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Un des symboles suivants apparattra sur la dernidre image de chaque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — ► signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbole V signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre film6s d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clichd, il est filmd d partir de I'angle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n6cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. strata to pelure, m d n 32X 1 2 3 1 t- 2 3 4 5 6 The With Uqc ^ <^ SECOND EDITION — REVISED AND CORRECTED A SOUVENIR OF THE Thousand ^ Islands OF TJ£E ST. LAWRENCE RIVER FROM KINGSTON AND CAPE VINCENT TO MORRISTOWN AND BROCKVILLE WITH Their Recorded History from the Earliest Times, their Legends, their Romances, their Fortifications and their Contests INCLUDING BOTH THE Hmencan anb Canabian Cbannels PROFUSELY ILL^JSTRATED f^4 IVM news of NiUural Scenery, as -well as Pictures of Many Summer Villas, Steamers, lushing Scenes, etc. Edited and Puhlished by JNO. A. HADDOCK, of Watertown, N. Y. A xViitive of Jefferson County, xX. Y. U"qdGP the PatPor^agQ of thjo Thousar^d Island ©lub of /Vle^iandpia Bay PRINTED AND I!OUND BY THE WEED-PARSONS PRINTING COMPANY ALBANY, N. Y. ft. ALEXANDRIA BAY, N. Y. 1896 /I COMMENDATORY. Office of CORNWALL BROS. Mr. John A. Haddock ; Alexandria Bay, N. Y., October 31, 1894. Dear Sir— I have heard that you are about preparing an elaborate and highly illus- trat.,d history of our river, to be sold as a more worthy Souvenir of our river and islands than has yet appeared. I have for some years felt the want of such a book, many copies of which my sons could sell over their counter here if it could have been procured. Having known you personally many years, I have full faith in your ability and zeal for the preparation of such a work, and I wish you much success and encouragement in your labor, which will, I hope, be remunerative. Your friend, ANDREW CORNWALL, One of the oriRinal owners o( all the American islands from Round Island to Morristown. Law Offices of JAMES C. SPENCER, 280 Broadway, New York. Mr. John A. Haddock, Watertown, N. Y.: My Dear Sir — Having heard you express your ideas as to a needed book which should suitably illustrate the natural beauties of the Thousand Island Archipelago of the St. Lawrence, with views of leading cottages and sketches of the individuals occu- pying them, I take pleasure in approving your plan, and do not hesitate, from my knowledge of you personally, to fully believe you will carry out all you underiake in making a book which will be a Souvenir to be treasured by all who can appreciate the grandest river and the most beautiful islands upon the globe. Wishing you great success, I remain, Very truly yours. Summer residence, JAMES C. SPENCER, Manhattan Island, Vice-President Thousand Island Club. Alexandria B/^y, N. Y. copyrighted, 1895. all rights reserved. ' /3 9<^Z ^ INTRODUCTORY. There have been many attempts to depict the Thousand Islands, with their ever- varying, changeful scenery, and the opulence of their later adornment. Some of these efforts have been honest but inefficient, some sporadic and fitful, others resulting only in a poor attempt to make money out of a subject too grand for such a purpose. And so, year after year, these Islands have lacked a chronicler and a delineator who should present important improvements as well as natural scenes upon the printed pictorial page. The inquiry for a book that should meet this constant and earnest demand for truthful delineation of the fairest spot on earth, has induced a few gentlemen, some of them connected with the Thousand Island Ci'ib, to prompt the undersigned to present to the public something that should measure up to the occasion. Accordingly the subscriber, who is the latest Jefferson County historian, has given his attention to the subject, and he now presents to the property- owners upon the river and to the vast number who yearly visit this region, the result of his labors, and he believes that it faithfully portrays the river and its islands as they exist to-day, as well as the grand improvements made and being made there. It is in no sense a money-making scheme, the promoters being only desirous that the book shall pay its own way, as it should, ana be a fair representation, up to date, of the Islands of the St. Lawrence and their present environment, and be at the same time, also, a fair illustration of the progress made up to 1896 in the art of typography and artistic decoration. In this spirit, then, this Book is issued, in the full belief that it will fill a want which has been felt for the past ?even years among the intelligent and appreciative class who come annually to this section, the importance of which appears now to be permanently established. JNO. A. HADDOCK, Address on the River, Watertown, N. Y. Clayton, N. Y. -'■f^ A SONG OF THE ST. LAWRENCE. Bv Will Cakleton. I. 1 am marching to the sea — To my king, tlie mighty sea; In his tent he waits for mc — In his tent, wiiii walls of blue, Dechcd with Hags of brightest hue, In his starlit, sunlit tent, O'er the head in splendor bent. II. I have messages in store, For my king, the mighty sea; Great Superior's solemn word. Huron's answering voice is heard; Erie's sliclving walls of land, Clad with wealth and comfort o'er; Stern Niagara's thunder-pour, Great Ontario's prosperous strand, Decked with city-pictures grand — All send messages by me. To their king, the mighiy sea, III. All my treasures I must leave — AH my thousand tree-fringed isles. All my shore-hills clad in smiles — All the shadows that they weave, All my woods, with eyes of blue, All the cottages of white. Bathed in dim rctiected light; Would that I might take them too. Floating eastward down with me, For an oifering to the sea! IV. Stalely ships with plumes of black, Follow on my gleaming track; Villages with sails of white. Decked with banners brave and bright; Funeral trains of forest trees, Journey with me to the seas — Travel with me toward the main — March amid my glittering train. V. Down the rapid's giddy stair Rush I headlong as in fear; Past the crags that linger there — Past th' old gray rock's constant sneer, To my death-like, deathless fate, Where my lord and king doth wait. Panic-struck, I rush and rave, As some mortals toward the grave, Rush and rave and hurry on, With my task no nearer won. But or tranquil or in haste, Frowning wild or placid-faced. Eastward still my soul is set: I am loyal, even yet ! VI. Times, in broad blue lakes I tarry, Kept in couches soft and low; Lulled to sleep as if by fair}'. Breeze-caresses sweep my brow. Sun-caresses thrill my soul. Shadow-hands my w.iys control; In the night's unlaujihing glee, Stars come out and smile at me; Zephyrs from the wooded west, Pause awhile, with me to rest. " Here," I plead, " that I might stay Many a night and many a day ! " But the cry is " Onward ! On ! " Never, till my journey's done, Can I tarry well or long. Can I hush my marching-song. I am marching to the sea — To my king, the mighty sea; In his tent he waits for me, In his tent, with walls of blue. Decked with flags of brightest hue In his starlit, sunlit tent, O'er the head in splendor bent; On his calm, majestic breast, I will lie, in changeful rest. [41 THE HAPPY ISLANDS. Bv George C. Bragdon. There, where a Thousand Islands sleep, Come pulsing from Niagara's leap The blended lakes with tireless sweep — Vast lakes, which float the grain and ore Of mighty States from shore to shore, A thousand billowy miles and more. 'Tis there the centering waters meet In rush sublime and beauty sweet, Which we with happy thrills shall greet — We who in fevered towns have sighed For green and watery spaces wide. And Nature's murmuring love beside. Ah, here they are! The river here. Swift, slow, tumultuous, crystal-clear, Lapping the islands which uprear Their rocky heads with crests of trees. Has sure enchantments to release The heart, and change its pain to peace. Hail! River of the Thousand Isles! Which so enchants and so beguiles With countless charms and countless wiles;: Flow on unpent, forever free And pauseless to the ocean-sea Which belts the globe's immensity. Not there our goal. Here, here we stay Amid the islands green and gr.iy. Nor strive, but idly float and play Along the river's glints and gleams. And yield to reveries and dreams With which the quickened fancy teems. Here v/here the airs are always pure. And wave and earth and sky allure, And whisper, " Let the best endure," The wiser thoughts and instincts grow, Hearts truer feel and surer know, And kindle to a tenderer glow. St. Lawrence River, here we rest. And here we end our wandering quest To reach the Islands of the Blest. Where Nature's sweetest sweets abound And sacred waters, sacred ground — The Earthly Paradise is found! LEADING ARTICLES IN HADDOCK'S SOUVENIR OF THE ST. LAWRENCE. [see index also.] Many full-page illustrations, A grandly written introduction. Two beautiful poems, by George C. Bragdon and Will Carleton. The Chain of Title. Biographies of E. G. Merrick, Judge Spencer, Governor Flower, Gen. W. H. Angeli, and others. Canada's West Point. General description — legends, romances, In- dian histories and warlike expeditions. Carlton Island. Gen. Alvord's two superior articles, "Men I have met upon the Great River." Thousand Island Park, Chas. Crossmon, Cross- mon House, a Bonaparte in Northern New York. The Mystery of Maple Island, connecting the assassination of President Lincoln with a death on this great river. Old Fort Frontenac and Modern Kingston. H. Walter Webb, Third Vice-President N. Y. C. R. R. Theo. Butterfield, Gen. Passenger Agt. R. W. & O. R. R. Col. Z. H. Benton. Pictures of many steamboat men, with bio- graphical sketches of their lives. [5] The Red Cross. The Whittlesey Affair. The great Balloon Voyage of LaMountain and Haddock. The Awakening of Henry Backus. The Waterway from Chicago to the Ocean. The Patriot War in Canada. The War of 1755. Travellers' description of the Thousand Is- lands; some favorable, some critical. Poetry of the Thousand Islands. Geology of the Thousand Islands. Why the River runs where it does ? — an able article by Prof. Hines, of Watertown. Light-houses of the Islands. Early recollections of Alexandria Bay. The St. Lawrence in War Days. Round Island and the Frontenac. Frank Taylor, the artist. Carlton Island in the Revolution. Gananoque, past and present, illustrated. Brockville, illustrated. How the Indians learned to run the Rapids. First printing on the St. Lawrence, by General Neilson. The Fowlers, the Spicers and the Esselstyns. La Salle and Frontenac, and many other articles, references and incidents. A STURGEON CAUGHT It is a curious fact that great changes take place in the habitat of the finny tribe. Per- haps the most lasting fishing grounds are those off Newfoundland, the straits of Belle Isle and Southern Labrador, where the smaller sized codfish have swarmed in vast quantities for over 200 years. Forty-five years ago the cisco was the most prolific fish in our own Lake Ontario. The numbers caught were well-nigh marvel- IN THE ST. LAWRENCE. ous. Now, they are far less numerous. In 1850 there were comparatively few black bass in the St. Lawrence or the lake. Now, they are the gamiest fish to be found, and vast num- bers are caught by expert anglers. We might enumerate other varieties that were once plentiful but are now scarce. We show abcve a large sturgeon, a fish once often caught in the St. Lawrence, but not now so plentiful. 6] < * « sure* SI> ISLANDS. NABLE PLEASURE TRATEL. .king immediate oonncotloni at Clayton without tranifer, 1 the RiTer Saguenay, paaeing all the Thoaaand lalandi through Sleeping Cam Niagara Fall* to Portland, making inning through the heart of the Hountalna via Fabyan'i mebunkport and all Sea Coast reaorts of Maine. This , Byracnse and Utica to Clajton [Thousand Iilan4«L wteM m»* anuria Bay to montr .aM*0»"'" . CMtHNIV I. I. ^"h. MCEYI, IWNMIOCal. . ^ n»^%ft^f^ It • - \v 1 -K-^' WATCH I. ><% .^•^?^ "-*"a'«*5/- ts indicated by Figures in Red. nd Ex-Lient.-GoT. T. O. Alvord. Mr. Chas. O. Emery, New York. ;ht-UoaM, head of American Channel. Orient B. R. Washburn, New York. Mrs. K. N. Kobmaon, New York. d 0. L. Fredericks, CarUtage, N.Y. ( Rer. Qoodrteb, LafarseyHle, N. Y. ,^ > Arthur Hughes, Stone Mills N. Y. "* \ Frederick Smith, Watertown, N. Y. ( L. S. Alnsworth, Watertown, N. Y. :>ror. A. H. Brown, Carthage, N. Y. f. D. Fersuaon, '■ " fohn Norwn, " " Ion. W. W. Bntterfleld, Bedwood, N. Y. >" ^i tf Names of Points indicated by Figures in Red. 10. kland Royal Royal K. Deane, New York. n. Seven Isles Bradley Winalow, Watertown, N. Y. 11. Point ViTian; Beiot Toaer, J. J. Kinney, Dr. Jonea, Geo. Jonea, William Cooper, and others. Stone Hills, New York. M. Bella Visto Lodge F. J. Bocworth, Newport, R. I. 14. Comfort Island A.E.Clark, Chicago. 15. Warner Island H. H. Warner, Rochester, N. T. 16. Cherry Istand ] G. B teT' ^"''i*^" 17. WauWinet '..C. E. Hlil, Chicago. 18. Nobby Island. H. R. Hesth, New York. It. Welcome Island S.Q.Pope, Osdensbnit. ao. Linlithgow Islanu E. A. Livlngaton, New York. »\. Bonnie Castle Holland Estate. 2S. Isle Imperial Mrs. H. G. Le Conte, Phlladdphla. 23. Point Margnerite ..ft. Anthony, Newjr< " 34. Sport Island », ■ argnerite ...ft AnthonT,New fork. g| VSnmmerland Qroap. K. Manhattan Oroop, >-r V o ir^- w f'-^^irif !**■».« haps not as extensive tiv. - ^^^.^^^y, -'c wunessea m sue. ho..uw.. that drained by the mighty Mississippi, yet the Javish profusion nowhere else. [7] Miiuiuj ^mOmnamt^i^^M^^MMMMilAiiSSm R 1 ">: -^ r^-l.sy??**- - GANANOQUe .^^, KdHonalBoundtuvane' Through and LoacU SteamwB, dotted rtf .Rnai; Railroada, solid rtd Mne wmmi o •THC*TOURI^ TIDD8I. ^^'tll'^'f^ • ' ^^ V* THE ONLY AUi-BAIIi ROl THE GREAT HIGHWAY AND FAYOMTE Solid Trains with Elegant Sleeping Cars leave Niajjara Falls daily 8.10 p. with powerful steamers of Kichelieu & Ontario Navigation Co. for Alexandi and running all the Bapids of the River St. Lawrence by daylight, the moa White Mountains and Portland Express leaves Niagara Falla daily exce connections at Norwood for Massena Springs ; at Moira for Paul Smith's ai cmd famous Crawford Notch to Portland, with immediate connections for train stops at all principal resorts in the White Mountains. Sleeping Cars on Night Trains and Drawing-Boom Cars on Day Trains 1 connection is made by all trains with Palace Steamer "St. Lawrence" for al SCALE OF MILES 8 (^ .- .-')?*• «OC|Ci LOCAL DISTANCES. MILKS Cape Vincent to Carlton Inland 2 if •' •• Prospect Park.... 13 " Clayton 14 " Hound Island 16 ** Thousand Island Park 18 ** Fisher's Landing 90 Cape Vincent to Alexandria Ba] »r " '♦ Kingston " " •♦ ♦' Gananoque. Alexandria Bay to Westmin Park " •« »« Bockport... «* •• " Central Pari £ •TOURISTS •iOCAi LY AI.Ii-BAIIi ROUTB TO THE THO AND FAYOBITE ROUTE FOR FASl UBLE PLEASURE TRATEL. 3UT£- «D ISLANDS. lapara Falls daily 8.10 p. m. for Thoueand Islandf igation Co. for Alexandria Bay, Montreal, Quebfli oe by daylight, the moat attractive trip in the wd Niagara Falls daily except Saturday at 8.10 p. m.v oira for Paul Smith's and Adirondack resorts, ai Ung immediate connections at Clayton without transfer, I the Biver Saguenay, passing all the Thousand Islands through Sleeping Cars Niagara Falls to Portland,making toMontrei 40 MJIe« inning through the heart of the Mountains via Fabyan's nediata connections for Bar Harbor, Old Orchard finebunkport and all Sea Coast resorts of Haine. This antains. )m Cars on Day Trains from Niagara Falls, Bocht |, Syracuse and Utioa to Clayton [Thousand Islan^JiLiKliMNr it "St. Lawrence" for aU Thousand Island Besort SCALE OF MILES ;es. MILM. acent to Alexandria Bay . . . 86 " " Kingston 10 '* *' Gananoqce IS ria Bay to Westminster •« ** Rockport « " Central Park... t Names of PoRS indicated by Fij^ures in Red. 1. Carlton Islani 2. Governor's Isfcd. Ex-Lient.-Gov. T. G. Alvord. 8. Calumet IslanK Mr. Chas. O. Bmery, New York. 4. Bock Island L»t-Hoiue, head of American Channel. R J Occident ai : Orient E. H. Washburn, New York. °* J Isle of Pin I Mrs. B. N. RobiuBon, New York. 8. Frederick Is) i 0. L. Fredericks, Carthage, N. Y. 7. WellBleyHo T ] ( Rer. Goodrich, LafarKevUle, N. Y. a w*«in* RnJ ite 2 Arthur Hughes, Stone Mills, N. Y. 8. Wartof Bra fee < Frederick ftnith. Watertown, N. Y. . ( L. 8. Aintworth, Watertown, N. Y. frof. A. B. Brown, Carthage, N. Y. g. D. FecgUBon, >rton. 9. Jolly Oaka, «« iphn NoLw». Son. W. W. Batterlleld, Redwood, M. Y. Names of Points indicated by Figures in Red. 10. Island Royal Royal £. Deane, New York. 11. Seven Isles Bradley Winslow, Watertown, N. Y. 11. Point Vivian; Reaot Tozer, J. J. Kinney, Dr. Jonee, Geo. Jones, William Cooper, and others, Stone Mills, New York. IS. Bella Vista Lodge F. J. Bosworih, Newport, R. I. 14. Comfort Island A. B. Clark, Chicago. 15. Warner Island. H. H. Warner, Rochester, N. x . 16. cher„w«d {S:l;te''*'"f^- 17. WanWinet 0. B. Hill, Chicago. 18. Nobby Island H. R. Heath, New York. 19. Welcome Island S.Q.Fop^, Oodensbnrg. ao. Linlithgow Island B. A. Livlngstim, New York. 21. Bonnie Castle Holland Bstote. 29. Isle Imperial Mrs. H. G. Le Conte, Philad^hia. 2S. Point Marguerite .ft. Antkonj, New York. 94. Sport Islanil ., Acker Bstatt. 1^1 isonunorland Qronp. 87. Manhattan Chwip, M L ''"'^'^VfT^-r.-m^ awn p ^i w i' '''■■f ;i -«& ^' ^- *«?' ,\ ^z- y?- 3 ..•■,^.. ■«.■ . It is place in .