Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924083944151 8661 "[BuiSuo pajBJOuajgp AiqBiBdgiii aqj aoEidaj oj 366I-8t76eZ pjBpUKlS ISNV 3MJ SJ331U JBip agdcd uo smnjOA juauiaoBidaj siijj paonpojd /(jBjqiq KjISJQAIUn II3UJ03 'MBI JljguAdOO jusiino qjiA\ aouBiidiuo^ uj CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY HISTORY OF WA RREN COUNTY WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF SOME OF ITS PROMINENT MEN AND PIONEERS EDITED BY H. P. SMITH SYRACUSE, N. Y. D. MASON & CO.. PUBLISHERS 1885 KC '**/> ',r' -'-fi ^ z^.-. ^'>'^ # ^^ ^^ rr - /jyi^f"^^ D. MASON & CO., PRINTERS AND PUBLISHERS, 63 WEST WATER STREET SYRACUSE, N. Y INTRODUCTORY. WHILE it may seem to the uninitiated a task involving but little difficulty to prepare for publication a work no more comprehensive in character than this volume, and containing merely the history of a single county, still it is not out of place here to assure all such readers that the work is one demand- ing a vast amount of labor and research, watchful care, untiring patience and fair discrimination. This need not be said to any person who has had experi- ence in similar work. In attempting the production of a creditable history of Warren county the publishers and the editor did not underestimate the diffi- culties of their task, and came to it fully imbued with a clear idea of its mag- nitude and determination to execute it in such a manner that it should receive the general commendation of all into whose hands it should fall. It is believed that this purpose has been substantially carried out, and that, while a perfect historical work has never yet been published, this one will be found to contain so few imperfections that the most critical readers will be satisfied. It is a part of the plans of the publishers in the production of county his- tories to secure, as far as possible, local assistance, either as writers, or in the revision of all manuscripts ; the consequence being that the work bears a local character which could not otherwise be secured, and, moreover, comes from the press far more complete and perfect than could possibly be the case were it entrusted wholly to the effiDrts of comparative strangers to the locality in hand. In carrying out this plan in this county the editor has been tendered such generous co-operation and assistance of various kinds that to merely men- tion all who have thus aided is impossible ; the satisfaction' of having assisted in the production of a commendable public enterprise must be their present S Introductory. reward. But there are some who have given so generously of their labor and time towards the consummation of this work, that to leave them unmentioned would be simple injustice. First, perhaps, should be mentioned Dr. A. W. Holden, of Glens Falls, from whose excellent history of Queensbury we have been compelled to draw so liberally ; to his generous co-operation we are also indebted for the chapter on the Medical Profession, the Press chapter, and other important work. To the Hon. Isaac Mott the work is indebted for the chapter on the Courts, the Beanch and Bar of the county. Others, who have generously aided the work, are T. S. Ketchum, for labor on the Masonic Order ; H. M. Harris, of the Glens Falls Republican, and the press generally throughout the county, for use of files, etc. ; Henry Griffing, of Warrensburgh ; David Noble, of Johnsburgh ; D. Aldrich, of Thurman ; George T. Rockwell, of Luzerne ; Daniel V. Brown, county clerk ; Professor Farr, of Glens Falls Academy ; the town clerks of the county, and many others. To all such the gratitude of the publishers and readers is extended. With this word of introduction the work is commended to its readers by the publishers and The Editor. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. THE SUBJECT. PAGE. The Historical Beginning — Formation of the County — Situation and Boundaries' — Area, etc 17 CHAPTER n. NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS. Greneral Topography — The Geological Survey— Description of the Fire Mountain Ranges — Recommendations to Lovers of Nature — Valleys of the County — Lakes and Ponds — Falls and Cascades — Geology — Granite — Serpentine — Potsdam Sand- stone — Sand Rook — Black Marble — Trenton Limestone — Utica'Slate 18 CHAPTER HI. INDIAN OCCUPATION. Original Possessors of the Soil — Relative Positions of the Algonquins and Iroquois — A Great Battle-Field — Evidences of Prolonged and Bloody Conflict — The Eastern In- dians — Traditionary Origin of the Iroquois Confederacy — Peculiarities of the League — Personal Characteristics — Jesuit Labors among the Indians — Names of the Mis- sionaries — Their Unselfish but Fruitless Work — The St. Francis Indians — Indian Nomenclature 31 CHAPTER IV. EUROPEAN DISCOVERT AND OCCUPATION. First European Colonists — Discoveries by Columbus and His Successors — Competitors 7 Contents. PAGE. for the New World — Colonization of New Prance — Difficulties of the Scheme — Final Success — Champlain's Advent — His Enterprising Explorations — His Colony of 1608 — Expedition against the Iroquois— The First Battle — Henry Hudson and Dutch Colonization — English Colonies at Plymouth Rock and Jamestown — Claims of Three European Powers — Subsequent Career of Champlain 45 CHAPTER V. FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. Antagonism between the Northern Indians and the Iroquois — Lakes George and Cham- plain the Highways of Hostile Elements — End of the Dutch Regime — Expedition against the Mohawks under De Courcelles — The Peace of Breda — • Continued Hostil- ities of the French and Iroquois — ■ Invasion of the Country of the Senecas — Revenge of the Indians — Montreal Sacked — Return of Frontenac — Three English Expedi- tions — Schuyler's Expedition against La Prairie — Extracts from His Journal — De- plorable Condition of the French — Frontenac Marches against the Mohawks — Peace Treaty of Ryswick — Neutrality between the French and Iroquois — The English at • Last Rendered Desperate — Failure of their Plans — Treaty of Utrecht — Its Provi- sions Broken by the French — Fort St. Frederic Built 57 CHAPTER VI. FRENCH AND ENGLISH RIVALRY. Declaration of War between France and England — Destruction of Saratoga — Indian and French Atrocities — English Apathy — Events of 1747 — Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle — Operations by the English in 1754 — Hendrick's Speech — The Massachusetts Expedi- tion — Braddock's Campaign — The Movement Against Crown Point — Ticonderoga — Arrival of Dieskau and Vaudreuil — Engagement between Johnson and Dieskau — English Victory — Ephraim WUliams's Death — Building of Fort William Henry 67 CHAPTER Vn. FRENCH AND ENGLISH WAR. Plans of the Campaign— Apathy and Indecision of the English — BriUiant Deeds of the Rangers — Arrival of Montcalm — Capture of Oswego — Campaign of 1757 — Marin's Operations — ■ Montcalm's Preparation for the Capture of Fort WiUiam Henry — Coun- cil with the Indians — March of De Levis — Condition of the Fort — Webb's Pusil- lanimous Conduct — Details of the Massacre , 84 Contents. CHAPTER VIII. CONTINUATION OF FRENCH AND ENGLISH WAR. PAGE. Prospects for Campaign of 1758 — Discouragement in New France — England's Prepon- derance — Rogers's Rangers and their Deeds — Putnam — Three Expeditions by the English — Fall of Louisburg and Du Quesne — March against Ticonderoga — Howe's Death — The French Position — Assault by the English on the French Lines — A Bloody Battle — Abercrombie's Headquarters — Victory of the French — Engagement at Half-Way Brook — Three Military Posts Within the Present Limits of Warren County" ; 96 CHAPTER IX. ; EXTINCTION OP FRENCH POWER IN AMERICA. Continuation of the Famine — Exigencies of the French — Montcalm's Prophecies — Pitt's Zeal and its Effect — The Proposed Campaign — Abercrombie's Recall and Amherst's Appointment — His Extensive Military Preparations — Assembling His Army — Montcalm Asks to be Recalled — Capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point by Am- herst — Fort G-age — Destruction of the Indian Village of St. Francis — Rogers's Won- derful Expedition — Amherst's Fleet and its Operations — General Wolfe Before Quebec — Fall of the City — Montcalm and Wolfe Killed — Strengthening of Crown Point and Ticonderoga — Campaign of 17G0 — Extinction of French Power in the New World 109 CHAPTER X. ■.:.;\„: EARLY SETTLEMENTS. Pioneers of Northern New York — Governor De Lancey's Proclamation — Its Effect on Settlements — Jeffrey Cowper — Queensbury Surveyed — Abraham Wing's Advent — His Family — The Queensbury Patent — Names of the Original Proprietors — Their Early Meetings and Action — Division of Lots — Steps Toward Permanent Settle- ment 119 CHAPTER XL FROM 1763 TO THE REVOLUTION. The New Hampshire Grants Controversy — English Oppression of Colonists — The Sons of Liberty — The Stamp Act — Its Repeal — Obnoxious Parliamentary Action — The Liberty Pole Assault — Signals of the Revolution 131 lo Contents. CHAPTER XII. FROM 1770 TO 1775. PAGE. Governor Colden's Successor — Old Troubles Renewed — A Large Cup of Tea — Congress and its Declaration of Rights — Impending War — The British March to Lexington — Paul Revere's Ride — The Battle on the Green — Retreat of the British — Prepara- tions for the Capture of Crown Point and Ticonderoga — Ethan Allen's Command — Arnold's Arrival and its Consequences — Plan of the Expedition — Capture of Ticon- deroga — Surrender, of Crown Point — Reassembling of Congress — Congressional Vacillation — Allen and Arnold's Naval Exploit — Indian Action in the Revolution — The Canadian Invasion — Montgomery's Initial Movements — Allen's Capture — Carleton's Plan for Relief of St. Johns — Its Failure — Capture of St. Johns and Mon- treal by Montgomery — Arnold's "Wonderful Expedition — Montgomery before Quebec — Demand for its Surrender and the Reply — Montgomery's Death and Failure of the Attack — A Disastrous Retreat — Charlotte County Created — Militia Affairs 135 CHAPTER XIII. CLOSE OF 1776. The Canadian Mission — Its Failure — HostiUties Near New York — Battle of Long Island — Small-Pox at Crown Point — Carleton's Pursuit of the Americans — Dr. Thacher's Journal — Building a British Fleet for Lake Champlain — Counter- Action by Arnold — Sailing of the British Fleet — Respective Positions of the American and British Vessels — The Engagement — Retirement of the Americans — Rapid Pursuit — Arnold's Bravery — Burning of a Portion of the Fleet — Escape of the Remainder to Crown Point — The British Retire to Canada for the Winter — Campaign of 1777 — Burgoyne's Operations — Assault Upon and Evacuation of Ticonderoga — The Jane McCrea Incident — Burgoyne's Surrender 149 CHAPTER XIV. TO THE CLOSE OF THE REVOLUTION. Effects of Burgoyne's Defeat — The Gates-Conway Cabal — Appointment of Lafayette to Command of the Northern Department — Closing Events of the Revolution — An In- sult to General Schuyler — Garrisons at Fort Edward and Vicinity — Events of 1778 -79 — Sir John ^Johnson's Invasion — The Sammons Incident — Capture of Fort Anne — Attack Upon Fort George — A Bloody Engagement — Evacuation of Fort Edward — The Vermont Mystery — Close of the Revolution 163 Contents. i i CHAPTER XV. FROM THE REVOLUTION TO 1815. PAGE. Advancement of Civil Government — Political Divisions — Renevred Difficulties with Eng- land — The Non-Intercourse Act — Its Repeal — Troubles Relative to Improvements — Declaration of "War — Offensive Measures — Canada to be Invaded — Three Move- ments and the Results Thereof — The Northern New York Measures — Naval Opera- tions on Lake Ontario — Attack on Sackett's Harbor by the British — Battle of Platts- burg — American Victory — Close of the War 177 CHAPTER XVI. TO THE PRESENT TIME. Early Settlement — Subdivision of Albany County — Formation of Charlotte County — Change of Name — Formation of Towns within Present Limits of Warren County — Pioneer Experiences — Warren County Organized — Boundaries — County Seat, Buildings, etc. — The "Cold Summer" — Schools and Churches — Internal Improve- ments — Financial Crisis 1837-38 — State Legislation Referring to Warren County — Pohtical Campaign — The Leather Industry — Civil List 192 CHAPTER XVII. LAND TITLES. Causes Leading to Apphcation for Land Patents — Difficulties in Locating Many Early Patents — Conditions of Grants of Land to Officers and Privates — The Great DeUius Grant — Map of the Same — Alphabetical List of Land Patents Within the Present Warren County — The Glen Tract — Other Tracts and Patents — Map Making in the County 206 CHAPTER XVIII. WARREN COUNTY IN THE REBELLION. Patriotic Action of the County — The First Recruiting Officers — Two Companies Raised — The Twenty-second Regiment — Company Officers — Rosters — The Ninety-Sixth Regiment — Company I — Company K, One Hundred Fifty-third Regiment — The Ninety-third Regiment — Warren County Enlistments — The One Hundred Eighteenth Regiment — Second Veteran Cavalry — • Statistics 223 12 COMTENTS. CHAPTER XIX. COUNTY BUILDINGS, SOCIETIES, ETC. PAGE. Where Early Public Business was Transacted — The County Seat — The First County Courts — First Steps Towards Erecting County Buildings — The First Buildings — Changes in Court Terras — Burning of the County Buildings — Erection of New Ones — Attempts to Remove the County Seat — Reconstruction of Buildings — The County Almshouse — Warren County Agricultural Society 270 CHAPTER XX. THE COUNTY PRESS. Early Papers — The First Publication in the County — The Warren Republican and its Career — The Lake Oeorge Watchman — The Glens Falls Observer — The Warren County Messenger and its Immediate Descendants — The Glens Falls Spectator — The Glens Falls Gazette — The Glens Falls Clarion — Another Bepublican — The Rechdbiie and Temperance Bugle — Glens Falls Free Press — The Warrensburgh Annual --GXeas 'Ea)i\s Advertiser — The American Standard — The Warren County Whig — The Pres- ent Messenger — Daily Press — The Daily Times — The Morning Star 277" CHAPTER XXI. INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. Reminiscences — Early Lumber Operations — Incipient Commercial Operations — The Canal and Feeder — Early Railroad Agitation — The Warren County Railroad Com- pany — Navigation Projects — Other Railroad Enterprises — The Railroad Between Port Edward and Glens Falls 290 CHAPTER XXn. THE^BENCH AND BAR OF WARREN COUNTY 294 CHAPTER XXni. THE MEDICAL PROFESSION. Early Medical Legislation — Organization of the State Society — The County Society — Loss of Records — First Members — Early Delegates to the State Society — List of Officers of the Warren County Society — Biographic Sketches of Prominent Members of the Profession 3q3 Contents. i 3 CHAPTER XXIV. SECRET SOCIETIES. PAGE. The First Lodge of Free Masons in Warren County — Glens Falls Chapter — Warrensburgh Lodge — Odd Fellows — Horicon Lodge No. 305 — Horicon Lodge No. 349 — River- side Encampment — Other Lodges 330 CHAPTER XXV. HISTORY OF THE PATENT AND TOWN OP QUEENSBURT 332 CHAPTER XXVI. HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LUZERNE 507 CHAPTER XXVII. HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF THURMAN 524 CHAPTER XXVIII. HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BOLTON 529 CHAPTER XXIX. HISTORY OF THE TOWN OP CHESTER 537 CHAPTER XXX. HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF JOHNSBURGH 549 CHAPTER XXXI. HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF HAGUE 55S CHAPTER XXXII. HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF CALDWELL 565 14 Contents. CHAPTER XXXIII. PAGE. HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF WARRENSBURGH 573 CHAPTER XXXIV. HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF HORICON 596 CHAPTER XXXV. HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF STONY CREEK 603 CHAPTER XXXVI. BIOGRAPHICAL 606 BRIEF PERSONALS.. . , 648 BIOGRAPHICAL. AMES, MERRITT 630 BOWMAN, JOHN P .^_ 611 BROWN, GEORGE '. 628 BROWN, D. V 636 BROWN, Sen., D. V \ 633 BURHANS, COLONEL B. P 614 OHAPIN, F. L 626 D AY, H. M 642 DICKINSON, CAPTAIN M. N 616 DIX, J. L 625 FAXON, C. H 606 Contents. i s PAGE. GOODMAN, S. L 639 GRIFFIN, 2d, STEPHEN 641 HAVILAND, 2d, JOSEPH 618 HOLDEN, M.D., A. W 643 MCDONALD, L. G 631 MARTINE, M.D., G. R 327 MONTY, J. 638 MOTT, ISAAC 299 PECK, DANIEL 609 SEELTE, E. L '. 637 STREETER, M.D., B. G 323 WING, ABRAHAM 620 WING, HALSEY R 622 ILLUSTRATIONS. ARMS, LEWIS L portrait. AMES, MERRITT portrait. BROWN, Sr., DANIEL V portrait. BROWN, DANIEL V portrait. BROWN, GEORGE portrait. BURHANS, BENJAMIN PECK portrait . BOWMAN, JOHN P portrait. BOWMAN, MRS. JANE B.' portrait. BOWMAN, ELLA H portrait. CHAPIN, FRANCIS LE ROY portrait. DAY, HENRY M portrait. DELLIUS GRANT map of. . DIESKAU'S FIRST ENGAGEMENT plan of DIESKAU'S SECOND ENGAGEMENT plan of . . facing 422 . " 630 " 632 " 636 " 568 " 576 .between 604-605 .between 604-005 .between 604-605 facing 626 " 444 209 82 83 1 6 Contents. DIX, J. L portrait facing 456 DICKINSON, M. N portrait " 584 FAXON, C. H portrait " 544 FORT WILLIAM HENRY plan of the siege of 95 GOODMAN, S. L portrait facing 454 GRIFFIN, 2d, STEPHEN portrait " 640 HOLDEN, M.D., A. W portrait " 304 HAVILAND, 2d, JOSEPH portrait'. " 618 LAKE ST. SACRAMENT map of the outlet of 103 MONTY, J. C portrait facing 638 MARTINE, M.D., G. R portrait " 328 MOTT, ISAAC portrait " 298 SEELYE, EUGENE L portrait " 570 STREETER, M.D., B. G portrait " 324 TICONDBROGA AND ITS DEFENCES plan of 102 WING, ABRAHAM portrait facing 620 WING, HALSEY R portrait " 296 HISTORY OF WA RREN COUNTY CHAPTER I. THE SUBJECT. The Historical Beginning — Formation of the County — Situation and Boundaries — Area, etc. w ^HILE the history of Warren county as a defined section of the State of New York extends into the past only to the year 1813, yet at that com- paratively recent date much of the important history of the immediate region, of which the county now forms a part, had been enacted. For how many years (or, possibly, centuries) before the locality was known to the white race who now possess it the beautiful waters, lovely valleys and rugged mountains were favorite resorts of the aborigines who have been driven from their domain, is a vexed question that has not been answered with any great degree of assurance, and probably never will be. To these primitive inhabitants, well-known as their general characteristics now are, we shall devote a few pages herein, while to the sanguinary strife in which they were prominent actors and which for nearly two centuries made this region one great battle- field, must be given up a share of this work proportionate to the historical im- portance of those events. The history of the territory now embraced within the boundaries of Warren county may, therefore, properly begin with the early years of the seventeenth century, at the time when Samuel de Cham- plain, with his party of northern Indians and two white attendants, came up Lake Champlain on a hostile incursion against the proud Iroquois.