The Twin City star. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1910-19??, 1910-10-14
MINNESOTA DISASTER GREATEST
SINCE HINcKLEY FIRE is
YEARS AGO.
BEAUDETTE, SPooNER, RAINY RIv.
Property Loss In Rainy River, Beau.
dette and spooner 10 $1,5oo,ooo
-Hundreds are
Dead.
y
A PROCLAMATION.

president of the State Red Cross
society, in view Of the dire needs
of citizens of the northern part Of
this state who have suffered from
recent forest fires, I hereby call
upon the people of Minnesota to
= respond at once with contributions
= of money, provisions and clothing,
to be distributed to the needy I'm.
der the direction of this society.
Such contributions will be re-
= ceived by Kenneth Clark, st. Paul,
y treasurer of the State Red Cross
= society, and F. M. Prince, Mime
apolis, acting as assistant state
treasurer, and hereby designate
= the mayors Of the towns and cities
Of the state to act as collectors Of
= this fund in their respective local.
tiles.
Prompt and generous response
= is imperative as the reports from
the afflicted districts indicate 4
that the need is great and will
continue for months.
Given under my hand and seal
= this ninth day Of October, 1910.
Adolph o. Eberhart, Governor.
Warroad, Oct. 10.-The greatest
catastrophe that Minnesota has ex
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 or
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 theil
flight.
Crowds Of able-bodied men, mostly
workmen with no person to care for
ran pellmell to board the waiting
train at Beaudette to the exclusion o,
women and children, and refused pos
itively to assist in saving property.
The village of Pitt was burned at
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 flee 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 gwen birth to a child at s
o'clock the same evening, Fad to be
carried to the Office of the Shevlin.
Matthew Lumber company, in whose
building many people took refuse.
Property Loss $1,5oo,ooo
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 Standardization Lum-
Der company at Spooner, will total
about $1,500,000.
The people of Rainy River are do
ing everything possible to assist the
homeless residents Of the two Ameri-
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
Beaudetts and Spooner and the board
ing camp of the Standardization Lum-
Der company Is feeding as many Of
the people as possible.