Cheboygan-Presque Isle-Alpena County MI Archives News.....Forests Flaming Over Michigan October 16, 1908 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/mi/mifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com September 3, 2007, 7:52 pm Various: See Text For Titles October 16, 1908 Oswego [NY] Daily Times, Oct 16, 1908 Michigan Towns Wiped Out Great Loss of Property Through Forest Fires District Cleaned Up Mills, General Stores, School Houses, Newspaper Plants and Other Buildings Burned Down - News of Great Fire Reaches Chicago Detroit, Mich., Oct. 16.-The Michigan towns reported to have been destroyed by forest fires are: Metz, a town of 100 inhabitants, located on the Detroit & Mackinac Railroad in Metz township, Presque Isle County, had a saw and shingle mill, two hotels, one saloon, two general stores, a barber shop and a district school building. Millersburg, with a population of 850, located on the Detroit and Mackinac Railroad and the Ocqueoc River. It had four churches, a graded public school, a bank and two weekly newspapers, four general stores, five sawmills, four saloons, two hotels, a stave factory, a hardware store, two restaurants, two barber shops and a bakery. Posen, with 200 population, is located on the Detroit and Mackinac Railroad in Posen township. Others Threatened Cheboygan, on the straits of Mackinac, fifteen thousand inhabitants, is also seriously threatened. Meagre reports are drifting in from the burning district, but at least four small towns with a total population of 2,000 have been totally destroyed. No trace of the derailed train out of Metz has been secured and it appears certain that it has been destroyed with two hundred people. Frantic efforts are being made at Alpena to reach Millersburg which is still burning. Detroit.--At Alpena, the entire Fire Department and hundreds of volunteers are engaged in fighting the flames which are burning in the brush inside the city limits. Fires were started in the down town district, but were extinguished. Sawdust on Fire A huge pile of sawdust within the limits at Cheboygan caught fire yesterday afternoon endangering the whole city. The forest fires around the city are said to be the worst of the year. From Caro, Mackinac City, Gladwin, Traverse City, Standish and Lansing come reports of forest tires in the country around the cities. Bishop is Missing Alpena, Mich., Oct. 16.-There is still a question this afternoon as to the safety of Bishop Charles D. Williams of Detroit, and Rev. W. H. Bulkey of Alpena. They were at Hagensville eight miles from Metz, to confirm a class yesterday afternoon and were due to go to Metz for an evening train North. No communication is yet established with the North and the relief train is not expected back before evening. A report from Cheboygan, via. Bay City, says the known dead number 19. Many Persons Burned to Death Fleeing Residents Aboard Train Run into Burning Culvert. Detroit, Oct. 16.-Forest fires are again carrying death and destruction through Northern Michigan. Four towns are already reported wiped out by flames, with heavy loss of life, while scores of other towns and cities are menaced. A dispatch from Millersburg says: "Seventeen men, women and children were burned to death when the train which left Metz, Wednesday afternoon, to take the people out of the fire which destroyed the town, ran into a burned out culvert and was unable to proceed. It was trapped on all sides by raging flames and cremated. Fifteen burned skulls were found in a steel gondola. A woman by the name of Cicero, with three children, were among the dead." ---------------------------- Warren [PA] Evening Mirror, Oct 16, 1908 Forests Flaming Over Michigan Fires Now Raging Worse Than Before the Rain Detroit, Mich., Oct. 16.-Specials to the Free Press from any points through Northern Michigan show that forest fires have broken out again with renewed fury. From Millersburg, in Presque Isle county, comes word that the town of Metz was wiped out by fire yesterday afternoon, the losses aggregating nearly $30,000. Telegraph communication with Millersburg was broken in the middle of the Free Press dispatch. From Cheboygan comes a report that the huge accumulation of sawdust there, known as the "Sawdust mountain," is on fire and that several hundred people on the east side of the city have been smoked out of their homes. A high south wind is fanning the fire into a spectacular blaze, against which the city firemen can do little. Morris Fitzgerald, a farmer near Cheboygan, lost his farm buildings, worth $4,000. Village in Flames Near Gladwin, the home of Rev. Henry Wicke was burned yesterday and several farm buildings destroyed. From Standish comes a report that the village of LaRocque, in Presque Isle county, is burning. From Escanaba, in the upper peninsula, it is reported that Foster City is again threatened with destruction, and a special train with fire fighting apparatus has been sent there from Escanaba. Near Menominee several villages are threatened, and trains are running from two to three hours late. The forest fires have reached Alpena, a city of twenty thousand population, on the shore of Lake Huron and are inside the city limits. Business is suspended and the entire population is fighting the flames. Arrangements have been made to remove people by water if the fire