APPENDIX. 43 



articles of commerce, to the time it is shipped by vessel or railroad 

 to its destination, a vast amount of labor is employed and many 

 hundreds of thousands of dollars change hands. To destrcty this 

 industry would impoverish a great pait of the State, to partiall}^ 

 destroy it causes great damage, not alone to the land osvner but to 

 the many industries which rely on this raw material for support. 

 That considerable portions of forest land are annually destroyed by 

 tourists and sportsmen is a fact. A great deal of the destruction is 

 due to carelessness and much of it to ignorance. Camp-fires are 

 carelessly left burning in dry weather or ar.; only partially extin- 

 guished, and everyone who has any knowledge of the woods knows 

 the result. Thousands of acres of valuable land are o^ten so 

 destroyed. Probabl}' several thousands of people annually traverse 

 our forests, and the number if constantly increasing. Whole fam- 

 ilies from distant states frequently locate for the season in some 

 well ch")sen spoi, and without let or hindrance cut the trees about 

 them for fuel, or peA the bark from spruce trees t,^ build their 

 camps. This intiusion, in single instances, does no; amount to 

 much, rom a pecuniary point of view, but in the aggregate it is 

 large, and is growing larger every year. The shores of some of our 

 most beautiful lakes are already' marked with the depredations of 

 these itinerant settlers, and every 3'ear new invaders come in large 

 and small parties and help themselves to everything with n reach of 

 the ax. It is not uncommon for a dozen people to locate together 

 for several days on some favored spot, and often much larger par- 

 ties pitch their tents on private land without permission. 



It is evident that some action must be taken to stay this growing 

 danger. The appointment of a forest commission is a start in the 

 right direction, but much remains to be done to make its work 

 effective. 



The protection of game and fish and the consequent encourage- 

 ment of visitors to our State is undoubtedly of some importance. 



Is it, however, of enough importance to put in peril the forests 

 and the great industries which depend upon them for support? 



Fires are frequently set by settlers while clearing land and occa- 

 sionally by the carelessness of river drivers ; in many such cases 

 where the persons are responsible the}' are liable, but with respect 

 to fires being set by tourists and sportsmen, as matters now stand,, 

 there is little chance of getting damages, no matter what the respon- 



