Trial by Fire: Early Forest Service Rangers` Fire Stories

Early Forest Service
Fire Stories
Rangei?s
Timothy
Cochrone
thefirstthreedecades
oftheForest
In
Service,firestorieswere an integral
part of the unofficialoccupational
lives of the "saddle-horse"
rangers,"not
overcrowdedwith book learning,"who
made up a majorityof the the service's
work force. Throughfirestoriesthese
"rough-neck"rangersarticulatedand
consolidatedtheirgroup attitudes,
conceptions,and valuesas a group.
Firestoriesservedas lightningrods
for "old-time,commonsense"rangers'
views towardfire,firepolicy, heroic
fire-suppressionefforts,and the division of responsibilitiesamongmen in
the woodsy
Perhapsthe best-knownoccupational
legendwas about Pulaski'sheroics
duringthe 1910GreatBurnin northern
Idaho and westernMontana.
Hr
RangerPulaskiwascaughtwitha large
crewbetweentwofireson theruggedSt.
Joewatershed.
Buthewasanold miner
on hishomeground.He crowded
his
menintoan abandoned
miningtunnel
andheldthemtherebysheerphysical
strengthwhentheroarandsmokeof the
firethrewpanicintothecrowd.There
wasa trickleof waterin theoldtunnel,
enoughto soaka blanket.Pulaskistood
at themouthandknockeddowna couple
16 Forest&Conservation
History35 January1991)
of menwhotriedto bolt.Withbare
handshe heldwetblanketsoverthe
openingto keepoutsmokeandfumes.
Whena blanketcaughtfire,he grabbed
anotherone.Whenthefurysweptpast
them,Pulaskiwasbadlyburnedaround
hisarmsandheadandmostof hismen
were"out"[unconscious]
butonlyone
lifewaslostin thatcrewof fiftymen.2
In some versionsof this legend, one
of Pulaski'smen is said to haveremarkedwhile steppingoverthe stillunconsciousbody of Pulaski,"Too
damn bad, the rangeris dead."To this,
Pulaskireplies,"Likehell he is."'3
Likethe firehero Pulaski,early
rangerswerewesternersat heartand
proudof how well theyknewtheirhome
ground. These rangerssharedmany
valuesof rangecultureand society,
includingindependence,self-reliance,
and the symbolicimportanceof "raw
nature.'4Hating paperwork,they delightedin going on horseback"to the
secludedspots wherewe found nature
in completecontrol."5Earlyrangers
felt at home in an unofficialoccupational culture;they wereless comfortable in a corporate,governmental
atmosphere.Few aspiredto advanceto
Washingtonand leavethe social and
environmentalclimateof the West.
To the bosses of the early rangers,
the upper-echelonForestServicemen,
commonsenserangerswerea necessary
evil: a compromisebetweenwestern
livestockinterestsand the need for onsite stewardshipof forestresources.In
such an atmosphere,the rangersfrequentlyfound themselvesarbitrating
betweenlocal ranchersand the largely
eastern,urbane,conservationistideals
of the ForestService,particularlyin the
control and allocationof timberand
rangeresources.6Forthe most part, the
early rangersknew moreabout cows
than trees.
Thus therearose amongthe rangers
an informalfolk culturethat was
sometimesat odds with official,really
elite, policy.This discrepancyarose
from morethan a differencein the attitudes betweenthe commonsenserangers and their bosses. Groupinteraction
amongthe rangerscreateda subculture,
1bJ
with a logic, perspective,and oral
literature- includingfirestories- of
its own.
Earlyfirefighters'abilityto control
firestemmedmuchmorefrom folk
knowledgeand hard-wonexperience
than from any formaltraining.Because
"therewas literallynothing to work
with-no knowledgeof firebehavior;
no trainingin the techniquesof fire
fighting,"rangersresortedto the cumulativeknowledgethey had gainedon
the fireline.7In a defacto apprentice
system,juniorrangersfollowedin the
footstepsof fire-wiseveterans.Fire
storiestaughtthe apprenticesboth firefightingtechniquesand fireetiquette.
Earlyfire-suppressiontechniques
provedsuccessfulin the frontcountry,
but largerterritories,poor access, and
meageradministrativeabilitiesgenerally hamperedthe quick suppressionof
backcountryfires.8
Ironically,most firestoriesdo not
discussthe actual suppressionof fire.9
Nor do they overtlyexpressa concern
for savingnaturalresources.Rather
1|
they focus on unexpected,threatening
firebehaviorfrom which crewsnarrowly escape. A recurrenttheme of early
rangers'storiesis that man cannot always controlfire.Dangerousand atypical firesstimulatedthe most stories,
rumors,and other folklifeforms.10
Storiesof the 1910GreatBurnunderscorewith dramaticflairthe importance
of followingauthority:RangersPulaski
and Joe Halm pull out hand guns to
force frightenedcrew membersto obey
them and stay in the tunneU1Had the
firefightersdisobeyed,they would have
killed themselvesby runninginto the
fire.The emphasison the importanceof
organizationand authorityis uniquein
firestories,contrastingmarkedlywith
contemporarynarrativesfrom other
occupationalgroupsY2It contrastsas
well with the storiestold by contemporaryforesters,for example,which highlight the illogical, egotistical, and
eccentricbehaviorof bosses.