gets beyond control. Meagre reports are drifting in from the burning district, but at least four towns, with a total population have been destroyed. It is almost certain that a relief train which went out of Metz with 200 people aboard has been destroyed. Among the known dead on the Metz train are John Kinville, Arthur Lee and William Lee, all of Alpena, and the members of the train crew. The fire has now passed over Millersburg in the Metz district, and the total list of dead here is beyond conjecture. The wires are down and there will be little definite information before night. A bulleting just received says that the town of Bolton has been completely destroyed and Pulaski is in grave danger. A shift of wind to the northeast has saved Alpena from the fire although several buildings have been burned. ------------------------------- The Evening Telegraph [Elyria, OH] Oct 17, 1908 Dozens Perish in Forest Fires Fifteen People were Burned to Death on a Train at Metz, Mich. Flames Extend for Miles Reports of Fatalities Come from Many Places in the Fire-Swept District of Northeastern Michigan Alpena, Mich., Oct. 17.-Every report received from the forest fire swept country north of this city increases the extent and gravity of the fire situation and the death list which started Friday with the cremating of 15 persons in the Metz relief train is steadily growing. Presque Isle and Cheboygan counties are all aflame and the 75 miles between this city and the city of Cheboygan is reported to be almost a solid mass of fire. Alpena county is ablaze in every direction. Reports of fatalities are coming in from many places, but it is impossible as yet to compile anything like an authentic list of the fire victims in the burned district. From Metz township the cremation is reported of Henry Kemps, his wife and two children in their farm house, with a third child missing and probably burned to death in the fields. Bolton, South Rogers and Metz are among the destroyed villages. La Roque is threatened and there is little hope but that it will be destroyed. Only the church is left at the village of Cathro and it is crowded with refugees from the village and nearby farms. A report from Alcona county says a strip 20 miles wide from Hubbard Lake to the Au Sable river is burning. More than 50 farms are reported to have been swept by the fires and their buildings destroyed. At Presque Isle on Lake Huron, Keeper Harrity was compelled to abandon the government fog signal station and flee for his life. Fifteen persons lost their lives Thursday night in the burning of the Detroit & Mackinaw railway relief train which was carrying the inhabitants of the little village of Metz, 23 miles north of here, to safety from the forest fires which were sweeping away their homes. The ill-fated train was ditched by spreading rails at Nowicki Siding, a few miles south of Metz, and the terrified refugees were forced to abandon the cars and rush for safety, either down the track with burning forests on either side or into the plowed fields near the siding. Seven of the victims were women and children who were unable to escape quickly enough from the gondola car which they were occupying. Their charred bodies were found there when rescuers reached the scene. Two of the men victims were members of the train crew. Four additional fatalities occurred in the neighborhood of the wreck. Mr. and Mrs. Fred Wagner died from heat and exhaustion on their farm near the scene of the wreck and Mr. and Mrs. Fred Nowicki lost their lives in their burning house near the siding where the wreck occurred. When the relief train left Metz it carried all the inhabitants of the village except George Cicero, the station agent, who stayed to handle the railroad business and escaped through plowed fields when the fire reached the station, only to find his wife and three children cremated in the wreck of the relief train. A fourth child, a boy about 11 years old, had jumped from the burning car and escaped with but slight injuries. If the inhabitants at Metz had taken the relief train as soon as it arrived all could have been taken out in safety, but they were insistent upon saving their household furniture, which delayed the train until the fire was sweeping the tracks. ------------------------------- The Oswego [NY] Daily Times, Oct 17, 1908 Bishop Williams was not Burned Escaped from Metz in Buggy Just Before Fire Destroyed Town Detroit, Mich., Oct. 17.-The forest fires are still raging in Cheboygan, Presque Isle and Alpena counties, according to advices to-day from fire swept Northern Michigan. Alpena City is again in great danger and Chegoygan is entirely surrounded by fire on the three landsides. The flames are sweeping over great acres hourly and railroad communication in the burning counties has been practically suspended. Train Blocked A relief train attempted to make its way out of Cheboygan last night, but was forced to turn back. Many small towns are cut off from communication and may have suffered the fate of Metz. The people to the North are frantic and in despair. It is almost impossible to get an intelligant story out of Cheboygan and Alpena, the centers of the fire district. The survivors of the Metz horror, tell heartrending stories of their experience. When the train pulled out of Metz, the greedy flames were then