Homesteading 



along the western horizon, and apparently ad- 

 vancing against our prairie wind, culminated in 

 a terrific thunderstorm. 



Many thunderstorms have I witnessed in different 

 parts of the world, but none more imposing than 

 those which from time to time expend their fury 

 on the prairies of the North American Continent. 

 As we sat in our little shack, the flicker of the 

 lightning seemed almost continuous, while as the 

 storm rolled nearer and nearer, the recurring 

 crashes of thunder were awful as they pealed 

 out just over our heads and the echoes rolled 

 from cloud to cloud. We distinctly saw one 

 flash of lightning fire the grass, and as a cold 

 blast of wind had now set in from the west, the 

 'fire began to spread rapidly. It was, however, 

 soon stopped by a tremendous downpour of rain. 



Scattered as the population is, there is no 

 denying the fact that accidents frequently occur 

 from lightning, and a widow woman who ranched 

 in our neighbourhood had a few years before 

 lost her husband in this way. 



The sense of comparative isolation in a vast 

 open country adds to the sublime grandeur of 

 such spectacles, and the man or woman must 

 surely lack imagination who would not confess 

 to a feeling of solemn awe during such convul- 

 sions of nature. 



86 



