WISCONSIN STILL BURNING
LAKE SUPERIOR TOWNS FIGHTING HARD AGAINST DESTRUCTION.
High Winds Drive the Flames Over Burned Territory and It Is Consumed Anew—One Town Struggles with Fire on Three Sides of It—Nantucket Island Afire—Parts of New-York State and the West Visited by Much-Needed Showers.
CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis., Sept. 5.—A late report from Bruce says the little village was completely enveloped by the forest fire that has been surrounding the place for several days. The people escaped by running to the creek, covering themselves with wet blankets and allowing the flames to sweep over them.
D. W. Blackburn’s mill camp and a million feet of lumber were burned. There was no insurance. Stickney, McPherson & Stickney lost 3,000,000 feet of logs by fire at Cartwright. Bruce is a post settlement on the Chippewas River and on the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad, eight miles north of Chippewa Falls. The population was 100.
Forest fires extended to the village of Throupe, 1,000 population, yesterday afternoon, but by great efforts the town was saved with little loss. The fire was stopped within half a block of the Nye, Lusk & Hudson lumber mill, one of the largest plants in this section. Fires are still raging in the immense pine-land tracts owned by Cornell University, at Cornell Lake, fifteen miles from here.
ASHLAND, Wis., Sept 5.—The fire broke out in a new spot yesterday, threatening the town of Odanah, an Indian village of the Bad River Reservation. This country was badly burned over last year, and it is probably that the Indians have all found places of safety. Navigation on the south shore of Lake Superior and in Chequemon Bay, between Ashland, Washburn, and Bayfield has practically ceased. It is impossible to navigate on account of the dense smoke. Fog whistles are kept continually going, and it has been necessary for vessels lying in port to guild over boats into the dock by a succession of whistles.
Port Wing is the latest town reported to be burning. It is a lumbering village situated on the south shore of Lake Superior, midway between Ashland and Duluth. The reports regarding it came in very late and are meager.
The bodies of eight people, who lost their lives at High Bridge, have been identified as follows:
BARGRIN, FRANK.
BARGRIN, MAGGIE.
GRANT, WALTER.
TAWNEY, ISAAC.
TAWNEY, Mrs. –.
TAWNEY, ELISHA.
TAWNEY, WILLIE.
TAWNEY, JESSIE.
The remains were brought to Ashland. Brief services were held in the undertaking rooms this afternoon. Homesteaders near Marengo report twenty-eight dear burned in one bunch, where they had huddled together in green thicket and suffocated. Baked rabbits, partridges, and porcupines are numberless.
In a district five miles square in the Town of Marengo thirty-two homesteaders lost everything, but three house remain. Provisions have already been sent to Marengo. Dispatches from Sanborn announce to-day:
“This places is all right, but it has been a hard fight. The town is full of refugees from the surrounding settlements. The majority of these people had to run for their lives and only saved the clothing they had on.
“There were about twelve or fifteen homesteaders between Sanborn and Bibon that were burned out and lost everything they had. There have been no mail trains through since Saturday, and we don not expect any more before next Friday or Saturday James Morgan, who waked in from Shore’s Crossing last night, reports that place in a precarious condition again. Fires were burning up within a few feet of the town last night, but the absence of wind gave the people a good fighting chance to save their property.”
The Brule correspondent telegraphs the following to-night:
“News just received of burning homesteads and logging camps along the lake shore north of Burle. A fearful smoke. the citizens are constantly on the outlook for the fires.”
Iron River, a thriving town midway between Ashland and Duluth, on the Northern Pacific, has anticipated the march of the fire and has sent out a small regiment of volunteer firemen this afternoon to out off the flames by building back-fences. Iron River was completely wiped out by fire two years ago, and the citizens are alert.
Cleavedau, however, is the object of anxiety to-night. The Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railroad has a force of men laying new tracks where the long trestle was burned last Saturday, near Marengo. The foreman of the crew was called upon for assistance last night, and he took an engine a few miles down the line to Shiloh, where he rescued some section men who became surrounded by flames. It is not known how Shiloh has fared since.
Fire Chief Scott of the Ashland Fire Department has been out all day supervising the work of providing better protection against the advancement of fires upon Ashland. A brisk wind set in this afternoon, causing considerable excitement and apprehension. The path of the fires has thoroughly destroyed the remaining vegetation.
Fires can be seen blazing from Ashland very plainly. It is almost impossible to extinguish them, as the very roots of the trees burn and coals become imbedded beneath the trunks of the trees.
It is dangerous to go from Ashland for three miles. The most critical position of the day was between 11 and 4 o’clock, when the wind was strongest. If the strong winds of to-day continue to-morrow, fires will break out again in all of the burned districts. One burning over does not seem to prove effective in stopping fires. Owing to the large amount of destruction to look after, there has been no organization to care for settlers and families that are placed among the missing. It will probably be several days before organized effort along that line can be put forth.