^ 1 This name is used here and hereafter for convenience, although it had not yet, of course, been applied to these Indians. The name was given to the Five Nations by the French, who also prefixed the name " Huron," because their language indicated the Hurons, who were seated on the shores of the Georgian Bay, as a branch of the Iroquois, and, like them, isolated in the midst of the Algon- quins, when discovered by the French. — LossiNG. 2 1 8 History of Warren County. From the date when Champlain entered the lake' which bears his name (July 4th, 1609) to the present time, the historic traces are generally clearly defined, gradually broadening outward toward the present advanced state of civilized occupation of this region ; that event, approaching as it did, if not actually embracing a visit from the great explorer, to places within the present boundaries of this county, was the direct forerunner of the stirring era that extended down to the close of the Revolutionary War. Warren county was formed from Washington county on the 12th of March, 18 13, and received its name in honor of General Joseph Warren, of the Revolutionary army. It lies near the eastern boundary of the State, south and west of Lake George. It contains nine hundred and sixty-eight square miles; its population according to the census of 1880 was 25,180. It contains eleven towns, with Caldwell as the county seat. Although the county was not formed until 181 3, it may often become necessary to speak of the inhabitants of the territory now embraced within the county boundaries, and events occurring therein, previous to the actual forma- tion and existence of the county as a civil organization. In doing so, allusion may be made, for the sake of convenience and simplicity, to Warren county before its actual creation. Such is a brief general reference to the subject of this history — a locality which has been the theatre of events possessing great historic interest and im- portance; which is distinguished by some of nature's most marvelous works and is surrounded with an atmosphere of romance. * CHAPTER II. NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS.! General Topography — The Geological Survey — Description of the Five Mountain Ranges — Recommendations to Lovers of Nature — Valleys of the County — Lakes and Ponds — Falls and Cas- cades — Geology — Granite — Serpentine — Potsdam Sandstone — Sand Rock — Black Marble — Tren- ton Limestone — Utica Slate. MOUNTAINS. — When, by an act of the State Legislature, the geological survey was commenced, the people at large looked upon it as a foolish waste of money ; but when Ebenezer Emmons submitted his report in 1842 for the survey of the second district, there was throughout the country a feel- ing of satisfaction, and particularly among men of scientific attainments ; for iThis chapter was prepared by Homer D. L. Sweet, of Syracuse, N. Y., a gentleman who is emi- nently qualified for the task, having been prominently connected with one survey of the greater part of Northern New York, and with much other similar work. Natural Characteristics. 19 he had discovered mountains that were theretofore unknown, more than a mile in height, giving us, as a State, the right to use the " Great Seal " without in- consistency ; for the sun, as depicted on the shield, could rise from behind real mountains, and the legend underneath, " EXCELSIOR," was no longer a myth. Mr. Emmons gave, in the early pages of his report, a very concise descrip- tion of the five great mountain ranges that occupy the entire northeast quarter of the State, and which farther investigation has not materially changed in the last forty years ; but when treating of these same ranges of mountains in War- ren county, he has given to them different names from those applied in Essex county, and in treating of the same in the county of Essex, he has left out the third range entirely. It is by this discrepancy in his descriptions that much trouble has been occasioned, and differences of opinion among individuals have arisen. To some of these ranges he gave names, and to others none. James Johonnot, who had charge of the topographical features of French's Gazetteer in i860, added names to those ranges that had not been named, changed Mo- riah range to Boquet range and Clinton to Adirondack. These changes were called for, because that portion of the Boquet range in Moriah was an insignifi- cant portion only ; whereas, by naming it from a river that bordered it on the north, the name rendered its location at once apparent. Changing the Clinton range to Adirondack was only in conformity to common usage, which in twenty years had become quite fixed in the minds of the people, and which twentj'-five years additional has completely established. In writing of the topography of Warren county, to obtain a fair comprehen- sion of the whole subject, it is easier and much more satisfactory to take it in connection with the surrounding territory, particularly in regard to the moun- tain ranges, for four of the five cross Warren, although they may have their rise or termini in other counties. A mountain range is as much determined by continuous valleys as by continuous peaks, and in the following descriptions I shall be as much governed by one as by the other. When Mr. Emmons made his survey there was no map of the State that was at all creditable, very few of the mountains had a location on them and that few were no more cor- rectly located than they are on the maps we have at present, which is bad enough. Nothing but the trigonometrical survey of this entire region will ever place them absolutely in their right localities. The first, or Palmerton range of mountains, rises in the extreme south point of Warren county, where it is locally known as the Luzerne Mountain, 'with its main axis lying in a southwest and northeast direction. Proceeding in a general northeast course, it is divided by a lateral valley, through which the road runs from Glens Falls to Lake George. Proceeding in the same general course, the next mass is known as French Mountain. Beyond this is a little valley in which is situated the hamlet of Harrisena. From this point the mountain ridge be- 20 History of Warren County. comes more continuous, and occupies about all the territory between Lake George and Lake Champlain, with the same general course, with scarcely any thing like a lateral valley, receiving different names in different localities, and finally terminates at Mount Defiance, where it proudly overlooks old Fort Ti- conderoga. This range is about fifty miles in length ; from three to five miles in width, and extends through the towns of Luzerne and Queensbury in Warren county ; Fort Ann, Dresden, and Putnam in Washington county ; and a part of Ticonderoga in Essex county. The highest point is in Washington county, in Dresden, called Black Mountain, which is about 3,000 feet high. The sides of this range are steep and rocky, often precipitous ; composed of primitive rock and but scantily covered with a thin, sandy soil. Viewed from the deck of a steamboat on either lake, this high ridge is the most attractive in the landscape. The second or Kayaderosseras range, rises in Montgomery county, a little north of Amsterdam, and taking the same general northeast direction, is not broken by any lateral valley till it reaches the Sacandaga River a little west of the village of Luzerne. North of the Sacandaga, and west of the Hudson, is a single mass, where the continuity is again broken by the Hudson. From this point it again assumes the full character of a continuous range for several miles, only partially cleft by a little valley, through which the road runs from Caldwell to Warrensburgh. Still continuing in the same general direction in a high rocky ridge for about twenty miles, it spreads out in several spurs in the vicinity of Brant Lake, and one of them culminates in Mount Pharaoh, which has an estimated altitude of 4,500 feet. From this region the ridges, which are spread to about fifteen miles in width, gradually approach each other, and finally terminate on Lake Champlain in Bulwagga Mountain, which has a pre- cipitous face of about 1,200 feet. This range is some twenty to thirty miles longer than the first, and is flanked on both sides with outlying spurs, or isolated peaks, sometimes attaining a width of seven to ten miles in the southwest portion ; but between the Hudson River and Lake George it is not more than four ; farther north it occupies all the territory between Schroon Lake and Lakes George and Champlain. This mountain range takes a great variety of forms — sharp, steep and rocky on one side, and quite gradual in its slope on the other ; is often precipitous, with bare and barren summits. In the southwest portion a very little arable land is found nestled in the coves and curves of either side, but as we proceed farther north the cultivated spots become less, and smaller, and finally die out altogether, until we reach the slope towards Lake Champlain, where the dairy- man again assumes sway, and a little farther on the soil is in a good state of cultivation well up on to the sides of the mountain slopes. This range occupies parts of the towns of Edinburgh, Day and Hadley in Saratoga county ; Luzerne, Caldwell, Bolton, Horicon and Hague in Warren county ; Schroon, Ticonderoga and Crown Point in Essex county. Natural Characteristics. 21 The third, or Schroon, range rises north of Johnstown, where it is called the Mayfield Mountain, and forms for a considerable distance a continuous ridge. The valley of the Sacandaga in the town of Hope, Hamilton county, completely dissevers it, but it soon assumes the full characteristics of a range, and for eight or ten miles lies nearly north and south, but finally bears off to the northeast again, and sends out a spur to the right, which is the culminating point of the range — Crane Mountain in Johnsburgh. The most continuous ridge is farther west and passes Schroon Lake on the west and, some miles farther north, forms the divide between the waters of the Hudson and the Boquet, where it bends again more to the east and finally terminates in Split Rock Point on Lake Champlain. This range is about ninety miles in length, from three to five in width at the southern extremity, and about fifteen in width opposite Crane Mountain and quite narrow at its terminus. In the widest part the masses are not very high, with the exception of Crane Mountain, which is, barometrically, 3,289 feet, and the slopes are quite gentle in some places; but farther north in Essex county (a few miles north of Schroon), the masses are high, sharp and angular, with deep narrow valleys or gorges between them. This range occupies all the north part of Mayfield in Fulton county ; the east part of Hope and Wells in Hamilton county ; Thurman, Johnsburgh and Chester in Warren county ; Minerva, North Hudson, Moriah, a corner of Elizabethtown and a part of Westport in Essex county. The lat- eral valleys are very few, and the only ones are the Sacandaga before spoken of, and the northwest branch of the Hudson. In its broadest portion there is very little arable land, for where it might be cultivated so far as the surface of the soil is concerned, it is covered by such quantities of boulders — brought down from farther north — that it is unprofitable to attempt the raising of but very limited patches of grain. The fourth, or Boquet, range rises at the Noses, on the east line of the town of Palatine, and pursues the same general northeast direction, through Palatine and Mohawk in Montgomery county ; Ephrata, Johnstown, Caroga and Bleeker in Fulton county ; Hope, Wells, Lake Pleasant and Indian Lake in Hamilton county ; all the northwest part of Johnsburgh in Warren county ; it enters Essex county in the southwest corner of Minerva, and, still continuing its course, it finally culminates in Dix's Peak, which is, barometrically, 4,916 feet above tide. This point is in the town of North Hudson, and from there it loses its continuity as a range, being completely broken up into spurs and isolated masses in Keene, Elizabethtown and Lewis ; finally it ends in the town of Willsborough, Essex county, and is the only range that does not end abruptly in a precipice on the shore of Lake Champlain. The continuity of this range is broken in its southern portion, where it is crossed by the two lateral valleys of the western branches of the Sacandaga River in Hamilton county, and again by the Hudson in the town of Minerva. The borders of this range are not as 22 History of Warren County. well defined as in some of the others ; it is broad where the third range is nar- row, and narrow where the third range is broad. It is about one hundred and ten miles in length and from five to fifteen miles in width, its narrow portions being in the vicinity of Lake Pleasant, and near its culminating point, with three broad portions : one at the southern part, one in the vicinity of Indian Lake, and the third at the northern extremity. Piseco Lake, Lake Pleasant, and Indian Lake farther north, lie upon the west side. In the vicinity of Dix's Peak are several remarkable mountains — high, sharp, conical peaks, with deep, narrow gorges between them ; or very narrow* sharp ridges, which, plainly visible when viewed from one direction, are not recognized when viewed from another but slightly altered direction. The clefts between them are very narrow, almost chasms, with nearly perpendicular sides, ragged in the extreme. This range has many outlying spurs, some of them rising into quite prominent peaks, that in any other portion of the State would be considered as objects of grandeur. The fifth, or Adirondack, range rises fairly south of the Mohawk River and crosses that stream at Little Falls. From this point it pursues the same general course with all of the others, occupying a portion of Manheim and Salisbury in Herkimer county ; Morehouse, Arietta, Lake Pleasant and Indian Lake in Hamilton county ; all of Newcomb, Keene, Jay and Chesterfield, with parts of Elizabethtown and Lewis in Essex county ; and finally terminates at Trembleau Point on Lake Champlain, near Port Kent, at the mcuth of the great Ausable River. The continuity of this whole range is only broken by two lateral valleys ; the first, by the little branch of the Hudson, just west of Lake Sanford, in Newcomb, and again by the south branch of the Ausable in the town of Keene. This, principal of all the mountain ranges in the State, is one hundred and thirty miles in length from the Mohawk River to the lake at Trembleau Point, and from ten to twenty miles in width. It has many outly- ing spurs in its whole course, but around the highest portion are clustered a group of the most remarkable peaks in the United States east of the Missis- sippi River. Mount Marcy, the highest of all, is 5,344 feet above tide, and Mount Mclntyre, a near neighbor, 5, 11 2. In the immediate vicinity are sev- eral others that have an altitude of over 4,000 feet, and in the whole range there are perhaps fifty that have an altitude of over 3,000 feet. It has three outlying spurs to the north that culminate in three remarkable peaks : Emmons in Hamilton county; Seward in Franklin county; and Whiteface in Essex county. Emmons (or Blue Mountain) 3,762, Seward 4,384, and Whiteface 4,871 feet above tide, respectively. In the southern portion of this range the sides of the hills where they are not properly called mountains are susceptible of some cultivation, and farther north the dairyman finds pasturage for his herds ; but after leaving the county of Herkimer, the soil is thin, sandy, and the entire absence of lime renders it unsusceptible of profitable cultivation. The sides Natural Characteristics. 