The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1922-10-12
/ HUNDRED PEOPLE FLED FROM THE
James IN MOOSE RIVER TOWNSHIP
|.ome Rain Enables Them to Return Back
lover Faint Trail Thirty-Six Hours Later

Louis they commence to dance, the
little hands begin to clap and she COOS
the sweetest coo imaginable.
They started to give Joe Gagne, 0
years old pig back ride in an army
pack, but little Joe rebelled I'm a
man." he said. I'm going to walk"
And he did walk. He was little
tired when the got to Haley Pond, but
he was game. "a real man." said
the big husky woodsmen, as he patted
little Joe on the back.
But what they said of little Joe they
said also of nine year old Marie Que
lette for little Marie said if Joe could
walk she was going to walk and she
did. But when they put little Marie
in the automobiles, after getting out
to the main road to bring her with
the others to Jackman, she promptly
went to sleep and didn't wake until
long after they had carried her into
a house in Jaclman and laid her down
on a couch.
1t was slow slow journey thru
the woods. At no time was the fire
near enough to be dangerous, yet time
after time as they came to a slight
opening an extra burst of the flames
would illuminate their way for sew
eral minutes. AT last they reached
was a good road out to the Canadian
road. The walking there was better
and so better time was made At the
highway the women and children were
taken in automobiles and brought
here. 1t was 2 o'clock in the morn
ing when the party Of refugees reach
ed the road At times they had
scarcely made more than a mile an
hour, and at no time did they travel
more than mile and a half in 60
minutes.
This fire. which was one of the most
spectacular in the forest fire history
about 1000 acres and probably caused
less money loss than any fire which
ever swept a like area in the state.
The acres over which the fire went
had all been cut over within few
years. so that there was practically
no good standing timber in the terri
tory to be burned. The greatest da-
mage from the fire according to woods
men. is that it will set back the growth
about Is years. An odd feature of
this fire according to the woodsmen
is that there are streaks in it where
not a bit of tree life was burned,
where the fire seemed to jump com
pletcly over.
At one time there were nearly 200
men at work fighting this fire. This
fire on Wednesday night was plainly
to be seen from all parts of Jackman
and while all the people here realized
the menace of it, they could not but
admire it, The rain of Thursday
night came in time to check the fire.
It did not spread on that part of the
township where Dumas & Poulin were
working. They did not lose a foot
of pulpwood nor was a tree damaged.
Another fire on the Page property
at Long Pond burned an area of prob
ably 80 acres and destroyed some good
timber
While the rain of Thursday night
and Friday has apparently extinguish-
cd the fires, woodsmen declared that
unless there is soaking rain of sew
eral days the danger is by no means
over. Drying weather for the next
few days following by a brisk wind
they say would start the fires up and
the danger would be on again.
Probably the most disappointed
mon in Maine were the moving picture
camcramen, two of them, who arrived
here on Friday morning to get pictures
of the forest fires for the movie week.
lies and found that the fires were out.
--Ey.