354 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
|Mat 2, 1896. 
§zg xni § un * 
ADIRONDACK GUIDES' ASSOCIATION. 
Sabanac Lake, N. Y., April 23. — The third annual 
meeting of the Adirondack Guides' Association was held 
at the Opera House, Saranac Lake. N. Y., Wednesday 
evening, April 22. Two hundred guides, representing 
every section of the region, were present, and with the 
associate members and citizens in sympathy with the ob- 
jects of the organization the number was swelled to over 
300, making unquestionably the most representative Adir- 
ondack gathering that has ever taken place. 
Oatman A, Oovil, president of the Association, called 
the meeting to order and introduced D\ J. C. Russell, 
president of Saranac Lake village, who sp^ke for twenty 
minutes on the rapid growth of the Association, the enor- 
mous popularity it has attained during the past year with 
all classes of men, and tbe increasing influence it has ex- 
erted in the propagation and preservation of the fish and 
game of the Adirondack lakes and woods. He congratu- 
lated the organization on its high, character and good 
name, by which it is known throughout the State, so that 
many of its most important citizens, among whom are 
statesmen, lawyers, editors, millionaires and others, have 
considered it an honor to be identified with it as associate 
members. The Doctor read letters received by the acting 
secretary from many prominent men, among whom were 
Hon. Warner Miller, A. G. Mills. President of the Adiron- 
dack League Club; Col. Wm. F. Fox, Superintendent of 
State Forests; Hon. Frederick D Kilburn, Superintendent 
of State Banks; J. Warren Pond, Chief Fish and Game 
Protector; Mr. S. R. Stoddard, publisher of Adirondacks, 
Glens Falls, and others, all of which expressed deep regret 
and profound sorrow at the recent untimely death of 
the late secretary, Mr. John Herbert Miller, and con- 
tained words of praise for what the Association had ac- 
complished as well as many wise and practical sugges- 
tions for its future action. The following letter from Hon. 
Verplanck Colvin, Superintendent of the State Land Sur- 
vey, honorary president of the Adirondack Guides' Asso- 
ciation, was also read and received the close attention of 
all present: 
State op New York, Office of State Land Surtey, 
Albany, April 20. — E. E. Sumner, Esq., Secretary pro 
tern. Adirondack Guides' Association, saranac Lake, N. 
Yi — My Dear Sir: Your letter of the 16th inst. informing 
me of the death of John H. Miller, Secretary of the 
Adirondack Guides' Association, has been received. 
By the death of Mr. Miller your Association has lost an 
energetic officer, who has labored faithfully to maintain 
in your organization those qualifications for membership 
which are so necessary to the safety of travelers and for 
your own reputation. I do not doubt that the Adirondack 
guides will continue to maintain their high reputation for 
integrity and trustiness. New conditions, however, are 
rapidly closing in upon the region which was so recently 
all wilderness. The inclosure of large private parks, the 
reservation of the forests, the narrowing limitation of 
laws relative to the wild forest game, all indicate a 
changed condition of affairs. The old guides are passing 
away. Of the scores of men who have worked for me so 
faithfully for twenty or more years, but few of the older 
ones now remain, and the woodsmen of the present 
hardly realize how severe were the toils of the guides 
who carried the boats, provisions and instruments and 
cleared the trails in the explorations at the commence- 
ment of the State Survey. Some of these men are dead. 
Others have sought wilder regions, amid the gorges of the 
Rocky Mountains or on the Pacific coast, while the wil- 
derness where they once followed the tracks of wolf and 
panther now trembles under the iron wheels of the loco- 
motive. The gorges of the mountains of the Cough- 
sa-gra-ga, of whose unknown locations men once held 
long debates, are now the sights of corduroy roads and 
carriage ways, and Saranac village, once the frontier post, 
now has its streets brilliantly illuminated at night with 
electricity. 
These great changes are, however, only an indication 
of still greater modifications in your surroundings and in 
the conditions which will speedily control your destiny 
and the future of the interior districts of northern New 
York. 
Had the great Adirondack park been created in 1870, 
when I urged it upon the public, when these lands were 
almost valueless and the forest still so magnificent, the 
destructive conditions which are now tending to reduce 
to pulp wood even the small timber remaining would not 
now exist. These recommendations were not heeded and 
thus the new condition of affairs has come about. 
Under these conditions the Adirondack guides and 
travelers are confronted by the concentration of land con- 
trolled in many localities by clubs, associations and 
wealthy private owners, while the ownership of the State 
m many of the fairest sections of its forest possessions is 
being attacked by parties claiming to have other title in 
obscure and technical ways. 