23 of the mountains soon become steep and rocky, and the valleys filled with boulders, brought from the far north, which are too troublesome to contend with. In the middle portion of the range, in Hamilton county, it is the broad- est and to a great extent has not been explored in any scientific manner known to the writer; but in the northern part this has been done, and the mountain masses are between high, sharp, conical peaks, with deep, narrow defiles, gorges and chasms, in great variety. The flanking spurs on either side are great mountains, nearly equal to the principal ones of the range, and cover a vast ex- tent of territory, giving in this portion of the State the appellation of "The Switzerland of America." Northeast of the great group of mountains that gives this range its name, the " flankers " seem to withdraw from their skirm- ishing expeditions, the "pickets" are drawn in, and on approaching the lake the range modestly assumes the form of a respectable hill, and finally disap- pears in the rippling depths. Still farther to the northwest of all these mountains is another great range, called the Ausable, or broken range. It occupies, with its spurs and isolated peaks, a territory of nearly a hundred miles in length, by from twenty to forty in width, embracing several hundred peaks of greater or less magnitude, a few of which only have been measured. The highest portion is the southeast bor- der, and some of the most prominent peaks are Mount St. Louis in Herkimer county, 2,295 ; Owl's Head in Hamilton, 2,825 ; Graves in St. Lawrence, 2,345; St. Regis in Franklin, 2,888; De Bar in Franklin, 3,011; and Lyon Mountain in Clinton county, 3,809. From this elevated portion towards the northwest the whole country grad- ually sinks and loses its rough characteristics, and when within about twenty miles of the St. Lawrence River it entirely disappears, and a nearly level plain continues to the river. This is not properly a range, but in treating it as such it occupies all of the territory lying to the northwest of the Fulton chain of lakes in Herkimer, Raquette and Long Lakes in Hamilton, the Saranacs and the Saranac valley continued to Lake Champlain. This range is thickly inter- spersed with numerous lakes and ponds, besides those on the southeast side that define its boundaries and give to it that fascination and attraction to those who delight in visiting this region as a summer resort. Originally all of these mountain ranges were covered with a forest, and far up the slopes a heavy growth of timber of many varieties formerly existed, and in some instances to the very summits; but generally for not more than 2,000 feet was the timber of any great value, as above that in most instances it was dwarfed and useless except to retain moisture to supply the little rills that formed the rivers of the whole region. Some of the highest peaks were bald and barren, and this baldness and barrenness has been terribly increased by the forest fires and the woodman's axe, and the wildness, rockyness and barren- ness revealed, where Nature, in her charity, has robed the deformity with a mantle of beauty. 24 History of Warren County. Valleys. — To the lover of nature in winter, Essex stands pre-eminently first in the magnitude and magnificence of its mountains ; but in summer, Warren equally claims his admiration, in the verdant beauty of its valleys, and the love- liness of its lakes. The first valley (that is, the one between the first and second ranges of mountains), is occupied for at least three-fourths of its length by Lake George, while the valley continues on to the southwest to the great bend of the Hudson River, near Corinth in Saratoga county. The rise in this direction from the lake is quite gradual, and the valley has several little lakes in its length ; this is the most natural continuance of the valley, rather than the one leading to Glens Falls. It is bordered by an almost continuous chain of mountains on both sides, and the little lateral valleys are hardly noticeable on either side. The one through which the road leads to Glens Falls is the only one of importance. The second valley extends from Luzerne northeasterly, and naturally fol- lows the Schroon branch of the Hudson River ; it is narrow in the southern portion, but widens out in the vicinity of Warrensburgh to several miles, grad- ually contracting again in the vicinity of Schroon Lake. The bordering hills and mountains wind and curve gracefully in the whole course ; one little lateral valley only, on the east side, breaks the continuity, until the stream from Brant Lake is reached, which is so narrow as to be scarcely noticeable. On the west there are two or three breaks in the continuity of the mountain range before the valley of the northwest branch of the Hudson is attained, which is quite broad for some distance, and one other little break, where the stream comes in from Pottersville. These are the only continuous valleys in ' the county of any extent. The third valley, or the one between the third and fourth ranges of mountains, is simply a depression in the heights of the moun- tains, and is not occupied by any considerable stream. Its lowest depression is a little southeast of Gore Mountain, where North Creek falls into the Hud- son and extends in the same southwest direction, and jn its southern portion is occupied by the east branch of the Sacandaga River. The valley of the northwest branch of the Hudson cuts through the third range of mountains ; it is wild and picturesque, and the only one of any con- sequence in the western part of the county. The valleys of the smaller streams are narrow, crooked, deep, wild, and rocky ; and hardly one of them afibrds much opportunity for the cultivation of the soil. These hill and mountain sides are for the most part covered with the native forest, except where the fire has swept them bare, and even here they are gradually regaining their brightness and beauty. The broader valleys have but very little intervale land, but the slopes in many places are susceptible of cultivation. They are beautifully winding in their outlines, with an occasional rocky promontory, high, steep and covered with a great variety of foliage, which, in the autumn, cannot be surpassed for beauty in the wide world. Natural Characteristics. 25 Lakes, Streams, Drainage, etc. — Lake George is the largest lake that is directly associated with the great wilderness region of northern New York. It is thirty-six miles in length, and nearly all lying in Warren county. It varies in width from less than a quarter of a mile to about two miles and for a greater part of its entire length is beautified with many lovely islands. These are said to number three hundred and sixty-five, and vary in size from a few square feet, to several acres. A number of them are inhabited as summer resorts, having elegant residences ; some are barren and others are covered with the native forest, embracing a great variety of species both deciduous and conif- erous. It is flanked on both sides with high, rocky, and precipitous moun- tains, clothed with dark forests, and picturesque in the highest degree. As seen from the deck of a steamboat in sailing its entire length, it gives the beholder a panorama of continual beauty, exciting always a lively interest, even to those who are familiar with its loveliness. Travelers often compare it with the famous lakes of the old world — Scottish, Swiss, Italian, and usually with no disparagement to Lake George. Than the beauty of the lake itself, without raising the eyes above their natural plane, there is nothing in the world more lovely. In the height of the snow-capped mountains that surround it. Lake Luzerne (Switzerland) may bear off the palm. Lakes Constance and Geneva have none of the beauty of its islands ; Como and Maggiore in Italy, and Lomond in Scotland have nothing to compare with the variety of its verd- ure on the mountain sides, while in the purity of its waters all travelers ac- knowledge that it is no where equaled. It is three hundred and forty-three feet above tide, and discharges its water north into Lake Champlain. A well known American writer ^ has thus beautifully pictured this lovely lake in language that has, no doubt, often been felt by other visitors without his poetic power of expression : — I linger sadJy, loth to say adieu To that which of me forms so sweet a part ; The crystal waters and the mountains blue. Are mirrored deeply in my heart of heart. And lake and mountains, rocks and wooded streams, Now pass from pleasant seeing to my world of dreams. Upon the lofty wooded mount I stand, i Where erst of old the simple huntsman stood, I see about me far and wide expand The scene of lake and mountains, isles and wood ; Like him I linger, loth to break the spell, That lives in one sad word, and vainly says, farewell. Now like vast giants in their deep repose These mountains rest beneath the autumn day ; From early morn until the evening's close The dreamy shadows on their summits play ; While in the distance dim they catch the hue Of heaven, and melt in cloudland's deepest tint of blue. iDoNN Piatt. 26 , History of Warren County. I stood by lakes where peaks do pierce the sky, Snow-clad, and grand in rocky solitudes ; I saw the homes where round them living lie Tradition-haunted tales of love and feud ; Sweet human gossip chased the gloom so drear. And gave to what was grand, humanity more dear. They had no beauty like to thine, Lake George, Where all that's grand, with all that's sweet, entwine ; I see thy fairy isles, while down each gorge ' The birch and maple tint the gloomy pine ; The mountain sides are forests wide and deep. Where song birds nestle, and the eagles scream and sweep. And all is wild, as in that early day The nations found a highway on thy shore. And meeting, battled for a world's wide sway ; Thy mountains wakened to the mouthing roar Of deadly cannon, while from each glen Came back the doubled thunder to the strife of men. And all is wild, as when (he solemn mind Of Cooper told its tale of savage war ; One was not startled in the wood to find The sage Mohican, or wild Iroquois ; The dusky shadows of those shadowy things That will survive our life; in men's imaginings. Ah ! lovely lake, how do I long to dwell In humble quiet on thy fairy shore. With rod and books, and those I love so well, Forgetting and forgot, live evermore. To float upon thy water's peaceful sheen Where love is life and life a poet's happy dream. Now dies apace the golden autumn day. Now steal the ghostly shadows from the glen ; The stars are gathering in their glad array. And stillness falls upon the haunts of men ; Earth parts from me, and closing on my view. Back to the busy world I go. Fair lake, adieu ! The western part of the county is thickly interspersed with little lakes and ponds that lie in the notches of the hills and mountains, deep, pure, and clear as crystal, usually surrounded with the native forest; these are the natural home of the trout, and consequently the enticing resort of the angler. Some of these are mere specks, as depicted upon the maps of this region, but are really large enough to thrill the visitor with their quiet beauty, to enrapture the poet, and captivate the painter. Thirteenth Pond, which is more properly a lake, lies in the extreme north- west corner of the county. Loon Lake and Friends' Lake are considerable bodies of water in the north part of the county, and are very picturesque in all their surroundings. Besides these, there are many little ponds, some with Natural Characteristics. ■names, but more without, which add to the beauty of the scenery. Eleventh, Mill Creek, Round, Wolfe, Lizzard, Indian, Puffer, are the principal ones, but there are others that are equally as handsome, and in a piscatorial sense, quite as important. In the extreme north part of the county is Schroon Lake, about half of which lies in this county ; it is one of the most attractive in the State. It re- sembles those in the central counties of the State more than any other in this region. Cultivated fields reach from the water's edge back to the hills, and the -contour of the shores has just enough of variety to keep the observer continu- ously on the watch for new beauties. It is eight miles long, and varies con- siderably in width, but averaging about a mile. It is about eight hundred and thirty feet above tide. Brant Lake, which lies between Schroon Lake and Lake George, is five miles in length, and averages about half a mile in width, lying high up in the second range of mountains. When first seen by the writer (1858) it was completely ■surrounded by an unbroken wilderness. The pale blue of the water, the deep blue of the sky, and the dark green of the forest between, brought to his mind the familiar lines — *' It was down by the dark tarn of Auber, In the ghoul-haunted woodland of Wier." The drainage of the entire county, with a little exception, is through the Hudson River and its tributaries. Schroon Lake being considered as eight hundred and thirty feet above tide, there is a fall of two hundred and ninety-four ^eet between it and the mouth of the Sacandaga River. This gives a fall of about eight and a half feet per mile in the distance of thirty-five miles, which causes .a strong and powerful current. The west or main branch of the Hudson must have a very much more rapid current, for the fall from Lake Sanford to the -same place cannot be far from one thousand five hundred feet, and the dis- tance about seventy miles. There is nothing that can be called a cascade or a rapid in this whole distance, and consequently the descent must be very uni- form. The tributaries of the Hudson on the west are all small, rapid streams, rising high among the mountain peaks, and flowing in deep, narrow gorges. The watershed of Lake George is very limited, reaching scarcely more than a mile from the shore in any place ; the brooks are short and small. The im- :mense flow of water from the outlet, that hardly varies an inch in a year, has been computed as several times greater than is due to the rain-fall, and can -only be accounted for on the theory of great springs. In proof of this theory the inhabitants say that the lake rarely freezes at the north end, and one of the inducements offered by the proprietors of the water privileges, at the falls of Ticonderoga, has ever been that the water is so warm in winter that the water- ■wheels are never troubled by the formation of ice. Cascades. — A few rods below the junction of the Sacandaga River with the Hudson, at the village of Luzerne, their united waters plunge down a cascade 28 History of Warren County. of considerable height, in a broken, foamy mass, rolHng, boiling and tumbling- in a most fantastic manner. This is locally known as Little Jessup's Falls, and were it not for the existence of one much larger in the immediate vicinity^ would be considered one of the remarkable sights of this region. Jessup's, or High Falls, on the Hudson, are situated just below the great bend towards the east, at the extreme south point of the town of Luzerne, near the village of Corinth, in Saratoga county. The water flows in a series of rap- ids for three-fourths of a mile over a declining rocky bottom, and is then com- pressed into a narrow gorge for eighty rods, at the bottom of which it shoots- down a nearly perpendicular descent of sixty feet. The gneiss ledge over which it falls is convex in form, and the water is broken into perfect sheets of snow-white foam. A few rods above the last leap of the water, and where it is rushing with the greatest velocity, the river can be spanned with a single plank thirteen feet in length. At Glens Falls the river flows over a shelving rock with a total descent of fifty feet. The fall is broken into three channels by natural piers of black lime- stone standing upon the brow of the precipice over which the water flows^ forming a cascade of remarkable natural beauty. GEOLOGY. Primary Rock. — Of the geology of Warren county, the most that we know is obtained from the reports of Ebenezer Emmons, on the Second District of the State, and made in 1842. From this source we have condensed portions of the following, modified by the discoveries of the past forty years and a few- personal observations of the writer : — The principal portion of the county is composed of gneiss; granite, primi- tive limestone and serpentine appear as intruding rocks associated with the gneiss. The first range of mountains on the east is composed of gneiss; the second range is gneiss, with some granite and hornblende; the third range is. gneiss and some decomposing granite near its culminating point in Johnsburgh. The fourth range is gneiss in its southern portion, and if hypersthene exists, as- Mr. Emmons supposed, it must be limited to the north extremity, on the bor- ders of Essex county. There is no peculiar characteristic in this gneiss ; it is all of the ordinary- kind, with some intermixture of hornblende, that is common to other portions- of the State. The general dip of the strata is westerly, and the strike ob- hquely across the main axis of the different ranges, in a direction more easterly than the general direction of the main chain. In regard to imbedded minerals^ there is, in fact, a lack of them, especially of the useful kinds. Iron ore of the magnetic kind is not infrequent; but it does not occur in considerable masses. Granite. — This rock, the next of any importance in extent in the county^ is nearly all located in the valley between the second and third ranges of Natural Characteristics. 