Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1900-09-08
ESASASASASASASA2ANS
{ "PHEME." :
SEeSesVey.oT2So vz.N202-NvN9
trom the Pacific Monthly, Portland. RepIInted by
Special PermisSionD

ries of southwest Kansas when they
are covered with the verdure of the
early spring? No? Then YOU have
missed scene than which there are
few more beautiful this side of the
Pearly Gates. But you have doubtless
stood on the seashore and watched the
pillows stretch away endlessly into the
horizon, and if you have, l think can
picture to you the beautiful scene that
memory holds up to me. Suppose that
away back in the chaotic time when
"the morning stars sang together"
that these pillows bad been running
high and broad and that He who
Kilenced the waves of Gallilee had said
to them peace. be still and that in
stantly all motion had ceased, and in
stead of foaming water there was dry
land covered with varied verdure-pic-
ture all this il you can, and you have
the prairies as they are.
Flowers? Yes, it is one of Gods
flower gardens in the early spring be-
fore the hot winds come. You will
find the bright orange Of the wild
geranium beside the dark purple of
the wild verbena; the delicate. sensi-
tive rose trailing its tender shoots
among the brilliant clusters of the
wild morning glory; blue hyacinths
and wild onions nodding their blooms
toward each other; the buffalo bean
and the Indian pea shaking their long
spikes of brightness on the prairie
winds-all these on the uplands where
the soil is rich and dark.
Where the red and yellow sands
sparkle in long stretches, there you
will find cacti in abundance. Then in
the buffalo wallows are tangles of
marsh marigolds and gay-colored
xenias, while down in the deep can
yons dandelions and daisies nestle in
the shade of the plump grass that
grows tall and rank-ft abode for
prairie chicken and rabbit and, terra
pin and all the other shy denizens of
the prairie.
But il you will look on the same
scene n few months later in the sea-
son, you will find weird and wonder
full change. Instead of the bright
green that was fiecked with the GRIM
sons and puppies and blues of the
carly spring, you will see only the
somber and dismal brown-brown-
brown; all the grass and flowers and
waving grain literally scorche6 and
burned and whitehead Here and there
the sand showing through bright yell
low and red and sending up little quiv-
ering waves OF heat everywhere to-
wards the sky from whose cloudless
expanse the sun shines down with the
heat OF a furnace; nothing to relieve
the monotony OF the scene that
stretches out before the weary eve
only long, brown waves of land that
meet the arching sky. No sounds
through the MONDAY but the unceas-
ing swish and rustic of the withered
foliage as the winds surge over it.
In the midst of such scene as this
stood a little pine hut with straw
matched roof. 1t held but three in
mates, a young girl of about 20 years
OF age whom everybody called
"Phenie," her older married sister and
little babe. The older sister, Maggie,
had been for some months Frustrated
with typhoid fever, and was now SO
weak that she could not raise her
head or lift her hand.
The babe was sleeping in it's crib
and Pheme was ironing. Outside the
wind was blowing a gale.
Far off TO the northwest, about 100
miles away, passenger train was
sweeping along. The travellers looked
ont on the dreary scene and wondered
now anyone could want to live in
such place; the fireman threw the
ashes from his locomotive into the
grass and the train went swirlinp
ON. But among the ashes there was
one live coal. (''Behold how great a
matter little fire kindlethl") Once
out In the wind, it began to glow and
sparkle. Soon the one beside it was
glowing and sparkling too. Then. by
and by, between them, they sent up a
tiny tongue of flame to the nearest
shoot of grass. The little flame
climbed to the top of the grass blade
and then leaped to the next, and the
next, and other little columns of red
leaped up through the grass and
danced high up in the air until by and
by there was sweeping along that
terror OF the inhabitants of the prai-
rie-a fire!
dow, and seeing a cloud OF smoke
away of to the northwest gave a 1T
tie cry Of horror. She knew too well
what this meant. The wind was Just
In the direction to bring the fire down
upon her. All the other members of
the household had gone to town
some ii miles away and would not be |
home until nightfall. There was no
time for delay, for these prairie fires
travel with terrible rapidity. With
out waking her sister or the baby, |
she fastened out to the barn and |
hitched the two horses there to the |
piow, to pillow an additional fire |
guard.
Every farm in southwest Kansas has
It's IRE guard, which consists of few
burrows piowed the whole way around |
the farm; then there is a space of un-
Plowed ground several yards away.
then few more burrows. The space
between the two rows of plowed |