e>. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1^ ^ mil 2.2 ■UUi- IIIIM 11.25 11.4 11.6 ■•^,r*V*'. ■'• ^f. .'."f ■ '■^(l- --'Sl I:'-' A LONG LOST POINT IN HISTORY. ■ > . ' ■ '■'»■;•■".;,;* .ifvf >%'^.i >:•!» AN ADDRESS, nEI.IVERED BEFORE THE ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, UTICA, N. Y., BY L Wf LEDYARD, ESa, OF CAZENOVIA, N. Y. JANUARY 9 1883. PUBLISHED BY REQUEST. UTICA, N.Y.: T H FLOYD. PRINTER. CORNER BROAD AND JOHN STREETS. 1883. ^m 1 i _^i » * ■ • 4 1 ^ , i i J ' . '";.K 2 ^ "'aj ' ' I ' ! -^ « ' ! •' • '_V • 4 ', ■ . •. . < 1 > '; It. iBi IB / P fio*° , 1 ""^"^ 1^ I en a -4 I A LONG LOST POINT IN HISTORY. How few of the denizens of this busy city, hastening on after the manner of our times, give a passing thought to the past of this land now so fair. Looking over the broad valley that the Mohawk has worn away in geological periods, and later filled and made fertile with the rich soils stolen from the hills and borne silently year after year to the lowland, it is not easy to realize that it was ever other than the fair scene it now offers to charm and interest the thoughtful observer. Charming indeed, with broad play of light and shadow falling here upon a bit of wood- land, there upon golden grain ; with deep ravines hiding lovely nooks where alone ferns and mosses with their graceful forest kind live on when driven from the lands they once made beautiful ; with bold high hills making one beyond another, sky lines of •wondrous beauty ; and with now and then a glimpse of water that in turn steals for itself the beauties of the overhanging forest, and the tints of the azure, or the golden sunset sky. Interesting indeed, with the whirl and beat of human progress ; as seen in the white plumed train, the towering factory, and the many evi- dences that eager, restless hands are busy, changing, moulding, perchance improving, the valley and surrounding slopes All this fills the mind ; through so vivid a present the past is seen but dimly if at all, yet in the developments th; >Jf^h which we may trace the story of human changes, few lands ' '•csent so much to startle the student, could he dream that the past was a lesson to be repeated in the future. If we could bring ourselves to imagine that all our surround- ings, our race, our homes, and our inherited customs, were to be swept away like shadows, in hardly more than a lifetime, all to be replaced by men of strange and unknown traits, possessing pow- ers to us undreamed of, we would not more than realize the simple story of the white invasion of America. Yet here this magical result has followed the occupation of our race as it has flowed in like a tide ; full of the vigor, power and intelligence that are our inheritance from generations of bold, adventurous, skillful men^ and this tide has been so widely and overwhelmingly superior in :',;■ J t -- i ji rtn i fl M>t ll iuwpiWil"iWWll« t»l»«»l*'r;- .^^ customs, ideas and aims, to the original occupant of the land, that mingling was impossible. No progress or elevation could so change the American Indian as to enable him to act with the new and impatient race; so despite muscles like steel, the vigor and en- durance of animals, and the undaunted courage of warrior blood, they have gone before the man of broader brain and his works, like autumn leaves before a gale, until almost as a winter's snow gives place to the spring verdure, has all the face of nature about us yielded to the white man's changing hand. The story of a century here in Central New York, is the history from the pioneer to the finished city ; back of that where are we, and how in our minds shall we picture the scenes now so familiar and attractive ? Our lakes were then the mirrors of a wild beauty, surrounded by a forest primeval. But where are the hearts that beneath it, Leaped like the roe, when he hears in the woodland The voice of the huntsman? Where indeed? Linger here and there by little pits, slightly sunken amid gnarled roots, that long have interlaced since with rude stone tools, groups of dusky figures have given back to earth one by one their numbers, and there marked only by a little brighter green, or a growth slightly varied from the woodland carpet, they rest, pressed by feet of a race by them unknown and unimagined. Looking again in retrospect, we find little to claim as known with certainty, and from signs that many pass unheeded, and from vague traditions alone, are we left to unravel from the past, slight threads of history. Comparative ethnology is collecting a vast array of information bearing upon the earlier races of America, but the chief results are the undermining of old theories, while no structures that bid fair to endure are built as yet from the dis- turbed material. In the so called old world, there were many centuries in each of the retrograde aspects of civilization. Going backward from what we may now term the electric age, electric in mental as well as material character, we find the steel, the iron, and the bronze ages, all more or less fully included in the realms of written his- tory,' and surrounded by as much of certainty as may be attested by the pens of periods full of ignorance, superstition and preju- dice; but beyond them, in regarding the ages of bone, flint and stone, we pass to unrecorded times, and are left to the resources l_. '■*1 he land, that )n could so vith the new Mgor and en- irrior blood, I his