Stories from the Natural World

From Gay's Gazetteer [published by W. B. Gay & Co., Syracuse, NY; reprinted in 1978]

"The army of Gen. James Sullivan, which passed through the valley in the summer of 1779, was composed of officers and soldiers from New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. The officers of the expedition were astonished at the advance the Iroquois had made in agriculture. A letter of Gen. James Clinton states that the corn was 'the finest he had ever seen.' Another officer states that there were ears of corn that measured twenty-two inches in length. The broad valleys of the Susquehanna, Chenango and Chemung, with their rich fields of corn, and orchards of apple trees, must have presented to the soldiers an inviting and attractive appearance, as contrasted with the sandy soil of New Jersey, and the rocks and harder soil of Connecticut and Massachusetts. [pp. 27-28]

"The soil of this territory is principally clay--in the valley of East creek yellow loam, with clay underlying; on the east, gravelly loam. The valleys and west hills were timbered with beech, maple, and iron-wood, the east hills with pine and hemlock." [p. 113]

"The hills were originally mostly covered with hemlock and pine, and the valleys with heavy growths of pine, oak, beech and maple. In instances the pines have reached 175 feet in height and five feet in diameter, and immense quantities of lumber of fine quality have been manufactured and sent to market at an early day from this valley."

[p. 166]

"The valley of the East Owego Creek, with its natural beauty, and its advantages for the immediate support of human life, made it seem an earthly paradise in the estimation of the natives of the rocky hills of New England; and as the venerable and honorable David Williams, of Berkshire, feelingly said, on the ninetieth anniversary of his birth: "Every blow that has been struck by man in the valley has diminished its beauty, and every farm in the town, if restored to its primitive state, would be worth more today than with all the improvements that man has made here." [1865]

"Through the valley, from the south line of Newark Valley to the north line of Berkshire, the timber was mostly hardwood, as beech, birch and maple, with white pines of great size scattered singly and in groups, with so little undergrowth that very little preparation was needed to enable a team and sled or cart to pass from one end to the other, with a moderate load.

"Every pioneer was a hunter, and deer were so plenty that no one felt a lack of meat, while the streams were so full of trout and other fish that enough could be taken for a meal in a few minutes. Even shad were abundant in the Susquehanna river in May and June, till about 1830 (when the dams built by the State of Pennsylvania, at Shamokin and Nanticoke, barred their further passage and destroyed the fisheries), the only drawback to taking them being the clearness of the water, which enabled the fish to see and avoid the nets, unless the fishing were done in the night. Often a bear would be found and killed, so that the settlers could enjoy a change in their bill of fare.

"Wolves were the great enemy of the settlers, who had hard work to protect their sheep and lambs, and a lady who has but lately died, incidentally mentioned the fact that she remembered when the wolves came into the barn-yard of Enoch Slosson, on the present village green, and killed his lambs; and persons are yet living who remember seeing wolves brought into the valley by hunters who had shot them on the hills."

[pp. 201-02]

"At the end of this second summer he (Asa Bement) returned to Stockbridge, feeling that his new home was ready for his family, so after spending most of the winter enjoying the privileges of settled society, he bought of John Brown another lot of 'boards for a Sleigh box, 2s,' 4 Feb., 1794. The place on which he settled had natural beauties and advantages equal to any in the valley, and two of its beautiful maple groves yet grace the landscape." [p. 208]

"It [home of Emanuel Coryell, built in 1791] stood near a fine 'Indian clearing' of some ten or twelve acres, about a mile above the first one, and here grew up Mr. Coryell's large family of sons and daughters.

"With the exception of lands lying continuous to the river, the country at that time was covered with forest, principally of white pine, a tree always indicating fine soil wherever it grows, but mingled with ash, maple, hickory and beech, and other valuable hard woods. These woods abound with game and the rivers with fish. The shad, that best of all river fish, came up in immense numbers every spring and were caught by the settlers in nets, the owners of the land along the river being entitled to a certain quantity for the 'land right.' These fish, salted down formed an important and very acceptable addition to the stores of the settlers. The climate was mild, though the winters were cold and invariably snowy, and there were no prevailing diseases except those caused by the malaria commonly found where forests are being cleared up." [p. 273]

"Among the poorer settlers in the town, Stephen Reynolds deserves mention. He came from eastern New York, and settled on the bank of the creek, on land belonging to Judge Coryell, where there was a 'sugar bush,' that is, a collection of maple trees, from which the maple sugar was made, which is now regarded as such an article of luxury. Mr. Reynolds was a cooper, and worked during the year from place to place at his trade, except a few weeks in the spring, when he and his family made sugar. . . . . The manufacture of sugar was, at that time, an industry of considerable importance in the country, the settlers depending on it almost entirely for their supply of that article. Parties of men would leave their homes, at the proper time in the spring, and go sometimes considerable distances into the woods, till they found a place for a 'sugar camp,' where they would stay during the sugar season, returning often with some hundreds of pounds of sugar, which they made a profitable article of merchandise."

[pp. 276-77]

"Though his education was limited to a few quarters in the district schools, he [Sampson Howell] ranks high among the scientists of his day. He has lectured on geology, mineralogy, paleontology and the animal kingdom; and has contributed much that is valuable on the subject of agriculture, ornithology and on native forest trees." [p. 289]

"The clearing up of the forests had left the country covered with pine stumps. Tog get rid of these unsightly objects became a problem of no small magnitude. The stumps of other trees would soon decay and were easily removed, but the roots of the pine, which extended to an immense distance from the trunk and were filled with turpentine, it used to be said would last forever. Various attempts were made at a somewhat early period in the history of the village to invent some machine for pulling them; but without success. The science of mechanics was not perhaps well understood, as no one seemed able to hit upon any method by which sufficient power could be obtained to dislodge these 'old settlers'. It was finally reserved for Mr. Briggs, a blacksmith in the village of Nichols, about the year 1832, to invent such a machine. It consisted of a number of cogged wheels of iron of graduated sizes working into each other, the power being obtained by what is known in mechanics as the 'decrease of motion.' In this way he constructed a machine of immense power which worked by a single yoke of oxen, not only pulled up the stumps with their tremendous roots, but was also applied to the moving of houses. By the aid of this machine, which has since then been simplified and improved, but which, it is believed, was the first successful invention of the kind, the face of the country improved rapidly, and the value of the farms very much increased. The stumps being drawn, it then became a question as to what was to be done with them. It was almost an endless task to burn them, though that often had to be done. A few were thrown into the river, but the freshets instead of carrying them down to the sea, floated them up on the flats. At length some shrewd genius conceived the idea of making them into fences, which proved a great success. They were place side by side, the roots all the same way, and when placed along the highway these roots towering into the air sometimes ten or twelve feet presented a not unpicturesque appearance, and constituted a barrier which might almost have turned an invading army. This machine ought to have brought its inventor a fortune, but he left the town not long after its completion, and the writer has no knowledge of his subsequent history."

