The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1942-09-10


Washington. d. C.-WNU Service.
Iroquois Indians, seeking beaver
pelts in the mountains of what is
now northern New York state,
sometimes found a dead campfire
and traces of moccasined feet lead
ing off to the north. A hunting
party from one .nof the hated Al
gonquin tribes of Canada had
passed this way.
The lips of the Iroquois curled in
mocking scorn.
deep in their throats. ''Hatirontak"
("Tree-eaters," or "They eat
trees").
This was an insult, a fighting
word. For thus the proud Iroquois
contemptuously implied that these
northern woods rovers lived by
grubbing about for roots and bark
like famished animals-as indeed
they may have done in famine times
when game eluded their arrows.
The name stuck-but not to
mere Algonquin tribe. White men
liked its tripping, rhythmic sound,
and they came to apply it, In time,
to this whole wide wilderness where
wandering bands of ''Hatirontaks,"
or Adirondacks, once fought the Iro-
quois. The Adirondack mountains
had acquired a name.
Is sAir Conditioned Roof.
Today. paleface tribes from the
cities pour into this land of ever
green and birch, of avalanche
SCARED peaks and densely wooded
slopes, of bubbling trout streams
and clear, cold lakes-the air.
conditioned roof of New York state.
Their heads have stood much
higher than they are today. Time,
with ice and water, lowered the
SUBMITS. Glaciers, grinding down
the valleys and dumping debris,
formed lakes and ponds-some 300
of them. Evergreens and hard
woods blanket the slopes, for trees
thrive in this light, thin soil where
| little else will grow.
In the deep woods the hermit
| thrush sounds his flute. Deer often
wander across the roads at night
and from the dim distant shore of
a lake rings the maniacal laugh of
a loon.
b Heading into the mountains from
the southwest, through Rome, you
cross the fertile Mohawk valley, to-
day a peaceful pastoral in silver
and green, but once-during the
Revolution-the scene of savage at
tacks by scalp-crazy Indians led by
greenclad Tory rangers.
As the road climbs higher the air
grows cooler. And now (wonder OF
wonders) if it be late August or
September when the ragweed hay
fever sneeze is loud in the land, a
miraculous change often makes it
self felt: the sneezing, snuffiing,
and weeping subside, for ragweed
in most parts of the Adirondacks is
practically unknown.
Famous For Fish.
Many fishermen come to the Adj
rondacks, for the state is continual
ly restocking these waters with ma
tive brook trout, brown trout, rain
bow trout, lake trout, whitefish,
landlocked salmon, small-mouth
and large-mouth bass, pike, pike
perch and muskellunge.
! On so peaks scattered over the
mountains, state forest fire observ-
ers are stationed, with map and tel
ephone, to watch for telltale smoke.
Above, like a huge restless hawk,
scars a state patrol plane, radio
equipped. When word of forest
fire is flashed, the rangers, under
New York state law, can draft any,
body they need for Is cents an hour.
Only one who has seen bad for
est fire can know the full horror OF
tired fury racing through the
brush and leaping from tree to tree,
250-year-old pines blazing up like
candles and consuming themselves
in trice; fierce, soaring fame lick
ing up all life, killing the fish in the
streams, putting every wild crea-
ture to panic flight and burning
alive the slow of foot; threatening
towns, leaving black desolation be-
hind, sometimes robbing the very
soil of fertility for years to come.
Nature Versus the Automobile.
Wild animals are still fairly abun
dant in the Adirondacks, but the
gasoline age has brought them new
troubles.
| Each autumn some 5000 bucks
are shot, yet still the deer thrive
AS soon as the leaves begin to red
den and fall all the graceful white
tails grow suddenly scarce; some
thing tells them that the time has
come to play the annual hide-and
seek with death.
Driving on up the Fulton chair
| onn - rn