YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE ! OrOREST ARCADIA »." 'i" ;. ¦:;-;. OP ¦; NORTHERN NEW YORK. f^:^i,V;^-: A VIEW OF ITS MINERAL, AGRICULTURAL, ,;' '- -4iVD TIMBER RESOURCES. .1 ' -J. ^ iX^w.c.ff !n ; *¦ BOSTON: L PUBLISHED BY T. 0. H. P, BURNHAM. *<" i, NEW YORK : 01jl"\-BU S. FELT. 18G4. Entered, according lo Act of Congress, In the year 1804, by T. O. II. r. BURNHAM, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of MaaBachusettB. STEREOTTPED-AT THB nOHTON STEIlEOTTrK FOIJMMIT. JhJgr"" IM n r !>^ <*- s.. TO "^HK HON. PREDERIC ¥. LINCOLN, JR. IN ACKNOWr.EDOSIENT OF THE INTEREST TAKEN BY HUl IN THE REGION OF COUNTRY DESCRIBED IN TUE.SE PAGES, AND A3 A MARK OF THE AUTHOR'S APrRE- CIATION OF THE MANY ACTS OF PERSONAt, KINDNESS RECEIVED FROM IIIM DURING TIIE FRIENDLY INTERCOURSE OF MANY Y'EARS, 'r H E S E S It E T C IT B S ABB AFFECTIONATELY DKDIOATKD. PREFACE. ¦f. That portion of the great wilderness of Northern New York visited by the writer, lies in St. Lawrence county, on the western slope of the Adirondack Mountains. It forms part of an extensive plateau, vyhich is said to em brace an area of many thousand square miles. Its elevation is from fifteen to eighteen hundred feet above the sea. The ascent from the St. La"svrenco is gradual, and, apparently, by a series of steps, until the highest level is reached. The country is watered, principally, by the Grass and Oswe- gatchie Rivers, and is studded witli numerous lakes and ponds. Cranberry Lnko is tbe largest shoe! of water in the region, having au extent of five miles, and a width of from two to three miles. (5) 0 PREFACE. The rivers following the stratification of the country flow by circuitous windings into the St. Lawrence. Tlic main branch of the Grass and tlie Oswe- gatchie are valuable streams. This section has, thus far, escaped the notice of tlio descriptive tourist. It is comparatively level, aud contains a large surface of good farming lands. It is, at tlie same time, not devoid of romantic interest; but the means of access to it are so limited as to debar the ordi nary pleasure-seeker. It presents nono of the facilities afforded by the Saranac region, where the interior woods are penetrated by a series of lakes and streams, opening into each other, with occasional port ages, thus exempting the visitor from the fatigue of much travel on foot. Since these notes were penned, however, and as a result of the visit herein narrated, the lake has, iu a general sonso, been opouud to Iho public. Tho Lake George road has been cleared of doad wood, and strnightiinod ; six lo .m^von miles of now road cut to the Windfnll ; a saw- L ¦ -.i ,-.l,f -9 %' '.t PREFACE. 1 mill built upon the river but a short distance above tho old Indian fishing-ground ; and the romance of that secluded scene, ns pictured by , the writer, somewhat dispelled. The mineral resources of tlic plaleau arc of great value, and will hereafter make a largo item in the productive weallh of the Euipirc State. Immense ranges of magnetic iron traverse the country, and there are also indications of more valuable minerals in a few localities. Of its agricultural importance, too much can not be said. The soil is rich and strong, and yields abun dantly the usual products native to this latitude. Its chief valine in this respect consists in its peculiar adaptation to the grazing of catllc. Tho climate is that of tho hill country of New England. To tlie lover of Nature, it presents the great est variely of attrnctiou, and to (ho sporlsnuui, abinidanco of game upon the land, and fi.sh in tho Inkcs and Mli-iuini.i. That it should have been snMcred to lie so PREFACE. long undeveloped by the spii-it of enterprise and active industry which surrounds it on all sides, is indeed a marvel. These hasty sketches of a ramble through its silent recesses, taken for the purpose of an examination into tho value of the lands, must necessarily lack that variety of incident aud adventure whicli usually foUow upon the move ments of the hunter and the fisherman. The reader must, therefore, be charitable, and if he can find these deficiencies counterbalanced by any merit of another kind, the writer will be content. To F. B. Hough, Esq., author of a History of St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, — a work of great research and value, — obligations are duo for many facts and incidents occurring in those pages. DOROHESTEK, 1861, CONTENTS. Faox CHAPTER I. On the Road. — Rouse's Point. — The St. Lawrence River. — Potsdam Junction 13 CHAPTER II. Potsdam. — Beauty of its Environs. — Market for Lumber and Produce. — Potsdam Sandstone, . . . 19 CHAPTER III. Ride to Russell. —Fine Vie-ws. — Great Dairy Re gion. — Apparent Comfort of the People. — Massa chusetts Farmers contrasted. — Hard to realize the State of "War 29 CHAPTER IV. Village of RusseU, — Morning Aspect. — Siturition of theTo-vvn. — Visit from thcSquirc. — His long Iden tification with the Forest. — Description of the Country. — Indication of the Route 38 CHAPTER V. A Day's Excursion. — The Love of Gold, and Modes of seeking it. — Old Traditions of valu.-iblc Mincr.ils. — The Sciuire as a M;if;Utr:\tc, — A Son ol" Isriii, — Discovery of a supposed Vein. — iiierciluUtv uf the Squire. — Actual Result 48 (9) 10 CONTENTS. CONTENTS. 11 CHAPTER VI. Preparation and Start for the Forest. — Beautiful Road. — Richard Allen's. — In the Woods. — Lake George Road. —Clifton Ore Bed. — Brown. — The Squire's Garden gQ CHAPTER VII. Heraldry of the Woods. —Forest Literature. — Cop per Falls. — Tormented by Mosquitoes. -The Fall. — A Raven. — Old Superstitions. — Sir Thomas Browne. —An Incident 73 CHAPTER VIII. Bromaghin Shanty. — Who waa Bromaghin.— Abun dance of Deer. —Lawlessness of Hunters. — The Big Spruce. — Entrance to Harewood. — The Squire makes a Speech. — Unexpected Festivities, ... 86 CHAPTER IX. First Night in Camp. — Harewood Lodge. — Romance ofthe Place. — Aspect of Nature. — My Compan ions an Odd Mixture. — Camp Fire lighted. — At tempt to Sleep. — An Alarm. —An Unseasonable Controversy .97 CHAPTER X. Up before Sunrise, — Description of Harewood. — Sot out for the Lake.- The Great Windfall.- Tho Squire gets rnspish. — Twn fine Views, — Old In dian Fishing Ground. — Cranberry Lake. — Source of the Oswcgatchie River. -Lunch. — Return, . . 107 I .:,^-ij,, r' '^ I CHAPTER XI. Morton and Brown go out to shear, and come home ^^ shorn. — Lost in the Woods. —The Squire's Ex perience.^ — An Incident that happened to his Father, '. 