This could be dragged quite rapidly and sometimes had to be used over miles and miles of encroaching fire.
The horses might get badly burnt, and in very rank grass where the fierce flames were six to eight feet high it was useless.

Sometimes we worked all night, and no doubt it formed a picturesque spectacle and a scene worthy of an artist's brush.

Across the centre of the pasture for further safety, as also around the bull and horse pasture, was a similar fire-guard, so that I had in all some fifty-five miles of guard to plough and burn.

It is such critical and dangerous, yet necessary, work that I always took care to be present myself and personally boss the operation.

Without such a fire-guard one is never free from anxiety.
Many other ranchers who were careless in this matter paid dearly for it.
These fires were dangerous in other ways.