THE EARLY DAYS: a Sourcebook of Southwestern Region History
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THE EARLY DAYS: A Sourcebook of Southwestern Region History Book 1 Compiled by Edwin A. Tucker Supervisory Management Analyst Division of Operations Cultural Resources Management Report No. 7 USDA Forest Service Southwestern Region September 1989 TABLE OF CONTENTS Cover: An open pine forest covering Smith's Butte, Tusayan National Forest, October 18, 1913. Photo by A. Gaskill. This publication is part of a Southwestern Region series detailing the cultural resources of the Region. Tables Figures Foreword Acknowledgements Editor's Foreword SECTIONS Setting The Scene Correspondence National Forests The Waha Memorandum The Fred Winn Papers Personal Stories Fred Arthur Leon F. Kneipp Richard H. Hanna Tom Stewart Frank E. Andrews Roscoe G. Willson Henry L. Benham Elliott S. Barker Lewis Pyle Robert Springfel C. V. Shearer F. Lee Kirby William H. Woods Edward G. Miller Henry Woodrow Benton S. Rogers Jesse I. Bushnell John D. Guthrie Apache Ranger Meeting Short Histories Over Historic Ground by John D. Guthrie History of Datil National Forest (Anon.) History of Grazing on the Tonto, by Fred Croxen Interviews Fred W. Croxen Quincy Randles Fred Merkle Edward Ancona Morton C. Cheney Stanley F. Wilson Paul Roberts TABLES 1. National Forests in District 3 in 1908 FIGURES 1. Santa Fe Forest Reserve Office in 1902 2. The first Ranger meeting, in 1903 on the Gila Forest Reserve 3. Gila Supervisor McClure and Forest Officers in 1903 4. Old Bear Canyon Ranger Station. Gila National Forest in 1907 5. Supervisor McGlone, Chiricahua N. F. in 1904 6. Tonto Supervisor's cottage at Roosevelt in 1913 7. The combined Gila and Datil Ranger Meeting at Silver City in 1908 8. Heinie Merker dressed in his "choke bores" about 1924 9. Supervisors meeting in 1906 10. Forest Assistant W. H. B. Kent, 1905, on the Huachuca Forest Reserve 11. Hinderer Ranch, January 1914. Prescott headquarters 12. Ranger Tom Stewart on the road in Pecos Valley in 1903 13. Santa Fe Forest Supervisor Frank Andrews in 1932 14. Pack burrows loaded and ready to go in Tumacacori Mountains, 1937 15. The original platform lookout on Bill Williams Mountain 16. Ft. Bayard Forest Nursery, 1906 17. A cloth sack sign with forest fire warning 18. Ranger R. L. Ground counting sheep on the Carson 19. Ranger Richard G. Moore, circa 1903 20. Good woodland range, Grant County, New Mexico 21. Saginaw and Manistee logging locomotive 22. Table and fireplace at Rio Gallinas Campground 23. First decade Forest Rangers with tents and campfire 24. Mogollon, N.M. in 1905, showing deforestation 25. Examination for Forest Rangers at Springerville, 1909 26. Barfoot Tower, Chiricahuas, 1929 27. Sea of Ponderosa pine timber . looking at a smoke 28. Timber reconnaissance party, 1910 29. A "Crossing Permit" 30. Early day horse work on the Apache 31. Honeymoon Ranger Station, Apache National Forest 32. Honeymoon Ranger Station barn and corral 33. New Beaverhead Ranger Station. Datil National Forest in 1923 34. A steam loader on a railway car, 1902 35. Moving a logging camp cabin by rail, 1904 36. Logging with big wheels 37. Skidding logs on the Carson 38. A "rolling machine shop" at work 39. Fort Valley Ranger meeting, 1913 40. Apache Indians on Santa Catalina Mountain 41. An old wooden sentinel tower on the Chiricahua division 42. Ranger O. B. Beckstrom on Abe FOREWORD The original purpose of this study was to write a comprehensive history of the Forest Service in the Southwest. It soon became evident, however, that such an ambitious project would require much more than the portion of a year allotted for it. An abundance of information was available from such sources as official records, even from the General Land Office days prior to the start of the Forest Service; and from newspapers, books, and periodicals; and from the men themselves. Since it was these men and others like then who, by living it, have shaped the history of the Forest Service, I tape recorded interviews with many of them, including several who served in the very early days. It has been my purpose to select from these sources such material as is generally representative of its kind or is unique to the conditions, problems, happenings, or thinking of the era. These selections were edited to present not only the spirit of the times, but also the special "flavor" that was a quality of the individual involved. I entered the Forest Service during the period when many pioneer conditions still prevailed in the Southwest. I've known many of the old-timers; have worked closely with some of them. But I am also a contemporary of the newer, technically trained, men — the professional foresters. My career has thus bridged the transition period in the development of the Service in the Southwest, and enabled me to bring to this study both objectivity and understanding. I have gained two distinct impressions. First, the Forest Service organization of today has developed through a tremendous evolution, an evolution guided, step by step, by new conditions and changing needs. To what degree could Gifford