The Sunday Oregonian., October 13, 1912, SECTION SIX, Page 4, Image 72

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TTTE RTTISDAT OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, OCTOBER IS, 1912.
i nis Season National Forests Have Largely Escaped Rav- ' paprattjaij, 83ri'k vUtWi lUlM
g. ages of Fire-This Is Due to Organization for Fire Fighting ' : .fe". IfelWIW
in Timber Zones. ..: P9 : ' lRSgfjigilSt
... lir :4 a lib -ififet.M
- ,
'.Ti ' V .:. r....ll
BT WILLIAM ATHERTON DU PUT.
TEIE season when the fire demon
Koea careening: through Uncle
Sam'a forests primeval, defying
the cunning and the valor of the man
fighter, licking up values that amount
Into the hundred millions, and often
taking great toll of life, has come and
gone and no single fire of Importance
has occurred. To be sure, some fires
nave started that might have become
calamitous. But a fire break turn.
them back, a newly established tele
phone line or lookout station gave the
alarm in time for them to be successful
ly handled, and trained fighters with
organizations of volunteers within call
proved too strong and. too clever for
the force of flames.
From the middle of August to the
middle of October is the period of dan
ger In the forests. At that season of
the year they are likely to become dry
and then, too, the hunter and the
camper are abroad In the land, and
campflres and cigarette stumps start
tne trouble. Not since man first began
to spread himself generally through
the wooded country has there been a
season that has been as free from for
est fires as the present. To be sure the
elements have helped by sending no
long dry "spells, but the development
of fire control systems In the tree
areas and the general, education of the
people as to prevention of fires Is un
questionably the governing cause of
the absence of fires.
For, be it known that Uncle Bam has
now in his service an army of 1500
highly trained fire preventers and fire
fighters who are on the Job every day.
These 2500 know exactly where to put
their hands on 25,000 volunteers that
may be called on to help at a mo
ment's notice. Uncle Sam has cached
tools for Are fighting In a thousand
different places in the wilds and In as
many places he has provided for
emergency supplies against the time
or need. A Dove all he made a record
last year and built more roads, more
fire breaks and more telephone lines in
national forests than had been con
structed in all the years that had
passed. And all of these are prevent
ers of fires.
Mapplag a Ftre Campalicn.
But organization and training has
been the all important thing. When
the Government went into the for
estry business, only a decade ago, it
was without any Information what
ever as to the problem to be faced.
There were no men in America who
knew anything about forestry. The
subject had to be mastered by the few
and then the many had to be trained.
An organization had to be developed
and the system had to be laid down
on the forests from Alaska to Florida
and from New Hampshire to Cali
fornia, for the Government now owns
land in all those extremes.
It is but now coming to pass that
the system is becoming bo developed
as to be to any extent effective. It is
but now that the war maps are com- j
pleted and that the warriors have been
able to apply the strategy that comes
of much intelligent study. It is but
now that the district forester knows
as well how to carry on a campaign
In his field against the fire god as the
war college would know how to send
an expedition into Mexico.
There is such a close similarity be
tween the task of controlling a forest
fire and in checking the advance of
a hostile force that military methods
caa be studied and, in many cases,
applied in a more or less modified
tlon. signaling, supplying men on the
fighting line, or moving bodies of
men, worked out to a high degree of
efficiency during a long series of
years, are being applied In many In
stances to fire-fighting conditions in
the National forests.
The first requisite In preparing a
fire plan is an intimate knowledge of
the forest. For the purpose of pro
tective organization, the ranger dis
trict must be the unit of study. A
study of a ranger district made in the
field with the ranger, will generally
show the classes of danger zones. It
will show areas where there Is great
danger of fires starting, such as the
vicinity of a logging operation, along
a railroad. In a community of malcon
tents, near - frequented camping
grounds. It will show other ' areas
where much, damage will be done If
fire gets In, such as a logging" slash
or a windfall.
Preventive Strategy.
