406 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[May 21, 1898. 
Some Adirondack Preserves. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
You ask me for a short history of the game pre- 
serves in this section of the Adirondacks, and facts 
about the game and fish preserve of the Racquette Club 
in particular, of which you make the mistake of ad- 
dressing me as president. In order to correct this er- 
ror I will state here that the club once known as the 
Racquette Club has been changed to the Massawepie 
Club, and W. J. Arkell, of New York city, is the presi- 
dent. The writer of this article has the honor to be a 
member, but would not like to drag ofif the honor of 
being its president without consent of its members. 
In giving a history of the different game and fish 
preserves in this section of the Adirondacks, I will first 
say it would be much less trouble to give a history of 
the Avild lands that are not game preserves. Fifteen 
i^ears ago there was hardly a game preserve in this 
section, while at this time there is hardly a piece of 
wild land of any account that is not under preserve, ex- 
cept what State land there is, and that is so much scat- 
tered and so badly adapted to hunting and fishing that 
it affords but very little amusement for those who are 
not interested in game preserves. This seems a little 
severe on those who are not able to take advantage of 
the situation, but at the same time it has had the effect 
of saving our game and fish, whereas if the same old 
indiscriminate hunting and fishing had been allowed for 
the past fifteen years that prevailed up to that time, in- 
stead of to-day having more game and fish than we had 
fifteen years ago, our forests and streams would have 
been entirely cleaned out. Taking this view of it, while 
we admit it seems at first a little hard on the old hunt- 
ers who had always roamed at will over other people's 
land, we are convinced that the end fully justifies the 
means, and we believe the old hunters have as a rule 
accepted this view of it, for we hardly know of an in- 
stance where they have not submitted to the law with- 
out a murmur. 
In taking up the different game preserves in this im- 
mediate section, I will not name them in the order of 
their value as game presers^es, nor in the order 
of their desirability or availability. It is not my 
purpose to advertise. ■ I have no game preserve for 
sale, and am in no way interested in the sale or dis- 
posal of wild lands. 
The Vanderbilt Preserve. 
The first game preserve that I shall -mention, how- 
ever, is perhaps the best known preseiwe, and I think 
no one who is familiar with the locality will find fault 
with me if I say it is the best game preserve for its size 
in the Adirondack Mountains. It is what has been 
known as the Vanderbilt Preserve, situated in the town- 
ship of Kildare, and takes in Jordan Pond, Amber Lake, 
and quite a section of the Jordan River, with several 
other small ponds and streams. This preserve was one 
of the first to be established in this part of the Adiron- 
dacks. It was put under strict preserve, I think, about 
fifteen years ago. It contains in all about 8,000 acres, 
has had the best of care by the V anderbilts for the 
past fifteen years, and has not been hunted nearly up 
to its capacity. The woods are literally full of deer, 
and the ponds and streams are well stocked with trout. 
We understand that as many as sixty deer have been 
seen on Amber Lake in one day. The preserve changed 
hands last season, and is now owned by a New York 
city party not known to the writer. 
The Vilas Preserve. 
The preserve known as the Vilas Preserve is 
situated in Township 16, in Franklin county, and I 
think it contains about 12,000 acres. It joins the Van- 
derbilt Preserve on the east, and its proximity to the 
Vanderbilt, with the fine trout streams and beautiful 
deer ponds it contains, makes it a very desirable pre- 
serve. The waters on this preserve are McDonald Pond, 
Potter Pond, Elbow Pond, Wolf Pond, Long Pond, and 
a long stretch of both the west branch and the middle 
branch of the St. Regis River. This preserve is not 
owned by a club. It is the property of the Vilas estate, 
of Plattsburgh, N. Y.. and has been preserved and kept 
up and well cared for b}' Dr. E. A. Carpenter, of Cam- 
bridge, Mass., for the past ten years. The timber has 
never been cut on this tract, and while it would make 
a very desirable club property, the fact that the timber 
still remains on the property makes the vfllue c^{ it very 
high for a game park. 
The Cutting Tract. 
The next preserve in tine .is known as th'e Cutting- 
Tract, of 7,000 acres, which joins the Vilas Preserve on 
the northeast, and is also in Franklin county. This is 
owned by Frank A. Cutting, of Boston, Mass. It has 
never been controlled by a club, but has been under 
preserve by Mr. Cutting for about five years. It con- 
tains the waters known as Train Pond, Weller Pond, 
and a long stretch of Stony Brook and Balsam Brook, 
both good trout streams. The timber has recently been 
sold on this tract, and we understand Mr. Cutting is 
anxious to form a club to control the game preseiTe. 
