The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1911-08-03
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10 the t19aaaiagly
large number At poople
Who % AaA It possible to spend ths
summer aod fall In ths woods ssh
mountains . note Of ffiesdly warning
at this time may not b aniss. TAis
10 The season whea each year thou-
sanAs of inexperienced ant ofteainss
careless people enter the forest to
camp and Ash and wandsr. to Iet their
minds and bodies grow. How many
OF these people realize what menace
they are to that sams forest which
they admire. and to the old trees which
they reverence!
Even old. experienced Woodsnon are
not always careful with their camp
arss. Hunters Who have been in the
woods for 20 years often leave smol-
dsring emoers when they break camp.
This. Of course. 10 pure recklsssnsss.
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 ~
gioas during q portion of the year
ars very careful whore they build camp
drss and how they leave them.
The question Of camp fires. like the
forest nrss which may result from
them. must b handled di6srentiy in
1i1srsnt parts Of the country and In
different kinds Of forest. The diRsr-
secs In the danger element 10 very ap-
parsot bstwssa . Ire started In the
sandy soil beneath . pine forest and
the deep du6 beneath the spruce. Dur
Ing even the dry season 1t 10 perfectly
easy to clear away inaammable mate
fial ana scoop out . hole in the sand
where . camp hrs may be built with
comparative safety. In the spruce
forest 1t u different: great care must
be taken in the selection Of the site
for hre. since 1t will bs apt to creep
back beneath the surface and to gain
headway after all trace Of 1t IL sup
posed to have been extinsuished. When
one digs . IRE hole in forest, such
a. spruce or hr, 1t IL necessary to dig
deep and dnd material that will not
smoldsr. or. better yet. select q site
along some stream or lake shore where
there 10 gravel or rocks.
Do not build large fires. They serve
no useful purpose. As an old Indian
said: Indian he build leetle fre.
stay up close, keep wa-a-a-rm. White
man he build great hre. stand way
back. roast one side. freeze other" It
10 too often true that campers, particu.
larly 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 or stumps
where they are likely to smolder. 1t is
well to give thought to the IRE some
little time before breaking camp. Do
not build up = hot fre only an hour
or 10 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
1t 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 to
take part in controlling a iire we'll un.
der headway. This kind of work is
necessary. 1t may mean carrying wa.
ter to pour upon smoldering fires In
dry peat in q spruce or tamarack
swamp; 1t may mean raking back the
leaves from creeping surface fire IN
an oak thicket: 1t may mean digging a
trench through the leaf mold and dun
in forest Of fir: very often it means
beating out with boughs the flames ad
vancing through grass and needles be-
meath the pine; occasionally it means
the fighting of fierce crown fires when
a gale is blowing. In the latter case
of course. fighting from the side and
narrowing in the front of the fire is
one way Of making progress. Another
is to retreat to some favorable ridge
water course. or other natural point
Of vantage. dig trenches. and back fire
strip across which the advancing
fire cannot travel
Practically every state has avs max
ing 1t misdemeanor to leave camr
fires unextinguished. In Colorado the
penalty is $25 to 800. or Is to 60 days
imprisonment. In Maine the penalty
Is $50. In Montana Persons starting
camp dres without taking sufiicien,
steps to prevent spreading Of them, OF
failing tn eYtin1ufah than hafora lao W