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Copies of newspaperstoriesabout the 1910fires with particularattentionto thefate of Joe Halm and his party.Photocourtesyof US.
ForestService.
TheNatureof FireStories
The fireline was and remainsparticularly fertilegroundfor the creationand
re-creationof folklore.The unusual
and isolatedenvironment-of fear,
hardwork, dirt- the expectationof
good wages, and the communalnature
of the work encouragecamaraderie,
conversation,and the emergenceof
new customs. Yetfor all the sense of
camaraderie,the fireis an individual
experiencefor each firefighter;you are
neversurewhat the whole pictureis, or
will be, while a largefireis blazing.
The firestory is an ongoing creation.
It changeswith each retellingand ironically is usuallynot perfecteduntil long
afterthe fireis extinguished.Often fire
storiesaretold in the context of a conversationabout firesand their suppression.However,the storiescan be
distinguishedfrom generalfiretalk or
fire-linerumorsbytheirartistry.General
firetalk is descriptive,pointedlyinformative,and usuallynot meant to be
entertaining.Fire-linerumorsare
ephemeraland weddedto the stressful,
exciting, or threateningatmosphereof
activelyfightingforestfires.Firestories
on the other hand havea dramatic
structure:they employ symbols, plots
(with buildup,climax, and conclusion),
measuredtiming, opening and closing
"formulas' and other hallmarksof
story telling.3
Becausemost storiesrecountspecific
eventsthat occur on the fireline, each
story is unique. However,some stories
do employ"migratorymotifs' plot segments that migratefrom one story to
another.Suchrecurringnarrative
themes includefirefightersstumbling
acrossa still while fightingfire;panic-
18 Forest
History35 Uanuary1991)
&Conservation
strickenmen and animalsrushinginto
the fireratherthan to safety;and impromptu,warm relationssharedby fire
fightersand bearsduringthe heat of
the fire:
DownontheClearwater
[NationalForest]
twofire-fighting
gangsgot to theriverin
thenickof time.Thebossof oneof them
madeeachmanduckintothewaterunder
a blanketor coat,comingupunderthis
drippinghoodto breathewhenhe had
to. Risingfora breathhimself,theforemanbrushedagainsta sturdybody,took
a peekunderhisblanketanddiscovered
thathisneighborwasa blackbearY4
Other such themes in fire storiesincludecrewsnearlybeingtrappedby fire;
narrowescapesthanksto the quick
thinkingof the fireboss; and most memorableof all for dramaticeffect,the total
consumptionof a firecamp by an outof-controlfire.
These migratorymotifs appearto
havedevelopedindependentlyduringa
few decadesas ForestServicepersonnel
used them overand over.These themes
haveno discernibleconnectionto motifs
in other folk narrativesand therefore
demonstratethe dynamismand creativity of the genre.The repetitivemotifs
of firestoriesalso confirmthat early
rangershad their own well-articulated
view of the world, with sharedperceptions, attitudes,and values.
Relationsin
Nature-Human
FireStores
A common theme in firestoriesis
that natureis morepowerfulthan man.
The stunningeruptionof nature's
powerin fireunderminesnormalorder
and puts human-naturerelationships
in flux. As rangerJoe Halm put it, "All
natureseemedtense, unnaturaland
ominous"duringthe 1910fireYl
The powerof fireis often dramatized
by a common story-tellingconvention:
reversesymbolism.Forexample,fire
fighterslose their self-controland run
into the fireinsteadof awayfrom it.
Night and day are often reversed:during a fire,daylightis maskedby smoke,
haze, and ash; but nighttimeis lit by
firelight.Wateris no longer a cooling,
nourishing,and healthfulresource:
snowmeltstreamsare tepid, springs
boil, and watersourcesbecome undrinkablebecauseof ash content. During the aftermathof the GreatBurn,
the watersupply for the town of Wallace, Idaho,was so pollutedwith ash
that townspeople,includingchildren,
drankbeer.
Anotherdramaticmeans of illustrating fire'ssupremacyoverfirefightersis
recountingfreakishoccurrencesin
nature.Forexample, commonsense
rangersoften noted spectaculardisplays of fireand lightning,and some
recountedstrangephenomenathey experiencedin the high countryduring
electricalstorms:
On anotheroccasionwhileridingon the
LineCreekPlateau,on theeasternpart
of the[CusterNational]ForestI was
caughtin anelectricalstorm.Andah . ..
thelightningplayedall aroundus. Itwas
so strongthatwhenthehorsesgotwet,
therewasa blueflameaboutthreeinches
off
aroundthatrunalmostcontinually
theendsof theirears.
wehardlybrokeofffrom
I remember
theplateaudownontotheflat,down
towardtheLineCreekRangerStation.
Andaswe arrivedat thefencesurroundingthestation,therangerjumpedoffto
openthegateandI holleredathimto stay
awayfromthefence.He jumpedback
andsaid,"Well,howarewegoingto get
in?"AndI said,"Takea clubandknock
thewireoff fromthetopof thatwire
gate.Throwit outof thewaywiththeuse
of theclub,butdon'ttouchthewires."
