The morning call., 1891-07-01

| late years, aud yesterday they might have been
seen, to use the words of the old-tme novels
riding on all sorts of steeds from bucking bron.
| cho TO mule, in eager haste 10 hire men al So a
day and found to fight the fire.
BIG FIRE.
1t was a big fire Indeed. When a CALL re-
porter ana artist left the a Ross Valley Sta.
tion yesterday afternoon small party was being
made up 10 scale the crest of the ridge on the
north side OF the mountain. A portion of tie
party was composed OF fire fighters There was
also Marin County police officer, who had spent
the whole night in the saddle aud was out two
horses; ScOtchman. who declared on his honor
as Caledonian that IL was only "a mile and a
olttoch" to The crest OF The ridge; two Portu-
guese aud Chinese.
AT TIE distanc- OF half a mile from the depot
the ofhcer, acting as Il guide. led the way over
the trail crossing Phu uiX Creek an insignificant
stream, In which The water from Two tiny riyu.
els fom Mount Tamalpais are blended. The
nume of the San Rafael Water Company follows
the creek, having its source in Little Lake La
gunitaS, thousand feet above IL was in the
vicinity OF this lake that the hre-fghters were
doing their hardest work when the relief party
arrived. Unfortunately it would have required
from 500 to 1000 men 10 have rendered the as
slstanee which was required at that very mo-
ment, ana within ten minutes after tbs new arri-
walls had gone 10 work the flames rushing from
the north carped tie crest and The roar, which
sounded not unlike that of a busy iron works In
full biast swept on the ears OF Officer Foster and
paIly.
COUNTER FIRES.
In a few moments dozen counter fires were
burning and cracking merrlly, but Ofcer
Foster looked anxious. and the return journey
10 Ross Valley was quickly recommended to all
except the workers.
The cause OF this anxiety was Immediately ap-
parent. just at the time that The CALL re-
porter quckehed his steps IN RESPONSE 10 an
emphatic injunction in English, a POrtugue se
who was standing ou the further side of
treaeherous bridge, in the worst part of "Billy
W Nliliams' gulch, spoke some words in strange
tongue aud pointed upward What the reporter
saw explained everything. II was vision like
unto the pillar OF fire and the thunder wheels OF
Rider Haggard's She" The last part OF that
bridge transit made in Jump and i've
minutes later The flame had cut a swath $50
yards wide on each side OF the spot. 1t seemed
TO pass by like an express train. gathering up
fuei In the shape Of millions Of dried twgs aud
wiihered leaves as II went along.
Z" Shes gone, exclaimed Officer Foster, breath
iessy, as the party reunited on knoll about a
quarter %, OF mile e. distant from the track just
taken. by the hre There's nothing 10 stop
those flames now from wiplug out everything
this side of San Quentin"
A messenger was Immediately dispatched to
the Telegraph office at Ross Valley to order a
further detail OF hre.workets from San Fran.
cisco, and another gaOped off five minutes later
TO order a new liue OF counter fires In the dlrec-
lion OF Lafkspur. There were "a number OF iue
ranches both IN that direction and in the neigh
borhood of Mill Valley, which were threatened
burning for little over tweuty-f0ur hours, and
In mat time II had swept over nearly 5000 acres
Of land.
SMOKE.
As the train returned to Sausalto at O'Clock
In the evening the rays of the sun were almost
entirely cut OF by the huge cloud OF dun-coored
smoke which hung around the summit of Iamal-
pals and T, called the days OF Sinai flaming in
the glory OF the Lo d. A long bood-red track
left the waters as the cars ratified over
the long bridge before reaching SauSalItO, aud
every passenger upon the train hurried To the
wludowS 10 obtain glimpse OF the magnificent
spectacle.
1t Is impossible to form any opinion as to the
damage likely TO be caused by the conhagration.
Local residents expres sed the opinion YESTERDAY
evening that The swath cut by the fire would
certainly extend from Bonas TO Corte MADEIRA
and That II shift of the wind occurred there was
no telling how far the mischief would extend. 1t
Is certain that nearly all the wheat on the east
ana south Sides OF the mountain has been swept
away,