a mile of Clear River over 20,000 acres of peat lands 

 were in flames. Over 75 miles of plowed fire break 

 was made on the edges of the peat lands to stop the 

 fire when it reached mineral soil. This fire was 

 started August 3 and was finished September 16. 

 The fire jumped miles and miles of fire break and 

 it was necessary to build new ones and widen others 

 in places. Still farther south fire spread over thou- 

 sands of acres and it is miraculous that the town of 

 Shilling escaped destruction. 



There was a total of 66 fires in Linder's district 

 which includes one hundred townships and located 

 within Rosseau, Marshall and Beltrami counties a 

 vast empire in itself and only two men, Linder and 

 O. R. Levin, ranger, who distinguished himself with 

 the Sixth Marines in France, on the job as a perma- 

 nent fire fighting force. Linder is described by the 

 late Carl B. Storrs as " cheerful soul, with the pro- 

 foundly fundamental joyousness of the out-door man, 

 sometimes a bit crudely expressed, if judged by the 

 conventional standards of civilization, but beautiful 

 and justified by sincerity. The eagle eye; the lithe, 

 slender, erect body; the handsome head poised like 

 that of a stag at gaze; the quick unconscious grace of 

 movement and the indescribable something that tells 

 of senses supernaturally sharpened by communion 

 with the spirits of sky, woods and waters are not dis- 

 cernable at all. It is only in story-book heroes and 

 motion picture actors that these cosmic qualities stick 

 out for all to see and adore." And like the fire- 

 trapped moose he never sleeps while danger lurks 

 in his domain. There is a whole lot of land in one 



15 



