The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1910-11-25
HOUSING VICTIMS
OF FOREST FIRES
Ameri lean Red Cross Organizes
Building Bees in Region Swept
BY Flames.

| WASHINGTON, Nov. 25.-One OF
the strangest facts observed in the
| forest fires which occasionally sweep
over the woods OF Northern Michigan
and Minnesota is the burning OF the
/ ground Falling leaves. bark and
twigs and dying plant life gradually
accumulate in the forests. The rains
and dense shade keep the mass damp.
| Moses grow on the surface of the de-
| caying vegetation. The half-rotted
stuff settles down and hardens. Trees
! spring up and their roots take hold
! in the peaty substance.
Then comes a season ofs drought,
and the dampness slowly evapoTaIes.
4 hunter or woodman or farmer
builds fire, or a railway engine drops
spark. The dry surface of the
ground is ignited and a slow cancer
OF fire eats deep among the roots OF
the trees, smouldering for weeks or
months. Then one day a strong wind
springs up. The trees, undermined by
the fire, topple over, their roots
throwing out showers OF sparks and
burning masses of tindor-like material
Flames burst out in every direction,
and. like fash, forest fire is in
fuil sweep.
The forest fire which occurred in
Northern Minnesota a few weeks ago
broke ont in many places at once, be
cause many of these smouldCring fires
were simply awaiting the gale which
sprang up on Oct T. In this fire about
l,600 square miles of country were
burned. The thriving villages OF
Beaudete, with population OF 1.200,
and Spooner, with $50, were swept our
of existence i'm an hour. Hundreds o.
"homesteaders," carving their farms
out of the forests, lost their homes
and saved their lives by lowering
themselves into wells, or plunging
into streams or ponds. Thirty lives
were lost, and 5000 persons were left
homeless. with food. live stock, farm
crops and machinery all gone.
When the agents of the American
Red Cross reached the burned dis
trict they realized that winter was at
hand. in this north country and that
the greatest task was the swift con-
struction of large number of shell
tiers. II was a big job and II had TO
he quickly done. Here is the manner
in which the Red Cross met the emer
gency: !
Two simple designs for houses were
prepared, OF one and two rooms, re-
spectively. These required only few
standard sizes of lumber, and tar pa
per took the place Of shingles and
plaster. Lumber was rushed in from
sCanzsln.s the secretary of the treasury
at Washington having waived the Gus
toms duty on supplies required by the
Red Cross. A half-dozen carpenters
were hurried to the scene. Then
building bees" were organized, with
one carpenter In command OF each.
halfdozen neighbors. with saw ana
hammer, would help Ole Olson build
his house. Then all, including Olson,
would move along and build Hans
Hanson's house. and so on. The
speed with which these houses were
erected where seyera, bees were
''humming' at the same time, was
startling. While this was going on
the Red Cross was hurrying into the
fire district, from Duluth and St
Paul and Minneapolis big orders OF
doors. windows. stoves. bedding,
chairs, kitchen utensils and pro-
visions. AS rapidly as the little
houses were ready, they were fur
nished and stocked up with food and
the families moved in.
1t was a desperate race with win
ter. and the Red Cross won. While
the race was at it's swiftest there was
not a buster spot between the oceans
than this black and desolate stretch %
country along the northermost rim OF
Minnesota. Much remains to ne done,
but nobody is going to freeze or
starve.
The generous people of Minnesota
sent in supplies by the carload, and,
what is more. they sent $4,000 in
hard cash to the Red Cross for the
help of the hardy and brave people
who are starting all over again with
characteristic American pluck.