The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1909-03-10
The Story Of a Forest
Fire.
BY Raymond S. Spears.
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For more than six weeks no rain had
fallen along the southwest side of the
Adirondacks. The ground was parch-
cd. In every direction from Seaberry
Settlement fires had been burning
through the forest, but as yet the val
ley of the West Canada had escaped.
But one night a careless man threw
O burning match into brush heap.
When morning came the west wind,
blowing up the valley, was ash laden
and warm with The fir that was COM
ing eastward toward the settlement in
line a mile wide
Soon after daybreGF Lem Lawson
met the fire on his way to Noblesbor-
ouPh and warned the settlement OF
its danger. One man fastened to No
blesborough for the fire warden, two
went up the West Canada to the lum-
Der camps. The rest of the male pop
ulation, including boys, fastened down
the main road to an old log trail 1t
was hoped the fire might be stopped
at the open the road afforded.
With hoes and shovels the men dug
a.trench through the loan to the sand,
scattering the dirt over the leaves to-
ward the fire. When the first flames
came along, they redoubled their efforts
amid the flying sparks and suffering
amid the flying sparks and suffcoting
smoke, but without avail The sparks
and great pieces Of flaming birch curls
carried the flames over the road into
the woods beyond the men, fairly sur
rounding them with fire.
Beyond the road the fire had freer
sweep Only the year before that
woodlot had been cut over for the
spruce pulp Hundreds of the tree
tops, brown and dry, needed only a
spark TO set them off, and 1t was a
wave of flame that ran into each one,
instead of mere sparks, In the more
open places little tongues of fire darted
in a narrow line for yards ahead Of
the main wave, skipping among the
dusty leaves. The fire ran up the curly
birches in spirals and darted high
above the treetops.
The men could only go before it.
pausing now and then to throw dirt on
q spark Those who lived in the settle
ment glanced from side to side, won
dering If the fire would cross the brook
where they now determined to make
another and the last possible stand.
The settlement was built along the
brink Of steep sidehill. The bed OF
the stream was only a few feet wide
chiefly sand-bar and dry boulders, at
this time-and beyond it, toward the
fire, was fiat, or bottom, sixty rods
wide, averaging not two feet above
the bed of the brook.
The bottom was covered with stand
ing balsams and heads Of dead spruce
tops, like those on the, ridge, only larg-
or and more numerous. It was q
swampy lowland in all but the dries;
seasons; now it was like a great bed
OF match sticks, and quite as ihflam-
mable. Even the mold would burn
there. is~s S epar t-
Should the fire cross the brook, it
would climb the hill and burn the
buildings. Then 1t would sweep across
the narrow fields of grass, or go round
the ends of the settlement clearing, in
to the big woods" laundering was
the main business of the settlement.
Should these woods CO. the men would
be without homes and without occupa-
ton.
One of the fire fighters was Will Bor-
son, son of the man who had thrown
the match, and as he fought with his
hoe along the road he heard the men
on. each side of him curslng his father
by, name for his carelessness. More
than once these men turned on Will
and told him he ought to put that fire.
out since his father was to blame for
T. The words stung bitterly, but he
made no reply to them.
Will did his best. Sparks burned
holes In his shirt; a fare of sheet fire
from brush heap singed his eye
lashes and the hair over his forehead.
When old Ike Frazier cried out. "Its
no use here any more, boys!" Will was
the last one to duck his head and run
for the road up the creek to the settle
ment.
Half dozen men were detailed to
30 to the houses and help the women
carry the furniture and other house
hold goods out in the fields to the wat
ering-troughs; the rest fastened to the
brook and scattered along it and threw
water on the brush at the edge, hoping
khA 40 ha
they came.
Among them worked VIII Borson,
thinking with all his might and looking
up and down the creek as If the dry
gray boulders, with the scant thread
Of water oozing down among them,
would give him some inspiration. The
w1dkh Of the stream was only few