Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1866-03-04
woopS ON FIRE

lay ulcakr writing To the Mobile
( Tribune from Washington county, Miss,
. about a forest fire, says.
You are aware that these Nazoo bot
! tom lands are among lhe most rr3duc-
I tive In Jle world, and are, or were. COW
cred with dense forests OF immense
d growth, the Intervals between the trees
I closely grown IN cane Of large size You,
I perhaps, also know the system of reduc-
/ ing these Wild lands TO cultivation, is by
cutting down the cane, and with the axe
( girdIng or betting the trees through the
bark and little WAY into Jhe sap When
Z the cane becu.lss dry it burns furiuusly.
Ere Is then put % it, and tb!s acceierate-
the kIiiiuE of the trees without C0usum-
ing them The dead frees are left stand
ing. aud gradually lose by decay and
. storms the bark and branches, bot do
not rot down under i've 70 twenty years.
These three plantations lay beside each
other or in one body, nearly square. con
tanning about six hundred acres, nearly
one-nBu or which was ia cultivation
when the war began.
The oeadeDinK wa= done frcm six 90
twelve years ago. Tine fields extend for
more than a mile in every direction
around the house. The immense trees
measuring in diameter at the base two to
eight feet, and sixty 70 one hundred aud
fifty feet In height, seem 20 stand or
stood almost as thicklv IN the lei,is as
mast- at ihe p IaI ,es 90 n seaport CITY.
For four years these fields have not
been cultivated, and the tall rank grass
and weeds were disp8,ipg ccCUuaHey
with the cane WhiCu bad again grown
up For two weeks We have hai fair
weather sud sunshine, and an this iu-
IiaWm1bl@ matter was I'm fin- condition
for burning. .-iEnJuays ago we Oi served
the woods on fire one and half miles la
the south of us, and the wind w4s setting
towards Us. NT force was too small e.
DO ul1Ie tnan pull down the fencing and
remove what we could out ui The way,
and save Che houses bv burning around
them. This was accomplished mainly
bJ the great energy Va.cLEiBe-s and
experience ot mg oscfseer. by day and
night We fought fire" for week. The
spectacle &c night was truly GRAND, aud
my powers of 35s1rii-uou viii fall very
far -Hoit Of conveying just conception
Of a tithe Of the beauty or -ublimilv OF
the seeTe; nevertheless L feel iniaeIieI
10 make the atiempt
Iu the Northwest have seen the prai-
rie-r a. iar as She eye can reach WrSpt
ne one living Hama iuis was terribly
-uJime, bat nionotouuus. But Oils
burning of miles of immense trees stand
iug erect and close a. maSt- aii ou fire at
the same time, some burning daily from
base tu Top, some only at Ihe lepnust
piuuscle- rightly like a huge lantern
suspended from the heayeu--immen
limbs .uIiiug .u full blaze from eieVa-
Ugus Of 90 io lp feet and a. they strike
the earth sending UP Terrible columns Of
sparks like showers of dre-the whole
tirmamenJ filled with burning Goals and
lesser sprays of fire blown from the tall
trees-the incessant explosions of the
heated cane With de8teniUg reports, like
armies of infantry firing by hleS-and
then, at short Intervals, tEe trembling
OF TIE earth and n5avv booming as OF
large cannon, when some giant of the
forest would give way al its base and
fall 20 the earth with p crash Ike the
death gr0an Of some labied monster.
Oh, this was q magnificent, ueVer-to-
bz-f0Troiten spectacle For three nights
Z watched IL with ever Increasing admj-
ration and interest. One Who had ever
participated IN, or witnessed a battle, I
might, with closed eyes, have believed
that contest was then and there raging
between immense armies, supplied with
all the prajrctiies and appliances oI war.
Then the iadascri0GGIe beauty and
sur OF the columns. arehed, gothic I
and eilipficai, the squares, stars, trian- I
giles diamonds and every other figure I
known ia geometry or mechaniCs-al T.
represented ia fire. Then, tog, there /
"era tlie beautiful Vistas, coiounades and 4
perspeetives, in gazing and uiusing on I
winch the Imagination was hred on, /
reyuiiius lu gueT new and beautiful won /
dcrs, tli IL seemed to soar with its clay
tenement away from earth.
oh how ! did wish nr Vou. and IN I
DECD tp2t the world could see my
swamp fireworks Nesuvius. even Ia J
her exhibition gotten up ia entertain /
ment " Madam revert, was tame 10 my !
show. indeed, il was a show that "outsb I
all the New York and Paris fireworks.
Yesterday, nearly all that was readily
c0mbustible was eOpsUasd, ara so f6F 4
wsnteg sas, tGe are last evening was
nearly exhausted, and fall Of nearly \
three inches uf snow last night has nearly I
finished il. The fire has done more per-
manent work for the plantation than one I
hundred iab0rers could have dnne IN q 4
fortnight, bat with my small force it /
has piled up rather more immediate /
work than / can execute. Bat so il is /
my fire is out, and with it my beautiful I
visions and anxious fears.