Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1907-08-17

Orleans Mass.-No less than fifty
separate fires have been burning in
the woods "Wednesday, oHtoHdins from
Provincetown to Yarmouth, distance
of about 80 miles
Moreover. the same agency that set
the fires, a locomotive, is believed to
have, earlier in the day, burnt Il
bridge at Middleboro and to have de.
stroyed all telegraph communication
between Cape Cod and the rest of the
world so that it was impossible dur
ing the entire afternoon to get special
trains and laborers down here to help
in putting out the fires. The first as
sistance of that sort arrived about
dark
When the Middleboro bridge burned
and fell upon the railroad tracks,
trains were held up and Boston pas
sengers were forced to walk a quarter
of mile around the blazing timbers
to take their trains each way.
Not only is every available man in
the district out fighting the flames,
farmers, section men and fishermen,
but even women are working like COM
mon laborers.
AS an instance of the spirit animat-
ing the wives and daughters, Mrs.
Samuel Nickerson, wife of a million
aire at East Brewster led a corps of
women, who, armed with shovels,
went to the woods and spent the af'
ternoon shoveling earth upon flames,
or beating them out by main force.
Between Yarmouth station and
South Bennett alone IA different fires
were counted in the afternoon. At East
Brewster were four fires within dis
trict of not more than half mile.
All the fires are believed to have
been set by the locomotive of the
train that left Provincetown for Bos-
ton at p. m, and which arrives at
Boston at G.52 p. m, as all started soon
after it passed. In fact, an official of
the railroad, stated unsolicited,
that undoubtedly that locomotive had
set a dozen fires between Province
town and North Truro.
The same locomotive, on her trip
from Boston in the forenoon, is said
to have been the last to pass under
tI--..,.---.i--- "a Ae7~-s a. Hr.v., ~. n
e II. railroad, before it was destroyed,
together with all telegraphic connec-
tion between Boston and the Cape.
For between seven and eight hours
Cape Cod was isolated from the rest
OF the world, as far as the telegraph
Is concerned.
AS trains are not allowed to be run
on any other orders than telegraphic
no assistance in putting out the fires
could be called by the railroad author
tiles from anywhere along the line.
At Buzzards bay and Hyannis We're
special trains and large force OF la
borers ready for relief duty for hours,
but they were unable to start out till
after p. m for want of telegrapNic
orders from Boston.
The railroad assistance arrived Oil
the scene of some of the fires at just
about dark, and it is hoped that they
may all be under control, if not eX-
tinguished, during the night The
wind, which was almost a gale, blew
from the northwest all day, famed the
flames and spread them in the most
dangerous manner, but in the evening
the wind shifted toward the eastward
and subsidized considerably, which will
40 doubt assist the fire fighters.
Practically the entire population
along the so miles of burning territory
have been working like slaves for
hours and their labors have been
made the most of by the fidelity and
intelligence of the fire wardens of the
different localities, who have organized
the line of battle.
No such chain of fires has ever been
caused, at least for many years, by a
locomotive, and it is supposed tina t
something must have been the matter
with her spark arrester. Everything
In the way of vegetation is so dried
up along the Cape that once afire it
burns like tinder.