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LAKE GEORGE:
Its Scenes and Characteristics, with Glimpses
of the Olden Times.
TO WHICI IS ADDED SOME ACCOUNT OF TICONDEROGA, WITH!
A DESCRIPTION OF THE ROUTE TO
Schroon Lake and the Adirondacks.
WITH AN APPENDIX,
CONTAINING NOTES ON LAKE CIIAMPLAIN.'it flunstratinnm.
BY B. F. DE COSTA.
NEW YORK:
ANSON    D. F. RANDOLPH,
770 BROADWAY.
868.




Eutered according to an Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by
B. F. DECOSTA,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the
Southern District of New York.




PREFACE.
THIS book is designed to convey, in a compact form,
all that general readers may desire to know about
Lake George.
The author was originally attracted to the subject by
its rare charms, and afterwards persuaded to throw his
thoughts into the present shape, for the reason that a
book of this kind was actually needed; especially as
Lake George has suffered so much at the hands of
magazine writers and others, who have done little more
than to transcribe popular errors.
In preparing this work the author has sifted out the
legends from the facts, which, in the history of this Lake,
are quite as romantic as any fiction, and4 has endeavored
to base his statements on original authorities.
That no lake in America has greater claims to consideration, is abundantly proved by the increasing throngs
of visitors who assemble at the Lake every summer.
Th:s is pre-eminently " Health's cheerful haunt."  The
pure air, the lovely scenes, and the numberless localities
consecrated by song and story, form  an attraction to
which few persons could be insensible.




IV.                PREFACE.
The tourist at the Lake will find this work a complete
guide, and by following the author's suggestions he will
gain an introduction to every point of interest.
The concluding chapter is chiefly the work of one of
the author's friends. It will afford all the information
needed in regard to the new stage-route to Schroon Lake
and the Adirondacks, which connects Lake George with
that entire region.
The author acknowledges his indebtedness to various
persons for valuable suggestions and historical information;
and among others to Mr. JOHN GILMARY SHEA; but
especially to MR. WILLIAM KELY, who has proved indefatigable in his efforts to search out and verify facts in the
history of Lake George.
Thanks are also due to MR. S. R. STODDARD, of Glen's
Falls, N. Y., for the use of valuable photographic views of
the Lake —views which deserve to be generally known,
and which are executed, like all the works of this enthusiastic photographer, with great fidelity and skill.
STUYVESANT SQUARE,
NEW YORn, 1868.




CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.........            L'OVERTURE.
CHAPTER II......     DOWN THE LAKE.
CHAPTER III... THE LAKE IN THE SEASONS.
CHAPTER IV......      AMONG THE ISLANDS.
CHAPTER V......... IN GENERAL.
CHAPTER VI..               COLONIAL DAYS.
CHAPTER VII..... COLONIAL DAYS.
CHAPTER VIII...    REVOLUTIONARY SCENES.
CHAPTER IX......        TICONDEROGA.
CHAPTER X... SCHROON LAKE AND THE
ADIRONDACKS.








LAKE          GEORGE.
L'O V E R T U RE.
CHAPTER      I.
Scenes must be beautiful, which, daily viewed,
Please daily, and whose novelty survives
Long knowledge and the scrutiny of years. - Cowper.
SITUATION - EXTENT -- GLEN'S FALLS - FIRST VIEW -PROSPECT MOUNTAIN- BLACK MOUNTAIN- THE BOLTON VIEW
-HISTORIC AssocIATIONS.
F:*'. IRST we must speak of the situation of Lake George, which lies
at the head of a valley of the St.
a  through Vermont and New York,
and reaching nearly to the Hudi]~ ~  ~(   ^! son River. It is about thirty-five
miles long, and from one mile to
I' four miles wide. The broadest' part is found about eight miles
from Ticonderoga, while it attains its greatest depth at a point'    four miles farther north. It is
elevated, probably, about three hundred feet above
the sea; and, according to fair estimates, it must stand




8              L'OVERTURE.
two hundred and forty feet above the level of Lake
Champlain, the receptacle of its surplus water, which
passes through a creek, and flows over two picturesque
falls. Surrounded on all sides, except at the outlet, by
beautiful hills, and mountains of primitive rock, it
receives from their springs and brooks an unfailing
supply of water that is sufficiently sparkling and pure
to justify the name-St. Sacrament-which the lake
originally received.
At some remote period, this whole region was swept
over by a great deluge which left the country far and
wide covered with loose earth and gravel, and gave to
the lake a floor of beautiful white sand. This, in
connection with the crystal purity of the water,
renders objects visible at a considerable depth.
Only a small portion of the lake is seen at a single
view. There is no broad and striking expanse of water. This lake (like Como and Windermere) assumes
more of the character of a noble river flanked by highlands. Winding sweetly on its way among the verdant hills, it gradually unfolds its wealth of beauty,
surprising and delighting the tourist at every advance
by some new and exquisite scene.
In approaching the lake from Albany, the tourist
takes the Saratoga railroad, and, passing north, alights
at Moreau station, whence he goes on fourteen miles
by coach, or else he continues on to Whitehall to take
the steamer for Ticonderoga, and approaches the lake
from the north.  Most persons, however, prefer the




L'OVETURE.                    9
round trip, thus going by one route and returning by
the other.
In taking the first-mentioned route, the traveller will
do well to secure a seat upon the top of the coach, and
thus be the better prepared to get the full benefit of
the journey. The first fouir miles take him over a
somewhat soft and hilly read to the thriving village of
Glen's Falls, leaving Fort Edward in the distance on
the right. Descending the hill at that place, a full
view of the Falls of the Hudson bursts upon the sight.
The river makes a descent of about sixty feet, in a
succession of falls. When the stream is full the sight
is magnificient and one that well repays the trouble
of a journey. The bed and walls of the river are
composed of blue, fossiliferous limestone, and the
scenery is bold and striking. The admirers of Cooper
must not fail to explore the falls and visit the cave
under the rocks below, where the novelist lays the most
thrilling scenes depicted in The Last of the M2ohicans.
It was in this cave that Hayward and Cora found refuge; where David struck his pitch-pipe, and sang the
"Isle of White" to the chiming of the music of the
falls.
Leaving Glen's Falls, the coach rolls on through a
beautiful undulating region, whose scenery cannot fail
to charm the eye. Soon after leaving Glen's Falls,
French Mountain rises to view; and, after passing the
Notch, at about three miles from the lake, is seen the
monument to Colonel Williams, who was killed in the




10               L   V E R TU r E.
Battle of Lake George, fought on this spot, Sept. 8,
1755. This monument was erected by the Alumni
of Williams College, upon the rough boulder upon
which, it is said, WVilliams stood when he received his
death-wound.1 A little further on may be seen Bloody
Pond," where Baron Dieskau's troops halted after
BLOODY POND.
their defeat, ancd where, at sunset, they were again attacked, and routed with much slaughter, and, it is said,
mingled their blood with the vwater of this shallow
pond, which in the season is covered with beautifll
white lilies.
(1)- Col. Williams was buried near where lie fell. Ils grave was
opened about thirty years ago, and not long' since his skull was in the
possession of a physician in South Carolina.




L'OYE    T UIRE.              II
About half a mile from the village of Caldwell, the
south, or upper end of Lake George, comes in sight,
glittering among the verdant hills like a sea of glass.
This view is one of extreme beauty, yet in the course
of his rambles down the lake, the traveller will
obtain others that are finer.
In order to obtain an extended view of the lake, it
is necessary to climb some one of the mountains on the
border. A fine view may be had from the eminence
called Rattlesnake Cobble, which rises south of
the village of Caldwell. A mountain road leaves the
highway opposite the Fort William Henry Hotel, and
winds around the base of the mountain, through a fine
wood, enabling the tourist to walk easily half way up
the ascent.  He then leaves the road and moves
directly toward the summit, and, in the absence of a
path, climbs over fallen trees, ledges and loose rocks,
which task a strong man's strength. On the top of
the Cobble there is an open space in the woods, which
forms a beautiful out-look upon the lake.  Here the
village of Caldwell is seen directly below our feet,
while half of the lake, dotted with green isles, and
fenced in by mountains, stretches away before the
sight until lost in the haze, out of which Black Mountain looms, apparently barring the way. The view
from this point is one that delights the eye; and
though the neighboring and much loftier Prospect
Mountain, with its beaten path, is oftener climbed, it
can afford no such satisfactory view of the lake. The




12              L'O V E   T U  E.
glimpse gained from that mountain may be far more
grand, but it is certainly not superior in beauty. Indeed, at the present time, the view from the apex of
Prospect Mountain is wholly obstructed by the trees.
It is found, when reached, to be a place
"Where to the north, pine trees in prospect rise;
Where to the east, pine trees assail the skies;
Where to the west, pine trees obstruct the view;
Where to the south, pine trees forever grew! "
In fact the climber sees nothing else. Yet, by descending a few rods, he will find an opening where
he may get a tolerable glimpse of the country towards
the east and south.
Three hours will suffice for the trip up Cobble Hill,
which may be safely achieved, notwithstanding the
stories that he will hear about snakes; while to
ascend Prospect Mountain will ordinarily consume the
greater portion of a day. But no one should leave the
lake without ascending both. Nor would it be altogether unprofitable to climb the French Mountain, on
the east side of the lake, above which the traveller
first beholds the morning sun.
A still more lovely view may be had at Bolton, ten
miles down the lake, from an eminence also called
Prospect Mountain, where the air
" Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself
Unto our gentle senses."
The Bolton view has a wider range, and is more com



L'O V E' T U r E.            13
prehensive than that at the head of the lake, in addition
to being more attractive. Here we take our second
lesson in the geography of the lake, and, overlooking
the Narrows, (which in early times was called the First
Narrows, to distinguish them from the Narrows at the
outlet), we get a glimpse of the region beyond.
Seen from this point, the lake loses the crowded
aspect which it wears while we are upon its shores,
and the islands appear reduced in size. Black Mountain, however, affords a view which, for grandeur,
eclipses everything else.
About three miles north of Fourteen Mile Island,
in a small clearing, stands an old house used in the
winter by the Black Mountain lumbermen. This is
the point of departure in making the ascent. Taking
one of the rough roads used in winter in hauling logs,
we follow it -for about three miles, which brings us
to a pond, situated a mile from the summit, and which
in the summer is flecked with lilies. At this point we
turn to the left and clamber on as best we may. Up
we go along the dry bed of winter torrents, and over
loose debris and huge rocks magnificently embossed
with rich lichens. Here and there in a crevice may
be found a spring at which we can quench our thirst,
while beautiful harebells delight the eye.  This
mountain does not afford any opportunities for the
study of Alpine flora, though the botanist may occasionally find the sand-wort (Greenlandica arenaria),
which bears a pretty white flower worth preserving.




14               LO VERTURE.
This, like all mountains, is very deceptive. In a
transparent atmosphere its summit does not appear
very distant, yet as we go forward, it recedes and
beckons us on and up, while occasionally we lose sight
of it altogether. It is very provoking sometimes to
be obliged to scramble for two hours over the rocks
to reach a point that you expected to reach in a few
minutes. Yet the journey is not without its rich
compensations, and, as we mount up, we find ourselves slowly rising into a new world. Finally, we
stand on the bare and desolate peak of Black Mountain, where the eye sweeps the entire horizon, and sees
the green hills everywhere rolling like billows, while
the lake reposes in the vale below, mute and
motionless as a silver sea. This is a place eminently
calculated to inspire lofvy sentiments.  With the poet
one may Eay:
"There as thou standst
The haunts of men below thee, and around
The mountain summits, thy expanding heart
Shall feel a kindred with that loftier world
To which thou art translated, and partake
The enlargement of thy vision."
Here, however, few persons rise in their inspiration
above the need of bodily nourishment, as the remains
cf numerous bottles abundantly testify.
From this elevation the scene is one of great variety.
Besides the lake at our feet, Champlain stretches away
toward the north; in the south may be seen the
Hudson, glittering like a silver thread; in the north



L OV EnTUnE.                   15
west are the Adirondacks; and away in the east are
the Green Mountains, with Camel's Hump.      It is
interesting to watch the steamer Minnehaha running
up the lake from   Ticonderoga, winding her way
among the numerous islands, and leaving a trail cf
light on the surface of the calm lake.
In visiting Black Mountain, strangers should take
a guide and start early in the day, or else prepare to
spend the night somewhere on its side.
But, although so much has been said of the mountain-views, we must not forget the beautiful walks that
are to be found among the wild old woods on the hillsides and along the shores. In the language of
another, we may say:
" Nor is the stately scene without
Its sweet, secluded treasures,
Where hearts that there the crowd may find
Their own exclusive pleasures;
Deep, charming shades for pensive thought,
The hours to wear away in,
And vaulted isles of whispering pines,
For lover's feet to stray in."
Long ago the beauty of Lake George began to
attract the attention of travellers, many of whom were
foreigners.  It was even then the general opinion,
that no lake exceeded it in loveliness. By some visitors, it was called " the Como of America," and others
compared it to the lakes of Westmoreland and some
of the Scotch lakes; while all agreed that it must
eventually become a popular resort. The prediction




i6              L'OVERTUR E.
has been more than justified by the thousands of
tourists who now annually visit Lake George.
This lake is adorned with no ivied ruin or lordly
hall.  Besides Caldwell, (a summer convenience,
more for use than ornament,) there are only four
villages, - Bolton, Dresden, Hague, and   Ticon,
deroga. Here and there the boatman finds a farmhouse or cottage, but he may sail for miles among
certain districts, without seeing a sign of human life.
And yet there is no lack of antiquity. Among the
lofty hills he will find peaks that were laid bare before
Eden bloomed, towers more ancient than Babel, and
nature-carved crags that rejoiced in the sun's warm
rays before Memnon began to sing.
As with the scenery so with its historic associations,
in which no lake can be richer. There is hardly a
spot, either on land or water, that has not been the
scene of some warlike exploit or heroic adventure.
Forming in colonial times a part of the great highway
between Canada and New York, it was often the
chosen battle-ground of the French and English, who,
in connection with hostile Indian tribes, waged a barbarous war on each other. Often was the lake traversed by the soldier, the savage, and the monk. Hither
came the brave Montcalm, the pious Father Joques,
the good Roubaud, Rigaud, St. Ours, and Courcelles,
together with Abercrombie, Howe, Lord Amherst,
Putnam, Rogers the Ranger, Johnson, Williams,
"King Hendrick," and Stark, and a multitude of




L'O VE R TUR E.              17
others who are invested with historic renown. The
story of their deeds contains all the elements of romance. Cooper in his novels has invested the lake
with a thrilling interest, but the literal history is
ofttimes stranger than the overwrought fiction.
It is also interesting to be reminded of the fact that
the French pushed their discoveries in this direction
in early times, and that Champlain, who heard of the
Hudson River through the Indians, started on his way
thither, intending to go by Lake St. Sacrament, about
the same time that Hendrick Hudson was sailing up
to Albany, which was four years before the Dutch
took possession of New York, and eleven years before
the English Puritans landed on Plymouth Rock.
In times of peace the Indian hunted the deer which
abounded in the woods, or, gliding over the waters in
his canoe, darted his spear at the trout. But when
the signal for war was given, the lake became alive
with armed men all eager for the fight. Then those
sweet and tranquil scenes upon which the tourist now
delights to gaze were obscured by the smoke of battle,
and the solitudes echoed with the rattle of the musket
and the boom of artillery. Rogers and Putnam both
traversed the lake, with cannon mounted on their
boats, which scattered the Indian canoes in fragments
on the water; and in the winter they traversed the ice
on skates, and, after the fight, carried their wounded
home on sleds.   The imaginative mind can easily
re-animate the lake with the splendid armies of




8               L'O V E R T U R E.
Abercrombie, Amherst, and Montcalm, numbering
from nine to sixteen thousand men each, and sailing
in boats and batteaux, marshalled in beautiful array,
with all the pomp and circumstance of war. How
peaceful it appears to-day at the head of the lake
around the ruins of Fort George, and the grass-grown.-  
FORT GEORGE.
site of Fort William Henry! Yet here, through long
and bloody wars, the cross of St. George waved
defiance to the Lilies of France. Iere forts and palisades went up, opposing trenches were dug, and mines
sprung.  Here the iron-mouthed cannon from the
narrow embrasures of Munro, belched out death by
day, while the huge bomb with its fiery trail came
shrieking from the camp of Montcalm by night.
Here, too, was the scene of the massacre of the English by the French Indians cf St. Francis. But now




L OVERTURE.                    19
all signs of bloodshed and strife have passed away.
The hapless victims are forever at rest; and the descendants of the Abenakis, from the ancient village of
their fathers, now unconsciously pitch their summer
tents, and pursue the harmless trade of the basketmaker, over their graves.




DOWN THE LAKE.
C HAPTERI II.
The crowded steamer leaves the village pier;
Its paddles splash; it flaunts a gaudy flag:
And brazen music loudens into noise.
THE START - FRENCH MOUNTAIN - TIIE ISLANDS - BOLTON
-THE NARROWS — TONGUE MOUNTAIN- BLACIK MOUNTAIN -BUCK M{OUNTAIN - SABBATH DAY POINT - HAGUE
-FRIENDS' POINT-ANTIIONY'S NOSEE- ROGERS' SLIDE
-PRISONERS' ISLAND.
_     - ____q HE tourist, in order to view the
__   ~ r lake, will find it necessary to
pass over its entire length in
-       tl lthe steamer, which runs regu-..... larly to  Ticonderoga, going
down   in the   morning  and:    returning in the afternoon.... Leaving the little quay at
Fort William Henry Hotel, the
Mlinnehaha glides out into the
centre of the lake, leaving
behind a long line of foam.
The high, wood-crowned mountain  on  the  east side   is
French Mountain.    It terminates in the beautiful
point of land called Plum's Point. Two miles down




DOWN     TIIE   LAKE.            21
the lake, on the west side, close to the shore, is the
first island which we pass. It is called Tea Island,
TEA ISLAND.
and is a perfect gem. In 1828 a "Tea-house "' was
kept there to accommodate visitors, which fact accounts
for its present name.
About two miles farther on is Diamond Island. An
account of its early use by Burgoyne, as a military
depot, and of the defeat of Colonel Brown at this
place, will be found in the chapters relating to the
history of the lake. When the country was first settled, the island was overrun with rattlesnakes. One
writer says, that the people seldom ventured upon it.
Anbury2 writes, on very good authority, that, before the
Revolution, "A batteau, in sailing up the lake, overset near Diamond Island, and, among other things, it
(1)- Stewart's Trav., Vol. i., p. 121.
(2)- Anbury's Trav., Vol. i., p. 835.




^2          D O OWN  THE    LAKE.
contained several hogs, which swam to the shore, as
did the Canadians, who were rowing.  The latter,
apprehensive of the rattlesnakes, climbed up trees for
the night, and the next morning, observing a batteau,
they hailed the people in it who took them in." It is
called Diamond Island on account of the beautiful
quartz crystals obtained here. Silliman, who was here
in 1819, says: " The crystals are hardly surpassed by
any in the world for transparency and perfection of
form. They are, as usual, the six-sided prism, and are
frequently terminated at both ends by six-sided pyramids. These last, of course, must be found loose, or,
at least, not adhering to any rock; those which are
broken off have necessarily only one pyramid."'
Writing at this time, he says: "There is a solitary
miserable cottage upon this island, from which we saw
the smoke ascending; - a woman who lives in it, is
facetiously called,'The Lady of the Lake,' but, probably, no Malcolm Graeme and Rhoderick Dhu will
ever contend on her account."2
In 1821 he visited the lake again, when he remarks
of Diamond Island: " This small island, scarcely covering the area of a common kitchen garden, is inhabited by a family who occupy a small but comfortable
house, and constantly explore the rocks for crystals.... At present, they are scarcely obtained at all,
except by breaking the rocks."'
(1)-Silliman'sTrav., p. 153. (2)-ib. p. 152.  (3)- ib. p. 168.




DOWN      THE    LAKE.             23
Near by, on the shore, there was a place called
Diamond Point, where crystals were also obtained by
the same man- an Indian named Sampson Paul.
It is said that he once killed an immense panther
at this place, as the animal was coming out of the lake
benumbed with cold.     The little bay beyond this
point is Montcalm's Bay.
Beyond Plum's Point is Dunham's Bay, where
some say Colonel Brown landed after his defeat at
Diamond Island. One mile beyond, are the Three
Sisters, though properly there are only two islands;
and a little way east is Long Island, where Rogers
camped one winter's night in 1758, after having been
defeated by the French. In the bay, farther to the
right, is the hotel called " Trout Pavilion," one resort
of those who are fond of fine fish. As we pass on to
Bolton, which is ten miles from Caldwell, we leave on
the west side the islands called The Three Brothers.
To the right is a large and heavily wooded island,
called Dome Island, on account of its resemblance to
a dome.
West of Dome Island is Recluse Island,l a lovely
spot, commanding a fine view of the lake in all directions. This island is owned by Rufus Wattles, Esq.,
(1) -This is the island which, in January of 1868, was reported as
sunk by an earthquake, and which, consequently, became so famous
in the newspapers. It stands to-day as fair as ever, and will last as
long as thelake, it being nothing less than a part of the lake's bed,
which was lifted up into its present position during that dim antiquity to which the formation of this region must be referred.




24          DOWN     TIIE   LAKE.
of New York, who has here erected the only private
residence yet to be found on the islands of the lake.
It is a neat cottage, embowered among the trees, where
a genial hospitality is gracefully dispensed.
On the sides of this island, facing the Narrows and
Bolton, are the remains of some earthworks, which
were probably erected by Abercrombie's forces, who,
in 1758, were stationed on the lake. Near by, is an
islet, often called Sloop Island, or Ship Island. In
sailing down the lake, it appears in the distance like a
small ship under sail.  In 1851, it was visited by
Parodi, the famous singer, who erected a rude cross,
which still remains. Hence the island has sometimes
been called by her name.
The steamer now heads in for the landing at Bolton,
three-fourths of a mile distant, and one of the most
charming parts of the lake.  After touching at the
landing, the Minnehaha starts for Fourteen Mile Island, which is four miles from. Bolton, and located at
the foot of Shelving Rock, on the right of the entrance
to the Narrows. As we pass towards this spot, we
leave Green Island on the left, beyond which, in the
mouth of Northwest Bay, is the spot called, (with
little taste or reason,) Hog Island.  Directly in front
is that beautiful elevation, called, frem its shape,
Tongue Mountain, and which, for a distance of six
miles, forms the east side of Northwest Bay. As we
approach Fourteen Mile Island, we get a just view of
the Narrows. At this point the sides of the lake




DO      N  TII E  LAKE.             25
approach each other, and the space between is nearly
filled up with clusters of islands, of various shapes and
sizes, so that the steamer is obliged to wind carefully
through.  At a distance no passage can be seen, and
------
T      II  N A R  0 W S.
the islands, covered with foliage, resemble a tongue of
land, stretching across the lake, forming what often
appears like an impassible barrier.  At first, we look
in vain for islands and a passage through.  So it was
on our last trip down the lake; but, on a nearer
approach, the passage widened, and the little rifts in
the woods, here and there, opened like celestial gates.
Then
"The shaggy mound no longer stood
Emerging from entangled wood;
But, wave-encircled, seemed to float,
Like castle girdled with its moat:
Yet broader floods extending still
Divide them from the parent hill,
Till each, retiring, claims to be,
An islet in an inland sea."
But before going through, we stop at the landing,
and have time to observe the beauty of the place and




26           DOWN     THE    LAKIE.
its rare adaptation as a summer resort. This site has
advantages that are found nowhere else on the lake,
and travellers who have the time will find it much to
their advantage to spend some days here. Note also
the group of islands called the IHen and Chickens,
which lie near the east shore. On the west side, close
by Tongue Mountain, is an island, the character of
which may be gathered from its name, - Flea Island.
In passing through the Narrows, we find ourselves
in the very heart of the lake, surrounded on every
side by scenes that delight the eye. Black Mountain
looms up directly before us. According to barometrical calculations, it is 2,878 feet above tide water, and
is the highest mountain near the lake. It is banded
around its sides with alternate lines of maple, pine, and
birch, which thin out by degrees as they rise, until,
two-thirds of the way up, the bare rocks chiefly appear, sentinelled here and there by a few dead trunks,
while the top of the mountain stands out completely
divested of verdure, and dark, threatening, and bare.
The view from the summit is one of much grandcur.  It is readily ascended with the aid of a
guide.  Around its scarred and rifted sides, often
swept by fire, we see the work of time and weather,
which
"Down the lake in masses, threw
Crags, knolls, and mounds confusedly hurl'd,
The fragments of an earlier world."
The next islands to be noted are the Hatchet Islands, so called, from an Indian hatchet once found




DOWN     TIIE   LAKE.            27
there.  On the west, in the curved side of Tongue
Mountain, close to the shore, nearer than the steamer
usually goes, is a double echo, the sounds made there
being repeated from two distinct quarters at the same
instant.
On the west shore, farther on, is Half-Way Island,
which marks the centre of the lake, being half way to
Ticonderoga. Beyond Black Mountain, is next seen
the Sugar Loaf, a spur of the former mountain, which
now loses the symmetrical and imposing aspect that it
presented from the Narrows, and seems to sink down,
at the same time taking the appearance of a formless
mass of rock, scooped out into deep ravines. Some
persons fancy that in this vicinity they are able to
detect a form in the north part of the mountain, which
resembles an elephant's back, and hence it has sometimes been called Elephant's Ridge. Along the base
of this mountain, may be seen the Floating Battery
Islands.  Opposite the Ridge is Harbor Island, the
scene of Montcalm's first skirmish with the English.
Next to it is Vicar's Island. On the right appears the
little hamlet of Dresden, nestling in Bosom Bay. On
the west is Buck Mountain, about eight hundred feet
high, the side of which towards the Lake forms a sort
of palisade.  At one time, the deer were extremely
plenty in this entire neighborhood.  In 1802, Dr.
Dwight, the grave divine, joined in the hunt, and captured a deer in the lake. The deer are usually hunted
by dogs and driven into the water, where they are




28           DOWN     THE    LAKE.
captured or killed. Buck Mountain received its name
from the fact, that a buck, pursued by a hunter and
his dogs, leaped from the precipice overhanging the
lake, and was literally impaled alive on a sharp-pointed
tree projecting below. Silliman, when on the lake,
saw the man who drove the buck. Chasing the animal out of the woods, toward the open place which
looks down at such a tremendous height upon the lake
below, he believed that, with the help of his hounds,
he was sure of his game. From afar,
"The hunter marked that mountain high,
The lone lake's western boundary,
And deemed the stag must turn to bay,
Where that huge rampart barred the way:
Already, glorying in his prize,
Measured his antlers with his eyes;
For the death-wound and death-halloo,
Muster'd his breath, his whinyard drew."
But he was disappointed at last, for the poor beast,
now driven to desperation, had less fear of the precipice than of the dogs, and, reaching the brink, sprang
forward into the air, and descending, met his cruel
fate upon a sharp tree below.
As we sail on, Black Mountain rises behind us, and
begins to assume the symmetry and commanding
height which it completely loses while the traveller is
sailing under its brow. The next place, on the west
side of the lake, is the projecting tongue of land
known as Sabbath Day Point. This name was given
to the spot at an early day, though for what reason it




DOWN     THE    LAKE.           29
is impossible now to say. Perhaps it was on account
of the general aspect of peace which usually prevails.
Magazine writers and others' say, that the place was
so called by Abercrombie, in 1758, when, as they aver,
he halted here on Sunday morning to refresh his
troops, before proceeding to attack Ticonderega. But
a reference to the almanac shows that it was on a
Wednesday, and not on a Sunday, that he landed here.
Nor, as others say, was the name given by Lord Amherst the year following. In fact, the French officers
of Montcalm's army, in their official reports, dated
one year before Abercrombie came to the lake,
call the place Sabbath Day Point, a name by which it
was at that time generally known by both the French
and English.
SABBATH DAY POINT.
During the Revolution, it is said, a fight occurred
here between some Militia and a party of Tories and
Indians. The Americans gained the victory, the
killed and wounded of the enemy numbering about
forty. The view up the lake from this point is one
of rare beauty. And look - Black Mountain is now
(1)- See Lossing's Field Book, Vol. i.




