fc UKE CHAMPLAIN TERCENTENARY JULY4-10, 1909 LAKE CHAMPLAIN from. MOUNT DEFIANCE STATE OF NEW YORK EDUCATION DEPARTMENT 1909 STATE OF NEW YORK '^j::h^ ^ Um-hmJ^j^ EDUCATION DEPARTMENT Lake Champlain Tercentenary MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION Hon. H. WALLACE KNAPP, Mooers, Chairman Hon. HENRY W. HILL, Buffalo, Secretary Hon. WALTER C. WITHERBEE, Port Henry, Treasurer Hon. JAMES J. FRAWLEY, New York Hon. JAMES SHEA, Lake Placid Hon. WILLIAM R. WEAVER, Peru Hon. JAMES A. FOLEY, New York Hon. JOHN H. BOOTH, Plattsburg Hon. JOHN B. RILEY, Plattsburg Hon. LOUIS C. LAFONTAINE, Champlain Hon. HOWLAND PELL, New York DATES AND PLACES OF FORMAL EXERCISES July 5, Crown Point July 6, Fort Ticonderoga July 7, Plattsburg July 8, Burlington July 9, Isle La Motte ALBANY NEW YORK STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT 1909 Z^l LAKE CHAMPLAIN TERCENTENARY BY THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION THERE is reason enough for the two great celebrations which the State of New York is to hold in July and September next. Lake Champlain and the Hudson river were discovered and explored in the same year, 1609, the lake in July, and the river in September. Each took the name of the discoverer. Champlain was a French sea captain, in the service of France, and Hudson was an English sea captain, in the employ of the Dutch. Lake Champlain is about ninety miles long in a straight line. In width it varies from a half mile to fifteen miles. It has about fifty attractive islands, its shores are broken by innumerable bays and inlets. The Adirondack mountains form the background on the New York side, and the Green mountains on the Vermont side. On the shores of the lake and at the foot of the mountains there are many fine towns and pretty villages, and a great number of sumptuous summer homes. The lake has been well stocked with fish, and the surrounding forests abound in game. Magnificent steamers and beau^ tiful sailboats and pleasure yachts traverse its waters. Excellent railroads skirt its borders, it has come to be a playground for the whole nation. Taken altogether, it makes one of the most attractive and impressive regions to be seen anywhere in the world. Celebrated as Lake Champlain is for its natural beauty and its energetic life, it is even more celebrated for its history. Song and story and legend ; forts and battlefields ; heroisms and tragedies which stir and appall mankind ; and victories of the utmost importance to America and to all civilization, are all associated with Lake Champlain. it is hardly too much to say that upon its beautiful waters the Ameri- can navy was born, that it witnessed the contests which decided that the Iroquois and not the Algonquins or the Hurons, that civilization and not savagery, that the English and not the French, that the Republic of the United States and not the British Empire, should be dominant, successively, in the western continent. Lake Champlain, with the Hudson, forms a natural highway cf momentous import from the Atlantic ocean to the St Lawrence river. The Indians knew this road well and followed it much. They could paddle their canoes, by carrying them overland only twenty miles, all the way from the mouth of the Hudson to the St Lawrence. If they followed the trails along the shores, they encountered no elevation of more than one hundred and fifty feet above the level of the sea. The rival tribes often fought for the possession of these waters and this road. It was the " dark and bloody ground " and became the great warpath of the Iroquois, who controlled it until they met white men. The French, who came with Champlain, and the Dutch who came with Hudson, and the English who followed him, soon found this great highvv/ay between the north and the south. They took it from the Indians, only to fight for it between themselves. Whether English or French civilization was to be uppermost in America had to be decided by war. Vessels were built and a little navy was con' structed. Bloody campaigns surged over these waters and along these trails in northern New York. Thousands perished through hardship and battle. Old Ticonderoga saw the English triumph. Soon the warpath of the Iroquois became the veritable warpath of the RevO' lution. Again the battle coursed back and forth along Lake Champlain. Now Canada was English instead of French, and from their homes at the north and their base of supplies at New York the armies of Britain sought to join forces upon this road and sever the patriots of New England from their fellows in the Middle and the Southern States. Again Ticonderoga, Crown Point, and Plattsburg became invaluable strategic points, and once more they and all of the Champlain valley were at the very vortex of the dreadful forces of war. The control of this great thoroughfare was to determine the issue of American in- dependence ; the first British forts seized by the Patriots were upon it : and upon it, near Saratoga, the most strategic battle of the Revolution was fought, and the most overwhelming victory of the Patriots was won. In the vv'ar which confirmed American independence the Cham- plain country was again the vantage ground. An invading army of fourteen thousand men, half of whom were regulars and veterans fresh from British battles in France and Spain, was driven back by New York militiamen at and around Plattsburg. In Plattsburg bay the Americans fought the severest naval battle and won the most decisive naval victory of the war. Before the onset the American commander called the crew of the flagship to the quarter-deck and prayed for the victory v^^hich the gallantry of the little squadron speedily gained. In the battle of Plattsburg bay there were fifty- two Americans killed, and upon two of the vessels there was hardly a man who Vv'as not wounded. Not less than two thousand Americans have given up their lives in battles upon and about Lake Champlain in order to create and protect American institutions. These events make the Champlain country more sacred to all patriotic Americans than it is fascinating to all the v/orld. All the men and women of our State, and all the boys and girls in the schools, should study the details of the history Vv'hich I can here no more than suggest. The celebration, v^hich will occur in the v^eek commencing with the 4th of July, must not be a pastime alone. It should quicken the minds of all the people of the State of New York with an interest in the beautiful valley and the particular places where great events have happened. The way to do that most completely is to do it through the children in the schools. The teachers are asked to cooperate with the State in accomplishing this end. The following pages will aid the teachers to procure the information which they will need in impressing the lesson. They are particularly asked to dwell upon the horrors, as well as the heroisms, of war. Nations are more rational, and wars are happily not so common as they used to be. France, our early foe and our long- time friend, has now many worthy descendants in the Champlain valley : and to them we will express our