Notmorethantwominutesafterthat,
a terrificboltof lightningstruckthefence
and . . . [it]wasso hotit meltedthetop
wireon thatfenceforabouta hundred
offinlittlechunks06
yardsand[it]dropped
The storiesalso frequentlyemphasize the awe-inspiringor inexplicable
aspectsof fires.The followingbriefexchangebetweentwo veteranfirefighters illustratestheir sense of wonder.
J. A. [Endof onefirestory]Well,wecaught
that[GoatCreek]firebutwedidn't
havemuchleftwhenwe gotthings
undercontrolbecauseit wasjusttoo
hotanddry.
if a spot[fire]wouldlight
A. S. I remember
yards
as muchas fiftyor onehundred
acrossthefireline,youcouldhardly
getin fastenoughto catchit.
J. A. I'llgo onebetterthanthat.Wewere
eatinglunch,andweveryseldomall
stoppedto eatlunch,butthisparticulardaywedid.Thatfireblewrightat
ourfeet,andI wouldsaytherewere
tenor fifteenmenon thatthingandit
justsweptrightoutfromus justlike
wehadn'ttouchedit at all7
Firestoriesfurtherillustratethe
powerof natureoverman by acknowledgingthe importanceof luck in the
"firegame.2n8
Luckis most frequently
mentionedas a factorin the timing of
a fireblowup,when a firecrownsinto
treetopsand is most dangerous.The
firefighters'attributionof their successes to luck reflectstheirrespectfor
their unpredictableand awe-inspiring
naturalopponent.
Althoughfirefrequentlythreatened
the earlyrangerswith injuryor death,
most firenarrativesreflectan attitude
of respectand awe, not of animosity.
Fireis clearlyundesirable,but it does
not become an enemy.Personification,
such as callingfire"oldNick,"is rare.9
Similarly,fireis rarelyassociatedwith
hell, althoughhellishconditionsare
sometimesnoted.
SoaialRelationsin Fire
Stories
Firestoriesaremulti-faceted,as apt to
addressForestServicesocial structure
as the naturalworld or humankind's
relationshipto nature.20The stories
describetryingevents,atypicalamong
the routineduties of a districtranger.
Suchtales instructboth newcomersand
veteransin the informal,yet crucial,
subtletiesof fire-suppressionefforts.21
They also affirmthe importanceof the
hierarchyamongfire-fightingpersonnel.
The followingexampleaffirmsthe
importanceof obeyinga leader:
Wehada comedownthereon a little
creek[ofJakey's
Fork].I wentdownthere
the firsthalf of the day with . . . a couple
AndI
of kidsfromIndianaor someplace.
got themdownthere,andwehadtengallontankson ourbacksputtingout
spotfires.
AndI said,"Ifit goesto crowning
whenit'soverhere,why,yourunout
therein theburn,whereit'salready
burnedthere.Youseethatold logthat
ain'tburningthere,well,runoutthereon
thatlog in thatburnbecausethat[crown
fire]willburnyoufromthetopifyoustay."
Well,sureenough,it startedtherein a
littlewhileandcrownedandwenton.
Andoneof themweighedabout190
or 200 pounds.Andhe said,"Youmust
thinkI'mcrazy,to runouton oneof
thoselogsor something
bythefire."
AndI said,"No,I wasjusttellingyou
whatto do."
Andsureenough,it gotto climbing
rightoverus.AndI andthisotherkidI saidwentwithhim,hewasa
anything
hellof a goodboy-we justbuckedour
tanksoff,andGodandrunin thatburn.
Andthisotherboystartedlookingup,
andthosesparksbeganto hithimin the
faceandjunk.AndGod,herehe come
theywereon
fightinghisclothes[because
fire].He runoutthereandthisotherkid
startedteasinghimbecausehehadhis
clotheson fireinplaces.
AndI said,"Jump
rightdownintothat
Therewasa springthere
littleoldspring."
andlittlerunningwater.Sohe did.22
Firestoriesfocus on the crew boss's
responsibilityfor his men. A boss must
anticipateand plan for unforeseen
events,and he is responsiblefor his men
no matterwhat the situation.Evenif
one boss "inherits"ominous fireconditions from another,the "fresh"fireboss
is responsiblefor the crew.Pulaskiduring the GreatBurnand UrbanPost on
FireStories 19
eyesto piercethathazeof hellfora
glimpseof evenoneof thefiftymenfor
whosesafetyI wasresponsible,
I received
no reply,nordidI catcha singleglimpse
of a humanbeing.
Then,dueto somewhimof theelements,theroaralmostdiedawayandfor
a fewsecondstherewasdeathlike
silence.
Andin thisbriefmoment,myagonies
died,foroutof thathazeof heatthat
thelakeI heardvoices.26
overhung
the tragicBlackwaterCreekFireof
1937 took theirobligationsas leaders
The
to the point of self-sacrifice.23
storiesof theirexploits in the line of
firesalutetheir "forestsmarts" a mixtureof courage,experience,and knowing how to guide men.