licking up the town, and in every direction great masses of smoke were rolling up from the burning slashings. The women and children had been loaded in an open steel gondola, so that if the box cars caught fire, they would not be confined inside. But two miles out of Metz, there was a crunching roar and the engine slipped from rails at a burned out culvert. Flames Rolling Up All around the people, the flames were rolling up to the heavens and before the people could get out of the car, the billows of flames swept down on the train and cremated the defenseless women and children lying in the open car. Narrow Escape Bishop Charles D. Williams of Detroit, who is in the fire district of Presque Isle County is safe at Cheboygan, after being fire bound two days in Hagensville. The bishop escaped from Metz in a buggy shortly before the fire destroyed the town. He has had a number of narrow escapes before reaching Cheboygan which is to-day surround on three sides by fires. ------------------------ Warren [PA] Mirror, Oct 17, 1908 Michigan Swept by Forest Fires Bishop Williams is Now Reported Safe Detroit, Oct. 17.-Bishop Charles D. Williams, of Detroit, who was in the fire district of Presque Isle county, is safe at Cheboygan after being fire bound for two days in Hagensville. The bishop escaped from Metz in a buggy before the fire reached and destroyed the town. Cheboygan today surrounded on three sides by fire. Forest Fires Still Rage Detroit, Mich., Oct. 17.-Forest fires are still raging in Cheboygan, Presque Isle and Alpena counties according to advices received today from the fire- swept portions of northern Michigan. Alpena city is again in danger and Cheboygan is now entirely surrounded by fire. The flames are sweeping over great areas hourly and railroad communications in the burning counties has been practically suspended. A relief train attempted to make its way out of Cheboygan last night but was forced to turn back. Many small towns are shut off from communication and may have suffered the same fate as Metz. People to the north are frantic and in despair, it is almost impossible to get word from Cheboygan and Alpena, the centers of the fire district. The survivors of the Metz horror tell heart-rending stories of their experiences. Twenty-seven persons are known to be dead in the forest fires yesterday in Presque Isle county. A diligent search today to determine the full extent of holocaust, but it may take many days to reveal the tragedies that likely have occurred on the isolated farms. The death list may not be fully known for weeks. ------------------------ Duluth [MN] News Tribune, Oct 17, 1908 Forests Aflame in Two Counties Territory Between Alpena and Cheboygan, Mich., Reported to Be Mass of Fire Alpena, Mich., Oct. 16.-Every report received tonight from the forest fire swept country to the northwest of this city increases the extent and gravity of the situation and the death list, which started today with the cremation of 15 people in the Metz relief train, may be increased. Presque Isle and Cheboygan counties are all aflame and the 75 miles between this city and the city of Cheboygan are reported to be almost a solid mass of fire. Alpena county is ablaze in every direction. Reports of fatalities are coming in from many places, but it has been impossible as yet to compile anything like an authoritative list of the fire victims in the burned district. Bolton, South Rogers and Metz are among the destroyed villages. La Roque is threatened tonight and there is little hope but that it will be destroyed by morning. Only the church is left at the village of Cathro and it is crowded with refugees from the village and nearby farms. Fifty Farms Burned Over. A report brought in tonight from Algona county says a strip 20 miles wide from Hubbard lake to Au Sable river is burning. More than 50 farms are reported tonight to have been swept by the fires today and their buildings destroyed. At Presque Isle, on Lake Huron, Keeper Garrity was compelled today to abandon the government fog signal and flee for his life. Wire communication throughout the burned district has been very slow and uncertain today. Scores of poles have been destroyed and many wires are down. With improving communication tomorrow, it is feared that the death list and the amount of property loss will be materially greater. Pass Night of Horror. Sixty passengers on a southbound Detroit & Mackinac railroad train, which left Cheboygan last night for this city, spent a night of horror at La Roque. Flames surrounded the train and it was impossible to proceed or retreat from them. Huddled in their cars the terrified passengers spent the night in momentary expectation that the train would be consumed. It was saved, however, by hard work and the passengers came on to Alpena this afternoon. Rogers City, located on the lake shore, was threatened this afternoon, but when the last report came out it was hoped that the town could be saved. Bishop Williams Safe. It was at first reported today that Bishop Charles D. Williams of the Protestant Episcopal diocese of Michigan was either on the ill fated Metz relief train or in the danger zone without Metz. Later it became known, however, that he went to Onaway without stopping at Metz. Both Cadillac and Traverse City report that the fires in the northeast part of the state have started again with great force and are threatening those cities. The fire is only a quarter of a mile away from Traverse City on the southwest. ------------------------------------ Grand Forks [ND] Daily Herald, Oct 17, 1908 Northern Michigan Again Aflame and Death List Growing Rapidly Refugees Meet Terrible Death Spreading of Rails Ditches Train and Fifteen Metz Refugees Burned. Four in Family Also Love Lives Bolton, South Rogers and Metz Destroyed — Other Towns Threatened. Fifty Farms in Alcona County Swept by Fire and Buildings Destroyed — Seventy- Five Miles of Country Between Alpena and Cheboygan is One Mass of Flames - Feared Death List Will Be a Large One. Alpena, Mich., Oct 16.