0t 0\)^^^ mil mi ii ^.^Mf.jiiigfgiinmiimmmmmimiKtttr'^'''^^ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 4eiiq3S.7S UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. LAKE GEORGE (II^LXJSTRATED,) AND LAKE CHAMPLAIN. A BOOK OF TO-DAY. ■^OPYRlGHr ^v?\ I S. R. STODDARD. REVISED ANNUALLY. EIGHTEENTH EDITION. GLENS FALLS, N. Y. PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. Copyright, 1888, by S. R, Stoddard. f \2.n In General page. A. C.A 66 Abercrombie 42 Amherst 43 Battle of Lake George, 38 Blood J' Pond 27, 30 Bolton 73 Bosom, The 109 Caldwell 57 Camp Life, Outfit, etc. 85 Champlain Lake 127 (See special index.) Dieskau, Baron - 37 Discovery . 34 Diamond Point 65 Dunham's Bay 63 Father Jogues 34 Fort George 43 Fort William Henry, Capture, Mat-sacre . . 40 Forest Commission ... 84 French Point 99 Game Laws 33 Glens Falls 1-3-24 Glen Lake 27 Hague 115 Hendrick, King 29 Johnson, Gen 37 -Hotels. Special head. Islands, ownership. .. 85 (Special head.) Lake George Assem- bly.... 67 Montcalm 39 Narrows, The 97 New Features 9 Paradise Bay 98 Railroads. See p. 155. Rogers' Slide 119 Sabbath Day Point. . . 110 Saratoga. See inverse side this book, spe- cial index. Steamboats 44-169 St. Mary's of the Lake 6' Stone Face 118 Ticonderoga (Fort) ... 132 Ticonderoga (Village) 125 War Vessel 56 Williams, Col. Ephr'm 29 WilliamsMonument.. 29 Hotels 49-155 Agawam 72 Bolton House 75 Burleigh House 126 Carpenter House... 55 Central Hotel .56 Crosby side 58 Diamond Point House 65 Ft. George Hotel ... 57 Ft. Wm. Henry Hotel 49 Goodman House... 75 Grove Hotel.. 68 Hillside House 116 Horican Lodge 67 Horicon Pavilion. . . 100 Hulett's Landing Hotel 109 iisrxDEzx:- Hundred Island House 92 Indians 36 Island Harbor 117 Kattskill House.... 69 Lake House 55 Lake View House.. 73 Locust Grove House 74 Marion House 71 Mohican House 74 Pearl Point 96 Phcenix Hotel 115 Rockwell House... 21 Rising House. ... 117 Rogers' Rock Hotel 120 Sagamore, The 76 Sheldon House 68 Sherman House 99 Stewart House 75 Trout House 116 Trout Pa valion 68 Vanderberg House. 75 Wells House 74 Islands "As You Were"... 98 Belvoir I sland 76 Burnt Island 98 Canoe Islands 65 Crown Island..^ ... 76 Diamond Island 64 Elizabeth Island... 69 Floating Battery... 102 Fo u r te e n Mile Island 77 Green Island 80 Half -Way Island... 102 Harbor Islands 103 Hen and Chickens . . 84 Long Island 65 Mother Bunch 102 Oahu Island 76 Phantom Island 97 Prisoners' Isle 123 Recluse Island 72 Scotch Bonnet 114 Tea Island 62 Three Sirens 102 Vicar s Island 106 IViaps Large Colored Map, Inside Front Cover Bolton 73 Caldwell 57 Hotels 62 Kattskill Bay 68 Narrows Ticonderoga 125 Ticonderoga Ruins. 134 Mountains Anthony's Nose 118 Black Mountain 100 Buck Mountain 69 Deer's Leap 109 Defiance 126 Elephant, The... . 110 Pilot Mountain.... 69 Prospect Mountain. 57 Rogers'Rock Moun- tain 119 Shelving Rock 82 Tongue Twin Mountains. . 114 Lake Champiain Discovery 127 Map 128 Adirondack Springs. . 139 AuSable Chasm 147 Map 148 Boqnet River 143 Burlington 145 Calamity Point 140 Carillon 136 Champlain's battle with the Iroquois . . . 133 Colchester Point 146 Crown Point 136 Crown Point Ruins . . . 137 Cumberland Head 153 Essex 143 Fort Caesin 141 Fort Montgomery 153 Fort Putnam 131 Fort St. Frederick. ... 137 Fort Ticonderoga 135 Map 125 Capture by Amherst. . 134 Ethan Allen 135 Burgoyne 1.35 Ruins 132 Map 134 Hotels Allen House 140 Green M't'n View House 144 Hotel Windsor 153 Lake House (Crown Point) 136 Lake View House. . 147 Lee House 138 Richards House 140 VanNess House 146 Westport Inn : 140 islands Crab Island 150 Four Brothers 144 Isle La Motte 153 Juniper Island 144 Rock Dunder 144 South Hero 153 Valcour Island 149 La Plotte River 145 Mineville 138 Otter Creek ... .. ..141 Plattsburgh 150 Battle of 151 Port Henry 138 Port Kent 146 Rouse's Point 153 Skeensborough 130 Shelburne Harbor 144 South Bay 131 Split Rock 141 Steamer Chateaugay. 139 Steamer Vermont . . . 131 Steamer Water Lily.. 140 Vergennes 141 Westport 139 Whitehall 130 Willsborough Point. . 