The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1910-10-21
THREE TOWNS DESTROYED BY FIRES

Rat Portage Lumber company's mill
and lumber yard, containing 10000 900
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 wen as
the buildings Of the Standardization
Lumber company at Spooner, through
the activity of the Canadian Northern
Railroad company.
Most Of the women and children of
these towns have been taken OF spec
ial trains to points east and many
more are IN steamers ready to leave
| should the wind change and the fire
spread.
All available hose is in use. but tho
fire, driven by q 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-ive typhoid fever patients
! were carried ON improvised filters from
Spooner Just before it was wiped off
the map. Forty-ive were carried from
! Beaudette and the mecca Of all the
refugees, carried or lettering from ex-
haustion was Rainy River, Can.
thinking there was no danger, started
to pull them out of the town.
Later, the flames subsidized and 500
refugees landed in International Falls
strong men, shaking like leaves in
fever patients on shutters, burned men
and women swathed in bandages and
a whole motley crowd in stock-cars
like cattle.
International Falls met them at the
station, opened the city hall and hotel
for them and gave them beds, such as
could be provided.
There was no escape to the west.
The east was the only chance and it
was a slim one.
Bridges and culverts had burned
out, wires were down and trains were
run at their full speed. All the way
from Beaudette and Rainy River west
to Warroad, a distance Of so miles,
was a solid mas of flames.
Beaudette is only a charred rem
nant of a town. Spooner is wiped
of the map. Cedar Spur, Graceton
Pitt, Swift and Roosevelt, mere ham.
lets, are burned to the ground.
Every settler in a district bounded
by the Rainy River and the Lake of
the Woods on the north to 25 miles
south, and from Warroad west, who
is not accounted for, is dead according
to the most conservative information
obtainable.
A special relief train arrived on the
Minnesota and International railroad
bearing provision destined for Rainy
River and the Bemidji company Of the
Minnesota National Buard, which will
take charge Of the distributes of sup.
plies and the preservation of order
The burned district will be placed
under martial law.
Mayor John Berg of international
Falls appointed a relief committee to
arrange further to care for nearly
300 FIRE reguees 10Y CHARTERED here
There are three typhoid fever cases
among them, six men badly burned
and it seems that every family of set
tiers has from two to ten children
They are absolutely destitute. The
women have borne up under the ter
rible strain with wonderful fortitude
and all stories from the flre distric'
are that the women and not the me1
were the heroes.
;, When the refugees fed in panic fol
the freight train that bore them from
men crushed m and children AM
in spite of the fact that the cars wer'
choked so that standing room was a
4, a premium, they insisted on crammini
: themselves in.
> Miss Myra Burt, a prominent younl
4 woman of Beaudette. stationed her
!. self at the door Of one car. kickc'
every man in the with her poin,
ed shoe who attempted to board tn
car, and herself reached out and tool
e babes from the arms of mothers.
When the train started, there wer
Hvo hohioc ahOard whOCa mothor