Whenlegendsaboutthe deedsof such
men as Pulaskiand Postmovefrom
personalto communalownership,the
men become folk heroes, servingas a
focus of occupationalidentity,honor,
and inspiration.The commonsense
rangers,who believedthat "fieldmen"
from the lowerranksof ForestService
personnelwerethe "realheroes"of the
service,particularlyadmiredPulaski
and Post, both field men themselves.
But hero status broughtwith it a few
rules:self-aggrandizingclaims, for
example, were strictlyprohibited.24As
taciturnwesterners,fire-wiserangers
downplayedthe fire"threat."
The self-sacrificeof rangersin many
firestoriesis based on a paternalistic
attitudetowardthe men.25The following firestory illustratesthis sense of
selflessleadership:
In short the firebosses subscribedto
a code of chivalryabout protecting
theircrews.27And since the rangerwas
fire-wise,a crew'sbest chancewas to
follow his directions.Firestoriespair
the crew'sbelief in and relianceon the
ranger'sdirectionswith the ranger's
heightenedsense of responsibilitytowardhis men. Togetherthese messages
show rangersand firefightersalike
how best to organizetheir collective
efforts.
In manystoriesalcohol standsfor
the risk of disorderon the fireline.
Storiesrecounthow firefightersdiscoverbackcountrystills and tricksthe
rangeruses to keep his crew drinking
water.Of course, everycommonsense
rangerknew that alcohol threatened
both fire-lineorderand the ForestService'simage of high propriety.In all
rangers'stories,firefighterswerekept
from alcohol.28
Kneelingthereunderthe red-tinged
blanketof smoke,I enduredthegreatest
agony-a feelingof blameforthedeath
of humanbeings. Though I was yellingat
thetopof mylungs,straining
burning
If firestoriesare about anything,
they are about fear.Ironically,however,
most firestoriesactuallymention fear
only obliquely,if at all. The rangerstorytellerrarelyadmitsto fear,even
duringclose calls. And even those
storiesthat do mention fear handleit
in a formal, self-consciousmannerthat
preventsthe audiencefrom judgingthe
narratornegatively.29
The story-telling
canon of the commonsenseranger,like
that of westerncowboys, allowedno
overtor personaldiscussionof fear.30
However,firestoriesdo illustratethe
potentiallydisastrousconsequencesof
giving in to fear.Crew membersin the
storieswho are overcomeby fearor the
searingheat commit foolish acts and
often die as a consequence.Interestingly,the escape attemptsof panicked
firefightersoften parallelclosely the
behaviorof panickedanimals-bear,
elk, and deer.And the resultis the
same: death.31 Thus in accidentstories
firefighters'loss of self-controlsymbolicallyequatesthem with animals.
Regressionfrom rationalthought and
officialprotocol to instinctbecomes
a death sentence.So the accident
storiesassertthe importanceof
subduingfear,of strictorganization,
and of a clear distinctionbetween
human and animalrealms.Humans
Ar
A
r
Inthisphototakenaround1910,a groupof menworksto controlafirein Mt.HoodNationalForest.Photocourtesyof US.ForestService.
20
History35 (January1991)
Forest&Conservation
are superiorto animalsbecauseof
their abilityto think and suppress
instinct. The firestorieswarnfire
fightersto be carefulby threatening
those who lose controlnot only with
death but also with the loss of their
veryhumanity.In sum, firebecomesa
test of human judgment,control, and
social bonds.
Unofficial
versusOfficial
ForestryValuesin FireStories
Rangers'storiesoften describefire
fightingas a "trialby fire"or a test of
quality.A numberof storiesdemonstratethe importanceof knowingthe
"district"the lay of the land and its
unusualresources.The Pulaskilegend,
for example, demonstratesthe special
abilitiesof field men who know their
districtswell.32Pulaskicould savefortysome men largelybecausehe knew
where an abandonedmine tunnelwas
located and got his men therein time.
He knew the mine only becausehe had
workedin the areaas a minerpriorto
employmentwith the ForestService.
The early rangersreliedon and defendedthe knowledgethey had gained
from pre-ForestServicework or long
stayson one districtmorethan do latterday rangers.
Firestoriesalso makeclear that
occasionally,undertryingcircumstances, formalruleshaveto be broken
to ensurethe overallsafetyof men.33
Fireconditionsmay call for creative,
on-the-spotsolutionsthat contradict
officialpolicy, as when Pulaskipulls
his pistol to preventhis men from leaving the mine tunnel. Willingnessto
breakrules, leavingthe rangeropen to
criticismthat might cost him his job,
underscoresthe extremepersonalresponsibilityof rangersfor their men.
