60 ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE * 



Another and an important clause in the amendment referred to, 

 provided that the fire-wardens should report any trespass occurring in their 

 respective towns or districts, and that upon conviction of an offender the 

 fire-warden reporting the case should receive as a reward for his services a 

 share of the money collected for the penalty, this share being the same as 

 already fixed by law. Hitherto, the fire-wardens had ceased to furnish 

 information of timber cutting on the preserve, alleging in excuse of such 

 nelgect that the law did not require them to do it. They explained further 

 that when they had done so the reward was given to some other official 

 who took charge of the case, and that as they served without pay there was 

 no inducement to turn informer on their neighbors But since the enactment 

 of this amendment they have expressed a willingness to watch the State lands 

 with regard to trespasses as well as fire, and some of them have already 

 rendered valuable service in the detection of timber thieves. As there are 

 746 town and district fire-wardens in the Adirondack and Catskill counties 

 the enlistment of their services in the suppression of timber stealing will 

 add materially to the efficiency of the Department. 



The amendment was signed by the Governor and became a law, April 

 22, 1905. (Chapter 285, Laws of 1905.) Arrangements were immediately 

 made by which every township or locality where a trespass might occur 

 was thoroughly examined by the inspectors or other officials. As the 

 information thus obtained and the extraordinary developments that 

 resulted are already known to you in detail, any further reference is unneces- 

 sary here. Suffice it to say that the timber cutting was promptly stopped, 

 and that in each case a prosecution for the extreme penalty of the law was 

 begun immediately. Through the rigorous enforcement of severe penalties 

 the petty thieving in certain other localities has been suppressed also. As a 

 result of the work done since last April, there is no timber cutting now on 

 the Forest Preserve, aside from a few tracts on which there was a timber 

 right at the time when the land was purchased by the State. 



Some trespasses may occur from time to time which are not intentional, 

 owing to a lack of boundary marks or because of disputed lines. The 

 Adirondack townships were surveyed and allotted from 70 to 120 years ago, 

 and in most cases the blazed marks on the line trees are overlaid with 

 several inches of wood, making it difficult for anyone to find them unless 