—Every report tonight from the forest fire swept country to the ______ of this city, increases the extent and gravity of the fire situation and the death list, which started today with the cremating of fifteen people in the Metz relief train, is steadily growing. Presque Isle and Cheboygan counties are all aflame, and 75 miles between this city and the city of Cheboygan are reported to be almost a solid mass of fire. Alpena county is ablaze in every direction. Reports of fatalities are coming in from many places, but it has been impossible as yet to compile anything like an authentic list of the fire victims in the burned district. From Metz township tonight, the cremation is reported of Henry Kemps, his wife and two children in their farm house, with a third child missing and probably burned to death in the fields. Bolton, South Rogers and Metz are among the destroyed villages. La Roque is threatened tonight, and there is little hope, but that it will be destroyed before morning. Only a church is left at the village of Cathro, and it is crowded with refugees from the village and nearby farms. A report brought in tonight from Alcona county says a strip twenty miles wide from Hubbard Lake at Au Sable river is burning. More than fifty farms are reported tonight to have been swept by fires today, and their buildings destroyed. At Presque Isle, on Lake Huron. Keeper Garrity was compelled today to abandon the government fog signal and flee for his life. Wire communication throughout the burned district has been very slow and uncertain today. Scores of poles have been destroyed and many miles of wires are down. With the improved communication tomorrow, it is feared that the death list and the amount of property loss will be materially greater. Night of Terror. Sixty passengers on the south bound Detroit and Mackinac railroad train, which left Cheboygan last night for this city, spent a night of horror at La Roque. Flames surrounded the train and it was impossible to proceed or retreat from them. Huddled in their cars the terrified passengers spent the night in momentary expectation that the train would be consumed. It was saved, however, by hard work and the passengers came on to Alpena this afternoon. Rogers City, located on the Lake Shore, was threatened this afternoon, but when the last report came out it was hoped that the town could be saved. It was at first reported today that Bishop Charles D. Williams of the Protestant Episcopal diocese of Michigan was either on the ill-fated Metz relief train or in the danger zone near Metz. Later it became known, however, that he went to Onaway without stopping at Metz. Both Cadillac and Traverse City report that fires in the northwestern part of the state have started again with great force and are threatening those cities. The fire is only a quarter of a mile away from Traverse City on the southwest. From the upper peninsula came reports that fires in Chippewa and Houghton counties are dangerous and spreading rapidly. Alpena, Mich., Oct. 16.—Fifteen people lost their lives last night in the burning of the Detroit and Mackinaw railway relief train which was carrying the inhabitants of the little village of Metz, 23 miles north of here, to safety from the forest fires which were sweeping away their homes. The ill-fated train was ditched by the spreading of the rails at Nowicki siding, a few miles south of Metz, and the terrified refugees were forced to abandon the cars and rush for safety either down the track with burning forests on either side or into the ploughed fields near siding. Eleven of the victims were women and children who were unable to escape. Their charred bodies were found in the ruins of a car today when rescuers reached the scene. Four additional fatalities occurred in the neighborhood of the wreck last night. Mr. and Mrs. Fred Wagner died from heat and exhaustion on their farm near the scene of the wreck and Mr. and Mrs. Fred Nowicki, Jr., lost their lives in the burning of their house near the siding, where the wreck occurred. The dead in the wreck are WILLIAM BARTLETT, Alpena, brakeman. ARGUR LEE, Alpina, fireman. JOHN KONIECZNY. MRS. JOHN KONIECZNY. JOHN KONIECZNY, aged two. JOSEPH KONIECZNY, aged three. HELEN KONIECZNY, aged seven months. MRS. GEORGE CICERO. MARGARET CICERO, aged two. GEORGE CICERO, aged five. A THIRD CEICERO, child, aged eight. MRS. EMMA HARDIES. PAULINE HARDIES, aged nine. MINNIE HARDIES, aged eight months. Story of Mishap. When the forest fires closed in yesterday about the little village, a special train of three empty box cars and two coal gondolas was rushed to Metz. As rapidly as possible the