The next preserve on the north of the Cutting Tract 
is a small preserve owned by Mr, Frederick M. Heath, 
of Potsdam, N. Y., and takes in the famous Ozonia 
Lake, on which is located the summer hotel known as 
Fernwood Hall, owned and managed by Mr. Heath. 
This is a beautiful lake and an ideal spot in the moun- 
tains, but the game preserve connected with it is small, 
only taking in a few hundred acres, making the sport- 
ing facilities somewhat hmited. 
The next preserve in order is an 8,000-acre tract situ- 
ated on the west branch of the St. Regis River, in the 
township of Riverdale, joining the Vilas Tract on" the 
north and the Cutting on the west. The waters on this 
tract are Mud Lake, a long stretch of Stony Brook and 
Balsam Brook, and about five miles of the west branch 
of the St. Regis River, of which three miles are still 
water for boating, and two miles a succession of rap- 
ids and falls, which make the best of trout fishing at 
certain seasons of the year. This preserve is owned by 
the National Bank of Potsdam, which is now 
in the hands of a receiver. The lumber has been cut 
on this tract, and the game preserve is quite a desirable 
one. It has been controlled for the past four or five 
years by the hotel known as the Sylvan Falls Hotel, 
located at the foot of the three miles of still water in 
the west branch of the St. Regis River, near the west 
line of the preserve. The National Bank of Potsdam, 
N. Y., was a large owner of Adirondack lands, and 
still has in the hands of the receiver several other very 
desirable hunting and fishing tracts, some of which come 
within the scope of this article. 
Another very desirable preserve, also owned by this 
bank, is a 7,000-acre tract in the township of Kildare, 
and joining the famous Vanderbilt Preserve on the north. 
The proximity of this tract to the Vanderbilt Preserve, 
being all in one imbroken forest, in connection with the 
fact that it is an excellent feeding ground for deer, makes 
it, perhaps I may say, one of the best deer parks for its 
size in the Adirondacks outside of the Vanderbilt Pre- 
serve. The waters on this preserve are Whitney Pond, 
Thirty-five Pond, and quite a long stretch of the inlet 
of Jo Indian Pond, which is a stream not large enough 
for navigation with small boats, except in places where 
dams have been constructed for the purpose of floating 
logs. This stream furnishes good trout fishing, and 
good hunting where the ponds occur; also some of the 
best still-hunting in the woods. The famous Jo Indian 
Pond, also located in the township of Kildare, joins this 
preserve on the north. This tract contains 1,700 acres, 
and is also owned by the National Bank of Potsdam. 
Jo Indian Pond is one of the largest of the so-called 
ponds in the Adirondacks, and ranges in size with Lake 
Ozonia and Bay Pond in Franklin county. It is a nat- 
ural trout pond, and has never been ruined by the in- 
troduction of other fish. This 1,700-acre tract has been 
controlled and under lease for the past four or five years 
by a club, the name of which is not famihar to me. The 
7.000-acre tract mentioned above has been under lease 
for the past ten years to a club known as the Inlet Club, 
who have constructed a temporary club house on the 
property. Taking these two tracts together would make 
a very desirable game preserve. This land has all been 
lumbered, and we understand the receiver has only a 
limited time in which to dispose of this property. 
This practically describes the game preserves on the 
east side of the Racket River. -On the west side we have 
only three well-organized preserves in this immediate 
vicinity, viz., the Granshue, the Hollywood, and the 
Massawepie. 
The Granshue Preserve. '■■""'.> 
The Granshue Preserve is owned by the Granshue 
Club, is located in the towmship of Granshue, and con- 
tains about 6,000 acres. It has the waters known as the 
Ormsbee Pond, Long Pond, and quite a long stretch 
of the east branch of Grass River. It is in the heart of 
the wilderness, and although a hard place to get to it is 
a famous hunting ground. 
The Hollywood Preserve. 
