136 Forest Club Annual 



Considerable June llth work was done in the Yaak River 

 Valley on the Kootenai National Forest, Montana, during the 

 summer of 1911, and was typical for the Northern Rockies. 

 Only one application and one examination was considered 

 for one applicant at one time. When application was made 

 for a tract of land the examiner not only examined that tract 

 alone, but all land in the vicinity for which application was 

 likely to be made, and thus obviated the necessity and expense 

 of another trip into the same neighborhood upon similar appli- 

 cations. When examined, each tract applied for was given 

 an application number and each tract examined which was 

 not applied for, was given a unit number. These numbers 

 were for convenience and for reference. All lands was class- 

 ified as to its value at the time of application. No land chiefly 

 valuable for the standing timber on it was listed for the pur- 

 pose of a woodlot, since the settler within the forest could 

 secure necessary forest products by a free-use permit. Of 

 course small interior patches of timber could properly be in- 

 cluded within the listed areas. 



A crew necessary to survey June llth Homesteads usually 

 consisted of four to six men depending upon the amount and 

 density of undergrowth, the number of small trees, the amount 

 of blazing to be done, and other factors which determined the 

 length of time it took to accomplish the work. Under fav- 

 orable conditions a crew of five men could run a claim in a 

 day. One or two axmen were usually required to clear and 

 blaze the lines, and they also cut and marked corners and 

 monuments under the direction of the foreman. The foreman 

 of the crew usually ran the compass and kept the notes. One 

 of the crew acted as head chainman and one as rear chainman. 

 It was often convenient for the head chainman to carry a 

 small handax in order to help blaze or to- help cut down brush 

 where there happened to be an unusual amount of it on the 

 line. 



The equipment usually consisted or two two-pound axes, 

 a small handax, a Forest Service Standard compass and 

 Jacob Staff, a surveyor's chain and pins, a timber scribe, 

 chisel, a rule graduated in inches and twentieths, traverse 

 tables, 6H pencil, protractor, colored crayons, oanvass carry- 

 ing case, and necessary forms and blanks. The camp equip- 