gratitude for the vital aid Vv'hich their country gave to our struggling cause. Old Britain and the United States have come to understand each other better and respect each other more; and now they v^ill meet upon historic ground to enter into a yet more absolute union for the peace, security and progress of the world. This celebration is being arranged jointly between the states of New York and Vermont, and it is to be participated in by the govern- ment and the people of the Dominion of Canada. Everything said and everything done will be in the interests of universal good-will. This does not imply that we must forget, or that we must omit to speak of what has helped to break out the highways of civilization and open the way for the advance of democratic freedom and independ- ence. Let the lesson be of Vv'hat our fathers were obliged to do and had to suffer ; of our obligations to make the most of what they transmitted to us ; and of our purpose to do all we may for the good of our country and all mankind. While it is not practicable to name any one day for holding exercises in the schools, it is suggested that teachers take frequent occasion to speak upon the subject ; that the children be induced to read and write about it ; and that before the close of the schools for the year, an afternoon be taken for exercises calculated to create interest in the theme and in the celebration. THE LAKE CHAMPLAIN TERCENTENARY COMMISSION ORGANIZATION AND PLANS ON April 15, 1907, Hon. Henry W. Hill of BufFalo ofFered in the State Senate the following concurrent resolution author^ izing the appointment of a commission to confer With, com' missioners from Vermont and the Dominion of Canada in relation to the observance of the tercentenary of the discovery of Lake Champlain : Whereas, The discovery of Lake Champlain by Samuel de Champlain, in July, 1609, antedates the discovery by the whites of any other portion of the territory now comprising the State of New York, and was an event worthy of commemoration in the annals of the State and nation, and Whereas, The State of Vermont, in 1906, appointed a commission consisting of the Governor of that state and six other commissioners, to confer with commissioners to be appointed on the part of New York and the Dominion of Canada, to ascertain what action, if any, ought to be taken by such states and the Dominion of Canada for the observance of such tercentenary. Therefore, Resolved (if the Assembly concur), that a commission, consisting of the Governor, who shall be chairman, ex officio, two citizens to be designated by him, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly, two Senators, to be designated by the Lieutenant Governor, and two members of the Assembly, to be designated by the Speaker, be appointed to represent the State of New York at such conference, with power to enter into negotiations with the commis' sioners representing the State of Vermont and those representing the Dominion of Canada for the observance of such tercentenary, and that such commission report the results of their negotiations, together with their recommendations thereon, to the Legislature of 1908. That such commissioners receive no pay for their services and that their necessary expenses be paid by the State, but such payment shall not exceed the amount expressly appropriated therefor. In accordance with the above resolution, which was adopted by the Senate April 15, 1907, and by the Assembly April 16, 1907, the following appointments were made to the commission : by the Governor, the Hon. Frank S. Witherbee of Port Henry and the Hon. John H. Booth of Plattsburg ; by the Lieutenant Governor, the Hon. Henry W. Hill of BufFalo, and the Hon. John C. R. Taylor of Middletown ; by the Speaker of the Assembly, the Hon. Alonson T. Dominy of Beekman' town and the Hon. James A. Foley of New York city. The New York and the Vermont commissions made a tour of inspection of Lake Champlain in September 1907 visiting nearly all the important points of historical interest and determining upon a general plan of celebration. At a joint meeting of the commissions held at Albany, December 21, 1907, resolutions which had been previously adopted by a special subcommittee were adopted by the whole commission setting forth the advisability of an appropriate celebration through the cooperation of New York and Vermont and the federal government. Thereafter a bill was submitted to the Legis' lature which was enacted and became chapter 149 of the laws of 1908 providing for the celebration of the tercentenary of the dis- covery of Lake Champlain and the appointment of a commission. The commission appointed under the above law consists of H. Wallace Knapp of Mooers, N. Y., chairman; Henry W. Hill of Buffalo, secretary ; Walter C. Witherbee of Port Henry, treasurer ; James J. Frawley of New York city; James Shea of Lake Placid; William R. Weaver of Peru ; James A. Foley of New York city ; John H. Booth of Plattsburg ; John B. Riley of Plattsburg ; Louis C. Lafontaine of Champlain ; and Howland Pell of New York city. PROGRAM OF EXERCISES The New York and Vermont commissions have concluded con- tracts with Mr L. O. Armstrong of Montreal to present Indian pageants on Lake Champlain during the tercentenary celebration. These will be presented by 150 native Indian descendants of the original tribes that occupied portions of the Champlain valley at the time of its discovery by Champlain. They will reproduce the battle of Champlain with the Iroquois and also present a dramatic version of Longfellow's "Hiawatha" on floating barges anchored on the waters of the lake at various places where exercises are to be held. All the churches of Vermont and New York have been invited to participate in general observances on Sunday, July 4, 1909, and formal exercises will be held on July 5 at Crown Point, on July 6 at Fort Ticonderoga, on July 7 at Plattsburg, on July 8 at Burlington and on July 9 at Isle La Motte, at each of which places Indian pageants will be presented. President Taft, Vice President Sherm.an, Speaker Cannon, representatives of France, Great Britain and Canada, and Governors Hughes of New York and Prouty of Vermont are expected to attend the exercises. It is expected that patriotic, historical and other societies will hold commemorative exercises at other times and places also. A full program can not as yet be given. The commission will later make complete announcements through the press and in an official program. OBSERVANCE BY THE SCHOOLS J' \ Medal struck in Quebec in 1904 NASMUCH as the celebration comes at a time when the schools o^ the State are not generally in session, it is not deemed practicable to set apart any one day for observance of the tercentenary in the schools. It is to be hoped, however, that exercises will be held in each case as best suits local convenience. All classes in history may well make a special study of the life and explorations of Champlain and the conspicuous part the lake which bears his name has in our early history. In this connection it is hoped that the article on " Champlain and the Lake " in this bulletin will