Evening star., 1886-09-04
IN THE NEW YORK WILDERNESS,

Some ~ the ThinEs which Make Sum.
ner Attractive I'm she Adironaaeks.
MrNfSe EHTHRPRBE WHICH .HnEn II 4
gRAGBDY-A RHGIoM UsEFuL ONLY AZ 4
HEALTH RESORT AND GAME PREsKnVn-
WHERE THE PRESIDENT IA
Correspondence Of TIE EvxNrxe STAR.
IN THE WILnERNEss, August 3l.-The local
name for this region Of the Adirondack wilder
ness lying about the Fulton chain Of lakes 70
Browns Tract Many people even here In the
woods call 1t John Browns Tract, supposing It
took its name from the old hero OF HarpoEs
Ferry, whore bones now rest beneath Q huge
boulder In the town Of North Elba, Essex
county, about 90 miles from the spot where I
am writing this. But though poor old John
Brown meditated the blow at slavery which
afterwards cost him his life upon his rocky ana
barren clearance" in North Elba, not for him
was Browns Tract named. The Brown who
gave gave his ~ pams to the TRACT was wealthy gen.
sman Of who early II the
thinking these hills contained iron and other
minerals IN quantities tnat would give him a
here to establish furnaces and convert the ore
into useful metal. Immense sums were sunk
ip opening mp Cue ore-beds and starting the fur.
naces. The ore was Of superior quality, but
the beds proved shallow and the output scant.
It was soon found that by no possibility could .
ar pIsn pc nd y
browns unhappy son-iri-law, driven to despera.
ti0n by broodiny over the fortune thus sunk in
the wilderness, went one day to the ore-pin
BLEW OUT HIS BRAINS
Thus ended perhaps the earliest attempt at
developing the mineral deposits of this portion
Of the Adirondacks. Thousands OF other at
temgts have since been made. A few have
them, but the great majority were almost as
bad failures Is the tragically ending one related
mines havs since been discovered in the Adi-
rondacks, but with the exception Of few iron
and mica mines, vastly more money has been
put into them than will ever be taken out. It
is said that in the attempt to develop single
silver mine Ia the Beaver river region north OF
here, fully half million dollars have been
sunk, with steadily decreasing prospects Of
reaching "pay dirt" PROBABLY the most remu-
nerative mine in this region is a mica mine not
lar north, which Is said to be rapidly making
millionaire OF Utica stove manufacturer who
controls it. Mica is found in many places in
these mountains but Il rule 1t is Of an infe-
riOr quality. which hardly pays TO mine.
A FARMING VENTURE
almost on the very spot where The Rhode Island
man established his furnace or forge, as it was
called, met with little better success. A large
tract was cleared in the valley along the outlet
OF the lakes and on the mountain side, and
brave at, attempt Ina made to induce the weak and
vain, and amid the dense growth OF young tim
Der ON the mountains the hunter now w0nder-
AHSI5 COuIcS upon Tile TluSeS H0ere Gillrty years
ago corn and potatoes were planted that never
paid tor cutting or digging. A few acres of the
once extensive "clearance' have been preserved
rom the new forest growth to serve as u garden
for the sold Forge House." famous woodland
hosiery just at the foot Of the lakes, where
many generations OF fishers have eaten their
Venlson and trout and drank their "cherry," >" on
their way In and out OF the woods. The land
tn here about the lakes, ungenerous alike in its
yield a, Of 4. minerals and OF crops, might be @ ex.
even this II does not do. The unbroken woods
that cover tine mountains in every direction
almost to their SUBMITS contain lew Of those
"monarchs OF the forest" which all new corners
naturally expect to find The. trees, as rule,
are small and scraggy, even the hemlOcks being
hardly large enough 10 cut for their bark. Thus
it will DO seen that the only uses to which this
vast wilderness can be put are those of
A GREAT GAME PRESERVE,
health resort and distributing reservoir for the
waters OF The rivers which take their rise in the
mountains and irrigate SO many rich and beau
tiiul valleys on their way to the sea. And 1t is
the Intention OF the state authorities OF, New
York TO do all in their power TO preserve this
wilderness i0r the purposes above enumerated
especially as u reservoir from which the Hud.
