tails of their work. Their principal duty was, of course, the 

 prevention and control of fires. In this connection, they post- 

 ed warning notices and explained the law and the aims of the 

 Forest Service to the public. In rainy weather, when fires 

 were unlikely, employment was always at hand in erecting 

 watch towers on commanding sites selected in going about 

 the country, in compiling maps from data obtained when on 

 patrol, in clearing out trails and portages, and other work 

 of a similar useful character. 



"Rangers took care to select points for patrol headquarters 

 which could be reached quickly by telephone if possible, at 

 any rate by mail. Thus, in any emergency, a patrolman could 

 quickly get in touch with the ranger, and vice versa. Patrol- 

 men were required to keep a diary, recording therein the 

 business of each day. These were forwarded to the ranger 

 once a month, to be summarized together with his own. 

 While the nature of a ranger's duties was such that he must 

 spend a part of his time in district headquarters, he devoted 

 the greater part of it to going about his district advising with 

 the patrolmen, supervising the work of the latter, planning 

 new activities for them, and looking after such matters as 

 were beyond the authority of the patrolmen." 



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