30          DOW N    TIIE   LAKE.
fully itself once more, lifting up its dark, but gracefully defined peak in sharp contrast with the deep
blue sky, while all the surrounding parts of the landscape, which form the accessories of this mountain, sink
into their true and subordinate positions. Throughout
the entire central portion of the lake, Black Mountain
seems to travel with the tourist, and presents itself
in the midst of every new view. The student of
nature will be amply repaid by watching its various
aspects.
The point opposite Sabbath Day Point, is Bluff
Point, beyond which, on the east shore, are the Odell
Islands; while on the west, about the same distance,
may be seen the Scotch Bonnet. Two miles to the
north of the Bonnet, is the little village of Hague,
where the steamer stops for passengers. Sailing on
from Hague, we pass Cook's Island and then Friends'
Point, where two scouting-parties belonging to the
same force, once met, and in the darkness of the night
came near firing upon one another. Two miles below Hague, on the east shore, will be seen Anthony's
Nose, a bold and lofty hill, with rocks jutting out into
the lake. There are three other places in the State
that bear the name of the Old Saint, who, evidently,
for some reason not so clear, was a great favorite.
One is on the Hudson, forming the southern limit of
the Highlands, and two others are situated on the
Mohawk. At this point may be found the deepest
water of the lake. A fisherman in his boat once




D O   N  THE    LAKE.           31
narrowly escaped drowning in the huge waves caused
by a rock that fell into the lake from Anthony's Nose.
In the hill opposite, the guides used to point out a
dozen mortars in a solid rock, which, they avered, were
made by the Indians for the purpose of pounding corn.
Two miles farther down, on the west shore, is
Rogers' Slide. This is a steep, smooth precipice of
^J^-C,," ——?. 
ROGERS' SLIDE.
naked rock, inclining at a sharp angle, in the face of
the mountain. It forms a prominent object from the
lake, and, in 1757, was called " Bald Mountain," by
Father Roubaud, in his Relation. At the foot of the
Slide the water is quite deep. It received its present
name, it is alleged, from the fact that Rogers the
Ranger was once surprised here by the Indians, and
made his escape on the ice. The latest version of the
story runs somewhat as follows:
In the winter of 1758 Rogers was surprised by
some Indians, while out on a scout, and put to flight.




32          DOW V N  TIIE  LAKE.
Shod with snow-shoes, he eluded pursuit, and, coming
to this spot, saved his life by an ingenious device.
Descending the mountain, until he came to the edge
of the precipice, he threw his haversack down upon
the ice, unbuckled his snow-shoes, and, without moving them, turned himself about, and put them on his
feet again, with the heels in front. He then retreated
by the way he came, until he reached the southern
brow of the rock, where he found a ravine, down
which he escaped, and sped away on the ice towards
Fort George. The Indians, in the meanwhile, came
to the spot, and, seeing the double set of tracks, concluded that they were made by two persons who had
thrown themselves down the cliff, rather than to fall
into their hands. But, on looking about, they saw
Rogers disappearing in the distance on the ice, and,
believing that he slid down the cliff, concluded that he
was under the special protection of the Great Spirit.
They then gave up the chase.
So runs the latest version of the story. But, in
1802, the cliff was called Rogers' Rock, not Rogers'
Slide. The best account Dwight could get at that
time, was, that he escaped down a valley, and that the
Indians supposed he fell off the precipice. Dwight's
guide told him that one Colonel Cochrane and several
others escaped in the same way, and that years after,
when surveying the land, he showed his companions a
bullet, fired at him on this occasion, lodged in a tree.
The earliest account, however, simply says, that there




DOW 0  N  THE   LAKE.           33
was a tradition that a man once escaped from the
savages in some such way.   But what is worse,
Rogers, who is very prolix where his own adventures
are concerned, says nothing whatever about the
affair in his journal; which most persons will accept
as good proof that it never occurred.
Rogers was a New-Hampshire man, whose brutal
character is illustrated by his deeds. After the French
war he went to England, and while there dined in
company with some officers, who agreed, over their
wine, that the person who could tell the greatest
falsehood should have his bill paid by the others.
When Rogers' turn came, he told the company that
lis father was shot by a friend, who mistook him for a
bear; that his mother was followed in the snow, on a
stormy day, by a hunter, who supposed he was following the tracks of a panther: and that when a small
boy, he travelled on foot in the woods, ten miles, with
birch brooms on his shoulder, having nothing to guide
him but marks on the trees. Judgment was at once
uproariously given in his favor by the company.'
Rogers returned to America when the Revolution
broke out, but was suspected by Washington as a
spy, and could get no employment. He eventually
obtained a commission from the English commander,
and raised a company of Tory Rangers, which, on
Long Island and elsewhere, proved more or less a
scourge. He was proscribed by the New-Hampshire
(1)-New Hampshire Coll., Vol. i., p. 240.




34          DOWN     THE    LAKE.
Legislature, who decreed a divorce for his wife.
Neither the time, place, nor the manner of his death
is given.
But while thus dwelling upon the story of Rogers,
we have been nearing the foot of the lake, whose
waters, at this point, begin to shoal. It decreases
in depth until the outlet is reached, where the
water, now somewhat discolored by clay, passes
through a narrow creek, and tumbles over the falls,
on its way to Lake Champlain, making a descent of
about two hundred and forty feet in the course of four
miles. At this end of the lake there is nothing of
special interest to detain the traveller, before proceeding to Ticonderoga; though he will, of course, notice
the little island called Prisoners' Island, where, tradition says, the French sometimes confined their prisoners, and from which a party once escaped by wading
across a shallow place to the main land, on the west
shore.
The French called this island Isle au Mouton.1 It
probably made a convenient sheep-fold.  Schuyler
and Martin, who, in 1758, were returned by Abercrombie as Montcalm's prisoners on the expiration of
their parole, were received on this island by the
advanced guard of the French.
(1) —Col. Doc., Vol. x. p. 759.




THE LAKE IN THE SEASONS.
C II A P T ER  III.
O me, my pleasant rambles by the lake,
My sweet, mild, fresh three-quarters of a year,
My one Oasis in the dust and drouth
Of city life.             - Tennyson.
SPRING - SUMMER - BOATING - ECIOES - PROGRESSIVE
CHANGE -SUNRISE - SUNSET - AUTUMN -BLACK MOUNTAIN - JEFFERSON - INDIAN SUMMER - WINTER - ICE.
HOEVER    desires to know Lake
George thoroughly, will find it
necessary to study all its varied
-  moods, which are as changeable
/Ad   <       as the sky.  Yet it has certain
general characteristics in each of the four
A/t  L  seasons.  The early spring is, perhaps,
the least interesting season cf the year.
When the snow      disappears, the ravages
of winter become apparent. The woods
everywhere have a black and sodden look. The
oaks, which retain their dusky foliage much longer
than the other trees, and part with their leaves
as reluctantly as the belle loses her charms, are
now completely stripped; and the woods, except




36   THE   LAKE     IN  TIE    SEASONS.
where the evergreen pine appears, wear an aspect
of extreme poverty and desolation. The action of the
frost is revealed even on the rocks.
Eventually, the warm-breathing air of the south
comes, and the vegetable kingdom feels the thrill of a
new life. Imperceptibly, the tone of the landscape is
changed, and the hills, and islands, and shores, are
suffused with a pale, delicate emerald green. At this
time, a day of genial, sunny weather causes a sudden
growth of verdure that will transform the whole lake.
Then the water, which previously had reflected the
leafless trees and cheerless hills, is lighted up with
beauty, and in the sunlight gleams with the richest
hues. Joy and gladness then seem to fill the very
air. At this period the showers on the lake are very
fine.
But spring soon gives away to summer, which
rapidly. shoots up into its green prime, when the
country is thronged with visitors from every part of
the United States. Lake George at this time presents the most lovely picture. The majority of transient visitors congregate at Caldwell, and here, all day
long, the water is covered with boats containing parties
engaged in fishing, rowing, and in excursions to the
islands. We need not go abroad on Italian lakes, or
sail in Venetian gondolas, in order to witness picturesque scenes. Often on Lake George the boating
parties, arrayed in bright costumes, reflected on the
waves, with the accessories of green hills, blue skies,




THE    LAKE    IN   THE   SEASONS. 37
and sparkling water, form scenes that never fail to
delight the artist's eye. There is no end of song and
merry-making. Under the shadow of French Mountain, from the summit of which, in the spring of 1757,
Rigaud reconnoitred Fort William Henry, will be
found a remarkably good echo, which, in a calm day,
will repeat with great fidelity all the variations of the
bugle or flute. Visitors often row to this spot. It
is easily found, and then
*  " Many a laugh and many a shout
The busy echoes toss about,
Till joyous with the merry rout
The hills are pealing."
To describe a day of summer-time here, would be a
difficult task. From dawn until evening the lake is
the subject of progressive change, and is continually
going on from glory to glory. Sunrise often presents
a scene of rare beauty. In the course of the night the
mist accumulates among the hills and on the surface
of the lake, and the first act of Old Sol, is to drive it
away. This is a gradual work. As a range of mountains extends along the east side of the lake, we first
view the light in the sky overhead, which gleams with
red and gold.  But as the day advances, French
Mountain doffs its nightcap, and the sunbeams, bursting through the tree-tops, charge down the declivities
upon the fleecy fog, like angelic spears. Unable to
withstand the assault, the misty battalions break and
fly. In due time the work is thoroughly finished, and




38   THE    LAKE     IN  T   EII   SEASONS
" Now flaming up the heavens, the potent sun
Melts into limpid air the high-raised clouds
And morning fogs, that hovered round the hills
In parti-colored bands; till wide unveiled
The face of Nature shines, from where earth seems'ar-stretched around to meet the bending sphere."
As the day wears on, it is delightful to lounge
around the lake, watching its changeful mood, as its
surface is rippled by the wind, or shaded by some
passing cloud. About noon the air will often be
charged with a fine haze, which gives greater apparent
depth and distance to the view.   There is then a
wide scope for the imagination, and, under its influence,
the mountains seem to increase in height, presenting
at the same time a softer outline. Everything in the
distance is seen through a strongly refracted light,
so that it is often difficult to tell where shore and water
meet; while some of the little transfigured islands
appear as if rising towards the sky. To the landscape
painter, the lake at such times affords a rare study.
A gentle breeze, however, is always sufficient to dispel
these effects. Late in the afternoon, the sun swings
around on the west side of the lake, when the hills
gradually extend their shadows along its entire length,
except at Bolton, ten miles down, where the range
descends, and allows the King of Day to fling his
beams with full force across the water upon the opposite mountains. The sunset is enjoyed to its fullest
extent by the passengers who come up the lake at this
hour from Ticonderoga; while the view, looking down




THE    LAKE    IN   THE   SEASONS.      39
from Caldwell, is much finer than in the morning.
There lie the mountains towards the north, eight miles
distant, vested in purple, each rock and crag a gleaming gem, while the roseate sky, barred with rich purple
and green, is mirrored on the smooth lake, which,
when ploughed by the homeward-bound Minnehaha,
glitters like a sea of gold.
Erelong the sun sinks to rest, and the splendor
fades, leaving only a deep purple glow, which gives
way to a black pall. Before it is too late, however,
the visitor must take a boat and row out into the
middle of the lake, to observe the richness of the
shadows on the water, and the color of the surrounding
hills. Then all that is unsightly is obscured, and the
rich green of field and wood becomes wonderfully
softened, and yet intensified, in the gloaming light,
which is now reflected wholly from above by the
canopy of deep blue. At this time the reflection of
the green hills gives the water a beauty that the
artist strives in vain to convey, especially when it is
marked by those trails of light that follow in the track
of some belated boat or Indian canoe. But finally
the twilight dies away, the mountains are reduced to
dusky, indistinguishable forms, and the lake is left to
the meek-eyed stars, which, here and there, sow a
jewel in the wave.
But after all that can be said about summer, autumn
is the most beautiful portion of the year, though
few visitors linger to enjoy its glories. At this season,




40   THE    LAKE    IN   TlHE  SEASONS.
Dame Nature, like an old coquette, puts on her -most
gorgeous robes, and strives to appear young. How
magnificent the hues!  The mountains appear all
aflame with glory. Sunsets and rainbows appear to
have fallen down upon them, and all their borders
seem covered with rich Cashmere shawls.
There is a radical difference between the American
and European autumn. Indeed, Tacitus speaks of
some old Germans who knew nothing at all about it.
Autumn in England and on the continent appears
tame, while in America it is the true carnival time.
The splendor of our autumn is to be accounted for by
the fact that in America we have a far greater variety
of forest trees.  In France, for instance, there are
only about forty species that grow to the height of
thirty feet, while in America there are no less than
one hundred and forty. Around Lake George there
is the usual variety, so that the hills blaze, and yet,
like the Burning Bush, are not consumed. Here and
there may sometimes be found only a few varieties,
and then, as Moir says of the English forests in
autumn,
" The faded woods a yellow livery wear."
The west side of Black Mountain appears from a
distance to have only some maples and birches (the
latter predominating) besides the pines; hence it is
chiefly marked around its side with zones of green and
yellow. But elsewhere there is no lack of color, the




THE   LAKE     IN  TIE    SEASONS.     41
crimson and scarlet being of the deepest and most
exquisite hue. Jefferson visited the lake in June, 1791,
accompanied by Mr. Madison, while Washington was
on a southern tour, and improved a part of his vacation in the use of his rod and gun, at the same time
giving some attention to natural history, a science in
which he excelled, and which, but for the claims of his
country, would probably have occupied a much larger
portion of his life. Writing about the botany of the
lake, he said of the trees: " Those either unknown
or rare in Virginia, were the sugar-maple, in great
abundance; the silver fir, the white pine, pitch pine,
spruce pine, a shrub with decumbent stems which
they call juniper, an aralea, very different from the
mundiflora, with very large clusters of flowers, more
thickly set on branches, of a deeper red, and a high
pink fragrance. It is the richest shrub I have seen.
The honeysuckle of the gardens grows wild on the
banks of Lake George; the paper birch, an aspen
with a velvet leaf, a shrub willow with downy catkins,
a wild gooseberry, and a wild cherry with a single
fruit (not in the bunch cherry), and strawberries in
abundance."'
These are some of the trees and shrubs not found in
Virginia, but they form a small portion of the flora of
the lake, which the philosopher admired quite as much
as the magnificent pickerel and trout. And when the
(1)-Jefferson's Works, Vol. iii. p. 265.




42   TI E   LAKE    IN   THE    SEASONS.
leaves ripen,' the forests display every conceivable
color. It is then a rare pleasure to watch the reflections of the mountains on the water. Of course, the
weather will not always serve our purpose. Cold,
disagreeable days come, when we are fitly reminded
of the words of Ossian:  "Arise, winds of autumn,
arise: blow along the heath! streams of the mountain,
roar! roar, tempests, in the grove of my oaks!"
Still, there are not wanting beautiful days when the
sky and air are in harmony with the resplendent
hues of the forest, and when the lake appears like
some sweet scene of enchantment. Then the little
rich, russet-colored isles, nestling in the shining lake,
look like apples of gold in pictures of silver, while the
tall, maple-crowned hill, looming up in the distance,
seems a pyramid of fire. Whoever takes two or three
of these glorious days for a trip down the lake, will
store up in the portfolio of his mind a succession of
beautiful scenes that will last for life.
And when autumn declines, and the magnificent
foliage has disappeared, then comes the Indian Summer; though many persons unacquainted with its characteristics place it earlier in the season. It usually
occurs about All Saints' Day, November 1st, and by
some of the French who visited the lake it was known
as the Summer of All Saints. On the continent of
Europe it is called the Summer-Close, and in Eng(1) -Tho frost has nothing to do with changing the color of the
leaves in autumn.




T IIE  L A KE    IN   TII E   SEASONS.        43
land, Martin-mass Summer, as the peasantry look for
it about St. Martin's Day, which falls on November
11th. This season is marked by a reddish, hazy,
quiet atmosphere, and a slight rise in the temperature.
In the autumn the haze is not always seen around the
lake.  After the September and October rains the
sky is sometimes attended by a wondrous clearness and
depth. We may always measure the purity of the
air by the clearness of the reflections in the water.
When the air is perfectly free from mist, the maple
torch flames as brightly in the water of the lake at your
feet as on the rocky cliff above your head.  But during
the Indian Summer, the lake is always veiled in mist.
Longfellow happily describes it in Evangeline:
" Such was the advent of autumn. Then followed that beautiful
season
Called by the pious Acadian peasants, the Summer of All Saints.
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape
Lay as if created in all the freshness of childhood.
leace seemed to reign upon earth, and the restless heart of the ocean
Was for a moment consoled. All sounds were in harmony blended.
Voices of children at play, the crowing of cocks in the barn-yards,
Whir of wings in the drowsy air, and the cooing of pigeons,
All were subdued and low as the murmurs of love, and the great sun
Looked with the eye of love through the golden vapors around him."
Many persons suppose that the Indian Summer is
distinguished only by a rise in the temperature; and
when, as is sometimes the case, Old Sol falls back into
one of his July dreams, they tell us that the Indian
Summer has come. But we must observe more carefully, as the season brings no obtrusive phenomena.
We hailed it once on Lake      George, near Sabbath




44   THE   LAKE     IN  TIHE   SEASONS.
Day Point. For several days the weather had been
unpropitious, but at last there came a day when earth
seemed caught up into heaven. Then the landscape
was bathed in a warm, rich haze, and mountain and
valley, and field and upland, still crimsoned with a
few autumnal tints, shone with a subdued but royal
splendor. The lake was covered with a fine veil of
mist, while overhead, the sky was as blue as sapphire.
The insects, invigorated by the genial warmth, had
come forth to add another hour to their brief day of
life, and were gaily chirping among the branches, or
skimming along the calm surface of the lake, unmindful of the morrow's frost. Occasionally on the shore
could be heard the voice of a trudging farmer driving
the patient ox; but these were all the sounds that
broke the stillness. Black Mountain towered above
the lake, having an almost supernatural aspect, while
the whole landscape appeared invested with a vague,
dreamy life, so that there was an almost irresistible
temptation to accept the transcendental definition of
the universe as " a projection of God in the unconscious." It was the Indian Summer. And days like
these are few and brief; yet if they vanish like a beautiful dream, they give us a lovely night. As Whittier
writes:
" From go'd to gray,
Our mild sweet day
Of Indian Summer fades too soon;
But tenderly,
O'er lake and lea,
IIangs, white and calm, the Iunter's Moon."




THE    LAKE    IN   THE    SEASONS.      45
Winter is a northern word that was first used to
denote the period of windy weather. It now stands
for different things in different latitudes. How unlike
is winter at the equator and the poles. In one case
it is the season of night and frost, and in Ihe other, of
sunshine and flowers, and eternal spring. In some
regions, lying within the torrid zone, winter surpasses
all other portions of the year in loveliness. There
the traveller fails to witness the grand march of the
seasons; there he sees no changeful autumn and no
general decay. Nature undergoes an imperceptible
renovation, and is always in her green prime, though,
at certain seasons of the year, the heat increases, and
the leaves seem to droop. At such times the air is
often stifling, and the entire animal creation feels a
sense of oppression.  Erelong, however, the clouds
gather, the blinding flash comes, followed by the
thunder's peal, and then the sky sends down the welcome rain. But soon the tempest dies away, and the
sun looks out upon the reviving earth and smiles.
And this is winter. Here in the tropics
"The seasons alter: hoary-headed frosts
Fall in the fresh lap of the crimson rose,
And on Old Hiem's thin and icy crown
An odorous chaplet of sweet summer buds
Is as in mockery set."
But at Lake George, as the reader may surmise,
the seasons follow in their appointed course. Early
in November the trees are nearly laid bare, while




46   THE    LAKE    IN   THE    SEASONS.
fleets of crisped leaves, rich and varied in their hues,
are launched by the wind upon the shimmering lake,
where they voyage for a brief time like mimic argosies and gay gondolas, and then sink to the bottom
with Montcalm's boats and Abercrombie's batteaux.
Then the farmers bring home from the field the remains
of their crops, and prepare for the cold weather, which
is a season of isolation; while the boys improve the
occasion to lay in their stores of nuts, and beat about
the woods with their guns in search of game. About
Christmas the lake is frozen over, and by New Year's
day its surface is transformed into a solid marble highway. In the meanwhile the snow has fallen, and the
mountains -vested in October with such magnificent
robes -are sheeted in white from base to summit.
The sleigh-bells resound along the roads and on the
lake, a slippery course where all may enter free. The
wood-cutter improves this season to get wood and
timber from the islands, which the sharply-shod oxen
draw home on sleds. In the sheltered coves the
skater enjoys his sport without fear, as the intense
cold which prevails in this season gives a great
thickness of ice. It is a merry season. Go forth
upon the banks of the lake, and you will hear
the joyous shout and see the blazing bonfire. As
Percival says:
" Below me rings the lake,
The stars above me burn;
Away the skaters break,
And glide, and wheel, and turn."




T IE   LA   E  IN   TIIE   SE ASONS.     47
The water at this time rises nearly two feet above
the summer level, which fact is duly registered upon
the rocks.
In March the ice begins to soften and break up, but
it does not dissolve so rapidly as on Lake Champlain,
where its sudden disappearance leads scme cf the
farmer-folk to imagine that it sinks to the bottom.
Before the ice parts, and indeed at intervals during
the whole winter, it gives out loud reports. This,
however, is not peculiar to Lake George. Southey
speaks of it in his journal, under date of Feb. 1,
1814. lIe says the noise was "neither like thunder
nor the sound of wind, but a long, moaning, melancholy sound, rising and dying away, beyond
measure mournful."   He adds, as we can well
believe, that to any one crossing the ice, "it is
inexpressibly awful and appalling."  So Wordsworth
writes:
" From under Esthwaite's splitting fields of ice
The pent-up air, struggling to frco itself,
Gave out to meadow, ground, and hill, a loud
Protracted yelling, like the noise of wolves
Iowling in troops along the Bothnia main."
This resemblance to the howling of wolves has been
noticed by others. Southey, in his journal above
quoted, says that his children suggested the idea when
they heard it. Whoever would judge for himself
must not be content with a brief summer trip to the




48    THE     LAKE      IN   THE      SEASONS.
lake, but must live here all the year round. The
artist, at least, might possibly conclude about Lake
George as Philip I-amerton did of Loch Awe:
"I passed Loch Awe as tourists do,
Catching glimpses here and there,
Of the scenes we posted through;
With companions full of care
About the comforts of the inns,
And about to-morrow's fare.
Thus the soul, to try it, wins
Glimpses of its Paradise.'Twas a judgment for my sins:
Yet a judgment making wise,
For I went another year
To work alone, and settled there."




AMONG THE ISLANDS.
CHAPTER IV.
To burst all link of habit - then to wander far away,
On from island unto island, at the gateways of the day.
-Tennyson.
ATLANTIS-ST. BRANDON-LOCII AWE-LAKE GEORGEEXPLORING - SCOUTING - RECLUSE - DOME ISLANDCAMPING OUT - TENNYSON'S "ISLET" - EXPLORING -
MIRAGE- BOATING -VIRGIL - LOCI KATRINE - SHELVING ROCK FALL.
j  HE subject of islands has pos-,^S \N  >k A sessed a peculiar charm in all
(t5   i AsK        ages of the world.     It was
1 r  W  \l    on an island that the ancients
_i B  l^      located the abode of happy
iff  -8  };-   departed spirits. Their dreams
/X". Ax    of that favored place were col-!'_',   5ored by the rose. The Odyssey,
- describing the fabled Atlantis,.       _l(lf^, says: "There the life of mortals
A  -RC~     ~must be easy; there is no snow,
nor winter, nor much rain, but ocean is ever sending
up the shrilly-breathing zephyrus to refresh man."  In
those days islands were not always stationary. Delos,




50        AMONG     THE    ISLANDS.
celebrated as the birthplace of Apollo, once floated
under the sea. And later, St. Brandon was a flying
island, which gyrated somewhere west of the Canaries.
It figured in all the maps at the time of Columbus, and
was retained on a French chart in 1755. This imaginary island was named after a Scotch abbot of the sixth
century, who undertook to find the Islands of Paradise.
Several expeditions went in search of the Abbot's isle,
one party sailing from Spain in 1721. It was generally believed to be the retreat of their lost King
Roderigo.  There, also, was located the garden of
Armida, where Rinaldo remained enchanted.
But we can readily excuse the enchantment. Rinaldo would have been enchanted almost anywhere
among the islands of Lake George, which are unsurpassed for beauty. They vary in size, some being no
larger than that island of Shakspeare, which the jesting sailor consigned to the Duke's pocket, while others
cover a considerable extent. Occasionally they afford
standing-room for no more than a single tree, though
at other times supporting a good sized forest. They
occur singly, in pairs, and in groups, and are scattered
all through the lake. At the Narrows they nearly
block up the passage. But how shall we account for
the islands?
The peasants around Loch Awe, as we are told by
Philip Hamerton,l held that the islands in that lake
(1)-Sec Isles of Loch Awe.




AMONG      TIIE  ISLANDS.           51
were the crests of pastoral hills which rose in Arcadian valleys ages long ago. One Bera, a coarse
Diana, owned the vale, and it was her nightly duty to
cover a spring, in the neighboring mountain, with a
huge stone. This precaution being neglected, it would
result in the overflow of the spring and the inundation
of the valley.  But on one occasion Bera left the
spring uncovered. The next morning, to her utter
dismay, a fearful cataract burst forth and submerged
the valley, leaving the lesser hills with their tops just
above the flood. And
" So was the peaceful valley of the Awe
Flooded and drowned forever. Ask no more."
This tradition tells us of a geological fact, and
equally indicates the origin of the Isles of both Lake
George and Loch Awe. Where our lake now lies
was once an empty valley, barred with low hills built
of the primitive rock, with which the valley is floored.
When the rain period set in —ages long ago — the
streams ran down the sides of the iaked hills and
filled up the valley. At first the islands were
" Barren rocks
Glittering with white quartz crystals here and there,
Scattered like spots of snow upon the hills;"
but, eventually, what the geologist calls the " drift"
period dawned, and a mighty deluge then swept over
the whole country, rising above the tops of the highest
mountains, and covering hill and valley with deposits




52        AM ~ ONG  THE    ISLANDS.
of loose earth, gravel, and sand. When the flood
passed away, and the lake was drained down to its
former level, the islands emerged again, though the
most of them were now covered with a deep soil, frcm
which sprang the green groves of beech, and oak, and
pine. But for the barrier at the lower end of the
lake, the space it occupies would have become a
rich, populated valley. But now we see
"The town unbuilt, the mountain barriers closed,
And all the concave valley with its park,
Embattled hall, and avenues of oak,
And hundred farms, a sheet of silent water."
On the whole, however, no one is a loser. Lakes like
Lake George have frequently been called the eyes of
the landscape; and surely the utilitarian could not
have the heart to put them out.
The work of exploring the islands is one that might
well occupy the most of an ordinary vacation, though
it is not a work that would compensate the class of
persons who incline to lounge away the summer on
the piazza of the hotel.  Good views may be had
from his easy-going carriage, even by the invalid, but
to see and know the islands thoroughly, we must use
a pair of oars. For the most part they remain substantially as they were two hundred years ago, and it
is not a difficult task for the tourist, with the records
of the olden times before him, to "conjure up again
the evanished shapes.; people these isles, this
rock; and cause, by might of spirit and power, the








it~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~:;~~~tLOUREENMIL ISAND




A MONG    T IE   ISLANDS.           53
old times to flit by, clearly and truly." HIe will
thus live over the past in the society of Father
Roubaud, Chevalier St. Ours, Montcalm, Rogers,
Putnam, and scores of other brave and adventurous
spirits.
Between the years 1755 and 1760, scouting among
the islands was almost a distinct branch of the military
profession, and the "Rangers," as they were called,
proceeded from point to point, in small parties, camping and fighting as they went. The traces of their
stockades and camps have in most cases passed away,
yet we can row from isle to isle, and follow them in
their adventures with the utmost certainty.
From the pivotal positions afforded by the islands,
we may obtain the best views of the scenery. On the
north shore of Recluse Island, the view is had in its
perfection. Tongue Mountain rises a little to the left;
directly in front, the Narrows partially unbar their
beautiful gates; Shelving Rock and Dome Island-the
latter rejoicing in its green crown-lift themselves on
the right; while Black Mountain looms grandly in the
distance. Nothing could be more exquisite than the
view which is here enjoyed, and the proprietor of the
island has shown the most excellent taste in building
his summer cottage on this romantic spot.
Dome Island, mentioned above with Green Island,
stands higher above the water than all the rest. The
latter is heavily wooded with beech, birch, hemlock,
pine, and other trees, and offers a splendid site for a




54       AMONG      TIIE   ISLANDS.
summer home, where, through the loop-holes in the
dense wood, the eye is delighted with the ever-changing beauty of the lake.  Yet in the centre of the
island it would be easy for one to imagine himself in
the heart of some forest thousands of miles away; and
the lover of solitude is as secluded and free from intrusion as Cicero, when meditating among the wild old
woods of the Island of Astura, on the shore of the
Tyrrhenian Sea.
On any of the islands in the central parts of the
lake, the fisherman or the artist will find most excelUNDER CANVASS.
lent spots to pitch his summer tent. If the weather
should not always prove propitious, it will at least
appear that
"A summer night in greenwood spent,
Were but to-morrow's merriment."
Even in a pelting storm the woodsman will find a safe




AMONG      THE    ISLANDS.          55
covert, and from his seat at the cosy camp-fire he can
look out on the misty lake, blistered by the rain, with
entire unconcern. The islands here are quite unlike
that pictured by Tennyson, in his poem of the "Islet."
The little singer's wife could not say:
"For in all that exquisite isle, my dear,
There is but one bird with a musical throat,
And his compass is but of a single note,
That it makes me weary to hear."
It is the charm of the islands that there is no
monotony. The lake is a kaleidoscope that is never
at rest. It speaks eloquently of mutation in both
sunshine and storm; and here it is easy to believe,
with the Ettrick Shepherd, that there is no such thing
as bad weather. Whoever, therefore, wishes to enjoy
himself to the utmost, should take to his oars, and go
forth a sort of Vasco de Gama upon this island sea,
and explore the islands in their order, taking from
each, as he passes, a tithe of arrow or spear-heads as
souvenirs of the voyage. He will find, as he goes on,
that nearly every island is a lifting up of the lake's
floor, which slopes away from the rock-strewn. strand
into the clear sunlit depths below, the home of the bass
and pike. Sometimes, when a mirage invests the lake,
they seem to mock approach; and on a windy day,
when the waves break on the rocks, they are liable to
knock a hole in the bottom of your boat; but, plumed
as they are with green trees, they usually wave a welcome from afar, and invite the weary to repose under
the shade of wide-spread natural tents.




