3-071-206 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

A forest fire in America, 1881. 'The terrible devastation of extensive districts in the State of Michigan...by great fires spreading through the forests and overwhelming the cleared and cultivated plots of ground, has been the subject of repeated distressing reports...These fires seem to have arisen in consequence of the extreme drought and intense heat felt in all parts of the United States during several weeks past. The section of Michigan where the fire occurred was recently covered with forests, and was occupied by nearly 50,000 people, mostly new settlers, nearly all poor or of limited means. There had been no rain for two months. The fire broke out on Monday week, accompanied by a hurricane. This swept on with a sheet of flame, which spared nothing. The entire peninsula between Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay has been burnt over, embracing a surface of fifty square miles...It is estimated that 500 persons have perished, and that 5000 are homeless. The destruction of property is immense. This part of the country was recently occupied by small farmers who had made partial clearings. The population fled for safety, seeking refuge anywhere, and corpses are now found by the roadside, in fields, in wells, and in the ruins of houses'. From "Illustrated London News", 1881.