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Glass Book COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT "EL de CHAMPLAIIT. HISTORICAL SKETCHES Northern New York AND THE ADIRONDACK WILDERNESS INCLUDING TRADITIONS OF THE INDIANS, EARLY EXPLORERS, PIONEER SETTLERS, HERMIT HUNTERS, &c. NATHANIEL BARTLETT SYLVESTER. OK THR TKOY I'.AK. Ye who love the haunts of Nature, Love the sunshine of the meadow, Love the shadow of the forest, Love the wind among the branches, And the rain-shower and the snow-storm. And tlie rushing of great rivers, Through*****their palisades of pine trees, Listen to these wild traditions. —Song of Ht-a-ivat-ka. TROY, N. Y.: WILLIAM H. YOUNG. 1877. Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1877, by Nathaniel Bartlett Sylvester, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. Edward Green, Printer, Troy. TO THE MEMORY OF Hi mMm Mr^'^ ht^m^ AN ELDER AND A YOUNGER, WHO, IN THEIR EARLY MANHOOD, BOTH DIED THE SAME YEAR, THIS VOLUME AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. i PREFACE. A few years ago I published in the Troy Times, at the solicitation of its editor, an article entitled "John Brown's Tract, or the Great Wilderness of Northern New York." Since then, my attention, in leisure hours, has been drawn irresistibly to the subject, and that meagre and cursory article has grown into the book now presented to the reading public. But if the newspaper article was unsatisfactory, I fear the book will be deemed scarcely less so when the wealth of historic incident and legendary lore which clusters about the territory of which it treats is considered, upon which, in this volume, I have, as it were, but opened the door. In the olden time, Northern New York was disputed ground. It was claimed by the Iroquois of Central New York and by the Algonquins of Canada; by the French colonists of the St. Lawrence, and by the Dutch and Eng- lish settlers of the Hudson. It was surrounded by the war- trails of the Indian, and by the war-paths of the armies of colonial times. Hence from its first discovery and explora- tion by Samuel de Champlain in the summer of 1609 to the close of the war of 181 2 with Great Britain, it was the IV. PREFACE. theater of continuous strife between rival powers contend- ing for its mastery. Of the history of this long period much has been written, but more of it still lies buried in our colonial archives. In the following pages I have at- tempted hardly more than to awaken the attention of the historical student to this most interesting field of research. To several friends who have kindly assisted me in this task in the use of books of reference and otherwise, and who have aided me with many valuable and practical sug- gestions my thanks are due. Among them I desire to men- tion Messrs. John M. Francis, Benjamin H. Hall, James Forsyth, Alexander G. Johnson, Jerome B. Parmenter, William H. Young, Edward Green, and Cha's C. Giles, of Troy ; Messrs. Joel Munsell and Henry A. Holmes, State Librarian, of Albany ; Messrs. P. Porter Wiggins, A. S. Pease, D. F. Ritchie, E. J. Huling, and J. P. Butler, of Saratoga Springs; Mr. Charles D. Adams, of Utica ; the late Nelson J. Beach, of Watson; Dr. Franklin B. Hough, and Mr. W. Hudson Stephens, of Lowville; and Mr. John E. Pound, of Lockport. Troy, N. Y., 9th April, 1877. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I.—NORTHERN NEW YORK. —Page. Its Attractiveness—Its Ancient Names—It is an Island The Highways of Nations. - - - - 9 CHAPTER II.— HO-DE-NO-SAU-NEE-GA. The Five Nations—Their Government—Their Festivals AND Religious Belief—Their Social Life. - - 14 CHAPTER III.—EARLY EXPLORERS. Hudson. 26 Jacques Cartier—Samuel de Champlain—Henry CHAPTER IV. -THE GREAT WILDERNESS. Couch-sach-ra-ge—Its Aspects and Uses—The Adirondack - - - Park—Its Belts. - - - 39 CHAPTER v.—MOUNTAINS OF THE WILDERNESS. The Laurentides—Oldest System of Rocks—The Five Mountain Ranges—View from the Mountain Tops- Table of Mountain Heights. - - - - 45 CHAPTER VI.—MOUNTAIN PASSES. The Indian Pass— Other Mountain Passes. - - 58 CHAPTER VII.—MOUNTAIN MEADOWS. The Softer Aspects of the Wilderness. - - - 62 CHAPTER VIIL—THE DISCOVERY OF LAKE GEORGE. His Isaac Jogues— His Capture— His Escape— His Mission— Death. ------- 66 VI. CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX.—LAKES OF THE WILDERNESS. Their Rocky Beds—The Lake Belt—Table of Altitudes of Lakes and Forest Stations. 8o CHAPTER X.—THE NAMING OF THE CHAZY RIVER. The Death of Young Chazy—Tracy's Expedition to the Mohawk Country in 1666. .... 88 CHAPTER XL—RIVERS OF THE WILDERNESS. The Hudson and its Forest Branches—Other Rivers. - 94 CHAPTER XII.—LA FAMINE AND THE LESSER WILDERNESS. The Original Birth Place of the Iroquois—Council of De Barre—Visit and Letter of Father Charlevoix. - 102 CHAPTER XIIL—TRYON COUNTY. Sir William Johnson—The Palatines. 116 CHAPTER XIV.