The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-09-06
Several Small Places Near Duluth Are Almost Wiped
 Off the Earth
TWO MILLION DOLLARS
 IS LOSS AT CHISHOLM
Citizens of the Towns Are Powerless to Stay the ownward Rush of the Flames and In Many caoes
 Barely Escape Alive.

Duluth, Minn., September 5.-Forest fires, after burning for three days, en- veIoped several towns near Duluth. rem dering thousands of people homeless and destroyed millions of dollars worth of property.
 Chisholm, Minn. a town of 4ooo inhabi- tants on the Mesaba iron range, 90 miles north of Duluth was completely wiped out. Hibbing, five miles from Chisholm, was surrounded by forest fires and was saved only by the shifting of the wind. The entire northern portion of Douglas county, Wisconsin, Is on fire. Renshaw, a village, 25 miles west of Duluth is surrounded by flames and there Is no hope for it. The farmers have been driven from their homes and as passage along the roadway is dif- f1cult, owing to the dense smoke and the heat 1t is believed that some lives have been lost, although none has been re- ported. A fire at Bayfield, Wis. damaged two docks and a lumber company's prop erty to the extent of $70O.0o0.
 For three days the dry woods have been on fire west and north of Chisholm and many small bush fires were reported to the eastward. At noon three walls of fire coming from different directions. joined and swept toward the little min ing town with roar, licking up every tree. stump and vestige of plant growth, and sending up a hurricane of red hot brands that fell upon the town. Fighting Fire. Citizens of Chisholm went forth to fight the fire. The fire department was not
 able to cover a large territory and al- though intermittent blazes started by the | falling fire brands were quickly extingu- ] ished, the fire rolled onward toward tho town and the citizens soon realized that 1 its destruction was inevitable The roads 1 leading from the town were thronget
 with fleeing people in wagons. on horses and on foot.
 Conveyances were at a premium. A foreigner with a small wagon and one horse offered to take a woman and three small children to Hibbing for s25 A man overheard the conversation anu drawing a revolver pointed it at the for eigner's head and then climbing into the rig, compelled him to drive the party oyer the fire zone.
 Business men ran home to get their families, and many separations occurred as they in turn fled toward the business district.
 The Great Northern, the only road run ming into Chisholm. took 15 box cars crowded with homeless people to Hibbing tonight, where the citizens are throwing open their homes, and tents are being
 supplied to care for the refugees. The residence districts caught fire soon
 after the business portion was ablaze The new High school. which was recent 1 ly erected at a cost of $125,00o, Is the only building saved
 Among the losses are the First Ma tional Bank building, values at $25,o0O; the city hall, s25,0O0: R. s. O'Neill hotel. l Chisholm Filter plant Lawrence Novach building and sapere & Sons building. Loss Is Enormous. The loss on buildings at Chisholm Is es- timated at S2,000.000. Chisholm is fin the center of the greatest iron-producing area in the world. Refugees poured into Hib-
 ping tonight until the population of 10000 was almost doubled. To relieve the con- gestion a special train was started from Hibbing to Duluth, crowded to the guards with homeless people.
 dense pail of smoke filled with burn- ing flakes hovered over Duluth tonight
 Nashwauk, 20 miles southeast of Hib- ping, Is surrounded by fire, and if the present high winds keep up the town is doomed A Great Northern train from Nashwauk ran through burning district 15 miles long.
 The Pillsbury and Hartley mines of the United States Steel Corporation, six miles west of Hibbing. were destroyed. Tho loss was about $75,o0o in each instance. The Duluth fire department tonight sent 25, ,000 feet of hose to the mining locations near Hibbing and the burning town of Chisholm