The Adirondacks: illustrated ... Twenty-first edition

Front matter

•saTWENsY-FIRST EDITIONS * 25 • CENTS * THE ADIRONDACKS ILLUSTRATED. CONTAINING NARRATIVE OF A TRIP THROUGH THE WILDERNESS, WITH DESCRIPTION OF THE NATURAL FEATURES OF THE REGION J HINTS CONCERNING SUPPLIES AND GEN5KAI. OUTFIT FOR CAMP AND TRAIL J COST AND MANNER OF REACHING THE VARIOUS RESORTS ; HOTELS, WITH CAPACITY, PRICE OF BOARD, ETC.; TABLES OF ELEVATION AND DISTANCES ; MAPS, ETC, ETC. Il Y S. R. STODDARD, AUTHOR OF "Ticonderoga," "Lake George, Illustrated," Etc TWENTY-FIRST EDITION. GLENS FALLS, N. V. PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. Copyright, 1891, by S. R. Stoddard. Vs*ti\ly-J<1rl E^('t<"o/). QiEETIiQS 15§L Information gathered from all available sources, is arranged in the following pages on a carefully considered system. In the net-work of ways with their multitude of finches traversing the wilderness of Northern New York uity of progress may not be.

A comprehensive glatn,ul:.vill help you in acquiring necessary details. Here is the key. As a Whole the Adirondacks is considered on page XIII, under head of " Gateways." Following each gate way are lines leading to particular centres, giving dis tances and fares, with references to pages where more extended mention may be found. Places and specially noted features are indexed on page IX ; hotels, lakes, ponds and mountains are given in special indexes. Ex penses are touched upon at pages 6 and 208 ; various sug gestions concerning camp and outfit on pages 208 to 215 ; fishing pages 216 to 223. The advertisements (indexed on page 221) are interesting, for therein each man speaks for himself. Specific Points about which you would learn may be had if you will consult the index. If instead you would wander free as the vagrant bee, gathering honey from every Sower, throw the book away — you don't need it.

If undecided as to way follow the "Professor" and the writer through the "Narrative" so long as the company please you. It represents an erratic course that covers substantially the most interesting and diverse interior por tions of the wilderness, noting by the way such changes as time and improved facilities for transportation have brought about since the trip was made, contrasting the old and the new in the procession of changeful years. Greeting, 1891. I The preservation of the forests is a question of vital importance not only to the Adirondack region itself but to the State and country as well. About one-third of the mountain and wilderness region is drained by the Hudson, the remainder by streams that run into the St. Lawrence and it is a curious fact that the section where the great Hudson River and its higher tributaries rise are less known to the public th...: al most any other part.

Chapter I

In General. N wings of thought swifter than the lightning's flash we sweep away across the drowsy earth, over smoke -polluted cities, sunscorched meadows, burning plain and highways with their flaunting skirts of sand, nor rest until the fragrant odor of wild flowers and the dewy breath of forest trees come like incense wafted to us from below. Come with me up into a high mountain. I cannot show you " all the kingdoms of the world," — but "the glory of them." Over a rippling ocean of forests first, in long, swelling waves now rising, now sinking down into deep hollows ; here in grand moun tains, crested as with caps of foam, there tormented by counter currents into wildly dashing shapes, like ocean bil lows frozen by Divine command, their summit-glittering granite, their deep green troughs, gleaming with threads of silver and bits of fallen sky.

Now the trees of the valley glide away behind us, then come dark spruce and pine and the sturdy balsam climbing the mountain-side — tall and graceful at first, but growing smaller as they rise, gnarled and twisted, and scarce above the surface, sending their branches out close along the ground, their white tops bleached and ghastly, like dead roots of upturned trees, the hardy lichens still higher ; then comes naked rock, and we stand on the wind-swept summit of the monarch of the Adirondacks— " Tahawus," the cloud-splitter of the Indian. Around^their chief, cluster the other great peaks — east, west, north, south, limitless, numberless, a confused mass of peaks and ridges, crowding close up to the base of the one on which we.stand, andteceding in waves of green all down through the 'scale of color to its blue and purple edge.

