Smoke

Smoke By Leland A. Clark WHAT a variety of thoughts this one word calls to mind; to one comes the recollection of the tiny, gray column which ascends from the hearth of his childhood home; to another the thick and stifling cloud from the mills of industry; another re- calls his first experience with fire. Black clouds, mingled with tongues of scarlet, flash first to mind; while still another, who through long years of indulgence has allowed habit to become his master, desires to satisfy the craving for more smoke. On the highest peaks of the Saw Tooth mountains are located tiny, glass, lookout houses in which men are stationed during the summer months to watch for forest fires. Because of the com- manding location and the many scientific instruments, the keeper of station Number Three, located on Baldy Peak, had thousands of acres of the best timber land entrusted to his care. It was his duty to locate the fire and warn the forest rangers in whose section it occurred to give him location and extent of damage. Within a few minutes rangers could be on hand to check the fires before they could spread. Kent Law, ranger of the second district, had been very busy marking timber. He had worked quickly, because even before two o'clock he noticed a dryness not typical of heavily forested sections. The smaller twigs and plants broke with a familiar crackle. His lips and tongue felt parched, and tiny white lines on his hands told him there was a decided change in the atmosphere. Messages would soon be coming in from the look-out station Number Three. "It looks like a fierce one on the head of Fish Creek," came the voice over the wire. "The other rangers will gather men as they come; get everybody in your section and rush them there." All were drafted into what appeared to be a very hard fight. With horses fagged from the long runs to the different camps, Kent looked eagerly for the summit of Granite Pass. From the top he could see a giant column of pitch-black smoke, rising swiftly in the air. It was a real fire! It had started at the bottom of a steep, heavily wooded slope, and was climbing rapidly. The in-rushing currents of air soon developed into a fiery gale. Long flames shot ahead to catch the untouched trees, while the steady fire consumed the dry needles and dead material forming the forest floor. The rangers quickly scouted the fire, and obtained the best possible control. Each ranger was in charge of a number of men.

64 IMPROVEMENT ERA Back of the flames trees were felled and removed to form a con- trol line. Crews of men followed with shovels and dug trenches a few feet wide, through the matted needles, to expose the mineral earth; but, in spite of the trenches and cleared places, the flames, driven by the terrific wind which seems always to accompany a forest fire, easily jumped the protected section and went on un- checked. Forest fires are fought in regular flank movements. Many times back fires are resorted to, large areas being sacrificed in order to check the fire. The men fought hard! Their faces turned black with the pine smoke; lips were parched from the heat, and sweat rolled from their bodies. It was not uncommon to see a man rip a burning shirt from the back of his "Buddy." Some were gassed and had to be carried from the scene. Dusk and the evening stillness brought no relief. ■ The men were weakening from the strain. Experience has taught the man of the forest that his best chance to check a fire is during the dead silence just after midnight. A strenuous effort was made, but the giant rushed on, and over the second line of defense, as does the racer when he glides easily over the hurdles. All through the morn- ing hours, and the day and the next day, the men fought on. Thousands of acres of the choice timber lands of Idaho were destroyed. Beautiful hill-sides and fertile valleys were turned to black, smoldering grottoes. Terribly scorched vistas greeted the eyes of those who love the freshness of mountain pine and aspen. Wild animals were trapped and burngd, having no chance for escape. Ranges for sheep and cattle were destroyed or no longer safe. Home- steaders, and tourists with their few belongings, made retreats from the afflicted field. Blistered and weary, men looked in vain for clouds which might bring rain. The terrible heat prepared the standing trees for the ever-increasing volume of flames. It became almost impossible to keep the men together. Kent, with one companion, "Pete" from the Bar X Ranch, risked going into a narrow line of standing timber. It was rumored that several men were trapped. "Did they learn how this fire was started?" asked Pete. "They believe they know," responded Kent. "Looks like it will go hard on the chap who thought more of a cigarette than he thought of our lives and all of this timber." "You mean it started from a cigarette?" "Yes; and this is only a tiny part of the damage done by cigar- ettes every year," said Kent. The great, barren peak of Mount Baldy was a welcome sight to men suffering from days and nights of overstrain. All efforts

SMOKE 65 were made to turn the fire straight up Clear Creek Canyon. It would then be possible to cut in and use Baldy Mountain and Big Creek in a final effort. If this attempt failed, the fire would have to burn itself out. Men fought harder when the news of the pos- sibility reached their ears. They ran into the very flames. The heat of the inferno was everywhere evident. At midnight, the lull and another master effort. The squads on opposite sides of the lines turned inward. With faces scorching they came in sight of one another. Then the last desperate spurt — the line was closed! The fire was under control! But it was not conquered. It was still a raging furnace that might easily spread. The men fairly dropped in their tracks. Days of nursing were necessary to some before they could return home. Kent found his own ranger station a haven of rest. The strain of the fight told on him. For days he remained near camp, nursing burns and muscles poisoned from overstrain. Several weeks passed in the doing of the regular duties of the forest ranger. The fire discouraged the tourists. It had even proved dangerous to homesteaders, and some wondered whether or not the people would ever return to their lands. The sun was casting an unusual gleam of crimson light on the eastern mountain peaks when Kent's attention was drawn from the brilliancy of the sunset to the front gate of the ranger station. Several men were dismounting from their horses. It was a sur- prise to Kent. "Can you take care of a bunch of hungry men?" came the sound of a voice which Kent readily recognized as that of the District Super- intendent. "Come right in, Mr. Williams; are you hungry enough to eat beans?" "Yes; and a lot of them," was the hurried reply. Big ap- petites, whetted by hard riding and fresh mountain air, were soon satisfied. Seated on chairs, others with feet hanging from the rail- ings of the porch, the men began the usual conversation of the moun- tains. "See you are riding your outlaw horse?" "Nothing but a broken pony tonight," replied the proud own- er of a horse known to the country as "Snake, the Out-law!" "It doesn't take many rides like the one today to tame the worst of them," remarked another of the party. " 'Snake' has been gentle ever since we passed the Bar X Ranch this morning." "You have had a big ride if you passed the X Ranch this morning."