After the inventory of dangers Is
complete the Inventory of resources
to combat them must be taken. Pre
ventive measures against ' campers'
fires, for instance, may consist in es
tablishing a campers' register at a
range station on the main traveled
route to the camping grounds. It has
been found In California that the
names and plans of the campers are
easily secured If only the ranger has
something to give in exchange. Camp
ers' maps have therefore been pre
pared showing roads, trails, meadows
where food may be obtained, and other
data of Interest to the camper. Rules
lor care with fires and a short sum
mary of the game and fire laws are
printed on the margin of the map. The
fact that his name, address, and des
tination are on record with the ran
ger is no slight restraint to prevent
a camper from being careless with his
Ilres,
Protective measures may consist of
burned or cleared fire lines around
a slash, a timber sale, or an experl
mental plot; or they may take ' the
form of cleaning up a camping ground.
or of some advance preparation " for
quick back-firing along a strategic
riage where inflammable material is
scarce, or of provision for quicker dis
covery and swifter action when fire
breaks out.
With the plan developed this far it
is then necessary to marshal the pro
tective forces In the most effective
way possible. An ideal plan is out
lined, one that will guarantee prac
tically complete protection against fire
loss. This entails, of course, a sec
ondary workable plan at the beginning
of each geason, but with the ideal plan
at hand It is easy to say that. In view
of these fixed dangers, this telephone
or that trail must be built at once,
and this lookout station or that tool
cache can wait another year, and
so on.
The ranger district Is divided into
patrol divisions that form natural fire
protective units. The topography and
accessibility of the division, whether
or not it can be covered from 4 look
out station, are factors that weigh
with area in fixing division bounta
ries. Each hanger is given his field
to cover, has his watch towers, his
Instruments and, through his tele
phones, is brought In touch with his
neighbors and his commanding offi
cer, the district forester.
Methods of Communication.
The importance of communication be
tween the lookouts, the patrolmen, and
the district ranger cannot be too
strongly emphasized. A patrolman out
of communication who does not happen
to eee a fire Just as soon as it starts
loses most of his effectiveness. He
then becomes simply a fire-fighter,
whose only advantage over any other
fire-fighter is his training. It is fire
preventers that are needed. On one divi
sion on a Pacific Coast forest the pa
trolman's headquarters camp is
equipped with a telephone connected
with the district ranger's headquarters
and with a lookout station commanding
tne division. He has two fixed routes,
one up the country and one down. At
the end or each route he can report In
by other phones. Each morning he re
ports both to the lookout and to the dis
trict ranger which route he is going to
take. This leaves him out of communi
cation only a very few hours each day,
and both the lookout and the district
ranger know where he is all the time.
Drawing up the division plans auto
matically locates the improvements es
sential to their proper working. Thus,
if it is decided that such and such
meadow Is logically the patrol head
quarters for a certain division, it fol
lows that arrangements must be made
to house the man, furnish him tools,
feed or pasture his horses, and put him
In communication with the nearest
lookout and the district ranger.
The determination of the divisions,
the assignment of patrol routes and pa
trol headquarters, the completion of the
means of communication, and the selec
tion and equipment of lookout stations
may be said to comprise the control
system. When this is complete, the
next step Is to perfect arrangements
for fighting the fires that occur.
Whem Fire Braalcs Oat.
Of course, very patrolman becomes a
fire-fighter Immediately on the out
break of any fire In his vicinity. The
patrolman, together with any perma
nent fire crew, 'improvement rew, re
connaissance crew, or United States
troops that may be stationed In the dls-
'ito'Vlt
trict. make up the "regular" force of
fire-fighters. This district ranger
should figure out in advance the num.
