fatalities were reported, although
one Turner named Peter Ecklund,
living south Of the city, was caught in
the Fl ire and was so badly burned that
his recovery is doubtful s55
Tho total loss in the city will aggre-
gate about 5000, Goo. From the farm
ing section southeast Of the city comes
the report that forty five farmers were
rendered homeless, losing everything