Pen cannot convey an idea of its sublimity ; the pencil fails to even suggest the blended strength and delicacy of the scene. The rude -laugh is hushed, the boisterous shout dies out on reverential lips, the body shrinks down, feeling its own little ness, while"1 the soul expands, and, rising above the earth, claims kinship with its Creator, questioning not His existence. Standing on this, the highest point in the State of New York, 5,344 feet above tide, we will glance at the country around. The term, at first applied to this cluster of moun tains, which occupy less than one-quarter of the region, has come by usage to mean the entire wilderness, an area of over 8,000 square miles of almost unbroken forest. The grand mountain region is in the center on the east, dropping off suddenly into Lake Champlain ; around it, and sweeping away. to the west, is a vast, comparatively level plateau, nearly 2,000 feet above tide, with here and there a mountain peak overlooking the plain, the two regions differing in every respect, save in the dense forests that cover both.

If you are given to muscular exercise, climbing and viewing nature from high places, choose the eastern portion. If con stitutionally tired, or inclined to dream away the quiet hours, then go to the magnificent west, where lakes and streams are so closely connected that almost every mile of that vast tract may be traversed by boat, save short carries from one water system into another, or around some fall. Camping even is not necessary if you prefer hotel life, for there are but few wilderness routes that do not have halting places less than a day's journey apart. In General. 3 The Adirondack wilderness, as known to the public gen erally, may be divided into three generaldivisions or sys tems, which collectively entertain the great bjjk. of visitors, and are representatives' of the whole, namely, the Saranac and St. Regis waters of Franklin county, whdse natural gate way is Plattsburgh and Port Kent.; the mountain region of Keene, North Elba and Lake Placid, in Essex county, with entrance at Westport; and the Blue Mountain and Raquette, waters, in Hamilton county, reached by way of^he, Adiron dack railroad from Saratoga. t I Of these sections the first-mentioned has become the more widely celebrated as a region where fashion and fishing is admirably blended, and has its patrons who are looked for as regularly as the seasons.

The second is less known in fact, but its grand mountains and lovely valleys have become familiar on the canvas of great painters ; while the Raquette region has an air of newness and morning freshness, as if just awakened from a long and refreshing sleep, and is making rapid strides in popular favor. Each section, while possessing something of the characteristics of the others, has its own individual attractions; and while connected by natural highways, over which the nomad often goes, they still to a considerable extent preserve their individuality, and each is complete and sufficient unto itself. Among the less noted divisions are the Grass and Oswegatchie region, in St. Lawrence county, which probably contains the most game, because less visited ; the Beaver and Moose river region, in Herkimer, somewhat tame, but affording excellent hunting and fishing ; and the Lake Pleasant region, in southern Hamilton county, all of them with more or less local interest and a patronage derived principally from the cities of Central and Western New York.

Keene Valley is a favorite resort with artists. Raquette Lake has the most elaborate, and the Upper Saranac the greatest number of private camps occupied during the season. Places of entertainment, from the well-appointed hotel on the border to the rude log-house and open camp of the interior, are found at intervals throughout the entire wilder ness, all waiting with open doors to receive the stranger, the consideration being from $3 per day down to $5 per week ; for particulars concerning which see under heading of " Hotels," following index. A peculiarity of the Adirondack region is its freedom from rough or vicious characters. Evil finds nothing con genial in its bright skies and pure, fresh atmosphere. Con ventionalities that obtain at other resorts are not held binding here ; the fact of actual presence is accepted as guaranty of the possession of those mutual sympathies and qualifications which here, at least, make the whole world kin, and makes it possible for gentlemen to wear blue shirts and old hats, and ladies to travel without male escort from one end of the wilderness to the other.

