The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1910-12-01
WHEN THE
GROUND BURNS
Exciting Race With Winter Won
by Red Cross.
Building Bees" Break Records---New
Houses go up Like Magic.

ly sweep over the woods of Northern
Michigan and Minnesota is the burn
ing of the ground. Falling leaves,
bark and twig and dying plant life
gradually accumulate in the forest.
The rains and dense shade keep the
mass damp. Moses grow on the sur
face of the decaying vegetation. The
half-rotted stuff settles down and
hardenS. Trees spring up and their
roots take hold in the peaty substance.
( Then comes season of drouth,
and the dampneSs slowly evaporates.
A hunter or woodman or farmer
builds fire, or railway engine
drops spark, The dry surface of
the ground is ignited and a slow can
Ger of fire eats deep among the roots
of the trees, smoldering for weeks
or months. Then one day a strong
wind springs up. The trees, under
mined by the fire, topple over, their
roots throwing out showers of sparks
and burning masses of tinder-like
material. Flames burst out in every
direction, and, like a flash, a forest
| fire is in full sweep.
The forest fire which occurred
in Northern Minnesota few weeks
ago, broke out in many places at
once, because many of these SmOuld-
ering fires were simply waiting the
gale which Sprang up on October 18th.
In this fire about 1000 square miles
of country were burned. The thriv-
ing villages of Beaudette, with pop
ulation of l,200, and Spooner, with
$50, were swept out of existence in
an hour. Hundreds of homestead
ers, carving their farms out of the
forests, lost their homes and saved
their lives by lowerin themselves in
to 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 and that their greatest task was
the swift construction of large num-
Der of shelters. II was a big job,
and it had to be done quickly. Here
is the manner in which the Red Cross
met the emergency:
Two simple designs for houses
were prepared, of one and two rooms
respectively. These required only
few standard sizes of lumber and tar
paper took the place of shingles and
plaster. Lumber was rushed in from
Canada, the Secretary of the Treas
ury at Washington having waived
the custom duty on supplies required
by the Red Cross. A half dozen car
penters were hurried to the scene.
Then building bees" were organ
lied, with one carpenter in command
of each. A half dozen neighbors
with saw and 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 several
"bees" were "humming" at the
same time was startling. While this
going on the Red Cross was hurry
ing into the fire district from Duluth
and st. Paul and Minneapolis big or
ders of doors, windows, stoves, bed
ding, chairs, kitchen utensils and pro-
visions. AS rapidly as the little
houses were ready they were furnish
ed and stocked up with food and the
families moved in.
1t was a desperate race with winter
and the Red Cross won. While the
race was at its Swiftest there was not
buster spot between the oceans
than this black and desolate stretch
country along the northermost rim of
Minnesota. Much remains to be
done, but nobody is going to freeze
or starve.
The generous people of Minnesota
sent in supplies by the carload, and,
what is more, the sent $3.50 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.
A man is going about the streets of
Daytona, Fla, says the Messenger Of
4 i A. l. IL Al.