The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-01-03
STORIES OF FOREST FIRES.

Bears Eating Fishes Boiled in the Ponds Snakes In the Flames Van.
 From the Pittsburgh Dispatch.l
 Black bears feasting on parboiled fish
 is one the sequels to the recent fires
 that ragged in the lumber districts of
 central Pennsylvania. John McCurry.
 who lives near Driftwood, tells of this strange incident in backwoods life:
 A terrific fire had swept over low
 lying district about half mile from the
 susquehanna river. devouring the fal-
 len hemlocks and undefbrush with a herceness that was startling. The sec- ond day after the fire when the ground had become cool enough to allow tra- versing, McCurry started into the burn ed district to look after some park piles. He followed deep ravine for mile or more, when his coursed changed and he made his way in the direction of the river. In May last, when the stream overhowed it's banks and the twenty feet of extra water deluged the narrow West Branch valley, 1t formed lakes and ponds where before had been dry land. Tn one particular spot, which was much lower than the surrounding country, being naturally swampy, the river wa ter made a pond from two to four feet in depth. The water was kept quite fresh by the constant accession made by strong spring In the neighborhood. The pond was hemmed in on all sides by rhododendron, swamp hemlock and water birch. Tn addition to the interest attached to this pool because of it's very odd formation, was the fact that it contained fish. Lumbermen who stood by it's edge on several occasions saw the unmistakable movements of quite large fish in it's murly depths. They had been carried in with the strong sweep of water during the May flood, and were caught in the pool when the water receded. The men who saw the fish declared they were carp of large size.
 This pond was directly in the wake of the recent forest fires, and it's borders
 
 their mad race across the country As McCurry neared the pond, but before he was in sight of it, his attention was attracted by low growing, much like the noise made by dog when gnaw- ing bones, Climbing up from the depths of the ravine, McCurry, who was now within five yards of the pond, was sur prised to see two monster black bears busily engaged devouriug something at the waters edge. One of the pair was evidently afraid of the others move- ments, for he kept up a constant chat tering as he chewed at some white- looking object which he held in his fore paws. It was some time before McCur- ry could determine what the bears feast consisted of.
 Suddenly one of the black fellows made lunge into the water and waded carefully across the pond to where something lay floating on the surface When bruin picked the object up Me- Curry saw it was fish. The old fellow waded back to the shore and began de- vouring his prize. It was some time be- fore the bears had gotten all they want ed. This done, however, they shambled off across the burned district in the di- rection of greener lands, much to the chagrin of the young woodsman, who, aside from small axe, was unarmed.
 Another incident of the recent forest fires in the Pine Creek region is related by Sam Campbell, who works in the woods near Blacl1well's, Sam was one of a crew of men sent out to back fire" dight fire with fire), and he de- clares that their experience was most thrilling. While setting fire to thick ct that crowned rocky ridge, he and his crew were startled to find them selves suddenly in the midst of a lot of rattlesnakes. The forest fire was advancing up the side of the hill at a. rapid rate. Its whistling, whirring