379 



Q. What was the direction with reference to the number of acres ? 



A. I understood it was to be about 2,250,000 acres; I made one 

 computation, made one outline and tabulation, the acreage amounted 

 to 2,110,000, but after looking it over and looking at the lines, the 

 commissioners thought they would push it over a little further into 

 Herkimer county, and increase it to 2,250,000, and under those 

 instructions I made this final tabulation and drew these boundary 

 lines. 



Q. Let me call your attention to the fact whether there were any 

 specific directions in regard to the* head waters of the Hudson and 

 other localities ? 



A. Tes; I had full instructions regarding all those points. 



Q. Will you state what they were ? 



A. There were a great many of them and they were very long and 

 explicit and full in some points, if the committee wish to hear them. 



Clhairman Ryan. — Were they written ? 



A. No, sir. 



Chiarman Ryan. — Give in a brief manner. 



A. As I understand this thing, I can't speak for the commissioners, 

 I can only give it as I understood it; the main point first explained to 

 me was this; the first thing was to fix: the park so as to preserve all of 

 the Hudson river water shed that came within the forest boundary, 

 not the forest preserve, the Adirondack forest, but within the boundary 

 of the north woods; that the line was to take in, include, all of the 

 forest which covered the water shed of the Hudson; I was also 

 instructed, to run the line on the east to the Schroon river, the valley 

 of the Schroon river; it was also decided that it wouldn't be advisable 

 to cross the Keene valley, because that is a large summer resort, 

 filled with hotels and a large amount of private property and buildings, 

 a village there that it wasn't considered desirable to embrace within 

 the Hues of the park, and as it laid so near the edge of the wilderness 

 the blue line was drawn just to the west of the Keese valley, and going 

 north from the Keene valley, the next point was to be through and 

 take in Lake Placid and the Saranacs; there are more people come 

 into Lake Placid than any other part of the Adirondacks; there are 

 more summer yisitors there and in discussing the park question the 

 matter of tourists and summer visitors had to be considered in 

 connection with the park idea fully, such as the theory of the water 

 shed and the preservation of the water shed; another thing, at 

 Saranac lake is located a sanitarium and nearly all of the people 

 who go to the Adirondacks for sanitary purposes, people going 

 there to be cured of pulmonary complaints, etc., probably nearly 