56       AMONG      TIIE   ISLANDS.
Nothing could be more charming than to idle for a
day on Lake George. For this purpose, a sail-boat is
not always desirable. The breeze is sometimes too
fickle to be trusted. The dead calm is often followed
by the fitful gust or heavy squall, which rushes down
from hill-side and mountain. On the whole it is better
for those unused to sails to depend upon oars, since
while these last, a good boat is safe in any weather.
Whoever takes the time to row around the lake will
feel amply rewarded. Whenever he tires of the oar,
numberless sweet retreats will invite him to rest. If
a brief summer shower overtakes him, he can find
temporary protection under the shaggy pines and jutting
cliffs; and when the sun looks out, he may, at times,
view the most magnificent rainbows spanning the lake
from shore to shore. If weary of gazing, the fishingrod awaits the disciple of Izaak Walton, who will soon
find that the lake keeps some of its sweetest thoughts
" expressed in trout." If his strength fails, the passing steamer will take him on board, and tow his boat
home.   And if he should find himself belated some
night, he will have no cause to complain of the moonlight or the stars; while every farm-house on the shore
will prove as hospitable as a hotel.
In voyaging amid these beautiful islands, one
familiar with the early records will wonder that the
scenery made so little impression upon those who
traversed the lake. The loveliness of the scenery is
never alluded to, and from such accounts as those of




AMONG     THE    ISLANDS.           57
Father Roubaud, it would be easy to conclude that
the writer was sailing on a common pond. The men
of those days were completely absorbed in thoughts of
war and trade, and from their pens Lake St. Sacrament does not gain the poorest tribute.  And yet
writers like Bancroft now often pause in the midst of
grave, historical narrations, to portray, here and there,
some charming scene which has riveted their attention
and caused an exclamation of surprise. How beautifully does he speak of the crystal waves, the breezy
isles, and the mountains stepping down to the shores.
He says, " Peacefully rest the waters of Lake George
between their rampart of highlands. In their pellucid
depths, the cliffs, and the hills, and the trees trace their
image, and the beautiful region speaks to the heart,
teaching affection for nature."' And yet this "affection
for nature," as we have already remarked, was something rare in early times. There seems to be a period
in the history of all nations, when the finest exhibitions of nature have no power to excite admiration.
We find that the lovely lakes of England, Ireland and
Scotland, were wholly unappreciated by the best of
the old writers. Even the early English poets are
dumb on the subject of Windermere, Loch Awe, and
Killarney. During the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries, those beautiful regions were well
known, but they had no message for the most culti(1)-IIist., Vol. iv. p. 259.




58        AM3ONG     TIIE   ISLANDS.
vated minds. It was so with the Italian Lakes even
in the Augustan Age. Virgil, who was horn near the
shores of Como, only says:
"Our spacious lakes; thee, Larins [Como]; and next
Bernacus, with tempestuous billows vex't."l
And yet the lakes have no lack of admirers now;
while at Lake George the tide of travel is increasing
every year. Men of taste who have frittered away
much time at the hackneyed watering-places scattered
throughout the country, often feel like the author of
the following lines, who says,
" O timid heart! with thy glad throbs
Some self-reproach is blended,
At the long years that died before,
The sight of scene so splendid."
One does not know, when on the lake, what feature
to admire most. It is a feast of beauty all the way
through. Willis declares that in this respect, as well
as others, it excels Loch Katrine. Speaking on this
point he says, "Loch Katrine at the Trosachs, is a
miniature likeness of Lake George. It is the only
lake in Europe that has at all the same style and
degree of beauty.... Loch Katrine can scarcely be
called picturesque, except at the Trosachs, while Lake
George throughout all the mazes of its.. islands,
preserves the same wild.. character of beauty."
Indeed, one always feels that the last view is the best.
(1)- Gcorg. ii., 1. 159.




AM ONG    THE    ISLANDS.           59
WVe have spoken of camping out on the islands, but
this mode of life is not imperative.  On Fourteen
Mile Island, opposite Bolton, is a good hotel, surrounded by many attractions. Near by is the sweetest waterfall to be found around the lake. It is easily
reached in boating. Shelving Rock Fall is situated
on a small stream which empties into Shelving Rock
Bay, about a mile south of Fourteen Mile Island. It
is found a few rods from the beach, and all its accessories have been arranged by nature with admirable
artistic effect. Shelving Rock Fall is not a Niagara,
even in miniature, — and in the White Mountain
region, where numberless cascades leap down the hillsides, and bound from crag to crag, our little fall would
be passed without notice; yet it is a perfect gem, and at
Lake George, where cascades are not numerous, it is
fully appreciated. Silently flowing out from its covert
of dark green foliage, the stream glides along its stony
bed until it meets a large boulder, when it divides into
two parts and springs foaming down the declivity,
uniting again before reaching its basin below, from
whence it flows, singing and shimmering towards the
tranquil lake. This is one of the most charming spots
on the lake for a picnic, and well repays the tourist
for the time spent on a trip among the islands.




IN GENERAL.
CIIAPTER V.
THE OLD MAN OF TnTE FORT - RATTLESNAKES - RELICS —
JACQUES COURTOIS-LAKE DEPOSITS-AN OLD VESSEL
-INDIAN GRAVES-A NEPISTINGUE BURIAL —FISIIFISHING - SHOOTING - SQUIRRELS - GEOLOGY - GEMS.
h.      i',  NTIQUITIES in general is a
subject that must not be omitted
in the account of Lake George,
tCb     g     ~~especially at the present time,
when there is a revived interest:~iC'+S^   ^ ~ in everything ancient, and when
i, -Hi  ~   so many individuals are glad to
enter upon "the constant service
of the antique world."  This department is interesting, if not very extensive, and has always engaged the
attention of some one of the odd
characters that haunt the lake.
About the year 1830, there was a person of this
sort at Caldwell. He was known by visitors as " The
Old Man of the Fort," and his name sometimes made
its way into the metropolitan papers. He came originally from Massachusetts, and had known the lake




IN   GENERAL.                 6I
during forty-five of his seventy-six years of existence.
"Old Dick," as he was often called, knew just where
to find the rattlesnakes, which were very plentiful on
Cobble Hill and Black Mountain, though they are
rare enough now.   He carried on quite a thriving
trade in rattlesnakes, and used to practice the difficult
art of extracting their fangs. He often travelled up
and down the lake on the steamboat, where he kept a
box of snakes for exhibition. On his box was the
following inscription: " In this box ar a Rattell Snaick
Hoo was Kecht on 3Blak Mounting.    He is seven
years old last Guly. Admittance sixpents site, children half price or nothen."  The latter clause he
thought extremely witty.
The Old Man of the Fort has left no successor, yet
there are several persons known as rattlesnake hunters;
one of whom usually gets up quite a little stock of
antiquities every year to dispose of to the summer
visitors.  There is but very little doubt about the
genuine character of these specimens.  A diligent
search would result in the discovery of many objects
of interest. The grounds around the village of Caldwell are full of mementos of the past. Scarcely a foot
of soil can be upturned without bringing to light some
relic of the French and English wars. In excavating
for cellars, the laborer's spade uncovers the grave of
both soldier and savage, who often found promiscuous
sepulture. Around Fort George may be dug up fragments of bombshell, together with a variety of souve



62              IN   GENERAL.
nirs of a similar character, collections of which may be
seen in the museums of the hotels. The site of what
is called the Old French Burying-Ground is still
pointed out near the foot of Rattlesnake Cobble. The
ground has frequently been examined by those interested in the antiquities of the lake, and the owner was
finally obliged to prohibit investigations. At one time
there was a stone standing on this spot inscribed,
"Jacques Courtois, 1755."1 A brief biography, indeed.
It indicates that he lived and died. He was, perhaps,
attached to Dieskau's army in some capacity, and
came from sunny France to America with many high
anticipations. Wealth, honor, and renown, all floated
before his eyes, but he found, like multitudes of his
countrymen, only a bloody grave.
There are numberless treasures in the lake, where
they are at present likely to remain.  During the
French war and the war of the Revolution, hundreds
of boats, batteaux, and small craft, were destroyed in a
single day. Some were burned and others sunk.
Many vessels, loaded with war material, went down
in deep water, where the diver would to-day find
whole batteries of rusty cannon, and muskets without
number. Within a recent period the fisherman has
seen here and there, at the bottom of the lake, bat(1)-April 11, 1754, six French deserters came to Albany from Niagara, by the way of Oswego. Among them was "Jean Baptiste do
Cortois " (French Comte). It is possible that this is the same person.
The French deserters often enlisted in English regiments. Col. Doc.
vi. p. 832.




IN   GENERAL.                  63
teaux, apparently filled with barrels, while others say
they have seen cannon.   Artillery, shot, and shell
were frequently secreted in the lake, as well as on the
land, by both the French and English, and much of
this material remains where it was deposited. Abercrombie sunk a large vessel of one hundred tons, near
Fort William Henry, to keep her from falling into the
hands of the enemy. This vessel was afterwards
raised, and employed by Lord Amherst in 1759. The
hull of a large vessel is still seen in fair, calm weather,
and appears to be nearly full of cobble-stones, probably ballast.  There the old craft has lain for an
entire century,
" Docked in the sand
Vailing her high top lower than her ribs
To kiss her burial."
The spot where this hulk may be seen is near the
steamboat-landing, and can be found only when the
lake is perfectly calm and the sky clear. Many years
ago one of the residents of Caldwell undertook to raise
the interesting relic, but failed, being able to get up
only a portion of the timber of the bows. It is impossible to say what vessel this was, or whether it was
built by the French or English. Perhaps it is the
remains of the " Halifax," a vessel that Lord Amherst
took with him in his expedition against Ticonderoga,
in 1759. It is not too late to save what is still left,
yet the keel of this old craft will never plough the
lake again. Near Hague, on the shore of the lake,




64               IN   GENERAL.
may be seen the remains of the steamer John Jay,
which was destroyed by fire. On this occasion several
lives were lost.
Around the lake may be found numerous relics of
the Indians, such as stone knives, hatchets, and arrowheads.  On Recluse Island a number of the latter
have been picked up, together with fragments of the
material from which they are made, which shows that
the place was once the site of an Indian dwelling,
and that
" There the ancient arrow-maker
Made his arrow-heads of sandstone -
Arrow-heads of chalcedony -
Arrow-heads of flint and jasper,
Smoothed and sharpened at the edges,
Iard and polished, keen and costly."
Indian graves, except near battle-grounds, are not
often found, though here and there on the hill-sides
bordering the lake, and on the islands, may be seen
what visitors sometimes imagine to be mounds, denoting places of sepulture.  These are formed by the
upturning of trees during the winter gales. Cart-loads
of earth frequently adhere to the roots of large trees,
and when they fall, it assumes the oblong shape of
graves. In course of time the trunk of the tree decays,
and nature neatly turfs over the mound, which has
every appearance of being the work of man.1 These
(1)-In the summer of last year (1867), the author saw a party of
antiquarians opening one of these mounds. A large stone lay at
each end, fully persuading them that the mound covered r.n Indian
grave. Of course nothing was found.




IN   GENERAL.                 65
mounds may be found in all stages of progress among
the islands of the lake. Nevertheless, genuine Indian
graves still exist. There must be one somewhere on
the shore of the lake, near Montcalm's Bay, which the
antiquary would deem a rare prize. It is the grave
of a warrior who was killed in a fight at that place in
1757, on the evening before Montcalm arrived in front
of Fort William Henry. The account of the burial is
given by Father Roubaud, missionary of the Abenakis.
He says:
" The morning had scarcely begun to dawn, when a
party of the Nepistingue tribe proceeded with the
funeral rites of their brother, killed during the action
of the preceding night, and who died in the errors of
paganism.  His obsequies were celebrated with all
pomp and savage splendor. The dead body had been
arrayed in all its ornaments, or rather overloaded with
all the trinkets that the most unusual degree of pride
would be able to employ, under circumstances so sad
in themselves. Collars of porcelain, silver bracelets,
pendants for the ears and nose, magnificent dresses,
all had been lavished on him. They had even called
in the aid of paint and vermilion, to cover up under
these brilliant colors, the pallid hue of death, and to
give to his countenance an air of life, which in reality
it did not possess. They had not been forgetful of
any of the decorations of an Indian warrior. A gorget or neck-piece, bound with red ribbon, hung negligently on his breast; his gun resting on his arm, the




66             IN   GENERAL.
tomahawk at his belt, the pipe in his mouth, the lance
in his hand, and the kettle filled with provisions at
his side. Clothed in this warlike and animated array,
they had seated him on an eminence covered with
grass, which served him for a bed of state."'
With a large number of those persons visiting the
lake, everything relating to the fish will be of interest.
It is very clear that the fish are not so abundant as
formerly. The principal kinds taken are the bass,
the pickerel, the perch, and the trout. Of the Lake
George trout, Silliman says: " Nothing of the kind
can be finer; this beautiful fish, elegantly decorated,
and gracefully formed, shy of observation, and delighting, above all, in the perfect purity of its element,
finds in Lake George a residence most happily
adapted to its nature. Here it attains a very uncommon size, and exhibits its most perfect beauty and
symmetry. The delicate carnation of its flesh, is here,
also, most remarkable."'
His praise of the trout is certainly deserved. Trout
are taken both in the lake and in the tributary brooks.
The best fishing is found at the Narrows and in the
vicinity of Cook's Island and Anthony's Nose. Trout
Pavilion on the east side of the lake, about six miles
from Caldwell, as well as Hague, are localities resorted
to by lovers of fine fish.
(1)- Kip's Early Jesuits, p. 162.
(2)-Silliman's Tour, Vol. i. p. 162.








i-:- ~ ~ ~K-    $'~ ——'.I —~-COMIS  fr —~NNLM
~~= —— I ANDIG IN A SHOWER




IN   GENERAL.                 67
The fishermen must remember, however, that the
fish of the lake are protected by special legislation.
The law of 1812 prohibited the use of either seine or
spear in taking fish in the lake or its tributaries.
The law of 1824 was still more stringent, prohibiting
angling, also, between September 1 and December
15. The law of 1853 stands as follows, though the
amendment of 1855 makes an exception as regards
those small fish which are taken for bait:
" It shall not be lawful for any person or persons to
draw any seine, set any net, or spear any fish, in the
waters of Lake George, or at or in the outlets or
mouths of any brook, or creek entering into the same,
at any season of the year; or to use any means or
devices, angling excepted, to take or procure any fish
in or from the waters of said lake, brooks, or creeks,
at any season of the year; or to take any bass in said
waters, or any of them between the first days of April
and July in any year, in any manner, or by or under
any device or pretence whatever."1
The hunter will not find himself without employment at the lake. During the fall and winter he may
find an abundance of deer in the vicinity of Tongue
Mountain. They are often driven into the lake and
captured. In the right season there is always work
to be done on land, with such members of the feathered
tribe as the woodcock, the partridge, and the quail,
(1) —Rcv. Stat., Chap. 506.




68             IN  GENERAL.
while on the lake he can watch his opportunity for a
shot at the wild ducks. Besides the game-birds, the
naturalist will find no small variety, and may bag
excellent specimens of the gull, which always appears
lonesome here on the lake; also the hawk, the loon,
and, at times, the king of birds, the eagle.
At this place, whoever may be on the watch, will
sometimes have an opportunity of Eeeing the squirrels
travel, exaggerated accounts of whose performances
on the water frequently get into popular works on
natural history. On such occasions they go in search
of food. A writer who hunted at the lake, at a
somewhat recent period, gives the following account.
He says:
" In the month of September, 1851, I arrived at
Lake George, where I found that the gray and black
squirrels had been travelling for several days, and
were still moving. Early one morning I discovered
thiee or four at several distances, swimming frcm the
western to the eastern shore of the lake, which at that
time was as smooth as glass. I watched them as long
as I could see the ripples the water made, and supposed that they succeeded in crossing the lake, which
at this point was more than a mile wide... I
found many of both black and grey squirrels floating
or lying along the shore of the lake, drowned. Persons frequently went after them in boats, and on
putting down the car before them, they would run up
into the boat almost exhausted, where they were




IN   GENERAL.                 69
secured alive. I saw several that had been so taken
at Lake George."'
The geologist will find abundant opportunities for
study at Lake George, while the mineralogist can reap
quite a harvest. The crystals of Diamond Island have
already been spoken of in another place. At Rogers
Slide may be found handsome garnets, resinite, coccolite, pyroxene, sphene, calcareous spar, and graphite;
and, near by, tourmaline. The discovery of the latter
mineral, in its amorphous condition, when it resembles
anthracite, once caused some of the residents in the
vicinity of the lake to believe that they had found a
valuable bed of coal. A slight knowledge of geology
would have taught them the impossibility of finding
coal in primary rock; yet this discovery, led to a
dispute, and ended in some unprofitable litigation.
Hematite occurs in the primitive rock at Anthony's
Nose, which reddens with it in spots. Feldspar, epidote, and graphite also occur in Ticonderoga.
The sands of Lake George are particularly fine,
and have a large interest apart from the beauty which
they frequently give to the beach. Sand is the dust
of the ages- the powdered foundation of the elder
world. When obtained in its purest state it is composed of simple silex. But on the shores of the lake it
is mixed with other materials. On the beach at Caldwell, a loadstone thrust into the sand will sometimes
(1)-DoVoc's Market Assistant, p. 123,




70             IN  GENERA L.
be drawn forth, covered, more or less, with a fine,
glossy, black, magnetic iron-sand. There is also to be
found limpid quartz, powdered garnet, and epidote.
When mixed together, spread out loosely on a white
paper, and viewed with a magnifying glass, they appear
to very good advantage, and then if the lens should
happen to be of great power, one might imagine that
he had found a prize. Speaking of this sand, Silliman
says: " It is indeed somewhat difficult to believe, that
the garnet, and epidote, and probably coccolite, often
rich in their colors, and highly translucent, are not
ruby and chrysoberyl. It would be worth while," he
adds, "to examine these sands more particularly, to
ascertain if there may not be gems among them, as
the gems of Ceylon and Brazil, and the hyacinths of
Expaily in France are found among the alluvial ruin.
All similar sands should be examined with an
attentive eye."'
A pinch of sand which the author once took home
from Sabbath Day Point, and examined under an
achromatic microscope of high power, afforded a rare
exhibition. When brought into focus, and illuminated
by the aid of a condenser, the effect was magical. A
turn of the milled screw, and-presto!-the dull and,
to the naked eye, almost colorless dust becomes an
outspread heap of sparkling gems. One would think
that he had suddenly come into the cave of some
(1) - Silliman's Tour, Vol. i. p. 172.




IN   GENERAL.                 71
genii, so great is the profusion of epidote, garnet,
amethyst, and crystal quartz.  The rich colors of
these minute fragments combine to form a beautiful
exhibition, though one cannot help regretting the
destruction of rich minerals involved iii its prcduction.
But the reader must not be kept longer from the
consideration of the romantic history of Lake George.




COLONIAL DAYS.
But see, the haughty household troops advance!
The dread of Europe and the pride of France.
CAIPTER VI.
CHAMPLAIN - JOGUESCOUCELLES - NICIIOLSON'S EXPEDITION —THE BATTLE OF LAKE GEORGE —BLOODY POND
-TIE RETREAT- FORT WILLIAM HENRY-SCOUTINGLOUDON - RIGAUD'S EXPEDITION - FATIER ROUBAUD -
MONTCALM-TIlE MASSACRE.
^S^,'    i IHE existence of Lake George was
first made known to Europeans::1B US     by the French. In July, 1609,. Champlain ascended the St. Lawrence, in company with a party
_"g il 0of IHurons and Algonquins, and
i![  i^gmll   sailed across the lake which now
F l,1~~'? bears his name. lHe had joined
l!~~j~~-'*- these Indians in an expedition
~)t~;'j~ against the hostile Iroquois, for the
f'@,MB     purpose of gaining their good will. As.:?(i~   they proceeded on the way, the Indians
described the country to be traversed,
and the region which was inhabited by their enemies.
Champlain says, " The Indians told me... that we




COL ONIAL        DAYS.                73
must pass by a waterfall, which I afterwards saw,1 and
then enter another lake three or four leagues long."
That lake was Lake George, the outlet of which, at
Ticonderoga, forms a beautiful fall. This bold explorer
never saw the lake itself.2 Encountering their enemies
near Crown Point, whither they had come to meet
them, the Hurons and their confederates gained an
easy victory by means of the arquebus of Champlain,
and returned with ten or twelve prisoners.
The first white man who is known to have seen
Lake George was Ftather Jogues.3     May 29, 1646, he
was on his way to the Mohawk country, to perfect a
treaty. Attended by Jean Bourdon, the engineer, who
was one of the principal residents of Quebec, he arrived in a canoe at the outlet of the lake on the eve of
the festival of Corpus Christi,4 and named it Lac du
St. Sacremrnnt,5 Lake of the Blessed Sacrament.     By
(1)-Doc. Iis. N. Y., Vol. iii. p. 5.
(2)- Charlevoix has been quoted by various authors, as saying that
Champlain passed the rapids and sailed up Lake St. Sacrament; yet
Charlevoix says nothing of the kind. Iis account of the matter
indicates precisely the contrary.
(3)-Isaac Jogues, a member of the Society of Jesus, was born in
Orleans, France, in 1607, and fell a martyr to the Faith in 1646, being
cruelly murdered by the Mohawks, among whom he was laboring as
a missionary. He was the first Roman Catholic missionary to enter
the State of New York. When he left Canada to go on his mission,
he had a presentiment of his coming fate, saying, Ibo, nec redibo.
(4)- A festival kept on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday, in
commemoration of the supposed Real Presence of Christ in the
Sacrament.
(5)-In giving it this name, the reference was not to the purity of
the water. It was wholly in honor of the festival. See Relations des
Jesuites, 1646, p. 15.




74            COLONIAL         DAYS.
the Iroquois it had been known as Andiartarocte,'
which meant the Tail of the Lake, i. e. the place where
Lake Champlain closes. The next day they continued
their course southward, on foot, "with great fatigue,
for they had to carry on their backs their bundles and
baggage."  The Algonquin guides were forced to leave
a great portion of their baggage on the border of the
lake.
They reached their destination, accomplished their
object, and June 1G started on their return. The Relation says: " They travelled several days by land, not
without trouble, for they had, like Arabian horses, to
carry their victuals and baggage, the brooks being the
only taverns to be met with. Arriving on the border
of Lake St. Sacrament, they made canoes, or small
boats, with bark; and setting out in them, they paddled and sailed until the twenty-seventh of the same
month of June, and then landed at the first French
habitation."2
(1) —Father Bruyas in his MIS. work on 3ohawk Radicals, says:
"Ganniatare, a lake: Ganniatariakfc, I pass it with something."
Potier, in his Huron Grammar, mentions un and nd as convertible.
Hence the form Gandiiatare. Garocte means, " Go quickly." The
name " IIorikan " — Silvery Water-has no authority, and is simply
a fancy of Cooper's.
(2) - Relation 1646, p. 18. Father Jogues has been represented (see
Brodhead's New York, p. 423) as returning by the " same route " that
he came. The authority given is Father Tanner's curious Latin work,
compiled chiefly from the Relations. On this point he is clearly
wrong, as well as in regard to the date of Father Jogues' return,
which was on the 17th, and not the 16th, of June.




COLONIAL       DAYS.            75
Father Jogues, therefore, was probably the first
European who sailed upon the waters of the beautiful
Lake of the Holy Sacrament.
It is true that others of the Fathers travelled
in the vicinity about this time.  Among them was
Father Bressani, who was carried away captive by the
Mohawks in 1644; but he says nothing in his Relation' about the lake.
The map published by the Jesuits in 1664, indeed,
has a dotted trail from the south end of Lake St.
Sacrament to the Mohawk villages; yet the absurd
form given to the lake shows that whoever made the
map had never sailed upon its waters. The trail laid
down was probably the course pursued by the Indians.
Father Poncet,2 who was made a prisoner by the
Iroquois in 1652, is silent respecting the lake. Father
LeMoyne, who wrote four years later, maintains the
same reticence.
January 30, 1666, the French operations became
active, and Courcelles, Governor of Canada, left Fort
St. Theresa to attack the Mohawks near the banks of
the Hudson, but he returned February 12, without inflicting much injury upon the enemy. Later in the
year, about the 1st of July, Sorel marched on the same
errand, and while on his way met a deputation of
Indians who were going to Montreal to effect a peace.
Accordingly he returned, and on the 12th of the
(1)- Col. Doc., ix. 46. 1lelations ces Jesuites, 1665, Vol. iii. p. 6.
(2)-ib., 1653, Vol. p. 11.




76           COLONIAL      DAYS.
month a treaty was made with the Oneidas, it being
agreed to "open a trade and commerce by the Lake
du Saint Sacrement."l
September 14, Tracy, then Viceroy of Canada, finding the Mohawks extremely troublesome, sent the
Governor, Courcelles, with a considerable force, to
destroy their forts and villages. Tracy himself joined
the expedition. Considerable success attended their
efforts, though both the Viceroy and the Governor
were disabled by hardship, and were carried back
the most of the distance by their men, reaching Montreal in fifty-three days from the time they set out.
The route taken by these expeditions is not noted
with accuracy, yet it is highly probable that they
passed over Lake St. Sacrament.
In 1668 Fathers Fremin, Pierron, and Bruyas
went up Lake Champlain, and passed south from
Ticonderoga by land. Near by the Indians showed
them a place where some water-dwellers exchanged
flints for tobacco.  We give a translation of the
account as narrated by the Fathers themselves. They
say:
" We arrived at three-fourths of a league from the
rapids, where Lake St. Sacrament empties.   We
halted at this place without knowing the reason,
except that we saw our Indians pick up at the water's
edge, gun-flints almost completely cut. We did not
(1)-Col. Doe.; Vol. ix. p. 46; iii. p. 128.




COLONIAL       IAYS.            77
then give it any attention, but we subsequently learned
the mystery, for our Iroquois told us that they never
failed to halt at that place to pay homage to a nation
of invisible men, who dwelt there at the bottom of the
water, and were engaged in preparing gun-flints almost
ready for use, for those who passed, provided they
rendered them their obeisance by offering them some
tobacco. If they gave much they gave the stones
liberally.  These water-men join canoes like the
Iroquois; and when their great chief plunges into
the water to enter his palace, he makes such a loud
noise that it fills with terror the minds of all those
who are not aware of his great genius."'
The Indians conversed on the subject very seriously;
but the good Fathers explain that these stones, so
useful in striking fire, were thrown up by the waves
during the storms, and that the invisibles aforesaid
have nothing to do with the matter.
The reverend Father says in the Relation, that while
he stopped on an island on Lake Champlain, the rest
went forward, the boatmen " landing at the end of the
Lake du St. Sacrement, and preparing for the portage.
Each one loads himself with baggage and canoes, in
which, re-embarking, [in Lake St. Sacrament] at last,
after some paddle-strokes, we left them, joyful to have
reached the end of the lake, whence there remained
thirty leagues to make by land."
(1) —Relations des Jesuites, 1368.  Vol. iii. p. 5.




78           COLONIAL      DAYS.
The language of the Relation is here a little obscure,
but he probably means that only a part of the Indians
re-embarked. We are, however, informed that the
Iroquois kept a regular guard at this point. They
remembered the expedition of Tracy two years before,
and "all the country of the Iroquois was then in
apprehension of a new army, so that fourteen men
were continually on the watch at the end of the lake
to discover the march of the army and give prompt
news to all the nation, that they might set ambushes
in the woods to attack and cut us in pieces. But
instead of enemies," says the Father, " we were angels
of peace; and they, instead of lions, were servants,
and helped us to carry our packages. We marched
in their company by small days' journeys."1
We find nothing further of interest, until Waite and
Jennings crossed the lake on their way to Canada, to
negotiate for the return of the English, who were
taken prisoners by the French and Indians at Hatfield
and Deerfield, Massachusetts, September 19, 1677.
Under date of December 13, following, it is said:
"Securing, with some difficulty, an Indian guide on
whom they could rely, they proceeded to Lake George,
where, finding a canoe, they crossed to the outlet of
that lake in three days."2 From thence they went on
to St..John's, and at once found a part of the prisoners.
(1)- Relations des Jesuites, 1668. Vol. iii. p. 6.
(2)-Attack on IIatficld and Deerfield. Bradford Club, p. 32.




