Sept. 20, 1902.] 
^28 
The smelting of ores in this region has become an im- 
portant industry. Smelters upon the upper Sacramento 
River finding it prcfitable to roast and smelt ores for 
copper and other metals are paying dividends to many 
shareholders in various parts of the world. Incidentally 
the smelters are denuding the mounta ns in a wido radius 
of all timber and vegetation. One smelter has fairly 
shown its effect in killing nearly every tree and all other 
vegetation in a circuit of ten to twelve miles in diameter. 
The devasted realm is constantly extending. Other 
smelters are being constructed and operated. Govern- 
ment agents are said to have reported upon these works 
from t me to time, but there is no CAndence that it has had 
any effect. As the business stands, corporations are doin^ 
a good business in producing copper at a considerable 
disadvantage to the commonwealth. They are denud ng 
many square miles of land to which they have no right 
nor title cf much good timber and vegetation, while they 
are also destroying many small homes, orchards and gar- 
den spots. If complaints arc strenuously pushed by in- 
dividuals the corporations sometim_es pay damages, arbi- 
trarily in which they are rather more scientific than 
just. The laws for the protection of fish and game do not 
work where there is none fcr the protection of homes, 
the health of the people or Government lands. Sometimes 
a man is arrested in th s State for killing a deer out of 
season^ or for illegally shooting duck or quail, or for 
cutting a tree or two on G'^vernment land — all of which 
is right and proper. Some of us, meanwhile, would like 
to know if corporations of considerable size are ever sus- 
cept ble to legal regulations. As one of the people in- 
terested in the protection cf the commonwealth, I would 
like to see them arise and explain why they discriminate 
between a smelter and a gun, or between a corporation 
and a chopper — always at the expense of the lesser 
nuisance. The realm being devastated by the smelters in 
Shasta county would make a magnificent public park or 
reserve, but it would now take a century or more for it 
to recover from the destruction wrought by the .fumes of 
the smelters in four or five years' operation. The region 
is worth more, for all apparent advantages, than a Philip- 
pine island. There are trout streams in it, and it has 
much cover for deer, bear, chipmunks and 'coons. 
I contemplate go'ng abroad soon with my meat gun 
and unreliable dog. If I jump anything, and see it before 
the dog does and if it is good meat, I shall shoot at it. 
If I get it I will report. Ransacker, 
Tales of the Frontier. 
II —The Midwioter Balb. 
In the open or prairie part of the Minnesota country 
all midwinter traveling in p'oneer days was not only a 
matter of discomfort but frequently of suffering and peril. 
Roads were scarcely worth the name; the climate was 
both severe and treacherous, and the open plains, swept 
by autumnal prairie fires and winter blizzards, were fre- 
quently barren to sight of any landmark whatever that 
could be depended upon to guide the traveler on his 
way; and by common consent the pioneers wisely hugged 
the straggling shelter line of the scanty timber along 
the streams; and as long as possible put off the busi- 
ness of traveling to distant poin:s until the rigor of the 
winter weather had passed away. 
My father — Or n Belknap, Sr. — lived, during the later 
'60s — on the left bank of the Des Moines River, near a 
station named Jackson, and, in the latter part_ of the 
winter of 1868-9 bus ness that could not be omitted or 
postponed called him and my stepmother to the em- 
bryo village of Spirit Lake, Iowa, some eighteen miles 
distant. ■ Choosing a morning that promised unusually 
fine weather for the coming day, they set forth in a home- 
made, one-horse cutter, drawn by the old family mare, a 
strong animal, both active and wiUing, and in every way 
reliable; and proceeded without delay or trouble 10 the 
village, and their business disposed of, were ready for 
the return journey shortly after noon. The road from 
Jackson to Spirit Lake skirted the south shore of the 
lake that gave its name to the village for a distance of 
several miles; and on the way to the village my father 
had noted that when the shore of the lake was reached 
the road forked, and the larger part of the small amount 
of midwinter travel had evidently taken to the icy sur- 
face of the lake, where for a long distance toward the 
village the d m roadway over the ice of the lake could 
be plainly followed by the eye — sometimes at a long 
way from the shore. However, he took the land road, 
and meeting with considerable difficulty from drifted 
snow at the few points where the low brush timber of 
the lake shore had prevented the snow from being ham- 
mered into hard roadway by the blizzards of early win- 
ter, he determined "to return by the trail over the ice. 