143 9 STRONG conviction of duty, a laudable de- sire to give informa- tion, and a philanthropic willingness to contribute some- thing, in shape of advice, to a long suffering people, coupled with the known fact that the public demand some source wherefrom can be drawn, as from a living fountain, supplies of knowledge, has induced the author, in a fit of temporary insanity, to attempt the semi-literary feat of perpetrating a guide book. 1 shall endeavor to write of Lake George as it appears to me, giving my impressions of things in general, "with malice toward none, with charity for all," and if I err in judgment, if I either wrong or unduly extoll the virtues of any person, place 8 Lake George. or thing, it will be an error of the head and not the heart. My aim is to answer questions oftenest asked, to tell of things that seem most to interest the publiCj and in so doing will probably say many foolish things and talk about little things, but it is well tc remember that life is made up of little things, and a laughing baby is more endurable than a cross philosopher, therefore do not expect bomb-shells from a shot gun, or very much sense in the follow- ing pages. Although the main object is to give niformation (for a consideration), 1 may occasionally slop over into sentiment, but will try and not afflict my read- ers very often in that way, while for the benefit of such as are in constant danger of making mistakes, I will point out places where it is considered emi- nently proper to go into ecstacies over scenery, etc. 1 am not going to write a history, however, because the wear and tear on an ordinary brain must be immense; and, moreover, the country is full of them. All others who have written of the silvery lake have made discoveries; I have not. 1 regret exceedingly that such is the case. 1 have, however, served the principal events up in a new dress, and in the light of later revelations, twisted some of the old ones about so as to answer every purpose ; but it all happened some time ago, is, Ego ^ consequently of little interest to the general reader ind has, therefore, been given in small doses, which may be skipped at pleasure for the hotels and other things of the present day. Thank<5 arc due (in the first edition, as is custom- ary) to many kind friends for help in bringing it to a head, and especially to Dr. A. W. Hold en, the historian, for valuable assistance in the particu- lar branch which has been his life study and as such to be relied on. Prefaces are detestable and seldom read, but if nothing was created in vam the writer hopes, by putting this excuse among the legitimate reading matter, that some absent minded ones may possibly struggle through to the end before discovering their mistake, and thus become acquainted with a few of the reasons, and perhaps think kindly of him who now bids farewell to earthly fears, and wades shiveringly into the surging sea of literature. Glens Falls, May, 1873. S. R. S. The narrative portion and ancient history contained in the following pages were written as above ; the more modern history and the advice at a later date, at intervals when ripening years and the annual revision seemed to make such new matter timely. The above, which appeared in the first edition, has been retained as a relic of Lake George. What follows is an arrangement of old and new matter in convenient form, and it is believed, gives the reader about all the information that can be digested in a trip through the lake — the numer- ous cuts and small maps rendering him or her independent of outside help. The increasing sales have also made it possible to give the large colored map of Lake George, surveyed and published by the author in 1879-80 and revised to date, with the book without increasing the price — and yet there's more to follow. June 25, 1888. S. FF for Lake George! How the heart bounds and the pulse quickens at the very sound of the words that bring- with them thoughts of the holy lake. Ir fancy we once again breathe the air, heavy with the odor of pines and cedar, or fragrant wit! the breath of blossoming clover.. Again we wander among the daisies and but- tercups that gem the hillside, sloping so gently down to where the wavelets kiss the white beach, or floating among the verdant islands watch the sunlight and shadows chase each other up the mountain side, while every crag and fleecy cloud is mirrored in the quiet waters below. 12 Lake George. On wings of thought, to realms of bhss we may go expeditiously and economically ; but alas ! this all too earthly body can reach the happy hunting grounds only through labor, time and — it must be said — money. Still, lovely things are found in transit; and the aoundant promises of Nature are so certain of fulfillment, that to enjoy her gracious moods in favorite haunts, the trials of travel are as naught ; and when there we may take satisfaction in the thought that not only have we the ideal outing within our reach but^ — if such matters shall be of interest to the present reader — the reduced cost of living, as compared with similar accommodation at points nearer the great centres of habitation, more than compensate for cost of transportation, and the fact that good, wholesome board can be had in