The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-08-21
YELLOWSTONE PARK FIRE
GOVERNMENT ENGINEER SAYS
DAMAGE NOT AS GREAT AS
WAS FEARED
OUTLOOK FOR A TIME WAS BAD
Government Work Hns Progressed
to the Satisfaction of Col. Chit
tenden-BurIington Get
ting Into the Park.

SIOUX CITY, To-, Aug. 2O.-Authentic
information as to the extent of the forest
fires which swept Yellowstone Park was
given out today by Col H. NJ. Chittenden,
government engineer in charge of the i'm
provement work tn the park and on the
upper Missouri river whose headquarters
are here He was in the midst of the
park when the fires were raging and re-
turned to Sioux City this morning.
Phe outlook for a time was very bad, !"
he said. Rains came opportunity, how
ever, and saved loss that seemed for a
elrne certain, and so we were more scar
| ed than hurt. The fires were In the
southern part Of the park near Shoshone
lake, where they burned two weeks. They
covered about dozen square miles only,
which shows that the reports were over
drawn These fires almost put an end
to sightseeing in the park this year.
however. They threatened the tourist
road leading to the Shoshone region, and
1t seemed as If 1t would inevitably be
burned out. But 1t was not and the
sightseeing went on uninterruptedly.
Forest fires are becoming rare in this
country, and they are among the most
thrilling sights that 1t is possible for man
to behol0-far more so than even a prairie
hre. The horizontal expanse appals you
In prairie fire, but in a forest fire the
expanse Is added to altitude When the
names get into a tall pine woods they
attack one after another of the trees
and the destruction exhibits marvellous
waste of energy. The tree becomes g.
kind of core of a chimney in the forest
up which the flames leap and roar From
every direction the air rushes in, and
the heat and smoke pour up against the
SKY as from the crater of a volcano At
night the fire subsidies, there being al
most dead calm In the park after sun
down ordinarily. The flames in one tree
90 not communicate to the next, but the
blazing brands are carried some distance
ana faIl to the ground, where they smold-
er through the night some of them be-
ing eXunguished, though there always
are enough left to start another blaze
When the morning breeze fans their
SPARKS. linen another tree becomes fgnit-
ed and roars and crackles furiously all
day.
1his has been one Of the dryest sea-
sons at the park, and when fires in the
forest broke out we were much alarmed.
ABOUT "a per cent of the park is COW
cred with wilderness, and no amount of
hsht1ng that could be done would be of
much effect against the progress of the
flames. Something could be done during
the night In the way of hunting .or the
smolderfng brands, but 1t was Inevitable
that most OF these would be missed and
so the only reliance we had was on a
rain that would douse them and efrectual-
ly put them out of business This rsin
finally came, but many square miles of
charred pines tell of the DAMAGE done
before 1t came"
The government work in the park this
year has progressed to the satisfaction of
, Col. Chittenden. In talking of 1t he
said:
I'VE are putting a new bridge at the
Golden Gate which will be 220 feet in
length, comprising eleven arches along
the side cliff. Work Is also being done
on the military road which was com
menCed by Captain Sanford (Col. Chit
tenden's predecessor, which leads from
Fort Washable to Jackson's Hole. A
new enterprise is road to connect with
the Burlington railway, which Is being
constructed to the eastern side of the
park. This road will be about fifty
miles long, and will be about the tough
est proposition In this country in the~way
Of highway building. Most Of 1t is along
precipitous mountain sides, where the
ground is unstable and there is constant
danger Of avalanches as the soil and rock
are disturbed by excavation.
"One of our pack mules tobogganed
down the gulch the other day, going 2yO
feet end over end and having nothing
but stiff neck to show for 1t. Most
of his load consisted of blankets, and
every time he struck the high places it
was on his back. and the cushion OF
his load sent him bounding into the air
for another somersault and fall. Wht
the men went to take the pack of the
back Of the dead mule they found him
broken or joint out Of place. His stiff
neck bothered him considerably IN bray
ing though"