THE FOREST RANGER 453 



on the part of the ranger is the examination of claims of settlers within the 

 national forest. If there are lands suited to agricultural purposes within 

 the forests, they may be taken and cultivated just as other lands outside the 

 forest. But, of course, many proposed claims are established, under the 

 allegation of utilizing them for agriculture, when really the purpose is to 

 secure the timber from them. These claims are, of course, rejected in the 

 ranger's report to the supervisor. This perhaps explains why some of the 

 western papers are filled with statements that the ranger is a stumbling 

 block in the path of the western country toward progress and development. 



Other users of the forests also come under the supervision of the ranger. 

 Thousands of sheep graze within the forest ranges, but each owner must keep 

 to his assigned territory and not run on a number of animals beyond that 

 allowed in his permit. Cattle, too, are grazed under permit, and the old time 

 war between sheep men and cattle men has been made impossible because 

 the range is divided between them. 



Many of the states in which the national forests are located have game 

 laws, and the rangers are made game wardens to enforce these laws. Thus 

 they are given police power to make arrests for illegal killing of game. On 

 the' other hand, one of their duties is to kill predatory animals, such as 

 bears, coyotes and bobcats, which prey upon the sheep and other animals 

 of the range. Special assistants are sometimes hired whose sole duty it is 

 to hunt and trap these dangerous animals. 



Thus the ranger lives and labors for weeks at a time, pitching his camp 

 at night amid the fragrant pines and spruce trees. Each morning he is 

 early astir, ready for a new day. And after weeks of travel, much of the 

 time alone, he finally emerges from the forest, bronzed and bearded, but 

 ready for whatever has turned up during his absence from headquarters. 



But the ranger's life does not consist, as one disappointed novice put it, 

 of merely "riding around under the trees and making outsiders toe the mark." 

 There is hard manual labor to be done. There are stumps to be grubbed out 

 to clear ground for nursery sites and ranger stations; routes for trails must 

 be surveyed, not always over level land at that; and often this must be done 

 in winter, in spite of cold and snow. Much heavy work is sometimes necessary 

 to clear off these trails, which are absolutely necessary in order to make 

 possible rapid travel in the fore.st in case of fire. The trails are sometimes 

 actually cut from the mountain side. 



Then there are bridges to be built across streams if these trails are to 

 be woi-th anything and access given to valuable timber. These bridges are 

 often temporary only, but sometimes more pretentious structures are erected. 

 These trails and bridges form very valuable permanent improvements, and 

 have added greatly to the value of the property in the national forests, not only 

 by making accessible otherwise inaccessible places, but by reason of the 

 increased facility with which fires may be reached and extinguished. By 

 means of them, also, the sheep and cattle on the forest ranges are enabled 

 to cross dangerous streams in safety. 



Another form of permanent improvement in the national forests is the 

 telephone lines that are being installed. They enable the ranger to get 

 quickly into communication with the Supervisor's office if he needs help to 

 fight fire, thus saving many a hard ride. The wires are often strung on the 

 tree trunks, but where no suitable trees are available poles are set. Perhaps 

 nothing has ever been done that renders a more efficient service in prevention 

 of fires than this. 



The forest fire furnishes the most strenuous and the most exciting part 

 of the work of the forest ranger. During the hot, dry summer season, he 