pleasant spots on the shores of Lake George as low as seven dollars a week, has made this a favorite resort for the cultured and devoted lovers of nature who may be possessed of only moderate means, as well as for those who seek and find in the larger hotels first-class service at a reasonable price. North of Saratoga, i6 miles, is Fort Edward (the " great carrying place " of the Lidian, extending thence past Glens Falls to the head of Lake George) ; Fort Lyman, of colonial days, and re-named Fort Edward, by that great military tourist Gen. Johnson. Here the train divides, one part continuing along to Whitehall and the north ; the other to Glens Falls, and Caldwell, at the head of Lake George. UNDER THE ARCH Glens Falls is on the Hudson river, in a line between the great cities of New York and Montreal — 202 miles from the former, 190 from the latter — and nine miles south of Lake George. It is reached over the St;-^^ 14 Glens Falls. Rensselaer and Saratoga railroad to Fort Edward, sixteen miles north of Saratoga ; thence six miles on the Glens Falls branch road. The place was known to the Indians as Che-pon-tuc, meaning a difficult place to get around. In 1762 a patent of Queensbury was granted to several of " our loving subjects " by George III, a large proportion of which patent was purchased by Abraham Wing, who erected a grist and saw-mill at the falls. During the war of the Revolution the mills were destroyed and the settlers scattered. At its close they once more gathered around this nucleus of a thriving village, then generally known as Wing's Falls. In 1775 one Colonel Johannes Glenn, of Schenectady, bought the mill privilege at the south side of the river, erected mills, etc., and came there to live. He was of a convivial nature, and given occasionally to social larks, and once offered to pay the expense of a wine supper if Wing would transfer to him all right and title to the name of the falls. This was agreed to, the supper was given, notice of the change made, and the place became known as Glenn's Falls. Dividing near the head of the fall the water passes on either side of an island, covered in times of high water, the dark blue rocks seamed and gullied, its lower levels worn smooth by the fiercely rushing waters which pass over it in times of flood. Mills of various kinds now compass it about and a picturesque old covered bridge stretches to the north shore while a stone arch spans the gulf at the south. At the south end of the long bridge, steps lead down to the flat rock, and, near the lower end where it is notched and broken out, we climb down to the level of the water, and enter the cave made memorable by Cooper in one of his wild Indian stories. We can pass entirely through this and a smaller one also, by crouching low at the en-> Glens Falls. I trance, and rising gradually as we ad- vance to the south end, which opens over the gulf, whert the face of the savage so startled Cora, and revealed the hiding place to their enemies. Here Uncas, "the last of the Mo- hicans," watched while the sisters slept, and the shores on either side teemed with their savage foes. Now ragged ur- chins, fully posted in the wild legends of the place, point out the *' tiger" and ** serpent" in the dark rock, and the very ^'-dentical tree from which the Mingo fell when spoken to by the unerring rifle of ''Le Long Carbine y (There have been several of these identical trees, and the material is getting pretty well used up ; but the boys are bound to perpetuate the thing if it takes all the trees in the country.) And the story is rapidly growing to be a matter of Jiistory, the listener shuddering with horror as he pictures to himself the clinging savage and the wild, blood-curdhng yell that went up as, clawing wildly the empty air, he fell, and the dark waters closed over him. In the dry season the volume of water is confined within the channels worn deeper on either side, or 1 6 Glens Falls. finds its way in rivuiets down across the pitted but- tresses of black rock. Here the ledges, which in the spring freshets are covered with a foaming torrent, are worn smooth almost as polished marble, and stairways formed by the hand of nature lead in places to the top. Scattered about in various places are deep holes, some of them perfectly round, and con- taining the waters left by the flood. One, called the " Devil's Punch-Bowl," is six feet in diameter and twelve feet deep. Another, **the Broken Basin," shows half of what was formerly a similar hole nearly twice the diameter of the Punch-Bowl. Fossils of various forms are found here imbedded in the rock, and also shells of still older periods. Thus, when