The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-10-10

Gas Ia iinl@r ran grr. caught ~ Names
IN railway track vhtl- trying o. s-rhT''
~ Rainy River N,tsrn H"rE and hve
members ~ his family hurn'-l - death
IN uutsk irts ~ Spovnrr when h"us" was
destroyed they attempted - weather
the fame in hug ston" cellar and were
suffuca'ed: John Ruiin amt family II
eight from PINT; Sev"rt Hagen, O.prg"
". liver. Charl-- Rak"r ami Patrick
Omera. all ~ Arlington, Mimi.
The missinn include some 900 resi-
dents Il B.'auistta. Spnon"r and PIT
some ~ whom are dead hut most ~ whom
are safe IN Rainy River and tn" adjacent
towns on the Canadian side The missing
include the homestsaders and farmers
IN the bush for lD miles east and twenty
miles south. - whom nothing can he
known for some time. az searching par
ties do not dare penetrate the still smok lng
forests through which the fire swept.
The towns ~ Spooner. Beaudatts and
Pitt have heen destroyed With the eX-
oeption ~ the destruction ~ tho mills
and stock 81 the Rat Portage Lumber
Company near Rainy River. following
the course ~ the flames which touched
q corner ~ the town. the principal loss
In confined to the south side 81 the river
and chiefly sustained along the American
border.
Railroad and wire connections with
the scene Of the disaster from the West
IL cut OF by burned district reaching
from Warroad. Mimi. on the Canadian
Northern Railroad. a distance Of forty
miles. through which the last trains
passed Last night The road IL open 20
the south and east. however. and relief
4. k,snr AN, Tr,,y, For William,
The fires have been smouldering for
months and were started anew by the
terrific wind which began two DAYS ago
The wind increased in velocity with the
heat until a wave 81 flame over a hundred
feet high leaped barriers half a mile wide
Il was this situation that caused so
many to perish on the railway track.
They sought this opening in the bush.
but were burned To cinders by the heat
wave leaping this barrier Of some 3ol
yards along the clearing Of the railway
tracks.
A description Of the fire is given by
James Ramsey. a well known citizen Of
6pooner. He Said
i was several miles south OF Beau
dette when first heard the roar Of the
hames. started to run for the town.
but the fire was coming fast and was
very close. caught up with a man who
vas accompanied by n woman with a
baby. They were exhausted and l
grabbed the child and ied. There was
a wall Of flames ahead Of Us. hut the
wind shifted and Ne passed through.
can't understand how any Of the home
steaders Of that region can have escaped.
The flames struck Pitt early in the
afternoon and everything was destroyed.
Previously Beaudette and SpOoner had
burned and the people fed across 20
Rainy River Many were overtaken a.
they fed from Pitt and persisted.
The prompt work IL relief engineered
by the Canadian Northern Railroad On
ciAls saved Thousands ~ lives. a. praC-
tioally all the residents Of Spooner. Beau
dette and Pitt escaped nv the special
trains run for them by that company
The people had become 80 accustomed
TO the smoke and haze IN the sky incident
20 burning timber that they could not he
made to realize on Thursday that the
situation was becoming dangerous. Then
when the danger became imminent they
were forced To flee IN crowds. The Cana
dian Northern Railroad has been running
relief trains in every direction. stopping
AT any point where people we're TO be
found along the track.
Many trains have been running through
sufocatinR smoke and burning bridges
and timberS regardless IT danger tn
the crews The meet dramatic Incl
dents were those attending the escape
OF 900 fugiiives in "A train of box cars.
The men. women and children waited for
the train while their homes were in flames.
The first trainload steamed across to
Rainy River with men hanging To the
sides and to the trucks. Women had
hTst places. Many OF those left started
running down the tracks and pc rish"d
Others with great courage stood their
ground and were rescued 10y the second
train On this side Of the line there
seemed no danger until late IN the after
noon when a small fire which had been
smouldering for several days was famed
20 a fame. IL was near the big Rat Port
age Lumber Company mill and the plant
and great piles Of lumber soon were
roaring. Again the Reconstruction fugi-
tives prepared 20 depart, a. II looked az
II Rainy River must 60 the way II Beau
dette. Trainmaster Nelson. whose cour-
hge and resouTcefulness u responsible
for saving hundreds prepared n long
hne 81 box cars and the fugitiyes scram-
bled aboard Many RAINY River citizens
prepared 10 desert their homes. but they
were not panicstriken az wer" the fIgi-
tives from the other side. The tram
etarted east. hut tn" wind turned around
and the flames on this side subsidized.
At Spooner the heaviest property loss
10 that Of the Shevlin Matthew Lumber
Company. Besides the mill they lost
1000 900 feet Of mill stock valued at
$40 a thousand. This was insured az
SO a thousand in Lloyds. placed through
johnson 4 Higgins Il New York. The
chief stockholders are 81 Paul. Mime
apolis and Toronto people
The Rat Portage company ia insured
tn Lloyds through tho same firm
In Spooner the only houses left stand
ing are those around the station and
half a dozen on the river. The problem
Of caring for the refugees - serious
Eight hundred were taken TO Internationa
Falls IL IL expected that relief will he
supplied by the United States IN few
hctira hut u the ~ aapttrra the Canadian