The New York herald., 1871-03-28
FIRES IN TIE WOODS.
Long Islands Semi-Annual Lum.
ber COnfiagratiOns.
Scenes at the Burning Description Of an Eye
Witness -Ploughing Across the Line Of
Fire-Sparks from Locomotives and
Systematic Negligencs the Causes.

Systematc NegligencS the causes
Again has the fire demon been at work In the
struggling woods OF Long island. so many contra
dicory and exaggerated reports have circulated con-
cernng the last visitation that IL became necessary
TO set the matter right before the public. The IN
habtants or Long Island (oi course those back Of
Brooklyn are alluded toy seem like persons
just awakening from a Rip Van Winkle
sleep. They not yet tnat rail-
roads are blessing, and the general apprecla-
ton OF a railroad system Is such as would drive
Jerseyman mad. They think, for instance, that
onerack railroad Is better than double track, be-
cause there Is less Likelihood OF accidents. In the
same way they seem very much ast0nisheG that any
one outside OF their village shond
BOTHER ABOUT THEIR WOODS
whether on nre or not. he south side OF Long
Island has very sandy soil; large quantities. of
manure shipped there TO make It arabic, and
hay, turnps ana potatoes are the best, even then,
that be got out of il. The country rolls
cession of contemplate sand hills almost from one
end to the other. These covered with scrubwood
or chaparral over which, here and there an adoes-
cent plne chestnut or oak tree llfts Its head.
There are no woods at all In the Western sense OF
the term, but
SUCCESSION OF scRAGGy sHRUBgERIEs.
The stunied oak predominaes everywhere
At this time OF the year the pros
pect over these sand nils Is very un-
inviting. The red ana yellow withered leaves
which stlll cling TO the oak shrubs, are rarely re-
lleyed by spot OF green. The ground is strewn
with them, and the bare poles OF the shattered
chestnut trees look very dismal as they
form the only background TO the scene.
AT intervals OF mile or two along the
line OF railroad Long Island villages scat
tered. The shrubs and chaparal end, then
field or two, and then few frame houses more
fields and more chapara ana shrubs. THUS much
has been said to give an idea OF the ground over
which these fires are looked on AZ
REKULAR vIsiTArIoNs
to be expected, but no more to ne prevented than
the advent OF winter summer. They are how
ever, In all cases. the result Of systematic care
essness. In the fall wood fires confidently
looked for as a matter OF course The wood is nice
and dry ana the leaves viii
BURN LIKE TINDER.
II is only waiting Tor some one to set fire to it,
when or it VIII start, smoking, cracking, blazing.
making clouds by DAY and pillars OF fire by night,
carefully searching ior the little valuable TIM
ber around and carefully killing 1t, without reduce
crawl over the ground without much flame and not
reach higher than the mean, needless scruDwood. 1t
Is the .-@
WIND MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCES.
The winter, with Its SHOWS and frost, necessarily
robs the sand hill Long Islander OF his only excite
ment hence he rs obliged to aDgulsn until the spring.
when he has another chance before his lavorto
scrub becomes green leaved ana sappy.
Each Of the places IN this section OF the country
had Its fire, all separate and all on the same day
namely Saturday last. Islp, some twenty miles
east, had considerable SMOKE too, aud affected ~
TROUBLE ABOUT IT'S CLUB HOUSE,
iher @ ney ssre @ o try sg e 70 81 %
commencing on the New York side at BaldwIns-
vile, about fifteen miles west OF champion Babylon,
mr. "a Gnal m mi hnl
which some magn water spirit had damped and
spoiled the sport. Merrlck was little better. six
ABOUT double the extent was converted INTO Lon
fire. and the the next scared spot the map Is Bres
| was blowing ana at everv favorable opportunity
/ along the railroad playful stoker would shake
FEW LIVE GOALS ON THE TRACK, I,
or the engine itself entering into The fun would send
forth an eruption OF sparks whch'tbe breeze would
all the fires already mentioned. Whether there Is
any statute % In the sse case or not s., the Long
but they sometimes sacrince their own TIMBER
with a like purpose. This was the case at Babylon.
and Dutchman was the self sacrificing hero The
sufferer to the he "a, time Of about 500 & IN Young oak
Babylon. THIS gentleman was
GLAD THEY HAD FIRE. ANYHOW.
HERBLp reporter alighted from the cars into sig
fioated down the main conlmon-it was not street
to the nrst and only hotel in tne place. He expected
GRADUALLY DISAPPEARING TERROR
on the faces OF the rustics seated around the stove
in the barrOOm To his astOnishmeut the look was
one OF pure rural delight. lie listened.
THAT was fine COW, George"
"Yes sir,o
"How much did you get for her :,
zone hundred dollars.n
"Say, Major you was at that nrein
The reporter chucked tnwardly at the thought OF
the revelation about to follow and prepared to take
mental notes.
Eyes; was down to the one to Bay Shore 1t was
some.n
A mild CLEAN settled on the village s1uires wrin-
kled vsage as THIS comment was uttered. Inquiry
OF these Babyionian satraps resulted in unintelgbe
illusions to local celebrities ana their grounds,
which were 80 much arrowhead Assyrian TO the re-
p'''''' N ~ SEARCH or AN EYEWITNESS.
He found one with his boots outside his pants
u Ia mode Botpioeen1.e. To the reporters delight
he spoke graphically
CUP to Ebert Carlrs there is Dutchman. He
wanted To burn his scrub aud he set IL atire. He
went home to work, and whles he was his din
ner
THE FIRE GOT AWAY FROM HIM
anil jumped his fence. It runs over Ebert .CarlIs
ground an eat up his oak trees
REPORTER-There were other fires?
"Yes. was down to the one at Breslau That
locomotive spark. It was like to give some
trouble once It came near eating up Smith Powell's
the road first found It out, and he signalled for
help All The men in The village, 500 OF them, came
down to put IL ont. Then we harncsscd four teams
or horses and commenced
PLoUGHING ACROSS THE LINE OF THE FIRE.
The smoke came down, binding us, but we stuck
fast work In spite Of II, and made furrow after
till the land all pouGhed right up to the
barn: Then we waited. 1t was most awful To
watch that
FIRE COME spLuTTERIyG DOWN
to the first fuirow, like as Il it was gong to make
jump for the Darn But 1t couldn't aud then it
turned like a Wild cat and made for some fences
right a9in the railroad track but it never got
nearer than hundred yards to them. Then it
smudded and went out, for spite like.v
REPoRTER-Do you know anything about the Bay
Shore fret
"That was locomotive spark too, but there was
never no danger nom IT,
REPoRTER-And the one at BrentwO0d9
''That burning scrub like up to Elbert Carll'3
in Babylon here, but it spread more and did more
hurt to the lumber They didn't have any river
Jor dan or Sampwums creek to stop II. they're
always a-burning scrub, and, as said before it
gets awav from them"
On figures the intelligent eyewitness was shakv.;
The reporter, however, obtained close an approx.