River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1910-10-13
MINNESOTA DISASTER GREATEST
SINCE HINcKLEY FIRE is
YEARS AGO.
BEAUDETTE, SPOONER, RAINY RIV.
Property Loss In Rainy River, Beau.
dette and Spooner is $1,5oo,ooo
Hundreds are
Dead.


perienced since the Hinckley horror
Is years ago occurred Friday night and
Saturday, when the whole Minnesota
Manitoba boundary country was swept
by fire that is still raging, and as de-
tails become known, the disaster as
sumes appalling proportions.
The number Of deaths is estimated
at from 100 to 200 or more, almost
entirely among settlers in the woods
around the towns of Beaudette, Pitt.
Roosevelt and Graceton.
Very few of the settlers are known
to have escaped and this estimate will
likely fall considerably short Of the
actual number.
Scene of Horror Enacted.
Scenes of horror are reported on
every hand. People lost their heads
completely and ran aimlessly about,
bewalling their loss. Streets Of towns
were strewn with personal belongings
which were thrown away in their
flight.
Crowds of able-bodied men, mostly
workmen with no person to care for,
ran pell-mell to board the waiting
train at Beaudette to the exclusion Of
women and children, and refused pos
! itively to assist in saving property.
The village of Pitt was burned at 7
o'clock Friday night and at o'clock
the towns of Spooner and Beaudette,
six miles distant, were in flames.
A hurricane was blowing at the time
and within 10 minutes after the ap-
pearance of the fire the inhabitants
of the town were forced to fee for
their lives, being unable to save any
Of their property.
Then were enacted scenes which
will never be forgotten by those pres
ent. Sick people apparently by the
score appeared and were carried or
assisted to points Of safety. There
were five patients in Carrigan's hospi-
tai, which was burned. One woman,
who had given birth to child at 5
o'clock the same evening, had to be
carried to the Office of the Shevlin-
Matthew Lumber company, in whose
building many people took refuse.
Property Loss $1,500,o00
The property loss in Rainy River,
Beaudette and Spooner alone, includ-
ing the Rat Portage Lumber company's
plant and yard at Rainy River and
the yard of the Shevlin-Mathieu Lum-
Der company at Spooner, will total
about $1,50O,O00.
| The people of Rainy River are do
ing everything possible to assist the
homeless residents of the two Amerf-
can towns.
Steps were at once taken by Mr..
Matthew, the executive head of the
Rainy River Lumber company and the
Shevlin- Matthew Lumber company, to
have timber shipped over from Rainy
River for the purpose of building tenn
porary shelters for the people in
Beaudette and Spooner and the board
ing camp of the Shevlin-Mathieu Lum-
Der company is feeding as many of
the people as possible.
Situation at Rainy River.
Rainy River, Oct. 10.-This town
was on fire from the international
bridge to Sixth street, distance of
half mile.
Included in the burned area are the
Rat Portage Lumber company's mill
and lumber yard, containing 100000
feet Of lumber; the Western Canada
-four mills company and surrounding
buildings. There are SO houses burned
and scores Of people are homeless.
Fire is raging in the woods as far as
can be seen along the south bank of
Rainy river.
| Most of old Beaudette, situated
at Minnesota and International bridge,
has so far escaped the fire, as well as
the buildings of the Shevlin-Mathieu
Lumber company at Spooner, through
the activity of the Canadian Northern
Railroad company.
| Nest of the women and children of
these towns have been taken on spec
! ial trains to points east and many
more are on steamers ready to leave
should the wind change and the fire
spread.
All available hose is In use, but the
! fire. driven by furious northwest
wind, is beyond control and must
| burn itself out.
Awful Scenes At international Falls.
International Falls, Mimi, Oct. TO-
More than $50 dead, millions upon mil
lions of dollars worth OF property de-
stroyed, 5000 refugees fleeing from
the flames, is an epitome of the hap
penings of the hell session in the
Beltrami county forest fires.
Thirty-fve typhoid fever patients
were carried on improvised filters from
Spooner just before it was wiped off
the map. Forty-five were carried from
Beaudette and the mecca Of all the
refugees, carried or lettering from ex-
haustion was Rainy River, Can,
across the water from the fire-ridden
districts of Minnesota.
Then the flames hit Rainy River, de-
stroyed the lumber mills, and 1000
panic-stricken refugees piled into
freight cars and all but mobbed the
engineer Of switch engine. who.