Feb. s, 1898.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
into spruce roots, as you describe. These were for the 
lower tier, and were placed round end to end, so as to 
form a circle, only leaving room for a doorway. The 
next tier was shorter and overlapped the lower a little. 
The third was shorter still, and then a cap completed 
the whole. This cap was some 2ft. in diameter at tlae 
lower end and a foot at the upper, like the lower part of 
a cone. This was slipped over the top of the poles, and 
the hole in the upper end served as an exit for the smoke. 
The bark used was the thick bark such as is used for 
canoe building. 
The camp was set up when the bark was green, and 
thus each piece fitted in its place and when dry retained 
its proper curve. When taken down the pieces rested 
inside of each other and occupied but little space in the 
canoes. When set up a deerskin or blanket served for 
a door. I do not remember certainly how the bark was 
fastened to the poles, but think it was tied with strings, 
which were permanently attached to the sticks at the 
end of each sheet of bark. M. Hardy. 
Brewer, Me. 
A Captive Haggle. 
Council's Station, N. C. — I have a large live gray 
eagle. I suppose it is either the male or female of the bald 
eagle, as we caught a bald and a gray one at the same 
place before we got this one. These birds kill and carry 
away lambs, kids, pigs, and sometimes kill young calves. 
They are rarely seen here now, where they were once 
comparatively plentiful. What are they worth? 
We have plenty of deer and wild turkeys now, the 
result of a five-year close season by common agreement 
between land owners. We opened up three years ago, 
and killed about x8o deer up to date. Our territory is 
about ten miles square and kept posted. Went out tur- 
key hunting with a party of five on Jan. 22. I killed one, 
Henry Farrier one, Tom Jones one, Louis Maultsby 
three, T. H. Gillispie two; total, eight. 
J. P. Council, Jr. 
[There is no market for live bald eagles. One has to 
find some one who wants such a pet.] 
Strattingf Woodcock. 
In confirmation of Shadow's story. I can tell a some- 
what similar experience. One day .when hunting along 
the banks of the Little Otter Creek and occasionally 
flushing a woodcock and trj'ing to shoot at him before 
he had dropped into the impenetrable jungle of hack- 
matack, or cropper brush, as it is more commonly called 
here, one of these birds walked out into an open space 
a few yards before me and went through exactly such a 
performance as Shadow describes, spreading his tail, 
drawing in his head, dropping his wings, and in that 
attitude whirring and strutting as proudly as any tur- 
key cock. I was hunting without a dog, finding birds 
by chance and then taking snap shots, with a result of 
frequent misses. If Shadow will only miss now and then 
it will make us, who did and do so often, feel a little 
more reconciled to our failures. 
A friend who was shooting in a swamp near Little 
Otter saw a woodcock that he had wounded strut as 
above described. 
I am glad enough to hear again the episodes and 
.pleasements of our beloved Old Hickory, and hope 
for many more. Awahsoose. 
Adirondack Guides* Association. 
Saranac Lake, N. Y*, Jan. 27. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: The fifth annual meeting of the Adirondack 
Guides' Association was held in the village of Saranac 
Lake, in the town building, on Wednesday evening, 
Jan. 26, 1898. The large hall was well filled with guides 
representing Saranac Lake, Paul Smith's, Saranac Inn, 
Fulton Chain, Blue Mountain Lake, Oswegatchie, 
Childwold, Tupper Lake, Indian Lake, Lake Placid, New- 
comb and other Adirondack sporting resorts. There were 
many associate members present, some of whom were I. 
Ludlum, of Red Bank, N. J.; F. G. Paddock, Malone, 
District Attorney of Franklin county; John Harding, 
of Algonquin; Dr. Carter McV. Toby, Boston; Chas. 
H. Kendall, J. C. Little, Esq., A. I. Vosburgh, and 
many others of Saranac Lake and elsewhere. A goodly 
number of women also were noticeable in the audience. 
The hall was appropriately decorated, and upon the 
platform were seated the officers of the Association, 
several representative guides, some of the prominent 
associate members and the speakers of the evening. 