the river is at its usual level. But when the rains descend and the melting snow is let loose in the mountains above, the scene is entirely changed. See, advancing from above, the dark, re- sistless flood, crowding on the multitude of piers which divide it into many rivers, and around which angry masses whirl, and foam, and fret, then dart away again. Now it feels a mysterious power draw- ing it onward ; the dam which here turns aside a portion of the water to drive great gangs of saws is lost under a long rounded bank of glancing water ; below it, a deep, smooth trough, extending from shore to shore. Now curling upward from its last long sweep — still unbroken, still dark and sullen — it rises as if to peer over into the gulf below, then breaking in lurid foam, is flung headlong downward; seething, boiling, foaming, leaping from rock to rock, turning back upon itself in impotent fury, hurling itself madly against the black walls, plunging down- ward into the echoing gulf, flashing in wildly broken shapes athwart the table rock, churned into white fury by rift and chasm, it thunders and roars, while over all, 'at rapidly succeeding intervals, comes a heavy booming as the funnel-shaped cave, like some Levia- Glens Falls. 17 than of the deep, upheaves great, plume-Hke columns of water, pulsing with the mighty heart-beat of the angry Hudson. On either side are the various mills that have con- tributed to the town's prosperity; saw-mills, full of life and action at times, at others — and that too often — stilled by summer's drought or springtime flood ; lime kilns — clouds by day and pillars of fire by night — that have absorbed vast areas of the blue- black walls below the falls. The lime business is next in importance to lumber. Glens Falls lime, in quantity manufactured, is only equalled in the United States by Rockland, Me., and in point of quality stands at the head, the best rock yielding, when calcined, from ninety-five to ninety- eight per cent of lime, the purest and whitest to be found on the continent. On account of its purity, it is especially adapted to all chemical uses for which lime, either for bleaching or its caustic prop- erties, is required and is used extensively by tan- ners, bleachers of cotton goods and manufacturers of paper, wire, gas, glass, etc. The lime-producing rock is embraced in an area of not more than 250 acres, beginning at the head of the falls, and extending in a narrow belt on either side for perhaps near a mile down the river, the strata dipping slighdy toward the south, and disap- pearing under the hill along that side. Above, be- low and at the north it breaks suddenly off — a geo- logical "fault" — or is continued in a rock of an entirely different character. For a depth of about thirty feet the rock is in thin strata, and is used for curbing, building, and for the poorer quality of lime: then comes a stratum of grey marble, from two to three feet in thickness, and under this the solid black marble, twelve feet thick. This is almost a pure i8 Glens Falls. carbonate of lime, in its native state of a bluish gr©y ; polished, it is of a jet black ; calcined, it is whiter than snow. Lime was first burned here about the year 1820, by Pownell Shaw, then simply for home consumption. It was first manufactured and shipped to an outside market (Troy) by K. P. Cool, in 1832. There are now thirty lime-kilns, operated by four companies. The exportation and sales are man- aged by a general director or agent, who has entire charge of that branch of the business. T. S. Cool- idge, of Glens Falls, is the general agent. Sub- agents are appointed in the various cities where needed. About 500 men are employed in this in- dustry. The average production for the past twenty years has been 450,000 barrels per annum, of which 200,000 are shipped annually to New York. The best grade is called Jointa lime, the word *' Jointa" being coined to distinguish a certain grade of lime produced from a rock found in Rhode Island, which, from its broken seams, gained the name of jointed rock. It was adopted by Glens Falls to designate the best kind made. The kilns used are of the patent or " perpetual " kind, and may be run uninterruptedly for a long time. They are built of limestone, lined with fire- brick, renewed once a year. They are about twenty- five feet high and eighteen square at the base, with a burning capacity of 100 barrels per day. The stone is piled on top, settling as it becomes calcined, and is drawn from the bottom once every eight hours. Two sets of hands are required, the fires running night and day. The wood used is the refuse from the saw mills. The black marble, which is the purest carbonate of lime in the world, with perhaps the exception of the Irish and Belgian marble, possesses the same characteristics, and is put to the same uses. In its native state it is of a dark blue; wet, it becomes Glens Falls. 