26 Forests and Trees 



very moss, instead of forming a soft cushion, becomes a 

 dry prickly crust, which grinds audibly to powder under 

 foot. The small harmless fires show a perverse tendency 

 to run. The settler often has to leave his work to fight a 

 running ground fire, or sometimes go to the assistance 

 of a neighbor. The air becomes blue and hazy ; the sun 

 sets as. a dull yellow ball through the haze, and the smell 

 of burning wood pervades everything. The time is now 

 ripe for a big five, and with dry weather it will come. No 

 one knows just what or whose fire "got away." The small 

 fires join forces, the wind rises and suddenly the settlers 

 are aware that the whole forest is ablaze. The smoke 

 often obscures the sun and turns day into a thick twilight. 

 If the settlement is in the pine woods there is almost 

 no limit to the harm that may follow. Instead of running 

 along the ground the fire now becomes a "crown fire." It 

 travels from tree to tree, and burning branches are carrie I 

 by the wind across any narrow openings in its track. 

 Usually it does not travel rapidly, but it is irresistible in 

 its onward sweep. No gentle means of fire fighting will 

 now stop it. It goes until it burns itself out, that is, it 

 dies down for lack of suitable fuel. 



What adds strength to the fury of these fires is the brush 

 left by the lumberman. A single cutting does not remove 

 a large percentage of the trees, but it leaves brush enough 

 to carry the fire. The first burning kills a great many of 

 the remaining trees, which in time fall down, dry out and 

 form ideal conditions for the next. This second fire kills 

 practically all the remaining trees, and after a third there 