works, inter's snow lature about s the history here are we, w so familiar wild beauty. pits, slightly i since with back to earth by a little le woodland inknown and m as known ded, and from iie past, slight ecting a vast ; of America, heories, while from the dis- ries in each of ickward from mental as well id the bronze of written his- ay be attested on and preju- bone, flint and the resources of speculation, aided by such knowledge as may be brought to bear from a study of the races now in their rude periods of flint and stone. In America, the European invader of the iron age, came face to face with a people still in the stone age ; a period so far hid- den in the European past as to be considered only in the studies of archaeologists, when aroused by such discoveries as those of the Swiss Lakes, the Bone Caves, and the Rhone Gravel Beds; and not only are we called upon to regard the meeting of varied races, but the simultaneous existence of two conditions of human progress, so different, that when regarded in the light of the changes developed in producing the civilization of Europe, they are seen to represent the forward impulse that has required many centuries, or more probably, some thousands of years, in reaching the era that came with the adventurous Frenchman, the stubborn Puritan, and the treasure-seeking Spaniard. Knowing that our race has evolved the steam giant from the spark accidentally produced from two flints, or from the hint of friction in chaffing branches ; the steamship from perchance a floating leaf; the column-surrounded temple from the tree stem, the gothic cathedral from its branches ; a ball dress from the sim- ple decoration of a goat skin ; ceramics, with a K, from a river worn stone ; the telegraph and electric light from early but peril- ous experiments with a cat's back ; and all our myriad multipli- city of never to be satisfied needs, from a few simple animal re- quirements, we cannot refrain from speculating as to how far the native Indian if he had possessed this wonderful continent undis- turbed, would have progressed. As ages passed would his eye have become thoughtful, his brow broadened, and his hand train- ed to new and complex acts? He knew the use of fire, he cooked his food with hot stones, and burned rude pottery, that is found in such abundant frag- ments as to suggest the existence of a pre historic domestic of the tribe that make, but do not speak, broken China. His implements were of flint, stone and bone, possibly but not probably of copper. Bronze and iron, the first sources of new pow- ers he had not achieved, yet he constructed a canoe of such beauty and perfection, that grace and swiftness are associated with the name ; he cut away with fire, and his stone axe the forest, and with shells and sticks hardened in fire, made plantations of corn, and considerable earthworks. if Il His mind had formed a religion of marked and encouraRing promise; in talc, legend, tradition and allegory, facts and fancies were deftly woven. But it will never be known how far the usual onward steps would have been taken by the red man, had the mariner's compass never guided a new civilization to overwhelm him with the forces wrested from nature by brain power. We cannot tell whether he would have hunted on under the universal woodland, and camped by rivers free from new imoulses; or whether in time he would have found the metals under the forest mosses ; have set to work the wind sighing in the pine tops, the stream bubbling in the fcrnclad ravine, and the tide in its ebb and flow, — if the mill would have replaced the stone pestle ; the wheel and axle the weary back, not of his noble self, but of his squaw ; the roadway have followed the forest trail, and broad fields have been opened to the summer sun. As far as recent impressions are founded on wide investigation they do not encourage the belief that the Indian found in the eastern part of the North was progressive, but rather lead to the opinion that a more advanced race had preceded him, especially in the section west of us. In the western part of our State the remains of the Mound Building races commence, and are contin- uously followed, with few marked breaks in the chain, to the re- markable mounds and teocalli of Mexico and Central Africa. These were evidently built with more and more skill and labor as they near the South, — sod banks are replaced by rough stone, rough stone by cut stones of massive form, and they assume more and more size and mechanical perfection. It is suggested that they were made by a race moving slowly along their course, either southwesfeward with increasing skill, wealth and power, or the re- verse, with diminished numbers and lessened capacity to concen- trate labor. There are other indications that a race more like the Eskimo, with similar use of bones, stone and flint, were earlier occupants of the section between the lower lakes and the coast, and that they retreated northward, perhaps following the changes of climate that are evidenced by unmistakable marks on all the rocky sum- mits about us; but more must be woven from threads traced here and there, some strong, others slender, before we can say any positive words of the men who in human strata underlaid race by race the red man found in undisputed occupation of our hills and valleys. ^ ncourafjing nd fancies ;ir the usual 1, had the overwhelm ,'er. under the w imoulses; under the e pine tops, tide in its Dne pestle ; elf, but of and broad ivestigation jnd in the lead to the I, especially ir State the 1 are contin- 1, to the re- tral Africa. 