The question now arises, "How are the forests to be pre- 
served to the public, and what condition of affairs will be 
most beneficial to all who are interested in the woods and 
waters of the Adirondacks, and how are improved condi- 
tions to be secured?" 
It is clear that the problem is no longer the simple one 
of a quarter of a century ago. 
Much more complicated business and legal difficulties 
now exist, and the purchase of private lands is no longer 
a question of hundreds of thousands, but of millions of 
dollars. 
Evidently the matter is one requiring more than casual 
consideration, nor can any useful conclusion as to the 
best public policy be arrived at without general consulta- 
tion leading to mutual concessions between the State, the 
great land holders and those whose sentiments are more 
keenly enlisted in the question, the traveler and the 
guide. 
The question is therefore too complex to be immedi- 
ately solved, or solved at all without a knowledge of 
what the State authorities and private owners will agree 
upon. ° 
To reach such an agreement, public agitation of these 
questions m a careful, thoughtful, considerate way will 
be necessary, and the Adirondack traveler, tourist or 
sportsman, each in conversation with his guide, can dur- 
ing the summer season acquire much of the information 
which is so necessary. To have this information brought 
before the Legislature from a popular standpoint no bet- 
ter means exists than to increase your associate member- 
ship, each guide getting the gentleman he guides to be- 
come an associate member and patron of vour society, 
and the associate members meeting in New York at some 
time after election in the fall, about Dec. 1, to consult and 
agree upon a line of policy to be pursued for the protec- 
tion of the woods and waters. 
Trusting that this may be done, and that employers and 
guides may continue to work together in these matters of 
mutual interest, I remain very truly yours, 
Verplanck Colvin. 
Hon. James H. Pierce, of St. Armand, was the second 
speaker of the evening. He delivered an eloquent ad- 
dress on the possibilities of the Adirondacks, and said 
that the members of the Association should be proud of 
their calling and of the beauty and grandeur of the 
noble Adirondacks, the extent of which he believed they 
themselves scarcely realize. "You are the guardians 
and protectors of the Adirondacks and all which they 
contain," said Mr. Pierce. "By means of your profes- 
sion, your long experience and intimate knowledge of 
the forests, you are by far the best men that can be 
named for game protectors. You would see that the 
fish and game laws were obeyed, because it is to your in- 
terest, not less than to the hundreds of tourists and 
sportsmen who annually visit here, and to the State, 
that the fish of these waters and the game of these 
forests be zealously guarded and preserved, and not 
wantonly destroyed." He expressed the hope that the 
Legislature would speedily pass a law providing for the 
appointment of game protectors to be chosen from the 
membership of the Adirondack Guidea' Association. Mr. 
Pierce's address, which occupied about thirty minutes, 
was interesting throughout, and received frequent and 
hearty applause. 
Rev. R, G. McCarthy was the next speaker introduced, 
and he delivered ^touching eulogy on the late secretary 
of the Association. He spoke of his friendly acquaintance 
with him, of his earnest and successful efforts for the ad- 
vancement of the organization, and said, "His memory 
will be kept green in our hearts in all passing: time." He 
then discussed the subject of guides, and said they should 
have purpose and character; that their purpose should 
be excellence in accomplishments; and spoke of the rela- 
tionship between the guide and sportsman. He talked of 
the vastness of the Adirondacks, and said, "They con- 
tain 3,500,000 square acres of land and 18,000 lakes." 
Mr. McCarthy's remarks were interesting and instructive, 
and were generously applauded. 
The following resolutions were read and unanimously 
adopted : 
Whereas, It has pleased Almighty God in his infinite wisdom to call 
from our midst our beloved Mend, companion and counselor, John 
Herbert Miller, and 
Whereas, John Herbert Miller was one of the founders and chief 
instigators in promoting the success of this organization, and 
Whereas, Under his personal influence and leadership the Adiron- 
dack Guides' Association has become well and favorably known with 
all classes of men throughout the State, having been brought by his 
efforts to such a high standing that men of great wealth and of high 
official positions consider it an honor to have their names placed in its 
list of associate members, and 
Whereas, By his own exertions the treasury of the Association has 
been brought to a sound condition, which fact demonstrates the rare 
qualities he possessed, and 
Whereas, In all his intercourse with his brother members he was 
always pleasant, courteous and considerate of the feelings of those 
with whom be associated, generous in his praise of their efforts for 
the advancement of the Association, and anxious at all tim«s to pro- 
mote the interests of every member, and 
Whereas, He possessed the rarely combined qualities of a familiarity 
with th« rules of parliamentary procedure and a capacity for leader- 
ship among his fellows, which rendered it comparatively easy for him 
to succeed in carrying through any desirable resolution or motion; be 
it therefore 
Resolved, That it is but justice that we who were his associates and 
who are called to take up the work which he so faithfully pursued 
should put on record our admiration for the qualities which he ex- 
hibited, for the conspicuous and increasing power which he gave the 
Association and our personal affection for him 
Resolved, That the members of the Adirondack Guides' Association 
deeply and profoundly mourn the l^ss of their faithful friend and 
adviser. To some who have been closely associated with him his 
death is a grievous sorrow; to all it is a personal loss. 
