The Adirondacks: illustrated

Front matter

•

A2S7

PRICE SO CENTS.

Index

Summer Resorts.

PAGE.

Ausable Chasm — Chasm House, 44, 169

Chestertown 189

Glens Falls 181

Keene Flats — Dibble's 135, 174

Crawford's 136, 176

Lake Placid — Nash's 75, 170

Brewster's 75, 170

Lake George — Fort William

Henry Hotel 183

Central Hotel 14, 184

Crosbyside 185

Mohican House 186

Bolton House 187

Fourteen Mile Island 188

Luzerne 180

Mooers

Newcomb — Half-way House . .

Plattsburgh — Fouquet's Hotel,

pottersville hotel

Raquette Falls

Root's Hotel

St. Regis Lake

Lower Saranac

Upper Saranac

Saratoga — Congress Hall

Remedial Institute

Schroon Lake — Leland House,

Wickham House

Ondawa House

Taylor House

Tupper's Lake .-

Ticonderoga Hotel

Whiteface Mountain page. *75

26, 167 192

80, 169

83,169

86, 169

193 194

91, 171

Lakes and Ponds.

Avalanche Lake (el. 2,846) 122

Ausable Ponds 140, 142

Blue Mountain Lake 112

Champlain (el. 95) 91

Chazy Lake 33

Chateaugay Lake 33

Cranberry Lake 93

Calamity Pond 121

Eldon 108

Forked Lake 104

George 1S3

Henderson 127

Mirror Lake 75

Preston Ponds 120

Pleasant (el. 1,578).

Paradox Pond 76

Raquette Lake 105

Round Lake 86

Upper Saranac 88,169

Lower Saranac 84, 169

St. Regis Lake 79, 169

Sanford 117

Summit Water (el. 4,293) 146

South Pond 1 ia

Tupper's Lake (el. 1,504) 92

Uto wanna Lake 109

Index.

Mountains.

PAGE.

Blue Mountain (el. 3,595) 112

Bald Peak (Moriah) (el. 2,083) T 75

Bartlett Mountain 143

Camel's Hump, Vt. (el. 4,080) 21

Cobble Hill 132

Gothic Mountains 142

Giant, The 139

Haystack 143

Hurricane 132

Indian Head 140

PAGE.

Mount Joseph (el. 1,200) n 3

Mansfield, Vt. (el. 4,350) 21

Resagonia Mountain i 39

Seward (el. 4,348) g7

Santanona Mountain (el. 4,607) 127

Rustic Lodge (Whiteface) (el. 4,080) 57

Wallface Mountain (el. 3,856) 129

(Height of Precipice, 1,319.) Washington, N. H. (el. 6,385).

Miscellaneous.

List of Views 200

Adirondack Iron Works (el. 1,769). . 118

Adirondack Springs 20, 175

Arnold Ore Bed 33

Avalanche Pass ... 124

Bloomingdale 76

Battle of Plattsburgh 30, 32

Beech's Island 107

Buntline, Ned 110

Buttermilk Falls 104

Bill Nye, his Story 123

Carillon 18

Crown Point 19

Clinton Prison 32

Champlain Transportation Co. . . 11, 165

Cold River 96

Chateaugay Falls 33

John Cheney 116

Camp Phelps 147

Dead water 133

Del. & Hudson Canal Co 12, 164

Euba Dam 132

Guides 7, 151

Hudson River (Head) 143

Harper & Tufts 53, 168

Indian Pass (el. 2,901) 128

Indian Carry 93

John Brown 67

John Brown's Grave 71

John's Brook 135

Keene Flats I34 , l68

Long Lake Village 97

Lumbermen IXI

Lake George 183

Marion River io 8

Mud Pond ISO

Murray's Island io 6

Marcy Trail i 42 , 150

Mould& Son, W 54 , ig9

Modesty 2 oo

North Elba ?I

Outfit ' 3

Ointments 5

Opalescent Gorge 120

11 Old Mountain Phelps " i 37

Ouluska Pass (el. 3,050) i 4 6

Pleasant Valley 131, i 73

Panther Gorge i 43

Phelp's Falls i 35

Pilot, The 38

Photographs, Lists, etc.. 51, 53, 178, 200

E. & H. T. Anthony & Co i 97

R. Walzl i 9 8

Photo-Engraving Co 176

Roaring Brook i 39

Roaring Brook Falls 139

Russle Falls 139

Rainbow Falls 141

Raquette River 9 5

VI

Index.