In the storiesfireis takenfor granted
as a part of forestlife, and firecontrol
as part of defendinga ranger'sterritory
and reputation.34Listenerslearnthat
firemust be tolerated-even though
toleranceis easierwhen the fireis on
another'sdistrict.Commonsenserangers figuredthat fire,like forestpests
and other naturalphenomenathat preceded White arrivaland management
of forests,had a place in forestlife.35
These "shoot,chop, pack, and ride"
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Amn th tool usdi iecnrlaemtok
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Amria Fors rdcsIdsre
inFors HIstr Soit arcive
rangers'ideas about fire'srole in forest
life differedfrom the ideas of theirreplacements.Indeed,their evenhanded
attitudetowardfirewas moreakinto the
"naturalfire"policy of contemporary
managementthan to the policies of
their immediatesuccessors.At the
bottom of the earlyrangers'attitude
was a folk idea that "harmonious"
presettlementbiologicalconditions
should be the model for all subsequent
management.36
The firstForestServicerangersoften
considerednaturallycausedfiresless
sinisterand less urgentthan firescaused
by carelesscampersor rancherson
theirgrazingallotments.Rangerresponses to the BlackwaterCreekFirein
northwesternWyomingillustratedthis
set of priorities.The firstrumorto circulateon the fireline was that the fire
was "man-caused.:37
Though this
rumorwas eventuallydisproven,the
ForestServicewas in no hurryto combat it becauseit motivatedcrewsto
corralthe fire.This did not illustratea
generalpolicy of allowingrumorsto fly
on the fireline-the servicemoved
quicklyto squelchany rumorsthat it
was mishandlinga fire.
htoreyo
Commonsenserangerswere ambivalent towardfire:it was both natural
(good) and powerfuland unpredictable
(bad). Their toleranceof some firesand
theirwillingnessto breakfire-fighting
codes in exceptionalcircumstancesdistinguishedthe old-timers'attitudes
from the officialpolicy of the Forest
Service.The service'sharshrhetoric,
even tirade,againstall fireis simply
absent from the older firestories.In
short the field men rode to a different
drummerthan their bosses, who were
largelyresponsiblefor creatingofficial
firepolicy. The commonsenserangers
sharedwith manyculturesthroughout
the world the idea that fireis both
good and bad.38
TheUseandImplications
of
FireStories
To understandhow the early rangers
implementedofficialForestServicepolicy, especiallywhen they disagreed
with it, we must firstconsiderwhat the
commonsenserangersvalued. Sincefire
storieswereprimarilytold between
rangers,they are uncensored"documents;'speakingdirectlyto what rangFireStories 21
ersheldnearanddear.Candidlyautobiographical,
theygiveusa windowinto
thesocialprocessesamongrangers.
Firestorieshelpedto articulateand
validatethecommonsense
rangers'
sharedbeliefs.Thestorieshadstrong
personalandoccupational
implications
forboththestoryteller
andhisaudience.
Theytaughtnewcomers
howto fight
fire,andtheyprovidedseasonedfire
fighterswitha definitionof self.The
wasa crucible
fire-fighting
experience
in whichrangersweretested.Those
whopassedthetestandprovedthemselvesas experienced
firefighterswere
elevatedto thestatusof "fire-wise'"
In
short,firestoriesareabouta secular,informal, occupationalrite of passage.39
The rangerhad to provehis worth by
demonstratinghis abilityto get along
in any circumstancenaturecould
throwat him.40
The early ForestServicerangers'
view of firesas rites of passage arose
from their fraternal,all-maleethos, a
remnantof cowboy culture.Firestories
servedfirstto definea select occupational group in which individual
achievementoccurredin the context
of dangerouscooperativework. They
also establisheda pecking orderamong
the firefightersthemselves:a man's
demonstrationof competenceraised
his social statureamonghis peers.
And for those not yet tested by fire,the
storiesraisedthe question:Whatwould
I do undersimilarcircumstances?
Firestoriesexhibit the tripartite
structurecharacteristicof rites of passage: separation,marginality,and
incorporation.41
The separationphase
beginswith the onset of the fireand
firefighting.The marginalityphase
beginswhen the firebecomesdangerous or behavesunusually,or in Halm's
words, "whenall of natureseems unnatural.'This middlephase, with its
inversions,earthiness,and different
rules, occupiesthe bulk of firenarratives. In contrast,the final phase,incorporation,is usuallygiven short
shrift, but it is alwaysassumedby the
successfulsuppressionof the fireand
the narrator'spresencewhile narrating
the story.Its overt"lack"underscores
the high valuethis group places on
individuality.
Earlyrangersthus used forestfiresto
definetheir occupationalcultureand
personalidentity.42Above all else,
fightingfireshelpedparticipants
see
themselves
as ForestServicerangers.
Yetfiresengendered
mixedemotions
andthoughts.Firewasa multivalent
symbol,bothbadandgood:it gave
symbolicandsociallifeby servingas
a riteof passageintoan elitegroup,
butit alsotookhumanlife;desirable
becauseit occurrednaturally,
yetundesirableon one'sownturf.
New generations
of technical,
andpolicy-entrenched
college-trained,
rangersfacefireas aninheritedtest
fromtheirpredecessors
of their"commonsense. Theexperience
bondsthem
withfire-wise
old-timers.
As theForest
Servicehasexpandedandspecialized,
however,
fewerandfewerForestService
employees
themselves
actuallyfight
forestfires.Theironelinkto thepastis
theold firestoriesstilltold,if themodernforesters
chooseto listen.Today
somewouldstepoverthebodyof fire
storiesandremark,"Toodamnbad,
thefirestoryis dead."Tothis,however,
the sootyfirefighter,veteranforester,
andfolkloristcanallreply,"Likehell
it is."
