658 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[April 29 , 1911 . 
Conditions in the Adirondacks. 
Remsen, N. Y., April 21.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: 1 know both viewpoints as regards the 
work of the Forest, Fish and Game Commission. 
Looking at it from the outside I have seen the 
conditions which existed a few years ago, and 
as an employe of the commission I learned the 
difficulties under which a man labors when en¬ 
deavoring to enforce the laws. 
Fortunately I have in large measure the con¬ 
fidence of many friends who know the woods 
up the West Canada Creek, in Herkimer .county. 
They talk to me now as freely as they did be¬ 
fore I went into the forestry department. Things 
that 1 do not know of personal knowledge I 
hear about as much as ever, probably more. 
Neither Rawson L. Hayes nor “A Sympa¬ 
thizer’ is all right nor all wrong in his views. 
No doubt there are violations at intervals in all 
parts of the Adirondacks, but I doubt if these 
writers are justified in taking such a melancholy 
view as they do of existing conditions. 
There are several classes of violators. First, 
those who violate “because everybody does" ; 
second, those who violate when they think it 
is safe; third, habitual violators for profit, 
psychological or coin. 
The instant game protectors discover a bad 
condition of affairs and make arrests all of the 
first class stop their violations. These simply 
want their share of game. The second class, 
however, violate on opportunity. 1 heii activi¬ 
ties are curtailed half at least and sometimes 
more on the first suspicion of danger of cap¬ 
ture, for they are cowards at heart. The third 
class never stop violating, except when they go 
to jail, and if “A Sympathizer” and Mr. Hayes 
will look up the records, they will find that 
many of these habitual violators have ceased 
their activities for months during sojourn in jail. 
Every protector keeps special tab on them and 
on known members of class two. 
One great difficulty is the fact that so many 
men who should set good examples set very bad 
ones instead. This applies to summer visitors, 
leading residents, politicians and “rich fellers.” 
One game hog will make a hundred other men 
angry enough to shoot deer or catch trout. 
Within a year or two a prominent man was 
caught with his valises full of venison which he 
was taking to market. Certain smart sets do 
not hesitate to serve venison or trout at special 
dinners when the law does not allow. This is 
done in the presence of guides or other em¬ 
ployes, and these guides dare not protest. Guides 
are even expected to furnish the meat or fish 
for the feasts. 
There is not a guide in the Adirondacks who 
does not know that, generally speaking, if the 
“party” does not kill a deer then the guide must 
do it. Perhaps one or two guides kill the six 
or seven deer of a party. These are often men 
who boast of killing the deer and who claim to 
be sportsmen. If a man is not able to kill his 
deer, a hunter or guide in the party will kill 
it for him. There are dozens of little sports¬ 
men’s clubs, and often members chip in to de¬ 
fend some law breaker friend who “happened to 
be caught.” They even try to influence the 
officials. Thus the very men for whom the game is 
preserved—the guides and the hunters—join hands 
in exterminating it by illegal methods. Hotels 
are often hotbeds of illegal work and some who 
shout loudest about violations are themselves 
closest to the actual work done, know it from 
experience as well as observation. 
What Mr. Hayes says about using the tele¬ 
phone is true. Protectors are often headed off 
by warnings sent by telephone. A protector 
often goes into a locality and finds not one man, 
woodsman or visitor, willing to lend him a help¬ 
ing hand or give him a tip. He works blindly 
half the time. Yet in spite of all odds the pro¬ 
tectors cut violations down to the minimum. 
They undergo real hardships, go hungry, travel 
through the back ways of the woods, and the 
result is that there are not a quarter as many 
violations now as there were a few years ago. 
The fact that the protectors get more cases now 
than before simply shows that their efficiency 
is many fold greater than ever before. 
The law breaker is obliged to adopt stratagems 
and tricks not needed a few years ago. In spite 
of this he is caught sooner or later. The hun¬ 
dreds of cases pressed to conviction by the de¬ 
partment is proof that the law is being enforced. 
If greater proof were needed, it is found in the 
numbers of deer in places where a few years ago 
they were scarce. Deer are scarce when killed 
off; plenty when laws are enforced. 
From one hotel forty deer were killed last 
year. For years hunters had killed few from 
that place. Years ago hunters from one village 
had to go thirty or forty miles to get their deer. 
Now they can go a few miles, camp beside the 
road and get as many deer as they need. 