Resolved, That in the death of John Herbert Miller this organiza- 
tion has lost a stanch friend and honored member, whose memory will 
be cherished In our hearts not only as a personal friend and comrade, 
but as a true man and honored citizen. 
Resolved, That these resolutions be entered upon the records of the 
Association and that they be published in the Adirondack Enterprise 
and in the Franklin Qazette, and that the president be requested to 
transmit a copy of them to the wife of our friend, to whom he will 
express our sympathy in that sorrow which no human affection can 
assuage. 
Resolved, That it is the sense of this Association that it would be 
for the best interest of the State, the people of the Adirondacks and 
the members of tnis Association, that the Legislature pass a bill pro- 
viding for the appointment of special game protectors, to be selected 
from the membership of the Adirondack Guides' Association. 
Resolved, That a petition to this *> fleet, stating the special qualifi- 
cations of the guidf s for such an office, signed by the members both 
active «>nd associate, be forwarded to our senator and member of 
assembly, and that they be requested to use their utmost endeavors 
to push forward measures tending toward the enactment of such a 
law. 
The following petition was signed by about 200 active 
and associate members: 
"I, the undersigned, a member of the Adirondack 
Guides' Association, of , would respect- 
fully recommend that the Legislature pass a bill at the 
present session providing for the appointment of special 
game protectors to be selected from the membership of the 
Adirondack Guides' Association. 
"The Adirondack Guides' Association numbers among 
its members the best guides in the State, and it is believed 
that such members are better qualified, by reason of their 
long experience and intimate knowledge of the forests, to 
serve as game protectors than any others. Each member 
of this Association is bound by oath to obey the game 
laws of the State. 
"While knowledge of every violation of the law almost 
invariably comes to some member of this Association, it is 
not practical for them to report such depredations unless 
in the pursuance of duty. The appointment of certain 
members as special game protectors would confer the 
necessary authority and would impose a duty." 
Whereas, There have been numerous measures intro 
duced in the Legislature to amend the present fish and 
game law of the State of New York, and intended for the 
protection, preservation and propagation of the birds, fish 
and wild animals in the State of New York and the differ- 
ent counties thereof, now therefore be it 
Resolved, That the Adirondack Guides' Association 
heartily indorses and recommends the bill introduced in 
the Senate by Mr. Malby which provides that ' 'traps or 
any other device whatsoever to catch or entice deer, in- 
cluding salt licks, shall not be made, set or used, and deer 
shall not be caught, hunted or killed by aid or use thereof. 
No jack light or any other artificial light shall be used in 
hunting or killing or attempting to kill any deer." It is 
further 
Resolved, That it is the sense of this Association and we 
do hereby petition the Legislature to enact a law making 
the open hounding season from Oct. 1 to Oct. 15, both in- 
clusive. It is further 
"Resolved, That copies of these resolutions be forwarded 
to our Senator and Representative in the Legislature, and 
that they be requested to use their strongest influence to 
advance measures in sympathy with these resolutions." 
The report of the secretary showed a membership of 
215 active members and 53 associate members. Many 
branch associations have been organized during the past 
year, until every section where guides reside is repre- 
sented in the general association. 
The election of officers and organization for the coming 
year were taken up and the following officers elected: 
Honorary President, Verplanck Colvin, of Albany; 
President, Oatman Covil, Saranac Lake; Vice-Presidents: 
Peter Solomon, Saranac Lake; Thomas Redwood, Paul 
Smith's; Miles Kennedy, Lake Placid; Isaac Sebattis, 
Long Lake; Charles McCaffery, Saranac Inn: Ernest H. 
Johnson, Tupper Lake; C. W." Blanchard, Blue Mountain 
Lake; Halsey Sprague, Duane and Meacham Lake; Rich-, 
ard Crego, Fulton Chain; Jerome Wood, Raquette Lake; 
H. B. Marden, Childwold. Secretary, Edwin E. Sumner, 
Saranac Lake; Treasurer, Warren J. Slater, Saranac 
Lake; Executive Committee: George Mussen, R. T. Man- 
ning, Thomas Healey. Saranac Lake; Doulas Martin, Ross 
Hayes, Fred. Rorke, Paul Smith's; Albert Billings, Mar- 
shal La Moy, Lake Placid; Jed Farrington, Saranac Inn; 
Espen Jensen, "Denmark," Blue Mountain Lake; Charles 
C. Robinson, Long Lake; George Selkirk, Duane and 
Meacham Lake; Charles Gibson, Indian Lake; John E. 
