The San Francisco call., 1904-11-28
THE INDIAN METHOD.

THE INDIAN METHOD.
But with all precaution possible. as
in your city. we can only lessen our
care and our losses. The question
asked me is: Shall we follow the
Indian method. as described bY an
Englishman in one Of the oldest books
on America in the British Museum. or
shall we let the forest take care of it
self?' Ny answer is special rather than
general, for l have special spot Of
ground and have managed TO plant.
and preserve by the Indian method.
forest that can be seen afar.
An enterprising company holding
thousands OF acres and on all sides of
me has planted about 200. 600 trees this
last season. They have lost a few thou
sand young trees by fire. The trees
were left entirely to nature, with the
grounds carefully guarded. ] am afraid
they viii never be able to cover the
Contra Costa foothills. as is their most
laudable design, till they keep the
grasses subdued, either by stock or fire.
To illustrate: the old Governor LoW-or
McGee-place grew some beautiful
groves all right for more than dozen
years by leaving them to nature. But
only last month they all went up in
smoke.
Of. course this hillside is only a little
spot on the map. But / happen to know
that the mighty forests Of Mount Shas-
ia owed their existence and preserva-
ton 70 careful old Indian squaws I'm
derstand, they did not burn everything.
nor was all burned at one time. The
head OF McClOud River is a series of
warm springs Here were dense thick
cts Of vine maple for elk to winter in:
there were also preserves for bear.
deer and so on. But this was long.
long ago. The burned stumps of to-
day are not Of their doing.
Fortunately our season Of danger is
short in any part of the State: some
places longer and greater than others.
but all at some time in peril, as you see
by the furrows and the fire lines drawn
around the stacks and ricks in the
fields. II is likely if there had been a
better way TO ward against fire my fell
low grangers would have found il out
by this time. Our farms and orchards
and great national parks are only hay
stacks Of greater dimensions. For the
life Of me I can see 10 other way to
get ready for the fires that will surely
come. sooner or later: cattle. sheep,
horses, anything that will subdue the
wild growth Of this generous soil. IL
you have not these, or if the grasses
get ahead of~the stock, then burn
But burn the first brown spot that ap-
pears and burn about sundown. when
the wind is still: burn and keep burn
ing till you have the rank and file of
your wild growth broken; and above
all keep an eye on, the public road
and that young man with an old gun
and a box of cigarettes who is hunting
his way TO the penitentiary.
And yet ii should be frankly said that
forests are not always set on fire by
foolish hunters or anybody else As
vou steam down the Yukon River dur
ing sultry August you see mountains
on fire right and left, away UP where
foot Of man has never trod. Nav be
tail dead gopher trees have had their
tops whipped together in the wind till
fire was made by friction. as an Indian
makes il. or may be decaying pins and
needles at their roots have spontane-
ously ignited in the tremendous heat
of the overhanging sun.
IN REDWOOD PARK.
All California was in CONSERVATION
lately to learn that the great State
Redwood Park, only lately acquired,
was on fire. Some said campers, >"
some said hunters" some said
Spontaneous combustion No one
can say or ever will know. Stanford
students turned out by scores as fire.
fighters. The State spent $4,000 try
ing to put the fire out, but it had its
own way and stopped only when 1t
debris of twenty-five years If this
stuff had been burned uD in spots and
by spells no harm at all would have
been dcne 10 the great seouoias. Even
as IT was, / am told by students who