Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1869-09-23

SIX miles In twenty-nlne mlnute6-the
best time yet made upon the road.
From Fairhaven Journall
A Trip over Lake Champlaln.
The country bordering ON the west
shore of Lake, Champlain is interesting,
and has attractions for the student Of ma
ture, the geologist, the artist, the summer
tourist, the antiquarian, and the man of
business. 1t is attracting some attention
just now by an extensive "strike" among
the workmen in the ore mines at Crown
Point and Moriah, and by the railroad
which is building on that shore of the
lake.
| Having recently passed through its
borders, we will give the Journal few
notes of what we saw and heard. Cross
ing the lake ut Larabee's, the proposed
terminus of the Fairhaven and Lake
Shore Railroad, as also IT the Rutland &
Burlington branch Railroad from Whit
| ing, and where the junction of the
three roads proposed, must occur if they
are built as surveyed, we leave the ruins
of the old Ticonderoga o and the steam
boat landing two or three miles to the
south. and pass down ON the Ticondeross
shore past the presspt terminus vi the
Whitehall & Plattsburgh Railroad, on
which the workmen have commenced lay
ing the sails. Following the lake shore
north ward we find the road bed nearly
all graded far down as the bridge over
| Bulwasga Bay at Port Henry, and the
rails are laid from Crown Point south ward
to within three or four miles of its pres
ent terminus, with an engine and a gravel
train running over the road. 1t is in
tended TO have il in running order from
| Port Henry to Larab.o's Ferry, sixteen
miles, in two weeks more. Beyond Port
/ Ienry there are fourteen miles re-
mainiDg to be built, aud it il pro-
posed to put the same under contract and
press forward its construction immedi ate
ly. Meanwhile, Gov. Page says they
hope to be ready To contract for the build.
ing of the road from Whiting via Rich
vile. to Lsrrabee's by the frat of October
next. 1t seems 10 be the common opinion
among the people that the road from
Whiting will be- speedily built. There
are tho-c who believe the road from Fair
Haven will also be built. Others think II
road will be built instead by way of Cald-
well and Lake George.
The country is looking finely. Most of
the farmers have finished their haying
and ar. now gathering III their extensive
fields of grain. Rarely do We such
abundant crops of hay aud oats. Wheat i,
also an unusually good crop. Some far
mers have as many ~ tive or six acres Of
clean, heavy, beautiful wheat while their
barns are already filled TO overlooking.
In the deep valley lying west Of Lake
George, and through which the railroad
must run. if 1t is built from Caldwell to
Ticonderoga, We were surprised TO see 30
many fine farms aud elegant tarm houses.
The road 10 Hague is good, and lies a
part of the way through the forest along
the border of the lake, passing the precip-
itous promontory known a~"Rogers
Slide" At Garfield's, eight miles above
the outlet of the lake. we found the old
hotel gone, consumed by fire, and new
and larger one III ito place, filed with
summer boarders. among them, at this
time the artist. VIM. Hart, of New York,
and class of eight or nine young lady
pupils, who were taking sketches Of the
scenery, some of which were quite COM
plete We also met here Rev. Mr.. Smart
of Albany, who has been on his vacation
for few weeks back in Benson.
A company is occupying the island out
a little way from the shore, with flags fly
ing above the trees, which is said to have
had formal organic existence on these
waters under the high sounding name of
"Waltonians," for the past twenty-five
years or more The steamer "Minnehaha"
called at the landing on her way to Cald-
well about the middle of the afternoon,
her decks loaded, and yet she took on a
number of passengers who had been on u
visit to the "Waltonians" on the island
and about bushel Of the largest kind of
blackberries. The lake il thirty
six miles long. and is said to contain
three hundred islands. The steamer
leaves Caldwell in the morning and re-
turns in the afternoon, atfordinga pano-
rama of beautiful landscape views not
surpassed in any foreign country.
The ou,howinx waters Of Lake George
afford an abundant water power, and at
'Ticonderoga the American Graphite Com
pany have mn extensive mill tor washing
load from the rock with which much of it
il intsrnixed. The lead il mined on the
mountains from the seams In the meta
morphic granite, and IN obtained by sink
ing narrow parsags ways, sometimes Nn
ieet in an oblique direction downward.
only large enough TO enable one person 70
work ut tho vein of lead, which may vary
from ono to several inches In thickness.
The vein itself is often pure graphite for
several inches in thickness, and then
shades off gradually by intermixturc with
the adjoining rock.
The mountains Of this whole region are
primordial, or pre-fos-illiferous. They
belong to the igneons, or first rocks Of
tho globe, aud are rich in mineral wealth.
Nearer the lake shore, in Ticonaeroga,
and extending under the lake into Yer
mont may be seen the outcrop of the earl
lest sedimentary rocks containing fossils.
The ehazy limestone in the northeast part
of Ticonderoga gives rare exhibition
in its low shelving rocks OF the an
imal life of the molluscan age,
the rocks being thiokly strewn for many
rods with fossils of the Msclures magma,
a univalve shell, many specimens OF which
can be broken out entire, and are from
one to six or seven inches across. These
rocks are deeply fractured, and often at
right angles, 80 that they are easily quar-
ried aud broken, and many of them have
been made use of for building purposes
in the construction of the railroad along
this point. M
AT Port Henry the primordial rocks ap-
near to come nearer the lake, and two
miles north of Port Henry, close to the
l.ke shore the Choever ore mine has its
openinv three hundred or more feet above
the water in the lake In company with
friend. each of US with lamp In hand,
ve went into this mine, there being no
workmen employed on the premises on
account of the general strike among the
miners. It is entered by means OF stairs
leading downward on . westward inoina-
tion of about 400 feet. The opening here
10 quite extensive, the chambers being
several hundred feet to the north, south
and west, and the everything macs OF guy
feet thiceness being snpporAed only oy'