A
Inwe
1. The namesof this earlygroupof rangers
varywidely,often dependingon the commentator'sopinion of them. Labelssuch as
'commonsense,""pick-up,"
"saddle-horse,'
"rough-neck,'or what a hard-boiledforest
supervisorcalled"theold-time,trapper,cowboy,and ignorantranchhand"rangershave
all beenused. Personalcorrespondencewith
MaryWhite,Dubois,Wyoming,21July 1982;
AlfredClayton,"TheEvolutionof a Forest
Ranger,'AmericanForests36 (August1930):
511;S. EdwinCazier,The Last SaddleHorse
Ranger(Afton,Wyoming:StarValleyIndependent,1983), pp. 34ff;Joe Back,interview
with author,Dubois, Wyoming,9 July 1982
(WyomingArchives,Museumand Historical
Department,Cheyenne,Wyoming);John
Lowell,"EarlyHistoryof the U.S.ForestService and EventsLeadingup to the Author's
Connectionwith It,"in EarlyDays in the
US. ForestService,vol. 1 (Missoula,Montana:U.S. ForestService,1944), p. 152. In
these notes the locationof interviewtranscriptsappearsin parenthesesafterthe first
mentionof each interview.
2. WilliamGreeley,Forestsand Men (Garden
City,New York:Doubleday,1951),p. 17.
3. TheodoreShoemaker,"FightingForest
Fires-Then and Now,"in EarlyDays in the
ForestService,vol. 2 (Missoula,Montana:
U.S.ForestService,1955), p. 37; EdwardC.
22 Forest
&Conservation
History35 January1991)
Pulaski,"Surrounded
by Fire"'in Rangersof
the Shield,editedby Ovid Butler(Washington, D.C.:AmericanForestryAssociation,
1934), p. 80.
4. JohnW. Bennett,"RangeCultureand Society
in the North AmericanWest,"FolklifeAnnual (1985):90-92.
S. GlenA. Smith,interview,Missoula,Montana, 1956 (Universityof MontanaOralHistory Collection);JohnK. Rollinson,Pony
Trailsin Wyoming(Caldwell,Idaho:Caxton,
1941),p. 400; WilburGoodsen,"Reflections
of an Old Time Ranger,"RockyMountain
RegionBulletin20 (1937):17.
6. SamuelTraskDana and SallyK. Fairfax,Forest and RangePolicy(New York:McGrawHill, 1980), pp. 104ff.
7. Shoemaker,"FightingForestFires,"p. 34.
8. StephenPyne,Firein America:A Cultural
Historyof Wildlandand RuralFire(Princeton, New Jersey:PrincetonUniversityPress,
1982), pp. 261ff.
9. The stories'tendencynot to discussthe intricaciesof firebehaviorpersiststoday.
RobertMcCarlnotes a similar"disinterest"
in discussingfirebehaviorin smokejumpers'
"jumpstories."RobertMcCarl,"JumpStory:
An Examinationof an OccupationalExperiFolkloreForum11(1978):2.
ence Narrative,"
10. Forpracticalityand closure,my examplesare
basedon storiesabout two principalfiresin
the northernRockyMountains:the 1910
GreatBurnand the 1937 BlackwaterCreek
Fire.The GreatBurn,which was reallymultiple firesin northernIdahoand northwestern
Montana,burnedmorethan one millionforestedacresand killedmorethan eightymen.
The BlackwaterCreekFire,fourteenmiles
east of YellowstoneNationalPark,was much
smallerbut still traumatic.Fifteenfirefighters werekilledas a crownfiretrappedtwo
crewson steeplyforestedterrain.
11. JoeHalm, "TheGreatFireof 1910,"American
Forests(July1930):423; Pulaski,"Surroundedby Fire,"p. 79; Shoemaker,
"FightingForestFire,"p. 37.
12. JackSantino,"Characteristics
of Occupational Narratives,"
SmithsonianFolklife
Studies3 (1978):59ff.
13. As artisticcreations,firestoriescarrya heavier
culturalload of symbolsand metaphorthan
firetalk. In contrast,firetalk is meantto be
strictlyinformative,aidingthe exchangeof
ideas about firebehaviorand suppression
techniques.Formoreon the relationship
betweenfire-linelegendsand rumors,see
CreekForTimothyCochrane,"Blackwater
est FireLegendsand Rumorsand Their
NorthwestFolklore5
Relationships,"
(Spring1987):3-14.
14. Greeley,Forestsand Men, p. 17.
IS. Halm, "TheGreatFireof 1910,"pp. 426,
428; Pulaski,"Surrounded
by Fire,"pp. 78,
80; JackAlbano,interview,Kaysville,Utah,
24 May 1965 (Intermountain
RegionOffice);
JamesG. Bradley,"WhenSmokeBlottedout
the Sun,"AmericanWest11(November
1974):4, 8; Alice Shoemaker,interviewwith
author,Dubois, Wyoming,11June 1983
(Dubois Museum);EdwardG. Stahl,Early
Days in the ForestService,vol. 3 (Missoula,
Montana:U.S. ForestService,1962), p. 240.