be found useful. The special attention of teachers of history is also called to the map at the end, which has been carefully and accurately prepared and which shows all the main points of historical interest on the lake. This bulletin can not, of course, be more than generally suggestive. The reading list will be found useful in the preparation of programs. While it is always necessary to have in mind the grade and work of an individual school in preparing a program, the following topics are suggested with the thought that they may be modified to meet individual needs : Essays. The Prehistoric Lake; The Lake To-day; A Brief Account of Champlain's Life; The Discovery of Lake Champlain; Champlain's Battle with the Iroquois; Lake Champlain in Colonial Days ; Lake Champlain in the Revolution ; Lake Champlain in the War of 1812; The Defeat of Abercrombie at Ticonderoga ; The Capture of Ticonderoga by Ethan Allen; The Capture of Ticonderoga by Burgoyne; The Story of the Royal Savage; The Scenery of the Champlain Valley; The Hurons and the Algonquins. Readings. The Geology of the Champlain Valley [p. 25-27] ; Lake Champlain [p. 30-31] ; selections from Champlain and the Lake [p. 1 1-22] ; selections from Champlain's own account of his voyages, especially the discovery of the lake and the battle with the Iroquois \see reading list, p. 9]. Recitations. Ticonderoga [p. 28-29] ; By the Shores of Lake Champlain [p. 23]; Surprise of Ticonderoga; Burgoyne's Fleet {see reading list, p. 9J. 8 LAKE CHAMPLAIN: A SELECT READING LIST Biographies and original narratives of Champlain Champlain, Samuel de. Voyages. 1604-1618 ; ed. by W. L Grant. 377p.O. N.Y. 1907. Scribner $3 net. (Original Narratives of Early American History) Voyages and Explorations, 1604-1616; tr. by A. N. Bourne. 2v.D. N.Y. 1906. Barnes $2 net. Dix, E. A. Champlain, the Founder of New France. 246p.D. N.Y. 1903. Appleton $ 1 net. Gives more space to purely personal matters and less to historical conditions than Parkman's account in the Pioneers of France in the New World. Sedgwick, H. D. Samuel de Champlain. 126p.S. Bost. 1902. Houghton 65c net. (Riverside Biographical Ser.) Designed for young readers. History Palmer, p. S, History of Lake Champlain, 1609-1814. 276p.O. Albany 1866. Munsell $5. The only complete and concise history of Lake Champlain. Now out of print. The same material can be found in the following works. Arnold, I. N. Naval Battle of Valcour Island. (St^tWn'5 Life of Benedict Arnold. 1897. p. 105-20. McClurg$1.50) Brady, C. T. Fighting around Ticonderoga. (See his Colonial Fights and Fighters. 1907. p.263-86. McClure $1.50) Fiske, John. American Revolution. 2v.D. Bost. 1899. Houghton $4. All the pertinent material is in v. I . New France and New England. 378p.D. Bost. 1902. Houghton $2. Hall, Henry. Capture of Ticonderoga. (See his Ethan Allen. 1892. p.61-80. Appleton $ 1 ) Johnson, Rossiter. History of the French War. 381p.D. N.Y. 1882. Dodd $1. Livingston, W. F. Attack on Ticonderoga. {See his \sra.e\ Putna.m. 1901. p.74-84. Putnam $1.35 net) Lossing, B. T. Pictorial Field-book of the War of 1812. 1084p.O. N.Y. 1868-96. Harper $3.50. Pictorial Field-book of the Revolution. 2v.O. N.Y. 1860. Harper $7. All the pertinent material is in v.l. Parkman, Francis. Historic Handbook of the Northern Tour. ISOp.O. Bost. 1899. Little $1.50. The narratives of Lake Champlain are drawn from Pioneers of France in the New World and Montcalm and Wolfe. Montcalm and Wolfe. 2v.D. Bost. 1903. Little $4. Lake Champlain in the French and Indian War. Pioneers of France in the New World. 473p.D. Bost. 1898. Little $1.50. Champlain and the discovery of the lake. Roosevelt, Theodore. Naval War of 1812. 549p.O. N.Y. 1889. Putnam $2.50. Poetry about Lake Champlain Harper, J. M. Champlain: a drama in three acts. 296p.D. N.Y. 1909. John Lane Co. Stansbury, M. A. P. Surprise of Ticonderoga. {See Scollard, Clinton. Ballads of American Bravery. 1900. p.13-17. Silver 50c) Street, A. B. Burgoyne's Fleet. {See Longfellow, H. W. Poems of Places : America. Middle States. 1879. p.61-65. Houghton $1) Tuckerman, H. T. Lake Champlain. {See Longfellow, H. W. Poems of Places : America, Middle States. 1879. p.58-60) Wilson, V. B. Ticonderoga. {See Longfellow, H. W. Poems of Places : America, Middle States. 1879. p. 24 1-43; also Matthews, Brander. Poems of American Patriotism. 1907. p.21-24. Scribner $1.50) Prose Canavan, M. J. Ben Comee ; a Tale of Rogers's Rangers, 1758-59. 263p.D. N.Y.1899. Macmillan $1 50. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Old Ticonderoga. {See his House of the Seven Gables and The Stone Image. Riverside ed. 1892. p.591-97. Houghton $2) -.<^; ■~/f ■' :* Statue of Champlain at Quebec CHAMPLAIN AND THE LAKE THE discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, in 1492, was the greatest and most far-reaching event of the ages, it opened the pathway to a new world and led hither sailors and explorers who prepared it for settlement and civilization. These men were stout of spirit and sturdy of frame, used to toil and heedless of hardships. They were persistent and resourceful. Their names are renowned in story. Among them are Ponce de Leon who sought the "fountain of perpetual youth " in Florida; Balboa who from a peak in Darien first looked upon the Pacific ; Cortez who con- quered Mexico, and Pizarro who conquered Peru; De Soto who found the Mississippi and was buried in its waters; and Coronado whose expedition opened a wide region west of the Mississippi. These were all Spanish explorers but Spain made no permanent settle^ ments in the United States except at Saint Augustine and Santa Fe. For England, the Cabots so early as 1497 struck land on Cape Breton and skirted the Atlantic coast, probably from Labrador to the Carolinas. A century later Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed Newfoundland in the name of his queen, and Sir Walter Raleigh attempted to establish a colony in North Carolina, while Drake, Hawkins and other daring spirits swept the high seas almost clear of Spanish vessels. But England made no lasting colonization at this time upon the soil she was eventually to govern. For France, Denis of Horfleur and Aubert of Dieppe sailed over the Gulf of St Lawrence, and Baron de Lery tried in vain to make a settlement on Sable island early in the 16th century, in 1523 Verrazano entered The Narrows, gazed upon the spacious harbor of New York and saw the beautiful river which Henry Hudson ascended 86 years afterward. He also coasted New England. In 1534 Jacques Cartier went up the St Lawrence river to the Indian village of Hochelaga, on the site of Montreal. In 1541 the Sieur de Roberval constructed a building— half barracks and half castle — at Hochelaga, but was obliged by adverse circumstances to abandon his settlement. Efforts were also made by the French to plant a colony in Florida, but it failed to thrive ; and they were finally driven thence by the Spaniards. And so, while there had been many valuable dis- coveries and explorations in the territory now embraced in the United States and British America, it can not be said that any European