4 6 



Mr. Charles Corbett, Osceola, Lewis county. I went to the fire as 

 soon as I could on the I4th, and got help from the sawmills and three 

 men a clerk in a store, a minister and a farmer. These three men 

 do not want any pay. This fire May 4 was on the farm of Adel- 

 bert Kinney. He lost 30 cords of stove wood and all of his pasture. 

 The pasture was an old slash that had been burned over and sown to 

 grass seed. 



Mr. Stephen Waldron, Chase's Lake, Lewis county. In reply to 

 your telegram I beg to say that I am at work with about 80 men, and 

 am doing all that can be done. The supervisor and members of the 

 town board are also at work with me. 



Mr. Eugene Hathaway, Diana, Lewis county. The situation here 

 is bad. We have been on the fire line since April 28th, and no signs 

 of a let up. It is hard for me to get help enough to take care of 

 the fires. We have to employ all the men we can get and the most 

 of them are poor men with families, who must have their pay as fast 

 as they can earn it. I have to find some man that will buy Jieir 

 account so they can have their money to live on. Any help you 

 can give me at this time will be greatly appreciated. 



Mr. John A. Leyndecker, Croghan, Lewis county. Mr. Hecker 

 has shown me the telegram you sent him in regard to the fire. Miller 

 and Parsons have not sent me any help as yet ; but I have sent some 

 men across the Herkimer county line to fight the fire in Watson's 

 East Triangle. The fire here burns through the mucky land 12 to 

 15 inches deep, and therefore we have to dig trenches for miles on 

 both sides of it. We are digging them 3 feet wide, and have thus 

 far done fine work since your telegram to Mr. Hecker. 



Mr. G. V. Norton, Chase's Lake, Lewis county. Fires will sweep 

 the forests if the towns will not pay men honest wages in the future. 

 Men will not work without pay. All they paid men for labor in our 

 town was $1.50 per day, and a man must board himself at that price. 

 Kindly write me what to do about the board bill as I have waited all 

 summer now. 



Mr. Warner Yeomans, Forestport, Oneida county. This was a 

 hard fire to extinguish because it was burning in the muck. When it 

 was apparently all out and no smoke could be seen a high wind 

 would fan it into life and cause it to break out again. Please send 

 me two dozen blank reports as soon as possible. I have been very 

 busy driving from one fire to another organizing squads of men. 

 The fires have been in different parts of the town at once. When 

 I would go to one fire I could see another one in a different- direc- 

 tion. I would organize squads to fight the fire and then start for 

 another. All of my district wardens were just as busy. I cannot 



