NEW YORK. 



227 



jicute angled ; not a small number of them are long, narrow slips, resembling many of the 

 islands, shooting either horizontally, or with an easy declension far into the lake, and covered, 

 as are all the others, with a fine variety of forest. In many places, a smootli, sloping margin, 

 for the distance of one, two, or three miles, presents a cheerful border, as the seat of present 

 or future cultivation ; in many others, mountainous promontories ascend immediately from the 

 water. The beauties of the shore and of the islands are at least doubled by being imaged in 

 the fine expanse below, where they are seen in perpetual succession, depicted with additional 

 exquisiteness of form, and firmness of coloring. 



" On the evening of Friday, the 1st of October, while we were returning from Ticonderoga, 

 we were presented with a prospect superior to any which I ever beheld. An opening lay be- 

 fore us between the mountains on tlie west, and those on the east, gilded by the departing sun- 

 beams. The lake alternately glassy and gently rippled, of a light and exquisite sapphire, gay 

 and brilliant with the ti-emulous lustre already mentioned floating upon its surface, stretched 

 in prospect to a vast distance, through a variety of larger and smaller apertures. In the 

 chasm formed by the mountains, lay a multitude of islands, differing in size, shape, and um- 

 brage, and clothed in deeply-shaded green. Beyond them, and often partly hidden behind the 

 tall and variously-figured trees with which they were tufted, rose in the west and southwest a 

 long range of distant mountains, tinged with a deep, misty azure, and crowned with an immense 

 succession of lofty pines. 



" Above the mountains, and above each other, were extended in numbers, long, streaming 

 clouds of the happiest form, and painted with red and orange light, in all their diversities of 

 tincture ; between them the sky was illumined with a vivid, yellow lustre. The tali trees on 

 the western mountains lifted their heads in the crimson glory, and on this back-ground displayed 

 their diversified forms with a distinctness and beauty never surpassed. On a high and exactly 

 semicircular summit, the trees ascending far without limbs, united their crowns above, and thus 

 formed a majestic and extensive arch in the sky, dark, exactly defined, and exactly correspond- 

 ing with the arch of the summit below. Between this crown and the mountain, the vivid 

 orange light shining through the grove, formed a third arch equally extended and elegantly strip- 

 ed with black by the stems of the trees. Directly over the gap, through which this combina- 

 tion of beauty was presented to us, the moon far southward in her handsomest crescent, sat on 

 the eastern, and the evening star on the western side of the opening, at exactly equal distan- 

 ces from the bordering mountains, and shining from a sky perfectly pure and serene, finished 

 the prospect. The crimson lustre, however, soon faded ; the mountains lost their gilding ; and 

 the clouds, changing their fine glow into a dull, leaden-colored hue, speedily vanished. The 

 lake, though still brilliant, became misty and dim ; the splendor of the moon and of Hesper 

 increased and trembled on its surface, until they both retired from the western mountains, and, 

 just as we reached the shore, left the world to the darkness of night." 



Lake George was called by the French Lac Sacrement, on account of the purity of its 

 waters. An outlet three miles in length, and of 100 feet descent, connects it with Lake 

 Champlain. Many battles were fought on its borders during the early wars with the French, 

 and in the Revolution. The mountains on the western shore abound in deer. In the spring 

 the hunters set fire to the dry grass upon these mountains, and the tender herbs, which subse- 

 quently spring forth, attract droves of these animals ; hundreds of them are killed every year. 



A cluster of small lakes lie toward the western part of this State and discharge their waters, 

 by the Oswego River, into Lake Ontario ; the principal of these are, beginning in the east, first, 

 Oneida Lake, 20 miles long from east to west, and about 3^ miles wide ; it receives Wood 

 Creek at the east end, by which, and a canal, it communicates with the Mohawk ; this is a 

 very beautiful lake, and is celebrated for the abundance of its fish. Second, Skencateles Lake, 

 15 miles long and 1 to I5 miles wide ; this also abounds with fish, and its trout are very 

 large. Third, Owasco Lake, 11 miles long, and 1 to 2 wide. Fourth, Cayuga Lake, 38 miles 

 long from north to south, and 1 to 4 wide ; in some places the shore of this lake is precipi- 

 tous, but, in general, it is a gentle declivity from the surrounding country to the water. 

 The waters are somewhat shallow, but sufficient for navigation. Several steamboats ply upon 

 them, and are often crowded by water parties, in the fine season. A bridge, of a mile in length, 

 crosses the north end of the lake. Fifth, Seneca Lake, nearly parallel with Cayugn, 35 miles long, 

 and 2 to 4 wide ; at its south end is an extensive marsh. Sixth, Crooked Lake, IS miles long, 

 and from 1| to 1 mile wide ; at the centre this lake is divided into branches ; the outlet is a 

 fine mill stream. Seventh, Canandaigua Lake, 14 miles long and 1 wide, a beautiful sheet 