Indeed, it is no uncom mon thing for parties of ladies to make the tour of the woods, accompanied only by the necessary complement of guides to furnish motive power, spending day after day in their boat, and at night reaching one step farther in the extended system of hotels. Outfit. — Full dtess is seldom seen, even at the most fashionable resorts, and is exceeded in absurdity only by the conventional stage trapper, who occasionally bursts upon the astonished wilderness in fringed buckskin, and is marked at once as a " fresh." Your right to enter the best society will not be questioned because of dress. Clothing ordinarily worn is sufficient for all occasions, with perhaps the addition of a soft felt hat and roomy walking shoes or boots for boat or tramp. Camp and Sporting Outfit, clothing, supplies, etc., are given in a special chapter, with various suggestions ; how ever, a complete list of articles considered necessary or con. venient should be made out, in advance of the time for departure, by each individual; then, in committee of the In General. 5 whole, decide on what is really necessary or suitable, taking into consideration the nature of the trip and means of reaching the appointed camping ground.

If it be not over difficult of access, carry anything which will contribute to your reasonable comfort, in the way of blankets, clothing, etc. Do not sleep in the clothing worn during the day, if it can be avoided — it is a positive luxury to be able to make an entire change for night use. The gloriously healthful air of the wilderness will unques tionably give you new life and vigor, but it labors at a ter rible disadvantage, if at the beginning your bed of boughs affords no rest; where sleep comes only with complete exhaustion, as is often the case in the first few nights of camp life, and where the early morning finds you pitiably weak and languid, and ready to move simply because motion is a relief to the poor bruised body and aching joints. " Roughing it " is grand in theory, and sounds well in after history, but is bad in practice and often impedes, if it does not entirely defeat the object for which it was undertaken.

You are presumably out for pleasure, do not, therefore, make severe labor of it ; have paid help sufficient to do camp work, if, at any time, inclination tempt you to watch the zenith from some mossy vantage ground, or to drift idly among the still waters, absorbing with newly awakened instincts the subtle lessons taught by nature. If your party can afford the expense, take your cook along. Guides, as a rule, can prepare an acceptable forest meal, and some are very skillful in that line, but the very qualities which contribute to make the successful guide — "the mighty hunter" — often renders him indifferent to the quality of his food, and incapable of understanding the cravings of a delicate appetite ; at all events, carry a cook book. Camp fare is apt to become monotonous after a time, and although familiar with a hundred dishes, when brought face to face with the appalling necessity of preparing a straight meal, your mind becomes a blank and you drop weakly back to the same old stew of yesterday — and *: e day before — and life becomes a burden.

Expenses cannot be fairly estimated, varying so widely •with the habits and requirements of different individuals. If you travel simply in channels having public conveyance, the cost may be accurately determined by referring to fares, etc., found under their appropriate heading in this book. If you go outside the public lines of travel, or camp, you will require the service of a guide. 25 to 30 cents per day will supply the table with necessaries, and some luxuries even, for each person while in camp. Guides, terms for service, suggestions, etc., page 214. Hotels. — Information relating to hotels is gathered an nually, and prices charged for board given with notice of house in " Hotel Directory," at back of book, for which see special index, page vii. " Gateways " will lead you from circumference to centre of the wilderness, with line, distances and fares ; while under the heading of " railroads, steamboats and stages," will be found approaches and general information — for all of which see index.

Trout, their habits and peculiarities, with suggestions a* to outfit, fishing, etc., is treated at length in chapter XIX. The article is from the pen of A. N. Cheney, of Glens Falls, an enthusiastic votary of the gentle art, and authority in the matter whereof he speaks, and gives, in readable shape more solid information ot use to those who would enjoy the same than a dozen of the ordinary fishing romances of the day, with their sensations, impassions, tingles, thrills and frills. Finally, bear in mind that this volume is designed to give its readers, in convenient shape, information of general interest to the ninety and nine concerning points and places, roads and regions visited by them, with hints and sugges tions of the deeper mysteries of camp and trail that may In General. 7 serve to pilot the one-hundredth to points where the intelli gent guide becomes an absolute necessity, and beyond which direction in book form would confuse, rather than instruct.

