10 VIKU

DEALING WITH TIMBER THIEVES AND TRESPASSERS.

During the past year the obligation of dealing with the class of people above designated has, of necessity, largely engrossed the thoughts and time of the Commissioners, making serious demands on both, not, however, without what must be regarded as very satisfactory consequences.

The efforts of the Commission have been rewarded (omitting mention here of other advantages gained) by two prominent results,

viz.:

First. The payment into the State treasury of moneys received for trespasses, and for timber illegally cut upon State lands, the sum of $14,057.09.

Second. The complete arrest, which promises to be a permanent stoppage, of all trespassing, timber thieving and depredations of all sorts on State lands. During the coming year it is probable that there may be some petty thieving and small acts of an illegal character committed, but the Commission has the best reasons for regarding all organized plundering operations and consequential spoliations as ended, for so long, at least, as a Commission is in existence of whom evil-doers stand in fear.

The most that, at the beginning, was expected from the Commission by its most ardent friends was that it should accomplish the second result before mentioned in perhaps one or two years. There was no expectation of recovering for the State compensation for its previous losses. That the Commission should have reached both results so early in its career is a cause for congratulation.

In addition, as a third result of the work of the Commission, is the suppression of forest fires during the year. This subject is treated in detail, under its proper head in the following pages. At the very threshold of their work the Commissioners were confronted with the complicated and disagreeable duty of dealing peremptorily with those men who have long been in the habit of preying upon the lands of the Forest Preserve, and whose depredations have worked such harm in that section that they, if allowed to go on, would soon reduce the entire tract to waste and worthlessness. The whole subject presented many problems problems of law, of equity and of policy. It was, however, absolutely necessary to meet and solve them. These ruinous operations must be stopped if the State were to have This work was Forest Preserve to any preserve.

an essential antecedent to any other work or plans which were con templated for the future. To ascertain with certainty who were the guilty ones, to secure sufficient proof to warrant the Commission in proceeding against them, to obtain witnesses who dared, or were willing to give the information in their possession, was always extremely difficult, and sometimes impossible. As large and important as this branch of their work seemed to the Commissioners at the outset, it increased in dimensions day by day until it, in connection with all the difficulties and perplexities which environed it, assumed surprising magnitude. The results above named have been accomplished by the unwearied pursuit of trespassers, collections being made by negotiation when possible, but in many instances only through legal actions. (See tabulated statement of trespass cases, Appendix C.)

WORKING UNDER DIFFICULTIES.

Although this is technically styled a second annual report, it properly covers the first actual year's work of the Commission. Created by the Act of May 15, 1885, it was not completed by appointment until the middle of the following September, and its life really dates from the 1st of February, 1886, under the second section of the Act by which the Commission was established. At first, and for a long period after its nominal existence, the Commission had no office or place of business assigned to it, and consequently had no clerical help, office furnishings, or other such material aid as is ordinarily regarded as necessary for the transaction of business. Holding their meetings at their own places of business, or in the rooms of some hotel, the Commissioners endeavored to do what they could in the prosecution of the work before them. It was not until April, 1886, that they were permitted to occupy a suitable room in the Capitol, which, though of insufficient capacity now to meet their growing needs, has served a temporary purpose. That room was very scantily furnished and entirely void of those "modern conveniences," which are so lavishly supplied to other apartments of the Capitol. It was not easy to carry on an Important work under such circumstances, and all progress was retarded. Even now the Commission has no room for its private meetings, being obliged at times to avail itself of the courtesy of another department, and at times being driven to occupy a room at a hotel.

The records, correspondence, surveys, field notes and all data and material of every sort that were required in daily office work were scattered throughout other departments, often filed away in inaccessible places, and it became necessary to collect them. This involved much time and work, especially in re-drafting old maps and surveys and in copying field notes and other necessary documents. The offices of the Comptroller, State Engineer and the Secretary of State have been ransacked and ancient documents brought forth and copied. Such records were found to be a matter of absolute necessity in discovering and identifying lot lines. The want of accurate surveys and the disappearance of the marks of old surveys has been a source of great hinderance and perplexity in hunting down trespassers. Boundary lines often cannot be definitely established, and the uncertainty of boundaries is a perpetual city of refuge to evil-doers. Warden Garmon has encountered this difficulty again and again. Ile reports: "In view of the neglect of the State to mark its lines and corners it has been difficult in many cases to prove a willful trespass, and persons who have cut over the lines have boldly asked, 'Where is your line?' and Why is it not marked?' In fact many parties, anxious to avoid an unintentional trespass, are to-day engaged in running out the State lines at their own expense." Such maps and charts as are obtainable are often grossly inaccurate, disagreeing and conflicting with each other. Before legal steps could be taken in trespass cases it has been frequently necessary to employ a surveyor to run the lines. Inspector Carpenter says in his annual report to this Commission: "Many inaccuracies in existing maps have been corrected and a constant endeavor has been made to exhibit the lands of the State as they lie on the ground, both in relation to natural features and to each other, giving to each plot of ground its correct topographical position and showing it correctly in shape and magnitude. The State in past years has expended large sums of money with the view of correctly locating its lands according to the original surveys and of furnishing a correct map, drawn to such a scale that individual lots are plainly shown. That this has never been accomplished those best know who have had occasion to investigate the matter." It is probably safe to estimate that two-thirds of the expense attending the settlement of trespass cases is incurred in the necessary re-surveys and the establishment of lot lines. The diffi

