Thanks to both of you (hanno and knuckle-buster) for the advice.
I agree, hot wiring this was a bad idea so the sooner I get a real fuse back in there the better. I am going to the local pick-n-pull tomorrow and I should easily find several fuses (there are some recently added cash-for-clunkers parked there).
The smell is not burning-paper, definitely more electrical/rubber.

I do not own an ammeter so I like the idea of inserting fuses. I'll start with 25 amps and keep going up until I see which value will hold the blower on without popping. I suspect that anything fuse over the 30 amp "design" value is reason enough to fix something. I'll look at the fan controller you mention. My daughter has taken the car for the next few days so I won't get a crack at the problem until mid-week.