Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1883-09-07
4 FOREST FIRE on THE NORTHERN
PACIFIC

Through Idaho and down the mighty
Columbia IS a journey worth a pilgrim
age around the world, writes CORES
pendent of the Chicago Inter Ocean.
We have seen its wonders, but ran a
gauntlet of fire at its portal, where. in
an hour, natures labor of n hundred
years wss being swallowed up in smoke
and roaring flames. All day yesterday
the air was blue with smoke. The
mountains looked dim or drew their
Jagged peaks clear out of sight. For a
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 side in dense clouds. Last
night We had glimpse of tho inferno.
We had left Montana to cross Idaho,
when, about . o'clock, the train came to
a stop without a moments warning in
the midst of q wilderness. We FASTENED
tn the platform and looked forward.
There was spread out panorama such
NJ seldom greats the eve of man. The
forest was one mass of seething fame.
The engine painted time or two, and
then, gathering courage, crept nearer.
A few hundred yards. and it again came
to standstill. 1t was impossible To
pass.
The heat made the paint on the oars
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 tornado,
cracking and popping like giants
whip. This was accompanied by hiss
ing like the sound of frying salt, as the
green foliage of the wing pines was
consumed with white fash. This
roaring and cracking and swapping,
terrible as il WAS, only set off the grand
accompaniment of falling trees. Every
i've seconds giant, with the strength
OF score of centuries, measured his
300 feet across the fiery bed to which he
had been felled. He stood till scared to
the core and his hoary top was crowned
with fire. As he yielded. the mountains
rolled back the booming Of cannon
from one hight to the other. We held
our breath and .zed at the sky, over
cast with leaden smoke. tinted here and
there with rosy hue. The crashing Of
the falling giants is still for moment
The fire breaks through the gloom of
tho forest In new place. The flames
90 racing like demons up tall
trees, and culver IN their tops like rud-
dy lanterns for n moment. The foliage
melts away with the first hot breath,
and then the crashing and booming
goes ON again. For the moment the
rush and crackle is drowned, aDd the
very crags of the mountain side seem to
be rolling upon us from their seats far
above our heads. We ask the conduct
OF when We can go on. He says two
hours. Long piles of wood stored all
about the trask have caught fire. and
SCORES of Cinnamon with long poles in
their hands are hurrying mp from the
nearest station to save the track from
ruin. Two hours pass, and still the in
fssnal pandemonium OF kissing, roar
ing. cracking. booming. crashing de-
vaststion goes on. The conductor and
engineer are afraid to 60 on. They fear
the heat will fire our train. Should it
yield to the trst spark it would melt
away like finder in a furnace. For
over four hours We watched the scourge
tiil it dreS away from rs and let us 60
on.