[pp. 302-3]

"The Susquehanna river though a beautiful stream, renowned in poetry and song, has yet been found by the dwellers on its banks, very often a troublesome neighbor. For many years its waters during the spring freshets through often overflowing its banks did no very great damage. But with the receding of the forests these became more sudden and violent, and frequently came into the streets in the lower part of the village. In 1865 it reached the point of inundation, invading the houses and causing general consternation and a good deal of damage. Since then it has twice been in the streets, the last time in seventy-two--since which a long succession of dry seasons has given us a rest from these afflictions. The Wappensening creek was, we are told at the first settlement of the country a narrow stream that was crossed by a fallen tree. The clearing up of the country has transformed it into a raging torrent coming down in the spring time with a fury that sweeps everything before it. [pp. 305-6]

Owego as an Early Business Point.--Owego was the earliest settlement in this part of the state of New York, and, owing to its situation, became an important business point. The early settlers engaged in lumbering and shipping their product down the Susquehanna river in rafts, to a market. In 1808, the Owego and Ithaca turnpike was opened to travel. Then Owego became the outlet to a large section of the country. All the flour, grain, salt, plaster, etc., for the southern and eastern market, was brought down Cayuga lake by boat to Ithaca, and then to Owego by teams. The traffic was so great that from five hundred to eight hundred loaded wagons usually passed over the turnpike in a single day. From here it was sent in arks down the river. The cost of transporting a barrel of salt or flour form Ithaca to Baltimore, was one dollar and seventy-five cents. An ark cost seventy-five dollars, and would carry two hundred and fifty barrels. The trip from Owego to Baltimore occupied from eight to twelve days. At Baltimore the lumber in an ark would sell for about forty dollars. [p. 385]

"The chief pursuit of the inhabitants of the town now is agriculture. In former times lumbering was one of the great avocations; but the timber has been so nearly cut down and the lands so thoroughly cleared, that there remains at this day, only a vestige of the former extensive industry." [p. 459]

"Many Indian graves were also found near the bank of the river, a short distance below Cassel's cove. . . . At the time of the pioneer settlement of this town, the evenly-wooded hill, sloping southerly upon the homestead of Mr. John Dubois, was found entirely stripped of timber, bearing the appearance of having been burned over and thoroughly cleared. It was shrubless as well as denuded of its trees. The even and remarkably uniform 'second growth' which now covers it, clearly shows this to be a fact, and corroborates the account." p. 477 [as quoted from Judge Avery's "Susquehanna Valley" papers published 1853-54]

"Major Ransom set out the first apple-tree, bringing it with him in a boat from Wyoming. He set out the first orchard on the west bank of the creek, and had the first nursery. George Tallcott, when on a exploring tour through the country, in 1790, says this was the first orchard he had seen between here and Albany." [p. 479]

"The standing timber in the town of Tioga, however, has been so depleted that the lumbering industry of the town is rapidly waning, and beyond doubt a few short years hence saw-mills in Tioga will be among the things of the past." [p. 483]

"In the early part of this country, or about sixty years ago, the fertile land of this valley which now yield such abundant harvest, and where now is situated the thriving towns of Waverly and its ambitious rival, Sayre, was covered with a dense forest of pine. This forest upon the Plain and upon the surrounding mountains, were the covert for deer and other game. In these forests also the cry of the catamount and the howl of the grey wolf were familiar sounds that none but an experienced hunter like James Hanna could hear without a shudder. Listening at night to these fearful cries and howls, mothers and children gathered in trembling circles at the fireside and awaited in agony the return of the husband and protector. But gradually, as the settlers cleared away the forest, these dreaded and destructive animals, like the natives of the country, fell back or were destroyed, until now no one remains in the Eastern and Middle States, except a few in Northern New York. It was found almost impossible to keep sheep in the sparse settlements; and bounties were offered of ten and twenty dollars a head for these destructive animals.

"In this valley the wolf found a formidable antagonist in the hunter, James Hanna, whose exploits in those days equaled anything we ever read, of the adventures of hunters and trappers in the Territories, except that James Hanna has no stain of human gore upon his garments and his trusty rifle was never used in wanton destruction of even animal life; but only to secure food for his family, or to rid the settlement of noxious birds and ravaging animals.

"About fifty years ago, and some time after the disappearance of the wolves from the valley, it was rumored that one bold fellow had returned and was committing ravages among the sheepfold. It was winter and the settlers had gathered their flocks near their homes, yet night after night some fold was invaded by the hungry and fearless wolf, and it was finally determined to rally a force of men and dogs and slay the savage brute. James Hanna was requested to join the party but declined, for James had a way of his own and did not approve of hunting in packs like wolves.

"A large number of men and dogs, however, set out upon a cold December morning. They had ascertained that the wolf had his lair in a windfall, at a spot quite near where now stands the fine mansion of Mr. Timothy Hireen, or the street leading from Waverly to Sayre, the only dwelling in that vicinity at that time being that of Mr. H. Murray. The party soon had their dogs upon the track of the wolf, and the whole day was spent in the pursuit. Now and again some dog would be met on the retreat, mangled and torn. At night the party returned from their fruitless pursuit, weary and hungry, leaving the wolf uninjured, far away upon the mountains, while almost every dog bore marks of the terrible fangs of the wolf. The next morning it was ascertained that the wolf undaunted by the persistent chase, had returned the same night, made a supper upon a fat weather [sic], and slept in his lair as if nothing had occurred to dispute his possession.

"The dogs used on the previous day, had been so roughly handled, that but few of them could be rallied for a second trial. A supply of fresh dogs, however, were found and another day's hunt was had with no better result, for the wolf, although driven miles away, was back to his lair the same night, making his supper this time, at the expense of his nearest neighbor, Mr. Murray. A third day with fresh dogs proved equally fruitless and disastrous; and in the three days hunt the wolf had placed at least twenty dogs hors du combat, eluded the sagacity of twenty men, and remained master of the situation. It was not until now, when the combined efforts of so many settlers had proved a failure, that James Hanna thought it worth his while to take a hand in the hunt; now, when men and dogs were out of the way and he could go about it in his own fashion.

"Hanna then possessed and still retains in his advanced years a genuine professional pride. He did not believe in taking any mean advantage even of a wolf and was waiting to meet his enemy on tolerably even footing, always making it certain, however, that his two trained dogs being guided by his great experience should win the battle. Accordingly calling to his assistance two trusty friends and with his two dogs, whose power and sagacity he had often tested, he was at the lair of the wolf by early dawn. An inch of snow had fallen during the night, which covering the tracks made the previous day, rendered it easy to trace the formidable enemy they were soon to encounter. On examining the lair, it was ascertained that the wolf had only left it as they come up.

"Hanna slipped the leash from his dogs and in a moment he heard the jaws of the wolf snap like the closing of a bear-trap. Alternate growls and snaps and yelps! One of the brave dogs received a terrible wound and retreated. On coming up, Hanna found the other dog had closed upon the monster and had him fast by the cheek. The rapid movement of the animals, whirling among the young bush-pines, rendered the use of the rifle impossible, without endangering the dog. The wounded dog could not be induced just then to again enter the fight. The wolf being unable to get his jaws upon his adroit antagonist, suddenly gathered his feet under him for a might effort and rising suddenly threw the dog ten feet into the air and instantly was hidden from Hanna in the thick bush.