Ball, Fulton Chain; John W. Hinkson, Childwold. 
The regular membership was increased materially and 
the names of several prominent men were added to the 
list of associate members. 
The convention adjourned at a late hour amid great 
enthusiasm, and all united in declaring this to be the most 
important and successful meeting the Association has ever 
held. Seavbr A, Miller, 
THE ENGLISH RING-NECKED 
PHEASANT. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Mr. Brackett's criticism of my letter to you, which ap- 
peared in your issue of April 4, is so evidently that of a 
man who has but just commenced the study of pheasants 
that it would not be worth replying to were it not for the 
position that he holds in his State, which gives to his 
opinions a weight far beyond their deserts. 
He says that he does not know what I mean by the 
Chinese pheasant, as there are thirteen varieties in China, 
and persists in writing about the Mongolian pheasant. 
Now i have occupied many columns in yout paper during 
the past few years, proving that the term Mongolian 
pheasant, as applied to Phasianus torquatus, which is the 
species so common in Oregon, is quite erroneous and mis- 
leading. By all Eoglish writers of real authority its 
proper name is the Chinese pheasant. Phasianus Mon- 
golians can be translated Mongolian pheasant, but it is 
only a variety of Phasianus torquatus, and I much doubt 
if there are any of them in this country. The name for a 
local variety cannot be used as that of an entire class. I 
do not claim ever to have had any Mongolian pheasants, 
therefore Mr. Brackett is quite correct in stating that the 
emissary he sent did not find any on my place. I expect 
that this error in nomenclature first arose by baldly trans- 
lating the French name for the Chinese pheasant, which 
they call Faisan de Mongolia But as we use the English 
tongue we must use Eoglish terms if we wish to be cor- 
rectly understood. 
As regards the Chinese pheasant (to give it its right 
name) I have never bred from Oregon stock. I have had 
several of them sent me from different places that had 
got the pure strain direct from that State, and I never saw 
a worse stamp of pheasant. Of course, Oregon will swear 
by them, for they are ignorant of the English ring-necked 
pheasant in those parts. If there were no other pheasants 
obtainable, I would gladly shoot the Chinese bird, on the 
principle that half a loaf is better than no bread; but an 
unprejudiced sportsman has but to compare the 
English ring-necked pheasant with the Chinese bird such 
as Oregon produces to see the truth of my remarks. 
Moreover I have placed specimens of these two varieties 
in juxtaposition as an object lesson, to use Mr. Brackett's 
expression, and everyone who had eyes in their head 
could observe the superiority in size and bearing of the 
Eoglish ring-necked pheasant. However, I felt certain 
that the Chinese pheasant from Oregon was not so fine a 
specimen of that breed as could be obtained with a little 
trouble. I therefore imported some Chinese pheasants 
which have every distinguishing mark of their species 
correct, but weigh at least a £lb. more than their Oregon 
brothers and have a far prouder carriage. If Mr. Brackett 
will again favor me with a visit from the "man who is 
familiar with the birds," I will give him an ocular demon- 
stration on the spot about these matters that will increase 
even his familiarity with them. 
I wish that Mr. Brackett when he honors me by quoting 
my words would do so correctly. He will note ttiat in 
my letter of April 4 I never used the words "English 
pheasant," but "English ring-necked pheasant." He says 
"that it is well known that the English is a mongrel bird 
and semi-domesticated," and that it is the English pheas- 
ant that I have for sale principally. Mr. Brackett will 
neither be the first nor the last to find out that a little 
learning is a dangerous thing. The English pheasant is 
most assuredly not a "mongrel." It is a pure and distinct 
breed, classically known as Phasianus colchicus, and is 
found throughout Europe and Asia Minor without a taint 
of foreign blood. I certainly have the pure, dark-necked 
English pheasant, but not in large quantities, nor do I 
rpcommend it for stocking New Eagland preserves. The 
English ring-necked pheasant is what might be termed a 
"mongrel," being the cross between the pure English and 
Chinese birds. The combination of these two strains has 
created the best game bird for this country, where the 
winters are so severe, though in Europe, a3 a rule, all 
trace of Chinese blood is barred from preserves. There- 
fore I must beg Mr. Brackett not to drag a red herring 
across the scent by misquoting me, and thereby making 
me appear to be talking of a bird I was not alluding to at 
ail. 
