The San Francisco call., 1908-10-17

ALPENA. Mich. Oct. 10
Penned in the wrecked steel car
of a derailed relief train In a
burning forest. three mothers with
their children were roasted to
death. while other terror stricken
refugees and trainmen, stumblins
and crawling through the blazing
timber in frantic effort to escape,
were overcome and their bodies
burned to cinders. Fifteen names
are on the roll of the dead, and
many more may have perished.
This was the most terrible OF
the incidents of the great FIRE that
is sweeping the forests of the pen
insula. Farmers and their fam
lilies have perished because they
delayed flight too long many of the
residents of the little villages scattered
through the forests are believed to have
been burned to death
The wreck of the Detroit and Mack
inaw railway relief train, which was
carrying the inhabitants of the little
village of Metz, % miles north of here.
to safety from the forest fires, was due
to spreading rails at Nowicki siding. a
few miles south of Metz, and the terri
fed REFUGEES were forced to abandon
the cars and rush for safety either
down the track with burning forests on
either side or into the ploughed fields
near the siding. Eleven of the victims
were women and children. who were
unable to escape quickly enough from
the gondola car which they were occu-
pying. Their charred bodies We're found
there today when rescuers reached the
scene Two of the men victims were
members of the train crew. -Four addi-
tional fatalities occurred in the neigh
borhood of the wreck last night. Mr..
and Mrs. Fred Wagner died from heat
and exhaustion on their farm near the
scene of the wreck. and Mr.. and Mrs.
Fred Nowicki Jr- lost their lives In
their burning house near the siding
where the wreck occurred.
When the forest fires closed in yes
terday about the little village spe-
cial train of three empty box cars and
two coal gondolas was rushed to Metz
in charge of John E. Kinville, conduc-
Ier' reman re1am s5s WiIsism Sn rtIetf A5es
brakeman As rapidly as possible the
people and their goods were loaded
into the cars Some refused TO abandon
bafr rerrf7a ar = In Fr41c - IVA
left earlier and have reached Alpena
In safety. When the train finally start
ed there were about 100 frightened
ready sweeping through the village.
Engineer Foster started his train for
Alpena- Nearing Norwicki crossing he
sides Of the track Opening wide the
throttle he tried to dash through at
full speed, but the heat had lossnedi
left the tracks Blazing piles OF ties
surrounded 1t and in an instant the
cars caught fire.
TRAIN JUMPS TRACK
The terror stricken people. caught by
the peril from which they were heeins.
Jumped from the cars and rushed down
the track Three mothers ana their
little ones were not quick enough. They
were cremated in the gondola car
where they were caught Brakeman
William Bartlett sprang into the water
tank behind the engine. only to be
literally boiled to death as the flames
swept over 1t.
Engineer Foster and Conductor Kim
Vile fed down the track through the
fre and smoke and were the first to
reach the village OF Posen and re-
ported the wreck. and asked for as
sistance from here Behind them
struggled burned and wounded pro-