The San Francisco call., 1904-03-04
Lives Are Lost In q
Furious Prairie
Fire.
Oklahoma People in Flight
Before a Running Con-
flagratiOl.
Two Thousand Men Work Desperately
and Succeed in Saving Town of
LaTtOn From Destruction.

LAWTON, Ok, March S-Prairie
fires that swept over large portions of
kiowa and Comanche counties yester-
day afternoon and last night destroyed
hundreds Of farm buildings and much
livestock, made 1000 persons homeless,
caused the death II several persons.
threatened a number Of towns and
swept away scores Of buildings in the
outskirts Of the towns Two deaths are
verified:
DR. HARMOND, six miles from
Lawton; body found.
Unknown boy, body found on prairie
near Lawton; body burned beyond
Identification.
John Harmond and a daughter of
Mrs Henderson, living near Lawton,
were fatally burned.
The country was very dry, no rain
having fallen for months. Grass and
stubble fires set by farmers. as is Gus
tomary at this season Of the year. were
driven beyond control by a violent gale
= which rose suddenly. All estimates of
the loss exceed $500 900.
THOUSANDS FIGHT FIRE.
At Hobart, the county seat Of Kiowa
County. the fire destroyed numerous
outlying buildings. The e. 600 acres of
Government, military and timber and
Indian reserve near Hobart were swept.
with loss OF buildings and cattle. In
the Homestead district near Lawton
occurred the loss Of life noted above.
Late al night the fire began moving
southward toward this city. At 12
o'clock midnight 5000 people Of this
city were up TO battle with the flames.
The advance line Of the fire was fully
Two miles in length and moved in a
- semicircle form.
Two thousand men turned their ef-
forts 70 checking the grass borders of
the reservation at the city limits. Wa
ter from every source, carried in every
conceivable way, was distributed along
The line and carried all around the CITY
limits.
This served the purpose Of checking
the advance lines OF the fire, but was
OF little avail in hindering the contin-
ued rolling OF the arebrands into the
20 streets Of the city. In more than q
hundred places flames arose from
dwellings, barns and outhouses. hut
wherever a blaze grew men were pres-
ent TO quench II with water. As a re-
suit Of the cool judgment Of the fight
-ers the city's loss was only $4,000.
FAMILIES ARE HOMELESS.
Stories are coming in tonight of how
families lay out on the barren prairie
throughout the freezing night after the
storm had passed with only the thin
clothes on their backs as reminders Of
once prosperous homes. Hundreds ~
people are destitute, and are suffering
intensely IN the cold and with the ex-
cfUciating pains occasioned by their
burns. Clothing, medicine and physi-
clans are being sent out from all the
cities and towns Of the district TO re-
lieve the suffering.
d. TOPEKA. Kans.. March 3.-Numer-
ou' reports a ccmlng IN from K4nsa :
counties telling Of heavy losses from
last nights prairie fire. In almost
every instance the fires were caused
by people burning stubble and pasture
lands The high wind came unexpect-
edly and the fires were beyond control
in a short time.
Many narrow escapes from death are
. reported, but so far as known only one
person-Frank McGraw Of Bird CITY
was burned to death. No estimate is
made Of the aggregate damage. but il
is very high. Around Salina. eight fires
were burning at practically the same
time.
GYPSUM CITY SAVED.
It took the most desperate efforts on
the part Of Gypsum City people to pre-
vent the town from burning. Men,