123 CHAPTER XII. Iron Ore Beds. — Indications of other Minerals. — No Geological Survey. — Iron, King. — Pro fessor Emmons on the Sanford Veins. — Magnetic Iron. — Its Value. — Accessibility. — General De ductions, 134 CHAPTER XIII. Beaver Dams. — Trapping. — Wild Animals. — The Yagesho. — Credibility of Indian Traditions, . . .143 ' r" CHAPTER XIV. Put the Squire to sleep on Mining. — Early History in England. — Former Unpopularity in this Country. -Enthusiasm of the Old Spaniards. — Develop ment wisely reserved to our Day. — Great Produc tion of Metals. — Neglect of Iron 162 CHAPTER XV. The Squire on Boston Enterprise. — Mineral Value of tho Region. — Means of Access to it, — Saratoga and Ogdonsburg Railroad. — Direct Route from Bos ton to Canada and the West 153 CllAl'TKll x^•l. No Evidence of Indian .Scttlcincnt. — Interesting Relics. — Oawegntohie and St. Ro);i.s Trilios, — Le- 12 CONTENTS. gend of the Bell of Saut St^ Louis. — Rev. John Williams 174 CHAPTER XVII. Alone in Camp. — Communion with the Trees. — In fluences of the Forest. — Its former vast Extent. — Improvident Waste of its Wealth. — Probable Fate of these Woods. — Economic Value of the Forest, 189 CHAPTER XVIII. Breaking up Camp. — Regrets. — Pleasant Memories in Store. — Bustle of Preparation, . . ' .... 200 CHAPTER XIX. Homeward bound. — Imperfect Knowledge of the Re gion. — Conjectures of the first Settlers on the Hud son. — Territory of the Iroquois, — Sources of the Rivers. — Water Communication between the Hud son and the St. Lawrence. — Clifton Ore Bed. — Richard Allen's. — Separation from my Compan ions, CHAPTER XX. The Squire at Home. — Canton. — Ogdensburg. — Its flne Situation. — First Settlement. — Many beauti ful Buildings. — Home 220 Y' 207 THE FOEEST AECADIA NORTHERN NEW YORK. CHAPTER I. On the Road. — Rouse's Point. — The St. Lawrence River. — Potsdam Junction. TIME — five o'clock of an afternoon in June ; place — the station of the Boston and Lowell Railroad; and then a long slide on iron runners — a slide in midsummer, over green meadows and laughing waterfaUs, that gleam for a moment in the level sunlight, and suddenly take wing, — through narrow rock channels, chiselled out of the ribs of the earth, rousing tho echoes from their lair iu Ihc cavfrns, — under the jutting edges of high precipices, — thi'ough valloys that sleep in (he sliadow.s of the mountains, these marveUous iroii-Aiote.J and fiery-hearted forces hold on Ihv'w way, without. break, without wcariucsp, aud without rest. The flaming sun iu the wo.st sinks .slowly behind (13) 14 THE FOREST ARCADIA. the hiUs, a soft twilight shades and cools the atmosphere, and night comes after to close the gates ; but there are no gates that bar the ii-on horse, and there is no night dark enough to hide tho flowing of his mane. I sink down into the depths of my own thoughts, and by insensible degrees into a still deeper deep, whore thought becomes merged iu dreams, and thus I remain until I am slartled by the cry, in a loud and rough voice, of a name that I am sure, in my half-aroused state, I have never heard before. But all doubt is soon dispelled. Rouse's Point is a mundane and familiar sound, and I remember that I am on the road to the Forest. Follow me, gentle reader, if you ivill. I will endeavor not to exhaust your patience. I may sometimes be trivial, but hope not to bu tedious. Rouse's Point lies in the north-east corner of tlie Empire State, in tlic angle formed by tho Canada line on the north, and the waters of Lake Champlain on the cast. Looking north ward, the eye sweeps a level country to the St. Lawrence River, and eastward, the upper -waters of the lake bounded by the shores of Vermont and Canada. It is, therefore, in a military point of vicAv, a plnce of considerable importance ; but incapable, so far as I could ¦ ( r ¦?.-s- ROUSE'S POINT. 15 .judge, of any very strong defensive works. Fort Montgomery, constructed by our govern ment, and now nearly, if not entirely complete, ¦ iiccupies an imposing site on the norlli shore of tho lake, but is rendered comparatively value less by the new ideas in fortificiiiion and gun nery which have been evolved out of the present war. The land in the neighborhood, and for much of the distance within reach of the eye, on the north side of the Ogdensburg road, is quite level, ivith occasional elevations of no gi-eat height. A large portion is, also, cleared and under cultivation. In other respects Rouse's Point is scarcely more than a railroad hostelry. It fumes, and frets, and fizzes, and sneezes at aU hours of day and night, but I believe, happily, it rests on Sunday. ' Th^ra is but little to caU for description in the surroundings of the station. The air is torn with the angry snarl of that inevitable institution, the one or two horse power wood sawyer, in which the poor brutes are kept upon an endless round, baited, perhaps, by the sight of a wisp of hay wliich thoy are never per mitted to reach. Tho poet may talk or .sing of " man's ¦ inhumauity to man," but man's inhumanity to tho lioiw i.s a more pervading 16 THE FOREST ARCADIA. V<:? evil. There is the usual collection of small shops, stocked with such wares as suit tho un certain humors of a hurried passenger, with au occasional pretentious private dwelling, the hab itation of a retired superintendent, or some still active conductor — estimable representa tives, it may be, of these two useful and respect able classes, which Dr. RusseU says, form an important element in tho stratum of our society. This, at best, is all that strikes the eye pf ono who is not permitted to linger. I was so fortu nate as to have from this place as far as Chatehu- gay, — in the patois of the county, Shattcgee, — the company of an active and well-kno-wn citi zen of Vermont, an ex-senator of the United ' States, from whoso descriptions of the coun try and general conversation I derived infor mation. His presence led to much discussion of political topics, wid many pros and cons about the war, in all of which there was be tween us great coincidence of opinion. The slow rate of speed enabled us to exhaust a variety of subjects before the train drew up at Chateaugay. The ride over the Ogden.sburg road is deci dedly monotonous. There is no scouery. Tho couulry is generally baro and tial. The road, however, is well managed, but witiioiil any ex- ; THE ST. LAWRENCE 111 VER. 17 I travagance in the matler of .speed. The cars are good, and tho conductors polite, IMy frank ness compels me to say that as yon advance towards the St. Lawrence the imagination is slightly raised by the thread of blue haze which one sees in the distance floating above its mighty current. I en-vy not the man whose soul is not alive to the influences of a gi-eat river. Shooting along the iron planes on that pleasant June morning, and gazing out over the wide expanse of hill and meadow that separated me from it, a little drowsy from the broken rest of the previous night, and a little dreamy from the associations of the place, tho river became a distinct person ality. My fancy busied itself with its eventful history. When did it first receive ita form out of the void of the old Chaos? Through how - many cycles of pre-Adamite time was it scooping its bed, smoothing and fertilizing its shores, for the use and habitation