Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1898-03-16

form of rough, unhewn logs. From
this point there wound up through the
thick forest a narrow, tortuous road
rough and stony, and dark even in the
daytime, from the overarching trees
up to the houses Oh the hillside. Only
one train day stopped there, at half
past FIVE, and they always drove down
from the boarding house to meet it il
auS antiquated, nondescript vehicle
that might have come out of the ark.
This was a two-wheeled rig, the
wheels thick, rough slices cut from Q
hickory log. The horse usually at.
tached to it-he was the only being
attached in any way to the unlovely
thing-was a dignifed, conservative
animal, full Of years, and which no
amount of persuasion, either oral c,
fagellative, 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 I noticed the vegetation
appeared very dry aud parched, and
that the little pools. which always
flashed like gems from the rocky soil
along the edge of the lake, Lad dis
appeared. The yellow-red 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
:ell unpleasantly near some dry hem
lock brush that edged the lake. Un-
comfortable thoughts of forest fires
came up in my mind. Away off to
the west I could see wreath of thin,
black smoke curling itself lazily up
ward. I watched it moment and it
seemed to get thicker and blacker.
%"A trapper cooking supper" [
thought, but the notion of forest
conaagration still fingered unpleas-
antly in my mind.
AS the train slowed up I grabbed
my valise and. spraug off onto the
platform. The conductor in the ca
boose behind-it was long train of
| twor pussuuger coacfres a,lte ue,lt,r
so freight cars-waved his arms and
the heavy train once more increased
its speed Soon it had vanished
around the curve. ] walked up and
down the rough platform, waiting for
my stage, aud my thoughts again re-
turned to the possibility of a fire on
the mountain. What terrible thing
it would be!
But just then spied the antedelu-
Wan rig winding in and out among
the trees, about half mile up, and I
quickly dismissed from my mind all
thoughts of fire. Tess was driving
the conveyance and she was alone. I
was delighted with the prospect of q
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 explained that the man
was off at Tour Croix, neighboring
town, helping fight forest fire.
"Great Heavens!' [ exclaimed.
"Suppose the fire should come this
way and overtak, us before We get
| home!"
Tess laughed. ''No danger of that,
I 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 OF danger.
1t was good eight miles from the
railroad to the farm house, and we had
covered about quarter of that dis
tance, when, on looking to the south,
I suddenly noticed dense black
smoke rising in large, thick masses
three or four miles off. 1t seemed to
be rapidly approaching Again that
terrible thought of fire suggested
itself.
"We had better get home as quickly
as possiblel That is the forest on
fre!' said Tess. Wouldn't it be a
terrible thing if it should reach the
road before we do! 1t is certainly
coming toward us!"
And coming toward us it was, at a
most alarming rate. Our octogenarian
steed would not move any faster and
the road seemed to cross tie track OF
the fire some distance ahead Of US.
Our situation was becoming serious.
The road was not wide enough to
afford us M oasis in this approaching
simeon, aud if the flames got within
half mile of lis we could not escape,
except by miracle. The fire came
nearer. There was no mistaking it
now. The evergreens and withered
underbrush had become veritable
tinder in the long-continued hot and
dry spell, and before the destroying
flames they disappeared as snow be-
fore the sun. 1t was only about hall
an hour since [ first noticed the
smoke, and now we could hear dis.
tinctly the distant crack and roar oi
the flames, and every now and then
the heavy, resonant swish and boom
as some great king of the forest fell
crashing through the smaller growth
beneath it. The twilight was coming
swiftly on. We began to get thor
oughly frightened as the fire came
nearer and nearer.
A great cloud of cinders and smoke,
the advance guard of the all-devour
ing enemy, began to blow in our faces
and fire the dry underbrush at oul
feet. A breeze had sprung up. W.
might have died for it two hours be
fore and not received it, but now
when it's presence was most deadly
appeared to give greater velocity tt
the already furious pace OF our de
stroying enemy.
applied the whip vigorously to tn
old horse, and he seemed to put fortl
his best energies, but the crazy wag