1 and labor ough stone, ssume more ;gested that ourse, either :r, or the re- Y to concen- he Eskimo, Dccupantsof id that they of climate rocky sum- traced here an say any rlaid race by 3ur hills and But we are wandering away from the "lost point in history," that it has been the main purpose of this paper to consider. It is the long in-doubt location of the Indian encampment and fort that was the objective point in the expedition of the French in- vader Champlain, in 1615, two hundred and sixty-seven years ago, the earliest recorded event of Central New York, being six years after the attempt of the same explorer to follow the water ways of Lake Champlain, and five years before the landing on Ply- mouth Rock. From a careful translation of Champlain's Journal, published in volume three of the Documentary History of New York, we will read the parts describing in his own words his disastrous and adven- turous expedition into a vast and unknown woodland, filled with savages of courageous character. The time at which his narra- tive is here taken up, was in September, 1615. His army consist- ed of Northern Indians and a few French Arquebuseiers, with their clumsy weapons, (which were, however, very alarming, and some- times effective in the contests in which arrows and stones were the other means of attack and defence ;) and they were among the islands at the east end of Lake Ontario. His story of their pro- gress, is as follows : "We continued along the border of the Lake of the Entouhon- orons, always hunting; being there, we crossed over at one of the extremities, tending eastward, which is the beginning of the River St. Lawrence, in the parallel of forty-three degrees of latitude. There are some beautiful and very large islands in this passage. We made about fourteen leagues, (fifty-six miles,) to cross to the other side of the Lake, proceeding southward, toward the enemy's country. The Indians concealed all their canoes in the woods near the bank. We travelled by land about four leagues over a grassy plain, where I observed a very pleasing and fine country, watered by numerous small streams, and two little rivers which empty into said Lake, and a number of ponds and prairies, where there was an infinite quantity of game, a great many vines and fine trees, vast numbers of chestnuts, the fruit of which was yet in the shell. It is quite small but well flavored. "All the canoes being thus concealed, we left the bank of the Lake, which is eighty leagues long and twenty-five wide. It is in- habited for the greater part by savages, along the sides of the streams, and we continued our journey overland some twenty-five or thirty leagues. In the course of four days we traversed a num- ber of streams and one river issuing from a lake which empties H '!:4 ttawwbJB MWiiiwii i aWif ' . i'W.'w ji«il>w#"1iVtf»Vi^Wn'<^'"^i^- 8 into that of the Entouhonorons. This Lake is twenty-five to thirty leagues in circumference, with many beautiful islands, and is the Iroquois fishing ground, fish being in abundance there. "The 9th of October, our Indians going out scouting, encounter- ed eleven savages, whom they took prisoners ; to wit, four women, three boys, one girl, and three men, who were going fishing, four leagues distant from the enemy's fort. Now it is to be noted that one of the Chiefs seeing these prisoners, cut the finger off one of those poor women, as the commencement of their usual tortures. Whereupon I interfered, and censured the Iroquois captain, repre- senting to him that a warrior, as he called himself, was not in the habit of acting cruelly towards women, who have no defence but their tears, and who, by reason of their helplessness and feeble- ness, ought to be treated with humanity. That on the contrary, this act would be supposed to proceed from a vile and brutal courage, and that if he committed any more of those cruelties, he would not encourage me to assist them, nor to favor their war. Whereupon he replied that their enemies treated them in the same manner. But since such customs displeased me, he would not act so any more to women, but exclusively to men, "Next day, at three o'clock in the afternoon, we arrived before the enemy's fort, where the savages had some skirmishes, the one against the other, though it was not our design to discover our- selves until the morrow ; but the impatience of our savages would not brook this, as well through the desire they felt to see us fire on their enemies, as to liberate some of their men who had ven- tured too far. Then I advanced and presented myself, but with the few men I had ; nevertheless, I showed them what they had never saw nor heard before, for as soon as they saw us, and heard the reports of the arquebuses, and the balls whistling about their ears, they retired promptly within their fort, carrying off their wounded and dead ; and we retreated in like manner to our main body, with five or six of our wounded, one of whom died. "This being done, we retired within gun-shot, beyond the view of the enemy, contrary, however, to my advice, and to what they had promised me, which moved me to make use of and express to them pretty rude and angry words, in order to incite them to their duty foreseeing, that if everything went according to their tantasy, and