There is a persistent tradition that the name for this staff descended from the ancient biblical text of Genesis 32:9-11 ...

⁹Then Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you'. ¹⁰I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies. ¹¹Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children.

Over time, the staff used in forestry and land surveying has taken on a slightly different form. It became known as a Jake Staff, with a pointed end for securing the staff into the ground, and a bevel on the top to attach a compass for stability. Yet its earlier use has never been quite fully discarded. The picture shows a team of foresters in the early 1900s, each with his trusty Jake Staff. In fact, you may be hard-pressed to find some kind of walking stick or staff-like appendage NOT in the hand of every forester you meet ... just in case.