244 REPORT ON FIRE. 



In the meantime, Ranger Bradford sent a gang of eight men by way ol 

 the Fairchild's trail around to Mt. Cucamonga to intercept the fire; but 

 as Ranger Bradford had never been over the Fairchild's trail he did not 

 know that it had grown up in many places. The gang of eight men 

 were, however, under a Mr. Norman Allen of North Ontario, who is 

 a thorough mountaineer and has been over all the ranges in that vicin- 

 ity; knew all the springs. Saddles and Hogbacks there were. Had Mr. 

 Allen been given a man and two burros to pack provisions and water 

 !is far as they could go; had he also not been handicapped by orders 

 from a man who did not know the mountains, the fire could have again 

 been stopped here. But these men were expected to stop a mountain 

 ftre with three shovels, one pole axe and one hand axe. No files were 

 provided them with which to sharpen these axes. One man was detail- 

 ed to carry them provisions to the Ontario Saddle; instead of doing this 

 he met us at the Forest Supervisor's camp and asked us to take them 

 up, which we did. Now these men had worked their way to Cucamonga 

 Mountain; reaching it, they were in no condition to work, for they had 

 had nothing to eat since the night before and to get water they had to 

 climb two miles down the canyon to a spring known to Mr. Allen, and 

 not being allowed to back-fire there was very little for them to do, for 

 it would be utterly imposible for them to cut a fire break wide enough 

 across the mountain with two axes to keep flames back that jump two 

 and three hundred feet at a leap. 



My party reached the Ontario Saddle at 1:15 p. m. Wednesday, and 

 sat down to watch the fire come up the Cucamonga Mountain. All the 

 south and east was enveloped in dense smoke. If we could only have 

 had some of the Washington officials there with us I am sure they 

 would in the future try and do something to protect the reserves in a 

 rational way. At 2 p. m. the flames burst over the peak with the roar 

 of a water-fall, and these men would have been burned to dsath at their 

 work had not Mr. Allen known the mountain and the course of the 

 wind changed for the minute. As it was they had to drop their shov- 

 els, cover their mouth and nose with their coats saturated with water 

 from their canteens and run over the side of the mountain. All this 

 we saw from the Ontario Saddle. About two hours after this we met 

 the men on the old Fairchild's trail, and a sorrier crowd of men I never 

 want to see. Men who had- been working and tramping over those 

 mountains tor almost 24 hours, with no provisions and their shoes worn 

 into holes. We gave them the provisions and divided my whiskey 

 Rask among them, gave them tobacco, and one poor fellow, Mr. A. E. 



