Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1893-09-21

FIRES IN THE SLACK HILLS.


the fae% Week.
THE past week has been restless
one ebr the many settlements Of the
Black Hills. During the month oi
August and this month scarcely dror
Of rain. hss i4llep, With the result that
the timber and u1d0rbrush all over the
hills has become ~ inAamnable az
matches. Small 6res starting in vari.
Gus localities spread with such rapid.
ity and gained 80 much In extent as tC
make the country a yeritabie sea Of
flame. These fires have started In .
large fiuntuar OF places, and, being al
lowed to go unchecked for time, soon
assumed proportions that made them
practically unextinguishable. Nearly
every mining camp in the northern
hills has been threatened during the
past week from forest fires, and the In.
habitants have been out in force. fight
ing the flames.
The most threatening and destruct-
I've fire of all was one started by .
miner TO drive out nest Of hornets.
The hornets were burr lout all right,
and 50 was til. IAiner. Then the hames
began to spread, and in lass than day
they had To ,ome seething mass ct
flames two miles wide. burning every.
thing in their track. 1t burned along
the hc I'd Of Blacktail divide, threaten
ing Central City, and for three days
the people OF that town remained in !.
state of dread. Preparations had been
made for rapid flight. every citizen OF
the city for the time being believing
that its destruction was only the mat
ter OF few hours.
The fire, however, waited by strong
breeze, swept by the city, and, leaving
it but q few miles to the east. weEt
roaring toward Deadwood. The heav-
ems We're aglow with the fires reflec-
tion, and its progress Deadwoodward
was watched and noted by every citi-
zen. For time great alarm was felt,
for it seemed almost certain that the
fire in its progress would sweep over
the town. The fire alarm was sounded
and in Il short time almost every able
bodied man in the city had assembled
at the City Hall. The danger was i'm
minent and but little time was spent
in preliminaries. Men were loaded
into vehicles and sent to meet the ap-
preaching ilames.
1t was a hard fight and but little
could be done to stay the conhagra-
tion's spread. Hope had been almost
given up by the fire fighters. who,
driven from point to point by the fierce
flames, scorched and blistered and
burned, were about to give up. when
the wind, vecring. carried the flames
away from the town.
The respite was a brief .one, how
ever. for the flames again shot city
ward. bat the time gained was valua-
BILE, for in those few short minutes al
most superhuman efforts had been put
forth. and the dried brush and the
dead timber had been removed from the
fires track, leaving it nothing to feed
upon. Checked in its movement
toward the city. the fire continued to
burn in the thick timber to the west.
The scene was Il magnificent one. but
its awful destructiveness was fully real
lied by the people Of Deadwood, watch
ing and fearing it.
The worst is over now, and the COM
nunity is beginning to breathe more
freely. A sufficient force to hold con-
troll over the flames Is kept on the hills,
the fire to the circles it has
already made. and there is no longer
. .)prehension that any OF the towns OF
eities will be swept in the track Of the
angry elements.