Omaha daily bee., 1885-09-21
LONG JIH, THE TIE-SPLITTER,

1t Ii doubtful whether q more terribl,
or sgonizlng position can be conceived
for q humsn being than to be comprised
around by fire, every avenue Of escape
barred by the devouring element, and
nothing ahead but the horrible certainty
OF being roasted alive, more or less slow
II according to the nature of the sur
roundlngs. One generally associates the
Idea of the most fatal and hopeless con
hsgrations with buildings; but fraught as
the burning Of q large hotel or theatre
may be with desperate situation, there
are occasional instances In the free air
and under the open canopy of heaven
which may match any fiery ordeal ever
bounded by four walls. Nor have we to
look go far as the broad plains OF Texas
or Its adjacent territories for instances
like these. California sometimes sup.
piles situations which, while they may
lack the grandeur of dramatic breadth
of the prairie fire, with Its herds of
fleeing buffaloes, Its lesgues of blazing
grasses, and Its desperate horsemen,
neverthelt IS Involve conditions of terror
and peril comparable, within ciicum-
scribed limits, to those evoked by the red
demon of the prairie.
The north of the Gualols river, which
divides Sonoma from Mendocino county,
is one of the principal logging centers of
the state. The high bluffs ~overhapglng
the stream on either side merge, in their
turn into steep slopes, reaching back ioto
interior attitudes covered with red wood
forests, and in many places rendered al.
moat impossible by thick underground or
brueh known In the vernscular by the
generic term %chaparrsl.
One sultry afternoon, not many sum-
mers ago, the lodgers and mill hands In
Harmon's mills were taking their Gus
tomsry noontide hour of rest before re.
Stunning work. The mill and cabins
where the men live are built upon some
more than usually level bench land shelv-
Ing from the river bank, while above and
beyond the country slopes away into can
ons and mountain ranges more or less
denuded of timber In proportion to their
accessibility, and here and there, cover
ed in tracts sometimes of many hundred
acres In extent, with dense shrub growth
and chaparral through which the way
fsrer has to work q slow and tortuous
passage, keeping in view the general
direction he desires to travel in, and
pushing his way between or around the
cllmps or masses of brush as best he can.
Now and again bare patches Of q few
rods In extent break the monotony of the
wilderness of ohaparral; but these are the
exceptions, and not the rule.
"Mighty hot day." remarked Tom
Briggs, as he got up from his reclining
position, In which he, with half a dozsn
more of the mill-hands, was In the habit
of taking his after dinner ''lsy.off' on
the shady side of the dining shsnty
s'Goin' to hev a purity tough time shakin'
them big logs outen Little Creek canyon,
I guesu. Mout's well hitch up them
bulls an be lone with it, though" he
added p~hilosophically, knocking the
ashes out of his pipe and str etching him
self preparatory to taking his departure.
"Ssemu to me this heat ain't natural"
put In Long Jim, the tie-,plitter.
There's a sort O. stife In the air, too,
that don't seem to smell right"
"Look up yar!" exclaimed Humpy
Dick, pointing up the slope In fron,;
''d'ye see that glimmer In the air? I'll
bet that's fire."
The woros had scarcely left his mouth
when another logger Joined the group.
"Boys," he nsid hurriedly, Little
Creek Csnon's afre. Ef suthin' ain't
done mighty quick, we'll lose a terrible
pile O. wood, to say nothin' O. the stanln'
timber eff she spreads to the back
ranges"
The camp was soon In commotlon
throughout Its length and breadth. Par
ties were speedily organized and set IF
in different dire ciions to Ssh ad of" the
fire and arrest its progress at all the
strategic points In the neighborhood.
Tom Briggs, the bull. whacker, Long
jim, the tie-splitter, and Humpy Dick,
the logger, formed the membera of one
party that started up the right bank of
the canon. The bank was almost de-
nuded of trees, but thlckly covered with
brush, through which the flames were
now RAINING riot, but steadily NOV.
Ing onward and upward. Sud-
the party to look In the direction
loWaruh WHICH ne pointeu. lhere, HUI
five hundred yards ahead of them, but
down the Hlope, could be seen the
thinly clad figure of an Indian girl, with
something In her arms, frsntically trying !
10 make her way up the steep side of the {
amen to a point which would be out of
reach of the advancing flames. II
IL swsf!" cried Tom Briggs, 'that's
Meg. An she's got her baby I
with her. Been a.berryin', sure, and |
got caught afore she cud get out" 8
keep up the canon, Meg! I
Long Jim, making a
'pesking trumpet of his hands. sits q
yer on'y chance. YEN never get gu. o. /
.he way Of ye try to mount the hill" 8
Whether 1t WAS that the girl did not v
lear the advice given her by the wood. O
men, who were now Themselves making d
he beat of their way through the chap I
'rral, above the track of the flames, or v
she considered that the safer p
course lay In getting to 8 position. like a
heirs, above the fire, 1t was impossible c
o tell. The only thing certain was that t.
he poor creature, who was madly trying d
o steer her way through and around the 8
compact masses of brush wherever op- p
,ortunity offered, would never be able to b
each O point of safety by following q di q