ANSWERING THE CALL 



473 



REPLANTING 



Years ago a fire stripped the hills shown in this picture. Three 

 decades have passed and no forest cover has returned. This 

 crew is planting seedling trees in an effort to bring back greenery 

 to the hills where once great fir and pine trees towered. 



of them, some get by. I keep two guards riding the West 

 Fork and the Canyon Largo and spend the daylight hours 

 on the Middle Fork myself and so far we've kept her in 

 hand. But, Judge, would you believe it, I must relocate 

 the camp fires of half of those I have warned but the 

 day before. Then every day the three of us turn in from 

 six to a dozen small fires, in the daily fire report to the 

 Supervisor, that we put out along the roads cigarette 

 butts, pipe ashes, the cigar stub of some opulent citizen, 

 a blazing match all from passing cars and only one 

 chance in a hundred of catching the party that did it." 



"Any arrests. Bill?" 



"Yes, I'm sorry to say I had to take one individual over 

 to Pineville and have the Justice of the Peace read him the 

 fire law and charge him $50 for the reading. He departed 

 a wiser citizen. And three parties have been escorted 

 out of the hills for needing a second warning from me 

 regarding leaving their camp fires unattended and a 

 windy day at that. I do hate to break up a happy family 

 party like that, and the last one. Judge, had in it a little 

 chap who cried because their week up here was cut to 

 two days. I offered to take him over to the Station to 

 spend a week with my little ranger and do you know the 

 lady in the party well, the lady she wasn't exactly nice 

 in her display of temper over the whole afifair. That's 



one of the hard things one runs up against in this game 

 of trying to save the big timber for the very people who 

 would thoughtlessly destroy it and who would lose most 

 through its destruction." 



"Have the other campers heard of these sudden de- ' 

 partures? Oh, yes, and there is much improvement as a 

 result of the discussion. I'm hoping you will spread the 

 good news up the Middle Fork. There goes my tele- 

 phone, excuse me a minute. Judge." 



A moment later he returned. 



"Casualties one brand-new six cylinder auto, a three 

 hundred dollar camping outfit and a happy party turned 

 to despair. Two hundred miles from home. Well, so 

 long, Judge. Guess I'll toddle over the divide and look 

 into it. Jim said he had it under control and that the 

 two men in the party had been on the handles of Forest 

 Service shovels for over two hours and were sore both 

 ways. Guess they've fined themselves about to the limit 

 of the law and I aim to attach the remains of the car. 

 Got a sign for it all figured out and I think most of our 

 troubles with the campers will be over with for some 

 time. Object lesson is a great thing. Hope you hook 

 the big one, Judge. Adios." 



LOOKOUT HOUSE 



One of the important fire prevention units is the lookout. With 

 millions of acres of forest spread out below the first feather 

 of smoke in any part can be sighted and fighters dispatched to 

 the scene of the fire. 



