HOW THE FOREST IS GUARDED 95> 



as follows: A surface fire that is running through the 

 woods suddenly strikes a resinous tree, a balsam for 

 example or one with an unusually low hanging crown. 

 It runs up the inflammable tree and in a second the 

 entire crown is ablaze. The draft created carries the 

 flames to adjoining trees and in a few minutes the fire 

 is roaring away fanned by its own draft. The fire 

 burns ahead like a huge V, the point advancing rapidly 

 in the crowns, the wings trailing lower down and 

 finally reaching the ground. New fires are started 

 ahead of the main blaze by brands of blazing bark 

 thrown by the terrific gale. Up the slope the fire 

 rushes furiously, pauses at the crest and then slowly 

 burns down the other side of the mountain. Before a, 

 high gale great speed is attained and woe to the un- 

 lucky hunter or fire fighter who is caught in the track 

 of such a blaze. On steep slopes or in country covered 

 with brush or the debris from old lumbering jobs it 

 may be impossible to escape especially if there is a 

 strong wind blowing. 



iFire fighting is by all odds the most dangerous and 

 laborious work a forester has to perform. It means 

 long hours of trenching or work with the ax and saw, 

 terrific heat, thirst, and fatigue, and always with the 

 chance of being surrounded by the flames. Tales of 

 heroism are told of fire fighters that make the heart 

 thrill as truly as do the stories of courage in battle. In 

 the summer of 1910 when the whole West was covered 

 with a dense pall of smoke from a thousand fires, over 

 seventy fire fighters were known to have lost their lives. 

 That the toll of the fire was not greater is largely due 

 to the coolness and presence of mind of the men in 

 the Forest Service. One of the most heroic stories told 

 is that of Edward C. Pulaski, forest ranger of Wallace, 



