FOREST commissioner's REPORT. 165 



"If the Agents of the State had seen everything there fnckid- 

 ihg the presence of the few sheep whether in or out of their pen. 

 the cutting of the small quantity of grass which grew there, 

 spontaneous!}-, all of which could be of no injury to the State 

 and but slight benefit to the harvesters, they would hardly sus- 

 pect that the authors of these acts were other than harmless 

 technical trespassers." 



I have not attempted to inquire into the character of the occu- 

 pation of these various claimants and their predecessors in title. 

 Such an investigation of each individual island whenever there 

 is a claimant, involving the character of the possession prior to 

 1885, the facts about which would be difficult to ascertain today, 

 would, it seems to me, in most instances involve an expense out 

 of all proportion to the value of the island, and then would be 

 but an expression of opinion on my part. 



While this investigation perhaps has not yielded as definite 

 results as the framer of the resolve under which it is made may 

 have anticipated, I trust that it may be of value. 



I have incorporated into this report many things about islands 

 which I have come across during my investigation, with an idea 

 of preserving them, and making them easily accessible to anyone 

 interested in this subject. If it furnishes some suggestions or 

 ideas, or contains data for useful reference, which will lighten 

 to some extent the labors of those tracing island titles, or of 

 some future investigator for the State, the length of this report 

 may perhaps be justified. 



Respectfully submitted, 



MELVIN H. SIMMONS. 



November i6, 1914. 



