34-0 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF 



Mr. Edmond Burdick, town of Lyonsdale, Lewis county, N. Y. : 



August i, 1899. Number of acres, 700; standing timber destroyed, $950. Measures 

 employed to check and extinguish fire by removing the combustible material in front of 

 the flames and covering the advancing fire with dirt, using shovels, etc. This fire started 

 in Oneida county and was fought under the direction of District Firewarden William D. 

 Charbaneau, as I appointed him in place of James Cummings, because Cummings did not 

 attend to his duty and this fire got a big start. 



This has been the worst year for fire I ever saw. It seemed as though the whole world 

 was burning up sometimes. The fires burned over a large area of land because it was so 

 dry ; and while men were fighting one fire another one would start up and burn over a 

 large territory before it was discovered, because the smoke was so thick sometimes we 

 could not see ten rods. 



September n, 1899. Number of acres, 260 ; standing timber destroyed, $200, all sec- 

 ond growth. Location, Brantingham tract. This fire was fought by District Firewarden 

 Benedict. He is a good man and attends to business all right. He checked the fire by 

 fighting it along the roads. 



September 14, 1899. About eight acres burned over on Lot 298, Brantingham Tract. 

 No State land. This fire burned the muck and ground a foot deep. It started in a brier 

 patch, and was stopped before it got into the standing timber. I think it was started by 

 some careless hunter. 



Mr. Charles Corbett, town of Osceola, Lewis county, N. Y. : 



August 18, 1899. This fire was started by Albert Williams, who was clearing land and 

 using fire without any notice to me, or to his neighbors. The fire spread to the farm of 

 Thomas M. Smith, where it did considerable damage. This fire has caused a good deal of 

 hard feelings toward me, and I hope you will investigate the matter. I visited Mr. Smith 

 on the 20th, when he told me that if the fire was not put out immediately that he would 

 put it in the hands of his lawyer, and asked me to tell Mr. Williams just what he said. 



I saw Mr. Williams' son as I passed the house and told him to ask his father to send 

 someone to keep the fire from spreading, as I found there was hard feelings about it and I 

 came in for a share of it. It looks as if Mr. Williams was carrying out his threat that 

 when he got ready to start his fire he would do so without giving notice to me or his neigh- 

 bors. I will give you the name of our supervisor for the last two years. It is Mr. Seth 

 Bullock ; so if you wish to find out what my pay has been you can do so, as, I am accused 

 of making money out of this fire business. 



September 18, 1899. This fire was started by M, Maloney burning up a dead cow. He 

 supposed the fire had all gone out, but it started again. 



Mr. L. S. Ives, town of Turin, Lewis county, N. Y., writes as follows under date 

 of December 28, 1899 : 



As supervisor of the town and firewarden ex-officio, I was notified August 25th that fire 

 was raging in the woods of A. J. Failing. On going there I found that some eight or ten 

 acres were quite heavily timbered with spruce, hemlock and hardwood. I employed men 

 to draw water with their teams and fight the fire wherever it appeared; but it burrowed in 



