Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-20
FOUR ARE NOW KNOWN DEAD
A Score or More Persons Reported
Missing.
HUNDREDS
HOMELESS
Several Millions In Property Burned
-Four Towns Wiped 0ut-1OO
Square Miles Swept.


patch to the Milwaukee Sentinel from
Escanaba, Mich, by staff correspondent
says:
-Four known dead. a score or more per-
sons missing. hundreds OF families home
erty burned. four towns wiped out and
dozen more partly burned. ave counties
partly devastated and 100 square miles Of
territory fire swept. This il the result In
the northern Michigan peninsula of the
forest fire that ragged yesterday and last
night until It spent itself today.
General Superintendent ". q. Wells Of
the Escanaba and Lake Superior road.
along which the greatest loss occurred, re-
turned tonight from trip OF inspection
over the nre-stricken area and said that
the fires had gone down. For the time
being the danger 10 over. unless new
gale arises to tan the embers Into flames.
The following summary tells the story:
Summary Of tho Losses
The dead: Peter Laford, cook, smother
ed in a lumber camp near Katos. Three
children dead at Quinnesee. Mich. separated
from parents while the village was burning
and perished Scores Of homesteaders and
woodsmen are missing and many may have
persisted in the flames.
Territory devastated-Ftve counties-Mar-
uuette, Menominee Delta, Alger and DICK
enson.
Towns destroyed-Talbot. Mich. 300 pop
ulation; few houses escaped Quinnesee'
Mich, 400 population; only one house leIt'
Saunders, $50 population, wiped out Nj
agra, Wis, 800 population. all burned
Towns damaged-Northland, Cornell. An
tome. Spring Valley. Kingsley. WOODLAND
Foster City, Salm and Metropolitan.
All day long refugees and trainmen have
been coming in telling tales of misery ana
suffering as well as heroism and brave
deeds that were enacted while the fire was
at It's height.
The Burned Area.
The burned area extends from point
ten miles out Of Escanaba to Talbot on
the south: to Claiming and Quinnesec on
the west; to Sands on the north and back
to near Escanaba. While this territory mas
not been swept clear. great tracks have
been laid waste, especially toward the
north
In this region thousand small fires have
been smouldering for weeks Nothing was
thought of these fires, because they were
not dangerous. but 1t only needed wind.
which came Friday, to fan them into a
sheet of flame.
from the west thirty miles an hour By 2
O. clock the velocity was forty miles and by
O'Clock the small fires seemed to have
united into large one that extended over
a fifty-mile stretch and swept along with
fury.
Throughout the affected territory hum
dreds of woodsmen were put to work to
save property. 1t was only by diverting
the path of the fire that some towns were
saved
Hundreds Of Farms Swept.
Hundreds of small and prosperous farms
were burned over, driving the occupants to
the nearest towns for shelter. Cattle and
stock and houses and barns and their con-
tents were left for the flames Farmers
loaded wagons tlurriedly with personal ef-
fects and ran before the flames.
In some instances families became sep
arated, causing much anxiety to relatives
who have reached towns.
There was little that human effort could
do to check the flames The heat was fn-s
tense and the smoke sitting. The wind
from the west and north blew the smoke
into Escanaba. AT o'clock Friday after
noon Escanaba seemed in darkness. A
heavy veil Of smoke overhung the entire
surrounding country. Everything was of
a greenish hue.
Smoke Causes Panic.
The sitting smoke threw women and
children into a panic. Gradually the wind
died down during last night and this morn
ing the flames began to lose their fury.
The fires still shoulder. and while they
are not spreading, IT will only need a fresh
wind to start them again. AS far as the
eye can see there is smoke.
Talbot fought hard to ward off the flames,
but failed. score of houses and an en-
tire logging train were burned. The people
then rushed down the railroad track to
Daggett, but the flames kept pace with the
refugees. Daggett had sent fire engine
to Talbot but this was burned. Daggett
was saved by the shifting of the wind.
Quinnesec Is still isolated. but trainmen
say the town Ia burned.
A number of small fires are burning be-
tween Powers and Qulnuesec and to the
south of these places.