Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-09-25

tlngulShCd grass lire on the slopes of Mount Etna. And. like the skyrockcts pro- pelled by the rapidity of combustion, cx- tensivc conilagrations arc apt to be famed by the whirl of their own gales. The as cent of the heated air creates a vacuum which attracts gusts of wind from all sides, and the air currents drawn into the vortex of n widespread forest fire may at tain the force of n hurricane. \ ring wall of broad sand hills might fail to protect n wood built city against the cindCr show CTS of such storm.
 About o'clock in the afternoon, " says a report from HincklCy, Minn., the fire literally jumped into the town. Its ap- proach was not gradual. It did not cut its way along. dcvouring everything in its path, but camc on in huge leaps, as if to overtako everything fleeing before it and then burn back at its leisure. Tho in tense heat had developed q vCritablc whirl- wind of flame that actually twisted of poplar trees several inches in thickness and gathering huge blazing flrcbrands high in the air and carrying them forward from 10 tO so yards, there to fall and re- commence tho work of devastation"
 The Death Flames.
 Somc 200 settlers of the Grindstonc val ley took refuge in swamp in the hope that the humid vegetation would arrest
 
 the approaching flame storm raised clouds of steam from the moist bottoms and made rank willow brakes as csmbuStible us straw. Realizing the significance of their mistake tho refugees scrambled out and ran for their lives, but were overtakcn by the fire stream, and with few exceptions pcrishcd in the flames.
 The temperature of the central furnace of that forest gchcnna may be implied hot 1aH-.. settlements the approach of the fire could be felt as well as seen from n distance of II miles, md that the windows of fast running passenger trains were burst by | the heat of the pursuing storm. The train by that time had reached a down grade and dashed ahead at n rate of littlo less than n mile q minute, but the roar of the | fire tornado almost drowned the rattle of I the cars, and before long the woods were afro ahead us well as left and right of the | engine.
 'Whcn about four miles south of the GTindstonO river" says the report of Con- ductOr Sullivan, the engineer first mo- ticed that the fires which had been raging | in rear of the train were racing him for | his life and tho lives of his passengers. | Cindcrs were flying in all directions, and | the sinoke was so dense that it became well | nigh impossible to sec beyond tho cab window, even with the aid of tho power full headlight. At first he thought he could outrun the flames, which wero bearing down on him at q 60 mile gait, but the fire was too fast for him. The heat bc | came so intolcrabic that the fireman jump | cd bodily into the water tank, and then | seiZing a bucket, dashed it several timci | over the engineer, whose clothes had begun | to catch fire Tho shTioks of the women anC | l.. | conflagration, and when the windows burs from the heat several of the passengers, to terrified for further self control, lcapcd ou headlong and were dcvourcd by the flames Others quickly followed, and altogether il | the next 10 Ominutcs n dozen men lcapcd t death in the like manner"
 That PcriIous Railway Trip.
 Burkhardt's ride through an Arabian I sandstorm must have been n pleasur jaunt compared with that railway trip though its termination was, on the whole luckier than that flight of hundreds wh had trusted their safety to hand cars an horse teams.
 The forust laws of the old world almos preclude the possibility of such conflagra tions by stringent provisions for the pro tection of hill forests and the thorough rI moval of brushwood piles and in mid summer by tho additional prccaution c the isolation system, which surrounds neN I clearings with n broad belt of flame n | sisting green wood.
 | The total loss of life by tho fire gallo fu exceeded that of the Chicago monster flr' but the price of the experience, even includ ing the enormous amount of pecuniar damage, may not prove too high If 1t shoul at last open the eyes of our legislators { the necessity of radical reform
 F. l.. OSWALD, NJ. ID.
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