. New England; a human interest geographical reader. e for the Lake meant The Gateof the Country, and this very well described it in thedays w^hen w^aterways were the chief could go from it to the St. Lawrence, or south-erly to either the Hudson or the Connecticut, with onlyshort portages. The lake is one hundred and twenty-six miles long. It varies greatly in width. There areparts so narrow you can almost toss a stone acrossthem, but opposite Burlington is a stretch of waterfully ten miles broad. In the early years of the nineteenth century manyof the great pines that gre
. New England; a human interest geographical reader. e for the Lake meant The Gateof the Country, and this very well described it in thedays w^hen w^aterways were the chief could go from it to the St. Lawrence, or south-erly to either the Hudson or the Connecticut, with onlyshort portages. The lake is one hundred and twenty-six miles long. It varies greatly in width. There areparts so narrow you can almost toss a stone acrossthem, but opposite Burlington is a stretch of waterfully ten miles broad. In the early years of the nineteenth century manyof the great pines that grew in Vermonts virgin forestswere felled, and made into rafts that voyaged north-ward on the lake and down the Richelieu River to theSt. Lawrence. The rafts were impelled by both sailand sweep. The crew lived on board, and when thesouth wind filled the sails and wafted their ponderouscraft past the ever-changing shores the voyage was very 296 New England pleasant. But calms or adverse winds meant hardwork with the heavy sweeps, and sometimes a storm. Looking acrobS the lake from Burlington. In the distanceare the Adirondacks was encountered which threatened to break the raftin pieces. White-winged sloops, schooners, and square-sailed scows plied to and fro carrying to Canadacargoes of wheat and potash, and bringing back saltand merchandise from beyond the sea. When winter converted the lake into a plain of iceit afforded a highway for traffic on runners, and manywere the sled loads of produce that were taken to Mon-treal to exchange for goods. Lake Champlain 297 There was a time when smugglers engaged in theirunlawful traffic on the lake. They sailed by night inarmed bands of such strength that the revenue officersseldom ventured to molest them. One notorioussmuggling vessel was called the Black Snake. This wasfinally seized by a party of militia where she had crept
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Keywords: ., bookauthorjohnsonclifton1865194, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910