"The dog, however, soon closed upon him and this time caught him by the ham. Another scene of rapid whirlings ensued and another break. By no effort was Hanna able to get a shot. Again the dog had the wolf by the ham, and fortunately in a clear open space. The wounded dog now joined in the fray. With that instinct which 'teaches' animals the vital parts of the body, both dogs fastened their jaws upon the wolf's throat. Hanna seeing his opportunity, aimed his rifle to give the brute the coup de grace; but in that dire emergency, that rifle, that never before had failed the hunter, failed him now! A loaded rifle is not a safe weapon to use as a club in a melee like this, even were there not other considerations such as injury to so precious a thing as a rifle, tried and trusted.

"In such moments, thought is quick, as in the act of dreaming. Close at hand stood a hard-pine sapling--a girdle--a snap--a few dexterous strokes of the hunter's knife, and a formidable weapon is ready. Crash came the blow upon the head of the wolf. Instantly the powerful muscles of the limbs and body relaxed. The wolf lay prone and helpless. The knife is thrust as near the jugular as the jaws of the dogs would permit. The dogs now drawn off, lay quivering and panting. In this moment of triumph, the vigilance of the man relaxed, but not that of the dogs. The wolf recovering from the shock given by the club, once more gathered all his force and with one might effort sprang away from his foes. It was a fruitless effort; not for one instant had the dogs turned their eyes from the powerful brute, and were again upon him long before their master and his assistants could collect their energies.

"Then for the first time the animal gave forth that call by which his fellows are summoned in case of distress. No fellow however was within hearing of that cry. Like some Indian who seeks his early hunting and camping ground, this old wolf had returned alone, to the scenes of his younger days. Formerly, that cry which might have been heard a mile and more, would have assembled a multitude of his fellows. Hanna had known the time when it would have been unsafe to remain long in the locality of that cry of distress. Now, however, there was nothing to fear. This time, the knife did its work effectively and the lifeless body of the last wolf of the plains lay at the feet of the hunter, while men and dogs and the snow for a wide space around were crimsoned with his blood.

"At the place where this memorable contest occurred, we may no longer hear the howl of the wolf; but instead of that the Pan-like screech and bellow of a hundred engines, while sixty years ago, if heard in this quiet valley, would have frightened, not only wolves, but even settlers out of the valley. Upon or near the spot of that wolf's lair, now stands an elegant dwelling. There are not many survivors among the hardy race of men who leveled the forests of this valley, yet two of the three men, engaged in the adventure we have related, still survive vigorous, hearty, venerable and venerated men. Under favorable circumstances, James Hanna might have become as celebrated as Joseph Jefferson or John Owen. Now, at the age of 76 years, he betrays a tragic and comic way, which renders the narrative of his adventures as interesting as an acted drama."

W. F. W.

Waverly, Feb. 9, 1875

 "Forest and Trees"

"As will be seen by tables hereafter to be given, the forest no longer exists in the county. Every farmer seeks, however, to retain as much wood-land as will be needful to supply material for fuel, fencing and building. It is with some feelings of sadness we recall the splendid forests of pine and oak that, within the memory of many yet living, could be seen every where upon the hillsides of the valley. Where once they waved in somber majesty, now wave the simple fields of grain. One is almost tempted into the composition of a dirge to the memory of the departed forests.

Like the pioneer, they have disappeared and are mingled with the earth which once proudly bore them. With them have also disappeared the savage beast and the more savage man that for ages were their occupants, and who were mutual enemies. All - man, beast, and their sheltering forests - have been sacrificed to the necessities of civilization, which in many aspects is a tyrant in the exercise of merciless power. In the greed for extending the area of land for cultivation, and to procure timber for the markets and the enormous supplies needed by railroads, there is some danger that we have already gone too far. The streams, from this cause have dwindled to half their former volume, and wells and springs fail of their usual and necessary supply, and still the work of denudation goes forward, all over the land, and there seems to be no power to arrest the entire destruction of the noble forests of the country.

William Fiske Warner

Owego Gazette, 1876

 Indigenous Products of the County

Animals

Birds

 "A Deer Running Wild"

"A wild deer roaming thru the fields and woods of Northern Tioga was a sight witnessed on Monday last for the first time in probably fifty years. When the morning train from the north reached here the passengers reported seeing a deer in the field just west of the track on the Manning farm, just south of the village of Berkshire.

Later reports show that this deer, which is described as a large doe, was seen in several different places. The first we have heard of it was on the farm of D. Phillips, a mile or so north of East Berkshire church. The next was where seen from the train and after the train passed it jumped the railroad fences and went back on the east hill. Somewhere about this time it swam the pond at the axe factory at South Berkshire.

Thus the unusual sight of a deer at large in this section was enjoyed by quite a number and all remark upon the ease with which she cleared the highest fences. It is possible the deer has wandered here from the north woods, but it is generally thought it must have escaped from some park, though no one seems to have heard as yet of any being lost…….. It will not be well for anyone to shoot the deer, as there is $100 penalty."

Tioga County Herald, Newark Valley, Friday, June 21, 1907

"An Unusual Sight"

An unusual sight in this section of the country was witnessed Monday morning by a trainload of passengers on the south bound Lehigh Valley train. When the train was between Berkshire and Newark Valley a deer bounded out of a thicket and raced with the train in a ploughed field along the side of the tracks for several hundred feet.

The last wild deer in Owego was seen just sixty years ago. In May, 1847, it came down the hill and out of the woods on the south side of the Susquehanna, a little below Hiawatha Island. It was chased by dogs into the river and swam down to this village, where many spectators were gathered on the banks. The people prevented it from coming out of the water and it swam up and down above the bridge for some time. Finally Jehial Ogden, the gunsmith, shot it with his rifle, the ball striking it back of the foreshoulder. Then George and Leonard Freeman went out in a boat, knocked it in the head, and killed it. The deer was taken to the south side of the river, landed on a raft owned by Robert Cameron, above the bridge. Jehial Ogden took the heart and hide of the animal as his share and the Freemans took the rest."

Dr. R. T. Gates, who is one of the oldest residents of Newark Valley and who is 86 years old, writes the following interesting letter to the Herald of a wolf drive in Tioga county in 1828:

"In the year of our lord 1828, the wolves, then running in this county, became so numerous and so pestilent that the towns of Richford, Berkshire, Candor, Union, and Lisle held a conference over the question, and at that meeting it was resolved to appoint two men in each town to act as a committee to drive the wolves beyond the Susquehanna river.

"…………The outfit for each man was a dog, if he had one, a gun and plenty of ammunition, and a large cow bell. Nights they stood on guard, ringing cow bells and shooting off their guns so the wolves would not go back.

"The march commenced about half way between Harford Mills and Richford, and was formed east toward Hunt's corners and west toward Slaterville. The signal to march south was the firing of a gun at north Richford, then every man on the line that had a gun fired it and everyone rang his cow bell. At night dry trees were set on fire, so the men could warm themselves and wild beasts would keep back.

