The New York herald., 1921-06-26
, HISTORY OF THE ADIRoNDAcKs.


,,strated New York: The Century Co.
all the many thousands of Amer
leans who have become lovers OF
" and dwellers in the Great North
Woods" scarcely single one. until now, mas
undertaken to record definitely this won
derful tract of wilderness embedded ana
hidden like gem inside the less peautlui
boulders Of civilization which the morane Vi
time has strewn upon the upper counues
of New York State AS natural preserve
IL remained unique for many years, and now
legal protection defends 1t from the camp
fire of the careless hunter and the ruthless
AK of the lumberman.
Mr.. Donaldson's book Is laid out on am
bilious lines and he has done genuine SER
vice to the public in collecting and collat-
ing an enormous amount of pertinent
material, filled with details and definite in
formation. yet keeping it within reasonable
bounds. Two volumes, each of nearly 4oo
large pages, are packed with the results OF
his labor of love. Like most books written
in that spirit, this one incites the reader
from the beginning. and the whole stands
as formal record, drawn in large measure
from such original sources as the narratives
of some of the pioneers in this extraordinary
region; in many cases from their spoken
words The author has lived in the Adiron-
dacks for twenty-five years. Naturally, ne
geographical and historical. While this is
the first book to present a history of the
North Woods, which is to be taken as the
standard authority on the whole subject, a
very great Adirondack literature has ac-
cumulated during the last eighty years ana
Mr. Donaldson appends exhaustive bibn-
ography of his subject in nearly seventy
pages, including articles in year books, State
and county histories. pamphlets and maga-
.~lge hA-
ginning with Charles Fenno Hoffman's
'ewild Scenes in Forest and Prairie" which
was published in London in 1899 and re-
printed In New York in 1S43. ". d. Syl-
vester's Historical Sketches" which ap-
peared in 1877, Is the only book of great
value until this one. And the index fills
nearly twenty pages in small type in closely
set double columns. The author has put
everything into his book which was to be
found germane to his work. Such devoted
labor has brought its own reward in his
tory, which must remain the standard for
many years. Whatever is written of this
great district hereafter is likely to rest upon
Mr.. Donaldson's broad foundation. The
Illustrations are we'll printed from photo
graphs and include many interesting por-
traits. Maps and diagrams add to the
genuine value OF this notable book.
For nearly two hundred years after Cham
plain, the first white man who looked upon
the Adirondack Mountains. In 1908. the
whole great district remained internally
"unrealized and unpenetrated." save by In
dians. Civilization grew all around it. along
Lake Champan the st. Lawrence River,
along the Mohawk and the Hudson, but
within this circle of increasing population
lay vast mysterious and undiscovered ter
ritory. AS Mr.. Donaldson puts IT. STANLEY
had found DIR. Livingstone and familarized
the world with the depths of Africa before
the average New Yorker knew anything
definite about the wonderful wilderness