people and their goods were loaded into the cars. When the train finally started, there were about 100 frightened people aboard. The flames were already sweeping through the village. Engineer Foster started the train for Alpena. Nearing Nowicki crossing he saw blazing piles of cedar ties on both sides of the track. Opening wide the throttle, he tried to dash through at full speed, but the heat had loosened the rails and they had spread and the train left the track. Blazing piles of ties surrounded it and in an instant the cars caught fire. The terror-stricken people, caught by the peril from which they were fleeing, jumped from the cars and rushed down the track. Three mothers and their little ones were cremated in a gondola car, where they were caught. Brakeman William Barrett sprang into the water tank behind the engine, only to be literally boiled to death as the flames swept over it. Engineer Foster and Conductor Kinville fled down the track, through the fire and smoke, and were the first to reach the village of Posen and report the wreck and ask for assistance from there. Behind them straggled a burned and wounded procession of refugees from the wrecked train. It was a fearful march over hot ties with flames from burning woods on either side of the track roaring and snapping in their faces. Engineer Foster was terribly burned about the head and face, but it is thought he will survive. Conductor Kinville was badly scorched. James White was totally blinded by his burns. John Nowiski, Sr., and his wife and Mrs. Albert Hardies and her young son were also seriously burned. Many more of the refugees are suffering painful burns. The first relief train from here reached the crossing this afternoon and brought back the bodies and those of the refugees who wished to come here. Some of them were so hysterical from fright that they refused to ride on the train, fearing another accident. I NINE TOWN'S IN DANGER. Saulte Ste. Marie, Mich., Oct. 16.-Forest fires tonight are burning around nine small towns in Chippewa county. West Neebia was saved only today by a shift of the wind. The light house crew at Point Iroquois has asked for help and the Tug Aspen has gone to its relief. It is reported that settlers along the shore of Lake Superior are camping on the beach. Vast tracts of hardwood have been burned. As yet, there is no indication of the heavy rain needed to relieve the situation. So far no fatalities have been reported in this section. ------------------------ Wilkes-Barre [PA] Times Leader, Oct 17, 1908 CHILDREN BURNED IN MOTHERS' ARMS Flames Cremated the Women and Babies. FIRES ARE STILL RAGING MANY SMALL TOWNS HAVE BEEN SHUT OFF FROM COMMUNICATION. DETROIT, Mich., Oct. 17.—The forest fires are still raging In Cheboygan, Presque Isle, and Alpena counties, according to advices to-day from fire- swept northern Michigan. Alpena City is again in grave danger, and Cheboygan is entirely surrounded by fire on the three land sides. The flames are sweeping over great areas hourly and railroad communications in the burning counties have been practically suspended. A relief train attempted to make its way out of Cheboygan last night, but was forced to turn back. Many small towns are cut off from communication and may have suffered the fate of Metz. The people to the north are frantic and in despair. It is almost impossible to get an intelligent story out of Cheboygan and Alpena, the centers of the fire district. The survivors of the Metz horror tell heart-rending stories of their experience. When the train pulled out of Metz, the greedy flames were then licking up the town and in every direction great masses of smoke were rolling up from the burning slashings. The women and children had been loaded in an open steel gondola, so that, if the box cars caught fire, they would not be confined inside. But two miles out of Metz there was a crunching roar and an engine slipped from the rails at a burned out culvert. All around the flames were rolling up to the heavens, and before the people could get out of the cars, the billows of fire swept down on the train and cremated the defenceless women and children lying in the open car. Mothers burned to corpses with their babies clasped in their arms. One woman with a child in each arm leaped from the car and ran shrieking up the track, a moving pillar of fire. The charred bodies were picked up a hundred feet from the train when the rescuers from Alpena finally reached the scene of the tragedy. The known dead who perished in the burning relief train out of Metz are: Wm. Barrett, brakeman, Alpena; Arthur Lee, fireman, Alpena; Mrs. Geo. Cicero; Margaret Cicero, aged 2; Geo. Cicero, aged 6; John Konitczy; Mrs. John Konitczy; Joseph, John and Helen Konitczy, aged 2, 3 and 7 respectively; Mrs. Emma Hardies; Pauline Hardies, aged 9; Mary and Minnie Hardies, aged 3 and 8 months; Robert Wagoner, aged 9; John Nowicki; unknown man, found near village, roasted alive; Fred Wagner and wife, bodies found in ruins of farm house near Metz. The Cheboygan woods are full of dry fallen timber left by the woodsmen and it is this condition which keeps the fires ablaze. Everything has been parched with the drouth for weeks back and yet people have been clearing land with fire. It is simply miraculous that scores of towns have not been burned before this. The situation demands reforestation. Strong statutes must be secured, requiring timbermen to clear forests of debris of the cuttings which are now left in the woods. Mills and towns must be required to provide fire protection. We must also have officials who will vigorously enforce such laws. Unless we quit our greedy and careless ways, we shall have many, many horrors. ------------------------------------------ The Ogden [City UT] Standard, Oct 17, 1908 Suffering and Desolation in Wake of Forest Fires is Indescribable Number who Perished Estimated at Between 28 and 42-- Families Were Burned to Death in Their Homes, and Many Small Towns Are Now Threatened With Destruction Detroit, Oct. 17.