Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1908-08-14
HAMPTON PHOEBUS AND OLD POINT-C Continued.

Iout under the house when all the oc-
|cupants are asleep and unconscious OF
1.-The fact that the fire Is within mile
LOT them.
Another source OF danger IL the fnct
that while men are fighting the IRE
before them II will Sneak around De.
blind them and hem them In. They
are working desperately and do MOI
notice their predicament untii TOO
late. Walled In by circle oil lame
land enveioped by a cloud of smoke. q
Imam does not retain his consciousness
for q very long time. He sinks OWN
Unconscious and Is often dead long be-
fore the IRE reaches him. However.
la forest Are never ran n man down.
| Sparks from passing locomotives
start many fires, often causing I'M
Imense loss to he railroads. Trains
are frequently obliged to run through
miles of Are, with the flames nibbliny
at the ties and heating the rails, II
lis an uncomfortable feeling that the
Itenderfoot gets when the crew comes
Through the train on hot August day,
iclosine the windows and transQfas.
pulling down the blinds and asking
the, passengers To stand In t..e centre
tef the car while the train wildly
dashes through a hre. The car IS
lalled with smoke and becomes sitting
Ihot. The engine driver opens MS
Throttle as wide "a possible and thu
train plunges L4indly through. Tho
Ihappiest moment In the life Of the
messengers IL when the train finally
lemerges into the clear daylight again.
| Perhaps the most extensive cause
of forest fires Is the camp Are OF the
inexperienced hunter. He goes away
land leaves his flre to die out OF its
Town accord or he heats 1t out with
brush Neither method Is safe, There
lis but one safe way to put ont camp
Are and that Is ia drown It out ahd IL
takes plenty of water. A man may
beat his fire out. 30 far as surface IN
idications 20, but he leaves some
lsmouldering embers deep under the
surface. Likely as not this will end
lin a disastrous forest IRE.
l.. In Michigan last year a party OF
| CITY men were camped on Look Lake
hunting deer, when they started out
lin the morning they beat out their
IRE with their feet. They left nor a
vestige OF it. ~hen they returned a
flew hours later their tent was burned.
together with their extra guns. ammu-
milton and provisions OF all KINDS.
Thew were tired and hungry and night
was coming on. The nearest town
was twenty miles away. The next!
thine those men will drown their hre
out with water
There Is a section OF Northern Mtch-I
Iigan known as "the Plains The ter,
ritory Is about twenty-five miles VIDE
land more than one hundred miles
long, The soil Is SO unfertiie tnat
nothing grows there but dwarfed TIM.
lber and huckleberries. The rainfall
lis very slight, and this district Is visit-
led annually by extensive forest hres.
lTbev result from the camp fires or
lcareless huckleberry pickers. The loss
lin comparatively small because OF the
sparse vegetation. but what loss there
lis must be borne by the persons VINO
Icause the fires. The huckleberry crop
lis usually ruined, depriving thousands
Iof persons Of the summer employ
Iment. Entire families go to the plains
land nick berries for the market during
the season. For many faPilies the
berry crop furnishes livelihood Tor
about three months. Naturally nre
means much to them, and they try to1
Ibe careful, but scarcely a year passes
that a part of the territory Is not
burned over.
On the plains there are a few sheep
and cattle ranches. The annual nreS
are particularly a pest to the rancn.
men. The fires drive the sheep ana
cattle into the swamps, where they
are often caught in the quicksands and
lost. Not only this. but the fences
are burned and what little vegetation
|thriyes there is burned. depriving the
livestock Of its grazing lands. the
rapchmen arc so bitter against the
|careless campers that they have
adopted heroic measures to put an
lend to the fires. Evidence OF this u
found in the fact that hunters ana
| berry pickers go to the plains and fire.
ahentIy do not return to their homes.
Relics in the shape Of charred bones
ana not those Of Wild animals, are
mt so very rare.