^ haps the ». aff ^ off New Southern i S past, ■ t lost 'M these \ jopu- early , em- uture have « 1 take 1 , and 1 we find that there are few martyrs in the Church of Rome whose name or fame rests upon a more lasting or better foundation than that of St. Lawrence. And yet in the New World it has found a fame and foundation that shall be admired long ages after the story of his deeds and even the holy church which canon- ized his bones may have been forgotten. It is gratifying to know that the object of our adoration is so honorably and worthily chris- tened, although in learning this we are re- minded of the ceaseless spirit of change written upon all things. St. Lawrence the martyr has become St. Lawrence the river. The stereotyped falsities of history are very many in America, and they creep upon us with our eyes wide open. They come because legend has taken the place of fact. The writer who would dare seriously to dispute the claim of Columbus to the honor accorded him for nearly three hundred years, would be bold in- deed ; and yet the position that he was not the discoverer of America has been attempted to be maintained. The Pilgrims landed at Ply- mouth Rock, and came to found a government where they could enjoy religious freedom and liberty, and open an asylum for the oppressed of all other countries. But long before them there came a colony whose sole purpose was TO FISH ; and the nation they founded has vied with the others, and grown mighty and formid- able in wealth and greatness. It seems not altogether unlikely that the American nation may develop characteristics which will be better evidence of its origin and the original purpose of its founders than can be found in the piety or exalted purpose of the Pilgrims. So, every- where, the great incentive to explore and ex- tend government bounds and influence has been that gain might follow religion. As early as 1500, great fleets of British and Norman sailors visited Newfoundland, whose cod-fisheries were even then known through- out the Old World. The coasts of Newfound- land and Labrador were visited many times by these great fleets before any attempt was made at evploring the Gulf of St. Lawrence or the river, even at its mouth. The Spaniards had then begun to seek for treasure on the south- west coast of America. Faint glimpses of the great father of waters had gone out to the world, and strange stories came from the Indians of its source and the great lakes be- yond. Jesuit missionaries, little by little, dared to penetrate the great unknown, and suffer the cruelties and hardships of life in a wilderness dominated with savage men and beasts. Spain was pushing her researches, and the Old World was filled with reports of strange people and of a strange land. Of course, fiction and romance are never idle, and they clothed the whole in wonderful beauty and decked the New World with gold, precious stones and gems of rarest worth and excellence. It was under these circumstances that Jac- ques Cartier, a French sea captain, in 1534, came with two vessels to explore the great river that empties through the Gulf into the Atlantic, which had been known by the Lab- rador and Newfoundland fishermen for nearly ? hundred years. He landed at the mouth of the river in the Spring, and had not proceeded far — in fact, had not entered the river at all — before he became satisfied that the Span- iards had been there before him ; and as he progressed further, he found unmistakable evidence that these restless, undaunted ex- plorers had several times visited those shores in search of mines. They had ascended the river some distance, but abandoned the search after amusing themselves by cruel treatment of the innocent natives. It is claimed by some that the name of Canada comes from a corrup- tion of their expression of disgust and dis- appointment — "Aca-Nada " (here is nothing), which the natives picked up and held on to, without knowing its meaning, for the purpose of designating the place and associating with it the strangers who came. Whatever may be the merit or truth of this story, it has the authority of the oldest and best historian of Canada (Heriot). Cartier returned to France during the Sum- mer, having accomplished little or nothing by his journeying. The next year he made an- other voyage to the Gulf, which was almost as barren of results as his first one. He effected 10 A SOUVENIR OF THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER. a landing on the north entrance of the great river, and called the place St. Nicholas, which name it still bears. He also named a bay on the same coast St. Laurence, for the reason that he entered the bay on the loth of August — St. Laurence's fast-day. Thence the name has spread the entire length of the river. The Spaniards were the first to explore the river, but by a strange coincidence, a Frenchman names it after a saint of Spanish birth and education. Cartier passed up the river on this voyage as far as where Montreal is now situated, and there he remained during the Winter, becom- ing acquainted with the natives, trading with them and studying their habits, customs and language. This point was at that time some- thing oT an Indian village, under the name of "Hochelaga." In the Spring he returned to France, and for four years the wars and inter- nal troubles of his own country prevented any furcher visits or explorations. About 1542 King Francis First issued letters to Francis dela Roque, Seigneur de Robervale, giving him power of the King over " Canada, Hochelaga, Saguenay, Terre Neuva, Labra- dor," and other countries or "cities" of the New World. The commission was almost equal to the command to ^'o forth and possess the earth. Six ships embarked in this expe- dition, Cartier accompanying it as chief cap- tain. A portion of the party settled at Que- bec, but the most of those who remained settled at Montreal — Cartier among the num- ber. The vessels returned to France laden with furs which were gathered during the Winter. The next year they came again, and found the little colony in good condition. Cartier then explored the river to the mouth of the Saguenay, and the new scenes could hardly be believed even by those who were in the midst, much less by those who listened to the report of them. This feeling is still shared in a pleasurable degree by those who behold for the first time the scenery of the lower St. Lawrence and its tributaries. A third expe- dition to Canada was undertaken two years after, under Roberval, but it proved a failure — all the ships being lost, and no survivor was left to tell the story. The growth of the French colony was very slow, and its h'story is one of great hardships and privations. The rigorous climate, the bloodthirsty and hostile natives, the great number of wild beasts, all combined to neu- tralize and circumscribe every effort at happi- ness, and even a tolerable existence was hardly attainable. Then follow the expeditions of Champlain, who traversed the discoveries of Cartier, and penetrated still farther west, and reached out to the north and south through the tributaries of the great river ; and for the first time the exploration of the country was begun in earnest. Companies were formed, and aid and assistance obtained from the French government, and large investments were made by capitalists and speculators. The Indian wars and massacres which followed have scarcely parallels in American history. The great tribes of Algonquins, Hurons and Iroquois roamed at will from the upper Missis- sippi to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and began to look with jealous eyes upon the incursions of the white man. The fur-trade began to be the great business of the colonists, and the St. Lawrence river was the thoroughfare by which the tribes from the lake country were enabled to reach Montreal, where they disposed of their stock of skins. It was by this trade that the river was really opened up to the adven- turous white man. The events of these years, and the progress of civilization are interesting; they are the very romance of American history, and per- tain to that which is fast becoming the most enjoyable and pleasing portion of our conti- nent in Summer. From the foot of Lake Ontario to Prescott is a continued stream of romance and beauty, which our artist will portray by his camera. Surely the region in Summer is one calculated to make us ask, as we move amid the delights, " Was it not dropt from heaven ?" Not a breath but bears enchantment ; not a cliff but flings or* the clear wave some image of delight. Every turn and motion of the boat brings new views, new scenes, new life : scenes that fascinate the eye, and pictures THE CHAIN OF TITLE. II that draw the soul in wondering admiration to the great Artist Divine. Be it ours to muse on such scenes ; ours to glide through them from daybreak till the beautiful night creeps on and broods in solemn stillness over all. Through all the years of life the memory of such scenes last ; they come in dreams, and we revisit them in memory's treasure-house. They draw us nearer the really good and beautiful which we all some day hope to enjoy. The work in hand is one of importance to Canada and the United States, and is of espe- cial interest to persons who live within the section of country covered by it, as well as to all admirers of American scenery. The scope and design is sufficiently broad to comprehend everything of interest. The picturesque por- tions are within the limits named, and they are artistic. Views of scenery and of villas alone will make the work of great value. The scenes will not only be new, never before having been presented to the public in this complete form — but the enjoyment and improvement of them by the pleasure-seekers who make the islands their permanent Summer homes, is also a new feature in American Summer-life, and adds very much to the natural beauty. These islands are petty kingdoms, lying in close and friendly proximity to each other — ruled by no power except the wishes, comfort and happiness of those who call them " Home." In the upper St. Lawrence there are over fifteen hundred of these islands. A large por- tion of them are owned by wealthy persons, many of whom have built upon them fine resi- dences, and laid out tasteful grounds. Within the past few years the improvements in this direction have been very great. One immense camp-meeting enterprise has railed into exist- ence hundreds of fine cottages on the largest island, and many desirable residences on the lower end of the same, while every island, i during the summer months, seems to bear its portion, if not of permanent Summer-homes, of transient tenting or camping parties. Skiffs and steam yachts being the only means of getting from island to island, or from an island to the main shore, they are of necessity numerous, and handsome and expensive ones are plenty. They move silently about, with fishing or visiting parties, in the day-time; and when the soft evening air, so peculiar to this region, has settled down, and the beautiful sunset faded out, the different islands will be- come illuminated ; boats loaded with happy pleasure-seekers glide about among them ; then it is that the search-light expedition gets in its weird work ; the music of bands and of voices floats out upon the pure, clear air, over the placid waters — and the heart cannot but respond in its fullest gladness. Nowhere on earth, away from the silent Adriatic, has the poet's dream of Venice been so fully, raptur- ously realized. For fully forty miles in the upper St. Lawrence (between Kingston, Cape Vincent and Brockville), where these islands are thickest, the scenery by day is grand and inspiring, while the illuminations, the music, the flashing boats and the festivities make the evenings enchanting. THE CHAIN OF TITLE. not a /^THE importance of these islands, which T^ form the northwestern boundary of Jefferson county, demands historical considera- tion distinct and separate from the towns in which they are situated. Cape Vincent, Clay- ton, Orleans and Alexandria each claim a part of the islands, since they are mapped and de- scribed as belonging to the towns which front upon the river opposite. The islands proper really begin at Cape Vincent and Kingston, and extend to Morristown and Brockville, about thirty-eight miles below, and are about 1,500 in number. The author has been sometimes puzzled what to believe as he listens to diverse state- ments of the same general facts as related by different individuals. To understand the errors of many such statements, at once de- monstrates the unreliability of oral testimony, and shows the importance of serious inve&ti- 12 A SOUVENIR OF THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER. gation before making a record for the printed page. It was once believed by many that Wellsley Island was for a time held half-and- half by both Canada and the United States. The inconsistency of such a location of the dividing line between two governments will be apparent to the most casual observer. But under such misinformation there were numer- ous settlements by Canadians upon that im- portant island, claiming that they were within the limits of their own country. The truth is that in the treaty division of these islands there was no attempt to divide any island. The treaty called for a line running up the " main channel of the St. Lawrence," but when the commissioners came on to locate the line, they found two main channels, both navigable, though the southeast (the American) channel was by far the straightest, and is un- doubtedly the main channel of the river at that point; and so the commissioners " gave and took " islands under the treaty, Wellsley Island falling to the United States because so rear its main shore, and Wolfe Island going to the Canadians for a similar reason. The place which this beautiful region holds in American history is second only to that occupied by New England and Plymouth Rock, while the memories and traditions which cluster around it are as thrilling and romantic as are to be found in the new world. Wars, piracy, tragedy and mystery have contributed to its lore. The people of the United States should ever bear in mind that this river was discovered by the Spanish, conquered by the French, again conquered by the English, whose footprints have become indelible. That nation yet controls the whole river for long distances, and is half owner for yet other long distances. It is the grand highway for both Canada, England and America. May it ever remain such. The St. Lawrence was discovered by Jac- ques Cartier, the French explorer, in 1535, but he did not proceed farther up the stream than to explore the St. Louis rapids above Montreal. There is much uncertainty as to the identity of the white man who first gazed upon the beautiful scene presented by the Thousand Islands. The early discoverers were less interested in scenery than in the practical things which pertained to navigation, trade and travel, and the spreading of Christianity. Champlain, in 1615, beginning at the western end of Lake Ontario, explored that lake and the St. Lawrence to Sorel river, thus passing through the Thousand Island region on to Lake Ontario and the Bay of Quinte. How or when or by whom the world's atten- tion was first called to this archipelago is cer- tainly a matter of doubt, but certainly at an early date it had impressed itself upon the lover of the grand and beautiful, for at least two centuries ago the French christened it " Les Mille Isles "—The Thousand Isles. The later and more completely descriptive English name for it is "The Lake of a Thousand Islands." The St. Lawrence has marked the line of separation, and the Thousand Islands have been the scene of some of the important cam- paigns in four great conflicts between nations. The first was the Indian war between the Algonquins and the Iroquois, which continued many years, with occasional intermissions. The second struggle was between the French and English, and some of its hostile meetings and victories and defeats took place among the islands and on the neighboring shores. In the American Revolutionary war with England, and that between the same forces in 18 12, the defense of this locali«^y was of decided im- portance, but its joint occupancy was settled by the wise men of both countries. Some of the most exciting incidents of that disgraceful military adventure known as the Patriot War, with its intermittent outbreaks from 1837 to 1839, took place on this part of the river, notably the burning of the Canadian steamer Sir Robert Peel, on Wellsley Island, on the night of May, 29, 1838, and the battle of the Windmill, near Prescott, Ont., Novem- ber 13, of the same year. The development and wonderful increase in the value of these islands have been more especially due to influences which have origi- nated at Alexandria Bay. The islands were transferred to the State of New York through the several treaties with the aboriginies, follow- m A RAINY DAY AT THE ISLANDS. «3 5 i ing the same chain of title by which the main shore, from the Hudson to the St. Lawrence, came under the proprietary and governing con- trol of the State. The dividing line between the United States and Canada passes some- what arbitrarily among the islands, varying in size from a small pile of rocks covered by a few stunted trees, to others quite large — one of them (Wellsley Island) containing nearly 10,000 acres of arable land. This valuable island was conceded to the United States un- der the treaty with England, negotiated at the close of the war for independence. The State of New York, by patent under its great seal, conveyed the islands to Colonel Elisha Camp, a distinguished citizen of Sackets Harbor, N. Y. In 1845 Azariah Walton and Chester- field Parsons purchased (not from Col. Camp, but from Yates & Mclntyre, of lottery fame, whose title came from Camp), the northwest half of Wellsley Island and "all the islands in the American waters of the river St. Lawrence from the foot of Round Island (near Clayton) to Morristown," a distance of some thirty-five miles. The consideration was ^3,000. Event- ually the Parsons interest was purchased by Walton, who became sole owner, and continued as such until the firm of Cornwall & Walton was established in 1853, when they purchased nearly the whole of the remaining half of