THE FIGHT AT THE TIMBER-LINE 



191 



Photograph from John C. Gifford 

 A DEMONSTRATION OF EXPERT "SAPPING" IN ONE OF THE BASE CAMPS OF THE 



FOREST forces: cuteer, feorida 



The tree must be a sapper and miner if it would withstand successfully the onslaughts 

 of the enemy. This particular forest fighter will never be called upon to undergo the shock 

 of snow and hail assault, but a wonderful example of nature's tactics is here shown. 

 Through the spokes of a wagon wheel this rubber tree has sent its sinuous roots, grappling 

 itself to earth as if it feared the irresistible attack of a hurricane. 



petual snow-fields, the Selkirks resemble 

 the Alps. In ascending beyond 5,000 

 feet, the balsams and the spruces — the 

 dominant species of the sub-alpine for- 

 est — begin to break up into little groups, 

 separated by shrubs. At 7,500 feet there 

 are still small groups holding the first- 

 line trenches. Frequently the center of 

 one of these groups is a strong and 

 sturdy spruce, the "non com" of the little 

 force of small balsams gathered round it. 



C. H. Shaw, another observer at the 

 front, gives a striking picture of the re- 

 sult of the attacks of snow upon the trees 

 at timber-line in the Selkirks. He says : 



"In the forest near timber-line, the 

 snow was absent only at the spots occu- 

 pied by the groups of trees into which 

 the forest was becoming resolved. No 

 doubt less snow had accumulated there, 

 and the trees themselves, being dark ob- 

 jects, probably hastened the melting of 

 that which did accumulate ; but the rela- 



tion was none the less significant. Pass- 

 ing higher up, where the snow was 

 heavier, the tree groups were more 

 widely separated, and more sharply con- 

 fined to spots where the local contour 

 had prevented the snow from accumulat- 

 ing to great depths. 



"Thus the forest was broken into scat- 

 tered patches of trees, standing mostly on 

 mounds and hillocks. The vicinity of 

 each group was occupied by numerous 

 small trees, and all except the most shel- 

 tered bore battle scars proclaiming their 

 struggle with the snow. Only their tops 

 were in a healthy condition." 



"standing in snow up to their necks" 



In other words, standing in snow up 

 to their necks during the cold winter 

 months, it seems that the trees contracted 

 a sort of "trench foot" trouble of their 

 own. Under such circumstances all sorts 

 of conditions battled on the side of the 



