STORIES TOLD IN RANGER CAMPS 



^73 



exaggerated — especially when other ex- 

 periments, quite as important, lead to 

 opposing conclusions ; when facts that 

 have been observed and historic proofs 

 abound to attest the influence of forests 

 in regulating stream-flow and sustain- 

 ing springs ; when, moreover, final 

 judgment could not be pronounced on 

 so complex a question at the present 

 stage of our knowledge — if this move- 

 ment should be checked, if the zeal 

 displayed by disinterested men should 

 change to sterile skepticism, and if the 



efiforts put forth to develop national 

 wealth and industry should remain 

 henceforth impotent. 



Let us remember that if Germany 

 is endowed with an admirable network 

 of streams of more than 27,000 kilo- 

 meters, the possession of which con- 

 tributes not a little to the constant 

 growth of its trade, both domestic and 

 foreign, she owes it largely to the very 

 considerable proportion of forests 

 (twenty-five and eight-tenths per cent) 

 that are included in her territory. 



STORIES TOLD IN RANGER CAMPS 



By CHARLES HOWARD SHINN, Supervisor of Sierra National Forest 



Number 2 



JAM never surprised at anything that 

 I hear in this vale of tribulation, es- 

 pecially at a ranger camp-fire. One is 

 apt to get new and strange views of 

 many sorts. But I think the history 

 that grows instinctively about a moun- 

 tain camp-fire is especially worth the 

 attention of the psychologists. 



One of the rangers had picked up a 

 week-old country newspaper ; it con- 

 tained a kidnapping story. 



"Ought to hang a man that would 

 steal a baby," he said, shoving the paper 

 under the back-log. 



"Huh !" said the much-read ranger 

 who loved to tell about things. "That's 

 nothin' to them scalawags that used to 

 live in Egypt. Stole boy babies for a 

 regular game." 



I rolled up my memorandums and 

 curled down to listen, wondering 



whether this was to be a tale of cruel 

 gypsies or of dreadful man-made Quasi- 

 modos. 



"Go ahead, Tom. Trot her out. Tell 

 us about it right now." 



"Well, once I had a hist'ry teacher 

 who used to 'liven up the Friday after- 

 noons by givin' us all sorts of interestin' 

 facts — real gospel facts, you know. 

 This particular one was about a tribe 

 of Turks that lived next door to the 

 pyramids. They was big men, all 

 dressed up, and they did professional 

 fightin' for the emperor of Egypt." 



("It was ye Soldan of ye Faithful, in 

 the days of ye lovely Princess Sabra," 

 I murmured softly to myself.) 



"In this here tribe of fighters, each 

 man wore a horse-tail, an' some of them 

 three horse-tails, an' each man had a 

 camp kettle, an' when it was empty he 