-Reports of the loss of life from the northern counties of the state, which are being swept by forest fires, are still incomplete this afternoon, and the estimates of the fatal death list range from 28 to 42. The Detroit Journal received reports this afternoon of the death of ten persons not reported from any other source. A dispatch to that paper from Rogers City told of the cremation of four members of the family of John Sczerski, on their farm near Rogers City. From Cheboygan to the Detroit Journal comes a report of the finding of the bodies of six Dust children in a road near Metz. Alpena this afternoon reports Miss Siebert burned to death in her father's lumber camp at Wolf Creek. The fire swept district takes an area, according to estimates made to-day, of about 100 square miles. The fires in the neighborhood of Sault Ste. Marie are growing worse this afternoon. The clouds of smoke there are so dense that the sun is obscured. All of the country between the South Shore railway and the Lake Superior in Chippewa county is ablaze also. Harrowing scenes are reported from Posen, where many of the homeless, burned and suffering refugees from Metz and Bolton, have sought shelter. Anguish over the death of relatives and friends is in many cases more keen than the personal suffering. Last night several hundred refugees had to sleep in the open air. Alpena, Oct. 17.-With twenty-seven people known to have perished yesterday in Presque Isle county, and with forest fires still raging uncontrolled through the counties of Cheboygan, Presque Isle, Alpena and Alcona, as well as in other scattered districts through northern Michigan, diligent search was begun today to determine the full extent of the holocaust. It may take many days to reveal tragedies that are likely to have occurred on isolated farms with the families fighting bravely to the last to save their lives and their modest homesteads. The death list may not be fully known for a week. But it needs no elaboration of details to determine that the property loss will run into the millions. Whole villages have been blotted off the map and logging camps by the dozen have been destroyed with their entire season's output. Near Turner in Arenac county, a flock of nearly one hundred sheep was burned alive. In the immediate vicinity of Millersburg, in Presque county, alone, the losses are estimated at half a million dollars. Other districts, where bad forest fires are reported, are in the neighborhood of Elmira, Gaylord and Johannesburg, in Otsego county, Cadillac, in Wexford county; Gayling, in Crawford county, where a million trees, planted by the state forestry service, were destroyed, and Caseville and Bad Axe, in Huron county, and Grawn, in Grand Traverse county, in the "Hum" district. In the upper peninsula threatening forest fires are reported around Saulte Ste. Marie, Menominee, Escanaba and Calumet and Houghton. At Koss, near Menominee, eighteen houses are reported destroyed with as many more threatened. Navigation has been practically suspended at the Soo owing to the dense smoke and the Presque Isle fog station signal on Lake Huron was abandoned yesterday by Patrick H. Garrity, who was obliged to flee for his life. Alpena, Long Rapids and Rogers City were also reported in grave danger last night. At Alpena, last night, the common council at a special meeting authorized Mayor McKnight to issue what temporary relief he thought best for fire sufferers. Provisions and clothing will be sent from Alpena in the scene of the Metz disaster and also to the needy victims in Alpena county. Alpena citizens will hold a special meeting Sunday noon to adopt further measures of relief. --------------------------------- The Waterloo [IA] Times-Tribune, Oct 17, 1908 Many Perish in Michigan Forest Fire Relief Train Derailed by Spreading Rails, on Way to Safety Eleven of the Victims were Woman and Children Terrified Refugees Were Forced to Abandon Cars and Rush for Safety - Many Severely Burned in Attempt to Escape. (Associated Press.) Alpena, Mich., Oct. 16.