June 19, 1909.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
977 
Pisgah F«rest Litigation. 
Raleigh, N. C., June 12. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: Some time ago I referred to what may 
be termed the double lease of the great tract of 
George Vanderbilt’s holdings, known as Pisgah 
, Forest, lying mainly in Transylvania county, and 
embracing more than 80,000 acres, for a game 
preserve. This lease was first secured by Mr. 
Addickes and others of Asheville. The lease, 
it seems, was made by Dr. Schenck, Mr. Vander¬ 
bilt’s forester, and director for a number of 
years of the School of Forestry. After Mr. 
Addickes had secured the lease, which was to a 
club of ten men, including himself, practically 
all from North Carolina, it was decided to make 
an arrangement whereby a greater club should 
take over the lease, and Chicago people and 
others to the number of more than a hundred, 
came in and got this, Mr. Addickes being re¬ 
tained as an attorney, and he and the original 
ten stockholders in the lease retaining their hunt¬ 
ing and fishing privileges. 
Now comes Mr. Vanderbilt and denies the 
right and authority of Dr. Schenck to make such 
a lease, and also the validity of the papers held 
by the syndicate. The latter, it is intimated, will 
fight for what they term their rights, a large 
sum of money having passed already, two years’ 
lease money having been paid in, and so the 
whole affair is likely to get into the courts. Dr. 
Schenck has resigned, his resignation taking 
effect Nov. i. The doctor’s school of forestry 
has been located in Pisgah Forest during the 
summer and in the winter has been in the 
suburbs of Asheville. There are intimations that 
Dr. Schenck may continue his school of forestry, 
perhaps leasing part of the vast “boundary” of 
the Highland Forest Company, near Highlands, 
in Macon county. Dr. Schenck has made the 
school of forestry very noted not only in 
America, but in Europe. 
Last month, by proclamation. Governor Kitchin, 
of North Carolina, declared some 110,000 acres 
of this property to be a State forest. This was 
done at Mr. Vanderbilt’s suggestion, and the 
Legislature, at its session in January and Febru¬ 
ary, enacted a iaw-—the first of its kind here— 
authorizing the governor to receive such forests 
and make them public domain, not to be sold or 
transferred, but always to be held. Mr. Van¬ 
derbilt retains his interest in the property, so to 
speak, though under particular restrictions, and 
has a right to cut timber and to hunt, fish, etc. 
The fact that this great forest, which embraces 
all the Vanderbilt property lying more than 2,000 
feet above sea level, has now become a State 
forest, has no little to do with the plan to secure 
the taking over by the nation of that vast region, 
the culminating point of the Blue Ridge and 
Smoky mountains, as a forest. One of the argu¬ 
ments which has been advanced by Speaker 
Cannon and perhaps others is that North Caro¬ 
lina has not shown a spirit of conservation, but 
has sold the lands. As a matter of fact, directly 
after the Revolution vast areas of the land in 
the mountain region and in Tennessee (which 
was then part of North Carolina) were granted, 
generally for merely nominal sums, to men who 
had figured in the great war. Some of these 
grants covered more than 200,000 acres. Then 
the holders sold the lands and the latter became 
divided into small areas. The State still had 
lands here and there which have been sold from 
time to time under grants, generally at fifty cents 
an acre, though under recent laws the price has 
been advanced. 
In a quiet way the water-powers in this State 
and elsewhere are being secured, mainly by the 
great companies or by their agents. 
Fred A. Olds. 
Round About the Crescent City. 
