FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 145 



Mr. Wesley D. Jordan, of Saranac Lake, shot the only Albino, or White, Deer 

 reported during the season. It was killed near Raquette Falls, and will be mounted 

 for exhibition. 



It is a matter of satisfaction to be able to note that very few casualties were 

 reported this year in connection with the Deer season. The number of minor 

 accidents was inconsiderable, and the number of fatalities so small as to warrant 

 the belief that the warnings of previous years have had a salutary effect. 



Ti)e EU$ and ti)e Aoose. 



The effort to restore Elk and Moose to the Adirondack forest, which was begun 

 by the State two years ago, with the cooperation of a number of public-spirited 

 citizens, continues to be a subject of much interest to the people. The restoration 

 of the Elk, thanks to the continued generosity of Hon. W. C. Whitney and others, 

 has progressed so rapidly since the first consignment of twenty-two was liberated 

 at Raquette Lake, in June, 1901, as to have passed almost beyond the experimental 

 stage. During the year just closed seventy-three Elk were liberated at various 

 points in the woods, the work being superintended by Mr. Paul Smith, the veteran 

 hotel proprietor; Dr. F. E. Kendall, of Saranac Lake, and Mr. Ernest H. Johnson, 

 the superintendent of Mr. Whitney's Adirondack estate. These Elk were all 

 contributed by Mr. Whitney. 



The total number of Elk which have thus far been liberated in the Adirondacks 

 is one hundred and forty. The number of young which have been born in this 

 region during the past two years has been approximated at fifty. Of this total of 

 one hundred and ninety Elk, four have been accidentally killed by trains and 

 eight are known to have been shot. Allowance should also be made for perhaps 

 ten deaths, through natural causes, since June, 1901. There would thus remain at 

 large in the Adirondacks one hundred and sixty-eight Elk, which estimate probably 

 represents very closely the actual number in the Adirondacks to-day. When first 

 liberated the Elk seemed disinclined to roam far from the immediate locality in 

 which they had been set free, and for months they could be seen grouped together 

 within a few miles of the spot where they had first been liberated at almost any 

 time. But as the young were born and the animals became more accustomed to 

 their surroundings, the herds began to split up into families of three or four and 

 to move off into the deeper forest in every direction until, within the past few 

 months, their presence has been reported in seven out of the ten Adirondack 

 counties. Wherever thev have been seen they have caused much admiring com- 

 10 



