The Huron Signal, 1881-09-16, Page 81881
THE HURON SIGNAL, FRIDAY. SEPT. 16, 1881.
33100'TS AND SHOES. 1881
o
411U1-
1 Have Great Pleasure in Announcing to my Customers and the Public at Large that my Stock of
Boots and Shoes for. the Fall Trade
Is now Complete, and I would IaQite Inspection of the same. I have been especially careful to purchase
Goods which I believe will give the Customers Satisfaction,
And do Credit to myself..
YOU WILL FIND MY PRICES LOWER THAN THE LOWEST,
AS I BUY IN LARGE QUANTITIES, AND FOR CASH.
Doing the Largest Shoe Trade in the Town,
Can Sell at Closer Prices Than Those who do a Smaller Business.
I Wo1111 ERNE! Call lk AtteMill of Fumers 11 m) Slott 81 110018,11111a II ON dielzial
To be found in any Retail Stare in the Province. I have on hand several cases of the celebrated K.& B.
Long Boots which Have Given Such Immense Satisfaction
In the_past. On Ordered Work we are still abreast of the times, and having
A LARG] STAFF OF FIRST CLASS MECHANICS 1
I am prepared to manufacture anything in my line to order, at the shortest notice, in first-class
style, and of the very best material. In conclusion, I beg to return my sincere thanks to my cus-
tomers for their liberal patronage in the past, and rest assured I shall do my utmost to deserVfl
a continuance of the same. Yours Respectfully,
Cor. East street and the Square, Goderich.
E. DOWNING.
MEN AND BRETHREN.
Helping the Michigan Sufferers.
t:eerroe. Response from t.oderlrh–$IM
sed Valuable l'lut•Ieg. Sledding, etc,
re>tated.
When the full extent of the direful
calamity which has overtaken the neigh-
boring State of Michigan became known,
a feeling of deep sympathy ran through
this community. Touched with the
tale of suffering and woe, Hou. John
Hibbard, who represents the United
Stater- Government at this port, imme-
diately proceeded to endeavor to get aid
from this quarter for the unfortunates,
and we are glad to be able to Mate that
his efforts havo been crowned with ,
success. An appeal for aid w -as read. in
every church in town on Sunday, and a
hearty response has been the result . In
the language of Hon. ,Ir. Hibbard
'•Goderich has done nobly." The hon. •
gentleman has been receiving subscrip-
tions for the sufferers almost every hour
since. Bank bills iron some, cheques
from athero, pieces of silver from
children, and blankets, quilts, clothing
etc., have been steadily pouring in, and
still more is expected. If the fanning
community will but respond and send in
some seed grain, there will be left noth-
ing to make the donation from this
quarter of Canada a full and complete
one. Mr. Hibbard hu had his driving -
shed fitted up for the reception of any
gifts of a bulky nature for the sufferers.
On Tuesday evening a public meeting
was held in the Council Chamber to
consider the best mode of getting assist-
ance.
Mayor Horton presided.
Mr. Samuel Pollock described the de-
struction of Bad Axe, of which he was
an eye -witness, and gave a harrowing
account of the wretchedness and suffer -
of the survivors in the burnt district.
tine of the saddest things he related was
a conversation with a small boy near
Sand Beach. The dead were being
buried, and the lad said, -0. sir. I bur-
ied three myself. 1 put them in a hos.'
Hon. John Hibbard addressed the
meeting, and in the course of hie re-
marks thanked the citizens fur the help
they had already given. He stated that
the Montreal telegraph company would
send over all montages free. and the G
T. it will despatch all goods free. No
duties will be charged on articles f r the
relief of the sufferers. Mr Hihband.
who in his time has been o.v-er all the
burnt region, utterly broke d..wn as be
made th.. appeal for help for his fellow
eitisene
A resolution of condolence with the
people of Michigan in their gnat be-
reavement was unantminusly carried.
A committee consisting of the follow
in gentlemen was then appointed to
further nnlicit suhacnptiona Hon. .1.
H ihbard, Chairman. St. Patricks Ward
S. Pollock, S. Platt. St. David's
C. A. Humber, .1. Rnsscll. St Andrew's
-J. Sheppard. (3. Sheppard. Mt.
George's D. Doty, Jos.William*.
1 further reference to tike gond work
inaugnreted by Hon Mr Hibbard will
te made nest week. Meanwhile we
hole- none will turn a .leaf eta or an
steers hand to the appeal f raid
DETaorr, Sept. 11. —As reports conte
in from the burned district the extent of
the disaster appears greater than any
one had imagined, and has no parallel
in the history of the United States. The
district in which the fires of the past
week have wrought such appalling de-
struction of life and property is known
as the Huron Peginsula. and consists of
the counties of Huron, Sanilac, and Tus-
cola, with a total population of 72.168,
and property worth over $25,000,000.