New Orleans, La., June 8 . — Editor Forest and 
Stream: Pre.sident Frank M. Miller and Attor¬ 
ney Amos L. Ponder, of the State Game Com¬ 
mission, have just returned from an extended 
tour of several parishes in the northern portion 
of Louisiana. Both spoke to large audiences in 
various towns on the question of the preserva¬ 
tion of game and its value to the farmer and 
the State generally as a great food supply. They 
report a most successful trip and say that the 
people over the country where they have visited 
understand the work the game commission has 
in hand better now than ever before, and scores 
of persons, who were heretofore opposed to the 
ALBINO BUCK SHOT NEAR ROACH RIVER, IN MAINE. 
commission, are avowedly for it and will work 
to maintain it. Mr. Miller says that he found 
considerable prejudice existing against the com¬ 
mission, for the reason many people had the 
idea that the body was created and was work¬ 
ing for the sole benefit of New Orleans as a 
market. He states that when it was explained 
that the laws for the protection of fish and 
game and animals were being enforced in all 
portions of the State and in every parish, they 
were convinced and are now friends of that 
body. 
The commission has secured a preserve of 
several thousand acres in Lincoln parish to be 
stocked with Chinese pheasants to be brought 
from Oregon. This will be an experiment and 
if successful, other pheasants will be supplied 
to more parishes. It is also announced that a 
preserve has been secured comprising 12,000 
acres of land in Webster parish in the northern 
portion of the State. It will be stocked with 
deer and wild turkeys. In Winn parish another 
preserve has been secured consisting of 8,000 
acres of land to be stocked with deer and wild 
turkeys. It is proposed to have these preserves 
in all portions of the State, the birds and animals 
to be absolutely protected for several years at 
least. The result of these experiments will be 
to replenish the game and animals of Louisiana 
many fold in a short time. The use of the pre¬ 
serves is to be given to the commission free of 
charge and they are to be under the control of 
a game warden supported by the commission. 
F. G. G. 
Elk for the Big Horn Mountains. 
Cheyenne, Wyo., June 10. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: Arrangements have been made by the 
State Game Warden and the Rod and Gun Club, 
of Sheridan, Wyo., for the restocking of the 
Big Horn Mountains with live elk. The Big 
Horn Mountains are a high and rugged chain 
of the Rocky Mountain system running for sev¬ 
eral hundred miles through the north central 
part of the State in Big Horn and Sheridan 
counties. They were formerly the feeding 
grounds of many elk, when the State was so 
wild that hunting was unrestricted, but only a 
few now feed in that part of the State. In the 
Jackson’s Hole country in the western part of 
the State there are yet about 35,000 live elk 
which can easily be captured in winter and trans¬ 
ported to any locality desired. 
The Sheridan Rod and Gun Club at a meeting 
this week voted to accept a proposition made 
by the State game warden to supply them with 
from fifty to one hundred live young elk for 
the purpose of restocking the Big Horn Moun¬ 
tains. These elk will be about six months old 
when received by the club. They will be cared 
for on some large stock ranch during the com¬ 
ing winter and turned loose in some wild part 
of the mountains in the spring. Howard Eaton 
will take the responsibility of caring for and 
feeding the elk until they are liberated, and the 
club will bear the expense. This practice may 
be carried on for several years, during which 
time hunting in that part of the State will be 
restricted. Elk increase very fast, and it is 
figured that within a few years the Big Horn 
Mountains will again be a fine hunting ground. 
W. A. Bartlett. 
An Albino Buck 
Worcester, Mass., June 10.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: I inclose photograph of an albino deer 
which was shot by Carl 1 . Sawyer, of Roach 
River, Me., within a mile of the farm. 
I think this is as fine a specimen as I have 
ever seen. Some months ago I sent you a photo¬ 
graph of an albino doe deer which I took at Mud 
Pond, near Ragged Lake. Mr. Sawyer’s deer 
was shot within four miles of that place. 
Charles A. Allen. 
Recent Publications. 
The Houseboat Book, by William F. Waugh. 
Bound in boards, 211 pages, illustrated from 
photographs. Chicago, The Clinic Publish¬ 
ing Company. 
Dr. Waugh’s log of a shanty boat cruise from 
Chicago to New Orleans appeared some time 
ago under this title and the present book is a 
newer edition. The log relates mainly to the 
mistakes made by a family party who tried to 
navigate the canal and Illinois River on their 
way to the Mississippi. They finally succeeded 
after many disappointments, and eventually 
reached New Orleans. 
