The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1908-09-21
SOME HISTORIC FOREST F|REs|
Recent Work Of Flames Recalls Many
Other Disastrous Conllaarations.

Washington, d. c., Sep,, al
The terrible work of the flames
which have burned over and destroy
ed hundreds of thousands OF acres
of timber and property to tide value
of millions in the Lake States, re-
calls to memory other great forest
fires which have attained historic
Importance.
Que OF the earliest OF these was
the great Miramichi fire OF 1925. 1t
began Its greatest destruction about
O'Clock in the afternoon Of Octo-
Der Z of that year, at a place about
so miles above the town of Newcas-
tie, on the Miramichi river, in New
!, HrVps@@k,. Rssore 50 o'clock at
night it was twenty miles below
Newcastle. In nine hours IT had de-
stroyed belt of forest eighty miles
long and twenty-five miles wide,
million acres, almost every living
thing was killed. Even the hsh were
afterwards found dead III ite,. ps CIR
the river banks. Five hundred and
ninety buildings were burned, and
a number OF towns, Including New
castle, Chatham and Douglastown,
were destroyed. One hundred and
sixty persons persisted and nearly a
thousand head OF s;uv.i, The !oss
from the Miramichi FIRE is estimated
at 100000, not including the value
of the timber
In the majority Of such forest
fires as this the destruction of the
timber Is more serious loss, by far,
than that of the cattle and buildings,
| for it carries with 1t the impover-
ishment of whole region for tens
or even hundreds of years after
wards. The loss Of the stur rage val
ne of the timber at the time of the
fire is but small part of me dam
age to the neighborhood. The wages
| that would have been earned in lum-
produce that would have been pur-
chased to supply the lumber camps,
and the taxes that would have been
devoted to roads and other public
improvements, furnish much truer
measure of how much, sooner or la
ter, it costs a region when its for
ests are destroyed by fire.
The Peshtigo Are OF October, 1871
was still more severe than the Mir
amichi. 1t covered an area of more
than 1000 square miles in Wiscon-
sin, and involved loss in timber
and other property, of many millions
of dollars. Between 1900 and $500
persons persisted including nearly
half the population of Peshtigo, at
that time a town of 1000 inhabit-
ants. Other fires of about the same
time were most destructive in Mich
igan. A strip about 40 miles wide
Sand ls0 mites long, extending across
/, thc GENITAL .part, Of the state, from
Lake Michigan to Lake Huron, was
devastated, The estimated loss in
timber was about 4,DD0, ODO,00o
cubic feet board measure, and in
money over 10000, oe9. Several
hundred persons persisted
in the early part OF September
1881, great fires covered more than
$500 square miles In various parts
of Michigan. The estimated loss, In
property, in addition 10 many hum
bred thousand acres OF valuable
, tias6er, vS9 are. thar. 81, 400 900,
Over 5000 persons were made des-
titute, and the number of lives lost
lis saflohs7,~ tstss " .r..-ss ssts-ssara LAC
to 500,
The most destructive Are Of more
recent years was that which started
near Hinckley. Minnesota, Septem-
Der /, 1894. While the area burned
over was less than In some other
great fires, the loss of life ard prop
perty was very heavy. Hinckley and
six other towns were 1estraxGA
~~nd lost. ysestitute'