REPORT OF THE No. 3 



with autliority under the law, the Department appointed these rangers "Bush 

 and Fire Rangers," the Statute providing that such officers should be 

 ex-officio officers to enforce the provisions of the "Act to Preserve the Forest 

 from destruction by Fire." 



The rangers were instructed by the Department as to how they were to 

 perform their duties. They were also supplied with diaries in which they 

 had to enter their movements from day to day, and anything of importance 

 occurring on the territory under their charge. They were supplied with 

 large poster copies of the Fire Act printed on linen, which they had to post 

 up on roads, portages and other places where there was travel passing. They 

 were also supplied with small pamphlet copies of the Act, which they were 

 instructed to hand to all parties or persons with whom they came in contact, 

 such as surveyors, foremen of river drives, prospectors, explorers, hunters, 

 summer tourists, etc., etc. By these means, it was thought that a knowledge 

 of the law would become general, and that it would cease to be the dead 

 letter it had been from its passage through Legislature. The rangers were 

 instructed to take the names and addresses of all those with whom they came 

 in contact, and in addition to handing them a copy of the Act, to impress 

 upon them the necessity for being careful in the use of fire, and its exting- 

 uishment, when it had served its purposes, particularly when they were 

 moving camp, or coci^ing meals en route. They were cautioned to be concil- 

 iatory in their manner and not to be over-bearing or abusive to settlers or 

 others, it being recognized that a great deal could be done by moral suasion, 

 and the enlistment of the sympathy and good-will of those using fire in 

 travelling through the forest. In addition to the foregoing, instructions 

 were given them as to the course to pursue in the event of a fire breaking 

 out, by which they were required to report at once to the licensee and the 

 Department the extent of the damage done, the locality in which the fire 

 occurred, the expenditure in extinguishing it, and the nature and quantity 

 of the timber damaged, so that steps might be taken to himber it before it 

 became a loss. 



The system was started in 1885 as an experiment with few men and a 

 small appropriation ; it worked so well that immediately, with few excep- 

 tions, the licensees all took advantage of it, and so the territory under 

 license was guarded in the summer time. At the end of the season, each 

 ranger had to report the fires which had occurred on the territory, the 

 locality in which they took place, the cause thereof, if it could be ascertained, 

 and the loss of timber which ensued. The timber licensees were asked to 

 report on the service ; if in their opinion it had been efficient or had served 

 its object, and where they thought it weak, and they were also invited to 

 suggest how it might be strengthened and made more effective. The system 

 has been in operation for nearly twenty-five years in the Province of Ontario. 

 From time to time improvements have been made, and it has been strength- 

 ened at various points. It is not too much to say that it has been successful, 

 and has met the approval of those most interested and most familiar with 

 its working. One of the improvements has been, that power was taken to 

 appoint fire rangers on lands where the licensee had failed to do so, charging 

 the expense of same against the licensee. This action was taken because it 

 was not considered fair that the man who paid for rangers on his own terri- 

 tory to protect it, should be exposed to the danger from fire running in from 

 an adjoining limit, the owner of which was either too parsimonious or too 

 careless to put on the necessary rangers. Then it was thought that it would 

 be w:ell to get a closer grasp of the work as performed in the field, and the 

 licensed territory was accordingly divided into districts and a supervising 