counsel, nothing but misfortune would result, to their ruin and destruction. Nevertheless, I failed not to send to them and to propose means necessary to be used to overcome their /enty-five to islands, and ;e there. g, encounter- four women, fishing, four 36 noted that er oH one of iual tortures, aptain, repre- vas not in the I defence but and feeble- the contrary, ; and brutal ;e cruelties, he sr their war. them in the le, he would len, irrived before ishes, the one discover our- savages would to see us fire vho had ven- self, but with hat they had ■ us, and heard ng about their ^ing oH their er to our main n died. yond the view d to what they and express to icite them to irding to their result, to their 5 send to them jvercome their i: V 9 enemies ; which was, to construct a movable tower of timber to overlook their pickets, whereupon I should perch four or five of our arquebussiers, who would fire over the palisades and galleries, which were well supplied with stones, and by this means, the ene- my who annoyed us from their galleries, would be dislodged ; and in the meantime, we should give orders for some boards to form a species of parapet to cover and protect our men from the arrows and stones. "These things, namely, the tower and parapets, could be moved by main force ; and one was made in such a way that water could not extinguish the fire to be applied to the front of the fort; and those on the tower could do their duty with some arquebussiers posted there, and thus acting, we should so defend ourselves that they could not approach to extinguish the fire, that we should apply to their pickets. Approving this, they began next morn, ing to construct and prepare said tower and parapets; and made such progress that these were finished in less than four hours. "They were expecting the arrival this day of the five hundred men that had been promised, which was, however, doubtful ; not being at the rendezvous, as directed, and as they had promised, our savages were much afflicted. But seeing that they were numer- ous enough to capture the forts, and for my part, considering de- lay to be always prejudicial, at least in most cases, I urged them to attack said fort, representing that the enemy, discovering their strength and the effect of our arms, which pierced what was arrow- proof, would barricade and shelter themselves, which indeed, they did very well, for their village was enclosed with strong quadruple palisades of large timber, thirty feet high, interlocked the one with the other, with an interval of not more than half a foot be- tween them ; with galleries in the form of parapets, defended with double pieces of timber, proof against our arquebuses, and on one side they had a pond with a never failing supply of water, from which proceeded a number of gutters which they had laid along the intermediate space, throwing the water without, and rendered it effectual inside, for the purpose of extinguishing fire. "Such was their mode of fortification and defence, which was much stronger than the villages of the Hurons, and others. "We advanced then to attack the village ; causing our tower to be carried by two hundred of our strongest men, they placed it within a pike's length in front and I posted on it four arquebus- siers, all sheltered from any arrows and stones that might have 10 been shot at them. Nevertheless, the enemy did not, for all that, cease tlischarging and throwing a great number of arrows and stones over their pickets, but themultitudeof arquebus shots that were fired, constrained them to vacate and abandon their galleries. "But according as the tower was moved, instead of bringing the parapets as ordered, and that on which we were to have placed the fire, they abandoned them and commenced to yell against their enemies, shooting arrows within the fort, which, in my opin- ion, did not do much execution. They are very excusable, for they are not soldiers, and are moreover averse to discipline or cor- rection, and do only what they like. Wherefore, one inconsid- erately applied the fire to the wrong side of the fort, or to lee- ward, so that it produced no effect. On the fire being kindled, the most of the savages began to set wood against the pickets, but in such small quantities that the fire did not much good. The disorder that supervened, was in consequence so great that it was impossible to hear. In vain I cried to them and remonstrated as well as I was able against the imminent danger to which they ex- posed themselves by their stupidity. They heard nothing in consequence of the violent noise they made. Seeing that by i shouting I was only splitting my skull, and that my remonstran- ■ ' ces were in vain, and that this disorder was irremediable, I resolv- ed to do what was in my power with my men, and fire on those we could discover or perceive, yet the enemy profited by our dis- order. They went to the water and discharged it in such abun- dance, that rivers, it may be said, spouted from their gutters, so that the fire was extinguished in less than no time, and they con- tinued to pour arrows on us like hail. Those on the tower killed and wounded a great many. "This engagement lasted about three hours. Two of our chiefs and leaders were wounded ; to wit, one called Ochateguain, the other Orani, and about fifteen individuals besides. The rest see- ing their folks and some of their chiefs wounded, began to talk of retreating, without