Year: 1871

From the Detroit Free Press. Oct. 10.


Perhaps one of the closest aud most
curious escapes from being roasted alive
in the north woods which will be re-
corded, is that Of man named Alison
Weaver, who arrived here from Port
Huron yesterday, icing on his way to
his brothers, who lives in the township
Of Somerset, Jackson county. Weaver
is a single man, about fifty years old,
aud served all through the war in an
Ohio regiment Of infantry. Up to two
weeks ago he was at work for a man
named Bright, ten miles from Forest
Vile, as foreman of a shingle mill. Two
or three days before the approach of the
flames which eventually destroyed that
section, Bright and his family left for
Forestviile, and the next day all the
men employed about the place followed
ais example, or made haste to reach


heir homes. On leaving, Bright in
,nrmed his men that the fire would
weep that way, aud warned them to


".e no time in making their escape.
Having no property to lose or family to
care for, Weaver determined, as he says,
90 stay and see the thing out.


He has a stubborn sort of a spirit, aud
The fact that everybody else went in.
iuced him to stay.


AS soon rs the men left he set to work
aud buried all the provisions left in the
mouse, and during the day buried all the
Nnives, beltA, and other light machinery
II the mill, rs well as stove and
plenty Of water in the vicinity Of the
mill, and he filed several barrels full,
hesides wetting down the house, mill,
stock. and everything which would
burn, scattering several hundred pals
lul of water on the ground around the
buildings. When night came, and the
fire had not appeared, he began to jeer
his absent comrades for their haste. But
his self. conceit soon left him. About 10
o'clock The heavens were so light
that he could see the smallest objects
around him, and there was \ roaring in
The forest which sounded like waves
beating against rocks on the shore. He
began to suspect that he would soon re-
ceive the witt predicted, and according
ly made preparations for it, In levell-
ing up the ground about the shingle-
mill earth had been obtained by digging
here and there, and Weaver went to
work and dug one of these pits deep
enough for him to stand upi it. He then
filed it nearly full Of water, and took
care to saturate the ground around it for
a distance of several rods. Going to the
mill he dragged out four inch plank.
sawed 1t in two, and saw that the parts
tightly covered the mouth Of the little
well. BY midnight he had everything
arranged. BY this time too the roaring
was terrible to hear.


The clearing was ten or twelve acres
in extent, and Weaver says that for two
hours before the fire reached him, there
was constant flight across this ground
Of small animals. As he rested mo
ment from giving the house another
wetting down, horse dashed into the
opening at full speed and made f,r the
house, where he stopped and turned
toward the fire. Weaver could see him
tremble and shake in his excitement and
terror, and felt a pity for him. After a
moment the animal gave utterance to a
snort Of dismay, ran two or three times
around the house, and then shot off into
he woods like a rocket.


1t was not long before the fire came.
Weaver stood by his well ready for any
emergency, yet curious to see the break
ing In OF the flames. The roaring in,
creased in volume, tn, air became op
pressive, q cloud Of dust came shower
ing down, and then he could see the
billow Of flame through the trees. 1t
did not run along upon the ground. nor
leap from tree to tree, but 1t came in All
unbroken sheet of flame, reaching from
the earth to the tops of the trees. As 1t
struck the clearing he jumped into his