The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1898-03-12

passenger Tor the pace Win the long
name. The hamlet boosted no station,
only q platform Of rough, unhewn logs.
From this point there wound up
through the thick forest narrow, tor
tuous road, rough and stony, and dark
even in the daytime, from the overarch-
ing trees, up to the houses on the hill
side. Only one train day stopped
there, at $3.50, and they always drove
from the clearinghouse to meet it
in an antiquated, nondescript vehicle
that might have come out of the ark.
This was two-wheeled rig, the wheels
thick, rough slices cut from hickory
log. The horse usually attached to it,
he was the only being attached in any
way to the unlovely thing-was dig
nified, conservative animal, full of
years, and which no amount of persua-
sion, either oral or flagellative, had ever
been known to induce to accelerate his.
progress to anything faster than
stately walk.
1t had been an unusually hot sum-
mer. AS the train swept along the lake
shore noticed the vegetation appeared
very dry and parched, and that the
little pools, which always flashed like
gems from the rocky soil along the edge
of the lake, had disappeared. The yell
Lowered swamp lilies that fringed the
marshy ground to the north margin of
the track seemed to literally burn in
the scorching rays of the afternoon
sun, and the sparks from the engine
stack fell unpleasantly near some dry
hemlock brush that edged the lake.
Uncomfortable thoughts of forest fires
came up in my mind. Away of to the
west could see wreath of thin, black
smoke curling itself lazily upward. l
watched il moment, and it seemed to
get thicker and blacker.
"a trapper cooking supper" I
thought, but the notion of forest con-
flagration still fingered unpleasantly
in my mind.
AS the train slowed up I grabbed my
valise and sprang of onto the plat
form. The conductor in the caboose
bchind-it was long train of two pas
senger coaches, and 20 or SO freight
cars--waved his arms, and the heavy
train once more increased its speed.
Soon it had vanished around the curve.
1 walked up and down the rough plat
form, waiting for my stage, and my
thoughts again returned to the possi-
bilities of a fire on the mountains.
What terrible thing it would be!
But just then / spied the antedilu-
Wan rig winding in and out among the
trees, about half mile up, and Iquick-
ly dismissed from my mind all thoughts
of fire. Tess was driving the convey
snce, and she was alone. was delight
ed with the prospect of two hours
tete-a-tete with her, but thought it
strange that old Joe, the farm hand,
had not come for me, as usual. Tess ex-
planned that the man was of at Tour
Croix, a neighboring town, helping
fight forest fire. "Great heavens!" l
exclaimed. Suppose the fire should
come this way and overtake us before
we get home!"
Tess laughed. mo danger Of that, /
guess" she said, as she turned the
horses head back in the direction he
had come.
1t was delightful afternoon. The
air was now cooling down and, under
the shade of the trees that overhung
our homeward way, it was very pleas
ant. We chatted and laughed until we
quite forgot the existence of any such
thing as fire or danger.
1t was good eight miles from the
railroad to the farmhouse, and we had
covered about a quarter of that dis
tance, when, on looking to the south,
1 suddenly noticed dense black smoke
rising in large, thick masses three or
four miles of. 1t seemed to be rapid
ly approaching. Again that terrible
thought of fire suggested itself.
I'VE had better get home as quick
" as possible! That is the forest on
fret" said Tess. "Wouldn't it be ter
rible thing if it should reach the road
before we do. 1t is certainly coming
toward us!"
And coming toward US il was, at a
most alarming rate. Our octogenarian
steed would not move any faster and
the road seemed to cross the track of
the fire some distance ahead of US. Our
situation was becoming serious. The
road was not wide enough to afford us
an oasis in this approaching simeon,
and if the flames got within half a
mile of us, we could not escape, except
by miracle. The fire came nearer. There
was no mistaking it now. The ever
greens and withered underbrush had
become veritable finder in>the long-con-
f;nued hot and dry spell, and before
the destroying flames they disappeared
as snow before the sun. 1t was only
about half an hour since first noticed