The Hollywood Preserve is located in the town- 
ship of Hollywood, and is owned by the Hollywood 
Club. Tliis club is, we think, the oldest game preserve 
club in this section, and perhaps in the entire Adiron- 
dacks. It was organized by Dr. French, a reverend 
gentleman who resides somewhere in the vicinity of New 
York city, about twenty years ago. They have a mem- 
bership of twenty gentlemen, and are remarkable as a 
club for their religious proclivities. They have a fine 
club hotise, and their buildings are all very complete and 
convenient. The number of acres in their club prop- 
erty is not known to the writer. The tract they occupy 
joins the Granshue Club property on the south, and 
they must control in all about 6,000 acres. The waters 
on this preserve are Clear Pond and Lake Pleasant, also 
a long stretch of Dead Creek, which is good trout fish- 
ing. They also have Little Blue Pond and a portion of 
the branches of Grass River, known as Trout Brook. 
It is an ideal game preserve, and was a favorite place 
for old hunters for years before game preserves were 
known. 1 . . 
The Massawepie Club. 
Last, but not entirely least, I will mention the Massa- 
wepie Club, of which I have the honor to be a member. 
This club controls about 2,200 acres of as good hunt- 
ing grounds as can be found on this side of the woods. 
Although comparatively small in acres, it is large in re- 
sources. There are five small lakes or ponds situated 
on this 2,200 acres, and every one of them is considered 
a "star" pond for hunting. Only one of the ponds, 
however, is considered good for trout, and our trout 
fishing is somewhat limited. It has been under preserve 
for the past twelve years, and has never been hunted 
up to its capacity. Deer are very plenty here. Par- 
tridges are also quite plenty in season, and occasion- 
ally a black bear has been found on this preserve. 
Speaking of Bears. 
Speaking of bears brings to mind a little bear hunt 
that took place on these grounds several years ago. The 
story has never been published, and perhaps would 
make a good ending for this article, which must of 
necessity be somewhat uninteresting to those who are 
not seeking for information on the subject of game 
preserves. In the fall of 1891, in companv with my 
brother and two other hunters, I went to our camp the 
last days of October, for a week of still-hunting for 
deer. We had been in camp for three days, and as the 
weather had been dry and what the hunters call "noisy," 
we had not succeeded in securing any meat for camp. 
On the fourth morning in camp my brother took down 
the old double-barrel shotgun after breakfast, and said 
he was not going to hunt for deer that day, but would 
go out and get some partridges for a potpie. As he was 
filling his cartridge belt with cartridges loaded with fine 
shot I suggested to him to take a few buckshot car- 
tridges to use in case he did run on to a deer, and agree- 
ably to my suggestion he did put four buckshot car- 
tridges in his hunting coat pocket. He started out, and 
after he had been gone about thirty minutes I took down 
my .45-90 Winchester and started off in another direc- 
tion from the one taken by my brother. I had not gone 
more than 100 rods from camp before I heard my 
brother shoot over in the woods about a mile and a 
half away, and I remarked at once that he had fired one 
of the buckshot cartridges. I could tell the difference at 
once from the fact that the buck cartridges were loaded 
with 5}4drs. of powder and 12 buckshot, while the fine 
shot cartridges had only 3^drs. of powder; the gun 
was a lo-bore. I halted for a moment to see if he shot 
again, as we always consider two shots in succession 
a good indication for meat, and sure enough, I very soon 
heard the second shot. This was also a buckshot car- 
tridge, and soon after that I heard the third and the 
fourth shots roar out from the old gun. I said to myself: 
"Mat must be in trouble;" and I immediately changed 
my course, and took a lumber road that would lead in 
the direction of where I heard the shooting. I knew 
he had only four buckshot cartridges, and as I had heard 
him fire all of them I was sure it must mean something. 
T had not gone more than half or three-fourths of a 
mile before I heard something coming toward me, tear- 
ing through the woods, making as much noise as an 
elephant, and I soon saw Mat coming up over a little 
hill on a dead run, dragging his old shotgun behind 
him by the muzzle. He looked somewhat tattered and 
torn and blowed when I met him, but I could see by 
the snap of his eye that he was still in the ring and 
would come to time all right with a little encourage- 
ment. I asked: "Mat, what's the matter?" "I have 
shot a bear." "Is that so? Where is he?" He told me 
the bear was back in the woods, and after he had given 
him four shots, all the buckshot cartridges he had with 
him, and had succeeded in knocking him out of a tree, 
the bear set up such a terrible scream that he thought 
he must have gotten into a bear's den, and all the other 
bears in that country round about would be down on 
him, and as he had nothing but fine shot cartridges 
with Avhich to fight them he had concluded that discre- 
tion was the better part of valor, and had taken to his 
heels, leaving the bear lying on his back, still screaming 
for help. 