Miscellaneous — {Continued).

PAGE.

Rock Dunder . 21

Steamboats 11, 165

Supplies — 7

Split Rock 20

Split Rock Falls 13 2

Spectacle Ponds 93

Stony Creek 94

Sweeny Carry 9 1

Sheridan, Gen. Phil 40

Sabattis, Mitchell 99

PAGE.

The Schoolmaster 101

Tupper Lake Region . .• 91

Tahawus (P. O.) 114

Westport 20

Wilmington Pass 64

Wilmington Flume 64

Illustrations.

Ausable Pond Frontispiece

Fouquet's Hotel 26

Floral Offering, A 29

Battle of Plattsburgh 3°

The Night Express 35

Professor, Ye 37

" Well, by Thunder " 44

Ausable Chasm Facing 45

Birmingham Falls 48

" Moses " 49

Cathedral Rocks 5°

Ausable House 52

Whiteface Mountain, Summit.... 56, 58

u Gr-roop " 65

John Brown 67

Wilmington Pass, from the south, 64

John Brown s Grave 7 1

Bartlett's 86

Mother Johnson's 94

Mother Johnson 95

Up the Raquette 95

MitcheM Sabattis 99

The Schoolmaster >o2

The Carry 102

Alva Dunning's 107

"Ned Buntline" m

Blue Mountain Lake ... 112

John Cheney 117

Lake SANFORD,Wallface in Distance, 117

Wm. B. Nye 123

" Hitch up, Matilda " 126

Indian Pass, from Henderson Lake, 127

Indian Pass Facing 128

South from Blin's 130

" Where did we put them ?" 133

11 Old Mountain Phelps " 137

Ausable Pass 140

Gothic Mountains 142

"Stories" (Camp Phelps) 147

Tail-piece — The Great Peaks 150

Exeunt Guides 154

THANKS.

O Dr. G. W. Bixby of Plattsburg, for prized suggestions and assistance ; to Hon. A. W. Holden of Glens Falls ; to Editor Lansing of the Essex Co. Republic an ; to O. S. Phelps of Keene Flats, for a host of literary matter that none were better able than he to give ; to Theo. White for those inimitable pan-cakes ; to William B. Nye of North Elba ; to Charles W. Blanchard of Long Lake, for valuable tables and other matter ; to H. G. Baldwin of Whiteface Mountain ; to H. M. Mould of Keeseville ; to H. H. Bromley of the Chasm House ; to L. M. Fouquet of Plattsburgh, for an immense amount of documentary and personal information concerning the great wilderness, of which he has been, for years, an enthusiastic student ; to the Delaware & Hudson Canal Co., for interesting material and assistance aside from their duties as carriers ; to Weed, Parsons & Co. of Albany, for favors extended, generous uprightness in dealing, and more than satisfaction given in the unvarying excellence of their productions, and to a host of other friends whose names and kindnesses will recur when too late for this public testimonial of appreciation, thanks are given in all sincerity by

The Author.

Glens Falls, June, 1874.

It was expected that a map sketch of the Adirondack, as prepared by Verplanck Colvin, Superintendent of the Adirondack Survey, could have been procured for this work. The reason of its non-appearance is explained by the accompanying note :

Albany, July i, 1874.

S. R. Stoddard, Esq.,

Dear Sir — I regret that it is impossible to procure a proof of the map sketch promised you to copy. It will accompany my forthcoming report to the legislature on the progress of the Survey, but is not, as yet, completely engraved.

Yours, etc.,

Verplanck Colvin.

THE ADIRONDACKS.