Wellsley Island, and then that firm became sole owner of all these islands, having vested in them all the rights and title originally granted Colonel Camp by the State of New York. To Hon. Andrew Cornwall, for nearly fifty years at Alexandria Bay, and always its de- voted friend and advocate, is due the greatest credit for the movement which has developed the Thousand Islands, and he is yet spared to greet each season the great company who come year by year to enjoy the grand river. A brief sketch of his life should be published and appreciated. He is the patriarch of the American side of the upper St. Lawrence. The value of the islands was quite nominal until they fell under the new firm's control, and even for several years afterward. Event- ually there grew up a demand for them, and they were sold low, but with a clause in the conveyance requiring a cottage to be erected within three years. Col. Staples obtained as a free gift the grounds upon which he erected the Thousand Island House. As an indica- tion of the present value of at least one of these islands, it is now made public that $10,000 was offered and refused for an island sold by Cornwall & Walton for $100. The Canadian islands were not, of course, included in the grant to Camp, Yates & Mclntyre, or to Cornwall & Walton. A considerable number of these Canadian islands were lately sold by that Government. A RAINY DAY AT THE ISLANDS. CUNSHINE and daylight are at their best ^S/ among these islands. But even a rainy day has its compensations. Then the men stay around the hotels, and devote themselves to the ladies, who are not so much given to fishing as are their escorts. The book that was but lately cast aside for something prom- ising greater zest, is now resumed at the turned-down page, and the promised letter is thought of and leisurely written. The ladies gather upon the verandas of the hotels, and with crocheting and talk and exchange of ex- periences, pass away the time. Many predic- tions are made as to the duration of the rain, and with friendly chat, not disguising an occasional yawn, the hour for an early dinner soon arrives, and after that comes the after- noon nap, the early tea and then the pleasures of the evening. Some dance, the young brides and the other bright ones who are very willing to become brides and share in the happiness they watch so intently, these steal away to the darker corners of the verandas, where confidences and an occasional pressure of the hand (possibly a kiss) may be indulged in without too much publicity. So, almost unflaggingly, the day passes away, and John, the oarsman, promising fair weather to-mor- 14 A SOU VEX IR OF THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER. row, stillness and sleep creep over the happy company, who are willing to declare that even a rainy day is enjoyable among the Thousand Islands, where the soft outlines of the ever- varying shore are half hidden, half revealed through the rainy mist, as if waiting for the sun's enchanting power to develop their hid- den mysteries and reveal their entrancing, restful beauties. This is indeed that " Port of Peace," into which, when once you have sailed your boat, you are glad to stay, and you leave the spot with sad regrets, to be remem- bered always as the place where the soul is lifted up to God in glad thankfulness that He ever made such a resting spot for His weary children, who, through many pilgrimages in many lands, at last find here a spot that fills the hungry soul with satisfaction. Now, AS TO Health. All who have ever remained here for a week are conscious that after the third or fourth day there is a peculiar change in the system. If you have been troubled with insomnia, it begins to leave you, and natural, restful sleep asserts its sway. You like to sit and rest, your legs become lazy, and you are not at all anxious for long walks. The hotel's shady settees have become matters for considera- tion ; you conclude, after much argument, which is the easiest one, and best protected from the sun. You yawn often, and wonder what has come over you. You can lay down and take a nap at almost any hour after lo A. M. You languidly push aside the news- paper whose leaders only last week were read with the most intense interest. The spirit of Rest creeps upon you almost unawares, for your system is being fed upon the ozone of this health-giving spot. The very air becomes an active ally in behalf of your overworked nerves, and before you are aware of it, you begin to fill up with reserve force, that shall stand you in good stead in the city's heat and push. These beneficial influences are within the reach of all. There are now hotels and boarding-houses at Alexandria Bay, Thousand Island Park, Clayton, Cape Vincent, West- minster Park, Round Island, and at many other .esorts, where the poor man can find entertainment within his means, and the rich man, too (much as he is criticised), may also find comforts adapted to his desires. In former times there were only the more expen- sive resorts, and that kept away the middle- class of summer tourists. That is all changed now, and every condition except the chroni- cally poor can find boarding houses within their means. It will not be long before this great national Vacation Park, 38 miles long, will be eagerly sought by all conditions of society, from the skilled mechanic to the millionaire. The Value of Rest. Many people make the mistake of sup- posing that a summer vacation is not com- plete unless devoted to various sorts of physical exercise. It seems to be taken for granted that the energies of body and mind cannot be recuperated except by trips and diversions that call for muscular effort. Sum- mer resorts that do not offer such opportuni- ties are often thought to be wanting in proper attractions. There is another class of people, such as artists, teachers and clergymen, who seek places where they may pursue their usual work amid new surroundings. Under suitable restrictions perhaps no harm comes from this. Change of air and of diet are beneficial, and new faces and new scenery tend to break up the monotony of all toil and care. There are not enough people, however, who appreciate the value of a period of abso- lute rest, an entire cessation from activity. Just as land is better for being allowed to lie fallow, the physical and mental energies of man are better for being allowed to repose for a time. Nothing is lost by permitting mind and body each year to indulge thus in a few days' slumber. A short season spent in loung- ing about the Thousand Islands, watching the^ shifting water, or in idling in the woods and fields, with their fresh odors and changing views of hill and dale, light and shade, island and shore, as they intermingle and then sepa- ate, will often fill the frame with new vigor HON. ELDRIDGE G. At E KICK. »5 and tlie mind with new impressions. Particu- larly is such a change beneficial when the thermometer is up among the nineties. Then, if ever, the energies should be carefully hus- banded. The English philosopher who as- serted that Americans work too hard and take too little leisure, stated i truth which intelli- gent foreign visitors have frequently noted. 'J'his warning has a special timeliness just at l)resent, and the seeker after a spot where the very soul may rest will find his El Dorado among the Thousand Islands. i HON. ELORIDG It is fortunate for our history that we are able to present to our readers, from an en- tirely reliable source, a very circumstantial and accurate record of the life of one of the great river's most widely known, distin- guished and able denizens, who rose from small beginnings to the very first rank in business and in citizenship. Indeed, the writer re- members no man in Jefferson county who was superior to Mr. Merick. There were two or three, Hon . ) ville Hungerford, Hon. C. B. Hoard, andj. .rhaps Gen. Wm. H. Angel, who stood as high in probity and faithfulness to friends and to society, and were as patriotic and high minded as Mr. Merick, but he had no " superior " in his adopted county, nor in Northern New York, nor on the river. He was the fifth child in a family of nine children, six boys and three girls, and was born March 6, 1802, in Colchester, Delaware county, N. Y., from which place he moved with the family to Sherburne, Chenango county, at the age of about four years. The section to which the family removed was almost an unbroken wilderness, with few in- habitants and no schools or opportunity for obtaining an education. The principal amuse- ment for a boy of his age was picking up the brush and burning it, preparing the land for crops. The first school he attended was at the age of nine. The school held for only four months. At the end of the four months he was able to read a newspaper fairly well. He continued at home, himself and brother carrying on the farm, until eleven, at which time he went to live with a man named Clark. That family had no children, and Eldridge was treated as their own child. Mr. Clark had a small farm on the Chenango river, E G. MERICK. which this boy carried on principally, with occasionally a little help from the owner. His business, after getting through with the work of the farm in the fall, was to chop and put up ten cords of wood before going to school the first year, increasing it five cords e.ich year until he got twenty-five cords, which was all that was needed for the family. Eld- ridge attended the country school from three to four months each winter, until seventeen years of age, and then he commenced teach- ing. When Mr. Clark went to St. Lawrence county in 1820, young Merick went witii him, remaining there until twenty-one years ^' age. Arriving at majority, the people with whom he lived not being in a situation to do any- thing for him, he found it necessary to shift for himself. His first effort was a contract for building a stone wall at Russell, St. Law- rence county, after which he went to Water- town, Jefferson county, working there for several months, and delivered the material for the old stone Presbyterian church ; thence to Sackets Harbor, to work for Festus Clark, a brother of his former employer, as clerk in a small store. Remaining there for a short time, he went to Depauville, in the same capa- city, with Stephen Johnson, who had a coun- try store, and was also engaged in the lumber business for the Quebec market. He remained with Mr. Johnson two years, superintending his lumber business largely, and while there became acquainted with Mr. Jesse Smith, who had been furnishing Mr. Johnson with means to carry on his lumber business. Mr. Johnson was unfortunate in business and failed at the end of two years, and was sold out by the sheriff, which sale was attended by Mr. Smith as a creditor, and i6 A SOUVENIR OF THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER. knowing it threw young Merick out of em- ployment, he offered him a situation, which was gladly accepted. This was about 1826. Mr. Smith was doing a very large mercantile and manufacturing business for those times. After being with him for a little over a year, he sent Mr. Merick with a store of goods to Perch River, and the following Summer sent him to Quebec to look after his lumbering interests, and in the Fall of the same year offered him a partnership and an interest in the business, which was accepted, and so young Merick became the manager. The business developed into a pretty large one, devoted principally to lumber designed for the Quebec market, and also the building and running of vessels. The timber and staves, which were the principal business, were ob- tained about the head of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, extending into Lake Huron, and were transported by vessels across the lakes to Clayton, on the St. Lawrence, and there made into rafts for transportation to Quebec. Of these rafts there were several made up every year, amounting (according to their size) to $40,000 or $50,000 each. These rafts had to be made very strong to run the rapids of the river, seven or eight in number. Each stick of oak timber was tied up with large oak wisps, forming what was called a dram, and from ten to twenty or thirty drams in a raft. The rafts were propelled by a number of small sails, but usually went but little faster than the current. At the rapids a pilot and extra men were taken to conduct the raft through the rapids ; a pilot for each dram or section, the raft being divided into several sections for running the rapids. Sometimes a large raft required from 200 to 300 men. Frequently they would get broken up in the rapids and run ashore, attended with consider- able loss and expense in saving the pieces. Arriving at Quebec, they were usually sold on from two to six months' time, but the percent- age of loss by bad debts was very small. Better facilities were needed for transporting this square oak timber, and a ship yard was established at Clayton. After Mr. Smith re- moved to Ohio, Mr. Merick continued the timber trade, adding forwarding and grain business, associating with Messrs. Fowler and Esselstyn. The business in the winter was arranging and superintending the shipments, selecting the timber in the country, and getting it for- warded for shipping, and in building vessels, of which the firm generally had one or more on the stocks. They built, with one or two exceptions, all the steamboats forming the justly celebrated line on Lake Ontario and the River St. Lawrence, on the American side. The " Reindeer " fleet, which at one time numbered fourteen vessels, were built at his Clayton yard ; also three steamers of the Ontario Navigation Company, all of them hav- ing his careful supervision. With D. N. Barney & Co., he built, about 1844, the steamer Empire, to run between Buffalo and Chicago. Her increased tonnage and decks attracted much attention, with many prophecies of failure, but she proved a success and was the vanguard of the fine fleet of lake transports. When the Grand Trunk Railroad was built, however, following up the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario, the competition ruined the business of these passenger steamers. The line ceased to be reruunerative, and the boats were sold, some to go to Montreal ; one went to Charlestown, S. C, and afterwards was en- gaged in the rebel service in the war of the rebellion. He had previously established a house in Cleveland, one in Oswego and one in Buffalo, the object being to furnish business for the vessels on the lakes. Each additional facility only showed the necessity of still further facili- ties. The firm decided to build a large flour- ing mill in Oswego, which had the largest capacity of any mill in the country at that time, turning out from 1,000 to 1,200 barrels a day, and having thirteen runs of stone. He was interested in railroad building in Ohio, but it was before the days of floating bonds and watering stocks, but not of incom- petent, reckless superintendents. The enter- prise was a failure. But through their railroad enterprise the firm was enabled not only to con- 5 and grain Fowler and as arranging its, selecting etting it for- ,ding vessels, one or more 1 one or two forming the itario and the ;rican side. at one time e built at his imers of the I of them hav- ,e built, about run between eased tonnage ion, with many oved a success le fleet of lake road was built, Lawrence and »n ruined the ners. The line the boats were , one went to wards was en- the war of the led a house in one in Buffalo, Lisiness for the ditional facility 1 further facili- d a large flour- lad the largest try at that time, o barrels a day, jne. ad building in . days of floating \ t not of inconi- ts. The enter- h their railroad fnot only to con- EI.IIKIDCK (1. MKKK K, ■ ■»ii.i'>i Wn i m .i H i (* ' ■f V • .;*'N- ■*■ .-.> , ■. 'j; .'' ■ i 4 '■•1 •^ /' -I •'',«•■ .4' ■4';' ''^^:.. •m !*••"; .