The Peshtigo Fire

“My unhappy sister says. How bout’ horse back riding? “Yeah,”We all reply. “Well lets get going. When we get to the stable we saddle up the two horses and we get on. We went for a long ride and it was getting dark so we started to head back home to Peshtigo. We got back very late and it was dark so we put the horses back in the stable and we all sat on the grass talking and laughing. “It would have been a beautiful night to have a fire. “Yes it would have been but it’s better safe than sorry,” mother said. “Hey dad,” I began,”can we camp outside tonight?” I don’t see why not, what do you think?” That sounds great to me! “Okay, I guess we are sleeping outside tonight!” We set up the tent and blankets and we sat there talking and laughing until we became too tired to stay awake.

The next morning (Sunday,October 5) we got up and started working and doing our chores. Sandy’s chores were helping mother with, dishes, laundry, taking care of the garden, and sweeping the floors.

My chores were feeding and collecting eggs from the chickens, sweeping, mowing the lawn. When Mother and Father left I had to watch Sandy. Mother and Father had left to go into town when Sandy and I finished the work. We were allowed to leave the house as long as we stayed together and on our property. So when Mother and Father left we headed into the woods and down to the river to swim and catch fish. When we were ready to leave we had caught 7 fish. When we got home we stuck them in the ice box for later. When Mother and Father returned it was around time for dinner. “What should we have tonight?”he asked. “Tim and I went down to the river and caught some fish,Daddy!” Sandy exclaimed. “How many?”Mother asked. “Seven”I said. “Nice work,” Mother said in reply. Father got up from his chair and began frying the already thawed fish. When it was done we all sat down and ate the tasty meal. we were finished we did some extra work so we did not have to do it tomorrow.

When we were done it was time for bed it was not as nice as it was the night before so we slept inside that night.

In the morning (Monday,October 5) it was Sandy’s birthday. We did not have chores to do so we spent the whole day horseback riding, playing games,swimming, catching fish, and playing catch. By the time we had done all that stuff it was 7:00 p.m. and we were hungry. We had the leftover fish from the previous night. When it was time to end our day we camped out in the woods. “Did you have a great day?” Father asked. “Yes,it was GREAT!” Sandy replied. And so we blew out the lantern and went to sleep.

The next day (Tuesday,October 6) we once again did our chores and I spent the rest of the day wandering around the woods, catching and releasing fish, climbing trees, and hunting rodents with my pistol. When I went back home my dad told me we are on a food shortage and we had to go without food tonight. I told him about the fish and animals and he was very pleased.

We ate the stuff I caught along with some of Mother’s fruits and vegetables from her garden. Shortly after we called it a night and went to sleep.

When we woke up (Wednesday,October 7) we completed chores and spent the day hunting and fishing. Father said we had to get as much food as we can because we were low on food. Mother and Sandy fished while me and Father were hunting. I sat there in my hunting spot which is surrounded by brush so no animal can see me. There I waited until a huge deer walked down the trail, I grabbed my rifle and aimed at the deer. “Bang,” went the gun. I looked up and the deer had dropped where he was. I called for dad until he came and we brought the deer back to the house. Mother and Sandy came shortly after with 18 fish they caught! When I was hunting, Father was too and he got 2 rabbits, 3 squirrels, and 6 ducks.” Great work today guys. Then we packed everything up and headed back into town. (Peshtigo)

“We spent the rest of the day cutting the deer, the rodents, the fish, and the ducks. When we were done we ate dinner and got ready for bed. When we were outside closing the shed we glanced over and saw our neighbor waving goodnight to us. When we got inside we all went to bed. (Thursday,October 8)

All of a sudden I woke up to screams and hollers. I looked around everything was bright and hot! I scrambled to my feet “Mother, Father, Sandy are you in here!” I heard no response. I got low and went as fast as I could to escape my almost collapsing house. When I was out I realized it was not a house fire it was a fire that had spread through all of Peshtigo. Scared of what might happen or what happened to my family I stood there in shock. Too sad to do anything I thrust myself toward the fire hoping to end the sadness. “Tim!” I hear. I turn to see who it was. It was Sandy! I ran to her grabbed her hand and took off sprinting. I ran the fastest I’ve ever ran before. I was so scared, seeing people not make

it out of the house or dropping by the inhale of carbon dioxide. “Sandy hold your breath!” We were almost out of town by the bridge. When we were nearly there a loud crack noise filled the air and the bridge collapsed. People were drowning around us. We were forced to go a different way now surrounded by fire. We had no choice but to go to the river. I grabbed Sandy’s hand and yanked her into the water with me. The water was so hot it was like boiling. We swam in between people and the wreckage. When we came to the other side we pulled ourselves out and onto the other side but we were not away from the fire. It was spreading quickly. We ran but one breath of smoke made us fall to the ground. The next morning (Friday,October 9) when we woke up we looked around to see what had happened. There was Mother and Father sitting there smiling we all escaped the fire and made it to a nearby town. We were all so happy to see each other safe, unharmed, and happy.