The Savannah morning news., 1900-08-30
FRONTIER PRAIRIE FIRE CLUBS.
Organizations Once Formed in the
West, but Not Needed Now.
From the Chicago Inter Ocean.

From the Chicago Inter Ocean.
Il reckon there are few ople living
in this part Of the country who ever
heard of prairie fire clubs" said a West
ern man, the subject having been sug-
gested by the burning of d lot of rubbish
on scow. Il doubt If such things were
ever known In the East In fact they
went out of existence in the West forty
years ago.
I'm very many sections Of what you call
Middle West tlmbered land of to-day was
prairie nifty years ago. | have Travelled
half-cay over one of these prairies
without seeing farm, a house, an indi-
vdual, or a domestic animal. The towns
We're few and far apart, and census
taker could have stood in one place in
some CT them and made up his figures.
one / have in mind stood on one of the
praries which rolled out to the horizon
in every direction. with never tree or
a shrub to break the vision. Some years
later an oak shrub was found in the
grass aud that constituted town talk
for several days. | remember party GO
ing out to see it on Sunday. You may get
an lea from this as to how nearly iso-
lated from the world we were.
Not far from it while the tree was
SIN slplirg, were a few farms. They
were npt ltHct a. Inc tllieTS OF the SOIL
plowed deep ridges about the ground they
cultivated. These We're to protect their
crops and houses from the encroachment
of prairie fires. But there were prairie
fires which no burrows could urn.
The fires were always started in the
fall, after the grasses Rod died out The
object was to clear away the dead grass
es so they would not ietard the growth
of spring. You have heard all your lives
Of certain events or things running or
spreading like a prairie fire." Any man
who ever saw one knows what 1t means,
but a man who has never turned out to
fight one has no conception of the work.
And the man who has never seen a prai-
RE fire when II was swept onward at
night by high wind has missed a thrilling
sight. I have read descriptions of tnese
fires but not one did the subject justice.
TO my mind the storm All sea is tame
compared TO the storm of flame on
waste of prairie.
The few farmers near the village OF
which l spoke were almost sacred 20 the
peoT lie of the village. They were the only
farmers within seventy-fve miles of the
place. We relied upon them for our grain
and many Of the necessaries of life. One
night prairie fire escaped from control
ard bore down upon this little cluster OF
farms. The attack was seen, of course.
by the vi isge. II seemed to light the
earth and paint the heavens. It's roar was
as distant as the breaking of a stormy
sea On a rockbound coaster thunder when
II strikes the heart of a forest
1.-The village was watching the sweep
Of this fire, discussing what was best 70
Go, when the sound OF hoofs of hard
ridden horse came nearer and more dis
tinct. In another moment-it seems like
a moment as ! recall 1.-THE horse came
to a stand in the square. The rider was
women.
"As soon the young woman could
do so she told what we already knew, ex-
cept the information that she had been
mt to the village for help, and, Of course
we had surmis that when We heard the
hcofs of her horse beating a charge on
the road.
In few minutes as many as could
leave went out; some on horseback, some
in wagons. Later another posse went
out / was in the Civil War, but never
saw a battle like the one we had that
night with that prairie fire. 1t didn't
lost as long a the fire of lead, but II was
hotter and more stubborn. OF course.
you understand that there was no such
thing as water with which TO fight such
fire II had to be threshed and beaten
back with-well, with anything that would
thresh or smother. ! have known men.
having exhausted whatever they had In
hand, pull of their clothes and fignt
prairie fires with them until the heat
burned their flesh.
1T was nearly noon before we had Il
under control. Ia was the most sullen
thing / ever saw. Al times II seemed
human. We saved the crops In the fields
and the house but what burned, scorcn-
ed army we were. Mems hair. whiskers
and eyebrows we're missing. and not
person escaped some accident by the tiery
contact.
within a few days che village organized
the Prairie Fire Club. ana every man ana
woman ard boy and girl became q mem
ber detail WAS made In pralrie-fre
sear0n whose duty Il was 10 watch the
horizon and be prepared 10 ride 10 the
relief - the farmers. Tho stub went out
% number OF lines. but che fires were Oh
ways easily subdue1 The one / have de-
eorbed was flo terror. Whenever ! see
% blaze my mind goes back 10 that night
The organization % our prairie ilre club
LA "a "a n0fH other VILLAGES IlIf