Informal Chapters on Painters, Vaudeville, and Poets | Page 5

shrubs and grasses. It seemed doubtful whether it would
afford us the safety we sought. We could scarcely hope that our horses
would carry us beyond it, for already they were giving signs of
becoming exhausted. We might be preserved by taking up a position in
the centre of the stream, should it be sufficiently shallow to enable us to
stand in it; but that was on the other side of the hill, and the fire might
surround us before we could gain its banks. We could barely see the
dark outline of the hill ahead, the darkness being increased by the
contrast of the lurid flames raging behind us. We dashed across the
more open space, where the grass was for some reason of less height
than in her parts. Here many of the animals which had passed us,
paralysed by fear, had halted as if expecting that they would be safe
from the flames. Deer and wolves, bison, and even a huge bear--not a
grizzly, however--and many smaller creatures were lying down or
running round and round.
I thought Pierre would advise our stopping here, but he shouted, "On,
on! This is no place for us; de beasts soon get up and run away too!"
We accordingly dashed forward, but every moment the heat and smell
of the fire was increasing. The smoke, which blew around us in thick
wreaths driven by the wind, was almost overpowering. This made the
conflagration appear even nearer than it really was. At length, Pierre
shouted out:

"Dis way, messieurs, dis way!" and I found that we had reached the
foot of a rocky hill which rose abruptly out of the plain. He led us
round its base until we arrived at a part up which we could manage to
drag our horses. Still it seemed very doubtful if we should be safe, for
grass covered the lower parts, and, as far as I could judge, shrubs and
trees the upper: still there was nothing else to be done. Throwing
ourselves from our horses, we continued to drag them up the height,
Pierre's shouts guiding us. I was the last but one, Dick insisting on
taking the post of danger in the rear and sending Charley and me before
him. The horses were as eager to get up as we were, their instinct
showing them that safety was to be found near human beings. Our only
fear was that the other animals would follow, and that we should have
more companions than we desired. The top was soon gained, when we
lost no time in setting to work to clear a space in which we could
remain, by cutting down the grass immediately surrounding us, and
then firing the rest on the side of the hill towards which the
conflagration was approaching. We next beat down the flames we had
kindled, with our blankets--a hot occupation during which we were
nearly smothered by the smoke rushing in our faces. The fire burnt but
slowly against the wind, which was so far an advantage.
"We are safe now, messieurs!" exclaimed Pierre at last; and we all, in
one sense, began to breathe more freely, although the feeling of
suffocation from the smoke was trying in the extreme.
We could now watch, more calmly than before, the progress of the fire
as it rushed across the country, stretching far on either side of us, and
lighting up the hills to the north and south, and the groves which grew
near them. We often speak of the scarlet line of the British troops
advancing on the foe, and such in appearance was the fire; for we could
see it from the heights where we stood, forming a line of a width which
it seemed possible to leap over, or at all events to dash through without
injury. Now it divided, as it passed some rocky spot or marshy ground.
Now it again united, and the flames were seen licking up the grass
which they had previously spared.
Our poor baggage-animals caused us much anxiety. Had they escaped

or fallen victims to the flames with our property, and the most valuable
portion of it--the ammunition? Charley declared that he heard some
ominous reports, and the Indians nodded as they listened to what he
said, and made signs to signify that the baggage had been blown up.
For some minutes we were surrounded by a sea of flame, and had to
employ ourselves actively in rushing here and there and extinguishing
the portions which advanced close upon us, our horses in the meantime
standing perfectly still and trembling in every limb, fully alive to their
dangerous position. At length, after a few anxious hours, the fire began
to die out; but here we were on the top of a