Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1886-11-07
! PRAIRIE FIRE.
....,c DESCRIPTION OF = RECENT
sHApH,U .eeLE or The FARMERS

tet tnss nd only about ~one-fourth oil IA
Is rsnE a." III NJ The Illinois prairieS, For
Night Of an incipient prairie fire in
as n| AM not appear to me TO De a very
DsSota thing or one difficult to contend
6ngsIS,u, srrnr was soon dispelled when
Gih Tre of flame over a mile long
SN ~s,aa5yrav against an army OF men
rskns ~ ~improviSed fails, stationed at
rDed W. a ward or two, beating, sweep
hFrEaSSo tanning out the fire with rapid
vigorous blows.
,be alarm came to town every
Vheh ,Sa street was filed with men.
Ssheie vu whipped into u gallop and
be bcTsS hin and creek till the fire was
a1'sn Others followed rapidly BRING,
rSeheG of water, old rags, brooms, old
SgesSN S,ofbs and sticks. The sticks
Nesh orred into mopS or fails by hav-
EeeOnhS cloths tied on one end. These
bg ine in the water, and as we ar
Es ~ fir, we joined in the contest
rNed a. .r,,y already there. The flames
via W aver % little hill covered with
NnLle as anI buffalo grass seemed not
bG1ea t,r ni.h and appeared easy to
utr . hrr though twenty men album
GsrvHr, ,r'ipIw with water and weapons
6lI 55 with il they found il difficult
0a'sh1S+ il lateral extension, while
% Pe,ys ;r,n4rpS of a stiff breeze from
IT, NTH. its front swept northwaru at
ne NJ about Y miles an hour
us The efforts To arrest 1t.
EA1s So indeed Is the settler who has
fysn.nJqrr supply Of water. In this fire
.I,ws were Kept at u gallOp carry
uis--,+ad cloths and water to satu-
~ ~,bsrs upaud down the Zine of bat
y, =, supply the defenders, and 1t Kept
y b1Sy todrfrnd a line of less than
h! and pr.yrut the westward spread
sA," S,v,as rp the stacks and buildings
G.S =, f,rmrrS. and they were aided in
. - I,rc stretch Of ground that had
mSved To within an inch of the sur
Here. 10 my establishment, the fire
bE trsI i'm the crisp buffalo grass and
stumble. the former burning as il
-.-,,sd with uaptha, and though the
--5il NOT mount high, their heat was
.,,srsa that those who fought them
81 stick, 10 their cloth weapons had
S+,tsnFS and faces bliStered. Afriendly
NJ n LAT, flax. which was about six
-. nfrh and still green, arrested the
...fvarI sweep and narrowed Is course
S~--Svarl of this field the fighters hur-
- N keep the fire in its narrowed
49,. 4 DIV creek and swamp with a
S,vv Growth Of rusheS gave additional
LIN the flames. and for Il few minutes
- W., nm excellent imitation of a fire
r,ras>pd i'm Illinois in 1913. Along
~, r7,E it swept ~UureSiSted because
-SsrbIr. and followed the course OF
4 g,9-v he'd If the creek eaSterly beyond
n, mach. widening the front of the fire
pl threatening 10 make its destructive
w,rb many miles wide when 4 deep pool
,r,,sIit lis eastward course and q rank
yrvrb Of green weeds impeded its north.
TII progress and kept it within the
I'M, di about q mile in width.
Nthis rate 10 sped nOrthward, the he
ME p.aple fighting il and gradually mar.
nEir.i il Till midnight, when it was eX-
frushtd about fifteen miles from where
sgsred. In its course il found but lit
!. 20 give il extra impetus. A paper
s7grel shauty. winrOwS, or small rickS
hav or a dry lake-bed for the first
tire miles, then q stack of four or five
i trsOfhay. q few Of barley or straw, and
Ultimately for all. but u few of those as,
sznt demons Of the prairie fury, the
tumble weeds. This vegetable incendiary
-aEert that ripens early and is by nc
nalSclaS>cd with the pOrtulacca family,
nd when ripe is almost n true sphere,
81 myng from twelve TO twenty inches in
"A taEr,er-breaks from its roots when
ty is light stalks and dry leaves arc
a truck BY the wind, and it goes rolling
rd tumbliug. bounding oye low OBJ
G1ct0ns as would a toy balloon, and
Ep rapidly than would a straw hat.
Neglected fields are very prolific of them,
nd they may be seen by hu0dTedS and
hglandS in the railway cuts and ditcheS,
gxnst snow fences and among the
sanding corn. When one of these takes
Re and gUeS over roads and plOwed
gUlrdS, il carries the FIRE past all ordin-
II EytF guards, Cludes the COntsnd!ng
trs II fire fighters. and kindleS new fires
A tlthsm tu resist.
he FIRE herein described was not one
tour worst. One that originated on
he line between Hughes and Sully cOun-
bsabout noon some of the tire travelled
Z The rate of twenty mixes an hour
Fhe a fierce southern gale. y FARMER
40 had put oil his SHOES saw - aYpar
ally two miles distant and before -
n1d ClOthe his feet the flames were
lN1 his fields and all he cOulu do w3tE
er utmost haste was To get us many OF
y horses and household goods rs posi-
as upon a garden patch covered with
Een vegetation, whittier his family had
~ and see his houses, stables, and over
3el'y stacks Of hay and grain burn,
''aout the power 10 save anything. IN
sen hours il had crossed six townships
~ by midnight twelve hours IT had
sas seventy miles against every effort &c
-oAN Il passed over portions of about
-Iy townships. In ITS devastating
@ISu did not probably find the grass
"ftWelye inches high ia continuous
~tW twenty acres. Here the tumble
~ aided 1t greatly, for plOwed TIE
.@ls from ten u thirty three feet VIDE
as leaped, roads offered no obstruction
u While the drought that has pre-
l7l since the middle of June made the
~ streams lis most dangerous allies,
'.ahI Oak Cor. Chicago Tribune.
"aere Somebody l. Always Asleep.
Do YOU ever sIceDsr Questioned T Of