The surface of the lake was covered with ice of sev- 
eral feet in thickness, and no thought of danger from 
thin ice troubled them; but they had yet to learn of the 
terrible power of the frost king, and of the fantastic 
pranks he sometimes played with the icy surfaces of the 
northern lakes. All unconscious of impending peril, on 
their return they sped along over the smooth surface of 
the lake seated low down in the little cutter, and well 
wrapped up. while the fa thful old mare, with outstretched 
neck and nimble feet, was busilj^ pushing the miles be- 
hind them at a rate that promised an early return to the 
warm stable she was striving for. 
Finally m.y father became aware that they were grad- 
ually traveling up grade; but so very gentle was their 
ascent, and such an utter sameness met the eye as he 
glanced ahead through the simLt glare of the ice, that 
the significance of the matter did not dawn upon him 
until the old mare — still trotting swiftly along — suddenly 
commenced 10 slide down a smooth incUne nearly as 
steep as a house roof! An instant after, as the little 
sled rose to the summ t, to their horror they saw at a 
glance that, for a long distance toward the shore and 
far out into the lake, a mighty wrinkle had heaved the 
thick ice high in air; that the mare had stepped, and 
the cutter was now sliding across the wide crack in the 
ice caused by the upheaval; and that squarely in front 
and fifty yards in width — and into which they were now 
irresistibly moving — lay a vast canal of unknown depth 
and of the temperature of ice. Down theiy went, and in 
a moment the horse was swimming, and in another the 
water rose to the old gentleman's neck. 
Being severely afiflicte-d with rheumati.sm, so that every 
Tnove was made with difficulty, he could only remain 
sealed; and fortunately the box of the little sled was 
short enough, so that with his back against the back 
of the seat, he could reach the front of it with his feet 
and brace himself .solidly in position; and realizing that 
their lives now depended on the strength and fidelity of 
the horse, just as the stout old lady was gently lifted 
from her seat and floated back over the top of the cut- 
ter, crying: "O, father, help me!" he with one hand threw, 
back to her an end of the bed quilt that had been lying 
across his lap, and with the other guided the faithful' old 
mare straight toward the opposite shore; and while the 
frightened old lady floated far astern, clinging for life 
to the towline of the bed quilt, the mare swam on for 
twenty yards, where she found good footing on the 
gently sloping ice. and soon they both were safely drawn 
ashore. 
They now wrung the water from their garments and 
wrappings as best they could, and again seating them- 
selves in the cutter and wrapping up in the wet coverings, 
they plied the whip as the honest old mare had never 
felt before, and as no human habitation stood between 
them and the Des Moines River, no pause was made un- 
til the house of a neighbor was reached in the timber 
along its banks. 
Fortunately, the weather continued fine, and though 
the old gentleman was upward of 70 years of age, and 
the old lady a person all unusued to hardship or ex- 
posure, no permanent ill effects followed the sufferings 
of the homeward ride. Grin Belknap. 
In the Adirondacks* 
Old Forge, N. Y., Sept. 9,.— Editor Forest and Sirenin: 
Connected with the sad occurrence at Blue Mountain 
Lake, when Judge Storrs "accidentally" mistook his friend 
for a deer and shot him, is the fact that this eminent 
jurist was a transgressor of the game laws of the State 
of New York, which prohibit "floating" for deer. It is 
surprising that he should have set such an example, but 
he probably did not expect that his "sin would find him 
out." In what a curious attitude would he stand, or 
sit, if here upon the bench of th.s State and called itpon 
to try a poor layman for a like offense ! 
If you should be told that deer are "increasing" in this 
great forest, don't you believe it. Few people qualified to 
judge believe that they are "holding their own," and fear 
eventual extermination. There is very little "protection" 
tor them, except on principle, for not all men willingly 
transgress the laws, whether a "protector" may be in their 
vicinity or not. Hundreds of deer are killed in violation 
of law— I m ght say in defiance of law — and for each 
himdred killed I doubt if there is an average of one 
prosecution. If it were not for that part of the game 
law which places restrictions on railroads and express 
companies, there would be no end to the illegal slaughter. 
It seems to me that the article by Mr. Avis on "Manli- 
ness and Sport" in some respects answers itself, yet some- 
thing remains to be said, I think. While he declares hmi- 
self to be m favor of "killing game for sport," he as- 
serts that "while the legitimate act of killing an animal in 
the field may not be a strictly manly proceeding, yet ne ther 
is it unmanly." If "legitimate," how can it be "unman- 
ly" ? Again, if it be not "strictly manly," must not the 
negative intervene and classify it as being "unmanly"? 
