The following account of one of those fearfully sublime spectacles--a
fire on the prairie--is from the "_Wild Western Scenes_" by J.B. Jones.
The hunters have been out and are overtaken by night, and are lost in
the darkness.
Ere long, a change came over the scene. About two-thirds of the distance
around the verge of the horizon a faint light appeared, resembling the
scene when a dense curtain of clouds hangs overhead, and the rays of the
morning sun steal under the edge of the thick vapor. But the stars could
be seen, and the only appearance of clouds was immediately above the
circle of light. In a very few minutes the terrible truth flashed upon
the mind of Glenn. The dim light along the horizon was changed to an
approaching flame. Columns of smoke could be seen rolling upward, while
the fire beneath imparted a lurid glare to them. The wind blew more
fiercely, and the fire approached from almost every quarter with the
swiftness of a race-horse. The darkened vault above became gradually
illuminated with a crimson reflection, and the young man shuddered with
the horrid apprehension of being burnt alive! It was madness to proceed
in a direction that must inevitably hasten their fate, the fire
extending in one unbroken line from left to right, and in front of them,
and they now turned in a course which seemed to place the greatest
distance between them and the furious element. Ever and anon a
frightened deer or elk leaped past, and the hounds no longer noticed
them, but remained close to the horses. The flames came on with awful
rapidity. The light increased in brilliance, and objects were
distinguishable far over the prairie. A red glare could be seen on the
sides of the deer as they bounded over the tall dry grass, which was
soon to be no longer a refuge for them. The young man heard a low
continued roar, that increased every moment in loudness, and, looking in
the direction whence they supposed it proceeded, they observed an
immense, dark, moving mass, the nature of which they could not divine,
but it threatened to annihilate every thing that opposed it. While
gazing at this additional source of danger, the horses, blinded by the
surrounding light, plunged into a deep ditch that the rain had washed in
the rich soil. Neither men nor horses, fortunately, were injured; and,
after several ineffectual efforts to extricate themselves, they here
resolved to await the coming of the fire. Ringwood and Jowler whined
fearfully on the verge of the ditch for an instant, and then sprang in
and crouched trembling at the feet of their master. The next instant the
dark, thundering mass passed overhead, being nothing less than an
immense herd of buffaloes driven forward by the flames. The horses bowed
their heads as if a thunderbolt were passing. The fire and the heavens
were hid from view, and the roar above resembled the rush of mighty
waters. When the last animal had sprung over the chasm, Glenn thanked
the propitious accident that thus providentially prevented him from
being crushed to atoms, and uttered a prayer to Heaven that he might by
a like means be rescued from the fiery ordeal that awaited him. It now
occurred to him that the accumulation of weeds and grass in the chasm,
which saved them from injury when falling in, would prove fatal when the
flames arrived. And after groping some distance along the trench, he
found the depth diminished, but the fire was not three hundred paces
distant. His heart sank within him. But when on the eve of returning to
his former position, with a resolution to remove as much of the
combustible matter as possible, a gleam of joy spread over his features,
as, casting a glance in a contrary direction from that they had recently
pursued, he beheld the identical mound he had ascended before dark, and
from which his unsteady and erratic riding in the night had fortunately
prevented a distant separation. They now led their horses forth, and,
mounting without delay, whipped forward for life or death. Could the
summit of the mound be attained, they were in safety--for there the soil
was not encumbered with decayed vegetation--and they spurred their
animals to the top of their speed. It was a noble sight to see the
majestic white steed flying toward the mound with the velocity of the
wind, while the diminutive pony miraculously followed in the wake like
an inseparable shadow. The careering flames were not far behind, and,
when the horses gained the summit and Glenn looked back, the fire had
reached the base!
Fortunately, that portion of the plain over which the scathing element
had spent its fury, was the direction the party should pursue in
retracing their way homeward.
The light, dry grass had been soon consumed, and the earth now wore a
blackened appearance, and was as smooth as if vegetation had never
covered the surface. As the party rode briskly along, (and the pony now
kept in advance,) the horses' hoofs rattled as loudly on the baked
ground as if it were a plank floor. The reflection of the fire in the
distance still threw a lurid glare over the extended heath. As the smoke
gradually ascended, objects could be discerned at a great distance, and
occasionally a half-roasted deer or elk was seen plunging about, driven
to madness by its tortures. And frequently they found the dead bodies of
smaller animals that could find no safety in flight.