For the sake of clearness, therefore, we have omitted description of the multitude of minor lakes, ponds, streams and trails which duplicate each other over the entire wilderness, and which cannot be followed without the aid of an experienced guide. To those who would have a comprehensive idea of the whole region, it is hoped the map, designed to supplement the information contained herein, will be a wel come companion until it can be safely laid aside for the more specific knowledge of the guide, whose office neither book nor map can ever fill. As the map of the wilderness is introduced, it may not be entirely uninteresting to ex plain its manner of building. A large portion of the great Adirondack region has never been surveyed with chain and rod, and probably will not be for years to come, but the rapid development of portions and the grow. ing importance of the whole as a summer resort makes necessary a map made specially to meet the requirements of tourist and sportsman.

MINIATURE SKETCH OF HAP. In its construction, all available sources of information have been brought into requisition. Important points outside the wilderness proper were determined in accordance with official surveys, and connected with the mountains of the interior, whose principal peaks were accurately located by triangulation made expressly for this work. Access has also been had to important sur veys made under State patronage and by private parties, which are now, for the first time, given to the public in map form. In addition to this absolutely reliable material, draw ings of small sections on an extended scale, covering in the aggregate the entire region, were sent in duplicate to men familiar with the various localities for correction, and were made as full and complete as possible — careful attention be ing given to proportion and distance — with wild trails, carries, ponds and streams, many of which are now for the first time laid down on any map.

Reduced to an uniform scale by photography, the result, it is believed, approaches per fection as nearly as can be, short of actual trigonometrical survey. It gives altitudes, as determined by late measure ment ; the location of all hotels and principal camps, with roads leading thereto ; shows distance in figures on roads, trails and streams, and indicates also the nature of the latter in important instances. All roads within its limits are care fully laid down, the leading ones distinguished from those less important by being in solid black line, and altogether showing, by their number or entire absence in places, the cultivated or wilderness nature of that particular region. To the gathering, compilation and reduction.of the mass of material made use of, and its final redrawing for the engraver the entire autumn and winter of 1879 were given and finally, with a feeling of tenderness which can be appreciated only by those who, in a labor of love, have seen its object growing under their hands from day to day until completion, it was sent forth for such welcome as it might find.

Since its completion in 1879, as above, annual editions have been issued, revised, and corrected, to keep pace with the changes in road and trail, and for the addition of camp or hotel in this rapidly-growing region.

Chapter II

Narrative. ING up the curtain to low, sweet music the music of a September night, the blending of the myriad voices of the swamp into one long mono tone, that seems to make you, wherever you stand and listen, its center. The scene is a dark waste of water, up out of which grow reeds and coarse grasses, that sway back and forth with the surging waves ; over at the west is a low range of bluffs ; on the east are mountains ; near by, dusky white strips run here and there, beyond which a broader one reflects the cloudy sky, dark bodies are moving slowly along and lights twinkle as they pass to and fro; beyond, and to the south, a high hill rises up, belted with strings of stars ; at its base they hang in clusters ; they sepa rate and pass up and down, are swung in circles, disappear and appear again in a most curious manner, and saintly comes the voices of the boatmen, the drivers, the lock-tenders, and the busy hum of the distant village.

At the north, where the western wall comes down, the solid rock is notched out, ovet which rises the rocky crests of a mountain range, while away beyond winds the marsh-embordered rock-hemmed waters of Lake Champlain. A low, rumbling sound comes from the south, then the solid wall that shuts us in on that side seems riven asunder, and from out the oarth, with breath of flame, and «ve of fire gleaming out ahead, thunders the night express. Across the marsh, it comes, bringing in its train a host of lesser lights, and with a shriek that clashes sharply and is broken into a con* fused din of echoes, it plunges into the northern wall, through the narrow cut to the other side, and with the hiss of escaping steam, the noisy clanging of its bell, the rattling of iron rods and links, the trembling, jerking and swaying of the long coaches, as the brakes are drawn hard against the moving wheels ; then with the dying roar of its subsiding power, the iron monster rests at the end of its journey.

