Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1904-04-06
which | supposed to be the valley Of
the KattaWagami

IVY NOIJCCLulC plO " W SOAiNSS3
bHt upon arriving there We were In.
deed disappointed to find only mar
row, shallow stream, poor barrier
to all advancing fire. But as a last
! hope, we were glad to seek its protec-
ton, and we decided to take our
| chances in midstream.
By this time the wind had risen to
a gale, and the atmosphere was dense
with smoke and rapidly darkening. BY
| four o'clock it was so dark l was
unable to see my hand in front of my
face, and the air had begun to feel
decidedly warmer.
| shall never forget the weirdness
and unoenniness of that awful gloom;
the wild shrieks of the night hawks
and the loud boots of the owls in that
strange, unnatural night, or the rush
of animals fleeing as before a terrible
foe. Out in the thick spruce forest
across the stream, in front and be-
hind us, escaped caribou, moose and
bear, besides innumerable smaller an
imals, such as rabbits and squirrels.
We could not see them, but as each
new animal found refuge near us
Jacko, long accustomed to the various
sounds made by the different inhabi-
tants of the forest, announced it's ar
rival.
The large animals came crashing
through the forest, guided evidently
| by custom or instinct to this place of
safety, there Ing no light to show
them the way Meanwhile the smaller
animals often scrambled over us, and
occasionally singed owl or partridge
futtered down beside us on the bank
of the stream.
The animals acted as heralds of the
fire; and quickly the western sky, so
lately ink-biack, turned to a dull, dark
orange and then to red. Now we could
see the animals all round us in the
water, each making the strange sound
common to it, the caribou and moose
uttering low means, while the bears
growled and snarled at each other
and at the other animals. In the eyes
of all was the same terror felt by our.
selves.
Evidently our foe was steadily adj
vancing. BY this time the heat was
so intense that we were obliged to
take to the water, an example already
set us by our dumb animal compan-
ions. We sat on the bottom of the
river with only our heads above
stream. We had soaked our wooden
coats and had them in readiness to
fling over our heads and prevent suf-
location when the worst came.
All of sudden the fire burst upon
us. shall always remember the SOL
emn moment when that awful sea of
flame, over one hundred feet high,
rolled in upon us, and licked up in a
minute those giant spruces can still
hear the groans and shrieks of the
animals near us, the crashing of the
falling trees and the hideous roar of
the fire. can still see that terrible
wall of flame sweep across the river
and plow it's way on toward the east.
The heat was SO intense that the
coats over our heads several times
caught fire, and the surface tempera-
ture OF the water rose from that Of a
cool stream to Iukewarm.
For several hours the fire ragged
furiously round us, and many times
thought either JACKIE or I would suf-
focate. JACKIE scarcely spoke, but
when he did speak his words were
most encouraging. His stoicaf fOrti-
tude was indeed remarkable, and was
more than sustaining at such mo-
ment
At last, when we thought we could
hold cut no longer, above the terrible
cracking of the fire and the thuds of
falling trees we heard the distant roar
of thunder Rain was soon pouring
in torrents on every side.
All night long 1t rained, and by
morning the fire was sufficiently
quenched to allow us to return toward
our camp The animals in the river
had gone before dawn, their terror of
man returning when the greater dam
ger was past.
In our backward trip through the
blackened rampicks, still smoldering
and steaming in many p1aces,-an
that remained CT the splendid forest
through which we had passed the day
before,-at wide intervals we came
across singed or partly burned car
casses of different animals and birds,
which had been unable to reach
place Of safety. These were particu-
larly common in the muskeg which I
saw the previous day.
When we reached our camp on the
West River Itzka was overcome with
delight, and embraced his companion
in fervent manner, quite unusual in
the red man. He had fully made up
his mind that we must have persisted,
and was already preparing to bear
the tragic news of our fate to the
nearest Hudson Bay post.
He, too, had had a terrible expert
ence, and, forced to bear it alone, had
doubtless felt it more. The West River,
however, is SO much larger than the