19 black ; polished, it shines like jet. Blocks are quar- ried as large as four feet square and nine feet long. Sawed into slabs, it is used for tiles, table tops, mantels, interior decorations and ornamental work. There are two mills here given to the sawing of this stone. Lumber with attendant interests give the main business of the town — lumber, lumber every- where. On either side of the falls are immense saw mills ; lumber lines the banks of the river away above, and walls in the canal up to where, at the " feeder dam," are more saw mills and more lumber. It is estimated that the sawing capacity of these mills is 600,000 standard logs per annum. This means 120,000,000 feet of lumber, or 22,727 3-10 miles of boards a foot wide, which, if kid end to end, would extend nearly around the earth, and in eleven years would plank a comfortable walk to the moon, with no end of lath and slabs to throw at erratic as- teroids or troublesome comets. The number of men employed on the mills is over 500, in addition to which are those employed on fifty boats used to convey the lumber to various points. Add to these the army of choppers and river drivers, nearly 1,200 in all, sent out by the mill- owners, and some idea can be reached of the extent of the work. During the fall and winter months the chopper plies his calling on the lumber lots belong- ing to the various companies, and the logs are piled on the banks, or rolled into the beds of the rivers, where a large proportion remain until the spring freshets carry them off. The driving begins about the middle of April, and continues for nearly two months, each firm forcing their logs to a given point on the main stream, after which they are taken in hand by a company known as the *' Hudson Rivef Drive," composed of all mill-owners along the Hne, and who force all logs along irrespective of owner- 20 Lake George. ship, each firm paying pro rata for the iTumber of logs put in. In 1876, 2,153,350 logs were put in the spring drive. The average cost of driving is estimated at twenty cents per market log. A " mar- ket" is thirteen feet long and nineteen inches in diameter at the small end. The ** Big Boom," three miles above the village, was built and conducted by a distinct company, viz., all the mill-owners interested in the river work. It is composed of floats consisting of four sticks of tim- ber, each firmly secured to the other, and each float in turn secured to its neighbor at the end by huge chains working on iron wheels attached to the sev- eral timbers, each "justifying" and equalizing the strain to all alike. Here sometimes the river is one mass of logs, extending back from four to five miles. They are passed out as required under raised por- tions of the boom. Those intended for the first mills (recognized by a particular mark with which each company distinguishes its property) are pushed into leaders running to their respective mills, those for points farther down going through the centre, to be collected by similar but smaller booms, and in turn passed on again until their destination is reached. The dam before alluded to is about a mile and a half above the falls, and was built by the State to hold the water which, through the " Glens Falls feeder," supplies the summit level of the Champlain canal, entering about two miles north of Fort Ed- ward, and flowing thence both north and south through the regular canal. The Glens Falls Paper Mill, erected in 1864, was destroyed by the explosion of a boiler, July 16, 1883. The new mill, completed in 1884, greatly exceeds the old one in size and appearance, and contains the perfected machinery for the manufac- ture of paper, which the intervening twenty years have yielded. Glens Falls. 