Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-09-23


cooperation with the government in
the matter of fire protection is almost
/ certainty.
II Surprise has been expressed at the
extent of the probable loss of life In
| the great fires that have swept Ger.
tain sections of the west. To the un.
initiated, government forest reserva.
ton means a great wilderness OF
trees, uninhabited, save by itinerant
hunters and the forest rangers and
| guards.
1t Is true that some of the forest
ranges answer to this description.
but others are, for forests, densely
populated. Their population consists
of small ndholders-"nesters" they
are called in the west. They are men
who, with their families, take up small
claims on government forest reserva-
lions and farm and raise stock on q
small scale under the limitations set
down by the government.
1t is nothing for q forest reserva-
ton to have a population of 10000
persoAs, exclusive Of the employees of
the forest service. Several of the
forests in Idaho and Montana are filed
with "nesters."
AS for the loss In money from for
est fires in ordinary years, that In It.
self Is enough to warrant extraor.
binary effort and expense in the pre-
vention of such disasters.
will 1t pay to support an adequate
fire protection system?"
This is the question practical lum-
bermen Of the old school ask. The
forest service men are confident 1t
will. They have had experience and
know that reasonable protection re-
quires no patented tools. no secret
method. Cooperation on the part of
the state governments and more
money from congress will bring about
the desired results.
Does the maintenance of an expen-
sive fire-fighting force pay a city," is
the counter question of the forest
service experts. The affirmative an
swer comes promptly.
The government methods of fight
ing and controlling forest fires are
simple. They consist of nothing
more than extreme care to prevent as
many fires as possible and plain, bus
inesslike methods of getting to work
on the flames as soon as they are dis
covered and staying with the fire un-
til 1t Is out
An ak, a mattock, a pick, a shovel
and wet gunny sack, If water is OBJ
tainable. are the forest rangers fire
fighting apparatus. In the more &C.
cessible regions, where water is abund-
ant, wagons equipped with hose are
used. But these are impossible far
up In the mountains, where the most
sure-footed horses find progress diff.
fcult
Get Quickly to Work.
There the work is done by the cool.
nervy rangers. Trained woodmen they
are, who know their work and have
the heart to do it. They haunt the
high places and keep persistent watch
over the surrounding country for
miles.
When they see a fire they 60 to it.
IL it looks too big for one or two men
to handle they hurry to the nearest
station for help. In some of the
ranges the telephone and telegraph
wires and the railroads are at their
disposal.
Gradually the forest service is lay
ing out a network of telephone lines
through the forest reserves. But such
a system as is contemplated in con.
nection with forest preservation is In
its infancy today, and, in the last an
alysis. the average embryonic fire is
fought by small groups of men, some |
times by only two men, sometimes by
a single one.
OF the thousands of fires that are
put out every year In the national re. |
serves before they get well started
the general public knows nothing.
They are part of the regular routine |
of the forest guards and rangers.
The amount spent on forest fire
fighting by the forest service is ap-
proximately $4,000 a year in ordinary
years. Twice or three times that sum
would not seem large in view of the
amount of property saved, to say moth. |
ing of loss of life prevented.
Aside from the loss of life and leav.
ing out indirect results of forest fires
damage done by such CONGREGATIONS
include the death of standing trees in.
jury to trees that are not killed in.
jury to the soil, reduction of the
growth of the stand and the effect on
reproduction. Some Of the resistant
species of trees are harmed but lit.
tie, while forest fires at times utterly
wipe out species of less vitality. an
that they never return to the terri.
tory which has been swept by the
In considering the causes of fires
the forest service has learned by ex.
perience that the principal ones are
sparks from locomotives. sparks from