St. Landry democrat., 1889-01-26
In A PRAIRIE FIRE.
An UneDjoyable Night Spent In
Sully County, Dakota
How a Party OF Land Hunters Saved
Their Lives by Judicious Back Firing
"A Peril Experienced by Most
- Travellers in the Far West.

Were it not for the possibilities Of shack
firing" the annals of prairie fires would
record many deaths. remember, says
writer in the New York Tribune, in 1878 be-
ing with a little party in what is now Sully
County, D. T., exploring for good town
site where we might found a city and with
small effort on our part become mill
ionaires. We camped one night near the
headwaters of the Okobojo creek. The
grass all about was thick and tall. All day
long we had noticed smokiness about the
air, and as evening approached the strong
south wind brought faint odor Of
fire. AS darkness settled down we could
see dull red reflection low on the southern
horizon. We knew there was an extensive
fire in that direction, but did not think it
would reach US that night, so lay down to
sleep with no feeling of uneasiness. There
were four in the party; two slept in the
wagon, while the other two, being one of
them, took blankets and made beds in the
grass. One lay a little distance in front of
the wagon and the other as far behind, with
the idea that we would scent horse thieves,
either white or red, should any appear
something we certainly should not have
done. In the night came the fire.
One of the horses fell over me at two
ened animal rushed on to the end Of Its
picket line, and tugged at it, and set up that
unearthly noise which only horse is capa-
BILE of when badly scared. My companion
on guard awoke about the same time, while
those in the wagon speedily tumbled out.
We were none of US too soon-we could feel
the heat on our faces. But little distance
to the south-perhaps it was farther than it
seemed, but it was not fart was fierce,
high-leaping, surging, roaring wall Of fire.
The smoke rolled above our heads and al
most touched the white wagon-top. The fire
surged and rose and fell, and leaped and
plunged, and cracked and roared, and the
black, burned grass stems-some Of them
still gloWing-were driven in our faces and
settled around us. 1t seemed as if the fire
to the east and west was already advanced
past US, and that the line of fame was rap
idly closing semi-circle. 1t was light as day,
but when we turned to the north we looked
into great black, inky cave, at the mouth
of which our horses plunged and neighed
and cleaned back at the dreaded fire with
crazed and bulglng eyes. I regret that l
Can not state with truth that we had but one
match, and enlarge on the anxiety with
which we watched it ''ficker, almost 60 out,
and then burn bright and clear" but can
the excitement it seemed as if none of US
would ever find them. 1t looked as if the
fire had covered half the distance to US be-
fore the first match was produced, then it
was my brother sentinel who brought it to
light, He ran short distance in front of
the wagon, which stood parallel with the
fire, so that the fire he proposed starting
would not reach the horses, and knelt in the
tall grass. The first match went out,
quite after the most approved form.
The next did better, it burned, the
dry bunch Of grass caught, the flames
sWirled up in our faces as we leaned anx-
iously over it, and then leaped to the next
bunch, then to both sides away to the
north, making US a rapidly growing oasis
Of safety. 1t was none too soon. We cut
the picket ropes and led the horses around
upon the burned space, one of US beating
out the feeble flames that tried to work to-
ward the wind. We hastily pushed the
wagon to place of safety, and stood be-
hind it to screen our faces from the fierce
heat. The fire swent up to our little
burned spot, reached over angrily, but
found nothing to feed on, again leaped
high in the air, swayed, wavered, flickered
and went out. We were saved.
The air was hot and sitting for several
minutes, then came the cool, strong wind
which was now sweeping the flames away
to the north, our little saving fire overtaken
and swallowed up in the greater. A half
hour later there was feeling as if a great
storm had passed, and far away to the north
the smoke hung like cloud with the fire
playing angrily about, low down, in broken
lines, as the lightning sometimes does after
thunderstorm. There was no sound save
the steady rush of the wind, which was not
loud, as the long, dry grass it had m"r-
INJURED through before was gone.
In the morning the brownish-gray land
scape Of the day before was black as night.
The coal-black ashes lay every where and
were hurled about by the wind. Far to the
north across the black pillows Of the prai
rie there was low cloud of smoke. 1t was
q landscape in black; it was only broken by
occasional bleached buffalo bones, with the
great, broad, startling skulls lying white
a4a ghostlke in the sea of black.