232 



Saranac, which was a surprise to me, and on looking at the map 

 I found that to be the case, and in order to take in the head waters of 

 the Saranac, as we had taken in the head waters of all, the other 

 streams, I consented and thought the line ought to be where it is now. 



Q- As suggested by Mr. Connelly, what was the reason that you 

 didn't buy any of the lands that have been offered to the State under 

 the appropriation of last year ? 



A. I gave the reasons once, that upon an examination of the lands 

 offered to us we found about 500 acres of those lands within the pro- 

 posed park and that the offers for those lands didn't come to us until 

 November twentieth, a time too late for us to make the proper examin- 

 ation of those lands with the view of purchasing. 



Q. "What year ? 



A. November 20, 1890. 



Mr. Connelly. — Will you please ask Mr. Basselin, inasmuch as he 

 knew all about lands, their value, why he took so much time to 

 find out ? 



Mr. Anibal.— I assume he didn't know about the value of them. 



A. I said I didn't know. 



Q. It required investigation ? 



A. The value of lands, if the committee will allow me, I will try and 

 define what constitutes the value of land in the Adirondack hereto- 

 fore; a township is about six miles square; in that township there 

 may be three or four or five values upon the land; the land in the 

 Adirondack's for the purpose of husbandry or farming is entirely 

 worthless; it only had a market, value as to the amount .of 

 timber upon that land; the timber simply bore a value as to its 

 accessibility to a market; that is, the land immediately adjoining 

 a navigable stream was worth more than it was worth two miles back, 

 and was worth more two miles back than it was six miles, so that 

 whereas a man may have a thorough knowledge of the timber 

 upon a township he still, without going upon that, could by no 

 possible means know the value of that land; then there are tracts 

 interspersed here throughout the wilderness of virgin forest and 

 denuded lands; lands from which the pine and spruce had been 

 removed ; lands from which pine, spruce and hemlock had been removed ; 

 lands from which the hemlock alone had been removed; lands upon 

 which there was a very little marketable timber; lands where the 

 timber had been entirely burned over and there was not anything 

 left, and it is an entire and utter impossibility for any man to know 

 the entire wilderness; he may be familiar with a certain part of that, 

 but to know the entire wilderness and know whether the land is 



