The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-24
RECRUITING FOREST RANGERS
nov APpLnANTS ARE PUT
FHHOtOH THSfH PtCES,
shswiRs Their shH IN Fsiiswlaa r'alls,
geniHa Trres, Paeki1e and sh@o'IHa
-igegk IsnFHlHe aeraadaFt TS1ssids
SgatloH sNatet tRituBaf t~SsmiHatlsn

fellows Ilnsi ~ IN frost ~ ~" ~ Uncle
Ham'a forstry esIaHs ., sulphur Sprinas,
ca tha aher day and after y few Wuttla
~ inaNnotion plunged into . threr days
saa mlha,lOn In outdoor lore
bttlna Tho sans thfre III W simila =
e~taminatloha war; conducted ~ dhaf
tolnts In Colorado. avs tho DeSrsr RspWb.
beta, a. wall ~ IN evefy uther State and
Territory whefs The UUvernmeht has forest
vservss, no, even eSorftinR Alaska For
linoss Ram IL Eager 10 f~ufnit his army
of fofrai mngera IA NJ complete strength
lie wants the hardest and most fearless
gidera, tho hes, shots. The quickest and most
aeaurass lunbermen. and altogether the
moat triyi worthy Young men he can find
10 guard thu hig forest roServss that have
bean sgt aaido In 40 ina nv Western States,
No weahlinga need apply, for II Ia given
out that the most important part Of tbs
sXamination IL he field work. The 'readIn,
'ritin' and 'rithmctic' count also. IA tho
elcoassful applin nj must tSve a fair cduoa-
ton: but the man who ia a little short on
book len rning. and away ahead Of the
others In throwing the diamond hitch or In
following n blind trail, IL tho man who
will IN w the call with the Civil Service
Commission when final Judgment Is rem
dered.
With a view To securing the best results
In the held examinations, the Government
sends its best grounded forestry experts
TO take charge OF the work Of putting the
recruits through their PAGES. The exami-
nations attract nan young men from the
mountain and prairie settlements-m men
who regard it ~ nothing short of a lark
to he in the saddle forty-eight hours at
q stretch or to sleep outdoors in u storm,
with no other protection than q tarpaulin
and blanket roll.
The examination at Sulphur Springs
was typical Of its class. 1t was in charge
OF @. Z. Clement, technical assistant on the
Pixies Peak Forest Reserve, one of the
largest reserves in the country. The
fifteen applicants who lined up for work
were typical Western youths. There was
one big, broad shouldered chap from the
School Of Mines at Golden, but most of them
were ranchers' sons and ~ex-cowboys. Two
were guards in the forest service who
were taking the examination for promotion.
The cowboys were unanimous in deciding
that forest ranging would be far p~refera-
BILE to the WORK in which they had been
engaged, t,;n,s ~
OO"D hO ~ " 'OH 80 O'S S'CSNy ~
black mustached chap who had ridden in
the saddle from Routt county to take the
examination. The outfit up in my country
are working their men to death. It's up in
the mornin' at 4 and pelt after steers
all day. Com in at $, maybe in a storm
and grab a tin plate and what grub you
can spear. Then 10 a couple Of hours
night herdin' and the rest Of the time they'll
let you sleep, provided there amt a stam-
pede, or if some other puncher amt of
duty and you have TO do his guardin'.
There may be a lot of fierce stunts in this
forest rangerin' but anyway it amt goin
to bring gray hairs quicker'n p%unctin
cows"
In this view Of the matter there was
o hearty agreement from a tall, Ca pable
looking cowboy who had ridden down from
the Bear River country, near the Wyoming
line. and took to the outdoor part of the
examination like a duck to water.
The first day of the examination was
given to "sohoolhouse work, and it is likely
chat this caused more gray hairs to sprout
than anything suggested by, the forestry
expert In the succeeding two days. Finally,
when the expert said in a kindly voice that
the applicants might as we'll throw away
their pen and ink or pencils, as far az any
more work OF a clerical nature was con-
cerned,- there was a general chorus OF
Bully and one cowboy with a blot of ink
eyes, rose on his high heeled boots and
fervently exclaimed, Thank Godl'
The second day the applicants brought
out their saddle horses and at a. early
hour started On the trail. The forestry
expert led the way, riding with an ease that
challenged the admiration OF all the COW
hands. In fact, he went through tho my
and varied stunts with such evident all
iarity that his big, boyish students were
lavish in their praise-though not to his
face, for that form Of ffattsry Is seldom
found on the range. He was always ready
With q good natured and instructive answer
whom some question was fired at him, and
t sIS to Nv went nt1 a long way toEard putting
man who put on airs could Don have
trouble on hand in dealing with such an
independent, hardy lot Of pupils.
After proceeding five or six miles in the
Il and told to show their skill in cutting
and scaling timber. Some Of the COWBOYS
b had little experience with an axe be-
yond cutting wood for a roundup amp
FIRE had rather fidicrous experiences. The
M forest guards, who were skilled in such
work. made the chips fly In a manner that
excited the admiration of the rest OF the
class,
After an the candidates had been ex-
anined as to their fitness with the axe
trails and reading trail signs. Here they
nearly. all proved expert, as the man who
rides the range for any length Of time soon
gets 30 he can read the wilderness signs
n u bOVh' n iOhB ndlu IIQo dCIOdS me
mountains, testing the men In this class
Of rough riding, ended the days work.
On the third day the field tests were
continued. A brisk ride was made to a
water course. where camp was pitched,
and notes made of the manner in which
each man proceeded to make fires and pre-
pare a temporary resting place. In order
TO test the accuracy Of the men in Judging Z
distances, the forestry expert rode over
q huge triangle and then required the men
to pace it indian file. The candidates I
were then required to reduce their esti- I
to feet, and then the expert went .
over the course with a surveyors tape /
and compared the result with the estimates
by the candidates. This is an inn {
.portant part of the work, as a forest ranger
10 often required to estimate distances 7
with no other facilities than his eye or the {
Of his stride. t
One Of the most important tests was that G
Of packing. A SINAI pack animal was I
out in front of the hotel, and each 1
candidate was told to 20 ahead and show |
what he could do in the way of putting |
D load on the horses back. Each man put I
On the blanket, the little pack saddle and 7
slowed away the bags of feed, the t
tarpaulin, the shovel and axe, and tied q
The whole load with the diamond hitch. !
This hitch is one that can be loosened with q
3 single pull at the rome. II neyer sIina I