Chapter I

N wings of thought swifter than the lightning's flash cleaving through space, we sweep away across the drowsy earth, over smoke-polluted cities, sun-scorched 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, their long swelling waves, now rising, now sinking down into deep hollows, here in grand mountains, crested as with caps of foam, there tormented by counter currents into wildly dashing shapes, like ocean billows, 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 ; the dark spruce and pine ; and the sturdy balsam climbing the mountain-side — tall and graceful at first, but growing smaller as they rise ; now 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' "Tahawas," 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, gathering, crowding close up to the base of the one on which we stand, and receding in waves of deep, then tender 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 littleness, 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, 5,333 feet above tide, we will glance at the country around ; the term, at first given to this cluster of mountains, occupying, as they do, less than one-quarter of the region, has come by usage to mean the entire wilderness, covering an area of over 2,500 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 below, the two regions differing in every respect, save in the dense forests that cover both ; if given to muscular exercise, climbing and viewing nature from high places, choose the eastern portion; if constitutionally tired, or inclined to dream away the quiet hours; then go to the magnificent West, where will be found a system of rivers, lakes and streams, so closely connected, that almost every mile of that vast tract may be visited without leaving the boat, save to carry a short distance from one water system into another, around some fall, or to camp for the night, and camping is not necessary if you prefer hotel life, for there are but few wilderness routes that do not have their halting places less than a day's journey apart.

In General; Outfit. 3

The various subdivisions are, first, the mountains on the east. The Raquette and Long Lake region toward the south-west, and still further away the John Brown tract. To the north-west is the Saranac ; west of this the Tupper's Lake, Oswegatchie and Grass River regions ; north of the Saranac, the St. Regis, and still further north the Chateaugay woods.

It is difficult to say just which part combines the most attractions. The artist finds grandeur among the mountains and quiet loveliness in the Raquette region. The Brown tract is tame, but good fishing; the north-west rather gloomy, but probably the best hunting-ground in the wilderness. The Saranac and St. Regis is the most fashionable and easiest reached. Scattered all over this wild tract are places of entertainment, ranging all the way from the elegantly furnished hotels on the border to the rude log-house of the interior, but all "hotels," and willing to take strangers in at from $2.50 per day to $7.00 per week. "Martin's" is the largest; ' Paul Smith's " the most fashionable. Keene Flats has the greatest number of artists — and quiet people.

The avenues of approach radiate to all points of the compass, the favorite being — for the mountain region, by way of Schroon Lake and Root's, or on Champlain steamers to Westport; thence to Elizabethtown and Keene Flats. To the lake region via Lake Champlain steamers, north and south, to Port Kent or Plattsburgh ; thence to either the St. Regis or Saranac Lakes, where boats are taken for the interior. Nearly all the hotels advertise to furnish guides, boats and necessaries for camping.

Outfit. — Claw hammer coat, fancy vest, bell-muzzle trowsers, stove-pipe hat, lavender kids, tender neckties, perfumery, eye-glasses, cane, is "astunnin' make-up, by jove," for some ; others, however, prefer a coat to button close up in the neck, with " lots " of pockets ; with pants and vest of some sort of woolen goods ; pair of woolen shirts, soft felt hat, two pairs of woolen socks, pair of heavy kip boots, with broad soles and heels, one or two sizes larger than is ordinarily worn, common carpet slippers, with cloth tops that maybe tied outside the pants, for camp and night use, rubber overcoat or blanket, and pair of rubber leggings or overalls.

As to a lady's "outfit," I would not presume to dictate; 1 have learned better ; but the following is suggested as the proper thing for the woods and mountains: Flannel underclothing, short walking dress, Turkish trowsers, buttoned at the ankle, soft felt hat, such as is worn by gentlemen, roomy balmoral boots, camp slippers, rubbers, water-proof, cotton or kid gloves, with armlets to button at the elbow.