"Thursday night the centre of the line halted a little north of Gaskill corners. Horace Gates and Am M. Tyler stayed all night with Madison Livermore's father. That night the hungry wolves killed and ate six large sheep, near Gaskill corners. Friday was the day of victory and Friday night of deliverance, all over the drive.

"I was six years old the month of this wolf drive came off, and remember it, but can most distinctly remember hearing what was called a 'wolf squeal'. One night before the drive a great number of wolves collected on the hill near my father's house and made the most frightful sounds I ever heard.

"Quite likely some old readers of this story can remember how long Pennsylvania held a drudge against New York for this act of driving the wolves into Pennsylvania"

"A Richford correspondent says: About two weeks ago, it was reported that a bear was roaming the woods in the extreme eastern part of the town. A party of fifty men with rifles and dogs spent a day hunting for him. They found peculiar tracks, which old hunters declared could be no other than bear tracks, but did not get a glimpse of the animal. Not much attention was paid to his until a few days since, when George Belden, who has an extensive apiary, went to visit the bee hives he had placed for feeding purposes on Brier hill, in the same part of the town. He found about half the hives had been crushed and the honey taken out. Were the thieves human the hives would not have been crushed in this way and only a very powerful animal would have the strength, so it seems there must be some foundation to the story.

"From Port Crane comes the tale that two Italians who are there picking peas for a resident of that place, report that they have lost a bear. Originally they had a cinnamon bear and a black bear, and the latter seems to have tired of that quiet village, and to have left. Doubtless he is the bear which is rambling through the woods near this city. He is black, of course, likewise large, and reported to be of a frolicsome disposition."

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"Eel Weirs in the River"

"Probably one of the grossest blunders ever put upon an unsuspecting public, was the law allowing the placing of eel weirs in waters in Tioga county and forbidding them in other counties in this state. The sportsmen and fishermen of Broome county intend to expend every effort to have the law allowing Tioga county to place eel weirs repealed or else to have the law made general at this session of the legislature.

"A special law was passed a year or two ago allowing eel weirs to be placed in waters in Tioga county, but not elsewhere. It being in the winter no objection was made, as the fishermen were not as alive to the sport as in gladdening days of fall, when they don't have to fish through the ice.

"…….eel weirs [have been placed] across the Susquehanna river a quarter of a mile from the Broome county line or in other words froze out the rest of Tioga county for the big grab. It is estimated by one familiar with the operations that on an average 900 pounds of eels a night were caught in the weirs for every night for six weeks. It is said that the day's run would average from 400 pounds to one ton a day. It is said that actually, 1,980 pounds were taken from the weirs in one night. In all it is estimated that 35,000 pounds were removed from the river in six weeks."

"State superintendent of forests C. R. Pettis has sent out the following circular letter with the approval of the state conservation commissioners:

"Dear Sir: There has appeared in this state a disease which is fatal to the chestnut and we are trying to secure accurate information in regard to localities in which the disease is present, length of time it has been attacking the trees, extent of damage, etc.

"The value of this tree to the state and to everyone is so great from so many standpoints that some means must be found to control this disease. Your hearty co-operation in giving the information called for on the enclosed blank, and any other facts which you may have will be greatly appreciated. This information will be of great value to our experts who are in the field locating the disease."

Owego Gazette, August 10, 1911 

"One of the biggest and most destructive forest fires burning in this section in years, was Monday and Tuesday, sweeping the wooded hill between Newark valley and the Wilson creek valley, three miles north of Newark Valley, says the Herald.

"The fire it is said was started from the railroad several days ago, ran up the east hill to a brush lot on the W. W. Stoughton farm, just east of Stephen Ames's farm, and has been burning in brush piles there without much damage until Monday morning. Then in the northwest wind, with everything dry as powder, the flames started down the ridge. A huge column of smoke rose high in the air and Monday evening the glow of the fire could be seen for miles.

"The Herald says that if the wind shifts into the north to-day, the fire will, probably, sweep over his cleared field [A. J. Joslin] and into the Millard and Shaver woods unless they can stop it in the field. All the men in that section in both valleys were out fighting Monday, but nothing could be done. The fire was so fierce that an army could not stop it and the same conditions exist to-day. Preparations are being made, if the fire starts across the cleared field for the woods to the south to get out every man and make a fight to stop it there."

"It was not so many years ago that every spring flocks innumerable of wild pigeons flew over Owego, going north, and in the fall they returned in countless flocks to the south. Millions of these birds darkened the skies, together with flocks of wild geese honking high in the air and ducks and turkeys. It is rare that even a flock of wild geese is seen at the present day. The wild pigeon has become extinct.

"That the last survivor of the millions of wild pigeons which years ago inhabited these regions, has recently died, is the announcement made by T. Gilbert Pearson, secretary of the national association of Audubon societies. The vast flocks of these birds which a generation ago, were the ornithological wonder of the world, have entirely disappeared, and at 2 o'clock p. m. on Sept. 10, the last individual died in the zoological gardens at Cincinnati, Ohio. It was a female and was hatched in captivity 29 years ago.

"'This marks the absolute extinction of another species of North American birds,' said Mr. Pearson. 'Many theories have been advanced as to the cause of the disappearance of the myriads of pigeons once seen in this country, but there is absolutely only one cause; they have been wiped out by the traps, nets and guns of American hunters.'

"The pigeon in the Cincinnati Zoo was known as 'Martha.' She was the only known survivor of that species of pigeon known as the passenger, once so numerous that flocks containing countless millions often obscured the skies in great areas.

"After twenty-nine years of life, many of them spent in solitary widowhood, which the management of the gardens sought to light by means of a standing offer of $1,000 for a mate, she had succumbed to the weaknesses of age. And her stuffed body, turned over to the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, became the last bit of evidence of the existence of a feathered population whose history has been traced by scientists since 1534.

"In 1819 Faux described a passenger pigeon roost which 'is a singular sight in the thinly settled states, particularly in Tennessee in the fall of the year, when the roost extends over a portion of woodland or barrens from four to six miles in circumference. The screaming noise they make when thus roosting is heard at a distance of six miles; and when the beechnuts are ripe they fly two hundred miles to dinner in immense flocks.

"'The birds roost on the high forest trees, which they cover in the same manner as bees in swarms cover a bush, being piled one upon the other from the lowest to the topmost boughs which, so laden, are continually bending and falling with their crushing weight, and presenting a scene of confusion and destruction too strange to describe and too dangerous to be approached by either man or beast. While the living birds are gone to their distant dinner it is common for man and animals to gather upon or devour the dead thus found in cartloads.'

