198 AMERICAN FORESTRY 



a fire making carrying by hand impracticable. A pack saddle device carrying 

 two tanks of fifteen gallons capacity each and connected under a horse by 

 hose attachments was tried out in the Ozark Mountains. The water was 

 drawn from the tanks to knapsack sprinklei-s that fit over a man's shoulders. 



From this device was evolved an aiTangement for throwing the water 

 direct from the saddle to the fire. This was first accomplished by means of a 

 small air pump capable of a pressure of 25 pounds, later abandoned in favor 

 of iron cylinders in which the air has been compressed to 2,400 pounds per 

 square inch. This high pressure is reduced, by means of a simple valve, to a 

 working pi-essure of from 10 to 25 pounds, and one cylinder is capable of ex- 

 hausting the 30-gallon tanks 25 times with one charging. The entire appa- 

 raus is quite simple, the cost very reasonable, and the expense of operation 

 almost nothing. 



Mr. Adams' fire fighters look like warriors of old, for each carries a shield 

 to protect him from the radiation and allow him to work close enough to put 

 the water on the fire rather than on the flames. These shields are made of 20- 

 gauge tin with asbestos cloth cover, and with a spiral wire hand-hold. A three 

 by four-inch mica window is inserted near the top. The whole weighs two and 

 a half pounds, costs only a trifle, and is in detachable sections which may be 

 conveniently carried under the saddle stirrup leathers. 



In the course of experiments it was early demonstrated that water in 

 sufiicient quantities was too hard to get and when used alone did not have the 

 extingui.shing qualities of certain chemicals, especially when used on very hot 

 fires. No chemical apparatus on the market, however, had provision for re- 

 filling except by hand. Their use was further hampered by the fragile devtces 

 for mixing the acids and other chemicals. Mr. Adams overcame these objec- 

 tions and has applied for patent for a self-charging chemical equipment for 

 shoulder support and an automatic charging equipment for pack saddle sup- 

 port. In this connection it may be interesting to note that the claims made by 

 various chemical engine manufacturers that their engines throw a gas charged 

 welter whose fire quenching eflSciency is forty to one over ordinary water, seems 

 erroneous in that the water delivered by such apparatus is taken from below 

 the gas line and not charged with gas at all. 



Necessity for economizing the sux)ply of water and using more of the 

 flame stifling gas, either alone or in mixture with water, led to the invention of 

 a valve and double hose arrangement whereby pure gas, pure water, or a mix- 

 ture in any desired proportion can be obtained. By addition from time to 

 time of small amounts of alkaline solution and sulphuric acid the entire 

 charge can be re-energized with great economy of water. 



But improvements did not stop there. To obtain a more intimate mixture 

 of gas and water a special nozzle was perfected, which gave a rotary motion 

 so great that the charge comes finely atomized to virtually a gaseous vapor. 

 This should have especial merit in combatting fiercely burning forest fires. 



To make the apparatus practicable on a large scale, several horses may 

 be used in tandem. The leader carries the chemical engine while the rear 

 horses tote the supply tanks containing the sodium solution. The tanks are 

 connected by a common delivery hose coupled by lever valves similar to air 

 hose couplings on cars. Such apparatus is designed for controlling the lee of 

 back fires in dangerous places and fighting other fires in a high wind. 



This idea of using several horses in tandem is an adaptation of the old 

 principle of the "packer's hitch." In the mountainous mining regions it is 

 customary to pack ore out and machinery in on mules or burros so hitched that 

 the head of one is close to the tail of the next, making what is known as the 

 "packer's headand-tail hitch." In this manner the "jack whacker," as the 

 man in charge is called, can lead fifty or more animals, and where the leader 