of the latest man ? I imagined it might tcU ns something of the supe rior race, whose existence upon this continent, beyond the reach of the remotest tradition, is but little more than a myth ; something more th.an wo shall learn from any other source, oC the aucccssivo generations of led men, who built their homes upon ils hnnks, and sailcil 2 18 THE FOREST ARCADIA. upon its waters. It might tell us of its won dering surprise on beholding the white , face of Jacques Cartier and liis companions, and follow ing him, the long succession of white faces — the priest with his shaven crown, his crucifix and rosary ; the hunter with his dog and gun, and the woodman vnth his axe. Perhaps it was this startling transition, this shifting of a scene in the panorama of man and the ages, that made its waters grow pale, as the old chroniclers would have us believe was rather the effect of the great earthquake. Full of these thoughts I could not help apostrophizing the weird and hoary genius of the stream, -^ wishing it health, a free course, and good verge for an unimaginable length of time to come. " Flow on, broad river, to the sea, As thou hast flowed, since the bright circling spheres. To their glad company Welcomed the young earth with its golden years." And much more that was cut short by the sudden stoppage of the train at Potsdam Junc tion, from whence a pleasant drive of an houi' took nic to the village of Potsdam. 4» POTSDAM. 19 CHAPTER IT. Potsdam. — Beauty of its Environs. — Market for Lumber and Produce. — Potsdam Sandstone. THIS place, situated upon the Racket River, is one of the ten towns first settled in St. Lawrence county, and a thriving village of some twenty-five hundred inhabitants. The whole township is, I believe, ten miles square, and contains a population of seven or eight thousand. It is provided with good schools, numerous religious societies, and many other advantages of our progressive civilization. The people are also cultivated and public-spirited. The village possesses great beauty of situa tion. Its streets are wide and well shaded, and tho capacities of the town for cxteuHion and improvement are very superior. There is abundant water-power in the centre of busi ness, and lower do\vn the river, which is never at any season of the year exhausted. Several mills for the manufacture of various kinds of lumber, a flour mill, niid one or two small facto ries, nirni.sh moans of eni|>loyiui'ii!, nnd t;ive lil'o and animation lo the place. For some reason or 20 THE FOREST ARCADIA. other, perhaps the want of proper management or a penny-wise policy on the part of the rail road, in the matter of transportation, the lum ber interest has not yet received any very pros perous development. I was told that some years since a great excitement prevailed in this business, and a large outlay of capital was made upon the Racket River, but without satisfactory returns, probably for the reasons which I have suggested. Nobody, however, who has examined the timber resources of the forests lying upon the shores of the lakes and streams which feed the Racket, and upon the banks of the river itself, can for a moment doubt that the time is coming when a large business will be done here in the manufacture of lumber. Potsdam is also a large market for the sale of the dairy produce of the neighborhood. It may yield in this respect to Canton, which, dis tant about ten miles west, and lying nearer to the New York market by the Rome and Water- town road, possesses some advantages over it. If I were not afraid of making myself unpleas ant, I would like to go into some of the statistics of production iu this noble county, which may justly bo considered one of Ihe l)^iglll(^^t jewels in Ihc coronet of the Empire Sfnte, and fippar- POTSDAM SANDSTONE. 21 ontly the most neglected. The last census exhibits the tremendous strides wliich St. Law- I'ence county has taken during the last decen nial period in dairy produce, for which the soil, being largely of limestone formation, is partic ularly adapted. I hazard nothing in saying that the day is not far distant when this county, in the figures of agriculture, will loom high above any other section of equal extent in the country. I spent a night and the better part of a day visiting several localities, among others the Academy, a well established, and, as I understand, suc cessful institution ; the Episcopal church, which enjoys a situation of great picturesquoness and beauty, but particularly with my friend Morton, who had put a few flies in his pocket, for offen sive pVirposes, and a preparation of tar in his ¦Valise, as a measure of defence against another kind of flies, of which Isaac Walton makes no mention, in a ramble to the quarries of the Potsdam Sandstone. Here I make a mark, because it was my first entrance upon that warfare in which he that putteth off his armor may well exult over him that puttelh it on. This was the day on which 1 crossed the Rubicon, or riitlier the Iviii-kel. and passed into the Mosquito territory. I 22 THE FOREST ARCADIA. --«^~S_ think if. Cajsar, when he crossed the classic stream, had met the swarm of insects which attacked us on the banks of this noisy river, ho would have given up all his dreams of glory, or else, the foremost man of all tho world would have found himself reduced to the tender mer cies of a cedar smudge and a vulgar pot of tar. The walk was a hot and very tedious one, and greatly aggravated by the insulficient raeasure of its length given us by several authorities at the hotel. The landlord contended for a mile and a half, whUe the barkeeper maintained stoutly that it was two miles. I believe it turned out to be three or three and a half. Wellj here we are, face to face with this old Silurian, and a wrinkled old beldaine it is. It is a veritable ancient, and lifts its head, — covered with gray and di shevelled locks, and wet with the dews of the primitive night, sphinx-like into tho broad sun light of the new era, — challenging every passer by for the meed of reverence due to its great antiquity. I cau appreciate the sensations of Belzoni while measuring the head of the colossal Memnon ; I can imagine how Layard felt when he beheld tho first trophies of his explora tion at Nineveh ; and I can conceive of Cap tain Speke's emotions when Ihe conviction POTSDAM SANDSTONE. 