Just for the moment we feel the hush. " the rot os the tide between the ebb ud the flow.* Then the nature of the sounds change, the quick, sharp words of command, of shouting and confusion, the shut fling of feet, as streams of life pour out from the various coaches, and convergirg, flow over the broad plank on to the boat that has been waiting to receive them ; there is no need of asking the way ; it is plain to all, for while on the left is nothing but darkness and a dingy, uninviting pile of build ings, on the right rises a great mass of white, with moving forms and flashing light ; windows bright, with stained glass and frosted silver, rising tier on tier, begirt with beams and rods of iron, and above all. coming up from the fires be low, wave banners of flame, whose fiery particles separating, dance away and are lost in the darkness.

Whew I What s storm, not a thunderstorm exactly, although there are indi cations of the sulphurous in the language sometimes heard, but a shower of baggage ; it rains trunks, boxes, satchels, bun dles, bags, from the car which has been brought to a stop directly in front of the gang-plank, and a double stream of trucks, drawn and propelled by stalwart men, go down undei huge loads, and, coming up empty, run and wheel and dodgt about, appearing always on the point of, but never actually getting run over. Through all the confusion the man who seems to have the least to do stands quietly by the rail, seeing every thing, but saving nothing, unless occasionally to give a command in a xtw tone ; then, as the last truck load is on the move, he Under Weigh 11 touches a cord at hit hand, a bell up in the pilot house tinkles, a few quick strokes on the big bell follows, the last man rushes over the plank, which is pulled aboard, and the great hawsers are cast off ; then, again, the little bell, up where the pilot stands signifies that the boat is from thence out under his control, and he is responsible for her safety.

Now, down along the wires to the engine-room the message goes; we hear the long hollow breathing of the steam as it rushes into the cylinder ; the ponderous beam above tips slowly on its center; the wheels seem stepping on the water as they revolve ; the great mass swings out into the channel, and moves away through the night like a great pearl surrounded by a luminous atmos phere. A little shining world all alone by itself.- Thus we saw it one night In the autumn of "73. We meahs the professor and myself. Who the professor is, or what he pro fesses, doesn't matter, as long as this is a non-professional trip; but it may be of interest considering the field selected for our observations to know that the professor is not actually stupendous, either in length. breadth or thickness, and not particular about his diet; perish the thought I He simply abstains from the absorption of that mysterious compound known as hash, on account of the uncertainty of its origin.

Revolts at sight of sausages, as it is unpleasantly suggestive of a dear little dog that he once loved. Can't endure cream in his coffee, because it "looks so, floating round on top," and whose heart bleeds and appetite vanishes if an unlucky fly chances to take a hot bath in his tea. To these peculi arities, add a disposition to see the fun in his own foilornness, and with boyishness dyed in the wool, the professor stands before you. As for the author of this, perhaps the least sais) the better. He hasn't the heart to say any thing bad, and a determination to confine himself strictly to facts, interferes somewhat with the glowing eulogy struggling to find vent •she boat i» now taken at Ticonderoga, making day trips only, leaving PhnAwgh in the norning and returning in the afterooo» suffice it to say, that nature was very lavish in the bestow*. of longitude, although not noticeably so in regard to latitude, giving also a disposition to dare, and a physical develop ment capable of enduring a vast amount of arduous rest.

Going — the dainty professor and ease-loving writer, enthusiastic sportsman, with neither gun, rod, umbrella or other instrument of death, armed only with sketch and note-book, ind hearts to drink in the glories of the great wild woods — to the mountains for health and strength to frames not over strong. We found ourselves on board the " Vermont," the largest of the Champlain steamers; and as it swung out into the channel, went out forward, up odd little pieces of stairway and canvass side hills ; ducked under and climbed over iron rods and groped along in the darkness on the hurricane deck to the pilot-house. As we entered, our eyes becoming accustomed to the darkness, made out the form of Rockwell, the chief pilot, with two assistants, wrestling with the many-spoked wheel, which throbbed and trembled as they forced it over to one side while the lights ahead seemed to swing swiftly past as wt swept around a sharp bend in the channel.