If an analysis of the department records were 
made, it would probably show that a portion of 
every sort of woods visitors are violators. Judges 
have been offenders, and protectors view with 
suspicion lawyers, doctors, preachers and visitors 
of all kinds. The protectors know the natives 
Having more frequent opportunity, perhaps the 
woodsman is more destructive to game, but when 
woodsmen see the law enforced against some of 
the outrageous summer visitors, they are kindlier 
toward the game and more friendly toward the 
game protector. Every woodsman hates the 
hypocrite who cries for game protection from 
everyone but himself. 
The six-inch trout law is violated, but not so 
frequently as of old. The hundreds who have 
been haled to court with small trout realize that 
it is a real law. There is a good deal of law- 
abiding sentiment stirred up by the fact that 
even a fish hog hates to be caught with finger- 
ling trout. The little clubs could do much to¬ 
ward saving fingerling trout by refraining from 
saving all their legal trout to carry out while 
they eat the trout they would be ashamed to 
have a protector see. 
When they get into the woods in parties men 
are often like a crowd of boys. If they are law- 
abiding, well and good, but if one of them makes 
fun of the law and violates it “just for a joke” 
he leavens the lump with evil. This is especially 
true when the violator is a capable woodsman, 
a first class shot and fisherman and the life of 
the party. He kills the first deer generally, then 
kills a deer for the stick of the party, and an¬ 
other for the unlucky man. It would take cour¬ 
age to protest against the vio'ations of such 
men, and many of the little clubs are deficient 
in courage. “Oh, well, you couldn’t violate the 
law if you tried,” the able woodsman says, and 
the protestor, having less skill but more morals, 
(Continued on page 677.) 
New York Legislature. 
Albany, N. Y., April 24 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: The Assembly has passed these bills: 
Assemblyman Shannon’s, in relation to the open 
season for fishing on Lake Keuka. Assembly- 
man A. E. Smith’s, providing for the protection 
of forests from fire. Assemblyman Sullivan’s, in 
regard to the open season for lake trout and 
white fish. Assemblyman Sullivan’s in relation 
to taking English snipe in Erie and Chautauqua 
counties. Assemblyman Waring’s, in relation tc 
quail in Dutchess and Ulster counties. 
Bills introduced: 
By Assemblyman Evans, of Sullivan, providing 
that the open season for deer in the town ol 
Neversink, Sullivan county, shall be from Oct. if 
to Oct. 31, both inclusive. 
E. C. C. 
Migrating Wild Geese. 
Early in March last, as Charles Greer, of Rye 
N. Y., was standing by his wildfowl pond 
watching his Canada geese, he heard gees' 
talking far off and looking skyward saw passinj 
over a large flock, numbering perhaps 25. 
The tame geese called vigorously to the wil 
ones, and presently the migrating flock turned 
swung around once or twice, and at last mos 
of them alighted in the pond with the tarn 
geese. For some time they stayed there, an 
then a part went away, no doubt to continu 
their journey; but there were six of the wil 
that remained with the tame geese for som 
weeks. These seemed to lose all shynes: 
following anyone who walked along the margi 
of the pond scattering corn, much as the tarn 
wild geese did. 
On one occasion when Mr. Greer saw h: 
retriever on the opposite side of the pond an 
whistled to him, the dog jumped into the. watt 
and swam across, and these wild geese follows 
the swirrjming dog with the appearance of tl 
greatest curiosity, sometimes coming up 1 
within nine or ten feet of it. About the iol 
or 12th of April, however, these six wild gee: 
disappeared and have probably before no 
reached their breeding grounds in the North. 
Notes on Protection. 
President Taft recently set aside more th: 
300,000 acres in Humboldt county, Cal., as 
national forest to be called the Santa Rosa N 
tional Forest. 
The Minnesota Legislature, recently adjournc 
enacted a forestry bill for that State. 
The cold storage bill passed not long ago 
the New Jersey Legislature was signed by Go 
ernor Wilson, April 21. The bill limits t 
period during which food stuffs may be ke 
in cold storage to ten months. It is expect 
to work a revolution in cold storage methoc 
and to do not a little for the public health. 
For Commissioner. 
At the last monthly meeting of the Sprin 
field Fish and Game Association, George 
Graham, its secretary, was strongly endorsed 
& candidate for the vacancy in the Massac! 
setts Fish and Game Commission, or for co 
missioner, if the Legislature decides to sub* 
tute one head for the present commissioners 