—THE MANOR OF WILLSBORO. French Seigneuries—William Gilliland. - - - 128 CHAPTER XV.—NORTH ELBA. An Indian Village—The Plains of Abraham— John Brown OF Ossawottamie. ..... 135 CHAPTER XVI.—THE ADIRONDACK VILLAGE. Its Situation —The Indian Sabelle—David Henderson. 141 CHAPTER XVIL—VISCOUNT DE CHATEAUBRIAND. His Boyhood's Dreams.—His Journeyings—His Works—His Ideal. ..--.-. 145 CHAPTER XVIIL—CASTORLAND. The Railroad Station—Ancient Castorland—Scheme of Settlement—Organization— Desjardines and Pharoux. 152 CONTENTS. VII. CHAPTER XIX.—SISTERSFIELD. Saint Michel and his Daughier—Their Flight from Paris. i66 CHAPTER XX.—JOHN BROWN'S TRACT. John Brown of Providence—The Herreshoff Manor—Ar- nold's. - - - - - - - 171 CHAPTER XXI.—THE HUNTER FOSTER AND THE INDIAN DRID. Nathaniel Foster—Drid—Killing of Drid and Trial of Foster. ---.-.. 177 CHAPTER XXII.—SMITH'S LAKE. David Smith— His Hermitage. 1S3 CHAPTER XXIII.—NUMBER FOUR. Beaver Lake—Early Settlement— Or rin Fenton. - 187 CHAPTER XXIV.—JAMES O'KANE. Stillwater— Hermitage—Death and Burial of O'Kane. ig2 CHAPTER XXV.—JAMES T. WATSON. Macomb's Purchase—William Constakle —Watson's Pur- chase. .-...-- ig6 CHAPTER XXVL—LAKE BONAPARTE. Its Situation —Count de Chaumont—Diana—Joseph Bona- parte. .-.--.- 200 CHAPTER XXVIL—THE LEGEND OF THE DIAMOND ROCK. Lansingburgh—The Diamond Rock—The Tears of the Dy- ing Deer—The Old Indian's Story of Moneta. - 206 CHAPTER XXVIII.—THE TWO WATER WHEELS. Lowville—Joseph Dunklee, the Dreamer—The City of Troy—Burden, the Worker. - - - - 221 — — VIII. CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXIX.—THE STORY OF TOM GARNET'S DREAM. The Thousand Isles—Tom Garnet's Narrative. - - 237 CHAPTER XXX.—THE ST. LAWRENCE OF THE OLDEN TIME. The River of the Thousand Isles—The Birth Night of Montreal— Carleton Island— La Presentation. - 250 CHAPTER XXXL—THE COUNTY OF CHARLOTTE. Fort Edward—Skenesborough—The New Argyleshire. 263 CHAPTER XXXIL—OSWEGO AND THE WESTERN WAR-PATH. Swa-geh—Forts along the Western War-Trail. - 275 CHAPTER XXXIII.—SARATOGA AND THE NORTHERN WAR-PATH. Indian Saratoga—Kay-ad-ros-se-ra—The War of 1686 The War of 1690— The War of 1755 Burgoyne's Campaign of 1777— Small Beginnings of Modern Saratoga. - 282 INDEX. 313 — NORTHERN NEW YORK AND ITS GREAT WILDERNESS. CHAPTER I. NORTHERN NEW YORK, Land of the forest and the rock ; Of dark blue lake and mighty river ; Of mountains rear'd aloft to mock The storm's career, the lightning's shock My own green land forever. — Whiitier. I. ITS ATTRACTIVENESS. Northern New York, although it has within it, and along its borders, ten populous cities,* and villages without num- ber, is still mostly covered by its primeval forests. Of a truth, it may be said to be a vast vvilderness, surrounded by a narrow fringe of settlements. And although in great part a gloomy solitude which is seldom trodden by the foot of man, yet it is completely surrounded by the world's great routes of travel, over which the business and the pleasure of half the continent yearly pass under the very shadows of its aboriginal woods. Northern New York not only has a Great Wilderness within its borders, but it has also within it a Lesser Wilder- * Albany, Troy, Cohoes, Schenectady, Utica, Rome, Syracuse, Oswego, Watertown, Ogdensburgh. 2 lO NORTHERN NEW YORK. ness.* The Lesser Wilderness would itself be a famous one, were it not lost sight of in the overshadowing grandeur of the Greater. Northern New York abounds in grand, beautiful and picturesque scenery, unsurpassed anywhere. It teems with undeveloped mineral wealth and forest products. It has been for centuries the theatre of stirring events— the path- way of contending armies— tlie battle-ground of nations. It is therefore rich in historic incident and legendary lore. In a word, it is one of the most attractive and interesting parts of our country. II. ITS ANCIENT NAMES. As long ago as the year 1570, xA.braham Van Ortelius was the distinguished geographer of Philip II. of Spain. In that year Ortelius published his "Universal Geography." It was a work of such rare merit that it won tor him the title of " The Ptolemy of his Age." In this work was a map of New France. As then known to Europeans, New France comprised al- most all that had been discovered of North America. In this map New France was divided into nine provinces. What is now known as Labrador was called Terra Corter- ealis. The district which lies between Labrador and the Saguenay River was named Sagucuai. The country along the St. Lawrence between the Saguenay and the Ottawa * The Lesser Wilderness lies at the head waters of the Mohawk river, on the highlands that rise northerly of Oneida Lake, and between the eastern shore of Lake Ontario and the upper valley of the Black river. NORTHERN NEW YORK. l I Ri\er was called Ca/iada* Thi; region above the Ottawa, and in the angle between it and the St.

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