96 



Canadian Fotestry Journal. 



Golden City, and at the Dome Extension 

 Mines the whole force had to go down 

 the mine in order to save themselves. 

 Hon. Frank Cochrane, Minister of Lands, 

 Forests and Mines, Mr. J. L. Englehart, 

 Chairman of the Ontario Government Rail- 

 way Commission, and Mr. Denis Murphy, 

 Member of the Commission, who were on 

 a trip of inspection, had a rather narrow 

 escape. 



On July 4 smoke was to be seen in all 

 directions and prospectors coming in from 

 Bristol township said the township was 

 fire-swept, three men were dead and the 

 rest had escaped after abandoning every- 

 thing and fleeing for their lives. All that 

 week fires continued to be seen and the 

 dry weather aided in their spread. On 



dead. The story is concisely told in the 

 following despatch: — 



' Early in the morning dense clouds of 

 smoke could be seen in the southwest, but 

 the fire was apparently remote. A small 

 fire also broke out in Lakeview, adjoining 

 South Porcupine on the south, but this ex- 

 cited little notice because of the fre- 

 quency of bush fires. As noon approach- 

 ed thick clouds of smoke reached the 

 zenith, marking the approach of the fire, 

 and soon the sun was obscured. At 2.30 

 the fire had covered an area of 25 miles 

 in length and over two miles in width and 

 had reached the base lines of Tisdale, de_ 

 stroying the Standard and Imperial mines 

 in Deloro township, Philadelphia in Shaw 

 township and the Eldorado and United in 



Fire Sweeping Down on Porcupine. 



Sunday, July 9, the smoke was so dense 

 in Porcupine that it was impossible to see 

 across the street, A few shacks were 

 burned, but the main part of the town 

 was saved owing to a large clearing to the 

 west. At Pottsville, adjoining South 

 Porcupine, the Presbyterian Church and a 

 number of houses were destroyed, at an 

 estimated cost for this day of $20,000. On 

 the same day another fire caused $35,000 

 damage at Kelso, on the main line of the 

 Ontario Government Railway, and about 

 twenty miles distant from Porcupine. 



The Great Disaster. 



Finally, on July 11, the climax came, 

 and the fires, which had so long been 

 threatening, descended on the unfortun- 

 ate towns and in the course of a couple 

 of hours left heaps of ruins and many 



Southern Whitney. At 1.15 p.m. the ser- 

 iousness of the situation was realized in 

 South Porcupine. 



'The fire call was sounded on the Dome 

 mine whistle, with repeated blasts from 

 other whistles. By this time the sky was 

 black with smoke, and residents began to 

 pack valuables and light baggage for a 

 hurried departure. Soon the flames had 

 reached the Foley and O'Brien mine, hav- 

 ing enveloped the Preston East Dome, the 

 Dome, West Dome, North Dome and what 

 remained of the Dome Extension after 

 last Sunday's fire. In half an hour the 

 outlying shacks had ben reached. This 

 was the beginning of the end. 



'It became apparent at once that the 

 town and possibly all the inhabitants 

 were doomed, for the width of the fire was 

 sufficient for it to sweep over the entire 