23 flashed upon him that he had discovered the source of the Nile ; but I can hardly account for the feeling of awe with which I regarded this old red rock. I bowed myself low in its presence, and with something of the supplicatory tone of Hamlet in addressing his father's ghost, I bespoke it in this wise : " Hail 1 time-honored relic of the old Creation — child of the great Earth — Mother ! A degenerate son of Adam stands be fore thee to invoke thy gracious favor. Unfold the great primordial mystery of thy birth ! " At this moment a rumbling sound proceeded from the mouth of the cavern. It may have been that one of the quarrymen had just loos ened a shapely slab well suited for the Montreal market, which, sliding down the declivity, had aroused tho echoes ; but my excited imagina tion seized upon it as the voico of the oracle, and the interpretation was this : " Who art thou that makest the day hideous with thy cries? Hast no better employment than to stand here winking thine eyes and slapping thy face? What sayest thou of Adam ? Before Adam — I was. Go study the books of thy philosophers — wise men in their own conceit, who handle the rich food of tho ages with chop?ticks, and drop two mouth fills for every one tlicy succeed 24 THE FOREST ARCADIA. POTSDAM SANDSTONE. 26 in swallowing — and thou shalt find my history, written down with all the precision of flsh, flesh, and fowl in a modern bill of fare. The eldest of the Silurian dynasty I Silurian ! What a name ? Am I not among the eldest of crea tion? And who is this Azoic Esau, with his Laurentian and Huronian spawn, that would cheat me out of my birthright?" Thus ended this improvised colloquy. The Potsdam sandstone is regarded, I believe, as the lowest stratification of the earth's surface in which fossils have been found, Sorae marks discovered by Prof. Emmons indicate the pres ence of fucoidsat some period of its deposition ; and the manner in which the layers of rock, of different thicknesses separate, would seem to warrant the conclusion that these lines of divis ion were caused by intermediate depositions of shells, occurring at varying periods of time. I was told at the quarry that a shell had been taken out of the bed a few weeks previous, but it was not shown. The prevaiUng formation of this region of country, with the exception of this patch of sandstone, consists of what is called Primary rock. It is composed of simple minerals, thrown together by tho action of heat. The elementa of these primary rocks are gener ally quartz, hornblende, and feldspar, arranged in regular or irregular strata, and highly in clined. This combination is termed gneiss rock. The copper, lead, and iron ores are usually found in .the gneiss, and within the limits of this formation. St. Lawrence county is, doubt less, rich in metals. This has been already demonstrated by the discovery of valuable mines in various parts of it. The Potsdam sandstone lies in the form of a man's foot, the heel resting upon the north line of Jefferson, and the great toe upon the east line of Franklin county; and reaches in its greatest length probably from fifty to sixty miles. I suggested to Morton that the colossal pre- Adam in his migration from the north pole had dropped here the sole of one of his shoes, and tliis, perhaps, may not be thought more ex travagant than some of the conceits of the pre- Adamite philosophers. The stone, as wc observed it at the quarry, is arranged in regular layers of frora Uvo to ten inches. The color is a reddish bro-\vn. The strata dip towards the north-west at an angle of about thu'ty degrees, as nearly as could he deter mined without instruments. The color I under stand to be darker than that of the stone quar ried at Malone. It is cut with great ease, aud is of great value for building and tiling. 2G THE FOREST ARCADIA. "t**^' POTSDAM SANDSTONE. 27 Having finished our visit, the master of the quarry, who proved to be from Massachusetts, was good enough to allow one of his men to set UjS across the river, which is rapid at this point, in a light skiff. The task required considerable sinew in the oarsman, and was attended with a shade of nervousness ou the jiart of his freight, lest one of his oars should break ; in which case, if no greater damage had ensued, two middle-aged gentlemen would have got pretty thoroughly soaked. From the river side we clambered up an ascent of an hundred feet, and were glad to rest upon the ridge, gathering, while we sat upon the grass, sprigs of a tiny red flower, gi'owing close to the ground, but wLich, from the neglect of my education in botanical science, I am not able to ' describe technically ; suffice it to say, tliat par tially concealed as it was by its own humilitj'-, the flower resembled sraall globes of red coral. It is a modest flower, and being then in a senti mental mood, I put a few of thera in my waUet to send homo to the lady of my heart ; but hav ing occasion afterward to make change for a palm leaf hat which I had bought in the village, I was so unfortunate as to lose them. ]\rortou amn.Mcd liinisell' by looking through a ,siniill tele scope, whicli lie had brought from Buslou, at k .^ the domes and spires of the distant to-wn. He was kind enough to lend it to me for a few minutes, but for some reason or other I could not find the focus. After getting quite rested, we struck for the Pierrepont road, and that attained, pursued our weary way. The day was hot, and the road dry, so that after walking about a milo I was fain to get bestride a rail fence, and wait for something to turn up. The much-desired something soon appeared in the shape of a two-horse wagon. Never having been a proud man at home, and looking -with dread upon the three raUes of road before us, whieh could only be footed, it did not cost mo a single twinge to suo very meekly for a Uft, The driver was a good-natiu'ed feUow of the country, to whom it came as natural as eating and, drinking to do a clever thing ; he brought up his noble pair of grays at once. Now it so happened that while JMorton raade his ascent at the tail of the wagon, I made mine at the fore ; and as it proved that our obliging friend was a coUector of wood ashes for the manufacture of the useful article of potash, and that he had already secured a con siderable quantity, lltorton was placed nt great disadvantugo, Tlii.s di.siidvnnlage, I am sorry to say, was, unwittingly on my part, aggravated 28 THE FOREST ARCADTA. as we started off briskly down the road, by the interest which I could not help taldng in the horses. It aroused the tlriver's enthusiasm, aud led hira to touch up first one and then the other. The shaking of the wagon, together with the action of the -wind which blew in our faces, naturally disturbed' the light ashes. The result of all this to my companion in the taU of the wagon can be imagined, but not described. On turning round to observe whether he was enjoy ing equally with myself the great feUcity of the ride, I found him, to my amazement, in a state of almost complete obscuration. At first I was afraid he had faUen out, but on the driver's bring- ¦ ing his team to a d^ad halt, he gradually reap peared, but looking for all the world as though he had just crept out of the crater of Vesuvius, and withal so utterly woebegone, that both the driver and myself fairly roared with laughter. Morton thought it best to alight, and getting down myself, we soon found our way to the hotel, where an abundance of water and a com fortable dinner soon set every thing right. -kN RIDE TO RUSSELL. 