"A man named McGee, who, in the '60's, watched them coming up the Mississippi valley, reckoned the cross section of an average flock at one hundred yards from front to year, and estimated it contained 8,800,000 to the mile, or 30,000,000 for a flock extending from one woodland to another. 'Such flocks,' he is quoted as saying, passed repeatedly during the greater part of the day of chief flight at intervals of a few minutes. The average number of birds must have approached 120,000,000 an hour for five hours, or 600,000,000 pigeons virtually visible from a single point to the culminating part of a single typical migration'"

"For some years there have appeared at intervals in various magazines, articles and photographs showing the damage done to a country by indiscriminate razing of the forests. Erosion of the land, loss of fertile soil, destructive floods, high winds and undesirable climatic changes are some of the results of cutting the timber without limit. The United States government, recognizing the dangers, is conserving the forests in the west, but in the east much damage has already been done in many localities, and the only remedy is reforestation. To assist a little in this latter work, Arbor Day, which has been fittingly observed by the Owego public schools in the past, this year broadens here into Forest Day and should merit the attention and interest of the people of this village.

"The New Era club has purchased one thousand threes from the state conservation commission and W. G. Ellis has kindly donated the use of land near the brick ponds on which these trees will be planted by the boys of the schools, including the boy scouts tomorrow afternoon at 2 o'clock. The work will be done under the supervision of a representative from the state college of forestry at Syracuse university. The board of school commissioners has granted a half-holiday so that all the pupils of the public schools may attend. Appropriate exercises will be held. The public is urged to show its interest by attending. The planters will be served with refreshments by the New Era club.

"People living in the vicinity of King Ferry station have been witnessing the sorrow of a big American eagle for its mate and his probable search for another, which is proving fruitless so far. Fred York, a Lehigh Valley fireman, found a crippled eagle near the tracks of the Lehigh Valley not far from King Ferry station, and people who have been observing the evident troubles of another eagle that lives in that vicinity believe it is the mate of the captured cripple one.

"For several years a pair of bald eagles have abided in one of the deep ravines running back from the lake in that section. They have never done any harm and had come to be looked upon as regular residents of the neighborhood."

Owego Gazette, August 5, 1915

"Irving Bell, of Park settlement, caught a German brown trout weighing six pounds and thirteen ounces Monday evening at 7:30 o'clock in the Owego creek, nearly opposite Flemingville. This is the largest trout ever caught in Tioga county waters.

"This king of the trout family was landed with a common cane pole and line. In fact, Mr. Bell, was not fishing for trout at all but was angling for suckers in the main creek just north of the 'sheep-pen'. He was using angleworms for bait. Just as Mr. Bell drew the fish to land, his hook straightened out and came near setting free the giant. The fisherman threw himself upon his catch to make sure that the trout should not flop back into the water.

"Mr. Bell telephoned to this village that he had the trout alive in a tub of water. Wheeler Stedman and Charles H. Barton, motored to Flemingville to bring the trout to Owego for exhibition in one of the club's tanks at the office of the Owego water-works in Front street. But the fish was dead before it reached this village, and it was kept in tank only over night. Tuesday morning it was placed on ice in the window at the meat market of A. J. Connell in North avenue. Here it attracted a crowd of envious angler and epicures all day long.

It seems that the biggest fish, the real lords of the pool, have plebeian fondness for 'night-walkers'. Sportsmen who angle with expensive rods and flies should take due notice. Last Saturday, with worm bait, Mr. Bell caught a brook trout fifteen inches in length in this same pool."

Owego Gazette, April 27, 1916

"This week a large bald-headed eagle has been seen in the vicinity of the George S. Nichols farm on the south side of the river. This is the first eagle that has been seen in this section in several years.

"The attention of the residents of that vicinity was first attracted to the bird last Monday, when they saw a large number of crows flying near the eagle and making loud cries, but the crows had wisdom enough not to get to near to the eagle, which appeared to have a spread of wings of at least six feet. The eagle did not appear to be disturbed, and took refuge in the woods back of the hill.

"Tuesday the eagle again made its appearance and flew to a field in which several cows were grazing. The people who saw it standing at a distance believed the strange thing to be a large dog.

"Some persons have without much thought expressed a desire to have a shot at the bird. These persons evidently do not realize that there is a penalty of $60 for killing one o f these birds, which are very rare in the east"

"Very few people would believe that a black bear is roaming the hills in Tioga county; nevertheless it is a fact, as can be attested by Mr. and Mrs. Ernest H. Dailey, of this village, and Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Lounsbury, of the town of Tioga, who saw the animal last Sunday afternoon on the late Sheldon Lounsbury farm, about two miles north of Smithboro, on Ross Hill. A wild bear has not been seen in this county within the memory of the oldest inhabitant, with the exception that residents of north Barton are reported to have seen one in that vicinity about a year ago.

"In June, 1915, a large black bear was seen on the Clark Brown farm at north Barton, one evening just before dusk. The attention of Mrs. Brown was called to the bear by the barking of a collie dog and, looking out he saw in a pasture lot, within twenty-five rods from the house, the bear, which stayed in the field for about fifteen minutes. As the bear seemed so tame, it was believed that it might have escaped from a circus. The night previous F. A. Houghtalen had two sheep and several lams, which disappeared and the supposition was that the bear might have made a meal of them.

"As no such animal had been seen in this county in a great many years, the opinion was expressed that the North Barton bear might have been a large black dog, but since Sunday's appearance of another bear the doubting Thomases now believe that the North Barton people can tell a bear from a shaggy black dog.

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"The first coyote, or as it is more commonly known, prairie wolf, ever known to have been killed in Tompkins county, was killed recently by Philip Lewis, of Spencer, who secured the animal on the hills west of West Danby, after a fight in which Mr. Lewis and a dog were bitten several times.

"According to the story told by Mr. Lewis he was hunting rabbits recently when he saw a dog chasing what he supposed was a fox. Mr. Lewis shot at the animal which fell near a fence. Resting his gun against the fence, Mr. Lewis went up to the animal which he believed dead. The wolf leaped at him and in the ensuing fight the hunter was bitten several times in the hand. The dog joined in the fight and was badly bitten.

"Local sportsmen believe that the wolf came to this section of the country from Pennsylvania where a number of coyotes are reported to have been seen.

"Some years ago a lynx was killed in this country and deer have occasionally been seen, but this is the first known instance of a coyote being killed in this section of the state."

Owego Gazette, March 4, 1920

"Occasionally wild deer have been seen in this section in recent years, but the following is the first recorded instance, taken from the Spencer Needle, of a deer frightening a team of horses, so that they ran away:

"' As Albert Goehner was bringing his horses from the barn to hitch up one morning last week a deer hopped over the fence near the barn and frightened the horses so they ran away. The horses ran against Mr. Goehner and knocked him to one side and ran on to the Holdridge place where they were stopped. The deer went on over the hill out of sight. It had been seen near Mr. Goehner's place for several days before this incident happened.

"Years ago deer ran over this country in large numbers. Capt. Jesse McQuigg, who was an early Owego settler, in a statement wrote about the game in this section, as follows:

"'The deer ran as plenty as sheep. One might start from the river and go as far up the creek as Turner's and see on the way twenty or twenty-five and perhaps as many as that in a drove. We killed them as we wanted them. We could hear the wolves howl in the night. In the winter season when they had driven the deer into the river they would stand upon the banks and howl. The bears were plenty back upon the mountains.'"