■•;^ i. ■4 'JOI&M^ HON. ELPRIDGE G. MERICK 17 '^. M'-^ trol the wheat over the road and to market by vessels, but for the mill at Oswego. During the war, or at the close, the mill was making very large profits, from $1 to $2 a barrel, but unfortunately it took fire and burned down, with a large stock of grain and flour on hand. The loss was pretty well protected by insurance, but the profit which they would have made if the mill had not burned down, could not have been provided for. The actual loss was nearly $150,000. Perhaps his first and greatest financial loss was through the failure of a large commission house (Suydam, Sage & Co.) in New York, in 1850. But that loss brought generous and prompt proffers of aid from business men in Watertown, Kingston and Quebec, which were long after most gratefully remembered. The great financial disasters of 1857 and 1873 also brought misfortune to him, as well as to many others. He was greatly helped in all these re- verses by the confidence that his creditors had in his ability and strict integrity, steadily re- fusing compromises when offered. He paid dollar for dollar, though often at great sacri- fice of property. For many years Mr. Merick was president of the Sackets Harbor Bank, relinquishing the position on leaving Jeffer- son county. For many years he found Clayton was too much at one side for the prompt and success- ful management and oversight of his varied interests. He was strongly attached to the people of Jefferson county and the beautiful St. Lawrence, and it was with many regrets that he left his old friends and pleasant home, with all the associations of youth and manhood, to make a home, in 1859, at the more central point, Detroit. Here he took an honored position among the business men of the city, many of whom sought advice from him, glad to profit by his large experience. In addition to other business, he bought an interest in the Detroit Dry Dock Company for the firm of Merick, Esselstyn & Co. John Owen, Gordon Campbell and Merick, Fowler & Esselstyn each owned one-third of the Dry Dock stock — the total stock being $300,000. Mr. John Fowler, a partner of the firm of Merick, Fowler & Esselstyn, died in May, 1879. The surviving partners purchased his interest in the business, and continued under the name of Merick, Esselstyn & Co. After the failure of 1873, Mr. Merick was too old a man to again do business with his former confidence and success. In 1829 Mr. Merick married Miss Jane C. Fowler. She died in 1881, leaving four sur- viving children — all of whom have proven useful and honored members of society. Mrs. Cyrus McCormick, who was Mr. Mer- ick's niece, was the daughter of Melzar Fow- ler, born at Brownville, N. Y. , and survives her distinguished husband, who was that C. H. McCormick, so long the leader in manu- facturing reapers for the harvest field, whose machines have gone into all lands. He was the one to introduce that inestimably valuable machine into England, as is so well spoken of in Haddock's History. Mr. Merick was very early interested in the temperance movement. It had been the cus- tom to put whisky among the necessary stores for every raft and vessel. He very soon real- ized the injury it was doing, made liquor a contraband article, supplied tea and coffee in- stead, and made it his personal duty to visit cabin and forecastle, to confiscate and throw overboard any spirits smuggled on board. The sailors who manned his vessels came from the adjacent farms and villages. Young men, beginning as cabin boys, or before the mast, were frequently advanced as they ,. roved worthy and capable to be mates, captains and shareholders, and all looked up to him as to a personal friend and father. One who had sailed for him thirty-five years wrote: " The accounts for these years aggre- gated more than half a million of dollars, but never an error to the value of a cent in his books, never a sour look or unkind word. I was always treated more as an equal than as a ser- vant." Another who served him forty years said : " I have received from him nothing but kindness. When in need of aid or counsel his generous heart always responded to my wants. In prosperity and adversity, sunshine and storm, he was always true to principle, and ■% i8 A SOUVENIR OF THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER. true to himself as a man, ever following the Golden Rule." Mr. Merick had no political aspirations, be- yond wishing to do the best possible for his own township, of which he was several times supervisor. He was a strong Whig, and gave money, time and influence to promote the in- terests of that party. Twice he was nominated for Congress, and ran ahead of his ticket ; once both parties wished to unite upon him as their candidate, but his business interests would not permit him to accept the nomina- tion. He was also one of the Electoral Col- lege, voting for President William H. Harrison. The title of judge was given him when he was appointed associate judge of Jefferson county, but he felt that it rightfully belonged only to a man of legal training and ability. The Patriot War of 1837-38 caused much trouble and anxiety all along the border, and brought together many of the best men of Northern New York and Canada to council together and take such measures as would in- sure peace. One of the Canadian members of that com- mittee of arbitration wrote : " How much the high character and the confidence inspired by your father in Canada, assisted in allaying the irritation which existed on both sides of the line. To him many misguided men owe their deliverance from extreme peril. I well re- member the effect upon my own mind, not a little exasperated at the time, by his explana- tions as to the sincere, but mistaken views which induced many good and worthy people to engage in or extend aid to what they sup- pose to be a movement in assisting the op- pressed." Mr. Merick, deploring his own inability to obtain a collegiate education, was ready to aid young men with such aspirations. The suc- cess of many business men was owing to the counsel and substantial aid he gave. Academ- ies, colleges, churches, public and private charities were cheerfully aided by him as " the Lord prospe ed him." His noble, courtly bearing, his unassuming manner, his thoughtfulness, tenderness and benevolence, his faithfulness and integrity make a rich legacy to children and children's children. It had always been his thought that a busi- ness man should keep at work till the end of life. In the winter of 1887-88, realizing from his advanced years that his strength was fast failing, he decided to sell the remaining vessels of the fleet. Friday, February 10, 1888, the contract was made for selling the last one. Saturday, February 11, the papers were to be signed. He tarried a little in the morning, perhaps not quite as well as usual, after a somewhat restless night — his mind no doubt busy with reminiscences of the past, and sad- ened by the change of affairs. The mail brought news from absent loved ones. While talking with his daughter, sitting beside him, of the good tidings received, his head dropped, one sigh was given, "the silver co'-d was loosed," "the golden bowl was broken,"-— he had gone from his work to his rest and his reward, Thus passed away, after an honorable and a useful life, one of the most widely-known and justly-honored of the river men, who came to man's estate in Jefferson county, and spent the flower of his life there. His death occurred at Detroit, February ti, 1888, in his 86th year. Mr. Merick and wife reared a family of four children. They were : Maria D., wife of Isaac L. Lyon, a native of Ogdensburg, N. Y. They reside at Red- lands, Cal. Ermina G. Merick, wife of E. J. Carring- ton, of Fulton, N. Y. They reside at Detroit, Mich. Melzar F. Merick, died March 28, 1893. His wife was Mary Whittlesey, of Danbury, Conn. Je ANNIE C, wife of G. N. Chaffee, of De- troit, Mich., which is their home. Mr. Merick was in many respects a pecu- liarly able man, and should be spoken of apart from his many business enterprises. Judgment was the leading quality of his mind. To strangt rs he appeared reserved, the result of his native modesty, and not the outgrowth of any feeling of superiority or of self-elation. I n \ His soli • ■ • nen his mer was nor was dru stni ' .J0I peri beei high ^^Mm.- dull ^■H K^y^"^ ^mt siste min ^^H Pk^l |, side fact ' s^^^^H |B|^^ ..4^9^^ flH il ner 'w^^^^E K Mer wm mad "~1H^^H B ■ 'v^E^^^^^^^^H ^f '- ^^^^^^^^^H m^^* '' ^'Mm^^M t W ■;:;,-|mH| ^^^^^^^Ho Pmiip^ into ; "I^^V^ jfl^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^l SW^I^^/ grapl -""■"yi)'' """■'' vl^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^l Wt% ™ child 1 ^ ^H^^H i^m w^^ Alex youtl w^^^hI^^^bP # ' \ his f( '^Wp >■ ■ r who His ^3iHK^^.\, J / youn ^Bl^^^' He . ^n^ w Jeffei • !■ '"^'■■V" f Mon? Conn ford, thisS cardii mill a establ town, the sa 1 and s ji ness £ M makir ROSWKl.I. I KIIMIONE n.iiWlCK. ^ were 1 m ters, c l the fc m father 1 GOVERNOR ROSIVELL PETTIBONE FLOWER. »9 His soul was too great and his judgment too solid for any such folly as that. He was emi- nently der.iocratic, simple in his manners and his tastes, as have been all the really great men the writer has encountered. Mr. Merick was not a sharer in the command of armies, nor is it probable that he ever knew what it was to be thrilled by a bugle call or beat of drum ; yet he intensely appreciated the struggle endured by the Union armies, whose perils he would surely have shared had he been of suitable age. He was a patriot in the highest sense of that term. Amidst all the duties of his exacting business, he was a con- sistent Christian ; the traveling Methodist minister always found a welcome at his fire- side, both from him and his amiable wife, a fact the writer has heard the late Rev. Gard- ner Baker speak of with grateful tears. Mr. Merick's unostentatious and democratic ways made him life-long friends, for his manner in- vited confidence, and confidence in him meant safety. Children and animals never shunned his society, for they intuitively perceived his gentleness under his greatness. Viewed in any light, as a man of affairs, the possessor and dispenser of large wealth, as the unosten- tatious but ever vigilant citizen of a free country, or as the sincere Christian, he pos- sessed so many excellencies that he fell but little short of earthly perfection. He left a memory in Jefferson county that remains peculiarly sweet, and entirely untarnished. And it is fitting to hold up such a character to the admiration of the youth who come after him, as an evidence that the age in which he lived was not altogether one of greed and money-getting, but was adorned now and then by souls as grand as can be found in the re- cords of any people. And so Eldridge G. Merick passes into history as one of the very ablest and best of his time. GOVERNOR ROSWELL PETTIBONE FLOWER. [See Portrait.] We scarcely need apologize for introducing into this River book the portrait and bio- graphical sketch of Governor Flower. His childhood was spent only twelve miles from Alexandria Bay, a spot he often visited in his youth, and he has grown to be one of whom his fellow citizens, and more especially those who knew him in early life, are very proud. His career is an incentive to every boy and young man in the State. He was born August 7, 1835, at Theresa, Jefferson county, N. Y. His father, Nathan Monroe Flower, whose ancestors came to Connecticut in 1696 and settled in New Hart- ford, was born at Oak Hill, Greene county, in this State. Nathan Flower learned the wool- carding and cloth-dressing trade in his father's mill at Oak Hill, and when he became of age established business for himself in Coopefs- town, Otsego county. At Cherry Valley, in the same county, he married Mary Ann Boyle, and soon after moved to the northern wilder- ness and established a wool-carding and cloth- making business at Theresa. Nine children were born to them, seven sons and two daugh- ters, of whom Roswell Pettibone Flower was the fourth son and the sixth child. Their father died when Roswell was only eight years old. Their mother conducted the business for a couple of years, and young Roswell was put to work at picking wool eight hours off and eight hours on daily, during the summer season, for a couple of months, ar.a the rest of the time he was sent to school. The family had a farm of 30 acres near the village, and and another one of some 200 acres eight miles out. The children worked on these farms, chopping wood for the house in the village, and raising hay and oats, wheat and potatoes. There was nothing on the farm that young Roswell could not do. Until he was fourteen years of age he was occupied at school, and night and morning did what work he could to help support the family. His brothers being older than he, it was not Roswell's luck to have a new suit of clothes until he was able to earn the money himself. His mother would cut down the clothes of the older boys to fit him, and stories are told, even in these days, at Theresa, of the anguish of mind which young Flower suffered over this matter of hand-me-downs. His sister Caroline married Silas L. George, a merchant of Theresa, and Roswell was employed by him for $5 a month and board. In the winter he attended the Theresa High School, conducted by Mr. T 20 A SOUVENIR OF THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER. Goodenough, and worked for his board until he was sixteen years of age, when he gradu- ated. To get his spending money Roswell did odd jobs of sawing wood and carrying it upstairs for the lawyers of the village. Twenty- five cents was a good deal of money in those days, and rather than ask his mother for the money, he preferred to saw half a cord of wood and carry it upstairs. Farm hands were scarce in haying time, and being a strong and active young man, he could command good wages, and frequently left the little country store for two or three weeks to help out some farmer who was anxious to get his crops in. He also worked in a brick yard, driving a yoke of stags around the vat to tread out the clay, for which he received the munifi- cent sum of $1.50 a week, not counting Sundays. As A Village Schoolmaster. After he graduated from the High School he found an opportunity to teach in a little school a mile from town. The scholars in those days often desired to have a bout with their master before they would become tract- able. Mr. Flower taught out the balance of the term in the red school house below the village and " boarded around " among the parents of his scholars a week or less in a place, in the regular old New England fashion, which still obtains in the way-back districts of Northern New York. His first day in school, during the noon intermission, the biggest boy came to him for a "square-hold" wrestle. Mr. Flower ac- cepted the challenge and easily threw the lad. After he had thrown the larger boys he found them all, with one exception, ready to recog- nize his authority. One day in the spelling class this boy, who was about twenty-one years old, declined to pronounce his syllables, but after a tussle Roswell succeeded in making him pronounce them correctly. He then gave notice that he would hold a spelling school that evening, and stated that he desired only those of the scholars to come who would be willing to do their best. During the inter- mission this young man said he was coming to school that evening, but that he would not spell. Roswell was boarding at the time with the family of Edward Cooper, with whom lived a young man of twenty-two named James Casey, now a merchant at Theresa. The young teacher talked over the expected trouble and arranged that Casey should choose for one side of the school, and if this obstreperous young fellow should make his appearance Casey should elect him to his side, and if he made any fuss in spelling, thr. "^wo should join forces and put him out. The evening school had not been -opened more than ten minutes before this young man came in and sat down behind one of the old-fashioned desk.,. He was immediately chosen, but said he would not spell. Then young Flower told him that he must spell or leave the school. He replied that he would be if he would spell, and that he would be if he would leave the school. Mr. Flower insisted, which only called forth a repetition of the offensive remark. The schoolmaster then called upon anybody pres- ent who desired to resent the insult to the school and the teacher to assist him in putting the offender out df doors; where- upon young Casey rose up, and Roswell, grabbing the young man by his shoulder and his assistant by his feet, he was speedily ejected. But he was not conquered. He went over to the hotel a few rods distant and persuaded one of the trustees and a big chap by the name of William Wafful to come over and whip the teacher. Nothing daunted, Roswell stated the case to his belligerent visitors and then said to the young man: " Now, sir, you must either spell or leave this school again." This conquered the youthful Samson, and he spelled without further trouble. After school was out the colossal Mr. Wafful remarked that if this young man had not spelled then he would have whipped him himself. When he was in his eighteenth year Mr. Flower had an offer to go to Philadelphia (Jefferson county) as a clerk in a general merchandise store. His employer was a Mr. Woodward, who failed two months afterward, and the young man, thrown out of employ- ment, was forced to return to Theresa. That spring and summer he did work on his moth- er's farm, and earned a ton of hay by working nine days and a half in the field, mowi ig grass and " keeping up his end " with eleven men in mowing. During his boyhood he always went bare- foot in the summer months, and he once re- marked in a speech, while running against William Waldorf Astor for Congress, that until he was fifteen years old he did not feel at home in the summer time unless he had a stone bruise or two on his feet, and that he had warmed his feet many a morning when driving up the cows in the crisp autumn weather on a spot where a cow had lain the night before. Six Years of Early Manhood. In August, 1853, Mr. Flower had an offer to go into the hardware store of Howell Cooper J I "V ness the Mic pres Nor take ■'1 perc of h Mr. qual GOVERNOR ROSIVELL PETTI BONE FLOWER. 