29 CHAPTER in. Ride to RusseU. — Fine Views.- Great Dairy Region.— Apparent Comfort of the People. — Massachusetts Farmers contrasted. — Hard to realize the State of War. OUR part,y was increased in the afternoon, much to our gratification, by the arrival of another friend, who proposed going on with us to RusseU."^" .This gentleman, to the credit of his Vermont raising, proved himself to be a perfect master- in rural science. If there was any thing ho did not know in the wide field of stock-breeding, with aU its modcfn. refinements, I have failed to discover it since. Whether he talked of tho most valuable and attractive traits in horses, the best manner of treating different soils, or discriminated the varieties and pecul iarities of foliage of the forest trees, he seemed always at home. Thus reenforced, we were quite weU prepared for another stage, aud making the necessary arrangements for a double-seated open wagon and a good pair of horses, wilh an intelligent and cheerful driver, we set off from Pof.sdam at two o'clock in the afternoon for RusseU. 30 THE FOREST ARCADIA. '^ The distance between the two places, by the route we took, which passed through South Canton, avoiding the principal village, was stated to be about eighteen miles. I should be incUned to set it at something higher ; in fact I never had to do with such miles as they reel out in this country, and I made it a practice to add ten por cent, to aU the statements given me. This is provoking to a traveUer, to be obliged to do a sum in addition, when substraction would suit him so much better. We had in this ride, however, all the poet's enchantment without regard to the distance. The sun waS slightly obscured by passing clouds, and the air so fresh as to make a light overcoat nof uncom fortable. It should be understood that from the St. Lawrence River, as you approach the forest region of Northern New York, the land rises gradually, until it attains its greatest height in the Adirondack ranges. This rise seems to me to be broken by a series of steps or plateaus. I believe, therefore, the received opinion that the country on the north or north-west slope of tho Adirondack hiUs is a rough and moun tainous one, to be incorrect. We shall have travelled, when we have reached tho farthest point to which these notes carry us, a distance -^li LAURENTIAN HILLS. 31 I k of forty-five or fifty miles in a course almost due south from Potsdam, and nowhere have we found the forbidding characteristics which have been so generally imputed to it. On the con trary, there was through the whole extent of our route more than a fair average quantity of valuable farming lands. A short distance beyond South Canton our road lay across one of these plateaus which I have described. The elevation was so consid erable that one of our party imagined he could see the St. Lawrence River. This, perhaps, might have been if the view had not been ob structed by intervening woods. But, neverthe less, the whole valley lay spread out before us, gradually receding from the point of observa tion to the course of the river, and beyond, on the Canada shore, ascending again until the view became "lost in the ridges of Laurentian hUls that skirted the distant horizon. To make the picture complete, the sun which had been concealed behind a wall of purple clouds, sud denly burst the gates of his prison-house, and a flood of fire rolled out upon the hills. Anon, the same clouds, rifted and ascending, fashioned themselves into all imaginable shapes, simulat ing always the majestic forms of Nature : some times a hugo iceberg floating upon a sea of 32 TUE FOREST ARCADIA azure, and again the snow capped peaks of Al pine hills, ever changing, and lessening with every change, until they faded at last into the clear cerulean of the upper heaven. This was a scene, taking it altogether, of un surpassed beauty and sublimity, aud one which required no effort of the wonderful faculties with which the Creator has endowed us to en joy completely. But to describe it so as to convey the impressions made upon the specta tor is beyond the power of art. And this landscape, beneficent and inspiring, unfolds itself day after day upon this magnifi cent plateau, before an appreciating, but per haps unlettered people, incapable of reflecting back any of its glories. They have the sense to enjoy, without the soul to be inspired. There may be some Miltons among them, but if there are, they are as yet " mute and inglo rious." There was an air of repose and comfort along the road, which pleased me exceedingly. Nobody seemed to be in a hurry ; the fanner who answered our questions by the roadside, spoke in a tone self-possessed and calm. The fields were well cleared for half a mile on either side, and wcU-foncod, aud Ihc houses wore gen erally framed, set back a little from the road, TOILS OF THE FARMER. '33 and weU ordered. Beyond the clearings, and flanking them for miles, were dense groves of sUgar maples, — called in this countiy su"-ar bushes, — their luxuriant plumes nodding to each other in the evening breeze as we rode by. OccasionaUy the tinkle of a cow-beU broke the almost perfect silence. Every thing seemed to be wrapped in a " di-eam of peace." This appearance of ease and absence of fret, which distinguished all the well-to-do farmers whom I met in this region, so entirely different from the habits of those I had been accustomed to see at home, at first sui-prised me ; but a better acquaintance with them, and a few fa miliar questions and answers, furnished me with abundant reasons for the contrast. The Massachusetts farmer, with but few ex ceptions, has tp deal with a soil on which the gifts of Nature have not been lavished. That which is not absolutely sterUe possesses no great richness or fertility ; in fact, Nature scarcely performs her part, so that the compensations of the husbandman but rarely exceed the cost ofthe labor expended. In other words the farmer never accumulates. In a majority of instances he pays his way, feeds and clothes his family, and per haps partially educates his children, but his life is one of constant hardship, attended with 3 34 THE FOREST ARCADIA. many disappointments, and rewarded by few of the luxuries of life. Here, among this people, the facts are differ ent. Notwithstanding they are two degrees north of Massachusetts, and subject to winters of greater severity, the peculiar qualities of the soil which thoy cultivate much more than overcome these disadvantages. It is strong and rich, producing abundantly without that amount of exhausting labor required upon a New England farm. The secret of its wealth is to be found in the formation on which it rests, furnishing, as this formation does, the specific elements, needed to produce tlie most nutritious grasses, To use the words of the great mas ter, the soil possesses "the powerful grace that lies In herbs, plants, stones, and their true qualities." And these are the conditions which have made these lands productive of so much wealth. The farmer devotes himself to tho keeping of cows, — some farms having as many as two hundred, — and the making of butter and cheese, which ho can readily sell without moving it, at the highest market price. Instead of tho severe labor in the field of preparing tho groimd, planting, hoeing, and reaping, his whole atten tion is turned to the " fresh fields and pastures ifV— . J.I ^»».