The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1918-10-24
VIVID STORY Of
MINNESOTA FIRE
SURVIVOR OF cLoQUET TELLS
OF GREAT HOLOCAUST.
AWFUL HURRICANE or FLAME
Widow Of the Late r. J. Erwin Relates
Details of the Worst Forest Fire
in History of the Lake Super.
ior Country.


Mrs. Erwin, widow of the late r. J.
Erwin, accompanied by her son
Master Paul are here from Cloduet,
Minnesota, recently destroyed by the
great forest fires in that state and
Wisconsin, guests in the home of the
Sister-in-law Miss Rebecca Erwin.
Mrs. Erwin conducted the business of a
variety store at Cloquet, following her
husband in the ownership of the place.
Everything in the way of property
and belongings possessed by the wo.
man was destroyed in the great con-
flagration that swept the land and de-
stroyed the town in which was her
business and her home. She lived in
apartments above her store from
which she saved only a suit case con-
tanning a few personal belongings
Mother and son were taken on a
special refugee train out of Cloquet
on the night of Saturday. October IL,
to Superior. Wisconsin. where she re-
manned few days and then came 10
Oskaloosa. The train upon which she
left the burning town was so crowded
that there was place for only women
and children The fire was burning
on both sides Of the track as the train
fled TO safety The smoke at times
was choking and binding. The wind
was very high and blew a flerceness
that rocked the baggage car in which
she was placed with her boy.
No Thought Of Harm.
No one thought that Cloquet was
going to be burned, that the sweep of
the great fire that had cleaned out
Brookston fifteen miles to the west
during the afternoon would pass to the
north. The trains carrying the people
from the burned district were passing
through the town all afternoon but no
one imagined that they too would
soon be called upon to leave their
property and possessions. Early in
the afternoon the dense clouds OBJ
scured the sun. and the darkness of
twilight settled over the town. Lights
were burning in the stores. Still every
one insisted that there was no danger.
But the threat came closer and
closer. At six o'clock the light of the
great fire shown against the pail of
smoke with a ruddy glow and word
came that trains were in waiting at
the station to carry the people of
Clouuet away from their homes TO
places of safety. The fire was now
burning in some of the lumber mills
near the outskirts of the town ard was
racing on toward the city itself.
People were hurrying toward the rail-
way station and at the depot a geat
Jam occurred Women and children
We're taken first and others excluded
from the cars Mrs. Erwin was given
a place with her boy in baggage
car. Cars and trains were furnished
by both the Great Northern and the
Northern Pacific railways and but for
that fact many must have persisted.
In the city of Cloquet, place OF about
ten thousand people one hundred and
three corpses have, been found and
each day is revealing additional tragf
edies when it was thought all had
been saved.
The new school erected at cost Of
over 100000 and completed in 1917,
a handsome brick and stone structure
was leveled and in the ruins were
found two corpses. Over nine thousand
people were taken from Cloquet
The city of Duluth was reported to
be burning and Superior was on fire
at the south and the morning after the
escaINe from Cloquet the smoke and
fog in tbe town were so dense that one
could NOT distinguish objects across
the street
Hurricane of Fire.
Those who witnessed the onrush of
the great forest fire carried by the
force of the wind described the awful
scene as great hurricane of fire.
The flames leaped high into the heav-
ems. Immense balls of fire rolled and
tlmbled over each other and cracked
and roared. The heat was intense, in
describable, making liquid of metals
and glass and cracking window panes
in homes at great distances from the
path of the blaze.
Those in the midst of the forest, in
the farm homes or on the highways
had no chance os escape. The firy
demon descended upon them without
warning. They had no chance of es-
cape. In cases where individuals took
refuge in ponds, lakes or streams,
the water was turned into great boil
ing caldrons and tn flesh was liter
ally cooked from the bones. Hundreds
were consumed along the highways
where they had started to race to
safety in automobiles. Other poor
wretches were caught on foot and were
consumed as a pinch of powder and
not so much as the dust of their
ashes remains to tell the story.
Twenty-one Towns Burned.
Twentyone towns and villages
were destroyed utterly, and hundreds
and hundreds OF country and farm
homes wiped out together with stock
and living things. The awfulness of