COLONIAL      DAYS.             79
In 1G90, hostilities being threatened between the
French and English, the former at Montreal, Bancroft
says, were frequently alarmed by reports that the
Indians and colonists were building canoes and descending Lake St. Sacrament. But on June 21, of
the next year, the English moved in earnest, and
Major John Schuyler left Albany to attack Fort Lapraire. His force consisted of two hundred and sixty
whites and friendly Indians, of which number no less
than sixty-eight were killed and wounded before his
return.
His expedition attracted much attention at the time,
but resulted in little real good. During this expedition he sent scouting-parties out on Lake St. Sacrament, as it was then universally called, who ranged
up and down its waters.1 The expedition of Colonel
Philip Schuyler to the same place, the following year,
does not appear to have gone nearer the lake than
Ticonderoga.
In 1692 Menteth, who commanded six hundred
French, moved during the winter against the Mohawks
living south of the Hudson, and defeated them with
considerable loss. It is not so clear that he crossed
the lake on his way south, yet he returned that way.
The French report says, under date of March 2:
"Came to sleep at Lake St. Sacrament; several of
the Indians left us to hunt, and as they alone were
(1)- Col. Doe., Vol. iii. p. 800.




80           COLONIAL      DAYS.
master of the prisoners, whom they did not guard very
strictly, many of them escaped."
The next morning they moved on, and on the 4th
they arrived at the place where they had previously
deposited a quantity of provisions, which they found
spoiled.  This caused a "universal and most rigid
fast." Some of the party boiled their moccasins with
a few potatoes to satisfy their hunger. They reached
Montreal on March 17.1
Queen Anne's war commenced in 1702, and continued until 1713. During this war the lake was
used to some extent, and was, on the whole, the favorite route to Canada. It involved a portage at Ticonderoga, but it was considered by far the most healthy.
The war, however, went on for about nine years
before the quiet of the lake was seriously disturbed.
At that time the colonists prepared to invade Canada,
and on August 28 Colonel Nicholson marched with
four thousand men, one half of whom were Germans
and Indians. But he had scarcely reached the site of
the present village of Caldwell, at the head of Lake
St. Sacrament, when he heard of the failure of General Hill's expedition against Quebec, and received
orders to return to Albany.
In 1745 hostilities again broke out with the French,
who came down by the way of Lake Champlain and
Fort Edward, in the course of the war destroying
(1)-ib., Vol. ix. p. 530.




COLONIAL       DAYS.            8I
Saratoga and capturing Fort Mallachusetts, which
was situated within the limits of Williamstown, Mass.
During this war the lake was visited by six hundred
Dutch and friendly Indians. The former went on a
scout down the lake in canoes, but did not meet with
the enemy. Later, the French commander, IDevillers,
sent scouts to the lake, which he calls "Lake St.
Laurent," who reported that they found camps and
cabins sufficient to accommodate the above-mentioned
number of men. The camps appeared as if they had
not been left more than a month. Yet the war closed
without any hostilities on the lake, which was next
used to some extent by Indian smugglers.  About
this time a party of the Six Nations, who had deserted
and established themselves near Montreal, seem to
have monopolized the illicit trading between Albany
and Montreal.1 On one occasion they saved the life
of a captive of another tribe, who had been taken to
Crown Point, and carried him in their canoes across
Lake St. Sacrament to his home.
The next year General Johnson, aftewards Sir
William Johnson, visited the lake with several tribes
of Indians. He tells us in his account of the Oneidas,
that this tribe often used a tree as a symbol of stability,
but that their true symbol is a stone, called Onoya.
His visit to the lake was marked only by the setting
up of the Indian signs. IIc writes a I went on Lake
(1)-Colden's Five Nations, Vol. ii. p. 121.




82           COLONIAL      DAYS.
St. Sacrament in 1746, when, to show the enemy the
strength of our Indian alliance, I desired each nation
to affix their symbol to a tree, to alarm the French.
The Oneidas," he says, "put up a stone, which they
painted red."'
In the year 1749 Kalm, the Swedish traveller,
intended to pass down the lake, but was finally obliged
to go by the way of Whitehall, though he testifies that
the common route at that time lay over St. Sacrament,
which indicates that the lake was well known.
We find no record of anything of much interest in
connection with the lake frcm this time forward, until
the year 1755, when, on the 28th of August, General
Johnson built a military road, and, marching to the
lake, encamped at its head with a small army, designed
to operate against Crown Point, and repel the aggressions of the French, who were now preparing to assert
their claims to a large part of the country. Immediately on his arrival he changed the name of the lake,
and ordered that it should in the future be known As
Lake IGeorge, " not only," as he said, "in honor of
his Majesty, but to ascertain his undoubted dominion."
This change was one that must ever be regretted,
sine3 no more beautiful or appropriate name could be
suggested than that given by the devout Father Jogues,
by which it was known for more than a century.
"Lake Jcgues," wculd be preferable to Lake George.
(1)- Doc. Ilis., Vol. iv. p. 271.




COLONIAL       DAYS.            83
When Johnson reached the lake he found the whole
country covered with primeval woods, where, he says,
though not with exact truth, "no house was ever
before built, not a spot of land cleared." And while
he was here engaged in making preparations to
advance, the French general, Dieskau, made his
appearance near the southern spur of French Mountain, with an army of two thousand men, a portion of
whom were Indians.
A council of war was held on the morning of September 8, when it was resolved to send a force to
meet the enemy. General Johnson at first proposed
a somewhat small number of men for this service;
but the old Mohawk sachem, "I ing Hendrick," a
firm friend of the English, declared that the force was
insufficient.  "If they are to fight," said the chief,
"they are too few; if to be killed, they are too many."
Again, when Johnson proposed to divide the force into
three parties, he took three sticks, and said: " Put
these together and you cannot break them: take them
one by one, and you can break them easily." Thus
the question was settled, and Colonel Williams was
placed in command of'twelve hundred men, among
whom was a body of Mohawk Indians under Hendrick.
Colonel Williams met the enemy at a brook four
miles east of the lake, where the road to Glen's Falls
now passes, and was unfortunately drawn into an
ambush laid in the form of a half moon. The enemy




84           COL ONIAL      DAYS.
at once opened a galling fire, under which the English
force was mowed down like glass. The aged Hendrick, who rode horseback and directed the movements
of his men, fell from his saddle, mortally wounded; and
Colonel Williams was killed by a bullet, while standing on or near a rock, (which is still pointed out,)
giving his orders. Colonel Whiting immediately succeeded to the command, and ordered the troops to fill
back to the main body at the lake, fromr whence reinforcements had already been rent to their aid. This
movement was accomplished with coolness, notwithstanding the previous blunder.
Dieskau rapidly followed, and at eleven o'clock
reached the eminence where the slight earthwork
called Fort Gage was afterwards built. Ioyt, who
conversed with several soldiers engaged in the battle,
gives an account cf their impressions when they saw
the disciplined Frenchmen appearing cn the hill:
"The regulars advanced in a cclumn cf platcons, then
a novelty to provincial troops, and as the day was fine,
their polished arms glittered throulgh the tops of the
intervening trees like masses of icicle, multiplying
their number ten-fold."'
Johnson's camp was situated near the site of the
ruins of Fort George, where lie h ad formed a slight
breastwork of logs, and was somewhat prepared to
meet hlin. After a brief delay the enemy attack lcl.
(1) —Antiquarian Ilcscarclhec, p. 276.




COLONA L       D AYS.           85
with much filry, and the battle raged for a pericd of
five hours. DIieskau's Irdiars, however, feared the
artillery cf the English, and the French were unable,
with all their exertions, to carry the'positicn. Finally
they gave up the attempt and retreated, the Erglish
jumping over the breastworks and pursuing for some
distance. At sunset the remnant of the French army
halted near the scene of the morning engagement, and
while refreshing themselves there, were suddenly
attacked by two hundred New-Hampsiire men from
Fort Edward, under Captain McGinnis. They were
at once routed, and fled in dismay, leaving all their
baggage, while the blood of the slaughtered men
mingled with the water of a shallow pond, which has
since been known as " Bloody Pond."
General Johnson was wounded early in the engagement at his camp, and retired to his tent, turning over
the command to General Lyman, who stccd in the
most exposed positions, coolly giving his orders and
cheering on the men, until the victory was secured.
Still, Johnson did not have the magnanimity even to
mention Lyman in his deslatches, though in his tent
he admitted the great value of his services. A conspiracy' was even formed among certain of the officers
to accuse Lyman of cowardice. The conspiracy failed,
but that brave man was kept ficm the enjoyment cf
his just reward. On the other hand General Johnson
(1) —eview of Mil. Operations in N. A., 1755-S. Series B, p. 64.




86            COLONIAL       DAYS.
obtained great credit, and, in addition to the grant
of a large sum of money by Parliament, was created
a baronet.
In this engagement the intrepid    Dieskau was
wounded' and taken prisoner.    His motto - Talor
wins - signally failed in this instance.  His whole
army might have been either destroyed or captured, if
the advantage gained had been followed up. Lyman
strenuously advocated this policy, but Johnson thought
it unsafe.
The troops engaged were chiefly from New England,
New York furnishing only eight hundred. The loss
was estimated at about three hundred in killed and
wounded.   The French lost from four to six hundred.   They retreated to Crown Point and abandoned the campaign.
This was the first battle fought at Lake George. It
was of great importance, both inasmuch as it rebuked
the arrogant assumptions of the French, and taught
them the hopelessness of seeking to divide the common
interests. The result filled the whole country with
the wildest joy, and the people everywhere began to
take heart.
(1)- Ie was wounded twice. Some authorities say that the second
shot-a severe one in his hips-was given by a renegade Frenchman; while others affirm that it was fired by one ofthe English, who,
on approaching the wounded general to make him a prisoner, saw
him put Iris hand in his breast as if to draw a pistol, whereas he was
simply feeling for his watch. Dieskau died in Surenne, France, fiom
the effect of his wounds, September 8, 1767.




COLONIAL      DAYS.             87
Before leaving this subject, however, it may be
proper to notice the spirit displayed by New York,
then distracted by internal dissensions, and under
the influence of the wrong leaders.  The struggle
going on was upon New-Yolk ground, and was mole
especially designed for the protection of her people.
The French power was in tle ascendant, and an
easy route by water was open between Montreal and
the city of New York.  The French fully announced
their ambitious designs by the estabishment of a fort
and colony at Crown Point twenty-five years before;
and yet the people of New York, who at this time
numbered not less than 55,000, seemed, on the whole,
altogether too willing to yield their back to the smiter.
"But," says Smith, in his history of New York, " a
very different spirit prevailed in the eastern colonies;
for, upon the southern defeat, Massachusetts added
eight hundred, and Connecticut fifteen hundred, men
to the forces already under General Johnson's command."' And when New York complained that the
funds granted by Parliament to the Colonies were not
justly divided, the agent said, among other things, in
the way of reply, that the New-Englanders had "in a
measure become the Swiss of the continent, in which
quality they are not unacceptable."2 In fact, this year
Massachusetts had every fifth able-bodied man in the
field.
(1)-Smith, Vol. ii. 261.  (2)-ib.




88           C 0  O N I A L  D A Y S.
It is true that the fgures have been used to show
that New York at this time contributed her full quotn.
Yet, in a crisis like that of 1755, there was no time to
talk of quotas. The knife of the savagre was at her
throat, but there was no popular uprising; while
Governor DeLancv, who aflected considerable zeal,
contented himself by sending the home government
the preposterous story that New York had furnished
three thousand men for Shirley's expedition to Niagara. It has been s aid that, if the New-England men
did the fightirng they were paid for it. But if they
were paid they were not paid by New York.    It
would be every way unjust to view the New-England
troops as mercenaries. " Come," said Pomeroy, who
represented the true spirit of New England, " come to
the help of the Lord against the mighty; you th!at
value your holy religion, and your liberties, will spare
nothing, evea to one half of your estate."
During the months of October and November, the
troops were engaged in building a fort on the site nov
occupied by the Fort William Henry Iotel. It was
named in honor of the Duke of Cumberland, brother
of George III.
About this time a series of scouting expeditions
was commenced. They were continued at intervals
for two or three years.  These expeditions were
chiefly conducted by Rogers and his Rangers. I-e
was often accompanied by Israel Putnam, who, in the
Revolutionary army, ranked next to Washington.




C O L ONIAL   DAYS.             89
October 14, Rogers, Putnam, and a soldier named
Butterfield, embarked from Fort William Henry in a
birch canoe fOr Crown Point, then in possession of the
French. They landed nine miles from the outlet of
the lake, and then travelled on foot to the vicinity of
the fort where they lay in ambush. "At length," they
say, "a fienchman Caine out Towords us without
his Gun and Came within fifteen Rods of Where we
lay then I with another man Run up to him In order
to Captivate him - But he Refused To Take Quorter
so we Kill,d him and Took of his Scalp in plain sight
of the fort then Run and in plain view about Twenty
Rods and made our Escape."l
Such is the account signed by Rogers and Putnam;
yet it is hard to believe that an unarmed man would
refuse to take quarter, under the circumstances. We
must rather put it down as one of those barbarous
acts in which Rogers delighted.
One Captain Doolittle reports that he went on a
scout to Ticonderoga, October 24, 1755, and that
"after a tedias march over hills and holes we Indeavoured to Disscover ye french on this side ye Carrying
Place but Could not hear of any of ye Choping or
Shooting or Druming we went Down To the lake but
Could not Disscover them." Crossing over to Ticonderoga he saw the French from a distance "light up ye
fires and Beat ye Drums there appears to be about
(1) -Doc. H1ist. N. Y., Vol. i. p. 175.




90           COLONIAL       DAYS.
150 Tents [and] some small Boarden Housen."   He
afterwards attempted other observations, but a thick
fog set in and "our Provision being spent Could
tarrey no Longer God knows whether we Ever Get
home if we Do I would Humbly Present these few
Lines to GenT. Wm. Johnson."' This gives a fair
idea of the literary character of these reports.
October 29, while the autumnal foliage of the lake
was still in its glory, Robert Rogers and Israel Putnam
went down the lake on a scout. On the 31st they
" made a Discovry of a nomber of fires By night ScitFORT WILLIAtM IEN RY IN 1755.*
nated on a Point of Land on ye West Side of ye
Lake," upon which they landed half a mile distant on
the same side. The next morning they sent spies, who
found four tents and some fires, whereupon Rogers
sent back to Fort William Henry for reinforcements.
IHe then took a boat and went down to within twentyfive rods of their fires, and discovered " a Small Fort
with Several Small Log Camps within ye Fort which,"
(1)-Doc. Hist. N. York, Vol. iv. p. 175.
* The above view was cut by a soldier with a knife on a powderhorn, now in possession of the Maine Historical Society. It is a rude
sketch,.but doubtless correct. The island is Tea Island.




COLONIAL      DAYS.             91
he says, " I Judged to Contain about 1-4 of an acre.
Said Fort being open towards ye Water The rest
Picketted." The next morning, Putnam, who had also
gone over to reconnoitre, returned and reported that
the enemy's sentry was posted twenty rods from their
fires. Putnam went forward until he came "so nigh
that he was fired upon by one of ye Centeries within
a Rod of him, But unfortunately upon Preparing to
Fire upon him fell into a Clay Pit and wett his Gun
made ye Best retreat he was able, hearing ye Enemy
Close to their Heels."' Afterwards the French rallied
and endeavored to bring the English between a cross
fire on the lake, but the latter detected the ruse,
launched their batteaux, and opened a fire with the
swivels or "wall peices," which were mounted on
board. This had the desired effect, and "divers" of
the French were killed. Putnam, who at this juncture was on the shore, was in great danger again, but,
hurriedly launching his batteau, he joined the rest of
the party, though not before the enemy, who made him
a special mark, had " Shot thro' his Blanket in Divers
Places."  Finally, the English " put ym to ye Bush."
When they "Got fairly into ye Lake," says the
report, we "Lay upon Our Oars and Inquired after
the Circomstances of ye Party. Found none Killed,
but one Wounded which Gave Joy to all of us after
so Long an Engagement which I Judge was near 2
(1)-N. York Doc. Hist., Vol. iv. p. 176.




92           CO L o NI A    I ) AYS.
Hours."1  Putnam was now in training for the great
work that he was afterwards to do in the War of the
Revolution.
The report of James Connor of Colonel Cockcrof,'s
regiment, who went on a scout November 5, shows
the location of the stockaded fort which was the scene
of Putnam's adventure. It appears that the French
had now posted their advance guard on tle cast side
of the Narrows. Connor found their fires on the niglht
of November 5, when. he fell back four miles and
passed the next night in the mouth of a " little creek"
on the east side —probably Shelving Fall Creek.
The next day he went with two men over the hills on
the east side of the lake, until he came opposite the
fort on the west side, where the lake was about three
hundred yards wide.   Here they saw the French
come down to the water and carry up timber on handspikes to the encampment, where they heard "workmen chopping and hammering," and saw "a breastwork
round their encampment with pickets."2
This was probably what is called Friend's Point,
near Anthony's Nose, at least if their estimate of distances is correct. Connor says that he built a fire on
an island twenty miles from  Fort William H-enry,
though, according to his own statement, this island
must have been south of the Narrows, which are only
(1)-N. York Doc. Iist., Vol. iv. p. 176.
(2)-N. York Doc. llst., Vol. iv. r. 178.




CO 0 L 0: IAL  D A YS.          93
fourteen miles fiom the head of the lake. But his
account is not perfectly clear, and possibly the location
of the fort in question was at the more advantageous
position afforded by Sabbath Day Point.
The scouting was carried on by the use of boats
until the lake was frozen over, when it was continued
by parties going over the ice with snow-shoes and
dleds.
In 175G the Earl of Loudon assumed the command
of the English forces in North America. Iis plan
contemplated a,gneral attack upon the Canadas.
One portion of his army was designed to move against
Niagara; another was to attack Fort du Quesne; a
third was to cross the country from Cambridge and
operate on the river Chlaudiere, while the fourth was
to attack Crown Point. In accordance with this plan,
six thousand men were assembled near the head of
Lake George to attack the latter position. The colonial authorities gave the command of this force to
General Winslow, before Loudon reached New York;
but when tllis came to his knowledge, he wished to
supersede Winslow by Abercrombie, who was one of
the regular officers. Before this and similar disputes
could  e settledl, the season passed away, and the
troops were sent back to Albany and New York.
It is universally conceded that London vwas a weak
and inefficient commander, and totally dik:qualiiced for
the position in which favoritism  placed him.  If
remarkable for anything, it was for his insolence and




94           COLONIAL      DAYS.
tyranny, of the which the citizens of New York had
no small experience.  Franklin, in his Autobiography,l gives us a view of his character. It appears
that Franklin had occasion to visit Lord London's
office in New York, where he met a Mr. Innis, who
brought the despatches of Governor Denny from
Philadelphia, the answer to which he expected the
next day. Meeting him a fortnight afterwards, Dr.
Franklin expressed his surprise because he had not
returned.  Mr. Innis explained that he had called
every day, but the despatches were not ready. " Is it
possible," said Franklin, "when he is so great a
writer?  I see him  constantly at his escritoire."
" Yes," said Innis, " but he is like St. George on the
signs; always on horseback, but never rides forward."
At one time Loudon had no less than fifty thousand
troops under his command, of which large number
fifteen thousand were from the Old Bay State, then
not at all in danger. With this force, an able commander might have crushed out the entire population
cf Canada; and yet nothing was done for the country.
This season, however, there was, as usual, more or
less scouting, with frequent attacks by the French and
Indians upon the English teamsters.
July 7, Rlogers, being down the lake with his
Rangers, took several French prisoners. This hardhearted wretch coolly says in his official report, that
(1) —Sparks' Life, p. 219.




COLONIAL       DAYS.             95
"one of the wounded could not march; therefore put
put an end to him to prevent discovery."l The circumstances of the case fully prove that this barbarous
act admitted no justification.
July 18, Rogers went into the camp, near Saratoga, " with eight captives and four scalps."2
But though Loudon did nothing during the summer,
the cold season was not allowed to pass in quiet.
March 18, 1757, a force of French and Indians under
Rigaud, attempted to surprise Fort William Henry.
After a careful examination of the position, Rigaud
found that, owing to the vigilance of the garrison, it
would be impossible to storm the fort. Accordingly,
he turned his attention to the destruction of the batteaux and other vessels, in which attempt he was, at
first, not very successful. The next day he invested
the fort on all sides, and called upon the commander
to surrender, which lie refused to do, saying that he
should defend himself as long as possible. On the
next night the French again resorted to the use cf
fire, and as the English opposed them with only a few
shot and shells, they succeeded in burning more than
three hundred batteaux, besides three sloops that were
caught in the ice, and a storehouse filled with provisions and munitions of war. The absence of wind on
that night saved the fort itself from destruction. The
(1)- Doe. IIist., Vol. iv. p. 185.
(2)-From the unpublished 3IS. Journal of the Rcv. John Graham,
Chaplain to the Connecticut troops.




96           COLONIAL       DAYS.
next two nights the snow prevented all operations.
On the 22d a final attempt was made upon a new
sloop on the stocks, and whose bowsprit touched the
bastion of the fort.  In this they were successful.
They also burned two other storehouses full cf provisions, the hospital, a caw-mill, and more than twenty
buildings.' On the 23d they decamped with a large
amount of plunder.
Stark was in the fort at the time, and doubtless
rendered good service; but the dramatic story cf his
caving the garrison from surprise, which is told in his
Life, has no foundation in fact. The French did not
atternt any assault, nor did they cut holes in the ice
to dispose of the bodies of their slain, as that narrative
claims.2
Emboldened by Rigaud's success, and influenced by
the withdrawal of a large portion of the troops from
the vicinity of the lake, who had been ordered away
to Louisburg to share in the miserable failure of Lord
Loudon, the commander-in-chief, Montcalm, determined to make one more attempt against Fort William
Henry. Accordingly, on the 12th of July following,
an. army of nine thousand French and Indians, under
Mlontcalm, left M:ontreal, fully equipped and with a
formidable train of artillery.
The best account of the expedition is given by an
eye-witness, Father Roubaud, who attended the Abc(1)-Col. Doc., Vol. x. p. 571.
(2) -- Stark's Memoir of Jolhn Stark, p: 20.




COLONIAL       DAYS.            97
nakis Indians as their priest and adviser. IIe says in
his journal:1 "We traversed the length of Lake
Champlain, where the dexterity of the Indian furnished
us with an amusing spectacle. Standing up in the
bow of his canoe, with spear in hand, he darted it with
wonderful address, and struck the large sturgeons,
without their little skiffs, which the least irregular
motion would have overturned, appearing to lean
in the slightest degree to the right hand or the left....The fisherman alone laid aside his paddle, but in
return he was charged to provide for all the others,
an office in whose duties he fully succeeded."
At the end of six days they came in sight of the
fortifications at Ticonderoga, which place had been
appointed as a general rendezvous for the forces. As
the Indians approached the shore, they arranged themselves in the order of battle, each tribe under its own
ensign. "Two hundred canoes thus formed in beautiful order," he says, "furnished a spectacle that caused
even the French officers to hasten to the banks."
While the army lay at Ticonderoga, several preliminary engagements occurred on Lake George.
July 21, M. de St. Ours,2 who was scouting at
Isle a la Barque, with ten men, was attacked by five
English barges, each carrying sixteen men.  There
were also one hundred English on the shore. Yet
St. Ours made so good a defence that he was able to
(1)- Kip's Early Jesuit Missions, p. 144.
(2)-Col. Doc., Vol. x. p. 594.




98           COLONIAL      DAYS.
escape with the loss of four -three slightly, and one
mortally, wounded. The English loss, though exaggerated by the French, was probably considerable.
This took place at Harbor Island, a little south of
Sabbath Day Point.
July 23, M. Marin, who had been sent toward
Fort Edward with one hundred and fifty men, mostly
Indians, attacked the English outposts, and inflicted
considerable loss, returning to Ticonderoga in safety,
with no less than thirty-two scalps.'
July 2G, Colonel John Parker, of the New Jersey
regiment, was sent down the lake to reconnoitre, with
a large party of men in boats.  He was severely
defeated, his force being completely cut in pieces.
The French report says that about four hundred
Indians, under M. de Carbiere, lay il ambush among
the islands above Sabbath Day Point, and that when
Colonel Parker's party had advanced too far to reteat,
they attacked and defeated them with great slaughter.
Only two barges escaped, and one hundred and eighty
of the English were taken prisoners.  This was
acknowledged to be a severe disaster.2  No less than
a hundred and thirty-one were killed outright by the
savages, who pursued them by land and water, mercilessly cutting them down. Only twelve were so fortunate as to escape both captivity and death.  The
prisoners were treated by the Indians with the most
(1)-Col. Doe., Vol. x. p. 591.
(2)- ib., 594. Penn's Archives, iii. 472. Kip's Early Jesuits, p. 152.




COLONIAL       DAYS.            99
horrible barbarity.  Father Roubaud, who gives an
account of their atrocities, hardly dared to raise his
head, expecting to see the English murdered before
his eyes. Eventually his fears proved too true, and
he was obliged to witness a spectacle more horrible
than anything he had yet seen. He writes: "My
tent had been placed in the middle of the camp of the
Outaouacs. The first object which presented itself to
my eyes on arriving there, was a large fire, while the
wooden spits fixed upon the earth gave signs of a
feast. There was indeed one taking place. But, O
heavens! what a feast! The remains of the body of
an Englishman was there, the skin stripped off, and
more than one half the flesh gone. A moment after,
I perceived these inhuman beings eat with famishing
avidity of this human flesh; I saw them take up this
detestable broth in large spoons, and apparently without being able to satisfy themselves with it. They
informed me that they had prepared themselves for
this feast by drinking from skulls filled with human
blood, while their smeared faces and stained lips gave
evidence of the truth of the story. What rendered it
more sad was, that they had placed very near them
some ten Englishmen to be spectators of their infamous
repast."
The good man was powerless in the midst of these
barbarities, and his appeals in behalf of the prisoners
(1)- Kip's Early Jesuits, p. 155.




I00         COLONIAL       DAYS.
were met by threats or gibes, the savages in one
instance replying by offering him a piece of broiled
human flesh. The prisoners were finally taken out of
their hands by Montcalm, and sent under guard to
Montreal.
On the first of August the main body of the army
finally embarked on Lake George, the Chevalier Levi
having marched, three days previous, down the west
side of the lake, with a force of three thousand men, to
protect those who were to follow on the water. The
barges moved at two o'clock, P. M., and continued on
until they left " Bald Mountain," (Rogers Slide) " to
the north."  Afterwards they " doubled a cape,"
(Anthony's Nose) and remained there during a severe
storm which lasted six hours. They also " tarried a
short time opposite to the Sugar Loaf."  Father
Roubaud says that they had not gone more than four
or five leagues before they saw the proofs of their
victory of the 24th. He writes: "There were the
abandoned English boats,.... but the most striking
spectacle was the great number of the dead bodies of
the English." Some were lying on the banks, and
others were floating in the water.
The next morning at daybreak, Father Roubaud
reached "the Bay of Ganasouke," (Northwest Bay,
near Bolton,) and landed near de Levi's camp. At
10 o'clock de Levi marched forward, and at noon
Montcalm moved on in the boats, now with the artillery in the van. In the evening two boats came down




COLONIAL      DAYS.            IOI
the lake from Fort William Henry, while the fleet
was quietly winding along the dusky shore of " Sandy
Bay." The English, perceiving the beat which belonged to the priests, then covered by an awning,
steered for it unsuspectingly, as if too see what it was.
As they approached, a sheep in the beat happened to
bleat, when they took the alarm and endeavored to
escape. The silence with which these operations had
been conducted now ended, and twelve hundred savages suddenly flew to the pursuit, uttering the most
horrid cries.  The English first gained the land,
deserted their boats, and fled to the woods; but not
until four of their number had been killed and two
taken prisoners.  Father Roubaud says that when
the account of the affair came to Montcaim, he was
"charmed with the detail," and retired to make his
plans for the next day. During the night, however,
the army continued to move on, and reached the bay
on the west side of the lake, near Fort William Henry.
The artillery did not arrive until daybreak. It consisted of thirty-two cannon and five mortars, placed
on platforms and borne on boats. In passing around
the point, now called Cramer's Point, the batteries
came in full view of the English, who were saluted by
a " general discharge," which at " this time was mere
ceremony, but it announced more serious matters."
The lake now resounded on all hands with the
sounds of war, and everything was in motion. Fort
William Henry, which the French sometimes called




102          COLONIAL      DAYS.
Fott George, is described by Father Roubaud as " a
square, flanked by four bastions; the curtains were
strengthened with stakes, the trenches were sunk to
the depth of eighteen or twenty feet." The walls were
built of pine trees covered with sand.  It mounted
nineteen cannon and four or five mortars, while the
garrison consisted of five hundred men.  Seventeen
hundred men occupied a fortified camp on the site of
the ruins of Fort George. Montcalm landed on the
west side of the lake, a short distance from the Lake
House, and planted his batteries about seven hundred
yards from  the fort.  He afterwards marched his
regular troops to a position south of the fort, sending
LeCorne with seventeen hundred French and Indians
a little further on, where they could hold the road
leading to Fort Edward.    He then called upon
Colonel Munroe to surrender, which demand he positively declined, as he was expecting immediate reinforcements from General Webb.
The siege lasted six days, during which time the
fort was defended with great vigor, though without
much loss of life on either side. Aid was earnestly
requested of General Webb, whose troops were
anxious to march to the rescue; but that cowardly
officer finally decided to do nothing, and advised
Colonel Munroe to surrender, who, seeing the hopelessness of his situation, agreed to capitulate. On the
morning of August 9, at seven o'clock, a white flag
was hoisted on the fort, and the surrender was made




COLONIAL      DAYS.            103
on the conditions that the garrison and the troops of
the intrenched camp should march out with the honors
of war, carrying away arms and baggage, and take
with them one cannon, out of respect for the gallant
defence they had made, and be furnished with a
sufficient escort to Fort Edward. The French accordingly took possession at noon.
Father Roubaud says
that the terms of capitulation were submitted
_...- -...AS  to the Indian chiefs, and
that the articles were
"universally applaud/40e ih cl     no m     o   fed." Yet the compact
was soon violated in
the most horrible mannoer. The Indians were.m iofsavage_ c lthirsting for blood and
plunder, and even while
tile military ceremony
of taking  possession
Q  was going  on, they
penetrated through the
embrasures of the fort
O N T C A L M'S I N D I A N S.  into  the  casemates
where the sick remained who could not march out of the fort with their
companions. Some of these were among the first victims of savage cruelty. Father Roubaud witnessed




104         COLONIAL       DAYS.
their atrocities. IIe writes: " I saw one of these barbarians come forth out of the casemates, which nothing
but the most insatiate avidity for blood could induce
him to enter, for the infected atmosphere which exhaled
from it was insupportable. He carried in his hand a
human head, from which streams of blood were flowing, and which he paraded as the most valuable prize
he had been able to seize."  "But," he continues,
" this was only a slight prelude to the tragedy of the
morrow. Early in the morning the Indians began to
assemble about the intrenchments, demanding of the
English everything valuable which their greedy eyes
could perceive.. Nor were these requirements rejected by the English. They undressed, they stripped
themselves, to purchase their lives." In the meanwhile the troops detailed to attend them on the
march to Fort Edward, arrived and hastily formed,
and the English began to file out. Says Father
Roubaud: " Woe to those who closed the march, or
the stragglers whom illness or any other reason separated from the main body   They were as good as
dead, and their lifeless bodies soon covered the ground.... This butchery, which was at first only the work
of a few savages, became the signal which transformed
them into so many ferocious beasts. They discharged
right and left heavy blows with their hatchets on those
who came within their reach."
The number that fell in massacre, which filled the
public mind with horror, varies greatly. Father Rou



V~~~~~~~:~~~~=-I__,-:_r_ —----— ~~~~~~TMrl A.f All, —--
PME. —
FORT WILLIAM I  _JENRY HOTLL, CALDWELL.-~L:-.







