The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1908-08-07

tory or Canada is sweeping the Elk
river valley, leaving in it's path death,
desolation and suffering. Already 1870
lives have been lost, hundreds of per-
sons have been injured, and 1000
homeless and destitute have been
forced to flee for their lives before
the relentlessly on-rushing fire. Prop
erty valued at more than 100000
has been destroyed and still the flames
are sweeping onward, reaching out on
either side in an overwhelming line
The long list of fatalities increased
steadily. Reports of death, disaster
and suffering are coming in from every
quarter. Few of those who escaped
with their lives saved any of their
belongings, and the store of. food in
towns which thus far have escaped
destruction must be conserved care
fully to feed the hungry.
Many Towns Wiped Out.
Fernie, three days ago prosperous
community of $500 inhabitants, Mon
day was deserted heap of ruins. Coal
Creek, which had population of
1,5O0, is marked only by smouldering
embers in blackened, smoking waste
more than 40 miles in area, while
half dozen smaller towns have been
erased as completely as if they never
existed. The railroad, the only means
of communication left to the stricken
country, was seriously threatened.
Many bridges already have been
burned, and the movement of trains,
by which fire fighters, refugees and
provisions are transported from one
point to another, is being carried on
with the greatest difficulty.
Loss of Life Runs High.
The latest estimates of the dead in
the Elk river district by bush fires
which have been raging for months
from Michel to Fernie is $50 persons.
The property loss is $5,O00,000 in
Fernie and 5000 persons of that city's
Inhabitants are homeless. The resi-
dents have been taken in trains to
places of safety and are now destitute.
Thousands of dollars were sent by
western Canadian cities Monday to the
relief of the destitute. Medical sup
plies were greatly needed. Fernie,
with it's lumber mills and railway ter
minals, was wiped out The fire is
still raging around Hosmer and Spar
wood. Seventy men of the Elk River
Company persisted.
People Fight Conflagration.
A special from Fernie says: The
Fort Steele brewery, the first large
building to catch fire, was burned
Houses in the immediate neighbor-
hood soon caught, and though the peo-
ME turned out to fight the fire imme-
lately, the flames spread rapidly and
The whole place was soon on fire. Old
Town, where most of the miners re-
sided, soon burned and then the bust
ness portion caught fire. Large resi-
Dental portion came last, after the
fine mills of Elk River Lumber Com
pany had been destroyed.
The West Fernie bridge across
Elk river could not be saved Several
people lost their lives in trying to es-
cape over the burning bridges. The
fire spread with such rapidity that
hardly anything was saved. Numbers
of people fed to the river banks and
sought refuge by wading in the water,
others ran to the Canadian Pacific
tracks, where special trains were wait
ing to convey the people from Michel,
but this trip could not be made, be-
cause the bridge, it was learned be-
tween Hosmer and Michel had burned
out
Night Terrible One.
During the night the coal company's
Office was used as distributing point
for food. The night was a frightful
one of excitement and many heart
rending scenes were witnessed. 1t was
spent in getting many of the women
and children on the trains and start
ing them for Cranbrook. During the
night the wind went down and in the
morning many of the men and their
stout-hearted wives came in from the
hills to which they had flown, to
view the smoking remains of their
city. Many narrowing tales were
told. One woman of West Fernie had
just emerged from her home, which
was on fire. She dropped dead of
heart disease. The neighbors buried
her in her garden, and then ran for
their lives. In another part of the city
an aged woman. an invalid. was car