Lockwood, July 16. --- "A wild deer was seen Monday on the farm owned and operated by Thomas Culver, situated on Wynkoop creek, seven miles north of Chemung. Mr. Culver was mowing grass near his pasture field, in which his cows were grazing. Upon coming to a corner and looking up, he was much surprised to see a fine young doe looking inquisitively at him."

People hereabouts have raised fall-bearing strawberries and red raspberries, but the first known instance of a person picking a ripe wild strawberry at this season of the year was reported on Nov. 5 by Mrs. Sherman Galpin, Fairfield, Town of Candor. Last Friday she brought to the Gazette office a wild strawberry plant on which were two luscious berries. This plant was plucked from the side of a log, which overhung a creek. This is evidently the second crop of berries that the plant has born this year. This fall has been an exceptionally warm one as there have been no killing frosts and flowers are still in bloom.

Albany, Feb 7---"Since the beginning of the movement for the reforestation of idle lands throughout the sate there have been set out in Tioga county, thirteen plantations with a total of 71,900 trees, the largest plantation being that of the Waverly board of water commissioners, according to figures compiled by the New York state conservation commission.

"All through the state the reforesting of idle lands is receiving more attention this year than ever before as shown by inquires and applications for trees that are being received by the conservation commission not only from individuals but also from cities and villages, fish and game clubs, school districts, water works companies, lumber companies, Boy Scouts, and other organizations. The knowledge that the planting of trees on unused land is a good investment is becoming more widespread each year with a resultant increase in the demand for trees."

"Some unknown hunter shot a yearling doe yesterday morning on the John Holden farm on McLain hill, four miles northeast of this village. This hunter, if his identity should be discovered, may expect to be made to suffer the full penalty under the law. Female deer cannot be shot at any time in this state and in Tioga County there is no open season even on bucks. To shoot a deer out of season is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine or imprisonment. ……….. A man, who will shoot a female deer, is considered a mighty reprehensible citizen. A young doe is one of the most innocent creatures in the world. Most folks would as about soon shot a baby.

"Many expressions of indignation over the shooting of the deer were heard. Members of the Tioga County sportsmen's association here were especially vehement and heated in the terms in which they spoke of the guilty hunter. Some of them would not sound nice if used by a Sunday school superintendent.

"Tioga County people generally are much elated over the fact that wild deer have worked back within her borders. It is a shame that anything should be done to stop this return of the deer or diminish the natural increase now that they are breeding in this locality."

Owego Gazette, October 11, 1923

"Ralph Patterson on Wednesday had one of the ancient maples along the street on Patterson property in Main Street, Newark Valley, cut down…………The Herald says: ……..The tree was struck by lightning some years ago, its top was dead and dead limbs became a menace to passers. The but of the tree measured 11 feet and four inches in circumference.

"This tree has a history dating from the very first coming of white men to this valley. It was one of several fine maples 'blazed' by Amos Patterson, the great grandfather of the present owners of the Patterson property. In 1792 ……Mr. Patterson marked several of the finest maples in that vicinity along the old Indian trail, to mark the line where a wagon road should be cut leading from the Susquehanna river through the ten townships and he gave orders that in cutting the road these trees should be preserved. "

Owego Gazette, December 11, 1924

"Philip S. Farmham, of this village, a federal game warden, has received from residents of this county many reports that wild deer have been seen this summer. Mr. Farnham has made a list of the persons reporting, with the number of deer seen and the locality where encountered. The persons reporting did not always see the deer himself, but in some instances got his information from the person who did.

"Now that the hunting season is near at hand, it is well to call attention to the fact that deer in this county may not be hunted. The penalty for killing a deer is a severe one and the law will be rigidly enforced.

"Since the deer have come back to this county after an absence of about three-quarters of a century, so far as known only two have been shot. The game protectors of this district say they intend to be particularly vigilant this fall in order to prevent any further slaughter."

"Chestnuts are about to become obsolete as an American delicacy. Foresters and plant pathologists are convinced of it, and retail dealers who formerly sold the tasty brown nuts to munch on in the autumn substantiate the opinion. It is said that chestnuts are now selling for $22 a bushel.

Up until two years ago, chestnuts were bought by the bushel by grocers and other venders, and proved exceedingly popular with the public palate. Since then, however, it has been almost as impossible to procure a bag of chestnuts as it is to buy an Eskimo pie in Greenland……….

"The blight was first noticed in a park in Brooklyn in 1904. It was not until two years ago, however, that it attacked chestnut groves about this vicinity. Since its first appearance here, chestnuts have disappeared from the local markets. Dealers who once were able to buy any quantity of the nuts from farmers, now express the opinion that they will never again sell chestnuts over their counters.

"Foresters and commercial lumber enterprises hence face a difficult economic problem, in the literal extinction of one of the most valuable of rapid-growing trees. Chestnut timber is coarse-grained, light and durable, and it has found extensive use in furniture making and for posts and fence timbers.

"In the meantime, however, one thing is practically certain. Chestnuts will cease, at least temporarily, to be an item on the bill of fare of America. And one of the chief joys of small boys in the autumn will become a thing for grandfathers to tell their grandchildren - kicking about in dried leaves for the prickly burrs which shield the big brown nuts, and then roasting them over an open fire in the drowsy mist of Indian summer."

Owego Gazette, October 8, 1925

Albany, May 17---"The semi-centennial of the beginning of forest conservation was marked in New York state this spring by the planting of upwards of 17,000,000 forest trees in more than 2,000 separate plantations, this spring's planting alone being more than equal to all of the reforesting done in the state from 1901 to 1912 inclusive. The reforesting movement began in New York in 1901 and up to the close of 1912 there had been planted a total of 15,283,225 trees. Allowing 1,000 trees to the acre, this spring's planting reforests 17,000 acres."

"Tioga County is fast reverting to the wild. The last evidence of this comes in the news that Brother Beaver and his wife have trekked down from the Adirondacks and have begun housekeeping on the west branch of the Owego Creek at Willow bridge in the Town of Richford, and south Padlock. The worthy pair are fast establishing all the comforts of a beaver home - a house shaped like an Esquimaux igloo and a pond with a dam. In fact, these indefatigable toilers have already built two incomplete dams. Their house is still unfinished, but its early completion is a necessity. Reason? Hush! Mr. Beaver is expecting a visit from the stork………. Beaver civilization has been lost to Tioga County nearly a hundred years. They propose to bring it back by building on the "ruins of Ilion and Troy" a new Greek race, pardon the reporter, a new beaver race.

"A letter from A. C. Satterly, of Berkshire, interestingly describing a visit to the beavers at Willow bridge in the town of Richford on Sunday has been received by the editor of the Gazette. It has been reported that 2,000 persons paid a call Sunday on Brother Beaver. It is also reported that some persons of intelligence and prominence were very offensive in the way in which they crowed about the pond to observe the beavers. ………..State Game Protector Otis F. Swift caught this nature lover (?) acting as Barnum did when he purchased his first sacred white elephant and reproved him. The man was insolent and full of his own importance as a sportsman. It took a threat to arrest him to bring him to his senses.