21 Glens Falls has eight churches; a union free- school of splendid attainments ; an academy that is almost collegiate in the course : an opera-house of metropolitan appearance and appointments ; a board of trade, fully alive to town interests ; nu- merous civic societies of varying objects and im- portance ; a military company of high rank and a salvation army — small, but mighty of voice ; horse- cars that go on runners in the winter and make money the year 'round ; a " creamery " which pro- duces butter on scientific principles ; a base-ball club composed of men of brawn, who can worry the crack nines of the country wofully; electric lights — and ten thousand inhabitants, who live m.ostly in houses of their own, and are justly proud of the wide-awake town from which they haiL The Glens Falls Insurance Company, located here, has made the name of its birth-place and residence familiar throughout the country, for it has agencies from Boston to San Francisco. Or- ganized in 1849, ^t has attained a national promi- nence and reputation as one of the soundest insti- tutions of the kind in existence, and many a Lake George tourist knows more about this company and its officers than about the beautiful village after which it was named. Its officers are R. M. Little, president ; J. L. Cunningham, secretary ; R. A. Little, general agent. The Rockwell House, on Fountain Square, is the leading hotel, and recognized as one of the best- kept hotels in the State. It is very complete in all its appointments, provides an excellent table, and is thoroughly worthy of the very liberal patron- age it receives. C. L. Rockwell, proprietor. 22 Glens Falls. The American Hotel, on Monument Square, en- joys a wide-spread reputation for its wholesome fare. George Pardo, proprietor. The Nelson House, on Bay Street, is a temperance house of good repute and reasonable rates. The Granger House has a good local patronage. There are others, and, from the number, the visitor, be he never so particular, ought to — and presumably will — find something to suit. Upwards of 50 stores — some of them models of elegance, and far above the average of towns of its size — supply resident and visitor with necessary and fancy articles unlimited. Those who may need anything, from an organ to an octopus, can usually have their wishes gratified here, and to that end are referred to the appendix, where almost every branch of trade and industry is represented by thoroughly responsible firms. Some of these firms are worthy of special mention. The collar and shirt factories give employment to a large number of workers, and are celebrated for the superiority of their productions, the pure water making perfect laundrying a possibility. The Glen Shirt Co., of which Joseph Fowler and D. S. Rob- ertson are proprietors, gives work to nearly 1,000 employees, with capacity for turning out 1,000 shirts and 6,000 collars and cuffs per week. Their specialty is medium and fine grade goods, and there is probably not a city of 15,000 inhabitants in the Union that has not its regular customers of this firm. They have offices at 9 East 4th Street, New York, 403 Market Street, Philadelphia, and, 121 Tre- mont Street, Boston. Van Wagner & Norris are known as a reliable firm, and make a specialty of 6lens Falls. 23 fine Custom Work. They are energetic and well known to the trade, keeping agents on the road the year round. The '' Canopy-top Buckboard," manu- factured here, is celebrated from Maine to Mexico The "Time Globe," invented by L. P. Juvet, of this town, is known of scientific men in two hemis- pheres. The Glens Falls Terra-Cotta and Brick Co. em- ploy upwards of 100 men in the manufacture of red and buff pressed and molded brick and architec- tural terra-cotta for exterior and interior ornamen- tation. They own extensive beds of marl and clay lying near, and a patent process for combining the same in a manner resulting in works of superior beauty and finish. J. M. Coolidge is president of the company, and Charles Scales superintendent. The works near the depot, for separating iron ore, by a secret magnetic process, of which Guerdon Conkling is the inventor, are attracting considerable attention among scientific men with iron tendencies. Crandall's greenhouse, near the toll-gate, is one of the exhibits of the town. The proprietor is a practical florist and horticulturist. He has in stock many rare and beautiful flowers, and bedding plants in endless variety, and is an artist in the ar- rangement of mosaics, borders, and masses. Opposite the greenhouse is the nursery of W. J. Chapman, which may be visited to advantage by those who are interested in the successful cultiva- tion of hardy fruits, shrubbery, and ornamental trees appropriate to this northern latitude. Still others, who delight in poultry, blooded dogs, and such like, will be interested in the establish- ment of H. R. T. Coffin, a mile north of the village. 