The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-31
:. burned through. fell

| tha burning area and never returned.
Most of the people left by t he wagon roads
| only to find they were going INTO a lur,
mace. More than one hundred were burned
to death or sufocated IN trying 10 ge'
Half mile distant on the side opposite
! to the fire was half-drled pond WIN
sandy bottom. Some Of the cooler heads,
on three sides, remembered this spot, and,
| cropping to it through the smoke dug holes
| In the wet sand and covered Themselves
| or lay immersed in the stagnant water up
| to their chins. ,,,,
! breathe without strangling. The village
occupied a space about mile square. The
houses were separated by yards and streets
and we're from so to $50 feet apart Many
of the residents did not believe ,mat w J.,
the outskirts and took their families INTO
the cellars, where they persisted "
As the flames reached the town and the
nearest rows of dwellings we're lgnlleo'
the whistle OF locomotive waI , ne" ,h,
Through She opening which marked the
cut for the railroad track dashed passen-
ger train The roofs o! the car, we're
smoking from the heat and every VINCE"
was shut to keep the interiors from iehltIl
The engineer stood at the throttle, While
the fireman drenched him with pals; ,,,o OF
water from the tank in the tender. me
crowds of people running hither ana
thither in the streets rushed for the tram
and every one who could get a tooti'oM on
the platforms was allowed 20 90 80 ai'.a
the engineer reversed his lever and backed
his train into the mass of burning trees
and underbrush. ,
Luckily none had fallen across the track
For six miles he worked the engine.
Several times his clothing caught hre pGt
the water bucket eXtingulshed H. IN
places the flames literally swept uhder
and I'D the sides of the coaches. while the
metal work on the outside OF the engine
was so hot it could not be toncheu. ~
last the train reached a s!haa ciealins
near a swamp and the order was gwen TO
all to leave the train and save themselves
Every one left but two Cinnamon MO were
burned to a crisp with the cars ne ra,is
made Of steel weighing 80 POUNDS TO lhr
ward were twisted by the heat into S-sha pea
figures and in some places partly melted.
This fire swept over an area ahoul %
miles long and ten niles wide in Minnesota.
The remains of 100 persons were io'i',., III
Hinckly, where not a house was ''l'' Az
ge,her 400 persons were burned or sumo
Gated and sis 900 600 in property destroyed.
Further south, in the great grain fields
OF Kansas past experie nee has forced ne
farmers to be ever on their guard dnrlhg the
dry season, and they are familiar with every
mode Of fire fighting.
Water Is useless 10 eHtinguish forest or
prairie fires Dirt and sand and ire"
branches thick with green leaves were the
weapons that conquered fire threaten
ing to destroy the town OF Potta"atotill'
No one knows how it started, but Wien the
people began to check It the names were
advancing in line nile long uiSeu ny Il
strong wind
Men and women. and children old enough
to be of service, hurried to the locall'F'
while dozen ploughs were loaded on wagons
and hauled to lace on the prairie several
miles from the line of burning vegeta-
ton The ploughs were taken from tn,
wagons, while the horses We're unhitchrd
and the animals fastened to the impie-
mepts, four to each. As fast a. II could be
driven, each team dragged It's plough
soil and burying the dry stubbe which
Afforded food for the flames The fur
rows were dug about five feet apart IN ven
parallel rows. each as long as 1t was CA
culated the fire line would extend should
it reach the spot
While the ploughmcn were thus Great
ing sort of breast work to resist the flames,
the others were placed AT Intervals III front
digging dirt with hoe and shovel ana
forming piles to be used for ammunition
to be thrown on the flames or spread OYER
the fields as further obstacle. The emu
dren with branches, We're stationed on the
leeward side of the burning area to beat
| down any blaze which might spring up ana
prevent the fire from widening, II possible.
Thus began a fight which continued from
0 o'clock in the morning until mdnlght
| of the same day. The people knew that
| il the fire went over the rows of ploughed
| ground the houses, barns and crops pc
vond would be turned into ashes, as IL was
| harvest time and the corn and wheat al
| ready cut and stacked in piles had been
! dried in the sun, and, with the surface OF
the fields Uttered with leaves, formed "A
| mass Of combustibe material "hlch no
| effort could extingush when ono" ighNeSA
| so they resisted the firefoot by foot, work
ing in the hot air until some dropped from
! exhaustion and had to be carried away
by others to avoid being burned to death
! A fast as the flames reached the Niclhl'y
| of one of the earth piles, shovelIuls weF"
| thrown on the blaze The boys and girls al
the sides wore out their sticks and hraiicrc 5
| with persistent beating, and the smaller
ones were sent for a fresh supply. A.
| soon as the lcughmen had finished tho cut
| Off their horses wero hitched to the wagons
and sent for water to the nearest stream
| The liquid was brought back III barreis
into which the fighters plum ged their hea"s.
! and shoulders to counteract the ehetls OF
| the heat.
Although fully $40 persons were III this
| fire brigade, they were unable 10 keep ba"t;
! the progress OF the fire until it reached
! the pl ughad area. The flames ltaiet,
over The iirst furrow, but the stubf.e al'i
| dried grass bet ween 1t and the second ma
been covered with dirt. and but a part OF II
ignited Realizing the desperate sltua-
ton, the people devoted all their efforts to
extinguishing his part of the flames. A.
| many as could procure them "Na,fe'
! branches, while the others used their n 'e'
and shoves, some literally running INTO
| the fire in their efforts to stamp II out.
| It's range was narrowed several hundred
| feet, although part Of the space between
| the next two burrows igI.ted Encouraged
by their progress, however, the fighters
redoub!ed their efforts, and by mdn!g.1t
the long row of fame had been turned into
a mass of smoking embers. But the fire,
| though conquered, was not wholly dead
, Squads Of men were left to prevent anot her
outbreak, and the others scattered TO their
| homes to snatch few hours rest until called
to relieve those on watch, for prairie
fires are treacherous and may smouuer ior
several DAYS, only to break out WIN re-
newed energy. They must be entirely
exting uished or watched closely until they
! die out.
| While favorable breezes spread fire,
the intense heat of a burning area creates
draught, which in cas-" OF large forest
! fire forms almost a gale. The greater the
| fire the stronger the air current, so thai
! the flames feed themselves. This is cs-
pecialy noted when forests near the sum
| inits Of mountains take fire The air be-
I coming cooler as the attitude increases
| the difference in the temperature or the
| currents is much greater than when on the
| lowlands, and as result mountain fires burn
more fiercely while they last.
A curious instance OF this occurred a
| few wears ago in the anthracit" coal mining
district of central Pennsylvania fir,