Nowadays you can scarcely be a lookout
without a uniform and a college degree, but in 1919 not a man on our outfit,
least of all the Ranger himself, had been to college. They still picked Rangers
for the Forest Service by picking the toughest guy in town. Hours, Bill Bell,
was the toughest in the Bitterroot Valley, and we thought he was the best
Ranger in the Forest Service. We were strengthened in this belief by the rumor
that Bill had killed a sheep herder. We were a little disappointed that he had
been acquitted of the charges, but nobody held it against him, for we all knew
that being acquitted of killing a sheepherder in Montana isn't the same as
being innocent.
The author of the highly touted “A River Runs
Through It” [reviewed on this blog] brings us this tale of early Rangering
with the US Forest Service.
It is not an action tale, but rather a tale of grit,
gumption, hard work and the type of men it attracts and repels.
It smacks of experience and its currency is legitimacy.
I enjoyed the hell out of it and if that opening quote
moves you, well, you’re in for a fine ride.
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