ber of regulars he must assemble at a
given point in sufficiently quick time
to check a fire in Its lnclpiency. If
every patrolman or other regular, Im
mediately and without orders, quit his
division and hurried to every fire he
saw or heard of, the result might be a
surplus of men on a fire already held
under control by the division regulars
and volunteers. On the outbreak of a
fire, the regulars, in a division where it
occurs proceed to it immediately, and
all other division patrolmen who see it
or bear of it proceed as rapidly as pos
slble to the nearest point of communl
cation with the district ranger, report
to him and wait for orders. Disastrous
results may follow the concentration of
all regulars at one point In the district
and the consequent abandonment of
outlying divisions
But Just as the Btanding army could
not cope unaided with a foreign Inva
sion, so the force ot regulars on any
National forest cannot handle the fire
situation without volunteer help from
citizens living in or near It. The dis
trict ranger must study out this re
source Just as the ar Department
keeps tab on the strength and equip
ment of militia organizations through
out the country. Each settler or stock
man who is a resident in the district
during the fire season is spotted on the
map accompanying the district fire
plan. The number that can be assem
bled at a given point In a given time
Is worked out, and it should be also de
termined in advance Just what fire
fighting equipment each one habitually
keeps at his camp. If. for instance, a
fire occurs near a certain cow camp
where the district ranger knows the
owner keeps on hand a supply of tools
and food sufficient to maintain a crew
of ten fire-fighters on the line for three
days, and if he knows also that he can
secure three pack horses at this cow
camp, he can rush a fire crew into this
locality, establish a base camp at the
cowman's camp, and save possibly two
days that might be necessary to trans
port tools and supplies Into this coun
try. It goes without saying that the
cowman will be Immediately reim
bursed.
Calling; For Help.
Before the fire season opens a def
inite understanding Is reached between
the supervisor or the district ranger
and all sawmill operators or construe-
e
campaign In advance. With all re
sources known for the big fight that
may at any time become necessary, it
then devolves upon the ranger to'maln-
tain an eternal vigilance that the fire
may be discovered while yet small and
attacked before it has gained undue
force.
The ranger in fire season has certain
territory to cover regularly that he
may assure himself that there are no
fires starting. In his rides abroad he
touches at points of greatest eleva
tion and from them looks out over the
country under his care to see that no
column of smoke Is giving warning of
trouble ahead. In the beginning the
crests of mountain ranges. Isolated
mountain peaks and such natural
points of vantage, were made use of
for this purpose. As the forest pro
tection idea developed it was found
that nature had not provided lookout
stations at all points where they were
needed. Even in the West there might
be vast areas that were comparatively
level and that could not be viewed in
this way. In other places even the
mountain tops were densely covered
with timber and there was no outlook
from them.
Building. Lookont Towers.
It was then that the artificial watch
tower of the forest began to be devel
oped. The first one was built in
Arkansas, where the timber land of
Uncle Sam's is so level and so well set dred lives lost in fighting forest fires
from them keeping watch of the fire
danger on the land for which he is re
sponsible. Many well regulated forests now ars
supplied with numbers of these watch
stations, they being not over ex
pensive. The rangers, starting from a
central headquarters, ride each day to
these stations an ! take observations.
The stations are connected by tele
phone with headquarters and when a
fire is seen a report may be immedi
ately made and headquarters may im
mediately start the battle of Us ex
termination. Aside from the telephone each sta
tion is provided with a mounted map.
With this map before him and his po
sition indicated on it, the ranger can
immediately determine the exact direc
tion of the fire. He knows it lies In a
certain line. He car, see that It lies
beyond certain landmarks and nearer
than certain others. Still he Is unable
to determine its ex&ct distance from
him and therefore Its exact location.
He, however, telephones the exact an
gle of its direction to headquarters.
By this time a second ranger in an
other tower has probably seen ths
smoke and this station sends In a sim
ilar observation. The man at head
quarters merely continue the lines of
direction that the two observers have
reported and when these meet he has
the location of the fire to a mathemat
ical certainty. He is able to send his
regulars and volunteers direct to It by
the shortest possible route.
Since the great fires of 1910, leaving
behind their roster of nearly a hun-
ln' its growth of trees that the rider
rarely sees a hundred yards in any
direction. Here the rangers used to
climb to the very tops of the tallest
trees that could be found In an attempt
to view the surrounding country.
Then the idea was originated of
building a watch tower that would
overlook the tops of the trees. A few
of these, built of lumber, were put up.
The windmill tower suggested Its
counterpart for this service and soon
the Government was having steel
towers made for this particular pur
pose. So it comes to pass that the for
est ranger is building for himself these
slim-legged steel watch towers in the
mighty solitudes of the forests and
and a financial loss to the Government
and to private individuals amounting
to many millions of dollars, Congress
has been comparatively liberal in pro
viding funds for this work. Last year
an emergency fund of $1,000,000 was
provided for fire fighting. But a small
amount of this was, however, used and
this year there are two special provis
ions for fire fighting, one of J20t,000
and one of 150,000. With this money,
with developing preventive arrange
ments, and with Increasing knowledge
of campaigning against this new
enemy, Uncle Sam is beginning to feel
himself somewhat prepared to fight the
red demon in the woods.
