The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-08-22
Fires i'm Idaho Forests.
A RAILROAD TRAIN DELAYED FOUR HOURS Bl
TIE RAGING FLAMES.

THE RAGING FLAMES.
4 Portland (Oregon) correspondent says !:
Through Idaho and down the mighty Co.
lumba is a journey worth pilgrimage
around the world. We have seen its Won
ders. but ran gauntlet of fire at its portal,
where i'm an hour natures labor OF hun
dred years was being swallowed up in
smoke and roaring flames. All day yester
day the air was blue with smoke. The
mountains looked dim or drew their jag
ged peaks clear ont OF sight. For day or
two it had been hazy toward the west,
and we had heard stories OF the
forest fires. Yesterday, however, the
smoke grew thicker and rolled up on
the westerly winds in dense clouds. Last
night we had glimpse OF the inferno. We
had left Montana TO cross Idaho, when, at
about 9 O'Clock, the train came to a stop
without moments warning in the midst
OF a wilderness. We fastened TO the plat
form and looked forward. There was
spread ont panorama such as seldom
greets the eye of man. The forest was one
mass OF seething flame. The engine painted
4 time or two, and then, gathering cour-
aye, crcpt nearer. A few hundred yards,
and ii again came TO a standstill. 1t was
impossible 20 pass. The heat made the
paint on the cars crack. The glass OF the
windows grew feverish under the heated
breath from the fire. There was amid all
the glare, the roar Of an approaching tor
nade, cracking and popping like 4 giants
whip. This was accompanied by Kissing
like the sound OF frying salt, as the green
foliage OF the living pines was consumed
with a white flash. This roaring and
cracking and swapping, terrible rs it was,
only set of the grand accompaniment Of
falling trees. Every five seconds a giant,
with the strength OF a score OF centuries,
measured his two hundred feet across the
fiery bed to which he had been fclled.
He stood till scared to the core and
his hoary top was crowned with lire.
As he Welded, the mountains rolled
back the booming OF cannon from
one height to the other. We mold our
breath and gaze at the sky, overcast with
leaden smoke, tinted here and there with
a rosy hue. The crashing of the falling
giants is still for q moment. The fire
breaks through the gloom Of the forest in
a new place. The flames 60 racing like
demons up tall trees, and quiyer in their
top like ruddy lanterns for moment.
The foliage melts away with the first hot
breath, and th{n the crashing and BOOM
inc goes on again. For the moment the
rush and crackle is drowned, and the very
crags Of the mountain-side seem TO be roll
ing upon us from their seats far above
our heads. We ask the conductor when we
can go on. He saws two hours. Long piles OF
wood stored all about the track have caught
fire, and scores OF Cinnamon with long
poles in their hands are hurrying up from
the nearest station to save the track from
ruin. Two hours pass and still the infer
nal pandemonium Of kissing, roaring,
cracking, booming, crashing, devastation
goes on. The conductor and engineer are
afraid to 20 on. They fear the heat will
fire Our train. Should it yield to the first
spark it would melt away like tinder in a
furnace. For oyer four hours we watched
the scourge till it drew away from us and
let us 60.