29 mountains. The most important mass is in the vicinity of Crane Mountain, in Johnsburgh. It is white, tolerably coarse and contains small particles of mica. The feldspar decomposing rapidly forms the important material called porcelain •clay. The precise extent of this material has not been determined, but it is known to extend, with little interruption, for about twenty miles. Primitive Limestone. — This rock is of more frequent occurrence than gran- ite ; its beds, however, are generally quite limited in extent, but form quite a broad belt entirely across the county in the direction of the mountain ranges. It lies at their bases and forms low, inconspicuous hills, in the main valley. This belt, imperfect as it must be, passes through Stony Creek, Thurman, Johnsburgh, Warrensburgh, Chester and Horicon. It is one of the most important rocks in the county, as from it all the lime is obtained for building and agriculture. When the stone is properly selected it makes the strongest lime, a bushel be- ing worth as much as a bushel and a half of lime made from the transition limestone. This rock is not suitable for marble, in consequence of its liability to disintegrate. Serpentine. — Associated with primitive limestone are extensive beds of -serpentine, intermixed with carbonate of lime. This is usually called verde antique ; but this ancient and beautiful rock is composed of materials much harder and more valuable. It occurs in a great variety of colors, from a very ■dark green to a bright yellowish green. It has been discovered in a great many places, and for indoor work, mantels, table tops, etc., it would be very valuable. Potsdam Sandstone. — This rock lies geologically next above the gneiss, or primary rocks, and is the first sedimentary rock in the New York sytem. At the High Falls on the Hudson at Corinth this rock appears about one hundred feet thick, the fall being occasioned by an uplift, and where the gneiss appears on one side of the river, and the sandstone on the other. Here the strata of sandstone appear very nearly in a horizontal position, and apparently showing that it was deposited in the bottom of the ocean and has not been disturbed by any upheaval since. North of Glens Falls about five miles it appears again, and with a dip to the south and southwest. It forms a good building material in almost all the localities where found. A fact of importance to the geological student is, that at the falls in Corinth, the sandstone can be seen perfectly in place at its juncture with the primitive rock. Calciferous Sand Rock. — This rock hes next above the Potsdam sandstone and may be observed in many places in the county. Diamond Island in Lake George is a good example, and is the usual form in which it appears. There are many varieties, but they still possess many characteristics in common. About a mile northeasterly from Glens Falls it appears as an outcropping mass ; it occurs in many places, at some of which it was quarried for locks on the Champlain Canal, and for other purposes. The beds are thick and blocks 30 History of Warren County. of large size can be obtained ; the stone is durable. This rock also appears- at the falls, beneath the black marble, and is, we believe, the first rock that shows the remains of any living animal. Black Marble, or Chazy Limestone. — The stratum of limestone that is quarried at Glens Falls, and sawed into marble, lies next above the calciferous- sand rock and corresponds with the marble of the Isle la Motte and the Chazy limestone. By means of an uplift at the falls and the action of the water, the three rocks have here been exposed and may be seen lying one above another, on the Warren county side ; on the Saratoga side is an addi- tional stratum of slate above the Trenton limestone. The black marble of Glens Falls is ten feet thick, and has now been quarried and manufactured for about half a century. Trenton Limestone. — This rock lies next above the black marble and is easily recognized by the geological student by its characteristic fossils. It oc- cupies but a very little of the county and can only be examined with any de- gree of success in the limited chasm of the Hudson River below the falls. The gorge between Glens Falls and Baker's Falls gives the student a rare oppor- tunity to study the different strata and obtain an exact knowledge of their sit- uation, their fossils, and their superposition on one another. Utica Slate. — The succeeding rock is Utica slate. In pursuing the course of the river from Glens Falls either east or west for about a mile, this rock is seen resting on the Trenton limestone. It is a rock easily disintegrated by the frost, very fragile, and never firm enough to use as a roofing slate. Its disintegration makes a slaty soil that time changes to a clayey one. It is of no importance in this county except as being the highest rock, geologically. In speculative geology, the student has an ample field in this county ; almost equal to that of Essex, and in some particulars, more than her equal. Although not so prolific in the mineral department, and not quite so interesting^ in her great masses of mountains, there is a greater variety of rocks which show in more places, with different characteristics and different associations, making" up what is lacking in one direction by going farther in another. Among minor minerals, those of no particular importance in an economic or a commer- cial value, except magnetic iron ore, are pyroxene, hornblende, calcareous spar,, zircon, pyritous iron, pyritous copper, crystals of quartz, graphite, labradorite,. red oxide of titanium, tourmaline, sulphuret of iron, ^colophonite, scapolite and manganese. The localities of these different minerals are in various parts of the county, and since the geological survey was made their number has beea greatly increased. While in 1840 when there were not, probably, fifty men in the State who were deeply interested in the geology of this or any other State,, there are now probably five thousand who have made investigations in the Great Wilderness of Northern New York, and could their researches be brought to- gether at this day, and published, so that the knowledge that each has obtained Indian Occupation. 31 would be combined and made useful to each and all, the knowledge of our State would greatly increased, and the science of geology made more popular with the great mass of the people. Soil. — Speaking in very general terms the soil of this county may be said to be composed mostly of thin, sandy loam. The declivities of the mountains particularly have a very thin soil and usually scant vegetation. In the valleys clay is mixed with the sand to some extent which, with the disintegrated rock, forms a deep and generally excellent soil. The level lands about Glens Falls are very sandy, and have been known as the "pine plains," from the fact of the locality having formerly been covered with a dense growth of heavy pine tim- ber. The soil of each town will be further described in the succeeding town histories. Forests. — Most of the territory within this county was originally covered with a heavy growth of forest, much of which was valuable pine, such as we have mentioned as having covered the "pine plains." The cutting and market- ing of these forests gave employment for many years to the early inhabitants and caused the erection of almost innumerable saw-mills wherever there was available water-power. In some portions of the county the common varieties of hard timber were found — beech, maple, birch, oak, etc. A large propor- tion of the mountainous portion of the county, which is not adapted to successful cultivation and which has been cleared of the primitive forest, has become more or less overgrown with a second growth of yellow pine and other varieties of wood, which in later years has furnished a supply of fuel. Lumbering is still carried on in the northern and northwestern parts of the county, where there are still considerable areas of forest. CHAPTER III. INDIAN OCCUPATION. Original Possessors of the Soil — Relative Positions of the Algonquins and Iroquois- — A Great Battle- Field Evidences of Prolonged and Bloody Conflict- — The Eastern Indians — Traditionary Origin of the Iroquois Confederacy — Peculiarities of the League — Personal Characteristics — Jesuit Labors among the Indians — Names of the Missionaries — Their Unselfish but Fruitless Work — The St. Francis Indians — Indian Nomenclature. THE territory of which this work treats was probably never permanently occupied to any great extent by nations or tribes of Indians ; that it formed a part of their hunting-grounds and was especially used as a highway between hostile northern and western nations is well settled. At the time that 32 History of Warren County. Samuel de Champlain made his memorable voyage up Lake Champlain and possibly penetrated to near the waters of Lake George (July, 1 609), the terri- tory now embraced in the northern part of the State of New York formed the frontier, the debatable ground, between the Algonquin (or Adirondack) Indians on the north, and the Iroquois on the south. Champlain found a tradition among the Indians along the St. Lawrence that many years previously they possessed the territory far to the southward, but were driven out of it by the powerful Iroquois. The waters of Lake George, almost uniting with those of Lake Champlain, and extending almost from the doors of the " Long House " of the Iroquois to the St. Lawrence river, was doubtless the natural war-path between the northern Indians ^ and their powerful southern neighbors. To this latter-named nation (the Iroquois) belonged the territory now em- braced in Warren county, at the advent of the whites, more than to any other division of the aborigines ; and more particularly to the Mohawk tribe, the easternmost of the five composing the great Iroquois League. This was their hunting-ground, and later their memorable battle-field. The waters of Lakes George and Champlain formed the natural war-path between the hostile savage elements north and south in their sanguinary incursions. Nature had given to much of the face of the country hereabouts a character so rugged and inacces- sible, that it could not in any event have formed a chosen spot for the Indians permanently to occupy ; which fact, added to the other still more forcible one, that it was the frontier, the fighting ground, between the hostile nations, sufficiently justify the belief that no permanent Indian settlement was ever made within the present boundaries of the county. Almost the whole of northeastern New York is a labyrinth of mountains, lakes and streams, once covered by an unusually heavy forest growth. It abounded in game and fish of all kinds, and may well have been the resort of the red man in his grand hunts ; but as far as can be known, it offered him no permanent abiding-place, and many of the conflicts which have left their impress upon the history of the county since its discovery and occupation by Europeans, found hereabouts 1 These northern Indians are known under the general national title of Algonquins ; also as Hurons. The name " Montagners " was applied, according to Dr. O'Callaghan, to all the St. Lawrence Indians, and was derived from a range of mountains extending northwesterly from near Quebec; but this must have been a local title. The name "Adirondack" is defined as meaning "wood, or tree, eaters." Its origin is ascribed to the Iroquois, who, after having conquered the former occupants of their territory and driven them northward, taunted them with no longer being brave and strong enough to kill game in the forests and they would, therefore, be compelled to "eat barks and trees." Mr. Lossing says, " the Algonquins were a large family occupying (,at the advent of the Europeans) jdl Canada, New England, a part of New York and Pennsylvania ; all New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia ; eastern North Carolina above Cape Fear ; a large part of Kentucky and Tennesee and all north and west of those States and East of the Mississippi. They were the most powerful of the eight distinct Indian nations in possession of the country when discovered by the whites. Within the folds of this nation were the Huron-Iroquois, occupying a greater portion of Canada south of the Ottawa river and the region between Lake Ontario, Lakes Erie and Huron, nearly all of the State of New York and a part of Pennsylvania and Ohio, along the southern shore of Lake Erie." Indian Occupation. 33 their bloody theatre, and opened the way to the eventual triumph of the pres- ent occupants of the soil. " The evidences of these conflicts are found imbedded along the banks of every stream, and beneath the soil of every carrying- place from Albany to Montreal. Arrow and spear-heads, knives, hatchets, gouges, chisels, amulets, and calumets, are, even to this late day, often foundr-in the furrow of the plow- man or the excavation of the laborer. Few localities have furnished a more abundant yield of these relics than the soil of Queensbury. While gun-flints and bullets, spear-heads and arrow-points are found broadcast and at large through the town, there are places abounding with them. Among the most noteworthy of these may be enumerated ' the Old Bill Harris's camp ground,' in Harrisena, the headlands around Van Wormer's, Harris's, and Dunham's Bays on Lake George, the Round Pond near the Oneida, the Ridge, the vicin- ity of the Long Pond, the banks of the Meadow Run and Carman's Neck at the opening of the Big Bend. This last was long noted as a runway for deer and traditions are handed down of grand hunting frolics at this point, where large quantities of game were hunted and driven within the bend, and while a small detachment of hunters served to prevent their retreat, the imprisoned game, reluctant to take the water down the precipitous blufls, was captured or killed at their leisure. At this point, and also in the neighborhood of Long Pond, fragments of Indian pottery, and culinary utensils of stone, have been found in such profusion, as to give coloring to the conjecture that large num- bers of the natives may have resorted to these attractive spots, for a summer residence and camping-ground. The old wilderness trails, and military thor- oughfares, the neighborhood of block-houses, picket posts, garrison grounds, and battle-fields, in addition to their Indian antiquities have yielded many evi- dences of civilized warfare, in their harvests of bullets and bomb shells, buttons, buckles, bayonets, battered muskets and broken swords, axes and tomahawks of steel ; chain and grape shot, coins, cob-money and broken crockery. Such relics are often valuable as the silent witnesses to the truth of tradition, and the verification of history. " The eastern part of New York, at a period long anterior to the Iroquois ascendency, was occupied by a tribe variously known as the Ma-hick-an-ders, Muh-hea-kan-news, Mo-hea-cans, and Wa-ra-na-wan-kongs. The territory subject to their domination and occupancy, extended from the Connecticut to the Hudson as far north as the southern extremity of Lake George. Accord- ing to Schoolcraft, these Indians were among the tribes of the Algonquin stock. At the period of their greatest power, their national council fire was held on the ground now covered by the city of Albany, which was then known to them by the name of Pem-pot-a-wut-hut, signifying the fireplace of the nation. The word Muh-ha-a-kun-nuck, from which the word Mohican is derived, means a great water or sea that is constantly in motion, either flowing or ebb- 3 34 History of Warren County. ing. Their traditions state that they originally came from a country very far to the west, where they lived in towns by the side of a great sea. In consequence of a famine they were forced to leave their homes, and seek a new dweUing place far away to the east. They, with the cognate tribes of Manhattans, Pequots, Narragansetts and Nipmucks, occupied the whole peninsula of New England from the Penobscot to Long Island Sound. The Brotherton commu- nity, and the Stockbridge tribe, now constitute the sole remnant of this once numerous people. Previous to the establishment of the Dutch colonies in this State the Mohicans had been driven eastwardly by the Iroquois, and, at the time of their first intercourse with the whites, were found in a state of tributary alliance with that fierce people. The early attachment which was formed with the first English colonists of Connecticut by the politic Mohicans, no doubt contributed in a great measure to their preservation during the harassing wars which prevailed through the colonial peninsula for the first fifty years of its settlement. " The Schaghticoke Indians received their name from the locahty where they dwelt, derived, according to Spaffbrd, from the Indian term Scaugh-wank, sig- nifying a sand slide. To this, the Dutch added the terminal, cook. The evi- dences of the early Dutch occupancy exist to-day in the current names of the tributaries of the Hudson as far up as Fort Edward Creek. The settlement of this tribe was seated on the Hoosick River not far from the town bearing the same nam.e. The hunting grounds of this vicinity, as far north as Lake George, for many years after the first white man had erected his rude habitation within this disputed border, were occupied by the Schaghticokes, under permission of the Mohawks, who owned the lands, and with whom they were upon friendly terms." ^ As we have intimated, at the time of the French discovery and occupation of Canada, the Mohawks were in the ascendency in this region, and had, it is believed, extended their dominion to the St. Lawrence. They were the most powerful and warlike of the Five Nations (Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Ca- yuga and Senecas) composing the Iroquois Confederacy, which was located across the State from east to west in the order here named. The tradition of the origin of this remarkable confederation ascribes it to Hiawatha, who was the incarnation of wisdom, about the beginning of the fifteenth century. He came from his celestial home to dwell with the Onondagas, where he taught the related tribes all that was. desirable to promote their welfare. Under his immediate tutelage the Onondagas became the wisest counselors, the bravest warriors and the most successful hunters. While Hiawatha was thus quietly living, the tribes were attacked by a powerful enemy from the north, who laid waste their villages and slaughtered men, women and children indiscriminately; utter destruction seemed inevitable. In this extremity they turned to Hiawa- 1 HoLDEN's History of Queensbury. Indian Occupation. 35 tha who, after thoughtful contemplation, advised a grand council of all that could be gathered of the tribes, saying, " our safety is not alone in the club and dart, but in wise counsels."