Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1903-11-24
FARMS ARMS DDEINIC; { swept
AWFUL HAVOC OF TIE FIRES
RAGING iN MISSISSIPPI
Valley
lanes No Longer Confined to the
Mooeiiands Cut FARMS are Beinq
Moved BY Destroyer.
flames Mo Longer Confined to the
Moved By Destroyer.
WILL TAKE A RAIN TO CHECK 1T

From all directions lhere como
pouring into the city distressing tale.
If the wholesale destruction of crops.
homes and outhoUses because of the
forest fires which rage down the Ms.
slssippi valley. The fire started IN
tAe woodlands, but has now spread to
the crops and fences and the farmers
!, II .'e4nHEon county are compelled to
E&at ffe night and Ga. in order f9
s"Es eel homes and even their very
'Ves. constant danger hangs over
many hemc3 because of the raging
fires in the woods near bv and in many
places whole families have been made
destitute because of the burning 4
the unharVested crop. Father, mother
and little ones lay aside every other
occupation to fight the threatening
destroyer. Ii has now reached a
the rayages of the fire. for 1t has got
bey2nd human control None of the
cities are threatened with immediate
danger but dense smoke overhangs
sill OF Arkansas and in fact. all of the
seissippi valley from the lakes to
the gulf
The dryness prevailing in 1ie TO-
rests for three months is responsible in
a large measure for the spread of the
flames which are supposed to have
started from the sparks from railr~ad
trains and neglected camps of the
hunters. Then too. the woods are full
OF dry leaves and the ripencd crops
also furnish food for the flames. Old
and experienced huntsmen who have
heeo driven into town 4y the dense
elz'ads OF smoke say they never saw
the forests so dry as at present and
that the wide extent of the burning can
hardly be OVerestimated I'm many To-
callties the danger is all the more
threatening because of insufficient fa-
cilities with which to fight the flames.
The dry weather Of some months has
IN many places dried up the streams
and where a stream of water once
stood which would lend a check to the
flames, there is now lut tie dry beds.
me rivers and stte@ms 81 oyer Ar
kansas are very low at - ,i4c 81 Tive
year and the cry q - 159ter 70 nut on
the flames comes f"om all points.
1t is believed, he#ar pf taat tho fire
will not spread t.. any of the smaller
towns. where all precautions necessary
are Icing tatken. Last night the woods
were still burning around Bell park on
the west side of the city and many
noticed the lurid glow in the west. me
fire department made a run to that vi
clnity yesterday.
The weather reports for the past
three days offer but lttle encourage
ment TO the rver-Worked farmers and
fire-fighters because of the indications
for fair weather.
One result of the fire is seen in the
flight of the panic stricken deer,
wolves and other wild animals of the
forests to the streams and swamps for
safety. They have instinctively made
their way to the swamp lands for ref
uge and this shows that the spread of
the flames has reached even te denser
forests and wilder places
The amount of damage cannot be es-
timated. The nre fighters are con-
stantly on the watch for each new out
break of the flames. snatching sleep
when they can, but always ready at
the approach of danger Those who
have been fighting for days say that
the smoke is SO dense it is impossible
see one hundred feet away. Under
cover of these dense clouds of smoke
the fire will cat its way almost to the