~ RURAL QUIET. 35 ,1) new " that surround his modest dwelling. He milks his cows, churns his butter, smoking his pipe meanwhile, with the greatest possible con tentment. It was pleasant to find so much cheerfulness and ease among these farmers, and to learn, as I did, that most of them were emigrants from the New England States. But perhaps some doubting spirit may question the fairness of the picture which I have drawn of farm life in St. Lawrence county. If there is one such, let me recommend him to go and see fbr himself. .Kin the midst of so much rural quiet and se clusion it is almost impossible to realize the convulsions which are elsewhere shaking the foundations of the country to ita centre. " Under what fortunate star," I asked Mor ton, " are this people living, that while other lands are devastated, and other homes made desolate, they should be so happily exempted." "You must remember," he replied, "that wars very rarely spread over any wide surface of a countiy. Their course is something Uke that of the tornado, which, gathering up all the elements of destruction, precipitates itself upon ono centre, destroying every thing as it moves forward ; and for this reason the success of all great operations in war depend upon con- 36 THE FOREST ARCADIA. centrated forces. It is only when armies are di-vdded, aud directed on different points, that their ravages become distributed. This wiU hold, I think, of nearly all the wars of ancient or modern times." " Is that true of the Roman wars, and par ticularly of the campaigns of Ca3sar, which were spread over many parts of several coun tries, carrying ruin every where ; or to come down to modern instances, of the wars of the elder Napoleon, particularly in Italy and Spain, or even of the war which we are now carrying on for the suppression oif this rebeUion?" I asked. "The wars of the Romans, during the aggrandizing period of the empire, as also those of Napoleon, raight properly be excepted. The animating spirit in both was conquest, and in their prosecution new countries were pene trated in aU directions ; our case is scarcely an exception, inasmuch as the war has, fo a great extent, been confined to certain fixed lines, and within these lines, on both sides, the people generaUy have suffered no gi-eat hardships. To be sure they have Jbeen subjected to oner ous taxation, have been called upon to perform service in the field, and restricted of somo of the luxuries, if not conveniences, of life. It is this fact which has enabled countries to speed- WAR. 37 ily recuperate after long and exhausting wars." " Well, you may be correct," I replied, "but -\vhat do you think of the doctrine that war, instead of enervating, invigorates nations ? " "I have no doubt, myself, that it does de velop new energies, as well as call into action some which have lain dormant." " In other words; it unlooses the caged lion and permits him to roam at large with death in his jaws." ' ¦ " Subject to the military code." ¦ " The essence of the military code enjoins the killing of your enemy with the greatest. possible celerity and certainty. But as I see you have got your eyes open, and are about putting on your wisdom cap, I will retire in good order.". A little farther on we espied an urchin, with bare feet, playing in the street, of whom I asked, — " How far is it to RusseU, my lad ? " " Twenty rods, sir." " Thank you." And sure enough, there lay the viUago nes tling under the hiU. 38 THE FOREST ARCADIA. CHAPTER IV. Village of Russell. — Morning Aspect. — Situation of the Town. — Visit from the Squire. — His long Identi fication with the Forest. — Description of the Country. — Indication of the Route. AWAKING early the next morning, after a night of unbroken rest, thoroughly re freshed and reanimated, I was constrained to say, with Sancho Panza, " God's blessing upon the man who first invented that selfsame thing caUed Sleep, which covers a man aU over like a cloak." But Sancho had a raro trait in his nature, the quality of forgetfulness, which ena bled him to dispel the — — " fantasies Whieh busy Caro draws in the brains of men," and lap hiraself in the deepest profound of slumber. It is only those who live neat-cst tho sources of life, and with whom the simple ingtincts of nature comprise tho whole sum of existence^ that walk in tlie Elysian' gardens. The man of speculation, tho editor, scholar, f'*-: I A VILLAGE OF RUSSELL. 39 and statesman' behold with longing eyes the coveted dream-land afar off, but rarely ever reach it. There is one thing, however, which is a great help to this class of humanity, and that is, a tolerably clear conscience, and I should also add, as appropriate to tho season, a good mosquito netting. With these provisions, the first of reflection, and the second of art, we may repair somewhat the deficiencies of Nature. Fortunately for me, I was quite comfortably off in the first particular, not altogether as to the fact, but the condition precedent, good in tention—which, I am aware, some of the old divines would have considered a poor merit ; in truth the greatest of demerits, if we may believe them to have been sincere in their very definite statement of the use to which good intentions ¦ have • been applied in the realm of Pluto. Neither had I tho netting, — and I did not need it ; there was but one mosquito in my chamber during the night, and he, poor soli tary, thirsting for blood, but unwilling to attack singly, fell into a state of melancholy, and droned like the tAvo first lines of Goldsmith's Traveller, until I fell asleep. But the morning, how delicious it was! If the air was not full of balms, it was full of o.xygeu. 