^ The counsel was held on Onondaga Lake and the fires burned for three days awaiting the presence of Hiawatha. He was troubled with forebodings of ill-fortune and had resolved not to attend the council ; but in response to the importunities of messengers, he set out with his beautiful daughter. Approaching the council he was welcomed by all, who then turned their eyes upward to behold a volume of cloudy darkness descending among them. All fled except Hiawatha and his daughter, who calmly awaited the impending calamity. Suddenly and with a mighty swoop a huge bird, with long and distended wings, descended upon the beautiful maiden and crushed her to death, itself perishing with the collision. For three days and nights Hiawatha gave himself up to exhibitions of the most poign- ant grief At the end of that period he regained his wonted demeanor and took his seat in the council, which, after some deliberation, adjourned for one day. On the following day Hiawatha addressed the council, giving to each of the Five Nations its location and degree of importance, as we have already noted. The advice of the venerable sage was deliberated upon until the next day, when the celebrated league of the Iroquois was formed and its details per- fected. Whether or not there is any foundation in fact for this traditionary source of the confederacy, it grew into one of the most remarkable and powerful com- binations known to history, a marvel to civilized nations and stamping the genius that gave it birth as of the highest order. The tradition further relates that Hiawatha now considered his mission on earth as ended and delivered to his brothers a farewell address, which conclu- ded as follows : " Lastly, I have now assisted you to form an everlasting league and covenant of strength and friendship for your future safety and pro- tection. If you preserve it, without the admission of other people, you will always be free, numerous and mighty. If other nations are admitted to your councils they will sow jealousies among you and you will become enslaved, few and feeble. Remember these words; they are the last you will hear from the lips of Hiawatha. Listen, my friends, the Great Master of Breath calls me to go. I have patiently awaited his summons. I am ready; farewell." As his voice ceased the air was musical with sweet sounds, and while they listened to the melody, Hiawatha was seen seated in his white canoe, rising in mid air till the clouds shut out the sight, and the melody, gradually becoming fainter, finally ceased.^ 1 RUTTENBER. 2 Both reason and tradition point to the conclusion that the Iroquois originally.formed one undivided people. Sundered, like countless other tribes, by dissension, caprice, or the necessities of a hunter's life, they separated into five distinct nations.— Parkman's Jesuits. By the early French writers, the Mohawks and the Oneidas were styled the lower or inferior Iro- 36 History of Warren County. Previous to the formation of the Iroquois confederacy each of the five na- tions composing it was divided into five tribes. When the union was estab- Hshed, each tribe transferred one-fifth of its numbers to every other nation than its own. The several tribes thus formed were named as follows: Tortoise, Wolf, Bear, Beaver, Deer, Potato, Snipe, Heron. The Snipe and Heron cor- respond with the great and little Plover, and the Hawk with the Eagle of the early French writers. Some authors of repute omit the name of the Potato tribe altogether. These tribes were formed into two divisions, the second sub- ordinate the first, which was composed of the four first named. Each tribe constituted what may be called a family and its members who were all consid- ered brothers and sisters, were also brothers and sisters of the members of all the other tribes having the same device. It will be seen that an indissoluble bond was thus formed by the ties of consanguinity, which was still further strengthened by the marriage relation. It was held to be an abomination for two persons of the same tribe to intermarry; every individual family must therefore contain members from at least two tribes. The child belonged to the tribe, or clan, of the mother, not to the father, and all rank, titles and posses- sions passed through the female line. The chief was almost invariably suc- ceeded by a near relative, and always on the female side ; but if these were unfit, then a council of the tribe chose a successor from among remoter kin- dred, in which case he was nominated by the matron of the late chief's house- hold. The choice was never made adverse to popular will. Chiefs and sachems held their offices only through courteous, winning behavior and their general good qualities and conduct. There was another council of a popular charac- ter, in which any one took part whose age and experience qualified him to do so ; it was merely the gathered wisdom of the nation. The young warriors also had their councils ; so, too, did the women. All the government of this " remarkable example of an almost pure democracy in government"^ was ex- ercised through councils, which were represented by deputies in the councils of the sachems. In this peculiar blending of individual, tribal, national and federal interests, lay the, secret of that immense power which for more than a century resisted the hostile efforts of the French ; which caused them for nearly a century to be alike courted and feared by the contending French and English colonies, and enabled them to exterminate or subdue their neighboring Indian nations, until they were substantially dictators of the continent,^ gaining them the title of "The Romans of the New World." quois ; while the Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecas were denominated the upper or superior Iroquois, because they were located near the sources of the St. Lawrence. * * * To the Mohawks was always accorded the high consideration of furnishing the war captain, or " Tekarahogea, " of the con- federacy, which distinguished title was retained with them until the year 1814. — Clark's Onotidaga. 1 LOSSING. 2 The Iroquois league or confederacy was given an Indian name signifying, "They forma cabin," which was fancifully changed to " The Long House," the eastern door of which was kept by the Mo- hawks, and the western by the Senecas, with the great council fire in the center, with the Onondagas. Indian Occupation. 37 The military dominated the civil power in the league, and the army, which was supplied by volunteers, was always full. Every able bodied man was sub- ject to military duty, to shirk which was an everlasting cause of disgrace. The warriors called councils when they saw fit and approved or disapproved of public measures. But their knowledge of what is now considered military science, while vastly better than that of many of their neighbors, was insignif- icant, when viewed from a modern civilized standpoint. They seldom took advantage of their great numbers and acted in concert as a great confederacy, but usually carried on their warfare in detached tribes or parties. Their brav- ery, however, and their strategy in their peculiar methods of fighting, are unquestioned. In the forest they were a terrible foe, while in an open country they could not 'successfully contend with European disciplined soldiery; but they made up for this to a large extent, by their self-confidence, vindictiveness and overwhelming desire for ascendency and triumph. There is considerable difierence in the writings of authors as to the true military status of the Iro- quois.i The Iroquois lacked the great welding and cohesive power of a common language, all of the tribes having a distinct dialect, bearing a striking resem- blance to each other, and evidently derived from a common root. Of these the Mohawk was the most harsh and guttural, and the language of the Senecas the most euphonious. In their ordinary conversation there was a great range of modulation in the inflections of the voice, while expressive pantomime and vehement gestures helped to eke out the meagerness of their vernacular on the commonest occasions. Their proper names were invariably the embodi- ments of ideas, and their literature, as contained in their oft repeated legends, and the well remembered eloquence of their gifted orators, abounded with the most sublime imagery, and striking antitheses, which were drawn at will by these apt observers of nature, from the wild scenes, and picturesque solitudes with which they were most familiar. While the Iroquois Indians were superior in mental capacity and less im- provident than the Algonquins and other nations, there is little indication that they were ever inclined to improve the conditions in which they were found by the Europeans. They were closely attached to their warrior and hunter life ; hospitable to friends, but ferocious and cruel to their enemies; of no mean mental capacity, but devoting their energies to the lower, if not the lowest, forms of enjoyment and animal gratification ; they had little regard for the marriage tie and lasciviousness and unchastity were the rule ; their dwellings, even among the more stationary tribes, were rude, their food gross and poor 1 They reduced war to a science and all their movements were directed by system and policy They never attacked a hostile country till they had sent out spies to explore and designate its vulnerable points, and when they encamped they observed the greatest circumspection to guard against surprise. Whatever superiority of force they might have, they never neglected the use of stratagem, employ* ing all the crafty wiles of the Carthaginians. — De Witt Clinton. 38 History of Warren County. and their domestic habits and surroundings unclean and barbaric ; their dress was ordinarily of skins of animals, until the advent of the whites, and was primitive in character ; woman was degraded into a mere beast of burden ; while they believed in a supreme being, they were powerfully swayed by su- perstition, incantations by " medicine men," dreams and the like ; their feasts were exhibitions of debauchery and gluttony. Such are some of the more prominent characteristics of the race encoun- tered by Samuel Champlain when he floated up the beautiful lake that bears his name two hundred and seventy-five years ago and welcomed them with the first volley of bullets from deadly weapons — a policy that has been followed with faithful pertinacity by his civilized successors. These Indians possessed redeeming features of character and practice ; but these were so strongly dominated by the barbaric way of living and their savage traits, that years of faithful missionary labor among them by the Jesuits and others, was productive of little good.^ The Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, was founded in 1539 and planted the cross amid the most discouraging circumstances, overcoming almost insur- mountable obstacles, in Europe, Asia, Africa and America. When Champlain opened the way for French dominion in the latter country, the task of bearing the Christian religion to the natives was assigned to this noble and unselfish body of devotees. While their primary object was to spread the gospel, their secondary and scarcely less influential purpose, was to extend the dominion of France. Within three years after the restoration of Canada to^France in 1736, there were fifteen Jesuit priests in the province, and they rapidly increased and extended their labors to most of the Indian nations on the continent, including the powerful Iroquois. In 1654, when peace was temporarily established between the French and the Five Nations, Father Dablon was permitted to found a mission and build a chapel in the Mohawk Valley. The chapel was built in a day. " For mar- bles and precious metals," he wrote, " we employed only bark ; but the path to Heaven is as open through a roof of bark as through arched ceilings of silver and gold." War was again enkindled and the Jesuits were forced to flee from the Iroquois ; but their labors never ceased while opportunity was afforded. There were twenty-four missionaries who labored among the Iroquois be- tween the years 1657 and 1769. We are directly interested only in those who sought converts among the Mohawks. These were Isaac Jogues, the recital of whose career in the Indian country forms one of the most thrilHng chapters of history. He was with the Mohawks as a prisoner from August, 1642, to lln 1 712 Rev. Wm. Andrews was sent among the Mohawks by the society for propagating the gospel, to succeed Rev. Thoroughgood Moor; but he abandoned the work in 1 719, failing in it as his predecessor had. Says Hammond's History of Madison County, " He became discouraged and asked to be recalled, saying, ' there is no hope of making them better— heathen they are and heathen they still must be.'" This is but one example of most of the missionary efforts among the Indians. Indian Occupation. 39 the same month of the next year, and as a missionary with the same nation in in 1646, in October of which year he was killed. Simon Le Moyne was with the Mohawks about two months in 1655 ; again in 1656 and the third time from August, 1657 to May, 1658. He died in Canada in 1665. Francis Joseph Bressani was imprisoned by the Mohawks about six months in 1644. Julien Gamier was sent to the Mohawks in May, 1668 and passed on to the Ononda- gas and Senecas. Jacques Bruyas came from the Onondagas to the Mohawks in July, 1667, left for the Oneidas in September and returned in 1672, remain- ing several years. Jacques Fremin came in July, 1667, and remained about a year. Jean Pierron was sent in the same year and also remained about one year. Francis Boniface labored here from 1668 to 1673, when he was suc- ceeded by Francis Vaillant de Gueslis. These faithful missionaries were followed in later years by such noble workers as Rev. Henry Barclay, John Ogilvie, Revs. Messrs. Spencer, Timothy Woodbridge and Gideon Hawley, Rev. Dr. Eleazer Wheelock, Rev. Samuel Kirkland, Bishop Hobart, Rev. Eleazer Williams, Rev. Dan Barnes (Methodist) and others of lesser note, all of whom labored faithfully and with varying degrees of perseverance, for the redemption of the Iroquois. But all were forced to admit that their efforts as a whole were unsatisfactory and discouraging. ^ Later religious and educational work among the Indians, even down to the present time, while yielding, perhaps, sufficient results to justify its prosecution, has constantly met with most discouraging obstacles among the tribes them- selves. The advent of European nations to the American continent was the forerun- ner of the downfall of the Iroquois Confederacy and doubtless the ultimate ex- tinction of the Indian race. The French invasion of 1693 and that of three years later, cost the confederacy half of its warriors ; their allegiance to the British crown (with the exception of the Oneidas) in the Revolutionary War, proving to be an allegiance with a failing power, — these causes, operating with the dread of vengeance from the American colonists who had so frequently suffered at the hands of the savages, broke up the once powerful league and scattered its 1 The Rev. Mr. Kirkland, who acts as missionary among the Oneidas, has taken all the pains that man can take, but his whole flock are Indians still, and like the bear which you can muffle and lead out to dance to the sound of music, becomes again a bear when his muffler is removed and the music ceases. The Indians will attend public worship and sing extremely well, following Mr. Kirkland's notes ; but whenever the service is over, they wrap themselves in their blankets, and either stand like cattle on the sunny side of a house, or lie before a fire. — Doc. History. Mr. Kirkland was one of the very ablest and most self-sacrificing of the missionaries, and what he could not accomplish in his work, it may safely be concluded others could not. In reference to his labors, an anonymous writer in the Massachusetts Historical Collection (1792) says : " I cannot help being of the opinion that Indians . . . never were intended to live in a state of civilized society. There never was, I believe, an instance of an Indian forsaking his habits and savage manners, any more than a bear his ferocity." 40 History of Warren County. members to a large extent, upon the friendly soil of Canada, or left them at the mercy of the State and general government, which consigned them to reser- vations. The St. Francis Indians are, according to Dr. Holden's work before quoted, descended from the once powerful Androscoggins, a branch of the great Abenakies, or Tarrateens, which at one time held sway over the entire terri- tory embraced in the peninsula of Nova Scotia, Maine and Eastern Canada. Through the indefatigable efforts of Father Rasles, who dwelt among these tribes for more than twenty years, a flourishing mission was established in the early part of the eighteenth century, at Nar-rant-souk on the river Kennebeck. This settlement speedily became the rallying point for the French and Indians in their descents upon the frontier settlements of New Hampshire and Massa- chusetts. The danger froni this quarter at length became so imminent and pressing, that an expedition was finally planned for its destruction. A force of two hundred men, with a detachment of Indian allies, was fitted out in the summer of 1724, under the leadership of Captains Moulton and Harman of York. The village was invested. The attack was a surprise. Father Rasles and about thirty of the Abenaki warriors were killed, and the remainder dispersed. The survivers of this relentless massacre, with the remainder of the tribe, fled to the mission village of St. Francis, situated upon the lake of that name at the head of the St. Francis River. The frequent accessions of fugi- tives to their ranks, due to the active, aggressive policy of the English, so in- creased their numbers, that they soon became known as the St. Francis tribe. Under the training of their priests they speedily became a powerful ally of the French, co-operating with the predaceous bands of half savage habitants, kept the English border settlements in terror and trepidation for a space of twenty- five years. In the notable campaign of 1757 a large party of them accom- panied Montcalm in his expedition against Fort William Henry, at the southern extremity of Lake George, and were participants in the fearful and fiendish massacre which followed the surrender of that fort. They were doomed, how- ever, to a reprisal and vengeance, swift, thorough and effective. Immediately subsequent to the successes of General Amherst in 1759, the distinguished partisan, Major Robert Rogers, was dispatched with a force of two hundred picked men from his corps of rangers, to demolish the settlement, and chastise the tribe for its comphcity in the frightful massacres of the three preceding cam- paigns. Proceeding with caution and celerity, the village was surrounded be- fore an alarm was given, and after a brief, sharp contest, the place was reduced and the inhabitants, without respect to age or sex, were ruthlessly put to the sword. The dwellings and fortifications, together with a valuable church, fitted up with costly decorations and embeUishments, were committed to the flames, and destroyed. In this connection may profitably be inserted the following Indian names Indian Occupation. 