Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1916-04-06

come Off and the stove folds inside the
aluminium dish, making a compact and
very light cooker. The electric lantern
is essential for the night when you have
to strike off through the hills to distant
fire. and the automatic pistol while not
essential, may save your life some day.
and may mean dinner many times in the
fall. Then a folding canvas bucket, a
pair of field glasses, and a sood map OF
your territory, make up the essentials
of an outfit. For clothes, a flannel shirt,
a light pair of wooden trousers. a soft
felt hat, and a pair of low cut mecca
sins. preferably with a short calS for
mountain climbing, will do very nicely
for general use. The inexperienced pa
trolman should be sure not to wear any
cotton, for you may have to sleep under
a lean-to with wet clothes some night,
and cotton is about the clammiest and
most uncomfortable garment there is
under these conditions. He also will
learn to do his own cooking in a short
time, and will probably enjoy it, espec-
tally if he can get fishing such as in
the photograph shown. which was
taken at Yoke Pond. Piscataquis county.
The average time a patrolman is en-
ployed is two months or a little more,
depending on the amount of rainfall in
the season.
Types of Men Selected
The forest wardens are mostly picked
woodsmen, but it has been the practice
to allow certain number of young
prep" school and college men to do
part of this work each year as they are
in most cases very efficient and palms.
taking in the work, and learn to adapt
themselves quickly to the conditions.
Mountain Lookout Duties.
The duty of a lookout man is to keep
his wires in perfect working order at ali
times, to keep sharp lookout for The
first signs of any fire that may start, TO
notify the nearest chief or deputy var
den Immediately, or to put out he fire
himself in case he can reach i sooner
than any other person. He must never
leave his station during the dry season
except for the purpose of getting sup
plies, and should have food enough in
camp to last for long period during the
dry weather. His equipment is much the
same as that of patrolman, except THAI
the towers, as shown in the accompany
ing cut, are equipped with fiat map or
the surrounding country and range
finder called an aledade. with which the
lookout can locate any fire he may dis
cover quickly and definitely. A lookout
has to be able to stand a lot of his own
company and cooking; he must be strong
physically, for mountain climbing with
Il 40 or 50 pound pack is no childs play.
he must be willing to take chances, for
/ it is dangerous work. and he should
have strong nerves and little 'imagina-
ton, for a mountain top in severe
thunder shower is no place for nervous
man. He will live in a tiny camp near
| his tower. and his cooking equipment
will be a small sheet iron stove, with an
open faced oven that fastenS to the side
of the stove. a frying pan. coffee pot, one
or two deep dishes. kettle, bean pot,
a bread board, and his supplies, mostly
-four and bacon, dried fruits, canned
milk, coffee, tea or chocolate, lard, sugar
and corn meal, little rice and maca-
roni, raisins, salt, cream of tartar and
! soda, with a few luxuries like canned
salmon or peaches in case he has COM
pany. The Government pays the lookout
! men their wages.
| The pictures are taken of the kibbie
Mountain station. as it was two year,
/ ago. when the writer was in charge OF
this lookout.
Tower Building.
One of the duties that sometimes fall
| to the young patrolman is that of as
| sisting in the work of tower building,
| and this is the hardest physical work o.
which the writer knows. Some of the
! towers are built of steel sections. which
are very heavy, and others are built of
| green spruce SKIS. These are from seven
to - feet in length, and have to be car
ried by man power up the mountain, this
sounds as easy as it is. Your young
warden may be called upon to swing a
1O-pound sledge for two or three days
when the drilling is going on, he may
have some perilous climbing to do when
the tower is being erected, or he may be
assigned to do carpenters stunts, and
! in any case will be called upon to pack
several hundred pounds of heavy mater
| ial to the site of the tower. The writer
helped to build the tower on Big Spencer
mountain, north Of Moosehead lake, and
! had an experience that will last in his
memory for long time 1t was interest
ing work and we had a cook that was a
wonder, ate meals that were fit for a
king, worked like horses from dawn till
dark, and put up our tower in less than
| two weeks, having to carry iron, con-
crete framework for the house, guy
wires. windows, etc, up the sheer face
| of the mountain on our backs. 1t was
partly ladder work, partly by means of
knotted rope, and in places a fall would
have resulted fatally. It's mans job,
the forest patrol.
General Advise to Young PatroIman.
When you first go into the service, let
those who know all about it tell you
anything they care to, and don't take
yourself too seriously. Any sign of "the
big head" will put you in wrong with the
men you will meet in the big woods,
who are. by the way, about the whtest
people in the world when you know
| them.
| II you ever should get lost as it is ex-
tremely probable that you will, take
things as they come, do not go rushing
around. wearing yourself out, but use
your head and your compass, camp when
night comes and rest up. In the morning
strike out for high land, where you can
| look around and get your bearings.