The nights are often chilly, and, for sleeping in camp, a pair of heavy woolen blankets are recommended ; some make them into a bag about six feet long and three broad, with a cord run in at the top so that it may be shured up around the owner's neck ; once in this he can bid defiance to predatory bugs, and need not fear that his bed-fellows will kick the bedclothes off along in the cold hours of the morning. On the other hand it may not tend toward a devotional feeling when the musical mosquito directs his attention toward your unprotected nose. You can let him take his fill, if you choose, after which he will go off and not molest you again until he finds some of his hungry relations, or you may knock your proboscis against a convenient tree, and hurl the vandal from his giddy height. In the latter case, however, it requires considerable skill to properly gauge the blow. At such trying moments either the hands must have outlet or the feelings will. A pair of sleeves, closed at the end, helps the matter some, but in the construction of the garment a wide field, or rather bag, is still open for the display of inventive genius. A small bag to be filled with leaves or gross, and used as a pillow, pays for itself in one night's use. All the articles enumerated, with, perhaps, the exception of the envelope, may be packed in a valise or knapsack, or, what will answer equally well, a common grain-bag, with two straps attached about half way up, which, passing over the shoulders and back, under the arms, fasten to the lower corners, the load resting well down on the back ; don't forget soap, towels and a drinking cup, either of tin or of leather that will flatten down and be carried easily in the pocket, A compass is a very pleasant companion, and at times very useful ; needles and thread, pins, and pocket mirror in which to look occasionally, if you are given to amour propre. It would be well

Sporting Outfit. 5

also to take bandages, lint, ointment, ammonia (often soothing the irritation when applied to blotches caused by the bite or sting of insects), and some kind of cholera medicine ; for burns apply wheat flour ; to stop the flow of blood from wounds, bind on equal parts of flour and common salt; beware of bulky luxuries or much extra clothing; they are a nuisance and provoke a rebellious spirit in the breast of the guide, for guides even have some rights that their employers are bound to respect.

Sporting outfit. Do not rely on what books tell you. If you know nothing about it, place yourself under some one that does and trust to their judgment until you can judge for yourself. The most enticing of fancy flies in the hands of a greenhorn will not yield much sport — except to outsiders — and the grandest achievement in patent double acting fire-arms will not alone deplete the ranks of the timid deer as rapidly as a common rifle backed by common sense and the necessary ammunition, or a fowling piece if you are not skilled in the use of the former ; in either case have none but a breech-loader.

The Adirondack Fire Arms Company, of Plattsburgh, make a very popular rifle, which, taken altogether, is probably the best in use, being a " magazine gun " made to contain from seven to seventeen cartridges which are thrown up into the barrel, without removing the gun from the shoulder, by a rapid motion that at the same time casts out the empty shell ; one peculiar advantage is its adjustable gauge whereby cartridges of any length can be used — the want of which in others has been a frequent source of annoyance to hunters.

The Rev. Mr. Murray (whose book has been so mercilessly criticised by those who did not possess the first requisite of the sportsman to whom it appealed, and who were misled thereby expecting to see deer in droves and trout in schools coming up to the parlor windows to be shot and hooked, who in His exuberance of spirit may have inflated the unpoetical truth a little at times), is a thorough sportsman and suggests the following for the guidance of fishermen :

Flies, Hackles, black, red and brown, 6 each ; hooks, i, 2, 3, Limerick size, also 6 Canada flies, 6 green drake, 6 red ibes,

6 small salmon flies (best of all); In the fall of the year, hall a dozen each of English blue jay and gray drake, one light, single-handed fly rod, Landing net ; he also suggests for boatfishing two dozen short-shanked good-sized hooks, hand-tied to strong cream-colored snells ; for bait use worms, grubs or cut a piece from a chub and troll or skitter it across the surface of the water. Mr. Murray further says, use braided silk lines and invokes you to beware of such as have a glassy glitter about them.

Other flies. — The black-fly, " punkey " — fearful form of torment conjured up by a diseased mind, owes a great share of its importance to the imagination of writers who do not want to spoil a good story for lack of strength, and so uncork their vials of descriptive terror and cry " black-fly " all because a poor, little, innocent creature, may occasionally take toll from a passing traveler, in a perfectly legitimate manner, in broad daylight. He can't be so very terrible, and when night comes, he retires in a very christian-like manner and does not molest or make you afraid until daylight appears once more, passing away almost entirely early in July. The mosquito, however, is a different enemy to deal with, he comes like a thief in the night and presents his bill at the most inopportune moments imaginable, and he is ably supported by the

gnat.