-Fifteen people lost their lives last night in the burning of the Detroit & Mackinaw railway relief train, which was carrying the inhabitants of the village of Metz, to safety from the forest fires, which were sweeping away their homes. The ill fated train was derailed by spreading rails at Nowiski siding, a few miles south of Metz, and the terrified refugees were forced to abandon the cars and rush for safety. Eleven of the victims were women and children, who were unable to escape quickly enough from the car which they were occupying. Their charred bodies were found out there today when rescuers reached the scene. Two men victims were members of the train crew. Four additional fatalities occurred in the neighborhood of the wreck last nigh. Mr. and Mrs. Fred Wagner died from heat and exhaustion on their farm near the scene of the wreck and Mr. and Mrs. Fred Newicki, jr., lost their lives in their burning house near the siding where the wreck occurred. List of the Dead Dead in the wreck: William Bartlett, Alpena, brakeman; Arthur Lee, Alpena, fireman; John Konicenzy, wife and three children; Mrs. George Cicero, and three children. Mrs. Emma Hardies and three children. When the fires closed in yesterday about the little village a special train was rushed to Metz. People and their goods were loaded into the cars. Some refused to abandon their goods, or the train might have left earlier and have reached Alpena in safety. When the train finally started, there were about 100 people aboard. Flames were already sweeping through the village. Engineer Foster started the train for Alpena. Nearing Nowicki crossing he saw blazing piles of cedar ties on both sides of the track. Opening wide the throttle, he tried to dash through at full speed, but heat had loosened the rails, and they spread and the train left the tracks. Blazing piles of ties surrounded it and in an instant the cars caught fire. Terror stricken people caught by the peril from which they were fleeing, jumped from the cars and rushed down the track. Three mothers and their little ones were not quick enough and were cremated in the gondola cars where they were caught. Brakeman Bartlett, sprang into the water tank behind the engine only to be literally boiled to death as the flames swept over it. Engineer Foster and Conductor Kinville fled down the track through fire and smoke, and were the first to reach the village of Posen and ask assistance from there. Behind them, straggled a burned and wounded procession of refugees from the wrecked train. It was a fearful march over the hot ties with flames on either side of the track rearing and snapping in their faces. Foster was terribly burned about the head and face, but it is thought he will survive. Kinville was badly scorched. James White was totally blinded by his burns. John Nowicki, sr., and wife, and Mrs. Albert Hardies and son were also seriously burned. Suffering from Burns Many more of the refugees are suffering from painful burns. The survivors seemed dazed by their peril and sufferings. They seemed to realize nothing except the necessity for running, running, running, to escape the intense heat and menacing flames. It was difficult to get any coherent statements from them as to the loss of life in the wreck, or as to whether there had been any people left behind in Metz. R. S. Richards, a Bay City traveling salesman, when he arrived at Posen, said: "As the train left the track heart-rending cries of women and children sent a chill over my body. I did not wait to see the outcome as I know it would be of no avail, and every minute was precious. George Boston, also of Bay City, myself and another man, started together. We walked down the track toward Posen. In some places the flames forced us to run and Boston was burned about the face before he reached safety. Several other men left the scene about the same time we did, but when we reached Posen they were not to be seen. They may have perished. No Chance for Women "There was absolutely no chance to save the women and children from the gondola car. The time was too short. It will probably be a week before it is known definitely how many people perished in Metz. The fire had gained a foothod in the town before the train left and in all probability many of the citizens were cremated." Others stated that when the relief train left Metz it carried all inhabitants of the village except George Cicero, station agent, who stayed to handle the railroad wire and escaped through plowed fields when the fire reached the station, only to find his wife and children cremated in the wreck of a relief train. A fourth child, a boy of eleven years, had jumped from the burning car and escaped with but slight injuries. ----------------------------- The New York Times, Oct 18, 1908 Forest Fires Dead May be a Hundred Swept District in Northern Michigan is 100 Square Miles - Hundreds are Homeless Blazes in Neighborhood of Sault Ste. Marie are Growing Worse - Fires Start Again in the Adirondacks. Detroit, Mich., Oct. 17.- Reports from Alpena to-night indicate that the number of deaths in the forest fires of Presque Isle and Alpena Counties will surely exceed fifty, and may run well up toward 100. In the vicinity of Metz, Bolton, and Posen the fires have burned sufficiently to leave several hundred women and children camping with comparative safety in the open fields, but near the City of Alpena, to-night the fires were so threatening that Mayor McKnight, called out a volunteer force of several hundred men with shovels to form a patrol and construct trenches to stem the progress of the flames in the direction of the city. The latest report of additional fatalities comes in the news of the death of an old couple named Pachinski, who were burned to death in their home near Posen. Their charred bodies were found in the ruins of their house to-day, and the badly burned body of an unidentified man was found on the railroad tracks between Posen