COLONIAL       DAYS.           105
baud says the number killed did not exceed forty
or fifty, and adds: " The patience of the English in
thus being contented to bow their heads to the weapons
of the executioner, had the effect of shortly stopping the slaughter; but," he adds, "this did not
turn the savages either to reason or equity. With
fearful cries they engaged themselves in making
prisoners."
The most of the accounts of this affair are wild
exaggerations, the loss by death and captivity being
placed at from five hundred to fifteen hundred.
The first victims were the negroes and friendly Indians.l Speaking of the conduct of the former during
the siege, one of the gunners wrote that " Our blacks
behaved better than the whites."2
It would be difficult to exonerate Montcalm from
all blame. He might have anticipated the events that
occurred, and provided a sufficient safeguard.  Le
Come, indeed, promised much in the way of protection to the English, but did little; and Carver, in his
journal, mentions one French soldier who repulsed
the English with abusive language when they appealed
for protection. Yet it would be unjust to ignore the
conduct of many of the French officers and soldiers
who hazarded their own lives to save those of the
English.  Father Roubaud, the good priest of the
(1)-IIoyt says that one friendly Indian was burned. Ant. Researches, p. 290.
(2)-Col. Doc., Vol. vi. p. 1005.




I06          COLONIAL      DAYS.
Abenakis, was every way true to his profession, and
labored earnestly to rescue the victims of savage cruelty.  Among others, an infant separated from its
mother, and had fallen into the hands of a relentless
chief, who threatened it with death, unless ransomed
by a scalp. This child was saved by the priest, who
obtained a scalp from the stock of one of his own
Indians. Father Roubaud, after getting possession of
the child, carried it in his arms until he secured an
English woman to act as its nurse. This woman had
possession of the child but a few hours before its
mother appeared, and, frantic with joy, clasped it in
her arms.
That class of writers who furnish what may be
called the Apocrypha of history, have delighted in
wild exaggerations of this event.  Drawing their
material from the crudest sensation accounts of the
day, they have not hesitated to record as facts the
most improbable fancies. It is to be regretted that
these accounts have crept into so many of our popular
school histories, in one of which, now extensively used,
we are informed that when Montcalm went away, he
left the dead bodies of one hundred women shockingly
mangled and weltering in their blood. The account
is based upon a supposed letter of Putnam'sl that was
never written, and is of the same authority as that
favorite but now exploded story of the school-boy,
(1)-Lossing's Field Book, Vol. i. p. 111.




COLONIAL      DAYS.           I07
which relates Putnam's descent into the wolf's den.
National enmity has had much to do with these misrepresentations of Montcalm, who was every way a
noble and humane man, as well as the ablest general
of his day in all North America. Yet Smollet, in his
History of England, did not hesitate to lay upon him
(in addition to the massacre of Fort William Henry)
the charge of giving up twenty English soldiers at the
capture of Oswego, the previous year, to be butchered
by the Indians. The charge, however, was thoroughly
refuted at the time by an official investigation. The
real author of the calamity of Fort William Henry,
was Lord Loudon, who left the country exposed to
the enemy.
The French delayed at Fort William Henry until
August 16. On the previous night the fort was completely destroyed by fire, and while the ruins were
still wreathed in smoke, Montcalm embarked and
sailed down the lake. We conclude the account of
this sad event in the language of Bancroft, who says:
"The Canadian peasants returned to gather their
harvests, and the lake resumed its solitude. Nothing
told that living men had reposed upon its margin,
but charred rafters of ruins, and here and there, on
the hill-side, a crucifix among the pines to mark a
grave."'
(1)- Bancroft's U. S., Vol. iv. p. 266.




,zY
COLONIAL           DAYS.
CIIAPTER     VII.
Fathers that like so many Alexanders,
Have, in these parts, from morn till even fought,
And sheath'd their swords for lack of argument.
ABERCROMIBIE'S EXPEDITION-TIIE PREPARATIONS -TIIE
- OYAGE-TIIE ATTACK-DEFEAT - RETREAT - AMIIERST'S
CAMPAIIGN -CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA.
N THE following year another
large army assembled at the
head of the lake for the purpose
of reducing Ticonderoga, and
atoning for the acts of the
French in the previous year.
It was commanded by General'4,a   Abercrombie, who had succeeded
Lord Loudon. The campaign was
planned with great confidence, and
was inaugurated by scouts and skirllishes. On the 23d of June three
separate  detachments of Pogers'
Rangers were sent out on the lake
to reconnoitre;  and  Wednesday
morning, July 5, at eight o'clock,
the  well-appointed  army, now  sixteen  thousand
strong, embarked in more than one thousand boats
and batteaux. The day was one of unusual beauty,




COLONIAL      DAYS.            I09
and scarcely a cloud obscured the sky. The fleet
was arranged  in complete military order.  The
Regulars sailed in the centre, the Provincials on
the left, and the Light Infantry on the right of
the advanced guard. The army was composed of
fine and varied material.  There was the sturdy,
brown-faced farmer from  Massachusetts and Connecticut, the determined, phlegmatic Dutchman, the
hardy  Englishman, the dashing  Green-Mountain
Boy, and the intrepid Scot. Lord Howe's regiment
was one of much note, while its young commander
was the "Lycurgus" of the whole army, being evidently of much more importance than Abercrombie
himself.
The troops moved in high spirits, confident of an
easy victory. But few more splendid scenes have
ever been witnessed.  The lines of boats adorned
with streamers and flags, the troops clad in bright
national colors, the burnished arms, the insignia of
rank, the placid water, the long banks of oars dipping
to martial notes, and the bright summer sun shining
down upon all —formed a display of rare beauty.
Not the least conspicuous part of the pageant was the
Highland Regiment, of which old Duncan Campbell,
of Invershaw, was Major.  They could not have
appeared to finer advantage even on their own bright
Loch Katrine. Moving out from under the shadow
of the French Mountain, they sail on towards the
verdant isles, as if performing some holiday parade,




I10           COLONIAL       DAYS.
reminding us of Scott's picture in the Lady of the
Lake:
" Now you might sec the tartans brave,
And plaids and plumage dance and wave;
Now see the bonnet sink and rise,
As his tough oar the rower plies;
See flashing at each sturdy stroke,
The wave ascending into smoke;
See the proud pipers on the bow,
And mark the gaudy streamers flow
From their loud chanters down, and sweep
The furrowed bosom of the deep,
As rushing through the lake amain,
They plied the ancient Highland strain."
The fleet continued on its course all day until dusk,
when they reached Sabbath Day Point. Here they
remained until eleven o'clock, waiting for three brigades and the artillery; and when these came up all
moved on. At nine o'clock the next morning, they
arrived at the foot of the lake, disembarked, and
marched towards the French outworks. The route
lay through dense forests; and being led by unskilful
guides, the troops fell into some disorder, though still
able to move on. Lord Howe led the right centre
column, and when near Trout Brook, encountered the
party of De Trepazec, less than three hundred in
number, returning from a scout at Rogers' Slide. The
French opened fire, and at the first volley Lord
Howe was killed by a musket-ball. This threw the
English into still greater confusion, but they rallied
and attacked the French with such impetuosity, that
nearly the whole body was either killed, wounded, or




COLONIAL      DAYS.            III
made prisoners. De Trepazec himself was mortally
wounded. By this engagement the English gained
nothing, except the forest, in which the principal portion of the troops passed the night. An officer who
wrote a letter to a New-York paper, speaks of the
action as highly discreditable to the English, who
behaved badly, on the whole, and at one time came
near being beaten by a mere handful of men.
The next morning, the 7th instant, Abercrombie
withdrew the whole army to the landing-place. Colonel Bradstreet then went forward to rebuild the
bridges. In the afternoon the main body of the army
advanced to attack the French works. The assault
was made with much spirit. Three times the English
were repulsed, and as often returned to the charge;
but "'at the end of four hours, after a series of efforts
that would have done honor to the soldiers of Caesar,
and an exhibition of valor that would have rivalled
the most romantic days of chivalry," the army, about
seven o'clock, was ordered to retire, though not before
the English had fired by mistake upon one of their
own corps. The night was spent at the landing, and
Saturday morning the army embarked and rowed
sadly up the lake, arriving at Fort George on Sunday
evening, the 9th. No corps suffered more than the
Highlanders, who, until now, with one exception,the Battle of Fontenoy, in 1745,-had always been
completely successful.  Three times they mounted
the French works, but not being supported they were




112          COLONIAL      DAYS.
forced to retire. Gray-haired Duncan Campbell fell
at the head of his regiment, with John Campbell the
commander, who was succeeded by Colonel Gordon
Graham. During the battle, Abercrombie remained
at a safe distance, and not a single piece of artillery
was used by the English, who, under a general of
respectable spirit and capacity, would have easily captured Ticonderoga.  During the day Abercrombie
ordered a movement against the enemy's left wing;
but, after several boats had been sunk by the artillery
of the French, the attempt was given up. This was a
point that the most careful writers have failed to notice.1
This inglorious campaign was not terminated, however, before Colonel Bradstreet marched from  the
lake with twenty-seven hundred men and destroyed
the French forts at Frontenac. When this had been
accomplished, Bradstreet returned to the lake, and the
bulk of Abercrombie's army went into winter quarters
at Albany, New York, and elsewhere.
The next year Abercrombie was removed, and Lord
Amherst was appointed in his place. This able general accomplished the reduction of Ticonderoga with
but little loss of life. Before the campaign opened,
Rogers was active on the lake with his Rangers.
March 3, he left the head of the lake with three hundred and fifty-eight men, and proceeded on the ice to
the Narrows, and afterwards went on to Ticonderoga.
There he suffered a severe defeat frcm the French
(1) - N. Y. Col. Doc., Vol. x. p. W4I.




COLONIAL      DAYS.            113
and Indians, and returned by the way of Salbath Day
Point to Long Island, about five miles from Fort
William Henry. At this place he encamped on the
night of the 8th. The next day he went to Fort
Edward, carrying the wounded on sleds.
June 21, General Amherst, accompanied by General Gage, moved to Lake George with a portion of
the forces, composed of the Royal Highlanders and
Provincials, who at once busied themselves in strengthening the camp.
On the 27th, some officers who were fishing at
Diamond Island were surprised by the French scouts
and nearly captured. July 1, troops to the number
of fifteen hundred, under Colonel Montressor, were
busy building a stone fort,1 afterwards called Fort
George, having in the meantime erected a temporary
stockade. July 2, the enemy was extremely bold,
notwithstanding the preparations of Amherst.  On
that day sixteen of the Jersey Blues had gone out
from the fort to get brushwood for the ovens, and
were attacked by two hundred and forty French, who
killed and scalped six, wounded two, took four prisoners, and only four escaped. The French raised a
loud halloo, and displayed the scalps in plain sight of
the fort, and then ran to their canoes, which were only
two miles from the head of the lake.2
July 3, the most of the articles buried by Abercrombie, at the close of the previous season, still
(1) — Knox Jour., Vol. i. p. 378. (2)- N. Y. Mercury, July 9,1759.




114          COLONIAL        DAYS.
remained undiscovered, though the French had found.
and raised a battery of eight pieces sunk in the lake.
July 5, the "IIalifax Sloop,"' mounting fourteen guns,
which had been sunk to prevent capture, was successfully raised. July 12, Major Campbell and four hundred men embarked in batteaux and "proceeded to
the islands on the lake to drive the enemy from
\I             f _ -
OLD lHUT    1758.
thence," taking a floating battery of one twelve-pound
gun. The French were driven away, and their "works
and huts " destroyed and burned. The name of the
(1)-"On the 11th. instant was launched here, in 13 Days from
laying the Keel, the Sloop Earl of Halifax, 51 Feet Kcel, about 100
Tons Burthen, built by the direction of Commodore Loring and Col.
Bagley. 1Her rigging being fitted, expected she will sail on a cruise
on the Lake, in a day or two." Letter from Lake George, Aug. 21,
1758.




COLONIAL      DAYS.            115
islands in question is not given. The French lost one
canoe and all the men in it.
The preparations for the expedition having been
made with great care, the army, composed of more
than eleven thousand men, embarked in whaleboats
and batteaux, on the morning of the 21st of July,
and moved down the lake in four columns, the sloop
Halifax sailing in the rear. The soldiers rowed by
turns. An incredible amount of labor was spent in
embarking, and some of the boats proved useless.
One with a hundred barrels of powder sunk before
leaving the shore; likewise a raft with two ten-inch
mortars.
At ten o'clock the army reached the Narrows, and
after pausing a short time, moved on with a fresh
breeze and a hazy sky.  At night the expedition
moored,1 the weather being rough with "a disagreeable
tumbling sea." The next day was Sunday, July 23,
but at daylight the fleet proceeded, and in a few hours
reached the foot of the lake. The army landed without delay, and marched for Fort Ticonderoga. They
reached the enemy's intrenchments after some light
skirmishing, and the troops lay upon their arms all
night.  In the morning, seeing General Amherst
drawing up his artillery, and finding that he had also
launched batteaux in the lake, the French abandoned
their intrenchments, of which the English took pos(1)-Probably below Sabbath Day Point.




ii6          COLONIAL      DAYS.
session, m the face of a brisk fire, and began preparations for a siege; but at ten o'clock on the night of
the 26th, some deserters from the French came in,
announcing that the enemy had evacuated the fort and
were retreating. Very soon after the magazine blew
up and set the wood-work on fire. The flames rapidly
communicated with the loaded guns and shell, and for
a time created a continuous fire. The next morning
a sergeant went into the fort, at the risk of his life,
and hauled down the French flag. Thus the fort was
taken with a loss of only thirty or forty in killed
and wounded, which might have been done the year
before.
But Lord Amherst, though a brave and faithful
officer, failed to take advantage of his success. Instead
of moving at once against the French, and to the aid
of Wolfe, he delayed to repair the works at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and prepare batteaux, until
more than two months had slipped away, when the
season was too far advanced to begin operations. The
French army was not more than one fourth as large
as his own, and Montcalm never seriously intended to
hold Ticonderoga, where it was impossible for him to
receive reinforcements, and yet they were allowed to
escape down Champlain. Nevertheless, his victory
brought comparative peace to the shores of Lake
George, and ultimately removed the contest towards
the Canadas, so that on September 21, LieutenantGovernor DeLancey issued a proclamation calling




COLONIAL       DAYS.           117
upon the settlers to return once more to their homes,
where they lived in quiet until the war of the Revolution.
In the meanwhile, many of those who had served in
the wars applied to the colony of New York for grants
of land around the lake. Among them was Rogers
the Ranger, who, with twenty-five others, applied
for twenty-five thousand acres of land on the west
side of Lake George, extending from Fort William
Henry to Tongue Mountain. It may also be noted,
that here, in 1776, Rogers, being then a Tory, renewed the application to the British authorities, coolly
proposing " Rogers' Mount," as the name of the
grant.
April 20, 1773, Mr. Samuel Deall, a merchant of
New York, who was much interested in building mills
and improving the lands around Ticonderoga, petitioned for the exclusive right to establish a ferry across
Lake George, though the right was not granted. He
was associated in the improvements here with one
Lieutenant Stoughton, who was drowned on the lake
near the close of the year 1767, when his boat went
to the bottom with all its valuable freight.
About this time the settlers had become quite
numerous. As early as 1768, Mr. Deall had a small
vessel on the lake called the " Petty Anger,"' which
(1) —This is probably a mistake of the printer. It should read
"Pctti-auga," — a small vessel or ship. The following extract from
Dunlap's New York, (Vol. ii,, Appen., p. 177,) gives a correct idea




II8          COLONIAL       DAYS.
was designed to traverse the lake, "if any freight
offers worth going over." It was in charge of one
John Jones, who lived at Fort William Henry.
The Indians came here in the summer season in
considerable numbers, feeling that they had a tolerable
right to the soil. They were not always peaceably
tolerated, as appears from the following account of
Levi Beardsley, who says his grandfather, before the
Revolution, made annual excursions to the great forests bordering on Lake George, the favorite huntingground of the Iroquois. He tells that on one occasion, "coming near a swampy piece of ground, his
companion remarked that game was plenty in that
neighborhood, and asked him to walk with him to the
edge of the swamp, where some one had shot a large
buck a few days before. They repaired to the spot,
where his companion pulled away a few pieces of
rotten wood, that had been thrown on a large Indian,
who lay there partly stamped in the mud. I have no
suspicion," he says, " that my grandfather ever shot,
or encouraged the shooting of Indians, but it is very
certain, that he occasionally associated with those who
indulged in this interesting business.  Those times
were perilous," he continues, " and conflicts frequent
between the white and red man.... They were inevof this class of vessels, in one of which Mr. Vanderbilt began his
career as a Staten-Island fbrryman: "A perri augur or petty auga, a
boat without keel, with two masts and two large sails, the lack of keel
supplied by Ice-boards-all these managed by one man, who was
likewise helmsman, and very frequently drunk."




COLONIAL       DAYS.            II9
itable, and of no uncommon occurrence; for it was a
question whether the red man alone should enjoy the
game of the country."l
The handful of military stationed at Ticonderoga,
were now chiefly useful in preserving the peace
among the lawless inhabitants of the New-Hampshire Grants, which extended as far south as the head
of the lake. Prominent among the New-Hampshire
men, who, at times, invaded the territory of New
York, was Colonel Ethan Allen, who often played the
part of a swaggering brigand. The fortifications were
now, also, in a bad condition. In 1768, Fort George
was practically abandoned. In April, 1773, the fort
at Crown Point caught fire, and the magazine, containing one hundred barrels of powder, blew up, completely
destroying the works. The minutes of the Council at
the close of the following September, say that Ticonderoga was in so ruinous a condition, that there was
no accommodation for more than about fifty men. In
1774, Governor Tryon reported that " only a few men
were kept at the south end of Lake George to facilitate the transportation of supplies to Ticonderoga
and Crown Point;" from which it appears that the
British authorities were but poorly prepared for the
events about to take place.
(1)-Bcardslcy's Reminiscences, p. 16.
(2) - Doc. HIist., N. Y., i. p. 518.




REVOLUTIONARY SCENES.
CHAPTER VIII.
FORT GEORGE - NORDBErG - SCHUYLER - SICKNESS -
BURGOYNE- INVASION OF NORTHERN NEW YORnK- PEACE.
Wake, soldier, wake! - thy war-horse waits
To bear thee to the battle back.
ASSING    on to the year
1775, we find the country.i  &ff  V     in the excitement of a revor.   m^   ^ ~   h~~lution, which was inaugurated at Lake George by an earths'  myff e fln' quake, which did no harm. But'P    ^,;~^     the lake at once became the thea\   XS <  ^ tre of exciting events, as it still
formed a part of the central route
between Albany and Montreal. The
English felt the importance of keeping
"\A  _ possession of this route, and one of
their journals of that date says, that,
in event of its being held by the Americans, the
British troops would be brought around to New York
by water, as another campaign could not be thrown
away in "frog-battles" on the lakes. Yet Burgoyne
ultimately thought differently.




REVOLUTIONARY           SCENES.       12I
The Americans, however, were on the alert, and the
New-Englanders resolved on the seizure of Ticonderoga, which was the key of the whole position.
This was accomplished by Benedict Arnold and Ethan
Allen, on the morning of May 10, without the loss of
a man. And serious efforts were recently made to
show that a similar exploit was performed at Fort
George, two days afterward. One account, which not
long since appeared, stated that on the reception of
the news of the Battle of Lexington, one Daniel Parks,
of Queensbury, raised a band of volunteers, and afterwards marched to Fort George, which, together with
"Fort Gage," was garrisoned by two companies of
artillery. On his arrival at the fort his demonstrations were so impressive as to cause the garrison to
flee down the lake to Diamond Island, where they
intrenched.  The commander, it appears, was left
behind, and, -on surrendering his sword, is represented as telling Parks that his neck would "stretch"
for "this thing."  According to the representations
given, this alleged action of Daniel Parks was quite
as meritorious as the capture of Ticonderoga. But
though it may seem a pity to spoil a story, we, nevertheless, have abundant means for proving the account
a fabrication.
It has already been shown that the fort was abandoned eight years before this time, while Governor
Tryon reported that the year previous only a few men
lived there to forward supplies; while " Fort Gage,"




I22    REVOLUTIONARY           SCENES.
the little earthwork on a neighboring eminence, which
was probably erected in 1759 by General Amherst,
never possessed a garrison or a gun. The position at
the head of the lake had at this period lost its former
importance, and therefore it is not reasonable to suppose, that while no effort was made to strengthen
more commanding posts, Fort George had been reinforced by two companies of artillery. Indeed, this
was a force superior to all the other garrisons combined. Besides, the intercepted despatches of General
Carlton to General Gage, show that the total number
of British troops in Canada at this time numbered
only seven hundred and twenty-five, including the
garrisons at Ticonderoga, Skenesborough, and Crown
Point. The condition of affairs at the lake, prior to
1775, would constitute a sufficient denial of the story
of Parks.
And the documentary evidence of the year 1775,
goes to show that everything remained unchanged,
except that fewer persons lived near the fort. May
12, there were only two persons at the fort, who were
engaged in the express business. The fort had no
commander, but the lake had a nominal " Governor";
and the apprehension and dismissal of this person has
furnished the only ground for the romance of Daniel
Parks. The person thus treated was Mr. John Nordberg,' formerly an officer in the English army. In
(1) — Mr.'ordbcrg was a native of Sweden, where he was torn in
1710. Favoring the French faction there, he was persecuted, andleft




REVOLUTIONARY                SCENES.         123
1774, as a reward for his military services, he was
appointed "Governor" of Lake George, an office
without duties. The terms of his appointment left
him at liberty to reside anywhere in America. At the
period referred to, he was living, not in Fort George,
but in a cottage near by, where, being an old man, and
an invalid, he passed his time after the manner of a
hermit, gladly escaping from     the political discussions
of the day. And the records show that Mr. Nordberg
was actually visited by a party who went through the
form of an arrest, but afterwards gave him a passport
to New     Lebanon.      The   person   who    took   this
responsibility   was   Captain   Bernard     Romans,    a
Sweden. I-Ie entered the British service in January, 1758, as one of
the foreign officers of the Royal Americans. IIe served in the French
war, receiving two wounds. IIe afterwards went with his battalion
to the West Indies. In 1773 he went to England, being invalidated,
but returned to America the next year as Governor of Lake George.
May the 12th, (not April, as Governor Tryon says, in Col. Doec., Vol.
viii. p. 597,) he was apprehended at his cottage and sent away. December 15, the Provincial Congress gave him liberty to remove to
England; but it appears that he remained in New York, where he
died October9,1782. See Jour. Prov. Congress of N. Y., Vol.i. p. 220.
We also find the following in IIenry's travels at Lake Superior, 1771, p.
231: " Mr. Norburg, a Russian gentleman, acquainted with metals, and
holding a commission in the sixtieth regiment, and then in garrison
at Michilimackinac, accompanied us on this latter expedition. As we
rambled, examining the thods, or loose stones, in search of minerals,
Mr. Norburg chanced to meet with one, of eight pounds weight, of a
blue color, and semi-transparent. This he carried to England, where
it produced in the proportion of sixty pounds of silver to a hundred
weight of ore. It was reposited in the British Museum. The same
Mr. Norburg was shortly afterward appointed to the government of
Lake George."




I24    REVOLUTIONARY          SCENES.
member of the Connecticut Committee appointed to
take possession of "Ticonderoga and its dependencies."l
Several writers, in giving an account of the action
of the Connecticut Committee, state that Romans left
his associates at Bennington, and did not appear until
he came to Ticonderoga, May 14. Mott says in his
journal: "Mr. Romans left us and joined us no more;
we were all glad, as he had been a trouble to us, all
the time he was with us."2
It appears that Romans, finding it impossible to
manage the other members of the Committee, with
reference to the surprise of Ticonderoga, decided to
seize Fort George on his own account. This was
certainly included in the instructions of the Committee,
and it was the only thing left him to do, as the surprise of Skenesborough was already provided for.
Therefore, without consulting any one, he went to
the head of the lake, took possession of what time
and the weather had left of Fort George, and sent
away Mr. Nordberg to New Lebanon.
Romans felt that the capture of an abandoned fort
was not a thing to boast of, and therefore gave no publicity to his action. It has never even been mentioned
in connection with the capture of Ticonderoga.
Daniel Parks may have followed in the train of
Captain Romans, and may also have been a member
of the garrison, when it was soon after found necessary
(1) —Sc3 Appendix. I.  (2)- Conn. IIst. Col., Vol. i. p. 169.




REVOLUTIONARY          SCENES.       125
to maintain a small force at this point; but that he
raised troops for the capture of what he knew to be a
ruinous and deserted work, is not to be supposed for a
moment.   Mott says in his Journal, that they sent
men " to waylay the roads " leading to " Fort Edward
and Lake George,"l for the express purpose of preventing alarm in what was, on the whole, a Tory
neighborhood. Indeed, it has not been proved that
Parks was on the ground at the time in any capacity.
Still, there is a monument in the burying-ground at
Sandy Hill which states that he was the man to whom
the British officer surrendered Fort George. But, as
shown from the above account, the fort had neither
garrison nor commander. The story is a myth.
From a document2 never before published, we learn
the outside cost of the work of Captain Romans,
which probably was less than thirty shillings. The
document is also of value, in showing what disposition
was made of the British prisoners taken at Ticonderoga.
Soon after Mr. Nordberg's dismissal, the colonial
authorities found it necessary to establish a small garrison at Lake George, chiefly for the purpose of forwarding supplies to the troops operating on Lake Champlain.
May 25, it was voted by the Continental Congress
to leave the authorities of New York to decide what
troops should be stationed at Lake George. May 30,
New York not having raised any troops, Governor
(1)- Conn. Hist. Coll., Vol. i. p. 169.  (2)- Sec Appendix. II.




126    RtEVOLUTIONARY         SCENES.
Trumbull, of Connecticut, ordered one thousand men,
under Colonel Hinman, to Ticonderoga, where four
hundred of them arrived about the middle of June.
July 1, there were upwards of one hundred men stationed at each end of the lake.
Major General Philip Schuyler. of New York, having been appointed to the command of the Northern
department, went down Lake George, July 17,
arriving at Ticonderoga the next morning, when he
formally superseded Colonel Hinman, who had previously displaced Benedict Arnold from the command.
We may judge of the degree of discipline which was
maintained at this time by the following extract from
his letter to Washington. Ie writes:
"About ten, last night, I arrived at the landingplace, at the north end of Lake George, a post occupied by a captain and one hundred men. A sentinel
on being informed I was in the boat, quitted his post
to go and awaken the guard, consisting of three men,
in which he had no success. I walked up and came
to another, a sergeant's guard.  Here the sentinel
challenged, but suffered me to come up to him, the
whole guard, like the first, in the soundest sleep."'
July 24, there were two hundred and thirty-three
men of Colonel Goose Van Schaick's regiment, at or
near Fort George. About this time the soldiers at
Fort George were in a mutinous condition, and
suffered greatly for the want of blankets, so that
(1)-Letters to Washington, Vol. i. p. 6.