To avoid these pests as far as possible select for a camping place some island or point where the open forest affords the wind free sweep. A tent that can be made tight is the best ; smudge the insects out, then cover the entrance with thin muslin. As a further protection, take gloves as suggested in ladies' outfit and Swiss muslin bag to cover the head, gathered around the neck and fastened inside the collar band. Ointments of various kinds are also used ; the easiest carried perhaps of any is a piece of mutton tallow previously melted, and mixed with oil of pennyroyal in the proportion of six ounces of tallow to one of the oil, to which a little camphor may be added, if preferred ; a mixture of sweet oil and tar is also used, with which the face and hands are anointed — tar doesn't look very attractive and is objected to by some ladies, but it is very efficacious, it keeps the

Guides. y

flies at a distance and the young men soon get accustomed to it.

Supplies. — Provisions may be obtained at the hotels; but as some prefer to cany them, the following are suggested as the staples : Boston crackers, Indian meal, oat meal (excellent for griddle cakes), baking powder, or what is perhaps better, self-raising flour, maple sugar, loaf sugar (easy to sort if it gets scattered), tea, coffee (condensed milk is good sometimes), dried fruit, pepper, salt, butter. Pint tin cups, tin plates, spoons, knives and forks, two long handle frying-pans, tin basins, two tin pails, holding from three to six quarts each, to be used for tea, coffee, etc.

Bacon is easily carried, and nice, when it is ?iice ; but see that it is not rusty when taken ; above all, have plenty of salt pork, unpoetical but palatable, taking the place of butter and all of the seasonings. From experience, I have learned that the amount of salt pork a delicate young creature — who before revolted, perhaps, at mention of it — gets away with in the woods, is simply enormous; and then it's "awfully jolly, you know," to broil a piece on a sharp stick, letting the gravy drip on crisp-toasted bread, and eat the two together, no matter if it does drop in the ashes once in a while, it is healthy, and that is the great desideratum.

Guides usually furnish boat with all necessaries for camping, do all the work, cooking, etc., and carry the boat over all portages (excepting where they are snaked across by horse-power, for which the employer pays) at from $2.50 to $3 per day.

An ordinary boat will carry two beside the guide, and many go in couples, thus lessening expenses in guide-hire one-half; but, for the sake of independence, each person should have his own. There are two classes, known as the "hotel" and "independent guides." The latter, as a rule, give the best satisfaction, not because there are not just as good men among the " hotel " guides as the others, but they are engaged for the season by hotel proprietors, who relet them to parties ; and while two or three, out of a half-dozen, may be first-class, the rest are often young and inexperienced — cheap hands sent along to learn the business. I have tried both, and it is not difficult, all other things being equal, to decide who will tryto please you most ; the one who receives his pay and is responsible to another man for his actions, or the one who looks to you for future employment. Many engage them a year in advance, and would as soon think of going without a gun as their favorite guide.

Expenses. — The cost of a trip of course cannot be fairly estimated, varying with the habits and requirements of those taking it. The one described in the narrative portion of this work includes, in its round, over 200 miles by rail, steamboat and stage, 100 by boat, and something more than 100 on foot, the main line, taking in Ausable chasm, Whiteface mountain, Wilmington Notch, John Brown's grave at North Elba, Lake Placid, Paul Smith's and back to Martin's by private conveyance, thence by boat through the Saranac's over to the Raquette, up that and through Long Lake, thence around through Forked, Raquette and Blue Mountain lakes ; by mountain carry to Kellogg's once more, then east to Newcomb, north to the deserted village, through Indian Pass to North Elba again, then east to Keene, south through the " Flats" to the Ausable Ponds, thence out to Root s and home by way of Schroon Lake and Lake George, occupying a little over three weeks in the round, and costing — railroad fares, etc., — all told, about $65 each, for the "Professor" and myself; and remember this was for sight seeing, during which time we slept in a shanty but one night, then only from choice, and all the time with hotel fare and prices.

