FORESTS ON FIRE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume V, Issue 193, 17 August 1870, Page 4

FORESTS ON FIRE.

i O(.From the New York Standard.) Every day brings additional news to previous reports of the extensive conflagrations in the forests and on the mountain woodlands ia Sullivan, Orange, Delaware, and Madison couuties in this State. These fires have raged with greater violence, and inflicted a larger amount of damage, over a greater extent of territory than has ever before been known iv this country. The general supposition is that they were of incendiary origin, probably kindled by Irresponsible parties, of gipsy proclivities, who live in shanties or huts in remote nooks ou the hillsides, or distant and solitary places on the barren plains. These Arabs are an idle, lazy, and thoughtless set, living miserably off the hilly-culti-vated garden patches about their houses, wood-chopping, root aud bark collecting, hunting, and berry 'picking. Every year they are in the habit of burning over the almost barren woodlands to destroy the choking growth of stunted underbrush, and free the space for the growth of huckleberry bushes, which are greatly benefitted by this charring. The amount of berries annually gathered by these people is something enormous, and the profit proportionally large. The Sullivan county forests have been burned for a distance of twenty miles. The Delaware county woodlands have been devastated some fifteen miles. In both of these localities the fires are still raging. In Orange county the flaming tempest has spent its strength, and the mountaiu ridges and hillsides are a smouldering waste of land in hideous contrast to the smiling valleys and beautiful verdant fields on the othei: side. The whole country thereabouts presents a scene of desolation. Duriug the height of the conflagration the spectacle was most sublime and appalling. For a long stretch of miles the country was overhung with huge masses of smoke. At some points cinders aud chaff floated in the air currents, ar.d were scattered in showers over the villages and farms, in several iustances kindling into flames upou fields and dwellings. The population was all in commotion and terror, not knowing what manner of developements, or what new disasters were in store for them. The sight remiuded one of the ancient Israelitish experience, " a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night," canopied them. Along the Erie railway track at one place the rails were twisted out of shape, and the ties burned. The laborers could not repair the damages for hours. There was but slight detention to the trains. The Cincinnati express train, eastward bound from Summit, rushed through a sea of flame and smoke for nearly a mile. (The road had previously been tested by an extra engine). Although the train had been wet and prepared for the passage, the glowing heat blistered the paint nnd the windows were stained with smoke. The engineer and fireman were slightly singed. In some places the water was steaming hot. Thousands of fishes, snakes, birds, aud squirrels perished and floated upon the surface. The crags and rocky walls of the mountain sides were baked with the intense heat; mauy of the boulders are cracked and crumbled. Here and there the bones of wild animals (and some cattle) tell the mute story of the holocaust tragedy. The deep gorges and ravines spemed like miniature gates of the bottomless pit. gaping out fierce flames, smoke, and heat. Where the trees were dry and piles of wood and bark had been stored there arose vast volumes of white and red flames, towering toward the sky, swaying to and fro like some Gorgon fire dragou, darting out a thousand flashing tongues then again spreading out into a loug line of fire, like lurid reflections up through the night shadows, and spreading out appalling gleams of light over the surrounding country far and wide. Such was the terrifying influence of the sight that the dumb beasts, the hoises and catlle iv the vicinity fled in alarm, and the night echoes were resonant with their hleatings, neighs and lovvings.

In Huuimrv a vineyard Is established iv ■T* */ J a grave-yard — to give the wine body, probably.