"The penalty for disturbing a beaver, its house and its dam is the same as for killing one. The limit of the penalty is one year's imprisonment and fines aggregating $700. It will be applied, the authorities say, if the public does not come to its senses, and keep a proper distance from the haunts of these two beavers.

"The farmer who lives next to the creek on the Tioga county side, being an opportunist, has erected a hot dog stand right near at hand and keeps an accurate watch on the beavers' whereabouts to direct spectators, says the Ithaca Journal-News. A sign proclaims that the farm is now named Beaver dam farm.

"Hundreds of people who are visiting the region of Caroline and Richford townships of late with a beaver and its dam the outstanding attractions, will be interested to learn that the surrounding hills of these two vicinities hold another attraction which probably would not prove as interesting to meet as the rodent quadruped of Willow creek bridge, says last Friday's Ithaca Journal-News.

"Rumors have been current for the last few days of black bears infesting the Berkshire and west Richford hills along the old Catskill turnpike midway between Slaterville and Richford. (?) residents of that section have begun to arm themselves when leaving the shelter of their own homes at night and particularly as dusk.

"The first report of the bear being seen in that vicinity came from Chas.Yaple, game warden of Tioga county, who has been making his headquarters of late at the scene of the beaver dam near Caroline. News of the presence of bears in the vicinity has spread like wildfire and several times the animals have been seen in the open.

"Woe be unto the poachers who molest the wild life. Bears are protected by state law, but if they should resort to the theft of a pig or molest any domestic life, the state conservation has the only power to exterminate such animals.

"During the last few years many of the hill farmers have been abandoned. Fields, in which once stood the finest of grains and timothy, are returning again to Mother Nature, who is rearing new forests. It is no uncommon sight to ride in the vastnesses of nearby hills and witness the beginnings of new forests of pine and hemlock.
Fields abandoned for a few years, may be seen dotted with pines and hemlocks, two and three feet in height. These trees have been seeded from older trees in nearby woods."

"The following interesting story of wild life was published in last week's Candor Courier:

"'Saturday night, Charles Holdridge, of Halsey Valley, gave an interesting account of a strange animal seen by many around Halsey Valley.

"A few days ago while at work, Mr. Holdridge heard what he thought to be a dog in a nearby woods, barking and whining. The whining kept up so long that Mr. Holdridge thought perhaps his neighbor's dog had got caught in a trap. He immediately, with his son, and a neighbor's boy, went in search of the animal. When within the woods and near the place where he thought the sound came from the whining ceased and they hunted and called for a long time, but without success. The next day the neighbor's boy saw a peculiar animal about the size of a dog or a little larger come out of the woods and go over the hill. He described the animal as being white.

"'A few day later, a Finnish farmer living near, saw what he said to be three wolves, come out of the woods and follow along the hill. He telephoned to the neighbors, and they all followed in a car in the direction and succeed in seeing the three animals. They were, as Mr. Holdridge thought, grey in color, more shaggy and larger than a dog; a very bushy tail, with long massy(?) hair around the neck. The Finnish farmer said they were very similar to the wolves that he had been in the habit of seeing in Finland, before coming to this country.

"'We have heard plenty reports of deer, one or two of parties seeing bear, now wolves, and soon, perhaps, we will have with us a herd of the great American buffalo.'"

"When Eugene I. Chaddock, who lives near Halsey Valley, went to a pasture to look after his eleven calves last Wednesday night, he found two wild fawns, which made their appearance there several weeks ago, grazing with the calves.

"Mr. Chaddock places salt in his pasture for the cattle and the deer also help themselves to it.

"Although it is not generally known there is to be an open season for taking of buck deer in all the counties of the state this year, the open season in the counties, not located in the Adirondack mountains and in the Catskills is to be only from Nov. 1 to the 15^th inclusive. In these counties deer may be taken only with a shotgun.

"The people who know that the conservation commission had declared an open season in Tioga county are much alarmed by this action. They feel that this means the destruction or the driving of deer which now have sanctuary in this county. Sportsmen and farmers alike are opposed to an open season for deer.

"The Tioga county sportsmen's association will make an effort to have Conservation Commissioner Alexander MacDonald issue a special order keeping the season closed in Tioga county. A special meeting of the association will be called and a petition will be circulated. It will be easy to obtain hundreds of names on a petition asking the commissioner to reconsider his action in regard to Tioga county.

"The feeling of the land owners generally is the same as expressed by Mr. Chaddock when, he was in the Gazette office Friday. He was greatly disturbed when he learned that an open season on deer had been declared during the approaching fall.

"'I had just as soon shoot one of my cows as a deer,' he remarked.

"And in fact there can be no real sport in shooting deer that have become so thoroughly tamed as the deer are in this county. They have not been much molested since their advent in this county. Only three or four are known to have been illegally slaughtered. They frequently approach farm buildings with utmost unconcern and have very little objection to close observation by the people who encounter them in the fields and woods.

"In it efforts to prevent the impending slaughter, the Tioga county sportsmen' association will have the unqualified support of the Gazette."

"Three young men, ------------, were arrested Sunday morning by State Trooper H. J. Metter for shooting a 250-pound buck deer on the farm of Arthur Chauncey, north of the Wade hollow road, two miles east of the Owego-Newark Valley town highway in the northern [part of the town of Owego. The arrest of these young men was brought about by five other hunters from Binghamton and Johnson City.

"Mr. Chauncey was depressed to think that the deer was shot on his farm. He had known that four or five deer had been on his farm for some time. Even after he had seen them browsing in his buck wheat field he had not disturbed them, because he desired to have them unmolested."

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"Dr. Guy S. Carpenter, driving his motor-car to Lockwood at about 2 o'clock last Sunday morning, to attend Dr. F. W. Doolittle, had a harrowing experience and a narrow escape from serious injury or death when his motor-car struck a large buck deer, which appeared suddenly from the woods at one side of the road not more than five feet in front of the automobile and ran across the road directly in the path of the car, says a Waverly correspondent. ………..

Although Dr. Carpenter was unable to start his motor-car, he found that he could coast down the short hill, at the top of which the collision had happened. At the foot of the hill he aroused the occupants of the nearest house and here he telephoned to the home of Dr. Doolittle, from which a motor-car was soon sent for him.

"Deputy Sheriff William DeWitt later found the deer, with all four legs broken. He killed it and gave the meat to the Waverly hospital."

"J. D. Kennedy, district forester of Cortland, has arranged for the first state reforestation project in Tioga county, a project to be carried out under the direction of the state conservation department. This project is to be located in the northeastern part of the town of Candor, about one mile west of the hamlet of Jenksville. On Dec. 31, contracts to purchase three plots of land were signed. These lands form a plot of approximately 500 acres and are owned by the following persons:

Rey E. Barden, 270 acres.

Homer Lathrop, 251 acres.

