was somewhat higher than the country farther off.

There were but few trees, so that I had an uninterrupted view to the
southward.

There was a fire indeed, and such a fire as I had never before seen.
About half a mile off appeared what looked like a vast burning lake,
about a mile in width, and extending to a much greater distance.

Presently, beyond it, another began to blaze up, increasing with
terrible rapidity; and, farther off, a third bright light was seen,
which also began quickly to extend itself. I have never seen a volcano
in full activity; but this, I think, must have surpassed in grandeur the
most terrible eruption. The flames rose up to an extraordinary height,
rushing over the ground at the speed of racehorses, and devouring every
tree and shrub in their course. The wind being from the north-east blew
it away from us; but we saw how fearful would have been our doom, had we
been on foot travelling across that part of the country. We should have
had no chance of escape, for the intervals which at first existed
between these lakes of fire quickly filled up.

The conflagration swept on to the westward, gradually also creeping up
towards us. We continued watching it, unable to tear ourselves away
from the spot. It was grand and awful in the extreme. To arrest its
progress would have been utterly beyond the power of human beings. What
might be able to stop it, we could not tell. As far as we could see, it
might go on leaping over rivers and streams, destroying the woods and
burning up the prairies to the very foot of the Rocky Mountains, or even
making its fearful progress over the whole of the continent.

We knew that prairie fires often took place, and we had seen some on a
smaller scale; but this appeared to us more extensive than any we had
heard of. Gradually it came creeping up towards us; still, however, at
too slow a pace, in consequence of the power of the wind, to make us
quit our post.

"This, I have no doubt, has been `put out' by the Plain Crees, to
prevent the buffalo from going to the eastward and benefiting the
Ojibbeways, Wood Crees, and other natives in that direction," observed
Alick, using a term common among the Indians--to "put out fire"
signifying to set the prairie on fire.

I could scarcely suppose that such would have been done on purpose; but
he asserted that they very frequently committed this destructive act
simply as a signal to let their friends know that they had