Bill Bruce on Forest Patrol

by Henry Harley Arnold

“How about someone watching for forest fires?” asked Bill.

“There’s no use watching any more today,” said Mollie. “Most of the fires start during the middle of the day. It is very seldom that I can pick a new one after sundown. There are exceptions to the rule, though. Several years ago there was a maniac who went from one place to another in the forest starting fires. They would break out in the most unexpected places at the most unusual times. It was weeks before we were sure that they were being willfully started, but there was no other explanation which would explain the succession of fires at most extraordinary times. We finally caught the miscreant and that ended further trouble from that source.”

“What kind of a man was it who would deliberately set these woods on fire?” asked Bill.

“He was crazy,” replied Mollie. “He thought that he had a grievance against one of the foresters and took that means of getting even.”

“You must pardon my inquisitiveness,” said Bill. “I am trying to learn something about the woods. What kind of a grievance could anyone have against a forester?”

“That’s all right,” said Mollie. “Ask all the questions that you want. This fellow had a fairly large herd of cattle and used to graze them in the forests on the mountain sides during the Summer months. By doing this he derived several benefits. The cattle were high up on the mountains, where it was much cooler than down in the valleys; there was considerably more grass and other green vegetation in the forests, and the cattle were out of the fly-infested areas of the lowlands. The Forestry Service charges a nominal fee per head for this privilege. The charge varies for cattle and sheep. The half-demented fellow had availed himself of the privileges of the Summer grazing in the forests for several years without our knowing it, but when we found out that he was grazing his herd in the woods, we sent him a bill.

“Even at that, he was getting out light, for the bill only covered the charge for the current year. He took the stand that he never paid before and therefore he had the right to graze in the woods free. He considered it his privilege as a taxpayer. Naturally the Forest Service denied him the privilege of sending his cattle into the forests without paying for it.

“I guess that the poor fellow brooded over the matter for some time and then became a nut on the subject. The only way that he knew of getting back was to set fires in the woods. It was such an unnatural thing to do that we did not suspect him for quite a while. Finally the evidence was piled sufficiently high to convict him.

“He is the only person whom I have ever heard of who has maliciously set fires in the woods. Others have started them through carelessness or have been negligent, but to deliberately burn down the trees of the forests, why I cannot conceive of such a thing.”

Bill studied Mollie as he ate the supper of baked beans, potatoes, coffee, bread and jam. He figured that she was about forty years old. The outdoor life had bronzed her skin so that she had almost the coloring of an Indian. Her duties, where she was entirely on her own, far from the help of others, had made her exceedingly quick of thought and action and self-reliant.