The Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution, Vol. 1 (of 2): or, Illustrations, by Pen And Pencil, of the History, Biography, Scenery, Relics, and Traditions of the War for IndependenceLossing, Benson John
History
The Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution, Vol. 1 (of 2): or, Illustrations, by Pen And Pencil, of the History, Biography, Scenery, Relics, and Traditions of the War for Independence
Lossing, Benson John
United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783
Arrival at Caldwell. Indian and French Names of Lake George. Fort
William Henry. Attack upon Johnson's Camp, 1755
108
and it has ever since been called _Bloody Pond_. I alighted in the rain,
and made my way through tall wet grass and tangled vines, over a newly-
cleared field, until I got a favorable view for the sketch here
presented, which I hope the reader will highly prize, for it cost a pair
of boots, a linen "sack" ruined by the dark droppings from a cotton
umbrella, and a box of cough lozenges.
It was almost noon when we reined up at the Lake House at Caldwell. We
had anticipated much pleasure from the first sight of Horicon, but a
mist covered its waters, and its mountain frame-work was enveloped in
fog; so we reserved our sentiment for use the next fair day, donned dry
clothing, and sat quietly down in the parlor to await the sovereign
pleasure of the storm.
Lake George is indeed a beautiful sheet of water, and along its whole
length of thirty-six miles almost every island, bay, and bluff is
clustered with historic associations. On account of the purity of its
waters, the Indians gave it the name of _Horicon, or Silver Water._ They
also called it _Canideri-oit_, or _The Tail of the Lake_, on account of
its connection with Lake Champlain. * It was visited by Samuel Champlain
in 1609, and some suppose that he gave his name to this lake instead of
the one which now bears it. It is fair to infer, from his own account,
that he penetrated southward as far as Glenn's Falls; and it is not a
little remarkable that in the same year, and possibly at the same
season, Hendrick Hudson was exploring below the very stream near the
head-waters of which the French navigator was resting. Strange that two
adventurers, in the service of different sovereigns ruling three
thousand miles away, and approaching from different points of the
compass, so nearly met in the vast forests of wild America. The French,
who afterward settled at Chimney Point, on Lake Champlain, frequently
visited this lake, and gave it the name of _Sacrament_, its pure waters
suggesting the idea. **
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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