The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-10-11
THE BURNING OF A MEADOW,

Perhaps no other one word in the English language has such power to make stout hearts beat faster and to whiten the faces of brave men as the word fire" That single word is enough to make men leap from their beds in alarm atthe dead of night; it is sufficient to throw the occupants of a crowded building into such a frenzy that they will trample one another to death in their efforts to quickly escape from the danger implied. As it Is with men, go it is with thewild creatures about us; there is scarcely anything they are more. afraid of than fire. Even the lion, the so- o-called king of the for est,' will not dare to seize man lying in the glare of harmless camp fire. In- stinctively they fear the red flower" which kills wrerever it grows.
 never see forest fire without think ing of the thousands of wild creatures whose lives are involved, of the haid- breadth escapes, the desperate, futile attempts to escape. and of the unknown and unrecorded dead. In such a fire there occur tragedies more awful in their way than the Windsor Hotel dis aster; as appalling from the standpoint of those most interested. as the wiping out of the inhabitants of St. Pierre.
 A few days ago I witnessed the burn ing of meadow; a commonplace occur renee, yet fraught with disaster to hun dreds of innocent creatures.
 The meadow was overgrown with long grass. with clumps of low bushes here and there. and with a bit of plowed ground in one corner It was bounded on one side by lake and on the other side bya wood, from which it was separated by stone wall. The fire was started by the farmers who owned the land, with a view to clearing the ground. They put a match to the grass on the side near the lake, and 8 gentle breeze carried the flame in wide line toward the wall and the wood.
 I stood on the wall near the bit of ploughed land, and waited. Presently such of the inhabitants of the meadow as were able to escape with their lives began to come out. There was faint but continuous rustic in the leaves be- low me, and the head of a huge black snake appeared. Doubtless he would have escaped into the lake if he could, but the fire had cut him off on that side, and he was forced to look elsewhere for safety. He was very leisurely in his movements, pausing to eye me cautious ly, his black, forked tongue playing in and out meanwhile. finally gliding slowly into hole In the wall. Then followed several other serpents, lnclud- ing three garter snakes of different sizes, a milk snake and fat water snake. Next came a meadow mouse, darting through the grass and pausing now and then to watch and listen. Now he simply raised his nose in the air and sniffed, and now he stood up on his hind legs to get the best view obtainable by so small a creature. Presently the flames struck heap of brush near the center of the meadow, and wild rab- bit with singed fur sprang from her form, and, leaping away through the long grass, disappeared over the wall. I tried to follow him with my eyes for moment. and as turned again toward the field, the grass at the edge of the ploughed space parted, and out leaped dainty wood mouse with three tiny young ones attached to her nipples. What pathetic little picture this frail creature presented; tiny mother driv- en from her home without moments notice, and with three small infants to carry and provide for. Yes, there were three of them with her. but often these mice have five or six. Who can tell but that, in the hurried departure, some of the little ones were left behind? But she was evidently very self-contained little mother for now, even with the cracking of tho fire growing louder ev- cry moment, she paused by an upturned lump of earth, and deliberately washed her face As she started forward again after her brief rest, one of the little ones became detached from her body and she ran almost three feet before she discovered her loss. Then the unfortu- nate began to squeak, and after paus-