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showed there had been numerous and large fires, and we recognized 

 that that was the great enemy to the woods, and we did everything 

 in fact, made our principal effort against and for the prevention of 

 fires, making the heft of our instructions to the foresters and to the 

 fire wardens with that end in view, and for the last five years we have 

 had but very little fire within the woods. 



Q. Tour knowledge gained as commissioner and your knowledge as 

 a resident in the region of the forest preserve known as the Adiron- 

 dack wilderness, what do you say to the committee here, how these 

 fires were caused ? 



A. There are two principal causes of fire in the woods, the main and 

 the one most to be guarded against is from the settlers around the 

 ontskirts, small farmers, men who have taken up a piece of woodland 

 and start burning a fallow ; they are wholly irresponsible men and 

 watch the driest time and the heaviest wind to start a fire in their 

 follow for the purpose of getting what they call a good burn ; if the 

 time isn't very propitious for a fire they don't like to start the fire, 

 because they don't get a good burn, as they call it ; before my 

 appointment as commissioner and since then I have had a great deal 

 of chance to see those men ; you go to them and say^ " You musn't 

 start this fire," and they will give you the answer and say, " We have 

 got to burn this fallow because we have got to plant potatoes or 

 something else, and it is the only means of subsistence we have;" 

 that has been the most difficult class for us to deal with 

 and our strongest tools have been directed towards those; the second 

 class which has not been quite so bad, still has been a source of a 

 great deal of fire, is hunters, fishermen and campers; some of the fires 

 have been caused by the wads from a shot gun falling into a brush 

 heap or some fallen leaves or duff, or something of that kind, and 

 smouldering away, and the other has been parties a little bit careless 

 going through the woods, building a fire for lunch or dinner or for 

 their meals, and then not putting them out, allowing fire to remain 

 which, if there was no high wind or rain falling, would be all right, 

 but very frequently and in building a fire it has been customary for 

 them to pick out some old tree or stump, that they could build a fire 

 against so as to have the fire burn quickly; they go to work and light 

 that fire, cook their dinners and go away; that fire may smoulder 

 from three or four or five weeks, until a heavy wind comes up and 

 starts that, and causes a large conflagration; our instructions to our 

 foresters and fire wardens, and our instructions in regard to fire have 

 been also directed in that line, and we have endeavored to instruct 

 our foresters and ask them to patrol the woods to see in regard to 