people really occupied any portion of it at the close of the 1 6th century. In the 17th century the colonization of North America practically begins and the nations of Europe contend for the possession of a conti' nent. As the century unrolls, strong characters appear and stirring events occur. Among the many men of pith and pluck who answer to the call of " Westward ho I " — the pioneers and makers of states — none is more notable or nobler than Samuel de Champlain. He may be fairly termed a master builder. He was sailor and soldier, projector and explorer, map maker and chronicler, crusader and patriot, governor and colonizer. He was bold and unflinching, earnest, honest and just, and was a commanding figure in American afl^airs in his day. He was born about 1567 — the exact date is not known — in Brouage, on the southwest coast of France, now an insignificant ham' let, then a flourishing seaport. His father engaged in the fisheries and became a captain in the royal navy, and his uncle, called "the Provengal captain," was a stanch seaman often employed in important naval movements. Samuel was a bright and sturdy boy, had a decent education, played about the wharves and held converse with the sailors, among whom he was a favorite. He was fascinated by their accounts of travel and peril and learned much about ships, how to manage them and whither they went. He meant to be a sailor, but this was a time when discord reigned in France and Henry IV was fighting for his crown; and Champlain, although he was a Catholic in a Catholic town, joined the King's army, rose to a lieutenancy and by his bravery attracted the attention of the King who awarded him a pension at the end of the contest, and attached him to his person. So, he was a soldier, but the King releasing him in 1598, he took service with his uncle, the Provengal captain, who had been made pilot general to send the Spaniards home from their last strong- hold in Brittany. Champlain went with them to Cadiz. This experi- ence fitted him for the command of his uncle's vessel which, chartered by Spain, joined the royal fleet bound for the West Indies and in January 1599 he started "strange countries for to see." He then began a journal, which he continued during his life, noting things done and seen by him, in phrase somewhat crude and clumsy and occa- sionally betraying a strange credulity as to marvels related to him. it is illustrated by sketch maps and with grotesque drawings, but in the main it is free from self-conceit, closely observant, painstaking and truthful in narrative. It is a mine of information, of the utmost historic value. It is for New France what Governor Bradford's record is for Plymouth. He was absent from France over two years, visiting nearly all the West Indies, Yucatan, Mexico and the Isthmus of Panama. 12 From Havana he returned with the Spanish fleet, richly laden with tropic products to Spain, and thence he went to the court of France. But he could not be an idle courtier. He sought adventure. With the King's permission, he accepted a place as geographer royal from Amyar de Chastes, governor of Dieppe. Chastes was a gallant soldier who had, although a Catholic, like Champlain, fought for Henry and stood high in that monarch's favor. De Chastes had a plan for French colonization in New France and obtained a monopoly of the fur trade therein. There had been previous concessions of a like nature to the Marquis de la Roche and Chauvin and a trading post had been PHOTOGRAPH Bt CEORGE Sloop bay off Valcour island established at Tadousac near the mouth of the Saguenay, but it had not been successful. De Chastes joined with him several prominent merchants, chief of whom was Pontgrave who had made several voyages to the St Lawrence. An expedition for commercial purposes and the spread of the gospel was organized in 1603. Champlain accompanied it in the position named, being told by the King to bring back a " true report of what should befall." It sailed as far as Montreal, where no trace of Hochelaga, as seen by Cartier, was found. It tried in vain to go up the Lachine rapids and heard wondrous stories of Niagara and the Great Lakes. Champlain explored and mapped out the river, and returned to find de Chastes dead. The concession fell 13 to de Monts and, second to him, Champlain made another voyage, wintering on the island of St Croix and aiding in a settlement at Port Royal. Between 1604 and 1606 he made a complete chart of the Atlantic seaboard from Cape Breton to Cape Cod. In 1607 he was again in France. And now begins Champlain's great career in America, when the explorer becomes the colonizer and the projector, the administrator. He was fully prepared for his task. He was in the prime of life, alert, ambitious, accustomed to command and well acquainted with the region he was to exploit. He had outlined a definite scheme, which included the security of the French domain in the new world by permanent occupation and its extension by opening pathways from the Atlantic to the Pacific. He therefore accepted the proposal of de Monts, whose trading privileges had been renewed, to lead a colony to Canada. Champlain was appointed governor, with Pontgrave' who had had much experience as a trader, as business manager. Champlain was positive that settlement should be made on the St Lawrence river rather than in Acadia (Nova Scotia). He knew Quebec as a natural fortress. With it as a key the waterways and lakes beyond would be unlocked to commerce with the forest Indians. His plans approved, he landed his company of 28 men at Quebec, July 3, 1608. Building immediately began near the site of the present market place in the lower town; and New France was founded — that vast realm which was to stretch southwest from the St Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico, including the basin of the Mississippi and touching the Rocky mountains on their eastern slope. About it the halo of romance still lingers. Its story shines with discovery and enchants with adventure. It is starred with the daring and energy of La Salle and Hennepin and Marquette and with the zeal of the martyred missionaries of the cross. Much of the territory remained the resort of hunters and trappers, with a string of forts and trading posts from Quebec to New Orleans, it is not necessary here to describe the civilization which ensued or to compare it with that with which England fringed the Atlantic, in which homes were made and free institutions declared. Suffice it to say that for the mistakes into ■which French occupation fell, Champlain was not responsible, for he builded on broad foundations, and lower Canada, at least, owes much of its liberties and prosperities to his inspiration. The first year at Quebec was a severe one. At its end, 20 persons had died, and a plot to kill the governor and seize the stores had been exposed and the ringleader executed, but the governor 14 15 persevered in his work. He had come to stay. A storehouse and three dwellings had been constructed, inclosed by a palisade, and outside ground had been cleared and grain sown. Supplies and reinforcements, under Pontgrave, had