C. H. Zimmer, 10 acres

"These plots lie adjacent to each other, which is a requirement for state reforestation. And they also give required acreage--500. The state cannot undertake to reforest a plot of less than 500 acres, because the law does not permit it to do so.

"The property owners reserve the right to remove all buildings and to cut and remove all timber six inches in size at the stump. All existing oil and gas leases are also reserved.

"The state to date, Mr. Kennedy said, has taken over about 80,000 acres for reforestation purposes. Not all this land has been planted; some of it is merely under contract for purchase."

"It was reported to Deputy Sheriff Loring Baldwin on Friday evening that an eight-prong buck had been found dead on the former Major A. H. Krom farm on the hill west of Candor. Mr. Loring informed Sheriff Floyd E. Giltner of the finding of the deer. Accompanied by State game Protector Delos A. Baker, they motored to the scene. The deer was found near a spring in the woods. He had been shot through the body with a shotgun. He had evidently wandered about several days after receiving the wound, and had come to the spring to drink. Marks on the ground showed that he had fallen back down an embankment dead when he started to leave.

"………….Both the sheriff and Game Protector Baker would like to know who in that locality is taking pot shots at deer . If they are discovered prosecution will speedily follow"

"The state of New York recently acquired a tract of nearly 1,000 acres of land in the northeastern part of the town of Owego and southeastern part of the town of Newark Valley, which will be reforested as part of the state's conservation program………….

"The land consists of three parcels, two of which each contain more than 400 acres. The lands were conveyed to the state, with the approximate acreage in each tract, by the following:

Charles Gage, his wife, Nellie Gage, and Edna Gage 427.87

Simeon E. Kinnan 54.67

Mrs. Theresia Hoffman 496.93

Total number of acres 981.47

"In order to acquire these properties the state pays $4 an acre or about $3,966.

"In years gone by these farms were as productive as any farms in the Southern Tier. The Gage lands are generally known as the Dr. Oakley farm. Dr. Oakley was the father of Attorney Timothy B. Oakley, a well-known Owego Attorney. On this farm about 60 years ago was a virgin pine forest, which was attacked by a pest. Attorney Oakley, who was a young man, had to have the trees felled and converted into lumber. The lumber was subsequently made into rafts, which were floated down the river to the Pennsylvania lumber markets."

"Alarm over the spread of the Dutch elm disease in areas removed from a small territory embracing New York city and parts of Westchester county, Long island, and Staten island is not warranted in view of present knowledge of the disease at the state experiment station in Geneva. ………….

Dr. Rankin [from Geneva] states that the only known carrier of the disease is a small beetle which infests the bark of the elm tree. This beetle is limited in its range, having been found only in the territory from Boston as far south as Philadelphia. The Dutch elm disease apparently cannot be easily spread from the disease to a healthy tree unless the elm bark beetle is present to transport the spores of the fungus on its body, it is said."

"Two deer, both bucks, have been killed by hunters during the last week and their carcasses left to lie where the animals had fallen.

"Early Friday afternoon Alfred H. Ford, who lives on West hill, two miles and one-half miles from Berkshire, informed Sheriff Floyd E. Giltner that he had found the carcass of a deer in a piece of woods on his farm, and it was evident that the animal had been shot.

"………….. A telephone message from Mrs. Howard Taylor, of Hullsville, said that a Polish youth had found a large buck that had apparently been killed by hunters living in the woods. Sheriff Giltner went to the scene and learned that it had been killed on the farm of a Polish family. When he arrived, only the woman of the house was at home and she spoke no English.

"The carcass was also taken to the county home to be dressed."

"A large buck deer paid a brief visit to this village at about 6:45 o'clock last Saturday morning, but very few persons saw the animal, due principally to the fact that his arrival was at such an hour that they had not completed their beauty sleep. The animal left this village by swimming across the Susquehanna river and thence continuing southward across the fields and out of sight."

"Last Thursday Naturalist J. Alden Loring saw a golden eagle perched on a limb in a tree on the Frank B. Tracy farm, west of Apalachin, and he and Attorney and Mrs. William G. Ellis saw, a fine specimen of the national bird, a bald-headed eagle on the same farm last Sunday.

"A white deer among a herd of four was sighted by Lewis D. Atwater on the Elmer Merrill farm on Talmadge hill, town of Barton. Last week Mr. Atwater was able to walk close to the deer before the herd sniffed the air and bounded gracefully over a low fence.

"The white deer, he described, as nearly cream color. This is believed to be the first white deer sighted in that vicinity. Two years ago a deer of a similar color was seen near Waits, town of Owego.

"L. O. Bond, of Ithaca, project manager of the New York state rural land acquisition program, appeared Tuesday afternoon before the board of supervisors, which is holding its annual session and explained the plan of acquiring worn-out farm lands, of which there are large areas throughout this county. After their acquisition these lands would be put to three uses, reforestation, game preserves, and additions to state parks, if there were any in this county.

"By purchasing such properties, through which highways are built, the highways would be abandoned, which would result in a large saving to the taxpayers. He recounted in numerous instances where the yearly cost of highways was more than the value of the properties."

"Occasionally reports are received that the chestnut tree is coming back, according to Dr. Ray M Hirt, plant pathologist at the New York state college of forestry in Syracuse. These statements are sometimes supported by actually displaying of chestnuts from young trees. It is a fact that within the past year or two a few chestnut sprouts have attained sufficient age and size to produce nuts.

"This has led some people to believe that the American chestnut tree has in some mysterious way overcome the disease which has killed practically every chestnut tree in New England, New York and Pennsylvania. However, among forest pathologists, it is quite generally believed that the American chestnut will never again become an important tree in the American forest, in fact, that before many years it will entirely have disappeared from its native range."

"It is worthwhile to watch for any seedling chestnut trees which remain free from the disease for several years when surrounded by diseased individuals. Should such an individual tree be discovered, it should be reported to your state forestry office, experiment station, or federal office of forest pathology at Washington, D. C. It is only through such an individual tree that there is any chance of securing a resident strain of American chestnut."

The first coyote, a species of the wolf family, ever to be killed in Tioga county, was taken last Saturday afternoon by a party of Town of Tioga hunters on the Hugh Burlington farm on Spaulding hill, in the Town of Tioga. These hunters were Willis Snyder, Henry A. Weber, Harold Weber, George Zorn and George Snyder. Three of the hunters stalked the animal two days before they succeeded in placing this male coyote on the spot, where Willis Snyder brought him down with a well-aimed shot.

"The hunters brought the animal to Owego to the home of Naturalist J. Alden Loring in east Front steer. Mr. Loring informed the hunters that the (blank) was a young timber wolf.

"The coyote was a fat one with a heavy coat of gray fur. He had evidently fed well and he had on his heavy winter coat. His tail was short and bushy.

"To a reporter of the Owego Gazette Mr. Loring told of how he had trained a female coyote in the Bronx zoo while he was stationed there several years ago. The animal had whelped several pups. At the command of Mr. Loring the coyote would fetch to him one of the pups. After the zoo would be closed to the crowds for the day, the coyote would follow Mr. Loring when he would make a tour of the grounds."

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