Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-10-25
A RACE FOR LIFE.
overwhelmed by smoke and Pur-
: sued by Ffames-Ehe Terrible Fire
FIeDd Of the NOrthwest-Greaf Dis

Mr.. Langworth states that he lived about
four miles south of St. Charles, owning a
farm of ninety acres. He had four stacks
of hay near his barns, six acres of corn in
the shock, a stack of wheat, thirty bushels
of threshed wheat and various farming inn
plements, all of which were converted to
ashes Monday morning.
During the greater part of last week the
smoke in Langworth's locality was so dense
and sitting that he was at times unable to
discern any object twenty feet away. Two
weeks ago he sent his wife and two chill
dren to friends in Canada for short visit,
and this fact probably saved their lives. The
husband was not apprehensive of danger to
his property until Sunday, when the flames
were within mile of his place, with the
wind rather driving them away from him.
Great clouds of smoke settled down on
everything, making it dangerous for even
one familiar with the localisy to
wander far from home, every OBJ
ject taking on a strange look to mislead
his steps. The farmer had a COW and
several head of young stock, and these were
suffering so terribly from the smoke that he
turned them loose on Sunday afternoon to
care for themselves. They started off in
the direction of the village, but probably
persisted in company with scores of other
domestic animals Langworth's well had
been without water for week, and his only
resource was a small creek about forty rods
from the house. By digging hole in the
bed of the stream about barrel of water
would collect during the day, and this he
was using for drinking and cooking pur-
poses.
Just before dark, Sunday night, Lang
worth states that his yard was almost over
run with rabbits, wOOdchucks, coons and
other small animals, while more than
hundred squirrels were to be seen about the
house and barns. The animals moved
about in stupid way, blinded by the smoke
and would hardly move away when ap-
preached.
There was no sleep for the farmer that
night. 1t was as much as he could do to
breathe, the smoke creeping in and filling
the house until his lamp could scarcely be
seen across the room. Soon after midnight
he ascertained that the wind had changed
and freshened, and in an hour more he
could hear the hoarse roar of the fire and
the terrible crashings of the giant trees as
they toppled over. Between his place and
the fire was a swamp nearly half a mile
across, and he had great hopes that this
would act as guard to prevent the further
spreading of the flames. In one sense it did.
The fire did not sweep across it, but ate
its way around it, the wind seeming to fan
the flames each way, and when the farm
er's clock marked the hour of six Monday
morning the smoke was so dense and the
roar of the fire so loud that he decided to
leave. Having little money to care for, and
being poor in household goods, he decided
to make the attempt to save some of the
bedding. Taking some small articles, as
photographs, small picture or two, the
family bible and his faithful clock, Lang
worth placed them on feather tick, wrap
ped this up in a blanket, and was ready to
60. Stepping out doors to take an observa-
ton, he found that he could not see ten
feet in any direction, and the air was as
hot as the atmosphere of an engine room.
As he stood near his door, peering this
way and that great flame suddenly shot
up from his barn and hay stacks. As he
for his bundle, thousands Of sparks
and scores of burning twigs and branches
swept in at the open door, and he leaped
out and ran for his life. There is a wagon
road from LangwOrthS place to the village,
and he sought this means of escape. Be
hind him were the roaring flames, sweeling
everything before them, and travelling so
fast that he had to strain every nerve to
keep ahead. Where the fire met with an
open space or a small swamp, its progress
was checked for a moment, antthe farmer
could get clear of the flying sparks. But no
obstacle could long stop the progress of
the flames. What they could not burn
they would leap over until they caught
a mass of grass or heap of leaves, and in
a moment the fire was eating each way and
forward nearly as fast as man
could run. Almost sti1ed, his throat so
parched that he could BOT swallow, and his
lungs feeling as if knife was at work there,
LangwOrth stumbled forward. scarcely
hoping to make his escape. What he ex-
pected soon occurred. The flames which
had been sweeping down from another di-
rectiOn suddenly jumped across the road in
front of him, half dozen trees flaming up
at once. Behind was the main fire, to the
right was solid sheet of flames, and the
only avenue of escape was TO plunge into
the woods, already taking fire, on the left
side.
1t was now a race for life, with the
chances against escape. Turning TO the
left the farmer hoped that by making
sharp run for it he might head OFF
the fire, turn its path and again reach the
road. He had almost accomplished this
object, when he encountered "swale"
of considerable extent, and found that he
must turn toward the main fire and en-
deavOr to work around the "Swale" before
the flames would, reach it. Sparks and
cinders were falling all around him. The
ground was covered with dry leaves, the
wind sweeping through the trees in gusts,
and several times LangwOrth had to leap
over the running flames. In one of his
leaps he tripped and fell, plunging headlong
into soft mud and water. This was a most
fortunate occurrence for him, as his cloth
ing had already been scorched by the flames.
He ran forward at his greatest speed, hear
ing the fire roaring on all sides, and when
he reached the end of the marsh the flames
were only few rods away, the flames bis
tering his cheeks as he passed around the
swamp and struck the high ground.
In turning and twisting, and bewildered
by the smoke, he had lost all knowledge of
the country, and now ran forward with but
the one idea of keeping in advance of the
fire. As the forest was here more open,
and the leaves had been well cleaned off
by the wind, he was not so closely pressed.
Almost every moment he ran across wild
animals, all fleeing for a place of safety,
and losing their fear of man in the
general desire to escape the more relent-
less foe pressing behind. At length Lang
worth passed beyond the roar of the flames,
and felt that he had escaped the fate
which for a time seemed certain. He knew
not which way he was travelling, and
cared not so long as he could keep in
advance of the fire. The smoke was so
thick that he had to press forward like one
blindfolded. Falling into holes, stumbling
over logs, he pushed on, and was at length
clear of the woods. He found the fire ev-
erywhere. Stumps were blazing, logs
eDOuldering, trees and shrubs burning, and
the short grass and dry turf were being eaten
up as if it was dry peat. He had to pick
his way between and around the lesser fires,
making detours where the fences were blaz-
ing, ana at last arrived at the outskirts of
St. Charles, to find every man and woman
at the limits, to fight for the salvation of
their homes.
Every dollar possessed by Langworth,
except in real estate, was swept away by
the flames. The clothing he had on was so
scortched that it could be picked to pieces
with the fingers, and he had at least a
score of bliSterS on his face and hands.
But his loss is small compared with that of
tbprS AS no states tbn flames have