At Shore’s Crossing, which was burned at the same time that Phillips went up in smoke, determined efforts were necessary to prevent a second burning last night and to-day. Three hundred men, thorough organized, are keeping back the flames from the newly-constructed houses. The flames were within 300 feet of the town at one time last night. This illustrates the fact that one or even two burnings of the forests does not prevent another fire.
CHIPPEWA FLAAS, Wis., Sept. 5.—Fisher Meadow, near Estells, a small settlement, was wiped out to-day. The fire is said to be running toward Murray, where danger is apprehended.
ARCADIA, Wis., Sept. 5.—The wreck of the west-bound freight on the Green Bay Road, which occurred about three miles above this place yesterday, was much more serious than at first reported. The train was going at the rate of about twenty-five miles an hour and ran into a burning bridge, which gave way, and the engine and eighteen cars were wrecked.
The fire communicated to the cars and soon the whole was a heap of ashes. Some of the cars were loaded with sheep, hogs, and cattle, a large number of which were burned up, while others were crushed beneath the cars. Sheep ran about with the wool on their backs ablaze. No human lives were lost. The engineer and fireman jumped from the engine before reaching the bridge.
FIRES ON THREE SIDES OF AITKEN.
For Twenty Miles South There Is Not a Foot of Unburned Land.
AITKEN, Minn., Sept. 5.—Fires are around three sides of this town, and the Fire Department is hard at work. One boy is reported burned to death from the township of Nordland.
There is not one foot of unburned land from Aitken to Mille Lacs Lake, a distance of twenty miles south, while the burned district north and south through the pine woods, is unknown, but settlers for fifty miles reported fire even beyond them and burning fiercely.
DULUTH, Minn., Sept. 5.—Reports still come in from towns to the southward, reporting fresh fires springing up. Early this morning it was reported from the railway junction and sawmill town of Carleton, twenty miles south of here, that fire menaced the town, but later, after strenuous work, it was beaten back.
Brief messages from surrounding towns to the United Press correspondent here are as follows:
Cloquet—The smoke is so dense that it is impossible to see clearly twenty feet. Even buildings are indistinguishable across the street. The smoke is so dense that the pain resulting is fearful and almost unbearable.
Kerrick—Fires surround the town, but there is no wind to present, and, so long as it continues so, the town is safe. Most of the people have left.
South Superior.—The fires near this town lat night were all put out. Rumors are current here that Iron River, Wis., is burning, but they are probably not correct. In this city the smoke is more dense and pungent than at any time yet, showing it to be from nearer fires. It is utterly impossible to distinguish even faint outlines of buildings 400 feet away.
The appearance is that of the densest fog, and vessels arriving from down the lake report navigation a very serious matter and collisions narrowly avoided. This smoke is believed to be from fires in brush and dead timber in the immediate vicinity of Duluth. In all, about 600 refugees are now listed here by relief committees, and the lists are not complete as yet. Nearly 200 people have already been sent back to Hinckley and Sandstone, who are not included in above lists. More will be sent down to-day. The temporary relief fund subscribed here grows, and now reaches over $10,000, of which all but $400 from Two Harbors, a little village near here, comes from Duluth people. It is estimated that not less than $350,000 to $400,000 will be required to keep the poor people until they can get some returns from their own labor on farms next Summer. Many are going to work here in the vicinity on railroads and in the woods and mills.
One arrival of a train over the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railroad at noon to-day came, from the statement that at the village of Maregdo, ninety miles east of Duluth, the bodies of six persons were found who had been burned to death during the night. Offers of aid to sufferers, both in cash and goods, are coming in from distant States. Tacoma, Washington, telegraphed this morning, asking if aid was needed, but was answered by the Mayor that Minnesota would be able to care for all and to rehabilitate the living.
MANISTIQUE, Mich., Sept. 5.—The villages of South Manistique and Thompson are in danger from the prevalence of fierce forest fires in this vicinity. The conditions are favorable for a fire throughout Schoolcraft County. The flames have crossed the Soo Railway two miles east of here, Manistique is almost without fire protection.
ACROSS THE CANADIAN BORDER.
Fires Doing Great Damage in the Rainy River Country.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Sept. 5.—The Minnesota forest fires have extended into the woods on the Canadian side. A dispatch to-night form Ratportage, a town 100 miles eat of here, says: “ Rainy River, on both sides for the whole length, excepting ten miles at the mouth, is one huge mass of flames. The American woods, where there are but few settlers, are all burning, and at Barwick the fires are so fierce that they have jumped across the river, as well as at other places, setting the Canadian woods afire. The Canadian side is well settled, and the settlers are losing heavily.
On Saturday, Mrs. Lamsby and five children, living on Grassy River, were burned. One boy took refuges in a well. A daughter of eighteen years had her head and feet burned off. The father, who was some distance away, escaped with his eyes and face sadly burned.
George Watt’s buildings were burned, and the family was saved with great difficulty. All the settlers back from Rainy River have been burned out, losing everything. Mrs. William Bartley of Fort Francis is dead, and Arthur Wright, a settler of Rainy River, was found on Sunday dead in bed.
Click here to move to the September 7, 1894 New York Times coverage of the Hinckley Fire.