fighting any more, expecting the five hundred men, whose arrival was not far off ; and so they withdrew, having accomplished nothing save this disorderly splutter. However, the chiefs have no absolute control of their companions, who fol- low their whim, and act their pleasure, which is the cause of their disorder and ruins all their affairs. In having taken a resolution, any poor devil can make them violate it and change their plan. Thus, the one with the other, they effect nothing, as may be seen by this expedition. u i iia i »> ' ii* « ' < i«n » i-i iw?v55sra^s*^»ia4ssesi^ii^--' or all that, TOWS and shots that r galleries. inging the ve placed :11 against n my opin- isable, for line or cor- inconsid- or to lee- g kindled, lickets, but ood. The that it was istrated as :h they ex- nothing in ig that by ennonstran- le, I resolv- on those by our dis- uch abun- gutters, so 1 they con- ower killed four chiefs ;guain, the le rest see- in to talk of ve hundred ew, having However, s, who fol- use of their resolution, their plan, nay be seen 11 "Having received two wounds from arrows, one in the leg and the other in the knee, which sorely incommoded me, we withdrew into our fort. Being all assembled there, I remonstrated with them several times on account of the disorder that had occurred. But all my talk was vain ; they said many of their men had been wounded and I also, and that it would be very inconvenient and fatiguing to carry them, on the retreat; that there was no means of returning again to the enemy as I had proposed to them ; but that they would willingly wait four days more for the five hun- dred men that were expected, on whose arrival they would renew the effort against the enemy, and execute what I had told them better than they had already done. It was necessary to stop there, _ to my great regret. "Next day blew a very strong and violent wind, which lasted two days, particularly favorable for setting the enemy's fort in a blaze, which I strongly urged on them. But fearing a failure, and more- over representing themselves as wounded, they would not do anything. "We remained encamped until the i6th of the month. Several skirmishes occurred during that time between the enemy and our people, who became oftenest engaged with them rather by their imprudence than through want of courage ; and I can assure you, that every time they made a charge, we were obliged to extricate them from the difficulty, not being able to extricate themselves except through the help of our arquebuses, which the enemy dreaded and greatly feared. For as soon as they perceived one of our arquebussiers, they immediately retreated, telling us by way of persuasion not to meddle with their fights, and that their enemies had very little courage to require our assistance ; with many other such like discourses. "Seeing that the five hundred men were not coming, they pro- posed to depart and retreat at once, and began to make certain litters to convey their wounded, who are put in them, tumbled in a heap, doubled and strapped in such a way that it is impossible to stir; less than an infant in its swaddling clothes ; not without considerable pain, as I can certify, having been carried several days on the back of one of our Indians, thus tied and bound, so that I lost all patience. As soon as I had strength to bear my weight, I got out of this prison, or, to speak plainer, out of hell. "The enemy pursued us about the distance of half a league^ endeavoring to catch some of the rear guard. But their labor was in vain and they retired. i wi««««i>»»siE«s««jBMiH»lia'*W«S«>3^^ '"' JH- jr| K ri M J lBTr''"--''^"-^ r 12 "All I remarked in their wars is, that they retreat in good order ; placing all their wounded and old people in the centre, they being in front, on the wings and in the rear, well armed and arranged in such wise acccording to order, until they are in a place of safety, without breaking their line. Their retreat was very tedious, being from 25 to 30 leagues, which greatly fatigued the wounded and those who carried them, though they relieved each other from time to time. "On the 1 8th of said month, some snow fell, which melted rapidly. It was accompanied by a strong wind, which greatly annoyed us. Nevertheless, we contrived to get to the borders of the Lake of , the Entouhonorons and at the place where we had concealed our canoes, which we found safe ; for we feared lest the enemy might have broken them." Accompanying this narrative was a drawing of the fort, and it represents a very extensive enclosure, peculiarly situated. It was enclosed by a triple row of high palisades, and was surrounded on three sides by water, on the east and west, if the view is drawn as facing north, one brook entering, and the other coming from the Pond (Etang.) which is the boundary of the work on the third or north side. A considerable area is shown as inclosed, occupied by a number of wigwams quite systematically placed in rows. Thus are presented some peculiar features. A slightly raised piece of land with two streams and a pond. The streams not entering the pond and leaving at the opposite end, as is common, but flowing in and out on the same side a few rods apart. ' The site of this interesting fort has been the cause of many historical controversies, in which the skill of guarded writers has been enlisted, but no very definite conclusions were reached until General Clark, of