41 and their meaning, that come within the range of this work, as obtained in the records of various authors : — Adirondack. — According to Schoolcraft this namesignifies " Bark-eaters." It was a party from this tribe that accompanied Champlain upon his journey into the country of the Iroquois. The name may be said to apply to the In- dians who dwelt along the Canada shore of the St. Lawrence River. Aganuschion. — Black mountain range, as the Indians called this Adiron- dack group. — LOSSING. Andiatorocte. — The place where the lake contracts. A name applied to Lake George. — Dr. O'Callaghan. Aquanuschioni. — The united people. A name by which the Iroquois des- ignated themselves. — Drake's Book of the hidians. Atalapose. — A sliding place. Roger's Rock on Lake George. The In- dians entertained a belief that witches or evil spirits haunt this place, and seiz- ing upon the spirits of bad Indians, on their way to the happy hunting grounds, slide down the precipitous cliff with them into the lake where they are drowned. — Sabattis in Holden's History of Queensbtiry. Ausable Forks. — " Tei-o-ho-ho-gen," the forks of the river. Bald Peak. — (North Hudson) " O-no-ro-no-rum," bald head. Cahohatatea. — Iroquois for North or Hudson River. — Dr. Mitchell, Attnals of Albatiy. Canada. — From Kanata, a village. — Dr. Hough. Drake gives one Josselyn, an early writer, as authority for its derivation as Can, mouth, and Ada, country. Other derivations are also given. Caniaderi Guarante. — A name given to Lake Champlain, meaning " The gate of the country." Caniaderi-Oit. — "The tail of the lake," i. e.. Lake Champlain. This name has been applied to Lake George, and also to that portion of Champlain below Ticonderoga. ' Cancuskee. — Northwest Bay, Lake George. So called on a map of the Middle British Provinces, 1776. — Holden's Queensbtiry. Cataraqui. — Ancient name of Kingston. — HoUGH. The St. Lawrence River, signifying a fort in the water. — HOLDEN. Champlain. — " Ro-tsi-ich-ni," the coward spirit. The Iroquois are said to have originally possessed an obscure mythological notion of three supreme beings, or spirits, the good spirit, the bad spirit, the coward spirit. The latter inhabited an island in Lake Champlain, where it died, and from this it derived the name above given. — HoUGH. Chateaugay. — This is by some supposed to be an Indian name ; but it is French, meaning gay castle. The St. Regis Indians call it "0-sar-he-hon," a place so close or difficult that the more one tries to extricate himself the worse he is off. This probably relates to the narrow gorge near Chateuagay village. 42 History of Warren County. Cheonderoga. — One of the several names applied to Ticonderoga. Signi- fies, three rivers. Chepontuc. — A difficult place to climb or get around. An Indian name of Glens Falls. — Sabattis, in Holden's History of Queensbury. Chicopee. — A large spring. Indian name of Saratoga Springs. — Ibid. Conchsachraga — The great wilderness. An Indian term applied to the wild track north of the Mohawk and west of Lakes George and Champlain. — Pownal's Topographical Description. Flume of the Opalescent River. — "Gwi-en-dau-qua," a hanging spear. Ganaouske. — Northwest Bay, on Lake George. — Col. Hist. Judging from analogy, this should mean the battle place by the water side. — Holden's Queensbury. Glens Falls. — Mentioned on a French map published at Quebec, 1748, by the name of " Chute de Quatrevingt Pds." — Doc. Hist. Hochelaga. — This name was applied by the Algonquins to the site now occupied by Montreal, and also to the St. Lawrence River. Hough suggests its derivation from Oserake, a beaver dam. ' — Hist. St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, p. 181. Houtkill. — Dutch name of Wood Creek. — Doc. Hist, of N. Y., vol. II., p. 300. Huncksoock. — The place where everybody fights. A name given by the nomadic Indians of the north to the upper falls on the outlet of Lake George. — Sabattis. Kaniadarosseras. — Hence Kayaderosseras, the lake country. — Colonial Hist. N. v., vol. VII, p. 436. Kaskongshadi. — Broken water, a swift rapid on the Opalescent river. — Lossing's Hudson, p. 33. Kayaderoga. — A name of Saratoga lake. — Butler's Lake George, etc. Kayaderosseras. — A name applied to a large patent or land grant, stream and a range of mountains in Saratoga county, N. Y. In the Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, it is variously written Caniaderosseros, Caneaderqsseras, Kanyaderossaros, Cayaderosseras, said to mean "The crooked stream." Oth- er authorities give its meaning as "The lake country." Kingiaquahtonec. — A portage of a stone's throw or two in length be- tween Wood Creek and Fort Edward Creek, near Moss street in Kingsbury. — Evans's Analysis, p. 19. Miconacook. — A name of the Hudson river. — Sabele. Mohawk, from Mauqua or Mukwa. a bear. — Schoolcraft's Notes on thelr- oquois, p. 73. Mount Marcy. — Tahawus, " He splits the sky." Mount Mclntyre. — He-no-ga, " Home of the thunder." Mount Golden. — "On-no-war-lah," scalp mountain, from the baring of the rocky peak by slides. Indian Occupation. 43 Mount Pharaoh. — " On-de-wa," black mountain. Oiogue. — The Indian (Mohawk) name of the Hudson north of Albany. — Hist, of New Netherland, II, 300. Oneadalote Tecarneodi. — The name of Lake Champlain on Morgan's map. Onderiguegon. — The Indian name for the drowned lands on Wood Creek near Fort Anne, Washington county, N. Y. It signifies conflux of waters. — From a Map of the Middle Bi-itish Colonies by T. Pownal, M. P., 1776. Ongwehonwe. — A people surpassing all others. The name by which the Iroquois designated themselves. Ossaragas. — Wood Creek, emptying into the head of Lake Champlain. — Top. Descrip. of the Middle British Coloiiies, Map, T. Pownal, 1776. Oswegatchie, or Oghswagatchie with a dozen other different spellings. — "" An Indian name," the historian James Macauley, informed the author,"which signifies going or coming round a hill. The great bend in the Oswegatchie river (or the necessity of it), on the borders of Lewis county, originated its ■significant name. An Indian tribe bearing the name of the river, once lived upon its banks ; but its fate, like that of many sister tribes, has been to melt away before the progression of the Anglo-Saxon." — Simmy's Trappers of N. v., p. 249, note. According to a writer in the Troj/ Times of July 7th, 1866, it is a Huron word signifying black water, Sabattis defined it as meaning slow and long. Oukorlah. — Indian name of Mount Seward, signifying the big-eye. — C. F. Hoffman. Ounowarlah. — Scalp Mountain. Supposed to refer to that peak of the Adirondacks known as Whiteface Mountain. — C. F. Hoffman in The Vigil of Faith. Petaonbough. — " A double pond or lake branching out into two." An Indian name of Lake Champlain, which refers probably to its connection with Lake George. — R. W. Livingston, quoted in Watson's Hist. Essex Co., N. V. Petowahco. — Lake Champlain. — Sabele. Raquette. — " The chief source of the Raquette is in the Raquette Lake, towards the western part of Hamilton county. Around it, the Indians in the -ancient days gathered on snow-shoes in the winter, to hunt the moose then found there in large droves, and from that circumstance they named it Raquet, the equivalent in French, for snow-shoes in English. This is the account of the origin of its name given by the French Jesuits who first explored that re- gion. Others say that its Indian name Ni-ha-na-wa-le, means a racket or noise, noisy river, and spell it Racket. But it is no more noisy than its near neighbor the Grass River which flows into the St. Lawrence from the bosom of "the same wilderness." — Lossing's Hudson, p. 11. Rotsichini. — An Indian name of Lake Champlain signifying the coward 44 History of Warren County. spirit. An evil spirit, according to the legend, whose existence terminated on an island in Lake Champlain. The name was thence derived to the lake. Santanoni. — " Si-non-bo-wanne," the great mountain. This name is also- said to be a corruption or condensation of St. Anthony. Schroon. — " Sea-ni-a-dar-oon," a large lake. Abreviated first to Scaroon and then to Schroon. This is a Mohawk word which appears in the old land papers, applied to Schroon Lake. In addition, Ska-ne-ta-no-wa-na, the largest lake. Also, Scarona, the name of an Indian girl who leaped over a precipice from her French lover and was drowned. It has been alleged, on what seems a very slender foundation, that the name was conferred in the latter part of the 17th century by a wandering party of Frenchmen in honor of Madame de Maintenon the wife of the poet Scarron. — HOLDEN. Schroon River. — " Gain-bou-a-gwe," crooked river. Saratoga. — Vide General Index to documents relating to the history of the State of New York for seventeen different spellings of this word. See Calen- dar of N. Y. Land Papers, where it is found spelled Saragtoga, Saraghtoga, Saraghtogue, etc. Morgan renders it on his map in the League of the Lro- quois Sharlatoga. Hough, in the Hist, of St. Lawrence and Franklin Coun- ties, has it Saratake, while Ruttenber, in his Lndiatt Tribes of the Hudson, on what authority is not stated, derives it from Saragh, salt, and Oga a place, though he adds that " the name was originally applied to the site of Schuyler- ville, and meant swift water " an assertion which greatly impairs the value of the preceding statement. Gordon in his Gazetteer of New York, p. 671, de- rives the word from Sah-ra-kah, meaning the great hill side, and states that it was applied to the country between the lake and the Hudson river. An anon- ymous writer in the Troy Times of July 7, 1866, defines it as a place where the track of the heel may be seen. Senongewok. — A hill like an inverted kettle, familiarly known as " the Potash," on the east side of the Hudson river about four miles north of Lu- zerne village, Warren county, N. Y. — Vigil of Faith by C. F. Hoffman. Split Rock. — " Re-gioch-ne," or Regio rock, or Regeo. From name of Mo- hawk Indian drowned near the rock. It denoted the boundary between the Iroquois and the northern Indians. Skanehtade. — The west branch of the Hudson and the river generally. — Morgan's Map in The League of the Lroquois. Takundewide. — Indian name of Harris's Bay on Lake George. So called on a map of the middle British provinces by T. Pownal, M. P., London, 1776. Tenonanatchie. — A river flowing through a mountain. A name applied to- the Mohawk river by the western tribes. — H. R. SCHOOLCRAFT. Teohoken. — The pass where the Schroon finds its confluence with the Hud- son river. — The Vigil of Faith by C. F. Hoffman. See also Col. Hist. N. Y.^ vol. VII, p. 10, where it is defined as the forks of a river. European Discovery and Occupation. 45 Ticonderoga. — There are about twenty renderings of the orthography of this word, and wide differences of meaning assigned to it. Those most wor- thy of acceptance are given herewith. Tienderoga. " The proper name of the fort between Lake George and Lake Champlain signifies the place where two rivers meet." — Colden' s Account of N. Y., Col. Hist. N. ¥., VII, 795. "Ti- aontoroken, a fork or point between two lakes." — Hough's Hist. St. Lawrence and Franklin Cou7tties, ■p. 181. Morgan, on his map, frequently referred to herein, spells it "Je hone ta lo ga." Teahtontaloga and Teondeloga are both defined as "two streams coming together." The sound and structure of the three words are similar. The definition given by Colden is doubtless correct. Tiasaronda. — The meeting of the waters. The confluence of the Sacan- daga with the Hudson. — The Vigil of Faith by C. F. Hoffman. Wawkwaonk. — The head of Lake George, Caldwell. — Sabele. Whiteface Mountain. — " Thei-a-no-gu-en," white head, from the naked rocky peak. CHAPTER IV. EUROPEAN DISCOVERY AND OCCUPATION. First European Colonists — Discoveries by Columbus and His Successors — Competitors for the Jwew World — Colonization of New France — Difficulties of the Scheme — Final Success — Champlain's Advent — His Enterprising Explorations — His Colony of 1608 — Expedition against the Iroquois — The First Battle — Henry Hudson and Dutch Colonization — English Colonies at Plymouth Rock and Jamestown — Claims of Three European Powers — Subsequent Career of Champlain. BEFORE entering upon the work of detailing the events more directly con- nected with the early settlement of the valley of Lakes Champlain and George, it may not be out of place to glance hastily over some of the more not- able acts and movements of governments and men that had much to do in opening the way and leading up to the final occupation and settlement of the territory under consideration. It is not yet four hundred years since the day on which occurred the event that proved to be the first ray of light from the rising sun of civilization, whose beams were destined to penetrate and dissipate the clouds of barbarism that hovered over the untamed wilderness of the American continent ; and during the ages that preceded that event, no grander country in all respects ever awaited the advance of civilization and enlightenment. With climate and soil diversified between almost the widest extremes ; with thousands of miles of ocean shores indented by magnificent harbors to welcome the world's com- 46 History of Warren County. merce ; with many of the largest rivers of the globe intersecting and draining its territory and forming natural commercial highways; with a system of lakes- so grand in proportions as to entitle them to the name of inland seas ; with mountains, hills and valleys laden with the richest minerals and almost exhaust- less fuel ; and with scenery unsurpassed for grandeur, it needed only the com- ing of the Caucasian to transform a continent of wilderness, inhabited by sav- ages, into the free, enlightened republic which is to-day the wonder and the- admiration of the civilized world. The first Europeans to visit America were Scandinavians, who colonized Iceland in 875, Greenland in 983, and about the year looo had pushed their discoveries as far southward as the State of Massachusetts. But it was towards, the close of the fifteenth century before the country became known to South- ern Europe, a discovery accidentally made in a quest of a westerly route to- India and China. In 1492 the Genoese, Christopher Columbus, set out on a voy- age of discovery under the patronage of the Spanish power, and in that and the two succeeding years made his tropical discoveries. The Venetian sailor, John Cabot, was commissioned by Henry VII, of England, in 1497, to voyage to- the new territory and take possession of it in the name of England. He dis- covered New Foundland and portions adjacent. In 1500 the coast of Labra- dor and the entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence were explored by two broth- ers from Portugal, named Cortereal. In 1508 Aubert discovered the St. Lawrence, and four years later, in 1512, Ponce de Leon discovered Florida. Magellan, the Portuguese navigator, passed through the straits which now bear his name in 1519, and was the first to circumnavigate the globe. In 1534^ Jacques Cartier explored the St. Lawrence as far as Montreal, and five years later Fernando de Soto explored Florida. In 1578 an English navigator named Drake discovered Upper California. These brief data indicate that not a century had passed after the discovery of Columbus, before the different mari- time powers of Europe were in active competition for the rich prizes supposed, to exist in the New World. While the Spaniards were pushing their acquisitions in the South, the French had gained a foothold in the northern part of the continent. Here the- cod fisheries of New Foundland and the prospects of a more valuable trade in furs, opened as early as the beginning of the sixteenth century by Frenchmen,. Basques, Bretons and Normans, held out the most glowing inducements. In 1518 Baron Livy settled there (New Foundland) and in 1524 Francis I, of France, sent thither Jean Verrazzani, a noted Florentine mariner, on a voyage of exploration. He sailed along the coast 2,100 miles in the frail vessels of the period and returned safely to his country. Ori his coast voyage he entered, a large harbor which is supposed to have been that of New York, where he re- mained fifteen days; it is believed that his crew were the first Europeans to- land on the soil of the State of New York. He proceeded north as far as Lab- European Discovery and Occupation. 