A quick, low word of command, and the chain rattled and the wheel spun around like lightning as they jumped away from it. "Now," said the pilot. Six hands pattered on the polished spokes, and the air seemed full of clawing, jumping shadows. "Over with her." The wheel creaked and snapped with the strain brought to bear on it ; the lights away out ahead, that had passed across to the right, now raced wildly back to the lest, and we circled around in the darkness, out of which, into the circle of light that surrounded us, came reedy shores and low lines oi bushes, seeming almost to brush against us as we passed. "Steady now. Good evening, gentlemen." The last half of the sentence, while it was friendly, was evi dently intended as a sort of reconnoissance. It had inquiry in it, and said plainly, " I want to hear the sound of youi voice."

The Pilot. 13 We said, " Good evening." " Up a little — steady — let her run — Oh, yes; I didn't recognize your voice — hard over that light's out again — you are a little hoarse ; ought to take something for that." " We were ; a trip to the mountains ; " and he said it was an excellent plan — let her chaw ; the reaction will clear her — wished he could — luff a point — among the grand things — said she was light aft, and clawed to starboard ; asked if we could fully indorse Tyndall's theory of nebular hegira ; thought the Greek slave a perfect figure ; said she sucked mud through here, sometimes, and they had to be careful of her flues ; wanted to know if we had given the evolement of solar faculae much thought ; descended with Darwin to our remote progenitors ; gyrated among the wheeling con stellation ; floated through eternity ; touched on the crea tion ; paddled around with Noah ; got lost with the children of Israel ; skittered along down through the dark ages ; said it wasn't going to rain, which suggested Sodom and Gomor rah ; admired Joan of Arc — said she carried an awful head of steam, but her boilers were good ; wanted our opinion as to the probable origin of creative energy and of the cohesive materialism of latent force.

Shades of Egypt ! the professor wilted, and we had to admit that Moses himself couldn't have taken us out of the scientific wilderness, and Rockwell thought Moses wasn't much of a pilot anyway. Thus he mixes art, science and physics while demonstrat ing perfection in navigation ; peering out into the darkness, seeming to feel rather than see the channel ; now circling around a lamp hung out as a guide, then away toward others that seem to pass and repass each other, as we sway to and fro, where in places a deviation the width of the boat to the right or left would bring it on the muddy banks ; at times seeming to hang out over the reeds, anon waking a whole swarm of hissing, chuckling echoes as we run close under a rocky wall ; then onward, into broader strips of water, under the frowning promontory of Ticonderoga; then we -went below.

Chapter III

Lake Champlain. HE first white sporting man that ever visited the Adirondacks was Samuel de Champlain, a Frenchman, who, in 1609, joined a company of native tourists on a gunning expedition to the southern borders of the future State park, where he fell in with a party of Iroquois and succeeded in bagging a satisfactory number. Samuel, besides being an enthusiastic sports man, was of a vivacious, happy disposition, as witness his felicitous description of the mannei in which he, at the first shot, brought down three out of four Aborigines, who broke cover, then pursued and killed some others ; he should, however, receive no credit as a marksman, for he used a beastly arm called an "arquebus," a remote progeni tor of the terrible blunderbuss — a shot-gun, which same, 1 think, all will agree is beneath the dignity of a true sports man to point toward such game.

Aster this adventure, which happened the same year that Hendrick Hudson sailed up the river that now bears his name, and eleven years before the original pilgrims landed on Plymouth rock, he returned home and wrote an interesting account of the affair, calling the sheet of water explored after himself — Lake Champlain. Just two centuries after his passage in a canoe, the first steamboat was launched on the lake. When he came, the Indians called it Cant adere quarante, spelled in various ways, and said by learned authorities who copy it from some one else, to mean " the lake that is the gate of the country." By the early French who did not choose to recognize Cham plain's right to the name, it was known as Mere let Iroquoit, 01 "Iracosia." A book published in 1659 speaks of it as "the lake of Troquois, which, together with a river of the s-.me The Adirondacks. name, running into the river of Canada, is sixty or seventy leagues in length.