REVOLUTIONARY          SCENES.       127
several of their officers, when visiting at Albany,
professed that they did not dare to return without
them.
The operations of the Americans this year were
conducted by Schuyler and Montgomery. The army
was supplied with food and war material by the transports on Lake George.    Early in the campaign
Schuyler was forced by sickness to leave the field,
and Montgomery captured Fort St. John and Montreal. In the attack upon Quebec he failed, after a
siege of three weeks, which ended in an assault that
cost his own life, and the surrender of a portion of
the troops who penetrated into the lower town. The
remaining portion of the invading army wintered at
Sillery. On the first of April, 1776, Wooster, who
had succeeded to the command, made another attempt
upon Quebec, but failed. Soon after the English received reinforcements, and the Americans were obliged
to retire.
A more efficient commander being needed in Canada, General Thomas was appointed, and his army
was made independent of the department under Schuyler. He at once moved toward the scene of action,
hoping to stay the tide of defeat. April 17, he passed
down the lake, and the next day forty batteaux started,
carrying five hundred troops. On the 19th, a person
at the lake, writing, says: "The whole of the troops
that are now on the lake and here, will amount to
upwards of fifteen hundred men; so that I think we




128    REVOLUTIONARY          SCENES.
shall make a very respectable figure before Quebec
when we all arrive." They never arrived; and General Thomas died of the small-pox.
At this time Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Chase,
and Charles Carroll reached the lake. They had been
appointed by Congress, as Commissioners, to proceed
to Canada and negotiate with the authorities there.
They were accompanied in this mission by the Rev.
John Carroll, afterwards the Roman Catholic Bishop
of Baltimore. The account of this trip across Lake
George is given by Charles Carroll in his journal.1
Portions of the journal are of sufficient interest to be
reproduced here:
"' April 19, 1776. We embarked about one o'clock,
in company with General Schuyler, and landed in
Montcalm's Bay, about four miles from Lake George.
After drinking tea we again embarked, and went
about three or four miles further; then landed (the
sun being set) and kindled fires. The longest of the
boats, made for transportation of troops over Lakes
George and Champlain, are thirty-six feet in length
and eight feet wide; they draw about a foot of water
when loaded, and carry between thirty and forty men,
and are rowed by the soldiers. They have a mast
fixed in them, to which a square sail or blanket is
fastened, but these sails are of no use, unless with the
wind abaft, or nearly so. After we left Montcalm's
Bay, we were delayed considerably in getting through
(1) —Baltimore, 1860. Published by the Maryland Iist. Society.




REVOLUTIONARY          SCENES.      I29
the ice; but, with the help of tent-poles, we opened
ourselves a passage through it into free water. The
boats fitted up to carry us across, had awnings over
them, under which we made up our beds, and my fellow-travellers slept very comfortably. We left the
place, where we passed the night, very early on the
20th.
"20th. We had gone some miles before I arose;
soon after I got out of bed, we found ourselves entangled in the ice. We attempted, but in vain, to break
through it in one place, but were obliged to desist and
force our passage through another, which we effected
with much difficulty. At eight o'clock we landed to
breakfast.  After breakfast, the general looked to
his small boat; being desirous to reach the landing at
the north end of Lake George, we set off together;
but the general's boat, and the other boat with part of
the luggage, soon got before us a considerable way.
After separating, we fell luckily in with the boat
bringing the Montreal and Canada mail. Dr. Franklin found in the mail a letter for General Schuyler.
When we had weathered Sabaty point, we stood over
for the western shore of the lake, and a mile or two
below the point we were overtaken by the general,
from whom we learned the cause of his delay. Mr.
Chase and myself went on board the general's boat,
and reached the landing-place at the south [north]
end of Lake George, nearly two hours before the
other boats.  Lake George lies nearly north and




130    REVOLUTIONARY            SCENES.
south.... Its shores are remarkably steep, high, and
rocky, (particularly the east shore), and are covered
with pine and cedar, or what is here termed hemlock;
the country is wild and appears utterly incapable of
cultivation; it is a fine deer country, and likely to
remain so, for I think it never will be inhabited. I
speak of the shores, and am told that the country
inland resembles these.
" The season was not sufficiently advanced to admit
of catching fish, a circumstance that we had reason to
regret, as they are so highly prized by connoisseurs
in good eating, and as one of our company is so
excellent a judge of this science."1
The Commissioners accomplished no good by their
visit to Montreal, and the party returned by South
Bay and Fort Edward.
MZay 31, General Schuyler was now at the lake,
having his headquarters at Fort George.      About
this time he was visited by Mr. Graydon, who came
to the lake to bring money for the troops. Speaking
of the journey between Fort Edward and the lake,
he says: " It was almost an entire wood, acquiring a
deeper gloom, as well from the general prevalence of
pines, as from its dark, extended covert, being pre(l)- Ir. Carroll writes under date of April 5, when the Commismissioners were ascending the Hludson: "Just before we doubled
Cape Anthony's Nose, Mr. Chase and I landed to examine a beautiful
fall of water. Mr. Chase, apprehensive of the leg of mutton being
boiled too much, was impatient to get on board."




REVOLUTIONARY           SCENES.       I3I
sented to the imagination as an appropriate scene for
the'treasons, stratagems and spoils; of savage hostility."l
He was received at the lake by Schuyler with great
cordiality and respect, and appears to have heartily
approved his tactics in dealing with the New-England
troops under his -command. Graydon bears testimony
to his irritability, but thinks that the New-England
men deserved the contemptuous treatment which they
received at his hands, a very striking instance of which
is recorded. Eventually, however, his policy failed.
As Greene observes: " New-England men could not
persuade themselves that the man who, in his official
intercourse with them, could not command his'peevishness' was qualified to command them."2   This
remark is conceived in the spirit of that ancient declaration, which teaches that the ability to rule one's
spirit is a truer mark of greatness than the capacity
to take a city; yet, if mutual forbearance had been
exercised, Schuyler might, perhaps, have continued in
command of this department to the end, and finally
achieved the victory that afterwards crowned the
efforts of Gates.
A polished gentleman of the old school, General
Philip Schuyler carried all his high-bred courtliness
into the camp, where he found it difficult to recognize
the worth of those New-England men, who, at times,
(1)- Memoirs, p. 142.
(2)- Life of General Greene, Vol. i. p. 433. Graydon, p. 143.




132    REVOLUTIONARY          SCENES.
like many of their fellow patriots of New York, possessed noble and disinterested natures, veiled under a
rude garb and ordinary mien. Hence, the mutual
dislike and open hostility which afterwards had so
much to do in removing this able soldier and wise
statesman from the command of the Department of the
North.
But let us not anticipate events. July 17, General
Gates, who, a month previous, had succeeded Thomas
in command of the army, which had now been driven
far out of Canada, issued an order from his head-quarters at Ticonderoga, forbidding " the wanton waste of
powder" at Fort George. Powder was at this time
scarce, and a rebuke was perhaps needed, yet Gates,
having entered the department of his superior, had no
authority to administer it. Nine days before, the question of jurisdiction had come up in Congress, and the
decision was against Gates, who was ordered to act in
harmony with Schuyler, and restrict the use of his
authority to his own immediate command.
October 1, Schuyler wrote to General Gates, saying
that a blow at Fort George was probably meditated
by the English, to destroy the communications of the
American forces, and recommended a reinforcement.
No harm came, however; yet in the following November the New-York Committee of Safety wrote
that the Tories had a plan to seize and hold Fort
George, in connection with the Indians and Canadians.  This, likewise, was simply an ungrounded




REVOLUTIONARY          SCENES.       133
fear, as on the ninth of the same month General
Gates writes somewhat tartly to Colonel Gansevort,
because he kept the boats and provisions at Fort
George, and sent forward no flour, telling him that
"there is not an enemy within a hundred miles of the
post."
Several writers have stated that about this time
a severe battle was fought by a party of American militia of Saratoga county,1 who met a band of
Tories and Indians near Sabbath Day Point, when
the former achieved a victory. Yet this story does
not appear in print until a very recent date. The
following paragraph from Mr. Neilson's little book
on Burgoyne's campaign, contains the only authority
found thus far. He says, speaking of events at this
time, "My [step] grandfather, at the head of fifty
men, had a desperate encounter with about eighty
Indians and Tories at Sabbath Day Point, in which
the enemy were defeated, with a loss of forty killed
and wounded."2
Unfortunately, however, the chronicles of the day,
which gave minute accounts of every skirmish, say
nothing whatever either about such an engagement or
victory. The only traces found by the author, of a
conflict at this place appear in a fragment of a manuscript letter now in the State archives at Albany. It
was written by " J. Deane, Indian Interpreter" to
(1)- Lossing's Field Book, Vol. i. p. 116.
(2) —Burgoyne's Campaign, p. 85.




134    REVOLUTIONAIrY          SCENES.
General Schuyler, and bears date of June 25, 1777.
In the course of his remarks lie speaks of " the warriors of Aghmejasne, who took a party of our people
at Sabbath Day Point."'  In the absence of reliable
testimony, we shall therefore feel obliged to receive
with extreme caution Nelson's account of a victory
at the above place. Lossing repeats Nelson's story,
but gives no authority. So important an engagement
would certainly have been mentioned in some document or newspaper of the day.2
It would be improper to pass over this year without speaking of the severe sickness which prevailed.
When the army under Gates was obliged to retreat
up Champlain to Ticonderoga, the sick were transported over Lake George to the hospitals established
around the fort at its head. This site was selected on
account of its genial atmosphere and general advantages.  On the 14th of July there were no less than
three thousand sick men lying at this place,3 many
of whom were suffering from small-pox and typhus
fever. Between the 12th and 26th of July, fifty-one
men were here consigned to the grave. What is now
the village of Caldwell was one great charnel house.
The circumstances were rendered worse by the fact,
that the hospitals were extremely destitute of all those
means and appliances which in our own day go so far
(1) - Miss. Papers, 1777, Vol. xxxviii. p. 20.
(2)- The author has not been able to learn even the name of the
person who commanded in this alleged fight.
(3)-American Archives, Vol. i., Series v. pp. 232-237-651.




REVOLUTIONARY            SCENES.       I35
to alleviate human misery.   The sufferings of the
troops at Valley Forge could not be compared with
the misery of our patriotic troops on the shore of this
beautiful lake.
Among those prostrated by disease and borne to
this place, was General James Wilkinson, afterwards
the co-laborer of Aaron Burr, and Baron de Woedtke.l
Wilkinson says: "There at Fort George, in spite of
medical aid, I was reduced to the last extremity; every
hope of my recovery had expired; I was consigned to
the grave, and a coffin was prepared for my accommodation."2 Yet he recovered from this sickness, and in
course of time the diseases abated, and the hospitals
were cleared, though too many of them    had been
rendered tenantless by Death.
Towards the close of the season, Trumbull passed
up the lake from Ticonderoga, in a boat with General
Gates, under whom he was serving as adjutant-general. IIe gives in his journal a beautiful picture of a
mountain on fire, a scene well adapted to impress the
mind of the embryo artist, who was about to lay aside
the sword for the mahl stick. He writes: " AIy taste
for the picturesque here received a splendid gratification. Some of the troops who had passed before us
(1) —Baron de Wocdtke was many years an officer in the Prussian
army. IIe came to America, and March 16, 1776, was appointed
brigadier-general, and ordered to Canada. lie died at Lake George,
at about the close of July, and was buried with the honors due to his
rank. W ashington's Writings, Vol. iv. p. 6.
(2)- Memoirs, Vol. i. pY. 86.




I36    R EVOLUTIONArY         SCENES.
had landed on the west shore of the lake and lighted
fires for cooking. The season was cold and drythe leaves had fallen in masses -the fire had extended
to them, and spread from ledge to ledge, from rock to
rock to the very summit, where it was from seven
hundred to a thousand feet high. In parts the fire
crept along the crevices of the rock; at times an
ancient pine tree rose up a majestic pyramid of flame;
and all this was reflected in the pellucid surface of the
lake, which lay like a beautiful mirror in the stillness
of the dark night, unruffled by the oars of our solitary
boat, and these were frequently suspended that we
might enjoy the magnificent scene."l
Winter closed in gloomily upon the country, as well
as upon the lake. About New-Year's day, the lake
was frozen over, and navigation ceased.  The cold
season passed away without any event of importance
occurring in the various garrisons.  But when the
of 1777 opened, the whole aspect of affairs underwent
a change.
In order to render the operations of the army
more effective, Congress, May 22, confirmed General
Schuyler in his command, and added to his former
jurisdiction, including Ticonderoga, Fort Stanwix,
Albany, and their dependencies.2  Thus Gates was
put out of the field.  General St. Clair was then
placed in command at Ticonderoga. Eventually, that
(1)-Trumbull's Reminiscences, p. 37.
(2)- Journal Congress, Vol. iii. p. 183.




jw~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
MYLER BY THE BRINK OF STILIL WATER.








RE VOLUTIONARY         SCENES.       137
officer, acting on his own responsibility, decided, in
view of the impending peril, to evacuate the post.
For this act Schuyler was severely blamed, yet he
was in no wise responsible; while St. Clair himself
was afterwards fully acquitted by a military court.
The day after the evacuation of Ticonderoga, Schuyler,
writing to Washington from Fort Edward, says, " I
have not been able to learn what is become of General St. Clair and the army."1
St. Clair executed this movement on the night of
July 6, sending one regiment and the sick to Whitehall, while the rest of the troops marched by the new
road through the woods to Hubbardstown. The British, under General Frazer, took possession, and thus
the evacuation of all points on Lake George became
necessary. St. Clair's retreat having become known,
preparations were made in season to leave Fort
George; and when the Americans deserted that work
they took all their baggage and stores, and set the
fort on fire. The match was applied July 16, and
Major Yates marched away to Fort Edward, with
seven hundred men. Burgoyne, who was then moving victoriously southward, thus writes of the affair:
"The garrison of Fort George in manifest danger
of being cut off by the direct movement from Skenesborough to Hudson's River, took the measure I expected of abandoning the Fort, and burning the vessels,
thereby leaving the lake entirely free. A detachment
(1)- Washington's Writings, Vol. iv. p. 491.




138    REVO L UTI ONARY      SCENES.
of the King's Troops from Ticonderoga, which I had
ordered to be ready for that event, with a great embarkation of provisions, passed the lake on the same day
that I took possession of this communication by land."
Schuyler, in his letter to Washington, before referred
to, says that there were " no carriages to remove the
stores from Fort George," which he expected would
be immediately attacked. Yet it appears that Colonel
Gates found means seven days after to bring away
every thing in safety.  Schuyler also justified the
giving up of Fort George, on which point Washington suspended his opinion, merely remarking that
others had informed him " that a spirited, brave,
judicious officer, with two or three hundred good
men, together with the armed vessels you have built,
would retard Burgoyne's passage across the Lake for a
considerable time, if not render it impracticable, and
oblige him to take a more difficult and circuitous
route." To this Schuyler replies: "The fort was part
of an unfinished bastion of an intended fortification.
The bastion was closed at the gorge. In it was a
barrack capable of containing between thirty and fifty
men; without ditch, without wall, without cistern;
without any picket to prevent an enemy from running
over the wall. So small, as not to contain above one
hundred and fifty men, commanded by ground greatly
overlooking it, and within point blank shot; and so
situated that five hundred men may lie between the
bastion and the Lake, without being seen from this




REVOLUTIONAItY          SCENES.       139
extremely defensible fortress. Of vessels built there,
one was afloat and tolerably fitted; the others still
upon the stocks; but, if the two had been upon the
water, they would have been of but little use, without
rigging and guns."l
The same poor condition prevailed at Fort Edward,
where Schuyler had only fifteen hundred men, with
only two pieces of small iron cannon, all the artillery
having been sent to the southern department by order
of Washington. We may easily imagine what must
have been the real state of affairs. An extract from
a letter written by Governeur Morris to John Jay,
when at Valley Forge, January, 1780, says: "Our
troops,- heeu miserors.  The skeleton of an army
presents itself to our eyes in a naked, starving condition, out of health, out of spirits. But I have seen
Fort George," he adds, " in the summner of 1777."2
Lake George being wholly given up by the Americans, it now became a part of the British line of
communication with Canada. Colonel Anstruther was
the commandant.
It is almost universally conceded, however, that he
erred greatly in failing to bring his army by this
route after the surrender of Ticonderoga. If he had
done this, instead of moving by the way of South
Bay, the result would doubtless have been far different. The general plan of the campaign was esteemed
(1) — Washington's Writings, Vol. iv. p. 494.
(2)-Life of Governcur Morris, Vol. i. p. 154.




140    REVOLUTIONARY            SCENES.
judicious, and it gained the approval of King George
himself. But that monarch saw the dangers of South
Bay, and earnestly recommended the route by Lake
George. In revising the plan he says: " If possible,
possession must be taken of Lake George, and nothing
but an absolute impossibility of succeeding in this,
can be an excuse for proceeding by South Bay and
Skenesborough."1   Still, Burgoyne afterwards made
as good a use of the lake as he was able to, and by
this route he brought reinforcements and supplies.
Depots were formed at both Fort George and Diamond Island, though eventually all of the stores were
accumulated at the latter place.
But the British were not allowed to hold the lake
unmolested. While Burgoyne was busy prosecuting
his campaign in the direction of Saratoga, an expedition was sent by General Lincoln to his rear. This
expedition was placed under the command of the everactive Colonel John Brown, who surprised the outworks of Ticonderoga, and met with considerable
success.2 He then embarked with his forces in some
captured vessels, and sailed to attack Diamond Island,
situated within four miles of Fort George. In this
expedition he failed. The artillery of the garrison
(1)- Quoted in Albermarle's Memories of the Marquis of lockingham, (Vol. ii. p. 331) from the original manuscript in the handwriting
of King George, now in the British Museum. This testimony seems
to have escaped all of our American writers. The author's attention
was directed to it by Major-General de Poyster.
(2)- See Chapter ix. on Ticondoroga.




REVOLUTIONARY           SCENES.       141
was so well served that he was unable to come to
quarters. The result we may give in Burgoyne's own
words. He reports:
"On the 24th instant, the enemy upon Lake George
attacked Diamond Island in two divisions. Captain
Aubrey1 and two companies of the 47th regiment
had been posted at that island from the time the army
passed the Hudson River, as a better security for the
stores at the south end of Lake George than Fort
George, which is on the continent, and not tenable
against artillery and numbers.  The enemy were
repulsed by Captain Aubrey with great loss, and pursued by the gunboats under his command, to the east
shore, where two of their principal vessels were retaken, together with all the cannon. They had just
time to set fire to the other batteaux, and retreated
over the mountain."
Colonel Brown regained Lincoln's camp in safety.
He afterwards fell a martyr to liberty.  I-e was a
man of much character and ability, but he was kept
from advancement by Arnold, who then had the ear
of General Gates.
When Burgoyne was defeated and undertook to
retreat, lie started for Lake George, hoping to escape
by this route to Canada. But the skill of Gates
(1)-Thomas Aubrey, second son of Sir Thomas Aubrey, of Glanborganshir, entered the army as ensign in 1762, and served in Florida.
lIo was at the Battle of Bunker Hill, and was made major in 1782, and
afterwards arose to the rank of colonel. Ho died January 15, 1814.




142   11 EVOLUTIONAR Y        SCENES.
finally caused him to capitulate; and thus Lake
George once more became absolved from   British
rule.
Nothing of importance occurred in this vicinity
until 1780, when Sir John Johnson invaded the northern part of New York, and marked his track in ashes
and flames. Iis object was to recover three barrels
of silver plate buried in the cellar of his former mansion at Johnstown. IH   succeeded in finding the
treasure, which was borne away by forty soldiers, each
of whom carried a portion in his haversack. Sir John
was pursued on his return by a force under Governor
Clinton, who went down Lake George to Ticonderoga, where he was obliged to abandon the pursuit.
Major Carlton improved the occasion of this raid to
strike a blow at Forts Ann and George. Fort Ann
was taken October 10. The next day, Carlton, while
marching against Fort George, was met by a party of
twenty-five men sent from that place by the commander, Colonel Chipman, to obtain provisions at Fort
Edward.   They were immediately fired upon by
Carlton, but managed to escape and return to Fort
George. Chipman, supposing that it was an enemy's
scout, sent out all but fourteen of his men, who met
and engaged the enemy near Bloody Pond.    The
Americans were signally defeated, the whole force
being either killed, wounded, or taken prisoners.
Carlton then hurried to the fort, which was obliged to




REVOLUTIONARY           SCENES.       143
capitulate.  The Americans lost twenty-eight men,
eight vessels, and twenty-eight flat-boats, which were
in the lake.'
With this event military operations on Lake George
ended.   During the war of 1812 they were not
renewed, as at that time the lake had lost its importance as part of a great military route.
For the last eighty-five years Lake George has
enjoyed all the advantages that flow from peace; and
yet it still retains its native wildness. The lack of
water-power and the lightness of the soil, retard the
progress of mechanic and agricultural arts; and the
shriek of the locomotive will perhaps never be heard
around these shores. As this mountainous country
will hardly require or admit the use of railroads, the
stage-coach will hold undisputed sway, and, under a
wise management, furnish to tourists, who pass by the
Lake-George route to the Schroon Lake and the
Adirondacks, a mode of transit that is at once easy,
expeditious, and safe.
Lake George may therefore be considered beyond
the reach of those invasions which have destroyed the
value of so many American retreats. Elegant villas
will multiply along its borders, and its romantic isles
will, in course of time, be crowned with cottages; yet
the visitor at the lake will never miss its old and
c::quisite charm, or fail to find retirement and peace.
(1)- Ilough's Northern Invasion - Washington's Works, Vol. vii.
p. 2G9.




TICONDERO GA.
CIIAPTER IX.
Ruins! Ruins! Let us roam.
HowE's LANDING - TIE FALLS - SITUATION OF TIIE FOnT
-NAME - ABERCrOMBIE - AMIIERST - ETHAN ALLENBEAMAN -ARNOLD - LOCALITIES - A TRADITION.
VERYONE who visits Lake George
t:it w' will, of course, desire to see Ticon-'' 1~ #deroga. Landing at the north end
Eml_  B    ~of the lake where Abercrombie
Em     disembarked, a ride of four miles takes
Hi- the visitor to the ruins of this celebrated fort,  the examination of which, together with neighb ^  oring localities of interest, will consume a
whole day. The Falls are well worth attention. The upper Fall is one mile, and the lower
Fall two miles, from Lake George. About threefourths of a mile from the fort the visitor comes upon
the grass-grown outworks, which are numerous and
complicated.
Ticonderoga was called Carillon, a French word,
meaning a chime, the name being given with reference
to the perpetual music of the Falls. The idea was
suggested by the Indian name Cheonderogo, which




TICONDE R O GA.                 145
in the Iroquois tongue signifies Sounding Water. The
remains of the fort are situated on a beautiful peninsula, elevated a hundred feet above Lake Champlain.
It is a position of considerable strength, being protected on three sides by water.  It is overlooked,
however, by Mount Defiance, which is nearly eight
hundred feet above the lake.
The first attempt to fortify the position was made
by Colonel Philip Schuyler, who arrived July 17,
1691, when on his way to attack the French fort at
Laprarie. The weather being bad, his party remained
here several days; and, being apprehensive of an
attack from the enemy, they used the time in building
a " stone fort breast high."l
Nothing more, however, was done until 1755.
Twenty-five years before, the French had commenced
the fort at Crown (Scalp) Point, where they evidently
intended to establish the nucleus of a new colony;
and at the above date the walls were in so weak a
condition that Montcalm thought it advisable to advance to Carillon and commence an entirely new
structure, instead of repairing the old one at the
former place. Accordingly, he gave the proper orders,
and the work was commenced, and by the close of the
(1) — Col. Doe., Vol. iii. p. 902. Palmer suggests that a fort called
by Captain John Schuyler, "The Little Stone Fort," (Doc. list.,
Vol. ii. p. 62) was possibly built by Captain Sanders Glen, "while
he was waiting there for the advance of Winthrop's army " in 1790.
But a careful estimate of the distances will show that this fort could
not have been situated nearer Ticonderoga than Crown Point.




146           T IC O ND ERO GA.
year 1756, it was well advanced. They had also constructed three earthworks between the lakes. The
stone fort on the east side was a star-shaped work,
called Vaudreuil, in honor of the French Governor.
From this time until the summer of 1759, the French
labored continually to strengthen their works, which
were spreading over a large part of the peninsula.
On Christmas Eve, 1758, Rogers and one hundred
and fifty of his Rangers surprised the workmen, took
several prisoners, and killed fifteen beeves. He wrote
a note addressed to the commander, and placed it
upon the horns of an ox for delivery. It is given in
the Paris documents as follows: "I am obliged to
you, Sir, for the repose you have allowed me to take;
I thank you for the meat you have sent me; I shall
take care of my prisoners. I request you to present
my compliments to the Marquis de Montcalm."  Some
time after Rogers met M. Wolfe at Fort Edward,
whither he had gone to carry despatches to the English, and the subject afforded some mutual pleasantry.
Baron Dieskau's troops stopped at Ticonderoga in
1755, when they were marching to attack the English;
and also when they returned, broken and defeated.
This was the rallying-point of Montcalm in 1757,
before he moved against Fort William Henry. In
July, 1758, it was attacked by Abercrombie, who was
defeated with a loss of two thousand killed and
wounded. Among the killed was young Lord Howe,
a grandson of George I. When about to advance,




TICONDER oGA.                  147
Major Putnam tried to persuade him not to expose
himself; but he is reported as saying, "Your life is as
dear to you as mine is to me - I am determined to
go." He went.
Before Amherst advanced the following year, a
party of Rangers attacked the workmen outside of
the fort, and tried to burn the buildings, but failed. In
the summer, when Amherst appeared with an army
of nearly twelve thousand men, Montcalm evacuated
the place, and retreated down Lake Champlain, leaving
the English in possession.
After the defeat of Abercrombie in 1758, and while
Lord Amherst was preparing to advance upon Ticonderoga, the French had a deep grave dug in the centre
of their lines, over which was raised a lofty cross,'
bearing a brass plate, with the following inscription:
" Pone principes eorum sicut et Zebec et Zalmarnna.
This was at once a braggart prophecy and a prayer,
for which some over-zealous priest was probably responsible. But in the end they all found that Amherst was not exactly Abercrombie, and that he had
not brought his army down Lake George to have it
treated like Jabin at the brook of Kison, and like
those who perished at Endor to fertilize the earth.
Therefore when Amherst appeared, the soldier strapped
(1)-Warburton's Conquest of Canada, Vol. ii. p. 244.
(2)-" Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their
princes as Zcbah and Zalmunna." - rs. xIxxiii.: 11.




148           TIC ONDER OGA.
his knapsack, and the priest packed his thurible, cope,
and pyx, the latter leaving his litany to take care of
itself. Indeed, Montcalm probably never intended
to make a stand against Amherst.
Soon after the capture, Colonel Eyre planned
another new fortification; but Colonel Haldeman,
February 15, 1767, reported the works in a bad condition; and September 1, 1773, they were represented
" in a ruinous state." Still, nothing was done, and
the war of the Revolution broke out, finding them in
the same dilapidated condition. For some time past
the course of public events had led the New-England
patriots to view Ticonderoga and its stores of warlike
material with a covetous eye; and therefore when the
time came for action they were ready.
At daybreak, on the morning of May 10, 1775, the
fort was surprised and captured by eighty-five men
from Vermont and Massachusetts, under the joint
command of Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen.
The plan of this surprise was laid with secrecy and
skill.
The person who claimed to be the first to entertain
the plan for taking Ticonderoga, was one William Gilliland, who resided at Willsborough, on the west shore
of Lake Champlain. In a petition to the Continental
Congress, he says: " Your memorialist has reason to
think, that he was the first person who laid a plan
for and determined upon seizing Ticonderoga, Crown
Point, and the King's armed vessel, and therewith the




TIC ONDERO GA.                    149
entire command of Lakes George and Champlain."1
Yet this claim is put forth under circumstances that
entitle it to little credit, and it can hardly be entertained.
The real originator of the plan was John Brown,
Esq.,2 a lawyer of Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  As early
as February 21, 1775, he received a letter from the
Boston Committee of Correspondence, of which committee Joseph Warren and Samuel Adams were members, requesting him   to visit Canada, and arrange
for securing the co-operation of the people in the
cause of Independence. In this mission Brown was
unsuccessful, but he nevertheless wrote to the Committee from  Montreal, saying: "One thing I must
mention to be kept a profound secret-the fort of
Tyconderoga must be seized as soon as possible, should
hostilities be committed by the King's troops." He
adds, moreover, " The people on Ne Iv Hampshire
Grants have engaged to do this business, and in my
opinion are the proper persons for the job.'   IHere,
(1) - Watson's Champlain Valley, p. 175.
(2)-American Archives, Series iv. Vol. ii. p. 243.
(3) - Colonel John Brown was born in Sandisfield, Massachusetts,
October 19, 1744. He graduated at Yale College in 1771, and afterwards practiced law in Pittsfield. IIe was at the capture of Chambly
in 1775; also at Quebec when Montgomery fell. He was at the Battle
of Bennington in 1777; and was killed, 1780, on his birthday, at the
age of thirty-six, in Stone Arabia, New York, during the raid of Sir
John Johnson. Forty-five Massachusetts men fell in the same action.
But for the baneful influence of Benedict Arnold, whom Colonel
Brown openly denounced, he would have been promoted at an early
day.




