The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1889-08-31
Tree Destructive Blazss Which Have
Caused Great Destruction
in Wonderland.
The Blame Laid to Campers, the
Troops being Unable to Cover
the Field.
A Great Gale, which Carried the Flame
Across the Yellowstone River
More Soldiers Needed

MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, Aug. So
Especial TO the Independent Three
forest fires, supposed TO be from camp fires.
have ragged for several days in Yellowstone
Park. One of them started near the juno
tiOn of the GibbOn with the Firehole river,
where their united waters form the East
Madison. The other got away from q
camping party near the Y. p. A. tents 81
Yellowstone Lake. This FIRE swept every
thing before it rs il 1ew down the Yellow
stone river towards Sulphur Mountain.
Capt BOutelle, commander of troop X,
First United States cavalry, and superin-
tendent of the park, had every available
man Of the l2e at his command out fighting
this fire. The entire force of the road
builders under the direction of Lieut..
Craighill, park engineer, was cent by L.
Larmitine TO aid the soldiers in their
efforts to ciIcumscribe these fires.
This had been done with such gOnd success
that the Madison river FIRE had been fairly
cOrnered on the evening Of the 25th, when
on the afternoon of the 9Th one Of these
terrific Rocky mountain gales that fire.
quentIy sweep down from the snow-clad
pyramid and the Washburn ranges, where
erAI thousand tons of magnesiA lying loose
at the foothills of Terrace Mountain, and
swept il down the Yellowstone valley, dis
persing it over a continent On this oc-
cSsion 1t not only swept away sll the loose
magnesia lying around Liberty Cap, but
leaped into the smOulderiDg flames and
sent them across the Yellowstone river and
down the east bank with resistless fury,
leaving q chArred desert in its wake. What
the waters of the Yellowstone river could
not stop could not have been stopped by
any human efforts.
The Madison river fire shot over every
gap and barrier that the united Efforts of
the soldiers and road builders had worked
so hard for days TO set up. These poor
devils, who are fighting these fires, ruin q
suit of clothes every day that they are en-
gagged in the thankless task Of preserving
the evergreen glades of Wonderland.
When one of these mountain gales leaps
into fire all that man can do is to fee
from its path and wait until the wind ex-
hausts itself.
II is now evident that Capt BoutelIe
must adopt some more stringent measures
to restrict camping parties within definite
limits, so that his troopers may visit such
camps and make sure that no fires are left
smouldering; otherwise, those magnifcen
forests that have adorned the park and con-
serve the winter snow will be given over 10
the flames. If the government persists in
its attempts 70 preserve these forests in the
Yellowstone park IL must place a whole
regiment at the command of the superin-
tendent. But when such gale as that
which prevailed on the afternoon of Aug.
9th joins with q fire all the armies of
France and Germany combined could not
successfully oppose it, let alone our pitiful
police force of q. 900 men. Heretofore no
lives have been lost, although parties visit
ing the Yellowstone park were effectuAlly
shut out and compelled to retrace their
steps to the Canon hotel