The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-09-05

tcgetber with Abercombie, Hene, Lord Am-
bn1st' putnam, Rodgers The Ranger, john
snn- williams, "King Hendrick" and
Stark. aud o multitude of others who
are invested with historic renown. The
| story OF their deeds contains all the elements
of romance. Cooper In his novels has Invest
ed the lake with o thrilling Interest; but the
literal history Is otttimes stranger than the
overweight fiction. The imaginative mind
can easily reanimate the lake with the splen-
did armies OF Abercromble, Amherst and
Moutcalm, numbering from nine to sixteen
thousand men each, and sailing 10 Doals ana
batteauX, marshalied in beautiful array, With
all the pomp and circumstance of war. How
peaceful it appears to-day at the head OF the
lake around the ruins of Fort George and the
g%rass-grown site Of Fort William Henry. Yet
here, through long and bloody wars. the
cress of st. George waved defiance to Inc
Lilies of France. Here forts and palisades
went up, opposing trenches were dug, and
mines sprung. Here the iron-mouthed can
non from the narrow embrasures Of Munro
belched out death by day, while the huge
bomb with is fry trail cam shrieklng from
the camp of Montcalm by night. Here. too,
was the scene OF the massacre OF the English
by the French Indians of st. Francis. But
now all. signs of bioodshed and strife have
passed away. The hapless victims are for
ever at rest, and the descendants of the Abe.
nakis, from the ancient village OF their
fathers, now nnconsciously pitch their tents.
and pursue the harmless trade of the basket
maker over their graves.
GLIDING OVER THE LAUGHING e
Rut taking the steamer Minnehaha, we glide
down the centre Of the lake, leaving penny
q long line of foam. The high, Wood-coVereu
mountain on the east side is French Mountain.
Il terminates in o beautiful point called Plum's
Point. A little over q mile down the iake, on
the west aide. close TO the shore, Is tne nrsC
Island we mass. It is called Tea Island. anu l5
q nerleot iiule gem. In 1928, a ''tea-house"
was kept there to accommodate vlslt0rs, ana
hence Its name. mile and a halt further on
ia Diamond Island. 1t is said that, when this
| country was first settled, the island was over
| run with rattlesnakes. One historical account
| which I have read says that the people BEL
dom ventured upon It. It is called Diamond
| Island OH account of the beautiful quartz
CRYSTALS obtained. Snliman, In his book Of
travels, says: 'Fhe crystals are naroIy snr-
passed by any In the world for transparency
| and perfection of form. They are. as usual,
| the six-sided prism, and are frequently ter
| minated at both ends by siX-sided pyramids.
| These last, of course, must be found loose, or,
at least, not adhering to any rock: THOSE
which are broken OF have necessarily only
one pyramid"
Beyond Plum's Point Is Dunhsm's Bay,
where some say Colonel Brown landed after
Il QlH Q6IcdU db NldIQOuu 1oloud ~ LhhS ~
yond are the Three Sisters, though but two
Islands are now to be seen; and q little way
| east is Long Island, where Rodgers camped
| one winters night In 1758, after having been
| defeated by the French. In the bay, further
to the right, Is the hotel called ''Trout PaVll-
ion" a great resort of those who are iond OF
| fine fish. As we pass on TO Bolton, which ID
ten miles from Caldwell, we leave on the west
| side the islands the Three Brothers. To the
| right is a large and heavily wooded Island,
| called Dome Islsnd, on account OF Its resem.
| blance to q dome. West Of Dome Island Is
| Recluse Island, { lovely spot. commanding q
| fine view of the lake 10 all directions. Tnls
| island is now owned by Rufus Wattles, Esq,
| OF New York, who has erected upon IL very
| nice private residence. and 1t Is the only one I
saw on the islands Of the lake.
THE NARRows.
But time and space fail me to particularIze
| all the incidents and historical facts connected
| with these Islands. /, therefore, can only
name them as we paes along. me next ID
| Sloop or Ship Island, the next Is Bolton Vii
lage, where the Minnehaha stopped to take IN
passengers. The next is Fourteen-Mile Island,
the next Green Island, then Hog Island,
and then we come to Tongne Mountain,
which, for q distance of six miles, forms the
east side of Northwest Bay. AS we approach
Fourteen-Mile Island, we get first View OF
what is called the Narrows. At this point the
| sides Of the lake approach each other, and the
! space between is nearly filled up with clusters
OF Islands of various shapes and sizes, 80 that
the steamer is. obliged TO wind carefully
seen, and the islands, covered with foliage,
resemble a tongue of land, stretching across
the lake, forming, what appeared to me, aS an
impassable barrier. At first, I>looked In vain
for a passage through, but on q nearer ap-
proach, the passage widened and the little
riffs In the woods, here and there, opened
like celestial gates. Then
1.-THE shaggy mound no longer stood
Emerging from entangled wood.
Bus, wavs.encircled. seemed to foRt,
Like castle girded with It's moat.
Yet broader floods extending Still
Divide them from the parent hill,
Till each, retiring, claims to be
An islet In an Island sea-"
| THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN ON THE LAKE LOOMS Up.
The next islands are the Hen and Chickens
| and Flea Island. Passing through the Mar
| rows, we find ourselves in the very heart of the
lake and surrounded on every side by scenes
| that delight the eye. Block Mountain, the
| highest mountain upon the lake, looms up
| directly before us. According to barometrlcai
| calculations, 1t Is 2S7s feet above tide-water.
It is banded around Its sides with alternate
| lines of maple, pine and birch, which thin out
! by degrees as they rise, until, two-thirds OF
| the way up, the bare rocks chiefly appear,
| Sentlnelled here and there by q lev DEAD
| trunks, while the top of the mountain stands
| out completely Invested of verdure, and dark.
threatening and bare. Around tta SCARED
| and ritted sides, often swept by fire, We see
| the work of time and weather, which
"Down the lake, In masses, threw
Crags, knobs and mounds, confusedly hurFd,
The fragments or an earlier world"
IN INTERESTING ANECDoTE OF RODGERS, THE
RANGER.
The next islands are Ratchet Island, Hall
Way Island, Floating Battery Island, Harbor
Island, Wears Island, Sabbath Day Point,
Odell Islands, "a %cluster,) Cooks Island n
then Rodgers Slide. This latter is a steep,
smooth precIpice OF naked rock, incllning at q
sharp angle, in the face of the mountains. At
the foot the water Is quite deep. 1t received
Its present name, 1t Is alleged, from the fact
that Rodgers, the Ranger, was once surprised
by the Indians and made his escape on the
Ice. The story runs as follows: In the winter
of 1853 Rodgers was surprised by some In.
| dams while out on a scout and put to flight.
! Sh0d with snow shoes, he eluded pursuit, and
| coming to this spot. saved his life by an In
| genious device. Descending the mountain
until he came to the edge of the precipice, he
| threw his haversack down upon the ice, un-
| buckled his snow shoes, and without moving
| them, turned himself about, and put them on
hfs feet again, with the heels in front. He
then retreated the way he came until he
reached the southern brow of the rock, where
he found q ravine, down which he ESCAPED
and sped away on the Ice towards Fort
George. The Indians in the meanwhile came
a.. ar cnot oDd oooino tho 60uhla apt nf