From four to live dollars per week is amply sufficient to cover the expenses of any one reasonable being while in the woods, including guide-hire and the little luxuries that have to be taken in, or procured at the hotels. Fares to different points will be found under their appropriate heading, by which an estimate can be made of the total expense of the trip.

CHAPTER II. Lake Champlain

^ o 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 sportsman, 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 progenitor of the terrible blunderbuss -a shot-gun, which same, I think all will agree is beneath the dignity of a true sportsman 'to point toward such game. After 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 Cam adere guar ante, 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 Champlain's right to the name, it was known as Mere les Iroquois, or "Iracosia" A book published in 1659 speaks of it as "the lake of Troquois, which, together with a river of the same io The Adirondack^.

name, running into the river of Canada, is sixty or seventy leagues in length. In the lake are four fair islands, which are low and full of goodly woods and meadows, having store of game for hunting. Stagges, Fallow Dear, Elks, Roe Bucks, Beavers, and other sorts of beasts." In shape it is very like a long, slim radish, with Whitehall at the little end ; then comes the long root and outbranching river fibers. At Burlington, quite a respectable radish, then blotches of rock and island, and, beyond that, the leaves spreading out on either side and toward the North.

On the east is Vermont, sweeping away from the lake in a broad, cultivated plain, then gradually ascending to the ridges of the Green mountains ; along the southern and central portion of the lake, the rocky western shores step down to the water's edge and backward, rising up peak on peak the highest, misty with distance or hidden by the clouds that gather around ; then wild, broken and grand, the Adirondack mountains. Here and there are little bits of cultivated land and breaks in the mountain-gateways to the wilderness, then as you near Burlington, they fall away back into the interior, and a level, well-cultivated country presents itself.

It is 130 miles from the head of navigation to Rouse's Point ; measuring down into Missisquoy bay, on the east side, the extreme length is about 140 miles. It is ninety-one feet above tide, according to late measurements, and the United States Coast Survey shows that a ship drawing 333 feet would barely float in the deepest places, which are near Burlington. Just north of this is the broadest part, the lake being eleven miles across. It contains a number of islands, the principal ones near the north end, where there is plenty of room for them, and contemplating this just distribution of land, in places where it would be least in the way, we are led to think that " whatever is, is right," for had Grand Isle been dropped down in some narrow portion of the lake — Whitehall, for instance, it would have been pretty hard on the inhabitants of that unhappy place, although, perhaps, aside from its lumber, the world would not have felt trie loss very keenly.

As of old, "the gate of the country," Lake Champlain, is now a great highway of commerce and pleasure travel, the

Champlain Transportation Co. ii

chief industry being the iron found in large quantities, and of a superior quality, in the mountains on the west shore, and the lumber from the forests of Canada that pass through toward the south. If, as is proposed, the Champlain canal, between Troy and Whitehall, be enlarged, so that vessels of 1,000 tons burden can pass through, it will bring almost the entire freight of the great lakes this way, reducing the time from Oswego to Troy, by canal, about one-quarter, and rendering the transhipment of the cargo to smaller boats unnecessary ; the wishedfor result, however, is not yet. Men can measure the distance to the planets, track the erratic comet through unknown space and foretell its coming, but the doings of the New York Legislature are past finding out.

The Champlain Transportation Company have fully supplied the wants of the traveling public in the magnificent steamers that double the lake daily. This company was organized in 1826, and now run six steamers, viz.: The Vermont, Adirondack, Champlain, A. Williams, Minnehaha, and Ganouskie— the last two on Lake George. Le G. B. Cannon is President; F. P. Noyes, Treasurer; A. L. Inman, General Superintendent, and Elijah Root, Chief Engineer. The first three boats run regular trips the entire length of the lake, day and night ; leaving Whitehall and Rouse's Point on the arrival of morning and evening trains. Meals are furnished on board ; each boat carries a crew of about 50 persons ; consumes 35 tons of coal daily, and will easily make 20 miles an hour. They are of beautiful build, clean and well conducted, with richly furnished state-rooms, and plenty of sitting-room out on the open decks, designed especially for pleasure travel; lacking the tawdry glitter of some steamers, but perfect models of elegance and rich simplicity.