I told him my .45-90 was full of cartridges, and that 
seemed to inflate him with renewed courage, and we 
started back to the scene of the bear massacre, full of 
grit, and at the same time feeling our way carefully. 
When we reached the point in the woods where the 
bear was first sighted Mat said: "I started the bear 
here, and he ran up that little hill toward that great 
hemlock tree, and climbed the tree." We went up to 
the tree, and sure enough, there lay the bear flat on 
his back, as the old hunters say. "dead as a colt." Mat 
said he had run the bear up this tree, and as he had 
neared the top above a fork in the tree, which was 
hidden somewhat from the point where we then stood 
by foliage, he fired his first shot and the bear fell back 
into the fork. I looked up at the point indicated, and 
said: "What is that in the fork of the tree now?" "There 
is a bear up there yet!" he exclaimed, and this proved 
upon further investigation to be another dead bear. 
The facts were, when he shot the first bear the bear fell 
back into the fork of the tree and lodged there dead, 
and when he stepped around the tree to get a better 
shot, as he supposed, at the same bear, he saw bear 
No. 2 still further up the tree, and from where he 
stood he could not see the bear that had lodged in the 
fork, and supposed of course it was the same bear, which 
had dislodged itself and was again climbing up the 
tree, and without waiting to investigate the bear in the 
fork of the tree he fired the second shot, and bear No. 2r 
came to the ground. He then fired two more shots at 
him, which no doubt in his excitement were not very- 
effectual ; and as the bear on the ground kept up a 
terrible screaming he decided to leave that vicinity. 
We were obliged to return to camp to get an axe, 
as the tree had to be chopped down to secure the bear 
in the fork, and we also took a horse back with us and 
hauled our game to camp, which proved to be two very 
fine black bears of the same age, and evidently of the 
same family. Their fur was quite prime, and my brother 
still has them as evidence of the truth of this story, 
which on the face of it may seem a little fishy; but it ts 
nevertheless true, and mv brother, whom I call Mat, is 
Mr. M. V. B. Ives, member of Assembly . from the sec- 
ond district of St. Lawrence county, N. Y., and the man 
who introduced the present no-hounding law into our 
State Legislature. 1- i^"^^- 
Potsdam, New York, May, 1898. 
In the Garden of Eden, 
Bassorah is situated on the Shat-el-Arab River, sixty 
miles from its mouth, whence it runs into the head of 
the Persian Gulf, and is one of the hottest places in 
the world in summer. The heat begins to slacken off 
after September has passed, and the climate from Oc- 
tober to April is delightful. We had been stationed at 
Bassorah all the summer, and were looking forward 
to the time when the snipe and duck began to make 
their appearance, which they usually do toward the end 
of October. 
On Oct. 15 two of my shipmates, A. and B., and my- 
self hired three belems. A belem is a canoe-shaped 
boat, with a very flat flooring, averaging 25ft. long and 
4ft. beam, and can stow fifteen or twenty at a pinch. 
We took 'a creAv of two Arabs for each belem, and my 
steward to superintend the cooking and commissariat, 
bur intentions were to go up the river as far as Journah, 
forty miles above Bassorah, at the point where the Eu- 
phrates, Tigris and Shat-el-Arab meet, and the gen- 
erally accepted site of the "Garden of Eden." The Gar- 
den is now a mass of date trees and paddy fields. 
Having arrived at our destination about 11 P. M., 
we passed the night in comparative peace only, ovf- 
ing to the swarms of mosquitoes and sand flies, and in 
close proximity to the celebrated Tree. We "showed a 
leg" before the sun's upper limb was clear of the hori- 
zon, and by the time we were into our shooting kit 
the steward had a fire ahght on shore and a pot of 
cocoa under way. The mornings and evenings are most 
delightful at this time of the year, but by 10 o'clock it 
begins to get a trifle warm for wading on the mud flats. 
Having packed some leaves from the Tree to send to 
our friends, we crossed over to the north bank and 
formed line on the tash— the tash being the foreshore, 
which at low water affords fine feeding ground for snipe 
