, 1899-08-31
FOREST RESERVES.
he Question Ably Reviewed by Mi.
Conness--Who are Responsible
For our FIres2

M Conness--Who are Responsible
* For our FIres1
EDITOR OF THE Sun:
| want to thank the editor of
HE Rawlins Republican through
Sour columns for his criticism
a my letter in your paper a few
Bsues since.
He says "we believe in fact that
Tie penitentiary is altogether too
lid a punishment for the iend
Tho wantonly starts a forest fire,
efther for spite or to advance his
MN personal interests" This is
Inst as it should be and what it
might be expected that he would
saw. If he had been here last
year during the months of August
and September and had seen the
Mountains covered with smoke of
Burning timber for weeks at a
time, seen the fires start separate
|ly, sometimes three or four col
nmns of smoke rising separately a
quarter of a mile or SO apart and
finally joining together in one
great blaze, he would have had no
doubt whatever as to the incendi-
ary origin, and his feelings in the
matter would have been even more
Intense.
After such an expression from
him l can forgive him for quoting
me as saying that the sheepherders
Set all the timber fires.
did not say that the sheepmen
,were responsible for all the fires.
No one who knows Mr.. Haines,
MIR. Blydenburgh or Mr.. Geddes
will think it of such men for an
instant. l only mention their
names out of many. We have
just as many fine and honorable
men in the sheep business as exist
any where. l did say that it was
generally known that the worst
fires of last year were set by sheep
herders, and will repeat it.
A few days since 1 was discuss
ing the subject with Mr.. W. B..
Hugus who is probably as we'll
known as any one in this country
and he told me what occurred in
his Office within the past three
years. OF course it is not expect
ed that a man will set a timber
fire and then tell about it.
There had been a bad fire in
the mountains, that from the cir
cumstances was evidently set by
sheepmen, and when, one day an
old s]teepherder whom he had
known some years as "Joe' came
into his office from that neighbor-
hood, he asked him, not expecting
him to acknowledge it, "What the
devil did you sheepmen set Gre
TO the woods for up there?" The
answer came $50 as to make a
good bed ground for the sheep"
''You miserable old rascal, don't
you know that you ought to be-
hung for such work as that?" etc.
Result, he left town at once and
has never been seen here since.
Certainly fires are caused by the
carelessness of hunters and others.
but the chief danger now to our
forests comes from the irresponsi-
bic Mexican sheepherder and from
such sheepmen as are bad and
mean enough to wish the forests
destroyed SO as to make those
"open patches where the grass
grows luxuriently," as Mr.. Perry
describes it. Probably the major
ity of those open patches were for
merly covered with timber and
have been burned off.
The best description of the value
of forests to us that l have seen
says: "The forests are like a great
sponge hat soaks up the water
from the melted snow and rains
and gives it off gradually, thereby
furnishing water for irrigation
later in the seaso and reducing
the spring floods"
Next to the man who ''wantonly
ctarfc n foraSf Gra a;tha, fo,m:.