92 



RECREATION 



point was well-nigh unendurable, but still we 

 were obliged to press on. At last we arrived 

 where we must make another stand, and if 

 possible turn the course of the fire. We sent 

 the boys to a small lake about a auarter of a 

 mile distant for water, while we began a line 

 of back fire to turn the course of the forest 

 fire from our possessions. The air was now 

 filled with swirling sparks and cinders. 

 Dense yellow smoke filled the road and the 

 surrounding woods with a suffocating cloud, 

 while the roar of the flames, the crashing 

 of falling timber, the scorching heat and 

 crackling underbrush, all combined to make 

 a spectacle never to be forgotten. The smoke 

 was so dense we were obliged to lie flat in 

 the roadway, our faces but a few inches from 

 the ground, to obtain air, while your com- 

 panion but a few feet from you was entirely 

 undiscernible. After checking this fire at va- 

 rious points, our exertions lasting until well 

 on toward dawn, we at last succeeded in 

 turning the course of the fire, thereby saving 

 our property. When proceeding before a 

 moderate gale I have frequently seen flames 

 from one of these fires mount thirty feet 

 or more into the air, while their roar can be 

 heard for miles. On a dark night the effect 

 of a forest fire seen burning along the top 

 of some distant mountain range is indeed in- 

 spiring to behold. The red tongues of flame 

 seem silhouetted against the crimson-tinted 

 horizon, the dense clouds of illumined smoke 

 mounting upward, the fragrant odor of burn- 

 ing pine on the night air and the distant roar 

 of flames and crash of falling trees serve 

 to nerve one to a high pitch of excitement. 

 These forest fires, when burning against a 

 fair wind, do not acquire such enormous 

 proportions ; though when burning slowly 

 against the wind, their work is more thor- 

 ough and deadly in its effect on the forest 

 growth. Often after one of these fires has 

 swept over a mountain range the twinkling 

 glow of burning stumps left in the fire's 

 wake may be seen for several nights, giving 

 the appearance of tiny catnpfires shining in 

 the distance. While these fires do not neces- 

 sarily kill some of the larger trees at once, 

 still they ruin the timber and kill the prom- 

 ising young growth, besides giving the wil- 

 derness a scar which takes many years to 

 heal and disappear. Let us hope, therefore, 

 that the thoughtless and unthinking camper 

 and others will take heed, and be as careful 

 in the dry woods of late autumn and early 

 spring as one would be in a powder mill. 

 A forest fire once started, often proves as 

 disastrous in every way as an explosion in 

 one of these mills would prove. Let us also 

 hope that our forests will receive that same 

 protection from state and government which 

 is now so nobly extended to our game birds 

 and animals. This done, and forest fires 

 kept out, our great American wilderness 

 will take on new life and blossom as the 

 rose. 



A JAMAICA BAY FISH STORY 



Editor Recreation : 



Labor Day, 1904, while fishing for black- 

 fish oyer the wreck, near Rockaway Inlet, in 

 Jamaica Bay, I caught a few good-sized fish 

 and a couple of small ones. I had a piece of 

 an old woolen stocking, which I used to 

 wipe off the fishing-pole and reel with, and 

 I tore off a piece of this and wrapped it 

 around the tail of one of the small black- 

 fish, throwing him back into the water. A 

 year later, it just happened to be Labor Day, 

 I was fishing at the same old spot. The 

 first fish I pulled up was a blackfish weigh- 

 ing about two pounds with a black woolen 

 sweater on. 



Edwin Hauck, New York City. 



A CORRECTION 



Editor Recreation: 



In your October number, referring to the 

 wonderful success of Beals C. Wright, the 

 present American lawn tennis champion, you 

 unintentionally made a mistake in speaking of 

 Mr. Wright's playing in the National Cham- 

 pionship Tournament at Newport. You should 

 say: "He lost one set in the tournament — to 

 Larned — and this, "the first of the series, he 

 followed by three easy wins." * * * 

 Knowing that you would not intentionally 

 take credit from any player who deserves it, 

 or, in other words, believing, as I am sure 

 you do, that where credit is due it should 

 be given, I take the liberty of calling your 

 attention to the mistake referred to, and 

 pointing out the fact that Mr. Wright lost 

 two sets in the tournament. In his match 

 against Wylie C. Grant, Wright lost the sec- 

 ond set by a score of 4-6, as you can see by 

 reference to the offiicial scores of the tourna- 

 ment. The full score of his match against 

 Mr. Grant being, as I now remember, 6-4, 

 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Although the mistake may 

 seem of not much matter, yet, the reason that 

 I call it to your attention is that in the ar- 

 ticle referred to in your October number the 

 fact that Mr. Wright only lost one set in the 

 tournament is particularly mentioned. I am 

 quite sure, knowing Mr. Wright, as I do, to 

 be a thorough sportsman, that he would be 

 the first to suggest this correction, and I also 

 think that in justice to Mr. Grant it should 

 be made, because the winning of even one set 

 from Beals C. Wright, considering the way 

 that he was playing the past season, is a 

 most creditable performance for any player. I 

 am a constant reader of your paper, and feel 

 sure that you will appreciate my calling your 

 attention to the above-mentioned matter, and 

 that you will correct the error in your next 

 issue. 



Justice, New York City. 