arrived from Tadousac and the colony went on bravely. In the summer of 1609 — 300 years ago — an event occurred which is of special moment to New York. It was an expedition toward the south, undertaken at the instance of friendly Indians. Ascending the St Lawrence to the mouth of the Richelieu, with a considerable force of Indians and a few Frenchm.en, Champlain was there deserted by a large number of his dusky allies and he ordered all his countrymen, save two, back to Quebec. He proceeded, however, with 60 picked Algonquin and Huron braves and 24 canoes until he reached the lake to which with pardonable pride he gave his name and it is happily still so called. He was the first white man to behold it. Subsequent surveys have shown it to be 125 miles long v^ith a width varying from 1'2 mile to 15 miles, with headlands and quiet bays, with a depth sufficient for ships of the largest class and dotted with more than 50 islands. The precise date when Champlain entered the lake is not known, but it was either on or very near to the 4th of July. It would be exceedingly interesting if he saw the lake which forms, for the greater part of its course, the boundary between two states of the American Union, on the day which is held forever sacred by the citizens of this Republic ; and it does not require a too vivid imagination to think of this good writer and maker of history, this brave explorer, presenting the lake which he had found, to the great republic that came into being 167 years afterward. Title to it originally comes from his hands, and in connection With Indepen^ dence day renders still more fitting the hearty commemoration by Americans of the tercentenary of Champlain's discovery. As Champlain entered the lake, he noticed many pretty islands covered with woods and meadows, with great numbers of fowls and such animals as stags, fawns and bears. It was bordered by many fine trees, chestnut and others, of the same kinds as those in France, with many finer than he had seen in any other place- This region was not inhabited by any savages, as they had vv'ith' drawn into the interior in order not to be surprised by their enemies. Ascending the lake, "Cumberland head was passed, and from the opening of the great channel between Grande isle and the main he could look forth on the wilderness sea. Edged with woods, the tranquil flood spread southward beyond the sight. 16 Far on the left rose the forest ridges of the Green mountains, and on the right the Adirondacks, haunts in these later years of amateur sportsmen from countingrooms or college halls. Then the Iroquois made them their hunting ground ; and beyond, in the valleys of the Mohawk, the Onondaga and the Genesee, stretched the long line of their five cantons and palisaded towns . . . Their goal vv'as the rocky promontory where Fort Ticonderoga was long afterward built. Thence, they would pass the outlet of Lake George and launch their canoes again on that Como of the wilderness, whose waters, limpid as a fountain head, stretched far southward between their flanking mountains." [ Parkman ] Ruins at Crown Point They gained their goal on the 29th of July, but they were now in the "enemy's country," for there was assembled to dispute their further progress a body of the Iroquois warriors who Vv'ere at deadly feud with the Hurons and Algonquins. It was 10 o'clock in the evening when Crown Point was reached and the Iroquois were seen on the water. Both parties began to utter loud cries and to get their arms in readiness for the fight which was sure to come. The Iroquois went on shore, drew up their canoes, began to fell trees and erect a barricade. The night was spent in dancing and singing with constant braggings and insults passing between the hostile tribes. When the 17 morning of the 30th came, Champlain and his two white associates kept well under cover, but saw the Iroquois, stout and rugged, come out of their barricade at a slow pace, with three chiefs at their head. The Hurons and Algonquins ran toward their foes who stood firmly against the attack. Then they began to call upon Champlain for help, and, through an opening in their ranks, he advanced until he was within about 30 paces of the enemy who looked upon him with fear. The battle was almost immediately decided by French arquebus as against Iroquois arrow ; for firearms vA^ere unknown to the red man, although it was not long before he learned to use them. Champlain raised his musket, loaded with four balls, and aimed directly at the chiefs. NA/'ith the one shot two fell to the ground and the other died soon afterward. Meanwhile the arrows flew on both sides. The Iroquois were greatly alarmed at the loss of their chiefs. As Champlain was loading again, one of his companions fired another shot with deadly effect, which terrified the Iroquois still more and they took to flight in the woods. They were pursued, a number being killed and some 10 or 12 prisoners taken, it was an utter rout. Some 15 or 16 of Champlain' s forces were wounded, but none severely. The battle took place at or near Ticonderoga. Champlain made a drawing of it, after his fashion, which is here reproduced. History says that Champlain committed a great error in thus exciting the hatred of that great confederacy against the French — a hatred that never wavered and by which both the Dutch and English profited materially; but if it was an error, it was one of the issues of which Champlain could not anticipate, and to it the adage, " If our foresight were as good as our hindsight we would never make any mistakes," may well apply. He might have hesitated had he been vouchsafed a vision of the future, in it he would have seen Henry Hudson, under the flag of Holland, ascending the river which bears his name and could have exchanged civilities with him across 100 miles of forest. He would have seen the lake spread at his feet the pathway which hostile Indian tribes passed to sack and slaughter. He would have seen continuous collisions between the French and English, each with their Indian allies. He would have seen French fortresses on its bank, the advance upon Crown Point of Sir William Johnson and his retreat as well; the death of Howe, and Montcalm's repulse of Abercrombie at Ticonderoga. But he would also at the last have witnessed taking of Crown Point and Ticonderoga by the great English soldier, Amherst, in 1758, and the capture by him of Montreal, and the end of French 19 dominion, in Canada, in 1 760. He would also, not without a thrill of joy it is to be imagined, have seen the American people winning from Great Britain the same territory that France had forever lost. He would have seen Benedict Arnold, afterward so sadly soiling his fame, performing prodigies of valor ; Ethan Allen seizing Ticonderoga, " by the authority of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress"; Crown Point also falling at his hands; Montgomery and Arnold, descending the lake, successfully assaulting St John's and making a bril' liant attack upon Quebec, where Montgomery died gloriously. He would have seen Sir Guy Carleton, in October 1 lid, with a fleet of 3 1 