son, the Black river, the Salmon, the Beaver
and many other smaller but by no means un-
important streams derive AN almost unifol III
least doubt that ii tuese mountains were de-
nuded Of the dense growth OF timber which
now covers them, the streams above named
would seriously shrink away in summer, and
some of them dry up altogether; while in the
sprIug their valleys would be overfiowed by
sudden aud destructive ireshets, wnicn would
result from the rapid melting Of the snow ON
the unprotected mountain sides under the first
warm sunshine and showers Of April. The
now owns considerable tracts OF land In this
regton and steps are taking TO secure tor II con-
troll OF otner large tracts which were given years
ago to railroad company on condition that q
road should be built into the Fulton chain OF
lakes. Tue road was never built, and now the
state is seeking to regain possession of the land,
and will no doubt succeed. At present the peo-
and the sportsmen who come in every summer
70 hunt and hsn,
DON'T WANT RAILROAD.
They feel, and they are right, that railroad
would destroy the great charm of this wild and
sequestered region almost the most inaccessi-
ole in the whole Adirondack range, though in
actual miles much nearer TO civilization than
many more generally freQuented spots. Not
only would the region lose its great charm Of
WiIdness and loneliness, but, what is perhaps,
more important, the game and liah, now moder-
ateiy abundant, would soon become exha US ed
il q railroad Degan dumping along the shores
OF these beautiful lakes the noisy holiday
crowds Of the city. Even as it is. with many
miles OF indeScribably bad road 70 be Travelled
on loot or buckboard. the crowds coming into
the woods this year are greater than ever be-
lore, aud ne" camps are sprlnging up along
the shores of the lakes with u frequency quite
alarming and distressing to Old woodsinen.
On the other hand, steps are being taken, and
with apparent success, 10 keep up
THE SUPPLY OF FISH AND GAME
to meet the ever-increasing number of sports
men, old and new, but mainly the latter, who
annually seek these woods o break their rods
aud burn their powder. Boonville, town on
the Back River railroad, which is the gate way
70 the woods, and where the traveller begins uis
tnirty.inie wagon ride, Is, OF course, greatly
interested In keeping up the travel this way.
With this object In view u spOrtsmen's club has
been organized there and u hatchery built on
the Fourth lake, on which our camp Is situated
In .his hatchery, beginning this fall IL Is in
tended to hatch every year large quantities OF
keep up the supply in the lakes The state
game laws which have been made very strin-
gent and effective within the last few years.
are now enforced better than ever before. This
perceptibly; and as long as this state o. affairs
continues there Is little danger that the
popularity OF the Fulton chain Of lakes
viii greatly fall of. The guides aud camp
keepers, who few years ago were bitterly
opposed to the game laws, now see it Is for their
own interests to have them rigidly enforced
and thus insure the annual influx of sportsmen
who give them employment and patronage.
Consequently. the guides give valuable aid 70
the state game constable In his endeavor to
prevent the killing OF deer out Of season. In
TACT the guides enforce the law, because with.
out their cooperation the game constable could
do nothing, as this tme district Is SO la.Ge that
tue constable can'L get over IL more than once
or twice In u S6:ssOn-tlat iS, he can reach the
principal points In 1t during that time. TIE
more remote and unfreQueuted regions he
never reaches at ALL aud 50, Ii it not tor the
aid Of the guides, the slaughter OF deer would 20
on In season ana OUT
THE AVERAGE ELEVATION
about the lakes here Is between fifteen and
eighteen hundred ieet. The spot on which our
camp is situated Is !, TOO feet above sea level.
Bald mountain (by the way, was there ever q
range of hills that didn't have bald noun.
t0ir1 1Anln IhemYl Ik 7V