16. Smithinterview,1956.
17. Albanointerview,24 May 1965.
16. LesShoemaker,interviewwith author,
Dubois, Wyoming,24 June 1983 (Dubois
Museum);M. E Pincetl,"Fireat PlumBar,"
AmericanForests30 (November1924):677.
19. I foundonly one instancein which firewas
personifiedto the degreeof beinggivena
name. Len Shoemaker,Sagaof a Forest
Ranger:A Biographyof WilliamR. Kreutzer
(Boulder:Universityof ColoradoPress,
1958), p. 150ff.
20. Althoughfirestoriesare a rich bankof rangers'attitudesand conceptions,we mustbe
carefulabout assumingthat the principles
embodiedin the narrativesarerulesor axioms
of behavior.Althoughsome studiesassume
that attitudesare inflexibleand rigid, most
folkloristsarguethat attitudesand conceptions dependon context and varyfromone
story-tellingsituationto another.In short the
valuesembodiedin storiesaredynamic,not
staticor superorganic,as some mightimply.
Thus it is moreaccurateto view a story as an
ongoing effortof articulationratherthan the
applicationof a completed"code.'
21. Santino,"Characteristics
of Occupational
Narratives'p. 60.
22. Arthur(Dutch)Nipper,interviewwith author, Crowheart,Wyoming,3 June 1983
(DuboisMuseum).
23. Howeverthe homageto self-sacrificein fire
storiesgoes only so far.Both Pulaskiand Post
livedthroughtheirordeals.In contrast,a
BlackwaterCreekFirecrewboss, PaulTyrrell,
who died frominjuriessufferedwhile holding
and shelteringthreepanic-strickenCCC men,
is not rememberedin occupationallegends.
24. The reluctanceto boast about life-savingactions is similarto the story-tellingcanonsof
contemporaryurbanfiremen.RobertMcCarl,
"TheDistrictof ColumbiaFireFighters'
Project' SmithsonianFolklifeStudies4
(1985):197.
25. Joe Halm, "Allin a Day'sWork,"in Early
Days in the US. ForestService,vol. 4 (Missoula, Montana:U.S. ForestService,1976),
p. 93; Haim, "TheGreatFireof 1910'
p. 426; BlackwaterCreekFireFile, U.S. Forest ServiceRegionOffice,Denver,Colorado.
26. W. C. McCormick,"Trappedby Fire"
AmericanForests44 (July1938): 322.
27. Thereareoccasionalexceptionsto this attitude of extremeresponsibility,but the ranger
who careslittle about his men is verymuch
disparaged.AlbertCole, "EarlyExperiences,"
EarlyDays in the ForestService,vol. 1 (Missoula, Montana:U.S.ForestService,1944),
p. 52; Albanointerview,24 May 1965.
28. TomRedman,interviewwith author,Dubois,
Wyoming,5 July 1983 (Dubois Museum);
CharlesS. Cowan,TheEnemyIs Fire(Seattle,
Washington:Superior,1962), p. 71;E. John
Long, "Menaceof the Stills"AmericanForests 62 (May 1956):36-39; C. Y. Garber,
"Fireon Pine Creek' Idaho Yesterdays
11
(November1967):27. In contrastto Forest
Servicepersonnel,firecooperators-private
citizenswho werethe primarywork forcefor
firecontrolpriortO the New Deal -tell some
storiesin which rangersdo use alcohol from
stills found in the woods. The negativeview-
pointof the firecooperatorsmay be explained
by theirwesternanimositytowardthe Forest
Serviceand towardits attemptsto maintaina
"goodimage."FredHawley,interviewwith author,Dubois,Wyoming,13July 1983 (Dubois
Museum);Redmaninterview,5 July 1983.
29. Formally"bracketing
off' fearin this way lets
a storytelleracknowledgeits powerwithout
undermininghis credibilityand manliness.
McCarlnoted a similarreactionamong
smokejumpersand structural(urban)fire
fighters.RobertMcCarl,"JumpStory,"p. 3;
McCarl,"TheDistrictof Columbia' p. 196.
Overallthe tendencytowardunderstatement,
a drollsenseof humor,and a lack of personallyboastfulclaimsin firestoriesseems
consistentwith other westerntraditions
of storytelling.Here, as in otherways,
"commonsenserangers"seem veryclosely
alignedwith westerncowboyculture.
30. ElizabethAtwoodLawrence,Rodeo:An
AnthropologistLooksat the Wildand the
Tame(Knoxville:Universityof Tennessee
Press,1982), pp. 70, 106.
31. UrbanPost,"Blackwater
Fireon the Shoshone;'FireControlNotes 20 (September
1937):313,315;BlackwaterCreekFireFile,
U.S.ForestServiceRegionOffice,Denver,
Colorado;Pulaski,"Surrounded
by Fire;'
p. 79; StanCohen and Don Miller,The Big
Burn:The Northwest'sForestFireof 1910
(Missoula,Montana:PictorialHistoriesPublishingCo., 1978), p. 16;Bradley,"When
SmokeBlottedout the Sun;"p. 7.
