SARANAC LAKE TO CANADA BY WATER. 



CHARLES D. FERNALD. 



Not having felt well for several weeks, 

 I decided to take a rest, and have a change 

 from the grind of business to nature, for 

 she is so gentle in the spring. With- 

 in 4 hours 1 was abroad the New 

 York Central's Adirondack train, with shot 

 gun, fishing rod and other tackle. I had 

 no idea where I should leave the train, but 

 later decided to go to my old starting place, 

 Saranac Lake. There I secured as guide 

 John Benham, who is the best member of 

 his profession I have ever met. He was 

 the owner of a small Adirondack skiff, 14 

 feet in length, 28 inches beam, and in that 

 canoe I decided tc take a trip. 



We started from Saranac Lake at noon 

 Thursday, April 18, bound for Montreal by 

 water. We had to go by the Saranac 

 river to Plattsburgh, then by Lake Cham- 

 plain and the St. Lawrence the remainder 

 of the distance. Thursday afternoon we 

 made good time for about 20 miles, and 

 stopped at a log house near Union Falls for 

 the night. Friday we had a hard, danger- 

 ous day. We left Union Falls about 6.30 a. 

 m., and started for Plattsburgh, which we 

 expected to reach by night. 



Above Union Falls we had passed 

 through some bad rapids, but what we found 

 below Union Falls made the others look 

 like still watej. We had 7 miles of white 

 water, or white caps. We ran most 

 of the way, but toward the end we had 

 to get out and carry, about 12 miles, 

 in all. The river is so crooked in that 

 country, that it is hard to estimate the 

 distance between 2 places. We came 

 near running over High falls at Russia. 

 We were running along in water that was 

 going like a mill race, with plenty of rocks 

 to make it interesting, when suddenly we 

 saw the river drop. We could not stop 

 ourselves, so we went into the rapids. 

 They were fierce, the river dropping off 

 foot after foot. We ran through them 

 about a mile before we could get near 

 enough to the shore to catch the bank as 

 it went by. After landing, we went below 

 and watched the river tearing and whirl- 



ing through the big cut in the mountain 

 at Russia, where the drop of the falls is 

 between 160 and 170 feet. Had we gone 

 % of a mile farther we should have 

 been done for. No boat can live in the 

 falls 60 seconds. 



We continued down the river and reached 

 Cadyville that night. There we put up at 

 an apology for a hotel. In the middle of 

 the night I was awakened by someone try- 

 ine to get into my room. I took my re- 

 volver and waited. Soon a man's head 

 and shoulders were thrust through the win- 

 dow. I called out to know what he wanted. 

 As soon as he answered I knew he was 

 under the influence of liquor. He was try- 

 ing to get to his room, which was next 

 to mine, without anyone's knowing it, and 

 he had taken the wrong window. I was 

 thankful I did not shoot first, and inquire 

 afterward what he wanted. 



Saturday morning we started on. The 

 rapids still made it interesting. We 

 reached Plattsburgh that evening, put up at 

 a hotel and took in the town. Sunday 

 morning we started on to Rouse's Point, 

 on Lake Champlain. A stiff breeze was 

 blowing off the lake on to Cumberland 

 Head. It was foolhardy to start, but I 

 did not realize that until we were out in 

 the lake. The water was running high 

 and was capped with white. The little boat 

 behaved nobly, however, and took us safe to 

 shore. The wind died out about 4 o'clock 

 and then we made better time. We arrived 

 at Rouse's Point at 8 o'clock Sunday even- 

 ing. There I realized I had enough. If 

 we should go farther we would find our- 

 selves running the Lachine rapids in our 

 skiff; so I sent the guide back to Saranac 

 Lake over the Chateaugay road and took a 

 train on to Montreal, which was about 40 

 miles down the river. After staying in 

 Montreal a day, I took the train back to 

 Saranac and to my surprise learned that 

 Jack had sold our skiff at Rouse's Point 

 after I left. Tuesday evening I returned 

 to New York, with a color like an Indian's 

 and feeling like a new man. 



Little Willie — Say, pa, what was Wash- 

 ington's object in crossing the Delaware? 



Pa — He probably heard the peach crop 

 was a failure and crossed over to investi- 

 gate. — Exchange. 



in 



