Early Days in the Forest Service Volume 3

QUOTES FROM THE CUSTER FOREST FILES
by L.W. Sevling

The following is from historical data prepared by L.W. Shevling, who was appointed forest guard September 1, 1905:

During the month of September 1886, both the West and East Short Pines were burned over, destroying 90 percent of the reproduction and the larger part of the young timber, doing but little damage to the mature timber. On July 5, 1905, the Short Pines were made into national forest. In 1902 forest fires burned uninterrupted in the Long Pines covering most of the hills; no effort was made to extinguish them, but rain finally did the work. September 24, 1906, the Long Pines became a forest reserve.

Taken from THE RANGE GAZETTE, Camp Crook, South Dakota, and Ranger Shevling's writings:

May 8, 1908 .... The office of the Long Pines National Forest was completely destroyed by fire. May 14, 1908.... Forest fires burned over a stretch of ground 10 miles long and 22 miles wide, covering over 10,000 acres. It was out of control from Friday night until Sunday morning. All the women and men in the vicinity who were able turned out to help. Nearly all the timber burned. This fire was the young growth of trees that had come up since the fire of 1886.

In July 1908, national forests started paying 25 percent of gross proceeds derived from national forest proceeds, such as timber and grazing. The total amount to go to the three states ...Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota ...was $447,063.79 Montana - $75,807.79; Wyoming - $41,402.38; and South Dakota $8,456.60. Prior to this year it was 10 percent.

In the fall of 1908, the forest office was in the W.B. Padden residence which burned; the office was moved to the hospital and later the same year to Shunign's store which burned at a time when a large forest fire was burning in the Long Pines. All the supervisor's records and equipment were destroyed; the forest offices were then established in the old post office building.

W.H. Benton, construction engineer from the Washington office, came to Camp Crook and drew up plans for a Government-owned supervisor's office, and by a special appropriation of $1100, this building was constructed during the fall and early winter of 1909. In the erection of this building, Camp Crook has the proud distinction of having the first building erected in the United States solely for Forest Service office purposes. The building is 24 x 28 ft.; all rooms are commodious and well lighted and were planned for the future as well as the present needs.

October 1909.... A Civil Service examination was held for Forest Ranger by Supervisor Ballinger. There were 5 applicants. The first day written tests, including land survey, estimating and scaling timber and the livestock business. The second day was taken up with field tests which included riding and packing horses, pacing, and estimating contents of an irregular field after pacing around the area. The five taking the examination were the Rangers of the Sioux National Forest.

From THE RANGE GAZETTE:

Washington, January 8, 1910 ... Forester Pinchot Fired ... His Official Doom Sealed Last Saturday by Order of President Taft.

November 26, 1925 ... Harding County will receive $990.19 as its share of National Forest receipts from the Custer National Forest for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1925. Including this amount, the county will have received from this source since the creation of the Custer National Forest a total of $9,108.70. It was created July 2, 1905.

August 6, 1917 ... The Dakota National Forest in North Dakota has been abolished by proclamation of President Wilson. This area comprised of 22 sections of land was administered by the Sioux National Forest at Camp Crook, S. Dak. Land is restored to settlement and open to homestead.

January 23, 1913 ... Forest Assistant K.D. Swan left before the holidays for a visit to his former home near Boston, returned Tuesday with his bride, having been married only a short time ago. Mr. and Mrs. Swan will make their home in the cottage near the forest office.

(Note: This is the same K.D. Swan who was forest photographer in Region One until his retirement.)

March 16, 1913 ... K.D. Swan transferred to Clearwater National Forest.

June 26, 1913 ... Alex MacNab, Forest Ranger of the Long Pines and Miss Ruth James leave, for Bowman, N. Dak., where Saturday they will be married.

(Note: Mr. and Mrs. MacNab are both alive and reside on a small ranch in the Ekalaka Hills. A story they tell about Alex: He is a Scotchman; they wanted him to take a transfer and he didn't want it so they told him it was a transfer or else. He said, "Be jasis, it will be or else then.")

July 15, 1920 ... Wolf drive next Sunday in Long Pine Hills. A day of real sport in prospect for all who take part in big hunt for gray marauders next Sunday, July 15. The start will be at 5:00 o'clock in the morning from the McClary Ranger Station, and everybody is urged to be present at the station on or before that hour. Gray wolves have become a serious menace to the livestock industry in the hills. It is known there are at least six old wolves which frequent the south end of the Long Pines, besides a litter or two of pups which will in time be committing depradations. Six head of yearling cattle are known to have been pulled down by the wolves last week, and the situation has become so serious that strenuous measures are called for. Everybody in this region of the country who owns a good saddle horse is invited to participate in this big drive. A large number of riders are needed in order to make the hunt a success; the more riders the better chance there will be for accomplishing something. It promises to be a day of real sport in the Long Pines.

From Ranger Shevling's writings:

The Sioux National Forest was created by Presidential Proclamation July 2, 1908. They are Slim Buttes, North and South Cave Hills, East and West Short Pines, Long Pines, Ekalaka Hills and Chalk Buttes, small isolated pieces of timber land, about 200-thousand acres scattered over Eastern Montana and Northwestern South Dakota. Captain Seth Bullock was appointed Supervisor. Rangers, or Forest Guards as they were called at that time, were L.W. Shevling, A.F. McDuffie, C.A. Ballinger, S.J. Emswiler, and E.R. Clark, and were part of Region 2 with the Regional Office in the Black Hills. In September 1908 they became a part of Region 1. In November 1908, the Dakota National Forest was created. It was in the Little Missouri breaks of North Dakota. In the spring of 1917 the Dakota Forest was abandoned. The rest of it is now one Ranger District under a Ranger, an assistant Ranger, and an alternate Ranger, headquartered in Camp Crook.

In May 1918, the Sioux National Forest and the Custer National Forest of Ashland were consolidated and the Supervisor's Office was in Miles City with J.C. Whitham as Supervisor.

The personnel of the Custer National Forest - December 1921: J.C. Whitham, Supervisor; W.E. Lockhart, Deputy Supervisor; E.W. Hartwell, Forest Examiner; Elsie M. Ruppert, Chief Clerk; and Mary E. McClain, stenographer, all in Miles City. Rangers: Glenn L. Dodge, Whitetail; Warren Akers, Twenty Mile; R.B. Rolfs, Otter Creek (now Ft. Howes); Glenn Flathers, Poker Jim; J.O. Thompson, Ekalaka; J.N. Templer, Long Pines; L.W. Shevling, Short Pines; M.G. Harvey, Slim Buttes; and O.E. York, Cave Hills.

In 1932 the Custer and Beartooth were consolidated and the Supervisor's Office was located in Billings, W.J. Derrick, Supervisor.

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