We finished at Christmas. I got two dollars fifty per day right through, other wages were cut down 15th November to two dollars per day. I put up a kick, gave the reason why I should not be cut down. I had to be out first in morning to get every thing ready, last in at night because I had to cover everything up to keep from freezing.
Alright keep on Christmas, at home again. Well I missed telling of another experience and a very exciting experience too. About the 1st week in September a prairie fire started one mile from my home. I saw it start but I did not know who started it. I started on the other side of the Creek knows as Rasburry Creek. My home is on the East side of the Creek, the fire on the West side. There was an East wind blowing at the time, we fought the fire till we all was tired out. It was hopeless with such a wind blowing.
It burned the prairie for miles and miles Westward, was burning for four days when the wind changed and brought the fire back to almost where it started. Me and one of my neighbors went to Raddison a small town on the North side of the North Saskatchewan River. I lived on the South side of the River, a distance of 14 miles from Raddison to get our groceries. Toward noon time that day the wind had increased to a gale of from 50 to 60 miles and hour. I had got all my supplies and was ready to start home again. I was looking for my neighbor to see if he was ready when I ran into another neighbor, Harry Smith. "Mr. Battersby" he cried, "have you a fire guard around your hay stack?" "No" I replied. "Well I saw the fire jump the creek when I had got on the hills on this side of the river" he said. "It will be Hell across there today".
I found my neighbor, told him what Mr. Smith had told me. "My God" he cried. He was like me, no fire guards, there was a prairie fire on the North of the River, also you could see nothing but fire, no matter which way you looked. We hitched up all ready to start when a mounted policeman came riding up. "Eh you fellows come on here and help to fight this fire" "What": I says "There's fire close to my own home and only a wife and child there and that's where I'm going. "Where do you live" he asked. "On the other side of the River" He left us to get what men he could. Men and women too was running here and there, the fire was on the town in no time.
We started home, I think my oxen seemed to know that there was something seriously wrong for they went faster home than I ever seen them before. We had got on the hills of the river we would see across country for miles. Fire everywhere. My neighbor says "If there is a Hell this is one" Every farm we passed on the way was out with teams and plowing fire guards around the buildings.
We looked across the river to locate our own places. We see a great big flame of fire. I know this place. There goes Fred Forthucks place. He was a Russian. My neighbor locates another big flame of fire. "That's my hay stack" he cried. I looked my way home, another big flame of fire. "There goes mine, My God what shall we do?" I said. "We shall have to hit the trail and get out, the fire had overtaken us by this time.
The bushes in the river bottom was all on fire and our trail went through them for about 400 yards. My neighbor was in the lead with his oxen, they would not face the fire. The bushes were burning on both sides of us. I then told him to back out and make room for me to try mine. My oxen had been in prairies fire before. I knew if mine would go his would follow. They went through with a rush. My what a time!. Oxen coughing, jumping tongues out; we almost choking, eyes smarting.
We got to the river to find the ferry man away,the scow on the other side, a small boat on this side. Well this was the climax. My chum was almost off his head when we heard someone rushing galloping shouting through the bushes when he got through it was Mr Smith. "Where's that Bloody ferryman!" "I don't know, away fighting fire I expect". "His place is here". Mr Smith did not choose his words very much, he came out with every oath it was possible for a man to use. "Bill" he says (Bill is that man that is with me) "you can row a boat can't you" He knew Bill had been a fisherman. "Yes". "Well jump in that boat, I can run the ferry if we can get to the other side." They left me to look after the two teams of oxen and one team of Bronchos.
I had some job on. They got the ferry across, Mr. Smith went on the scow first, me next then Bill. It would just carry three teams. We crossed the river all right but we could not get near enough to the side without jumping in the water with the rope to pull it in with. Mr. Smith was all excited. "I am going to jump for it" He gets into his wagon, makes the horse jump, they jumped in about 4 feet of water. They was out and away up to hills leaving us on the scow. The scow began to go further away from the side when he had left it. I raised the rope. "What are you going to do?" "I am going to jump for it." "You never make it" "I am going to try". I jumped up to my neck in water, I made it , pulled the scow in, made a good landing, off home as fast as oxen could go.
My wife and small boy was fighting fire for all they was worth. My wife just collapsed when I reached. Lucky for me there was trails on three sides of my homestead and every time the fire jumped the trail she and the other boy was able to put it out, so it was not my hay stack I could see from the other side of the river. I was only just in time though to save it.
I was fighting fire all night, the wind had gone down quite a lot when night came on. I was right about the first big flames I saw, it was Fred for it struck the Russian's place. He lost nearly everything, house barns, 4 horses, 5 cows, pigs, sheep, Granary with 2000 bushels of wheat in it. He was away from home threshing with one team. There was many others lost quite a lot in that fire so I give thanks to God again for another deliverance from great trouble. How much more excitement do you want? I have had enough for 1907 anyway.
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