The tires have raged more or Tess from
Saginaw. Bay to Lake St. Clair and in-
land over a distance of frotn ten ' • twen-
ty miles. The district is
aETTLCD PRINCIPALLY BY CANADIANS,
Poles, Scandinaf-ians, and Yankees. The
fires originated in and around the mirth -
western township o f Sanilac and over
the boundary in Huron county, and the
careless clearing of sunnier fallows ,s
said to have been the cause of the de-
struction. The flames had been burning
gradually around clearings and through
dried woods, now and then licking up
farm builditgs and crops, but on Mon-
day last its fury increased, and the
flames roared est and north toward the
lake shore, sweeping away farm houses,
awl live stock in the townships of Shag-
dan. Colfax, Verona, Siegel, Paris,Sand
Beach, Sherman. Huron, Dwight. and
Meads, and west through Grant in Hu-
ron county; south and south-west
through Greenleaf, Custer. Austin. Min-
den, Sanilac, Deleware, Marion, Argyle,
Moore, Bridgehampton, Forester. Mar-
lette, Flynn, Elk, Waterloo, Elmer,
Buel, Maple • Valley, Speaker, Fremont,
Washington, and Worth in Pamlic cnurt-
tv: west and south into Tuscola county,
tfestroying the greater part of the town-
ships of Elmwood, Elkland, and Silves-
tri, and Caw City village, then hacking
east across the Cass river into Sanilac.
where it unite? with another branch of
the fire, and farmed a vast tornado of
flame. which the most unimaginative
pe..p1e say was the most awful stght
r.er beheld This
Ht'aRL ANI or TIRE AND tomer.
surged forward and backward for twelve
hours, and when its utmost fury had
ceased about 2.500 families were home-
less. and between 400 and
Loon PIoPLI LAT risen,
burned or suffocated, along the nod -
ways.
ad-
ws s. in the open fields. or hidden in
wells. cellos, nr whatever places seem-
ed likely to afford a temporary refuge
from the fiery storm Austin. Argyle.
and Moore are burned black: the devu-
tatton in Elk, Manon. and Minden is
appalling: Cato in Delaware township s
utterly destroyed. Deckerville, Rich
m•pndrille, Anderson. Elmer. Tyre,
Croswell, Forest ('ity. Huron ('ity. Berl
Axe. Verona. and other places are burn-
i•d wholly. or almst se. top the ground.
The region swept wholly or In part em-
brscs
THIRTY -rays Tow*aHlre
an.( a popaletinn of shout 5.000, of
which some estimates say as maf.y u
1.000 have perished. Twenty villages
have been destroyed.
The rapidity of the Mmes was aston-
ishing. in Paris township the advance
was at the rate of fifteen miler an hour.
Places at wnich na the forsnonn of Mon
i - •hfro r. +err n., fires within eight
miles, were at noon engulfed in the
waves of flame. The story told of the
advance of the broad torrent of fire is,
with small variations, the same every-
where. A suspicious and portentous
lull in the atmosphere, then dense
and smoky, then sudden and
TERRIBLE DARKNsii
in broad daylight, then a roar through
woodland and clearing, a shower of cin-
ders, followed by the terrible line of fire
creeping along the round and rearing a
wall of flames shooting up fiery tongues
high'through the foliage of the forest,
and darting forward in streams of Eames
to seize whatever could come within its
grasp.
The saving of property was not to be
thought of, the struggle was one for lite.
Even open fields of twenty-five acres
afforded no shelter, and in some of
these dozens were burned to death. In
the cellars they were burned, in the
ditches, and even in the wells. Cattle
and livesptock perished by thousands,
and the wild beasts of the forests mingle
their howls of death with the hissing and
roaring of the flames.
THE BIRDS PERISHED,
and on Lake Huron their corpses limited
in hundreds of thousands far out towards
the Canadian shores. Everywhere across
the whole lake, from 80 to 100 miles,,
the smoke was so dense that an eighth
of a mile was the farthest reach of the
vision, and the vessels, as they
up and down, kept their fog whist a con-
stansly blowing to prevent collision.
The destruction is almost beyond be-
lief. Soine townships are
SWEPT Ai CLEAN As A FLOOR,
and it is impossible to distinguish be-
tween fields previously cleared and areas
covered with forest. The loss of life is
appalling. Whole families, one a Ca-
nadian family of fortune. have perished.
At Cato, a widow and five children were
found dead in a well. Nest of Tyre. in
an open field, seventeen dead bodies
were found lying. tine hundred and
fifty perished within ten miles of Wind-
sor, and reports come from all parts of
dozens and scores of lives lost. Till
several days have put the full loos of
life cannot boe u xrtained.
MatrieetM wiled ale.