One cannot serve both God and Mammon ; that which 
is not "strictly manly" must of necessity be "unmanly." 
The^ boy with the air gun shoots birds for sport. Does 
Mr. Avis approve of th.s? True, he is not shooting 
"game," but as he is killing for sport is he doing an 
act more deplorable than he who kills game for sport? 
In brief, when is the justification for killing any of God's 
creatures simply for "sport" ? I can see nothing of "d g- 
nity," "bravery" or "boldness" in the man who slaugh- 
ters simply for "sport." 
Is it not time to. cease characterizing the killing of men 
by hunters as "accidents" ? According to the lexicogra- 
phers, an accident is an occurrence whxh can not be 
avoided. To' mistake a man tor a deer can be avoided, 
therefore an "accident" does not arise from such an error. 
To characterize such killing as carelessness or heedlessness 
IS too mild; moral guilt really attaches to the act. for the 
killer does not exercise e.ther the reason or intelligence 
with v/hich he is supposed to be endowed. A capable 
hunter will never fire by guess; that is, he will always 
be sure of the object at which he fires, taking no chances. 
With this rule closely followed by inexperienced hunters, 
they will have very infrequent occas.on to bemoan the 
killing of a friend or companion. Remember the saying 
of Davy CrockotI, "Be sure you arc right and then go 
ahead." 
The story is current in the Adirondacks and quite gen- 
erally believed, that the Central Railroad management 
is to. acqu.re several hotel properties and operate them — 
notably .the Stevens House, at Lake Placid, and Paul 
Smith's, A large hotel on the Fourth Lake of the Fulton 
Chain is also said to. be projected, on real estate owned 
by Dr. Webb. 
The development of the first four lakes of this chain 
during the last fourteen years, ha'S been marvelous. 
When I came through the chain from Paid vSmith's in 
1888, a small house on Cedar Island (Fourth Lake), a log 
house on Third Lake, and an indifferent building at the 
foot of- the chain, where the large and commodious Forge 
House now stands, were the only structures to be seen, 
with the possible exception of iLou Wood.s'. Now the 
Arrow Head, Rock Point Inn, Eagle Bay, Cedar Island, 
Bald Mountain House, and the Forge are excellent and 
well-patronized hostelries, and about two hundred and 
fifty or more camps line -the shores, among them the 
late ex-President Harrison's, now occupied by his w.dow. 
The Central Railroad Company owns the steamboats 
which ply upon these lakes at extortionate rates of fare. 
also the two miles of railroad from the main line to Old 
Forge, upon which the fare is twenty-five cents. 
The railroad from the main line at Clearwater to 
Raquette Lake, touches the head of Fourth Lake, and 
by that route many guests of the upper hotels go, so that 
road controls all travel by boat or railroad. While the rail- 
road is said to be owned by a private company of nabobs, 
it is really a part oi the Central's system. A considerable 
part of this road is upon State land, in direct violation of 
the constitutional declaration that the public lands "shall 
not be sold, leased, or otherwise disposed of," and yet 
there was no State authority to interfere while the road 
was being built. Poor State! The goose is almost 
wholly bereft of feathers, and very soon private interests 
will take the goose itself. The forest is doomed; it must 
h'^ lost to the people through private greed and official dis- 
honesty. The evils cry to heaven, but there is none to 
abate them. The people are powerless; their representa- 
tives are omnipotent. 
In front of this, the Forge House, lie several castings 
\\hich it is said, represent an expenditure of something 
like $100,000. A century ago John Brown came here from 
Boston and bought 300,000 acres of forest, since known as 
the "Brown tract." Subsequently his son-in-law, a 
Frenchman, was associated w.th him in an attempt to 
establish a colony and make a clearing for raising produce 
for its support, and opening an iron mine for employ- 
ment. A fotmdry was built, forging apparatus installed 
(hence Old Forge) and one ton of iron had been pro- 
duced wiien the enterprise collapsed. The son-in-law, 
who had been left in sole possession of the property, 
made a last draft on a Boston bank, which was dis- 
honored because of the bank's knowledge of the fallacy of 
the undertaking, whereupon the manager of the property 
went to the mine and there shot himself. The colony at 
or.ce di.sbanded, and the members of it emerged from the 
forest as l>est they could, with considerable amounts of 
money due, leaving herds of cattle and flocks of sheep to 
run wild or die, the latter being their fate. It was a 
curious, visionary project which possessed John Brown, 
robbing him of his fortune and making a physical wreck 
cf h.m. His son-in-law was doubtless insane. There are 
various evidences still remain ng of this wild adventure 
and the dreams of the adventurers, which with other 
facts would make a lengthy historical chapter. And "Old 
i'orgc" is likely to live as a name indefinitely for that 
for which it stands. There are other historic incidents 
and events connected with the place fit for a second 
chapter. D. H. B. 
