The Bottineau courant., 1918-11-28
DESTITUTI0N
IN FAR NORTH
ORVILLE NELSON WRITES
OF SUFFERING OF FIN
NISH PEOPLE.

NlSH PEOPLE.
The following item was hand
ed us by one of our subscribers
and depicts conditions in the
north so we'll that we submit
to our readers.
Dear mother and folks:-
am up here in the fire-swep
district amongst the Finlander
and you folks can never imagine
the condition that these people
are suffering-infuenza, pneu-
monia, and fire victims. Every
thing is burnt out slick and clean.
In some places not a thing is
standing, stock, barns, hay and
feed all gone. This town did not
lose any lives, but around here
within Is miles, between 500 and
600 are gone. In one town, only
one survivor is reported. :
These Finlanders live in camps
or huts, and those houses that
were saved are filled with two or
three families, and all down with
influenza. Today I was to seven
families, where ten people were
sick in one house and six or 80,
in each Of the others.
All of this town was burned
down except two buildings, and
one, the hotel, we have made into
hospital with IA beds, and full
of patients. There is another
Senior Medic and myself that
have charge working with the
Red Cross and one trained nurse.
Most of the patients are getting
along we'll, but we had one death
of pneumonia, a woman with five
children, they lost everything
and had all gotten sick at
neighbor's place. When we get
too full here we send them to the
Aitkin Red Cross hospital. Last
night I was up to Tomarack,
Mimi, 10 miles from here and
took three from one family
mother and two babies-fire re-
fugees, all i'll with pneumonia
and sent them to Aitkin on cot.
You have no idea how bad things
are.
The man who drives for me
is a young man, about 80 year.
old. a Finlander, and about tn
most wonderful fellow l eveI
knew. Here is what he did,
First he was a business man
general store, and that burnt.
He lost buildings on his farm al,
50, but during the fire he left all
of his own stuff, store burning,
and was the only man who dared
to go out and get people from
the places where they were be-
inc burned to death. He made
five trips out in the country
where burning trees were falling
over the road, and they say ne
saved 80 people. He lost every
thing he had by fire, $4,000 IN ah'
and is worth nothing now. BE,
sides that, he buried all the dead
was the undertaken and now ne
has been driving us doctors to
sick rnonle dav and night.
These are Firms, and belleve
me. I'll take my hat off to them:
There were 80 Of them crowded
into a small house and 19 OF
them sick with the flu, and no
body to care for them, but they
don't complain, don't make a hol-
ler like other people would.
,N.o,, 7 vvee in Tyler, l thot
that was bad, only one or two
blocks being destroyed and plen-
ty Of homes and good weather.
Here, ITS miles by 13O mhes
Down there people
yelled for subscriptions and help
in half a day and here it is four
weeks and these people don't
open their mouths. They Ger
tainly are no squawkers. 1t
isn't only loss of homes and pro-
perty, but also of lives @ Of mem
bers Of their own families: In
one family a father and baby
died before help could be brot
chem. The Red Cross has been
doing splendid, but there is not
enough help at present.
People here live on 40 acre
farms and seem satisfied Where
an ordinary fellow couldn't make
the salt in his bread. Big Mm-
ber companies have taken All tne
best timber. I feel almost like
4 Nonpartisan when ] see things
up here. But a more satisfied
lot of people I never saw, and a
vet. I have never heard asRn
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