I Married a Ranger

I Married a Ranger

The Project Gutenberg EBook of I Married a Ranger, by Dama
Margaret Smith This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no
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Title: I Married a Ranger
Author: Dama Margaret Smith
Release Date: June 8, 2006 [EBook #18538]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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MARRIED A RANGER ***

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I Married a Ranger
By Dama Margaret Smith
(Mrs. "White Mountain")

STANFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS STANFORD UNIVERSITY,
CALIFORNIA LONDON: HUMPHREY MILFORD OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS STANFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
STANFORD UNIVERSITY, CALIFORNIA LONDON: HUMPHREY
MILFORD OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS THE MARUZEN
COMPANY TOKYO, OSAKA, KYOTO, SENDAI THE BAKER &
TAYLOR COMPANY 55 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK
Copyright 1930 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior
University All Rights Reserved Published 1930
PRINTED AND BOUND IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BY STANFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

This book is lovingly dedicated to White Mountain Smith who has made
me glad I married a Ranger

FOREWORD
I Married a Ranger is an intimate story of "pioneer" life in a national
park, told in an interesting, humorous way, that makes it most
delightful.
To me it is more than a book; it is a personal justification. For back in
1921, when the author came to my office in Washington and applied
for the clerical vacancy existing at the Grand Canyon, no woman had
been even considered for the position. The park was new, and neither
time nor funds had been available to install facilities that are a
necessary part of our park administrative and protective work.
Especially was the Grand Canyon lacking in living quarters. For that
reason the local superintendent, as well as Washington Office officials,
were opposed to sending any women clerks there.
Nevertheless, after talking to the author, I decided to make an exception

in her case, so she became the first woman Government employee at
the Canyon. I Married a Ranger proves that the decision was a happy
one.
It is a pleasure to endorse Mrs. Smith's book, and at the same time to
pay a tribute of admiration to the women of the Service, both
employees and wives of employees, who carry on faithfully and
courageously under all circumstances.
ARNO B. CAMMERER Associate Director, National Park Service

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. "Out in Arizona, Where the Bad Men Are" 1
II. "This Ain't Washington!" 11
III. "I Do!" 21
IV. Celebrities and Squirrels 31
V. Navajo Land 42
VI. "They Killed Me" 56
VII. A Grand Canyon Christmas 67
VIII. The Day's Work 77
IX. The Doomed Tribe 89
X. Where They Dance with Snakes 104
XI. The Terrible Badger Fight 121

XII. Grand Canyon Ups and Downs 131
XIII. Sisters under the Skin 147
XIV. The Passing Show 158
XV. Fools, Flood, and Dynamite 170

[Illustration]
Chapter I: "OUT IN ARIZONA, WHERE THE BAD MEN ARE"
"So you think you'd like to work in the Park Office at Grand Canyon?"
"Sure!" "Where is Grand Canyon?" I asked as an afterthought.
I knew just that little about the most spectacular chasm in the world,
when I applied for an appointment there as a Government worker.
Our train pulled into the rustic station in the wee small hours, and soon
I had my first glimpse of the Canyon. Bathed in cold moonlight, the
depths were filled with shadows that disappeared as the sun came up
while I still lingered, spellbound, on the Rim.
On the long train journey I had read and re-read the Grand Canyon
Information Booklet, published by the National Park Service. I was still
unprepared for what lay before me in carrying out my rôle as field clerk
there. So very, very many pages of that booklet have never been
written--pages replete with dangers and hardships, loneliness and
privations, sacrifice and service, all sweetened with friendships not
found in heartless, hurrying cities, lightened with loyalty and love, and
tinted with glamour and romance. And over it all lies a fascination a
stranger without the gates can never share.
I was the first woman ever placed in field service at the Grand Canyon,
and the Superintendent was not completely overjoyed at my arrival. To
be fair, I suppose he expected me to be a clinging-vine nuisance,

although I assured him I was well able to take care of myself. Time
softens most of life's harsh memories, and I've learned to see his side of
the question. What was he to do with a girl among