A Summer on the Labrador. 
A ROCK-BOUND coast, massive, irregular and bleak, with 
liere and there a bunch of stunted birch or spruce, a 
patch of drifted snow or a few sod-covered huts, the 
-Atlantic l.ne of the Labrador Peninsula extends from 
the Strait ^of Belle Isle to Cape Chidley, a distance of 
nearly sev'en hundred miles. With its whole length 
indented by numerous bays and inlets, some of which 
stretch many miles into the interior, a line which fol- 
lowed the coast would of course exceed this distance 
many times. Nuniberless islands, barren of all growth 
other than that of moss and lichen, and without any 
uniform shape or size, skirt the coast almost continuous- 
ly, in some places extending seaward for twenty-five 
miles. 
The mainland, however, does not carry out the idea 
of barrenness suggested by these islands, for over most 
of the length of the peninsula a thick groAvth of low 
shrubs and berry vines is found, and in the southern 
half, in the swampy ground and around the heads of 
bays, a fair growth of birch, spruce and fir. Labrador 
was first visited by Lief son of Eric the Red, about the 
year 1,000. and from its desolate rocky coast, he called it 
Ilelluland, "Strong Land." In 1498 Sebastian Cabot 
skirted the whole coast to beyond Capfe Chidley, and in 
1504 the town of Brest was founded by the French on 
Bradore Bay, near the Strait of Belle Isle. Whether 
the name Labrador is derived from "La Bradore," the 
name of a Basque whaler who settled early on the 
coast, or from the Portuguese word for laborer, from 
the fact that Corteral in the early part of the sixteenth 
century brought home a cargo of natives as slaves, or as 
some cla m, from "La-bras-d'or," from its suppo.sed 
mineral richness, seems to be unsettled. Among the in- 
l:al,)itants and fishermen who frequent the coast it is 
known simply as "The Labrador," Its total area com- 
prises about 500.000 square miles, of which a large part 
between Hudson and Ungava bay.s is wholly unknown, 
except to the wandering bands of Eskimos whose hunts 
occasionally take them inland. That part of Labrador 
including the coast line is tinder the jurisdiction of 
Newfoundland, having been annexed by the British Gov- 
ernment in 176,^. In 1774 it was placed under the juris- 
dicticn of Canada, and in 1809 was again annexed to 
Newfoundland, to whose Government it is still united. 
The cruise of a Newfoundland "fisherman" to this 
coast is not an unusual event. Every year during the ' 
early snmuier months from fifteen hundred to two 
thousand ves.sels varying in size ■ from twenty-five , to 
seventy-five tons, leave all parts of the: Newfoundland 
coast tind luakc tip the great Labrador codfishing fleet, 
whose catch is finally distributed principally among the 
countries .liordering on the Mediterranean. 
This nidustry takes men, women and children in large 
numbers from Newfoundland, and the summer is passed 
by them either on the schooners or in the temporary 
.^un■'.mer huts. There is much of a heroic nature in the 
lives cf the people engaged in this industry. Venturing 
in vessels often tmfitted to withstand the severe weather 
met, to a coast 'which has neither lighthouse, buoy, nor 
any giiidc (other than occasional "American men." signi- 
fying bold sh<n-e), which is imperfectly charted and an 
accurate knowledge of which can only be gained by re- 
peated visits, they undergo much privation and hard- 
ship, often suffering shipwreck and the loss of the sum- 
mer's work. The cruise of the Lily of the North, a "'fish- 
eiTnan" of eighty tons, during the summer of 1900, how- 
ever, combined an unusual errand with several unex- 
pected, if not unusual incidents. Wh le it was originally 
intended that contact with the Labrador shore should be 
simply incidental to the trip, circumstances left no choice 
