952 



Canadian Forestry Journal, February, 1917 



(Pigeons as Messengers). 



From Private F. B. Robertson, 

 (Forest Assistant, Head Office): 



France, December 20. 



"The last time the battaUon was 

 out I took an interesting pigeon 

 course in connection with signalling. 

 The birds have done great work here 

 in the carrying of messages. I tried 

 to consider how pigeons would work 

 to carry messages from rangers in 

 northern districts to headquarters or 

 wherever the loft was established. 

 The great difficulty is that birds will 

 not "home" properly after being 

 away from the loft more than a couple 

 of days: also, as they would be car- 

 ried iti a small basket, they would 

 become wing bound." 



Lieut. W. J. Maclaren (Chief Fire 

 Ranger, Winnipeg): 



December 14. 

 ■ "As you probably know, all the 

 Canadian Forestry' battalions have 

 been amalgamated into the Corps 

 known as the "Canadian Forestry 

 Corps," and I am at present attached 

 to the Corps Headquarters in France 

 where we are just commencing opera- 

 tions which will necessitate a large 

 number of both bush and mill men." 



On The Eastern Desert. 



Captain E. W. Conant, (Forest 

 Ranger, Nicola Reserve, B.C.): 



Cairo, Egypt, December 15. 



"I am now on the Eastern desert 

 facing the Turks instead of on the 

 Western side against the Senussi as 

 we were all the summer. Also my 

 job is rather altered as I am a Cap- 

 tain on the Staff. I have been on 

 the General Staff for a while and am 

 now attached to the Headquarters 

 of a mounted yeomanry Brigade, but 

 I leave them in a few days to go as 

 Brigade Major to some other brigade 

 but which one I don't know yet. 

 The Western desert wasn't a patch 

 on this one for sand. The surface 

 of the former was decently hard and 

 one could use horses and even Ford 

 cars, but here you are about ankle 

 deep all the time and horses cannot 

 go out of a walk; it is all up and 

 down, steep sand dunes, but in nearly 

 every hollow there are date palms 

 and a well of more or less brackish 



water, fit for animals and native 

 Bedouin but not for white troops, 

 and all our water is brought in pipes 

 from the Suez Canal; and only a 

 gallon a day is allowed per man, for 

 all purposes, so washing goes a bit 

 short. I am very tired of the desert 

 and would give a good deal to be in 

 the woods again. If I come out of 

 the war alive it will take a 17 inch 

 shell to get me out of British Co- 

 lumbia any more." 



Adventures In The Air. 



Lieut. W. L. Scandrett, (Forest 

 Supervisor, B.C. Reserves): 



France, Nov. 29, 1916. 



"I still consider that the honour 

 belongs to the Infantry, not so much 

 because of the danger they must 

 undergo as because of the hardship 

 and discomfort they are called upon 

 to endure. As far as safety is con- 

 cerned it is a toss-up, I think, be- 

 cause while the infantry only go 

 "over the top" once in a very long 

 while we have to go "over" every 

 time we fly. When I was a new 

 pilot I was only sent up on the de- 

 fensive jobs which are carried out 

 above or behind our own lines, but 

 now that I am supposed to have 

 developed more or less knowledge ot 

 the lines and the habits and customs 

 of the wily Hun I rarely go on a de- 

 fensive assignment but find myself 

 cruising about well on the other side 

 of the lines, taking photographs or 

 making a reconnaissance. 



In July and even more so in August 

 we had things pretty well our own 

 way in the air and the Hun machines 

 did not bother us much. Since then 

 however they have been concentrat- 

 ing here until they are as numerous 

 or more so than we. The result is 

 that we never attempt an offensive 

 job without a swarm of them coming 

 after us. 



Not long ago I was sent out with 

 a beautiful new machine to take 

 photographs beyond Bapaume, I had 

 with me as escort three more like 

 myself and ten smaller, fast machines. 

 While well over in the enemy country 

 my escort for some unknown reason 

 cleared out and left me alone. I 

 had been watching seven Hun ma- 

 chines ahead of me and was surprised 