The meeting was called to order by Warren J. Slater, 
president of the Association. A brief address of wel- 
come was made by Dr. Russell, who then proceeded to 
read the following letter from Hon. Verplanck Colvin, 
of Albany, who is the honorary president. This letter 
was listened to attentively, and the reading was followed 
by hearty applause: 
State of New York, Office of State Land Survey, Al- 
bany, Jan. 25.— Warren J. Slater, Esq., President Adir- 
ondack Guides' Association, Saranac Lake, N. Y. — 
Dear sir: I have received the polite invitation to be 
present at the> annual meeting, to be held at Saranac 
Lake, Jan. 26, and regret that my official duties will 
prevent my absence from Albany at this time. I must 
beg leave therefore to tender to the guides my kind 
regards and earnest wishes for their welfare in their field 
of duty in the great forest preserve of New York. 
'Your Association is in some respects one of the most 
remarkable organizations in this country. You and 
your associates alone, among the similar organizations 
in America, hive chosen as honorary trustees those 
who are prominent as your employers, proposing to con- 
sult with them in regard to your mutual interests in the 
Adirondack forests. 
"In this way, as it were, you have brought about as 
far as you are personally concerned the preliminary 
steps toward that combination of capital and labor which 
has been the dream of some political economists and 
the hope of patriots who desire the preservation of free 
institutions by free men; but you have only made the 
preliminary steps toward that combination of the two 
essential forces which can be made so potent for the 
good and happiness of mankind. That you have made 
the attempt, however, to march shoulder to shoulder 
—as far as opportunity offers — ^with those who are rela- 
tively as strong in fortune and high education as you are 
in woodcraft and phy.sical abilty. shows that your minds 
have been aroused and your intelligence quickened to 
the advantages which may be derived from such a com- 
bination among men. But you ought not to consider 
merely your own advantage, for such a combination 
involves reciprocity on v,our part, as you have responsi- 
bilities and cares which I know you feel to be not rnerely 
satisfied by physical labor, but involving more or less 
moral duties. 
"You men of the mountains and lakes, almost alone 
among those who depend upon skilled labor for ex- 
istence, are associated more intimately with j^our em- 
ployers, their families and their friends than any other 
similar body of men with which I am acquainted. Some 
of you have not only carried the knapsack of Agassiz 
and conversed with him relative to the secrets of geol- 
ogy and zoology, but have also listened to the poetry 
of Lowell, of Holmes, of Street, and can recall the 
voices of those authors, and have barkened to the 
words of wisdom of world-famous orators, the learned 
presidents of universities, great clergymen, lawyers, 
physicians, discoursing at s^our camp-fires, or seated 
with you day by day in your boats, or with you following 
the forest trails, or climbing mountains; you have joked 
and laughed, fished and hunted, with men whose mil- 
lions are the marvel of the world; you have shot at tar- 
gets and at deer and bears side by side with generals 
who have commanded great armies; you have cooked 
for them, eaten with them and camped with them, and 
more than all through many long years you have had 
the care and custody of their loved ones, their wives, 
their children and their property, and have been es- 
teemed as their friends. Rarely indeed has any one 
classed among you as a true guide been found want- 
ing in these great trusts, anu you have learned to appre- 
ciate the manhood and intelligence of the people with 
whom you have thus become so closely identified. Your 
opportunities for inteUigent and personal advancement 
have been great; of those among you who have appre- 
ciated these great opportunities many have become 
wealthy, some have reached affluent circumstances, and 
all have been more or less benefited by contact with the 
cultivated people whom it has been your pleasure to 
know. Thousands of your fellow citizens would have 
given much to have had the opportimities which have 
been granted to you, but in saying these words it is 
my purpose to call your attention to the great advan- 
tages which you ought yet to attain from these relation- 
ships, and the return which is in your power to make, 
and to the satisfaction, if not glory, which you can 
obtain by the development of these kindly relations be- 
tween the employer and the employed, leading you into 
a higher and happier life, and those who help you, to 
the satisfaction and pleasure of feeling that they have 
been useful and helpful to you. 