150           TIC OND E    O GA.
unquestionably, was the beginning of a work which
was positively to be done, in case of hostilities breaking out.
The next movement on record took place in Connecticut. April 27, in the morning, Samuel H. Parsons, of New London, while riding towards Hartford,
met Benedict Arnold, who informed him of the
amount of war material at Ticonderoga. On reaching
Hartford he had an interview with Samuel Willis and
Silas Deane, and at once decided upon action. Three
other men were afterward joined to their number, when
they drew three hundred pounds from the public
treasury, promising to expend it for the use of the
colony, at the same time making themselves personally
responsible. The same day they despatched Captain
Noah Phelps and Bernard Romans to the scene of the
proposed action, having provided them with the requisite funds.  After Phelps and Romans started, the
Committee also engaged Captain Mott to go as one of
the leaders. He left the next afternoon, taking five
other volunteers with him. At Salisbury, Mott came
up with Phelps and Romans, when eight new recruits
were added to the company, which was all they then
desired. Reaching Pittsfield the next Monday, they
made known their business to Colonel Easton, and Mr.
John Brown, in order "to take their advice on the
same." It was, on consultation, thought best to begin
to raise more men.  Easton and AIott, therefore,
started for Jericho, while Brown and the rest went to




TICONDEROGA.                  151
Bennington. Wednesday, May 3, Mott also reached
Bennington with twenty-four men. The next Sunday,
May 7, the company united again at Castleton, the
intervening time having been consumed in perfecting
the arrangements.
In the meanwhile, Benedict Arnold had marched to
Cambridge with a company from Connecticut. April
30, in reply to a letter of inquiry, Arnold wrote to
General Warren, stating what he knew about the
cannon and stores at Ticonderoga.  The same day
Warren wrote to Alexander McDougal, of the NewYork Provincial Congress, saying that it had been
" proposed" to him to take Ticonderoga.  Three
days later, the very day that Brown, Romans, and
the others reached Bennington on their way to Ticonderoga, Arnold was commissioned by the Massachu~etts Committee of Safety to raise men and proceed
to take the fort in question. But without waiting to
raise a man, Arnold started for the scene of action,
as if informed by Warren of the action of Brown,
and hoping, perhaps, to find a force prepared to execute his orders. He reached Castleton the day after
the volunteers, who had already assembled, one hundred and seventy strong, and recognized Ethan Allen
as their commander. Arnold at once applied for the
command, by virtue of his commission, but his proposition, however, was spurned.  I-Ie then started to
overtake Allen, who had gone towards the lake. Subsequently, it appears, an arrangemrent was effected by




152           TICONDEIROGA.
which Arnold and Allen were to hold something like
a joint command. In the meanwhile, the capture of
Skenesborough was arranged for; and at the same
time Bernard Romans, not being able to agree with
the other members of the Committee, left them to go
quietly, on his own account, and take possession of
Fort George.
By the judicious course of Arnold, harmony was
restored, and on the night of May 9, the whole party
assembled on the lake at Shoreham, two miles below
the fort, ready to embark and cross. But this proved
a difficult movement, as the boats were not ready, and
the wind was high. Arnold crossed with forty men
and sent back the boat, which did not return until near
daylight, being delayed by the storm. At this time
there were only eighty-five Vermont and Massachusetts men on the west shore, and it was proposed to
wait for the others.  This was strenuously opposed
by Arnold, who declared that he would enter the fort
alone, if no one had the courage to follow. This had
the desired effect; and when Arnold and Allen put
themselves at the head of the party all were ready to
move.' Ethan Allen claims in his Narrative, that he
improved the occasion to extemporize a speech; but,
however that may be, they soon dashed in at the
entrance of the fort, where they found the sentry,
who snapped his musket, and then attempted to escape.
But he was soon made a prisoner, and obliged to lead
(1)- N. Y. Journal, August 3, 1775.




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TIC ONDER o GA.                     I53
the party to the quarters of the commander, Captain
De La Place.    An   eye-witness testifies that Arnold
entered the fort first, though Bancroft simply says
he entered with Allen, keeping emulously at his side.
Allen beyond question demanded the surrender,
though we may reasonably doubt his having used the
language attributed    to him.   The astonished     commander did not have time to dress himself, says the
account, before he was summoned to surrender, " In
the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental
Congress."    Allen1 professed   little  respect for the
one, while the other did not then exist, the second
(1)- Ethan Allen was born in the town of Woodbury, Connecticut,
in 1738. At an early age he settled on the New-IIampshire grants, now
a part of the State of Vermont. WVhen the troubles arose in regard
to the jurisdiction of New York, he took a prominent part in resisting
the law. He eventually became a sort of Robin Iood  IIe was generous and beloved by his friends, but a terror to the partisans of New
York. Tho authorities of that State proclaimed him a felon, and
offered a reward of one hundred and fifty pounds for his apprehension. When the war of the Revolution broke out, he became prominent in connection with the capture of Ticonderoga, and afterwards
used his influence to heal the dissensions between the States of New
Ihampshire and New York. The same year he united with John
Brown, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in the attack upon Montreal, and
was taken prisoner. He was held a prisoner until exchanged in 1778,
but never afterwards performed any active service. From 1780, to
the close of the war, his sword was sheathed. It is claimed that from
this period he was engaged in a treasonable movement to attach Vermont to the King's government. At one time this was reported in
England as accomplished. Allen died in Colchester, Vt., February 13,
1789, and was buried near Burlington. If we have left Allen less a
hero than we found him, it is because the study of American history
is now passing into a new stage, and it is not deemed necessary to
engage in the indiscriminate praise of every person who happened to
bear a part in the ievolution.




154           TICONDER OGA.
Continental Congress not assembling in Philadelphia
until six hours after the fort surrendered; and a week
after-when the news came-the members were
on the point of apologizing for this hasty act. It
therefore seems improbable that he used the language
in question. The only person who had the semblance
of official authority was Arnold, without whom the
expedition possibly might have failed; and yet he
could not alone command a bayonet. He was nevertheless recognized by the people, who, July 3, presented him an address conveying the thanks of the
representatives of between five or six hundred families residing on  Lake Champlain and vicinity.'
Arnold's reply was written the next day at Crown
Point.
It is worthy of notice, too, that the first person to
receive public credit was Colonel Easton, who is
represented in Thomas' Oracle of Liberty, May 24,
as demanding the surrender of the fort. It is there
stated that Easton "clapped him [De La Place] on
the shoulder," calling upon him to surrender "in the
name of America.'" This of course is incorrect, yet
the statement has a certain significance. The denial
of Easton's claim was given, August 3,3 by one of
Arnold's friends, who, while declaring he was the first
to enter the fort, does not claim any pre-eminence for
Arnold as the originator of the plan. Speaking of the
action of the Connecticut leaders, the writer alluded
(1)-N. Y. Journal, Aug. 3.  (2) -ib.  (3) -ib.




TICONDE ROGA.                 I55
to simply says that Arnold "concerted a similar
plan."' The statement that Arnold entered the fort
in advance of Allen, has never been denied by any
sufficient authority. Allen never claimed this particular honor, while Arnold reports to the MassachuEetts Committee that he was "the first who entered
and took possession of the fort."2 And his statement
will readily gain assent when we remember that
Arnold was a person of unbounded assurance, and
never allowed any man to go before him.
From this general statement of facts, it will probably appear, to unprejudiced minds, that the plan was
originally formed by Mr. John Brown, and carried
out by Vermont, Connecticut and Massachusetts men
with Connecticut money. New York was informed
of the design some days before, but gave no aid. Yet
there were patriots who could applaud the act. Says
one writer on this occasion: "The public spirit, prudence, and enterprising genius of the New-Englanders,
will ever be admired.'3
In this connection there is one other point that
demands notice. Jared Sparks, in his life of Allen,
states that he was guided into the fort by a young
man named Nathan Beaman. This information, however, was received by Sparks verbally, through a
second person, and he had no sufficient means of
(4) - N. Y. Journal, Aug. 3, 1776.
(5)-Force's Archives, Vol. ii. 557
(G)- N. Y. Journal, May 18, 1775.




156             TIC ON DEr IOGA.
investigating its truth.  But Beaman1 afterwards published what he calls a narrative, which shows a most
remarkable degree of ignorance, and bears its own
refutation on its face. The account given to Mr.
Sparks states that his father was not acquainted with
the ground,2 while his published narrative states that
he, with his father and mother, dined with Captain
De La Place the very day before the capture, and that
they spent the whole day on the grounds of the fort?
But what is more, he states positively that Arnold
was not at the capture at all, and that " it was some
days after the capture of the fort that Arnold appeared."4  Such is the man whom Mr. Sparks brings
forward to help make American history. Yet it is
due to that eminent writer to state that he gives the
source of his information in a note; and it would have
been well if the popular writers who copied his
statement had imitated his example, instead of lending themselves to the dissemination of a fraud.
According to his own finding, Beaman violated all
the rights of hospitality; and one capable of such an
act would not scruple to corrupt history. The most
charitable thing, therefore, that we can say of Beaman
(1)-Boaman was a celebrated wolf-hunter, and was engaged in
the " wolf frauds" of Northern New York.
(2)-Life of Ethan Allen.
(3)-See N. Y. Spectator, Feb. 7,1847.
(4)- He also says that when Arnold appeared, he met Allen on the
bridge, thrown across from Mount Independence to Ticonderoga, and
that the latter knocked off Arnold's gold-laced hat, which sunk in
the lake from the weight of bullion.




TICONDEROGA.                  I57
is, that he belonged to a class of men who for some
years lived around the lake, cherishing prejudices that
had survived the loss of memory, and all the while
vaingloriously imagining themselves actually to be
the heroes that, under favorable circumstances, they
m2ight have been.
By the capture of Ticonderoga, the American colonies secured what cost the British government eight
millions of pounds sterling. A good morning's
work!
The American forces held Ticonderoga until July,
1777. The New-York Committee of Safety had the
cannon and principal war material removed up Lake
George, while a portion of the light artillery was sent
to Massachusetts.  When the British commander,
General Phillips, acting under the orders of Burgoyne, ascended Lake Champlain and took possession
of Mount Hope, thus cutting off the retreat by the
way of Lake George; and when General Frazer also
began to erect batteries on Mount Defiance, the position of the American garrison became extremely dangerous. Accordingly General St. Clair, who was then
in command, held a council of his officers and decided
to order a retreat. At about two o'clock on th6 morning of July 6th, the Americans reluctantly began to
file out of the works.  Contrary to orders, some
person set fire to a house, the light of which enabled
the British on Mount Defiance to discover the movements. The forces were then obliged to hasten their




158           TIC OND ERI1 O GA.
departure and march with some disorder. The baggage was nevertheless got off to Whitehall, while the
most of the troops took the road to Castleton, being
pursued by the British. Thus Ticonderoga, though
in a somewhat dilapidated condition, passed once more
into the hands of the English. General Schuyler,
then in command of the northern department, did not
order this act, as was reported; while St. Clair himself
was subsequently justified by an investigation.
September 25, Colonel John Brown, the author of
the original plan to capture Ticonderoga, acting under
orders from General Lincoln, marched with five hundred men and surprised and captured the outworks of
Ticonderoga, with two hundred batteaux, an armed
sloop, two hundred and ninety-three prisoners, and five
cannon. He also released one hundred American
prisoners, and recaptured a continental flag. Yet he
did not, as on his first visit, succeed in getting into
the fort, and was ultimately obliged to give up the
attempt.
After the surrender of Burgoyne in 1777, the Fort
was dismantled. In 1780 General Haldiman advanced
with a few British troops and held the place. It was
from this point that Major Carlton marched to attack
Forts Edward and George, during the invasion of
General John Johnson.
After the Revolutionary WVar closed, this structure,
though built and maintained at an almost fabulous
cost, was allowed to fall into decay. It is now a heap




TI C 0 N D E t 0 G A.          159
of mouldering and picturesque ruins, where the historian and antiquarian especially love to linger, dwelling
in thought upon the olden times. Some localities and
objects can. be identified, while others must be left to
conjecture.  Let us, therefore, in imagination, take
a stroll over the ground.
As we go up from the steamer's pier, we pass the
old garrison well, and proceed on the same way taken
by Arnold and Allen in 1775. But no drowsy sentinel snaps his fuzee as we enter the broken gate.
Indeed,  we   can
hardly tell where
wh       -'ereB, te h  and  gaassi t  atey  watas.
enevr thelessa  we
zine, if the lclamber             over tahe
fallen masonry nnyor way into its di esesti    l wte find our___for y   _ourselves in the middle of   the fort,
TIHE   A K. E 1Y.
and begin to look
around us  Hepe,   cet a iny, wer e the officers' barra eks
where the his   and s massie   walls now instantly thr1eat
en to fall.  There is the entrance to the so-called
"baker."      iA poor oven, but a worse powder magazinc, if the latter use ever claimed it. You must make
your way into its dim recesses, and settle the question
for yourself, remembering that when Amherst captured
the place, it had tlree ovens or bakeries, instead of one.'
(1) -Wilson's Orderly Book, p. 105.




I6o             TICONDER O GA.
The use of this open space we must certainly know.
This is the parade:
"The men at arms were mustered here:
Here would the fretted war-horse bound,
Starting to hear the trumpet's sound."
Up yonder, perhaps, was
"The Lady's Chamber, whence
With looks of lovely innocence
Some heroine our fancy dresses
In golden locks or raven tresses,
And pearl embroidered silks and stuffs,
And quaintly quitled sleeves and muffs,
Looked forth to see retainers go,
Or trembled at the assaulting foe."
We will say that Madame De La Place rested there.
And this hole, which is now choked with rubbish,
" Was the Dungeon; deep and dark,
Where the starved prisoner moaned in vain,
Until Death left him, stiff and stark,
Unconscious of the galling chain."
At Crown Point the Jesuit Fathers had their Chapel
and bell, and regular hours for prayer. It was undoubtedly so here at Ticonderoga.     We may rightly
find an ecclesiastical corner, and with our poet say:
"This was the Chapel: that the stair:
Here, where all lies damp and bare.
The fragrant thurible was swung,
The silver lamp in beauty hung."
There can be, however, no doubt about the kitchen,
for all soldiers must eat, even if they do not pray or
give thanks:




TICONDER O GA.                 I6I
"This was the Kitchen. Cold and blank
The huge hearth yawns; and wide and high,
The chimney shows the open sky."
And thus we might go on at any length, and spend
the entire day in recalling the memories of the past.
But the stage, or the steamer, we may fancy, is waiting
to take us back to the landing at Lake George, or
carry us down Champlain. Yet before you leave,
visit the south bastion looking towards Mount Defiance, where tradition says that a beautiful Indian
maiden once threw herself down headlong, in order to
escape the importunities of a French officer, whom
she had refused to accept as her lover. The tradition
may not be a very ancient one, notwithstanding the
fact that " we read in rare books "l of this occurrence;
yet the summer tourist, who does not ask for historical authorities will not refuse a pretty embellishment
of the local history. Besides, as all Indian localities
can produce some legend of this kind, why should
Ticonderoga fall behind the rest?
(1)-See Cook's Sketch of Ticonderoga.




SCHROON     LAKE AND THE ADIRONDACKS.
CHAPTER X.
No chieftain raises to the sky
The gladness of his battle-cry.
STAGING - FORT WILLIAM HENRY HOTEL - THE ROUTE TO
SCHROON - THE LAKE - THE ROAD TO LONG LAKETHE LAKE SYSTEMi - THE MOUNTAINS - CAMP LIFE -
DISTANCES.
i  i i   AMBLING from point to point, we!,C  QI   I   have now   entered upon times of
^^^   B     ipeace, and in our trip to Schroon
)~l "and the Adirondacks, we shall have
- but little to say of the conflicts of former
years. The new route to Schroon Lake and
the Adirondack region, lies by the way of
the head, or south end, of Lake    George.
The public conveyance is found in the coaches
of the Glen's Falls, Lake George, and Chester Stage
Company, whose lines are now in operation, summer
and winter, furnishing an uninterrupted communication with Schroon.
The present points of departure are Fort Edward
and Moreau, stations on the Rensselaer and Saratoga
Railroad, only a short distance apart. The coaches




THE    ADIRONDACKS.              i63
from these two points unite at Glen's Falls, situated
about six miles on the way. From Glen's Falls to
Schroon, the distance is forty-two miles, the road running through a beautifully diversified country, whose
signs of civilization gradually fade away, until they
disappear in the mazes of the great wilderness of
New York.
The proposed railroad, connecting the Saratoga
road with Glen's Falls, will eventually make the latter
place the great starting-point for Schroon and the
Adirondack region.
In the opening chapter of this work, the route to
Lake George has been briefly described; and since
the road to Schroon passes the same way, it will not
be necessary to speak of it again. Yet the lover of
the horrible may be interested in viewing one locality
not already mentioned, known as "Blind Rock." This
rock, now sunk almost out of sight, lies a few rods
east of the plank road on the side of the hill, a little
beyond Glen's Falls. Tradition tells us that it marks
" the spot where the eyes of captives were put out,"
and where, in the barbarous days of the early settlement of the country, "the Indian children set to
amusing themselves by torturing them.'" And if the
visitor comes to Glen's Falls by the way of Fort
Edward, he may not only view the site of that memorable colonial rallying-point, but may also get a
glimpse of the grave of Jane McCrea, and the tree
(1)- Ilistorical Sketch, by the Rev. A. J. Fennel, p. 6.




I64       SCHROON      LAKE     AND
under which she is said to have been murdered by the
Indians in the year 1777. Of late years the whole
subject has been brought under searching examination,
and the circumstances have at least been shorn of a
portion of their romance; yet in all coming time this
spot will possess a curious interest for the traveller.
The first stopping-place, after leaving Glen's Falls,
is at the French-Mountain post-office and telegraph
station, where there is a tavern known as the HalfWay House, midway between Glen's Falls and Lake
George. Here the coach usually delays a few minutes; and the tourist, if he has occasion to do so, can
step across the road to the telegraph office, and inquire
the price of stocks on Wall street, or drop a word to
a friend anywhere in the United States; or he may
delay this act until he reaches Warrensburg, the
terminus of the telegraph line.
Anon Jehu mounts the box, cracks his whip, and
we are off on the firm plank road, which here makes
staging so comfortable. In succession we pass Williams' Monument, Bloody Pond, Forts Gage and
George; until finally the head of Lake St. Sacrament
comes in view, with " Fort William Henry" Hotel
standing on the site of the ill-fated colonial stronghold
which bore that name. No one will think of riding
by without passing some time in viewing the various
points of interest, such as the Magazine, the Garrison
Well, the Old French Burying-Ground, and the ruins
of Fort George. Near the Lake House is the spot




THE    ADIRONDACKS.              165
where Montcalm opened the trenches and planted
his guns to batter down the walls of Fort William
Henry.
The provisions made for travellers at Caldwell are
ample. Built in the year 1855, and enlarged in 1856,
Fort William Henry Hotel offers sufficient accommodation for three hundred and fifty or four hundred
guests, whose comfort and convenience the proprietor
has consulted by securing all those modern improvements and appliances found in first-class places of
resort.
The village of Caldwell itself is pleasant, while its
air is always salubrious. On Sunday, the churchgoing bell invites the traveller to the house of worship,
and both the Episcopal and Presbyterian churches
open wide their doors. The former church, being
built of stone, is noticeable for its neatness; and, with
the little stone church at Bolton, (built chiefly by the
exertions of a young lady,) it forms the only representation of Episcopacy on the lake.
Monday noon, let us say, we mount to the top of
the coach, (remembering that particular seats cannot
be secured in advance, and that possession is even
more than nine points of the law,) and thus we roll
out of the village, passing on the right the Lake
House, and on the left several small hostelries and
stores.
The road to Warrensburg is somewhat wild and
picturesque, and passes through dense forests of oak




i66       SCHROON      LAKE     AND
and pine. At Warrensburg we strike the Schroon
River, flowing on its way to the Hudson, of which it
forms a branch. A neat stone church, of the early
English style, and one or two elegant private residences, here form the chief architectural adornments.
This place is six miles from Lake George and about
twenty miles from 3Moreau.
A few miles beyond Warrensburg, to the west, is
Crane's Mountain, about three thousand feet high,
noted for the profile of Washington formed by its
being thrown against the sky. Passing on, over a
road cut out of the side of a deep ravine, through which
a stream is seen choked by boulders, and yet struggling
on its way, the next village is Chester, twelve miles
from Warrensburg, a little beyond which the summit
of Landon Hill is reached, with its fine views of the
surrounding country. Descending into the valley of
the Schroon, at about six miles from Chester, we reach
Pottersville. From Pottersville to Schroon Lake is
nine more.  At both Chester and Pottersville, the
traveller will find good houses of entertainment; while
at Schroon Lake a new and fine hotel has just been
erected for the comfort of the constantly increasing
throngs that now come to this charming place during
the summer months.
Schroon Lake is a beautiful sheet of water, nearly
ten miles long, situated partly in Essex and partly in
Warren County. Properly speaking, this lake is an
enlargement of the north-east branch of the Hudson




THE     ADIRONDACKS.                  I67
River. It stands much higher than Lake George,
being no less than one thousand feet above tide-water.
It contains but a single island, while the mountains
around its border rise to the height of seven or eight
hundred feet.
There is some difference of opinion in regard to the
origin and meaning of its name. Spoffard says, that
"a northern    Indian, a tolerable English scholar,"
derived it from   Ska-ne-ta/k-ro-wah-na, signifying the
Largest Lake.1   French writes:" Some say Schroon
is derived from an Adirondack word," which means
" a child or daughter of the mountain."2 But a correspondent says that he once saw it stated somewhere, that
the lake was discovered at an early day by several
French officers from Crown Point, who were out
hunting. They called it " Scaron," after the second
wife3 of Louis XIV. This correspondent also adds
that a few years ago, "a Sappho-like origin of the
name" was devised from      *' Scarona, a Squaw, who,
like Winona and many others, had leaped over a
(1)-Gaz., p. 472.              (2)-Gaz., p. 304.
(3)-Francoise d'Aubigne Maintenon was born in a prison, in
Niort, France, November 27, 1635. She became a Roman Catholic,
and was on the point of entering a convent; but in 1651, after a
week's deliberation, married the comic poet, Scarron, who was both
a paralytic and a cripple. She became a widow, October 14, 1660,
and was greatly distinguished for her beauty. Her rare wisdom and
wit attracted the attention of Louis XIV., who, unable to persuade
her to accept any less honorable relation, made her his wife. After
the death of the king, in 1715, she retired to the Convent of St. Cyr,
where she continued to pass her days in charity and devotion, dying
April 15, 1719.




I68       SCIIROON     LAKE     AND
precipice into the lake" and was drowned. But Governor Tryon's map of 1779, lays down the lake with
the name "Scaron."   The map of 1796 also shows
this name. It is, therefore, not at all unreasonable
to suppose that this lake, like Lake St. Sacrament,
received its name from the French, who thus sought
to perpetuate the memory of one of the most beautiful and distinguished women of those times.
There is considerable of interest to be seen here.
For instance, on the north border of Chester is a
natural bridge, under which a stream passes to Schroon
Lake. This stream, after falling into a basin, enters
a passage in two branches under the arch, which is
forty feet high and eighty wide. It was described
(1796) as running "under a hill, the base of which
is sixty or seventy yards in diameter, forming a most
curious and beautiful arch in the rock as white as
snow. The fury of the water and the roughness of
the bottom, added to the terrific noise within, have
hitherto prevented any person from passing through
the chasm."
The town called Schroon was formed from    a
part of Crown Point in 1804.     The town of
Iinerva was taken from   Schroon in 1817; and
in 1840, the township still being considered too
large, a part of it was re-annexed to Crown Point.
The west and northwest portions are covered by the
Schroon Mountains, and the northeast by the Kyadderosseras range.  Mount Pharaoh is the highest




RANY~~~~~=
Y)  4 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  \
THE FALLS OF THE RACQUETTE.~~~~~~~j








THE    ADIRONDACKS.               169
peak of the latter range, it being no less than three
thousand five hundred feet above the tide. There are
numerous other lofty peaks that well deserve mention,
and which well repay the tourist for climbing. Near
Mount Pharaoh is a cluster of small but beautiful
lakes, the principal of which takes its name from
the great mountain by which it is overshadowed.
Another of the lakes, near the centre of the group, is
known by the name of Paradox Lake. The surface
of this lake is so near the level of Schroon River,
which forms its outlet, that during the spring floods
the water flows into it, instead of flowing out. This
whole region now made so accessible by the stagecoach, forms a charming place for a summer resort.
But let us now turn our steps still further westward.
In order to reach the Wilderness region, it is necessary to retrace our steps to Pottersville, or else, when
we reach this point in approaching Schroon, to diverge
at once towards Minerva, leaving the jaunt to Schroon
to be performed at another time.
The distance from Pottersville to Minerva, taking
Olmsteadville on the way, is nine miles. Soon we
enter the forest, and now, for a time, the bark shanty
and occasional log house, alone tell of life. The road
for a few miles is rough, but projected improvements
will soon bring the traveller relief. The wild valley
of the Boreas is erelong seen, and soon the rapid
river itself is crossed. The Minerva road, at fifteen
miles from that place, intersects the Carthage road,




I70       SCHROON       LAKE    AND
which runs through the wilderness east and west.
Six miles from this point, and after crossing the Hudson, the traveller finds satisfactory quarters at the
house of Daniel Bissell.
Thus far the road is, for the greater part, as good
as the average of country roads, and continues such to
the head of Long Lake, seventeen miles, near which,
on the lake shore, is a thriving settlement, where
good accommodations are found. Continuing thence,
ten miles, and crossing the outlet of Raquette Lake,
we come to a large house now open for visitors. We
found that in passing on to Schroon Lake, we gradually rose eight hundred feet above Lake George, and
during this stage of the journey, there is another lift
of between six and eight hundred feet, which lands
us upon the central portion of the great plateau occupied by the Wilderness of New York.
This region embraces a large portion of the counties
of Warren, Hamilton, Essex, Clinton, Franklin, St.
Lawrence, Lewis, and Herkimer.   In the northern
part of this tract are the Chateaugay woods. Contiguous to these are the St. Regis woods, which join the
Saranac Lakes, and Raquette Lake. Away towards
the east are the Adirondack Mountains; and on the
south, Lake Pleasant and John Brown's tract.
There are four distinct divisions in the streams and
lakes: the Saranac Lakes flowing through their outlets into Lake Champlain; Raquette Lake and its confluents flowing into the St. Lawrence; the head-waters




THE    ADIRONDACKS.              171
of Black, Moose, and Beaver Rivers emptying into
Lake Ontario; while the fourth finally unites in the
Hudson and runs to the sea. This whole region is
covered by a complete network of lakes, ponds, and
streams, so that a large portion of the country may be
x                        _.  _        -
RAQUETTE LAKE.
traversed in boats. Yet in order to gain the fullest
views of the scenery, it is necessary to travel more or
less on land.
The magnificent sheet of water known as Raquette
Lake, is seventeen hundred and forty-five feet above




172       SCII ROON     LAKE    AND
tide, in the northern part of Hamilton county. It is
the geographical centre of the wilderness, and from
the plateau upon which it rests, the waters of the
Hudson, Black, Moose, and Raquette rivers, rise
and flow in their several directions.  This is the
centre of the lake region.  Raquette Lake is the
largest of the interior lakes, and has a coast-line of
seventy-five miles, of wonderful irregularity, forming
projecting points and deep bays, which afford variety
in every direction. The reflecting power of its pure
water is remarkable.
To the east towers Blue Mountain, four thousand
feet high, and directly at its base nestles that gem of
the woods, whose charms are recognized by all-Blue
Mountain Lake-the waters of which, after mingling
with those of Eagle and Utowana Lakes, find their
way through Marion River to Raquette Lake.
To the southwest of the Raquette, lies the Moose
River chain of lakes, numbered from one to eight, the
eighth of which is separated from west inlet of Raquette Lake by a portage of only one mile. These
lakes extend through part of Hamilton and Herkimer
counties, and can be traversed by boat twenty miles
to Arnold's, on the Moose River, through which these
lakes flow into the Black River. From Arnold's to
Booneville on the Utica Railroad, land travel must be
resorted to on account of the impetuosity of the river.
Space will not permit even a notice of the lakes and
streams tributary to this particular water system, and




