The daily Alaskan., 1916-01-04
TIE PARK RANGER
His Work In Guarding Uncle
 Sans National Reservations.
HE MUST BE A CLEVER SCOUT.


 Ice in patroIling the park ranger must be properly armed, mounted and cloth ed. He must feel that hls weapons are superior to those in the hands of any outlaw to whom he may be opposed. His mount must be swifter and his clothing adequate to protect him against the rigors of the climate of his locality"
 Thus spoke Colonel T.. M. Brett U. S. A., superintendent of the Yellow stone nt q national parks conference. Colonel Brett is one of the most ex- perienced Indian fighters in the na' tional service.
 "A park ranger about to start on his journey, in addition to his arms, horse and equipment should have a piece of canvas with which he can make a can vas shelter effective against any weather, rations ample for the jour ney, cooking utensils, tieldglasses, a. map of his park and contiguous terri tory, compass, notebook and pencil, aX, first uld packet and telephone tester. As soon as he leaves the ranger stat ton he becomes a scout who must oD- 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. lstics that we know are possessed by the fox. the coyote, the timber wolf and the mountain lion. He who rides the trail In a pcrfrnetory and oimless manner is but a joke to such men.
 "To cope with such people he must learn from the Indian, who Uvails him self of every sign and indication that nature or wild life can give. Tho In- dian never places himself upon the sky line untL he is thoroughly satisfied that there is nothing within the range of vision to detect hlm He will lie some times for an hour with his head against a bush, fcldglgsscs 10 bis eyes, and scan the country, and then again sean 1t for any sign of human life or for any movement among the wild animals which indicates the stranger in their midst.
 "Thc scout does not remain on the trail that has been beaten by somebody else-Iis enemy would not he lAerc- but he is taking advantage of every in- equality of the ground, of swa.e and the cOulees. the branches of trees along the stream banks and the shady side of every ridge. observing carefully for indications of trails. fresh signs of horse or any imprint of the foot His eye must be so trained that even the bending of the grass would tell him a story and would arouse his suspicion.
 He should never build fire by day light in the country where he has rea- son to believe the enemy may be turk ing. At night, in some canyon or in some sheltered spot where the blaze can be seen but a few feet. he can build his small fire and cook Eis food for tho evening and the next day. It is well for him to have enough food cooked ahead so that he can remain on the trail or in pursuit of an enemy for for weight hours without having 60 stop to cook.
 "In his moments of leisure when resting he should make careful notes of ull that he secs and anything out of the ordinary that he cannot under stand should bc carefully described sc that he may present ,his to his sunr rior officer uu his return for iuterprcio ton. When he is called to points re- mote from his usual patrol route he should indicate such a journey on his map by use of his compass. He should be careful Co note the condition ct tlc 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 tance and should be reported at once because epidcmics are almost as fire. oucnt among animals as among Eu man beings. Interference in any way shape, or manner with lle uatum formations should be reported. Dc1r fish on the surface of the water is dangerous symptom and would iudi- 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 aud reported to the officer in charge.
 Men who will lend themselves con scfentiously to this work are not com mon. and in their training it is of the greatest importance that their facui ties of observation be cultivated to the extreme limit These men must feel pride in the work and strive to have their section the very best patroiled one within the park. We will not get force sufficiently educated along the
 lines that have indicated unless we all unite in systematic work and in- struction. which cannot be too compre- hpnsfve nor too painstaking."