"A guide traveling with learned and intelligent men, 
such as those whom I have mentioned, can acquire from 
them day by day, without effort, great stores of rare 
and useful knowledge if so disposed. From the natural- 
ist you can learn the history of the rocks, of plants; 
and in return you can add from your own observations 
facts which will increase the world's store of knowledge. 
"From the business man, even while you fish and' 
hunt with him, you can learn the lessons of thrift and 
economy and industry which will be important to your- 
self and the welfare of your family. Fi'om the clergy- 
man you can learn the duties of life and the manner in 
which prophets and sages, saints and martyrs have met 
the trials and temptations of this world and found the 
path to a better one. You as guides should know the 
rocks, trees, the winds and waters scientifically as far 
as opportunity offers, for you can tell to the young, 
to the children of your employers, these great truths 
which you acquire, being in your turn instructors 
and men esteemed, as you are esteemed, as 
having more than ordinary intelligence for those 
in such employment. I have myself learned many 
things from the guides of what they have ob- 
served during their long lives in the forest. It is 
pleasant to hear from your tongues by the blazing camp- 
fires stories of what you have seen in remote sections 
of the forest, the kinds of trees and plants which are 
to be found on this mountain side, or in that velley; the 
region where the black sable or the brown sable is 
found; of the white deer; of the panthers that cry aloud; 
of panthers that are voiceless; of the great timber wolves 
that once rendered the forest dangerous, and of the 
smaller kinds of wolves; of the habits of the fox and the 
fisher, the beaver, the otter, the mink and ermine, and 
of the rare birds and their habits — every fact that is in 
itself absolutely true — is of great value in this world, 
and it is in your power to add much to the world's 
knowledge. 
"There are many who find in the slaugljter of deer 
and other game, beyond the necessities of camp, a 
fierce pleasure, which you, as dwellers in the forest, 
drawing upon them for your store of food, ought to re- 
strain. The slaughter of animals merely for the sake 
of killing is something upon which you should frown 
and prevent. The glory and beauty of the forest 
is its free wild life, which should only be taken when the' 
welfare of humanity is involved, as when food is needed 
for the camp, for health, for vitality or for purposes o( 
scientific investigation. Slaughter merely for bloodshed 
is cruelty and should be discountenanced. The majority 
of people who come to the mountains find more pleasure 
in the sight of the wild creatures moving before them 
uninjured and unharmed than in the sight of broken 
bones, blood, and the glaring eyes of animals unneces- 
sarily killed. People seek in the woods rest, health, 
recreation, the beautiful pictures of forest landscapes, 
views of lakes and rivers, grand mountains and rich 
autumnal foliage. These, with the pure atmosphere, 
restore life to worried men and women, and lay a 
foundation for the young of healthful years. To make 
the days which your employer passes in camp cheerful 
and comfortable, with a gain of forest knowledge, with 
memories of beautiful forest scenery, is more to him 
and to you than the destruction of the deer of the Adir- 
ondacks, upon which your livelihood depends. As to 
yourselves the cultivation of these kindly relation.^hip3 
between employer and employed, the extension of a help- 
mg hand and kindly word to those among you who are 
less fortunate than yourselves, the extension of financial 
help to those who are poor or in ill health, the recog- 
nition of the branch associations in a broad, generous 
spirit, whether they be at Saranac Lake or St. Regis, 
at Keene Valley or the Fulton Chain, on the Sacondaga 
or the Oswegatchie, is a matter which deserves your 
earnest and serious attention. 
"I am sorry that I cannot be with you at your meet* 
ing, but at this season of the year my presence is neces- 
.sary at the Capitol, so that I can only express my re- 
grets that I cannot shake each of my old guides by the 
hand and wish him bon voyage on his future journeys. 
