The Meeker herald., 1916-04-22
THE PARK RANGER
His Work In Guarding Uncle
Sans National Reservations.
HE MUST BE A CLEVER SCOUT.

craft and verssd In All the Arts Of
Cunning and Caution, Is the Model
He is Supposed to Initiate.
ITO lie able to render the best serv-
Ice In pairollins the park ranger must
be properly armed. mounted and cloth
ed. He must feel that his weapons are
superior to those In the hands OF any
outlaw to whom he may be opposed
His mount must he swifter and his
clothing adequate to project hiln
against the rigors of the climate OF
his locality"
Thus spoke Colonel l.. NJ. Brett. u.
S. A., superintendent OF the Yellow
stone at national parks conference
Colonel Brett Is one Of the most OK
perienccd Indian fighters In the IN
tiOnal service.
"a park ranger about to start on his
journey. In addition to his arms. horse
and equipment, should have piece of
canvas with which he can make can
vas shelter effective against any
weather. ratlons ample for the jour
ney, cooking utensils. fieldglasses. II
map of his park and contiguous terri
tory, compass, notebook and pencil. ny
first aid packet and telephone tester
As soon us he leaves the ranger stat
ton he becomes Il scout who must Op
pose his wits and energy against those
whose life is spent In the open among
the wild animals and who have taken
from these animals those character
istics that We know are possessed by
the fox. the coyote. the timber wolf
and the mountain lion. He who rides
the trail In Il perfunctOry and aimlcss
manner IL but joke to such men.
"To cope with such people he must
learn from the Indian. who avails him
self of every sign and indication that
nature or wild life can give. The In
dian never places himself upon the sky
line until he Is thoroughly satisfied thnt
there is nothing within the range Of
vision to detect him. He will lie some
times FOR an hour with his head against
II bush. llcldcasses to his eyes, and
scan the country. and then again scan
II for any sign OF human life or for
any movement among the wild animals
which indicntes the stranger In their
midst
THE scout does not remain on the
trail that has been beaten by somebody
elsevhis enemy would not he there
but lie is taking advantage Of every In
equality of the ground. Of swale and
the coulees. the branches Of trees along
the streams banks md the shady side
Of every ridge. observing carefully for
Indications OF trails. fresh signs Of
horse or uny imprint Of the foot. His
eye must be so trained that even the
bending of the grass would tell him II
story and would arouse his suspicion.
"IIc should never build fire by day
light in the country where he has rea-
sou to believe the enemy may be Turk
ing. AT night. In some canyon or In
some sheltered spot where the blaze
can he seen but n few feet. he can build
his small fire and cook his food for the
evening aud the next day. 1t Ii well
for him to have enough food cooked
ahead so that he cnn remain on the
trail Or In pursuit of an enemy for for
ty.eight hours without having to stop
to cook.
in his moments of leisure when
resting lie should make careful notes
Of MI that he sees and anything out
of the ordinary that he cannot under.
stand should be carefully described NO
that he may present this to his supe
rior officer on his return for interpreta-
tlon. When he IL called to points re-
mote from his usual patrol route he
should Indicate such a journey OH his
map by use Of his compass. He should
be careful to note the condition OF the
animals and whenever possible to
count those of the different species for
the information of headquarters.
"Any indication OF sickness among
the animals is of the greatest impOr-
lance and should be reported Mt once.
because epidemics are almost as fire.
quent among animals Us among hi.
man beings. Interference In any way.
shape. or manner with the natural
formations should be reported. Dead
fish on the surface OF the water is a
dangerous symptom and would indi
cate fishing by use of explosives. and
generally speaking any indication that
nature or any OF her creatures has
been disturbed should be given the
closest scrutiny and reported to the
officer In charge.
Men who will lend themselves con
sclentiously to this work are not com.
mon. and In their training 1t is Of the
greatest Importance that their facul
ties of observation be cultivated to the
extreme limit. These men must feel n
pride In the work and strive to have
their section the very best patrolled
one within the park. We will not get
n force sufficiently educated along the
lines that have indicated unless We
all unite In systematic work and In.
struction, which cannot be too compre-
henslve nor too palnstaking."
He Has One, Too.
What do you think? Her husband