Them Apaches!
"An Apache crew attacked the fire but seemed to make no progress in containing it. In near desperation, the Apaches withdrew from the fire and began singing. When they returned to the fire, it continued to spread for a few minutes and then, for no apparent natural reason, it “lay down and was easily controlled.”
These two things caught my attention-
1) Then-
"The Mescalero Red Hats, as was true of other Indian crews, viewed firefighting as modern day warfare. The Apaches believed how one approached the fire site was important. One did not walk to the battle site; one trotted in military fashion. As they trotted, the Red Hats sang war songs to help them maintain the pace."
“We had a long uphill hike before we reached the fire line. Me and my crew was so puffed when we got there we couldn’t do a lick of work ‘till we got our wind. But you should have seen those Red Hats. They dogtrotted all the way up the mountain and fell to line building the minute they hit the fire.”
Now (seems to mirror a general trend)-
"In later years, the spiritual aspect of firefighting—particularly among younger firefighters—diminished...":
"The declining use of Indian crews also had other points of origin, including the introduction of fitness tests in the 1970s.
When Indian crews were first organized, firefighters came from a cultural and social background that required a “different lifestyle … [with men] … more involved in physical labor.” When many veteran firefighters began leaving the SWFF program in the late sixties, they were replaced by younger, less physically fit firefighters."
Here's the present test. The one they talk about in the artidle was a "step test." Might havebeen different.