The Ladysmith news and Ingram news. [volume] (Ladysmith, Wis.) 1905-1906, 1906-05-26
VAST AREA SWEPT
| CLEAN BY THAMES.
400 SQUARE MILES OF TERRI
TORY DEVASTATED BY THE
FOREST FIRES.
THREE THOUSAND HOMELESS
SEVEN TOWNS TOTALLY BURNED
AND DOZENS SAVED ONLY BY
HEROIC WORK.

| Escanaba, Mich, May 19.-Driven
by heavy gale of wind one of the
most destructive forest fires in the
history of this district yesterday af-
ternoon laid waste tract of land
fifty miles square and at a late hour
last night was still spreading. 1t is
definitely known that the following
cities and villages have been COM
pletely wiped out: Quinnesec, popu-
lation 5000; Shaffer, 600; Ralphs,
400; Salvoie, 200; Cornell, 500; Wood
lawn, 200. and Talbot. 400.
Hundreds Are Homeless.
At North and several other points
on the line of the Escanaba & Lake
Superior railway at o'clock last
night, when all communication was
cut off, the fire had reached the out
skirts of the village and no hope of
saving any of the property was of
fered. Hundreds of people are home
less and are being brought into Es-
canada as fast as trains can be sent
to the burned district. In addition to
the list of saw mills and other build
ings, millions Of feet of cut lumber
have been burned and tracts of stand
ing timber badly damaged. The loss
Of the I. Stephenson Company OF
Wells from burned timber alone it is
believed will approximate several
hundred thousand dollars.
Railway Bridges Burned.
w. B. Lins1ey, of the Peninsula di-
vision of the Northwestern road, an
nounced that late last night, owing
to conflicting reports being received,
he was unable to estimate the loss to
that company. 1t was stated that sew
eral railway bridges have been de-
stroyed and that entire trains of cars
have been burned on the track. All
freight traffic on both the Northwest
ern and Escanaba & Lake Superior
roads was suspended early yesterday
afternoon and the entire attention of
the train crews given to relief trains
sent out to move residents of burned
towns to places of safety.
Escanaba, Mich, May %. - Four
known dead, a score or more persons
less, several million dollars of proper
ty burned, seven towns wiped out en-
tirely, and dozen more partially, five
counties devastated and four hundred
square miles of territory fre-swept-
In Path of Flames.
Towns totally burned:
Talbot, Mich, 800 population; only
few houses left standing.
Quinnesec, Mich, 400 population;
only one house remains.
Saunders, $50 population all wiped
out.
Niagara, Wis, 800 population; all
wiped out.
Kingsley, 500 population.
Woodlawn.
Perkins.
Towns partially destroyed:
Northland, Cornell, Antoine, Spring
Valley, Forest City. Saliva and Metro
politan.
Territory Devastated:
Five counties, Marquette, Menomi-
nee, Delta, Alger and Dickinson.
400 Square Miles Swept.
Milwaukee, May 21.-A staff cores
pondent of the Sentinel, who yester-
day made tour of the district in the
upper peninsula of Michigan covered
by the forest fires, in a special train,
the first train to go through the dis
trict since the catastrophe, telegraph
ing his paper, says that the fire ap-
pears to be practically out in all of
the district, which is about 400 square
miles in area. The fire ragged for a
distance of s:xty-four miles along the
line of the Escanaba & Lake Superior
railroad and for thirty miles beyond
Charming, the western terminus of
the road.
5000 Are Homeless.
1t seems certain now that 1000 per
sons are homeless in that district and
that 1000 are left desolate at Quin-
nesec. The Quinnesec fire, however,
was of different origin from the Esca-
naba fire, having started in field
where men were pulling stumps and
burning debris. This fire spread into
the city, wiped out all the buildings
except three residences and the paper
mills. Then the fire spread into the
timber, and, running north for forty
miles, finally joined the flames sweep
ing east from Escanaba. 1t was also
learned that Woodlawn and Kingsley,
on the Escanaba e Lake Superior
line, were destroyed and Perkins, on
the North. Western