From the lied Ate Trthvne
Oa Sunday sftern••'n. a report ma-
! ed the village that a Bre in the wow&
' threatened the property of a farmer a
few milea west. and • number of wen
went nut and got the fire under coated
and ao suhdoed that no further trouble
(
was apprehended. Monday all was quiet
until about noon, when the wind begat
to freshen up, and it was reported that a
fire had broken out in the vicinity of the
poor farm. and •asiatanai was went to
protect that property. The wind is
creased until about 2 o'clock it was
blowing a gale, and some smoke ess seen
west. We, in company with several
gentlemen. viewed the 'nattier from
the court house, but concleded there
wu no oec•aiom for alarm. We returned
to our office. which in a few minutes war
in darkness as if the curtains had fallen
A cloud of smoke and flame was rolling
over the ennetry. The host was so in-
terim that it was aliaost impossible to
breathe• the smoke ue dense that it was
as if nit had overtaken us. The wind
blew a hurricane. We made an effort to
save some things, and had removed a
few articles when the tlaniee shut off all
communication with our building. We
then started for our house in the east of
the village, and found that the fire had
driven every family from their homes
and that nearly every house was en
tire from the court house east. By
this time the tire had travelled the whole
length of the village, through the black
ash swamp, and licked up the dense
forest of green shrubbery and cat's -tail
as if it was a dry stubble.
The scene was wholly indescribable.
The fire burst upon us as if the atmos-
phere had been turned into flame. It
seemed but a few minutes from the time
everybody \vas busy in their .shops and
offices until almost the whole village was
in flames. It certainly could not exceed
half an hour. No one had time to re-
move anything, and the inhabitants of
over fifty dwellings barely escaped—some
to the court house, and others wh-, could
not reach that building out of the vil-
lagreto tate east. Those who took refuge
1n the court house, by an heroic effort,
saved that by all -night's tight with the
fire fiend. Those who went east passed
through a cloud of fire until they came
to the first considerable opening. where
they dug a large trench, into which they
put the women and children, covered it
nearly over with boards and these with
wet blankets, the men by turns keep-
ing watch until the fire in its march
went by. For a little time it seemed im-
i o alible that any should survive. the
h sat became so intense.
The court house and a few buildings
in the west and north portion of the vil-
lage, protected by the green woods,
escaped the general ruin.
&Ewe■ ebes at.
it is stated that Sergeant Mason. who
tried to shoot Guiteen, has been nine-
teen years in the service, and has an en-
viable reputation as a good soldier. His
Captain says he was sick for some days
past with chills, and took a large quanti-
tyif strong 10!! -��.. Hie opinion is
that it sheeted hn/aisd. it is learned
that the int notice of the shot was the
arise al O(litsau, who was found crouched
111 after 1 his aali Uttering rood
prayers for protection and literally
writhing about the floor in agony of fear.
All efiiorts to calm the wretch were fruit-
less He refused to stand erect nr even
Iia on the cot, and remained huddled tip
in the corner furthest removed from
range of the window. Munn's shot
would deaMliimi have been fatal, hot for
the fact that to reach the window it
Guitaan's rell he was ohl to RIM s.
high that the shot peened through Om
outer window, the saahes of which were
closed and the fanfare of the glass onvrw
ed with moisture from the ruin Tt was
hsarwed at the jail last night that Outman
is still frightfully exereisr.d. and it was
feared that unless something eoukl foe
done to allay his terror, the probabilities
were his reason would give way. All
along Guiteae feared he would he shot
through the roll window. There is a re-
port that there was R talk among the
guards reeemtly, in regard te whe•h one
should be chnaen to *bred at hits when
ever he shr.ald memo his head at the
indow. •It was decided that '-tlaaon
hould ao it, and he made preparations.
.Let evening three wagon 1. ads .;f sol-
diers left the arsenal for the jail to re-
lieve the day guards. Mason was in the
last wagon, and his companions noticed
he was fumbling with the lock of his gun
and acting strangely. Nothing was said
to him, however. When the wagon
reached the jail Mason was the first to
get out. He pushed forward till he
reached the hillock, three feet from
where the soldiers stood, took steady aim
at Guiteau's window and shouted,
"There he is and fired. Before the
smoke ;leered awetx the soldiegather-
ed around him. �Vhen asked shy he
shot, Mason replied, '"I wanted t.. kill
that wretch in there, and I have been at
it for ten days. I bops I have dune the.
work in good style." Masco then
walked toward the comma ndino officer,
saying, "Captain, I have tried to kill
that dirty loafer in there. I did not en-
list t.. guard an assassin. Take me in
charge.
D11IIgsanOL.
lir. Wm. lic.trthur. postmaster, i+author
sed to reerire subscrl tions for 't if s HCRON
SIONAL and sire receipts therefor.
