Pueblo chieftain., 1921-08-14
RANGERS MUST
Be DETECTIVES
Story Told Of Sherlock Holmes
Methods Used To Catch
Fire Brand

Real detective work frequently falls
to the lot of the Forest Service meu
of the United States Department Of
Agriculture in connection with fite
law enforcement. Often they must
combine the ability of an Indian 20
follow the trail of a slight clue. with
| a lawyers instinct for interpreting
] circums' 'antial evidence. The annual
I loss from forest fires in the Unlted
states is very great and it is most I'M
| portant that persons who are careless
with camp fires and burning cigar
cites be held to strict account.
Sometimes fires Will be started TO
smoke out bees or rattlesnakes. Oc-
casionally fires can be traced to mo-
tives of revenge, as in this case that
occurred in the California National
| Forest.
There vas a big Fourth of July cele
bration in the town of Valley Run,
Californla-call 1t that for the sake II
convenience-and it ~as a matter OF
common knowledge that most of the
| Cattlemen on Green Ridge would be NJ
| the celebration. About 4 o'clock next
morning while the charity ball was
still under fun swing. fire was re-
ported N the high wild oats on the
winter cattle range of the Waterbury
Brothers-which is not any more real
than the other names used herein
lon Green Ridge. From the position OF
the fire and the time of its appearance
the forest officers Immediately con-
| cluded and correctly, as II turned ou;'
| that the fire was of incendiary origin.
| Special Investigator Hunt and Forest
| Guard Fort arrived on the scene al
80 a IN, a few minutes ahead of the
fire fighting crew. They saw at once
that the fire had not started from
match or cigarette CareleSsly dropped
by some one passing along the trail,
as the point of origin was over $50.
feet from the trail in high dry wild
oats.
A careful search resulted in the dis
covery OF the tracks of a small unshud
horse that had been ridden up tue
trail from the east, ~nen off the tran
and down to the origin of the fire ami
back asain to the east. Hunt ana
Fort followed these tracks with diff
Guilty, owing to the rall grass. 1h,
tracking was easier when they reach
Ell a dusty trail after an hours work.
and found that it lea them to the
Johnson ranch. Olaf Johnson was At
the cslubi tion, but Duke Whsley.
q young fellow with police record
and an extremely bad reputation. was
found at the ranch,
whaley was asked to catch up hts
horse and go to the fir-- lie demurred
then he said he would walk to the fire
The forest officers finally persuads 4
him to catch a saddle horse. which took
about a. hour. While Whaley WAS
, gone the forest officers noted mis-
ibridle hanging on the fence. Tho
) /
strand Of white horse hair caught in
it. The officers took this strand II
!. hair. They then noted that Whaley ;
! saddle blankets. winch were thrown
over the saddle rack. were soaking we.
aud wece covered with white hairs.
showing that they had recently besr
on a white horse, tat and soft from
inaction. At the water trough In the
yard. the officers saw the same baro-
footed tracks they had been following.
7 and on the ground lay a salt sack,
! sopping wet and covered with white
hairs. II had evidently been us5l
7 yedy recently in grooming A
! sweaty hcrse The officers preserved
this sack as evidence.
When Whalcy returned they made
{ some guarded inquiries. He said he
, had not tecn in the saddle for several
; days. and that he had not ridden the
white horse for q year or moro. He
, said he did not even know where the
old white horse was-ho had rin--
bone. and Olaf Johnson had turned
him out to pasture because OF his long,
faithful service WLaley asserted
there had been no visitors. and tina.
when johnson was away he never lett
l