Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1906-05-29
Towns Destroyed by Fire.
Towns Partially Destroyed.

Niagara, WIS .......-......-.. LOW
Towns Partially Destroyed.
Northland 40
Antoine .........-......... oo
Spring Valley ......"........ 80
kingsley .-..z...-.-...-.... 100
Noodiawn '''.'..'''''.' ''..'...' Il
Foster City .115
Sala .--..-.-,-.... 90
metropolitan ..'..,......,,....,. .oOV
Ralph .................... 100
Salvoie ..................
Alfred .................... 81
The forest fires which have been
sweeping over the upper Michigan pc
ninsula have abated after doing vast
damage, but the truce may not last
long. The gale which swept over the
district died down, but a recurrence
of it would fan the smoldering and
smoking remnants of the conhagration
into fierce life again.
So far it is known that four persons
are dead, while a score or more are
missing. Hundreds of families are
homeless and several millions of dol
lars of property has been burned. Four
towns have been wiped out entirely and
a dozen more partially destroyed. Five
counties have been devastated.
This is the dreadful picture that the
northern Michigan peninsula presents
to-day after the worst forest fire since
the Peshtigo disaster in 1871. General
Superintendent w E. Wells of the Els
canada and Lake Superior Road, along
which right of way the greatest loss
occurred, returned tonight from q trip
of inspection over the fre-stricken area
and says that the flames have gone
down and for the time being the dan
ger is over unless new gale arises
again to fan the smoke into flames.
Details of the fire are gradually COM
ing out of the burned territory. Refu-
gees and traiumen telling tales of mis-
cry and suffering as well as heroism
and brave deeds that were enacted
while the fire was at its height. The
reports all show that the fire was fully
Vast Section Fire Swept.
The burned over district extends
| from a point ten miles out of Escanaba
to Talbot on the south, to Claiming and
| Quinnesec on the west, Sands on the
| north and back to Escanaba. While
this territory has not been swept over
entirely, the major portion of it north
of the Northwestern line has. South of
| the line it burned in spots.
The flames were iercest along the
Escanaba and Lake Superior line 1t is
in this district that thousand or more
of the small fires have been smolder-
ing for weeks. Nothing was thought of
these fires because they were not dan
gerous, but it only needed a wind to
| fan them into a mighty sheet of flame.
This wind came and the world knows
the result.
Toward noon Friday the wind began
to blow from the vest at the rate of
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 one large one that extended
over a fifty-mile stretch and swept
along with fury that no human hand
could stay. The flames seemed to cen
ter from a place called Northland and
| from there swept down toward Escan-
! aba.
! Throughout the territory hundreds
of woodsmen were put to work to stay
| the fire, but it could not be fought 1t
| marched on and it was only by divert
! ing its path that some of the towns
were saved.
First to be driven were the woodmen
| in camp and the homesteaders. Hun
dreds of small and prosperous farms
abound in the territory and the occu-
| pants of these hurried to the nearest
| towns for shelter. Cattle and stock
| and houses and barns and their con
tents were left for the flames Wagons
were hurriedly loaded with personal eff
fects and the race against the flames
| began.
| In some instances whole families
| came in. Many, however reported that
/ some of the members had been sep
arated and left behind and it was the
fate of these that concerned most. The
| flames came in as fast as the refugees.
| The latter then, with the people of the
! towns, turned out to help save the VIII
| lagos and desperate fight it was.
Some of the towns were hemmed in on
all sides and it was either save the
towns or burn up. Many were saved,
but some were not.
Towns in Hard Fight
Talbot and Quinnesec are the most
notable examples. At both hard fight
was put up, but in the end the places
had to be abandoned.
There was little that human effort
could do to check the flames. Water
was scarce and even when it was plen-
tiful it was of no avail in combating
| the flames. Hundreds of woodmen
fought in spots throughout the district.
| Step by step they would back up, try
| ing at each stand TO back-fire the
flames. Clearings were burned over
with fires that could be controlled.
In this manner many of the towns in
the path of the confagration were
saved.
While scenes of horror and despair
were being enacted in the fre-stricken
territory, there was also a panic in
neighboring cities miles from the fire
line. The wind from the west and
north blew the smoke into Escanaba.
At O'Clock in the afternoon the city
seemed in darkness. A heavy veil of
smoke overhung the entire surrounding
country. Everything was of green
ish hue. The smoke was sitting and
women and children were in a panic.
Gradually the wind died down and
shifted and the flames began to lose