vessels and 12,000 men invading New York by way of Champlain, met by Arnold with a fev^ petty schooners and sloops — only 70 guns withal and a meager force — at Valcour island. He would have seen a desperate engagement, the first battle between an American and a British fleet ; and Arnold, crippled as he needs must be, skilfully slipping through the British line and winning laurels as " the bravest of the brave," taking what was left of his command to Ticonderoga, from before which Carleton retreats without daring to fire upon it. He would have seen the boastful Burgoyne svv^eeping with his army through the wilderness on the west side of the waters and retaking Ticonderoga — what a memorable spot I — but to be overwhelmed at Saratoga — the decisive engagement of the American Revolution. As the vision of Champlain opened still farther, he would have seen his lake again the scene of operations in the second conflict between the United States and Great Britain, and would have witnessed one of the bloodiest and most splendid encounters in naval warfare which has made the name of Macdonough illustrious ; and he would also have seen the channel through which an abundant commerce flowed, lined on either side with cultivated fields and pleasure grounds, the homes of a patriotic and prosperous people, with villages of thrift and manu- factures and marts, with two cities at its foot, where are churches and colleges and schools and stately mansions and the refinements of civilization, with the progress and enlightenment which natural advan^ tages and free institutions produce. But no such vision was permitted him. He saw only the fleeing Iroquois, the exultant Hurons and the blue expanse mirroring the wooded slopes and summits. He returned to Quebec to tell the incidents of his invasion and to protect and urge the interests of his colony. For 26 years thereafter he was almost continuously governor of New France, laboring unceasingly for its increase. He made many trips to France, sometimes with prolonged absence, for the 20 &EOR&E H. Arnold's point The schooner. Royal Savage, was beached at Arnold s point on Valcour island and abandoned on October I ! , 1776. In the evening she was boarded by the British and burned. Her hull was dragged out by subsequent storms and may be seen to this day a short distance from the shore through the ice in winter or when the water is calm in summer. assurance of royal favor and the adjustment of trading privileges and also many explorations of the immense, yet loosely defined, domain intrusted to his charge. He cleared the ground at Montreal for settle- ment and planted seeds therein as he had at Quebec. He journeyed up the Ottawa, possibly to the site whereon now stands the capital of the Dominion of Canada. He crossed Ontario, passed up the 21 Georgian bay, entered Huron and was entertained in Huron villages, thus acquainting himself with the country of the Great Lakes and fortifying the title of his King thereto. He maintained cordial relations with the Indian tribes with which he, at the first, leagued himself — frequently acting as umpire in their disputes — and by whom he was wellnigh worshipped. He fought the Iroquois persistently, if not always triumphantly, being once, at least, badly wounded and worsted by the Onondagas at a palisaded town near Oneida lake. His defeat, however, was due mainly to the recklessness of his Huron allies. He encouraged the missions of his church, esteeming the salvation of souls as of the highest import and not without influence upon commer' cial and political development. His administration was strict and upright, although tempered with mercy. He upheld the powers of the King and was, although personally democratic, the minister of absolu' tism. He was, however, restrained in arbitrary acts by his kindly heart. The greed of the trading companies caused him much anxiety and trouble, but he endeavored to compose their differences and never himself engaged in or profited by traflic with the Indians. He founded a school at Quebec in which the children of the savages were taught the precepts of religion, the French language and the usages of civilization. Toward the close of his life hardship beset and disaster befell Quebec. The traders neglected to provide supplies for the town and refused to repair its fortifications. Discontent reigned and famine threatened. A new company, the " Hundred Associates," with Cardinal Richelieu at its head, was organized, upon whom sovereignty and the control of the fur and other commodities of New France were conferred and a fleet was despatched to succor Quebec. But France and England were at war and, in July 1629, an English squadron, under Admiral David Kirke, overpowered the relief transports and captured Quebec. Champlain retired to France but, four years later, when England had given up Quebec, he came back as governor and again took up the work of colonization ; but within two years he was wasted by sickness and, on Christmas 1635, he died in the place to whose upbuilding he had given so much of his time, his energy and his capacity as a leader of men. Well is it that the city which he founded and of which he is affectionately called the father, has erected a stately monument to his memory and emphasized his virtues by elaborate ceremonial. NA^ell is it also that the Empire State, one of whose most picturesque and serviceable waterways he discovered, three centuries ago, should unite with a kindred people in acknowledging its obligation and testifying to the worth of Samuel de Champlain. Charles Elliott Fitch 22 BY THE SHORES OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN J- LINKED to many a wild tradition ^ in the grimy wigwam told. Where the red men breathless listened To the Mohawk hunter bold — - Girt about with mystic legends That have not been breathed in vain, 'Neath the clear skies of the Northland, Lie the waters of Champlain. Still adown its vanished vistas Which the eye would fain explore Come the laugh of dusky maidens And the dip of pliant oar ; And methinks across its bosom With their sails as \A/hite as snow, To the music of its forests. Flit the fleets of long ago. Now a bit of flaming scarlet For a moment comes in view And 'neath yonder rugged headland Is a dash of bufl^ and blue ; Often hath been told the story Of that ever glorious fray. How on its historic waters Once Macdonough won the day. Far above its sunlit ripples Soars the eagle in his might, Over cove, and crag, and headland. High above the beacon light ; Years will come, and years will vanish. They will not disturb his reign, For the fierce, proud bird of freedom Is the monarch of Champlain. You have but to scan its waters If its beauties you would know. You have but to turn its pages For the deeds of long ago ; For its legends and traditions You will never seek in vain ; For the story of the ages Is the story of Champlain. Thomas C. Harbaugh 23 Champlain's astrolabe The astrolabe shown above is supposed to have been lost by Champlain in 1613 on his first journey up the Ottawa river. It was found in 1867 in the county of North Renfrew in the province of