47 rador and gave to the whole region the name of New France, thus opening the way for the future contest between France and England. In 1534 a French navigator named Jacques Cartier, born in St. Malo in 1494, was commissioned by the same French king, Francis I, and put in com- mand of an expedition to explore the New World. After celebrating impress- ive religious ceremonies, as was the custom at that period before beginning any important undertaking, on the 20th of April, 1534, Cartier sailed from St. Malo with two vessels and with upwards of two hundred men. He touched first the coast of New Foundland, and then, sailing northward, passed through the Strait of Belle Isle, landing on the coast of Labrador, where he took formal possession of the country in the name of his sovereign. Continuing his voy- age, he followed the coast of New Foundland, making landings at various points and holding friendly intercourse with the natives ; at Gaspe Bay he per- suaded a chief to permit his two sons to accompany him on his return to France ; here also he planted a cross with the French arms upon it, and thence sailed northeast through the Gulf of St. Lawrence and entered the river of that name north of what is now called Anticosti Island. As he sailed up the broad stream on St. Lawrence day (August loth), he applied to the river the name of the illustrious saint whose memory is perpetuated by that day. Here, un- aware that he had discovered the mouth of a noble river, and anxious to avoid the autumnal storms, he turned his prow towards France, and on September 5th, 1534, entered the harbor of St. Malo. The succeeding year, 153S, having under the command of the king, fitted up a fleet of three vessels and organized a colony, to a large extent composed of the younger members of the French nobility, Cartier again sailed from France, empowered by the .iauthority of the king to occupy and colonize the country he had discovered, and to which he gave the name of New France. Arriving at the mouth of the St. Lawrence in July, he sailed up its majes ic course to where the St. Charles (to which he gave the name of St Croix) enters it, near the present site of Quebec, and cast anchor on the 14th of September. Here he was entertained by Donnaconna, a prominent chieftain, with the utmost hospitality, and through the aid of the two young Indians who had re- turned with Cartier, was enabled to indulge in considerable conversation with the royal savage. From this point he made several expeditions, the most impor- tant one being up the river to a large Huron Indian town bearing the name of Hochelaga, on the site of the present city of Montreal. To a prominent emi- nence back of the town Cartier gave the name Mount Real (Royal Mountain), hence the name of the modern city. This was the most important town of a large Indian population ; they possessed the country for a long distance up and down the river from that point, and appeared to be a thrifty, industrious people, liv- ing at peace among themselves and with adjoining tribes. Cartier found them kindly disposed towards him, and received numerous substantial evidences of 48 History of Warren County. their hospitality and confidence, to the extent of being permitted to take away with him a little Huron girl, a daughter of one of the chiefs, who " lent her to him to take to France." ^ Though their town was palisaded plainly for the purpose of protection against enemies, he saw before him the open fields covered with ripening corn, attesting alike the industry of the people and the fertility of the soil. His im- agination reveled in dreams of conquest and power, as, standing on the lofty hill at the rear of the town, his gaze wandered along the majestic river, embo- soming fruitful islands, and beyond over miles of forests, streams, and lakes to where the dim outlines of mountain tops were shadowed upon the southern horizon. This was during the delightful Indian summer time; the coming winter, with its storms and snows, was an unknown experience to the advent- urers. Returning in October to the point where his vessels were moored, called by the natives Stadacona (now the site of Quebec), Cartier made preparations to spend the winter. The result of this decision brought with it extreme suffering from the rigors of a climate to which the new-comers were wholly unaccus- tomed, augmented by the affliction of the scurvy, from which disease twenty- five of his men died. The bitter experiences of this winter of 1535-36 on the Isle of Orleans (where they had constructed rude barracks) dimmed the bright hopes of the colonists, and in the spring Cartier, finding one of his vessels unfit for sea, placed his men upon the other two, and prepared to return to France. Taking possession of the country with all the formal " pomp and circumstance " of the age, he and his discouraged companions abandoned the idea of coloni- zation and on the 9th of May, 1536, sailed for France. The day before his departure Cartier invited Donnaconna and eight of his chiefs to partake of a feast on board his ship. The invitation was accepted, arid Cartier, imitating the infamy of the Spanish conquerors of the southern part of the continent, treacherously sailed away with them to France as cap- tives, where they all soon died with grief No further efforts at colonization were undertaken until about 1540, when Francis de la Roque, Lord of Roberval, was commissioned by the king of France with vice-royal powers to establish a colony in New France. The king's author- ization of power conferred upon De la Roque the governorship of an immense extent of teritory, shadowy if not illimitable in boundary, but extending in all di- rections from the St. Lawrence and including in its compass all of what is now New England and much of New York. In 1 541 he caused to be fitted out a fleet of vessels, which sailed from St. Malo, with Cartier as captain-general and pilot. When, late in August, they arrived at Stadacona the Indians were overjoyed at their arrival, and poured on board the ships to welcome their chief whose return they expected, relying upon Cartier's promise to bring him back. They 1 LOSSING. European Discovery and Occupation. 49 put no faith in the tale told them that he and his companions were dead ; and even when shown the Huron maiden, who was to be returned to her friends, they incredulously shook their heads, and their peaceful attitude and hospi- tality hour by hour changed to moroseness and gradually to hostility. The first breach of faith had occurred, never to be entirely healed. Cartier made a visit to Hochelaga, and returned thence to Stadacona. On the Isle of Orleans he erected a fort for protection during the approaching winter. Patiently waiting and watching for De la Roque, who had promised to follow him early in the season, they saw the arrival of winter and the closing of the river by ice without the vision of the hoped-for vessels. In the spring following (1542) Cartier departed for France. He ran into the harbor of St. Johns, and there met De la Roque, who was on his way to the St. Lawrence. From Cartier the viceroy heard the most discouraging ac- counts of the country, with details of the suffering he and his men had endured during the preceding winter, both from the climate and from the hostility of the Indians; followed by the navigator's advice that the whole expedition re- turn to France, or sail to some other portion of the continent. This De la Roque declined to do, and ordered Cartier to return to the St. Lawrence. Car- tier disobeyed this order, and sailed for France. This was his last voyage ; he died in 1555. De la Roque, after his separation from Cartier, pushed on and ascended the river to above the site of Quebec, where he constructed a fort in which he spent the succeeding winter, undergoing extreme suffering from the climate. In the autumn of 1543 De la Roque returned to France, having accomplished nothing towards colonization, and learning but little of the country not already known. This was the final breaking up of French attempts at colonization at that time, and nothing more was done by that nation towards settling in the new country for nearly fifty years. De la Roque, however, in 1549, with his brothers and a number of adventurers, again sailed for the St. Lawrence, but as they were never heard of afterwards it was supposed they were lost at sea. History has demonsti'ated that the most successful attempts at colonization and settlement in new sections have been achieved by private enterprise, in many cases started and fostered by commercial undertakings. The interest and spirit of individual energy has more often than otherwise accomplished greater results in subduing the wilds of nature and in planting and extending the benefits of civilization, than the most powerful and thoroughly organized expeditions sent out under governmental authority. Too often in the latter case the personal aggrandizement of the leaders has overthrown the better motives and works of the masses composing the organizations. The efforts of the royal government of France in endeavoring to establish a foothold in the New World were no exception to this view, and it was not till the enterprise was undertaken by private individuals that anything like success followed. ^ 50 History of Warren County. From 1600, and on for a few years, one M. Chauvin, having obtained a broad patent which formed the basis of a trade monopoly, carried on an extensive fur trade with the natives, resulting in establishing numerous small but thrifty settlements ; but the death of the organizer caused their abandonment. The year 1603 was signalized by the initiatory steps that resulted in the final settlement of the French in the region of the St. Lawrence. M. Aylmer de Chastes, governor of Dieppe, stimulated by the commercial success that had followed the efforts of Chauvin and others, obtained a charter to establish set- tlements in New France and organized a company of Rouen merchants, the existence of which becomes of paramount historic importance as having intro- duced to the field of his later great work, Samuel de Champlain, discoverer of the lakes and the territory of which this history treats, and the real founder of New France, as well as the most illustrious of those who guided its destinies. " Champlain was born at Brouage, in 1567, a seaport situated on the Bay of Biscay. Addicted to an intercourse with the sea by the associations of his boyhood, near the most tempestuous waters of Western Europe, he gratified his instincts by a connection at an early age with the royal marine of his native country. Although a Catholic by birth and sentiment, he followed in the civil wars of France the ' Banner of Navarre.' When that cause had triumphed he received a pension from the gratitude of his liberal but impoverished leader. Too active and ardent to indulge in the relaxations of peace, he conceived the design of a personal exploration of the colonial possessions of Spain, and to thus obtain a knowledge of their condition and resources, which was studiously vailed from the world by the jealous policy of that government. His scheme was sanctioned by the wise and sagacious head of the French administration. Through the influence of a relative in that service Champlain secured the com- mand of a ship in the Spanish West India fleet. This singular position, not, perhaps, in perfect accordance with modern conceptions of professional honor, was occupied two years, and when he returned to France his mind was stored with the most valuable information and his journal, laded with the results of keen observation of the regions he had visited, was quaintly illustrated by his uncultivated pencil."^ Champlain must have been born with the uncontrollable instinct of investi- gation and desire for knowledge of the material world that has always strongly marked the great explorers. He made a voyage (1599), landed at Vera Cruz, penetrated to the city of Mexico and visited Panama. More, his journal shows that he conceived the idea of a ship canal across the isthmus by which " the voyage to the South Sea might be shortened by more than fifteen hundred leagues." At the request of De Chastes, Champlain was commissioned by the king lieutenant-general of Canada (a name derived, it is supposed, " from the Huron 1 Watson's Essex County. European Discovery and Occupation. 51 word Kan-na-ta, signifying a collection of cabins, such as Hochelaga " i). He sailed from the fort of Honfleur in March, 1603, in a single vessel, commanded by a skilled navigator named Pont-Greve. They arrived at the mouth of the St. Lawrence some time in May, and ascended the river as far as Stadacona, where they anchored. From this point Champlain sent Pont-Greve upon an expedition up the river to above the La Chine Rapids. At Hochelaga he found, instead of the palisaded city de- scribed by Cartier, nothing indicating that the locality had ever been thickly populated. A few scattered bodies of Indians, of a different nation from those met by Cartier, who evinced the greatest wonder and interest in the new- comers, were all that he saw. These natives gave Pont-Greve much informa- tion relative to the regions on the south and west, and other intelligence of a nature to fill the mind of the explorer with the wildest dreams of conquest and empire. Without enacting more extended measures towards colonization and settle- ment than making a few brief expeditions of exploration, Champlain, in the autumn, returned to France ; he found that in his absence his patron, De Chastes, had died, and that the concessions and privileges of the latter had been transferred to M. Pierre de Gast, the Sieur de Monts. Though a Protestant, the latter had secured additional favors from the royal hand, covering broad commercial rights, with vice-regal authority over a section of the new country extending from Philadelphia, or its site, on the south, to the forty-sixth paral- lel on the north, and from the sea-shore on the east to an indefinite limit on the west. Again, in the spring of 1604, Champlain sailed with De Monts with four ves- sels, bringing with them a number of people intended to colonize the grants. They landed first at Nova Scotia, and remained there long enough to establish the beginning of a settlement, and, towards autumn, De Monts returned to France and left Champlain to explore the coast to the south as far his grant extended. Champlain remained for some time at this point, pushing forward his settlement, and exploring the surrounding country, carrying out his em- ployer's instructions to the extent of sailing along the coast as far south as Cape Cod. In 1607 he returned to France. Expressing to De Monts his belief that the better site for establishing the seat of the proposed new empire would be a point on the St. Lawrence River, some distance from the sea coast, he was sent with Pont-Greve and a number of colonists, in 1608, to Stadacona, and there founded Quebec (a name of In- dian derivation). There houses were built, and agricultural operations begun. In 1609 Champlain, who had secured the friendship of the Montagnais Indians, or Montagners, engaged to assist them in an expedition against their enemies, the Iroquois.^ It is probable that he was partly incited to his action 1 LossiNG. ^See note page 17. 52 History of Warren County. by desire to extend his knowledge of the country and to widen his sphere of influence. They were joined by a number of Hurons and Algonquins, and in May proceeded in canoes up the Sorel to the Chambly Rapids. The Indians had told Champlain that the country they wished to conquer was thickly settled ; that to reach it they must pass by a waterfall, thence into another lake, from the head of which there was a carrying-place to a river, which flowed towards the sea coast. This course of their intended march is clearly understood to-day as leading up Lake Champlain to Ticonderoga, thence up the outlet of Lake George past the fails, thence through Lake George to the Hudson River. Pursuing their course up the Sorel, Champlain says in his journal, they reached "a great lake and gave it his own name." Passing along the west side of the lake, he says of the country: "These parts, though agreeable, are not inhabited by the Indians, in consequence of their wars." In proceeding up the lake it was the practice of the Indians to send three of their canoes in advance, as night approached, and if no enemy was discov- ered, to retire in peace. Against " this bad habit of theirs " Champlain expos- tulated, but to little purpose. In this manner " they proceed until they ap- proach an enemy's country," when they advance " stealthily by night, all in a body except the scouts, and retire by day into picket forts where they repose." Thus the party proceeded up the lake to their landing-place, a full and graphic account of which journey is contained in Champlain's journal. Following is his vivid description of his meeting and battle with the Iroquois : — " Now on coming within about two or three days' journey of the enemy's quarters, we traveled only by night and rested by day Nevertheless, they never omitted their usual superstition to ascertain whether their enterprise would be successful, and often asked me whether I had dreamed and seen their enemies. " At nightfall we embarked in our canoes to continue our journey, and as we advanced very softly and noiselessly, we encountered a party of Iroquois, on the 29th day of the month, about 10 o'clock at night, at a point of a cape which juts into the lake on the west side. They and we began to shout, each seizing his arms. We withdrew toward the water and the Iroquois repaired on shore, and arranged all their canoes, the one beside the other, and began to hew down trees with villainous axes, which they sometimes get in war, and otli- ers of stone, and fortified themselves very securely. Our party, likewise, kept their canoes arranged the one along side of the other, tied to poles so as not to run adrift, in order to fight all together should need be. We were on the water about an arrow shot from their barricade. " When they were armed and in order, they sent two canoes from the fleet to know if their enemies wished to fight, who answered they desired noth- ing else ; but that just then there was not much light, and that we must wait European Discovery and Occupation. 