To me in fancy I can almost see your bronzed faces, 
and cannot but think of you as soldiers of the forest; 
veterans of the woods and waters; and I hope that you 
may stand together faithful soldiers of humanity, who 
though so often isolated from mankind, will ever strive 
to be both gentle and brave; as thoughtful, true, kind, 
and considerate to others as you have alwavs been to 
me. Very sincerely yours, 
"Verplanck Colvin." 
The minutes of the third annual meeting were read 
and accepted, and the reports of the secretary and treas- 
urer were listened to and approved. The next thing 
on the programme proved that the genius of these men 
sometimes runs into very different channels than that 
ol guiding, for a male nuartette rendered the following 
song, which was composed by Mr. George Garwood, 
a Saranac Lake guide. This song was followed by two 
others later in the evening. 
A Song of Welcome, 
We welcome all, both great and small, 
And friends from all about. 
We're glad you're here; you bring good cheer; 
We greet you with a shout. 
From Racquette far, and Paul Smith's near, 
Childwold and Tupper Lake; 
For once a year we gather here, 
To have a good hand-shake. 
Chorus : 
Welcome to all, welcome to all, 
A cordial welcome to all. 
And now if you'll wait 
While a few facts we state. 
You'll be welcome to supper and all. 
There's Long Lake and Blue Mountain, too, 
Included in the list; 
With Fulton Chain and Newcomb hoys— 
We welcome with the best. 
Os-we-gatch-ie, Lake Placid, too. 
And boys from Upper Lake, 
And friends of all the guides in town, 
Come help us celebrate. 
In "91 we had a meet. 
With Colvin in the chair, 
To organize and self secure, 
And boom these forests fair. 
There's men of wealth and men of fame 
Who' ve joined us in our plans. 
To help make laws, protect the game. 
Preserve State forests, lands. 
Chorus : 
But we ought to have hounding again 
Through the month of October, I'm sure; 
So let's try with our might 
To get what is right, 
For we ought to have hounding again. 
An address by the Rev, Clarence Miher, pastor of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church in this village, was then 
made. Mr. Miller spoke in a particularly pleasing man- 
ner, and told several funny reminiscences of his early 
life, which kept the crowd in a happy humor. He spoke 
of the beauty of the mountains and lakes, of the pure air, 
and said to the men that their mission of guiding tour- 
ists and sportsmen through this country of gorgeous 
scenery, and to places where dwell the graceful deer 
and handsome trout, giving them pleasure and recrea- 
tion, m taking the sick and careworn where they may 
obtain rest and health, is a noble and honorable one 
and he wished them every success in their calling 
District Attorney Paddock, of Malone, followed Mr. 
Miller. He said m a large body like this Association, 
with its branches reaching out over such a vast territory! 
It would be strange indeed if some conflicting issues did 
not arise now and then to mar the serenity of their pro- 
ceedings, but he wished them to discuss all matters in 
which there was a difference of opinion calmly, giving 
due respect to each other's views, so that in the end they 
could make wise decisions and thus avoid impairing 
their usefulness. He advised the younger members to 
strive to become more proficient in the art of entertain- 
ing their employers; to be equal to any emergency, 
so that their sportsmen could place implicit confidence 
m their ability to arrange and carry out the details of a 
trip, etc. Mr. Paddock toiu of some interesting experi- 
ences of his in the woods of Canada, and of the remark- 
able ingenuity of the guides in that country. He also 
touched upon the law. He spoke of some of tlie amend- 
ments to the game laws that have been presented to the 
Legislature this year, ana in regard to the anti-hounding 
law he advised the Association that it was unwise to 
attempt to change any law until it had been on the 
statute books a sufficient length of time to allow one 
to judge intelligently of its virtue. 
Mr. John Harding, postmaster at Saranac Lake, and 
proprietor of the Algonquin Hotel, was called upon for 
remarks and he gladly responded. He explained the 
value of the recent Adirondack exhibit at the Sports'- 
men's Exposition at Madison Square Garden, New 
York, to this section and to the guides; of the number 
and extent of the press notices which had been given 
the guides through this exhibit. Mr. Harding read 