Ontario, near the river. It is certain from Champlain's own narrative that he traveled over the portage road in which the astrolabe was found. He states that in ascending the Ottawa, he reached Chaudidre falls on the 4lh, the Rapids des Chats on the 5th, and the Island of Sainte Croix and the Portage du Fort on the 6th of June. 1613. It was during his march on the 7lh of June that the astrolabe is supposed to have been lost. The astrolabe is one of the earliest instruments used in determining latitude. The actual diameter of this specimen is 5s inches. It is of plate brass « inch thick above increasing to I inch be\ovj to give it steadiness when suspended. Its circle is divided into single degrees. The double-bladed index has slits and eyelets in the projecting sights. By turning the index direct to the sun at noon so that the same ray could shine fully through both eyelets while the astrolabe hung freely, the sun's meridian altitude and thereby the latitude of the place of observation could be taken within about a quarter of a degree. The date of 1603 is inscribed on the face of the astrolabe. It is in the possession of Mr Samuel V. Hoffman of New York city through whose courtesy it is reproduced. It is expected that the instrument will be exhibited in September by the New York Historical Society. 24 THE GEOLOGY OF THE CHAMPLAIN VALLEY JACQUES CARTIER, beating about the headland of Gaspe in the midsummer heat of 1534, beheld the mouth of the "Great river" — the St Lawrence — hurried back to France to bear the tidings of his discovery of the western route to Cathay, and next year carried the French lilies far up the new waterway to the Indian village of Hochelaga; the first of all white men to pass through the eastern gateway into the vast domain of New France. All uncon' scious, he had opened up to the nations the oldest and most majestic of the earth's inland waterways, a channel through which the waters of the western land have discharged into the sea from the nativity of the continents and the gray twilight of creation. It required a tremendous strain of our foster mother Earth to let the Frenchman into the inland secrets of this western world. We know that the path of this river was laid and its course determined by a very long and very deep rupture of the rock strata, and the geological structure of the country shows that north of the river lies a vast area of hard granitic rocks, extending from the Laurentian mountains to Labrador and beyond in both directions; to the south of the river, however, are much softer rocks of limestone, shale and sandstone which were laid down by the sea about the edges of the granites. Against these constituents of the growing continent the tremendous weight of the Atlantic ocean pressed out and the great mass, twisted and bent into mountain folds, broke down along the line where the hard and soft masses came together, one mass slipping down against the other. Thus was formed the great long wound in the earth's crust which is sometimes known as " Logan's fault," and this has directed the flow of the St Lawrence waters for all subsequent time. The way had been ready for the explorer untold centuries before he ventured upon the chance of finding it. \A/ith the rapid procession of the slender doings in the French settlements time ran on till the coming of Champlain. From his day back to Cartier's the occasional venturer from the settlements had gone on to the south and brought back reports of the vast lake in that region. In geographical discovery, as in history, we are wont to associate great events about conspicuous names, and we have lost the name of the lowly French trader or soldier who first laid white man's eyes on the waters of the splendid lake we call today after the founder of New France. But we may well believe that when Champlain 25 and his Algonquin allies sailed its waters in 1609 the commander could not fail to see there what every eye beholds today — its rocky, steep bluffed western shore and the low lying coast on the east. Champlain would have found no lake here had not the uneasy crust of the earth again been shattered along a north and south line and again had not a great block of its mass fallen down between two others. The steep cliffs which line the water from Port Henry to Plattsburg are the upstanding faces of the rock mass from which the now sunken bottom of the lake was torn away as it slipped down to its present place. The rock blocks slipped further down on the west than on the east and that is the reason why the waters of the lake shallow gradually from the steep western shore to the low islands and gentle slopes of the Vermont side. It is easy to understand that if the structure of the earth in this region had been other than it is the whole course of our history must have been different. History takes the earth as it finds her and trails its frail doings along her lineaments seldom realizing that the earth never relaxes her irresistible control of every scene that is played out upon her surface. So these two great breaks in the crust which let Champlain begin the train of momentous events along the St Lawrence and Lake Champlain, were the growing pains of the earth. Her rigid rocks could not yield to the tremendous strains to which they were subjected from lateral thrusts and the stresses of contraction, except by giving way at lines of least resistance. Doubtless there is a very close connection between these two lines of displacement, even though they lie at a large angle to each other ; indeed they probably were contemporaneous in their origin. But these breaks are very ancient ; the lake has gone through many transformations since these early convulsions fixed its place. For ages the Champlain valley discharged its fresh waters, full and free, into the St Lawrence ; for other ages it was dammed with glacial ice which brought the waters at the ice foot far above their present level and when the ice had disappeared the salt waters of the Atlantic filled its basin and left over its bottom the dead v^hales and seals whose bones are now found in the high terraces above the waters. Today the free and open passage is blocked at the north for the valley is filled with old river deposits. Who will say that this blocking of the north end of the lake, burying its bottom under a wilderness of forest and leaving the little, barely navigable Sorel river the only waterway between the two thoroughfares, has not, by hampering the movements of French 26 or English armies, still further commanded the course of our history ? The old abiding wounds in the earth's crust which made a place for river and lake have never healed. Such wounds never do heal ; when strains set up in the crust, there they are ; lines of least resist' ance where movement is again most likely. It is true that our part of the earth is growing old and staid, but as a sober and venerable man may now and again burst out with an echo of his youthful spirit, so to the aged earth, our terra firma, the vivacity of its earlier days some' times returns. In 1663, when a slender population was scattered all the way down the