The magazine of history with notes and queries (Vol. I, No. 2)Various
History
The magazine of history with notes and queries (Vol. I, No. 2)
Various
History -- Periodicals; United States -- History -- Periodicals
For some time I have endeavoured to make an annual visit to Fort
Ticonderoga and its neighborhood. September, October and November,
before the ground freezes, when the lake is usually the lowest, are the
best portions of the year for searching there. On the shores between
high and low water marks around the Ticonderoga promontory; at Wright’s
Point and on the Orwell shore opposite, the earth is black with flints.
These are arrow and spear heads, knives, hammer stones and immense
quantities of flakes. But few of the implements are perfect. I account
for this condition because of the great numbers of soldiers there in the
old wars. As you know, it was their practice to select the best arrow
and spear heads and break them into pieces suitable for their
flintlocks. But the native flint exists in great abundance in the
limestone rocks of the locality; and so it was that, for centuries, the
Indians resorted to this region, lived there and made weapons and
implements for their own use, and for traffic with other savages passing
by. I have obtained 2500 chipped stone implements from these shores
alone. One November day, 1896, two of us left Plattsburgh by train at
8.30 a. m., reached Fort Ticonderoga at 10.30, picked up 575 wrought
flints, and returning, got home at 6.15 the same evening. So, while I
have considered that the great dwelling site in Plattsburgh was the most
important for the manufacturing of pottery, and probably had the largest
population of any village in the valley, yet certainly the Ticonderoga
region surpassed it in the making of chipped implements. On this day of
which I speak, my companion stopped on Mount Independence, while I
pushed over to the Orwell shore, perhaps a hundred rods away. And, by
the way, let me say that the historic ruins on Mount Independence are
nearly as interesting as those on the Ticonderoga promontory. I could
not see the gentleman on the mountain because of the trees, but when I
called out to him, not only his reply came to me, but my voice echoed
back first, so quickly, so distinctly and with such force as to startle
me. It was uncanny.
Turning again to the Jesuit Relations, this time to Volume 51, pages
179–183; in the Relation of 1667–68, written by Francis Mercier, we find
an account of the experiences of Fathers Fremin, Pierron and Bruyas,
three Jesuits, on the way to the Iroquois country. It was one of these
fathers who wrote from Ste. Anne, Isle La Motte, August 12, 1667, the
interesting letter, a translation of which was printed in the Burlington
Free Press of August 22, 1902.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account