The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1910-10-13
THREE TOWNS DESTROYED BY FIRES

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 seer 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.
Most of the m and children of
these towns have been taken on spec
ial trains to points east and many
none 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 a 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 al 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-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
a gale, women and their children,
fever patients on shutters, burned men
and ONE 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 c%ulverts 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 mass of flames.
Beaudette is only a charred rem
nant of a town. Spooner is wiped
off the map. Cedar Spur, Graceton
Pitt, Swift and Roosevelt, mere ham.
let's, 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 rs miles
south, and from Warroad west, who
! is not accounted for, is dead according
to tho 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 now quartered 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 fire district
are that the women and not the men
were the heroes.
When the refugees fed in panic for
the freight train that bore them from
Rainy River Saturday to this city,
men crushed women and children and
in spite of the fact that the cars were
choked so that standing room was at
a premium, they insisted on examining
themselves in.
Miss Myra Burt, a prominent young
woman of Beaudette, stationed her.
self at the door of one car, kicked
every man in the with her point
ed shoe who attempted to board the
car, and herself reached out and took
babes from the arms of mothers.
When the train started, there were
| fr@ h. hS@~ hood -l--.
were left behind: They are beina
care for in the hospital here.