53 for day to distinguish each other, and that they would give us battle at sunrise. This was agreed to by our party. Meanwhile the whole night was spent in dancing and singing, as well on one side as on the other, mingled with an infin- itude of insults and other taunts, such as the little courage they had ; how pow- erless their resistance against their arms, and that when day would break they should experience this to their ruin. Ours likewise did not fail in repartee ; telling them they should witness the effects of arms they had never seen before ; and a multitude of other speeches such as is usual at the siege of a town. " After the one and the other had sung, danced and parliamented enough, day broke. My companions and I were always concealed, for fear the enemy should see us in preparing our arms the best we could, being, however, sepa- rated, each in one of the canoes of the savage Montaquars. After being equipped with light armor we took each an arquebus and went ashore. I saw the enemy leave their barricade ; they were about 200 men, of strong and ro- bust appearance, who were coming slowly towards us, with a gravity and assur- ance which greatly pleased me, led on by their chiefs. Ours were marching in similar order, and told me that those who bore three lofty plumes were the chiefs, and that there were but these three and they were to be recognized by those plumes which were considerably larger than those of their companions, and that I must do all I could to kill them. I promised to do what I could, and I told them that I was very sorry that they could not clearly understand me, so as to give them the order and plan of attacking their ene- mies, as we should undoubtedly defeat them all, but there was no help for that ; that I was very glad to encourage them and to manifest to them my good will when we should be engaged. " The moment we landed they began to run about two hundred paces to- ward their enemy, who stood firm, and had not perceived my companions, who went into the bush with some savages. Ours commenced calling me in a loud voice, and making way for rrie opened in two, 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 by this shot ; one of their companions received a wound of which he died afterwards. I had put four balls in my arquebus. Ours on witnessing 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 the one side and the other. The Iroquois were greatly astonished seeing two men killed so instantaneously, notwithstanding they were provided with arrow proof-armor,^ woven of cotton thread and wood ; I The allusion to this armor presents an interesting and suggestive inquiry. We know of the product of no indigenous plant, which Champlain might have mistaken for cotton. He must have been familiar with that plant. The fact he mentions implies either the existence of a commercial inter- 54 History of Warren County. this frightened them very much. Whilst I was reloading one of my compan- ions in the bush fired a shot, which so astonished them anew, seeing their chief slain, that they lost courage, took to flight and abandoned 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 prison- ers. The rest canied off the wounded. Fifteen or sixteen were wounded by arrows ; they were promptly cured. " After having gained the victory they amused themselves by plundering Indian corn and meal from the enemy ; also their arms which they had thrown away to run the better. And having feasted, danced and sung, we returned three hours afterward with the prisoners. " The place where the battle was fought is in forty-three degrees some minutes latitude, and I named it Lake Champlain." This battle, the first of a long series that were to consecrate the locality with the blood of three contending powers, was doubtless fought near, if not directly upon the promontory afterwards occupied by Fort Ticonderoga. This opinion is advanced by the best authorities. The plan of the campaign and the route to be traveled, as described to Champlain by his savage com- panions, led beyond question up the outlet from Lake Champlain to Lake George. Hence there is no reason for assuming that they followed further up the coast than Ticonderoga, and ample reason for believing that here would be their landing place. The Indians had told Champlain that after traversing the lake they " must pass by a water-fall and thence into another lake three or four leagues long." No clearer description of the route from one lake to the other can be written at this day. The Algonquin Indians, who had passed through a generation or more of warfare with the Iroquois and were generally getting the worst of the contest, now found themselves armed with a weapon with which they could, for a time, win victory on any field. Thus signalized the first hostile meeting between the civilized white man and the untutored Indian. Low as the latter was found in the scale of intelli- gence and terrible as were many of the subsequent bloody deeds of the Iro- quois, it cannot be denied that their early treatment by the Europeans was scarcely calculated to foster in the savage breast any other feeling than bit- terest hostility. It is like a pathetic page from a romance to read that " the Iroquois are greatly astonished, seeing two men killed so instantaneously," one of whom was their noble chief; while the ingenuousacknowledgment of Cham- plain, " I had put four balls in my arquebus," is a vivid testimony of how little mercy the Iroquois nations were to expect thenceforth from their northern course between the natives of the North and South ; or perhaps the Mohawks may have secured the cotton as a trophy in some of their southern incursions. — Watson's Essex County. Without desiring to argue the question, it is still pertinent to state that is doubtful if the Indians could at that early date, have obtained cotton upon any southern incursion. European Discovery and Occupation. 55 enemies and the pale-faced race who were eventually to drive them from their domain. But it was an age in which might was appealed to as right oftener than in late years, and the planting of the lowly banner of the Cross was often pre- ceded by bloody conquest. In the light of the prevailing customs in the Old World at that time, we must view the ready hostility of Champlain towards his helpless enemies. While the events above recorded were occurring under the leadership of Champlain, who was thus pushing southward from his embryo settlement on the St. Lawrence, other explorations were being made from the sea coast northward, the actors in which were undoubtedly impelled by the same spirit of enterprise, but exemplified in a less belligerent manner. Prominent among these, and particularly noteworthy as opening the pathway of civilization lead- ing to the same territory towards which Champlain's expedition tended, was the exploration of the noble river that now bears the name of its discoverer, Henry Hudson. Hudson was an Englishman, an expert navigator, and had made, in the in- terest of a body of English merchants, several voyages in search of a north- eastern passage to India. Finally he, as well as his employers, became dis- heartened in attempting to force a way through the ice packs and floes between Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla, and Hudson went to Holland and offered his services to the Dutch East India Company, which were gladly accepted. He was put in command of the Half-Moon, a stoutly built vessel of ninety tons, and again, casting aside his previous disappointments, sailed for Nova Zembla. But, as before, the fields of ice were a barrier too strong for even the staunch vessel commanded by Hudson, and he was forced to turn back. Determined not to return to Amsterdam without accomplishing something towards ren- dering his voyage fruitful, he directed his course towards Greenland, and sailed around the southern point thereof, taking the route that had already been pur- sued by others in search of a northwest passage. Baffled again by ice packs, he sailed southward, and discovered the American continent somewhere on the coast of Maine. Running into a harbor, he made necessary repairs to his bat- tered vessel, and then followed down the coast as far as Virginia. Returning, he entered Delaware bay and made a partial examination of its shores, and in September, 1609, entered the present harbor of New York. He met and en- tertained the natives, and was hospitably received by them ; but before his de- parture he conferred upon them experimental knowledge of the effects of in- toxicating liquor — an experience perhaps more baneful in its results than that conferred by Champlain a hundred and fifty miles northward, with his new and murderous weapon. Hudson ascended the river to a point within less than a hundred miles of that reached by Champlain, and r turned to Europe, after hav- ing again sailed as far south as Chesapeake bay. " The unworthy monarch on S6 History of Warren County. England's throne, jealous of the advantage which the Dutch might derive from Hudson's discoveries, detained him in England as an English subject ; but the navigator outwitted his sovereign, for he had sent an account of his voyage to his Amsterdam employers by a trusty hand."^ Through the information thus furnished was established a Dutch colony on the island of Manhattan, for which a charter was granted by the States- General of Holland, bearing date October nth, 1614, in which the country was named New Netherland. It may not be out of place at this point to make brief mention of Hud- son's subsequent career and sad ending. In 1610 he made another and final voyage from England, sailing in April, and during the months of June and July discovered and navigated the great bay that bears his name. It was his intention to winter there, but owing to scant provisions, a portion of his crew mutinied and compelled him to return. On the way Hudson, his son, and seven of his crew who had remained faithful to him, were placed in an open boat, which was towed through the ice floes to the open sea, where it was cut adrift, and the unfortunate occupants were left to the mercy of the winds and waves. His fate was afterwards revealed by one of the mutineers. England sent an expedition in search of him, but not the slightest trace was found of him and his companions. Meanwhile, in 1607, the English had made their first permanent settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, and in 1620 planted a second colony at Plymouth Rock. These two colonies became the successful rivals of all others of what- ever nationality, in the strife that finally left them (the English) masters of the country. On the discoveries and the colonization efforts we have briefly noted, three European powers based claims to a part of the territory embraced in the State of New York. England, by reason of the discovery of Cabot, who sailed un- der letters patent from Henry VII, and on the 24th of June, 1497, struck the sterile coast of Labrador, and that made in the following year by his son Se- bastian, who explored the coast from New Foundland to Florida, claiming a territory eleven degrees in width and extending westward indefinitely. France, by reason of the discoveries of Verrazzani, claimed a portion of the Atlantic coast ; and Holland, by reason of the discovery of Hudson, claimed the coun- try from Cape Cod to the southern shore of Delaware Bay. As we have stated, the Dutch became, for the time being, the possessors of the region under consideration. In concluding this chapter it will not be out of place to make a brief refer- ence to the later career of Champlain, intimately associated as he was with the civilized knowledge of the beautiful waters of the lake that perpetuates his name, although the events noted are not directly connected with this history. The year following his discovery of the lake, Champlain passed in France ; but 1 LOSSING. French and Indian War. 57 the opening season of 1610 found him again ascending the St. Lawrence, and the same year he was wounded by an arrow in a fight with the Iroquois. Again returning to France, at the age of forty-four years, he married a girl of twelve; and, in 161 2 returned to Quebec, clothed with the power of sovereignty granted him by Prince de Conde, who had succeeded Count de Soissons, the successor of De Monts. In the following year he ascended the Ottawa River in quest of a fabulous sea, of which he had heard tales; made successful arrangements for carrying on the fur trade with the Indians ; fought a battle with the Onon- dagas; and, returning to France, organized a fur company in 1616. On his return to Canada he took with him several Recollet priests. In 1620, the col- ony beginning to languish, a new viceroy was appointed, who made Champlain governor, with full powers, of the whole territory. In 1628 and 1629 the English laid siege to Quebec, which Champlain was finally forced to surrender, and he was taken to England. By treaty, in 1632, Canada was restored to France, and Champlain was reinstated governor ; he returned the last time in 1633 to the state his wisdom and zeal had created, invested by Richelieu with all his former prerogatives. Having suppressed the Indian excitement which had agitated his province, conciliated the jarring jealousies and angry feuds of mercenary traders and arbitrary officials, and amply asserted and perfected the dominion of his sovereign over a vast region, Champlain died in 1635, and is commemorated in the annals of the country he served so ably and with such fidelity as " the father of New France." CHAPTER V. FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. Antagonism between the Northern Indians and the Iroquois — Lakes George and Champlain the Highways of Hostile Elements — End of the Dutch Regime — Expedition against the Mohawks under De Courcelles — The Peace of Breda — Continued Hostilities of the French and Iroquois — Invasion of the Country of the Senecas — Revenge of the Indians — Montreal Sacked — Return of Frontenac — Three English Expeditions — Schuyler's Expedition against La Prairie — Extracts from His Journal — Deplorable Condition of the French — Frontenac Marches against the Mohawks — Peace Treaty of Ryswick — Neutrality between the French and Iroquois — The English at last Rendered Desperate — Failure of their Plans — Treaty of Utrecht — Its Provisions Broken by the French — Fort St. Frederic Built. FROM the date of the death of Champlain until the end of French domina- tion in New France, the friendship established by that great explorer be- tween the Northern Indians and the French was unbroken, while at the same time it led to the unyielding hostility of the Iroquois, and especially of the 58 History of Warren County. Mohawks. If truces and informal peace treaties were formed between these antagonistic elements, they were both brief in tenure and of little general effect. As a consequence of this and the fact that Lakes Champlain and George were the natural highway between the hostile nations, they became the scene ol prolonged conflict and deeds of savage atrocity which retarded settlement and devastated their borders. The feuds of the peoples of Europe and the malig- nant passions of European sovereigns, armed the colonies of England and the provinces of France in conflicts where the ordinary ferocity of border warfare was aggravated by the relentless atrocities of savage barbarism. Each power emulated the other in the consummation of its schemes of blood and rapine. Hostile Indian tribes, panting for slaughter, were let loose along the whole frontier, upon feeble settlements, struggling amid the dense forest with a rig- orous climate and reluctant soil for a precarious existence. Unprotected mothers, helpless infancy and decrepit age, were equally the victims of the torch, the tomahawk and scalping-knife. The two lakes formed portions of the great pathway (equally accessible and useful to both parties) of these bloody and devastating forays. In the season of navigation they glided over the placid waters of the lake, with ease and celerity, in the bark canoes of the In- dians. The ice of winter afforded them a broad, crystal highway, with no ob- struction of forest or mountain, of ravine or river. If deep and impassable snows rested upon its bosom, snow-shoes were readily constructed, and secured and facilitated their march. The settlement made on Manhattan Island, the occupation of which followed Hudson's discovery and the granting of the charter of 1614 to the Dutch East India Company, progressed rapidly. A fort was built on the island, and also one on the site of Albany. In 1621 the Dutch West India Company was formed and, under their charter, took possession of New Amsterdam, as the fort with its surroundings was called. For fifteen years the most amicable re- lations existed between the Dutch and the Indians ; but the harsh and unwise administration of William Kieft, who was appointed director-general in Sep- tember, 1637, provoked the beginning of hostilities with the natives, which were kept up with more or less vindictiveness during the period of his admin- istration. In May, 1647, Peter Stuyvesant succeeded Kieft as director-general or governor. He was the last of the Dutch officials in that capacity, and the firm and just coilrse followed by him harmonized the difficulties with the In- dians and also with the Swedes who had colonized in the region of the Delaware. On the I2th of March, 1664, Charles II, of England, conveyed by royal patent to his brother James, Duke of York, all the country from the river St. Croix to the Kennebec, in Maine ; also Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard and Long Island, together with all the land from the west side of the Connecticut River to the east side of Delaware Bay. The duke sent an English squadron, French and Indian War. 59 under Admiral Richard Nicolls, to secure the gift, and on the 8th of Septem- ber following Governor Stuyvesant capitulated, being constrained to that ■course by the Dutch colonists, who preferred peace with the same privileges and liberties accorded to the English colonists, to a prolonged and perhaps fruitless contest. Thus ended the Dutch regime. The English changed the name of New Amsterdam to New York. The Dutch had, during their period of peace with the Iroquois, become thrifty and well-to-do through the energetic prosecution of their missionary work of. trading guns and rum to the Indians, thus supplying them with a two- «dged sword. The peaceful relations existing between the Dutch and the In-