"Jake Smith is lookout on Devil's Knob in the South Umpqua District. As a lookout, Jake is pretty good and performs his duties cheerfully and conscientiously. As an artilleryman, however, he is perhaps not so good. At least he knows by this time that a loaded 22 around a lookout station is apt to go off and harm somebody. This lesson was brought home to Jake on June 30. He set his rifle down against the door facing while he strapped a 5-gallon water can to a pack board, inadvertently setting the rifle on a pack strap. In fastening the can to the pack board be pulled the strap, upsetting the gun which fell to the floor discharging and the bullet hitting Jake in the hip. Fortunately for Jake the wound was slight, being only a flesh one with a slight nicking of the bone. One of our cooperators, E.T. Hamlin, who is a rancher living in the vicinity of Devil's Knob brought Smith out to the road at the Summit Ranger Station on horseback from which point he was taken to a hospital in Roseburg.
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If Jake had left his rifle at home he would have been able to spend the Fourth of July at the lookout station rather than in bed in the hospital. However, we are now glad to say that Jake is at Devil's Knob rendering efficient service on the lookout for fires and we venture to say that he will leave his rifle at home next time."
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This story was reported in the August 1929 issue of the "Six Twenty-Six". Over the years a number of lookouts have had misfortunes with firearms, some much more serious than in this story. On the other hand, some found it very relieving they had the back-up, others that wished they did. Appears in the earlier years firearms safety wasn't taught or practiced to any great extent.