21 i & Co., at Watertown. After remaining there a month he had another offer which was more to his liking and which he accepted. It was to become deputy postmaster at Watertown at 1^50 a month and board. He occupied this position under Postmaster William H. Sigour- ncy for six years. The first ^50 he saved he invested in a gold watch, which he sold a few months later to a young physician for §53, and took his note for it. Mr. Flower still has that note. Mr. Flower managed to save some money out of his wages, and at the end of his term in office had accumulated about $1,000, with which he purchased the interest of Mr. Sigourney in a jewelry business, the firm name being Hitchcock & Flower, at i Court street, Watertown. His aptitude for business en- abled him to advance the interests of the firm, and in a couple of years he bought out his partner and continued alone in the business until 1869. Mr. Flower was married on December 26, 1859, to Sarah M. Woodruff, a daughter of Norris M. Woodruff, of Watertown. Three children were born to tliem, of whom only one is living, Emma Gertrude. She was married to John B. Taylor, of Watertown, January 2, 1890. While in the Watertown post office Mr. Flower's spare time was taken up, not in social entertainments, because he had no money to enter such society, but in reading whatever he thought might be useful to him in the future. He made himself thoroughly familiar with the " Federalist " and kindred works, and having an idea of some day becoming a lawyer, he got a little knowl- edge of Blackstone and Kent; but his natural bent was for business, and he never attempted the law. Business in New York. In 1869 Henry Keep, the well-known capi- talist, who had married Miss Emma Wood- ruff, a sister of Mrs. Flower, was on his death- bed. Two or three weeks before he died he sent for Mr. Flower to come to New York, and during his sickness gave him a pretty good idea of the character of the men with whom he had been surrounded in the busi- ness world. Mr. Keep had been president of the New York Central and treasurer of the Michigan Central and Lake Shore, and was president at the time of the Chicago and Northwestern railroad. He knew it would take a man of good common sense and quick perception to aid his wife in the management of his large property after his death, and in Mr. Flower he thought he recognized those qualities. In answer to a question by Mr. Flower, in order to get his opinion of Daniel Drew, as to whether Drew was an honest man, Mr. Keep, who was very reticent, did not reply for some ten minutes, and then said : " He is as honest a man as there is in the State of New York, but for fear that somebody else will cheat, he will always begin first." Im- mediately after Mr. Keep's death Mr. Flower'' removed to New York and took charge of his late brother-in-law's estate, the value of which has more thnn doubled under his management. It was then worth $1,000,000, and now under Mr. Flower's management it has expanded to $4,000,000. The properties in which the estate was invested caused Mr. Flower to be a frequent visitor to the West, and since 1870 he has made extended trips all over the United States, and has a personal knowledge of the possibilities and natural resources of almost every section of the country. Governor Flower's fortune, which is estimated in the millions, has not been made by speculation in AVall street, but by the shrewd purchasing of properties, which, by careful and prudent management, have developed and proved val- uable investments. His Career in Wall Street. In 1872 Mr. Flower was at death's door for several weeks, but after four or five months' sickness he finally recovered. His physicians then advised him to take all the outdoor ex- ercise possible. At this time the brokerage and banking firm of Benedict, Flower & Co., was dissolved, and Mr. Flower gave his entire attention to the management of his sister-in- law's estate and other estates which had been placed in his care. He found a New York office necessary, and so established himself at 52 Broadway. His younger brother, Anson R. Flower, was brought to New York from Watertown in order to become acquainted with the business, that he might take charge of it in Mr. Flower's absence ; but, strange to say, the more the latter tried to get out of business the more he got into it, and the firm of R. P. Flower & Co. found itself doing a large com- mission trade without any attempt having been made to push it — so large, in fact, that another brother, John D. Flower, and a nep- hew, Frederick S. Flower, were taken into the firm, and not until 1890 did Mr. Flower re-i linquish his interest in the concern and become a special partner. But in the meantime he had managed to get the " out-of-door " exer- cise which the doctors had suggested through the State sportsman's clubs. In 1877 Mr. Flower attended the convention of these clubs at Syracuse and won a prize, consisting of a > I'. 23 A SOUVENIR OF THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER. corduroy hunting suit, over a field of 113 entries. Thirty-two of them had tied at twenty-one yards' rise, and they had to go back to the twenty-five yard score. Then all that were left had to go back to thirty-one yards and shoot until somebody dropped out. Mr. Flower and ex-Attorney-General Tabor were the last competitors in the contest, and Mr. Flower finally won the clothes and still wears them on the hunting expeditions which he frequently takes after woodcock, duck and partridge. Always Active in Politics. In politics Mr. Flower has always been a Democrat. He cast his first vote for Buch- anan, and has been a constant and active worker for his party. He was chairman of the county committee for several years and helped to start the nucleus of an organization which has been known throughout the State as one of the best equipped political organi- zations within its borders. Mr. Flower was an active Mason in his younger days, being at one time high priest of the Watertown chap- ter. One day, going down to the grand chapter, at Albany, he met on the cars Samuel J. Tilden and his secretary, John D. Van Buren. Mr. Tilden asked him what he thought about the State, and Flower replied that he did not believe Mr, Tilden would the next year be chairman of the State Committee for the reason that he did not seem to recog- nize the fact that a man under fifty years of age has any influence in politics. He told Mr. Tilden that it was the young men who would control the party, and that he must extend his acquaintance among them or be prepared to step out. Mr. Tilden replied that he would like to have the young men with him, but that he had no opportunity of coming in touch with them : that his friends didn't seem to think it was worth while. Mr. Flower then told Tilden that Jefferson county had sent to Colonel Van Buren the year before the best scheme for organization of a party that had up to that time made its appearance, and that if he would organize the party throughout the State on the basis of recognizing the merit of young and active workers, instead of the " has beens," he would be sure to carry the State at all times, and might continue at the head of the organization as long as he saw fit. Van Buren confirmed this opinion. About a month later Hon. Allen C. Beach, of Watertown, re- ceived a telegram from Mr. Tilden, asking him to come to his house and spend two or three weeks, as he wanted to extend the sug- gested organization throughout the State. It was thus that the famous " Tilden machine " was started. It was Flower's suggestion to organize it and Tilden's perseverance which extended it. In 1877 Flower was Chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee when the party won the campaign, though there was a bolt against the ticket, A Term in Congress. After his son's death, in 1881, Mr. Flower was induced to run for Congress in the Eleventh Congressional District against Wil- liam Waldorf Astor. The representative of this district had been Levi P. Morton until he resigned to take the position of Minister to France. Mr. Morton had been elected by over 4,000 majority. In that campaign, after Orlando B. Potter had declined the Demo- cratic nomination, Mr. Flower accepted it on the platform that he would not purchase a vote to secure the election, and on that he made the issue and was elected by 3,100 majority. In the Forty-seventh Congress he was ap- pointed a member of the Committee on Bank- ing, and almost immediately took a prominent part in the discussion of financial questions. Mr. Flower recently said to the writer: "When I was elected to Congress, although I was pretty thoroughly conversant with practical banking methods, I knew nothing of the theories of finance, but I soon learned that if I was to be of any use in Congress I must do a little reading, and with the aid of books from the Congressional Library, I soon pretty thoroughly mastered the subject. I found it much the most interesting subject I had ever studied. It is better reading than the best novel that ever was written." During his first term in Congress he also made speeches on the Chinese question, on the River and Harbor bill, and a notable one on the reduction of taxes. A Unique Pocket Companion. Mr. Flower would hardly be called a good speaker, but he was called on frequently in his county to talk from the platform, particu- larly during the Seymour and Blair campaign of 1868. Endeavoring to fill that want of many public speakers — the possession of a copy of the Constitution of the United States in convenient size to carry in his pocket — he searched the book stores of Watertown, but wa.> unable to find one. Happening into a little corner shoe-store he saw tacked to the bench of a grizzled old cobbler a little primer containing inside the Constitution and outside the advertisement of a fire insurance company. James Muldoon, the shoemaker, gave Mr. GOVERNOR RO SWELL PETTI ISOXE FLOWER. 93 Flower the book, and he has it yet, always carrying it in his pocket for easy reference. In 1S76, when visiting Chicago, Mr. Flower had his memorandum book stolen, which con- tained the present of the cobbler. While in Earope some months later he received a note from the proprietor of the Grand Pacific Hotel, saying that his book had been found in a lumber yard, and would be returned to him. The Constitution turned up inside in perfect order, and in 1883, when making a speech in Congress on giving power to the President to veto separate items in the Appropriation bill, Mr. Flower produced the cobbler's copy of the Constitution, and, considering its adven- tures and the value a pamphlet copy would be to many persons, as it had been to him, he asked that it, together with the substantial amendments, be printed in the Record to ac- company his remarks, that with them, it might be distributed to the people. Over 500,000 copies of this somewhat unique document were circulated by himself and other members of Congress. AGuBERNATORiALfossiBiLiTY AND Already A National Leader. In 1882 there was a general demand through- out the State for his nomination to the ofifice of Governor. In the Democratic convention Mr. Flower received 134 votes against the same number for General Slocum, and sixty- one for Grover Cleveland, of Buffalo. The strife between Tammany and the County De- mocracy was so great at that time that it was thought better politics to nominate a man out- side of the city of New York. Consequently Mr. Flower made way for Cleveland, who was declared the choice of the convention. In this same year, 1882, Mr. Flower refused are- nomination for Congress, having stated in his first canvass that he would not accept a second nomination and that he would leave the dis- trict in such a condition after one term that any good Democrat, no matter how shallow his pocket, might be nominated and elected in it- He was at this time offered the unani- mous nomination of both factions of his party, and was assured that the Republicans would make no nomination if he would consent to run, but he preferred to carry out his pledge to the people when he ran against Mr. Astor. Orlando B. Potter was nominated and elected in his place, Mr. Flower taking the stump for him. Mr. Flower has been a member of the State Executive Committee every year since that time, and has given valuable aid to the Democratic party managers. In 1885 he at- tended the Democratic State Convention as a looker-on; not as a candidate for office. The convention nominated David B. Hill for Gov- ernor. Several delegates had asked Mr. F'lower to accept the nomination for Lieuten- ant-Governor, but he refused. He left Sara- toga the morning before the convention ad- journed, but when he arrived at his country home in Watertown, he found that he had been unanimously nominated for Lieutenant- Governor. He immediately declined the honor, stating his reasons for doing so. The State Committee was tailed together and nominated in his place Colonel Jones, of Binghamton, he " who pays the freight." Mr. Flower, in 1882, was made chairman of the Democratic Congressional Committee, and ran the campaign that year which resulted in a majority in the House of fifty for his party. In the Presidential campaign of 1888 Mr. Flower was selected as one of the four delegates-at-large to the National Democratic Convention at St. Louis, which nominated Mr. Cleveland for President, and was chosen chair- man of the delegation. In the same year, when it seemed probable that the two Demo- cratic factions in the Twelfth district might each run a candidate for Congress, they united on Mr. Flower, and asked him to accept the nomination. This he did, with some hesita- tion, and only in order to help the election of the Presidential and Gubernatorial nomi- nees. Again in Congress. In the Fifty-first Congress Flower was ap- pointed a member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, and also a member of the Committee on the World's Fair. His efforts toward securing the location of the fair in New York have been recognized by the city and State, and his speech on that subject contained about all the points in favor of New York that could be put into thirty minutes. Mr. Flower once remarked to the writer that his success in Congress was chiefly due to the fact that on whatever committee he was placed he tried to learn as much about his work if not more than any other member of the committee. On the Ways and Means Committee in the Fifty-first Congress, by the questions he asked at the hearing held before that committee, he showed his familiarity with many subjects, and with distant sections of the country and their industries. There was no just claim before Congress for the pension of a Union soldier that he did not chlampion, believing that if a soldier received a pension to which he was not entitled the government was to blame and not the soldier, for there are 24 A SOUVENIR OF THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER. in each Congresfsionnl district three surgeons by wlioni the soldier is examined before he is allowed a pension. Mr. Flower also made a strong speech in the l-'ifty-first Congress in favor of the election of postmasters by the people, and offered an amendment to the Con- stitution to that effect. Because of his thorough knowledge of the West and its needs he was enabled to make in Congress a speech on the irrigation question, which attracted a great deal of attention, and which was made the basis of the Senate Committee's report on that subject. The Canvass of 1890. Mr. Flower was chairman of the Demo- cratic Congressional Cam|)aign Committee in 1890. The committee had very small means, but his organizing jjowers were brought into play with great success. The campaign was quietly but systematically conducted. Cam- paign documents were circulated in large numbers, and the result was the largest Demo- cratic Congressional majority ever obtained in an election in the United States. Mr. Flower created the impression that he was doing nothing, even counseling some of the leading newspapers of his party to pitch into him and accuse him of inaction, in order to arouse the Democratic rank and file to the necessity for active effort on their part. He believed that a full vote of his party meant a great Democratic triumph, and the outcome justified his belief. Mr. Flower was nominated for Governor at the Djmocratic State Convention of 1891, and was elected by a plurality of 47,937 over Jacob Sloat Fassett. How He Spends His Money, Mr. Flower has never turned his back on any charitable institution that he could con- sistently befriend, as the people of the State can testify. He has always made it a rule to give away in charity a certain portion of his income — for many years all that he did not need for his own living expenses — believing that when a man had wealth he should dis- tribute it while he is alive in order that there be no contest over it when he dies. Mr. Flower's parents were Presbyterians, and on a visit to Theresa a number of years ago he found that the church which he had attended as a small boy had run down and that the building itself was in a dilapidated condi- tion. At considerable expense he had the church rebuilt, and it is now a beautiful little structure — a fitting memorial to Mr. Flower's parents. On the death of his son, Henry Keep Flower, in i88f, Mr. and Mrs. Flower gave St. Thomas church, in New York city, of which Mr. Flower is a vestryman, §50,000 to erect on Fifty-ninth and Sixtieth streets and Second avenue a four-story building to be known as St. Thomas' house, to be used for parish work. The structure has rooms orcu- l)ied by an American Sunday school of 500 children, a German Sunday school, and a Chinese Sunday school. On the lower floor is a diet kitchen and on the second floor an institution to teach young girls how to sew and mend. The next floor is a club room where the boys play checkers and backgam- mon, and on the ui)per floor is found a library for a club of young men. All these institu- tions are canied on by the charitably disposed of St. 'I'homas' church. On the inside of the building on the wall is a marble slab, upon which is incribed : " Erected to God by Ros- well P. Flower and Sarah M. Flower, in memory of tlieir son, Henry Keep Flower." Mr. Flower's brother, Anson, is a vestry- man in Trinity church in Watertown, and Mr. Flower joined him in building a $100,000 home for that parish. The homa?opathic school of physicians in New York city were erecting, a few years ago, a college, but had no hospital in which to teach young students anatomy and the use of the knife in practical surgery. Mr. Flower erected for them, at the corner of Avenue A and Sixty-third street, the Flower FIos])ital, which supplies this need. But this by no means completes the list of beneficiaries of the family. Henry Keep's widow has erected at a cost of §100,000, in the suburbs of Watertown, a home for old men and women called "the Henry Keep Home." As Mr. F"lower truly says: " What better use could be made of the money of Henry Keep, whose father died in the poor house, than to erect, with some of it, a home for aged men and women } " Henry Keep's widow has also given §100,000 for the Ophthalmic HosjMtal at Twenty-third street and Fourth avenue, Nsw York. Th '. writer has known Governor Flower from his earliest infancy, having at one time *Kf .1 a law student in the office of the Gover- nor's father, and upon terms of daily intimacy with that estimable family of children, all of whom have grown up into useful and hon- ored members of society. The Governor's most pronounced trait of character is his ability to level up to the demands of every situation in which he has been placed. When a boy, he could do more work than any other boy of his age in his native town, and 'I'heresa v.