Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1877-07-18
Thr family Circle.
The TerrOrs of a Forest Fire.
GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF A RECENT SCENE
IN MICHIGAN.

People wonder how wilderness o
, trees, each tree clothed in its spring dress
can become sea of flame, but everything
is food for forest fire. If the first sheet o
flame does not smite the green pine or de
YOUR the leaves of the beech and maple i
parcheS and dries them for the flames thai
follow, and the stout pine, shooting hun
dred feet high, becomes n beacon light fol
- moment then sways, totters, and goes
down with IN awful crash, to burn until
, Il heap Of ashes alone marks the earth
, Your correspondent was in OsceOla
county when the fires first began. In the
midst of wilderness Of pine and thicket,
miles away from vi lage or hamlet was Il
pioneers cabin. The clearing around il
comprised about ten acres. Some of the
ground was ready for corn, and some OF
it had been sowed and planted. while the
forest around was so damp and green that
one would have smiled ut the idea OF
great sheets Of flame climbing those tall
trees and waving fifty feet above them
One night some hunters built a grand fire
against Il heap of dry logs, The next day
they we're miles away, and the fire had
begun to creep. Little tongues of flame
reached out after dry sticks and limbs,
larger tongues followed them, and before
night the fire had control of an acre Of
forest That WAS start enough. At mil
night the wind came up fresh, and the
heat OF the fire drove through the forest,
scorching and baking trail for the red
flames.
Pm afraid there is II fire in the wood,
to the west Of us" said the pioneer one
morning as we stood ut his cabin door.
We could scent the odor of burning
trees and leaves, and there was n smoky
look to the forest. At noon the odor was
stronger, the smoke denser, and the live
stock around the clearing began to exhibit
signs of alarm. When the oxen were I'M
yoked to be fed they turned their heads to
the west, scented the air for moment,
and then charged across the clearing to
the east at full speed, being out of sight
ia two minutes.
THAT means danger" said the pioneer,
in low voice. and he turned pale. He
believed the fire to be in large swamp
ten miles away, but hardly thought it pos
Sible for the green forest trees to ignite
We sat down to dinner, meaning to hunt
for the oxen afterwards; but before the
meal was over there was fresh cause for
the alarm. A buck and two does dashed
into the clearing, closely followed by a
fox, score of rabbits, and dozen coons
and woodchucks The deer ran to the far
edge of the clearing Us we went out, but
the other animals scarcely noticed us.
You 20 forward as far rs you can and
see what the danger is, and wife and
will get ready for run" said the pioneer
as the smoke grew thicker.
At that moment fresh alarm and q
new warning reached US. There came
roar like the sea gives out when rushing
in upon broken beach. We had not
heard it before. 1t was Il steady terrible
roar, rising above all other sounds. A
coming whirlwind might have created the
same sound. The rush of Il vast herd of
buftaloes might have created such roar.
1t was awful. The ground trembled, the
smoke became blacker and the heat was
like the rush of air from hot oven
" 1t ism mile away-we must run for
our lives9 shouted the settler
He had three children. picked up a
boy Of seven. The pioneer seized his girl,
two years younger, and the wife took the
sleeping babe from the cradle. There
WASH time to take down spare garment
from the wall-to pick up 4 cherished gift
or treasured relic.
This way-hurry" l heard the pion-
eer call out, and, gasping for breath and
blinded by the smoke, | pushed on after
him.
The roar was louder and grander and
more terrible. Falling upon us and around
us were little brands of fire, and to the
west, half mile away, was Il wall of
flame hundred feet high-a wall which
was com NC down upon the clearing ut the
rate of six miles an hour The wall of
tire was twelve miles long. and the waters
OF Lake Erie would have scarcely drench-
ed it out.
A deer ran against me rs | staggered
after the pioneer. More than once STUN.
bled against the small wild animals rush
ing here and there through the clearing.
My hair ard whiskers were scorching, and
my clothing was on fire in dozen places,
when we reached the outdoor cellar. a
place dug into hillside about four hun
bred feet from the house. 1t was part
cave, part structure, but we'll covered with
earth and almost free from smoke The
two children had passed through all right,
but the babe was so nearly sufocated that
we had hard work TO save its life.
Just before the flames reached the clear |
ing the ground trembled us it did around
Gettysburg when five hundred pieces of
Numbered away for hours. The |
smoke drove ahead, leaving me u pretty
fair view of cabin and clearing for five or
six minutes. Birds dropped down and
died. The deer rushed around in circles, |
sometimes running full against stumps. !
The smaller animals roared and parked, |
and fought each other, and several rabbits
found our retreat, and rushed in among
US.
When the flames reached the edge of
the clearing, five hundred feet from our
cave, the ground in front of US fairly bak-
ed. The wild animals fell down and died.
steam rose from the green stumps in
clouds for u moment, and then fire broke
out. We wondered if the flames would
cap the clearing, but the question was
speedily decided. The wall Of fire roared
md quivered. rose and fell, and the next
moment was driving ahead on the other
side. The flames seemed to have reached
light over the ten acres and grasped the
crest beyond.
Our cave was like IN oven. The earth
m the roof was soon baked Us dry rs pow
Ter. The green logs began to stew and ,
'urn, and in ten minutes we were almost ,,
IS wet as if we had fallen into the river.
md were hard pressed for breath Buried =
n the side of that hill we were in the
enter of an ocean of flame. of acres of d,
he hottest kind of fire. For miles TO the
vest the fire was eating away at trees and
ogs, and into the very ground The wall
f fire which had reached its red arms
yer the clearing was now miles to the v
asst. North six miles, south six miles il
nd the pioneer and his wife knelt beside b
he gasping, choking babe and wept and
rayed. That was an awful night. The Il
eat did not abate until after midnight, r
nd almost every minute we could hear Il
he dull thud of the mighty trees MS thew "
ielded to the fire and fell among the great o
caps OF Goals. From ten O'Clock to mid L
ight we existed only by lying flat on the p
round to secure breath. The babe SEEM ST
/ constantly at the point of death, but o
le other children suffered less than the u