and Metz to-day. It is now estimated that twenty-three people lost their lives in the destruction of the ill-fated Metz relief train Thursday evening. Previous reports were that fifteen were killed. It is doubtful, however, if the names of the additional eight will ever be known. A dispatch from Rogers City told of the cremation of four members of the family of John Sezerski on their farm near Rogers City. Sczerski and his two hired men escaped and have arrived there. From Cheboygan comes a report of the finding of bodies of six children named Dust in a road near Metz. Alpena this afternoon reports Miss Siebert burned to death in her father's lumber camp at Wolf Creek. Measure of relief for the stricken people in Presque Isle and Cheboygan Counties are already under way. Hundreds are homeless and many have not sufficient clothing. A drop in temperature will cause great suffering. A theatre at Alpena has been thrown open to receive contributions for the refugees, and already presents of clothing are beginning to come in. Expect State to Give Relief It is expected Gov. Warner, who has been absent from Lansing, will this afternoon institute some measures of relief on behalf of the State. The fire- swept district takes an area, according to estimates made to-day, of about 100 square miles. The fires in the neighborhood of Sault Ste. Marie, in the upper peninsula, are growing worse this afternoon. The clouds of smoke there are so dense that the sun is obscured. All of the country between the South Shore Railway and Lake Superior in Chippewa County is ablaze. At Posen last night several hundred refugees from Metz and Bolton had to sleep in the open air. Three carloads of provisions were sent to Posen last night from Alpena and more will go forward to-day. Bishop Charles D. Williams of the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of Michigan, who drove overland to Cheboygan last night after having been fire-bound for two days at Hagensville, back of the burned village of Metz, said to-day: "The whole country is a fire-trap. The woods are full of dry fallen timber, left by the old timber men; slashings and old mills with seasoned lumber are everywhere. There are not suffient clearings about the towns and no fire protection. Everything is parched with drought, yet the people carelessly clear the lands with fires. It is simply miraculous that more towns do not go like Metz." A special from Grand Marais says that the steamer Scottish came in there to- day and reported the loss of Mate Malcolm McGregor at Iroquois Point Thursday night while an attempt was being made to rescue the light keepers, who were blowing urgent distress signals. The shore about the point was all afire. When the men did not come out from the lighthouse a yawl was lowered, and Mate McGregor and four men started in. The wind was too strong, and they could not make the shore. The steamer came to the yawl's relief, but when McGregor was halfway up a rope ladder on her side he fell back, exhausted and was lost. The distress signals were still being sounded when the Scottish left the harbor. Survivor Tells Experience Wesley Irwin, a Bay City traveling man, who was one of the survivors of the Metz relief train disaster, gave an account of the forest fire tragedy. He said: "A party of seven of us took to the woods, and were forced to jump over burning logs and run through fire in making our escape. It was the only chance to take, and we thought it preferable to remaining with the women and children and meeting the same fate. For five miles we ran through smoke and fire which seemed every minute to be taking our strength away. When within a half mile of Posen, my eyesight gave out, and I could only depend upon the railroad track to guide me through. Only two of the original party reached Posen that night. The others straggled along one at a time." Other districts where bad forest fires are reported are in the neighborhood of Elmira, Gaylord, and Johannesburg, in Otsego County; Cadillac, in Wexford County; Grayling in Crawford County, where 4,000,000 trees planted by the State Forestry Commission were destroyed; Grawn, in Grand Traverse County, and Caseville and Bad Axe, in Huron County, in the "Thumb" district. In the Upper Peninsula forest fires are reported around Sault Ste. Marie, Menominee, Escanaba, and Calumet and Houghton. Navigation has been practically suspended at the Soo owing to the dense smoke, and the Presque Isle fog station signal on Lake Huron was abandoned yesterday by Patrick H. Garrity, who was obliged to flee for his life. Rogers City is in most danger to-day of any of the settlements in Presque Isle County. A large force of men is working to save the town, with expectations of success. Both Long Lake and Wilson Township also escaped with few losses, although both were in great danger last night. Reports are constantly coming in of the destruction of small logging camps, farm buildings, and isolated houses. Petoskey, on the west side of the State, reports that the fire situation in that neighborhood is better than last night. Hastings Heights, a Summer resort, near Conway, is threatened to-day, as is Riggsville. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mi/cheboygan/newspapers/forestsf91gnw.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/mifiles/ File size: 43.6 Kb