HISTORY OF VERMONT. 51 



soil In many places near the shore, is evidently 

 of the sane faciitious kind, as the intervales 

 formed by the rivers. These, and other cir- 

 cumstances, have left no doubt in the minds of 

 the inhabitants along the lake shore, that the 

 waters of it were formerly much higher, and 

 spread to a much greater extent, than they now 

 are. 



Th e operations of nature with respect to the 

 lake, must have been the same that they were 

 in relation to the rivers. When the waters dis- 

 charged by the streams, amounted to such a 

 collection, as to rise above the shores of the 

 lake, they would overflow at the lowest part. 

 There, the channel would begin ; and being 

 formed, it would become more and more deep, 

 in the same manner as the channel of a river. 

 The cliannel which this lake found, and formed, 

 Was to the northu-ard ; into the river St. Law- 

 rence ; and through that into the ocean. When 

 this channel, by the constant running of the wa- 

 ter, was worn down thirty or forty feet, the sur- 

 face of the lake would naturally subside the 

 same space. 



At present there is but little alteration in the 

 height of the waters, tlu-ough the year. They 

 generally rise from about the twentieth of April 

 until the twentieth of June. Their rise is com- 

 monly from four to six feet, the greatest varia- 

 tion is not more than eight feet. The lake is 

 early frozen round the shores, but it is not 

 commonly wholly shut up with the ice, until the 

 middle of January.* Between the sixth and the 



• When th; ice is become of its greatest density and firmness, large 

 and cxtco<iv6 cracks or opeawss "W iU «uddfini7 caXe place Thsti crack? 



