The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1918-10-17
OVER 600 DIE IN
BIC FOREST FIRE
TWELVE THOUSAND HOMELESS
AND SUFFERING
WHOLE TOWNS ARE WIPED OUT
Damages Estimated at over Twenty
Million Dollars Has Been Done
BY Suspicious Blaze. Many
Victims in Morgues.

N'ShilHS W. "Oi SuSS.
Duluth. Oct. 14.-More than 500 pei
sons have persisted in the most dis
astrous forest fires in the history O
Minnesota according to the belief O
city officials today.
Reports gathered from the devas
tatcd region indicate that fully tina
number of bodies have been recovered
from the ruins.
One hundred and forty-one bodies il
Duluth morsues. At Moose Lake on,
hundred and two bodies have beer
found.
Property Loss $4,000, 900.
State Forester Cox estimated thu
damage at twenty million dollars. Fiji
teen thousand square miles of fores
lands have been swept by the fire.
Tho fires were reported checked bu
still dangerous.
i Ilt Ill ~ IlltS "'lt lNu cStiui
day at Peat Boge seventy-fve miles
east of Duluth. These spread in al
eastwardly direction towards the cit.
of Duluth and Superior, Wisconsin.
Twelve Thousand Homeless
Twelve thousand homeless aad pen
niless refugees all in need, more o.
less of medical attention, CHARTERED il
hospitals, churches, schools, private
homes and in the armory here, while
doctors and nurses sent from sur
rounding communities attend them
and nearly every able bodied man il
the city has been conscripted to fight
the flames, which now are reported t.
be dying away.
Work of Enemy Agents?
Reports that the holocaust resulted
from the work Of enemy agents were
circulated mere tonight. Definite con
firmation was not available, but !.
was learned that incendiarieS Wer
driven away from a local shipyart
wnen the fires in Duluth and Superio!
were burning at their height.
CIoouet is Destroyed.
A special train of twenty coache'
brought 1900 refugees from Cloque'
and Carlton, MINI. The confirmed re
ports that many persons had lost then
lives in those towns.
Albert Michaud, Il special police
man, told tragic story of the burn
ing of Cloquet and of the mad rush 0
its residents to escape.
AT 6 o'clock last night forest
ranger gave warning that unless tn
wind died down the tOwnSpeopl
would have to flee" said Michaut
A thick pail of smoke hung over thu
town, and at o'clock the specia
trains were called.
THE scene of the station was indie
scribabIe. There came rush OF VIM
and the entire town was in flames
The trains pulled out with the fire:
blazing closely behind them. WomeI
wept and chung to their children
while others cried frantically for theil
missing ones. The flames licked thu
cars. Windows were broken by thu
heat. Engineers and firemen alternate
Iy stocked to give the boilers all thu
steam they could stand.
Situation in Hand Today.
Duluth, Oct. 14.-Tne fires were still
raging in many sectors this afternoon
but the situation was greatly improv
ed. Smoke from the fires hamperet
the workers in rescuing, many O
whom were injured.
Many Victims Found.
Moose Lake, Mimi, Oct. 14.-Ever,
urtnjured man and woman OF tn
stricken district were searching tn
black pine country region today 10
forest fire victims.
In one village one hundred and tw
bodies laid in rows. The death tol
will grow.
Sixteen families were taken from
cellar Of the Dudley home at Pin
City. The victims were three Ell
tire families who had sought refug
there.
A mother and two hysterical daugl
tels led rescuing parties to shallo'
excavation in the woods outside tn
village where seven more members c