Report of the Forest Commission. 17 



Frank C. Parker, State Forester, reports, September 22d, as 

 follows : 



Last week, while patrolling my district in the North River Head 

 Tract, I found a fire burning in the " duff " on lot 23. Some Italians 

 with a dancing bear had encamped in the woods near the roadside, 

 where they had built a fire against an old stump and had not put it out 

 properly. I fortunately discovered it in time, and, with shovel and 

 hoe and a number of pails of water, extinguished it. The place was 

 a dangerous one, for there was a large quantity of " duff," and had the 

 fire gotten headway it would have taken a great deal of time and labor 

 to extinguish it. 



Franklin County. 



W. E. LaFountain, firewarden for the town of Altamont, 

 Franklin county, reports : 



To the Hon. State Foeest Commission, Albany, JV. Y. : 



Gentlemen. — As firewarden of the town of Altamont, Franklin 

 county, N. Y., 1 would respectfully submit the following report: 



Owing to the fact that I am compelled to be away from home a great 

 deal of the time during the spring and summer, I took advantage of 

 the rules of the Forest Commission in regard to the division of a town 

 into fire districts and divided this town into three districts, as fol- 

 lows: (1) "Tupper Lake Junction"* district; (2) "Village of Tupper 

 Lake " district; (3) "Moody " district, and appointed a deputy in each. 

 I am now convinced that there would have been some bad fires 

 in this town had I not done so, as a number of fires were started, but, 

 owing to the promptness of the deputies, they were got under control 

 without doing any damage to speak of, except one fire that was started 

 at some point on the southerly shore of Big Tupper lake, in the town- 

 ship of Atherton, St. Lawrence county, which spread with great rapidity 

 for considerable distance along the shore of the lake in St. Lawrence 

 county and extended back easterly across the county line, burning and 

 killing the timber on a few acres on the northwest corner of Litchfield 

 Park, Township 25, Franklin county; also a small tract on the southwest 

 corner of King Park, in the same township. I think this fire was 

 started by some fishermen at Big Tupper Lake, who built a camp-fire 

 on or near the shore and left it burning. 



* Tupper Lake Junction is the name of the railroad station at the intersection of the New 

 York Central (A. & St. L.) and Northern Adirondack railroads. 



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