32. Pulaski,"Surrounded
by Fire;'p. 79; Greeley,
Forestsand Men, p. 17.Greeley'scomments
areunusualin that althoughhe was not a
commonsenserangerhe recognizedthe importanceof Pulaski's"knowinghis home
ground" a valueheld stronglyby the field
men themselves.
33. Forexample,in the BlackwaterCreekFire,
Postand his men escapedinto an open park
by ignoringthe rule againstfleeinguphill.
Post, "Blackwater
Fire;"p. 309; ArthurA.
Brownand KennethP.Davis, ForestFire
Controland Use (New York:McGraw-Hill,
1973), p. 498. Otherexamplesof informal
instructionsthat warnfellowemployeesto
breakthe ruleswhen necessaryin tryingcircumstancesarefound in McCarl,"Jump
Story,'p. 5; McCarl,"Districtof Columbia
FireFighters'Project;'p. 203.
34. Glen Smith'sand TheodoreShoemaker's
commentsabout frontiertownspeoplewatching forestedmountainsidesburnaffirmthat
westernersacceptedforestfire.I suspectcommonsenserangerssharedsome of this "early"
westernsentiment.Smithinterview,1956;
Shoemaker,"FightingForestFires,"p. 34.
35. Joe Back,interviewwith author,Dubois,
Wyoming,13July 1983 (DuboisMuseum);
BrianAttebery,"LandUse Attitudesand
Ethicsin IdahoFolklore;'in-IdahoFolklife:
Homesteadsto Headstones,editedby Louie
Attebery(SaltLakeCity:Universityof Utah
Press,1985), p. 226; TimothyCochrane,
"AFolkBiographyof an UnitedStatesForest
ServiceRanger,Westerner,and Artist:A. G.
Clayton"(Ph.D.dissertation,IndianaUniversity, 1986), p. 118.
36. This conceptionblithelyignoresthe notion
thatnativeAmericansmayhavegreatlyaltered
the "natural"
environment.ClarenceJ.
Glacken,Traceson the RhodianShore:Natureand Culturein WesternThoughtfrom
AncientTimesto the End of the Eighteenth
Century(Berkeley:Universityof California
Press,1967), p. 705. 1havenotedthis same
folk idea amonga numberof LakeSuperior
commercialfishermen.TimothyCochrane,
"TheFolklifeExpressionsof ThreeIsleRoyale
Fishermen:A Senseof PlaceExamination"
(M.A. thesis, WesternKentuckyUniversity,
1982), pp. 85-89.
37. The most completeexampleof this rumoris
in the nationalCivilianConservationCorps
newspaper,HappyDays, 28 August1937.See
also the BlackwaterCreekFireFile,U.S.Forest
ServiceRegionOffice,Denver,Colorado.
38. EmersonHough, "Fireas an Agentin
HumanCulture,"SmithsonianInstitution
Bulletin139 (1926):143;GastonBachelard,
The Psychoanalysisof Fire,translatedby
Alan C. M. Ross(Boston:BeaconPress,
1964), p. 7. It is interestingto speculateabout
how symbolismmighthaveinfluencedfire
policy.Forexample,if fireis traditionally
evaluatedas ambiguous,then policymakers
may find it difficultto convincethe publicof
a strictlynegativeview.IndeedI believethat
this was exactlythe point of the ForestService'sextremelysharprhetoricagainstfire
duringthe 1930s:the agencywas attempting
to overcomethe traditionalambivalence
about fire.The inertiaof past opinioncould
be budgedonly by extremetirades.
39. The ritesof passagemostdiscussedin writing
havebeenreligiousand formal,and produce
a radicalchangein the personundergoing
the ritual.Secular,informalritesof passage,
likethose in firestories,aremuchless studied.
Classicworkson ritesof passageare:Arnold
van Gennep,The Ritesof Passage,translated
by MokikaB. Vizedomand GabrielleL.
Caffee(Chicago,Illinois:Aldine, 1960);and
VictorTurner,The RitualProcess(Chicago,
Illinois:Aldine, 1969). RobertMcCarlhas
noted amongsmokejumpers
a riteof passage
similarto the role fireplaysfor rangerson
the ground,in "Smokejumper's
Initiation'
Journalof AmericanFolklore89 (January/
March1976):49-66.
40. Manyritesof passageinvolveimmersionin
earthyand chaoticconditionsverylike those
that occuron the fireline. Also, ritesof passage frequentlyinvolverole reversalsor symbolic reversals,such as daylightmaskedby
smokeand haze, or the nightlit up by flames.
BarbaraA. Babcock,The ReversibleWorld
(Ithaca,New York:CornellUniversityPress,
1978), p. 24ff.
41. Turner,The RitualProcess,pp. 94-130.
42. StephenPyne,"TheFireNext Time: Old Fire
Problemsand New ProblemFires' Ninth
Conferenceon Fireand ForestMethodology,
27 April 1987,San Diego, California.Pyne
concurswith this assertion.He notes the
importancethat fireexperiences-as ritesof
passage-have on young, predominantly
male, firefighters.
FireStories 23