Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-02-18

c'oNn woven, thread or cotton and n
thread ~ bark. and armed with natchets
OF metal, which the Hurons told him they
had taken IN war with other tribes
After dancing and singing. the {urons
commenced their return to Canada
Here Champlain says ~ called tho place
Lake Champaign" (see Champlain mar
rative) Having gone about eight lea
CUES down the lake they landed for tho
night and put to the torture one OF their
prisoners They commenced by taking
brands from the FIRE and. holding them
to the skin until the blood would fry
upon the fire. they then tore off his
scalp and poured boiling pitch on the
naked skull. all the while calling him
ana his nation every opprobious epithet
whilst he, In a kind Of chant recounted
the scalps he had taken from the Hurons
and other acts of valor he had done.
They then pulled out by the roots his
niger and toe nails. oil which they put
live embers, they then opened the skin
upon his wrists and with pointed sticks
raised up tho tendons and nerves 80
that they could pass howstrng nm
dor them and then pulled them ont one
by one until they broke.
Champlan was solicited 10 take a part,
he answered by shooting the poor fellow
and thus ended his misery. Even now
they did not seem satisfied but cut off
MS head. arms and legs and threw them
INTO tho lake. ripping him open they TOOK
out his entrals throwing all into the
lake except his heart which they cut
IN pieces. giving n piece to his own
brother and 10 each Of the other prison.
ers which they told them to eat. after
having held It while in their mouths
and finding they could not swallow Il
they allowed them TO spit 1t ont. The
next day they continued their route to
Canada, and thus ended the first OK
petition In which n white man was en-
erged In Now England or New York.
1t was two months before Hudson dis
covered tho river that bears his name
four Years before tho Dutch settlement
at New YORK. and eleven years before
the landing at Plymouth There is muoh
difference Of opinion as to where this
battle WAS fought. Charlevolx whom
most English writer's follow. places It
on tho shores Of Lake St. Sacrament
Lake George. Put this cannot he There
is no conclusive evidence. but much ~
gainst the idea that ChampIain ever
saw Lake George In his narrative he
rays the Indians showed him the noun
Ia ms where t-- rsute turned into the
1roQuois country or castles. and then
describes II as being three or four leas-
ues long. He never could have made
such q n,istak. II he had been there.
II Is evident TO me that he relied on
the Indians for information. and il will
be remembered that he had but about a
year 70 acquire what he knew OF their
language. In fact he does not say he
went there, but that he saw the river
leading to It, DR. Asa Fitch in he IN
teresting history OF Washington county,
y. T., TO whom am indebted for sew
ernl Incidents connected with the hostile
invasion Of this northern section) places
the locality Of this battle on one Of the
points Of land in Pntman or Dresden.
His reasons for doing 50 were that
I Champlain could not have been on Lake
George or he would not have called it
three leagues long And again Chanplain
says he saw the river leading 10 II, and
as he imn,edistely after the battle COM
far south as that From the following
reasons am led 70 believe that il took
place on Sandy Point, being the extreme
.
and the entrance 70 BulwngEer Bay II
answers exactly TO Chan,pain's descrip-
ton OF tie locality Of the battle. IT is
the only l',ce on the western shore of
either Lake rhanplaln or Lake George
that could be dsnif-d with the appel
lation Of cape, II Is just such a place
, "a would he chosen by Indians for de-
fence: It is n narrow sand bar half a
Z M n ~ 1Ar va ANtrr ut
dense growth Of nldArs. water brush
ard whit, maple leaving n broad belt
Of sand next 10 tho water entirely clear,
giving to any that should sock It's cover
perfect shelter. and still he unapproach-
able by foe without being discovered.
Again the water Is very shallow. 50
that an arrow-shot from the shore.
where tho canoes were staked. tie va
ter Is not over three feet deep. There
is abundant evidence Of a deadly strife
between a mixed party ~ French and
Indians having taken place ~ this point
and no account OF any such struggle
| exists unless II was this ~ Champlein's.
The writer IN passing this place soy.
e,el years ago was surprised at the
| number Of arrow heads that lay on the
shore and in the water, and on exam
ming closely h. found several pistol and
mu.ket balls, two French military hut-
tons. and copper coin ~ TIE fifteenth
century.
If Champlei is T. he understood as
saying that he saw the outlet Of Lake
| George which he doe. say or some
thing Ike It. then II +. probable that
what no saw was the pass between
Chimney and crown point. Neither the
Indians nor the French ever called tho
water above thi. 1sko: but river.
II we understand Cham7lain as giving
| the length of the outlet or riser TO Lake
| George a, three or four leagues, we md
It meet. as that II the true distance from
! this place to Lake George, Again i'm
mediately after the battle he called u
Lake Champlain," ana as has been pre-
viou.lv stated tho rrench always called
tho waters above a river and not lake,
which goes still further 10 establish this
as the place of the battle one more
point and I have done. There were three
grand route. by which tie Hurons and
| Iroquols sought each others country;
one was at whitehall and wood Creek,
| one by Lake George and the other from
! Port Henry west to tho Hudson, down
that and then west three Castles on the
Mohawk. ~ the Mohawks were appraised
OF the approach Of war party towards
their country they would have waited
| for them at the first route. otherwise
they might have missed them entirely
| II this Is the place, then the description
| In the narrative the relics found, the
distance and all incidents connected with