Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1899-08-25

Who Discovered Lake George?
An article in the Ticonderoga Sentinel,
recently republished in the Free Press,
revives the old claim that Champlain.
after the battle at Crown Point when he
made his first and only voyage to this
part of the lake to which he then gave
his name, pursued the defeated Itoquois
southwark as far as the outlet to Lake
George. This claim is sometimes ex-
tended so far as to include the discovery
of Lake George by Champlain on the
same occasion.
This claim ought to be set at rest final
ly and forever. 1t is as nearly demon
strable as fact of history ordinarily can
be that Champlain never saw the outlet
of Lake George and never was any near
err to 1t than the immediate vicinity of
Crown Point-a distance of at least ten
miles. The circumstantial account of
the battle given by Champlain himself,
in the edition of his voyages published
only four years afterwards, leaves no
room for doubt on that point. His
description places the battle at Crown
Point. 1t began in the early morning
and must have occupied an hour or more
of time. Immediately after the fight was
over Champlain's party gathered up the
provisions, weapons and spoils of their
defeated enemies, and with their prison
ers crossed to the eastern shore, where
they burned one of the latter at the stake
with the customary cruelties, which are
fully described by Champlain. They
then returned to Canada.
1t is altogether improbable that Cham
plains party would have pursued their
enemies southwark and directly toward
the Iroquois villages.
And there is another fact which | re-
gard as conclusive. Not only does Cham
plain omit all mention of Lake George or
its outlet, but neither is mentioned by
any one for more than sixteen years
afterwards. Champlain was the most
accurate and reliable of all the early
French explorers. He describes with
perfect accuracy all the important
natural objects which he discovered. He
had heard, as he writes in his "VoyageS"
from an Indian Interpreter, q description
of the route up a river through another
lake and short distance by land to q
large river which ran In the opposite or
southwark direction. Now if Champlain
had seen Lake George or its outlet he
would have mentioned and described
both, and not have contented himself
with the imperfect account of an Indian
who may have described it from hearsav.
! therefore state the following as facts
of history, upon the authority of the ac-
count given by Champlain himself. in
his Voyages" published in Paris in 1913,
viz: The battle with the Iroquos was
on the north end of Crown Point. In
medlately after 1t Champlain and his
party returned down the lake with their
spols and prisoners. Champlain never
saw Lake George or its outlet and was
never afterwards on this part of the lake
he did discover and to which he gave his
name.
There is no authentic account of the
discovery of Lake George. It's name,
Saint Sacrament, which first appears in
the Jesuit "Relation" for the year 1927,
plainly indicates its Jesuit origin. The
! The Jesuits were US faithful missionaries
as ever carried the Cross to the heathen
and several of them suffered martyrdom
in this locality. They are entitled to the
credit Of the discovery of Lake George.
There is no portion of our country
which has more interesting history
than that within circuit of fifty miles
from Ticonderoga. The facts of that
history should be correctly recorded.
The claim of the extension of Cham
plains discovery to the southwark of
Crown Point should be sent to the region
of fiction to which it belongs.
L. +. CHITTENDEN.