CHAPTER XXXII. 245 



Eidson, had to tie up his foot in a flour sack in which we took up their 

 provision. In my estimation the man who will endanger men's lives by 

 such ignorance is just as criminally carel-j^^; as the fool with a match. 



Ranger Casey deserves almost as much credit as Mr. N. D. Allen, as 

 he started up the canyon after the fire, doing the best he couid to save 

 what the fire missed. He and his men saved the flume in Cucamonga 

 Canyon. Out of the twelve men that started out with Ranger Casey 

 only four came through, arriving at nine o'clock last (Thursaay) night 

 on Thursday's Overland. Forest Superintendent B. F. Allen arrived 

 at North Ontario with a full outf t of shovels, axes, canteens and one 

 brush hook. He told me he had just heard of the fire, and was very 

 sorry that Mr. Borden, the Supervisor, had not telephoned him sooner. 

 This will give you some faint Idea of the way the men in charge of our 

 reserves protect them. 



From the time the fire started until it reached the big timber on 

 the Cucamonga Mountain it is estimated that a large and important 

 watershed has been destroyed. The big timber, which was reached by 

 the fire on Wednesday, ranges from 4 to G feet in diameter and is from 

 100 to 200 feet high. The forest fioor of these high Sierras is from 1 

 to 3 feet thick — pine needles, cones, etc. 



On Friday morning the fire had gone to the east, north and south 

 from Cucamonga Point. The fire had gone over Ice House Canyon and 

 I)eer Canyon. Lytle Creek is only a few ranges away, and unless 

 stopped by rain or smothered by its own ashes it will go on to the des- 

 ert, which would in that event have destroyed the eastern half of the 

 San Antonio water shed. The entire Cucamonga water-shed, the Lytle 

 Creek water-shed and the mountains in the vicinity of the Cajon Pass. 

 The loss in that case would be at the least calculation, one-third of the 

 entire Southern Reserve. 



Respectfully, 



CHARLES E. RHONE. 



