The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-06-13


is scene Of incompatible grandeur.
BY day there are mountainous bill
lows of smoke, surging on high, rolling
in dismal masses, luminous now and
then as the wind driven irebrands
CLEAN and then flutter and fade in the
smoke wreatbs With the lull of
sunset the valleys are lost to sight in
the drifting. restless sea of leaden
white. but at nightfall the lofty peaks
arc writhing with fierce lights and
black shadows, and once more the air
is vibrant with the sullen crash of trees
and the terrific cracking roar Of leap
ing. victorious flames,
very marvellous, glorious, entranc-
ing scene if one could forget the monu-
mental waste of it-and one other fact
that in the midst of it a small army
of humans is struggling against the
mlghtlest, crueicst, most trcacherous Of
foes,
They are hatless and coatless, pant
ing, gaspng; their throats are parched
dry. their eyes are half blinded with
heat and cinders; their faces are blis-
tered. Sometimes their clothing is on
fire; often they fall fainting in the
very clutches of the licking flames.
They are the men of the forest FIRE
line, some of them blue shirted rangers
IN government service, others volun-
teer lumbermen, settlers, stockmen,
railroad hands-a very small army, but
one of enormous responsibilities and
unequal risks.
Upon their courage and hardihood de-
pend each year the preservation of
some fifty million acres of reserve tim
Der and the lives Of thousands OF
forest settlers. In Europe only 1880
acres arc apportioned TO the care of
each forest warden: in the United
States no limit is placed at all. Often
times call 20 duty means month of
day and night battic about the rim Of
treacherous hanking furnace of fire.
and every call means deadliest danger
Out Of the great forest fire of Hinck-
ley, Mimi, comes a tale of heroism
and Of terrors that seems almost unbe-
llcvablc, More than five hundred peo-
pic were burned alive; but one other
fire has proven more deadly, that at
Pcshtlgo, Wis, in 1871, in which some
ten thousand lives were lost.
Great Wall of Flame
The Hincl1ley FIRE, like all the most
disastrous ones. was, in the parlance of
the forest ranger "ground and
crown fire. That is TO say, it burned
along in solid wall of fame. reaching
from the thick, dry duff of the ground
10 the resinous top branches of a prime
val forest growth. It's progress. Of
course. was irresistible. There was no
regularly organized forestry service
then, and the umbermen and settlers
who first tried 10 stem The mighty
avalanche Of fire were forced to flee for
their lives into the clearing about
the town of Hinckley. Here they were
speedily pcnucd in by hanling walls
of flames.
There was but one hope Of escape.
by way of the railroad which ran
through Hincilcy. \ telegraph opera
Tor, who was burned TO death at his
post. sent the news to the nearest
roundhouse. and rescue trains were
hastily made up
The first TO arrive was passenger
accommodation, with Engine Driver ].
NJ. Root in the cab 1t pushed It's way
trough veritable he'll of flame and
almost M to Hnckley-to point, in
fact. whore the tracks were completely
furnace Of heat. till fhe cars were
burning and roasting alive their oc-
cupants. till the tracks behind were
almost consumed and till the man in
charge, Conductor Sullivan. could make
no his mind TO give thc signal |'Go
aheadi'' and cut of the last hope of
the frenzied figures sill streaming out
Of the burning woods.
Was there ever another dilemma so
terrible? Back of the train the ties
were a6re and the rails were twisting
with The intense heat. Sullivan saw
that. and from one OF his cars, iammcd
with survivors and now on fire. came
the groans and screaming prayers
Of the suffering lie saw frantic man
kiss his wife goodbye and plunge from
window with clothes ahre: another
beat his head into insenslbility. But as
he turned desperately 10 the w DDS
each time he saw more black figures
streaming forth with naked arms raised
beseechinglv and shrieking, "Wait.
Wait! Waltz
A mother her hair and clothing
burned away, held her babe close TO
her breast in fruitless effort to
keep the fiery air from its tender
lungs A husband, his legs mere
stumps, carried his young wife to the
tracks aud fell DYING beside her. a
little boy Of fourteen dragged along
two children while strong men dropped
and fell IN the fiery path.
When at last Sullivan gave the sig
nal he covered his eyes with one
hsud and tried 10 drown his ears to
the despairing shrieks nf those he was
compelled to leave behind But he
could not. DAYS afterward he saw
those black, pitching figures, and their
cries rang ceaselessly in his ears. till at
length he went hopelcssly insane.
In his hlisteriDg cab. his face cut
with bursting glass. his hands and
arms scorched red. Engine Driver Root
stood patiently by his throttle. The
6rcmen clambered back and forth TO
the wafer tank and threw pails of
water over him, Now and then he i'm
mersed himself in the tank to put out
the flames on his clothes. Together
they backed and sfeadind the train un-
Ill little lake was reached, some two
miles away.
Plunged Into the Lake.
Here The frenzied passengers plunged
into the water and plastered their
heads with mud Even the air was un-
endurable. Engine Driver Root was
taken unconscious from his post and
laid alongside his fireman, who was