-as full of smart, athletic young fellows. Roswell was in "dead earnest" all the time, HON. JAAfES C. SPENCER. n thorough in wliatevcr he undertouk, of a push- ini;, vigorous nuinncr, ever on the alert, and putting the best foot forward every time. He was always hard at work, but when he had made lialf-a-doUar by industry he was liberal with it — ready to divide witli his brothers or with the neigid)ors' boys. He was always a " trusty " boy — his word would go as far when fifteen years of age as any fidl-grown man in Tlieresa. He had a self-possessed and honest way that gave him standing. It is not re- markable that a boy with -ich traits has made a successful, trusty, honest man. I have read his speeches in Clongress and his State papers since he became Governor. Their erudition and ability, and their matter-of-fact way of dealing with public affairs have not surprised me, for I knew the boy and the quality of the stock from which he sprang. His father was a nobleman if ever there was one in Northern New York, and his mother was one of the most faithful, industrious and home-making women of her day. It is easy to say, and easier yet, perhaps, to suspect that what we print here may be largely due to the desire men usually feel to compli- ment and ])erhaps flatter men who have reached high positions or acquired great wealth. Gov- ernor Flower is too well known in his native county to need aught but honest praise from any source. Though a tireless partisan and an uncompromising Democrat, he has never lost a friend through any political divergence of view. Honest in his own opinions he does not hesitate to accord those who differ with him the same honesty of purpose. Springing from the middle walks of life, neither poor nor rich, nor yet a college graduate, but graduated from that wonderful developer of practical common sense, every-day human experience, he pos- sesses the robustness and mental health which such an origin might be expected to transmit. His face is all expression, showing an exqui- sitely penetrating and mobile intellect, easily stirred to noble emotions and brimming over with goodness. He is a delightful companion, welcome in every circle, but shines brightest and most hopefully to those who share his daily life and " know him best of all." His life has been a blessing to so many, here and elsewhere, that his personal pojiidarity is not so remarkable when we consider the founda- tion upon which it is mainly built — an un- selfish desire to do good. The VVatertown Residence. Although Mr. Flower has for some 20 years had a winter home in Fifth avenue. New York, he still spends his summers in Watertown, where, upon Arsenal stieet, he occupies a cozy, pretty house. There are 50 dwellings in Watertown surpassing it in splendor of ap- pearance, more modern, with a greater evi- dence of the luxuries of life, but none having more the look of a real home. The house was built over fifty years ago, by Norris M. Woodruff, Mrs. Flower's father, and has the rambling, comfortable look of that period in architecture. It is a wooden building painted white — a cleanly, dazzling white, which seems to have been so attractive in the eyes of the last generation — and it has the usual ac- companiment of bright green blinds. The house stands a little back from the street, having sufficient space for some handsome beds of flowers and a perfectly trimmed green lawn, while back of the house one sees a fine garden and clumps of handsome trees. Mr. Flower transacts his business in a comfortably- arranged office in the F"lower Block. HON. JAMES C. SPENCER, Ex-Judge New York City Superior Court, is an- other of the men who have done much to em- bellish nature. An extended account of his lovely property, " Manhattan," may be found elsewhere. He is a native of Fort Coving- ton, Franklin county, N. Y. His father, the late Judge James B. Spencer, was one of the early settlers of Franklin county, and was a prominent and respected citizen and recog- nized political leader in the northern part of the State, having held many important posi- tions, including that of Judge and Representa- tive in the State and National Legislatures. He also distinguished himself in the War of 1812, participating actively in the important engageirents of that contest, including the battle of Vlattsburg. In politics he was a Democrat of the Jeffersoi,, Madison, and Jackson school. He was the personal friend and colleague of Silas Wright, and was recog- nized and appreciated by that great man and other prominent Democrats of the State of New York, as an intelligent and reliable po- litical coadjutor, in the struggles of more than 26 A SOUVENIR OF THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVSR. a quarter of a century to secure and perpetu- ate Democratic ascendancy in the State. He also enjoyed the confidence and esteem of all his fellow-citizens who knew him, without re- gard to political differences. He died in the year 1848, at the age of sixty-eight. This branch of the Spencer family and that represe;ited by the late Chief Justice Ambrose Spencer, and his son, Honorable John C. Spencer, were kindred, and claim a common ancestry. The family emigrated to New York from Connecticut, their original place of set- tlement in the New World, springing from an English ancestor, William Spencer, who came to Cambridge, Mass., before or early in the year 1631. It appears that he returned to or visited England afterwards, for he married his wife, Alice, in that country about the year 1633. He was again a resident and a prominent man in Cambridge in 1634-5, and was afterwards one of the first settlers in Hartford, Conn. He was the eldest of three brothers, all of whom were among the early settlers of Hart- ford. • The family of the present Judge Spencer, on the maternal side, were purely Irish. His grandfather emigrated to this country from Ireland prior to the American Revolution, and served his adopted country as a soldier during the War of Independence. Judge Spencer, before he had fully attained manhood, was thrown upon his own resources, and acquired his education and profession mainly by his own exertions. He commenced the practice of law in 1850, in his native county, and soon became popular and re- spected in his profession. In 1854, he removed to . Ogdensl urg, St. Lawrence county, and, with judge W.lliam C. Brown, formed the legal firm of Brown & Spencer, which for many years enjoyed a suc- cessful and profitable practice in the courts of Northern New York. In 1857 he was ap- pointed United States District Attorney for the Northern District of New York. The performance of the duties of that office extended his professional acquaintance into nearly every county of the State. After the expiration of his term of office, he removed to the city of New York and entered upon the practice of his profession in that city. His energy and industry, added to his former pro- fessional reputation in the State, soon brought him clients and a very successful business. In 1867, he entered into partnership with Hon. Charles A. Rapallo and other legal gen- tlemen, under the firm name of Rapallo & Spencer, which became familiar to the public and in the courts as associated with some of the most important causes of the day, includ- ing the famous Erie controversy and other equally important litigations connected with railroad and steamship companies. The ex- istence of that firm terminated with the elec- tion of its senior members to the bench — Mr. Rapallo to the Court of Appeals, and Mr. Spencer to the Superior Court of New York. He was a candidate at a later day for reelec- tion as judge, but was defeated by a small majority. On his retirement from the bench and re- turn to the active practice of his profession in New York city, the Judge was heartily wel- comed, and his old clients renewed their al- legiance. As years have worn away he has become more attached to his Manhattan Island (see description elsewhere), and there he spends much of each summer, a practice dating back for twenty years. He has improved and beauti- fied every thing he has touched, and is known as a liberal, progressive gentleman, taking a deep and healthy interest in all that relates to the St. Lawrence and the improvement of its Islands. Such men become, in a sense, pub- lic benefactors, and their memory should not die for want of proper recognition, nor their extt.nple be lost upon posterity. •^ •H': ^ V torney for that office itance into After the le removed d upon the city. His ormer pro- on brought lusiness. irship with r legal gen- Rapallo & I the public th some of lay, includ- and other lected with 3. The ex- ;h the elec- snch — Mr. Is, and Mr. New York. for reelec- by a small nch and re- rofession in eartily wel- ed their al- vvay he has ittan Island re he spends dating back and beauti- id is known ,n, taking a It relates to sment of its sense, pub- should not in, nor their CANADA'S WEST POINT. THE ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE AT KINGSTON. BY J. JONES BELL, M. A. |ITH £. frontier extending across a conti- nent, bordering on a nation from which several hostile raids on behalf of "Irish inde- pendence " have taken place, and with a half- breed and Indian population in her own north- west, which has on two occasions broken out into open rebellion, Canada finds it necessary to maintain the nucleus of a military force, which shall be available on short notice to de- fend her f i ontier or to put down rebellion. She cannot afford to maintain a standing army, but she has three batteries of artillery on perma- nent service and a cavalry school, four infan- try schools and one mounted-infantry school, at which the officers and non-commissioned officers of the Volunteer Militia may receive such a ^raining as will fit them to take com- nirnd and give instruction to the volunteers, w'lO, taken from the field or workshop, would otherwise be wholly untrained and undisci- plined. But while her volunteers have given a good account of themselves whei. occasic.i. called them into active service, and while her schools of military instruction hive been the means of placing good officers at their head, it was felt that something more was needed to complete the system, and accordingly the Parliament of Canada, in 1874, passed an act authorizing the establishment of a Royal Military College "for the purpose," as the act states, "of im- parting a complete education in all branches of military tactics, fortification, engineering and general scientific knowledge in subjects connected with and necissary to a tho>-oagh knowledge of the military profession, and tor qualify'ng officers for command and for staff appointments." In selecting a site for the college the gov- ernment naturally turned its eyes to three places which were specially adapted for the purpose by virtue of their historical associa- tions and the possession of extensive fortifica- tions which might be utilized for technical training. These were Halifax, Quebec and Kingston. The latter was ultimately chosen, for, in addition to being the most central, it possessed certain buildings which could be utilized. After the conquest of Canada, Kingston, the site of Fort Frontenac, built in 1673 by the French commander after whom it was named, became a military pest of great im- portance. During the war of 181 2 it was the British naval station for the lakes. A dock- yard was esitablished on a low promontoiy which juts out between the Cataraqui river and a small inlet of the St. Lawrence called Navy Bay. At this dockyard Sir James Yeo built his fleet for Lake Ontario. After the war the c'oc . ard was dismantled, but a large three-story . .. '^ ^ building remained, known as the Stone Frigate, which had been occupied by the marines. This, with a large black- smith shop close by, was utilized for the col- lege. [See building at left center of picture.] In 1876 the first classes were opened, eigh- teen cadets being admitted. The staff con- sisted of a commandant, a captain and three professors. As the classes grew, more accom- KB 28 A SOUVENIR OF THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER. modation was required, and a large building, of the grey limestone for which Kingston is famous, was added. It contains offices, read- ing and mess rooms, library, class rooms, laboratory, hospital and kitchen. The Stone Frigate became a dormitory, and the black- smith shop was converted into a well-equipped gymnasium. The main building faces a spacious parade ground, with tennis lawn and cricket ground, and opposite, on the point, is Fort Frederick, a battery which guards the entrance to the harbor, with a martello tower at its apex. Though modeled after Woolwich, the col- lege is intended to give the cadets a training which will fit them for civil as weU as military life. The course, which is four years, though provision is made for a two years' course in certain subjects, embraces English, French, drawing, mathematics and mechanics, engi- neering, surveying, fortification, architecture, astronomy, chemistry, geology, mineralogy, physics, electricity, tactics and strategy, sig- naling, military law and administration, mili- tary drill, gymnastics, fencing, swimming and riding. A few of these subjects are volun- tary, but most of them are obligatory. A rig- orous examination has to be passed by candi- dates for entrance, and if more reach the minimum than can be admitted — two from each of the twelve military districts into which Canada is divided — those vf the first the Royal being an >d soldier, nergy, and s. To his cess which Dutset, and h the diffi- the early ch, in this xperiment. eturned in ed by Coi,. ) had been lomy from nself to be lead of the )N, laie of ow retired ian forces, personally, arly days which his led him to inding the college, held in military ssful can- opening ber. The rmed and The sec- d the gor- The daily parades, eveille to rs — from the cadet class or is none of place at ual liberty adet has, however, two half holidays, on Wednesday and Saturday, when he may go out on pass till eleven o'clock, or with extra leave till one. Balls and parties in Kingston are timed for these days, for the cadet, with his gay scarlet uniform, is an important factor in the social world. While attending the college the cadets are of course subject to the Queen's Regula- tions, the Army Act, the Militia Act, and such other rules and regulations as Her Majesty's troops are subject to. The physical training is excellent. Sergt.- Major Morgan, of the Scots Guards, pre- sides over this department, and well qualified he is to fill the position. Cadets who pass four years under his instruction come out with deep chests and erect figures, and show what a thorough physical training can accom- plish. One of the rewards of good conduct is pro- motion to the rank of non-commissioned officer, the commandant having authority to appoint such from among those best qualified. Proud is he who is invested with the chevrons, or given the rig'.it to wear the sergeant's sash. But while subject to strict discipline the cadets have opportunities to cultivate their social qualities. One of the events of the season is the annual sports, which take place in September. The campus is alive with car- riages and pedestrians, while pretty girls, with their chaperons, form the center of groups e.