The Great Dosewallips Panic
Exaggerated reports of forest fires in the Dosewallips Valley lead to a humorous scene of local panic.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
September 15—Exaggerated reports of the fires in the Dosewallips valley have appeared in the Post-Intelligencer. The truth is that a fire originating in the neighboring valley of the Hamma Hamma crept over the divide and down into the Dosewallips valley a mile or so, but gave ample time for any one to leave after securing their property. At this season the ranchers are all burning out their slashings, and there were a few fires incidental to this clearing, which were not of a serious nature. With the exception of three women, whose husbands were away from home, there were none excited or disturbed. There were several funny incidents connected with the scare of these women. One of these carried off four chickens in her best dress to a place of safety; another was found a short distance from her cabin with her son's best breeches and a pocketbook in her arms about to take flight. The third woman's boy, seventeen years of age, excitedly returned to the house for his mother's marriage certificate, for fear 'maw' and 'paw' would have to be married over again. A great number of trees fell on the mountain, whose reverberations were startling. The fire drove the cougars and bears out of their dens.
“The third woman's boy, seventeen years of age, excitedly returned to the house for his mother's marriage certificate, for fear 'maw' and 'paw' would have to be married over again.”
Fear of wildfire is a perennial reality in the Pacific Northwest, though today's anxiety over smoke and forest health is less likely to be met with such charming, domestic comedy as rushing to save marriage certificates and trousers. The Hamma Hamma and Dosewallips areas remain sensitive ecological sites that still grapple with the thin line between necessary land management (slash burning) and catastrophic fire.
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