FISHERIES, GAME AND FORESTS. 325 



Mr. George S. Lindsay, firewarden of the town of Chesterfield, Essex county, 

 N. Y., reports : 



September 15, 1899. Number of acres burned, 35 ; timber destroyed, estimated at $40. 

 Caused by locomotive on the D. &: H. railroad. Ordered out twelve men. The D. & H. 

 railroad runs through this town at a distance of about ten miles, along a mountain side, 

 where the timber has already been killed by previous fires, affording excellent material 

 for fire in a dry town. 



Mr. Carlos A. Jordan, town of Elizabethtown, Essex county, N. Y., reports : 

 August 18, 1899. Number of acres burned over, 750, part of which was in the towns 

 of North Hudson, Moriah and Elizabethtown. Value of standing timber destroyed, esti- 

 mated at $1,500. No bridges, fences or buildings destroyed, but a shanty in Moriah was 

 burned. I heard that the fire was set by a party of campers. The burned tract lies east 

 of the Old Military road going from Elizabethtown to Schroon Lake, and west of the State 

 road going from Elizabethtown to Moriah. 



Charles Bartlett, town of Jay, Essex county, N. Y., reports : 



May 17, 1899. Two acres. No timber injured, but about $10 worth of fences were 

 destroyed. Called out eight men ; dug trenches, shoveled dirt, and carried water in 

 pails. This fire was caused by the burning of Le Grand Hathaway's house, on the road 

 leading from Ausable Forks to Jay village. There was a strong east wind at the time, 

 which blew pieces of burning shingles thirty to forty rods, starting a fire in a piece of 

 woods, and before we could check it the fire got into a fence made of pine rails, burning 

 about twenty-five rods of it. 



June 14, 1899. About seventy-five acres ; no State land. Used teams to plow furrows, 

 while men worked with shovels or hoes, and carried water in pails. This fire was on the 

 land of J. & J. Rogers Co., where the timber has been cut off for pulpwood and other pur- 

 poses. Unable to ascertain the cause ; but am satisfied that it was due to negligence, as 

 there is a road running through the land where this fire occurred. Think some one must 

 have dropped a lighted match or cigar. 



August 9, 1899. This fire started in the town of Chesterfield, and ran over the line 

 into Jay. We dug trenches, drew water, plowed furrows and backfired. I ordered out 

 eleven men ; total number of days worked, fifty-seven. On crossing the town line it went 

 into John Gary's district. He called out men and extinguished the fire, as he supposed ; 

 but it broke out several different times, as it was so very dry. The fire would run in the 

 duff and not show itself until some wind would start it up again. Mr. Gary did not 

 report the fire to me as instructed, and that is the reason why it was not reported before. 



Mr. Charles \V. Cutting, town of Lewis, Essex county, N. Y. : 



August 8, 1899. Fire ran over about five acres on Lot 150 ; supposed to have been 

 started by some one who was smoking. We extinguished it by digging trenches and 

 shoveling on dirt. Ordered out seven men; total number of days labor, seven. This fire 

 was in an old slash, but we stopped it before it got into the standing timber. 



August 20, 1899. This fire ran over one hundred acres, destroying about $25 worth of 

 timber. In addition there were a loss of buildings and fences of $450. It caught fire from 



