FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 1 25 



Mr. C. W. Rowe, Chesterfield, Essex County. — The Delaware and Hudson Rail- 

 road has about ten miles of track in this town — nearly all of it along a mountain 

 side, and with very few buildings in sight of the road. This mountain side was 

 covered with forest when the railroad was built, but it has been burned over so many 

 times since that nearly all the timber has been killed and is falling down, making 

 excellent fuel for a forest fire. The law requiring railroad companies to pay all losses 

 from fires caused by their engines has been utterly ignored. Not a dollar has ever 

 been paid for damages, the company claiming that we must prove that their engines 

 set the fires, and to prove this we must see the fire leave the engine and strike the 

 ground. If the railroads cannot prevent these fires by putting proper appliances 

 on their locomotives, then it is a serious problem. If they can do so and do not 

 attend to it they should be prosecuted. The fires in this town are now under 

 control, but the engines on the Delaware and Hudson Railroad set fires on the 

 mountain south of Port Kent nearly every day. If the trainmen on this road 

 make any effort to prevent them, such efforts are of no avail. Their fire screens 

 are not worth a straw, and if the officials of the road don't know it, it is time 

 they did. I venture to say that 100 fires have been set by engines on this road 

 within sight of my residence, a distance of four or five miles. 



Mr. C. A. Jordan, Elizabethtown, Essex County. — In regard to my estimate 

 on the value of buildings destroyed, I would say that it was made up as follows: 

 Euba Mills, $2,000; house, barn and blacksmith shop, $ 1,000; three tenant houses 

 ($500 each), $1,500; one farmhouse, barn and outbuildings, $1,500; total, $6,000. 

 No fences or bridges of any value were destroyed. 



Mr. James Wood, Schroon, Essex County, — I have been putting up posters. 

 I find that I have a good many fallows to burn, if they don't burn them before 

 they have a right to. The people claim that they can burn on their own land 

 when they have a mind to, for the law is no good. If that is the case, I don't see 

 any need of firewardens. But I gave them to understand that I should do my 

 duty, and that I would report them. They said that I could not prove that they 

 set the fire. I told them if the fire was there it was evidence that they started it 

 or knew who did. I further told them that if they did not have a printed permit 

 from me they were liable to a fine. I told them you had written me cranky 

 letters and said for me to report them, and that you would put the law in force. 

 They say you cannot unless the fire goes off their land. I told them it made no 

 difference whether the fire got off their land or not; that they were liable to a 

 fine just the same. I mean to do my duty as long as I am firewarden. 



Mr. Charles Hooper, Westport, Essex County. — I spoke to the station agent 

 at Westport about these railroad fires and he got quite mad about it. He said the 

 railroad was blamed for everything. The agent admitted that he did not think 

 there was anything to prevent the sparks from escaping. Most of the damage is 

 done by freight trains. 