1 seated my self upon the stoop of the hotel, that I might 40 THE FOREST ARCADIA. breathe all its freshness, aud at the same time, take a survey of the village. The time was propitious, for there were but few, persons yet moving in tho streets to . distract the attention. It lies upon the sides and base of an amphi theatre, enclosed by ranges of high hills, not widely apart, and arranged in the form of an extended cUipsis, through the length of which the Grass River sends its dark and reluctant cur rent. I should not, perhaps, use a term which implies a conscious unwillingness on the part of the stream to deliver its waters to the regions below, for in point of fact it is dammed liere for the benefit of two or three manufacturing estab lishments. The hiUs which make the walls of this natural Colosseum are of volcanic origin, and interesting subjects for the geologist. Four roads, running at right angles, centre in the town ; the hotel stands upon ono corner, and the other cornei-s are occupied by shops ; about sixty dwelling-houses, mostly painted wJiite, and many of them with green plats in frout ; two moderate sized churches ; two blacksmith's shops ; a bridge, which never could have been built ou its present founda tions, but must have been taken up in Canada, or .somewhere else, luul providentially dropped by the great tornado ; a three-story brick arsenal, MORNING ASPECT. 41 constructed during the last war, for what earthly purpose, nobody has yet discovered, standing like a grim sentinel over the whole, and you have as good a picture as I cau draw of the quiet village of Russell. This -will do for a rough sketch — and now for a few touches in detail. Opposite the hotel, — which is built of brick, and has an air of decayed gentiUty about it, — is a grass plat, with an old house upon it, a little retired from the street, which, a conspi cuous sign upon the front informs me, is occu pied by the modiste of the viUage. I notice this with interest and pleasure, and express my satisfaction by imbibing frequent additional draughts of the healthful breezes that sweep down from the hiUs. So, I said to my self, we are not yet beyond the pale of Fashion. Presently a door opens, and a maidcu descends by a single step into the gi-een lawn, glittering with tho morning dew, and tripping lightly to the well, returns again, h.er fiieu glowing in the warm rays of the smiling Pha'bus, who is just taking his first look into the valley. Then follows the busy note of preparation for the day ; many and various housewifely duties, I cau observe, di'itraet for a while, this little teueiiicut ; but befc.iro the sun, u.-iing the le\ er- age of the hill, has spun his wheel far up into 42 THE FOREST ARCADIA. the blue vault, peace descends upou it, and the open door discloses to my view the maiden quietly disposed in a low chair, looking out up on the sunrise and the "dew enamelled mead," and plying. her fingers nimbly in that art of arts, priceless to the fair daughters of Eve, which, taking nothing from beauty which Nature has given, superadds to it the graces of a creation of its own. In the desire to make my descriptions graphic, I mean not to be led into the use of language which may seem of doubt ful significance, and I therefore say, once for all, that the people of RusseU are both intelli gent and hospitable, and the ladies not only pretty but agreeable ; they treated me well, and if governed by no higher motive iu what I may have occasion to say about them I shaU not forget the selfish maxim, Speak well of the bridge that carries you safely over. In the midst of these observations aud rumi- uatious, Morton joined me, and ive proceeded together, under the direction of the assiduous and obliging landlord, to take a brief lesson in gastronomy. After breakfast I was honored Avith a call from tho Squire of the village. This is a com pendious title in Northern Now I'ork, ond covers a miiltitude of functions, lie is soiiic- -i ¦¦? ^1 V -I* THE SQUIRE. 43 times a lawyer, and sometimes not ; our squire is simply a magistrate with powers similar to those of our trial justices in Massachusetts, but not a lawyer, at least, in the technical sense. He is always pretty sure to be a person of strong common sense, and what others have learned from books, he has gathered from the wide field of human experience. The squu'e had graduated at the University of Hardknocks, so he told me, — a very liberal institution, recognizing no differences of creed in religion or politics. Founded on the prin ciple of self-support, tho students and faculty shifted for themselves ; and what they lacked in this particular was made up from the benefac tions, or malefactions, as the case might be, of other learned or unlearned societies. He said thnt wlicu he went up for his degree, instead of receiving tho usual parchment, ho was knocked down two or three times in order that the fa culty might determiuo, by the manucr in whieh he recovered himself, whether he was fairly entitled to it. With this training, the squire entered upon active life. Himself, and his father before him, have either led or partici pated in most of the origiu.al and later sur veys of Ihe once unbroken vvildeniess of fSt. Lawrence county. Tliough not an old man, 44 TIIE FOREST ARCADIA. he has seen this wilderness— pushed back, year after year, by the vigor and enterprise of hardy emigrants seeking new homes — bud and blos som as the rose. With his compass and single chain-bearer, he has traversed uncounted miles of hill and valley, lake and stream. The lakes, by the rudo raft which tho practised woodsman knows so well how to iiisliicui, nud the rivers by the most primitive of all bridges, — that of some stalely pine or hemlock, which his axe, with unerring skiU, ¦ has laid from bank to bank, — moving always on compass lines, he has crossed the beaten and devious paths of the wild deer, scared the bear and the panther from their dens in the rocks, bivouacked upon the old hunting and fishing grounds of tho In dian, and, perhaps, spread his pallet at night under the shade of trees that have faniied with their youthful boughs the red-skinucd mother and child. His long identification with the progress of the settlement has stored his mind with a vast amount of facts and incidents val uable to the historian, while his life in tbe woods, furnished, as it must be, with many "hairbreadth 'scapes by flood and field," wiU enable him to lengthen out tlie winter evenings of his old age, and afford unending amusement to his grand and great-grand children. I' DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY. 45 Now, squire, I said to our visitor, but in a less abrupt phrase than this, wc have come up here to get a breath of fresh air, eat a little dried deer's meat, if we may not get it fresh, catch a few fish, if we can, see tho great woods, and learn something about the coun try, and we shaU be greatly obliged if you will open your stores of information and ex perience for our benefit. The squire crossed his legs, brushed his fore head with his hand in his usual way, set his hat a little back upon his head, and began as foUows : — " I can give you nothing but a little dry detail. When old Nathan Ford came to the present site of Ogdensburg, in 1796, having made his journey partly by land and partly in batteaux up the Mohawk River, thence to the Black River, and across Black Lake into tho Oswegatchic, and so down to tho St. Law rence, the whole country was a wilderness ; aince that time, civilization has rapidly ad vanced. By resting