HOW THE FOREST IS GUARDED 95 
as follows: A surface fire that is running through the 
woods suddenly strikes a resinous tree, a balsam for 
example or one with an unusually low hanging crown. 
It runs up the inflammable tree and in a second the 
entire crown is ablaze. The draft created carries the 
flames to adjoining trees and in a few minutes the fire 
is roaring away fanned by its own draft. The fire 
burns ahead like a huge V, the point advancing rapidly 
in the crowns, the wings trailing lower down and 
finally reaching the ground. New fires are started 
ahead of the main blaze by brands of blazing bark 
thrown by the terrific gale. Up the slope the fire 
rushes furiously, pauses at the crest and then slowly 
burns down the other side of the mountain. Before a 
high gale great speed is attained and woe to the un- 
lueky hunter or fire fighter who is caught in the track 
of such a blaze. On steep slopes or in country covered 
with brush or the débris from old lumbering jobs it 
may be impossible to escape especially if there is a 
strong wind blowing. 
Fire fighting is by all odds the most dangerous and 
laborious work a forester has to perform. It means 
long hours of trenching or work with the ax and saw, 
terrific heat, thirst, and fatigue, and always with the 
chance of being surrounded by the flames. Tales of 
heroism are told of fire fighters that make the heart 
thrill as truly as do the stories of courage in battle. In 
the summer of 1910 when the whole West was covered 
with a dense pall of smoke from a thousand fires, over 
seventy fire fighters were known to have lost their lives. 
That the toll of the fire was not greater is largely due 
to the coolness and presence of mind of the men in 
the Forest Service. One of the most heroic stories told 
is that of Edward C. Pulaski, forest ranger of Wallace, 
