Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-11-26
BIG PRAIRIE FIRES
Nothing in Nature to Equal Their
Horror and Grandeur.
FLAMES THAT RUN AT RACING SPEED
The Most Terrible Scourge of
Lite on Western Plains.
DEATH AND DESTRUCTION

Denver Corrrspo r,ence Chicago Inter Ocean
The fires that recently devastated forests
in northern Michigan and Wisconsin. other
fires that swept across areas OF pratri.
lands In Manitoba and North Dakota. and
still other fires that burned over sousr.
miles among the Rocky mountains have
revived train of "reminiscences among the
old-time plainsmen out this way concerning
their own experiences In great prairie fires
two or three decades ago. one who has
never seen prairie fire such az used every
fail to devastate the plains from the Mis-
souri, river to the Rocky mountain. and
from the Rio Grande to Central British
America can have no idea what such amor
nous CONGREGATIONS were. No one has vel
adequately described the frightful sublinn-
ity. tn" grandeur and the awfulness or a
sea of lurid flames tens of thousands Of
acres broad, rolling. tossing and rushing
forward like an enrsged titanic monster
ana leaving In the trail blackened and
smoking ruins from horizon to horizon
MARK Twain has ssid that the most colos-
sal awning thing In all nature Is a great fire
on the plains. such AS he saw in Nehrask
In the fall OF 1850
In 1874 some hunters started a prairte
iire in Bon Homme county ID. T. opposite
Niobrara, Neb. There was a strong south
N'N II swept Ia the mort Invest
Tor over 3oo miles. licking up the dry
prairie grass and rolling up great columns
OF smoke on the soft September air for IN
ward of a week This one was compare
lively narrow. being kept from spreading
to the west by the Missouri river and from
making much progress to the east al first
by the Jim river. and later by the wind
which shifted more to the east hut In some
places the tract burned over reached 3,
width Of seventy-five miles and "a aver
aged, perhaps, fully fiftv
stopped by Missouri River.
1t found few streams To imnada it, ,ro-
sress on that side of the Missouri; what
few it did encounter it had no difficulty f
leaping. Indeed. the distance fire will jump
in crossing IL csc prairie streams vber, tn
grass grows rank and tall to the very
Water's edge, seems almost past belief. In
&c Sc a fire cannot cICss Ia one place there
IS usually place where il can and so il
rushes on. frequently leaving large un-
burned irregular A-shaped places along the
streams or lakes. but leaving the country.
as a whole. black, barren and forbiddinR
This fire took over a week to go IA Their
more than 100 miles This NAV seem slow
but several things must he taken into CON
siuerau"il: In many places the grass was
snort which necessarily hindered its pro
gress- There was little or no wind during
the nights. so II, Of course. travelled slowly
then. At other times, when IL got among
StrFttneS OF Dlue-10int or other tall grass
IT, IKE any other prairie fire. Travelled al
such a rate that horse, be he ever 50
fast. could not long keep ahead The front
was, of cours7. irregular. and as usual il
would frequently happen that two long ad-
Nahclng arms would join several miles
ahead of the main line of flame and rush
onward forming a new front and leaving
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
the washington hills and fell behind 1t
nnally died out among the coteauK close to-
the Missouri river, in the neighhorhood OF
lie Beau and Boise Cache creeks In fact
it was the river that stopped it, for had il
not been there or had the wind got into the
south, it would have swept on 80 miles
further, out OF Dakota and on into the
British possessions, no one knows how far.
Probably about 2S0oo square miles of prsi-
RE We're burned over by this moving sea Of
fire. About thirty hunters and few femi-
lies were caught I'm that fire and burned to
death. Hundreds of buffalos and antelopes
we're roasted.
Great British Columbia Fire.
Among the most devastating of the last
great fires on the plains was one I'm 1870 A
prairie fire swept down from British Co
umbia, across the international line into
Dakota, until it reached the Northern Pa
cihc railroad. At its greatest width in
northern Dakota, the flames were 100 miles
wide. Over 1o0a square miles were coy
cred by the sweeping fire. Passengers on
the Northern Pacific railroad had a chance
to see part of the awful fire. and to this day
there are those among the passengers 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. believing. fiery surf, were ter
rible beyond description. For two days and
sIarr-a q 4
ing to the north OF the railroad tracks. The
great tongues of flame seemed to be shoot
ing higher than the cars and almost reach
ing them, though they were really further
away than they looked, being held back by
the cOmpany's flre-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 pas
sengers. eagerly watching the rolling
flames. Antelopes. deer, prairie wolves.
foxes, jackrabbts and other animals could
be seen in great numbers hurrying before
the flames end crossing the track. 1t fire.
quently 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 least
as the fire did not cross. Later In the sea-
son, however. the usual smaller fires pre-
vailed south of the railroad
Many man has been hanged, or shot 10
death if the conveniences for hanging were
not to be had on the treeless. poleless
plains for starting prairie fires. The cat
tlemen and cowboys assisted by the SOL
diers at the army post on the prairies. al
ways started Immediately after prairie
fire to investigate its cause. But very
often there was nothing left to tell the
tale of the origin of the confiagration. The
plainsmen were. however. so angry usually
at their losses and the suffering and death
of human beings and beasts In the fire that
they meant to fix the blame somewhere
No doubt scores of men have been hanged
for starting prairie fires when they were
either innocent or the fire had been started
by carelessness.
Fire Breaks i'm Western Plains.
Every town on the great plains or ths
west except in communities where the
people are criminally careless. still takes
precautions every autumn against the pos
siblfty Of devastation by prairie fires.
Fire breaks are plowed by the men in the
prairie towns every August and September.
A fire break is made by blowing a few fur
rows Just outside and entirely around a
town. Further out, say 100 yards. another
circle is made, and then the grass burned
between. This effectually prevents any
bo.+ila fra from talk no community