THE    ADIRONDACKS.              I73
we can only say that the ascent of some of them
would lead to places where the foot of man has never
trod.
About four miles north of Raquette Lake, and
accessible by the Carthage road, lies Beach Lake,
noted not only for its beauty, but for preserving the
name of the first hunter and trapper who made his
home on Raquette Lake, at Indian Point.  And it is
worth while, perhaps, in this connection to state, that
Mathew Beach, though possessing little book-learning,
had, nevertheless, acquired a valuable kind of culture.
He was a shrewd observer of character, and seldom
erred in his judgment of men. He studied closely the
habits of animals of the forest, and was a careful
student of nature. In the autumn of 1861, while
endeavoring (after a visit to his relations) to return to
the forest home that he loved so well, Mr. Beach was
overcome by the infirmities of age, and finally died in
the month of March, 1862, at the " Lower Works,"
having arrived at the advanced age of more than
eighty years. He will long be remembered by the
earlier visitors as a good representative of the character revealed in Cooper's Leather-Stocking.
Raquette River leaves the lake of the same name,
and after a northerly course of half a mile, enters
Forked Lake, a large, picturesque sheet of water,
having tributary to it a number of smaller lakes and
ponds.  Continuing its course from  this lake, the
river, after a succession of rapids and plunging over




174       SCHROON      LAKE     AND
Buttermilk Falls, enters and passes through Long
Lake. This lake has been much and justly admired
for its beautiful scenery. It is sixteen miles long,
and its greatest breadth does not exceed two miles.
Around its border high mountains rise in all directions. At its southern extremity is Owl's Head, with
its craggy summit; and in the direction of its northern
termination is Mount Seward.  The river leaving
Long Lake is broad and rapid, with but a single
obstruction to boat-navigation for over thirty miles.
At a distance of six miles are the High Falls, which
are passed by a portage of one mile. About seven
miles farther on, a diversion can be made through
Stony Brook, a winding stream, and the ponds at its
head, from which, over the Indian Carry of one mile,
the upper of the three Saranac Lakes is reached.
And here once more we launch our boat on a beautiful miniature inland sea, where every prospect serves
to delight the eye. The upper Saranac is the largest
of the three lakes which bear this name. It is considerable longer and broader than Tupper Lake, and is, like
the most of the lakes, beautifully studded with emerald
isles. From this lake we may find our way to the St.
Regis Lake; and, after viewing the scenery, work back
to near the point of departure and then enter Round
Lake, so called with reference to its shape, and cross
to the mouth of the Saranac River. This stream
empties into the Lower Saranac and passes out again
at its side half way down. If bound for home, leave




TIIE   ADIRONDACKS.              175
the lake where the river leaves it, and, following its
course, make your next stopping-place at Baker's Inn.
From this point, if there is time, travel by land on
foot, or otherwise, to Lake Placid. Descending this
lovely lake, overshadowed by mighty White Face,
proceed to climb its sides. This done, we go back to
Baker's, and thence, descending the Saranac River,
emerge from the woods by the favorite route of
Keeseville, Port Kent, and Lake Champlain. Otherwise, the Plattsburgh route may be followed, leaving
the river at Bloomingdale, going by earth road to
Franklin Falls, from the falls by plank road to
Ausable Forks, and thence by carriage across the
country to the place of embarkation on Lake Champlain. But we must go back another way.
Returning to Raquette River, at the point of digression, the tourist floats down the rapid current, around
bends, over gravelly beds, along banks rich in varying
scene and changing verdure, when all at once, by the
stroke of an oar, and, as if by magic, the sight of one
of the finest sheets of water in the world bursts upon
the view. The effect of this sudden transition can
hardly be described. This body of water'is Tupper
Lake, with its islands, overhanging cliffs, and rocky
shores. A singular feature, and one without parallel
in all this region, is the rushing of Bay River over a
rocky ledge directly into the lake at its head.
Passing around these falls, and up a stream, which
is sometimes so rapid as to enforce a portage of two




176       SCHROON       LAKE    AND
miles, made along by the side of a succession of foaming cascades, Lake Clute will be reached. This is
another large, beautiful, and picturesque body of water.
Continuing through a series of small lakes, with occasional portages, the tourist again finds Beach and
Raquette Lakes, having made a long and circuitous
voyage. At Lake Clute an easterly course can be
taken by way of Slim and Clear Ponds to Long
Lake. When returning homewards we shall see
that the west branch of the Hudson has its source in
Hendrick Spring, within three-fourths of a mile of
the east bank of Long Lake. Formerly the spring
divided its flow between the waters of the Raquette
and Hudson, but the hand of man has destroyed
this beautiful feature. Following down the Hudson
through Round Pond, Catlin Lake, Long and Lily
Ponds, Lakes Rich and Harris, each with their peculiar natural charms, a point is reached just above the
Carthage Road Bridge, where the east and west
branches of the Hudson unite to form the noble river,
which constantly gathers strength as it advances on
its romantic but resistless course towards the distant
sea. But we are to speak of the mountains.
Remarkable as is the network of this great inland
lake and river system, so inadequately described, a
field of interest, more wonderful if possible, is afforded
in the lofty ranges, and in that august group of mountains, which testify of natures ancient, and mighty
upheaval. Of the ranges, there are four: The Clin



TIIHE  ADIONDACKS.               177
ton, the Palmertown, the Luzerne, and the Chateaugay.  These are parallel, nearly equidistant, and,
having a north-easterly course through the heart of the
Wilderness, terminate on the westerly shore of Lake
Champlain.  The Clinton range, the largest of these,
is remarkable as furnishing at its most elevated position, a base for the lofty pinnacles known as the Adirondack group, the principal of which are Marcy, McIntyre, McMartin, Seward, (surrounded by Coughsa-ra-geh-Dismal Wilderness), and Whiteface; the
first being the highest in the State, having an
elevation of five thousand four hundred and sixtyseven feet. At the point of intersection of the Minerva with the Carthage road, the visitor takes an
easterly course along the latter for about a mile, to
the "Lower Works," at the foot of Lake Sanford,
whence a road of ten miles conducts to the Adirondack
"( Upper Works."  From thence to Mount Marcy, or
Tahawus, the Cloud-piercer, it is four miles, and three
miles farther to the summit. The view to be had from
here will repay the fatigue of the arduous ascent up
the rugged, precipitous steeps. The term group does
not fully express what might be called the personal
characteristics of these peaks, towering in their solitary grandeur. Close by, between Wall-Face and
McIntyre, is the Indian or Adirondack Pass, at an
elevation of twenty-eight hundred feet above tide.
This pass is a great chasm, one mile in length, produced by an ancient convulsion, and whose massive




178       SCIIROON     LAKE    AND
walls rise perpendicularly over a thousand feet. Besides those named, are Santanoni, Dix Peak, the
mountains about Tupper Lake, Moose River Mountains, Blue Mountain, Goodenow, and many others
having peculiar features of interest. The Carthage
road, as it approaches Long Lake, passes at the foot
of Mount Goodenow, south from which is Mount
Joseph, bearing evidence of once having been a volcano. On the very summit of this mountain is a lake
of great depth, whose boundary on one side is removed
from the edge of the mountain but by a step, and at
no place is the water-shed of sufficient extent to meet
ordinary evaporation, while from the lake a stream
of good size runs down the mountain side. Whence,
then, comes the unfailing supply?
In this rapid survey of the mountains and lakes of
the wilderness, the object has been not to undertake
full descriptions which would require many chapters,
but to give a general idea of the routes usually followed, and the principal objects of interest.
It is hardly necessary to remind the traveller that
in entering the wilderness region, he will, in a great
measure, leave civilization behind him. Indeed, it is
hard to believe that so wild a region can exist within
the boundaries of the State. Of villages there are
few, and the loghouse, the bark shanty, and the tavern and the hotel, are the chief habitations that the
interior region can boast.  These, however, prove
sufficient for the visitors who come here, and who




THE    ADIRONDACKS.               179
take a peculiar satisfaction in overcoming the difficulties of living. Yet the foot-falls of a steadily marching civilization are heard with increasing distinctness
every year, and the villages are rapidly extending
their borders.
At Minerva is Champney's house. Eight miles beyond is Cunningham's, formerly Hewitt's. On the Carthage road, one mile east from intersection of Minerva
road, is the Tahawus House, and one mile east of that
is John Cheney's. Six miles west from the junction
of the two roads is Daniel Bissell's, long and favorably
known. At the settlement on Long Lake is the public
house of C. H. Kellogg, and also the house of Mitchell
Sabattis, extensively known as hunter and guide.
Three miles farther, at head of the lake, is the pleasantly situated farm-house of Mr. E. Palmer. At
Eaquette Lake, the house kept by Mr. Cary. At the
foot of High, or Raquette Falls, below Long Lake, is
Johnson's.  At head of Tupper Lake is the rustic
cottage under the care of Mr. and Mrs. Graves. At
the Saranac Lakes there are good houses which are
easily found, such as Baker's on the Saranac River,
Martin's on the Saranac Lake, Paul Smith's Forest
Resort on the little St. Regis, Virgil Bartlett's, twelve
miles from Martin's, and numerous others. But,
Reader, if you go to the Adirondacks, do not give
yourself too much care about such things. Whoever travels into the Wilderness region of New
York for the sake of the hotels had better remain




I80       SCHROON      LAKE    AND
in New York. Rather, take your canoe and tent
and trust to your hook and rifle. Here Izaak Walton
would have gone into extacies, while, for ought we
know, Nimrod, the mighty hunter, would have died
for joy.
The fishermen and the hunters are indeed in their
element. For the one, the lakes and streams are
stocked with splendid fish, while for the other, the
woods abound with every variety of game, from the
wild-cat up to the deer, the moose, the wolf, the paInther, and the bear. And as with beasts, so with birds.
You may shoot the partridge or the loon, the eagle or
the duck.
Until within a few years, this region was not often
visited by summer tourists. A trip to the Adirondacks was viewed as something attended by great
danger and incredible hardship.  But now every
season brings a great throng of nature-loving people
from our large towns and cities, to rough it in the
rude shanty, to sleep under white tents that dot the
wide expanse of living green, and to broil the appetizing venison steak, with their own hands, over the
embers of the evening fire.
On the border of this vast wilderness may always
be found hunters and trappers who are ready to march
away into the wildest recesses of the woods, and act
the part of trusty leaders and guides.
The following table of distances will be found
reliable; and by taking it as a guide, the tourist




=r,~~~~~~~,= —"~~~~961, o'Al
AIMANY LAKE.r








THE     ADIRONDACKS.                     I8i
will be able to make the most of his time, and give
the due proportion to every part of the work he has
before him.
Lake George to Warrensburg,...................... 6 miles.
W arrensburg to Chester,.................2..........  12  "
Chester to Pottersville,...............................  6
Pottersville to Minerva..............................  9
Minerva to intersection of Carthage road,.......... 15 
Thence to Daniel Bissell's,..........................  6 
Bissell's to settlement on Long Lake................ 14
From Bisscll's to the head of the Lake,.............. 3
Long Lake to Raquette Lake....................... 10 
From Pottersville to Adirondack,.................... 22....        " Newcomb..................... 28 
el..' Long Lake,..................... 42 
I".            "Roots.......................... 18 "
"(        " "~Elizabethtown,................. 41' "       "( ~Keeseville,.....................  62....     " Plattsburgh,................... 76
At present the Glen's Falls and Chester Company
carry passengers for the Adirondacks no farther than
Pottersville. But thus far, at least, we have some of
the best staging in this country. The coaches are all
of the first class, and have skilful and experienced
drivers, who are attentive and courteous, and always
ready to promote the traveller's comfort.
From    Pottersville  a semi-weekly     coach  runs to
Minerva; and from     thence, once every week, an open
wagon proceeds to Long Lake.
We wish you a pleasant journey and a safe return.








APPENDIX.








APPENDIX.
I.
ACCOUNT OF BERNARD        RIOMA1NS.
[ MSS. in Connecticut State Library. Revolutionary War, Vol. iii.
p. 23. Furnished by Charles J. IIoadly, Esq., Librarian.]
COLONY OF CONNECTICUT TO BERNARD ROIMANS, EsQ' D'.
for monies advanced & for which he gave obligations, vizt:
To pd Hieman Allen going Express after Ethan
Allen, 120 miles....           2.16. 0
To pd Elisha Phelps p reet on file..      30. 0.To pd expences 3 Persons from Bengtn to Albany.. 9.06
To pd Benjamin French for Pork 4 bb's p rect. 12. 0.To pd Gershom Hewit Expence over lake.      1.10.To pd Jno Stevens Canaan, Expence p rec'.. 3.16.To pd    ditto            d~    p  d~.       2.16.To pd George Palmer Esqr for flower  d~.     3. 1. 6
To my Expences at Albany...... 
To ditto, on road to Still Water, Fort Edward &O  9.To ditto, at & near Fort Edward, getting men together...                                 16. 4
To pd Abram Wing in part for Expcnces.        9.To d~ Cash to John Stevens. 1. 8.To d~ horse-shoeing 7/6-ExpenW,on road  /-..12. 6
To p)d Butler for Expen' as Express to Stillwater.12.To horse hire for ditto.15.To Expeng on road at meadw runbridge & Fort
Geo: 16 men.                               1.10.To Expeen on Lake L& at Ticonderoga Landing.  7. 6




iv                 APPENDIX.
To d~ at Ticond" & on Lake returning.        9. 4
To pd enlisted men for their Exp8. -Peter Caswel p Rect....... 4. 2.To Expes on road & at Saratoga, returning...9.To d~ at Lanesborough              d~..   7.To pd Mayhon Wagoner to Transport Prisoners.12. 6
from Lake to Lanesborough... 
To pd Prisoners Expences at Lanesborough.16.10
To fetching my horse rode by Jn~ Brown, &
keeping &~...1. 8.To advanced mony to one of Prisoners sick..12.To pd for 10 Loaves Bread for Prisoners... 7. 6
To 101b Pork for              ditto... 5.To pd two Waggoners from Lanesbory to Noble-? 
town 58 miles each -they found themselves..
To pd Expl at Lanesboro 5/- d~ on Road 7/6..12. 6
To pd for Ton Iron to M' French, for Chains. 28.10.To Expences advanced on the Road as p Bill
from Hartford to Bennington including a Gun. 
box for Capt Mott 50/- for which he must be
charged & also 35/3 Expence paid for Mott J
To Expences on the Road.. 1.16.~131.11.10
SUPRA                    Cr
By Cash recd of Messr" Deane Leffingwell &~,p Rect..                                100. 0. 0
By an order on Treasurer in full this accot this } 31.11.10
31st day May 1775...
~131.11.10
Errors Excepted
V1 B ROMANS.




APPENDIX.                      V.
II.
PETITION OF JOHN NORDBERG.
[From N. Y. Miscellaneous Papers, Vol. xxxi. p. 15. N. Y. Revolutionary Papers, I. p. 206. In Office of Secretary of State at Albany.]' TIIE MOST RESPECTABLE GENTLEMEN,
PROVINCIAL CONGRESS IN NE1i     YORK.
" I beg leave to represent to the most respectable Congress this circumstance.." I am a native of Sweden, and have been persecuted for
that, I have been against the French fiction there.
"I have been in His Britanick Magesty's Service sinse
January 1758.
" I have been twice shot through my body here last war
in America, & I am now G5 years old - reduced of age,
wounds & and gravels, which may be seen by Doctor Jones'8
certificate.
" 1773. I got permission in Jamaica to go to London
where I petition to be an Invalid officer, but as a foreigner
I could not enjoy a commission in England, or Ereland His
Magisty was graciously pleased to give me the allowance
for Fort George 7 shilling sterling per day, with liberty to
live where I please in America, because the fort has been
abandoned this 8 year and only 2 men remain there for to
assist any express going between New York and Canada.
I arrived here in New York last year in September with
intention to live in New York: as I heard nothing cls than
disharmony amongst Gentlemen which was not agreeable
to my age. I resolved to go to Fort George and live there
in a little Cottage as an Hermit, where I was very happy
for G months.
"The 12 of M-ay last Mr. Romans came & took possession of Fort George, Mr. Romans behaved very genteel
and civil to me. I told that I did not belong to the army
and may be considered as a half pay officer invalid, and
convinced him that I was pleagd with Gravell, Mr. Romans




Vi.               APPENDIX.
give me his passport to go to New Lebanon for to recover
my health, & he told me that in regard to my age, I may
go where I please.
"As I can't sell any bill for my subsistance, & I can't live
upon wind and weather, I therefore beg and implore the
most respectable Congress permission to go to England,
and I intend to go to my native country, I could have gone
away secret so well as some others have done, but I will
not upon any account do such a thing - I hope the most
respectable will not do partially to refhse me, because major
Etherington, Captain Brown, Captain Kelly which is in
the army have been permitted to go to England, and it
may happen they return here again on actual Service,
which old age & infirmities render me incapable of.
" As it is the custom among the Christian nations and
the Turks, that they give subsistance to every Prisoner
according to their Rank should the most respectable Congress, have any claim upon me to be a prisoner here, I hope
they will give me my subsistence from th 12 of May last,
according to My Rank as Captain I implore the favor of
the most respectable Congress answer. I have the honour
to remain with great respect,
" GENTLEMEN
" Your most obedt humble Servant
" JOHN NORDBERG.
"NEW YORK, decembr 1775."




APPEND IX.                   Vii
III.
LAKE CHAMPLAIN.
Lake Champlain was discovered and named by Samuel
de Champlain, in 1G09. It appears that he had left the
infant colony of Quebec for the purpose of exploring the
interior; and having advanced as far as possible with his
boat on the Richelieu River, he left the boat, and, attended
by only two of his followers, joined a party of Algonquin
Indians, who were proceeding in their canoes to give battle
to the Iroquois. July 2, they travelled on foot around the
Chambly Rapids, which had obstructed the passage of his
heavy boat, the Indians carrying their light canoes. Reembarking above the rapids, they sailed on until they
emerged upon the great lake to which he gave his name,
and then bore away southward up the lake, and met the
Iroquois between Ticonderoga and Crown Point. The
night previous to the battle both parties spent the time useually devoted to sleep in preparing for the encounter.
This consisted in singing and dancing, and in applying to
each other all manner of abusive epithets, accompanied by
declarations of what on the morrow they intended severally to acchieve. Yet, as the Iroquois were unaccus
tomed to fire-arms, when the day came they were soon
put to rout. Champlain gives the following account of the
fight. He says:
"My companion and I were always concealed, for fear
the enemy should see us, preparing our arms the best we
could, being, however, separated, each being in one of the
canoes belonging to the savage Montagners. After we
were equipped with light armor, we each took an arquebus




1iii              A PPENDIX.
and went ashore. I saw the enemy leave their barricade.
There were about two hundred men of strong and robust
appearance, who were coming slowly towards us, with a
gravity and assurance that greatly pleased me, led on by
three chiefs. Ours were marching in similar order, and they
told me that those who bore the three lofty plumes were
chiefs, and that there were but these three, who were to be
recognized by these plumes, which were considerably larger
than those of their companions, and that I must do all that
I could to kill them. I promised to do what I could, and
that I was very sorry that they could not clearly understand me, so as to give them the order and plan of attacking their enemies, as we should certainly defeat them all;
but there was no help for that; that I was very glad to
encourage them and to manifest my good will when we
should be engaged.
"The moment we landed they began to run about two
hundred paces towards their enemies, who stood firm, and
had not yet perceived my companions, who went into the
bush with some savages. Our's commenced calling me in a
loud voice, and making way for me, opened in two, and
and placed me at their head, marching about twenty paces
in advance, until I was within thirty paces of the enemy.
The moment they saw me, they halted, gazing at me and I
at them. When I saw them preparing to shoot at us, I
raised my arquebus, and aiming directly at one of the three
chiefs, two of them fell to the ground by this shot, and one
of their companions received a wound, of which he died
afterwards. I had put four balls in my arquebus. Our's,
on seeing a shot so favorable for them, set up such tremendous shouts that thunder could not have been heard; and
yet, there was no lack of arrows on both sides. The Iro



APPENDIX.                     ix
quois were greatly astonished seeing two men killed so
quickly, who were provided with arrow-proof armor woven
of cotton thread and wood; this frightened them very
much. Whilst I was re-loading, one of my companions in
the bush fired a shot which so astonished them anew, seeing
their chiefs were slain, that they lost courage, took to flight,
and abandoned the field and their fort, hiding themselves
in the depths of the forest, whither pursuing them, I killed
some others. Our savages also killed several of them and
took ten or twelve prisoners.  The rest carried off the
wounded. Fifteen or sixteen of ours were wounded by
arrows, but they were promptly cured."
After this the party returned, and the savages amused
themselves by torturing their prisoners, one of whom Champlain shot, in order to deliver him from his cruel tormentors.  This was, undoubtedly, the first time that a white
man ever saw the lake. In course of years, as seen by the
history of Lake George, this lake became a part of the
great route between the Canadas and New York.
As early as 1730, the French conceived the idea of
founding a great political power on the shores of the lake,
the capital of which should be Crown Point. Here they
built a fort called Fort St. Frederic, and laid the foundations of an extensive settlement, of which many traces are
still found by the antiquarian. Twenty-five years later, as
the reader has already been informed, the fort was built at
Ticonderoga. But in 1759 the French power on Lake
Champlain was broken, and their plans and settlements
were dissolved.
There were but few events in the history of Lake Champlain during the Revolutionary struggle, that are not
detailed in the history of Lake George. The (lay after




X                 APPENDIX.
the capture of Ticonderoga, the fortress at Crown Point,
garrisoned by a dozen British troops, also surrendered, and
within a short time Benedict Arnold captured some British
craft that were unsuspectingly abroad on the lake. Yet
during the Revolution there was but little severe fighting
here.
In the year 1814, Lake Champlain was made quite memorable in our naval annals by the victory of the American
commander, Commodore Macdonough, over Commodore
Downie. Macdonough's force consisted of fourteen vessels,
eighty-six guns, and eight hundred and eighty men; while
Downie had sixteen vessels, ninety-five guns, and one thousand men.
The battle took place opposite Plattsburgh, on Sunday
morning, September 7. Soon after daylight, the Americans had intelligence of the approach of the British, and
the fleet was prepared for action.
Before the fight commenced, an unusual scene was
enacted on board the Flag-ship Saratoga. Assembling his
crew on deck, prayers were read by Commodore Mac.
donough, who fervently implored the Divine protection,
and the successful termination of the conflicts, all the while
the housetops on shore being covered by spectators, awaiting the issues of the day with the most painful anxiety.
When the enemy, with flags and streamers flying, came
around Cumberland Head, and arrived within range, Macdonough sent a twenty-four pound shot the entire length
of the deck of Downie's flag-ship, killing a number of men.
The Americans then opened a general fire, which the English did not return until they were able to do so with great
effect. At the first broadside of the English Flagship,
the Confidence, a large number of the crew of the Flag



APPENDIX.                     xi
ship Saratoga were either killed or wounded. But the
men rallied and gave a powerful reply, the broadsides
being exchanged with such rapidity that the vessels at
times seemed all aflame. Twice the cry was raised that
Commodore Macdonough was killed, and it seemed at
one time as if it would be necessary to surrender; yet by
a skilful manoeuvre the fight was maintained until the
British commander himself was killed, and his colors pulled
down.
The other vessels of the fleet were managed with equal
gallantry, and the British were all obliged to surrender,
with the exception of the small gun-boats, which, at the end
of two hours and a half, escaped from the harbor with the
aid of their sweeps.
While this battle was going on, the British were active
upon the land, fourteen thousand men under General
Provost attacking an unequal force of Americans under
General Macomb. The result of the contest on the lake,
however, disheartened Provost, who finally beat a retreat.
Thus ended a memorable struggle, rendered all the more
interesting by the place where it occurred, which was not,
like most naval engagements, on the dark, blue, boundless
sea, but on this inland lake, bordered by hamlets, villages,
and farms, and environed on all side by green hills, meadows, and distant mountains.
The people of New York and Vermont residing on the
shores of the lake, thus found themselves at liberty to
pursue their respective avocations until the war with
England closed.
Lake Champlain is one hundred and fifty miles long, and
varies greatly in width. Some parts being only a fourth
of a mile wide, and others stretching out to a breadth of




xii               A P P E N D I X.
thirteen. It covers an area of more than five hundred
square miles. Its water, unlike that of Lake George, is
more or less discolored, especially on approaching the
southern terminus, or South Bay, where the water becomes
muddy.   Here, too, the channel grows narrow, and at
times the steamer glides along within a few feet of overhanging cliffs which lie on the east side; while on the west
are the so-called " Drowned Lands,' consisting of swamp
and marsh. It was by this route that Burgoyne brought
the bulk of his army in 17 7 7.
Towards the north, the scene constantly improves; yet,
nevertheless, we miss the sweetness and beauty of Lake
George. We occasionally fall in with odd-looking craft.
The number of vessels engaged in the navigation of the
lake is not large, though their extremely picturesque character renders them objects of interest. Modeled often after
the pattern of the Ark, or at least theChinese junk, these
clumsy craft- half French and half American, and ranging from thirty to a hundred tons, now sloop now schooner
rigged, and now carrying the piratical latteen sail -go
creeping at snail-pace from port to port all the summer,
the domestic stove-pipe on the quarter-deck ever sending
up its curling cloud-wreaths, and proclaiming the presence
of the " skipper's" family, who, like himself, have a roving
commission for the season, and no homestead, except that
afforded by the surface of Champlain. We may also see
rafts of canal boats from the ports of New Jersey that have
come up the Hudson, reaching this lake by the Champlain
Canal, on their way to Montreal.
In order to see every part of the Lake, the tourist must
embark at Whitehall, where the steamers leave daily on
the arrival of trains from Albany and New York, and




APPENDIX.                    Xiii.
proceed down the lake. After passing through what is
known as the South Bay, and passing Ticonderoga, where
the steamer always makes a landing, the lake begins to
widen, affording a broad expanse of water, dotted here
and there with islands; while in course of time the
mountains rise in the distance on either hand; Camel's
Iump and Mansfield Mountain looming up towards the
east, and the cloud-splitting Adirondacks lying with
especial boldness against the western sky.
Among the points touched on the lake, in addition to those
already mentioned, are Chimney Point, opposite Crown
Point, so called from the remains of French masonry; Port.
Henry a mile and a half north of Crown Point, on the
same side; West Port, sixteen miles further on, lying at
the east side; Basin Harbor, and Fort Cassin; the former
five, and the latter eight miles from West Port. Cassin
Harbor is named after Lieutenant Cassin, who, in 1814,
defeated the British in their attempt to destroy the American fleet. Split Rock, on the west shore, near which is
the lighthouse, forms the terminus of one of the ranges of
the Adirondacks. Here a part of the mountain is split off,
and separated from it by a chasm twelve feet wide, forming
a very remarkable feature. Seventy miles from Whitehall,
on the east side, is the city of Burlington, the seat of the
University of Vermont. Port Kent, a small village, lies on
the opposite side of the lake, which is now ten miles wide,
and in the distance the Adirondacks appear. Port Kent is a
point from which these mountains may be reached. At
this place the tourist will feel repaid by delaying to visit
the Falls and the Walled Rocks of the Ausable River,
which, though comparatively unknown, afford some of the
wildest and most impressive scenes to be found in the




xiv               APPENDIX.
country. Everything may be seen in the course of a day.
The next point of interest is Port Jackson, on the west
shore, with Valcour Island opposite. Near this point, in
177G, Arnold was severely defeated by Captain Pringle,
who commanded the British. On the same side is Plattsburgh, situated one hundred miles from Whitehall. Twenty-five miles further on, at Rouse's Point, we pass the
American lines and enter the dominion of the Queen,
where we at once begin to realize that we are in a foreign
country. This is indicated by an occasional soldier in the
Queen's uniform, and by the constantly increasing number
of French Canadians of the lower classes, who, to their
untidy aspect, add the equally poor attraction of their
wretched patois. Here, also, the custom-house officials pay
their respects to the traveller's baggage, and ply the question, " Anything dut'able? " The tourist may here go on
twenty-three miles by water, or take train for Ogdensburg
and Montreal.




IA P OF LAIiE GEORGE,
a Diamond Island.                           1. Site of Fort William Hmnry and Hotel.
b. The Three Sistors                        3. Trout Pavilion,
c Iong Island.                              4. Bolton.
d The Three Brothers.                       5. Tongue Mountain.
e Recluse Island.                           6. Shelving Rock
f. Dome Island.                             7. Black Mountain.
g. Green Island.                            8. Sabbath Day Point.
h Hog Islndd.. 9. North West, or Ganasouke Bay.
i. Fourteen-Mile Island.                   10. Bosom Bay.
j. The Narrows.                             1. Hague.
k Floating Battery Islands                 12. Friends' Point.
1. Vicar's Island.                         13 Anthony's Nose.
m. Harbor Island.                          14. Ticonderoga.
n Odell's Island. 15. Buck Mountain.
o. Friends' Islands.                       16. Rogers' Slide.
p. Mutton, or Prisoner's Island.            1. Peak of French Mountian
q. Clay Island.                          i-     Montcalm's Intrenchmants-Campaign
of 1757.
Length of Lake................................about 34 Miles.
Greatest Width...                                               4 " 
Greatest Depth, (Survey of 1755).............................  84 feet.
Elevation above the Sea..................                      240'"