no North American Forests and Forestry 



the excessive labor are beginning to exhaust the 

 workers. There is one hope left. The little river 

 and the vacant places on both sides of it may check 

 the advance of the fire. Vain hope ! Firebrands 

 soon carry the destruction to the other side, and 

 the very ground in the open spaces carries the fire 

 along, for it is mostly sawdust and other refuse of 

 the lumber-mill. Now there is nothing left but 

 retreat. When the morning breaks, the people of 

 the village and the many families of settlers who 

 came in from the woods the preceding day find 

 themselves huddled together in the adjoining hard- 

 wood tract, which happily opposes an effective 

 barrier to the progress of the flames. 



But not all are there. Many have perished in 

 the flames or been smothered to death by the 

 smoke. What need of dwelling on the harassing 

 scenes accompanying such disasters ? The next 

 day the relief trains come and the hearts of the 

 American people — ^which is more ready to try by 

 lavish outlay to heal wounds after they are made 

 than to prevent them by wise forethought — open to 

 the sufferers and relieve their necessities. 



Such descriptions as these are no pictures of 

 fancy. Not a year passes when forest fires do not 

 cause losses of life and destroy the habitations of 

 industrious settlers. From time to time horrible 

 calamities, with enormous losses of life, occur, and 

 send a thrill of horror throughout the civilized 

 world. Of such calamities, the worst that is on 

 record is that known as the Peshtigo fire, which, 



