The Fortst Hanger 



3* 



alotiK practical linoN and re(|uire 

 two (lays for roinplction. The fintt 

 day is devoted to written t«*MtH de- 

 HJgncd to show the applicant *h knowl- 

 edff«* of the (ioverninent land lawa 

 and regulations, the tiniher husiness, 

 the principh's of surveying, niappinjf 

 and reconnaisKance, the live stock in- 

 dustry and other phases of forest 

 work. The second day is a Held test 

 on surveying, timber estiinatin^;;. 

 packing a horse, throwing the 'dia- 



Mr. Record, author of the article, in 

 Forest Service Uniform. 



inoixl hitch.' saddling and riding, 

 for all these are part of the ranj?er's 

 every<lay life. 



Answers to the written <|Ucstions 

 fre«|U»'ntly revi'al a phase of the sub- 

 ject not contemplated by the exam- 

 iner. One applicant, when asked 

 how National Forests were created, 

 replied that 'they were created hy 

 Ood and staked out by man.' An- 

 other younp hopeful attempted to 

 conceal his ignorance of a 'steam 

 nijrirer' by sayinp it was 'that part 

 of »n cnjrine which has a peculiar 

 work to perform.' 



A forest ranger's laUry varies 

 from ♦I.IOO to $1,500 a year lie 

 Im re((uired to keep one or more nad- 

 dle horaea and also |)aek-horMcs 

 where needed. He fumiahes his 

 own aaddle, Haddle-pm-keta, blankets, 

 pack outfit and i>erMonal equipment, 

 and paya hia own expcnaea. Some- 

 times he makcM camp alone, at others 

 he Kto|)H at a ranch houae or 'throws 

 in' with a sheep herder or 'cow- 

 puncher.' The im|)ortant thing is 

 to find water, for a 'dry camp' after 

 a hard day's ride is a diwomfort that 

 even a tenderfoot atiidiously avoids. 

 For the benefit of atrangera in a 

 National Foreat the roads and trails 

 are posted with cloth noticea giving 

 direction and distance to camping 

 places, ranches and settlement. 



Kvery National Forest ia divided 

 into ranger districts, containing on 

 an average about 160,000 acres each. 

 The ranger in charge is firovided 

 with permanent headtpiarters, since 

 private aceommodations eannot usu- 

 ally be found in the big woods. In 

 time all ranger headquarters on a 

 forest will be connected by telephone 

 with each other and with the sui>er- 

 visor's office, affording readv means 

 for communication and cstablialiing 

 close relations among all of the for- 

 est officers. 



Hanger headquarters consist of a 

 house, barn, well, garden and pas- 

 ture. His office is supplied with a 

 stove or fin'place. table, chairs, 

 typewriter, filing ca.ses, card index, 

 blank form cabinets and miscellan- 

 eous equipment. If the ranger haa 

 a wife it becomes her duty usually 

 to write her husband's letters and 

 reports, and to see that all papers 

 are filed so that they may be locat- 

 ed without ransacking the place. 



A tall flagpole stands near the 

 house, and the presence or absence 

 of the flag indicates whether or not 

 the ranger is at home. Special ef- 

 fort is made to make the ranger 

 headquarters substantial and attrac- 

 tive and to serve as models for the 

 entire community. 



The district ranger fills a very im- 



