The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-27

to the west by the Missouri river and from
making much progress to the east at first
by the Jim river and later by the wind,
which shifted more TO the east; but in
some places the tract burned over reached
a width Of seventy-five miles, and it aver
aged, perhaps, fifty.
1t found few streams TO impede its pro-
gress on that side of the Missouri; what
few it did encounter 1t had no difficulty in
leaping. Indeed, the distance fire will jump
in crossing these prairie streams, where
the grass grows rank and tall to the very
waters edge, seems almost past belief
In case a fire cannot cross in one place
there Is usually a place where it can, and
so it rushes on. frequently leaving large
unburned irregular A-shaped places along
the streams or lakes, but leaving the
country black, barren and forbidding.
This fire took over a week to go rather
more than 200 miles. This may seem slow,
but several things must be taken into con-
sideration. In many places the grass was
short, which necessarily hindered it's pro-
gress. There was little or no wind during
the night, so it, of course, Travelled slowly
then. AT other times, when it got among
stretches of blue joint or other fall grass,
it, like any other prairie fire, Travelled al
such a rate that horse, be he ever so
fast, could not long keep ahead. The front
was, of course, irregular, and, as usual,
1t would frequently happen that two long
advancing arms would join several miles
ahead of the main line of flame and rush
onward forming new front and leaving
a rapidly disappearing island of unburned
grass behind.
The left of the mighty advancing column
of flame was retarded the second or third
day in passing through the Bijou Hills.
Later the right became entangled among
bn po~to oil
finally died out among the coteaux close
to the Missouri river, in the neighborhood
of LIE Beau and Boise Cache creeks. In
fact, it was the river that stopped 1t, for
lad it not been there or had the wind got
into the south, it would have swept en-
go miles further, out of Dakota and on
into the British possessions, no one knows
how far. Probably about $500 square
miles of prairie was burned over by this
moving sea of fire. About thirty hunters
and few families were caught in that Gre
and burned to death. Hundreds of buff
faloes and antelopes were roasted.
Among the most devastating of the last
great fires ON the plains was one in 1880.
A prairie fire swept down from British
Columbia, across the International line
into Dakota, until it reached the northern
Pacific Railroad At its greatest width,
in Northern Dakota. the flames were $50
miles WIDE. over UiVOO square tIhieS were
covered by the sweeping fire. Passengers
on the Northern Pacific Railroad had
chance to see part of the awful fire and to
this day there are those among the pas
sengers who say that the sound of the
roaring flames and the enormous walls
of flame moving over the. dry grass in
leaps and bounds, like red. angry, below
ing, fiery surf, was terrible beyond de-
scription. For two days and three nights
the flames could be seen raging to the north
of the railroad tracks. The great tongues
Of flame seemed to be shooting higher than
the cars and almost reaching them. though
they were really further away than they
looked, being held back by the company's
fire break or burned strip along the track.
There was no sleep on the trains passing
that fire, but the windows and platforms
were crowded with the passengers, eagerly
watching the rolling flames Antelopes,
deer, prairie wolves, foxes, jackrabbits
and other animals could be seen in great
numbers hurrying before the flames and
crossing The track. II frequently happened
that some Of them were run over by the
train and killed. Those that reached the
south side of the track found safety for
the time being, at lease, as the fire did not