Auburn, gave great attention to the research. Very little difference has been found in the views of various writers in following the path of Champlain and his motley fol- lowing to Oneida Lake. Grossing the lower end of Lake Ontario his descriptions of the distances, and of characteristic features of the country, lead very accurately to that lake, where the evidence is made very conclusive by the mention of islands, Oneida being the only one of the lakes of Central New York that has islands. From this point, Champlain's march of four leagues has been made to carry him to many improbable points, some of them on Canandaigua Lake, sixty miles to the westward ; but at none of the points where it was assumed that the fort was situated, were and with all firmly in his mind, discarded all and every place, without regard to its claims, until here he found a full realization of his faith in a locality that not only fits, but confirms Cham- plain's long disputed narrative. raves were ored. nters, who abundant nds before 1 watch or Id be seen irondacks, 'rem these /ater mark ind leaves se brooks. /riter met lamplain's ,d already, , which so conceived er a sleep- ndred and light the th feelings nd, seeing ral ground small rise reek ; then ny graves, ed among : to realize lis was the e long and IS, French, ind to-day t they are :e as other }ok Cham- anslations, /ery place, realization ms Cham- 15 So many features of this place meet and coincide with all that comes from authentic sources of information, regarding Cham- plain's former expeditions, that they cannot be deemed simple coincidences or accidental. The Indian occupation was evidently fully as ancient as the period of his invasion, for the large trees that still occupy part of the place are silent but incontestible witnesses that testify to not less than two centuries of undisturbed growth ; and unlike many other Indian works, these are free from any evidences of early communication with trappers or mission- aries. There are not found here the beads, medals or Jesuit tokens that are common in places that were occupied when the devoted priests and adventurous traders brought such things to dazzle and tempt the savages, then so eager to meet them and learn the mysteries the whites were masters of. Indeed, no change or adaptation is called for in Champlain's narrative, or in his sketch of the spot, to fit both to this hill top pond : and although there are many ready pens disputing this long delayed discovery, there is every reason to feel assured that discussion will only eventually confirm the work that connects the story of 1615 with one of our most commanding summits. As it has been stated, with the exception of water in the form of a lake or pond, no features of Canandaigua or Onondaga Lakes are described that establish for points on their margins any especial claim to represent the form of ground that is shown in Champlain's drawing, and consequently this sketch has been regarded as largely fanciful ; but so accurately did the French commander describe the low level borders of Ontario, the sandy plains covered with chestnut trees, and the rivers and ponds lying between his landing place on Ontario and his camp in sight of the beautiful islands, that his observations cannot be regarded lightly. Indeed, so little has before been found to confirm his sketch, that facts have been about even as between the points assumed as the site of the fort, but now this is all changed ; for just at the proper distance from his camp by the islands, a large and impor- tant Indian work has been found, and when an eye trained in antiquarian research falls upon it, it sees that the palisaded work, if it could be restored from the mould of nearly three centuries, would fit it like hand and glove, even to the small knolls and winding streams. With Champlain's retreat ended the first French foray. Had their arms gained and maintained so strong a point at that early day, many pages of our history might tell a different tale, and possibly we might read it all in French, for it was a long contest with nearly even chances that alone determined the French or English domination in the lake country of New York. The St. Lawrence, the valley of the Mohawk, Oneida and On- ondaga Lakes, and the Oswego River have all been frequent war- paths from the unrecorded days when scalps .were taken by rival savage warriors, and now it seems that one of the earliest incur- sions of the present ruling race, was met and defeated on one of our highest and most commanding points, where, long ago, the silent forest crept over the blood-stained grounds, and the autumn leaves of many years fell quietly on the spot, while the same con- test was swaying here and there, often on the plain that is over- looked from the points whence Champlain first saw the Indian stronghold. Here under the renewed forest, the secret lay hidden for two hundred and sixty-two years, at last to be discovered ; and the old story is brought from the archives of France to rest on a quiet pond, where herons have stood undisturbed, and none have dreamed that a war cry ever arose in the solitude. f: I ng contest French or la and On- quent war- :n by rival liest incur- on one of g ago, the ie autumn same con- at is over- :he Indian ;n for two nd the old on a quiet lone have ,:;• V . ■' •N A''wm m': t ,t, ? r K ' ■■' ^'- r .■.■\ ' ■i'i ,J :v'-ii 1 .X St ( "■i 1 ^' i i ... r'^,^ 4 J. I \ <. , ^V