^t^aped in animated conversation, or watch- ing v-i.Ii "nlerest the various competitions of Si-)eed a: d skill. Races, jumping :ompetitions ur.d ^'>t<;',vilechases follow each other in quick •^/utxi-isiun, while the tug of war between the right and lert wings creates almost as much interest is the struggle on the Isis between the collegi eiphts. The games over, all ad- journ to the gymnasium, where the prizes, more substantial than the crown of ivy at the Olympic games, are distributed to the victors. Tea and aa impromptu dance follow in the college halls. A ball is given at Christmas by the staff and ■ ad is, and a yet more elaborate entertainment imilar character at the close of the college year in June. On closing day a series 01 field manoeuvers takes place, with blowing up of imaginary fortifications and fleets, and an ex- hibition of drill and bayonet exercise, after which the results of the examinations are an- nounced, the prizes distributed, and the ses- sion brought to a termination. The governor- general, the minister of militia, or someone else high in authority, is secured, if possible, to distribute the prizes and make a speech. Four commissions, one each in the engineers, artillery, cavalry and infantry branches of the imperial service, are available, the cadets who stand highest on the honor roll, if otherwise eligible, being entitled to them in the order named. The first two are eagerly sought, the third generally goes a-begging, as tliere are few Canadian youths with sufficient means to keep up a position in such an expensive branch of the service, in which case an additional commission in the infantry is generally substi- tuted. All who have taken the full four years' course, and qualified in all the obligatory sub- jects, are entitled to receive a diploma of graduation, those who have specially dis- tinguished themselves also receiving honors. Those who leave at the end of two years, and pass the subjects required, receive a certificate of military qualification only. After the official proceedings are over on the closing day the cadets have a parade of their own, when the members of the graduat- ing class have to undergo an ordeal of hand- shaking and leave-taking in true college form. A valedictory dinner in the evening follows, and then steamer and car bear the cadets o.f, and the halls are deserted for three months. Some of the passed cadetb of the college have already won fame for themselves. The name of Stairs, who accompanied Stanley in his march through darkest Africa, is well known the world over. Lieut. Hewitt served in the Soudan and bears a medal won on the banks of the Nile, and I.ieut. Dobell has distinguished himself for bravery i.. Burmah. Occasion has no', yet arisen to call into full play the energies of the rapidly-growing mem- bers of the graduates of the Royal Military College, and it is therefore too early to judge of its full benefit to Canada. But the opinion 30 A SOUVENIR OF THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER. of Lord Lansdowne, expressed when gover- nor-general, is worth quoting. These are his words : "There is no Canadian institution of which Can- ada should be prouder or which will do better ser- vice to the country and to the empire. It forms an interesting and distinctive feature in the miiif .cy system of the Dominion. That system, as I under- stand it, is based upon the recognition of the f.ict that Canada cannot afibrd in her own interests, or in those of the empire, to disregard those precautions which every civilized community takv-s in order to ensure its own safety from internal commotion or external attack. Upon the other hand it is a system entirely opposed to the establishment of a numerous standing army or to the withdrawal of a large body of citizens from the peaceful pursuits which are essential to the progress and development of the country. " That being so, it is clear that ir ~"se of a national emergency the Dominion would ha i o "r r*. largely to the spontaneous efforts of its ow,t ; , to the expansion of its existing organization, a i rapid development of the resources already at our command. "But, gentlemen, it is needless for me to point out to you that there is one thing which it is im- possible to produce on the spur of the moment, and 1 at is a body of trained officers, competent to take enlarge of new levies or to supervise operations necessary for the defense of the national territory, and therefore it appears to me that we cannot over- rate the value of an institution which year by year is turning out men who have received within its wall a soldier's education in the best sense of the word and who, whatever their primary destination, will, I do not doubt, be found available whenever their ser- vices are required by the country." The cost of education at the Military Col- lege is not unreasonable. Each ca^et is re- quired to deposit annually $200 to cover the cost of messing and quarters, and in addition $200 the first year and $150 each year after- wards for uniform, books and instrrments. The messman receives forty-six cents per day for each cadet present. Extras are obtainable at fixed prices. No cadet is allowed to spend more than $2 per month, non-commissioned officers more than !^4, for extras, which they pay out of their pocket money. In addition to the full couise of four years and the military course of two years, pro- vision has been made at the college for officers of the militia, who require higher instruction than the military schools afford, to take a three months' course, one class being in- structed each year. By this means a number of officers have been enabled to qualify for important positions in the service. Taken all in all, Canada's West Point has been an unqualified success. mg AN INTERNATIONAL BOOK. IT has been the constant endeavor of the editor of this book to preserve its inter- national character, not forgetting for a mo- ment that Canada has a much more extended proprietorship over the St. Lawrence river than has the United States. For many miles below Montreal the river runs through terri- tory exclusively Canadian. No sincere patriot would desire to disturb, by word or deed, the friendly relations existing between the two great English-speaking peoples, whose united voice could control any matter of public policy, either in America or in the east. Canada is a vast country, larger than the whole United States in extent, for her territory extends very far north and joins our own country upon the north Pacific ocean. There have been efforts in the past, participated in by hair-brained plotters, to disturb the fraternal feeling be- tween the two countries, out such efforts now find but slight recognition upon either side of t'le line. The press of both countries is friendly to fraternal feelings, and the public official business upon the whole frontier, from the farthest west to the dividing line upon the east, is conducted without serious disturbance. [lin its wall )f the word tion, will, I cr their ser- litary Col- ir\et is re- cover the n addition year after- stri'ments. Its per day obtainable d to spend imissioned I'hich they four years jrears, pro- for officers instruction to take a being in- i a number ualify for Point has GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Historical and Otiierwise, witli some Opinions of Traveliers. )le United tends very ' upon the en efforts ir-brained eeling be- fforts now ler side of untries is he public >tier, from upon the turbance. /^THE route of the St. Lawrence has long ^! been noted for the variety and beauty of its scenery. The traveller coming up from the sea, should he turn aside to explore the chasm of the Saguenay, would witness a scene of grandeur scarcely equaled by any other of its kind in any part of the world. Further up, the Rapids of the St. Lawrence present in suc- cession displays of majestic power and volume that command admiration, and on finally reach- . ing the level or navigable waters above, the approach to the first of the Great Lakes leads throught a labyrinth of islands, which, for ; variety of scenery and quiet beauty, have seldom failed to awaken the enthusiasm of the traveller. To this group of islands, with their histori- cal associations, and the impressions which their scenery has inspired, the greater part of this volume is devoted. In arranging the materials of this work, the J editor has been engaged in no small degree in i presenting the thoughts of others ; but, believ- 4 ing that the enjoyment of this scenery would f be enhanced by learning the manner in which i; it has impressed those who have witnessed it ? in the years that are past, he has sought to 5 present as wide a range of these inipressions 4 as opportunities allowed, yet not failing to t present much that is original and never before 1 published. No one will doubt that places acquire extra- ordinary interest when associated with great events, or even when linked with the ideal '"cidents of poetry and romance. In allusion to the interest which these associations impart to so many places in the Old World, while there are comparatively few in the New, the naturalist Wilson, in whom were united a keen perception of the beauties of nature and a highly poetic temperament, in the opening part of his Foresters, says: " Yet Nature's charms, that bloom so lovely here, Unhailed arrive, unheeded disappear; While bare, bleak heaths, and brooks of half a mile Can rouse the thousand bards of Britain's Isle. There, scarce a stream creeps down its narrow bed. There, scarce a hillock lifts its little head, Or humble hamlet peeps their glades among. But live;: and murmurs in immortal s< ng. Our western world, with all its matchless floods, Our vast transparent lakes and boundless woods. Stamped with the traits of majesty sublime, Unhonored weep the silent lapse of time; Spread their wild grandeur to the unconscious sky, In sweetest seasons pass unheeded by; While scarce one Muse returns the song they gave. Or seeks to snatch their glories from the grave." In some of the prose descriptions that fol- low, the reader will find a poetry of sentiment and imagery of thought that cannot fail to engage the attention. Ir. others, there are incidents and events described that may add new interest to this regioii, especially those relating to the accounts of travel in the olden time, with the humble accomodations and the discomforts of the period, that afford a strik- ing contrast with the exact appointments and the ample luxuries of the present day. Early Indian History. "In the beginning," so far as history or tradition extends back into the past, this region u; 't 32 A SOLTENTN OF THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER. was the border-land of the Algonquin and the Iroquois, — the former dwelling for the most part to the northward and eastward, while the latter, at least in the later period, had their principal homes along the lakes and rivers of Central and Western New York. I The early historians of Canada record the fact that a bloody war was going on between the Adirondacks or Algonquins on th ,• St. Lawrence, and the Iroquois or Five Naiions of the region now included in Central and Western New York, when the country was first visited by the French. Champlain took part in this war on the part of the former, and by the use of fire-arms, hitherto unknown in Indian warfare, turned the tide of success for a time in favor of his allies — but gained thereby the lasting hatred of their enemies towards the French. The origin of this war- fare is traced by tradition to a long time before the first appearance >..' the white man, and although not measured by moons or sea- sons, it still appeared to be consistent, and probable, — and according v., the little that could be gathered, was as follows : The Algonquins and the Iroquois had lived for a long time in harmony, the former being the stronger, and chiefly subsisting by the chase, while the latter were more inclined to fishing and agriculture. Now and then the young men of the two races would go out on their hunting expeditions together, but in these the superiority of the man who killed the game, over him who skinned and dressed it, was always insisted upon, and when the party saw an opportunity, it was the business of the one to pursue and slay, and of the other to stand by and see it done. At one time, half a dozen of each class were out in the winter on a hunting excur- sion together. They saw some elk and imme- diately pursued them, but the Algonquins, presuming on their superiority, would not suffer the young Iroquois to take part, at the same time giving them to understand that they would soon have business enough on hand in taking care of the game they were about to kill. Three days were spent in vain pursuit, for although they saw there was an abundance of game, ill-luck followed them at every step. At length the Iroquois offered to go out themselves, and the former, not doubting but that a like failure would soon put an end to their unwelcome comments upon their own efforts, consented. The tide of success turned in their favor, and the Iroquois soon returned with an abundance of game. Mortified at this result, the jealous Algonquins the next night killed all of their successful rivals as they lay sleeping. The crime, although con- cealed and denied, was soon discovered, and the Iroquois at first made their complaints with moderation — simply asking that justice should be done to the murderers. No attention was paid to these complaints, and the injured party took justice into their own hands, solemnly vowing to exterminate the haughty race or perish in the attempt. Long series of retaliatory inroads were from this time made by each into the territories of the other, which finally ended greatly to the advantage of the Iroquois, and in the almost total annihilation of their enemies. The St. Francis Indians are a remnant of this once powerful tribe. Hiawatha. The legend of Hiawatha has been rendered familiar to most readers of American poetry by the metrical version of Longfellow, and the prose of Clark, Schoolcraft and others, and much controversy has been had with respect to the author of the legend as it first appeared in English. We accept, as fully reliable, the statement made by the late Hon. J. V. H. Clark, of Manlius, author of the History of Onondaga County, in a letter to the New York Tribune, in January, 1856, in which the claims of various writers and the dates of their publications are precisely stated. The legend relates to the origin of the League of the Iroquois, at a time which no record fixes by date, and no circumstance acceptable to the historian would lead him to locate otherwise than somewhere in that period clouded in the uncertainties of the forgotten past. We cannot present its begin- \ ■] « GENERAL DESCRfP T/ON. 33 I them at go out bting but in end to :heir own ess turned 1 returned jrtified at the next rivals as 3Ugh con- /ered, and :omplaints dat justice lomplaints, into their xterminate e attempt, were from rritories of atly to the the almost The St. this once rendered :an poetry )w, and the ithers, and th respect ;t appeared eliable, the J. V. H. History of the New which the dates of ed. in of the which no cumstance 5ad him to ning, which was in this region, more appropri- ately than in the original language of Mr. Clark: " Hundreds of years ago, Ta-oun-ya-\vat-ha, the Deity who presides over fisheries and streams, came down from his dwelling place in the clouds to visit ^ ttie inhabitants of the earth. He had been deputed 3 by the Great and Good Spirit, Ha-wane-u, to visit ■^ streams and clear the channels from all obstructions, to seek out the good things of the country through which he intended to pass, that they might be more generally disseminated among all the good people of the earth — especially to point out to them the most excellent fishing grounds, and to bestow upon them other acceptable gifts. About this time, two young men of the Onondaga Nation were listlessly gazing over the calm blue waters of the Lake of a Thousand Isles. During their reverie they espied, as they thought, far in the distance, a single white speck, beautifully dancing over the bright blue waters, and while they watched tiie object with the most intense anxiety, it seemed to increase in mag- nitude, and moved as if approaching the place where they were concealed, most anxiously awaiting the event of the visitation of so singular an object — for at this time no canoes had ever made their appear- ance in the direction whence this was approach- ing. As the object neared the s.iorc, it proved in semblance to be a venerable looking man, calmly seated in a canoe of pure white, very curiously con- structed and much more ingeniously wrought than those in use among the tribes of the country. Line a cygnet upon the wide blue sea, so sat the canoe of To-oun-ya-wat-ha upon the Lake of aTliousand Isles. " As a frail branch drifts towards the rushing cata- ract, so coursed the white canoe over the rippling waters, propelled by the strong arm of the god of the river. Deep thought sat on the brow of the gray- headed mariner : penetration marked his eye, and deep, dark mystery pervaded his countenance With a single oar he silently paddled his light-trimmed barJc along the shore, as if seeking a commodious haven of rest. He soon turned the prow of his fragile vessel into the estuary of the 'double river,' and made fast to the western shore. He Majestically ascended the steep bank, nor stopped till he had gained the loftiest summit of the western hill. Then silently gazing around as if to examine the country, he became enchanted with the view, and drawing his stately form to its utmost height, he ex- claimed in accents of the wildest enthusiasm, Osh- wah-kee, Osh-wah-kee." He approached the two young hunters, gained their confidence, and having drawn from them a knowledge of the difficulties un- der which they labored, disclosed to them the spirituality of his character, and the object of his mission He invited them to attend him in his passage up tl'.e river, and they witnessed many thingi whroh could only be accounted for as miracles, or be described but in the wonders of Indian mythology. He ascended to the lesser lakes, placed all things in proper order for tlie comfort and sustenance of man, taught them how to cultivate corn and beans, which had not before been grown by them, made the fishing ground free, and opened to all the uninterrupted pursuit of game. He distributed among mankind the fruits of the earth, and retnoved all obstructions from the navigable streams. Being pleased with his success, he assumed the character and habits of a man, and received the name Hi-a-wat-ha, (signifying " /ery wise man,") and fixed his residence on the beautiful shores of Cross Lake. After a time, the country became alarmed by a hostile invasion, when he called a council of all the tribes from the east and the west, and in a long harangue urged upon th'-m the iin])ortance of imiting themselves in . leagi.f for their common defense and mutual happiness. They deliberated upon hip advice, and the next day adojjted and ratified the League of Union which he recornmeiided. As Lycurgus gave law to the Spartans, and swore them to faithfully observe its precepts until his return from a journey, and then de- parted to return no more, so Hi-a-wat-ha, having brought the council to a close, and as the assembled tribes were about to separate cm their return home, arose in a dignified manner, and thus addressed tl.jm : " Friends and Brothers : — I have now fulfilled my mission upon earth; I have done everything which can be done at present for the good of this great people. Age, infirmity and distress sit heavily upon me. During my sojourn among you I have re- moved all obstructions from your streams. Canoes can now pass everywhere. I have given you good fishing waters and good hunti',.; grounds; I have taught you how to cultivate corn and beans, and have learned you the art of making cabins. Many other blessings I have liberally bestowed upon you. " Lastly, I have now assisted you to form an ever- lasting league and covenant of strength and friend- ship, for your future