The Hudson Part 28

In 1907 over fifty thousand "Knights" gathered here and were hospitably entertained.

And such were Saratoga's victors--such The yeoman-brave, whose deeds and death have given A glory to her skies, A music to her name.

_Fitz-Greene Halleck._

=Saratoga to the Adirondacks.=

The _Adirondack Railway_ division of the _Delaware and Hudson_ furnishes one of the pleasantest excursions to the north woods. The traveler pa.s.ses along the romantic and picturesque valley of the upper Hudson--through King's, South Corinth, Jessup's Landing to Hadley (the railroad station for Luzerne, a charming village at the junction of the Hudson and the Sacandaga); then through Stony Creek, Thurman, thirty-six miles from Saratoga Springs, at the junction of the Schroon and the Hudson; the Glen, forty-four miles; Riverside, fifty miles (for Schroon Lake), pleasurable throughout, to North Creek, where "Concord coaches" and patent-covered spring buck-boards are in waiting for Blue Mountain Lake--distance about thirty miles, through a beautiful romantic country.

The water route from this point is as follows: Through Blue Mountain Lake and Utowana to the outlet, a distance of seven miles, where a "Railway Carry," something less than a mile, brings the traveler to a fairy-like steamer on Marion River. The river trip is twelve miles to Forked Lake.

Arriving at "Forked Lake Carry," one-half mile brings us to Forked Lake, where the traveler gets his first real mountain bill of fare.

From this point we took a guide to Long Lake. There is a short cut from this point over to the Tupper Lakes, which we can commend in every particular, and the tourist can either return to Long Lake and continue his route to the Saranacs, or go to the Saranacs direct from Lake Tupper.

From this point we visit Keene Flats, a charming and healthful spot, only five miles from the "Lower Ausable Pond." These ponds, the "Lower" and "Upper," are unrivaled in beauty and grandeur. They lie at the foot of Mount Marcy, Haystack, the Gothics, and Mount Bartlett.

'Twas in the mellow autumn time When I, an idler from the town, With gun and rod was lured to climb Those peaks where fresh the Hudson takes His tribute from an hundred lakes.

_Charles Fenno Hoffman._

=Saratoga to Lake George.=

The traveler will find trains and excursions to suit his convenience from Saratoga to our fairest lake. His route takes him through Gansevoort and Fort Edward to Glens Falls with the narrowing and bright-flowing Hudson for a companion. About one mile beyond Fort Edward Station, near the railway on the right, stood, until recently, the tree where Jane McCrea was murdered by Indians during the Revolution. From Glens Falls the tourist proceeds over the well-conducted Lake George division of the _Delaware and Hudson_, and soon finds himself in the midst of a historic and romantic region.

About half way to the lake stands a monument to Col. Ephraim Williams, killed at the battle of Lake George in 1755, erected by the graduates of Williams College, which he founded. b.l.o.o.d.y Pond, a little farther on, sleeps calm and blue in the sunlight in spite of its tragic name and a.s.sociations, and soon Lake George, girt-round by mountains, greets our vision, stretching away in beauty to the north.

Near the railway station on the ninth of September, 1903, a monument was unveiled commemorating the battle of Lake George one hundred and forty-eight years before. The monument embodies the heroic figures of Sir William Johnson and King Hendrick the Indian chief. It represents the Indian chief demonstrating to General Johnson the futility of dividing his forces. Governor Odell of New York, Governor Guild of Ma.s.sachusetts, Governor Chamberlain of Connecticut, and Governor McCulloch of Vermont and others delivered appropriate addresses.

=The Trossachs of America.=--Capt. Wm. R. Lord, author of "Reminiscences of a Sailor," in a recent article contributed to a Scottish paper, has happily called Lake George and its surroundings "The Trossachs of America." In writing of the autumn season he says: "Its similarity to the Trossachs of Scotland impresses one most vividly as seen at this season; the mountains are clothed in a garb, the prevailing color of which is purple, reminding me of a previous visit through the Scottish Highlands when the heather was in full bloom. I at that time felt it to be impossible that any other place on the face of the globe could equal the magnificently imposing grandeur of the 'Trossachs.' I must, however, freely admit that in its power of changing beauty this region of America fully equals, if it does not surpa.s.s it. Deeds of 'derring-do,' enacted in these mountain fastnesses in days gone by, still add to make the comparison more close. Our path at times seemed to be literally strewn with roses, for the different colored leaves that carpeted our way conveyed that thought. The depth and variegated beauty of coloring that marks this season of decaying foliage, would enrapture the heart of an artist.

In my vocation I have had occasion to visit the four quarters of the globe, but never have I seen tints so strikingly beautiful."

The early fragments of our Colonial poetry and Revolutionary ballads are chanted in the midst of such profound silence and loneliness that they sound spectrally to our ears.

_Bayard Taylor._

=Lake George=, called by the French "Lac St. Sacrament," was discovered by Father Jacques, who pa.s.sed through it in 1646, on his way to the Iroquois, by whom he was afterward tortured and burned. It is thirty-six miles long by three miles broad. Its elevation is two hundred and forty-three feet above the sea. The waters are of remarkable transparency; romantic islands dot its surface, and elegant villas line its sh.o.r.es. Fort William Henry and Ticonderoga, situated at either end of the lake, were the salients respectively of the two most powerful nations upon the globe. France and England sent great armies, which crossed each other's track upon the ocean, the one entering the St. Lawrence, the other the harbor of New York. Their respective colonies sent their thousands to swell the number of trained troops, while tribes of red men from the south and the north were marshalled by civilized genius to meet in hostile array upon these waters, around the walls of the forts, and at the base of the hills. In 1755, General Johnston reached Lake St. Sacrament, to which he gave the name of Lake George, "not only in honor of his Majesty, but to a.s.sert his undoubted dominion here."

