The Burning By Richard Snow: The Great Hinckley Fire

September 1st, 1894, the Great Hinckley Fire took place killing over 400 people. In the book, The Burning, by Richard Snow, the experience of the Hinckley citizens comes to life. According to the Hinckley Fire Museum, the flames were four and a half miles in the sky and people as far away as Iowa could see it. For my book review, I have read and summarized Snow’s Book.

In the first few days, Snow writes how life was like before the fire. Hinckley, Minnesota was a booming lumber town. The story begins with a traveling Salesman named Scott Keegan. He sold barber equipment for the Kraut and Dohnal Barber Supply Company of Chicago. He had just arrived in Hinckley August 31st. As Keegan was going around to all the Barber shops he met some of the towns citizens, including Betty Langdon. She was a dark haired beauty that captured the hearts of many men it town, including Keegan’s. Her lover’s name is

It was unusually foggy. That summer’s heat was record breaking. The citizens of Hinckley had no clue what they were up for. Little Jemmy Stockholm woke up that morning to do his chores. The fire department went out into the woods to fight off little fires and Scott Keegan was sound asleep in his hotel. Around 2 pm the smoke had gotten so bad they could hardly see. The fire roared through the woods towards the town. It was complete chaos. A women ran down the rode and left her baby in the road. Jemmy picked up the baby boy and ran for cover. Keegan tried to grab Betty but she wanted to go the opposite direction; to find Tom. Tom Dun sat at his table in the burning depot signaling for the trains, to warn them. A train came through the town on its regular schedule and witnessed burning bodies, dead people laying on the street. They loaded up the living. It took all of Keegan’s strength to get Betty to leave Tom. Tom was determined to save the people. His last words he transmitted was, “ I think I've stayed too