WAPITI-RUNNING ON THE PLAINS 87 



wild-looking figures waving coats and blankets as 

 they furiously beat the flames, men rushing to and 

 fro and mounted officers galloping up and down 

 the rank. After some hours' incessant hard work, 

 they beat the fire, thrust it on one side, and saved 

 the fort ; but it was a very, very narrow escape, 

 for the flames passed awfully close to the hay- 

 yard, where a whole winter's supply of forage was 

 stacked. A few yards nearer, and the hay must 

 have ignited, and if that had once caught fire 

 nothing could have saved the stables and all the 

 other buildings in the place. There was no actual 

 danger to life, for the barrack square of hard bare 

 earth was sufficiently large to have afforded shelter 

 and safety to all the human beings in the fort ; 

 but the horses would probably have perished, and 

 the stores, and barracks, and officers' quarters, 

 and in fact the whole settlement, would have been 

 burned to ashes. The fire travelled some 200 

 miles that night, destroyed a lot of cattle, leaped 

 over two or three good-sized streams, and was 

 finally arrested in its devastating course by a 

 large river. 



We remained some time in that country, 

 made several expeditions from the fort, had many 

 little adventures, and enjoyed much good sport, 



