The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-07-10
BY HARRY ROOT.

l.
The disastrous prairie fire which
swept over portions of Rocks county,
Sunday, March IL, 1893, will never be
forgotten by the people who lived in
its path. Your correspondent was
spending the day in Hill City. Early
that morning the wind was blowing
furiously from the southwest. In the
middle of the forenoon, looking to the
west a few miles, the people could see
that a prairie fire was raging. The
wind kept increasing in velocity until
one could scarcely see across the
street on account of dust and smoke
Before s.noon hour arrived the fire
had advanced to opposite Hill City on
the south of the Solomon river, about
three miles away. The wind kept on
increasing in intensity, and the fire
was spreading as fast as a race horse
would run. It swept the country
clean for several miles on either side,
burning houses and barns and other
outbuilding, as well as grains and for
age, and hogs, cattle and horses.
In the middle of the afternoon the
wind shifted to another quarter and
still blowing at HURRICANE speed, it
carried the fire in a southeast di-
rection across Rocks and Ellis coun-
ties. The town of Palco was almost
wiped out by the fire, including the
Union Pacific depot, most of the bust
ness houses and many residences.
Several persons were burned to death,
and numbers injured, while 1t left
hundreds of settlers without food,
home or stock, nothing but the bare
land. 1t is estimated that no less than
1000 square miles of territory was
burned over. After the fire the peo-
pie went to work to prepare them
selves against another catastrophe of
this kind by blowing up much of the
territory and putting in under cultiva-
ton. The Hill City people were out
in force knowing that a destructive
prairie fire was raging near them,
which was licking the ground up
clean. If the wind had changed to the
south, when the fire was at it's worst
it would have jumped the river, and
| the town would have been almost
wiped out. All that saved it was be-
cause the wind stayed in the southeast,
as it swept thru the country a few
miles south. Nor would the solomon
river have checked its destruction.
Most of those who died from the eff
fects of the fire were burned to a
crisp. number also burned to death
/ in Ellis and Russell counties Many
farm houses in its path. together with
/ hundreds of head of stock, and thou
sands of bushels of grain, also burned.
| People who are now living in the path
| of this greatest of all prairie fires in
/ northwest Kansas will never forget
! talking about it. Many of them were
| so blinded by smoke and dust that
those who did perish were caught in
| the fiery death trap, the wind being
so intense as to carry the burning
weeds and grass several rods in ad-
/ vance of the the main wave of the
| flame. As several said to your item
/ Ter, the wind blew the wall of flame
| faster than a horse could run. The
fire started about three miles south
| west of Hill City from a chimney in
a sod house where the family had
| just partook Of their Sunday break
fast
There was a time when the Sixth
district had two newspapers where ii
| now has one. In the old days of the
| prairie schooner" the pioneer days
/ when new boom towns were starting
! up, several Of them in every county
/ some for the object of pulling the town
/ company for a fat bonus, while others
/ wanted to be 'in it, for land office
/ publications. This has all changed
4 now. Towns have died out as vel
I as newspapers, and the land office
/ notices have ceased to exist, the land
/ having been proved up and the gov
| following information of the first
| paper. the first editor and publisher
Il the town the paper started in, is giver
in the data which follow:
i Cheyenne county-News, by A. NJ
/ Brannaman. Only five issues of thi
/ paper were published. 1t was printed
in Atwood in 1885, and dated Wano
Cheyenne county. The paper wa
/ afterward changed to Rustler. At tn.
Il time Wano was the largest town in tn
county, Bird City was the county seat
and the town Of St Francis wasn'i
/ born.
I Decatur county-Hera1d, by Hum
phrey & Counter. The first issue wa:
dated Oberlin, June II, 1879.
Ellis county-Railway Advance. tri