Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1908-09-29
PAYS4 PER CENT. on DEPOSITS
MORE FIRE.

Residents of the town of Wausau a
few miles east of the city had a busy
time last week fighting forest fires,
which threatened the destruction OF
farm property. Wherever possible,
fields were plowed over and green
trees were fallen as firebreak and all
that saved several farm houses from
destruction was the dying OF the wind
which had been tanning the blaze.
The fires origin is traced directly to a
Polander living in that section who set
hre to brush piles on his farm and then
went away and allowed the fire to
spread. We learn that the farmers
who suffered most from his careless
ness are combining for the purpose of
prosecuting him, and that in due time
a complaint will be filed. If every
farmer in the county, who has suffered
such losses from the wanton careless
ness of others, would make like prose-
cutious, it would have a good healthy
effect. Give them little of the GRIM
inal law, which provides fine of 500
for such offenses, besides payment of
damages to the ones suffering losses.
The people living in and around
Mosinee, Moon and that section were
seriously threatened last week. Long
stretches of burrows were plowed up
and patrol of men was kept at work
night and day while the danger threat
ened. Lumber companies owning
standing timber in that section lost
heavily. There are several large
groves of Norway pine and hemlock
burned over and to save the timber
from becoming worm-eaten it will be
necessary to log it this coming winter.
On Thursday rain shower visited
that section south of the city and the
"wetness' fell so heavily that mud
puddles formed on the road. For a
time fires which had been burning
around Kelly were checked, but on the
following day they broke out anew.
From man who has lately travelled
over quite a section of the eastern part
of the county we learn that the forest
fires have had the effect of killing
large numbers of fish in different
streams. This man said that last week
he crossed a trout stream and found
large numbers of dead trout along the
banks. 1t is thought that the light
rain of Thursday falling on the ashes
of burned logs formed a lye which
oozed into the streams and had the
effect of killing the fish.
The residents of the village of Fen
wood had bad scare last Saturday.
For week or more fires in the sur
rounding country had been slowly con-
suming property and working their
way toward the village Famed by
the heavy breeze of Saturday the fires
broke forth in great fury, and as the
village was directly in the path of dan
ger, great apprehension was felt. The
Fenwood Lumber Co.'s mill and stock
of lumber, it was feared, could not be
saved and if the lumber piles caught
fire it was a certainty the village would
be licked up. G. S. Curtis of that COM
pany made application to Mayor j. +.
Lamont for the use of the city'S fire en-
gine, but owing to the danger of fire
breaking out here the request was re-
fused. A special train was made up,
Mr.. Curtis closed down his factories
and all who wanted to fight fire went
over on the special; few more went
over on the noon train. The village
has no fire protection of any kind ex-
cept small chemical engine which is
absolutely worthless in a fire of any
size. The work of stopping the progress
of the flames, therefore, was not an
easy matter and about all the men
could do was to start backtires on the
outskirts of the village. In this work
they had to be extremely careful, or
account of the high wind.
just when the crucial time had come
rain shower came on which continued
throughout the night, and this alone is
perhaps, all that saved the village from
destruction.
On the same day q fire east o