Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1911-08-25

~ us from the opportunity
% Of enjoying this pleasure
To the increasingly
large number of people
who do find it possible to spend the
summer and fall in the woods and
mountains a note of friendly warning
at this time may not be amiss. This
Is the season when each year thou
sands OF inexperienced and oftentimes
careless people enter the forest to
camp and fish and wander, to let their
minds and bodies grow. How many
OF these people realize what a menace
they are TO that same forest which
they admire, and to the old trees which
they reverence?
Even old. experienced woodsmen are
not always careful with their camp
hires. Hunters who have been In the
woods for 20 years often, leave smol-
dering embers when they break camp.
This. of course. is pure recklessness.
for these people know better. They
appreciate what consequences may fol-
low II the wind should fan the smol-
dering Goals. Usually, however, men
who have lived In the woods all their
lives or who frequent the forest re
gions during a portion of the year
are very careful where they build camp
fires and how they leave them.
The question Of camp fires, like the
forest fires which may result from
them, must be handled differently in
different parts of the country and in
different kinds of forest. The differ
ence In the danger element is very ap-
parent between a fire started In the
sandy soil beneath a pine forest and
the deep dun beneath the spruce. Dur
Ing even the dry season It is perfectly
easy to clear away infiammable mate
rial and scoop out a hole In the sand
where a camp fire may be built with
comparative safety. In the spruce
forest it is different; great care must
be taken In the selection Of the site
for a IRE. since 1t viii be apt to creep
back beneath the surface and to gain
Roadway after all trace of 1t is sup
posed TO have been extinguished. When
one digs a fire hole In forest, such
as spruce or FIR, It is necessary to dig
deep and find material that win not
smolder. or, better yet, select a site
along some stream or lake shore where
there is gravel or rocks.
Do not build large fires. They serve
no useful purpose. AS an old Indian
said: Indian he build leetle FIRE,
stay up close. keep wa-a-a-rm. White
man he build great fire, stand way
back, roast one side, freeze other" II
is too often true that campers, particu.
larry those who are but slightly woods.
wise. pile on the wood to their own dis
comfort and sometimes to their immi-
nent danger and that Of the surround,
ing forest. OF course camp fires should
never be built against trees OF stumps
where they are likely to smolder. II il
well to give thought to the fire some
little time before breaking camp. Dc
not build up hot fire only an hour
or so before leaving the locality. This
viii save trouble In extinguishing the
last vestige fthe Goals and perhaps
save an extra bucket Of water carried
from an inconvenient spot.
The question Of camp fires leads lit
orally to the question OF forest fires
Nearly every one who has been In the
woods during the dry season, whether
II be in Maine or In British Columbia
has had the opportunity to prevent the
spread Of some incipient forest fire
Sometimes they are called upon tc
take part in controlling fire well un
der Roadway. This kind of work 1.
necessary. It may mean carrying wa
ter to pour upon smoldering fires II
dry peat in a spruce OF tamaracl
swamp; 1t may mean raking back thu
leaves from creeping surface fire II
an oak thicket: 1t may mean digging {
trench through the leaf mold and duff
In forest Of FIR; very often It mean,
beating out with boughs the flames ad
vancing through grass and needles be
meath the pine; occasionally II means
the fighting Of fierce crown fires wher
a gale is blowing. In the latter case
Of course. fighting from the side an,
narrowing in the front of the fire Il
one way Of making progress. Anothe
Is to retreat to some favorable ridge
water course. or other natural poin
of vantage. dig trenches. and back fr,
strip across which the advancing
IRE cannot travel
Practically every state has laws max
ing 1t a misdemeanor to leave cam
fires unextinguished. In Colorado tn,
penalty Is $26 to 800, or Is to so days
Imprisonment In Maine the penalt,
Is $50. In Montana Persons startin,
camp fires without taking sufiicien
steps to prevent spreading OF them. o.
failing to extinguish them before leav
Ing. are guilty Of misdemeanor and II
able TO fine Of $4,000 or one year.
Imprisonment"