66 IMPROVEMENT ERA "It has been hard," returned Mr. Williams, "we have circled the area covered by the big fire. It's our job to estimate the damage done and to determine how we can improve on the method of fire fighting." "Have you drawn any conclusions?" asked Kent with interest. "Under the dry weather, the shortage of men, and other con- ditions, we think it was luck that the fire stopped when it did." The conversation between Mr. Williams and Kent came to a sudden stop when Pete, one of the hands employed by the Bar X Ranch, recalled his short talk with Kent during the fire. "You were right about the fire being started by a cigarette, they traced the trouble to one of the surveyors. He admits he threw a smoke away, and later returned to find the tool house surrounded by fire." "You know, Kent, I never could figure out what you meant that day when you said, 'even more damage is done every day by cigarettes, than by fire, I have been thinking of that and I can't see what you were 'hitting' at. Seems to me we had about the big- gest and most destructive fire they've had here for years." With a smile Kent attempted to answer the puzzled man: "Did it ever occur to you that a cigarette could destroy more than a forest?" "Can't say that it ever has." "The damage is not done altogether by fires. The cigarette does its most deadly work right on the man who smokes it." "Deadly," responded one of the party who thus far had been content to listen, and puff at his pipe. "I've smoked for years, and I've seen a lot harder times than you'll ever see, and I can stand up with the best of 'em right now." "You might think you can stand even above the best of us, but I have no doubt, the habit of smoking would tell, if rigid tests were given you. Have you ever noticed the mountains which are near the smelters and places where there is lots of smoke?" "Why, yes, trees can't stand smoke, but that's no sign I can't." "The lung tissue is just as tender as the leaf tissue, only the human body can adapt itself to conditions which plant life cannot. In every leaf there are thousands of little organs which aid in the growth and strength of the tree. Leaves breathe and use the air even as animals do. So important are these gases to plant and ani- mal life that if any constituent part is missing or any impurities exist in the air the life of plant or animal will suffer. In a man's lungs, where the air comes in contact with the blood the tissue is very deli- cate. They must be thin enough to allow the oxygen to pass into the blood stream almost instantly. We all know there is poison in smoke, now what do you think the effect of this poison will have on all these tiny, thin, tissues?"

SMOKE 67 "Go right ahead," said Pete, "this is quite an interesting lec- ture." "I can't understand how the health and ability of that lung tissue to absorb oxygen could be increased, if for years those delicate organs are in almost constant contact with the poison in smoke," continued Kent. Mr. Williams had listened with interest: "Even though we are all smokers, except Ranger Kent, I confess, and you will no doubt agree with me, that the use of tobacco never really helped anyone. It is just a harmless habit, which gives rest to a man's nerves during a hard day." "Science proves, however," said Kent, that smoking is not harmless. Tests have been made for a period of years and the con- clusions are unanimous in favor of the non-user of tobacco. Here is an interesting little article that deals with a big subject. It is from the American Mercury, Dec. 1925. Listen to this: Nine out of every ten men of voting age, use cigarettes as regularly as brush- ing their teeth. Five out of every hundred females, past the age of adolescence, smoke. In 1917 America used 7,000,000,000 cigars and about the same number of cigarettes. In 1927 the sales of cigarettes jumped to 75,000,000,000, while the cigar sales remained approximately the same as in 1917. Considering the cost of cigar- ettes at one cent each and the cost of cigars at five cents, America paid something like $1,100,000,000 for her smokes in 1925. In the light of this, Pete, our fire here did not cost much. As far as that goes we could find something to take the place of timber if it were all burned up. Men have made wonderful strides in many ways. They can fly through the air with great speed. They can build buildings that fairly pierce the sky; travel on top or under water with safety; send the human voice for thousands of miles without a wire. These and other things seem like miracles. But never with all the skill and the genius of this generation, or those yet to come, can they find a substitute for a man's lungs. And yet men pay millions for something that will weaken what only God can create. The Bible tells us: 'Ye are the temple of God. If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy, for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.' ' "I've been interested in your ideas on the use of tobacco," re- sponded Mr. Williams. "Until that scriptural statement, I was at a loss to determine your reasons for the non-use of tobacco. But I see it is because of a religious teaching." "You are right," said Kent, "the 'Mormon' Church teaches its members not to use anything that is harmful to the body." And there ended the interesting evening. Six weary men had retired, some, no doubt, thought of what had been said. Pittsburgh, Pa.