Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1906-05-22
FOREST fires LAY
bare LANCE AREA
SEVERAL TOWNS IN NORTHERN
MICHIGAN AND WISCONSIN
DESTROYED.
THOUSANDS OF PERSONS
ARE MADE HOMELESS
Loss to Property May Reach Several
Millions City of Wausaukee
Hemmed In by Flames-Three
5, Lives Reported Lost.

human lives were lost 1t is impossi-
BILE to say, nor is 1t possible to tell
at present how much damage to prop
erty, industry and means of comuni-
cation there has resulted.
When communication by railway,
telegraph and telephone is established
which will probably De WITHIN SO
hours forest fire story can be OBJ
tanned which, It is believed, will rival
any similar piece Of news that has
ever come out Of this section Of the
United States. An Evening Wiscon-
Elm correspondent spent all night and
several hours Saturday morning in an
EFFORT to gain q general review of the
hre situation for his paper and finds
that the loss will be several millions
Of dollars. He has been unable to
And any loss Of life, but 5000 people
are homeless, 1t is estimated.
Epitome Of tn. Damage.
The damage done, epitomised IS
well as possible under the circum-
stances, follows:
Ralph Town Of 100 people, almost
wiped out.
Poulation 200. every house
and huge hills of logs burned.
Aalyoie-Population 400, boarding
house railway station big stores Of
logs and ties destroyed.
Quinnisec-Population 100, de-
stroyed; all residents homeless.
Cornell-All but one store burned,
300 people homeless.
Northland-Mill and six houses
burned, many of the 900 population
homeless and without food.
Antoine-Mining town; houses and
one lumber mill burned, boarding
house destroyed and all but few
OF 700 people homeless.
Helth Branch Northwestern rail
way-All bridges burned and scores
Of homesteaders In that section, cover.
ing ten square miles, ars homeless.
1t is feared there was loss Of life
here.
Northland branch, Escanaba and
Lake Superior raflway-E'tve million
feet Of <mt logs burned, bridges down
and line tied up completely. perhaps
four weeks.
Menominee. Delta, Dickinson,
Sschoolcraft and Marquette Gtunties
bear the brnnt Of the loss. The Isaac
Stephenson Lumber company, the
Pittsburg & Lake Superior Iron COM
pany. the Escanaba Woodenware COM
pany and other concerns suffer the
greatest loss. Some OF the towns
parity or wholly destroyed belong en-
tirely to these corporations.
Thousands Relieved Homeless.
Z, Three trainloads TO homeless peo-
pie have already arrived in Escanaba.
Thousands Of others are believed to
be homeless and suffering from want
Of food. clothing and other necessities.
There will be intense suffering, Of
that there is no question. Arrange
ments for aid and offers to give as-
sistanoe are reaching this city from
lower Michigan and WISCONSIN, which
must bear large share Of the fire
losses, directly or indirectly the result
Df the forest fires.
The latest reports indicate that the
hre is being swept northward, and
that II is dying out in many places,
The wi4A has changed so that such
towns a. EseeBaba, Marquette and the
larger places in the district, are out
Of danger. But there Is still an i'm
mense amount of hardwood timber, of
the best in the country. In the path
Of the flames.
Foster, Mich. has had q narrow
escape. but only one house was
burned. At Woodlawn. Mich. several
cars Of ties burned. Other reports
say that Spring Valley. Mich, near
etambaagh is surrounded by flames
and people are fighting hard to save
It. It il also satd that the big hard
wood factory at Homansyille, Mich,
mas been destroyed. PerroAville, in
Menominee county, was surrounded
BY flames Friday night but was saved
AT Loomis, Wis. schoolhsusa swas
wiped out and the teacher and pupils
had narrow escape. The only ru
NOR Of large loss Of life comes indi
tsctiy from Saunders, in Iron county
which Is said to have been burned. II
ts absolutely tmgssstble to get definite
Information,
~ WY I61u1Q6o In.
= Wausaukee, Wis., May 21.-Wausau-
kee, Marinette ceuaty, is hemmed in
by forest fires which ars slowly creep
1ng up to the city on the resth and
south. Millions of feet of lumber are
burned. The loss now is estimated at
100000. AZ Cedarville, town four
miles south OF this city, forest fires
nave destroyed many CAPS loaded with
lumber on the tracks and big kilns
filled with cedar are burned "A fierct
wind IS blowing sparks and burning
enbers tor miles. All trains are be,
ing held here as the rails are twisted
from the intense heat. Hundreds o.
cords of hard wood, pilad near the
tracks. are burning.
Three miles south of this place an.
other fire is raging. The flames ar:
cweentc:. through s:ashiI. and force.
,The ilames III some places are 30 feet
high The dry eepditions are respon.
sible for the great lsss, and the fire
sweeps everything clean.
81 Five Counties Swept.
Mtlwaukes. May 2l.--A special FROM
1GAfinstts. Wis. says: Forest fires,
ahmed by gale. swept over Ave coun.
~ Of the Upper Peninsula Delta.
Dickiasop, Msnominte, Marquette and
Ager-and one Or two counties in
northwsstern WISCONSIN, including
kasinstss. DESTROYING thousands Of dol