The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-11-11
Prairie Fires i'm Dakota.

The prairie fires which have been
raging in Dakota recently have in
flicted severe damage upon farmers and
others, besides affrighting the country
for miles around. There had been
little rain, and the hot weather had left
everything as dry as finder. For sew
eral evenings the glow of the fires
could be seen along the horizon and
men were at work preparing for the
visitation. The most common prevent
i've was to run burrows around fields
or buildings which it was especially de-
sired to protect from the flames. as well
as to remove everything that promised
to feed the fire. Small farmers have
suffered more than large ones, because
they have not the facilities for fighting
fire and their crops are, as arule, not so
well protected. When the fires reached
Apple Creek the people had been on
the alert for several days. Every night,
as darkness closed in on them, they
saw the glare of the distant fires in the
sky becoming more and more distinct,
and during the day the smoke increased,
until it became all but suffocating.
One night, as the watchers scanned the
western horizon, they saw the bright
flames of the fire and they knew that
their enemy was upon them. AS it
crept along the heavens became lurid
as far as the eye could reach, and even
the stoutest hearts quailed before the
fiery ordeal which they knew they must
pass. All night long men and boys
were riding to and fro, giving the warn
ing and calling for help for the most
exposed points, and before morning
everybody who was able to work was
out on the picket line. Besides the
men, delicate women and children, be-
grimmed with smoke and dirt, stood
for hours beating back the flames, or
yielding at last, as they had to in most
cases, to their advance. Coming
through the stubble the fires sound like
the advance of an army under rapid
fire of musketry. They lick up fences
in jiffy and sweep away shocks of
grain and stacks of straw and hay with
such rapidity that when these are once
in flames they vanish instantly. Coming
to furrow they sometimes die away,
but quite as often some spark crosses
the damp earth and the onward march
| is resumed. In these trenches hun
dreds of men, women and children have
stood and battled as valiantly as any
soldiers ever did, and where homes
and barns are spared their safety has
been purchased by vigilance and toll
which fall little short of heroism.
In the Apple Creek district Henry
Willis, while going across lots to a
neighbours for help, found the fire:
closing in on him, and made for the
highway, in the hope that he coulo
escape them. Forced gradually tC
leave the direct route, he soon became
bewildered, and, not knowing which
way to turn, he made for tree anC
climbed it. From his position on ar
upper limb he could see that he was
surrounded and that it would not be
long before the flames would be directly
beneath him. Then he began to feal
that the tree might take fire, as it wa:
dry and inhammable. Descending t
the ground, he looked for match, will
the intention of burning off piece o
ground near him, but finding none il
his pockets, he made torch of Ions
grasses and ran out to meet the fire
What he intended to do had to be done
quickly. Lighting the torch, he made
udSlc III Ills IClul IL w llC llCC, anu ~
there with just fire enough to fan the
stubble into blaze. From this he Sc
other fires, assisting them with his
breath until he soon had a patch burn
ing near him and well under control
Having burned off everything near thu
tree, he remounted and awaited de
velopments. The fire came slowly OF
all sides, making the air insufferabl,
hot and smoky and, burning up to tn
cleared place, went out, though ragin!
in the distance as fiercely as ever
The air was so full of smoke that h
could see nothing at any distance, AM
as night was coming on he perceive,
that unless he wanted to stay in tn
tree till morning he would have t
make an effort to find the highway. II
came to the ground, and CROPPED aroun
over the black and well-baked cart
for distance of perhaps three hundre
feet, and came directly upon the high
way which he had been looking fol
If he had kept on in the first place h
might have saved himself great dea
of trouble .-Neto York san.