From out of the dense folds of a canopy of black smoke--the
blackest I ever saw--leaped up red forks of lurid flame as high
as the tree tops, igniting the branches of a group of tall pines
that had been left for saw logs. A deep gloom blotted out the
heavens from our sight. The air was filled with fiery particles,
which floated even to the doorstep-while the crackling and
roaring of the flames might have been heard at a great distance.
To reach the shore of the lake, we must pass through the burning
swamp, and not a bird could pass over it with unscorched wings.
The fierce wind drove the flames at the sides and back of the
house up the clearing; and our passage to the road or to the
forest, on the right and left, was entirely obstructed by a sea
of flames. Our only ark of safety was the house, so long as it
remained untouched by the fire.
I turned to young Thomas, and asked him how long he thought that
would be. "When the fire clears this little ridge in front,
ma'am. The Lord have mercy on us then, or we must all go."
I threw myself down on the floor beside my children, and pressed
them to my heart, while inwardly I thanked God that they were
asleep, unconscious of danger, and unable by their cries to
distract our attention from adopting any plan which might offer
to effect their escape.
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