St Lawrence from Montreal to Gaspe' these wounds opened and the rock masses slipped a little further down, causing one of the severest earthquakes in American history. We can not say when another such disturbance may come — perhaps never ; perhaps tomorrow. Lake George covers another scar in the broken crust ; its steep sides and rocky islets are ancient testimony of the crushing downbreak which laid a picturesque setting for the deeds of wild daring its shores were to witness. John M. Clarke Moonlight scene on Lake Champlain 27 TICONDEROGA THE cold, gray light of the dawning On old Carillon fails. And dim in the mist of the morning Stand the grim old fortress walls. No sound disturbs the stillness Save the cataract's mellow roar. Silent as death is the fortress. Silent the misty shore. But up from the wakening waters Comes the cool, fresh morning breeze. Lifting the banner of Britain, And whispering to the trees Of the swift gliding boats on the waters That are nearing the fog' shrouded land. With the old Green Mountain Lion, And his daring patriot band. But the sentinel at the postern Heard not the whisper low ; He is dreaming of the banks of the Shannon As he walks on his beat to and fro. Of the starry eyes in Green Erin That were dim when he marched away. And a tear down his bronzed cheek courses, 'T is the first for many a day. A sound breaks the misty stillness. And quickly he glances around ; Through the mist, forms like towering giants Seem rising out of the ground ; A challenge, the firelock flashes, A sword cleaves the quivering air. And the sentry lies dead by the postern. Blood staining his bright yello\\' hair. Then, with a shout that awakens All the echoes of hillside and glen. Through the low, frowning gate of the fortress. Sword in hand, rush the Green mountain men. The scarce wakened troops of the garrison Yield up their trust pale with fear ; And down comes the bright British banner. And out rings a Green mountain cheer. 28 Flushed with pride, the whole eastern heavens With crimson and gold are ablaze ; And up springs the sun in his splendor And flings down his arrowy rays. Bathing in sunlight the fortress. Turning to gold the grim walls. While louder and clearer and higher Rings the song of the waterfalls. Since the taking of Ticonderoga A century has rolled away ; But with pride the nation remembers That glorious morning in May. And the cataract's silvery music Forever the story tells, Of the capture of old Carillon, The chime of the silver bells. V. B. Wilson Ruins of Fort Ticonderoga 29 LAKE CHAMPLAIN NOT thoughtless let us enter thy domain ; Well did the tribes of yore. Who sought the ocean from the distant plain. Call thee their country's door. And as the portals of a saintly pile The wanderer's steps delay, And, while he musing roams the lofty aisle. Care's phantoms melt away In the vast realm where tender memories brood O'er sacred haunts of time. That woo his spirit to a nobler mood And more benignant clime, — So in the fane of thy majestic hills We meekly stand elate ; The baffled heart a tranquil rapture fills Beside thy crystal gate : For here the incense of the cloistered pines. Stained windows of the sky. The frescoed clouds and mountains' purple shrines. Proclaim God's temple nigh. Through wild ravines thy wayward currents glide. Round bosky islands play ; Here tufted headlands meet the lucent tide. There gleams the spacious bay ; Untracked for ages, save when crouching flew. Through forest'hung defiles. The dusky savage in his frail canoe. To seek the thousand isles. Or rally to the fragrant cedar's shade The settler's crafty foe. With toilsome march and midnight ambuscade To lay his dwelling low. Along the far horizon's opal wall The dark blue summits rise. And o'er them rifts of misty sunshine fall. Or golden vapor lies. And over all tradition's gracious spell A fond allurement weaves ; Her \o\N refrain the moaning tempest swells. And thrills the whispering leaves. 30 To win this virgin land, — a kingly quest, — Chivalric deeds were wrought ; Long by thy marge and on thy placid breast The Gaul and Saxon fought. What cheers of triumph in thy echoes sleep I NA/hat brave blood dyed thy wave 1 A grass-grown rampart crowns each rugged steep. Each isle a hero's grave. And gallant squadrons manned for border fray. That rival standards bore. Sprung from thy woods and on thy bosom lay, — Stern warders of the shore. How changed since he whose name thy waters bear. The silent hills between, Led by his swarthy guides to conflict there. Entranced beheld the scene I Fleets swiftly ply where lagged the lone bateau. And quarries trench the gorge ; Where waned the council-fire, now steadfast glow The pharos and the forge. On Adirondack's lake-encircled crest Old war-paths mark the soil. Where idly bivouacs the summer guest. And peaceful miners toil. Where lurked the wigwam, cultured households throng ; NA^here rung the panther's yell Is heard the low of kine. a blithesome song, Or chime of village bell. And when, to subjugate the peopled land. Invaders crossed the sea. Rushed from thy meadovAz-slopes a stalwart band, To battle for the free. Nor failed the pristine valor of the race To guard the nation's life ; Thy hardy sons met treason face to face. The foremost in the strife. When locusts bloom and wild-rose scents the air. When moonbeams fleck the stream. And June's long twilights crimson shadows wear. Here linger, gaze, and dream I Henry Theodore Tuckerman 31 CHRONOLOGY J- \567 (about) Champlain born at Brouage in France 1603 Champlain and Pontgrave visit present sites of Quebec and Montreal 1604-6 Champlain coasted and charted the Atlantic seaboard 1605 Port Royal founded 1608, July 3 Quebec founded by Champlain 1 609, July Lake Champlain discovered by Champlain July 30 Champlain defeated the Iroquois near Crown Point 1611, June Champlain cleared a spot at Montreal for settlement 1613 Champlain explored the Ottawa river 1615 Lakes Ontario, Huron and Nipissing discovered by Champlain 1629, July 20 Quebec capitulated to the English expedition under Sir David Kirke 1629-33 Champlain in France 1632, March 29 Canada and Acadia retroceded to France 1633, May 23 Champlain returned to Quebec as governor of Canada 1635, Dec. 25 Champlain died at Quebec 1646 Lake George discovered by Isaac Jogues '710 Split Rock, in the town of Essex, acknowledged as the limit of English domain by the treaty of Utrecht 1731 French fort (St Frederic) built at Crown Point 1755 Fort Carillon (Ticonderoga) built by the French 1 755 Sir William Johnson built Fort William Henry 1 758 Abercrombie's unsuccessful attack on Montcalm at Ticonderoga 1759, Aug. 4 Fort St Frederic occupied by General Amherst and rebuilt by the English 1775, May 10 Ticonderoga surprised and captured by Ethan Allen 1 775, May 1 1 Crown Point taken by Seth Warner without bloodshed 1776, Oct. II Arnold's naval battle with British fleet near Valcour island 1777 Americans under St Clair forced to withdraw from Ticonderoga 1813, July 3 1 British under Colonel Murray took possession of Plattsburg 1814, Sept. II Battle of Lake Champlain. Macdonough's victory ,;> \> ^ cv ,„,.>