County Judge S.luier has appointed to
hold Court at Dungannon un Tuesday
evening next, 20th inst., on the appeal
"f Charles Wilson against the decision
of the Court of Recision, in the matter
of assessment for deepening a water
course in West Wawanosh.
The Dungannon vnlenteers under the
command of Captain Mallough left here
Tuesday morning for a twelve days drill
at Goderich. Mr. Brown Msllough ac-
cepted the contract to supply the boys
with their groceries from his new store.
Mr. Brunswick Pointer, late proprie-
tor of the Kintail carriage works, is at
present visitingfriends in the village,
prior to goinest.
Mr. Wm. McKay left here un Satur-
day for Lochalsh. to act for a short time
as substitute in the public school for Mr.
Alton, who is attending the Normal.
fury Foe TAR Snow.—Quite a num-
ber of our citizens left en Monday to
attend the Exhibition at Toronto. We
trust they may all have "a jolly good
'Mimeo ft sea THF GAuE.. "—A large
number of oar villagers had the pleasure
of attending the Caledonian games at
Lueknow on Wednesday. And all came
home well satisfied with the days enter
tainment, which they affirm was • per-
fect success in its every detail.
WR.‘ Cor t.0 Trasv an 1 --One eveeniag
last week Mr Edward Pavey killed a
fine pig. and as he left it hanging nut
doors, ho• was a little uneasy for es
safety. which emitted him to rise several
times during the night. tlnce when he
went Ant he peroeived three saspiciens
looking characters somewhere in the
pug's /trinity and thinking they had de•
awns upon the park he gave chase, hut
whoever the noetnral wanderers were,
Mr Perry had nn chance to determine,
es they showed him three of the fleetest
pain of heels he ever saw.
Rwrt loran -Otte of our citizens a
conplenf weeks ago started in high spirits
ftty the North West with the determine.
tion to spend the 'winter, but when be
reached the boat -landing at Duluth, the
sweet recollections of the dear • encs he
left behind loomed up in his memory,
causing art intense lunging for home; so
back ho came looking much better for
the trip, but fully convmeed that there
is no place in the word like Dur.gar.•
-
noB.
Soca Metre BAV7. BALL -Is there
such a disease as "'Case ball 'on the
brain 7" The ether -halves ••f those who
sometimes indulge in the sport say. that
the boys here -are afflicted with it in its
mos` aggravating or chronic form.
Snnte have entered their protest against
the. charge }nicked with a fearful array
of medial tcttifnotty: still t',ie ladies per-
sist in theineeinion, 3irnt. o.t eiiica to
the contrary notwithstanding. Yet the
boys play ball all the sante, and a very
lively ant well contested one they play -
been' nines
sen by
ed tvo waythytwelatldls rds.chrMesars..
Maruti and Ytttylie respectively, who
were elected as Captains. • At the start
both sides appeared to be pretty evenly
matched, but after a few *ingot had'
been. played, the Smylie boys took the
lead and woo n an easy victory -over their
-opponents. hater—Mr. Martin is dei
emus of satisfaction and insists on hav-
ing the game over again.
SHowiEa B►re.—(hie night last week
the jolly bachelors refered, to in my last,
were suddenly soused from their peace-
ful slumbers by having a pailful of col 1
water -dashed over then As the win-
dow was out. and the night being ex-
cessively warm, ite have every reason to
believe that the bath was given to good
faith by roma charitable party. whose
intentions were siirply to "coni the boys
off." But the application was eo sudden
and unexpected, that the victims of this
so-c.lled outrage immediately waxed
angry and vowed vengan-e on the per-
petrater of such a dastardly deed. tine
of the drenched was heard to mutter
through his clinched teeth —"I' wouldn't
care a cum only this affair will sure to
1* in next weeks Sunset..- but nothing
short ..f hl.•od would satisfy the others,
accordingly they dressed in all haste,
and having armed themselves with a
shot gun (breach loader) and a base hall
club started up town to pursuit of him.
or her. or 0, "r whatever the creature is
called who threw the water Their
search however was In ram for after a
l..ng and te•liuus hunt they returned
home consoling each tither with the hope
that such wickedness may not go un-
punished. and the Soloman of the crew
sadly remarked that "Satan still finds
work for idle hands to dn. -
('oaase.
Goon roR SRAr�q --Our TOWER
will he pleased to learn that Mr A. G
V•nl>lgmond, woollen manufacturer of
this town. has been . cry successful with
his erwela at the Industrial Exhibition
now hrmgheld in Toronto He has hewn
awarded three medals. Twn for two
kind* of chinked flannels and one for
tweeds. Considering the keen competi-
tion that new exists is the manufacture
of these geode Mr. VanEgrnond ms
very justly feel proud of his success. nd
we have little donht hut he will he
equally snseseofnl st the ..thee
Wien*