one point of a pair of compasses upon this place, and cxtcudiug the other lo Ogdensburg, you -will find the distance in a straight line to be about thirty miles. Tliis will nearly represent the width of the strip of settlement and population on the west 46 THE FOREST ARCADIA. border of the county, following the course of the St. Lawrence. The Potsdam and Water- town Railroad, which has taken the place of the old turnpike, forms the channel of commu nication and trade. Now, on the north side of the county there is a strip of nearly equal width, extending from Lake Champlain to Og densburg, penetrated by the Northern Raih-oad, These two belts comprise the present limits of settlement and civiUzation, Keep one point of your compasses upon RusseU, and swing the other round to the mouth of the Saranac River on Lake Champlain, and the distance is, in a straight line, about one hundred mUes, The whole of this space, with the exception of some few settlements about eight miles . from this, and on the lower and upper Saranac, you will find to be pretty much in the condition in which Nature left it, broken here and there by a clearing and a solitary log-house. Advance the extended leg of the compasses to Mount Marcy in the Adirondacks, and you have a dis tance of sixty to seventy mUcs without any set tlements. Now, contract tlic leg of tho com passes, and place it upon Cranberry Lake, the reservoir of the Oswegatchic River, and you have, tts I understand you, tho point of your destination." r M %' t i i TJIE SQUIRE'S AID SECURED. 47 " " Yes, and we would like to take you along with us," " Well, I had rather be whipped than go into those woods at my time of life ; but if you say you cannot get along without me, I suppose I must yield to your wishes." At this point of the conversation the squire was called out by one of his clients. 48 THE FOREST ARCADIA. CHAPTER V. A Day's Excursion. — The Love of Gold, and Modes of seeking it. — Old Traditions of valuable Minerals. — The Squire as a Magistrate. — A Son of Erin. — Discovery of a supposed Vein. — Incredulity of the Squire.— Actual Result. THE universal love of gold seeras to be one of the great mysteries of human nature. Is it an instinct implanted in man, or simply a passion excited by the rivalries, necessities, or anibitions of life, or is it only an acquired habit ? Of its existence as a living fact, in all ages and among all races, there is not a doubt. Its latent fires are found in all diversities of constitution, under aU religious and political systems, and in all ranks of society, and need but a breath of favor ing wind to bo fauued into ilame. Its least in- flueuce is observable in agricultural and mechan ical pursuits, and its greatest in the marts of trade and upon the exchanges of populous cities. Its intensity is increased by the attrition of numbers. When we have discovered tho rela tion of one man to another in point of personal contact, we have found the ratio of the stimulus operating upon each. There are. many phases ¦->— THE LOVE OF GOLD. 49 of this in,stinct, or passion, in which the gross and sordid quality becomes purified in strong and adventurous natures. With such natures, gold is tho exciting cause, but the love of adven ture furni.shes the stimulus to ils attainment. The most remarkable characters among the ex plorers of now countries, cither for spoil or the discovery of auriferous deposits, appear to be governed in nearly equal degrees by the love of the coveted treasure itself, and the excitement, risk, and daring required to obtain it. There is one phase of this ruling sentiment which is the most uninteresting of all, because devoid of any redeeming qualities. It is that exhibited by our modern alchemists, — and by ^his term I mean those who, instead of trans muting the baser metals into gold, infuse the gold into baser metal ; in other words, debase the coin of the realm. This is a more danger ous, but simpler method than that of the uni versal solvent of the olil alchemists, and cer tainly far more practical l^an a fruitless hunt after the philosopher's stone. In these instances, the mechanical ingenuity, as well as risk, re quired to accomplish results, probably yield the necessary 6,->ccitement. There are, also, these curious circumstiinccs connected with them which are worth noting. The old alchemists, 4 60 THE FOREST ARCADIA. many or most of them, were voluntary recluses. The new alchemists are pretty sure of becoming involuntary recluses. If the former sought in vain for the philosopher's stone, tho latter very often find it, but find it harder to cut than had, perhaps, entered into their calculations. But of all the many ways in which men seek to obtain wealth, tliat of mining for the precious metals presents perhaps, the most powerful attractions. It is alraost inconceivable that it should be so, when the araount of labor and fatigue, to say nothing of the frequent disappointments of raised expectations' to which it subjects its vota ries, is considered. It affects all classes of per sons alike ; the educated and refined, as well as the rude and unlearned. It is, however, a strictly legitimate occupation. It requires an amount of toil to achieve re sults pretty equally proportioned to the rewards obtained ; and, notwithstanding the great sums realized in many instances, it is doubtful whether, in the average of the whole number of persons employed in the business, more compensation is received than would be obtained from the same amount of labor bestowed upon tho cultivation of the soil. Now, 1 may bo a.skcd tlio purpose of Iliis dissertation upou so trite a subject, and I will TRADITIONS OF MINERALS. 61 i ii i.M answer. The region round about this place, as 1 have previously intimated, has acquired Con siderable celebrity on account of the great variety and beauty of its minerals. Mr. Hough, in his admirable History of St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, enumerates a long list, — sufficiently large in numbers to raake a most interesting cabinet of curious and valu.nble specimens. In connection with this fact, there are floating about many traditions, derived from the Indians, of silver mines, reported by them to exist in certain locaUties hitherto undiscov ered. Tliese facts and traditions have excited and kept alive among a few individuals in this community,, a hankering after this precious metal, which Dame Nature so scrupulously hides under her green apron, and of which she stoutly refuses, as yet, to give any sign. No scientific search or exploration for this ' mineral had ever been made ; but at the time of our visit, one or two persons, not possessed of the requisite knowledge or practical experience, were sinking shafts in one or two places, on the conjectural theory that they would lead to veins of silver or lead. To one of these openings our curiosity led us on this occasion, i might, th