Saratoga Springs
(chapter excerpt)
A fault between the hard Laurentian mountain rocks and the softer Trenton limestone and Hudson River slate creates a crack through which mineral-rich waters bubble to the earth’s surface. The Indians had visited the font of these medicinal waters for centuries before the white man came. Here was a winding stream and a clear lake called Caniaderiossera, where the Indians came for the spring herring run, trapping the fish in wicker baskets set in openings in stone dams between the stream and the lake. The woods teemed with game that was said to have sweeter flesh than any other because the animals drank from the springs that the Great Spirit had blessed. A fierce tribe, the most powerful and most feared warriors in the mighty Iroquois League, guarded this rich hunting ground. They had driven out the Algonquin, who called this tribe Mohawk, meaning “man-eaters.” The celebrated cruelty of the Mohawk to vanquished foes had considerable public-relations value in discouraging competing claims to their territory, and they adopted the name happily.
The French aroused the enmity of the Mohawk early on with Samuel de Champlain’s 1609 expedition into Iroquois lands. A brief skirmish at Ticonderoga taught the Mohawk to respect the power of firearms and metal armor and to distrust the French. This incident allowed Dutch and English influence to predominate in the wilderness that was to become Saratoga.
The Carousel
2007; gouache on canvas;
11 x 14 in.
Located in historic Congress Park in downtown Saratoga, the
old Carousel was restored and then kept in good repair by
putting another building around it. It is a great place to take
the kids for a ride, visit the numerous mineral springs that
run perpetually out of the ground, and browse local arts and
crafts fairs that are part of the summer programming. You
can also listen to a variety of free concerts at night throughout the summer.