(Copyright, 1912, by W. A. Du Puy.)
AZTECS AS BALL PLAYERS
Montezuma Himself a Premier Pitcher Corteas Outplayed.
tlon superintendents within the district
as to Just the circumstances under
which their crews will be called upon
to fight fire, how far they will go from
their work, and the compensation the
men will receive. Misunderstanding
and friction have occurred because
such points were not settled in advance.
The terms of pay. transportation and
subsistence should also be understood
in advance by all possible volunteers.
Just as Important as an advance 'In
ventory of all available volunteer fire
fighters Is an advance Inventory of all
possible means of transportation and
bases of supplies. Lists should be
made showing the location of all
horses, pack outfits, and wagons in the
district that it is possible to hire at
need. The ranger should also list the
country stores from which supplies
and tools may be obtained, and satisfy
himself that their stock is adequate.
If it 1b not, he may be able to induce
the proprietor to increase it.
This much for the mapping: of a,
is. O, the first game of ball ever played
on the American continent did no
take place the first time the home team
walloped the visiting "ginks" way back
in the last century. That "game" seems
to have been played several centuries
ago.
It was an Aztec game and It was
played somewhere out on the mesas of
Mexico, long before the Spaniards ar
rived in their search for gold.
Ths sort of ball that the Aztecs
played was very popular with the pub
lie. just as the big league draws atten.
tlon today. They had no "regular league
balls" at $1.25 each, but used one of
rubber or elastic resin, and in another
sort of contest used those made of
gold.
The ancient Azteo game was called
totoloque and was played in a court
known as a tlachco, not so large as the
present day diamond. The players were
clothed only In a maxtlatl or girdle
around the loins.
There were pitchers, but no catchers,
and the fielders were few. When
pitched the ball was struck by an up
ward movement of the thigh or elbow.
according to how it was aimed, whether
high or low. After being struck tne
sphere, in order to count, has to pass
through a hole in one of several stone
discs hanging Just in front of the wall
of the court. The feat of bunting that
ball with the thigh and sending it
through one of those holes required a
great deal of skill, as might be Imagin
ed. Agility was one of the prime requis
ites of an Aztec big leaguer. Any play
er touching the ball with the hand lost
a point.
The emoluments of the game were
quite as interesting from a pecuniary
standpoint as they are today. Things of
great value were usually given to the
winners. And not only the prize. The
victors were often presented with Jew
els, fine cotton stuffs, feather work or
plumes of(great value.
The gamo with the gold balls was a
favorite of Montezuma. It Is said that
when Cortez staged, his little historical
skit known as the conquest of Mexico
and took Montezuma prisoner the royal
captive spent a great deal of his time
in durance playing the game with gold
balls. He often challenged the Spanish
general to a contest.
These yellow "pllis" were thrown at
targets of the same precious metal.
History shows that Montezuma had the
makings of a pitcher who might have
been in fast company had he delayed
the date of his birth a few centuries.
He could lean them against the home
plate with unerring regularity. The
Spaniards never could learn to play ball
anyway, and Cortez was not one, two
three with the first great American
pitcher, so he lost frequently. '
The Aztec emperor usually insisted
upon having high stakes placed on the
game and won precious stones. Ingots
of gold and other more or less desirable
property, which he promptly distributed
to his attendants with the wonted gen
erosity of his emperorship. Cortes
probably relieved those same attend
ants of their evidences of Montezuma's
liberality as fast as the old fellow
loaded them up. and thus kept up a
clever triple monetary play, Montezuma '
to servants to Cortez. New York Sun.
The First Futurist.
As to the language of the future a
correspondent suggests that Alfred Jin
gle was the first futurist, as witness!
'Lots of beer hogsheads rounds of
beef bullocks; mustard.
'Flannel Jackets, white trousers an
chovy sandwiches deviled kidneys.
Jingle contrived to make himself toler
ably well understood, and certainly de
serves a place in the Pantheon of Fu
turism. London Chronicle. i