safety and protection. If you preserve it without the admission of other people 34 A SOUVEXIR OF THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER. you will always be free, numeious and mighty. If other nations are admitted to your councils, they will sow jealousies among you, and you will become enslaved, few and feeble. Remember these words ; they are the last you will hear from the lips of Hi-a- wat-ha. Listen, my friends ; the Great-Master-of- Breath calls me to go. I have patiently waited his summons. I am ready : Farewell." As the wise man closed his speech, there burst upon the ears of the assembled multi- tude the cheerful sounds of the most delight- ful singing voices. The whole sky seemed filled with the sweetest melody of celestial music; and heaven's high arch echoed and re- echoed the touching strains till the whole vast assembly was coiTipletely absorbed in rapturous ecstacy. Amidst the general confusion which now prevailed, and while all eyes were turned towards the etherial regions, Hi-a-wat-ha was seen majestically seated in his canoe, grace- fully rising higher and higher above their heads through the air until he became entirely lost from the view of the assembled throng, who witnessed his wonderful ascent in mute and admiring astonishment — while the fasci- nating music gradually became more plaintive and low, and finally sweetly expired in the softest tones upon their ears, as the wise man Hi-a-wat-ha, the godlike Ta-ounya-wat-ha, retired from their sight, as mysteriously as he first appeared from The Lake of a Thousand Isles, and quietly entered the regions inhabited only by the favorites of the great and good spirit Ha-wah-ne-u. In the legend, as rendered by Longfellow, no allusion to this region is specifically made, andithe scene of events is located in the west, on the south shore of Lake Superior, in the region beyond the Pictured Rocks and the Grand Sable. Creation of the Indian Race. Among the traditions of various Indian tribes we find a legend of their creation, which, although differing more or less in de- tails, agrees in ascribing their origin to a peo- ple who came out of the ground. Of this mythological belief we have an interesting ex- ample in this part of the world, as given by M. Pouchet, a French wr ter of acknowledged merit, who recorded what he saw and heard. This writer was an officer in the French ser- vice, and commanded Fort Levis, on the Oraco- nenton Isle, a short distance below Ogdens- burg, when this last stronghold of the French was captured by Lord Amhurst in 1760. He subsequently prepared a history of the events in which he had himself borne an im- portant part, which was published some yeais after his death, and in this he gives much in- formation concerning the Indians who then inhabited this region. In describing the shores of Lake Ontario, he speaks of a great arc of sand hills along the eastern end of the lake, behind which are marshy meadows, through which the rivers wind. This description clearly identifies these streams with those now known as the North and South branches of Sandy Creek, in the town of Ellisburgh, Jefferson county, which unite just above the point where they enter tlie lake. They are remarkable in this, that at tlie head of the South Branch is the place where the traditions of the Iroquois fix the spot " where they issued from the ground, or rather, according to their tradi- tions, where they were born." Traces of Indian Records on the St. Lawrence. Opposite the village of Oak Point, in Eliza- beth Township, Canada, there existed in 1850, and perhaps does still, a rude representation of a canoe with thirty-five men, and near it a cross. On tlie rocks below Rockville th^re were two similar paintings, each being a canoe with six men. A deer rudely painted on the rocks was found on the shore of Black Lake, a few miles inland from Morristown, and doubtless other rude sketches of the kind may be found. These are probably of coinpara- tively modern origin, or at most not earlier than the time of European settlement. They may have been significant of some event at the time when made, but whatever the objects may have been, they have passed into oblivion with the memory of those who made them. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 3S :nowledged and heard. French ser- the Oraco- w Ogdens- the French 1760. tory of the arne an im- some yeais s much in- > who then I the shores reat arc of )f the lake, ivs, through ition clearly now known ;s of Sandy h, Jefferson point where markable in h Branch is he Iroquois 1 from the their tradi- N THE St. t, in Eliza- ted in 1850, )resentation id near it a cville thqre ing a canoe nted on the Hack Lake, town, and e kind may f compara- not earlier ent. They ome event latever the passed into : who made Expeditions of De Courcelle and De Tracy. In the papers relating to De Courcelle'sand De Tracy's expeditions against the Mohawk Indians (1665-6), in describing the routes leading into the Iroijuois country, the naviga- tion of the St. Lawrence is mentioned as ex- ceedingly difficult until the rapids are passed. " But when the mouth of the Great Lake is reached, the .avigation is easy, when the waters are tranquil, becoming insensibly wider at first, then about two-thirds, next one-half, and finally out of sight of land; especially after one has passed an infinity of little islands which are at the entrance of the lake in such great numbers, and in such a variety, thai the most experienced Iroquois pilots sometimes lose themselves there, and have consid- erable difficulty in distinguishing the course to be steered in the confusion, and, as it were, in the laby- rinth fovined by the islands. Some of these are only huge rocks rising out of the water, covered merely by moss or a few spruce or other stunted wood, whose roots spring from the clefts of the rockr, which can supply no other aliment or moist- ure to these barren trees than what the rains furnish them. After leaving this abode the lake is discov- ered, appearing like unto a sea without islands or bounds, where barks and ships can sail in all safety so that the communications would be easy between all the French colonies that could be established on the borders of this grer.t lake which is more than a hundred leagues long, by thirty or forty wide." French Missionaries. Among the pioneers of discovery were the missionaries who were sent out to gain the friendship and secure the conversion of the Indian tribes of the interior. These zealous men allowed no obstacles or dangers to inter- rupt their efforts or dampen their ardor, but with an energy and perseverance tlint cannot fail to excite our admiration, they pursued their way to the remotest parts of the interior, where some lived many years among the sav- ages amid all the privations of a wilderness, and others were murdered, or miserably per- ished in the solitudes of the forest. We can here mention but a' few of these pioneers and discoverers: Francois de Salignac de Fenelon, half brother of the illustrious French writer, the Archbishop of Cambray, came to Canada in 1667, and was for some time engaged in the Indian missions at Toronto and elsewhere. The Abbe Fenelon accompanied the Count de Frontenac to Lake Ontario in 1673. Louis Hennepin, a Franciscan, came to Canada in 1675, and was stationed the next year at Frontenac, Kingston. He was after- wards sent by La Salle to explore the country, and was the first European who saw the Mis- sissippi river. In 1697 he published an ac- count of remote regions that he pretended to liave visited, but which is now regarded in part at least as a fiction. Father Marquette also made extensive journeys in the west, and died at Mackinaw, May 14, 1675. Menard, Allouez and many others passed this way on their journeys to distant points, but these men were, as a rule, little given to romantic descriptions, and their " relations " pertain more to the proper object of their missions, than to the scenery tliat they passed. Father Emmanuel Crespel, in a little work publislied in 1742, describes some incidents of a journey into the Indian country on the Upper Lukes. He was fifteen days going from Montreal to Frontenac, and was there detained some time in waiting for a vessel to Niagara. This was of about eighty tons bur- then, and apparently the only one then on the lake. The passage was made in less than thirty-six hours. The lake was very calm and he sounded with a line of a hundred fathoms without finding bottom. On his return he remained two years at Frontenac, when he was recalled to Montreal, and soon afterwards was sent to La Pointe de la Chevelure on the east side of Lake Cham- plain, in the present State of Vermont, and opposite the French post at Crown Point. First Military Establishment Upon Lake Ontario — Fort Frontenac. — {1673.) In order to protect the French interests, the Count de Frontenac resolved to establish a military post at the outlet of the Lake, and with the view of impressing the natives with the power of the French, he resolved to take two flat bottomed canoes up the rapids, and even to mount them with cannon, to inspire 36 A SOL'l'ENIH OF THE ST. /.AlVRENCE RtVER. them with awe. The boats were built after a particular model, painted unlike anything ever seen before, and were each manned by sixteen men. With these and about one hundred and twenty bark canoes he left Montreal on the i6th of June, and in about three weeks reached the beginning of smooth-water navigation. Hearing that the Indians had assembled in great numbers, and were uneasy about the ob- ject of his expedition, he resolved to proceed with caution, in one body, and in closer column than before. The weather was so serene, and the navigation so smooth, that they made more than ten leagues the first day, and went into camp at a cove about a league and a half from Grenadier Island, where the eel-fishing begins. In his Journal he says: "We had the pleas- .e on the way to catch a small loon, a bird about as irge as a European Outarde, of the most beautiful plumage, but very difficult to be caught alive, as it dives constantly under, so that it is no small rarity to be able to take one. A cage was made for it, and orders were given to endeavor to raise it, in order to send it to the King. On the nth [of July], the weather continuing fine, a good d^y's journey was made, having passed all that vast group of islands with which the river is spangled, and camped at a point above the river called Gana- noque, up which many of them go hunting. It has a very considerable channel. Two more loons were caught alive, and a kind of deer, but the head and antlers are handsomer than the deer of France." The narrative continues with an account of the regal inanner with which the Count de Frontenac entered the lake, and the inter- views he had with the Indians. In short, nothing which pomp and ceremony — the waving of banners, martial music, and the dis- charge of cannon could do, was omitted, to impress the wondering natives with an over- whelming idea of the omnipotence of the French. The speeches and proceedings of the occasion are all found fully recorded. The outline of a fort was at once traced out, and its construction commenced. Beginning work by daylight on the 14th, the ground was cleared before night. The Indians were as- tonished to see the large clearance made in a day — some squaring timber in one place ; others fetching pickets ; and others cutting trenches, all at the same time, and with the greatest dispatch and order. Expedition ok De La Barre. — (1684.) De La Barre, Governor of Canada from 1682 to 1685, had distinguished himself in the West Indies, where he had taken Anti|.',ua and Montserat from the English. In \C ^, he repaired to Fort Frontenac, and ordered three vessels which the French had built upon the lake to be repaired, with the design of crossing to the country of the Iroquois, and frightening the people into his own terms of peace. His army consisted of 600 soldiers, 400 Indians, and 400 men for carrying pro- visions, besides 300 men left in the fort. The Governor tarried six weeks at Fronte- nac, his encampment being near a pestilential marsh, causing so great sickness and mortality that he found himself unable to accomplish his object by force of arms. He accordingly resolved to effect what he could by treaty, and havinj^ vainly hoped to obtain the co- operation of Gov. Dongan, he sent agents to invite the Five Nations to a council. The Governor of New York, although in sympathy with the religious influences so actively em- ployed by the French, did not consent to any concurrence, hut secretly put every obstacl? in the way; and in this he so far succeeded, that the Mohawks and Senecas remained at home. The otlier tribes, who were more un- der the influence of the French missionaries, sent representatives to meet him, consisting of Garangula and thirty warriors. The place of meeting was at the mouth of Salmon river, at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, about forty miles from Onondaga castle. After remaining two days in the French camp, the Governor proceeded to address the Indians, a circle being formed by the French officers on one side, and Garangula and his warriors on the other. We have not space to print the speeches made upon each side by the " high contract- ing parties," but De la Barre entirely failed in placating or overawing the Indians, who became insolent, and at last openly defied that officer, who was soon compelled to retreat, and his at was no UEXEHAL DESCKI/' //ON. $7 his command reached Krontenac (Kingston) at last miicli demoralized. The expedition was so much of a failure as to be almost stig- matized as puerile. Expedition of Ue Nonville. — (1685.) In 1685, the Marquis I)e Nonville made an expedition into the Genesee country, but left no record of local interest concerning the islands. The Avenging Inroad of the Iroquois UPON THE French — (1688.) Early in July, i688, an act of perfidy on the part of the French brought down upon their settlements the terrible vengeance of the Iroquois. Passing down the St. Lawrence, they landed at Lachine on the 26lh of July, and fell upon tiie unsuspecting inhabitants, burning, plundering and massacreing in all directions, and almost up to the defenses of Montreal. They lingered weeks in the coun- try, laid waste the settlements far and wide, and returned with the loss of only three men. The French lost about a thousand persons by this inroad, and many prisoners were carried off for a fate worse than sudden death. The French at Fort Frontenac were obliged to burn the two vessels they had on the lake, and abandon tlie fort, first setting a slow match to the powder magazine. The fire happened to go out before the jiowder was readied, and the jilace was soon plundered by the Indians. The garrison set out in seven bark canoes, travelling only by night, and hiding by day, and after much difficulty reached Montreal with the loss of one canoe and all on board. De Nonville witnessed the devastation of his colony without daring to resist the enemy while engaged in their work of ruin, nor on their return. He was succeeded the next year by Frontenac. Onondaga Expedition of the Count De Frontenac. In 1696 the Count de Frontenac made an incursion into the country of the Onondagas, but the only mention that he makes of this region is his encampment for a night upon what is now known as (Irenadier island. Subsequent Operations of the French ON Lake Ontario. During the next fifty years, the French were steadily extending their trade, and en- deavoring to attach the remote Indian tribes to their interests. In 1687, they established a fort at Niagara, and in 1722 the English built a trading house, and in 1727 a fort at Oswego. Although England and France were during much of this time at peace, and the Governors of their colonies on terms of cor- respondence, there was probably no period down to the conquest of 1760 during which each of the two powers was not busy, through its agents, in endeavoring to monopolize the Indian trade, and in extending this influence with the native tribes. Indian Mission at Oswegatchie; La Presentation. — (1749.^ A considerable number of Iroquois, chiefly Onondagas, having been induced to settle on the St. Lawrence, a mission was established in 1749, at the mouth of the Oswegatchie, on the site of the present city of Ogdensburg. This mission was named La Presentation, and its founder was Francis Picquet, a Sulpician. During the first season he built a storehouse and a small fort, but before the end of the year his settlement was attacked by a band of Mohawks, who burned two vessels loaded with hay, and the palisades of the fort. After this, some soldiers were stationed here for protec- tion. The station progressed rapidly, and in 1 75 1 a saw mill was begun. The English who had built a trading house and a fort at 0.^"'ego many years before, naturally looked ■;.]•. jealousy upon this estab- lishment by the French. Word was brought to them by the Indians, concerning their posts lately erected on the Ohio, and the informant said "he heard a bird sing that a great many Indians from his castle, and others from the Five Nations, were gone to Swegage." In June, 1754, the celebrated Congress of ' \, 38 A sari'/.x/N or the st. lawkknce kivkr. Representatives from the P^nglish Colonies, met at Albany, to consider a Plan of Union for their common defense, and on this occasion these encroachments were fully discussed. In the war which followed, La Presentation became a point of outfit and rendezvous for many of the war parties that laid waste the frontier settlements of the linglisli, from which they usually returned bringing jjrisoners and scalps. Many of tliese expeditions were led by Picquet himself. Tiiomas Mante, in his history of the French war, says; "As to ihe Abb6 I'icquct, wlio distinguished him- self so imich by his l)rutal /cal, as he did not expose hiiii