The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1914-12-04
FOREST FIRES
EXTINCUISHED
BY LONG RAIN
Blaze Extending From With
in few Miles of Cape Down
Into Arkansas Subdued.
DAMAGE TO FARMERS
REPORTED AT MILLIONS
Great Loss to Valuable Lumber,
Fences and Homes by
Flames.

The continued rain of yesterday,
which fell for twenty-four hours
throughout Southeast Missouri and
Northern Arkansas, extinguished the
forest fires which have been sweeping
over an enormous area of land in this
state and IN Arkansas.
Two hours after the rain began fall
ing in Cape Girardeau, the crisp odor
of burning wood and the cloud of
smoke began to wane. Late in the
evening, the rain slackened and a
stiff breeze from the north clarified
the atmosphere once more.
Dispatches from within few miles
to the south of Cape Girardeau down
to a short distance north of Little
Rock, tell of tremendous losses due to
the forest fire. Even so far as
homa there have been great damages
sustained by the fires, which in that
section of the country assumed the
proportions of prairie blazes.
A territory probably five hundred
miles wide has been in an almost
eclipse during the past week. In some
cases the atmosphere has been so sur
charged with smoke as to obscure the
sun. This condition prevailed in Cape
Girardeau two days during the week.
The fires destroyed millions of dol
lars of valuable timber and the loss
in this state was exceedingly large.
Farmers in many communities worked
all week in desperate efforts to save
their fences, their homes and their
crops from the ravages of the flames.
Railroad crews fought during the
whole week to save bridges and tres
sells that form part of the various
lines traversing this section of the
state.
A dispatch from Pine Bluff, Ark,
which is almost the southern limits of
the forest fire, says:
Rain, which began falling shortly
before noon Friday over all the south
ern part of Arkansas, is looked for
ward to as the beginning of the end of
the forest fires which have been rag
ing for more than ten days. The
Weather Bureau here declared that
sudden movement of the storm clouds,
which have been hanging over Texas,
has brought relief to almost all the
southern half of the state, where the
fires have been most numerous.
Because of the threatened destruc-
ton of game and wild fowl by the
fires, Federal Game Warden Visart
went to Forrest City to investigate
conditions in the eastern part of the
state. Deer, grouse, quail, duck and
other game have been driven from
their haunts by the flames, which are
sweeping over the timbered areas.
was intimated that the United States
OO'SiihiCiS outiOiiIicn "Oult Dc 6iSh-
ed to employ settlers and unemployed
men to assist in checking the flames.
The State Penal Farm at Cummins,
Ark, is surrounded by forest fires, ac-
cording to T. P. Murrey, penitentiary
commissioner, but the 1900 prisoners
there have been for two days clear
ing away the timber on land adjoining
the farm and it is believed the peni-
tertiary is in no danger.
Fires in the vicinity of Jonesboro |
are the worst in years, according to
W. o. Trout, editor of a newspaper |
there. Between Little Rock and Jones'
boro, Mr.. Trout said, there is almost |
a continuous string of fires. Miles |
of fences and telephone poles and
scores of barns have been consumed.
This was the tenth day on which the
sun has been obscured entirely in Lit
tie Rock by dense clouds of smoke
overhanging the city.
The most serious individual losses
yet reported as result of the fires
occurred at Helena last night, when
sparks set fire to the Central Distill-
ing Company plant and the Dining
Furniture Company. Both were de-
troyed with loss of s150,O00.