24 Glens Falls. Protection against fire is insured by an excellent firr department, with a supply of water brought from tlie Luzerne Mountains, five miles distant, through pipes, the head being such that a half dozen streams can be thrown ordinarily to the tops of the highest buildings. In addition to the regular force, pro- tection against burglars, tramps and all men of sin is secured by the presence of a large and gallant array of uniformed police. The Soldiers' Monument is a beautiful specimen of art, dedi- cated to " our heroic dead," and a fitting tribute to the memory of those who gave. up their lives in the war for the Union. It is of Dorchester freestone, forty-six feet high, and erected by R. T. Baxter in 1867-8, at a cost of $ 1 2 ,000. Past this, in a northerly direction, the huge stages went of old, out into the country and over the plank-road to Lake George, nine miles away. This road is owned by a stock company, of which Joseph Fowler is president, and T. M. Coolidge secretary and treasurer. It is one of the smoothest and best tended plank-roads in the country, and one of the most delightful, leading as it does through a sectiqn abounding in romantic and historic interest, and of the most beautiful scenery. ON THE PLANK, MEMORY of the past comes to me as I write, of good old days now past and gone ; the lumbering stage where now goes swiftly glancing cars ; the four and six-horse teams now crowded out by a monster ^ breathing steam and smoke ; and of sounding plank in place of ribs of shining steel. More comfort- able now, undoubtedly, but the poetry is gone with the past for romance went with the primitive, and the new things of tTie age have made living commonplace at last. The memory remains, however, of the stage of old, with its overhanging load of pleasure seekers in brave attire, suggestive of some huge bouquet of gaily colored flowers, rocking and swaying from side to side as it bowled merrily along through the Lake George. 27 shaded streets and out across the plain, creeping up the long hill, then down into the valley, on the other side, where ragged youngsters pelted us with great, creamy pond lillies ; the stop at the Half- Way House, where thirsty ones partook of liquid refreshments such as Brown alone could prepare; the rapidly changing views, as with swinging gait we covered the winding forest road ; of Williams' Monument and Bloody Pond ; and tlien the ecstasy of the moment when, leaving the woods. Lake George in all its beauty, lay beneath our enraptured vis- ion. Now the days of scrambling for the de- sirable outside seats at Glens Falls, are no more, but, after stopping at the station, the train backs away a short distance, then goes forward again and turning to the right makes straight across the plain for the notch at the left of French Mountain, through which Lake George is reached. Glen Lake, a pretty sheet of water, something more than two miles long. It is about four miles 28 Half-Way House. from Glens Falls, the road passing along its west end. This has become of late quite a noted place of resort for parties from the surrounding country for quiet fishing and boating, for rustic chowder parties, and as training ground for enthusiastic ca- noeists, of which Glen's Falls furnishes a number. Just before coming in sight of Glen Lake the train passes between Brown Pond on the left and Mud Pond on the right, the latter separated from the lake by only a narrow strip. Climbing the steep grade north of Glen Lake, we soon pass George Brown's noted place at French mountain. The Half-Way House, famous of old for its lemonades and game dinners, lost with the advent of the railroad its old-time business, and now, al- though as attractive as ever- in its surroundings, it lacks the excitement of the arrival and departure of the great lumbering stages and dashing tally-ho's with their loads of pleasure seekers to make merry the heart of its genial landlord, George Brown. Now " Uncle George " has gone with the crowd to Lake George, From Brown's northward, the road winds along through Bloody Run, the plank parallel with it half way up on the west bank of the ravine. The place where Williams fell is indicated by a plain blue and white marble shaft, standing on a huge bowlder, some distance north of the Half-Way House, and may be seen from the car window at one particular point. Williams' Monument. 29 Williams* Monument was erected in 1854 by the graduates of Williams' Col- lege, in memory of the found- er of that institution. On it are inscriptions in Latin, to show the learning of those who erected it, and in En- glish, to show what it is all about ; from it we learn that it was *' erected to the memory of Colonel Ephraim Williams, a native of New- towHy Mass., whoy after gallantly defending the fron- tiers of his native State^ served under General John- wn against the French and Indians^ and nobly fell near this spot, in the bloody conflict of September 8, [755, in the 42^ year of his age. Some say that Williams received his death