Year: 1871

STATEMENT OF A SURVIVOR.


From the Oshkosh Northwestern.


James Monahan, labcrer, employed


in The Peshtigo company s mill. arrived
III his city on Wednesday morning, hav-


ing barely escaped with lis life, from the
great fire at .Peshtigo. One Of our re-
pofters had an interview with him at Ge-
bauer hotel and obtained concise
statement Of the tenihle eveut. His
narrative is substantially as follows


The thing happened on Sunday
night. The wind was blowing heavy
gale from the southwest, so hard that
piles Of lumber were upset and boards
carried for ten or fifteen rods Peshtigo
you know, was on a sandy hill and the
drifting sand was carried by the wind
in drifts like snow. About eight o clock
IN the evening, we could hear the fire in
the direction Of Oconto. roaring like the
hum of a threshIng machine AS the
wind blew so strong, people were afraid
that It would reach the village. but no
one thought it would be what it was. No
rain had fallen for six weeks, and the
fire carried along by the gale, struck the
village about nine 0 clock. In less time
than It takes me to tell you, the houses
on the west side of the river were all on
lire and the air was filed with showers of
burning cinders. | was boarding with
my wife, at johnson S boarding house on
the west side of the river and as soon as
| saw the fire near us, my wife and |
packed bundle of our things, and started
to cross the river to the company store.
" hen we reached the road, the air was
TILED with fire, and we had not left the
house until it took fire. We hurried as
fast as we could to the river. and almost
sutfocated before we got there. Both
sides Of the river were in a blaze, before
we got to the dock We had to stay in
the river from little before zen o'clock
until daylight the next morning and even
then we were not safe. The heat was SO
great that we had to keep our faces wet
to prey ent them from biistering. Our
heads took fire and blazed up. Saw logs
In the river tooi, fire, and the fife seemed
to be all around US. There was no chance
to get away in any direction, for the air
was all a mass OF blaze. The chil1ren
and the women had hard time Of it. If
the fright had net been so great they
must have died from exposure. Toward
daylight the fire had cooled down little
as it had burned everything before it.
Then we began to look about Us, and
such sights as | saw were enough to
freeze persons blood. Coming up from
the river bank we stumbleu over five
dead bodies, burned so that you could
not tell who they were. A little further
along were three more. One poor fellow
was burned 50 that nothing uut his bune~
we've iuit excepting one foot and part OF
the leg. Bodies Of men, women and
children, all seemed to the fire alike
The air was heated so and so full Ct fire
bat their clothing would take fire, and
they would fall down suff0cated d fore
they could reach the iiyer We found
many Of them within three or four feet
If the water, where they fell down ex-
haustcd and were roasted ailve within
sight Of the river Mr.. Beebe, book
Keeper in the Peshtigo company factory
lyed IN a little house near the store. He
wis burned to death, together with his
wife aud three children. One little boy,
abDut three years old, was the only one
that escaped out OF the whole family


3Ir. Becbc. with his wife aud children,
started out of his house when it first
took fire, bnt the flames we're SO thick
that they went Into the store for shelter
and were there burned up The little
boy IN some way got out of the store and
was picked up by some enc passing and
carried to the river. When it was day
light we could see the awful work that
had been done. The great factory where
800 men had been employed was all de-
,troyed and in that whole village not a
house, or fence Or single board re
manned. Everything was swept off so
that it looked like prairie. Even the
railroad track was ruined, the ties being
all burned up and the rails carried and
crooked up by the great heat. Here
aad there over this great field of ashes
lay the biakened corpses OF the dead and
the carcasses of animals The stencil
rising that morning was so powerful shat
we could not bear it. The smell Of burn
ed flesh was so sckening that many o
the women. after escaping from the river
tainted As soon as we could, we got
down to Peshtigo harb0r, six miles off,
where we took the steamer st. Joe, and
after being delayed all day reached
Green Bay Wednesday morning, ami
Oshkosh soon after. Here we got the
first meal we had taken since Sunday
night, except q few crackers on the