Although I had known about the Great Peshtigo Fire in the past, I learned some new things about it and found this book to be a fascinating read.
Beginning with the Paleo-Indians of the Great Lakes area, Wisconsin in particular, it progresses to the Hopewellians, the first ones to plant crops. It covers Jean Nicolet who came to Wisconsin from France at age 22 and befriended the Menominee and Ho Chunk Native Americans. An interesting fact was how Wisconsin got its nickname of "The Badger State" when copper miners came there and the event which resulted in the farmers switching to dairy cows.
David Jones and Erastus Bailey saw opportunity and started a successful sawmill; a little town sprang up around it and was given the Native American name of Peshtigo. Lumberjacks and farmers were clearing land using slash and burn tactics. In 1871, Peshtigo had a severe drought and embers from the slash and burn started small fires in the woods. The fires eventually came together to form one huge wildfire.
Before reading this book, I thought that an actual tornado came at the same time and fanned the flames, but that was not the case. The text explained how a fire big enough and hot enough can create its own weather phenomenon known as a firestorm. A large area of low-pressure then came over the fire, turning it into a rare event known as a fire tornado which surviving witnesses described. The story goes on to tell about the lives of a few of the surviving families, both before and after the Great Fire.
Wiping out the town of Sugar Bush and killing everyone there, it moved on to Peshtigo, fanned by strong winds and advancing so fast that most of the town's residents couldn't escape it. Some fled to the river and submerged themselves, but later succumbed to hyperthermia. Tragically, some entire families committed suicide rather than face the prospect of being burned alive. Months later people were succumbing to smoke inhalation and infections. It's estimated that 2500 people may have died that night making it the deadliest fire in United States history.
The reason that this fire is not so well known is because it occurred on the same night as the Great Chicago Fire. Only 300 people died in that fire, but it was much more publicized due to being a famous city and the myth of Catherine O'Leary's cow kicking over a lantern to start it. A series of wildfires also exploded across Michigan that night, a result of the same drought.
There is much more to the story than this and the book continues on to discuss a number of other wildfires in the Great Lakes area over the years with some exciting scenarios of their own. In my opinion, the book is very well written and you could vividly picture what the people went through, especially the survivors. It held my interest from beginning to end.
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John D
Obscure event but fascinating
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 28, 2020
