282 



they have got to give all the lines and they have got to cover the 

 territory and examine it so they can swear that the cutting is inside 

 the lines. 



Q. How about conflicting lines ? 



A. There is a world of them; you have those patents up there, and 

 one patent will 'overlap another. 



Q. What about the difficulty of proving title in the State through 

 tax sales ? 



A. Tax title at that time was no title was the talk; that state of 

 affairs continued until this Turner suit went through the Court of 

 Appeals arid they sustained the law of 1885, what we call the statute 

 of limitations; I can't recollect but one exception among the lawyers, 

 clear around the woods, but what said up to that decision that that 

 law would be broken by the Court of Appeals, and that it was retro- 

 active; that it was not better than the paper upon which it was 

 written; up to that time no one believed' in a general way that you 

 could hold them; they carried the case through the Court of Appeals 

 upon the constitutionality of that law, and the Court of Appeals said 

 it was good; from that time on we have not had much trouble with 

 trespassers. * 



Q. What do you find as to the state of feeling in the way of trying 

 to intimidate witnesses ? 



A. For instance, on the Herkimer county border there -was a nest 

 of little, petty thieves stealing the shingle trees; if they could find a 

 nice tree they would cut the butt out and take the butt down to 

 Dolgeville to use for sounding boards; these men were getting their 

 fire wood off the State and stealing the shingle timber,, and they 

 made a great many shingles in there and these sounding boards; 

 that was a whole gang banded together and they were a very hard 

 nest; they came very near shooting Mr. Dolge's men' that he had 

 watphing his land, and they threatened to leave the bones in the 

 woods of any one who came through the woods. 



Q. Did they threaten you ? 



A. I don't know; we had one very common notice in which they 

 said, "Anybody that comes here to watch, their bones will be left in 

 these woods, so help us, Jesus ! " there was no intelligent name 

 ^signed to it, so I don't know whether it was intended for me or not. 



■ By Chairman Ryan: # 



Q. You are not describing anything inside of the State of New 

 York but something down in the southwest are you not ? 



A. No, sir; this is in the State of New Ydrk; further than this you 

 will get a good description of this thing from the report of District- 