culties attending this work are shown in the report of Inspector Carpenter, who says: "Many examinations of State lots have been made during the past season, but in every case it required an expert to locate the corners or lines. Such expert was either some local surveyor or other person who had long been à resident of the vicinity and had either discovered and followed out the lines himself, or was familiar with the traditional location of the lines and corners which had been handed down with other matters of local importance. The method of marking lines, time-honored though it may be, is not a perfect one by any means. There existed a practice among the surveyors of the last and the early part of the present centuries, when most of the surveys and allotments of these vast tracts of public lands or private grants were made, which was to mark a tree for a corner, whether it stood on a corner or not. If not, the true corner was marked by a stake (the perished monument of an hundred years ago) and a tree near at hand was marked for the corner. This is all very well when it is recorded in the original field notes and they have been preserved, but this, unfortunately, is not always the case, and it is liable to lead, and does lead, to litigation and serious complication. The line between the corners was originally marked by blazing the trees both on the true line and on trees each side of the line. As time goes on the marked trees mature, die and rot down, and the line they help to mark is broken in many places; gradually, the whole line becomes obliterated in all but a few scattered trees, and retracing involves an expensive delay in hunting up and securing the services of some local surveyor, who may slowly pick up the line from point to point, reblazing the trees as his predecessors had done. Corners have been frequently marked by 'scoring' the lot numbers on the sides of the trees facing the lot to which they belong, or 'straddle marked,' as one ancient author called it. Such marks were found on trees in many localities during last summer, all denoting signs of extreme age."

These State lands cannot be examined with any degree of certainty until the lot lines are fairly and plainly indicated, and while this is being done, the corners can be permanently marked. It is too expensive for the State to undertake it piecemeal, as has been done formerly, by hiring local surveyors, at from five to eight dollars a day and expenses. From supervisors and assessors in all parts of

the State where there are State lands comes a general demand for a re survey. "It is impossible to describe lands correctly on the tax list, or to tell whether State lands are being cut over by lumbermen unless they are resurveyed," is the burden of many letters received by the Commission.

In the work here indicated and also in searching assessment-rolls, scrutinizing tax lists and similar researches, a necessary preliminary to the present as well as to the future work of the Commission, the clerical force of the office has devoted all the time that could be spared from regular office work, the volume of which is steadily increasing. Taking it all in all the Commissioners feel that during the past year they have labored under disabilities and against obstacles which they hope and expect will largely be removed during the year upon which they have now entered.

FOREST FIRES.

Another threatening agent in the destruction of forests, as is well known, is fire. Facts and statistics on this subject have been so often and widely circulated, and the causes, treatment and methods adopted for the prevention of forest fires have been so fully discussed as to render any repetition unnecessary here.

While for the past year fires have raged with destructive fury through the forests of other sections of the country, entailing immense losses upon both States and individuals, the people of New York are to be congratulated that their forest lands have been spared. No fires of any importance have occurred in the forests of this State during the past year, and the few that have broken out have been speedily extinguished and inconsequential in their results. To provide against a constant recurrence of destructive forest fires was one of the first duties which the Commission undertook. It being provided by the act that one or more firewardens should be appointed by the Commission in each of the 234 towns in the Forest Preserve, an effort was early made to procure the names of suitable men to act in that capacity. It has not been easy to find so large a number of satisfactory men, owing to difficulties that will readily suggest themselves. Still the Commission has been as successful as could be anticipated in this respect and the force that has been appointed has proved capable and efficient wherever any service has been called for. Upon firewardens is devolved the special duties of taking such pre