Appendix 4. 
CONNECTION OF RAILROADS WITH FOREST FIRES. 
By K H. Egleston, Agent of the Department. 
Railroads, in addition to the great consumption of the forests in- 
volved in their construction and use, as in the production of ties, bridge, 
trestle and platform timber, as well as building cars and securing a sup- 
ply of fuel, are very destructive to the forests by means of fires occa- 
sioned by their engines. Investigation shows the latter source of loss 
to be a very serious matter at present, and a more serious one prospect- 
ively. 
In the census year 1880 an attempt was made, under the direction 
of the Government, to ascertaiu the extent of injury inflicted upon the 
forests by means of fires and the causes by which the fires were occa- 
sioned. Thirty thousand circulars making inquiry on the subject 
were sent out, reaching every town in the country. Replies to all of 
the circulars were not elicited, but it was clearly shown that during 
the year 1880 not less than 10,271,089 acres of woodland were burned 
over, involving a loss of $25,462,250. 
Among the causes of forest fires, railroad locomotives were re- 
ported as among the most prominent, standing third on the list in 
this respect, only hunters and persons engaged in clearing land having 
occasioned more. One-sixth of all the fires reported were attributed 
to them. Another and independent investigation attributed one-eighth 
of the forest fires to this source. 
The published reports do not undertake to give the extent of each 
fire, or the value of the forest or other property destroyed in each case. 
We cannot say with precision, therefore, what was their extent or the 
damage occasioned by the fires set by locomotives as compared with 
those originated by other means. But we have 50S fires reported as 
kindled by railroad engines. How many more may have originated in 
this way, which have not been reported, we have no means of ascer- 
taining. If we assume that the average amount of destruction occa- 
sioned by fires started by locomotives equals that of other woodland 
fires, then we have 1,712,348 acres of forest consumed and property of 
the value of $4,244,208 destroyed by these locomotive fires. This 
amount, therefore, is to be added to the consumption of the forests 
for ties, bridge timber, &c, in making up the account of the drain upon 
the forests attributable to the railroads. 
128 
