4 ANNUAL REPORT OF 



wood estimated the damage done by the fire in St. Louis 

 county at 15,000. Mr. Axel Essen^ chairman of the town 

 of Two Harbors, who had experience as a woodsman, 

 made a thorough investigation of the damage done by the 

 fire in Lake county and he reported that the area burned 

 over was between 35,000 and 40,000 acres and that the 

 damage done by the fire was $15,700. Sufficient evi- 

 dence was promptly procured as to who caused the fire; 

 and complaint against him was drawn by the city attor- 

 ney of Duluth and placed in the hands of an officer, but 

 the offender had gone into Wisconsin or would have been 

 arrested. There is evidence enough to convict him and 

 if he returns to the State he will be tried. (Extradition 

 does not apply in such case.) His setting the fire under 

 such circumstances was simply an act of weak judgment. 

 He was an old man and it would have been more to his 

 credit if, instead of leaving the State he had frankly re- 

 sponded to the summons of the law. 



According to the reports of fire wardens the number 

 of acres burned over by forest fires in this State was 

 102,968; damage $58,680. Number of acres burned over 

 by prairie fires 39, 449; damage $7,515. 



By far the greater part of the country burned over by 

 these forest fires was cut-over land from which the heavy 

 timber had been removed some years ago. Generally the 

 principal damage done is to young pine which has started 

 up from seed. Unless one is very observing in passing 

 through such country he would not notice how much re- 

 growth of pine there is. Pine does its slowest growth dur- 

 ing its first ten years, at the end of which time, it is but 

 little more than a foot high. A fire which destroys many 

 acres of such re-growth does more damage than the cas- 

 ual observer would suppose. 



During the prairie fire of the i4th of November in the 

 town of Esplee, in the eastern part of Marshall county, a 



