The Great War-Path

Source

"A great valley stretches from the St Lawrence River to New York Bay. The highest point in this whole distance of three hundred fifty miles is only 147 feet above sea level. This highest point is between Fort Edward and Fort Anne, on the old Indian carry from the Hudson River to the head of Lake Champlain. Before any dams were built on the rivers the whole distance from New York to Montreal, with the exception of about twenty miles, was navigable for small boats and far the greater part of the distance was navigable for vessels of the largest size. It was a great natural waterway between the two cities. As now it is a great commercial route, so in the early days it was the great war path of this country. The value of this route was greatly enhanced from the fact that it connected with another natural route to the west through the Mohawk valley, the only wide open way from the Atlantic to the Mississippi, in the whole Appalachian range."