Pinchot or "Teddy" Roosevelt have anticipated the extent of the influence of their foresight in setting aside forests for conservation purposes? (Indeed, can we, even today, anticipate its eventual extent?) Preserving a heritage of forests (basically through fire control); saving vegetation (basically through grazing control) — from these ideas of simple protection has evolved the monumental concept of multiple-use management; harvesting timber, saving soil, protecting watersheds, providing forage for domestic livestock and wildlife, and providing recreation. It grew because of the need. Second, as the needs became evident, so were men developed to meet them. However spectacular the changes in the Service, they were nevertheless possibly only because of the kind of men involved; men who responded to the challenge of their particular environment and times. In the earliest days, for example, the men for the times were necessarily tough; they had to be to survive. At that stage, ruggedness and resourcefulness, not technology, were the requisites. Despite the newness of the concept of natural resources conservation, despite public apathy and users' antagonism to regulations (sometimes violent); in the face of political pressures, in the absence of guidelines and, for the most part, with little formal education, the earliest Rangers and Supervisors did the job that was needful at the time. They performed their work with exceptional devotion and loyalty, and with a surprising awareness of the problems of that era and their relation to the future. In this year of my preoccupation with the story of the Forest Service in the southwest, culminating in both the establishment of a Museum and this written record of some facts of historical significance, I have found it a distinct privilege to examine the old records and to talk personally with men whose experiences form a part of the history. These records and interviews have given me an appreciative understanding of the formative years of the Service. With each succeeding year, the perspectives broadened, responsibilities increased, and the steps taken to meet these challenges were direct and effective. Dedication to the basic, overall Service philosophy and goal — the realistic use of natural resources to the greatest degree compatible with true conservation — is clearly evident as the theme running through all the interviews. These ideas and ideals explain the prestige which the U. S. Forest Service enjoys today, and the quality of its people and its work. They also justify my pride in being a part of it. Edwin A. Tucker Albuquerque, New Mexico November 10, 1965 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Mr. Fred H. Kennedy, Regional Forester, authorized my work on the twin historical projects; this history, and the Forest Service Museum at Continental Divide Training Center. His support and encouragement were major factors in their completion. Mrs. Gladys Day Jackson, former Region 3 editorial assistant, should receive full credit for her collaboration on the History. She transcribed the taped interviews, typed and edited the manuscript, and gave suggestions for its improvement. Her assistance was invaluable. EDITOR'S FOREWORD When Ed Tucker finished his work there were four copies prepared. One became Ed's personal copy. The remainder were distributed around the Regional Office and, for years, were carefully tended. Bob Bates remembers that the Regional Forester's Secretary would annually come to him and ask for an accounting of his copy. This is the treatment normally reserved for high dollar value items of "accountable property." Each copy consisted of four bound volumes which total 1569 pages. There were no photographs in these copies, merely notations of what the intended photographs would show at various places throughout the text. Perhaps one of the four copies actually had the photographs inserted, but this is not the case with the two still available in the Regional Office. Some of the intended photographs appear to have been used in a much shortened version of the book published in 1972 by the Forest Service. "Men Who Matched The Mountains", by Tucker and George Fitzpatrick combined stories from the original manuscript with an update on Southwestern Region operations. The main difference between this publication and the Tucker and Fitzpatrick book is that here we have retained the original words and patterns of the informants. In 1982, Bates brought Tucker's work to the attention of the Editor. It was immediately appreciated that publication of this historical material was desirable for a number of reasons. First, this was the history of the Southwestern Region itself and therefore of immeasurable interest to our own employees, both past and present. This was our history. What better way to bring home the point that cultural resources are an important resource than to illustrate that point with such relevant material? Second, as part of our planning process, the Forest Service is obliged to produce "overviews that summarize the cultural resources of the Region including archeological, historical and ethnographic facts.