The progress of that October month had been like the stately march of an Orient army, with all the splendor of blazing banners. It looked as though the glories of the sunset had been distilled into it decked with the glowing hues of crimson, scarlet and gold.

_John Henry Brandow._

The village of Lake George is situated at the head of the lake.

It contains two churches, a court house, and a number of pretty residences. Just behind the court house is the bay where Montcalm landed his cannon, and where his entrenchments began. It ran across the street to the rising ground beyond the Episcopal church.

=Fort William Henry Hotel= is the largest and best appointed hotel on Lake George. It has a most beautiful and commanding location, and the view from its great piazza is one long to be remembered. The piazza is twenty-four feet in width and supported by a row of Corinthian columns thirty feet high. The outlook from it at all times is enchanting, commanding as it does the level reaches of the lake for miles, with picturesque islands and promontories.

About twelve miles from the hotel is Fourteen-mile Island which, with a number of others, form "The Narrows." The lake here is 400 feet deep, much fishing is done, and in the right season hunting parties start out. Black Mountain, the monarch of the lake, rises over two thousand feet above its waters (being 2,661 feet above tide), and from the summit a magnificent view is obtained of Lake Champlain, the Green Mountains, the Adirondacks, and the distant course of the Hudson.

A carriage drive to Schroon Lake and conveyance from Schroon Village to Adirondack resorts can be made from Lake George.

Those who have only a day can make a delightful excursion from Saratoga to Caldwell by rail, then through the lake to Baldwin, and thence by rail to Saratoga, or _via_ Baldwin and up the lake to Caldwell, and so to Saratoga. But, to get the full beauty of this unrivaled lake, the trip should be made with less haste, for there is no more delightful place in the world to spend a week, a month, or an entire summer. Its immediate surroundings present much to interest the student of history and legend; and to lovers of the beautiful it acknowledges no rivals. The elevation and absolute purity of air make it a desirable place for the tourist. It is 346 feet above the level of the sea, 247 feet above Lake Champlain, and is now brought within six hours of New York City by the enterprise of the _Delaware & Hudson Co_. It is a great question, and we talk it over every time we see the genial Pa.s.senger Traffic Manager of this enterprising line, whether Lake George or Lake Luzerne, in Switzerland, is the more beautiful. We were just deciding last summer, on the steamer "Horicon," that Lake George was more beautiful, but not so wild, when, as if the spirit of the lake were roused, a great black squall suddenly came over the mountains, and, the "crystal lake" for a few minutes, was as wild as any one might desire. We all were glad to see her smile again as she did half an hour afterward in the bright sunlight.

Oh the mystical glory that crowns them Reflected in river and lake, Like a fire that burns through the firs and ferns By the paths that the wild deer take.

_Eben E. Rexford._

"At its widest point Lake George measures about four miles, but at other places it is less than one mile in width. It is dotted with islands; how many we do not know exactly--n.o.body does; but tradition, which pa.s.ses among the people of the district for history and truth, says there is exactly one island for every day in the year, or 365 in all. Whatever their real number they all are beautiful, although some of them are barely large enough to support a flagstaff, and they all seem to fit into the scene so thoroughly that each one seems necessary to complete the charm. On either side are high hills, in some places rising gently from the sh.o.r.es, and in others beetling up from the surface of the water with a rugged cliff, or time-worn ma.s.s of rocks, which reminds one of the wild bits of rocky scenery that make up the savage beauty of the Isle of Skye.

"Its clearness is something extraordinary. From a small boat, in many places, the bottom can be seen. Indeed, so mysteriously beautiful is the water that many visitors spend a day in a rowboat gazing into it at different points."

Each islet of green which the bright waters hold Like emeralds fresh from their bosom rolled.

_Charles Fenno Hoffman._

Charles Dudley Warner says: "Bolton, among a host of attractive spots on the lake, holds, in my opinion, a rank among the two or three most interesting points. There is no point of Lake George where the views are so varied or more satisfactory, excepting the one from Sabbath-day Point. At Bolton the islets which dot the surface of the lake whose waters are blue as the sea in the tropics, carry the eye to the rosy-tinted range which includes Pilot, Buck and Erebus Mountains, and culminates in the stateliness of Black Mountain. Or, looking northwest, the superb ma.s.ses of verdure on Green Island are seen mirrored on the burnished surface of the lake. Behind rises the mighty dividing wall called Tongue Mountain, which seems to separate the lake in twain, for Ganouskie, or Northwest Bay, five miles long, is in effect a lake by itself, with its own peculiar features." The Champlain Transportation Company runs a regular line of steamboats the entire length of the lake, making three round trips daily, except Sunday. The "Horicon" is a fine side-wheel steamer, 203 feet long and 52 feet wide, and will accommodate, comfortably, 1,000 people.

At Fort Ti the tourist can continue his northern route _via_ the _Delaware & Hudson_ to Hotel Champlain, Plattsburgh, Rouse's Point, or Montreal, or through Lake Champlain by steamer. The ruins of Fort Ti, like old Fort Putnam at West Point, are picturesque, and will well repay a visit.

Far off the dreaming waters lie, White cascades leap in snowy foam, Lake Champlain mirrors cloud and sky, The Hudson seeks his ocean home.

_Benjamin F. Leggett._