Albany commanded the trade with the Indians; and it is well known that no place in America furnished such a quantity of furs and skins, not even the Hudson's Bay settlements, whose utmost extent of trade is far inferior to the produce collected here. These furs and skins were procured from Canada, and brought to Fort Oswego by the Indians, who disposed of them to the agents sent there by the merchants of Albany. [15] Besides, Indian goods may be conveyed from Albany to Fort Oswego at a cheaper rate than from Montreal to the new settlements at Cataraqui and the head of the Bay of Kenty, and at less risk, because the stream of the Mohawk River is not so strong as that of the Cataraqui River, between the Lake and Montreal, and there are not so many falls of water.
Fort Niagara is on the same lake, where there is also
a good garrison.[1] This lake takes its rise from Lake
Erie, and after a course of fifteen leagues, empties itself
into Lake Ontario. About four leagues before it enters
the lake, it is intercepted by the great fall which is mentioned
by various authors, who do not agree in opinion
respecting its height; but from the most authentic ac-
————
- ↑ Fort Niagara, one of the chain of posts established by the French, and later maintained by the British to protect Canada, has had a long and interesting history. Hennepin and La Salle were there in 1679, when a small blockhouse was constructed, which was later burned by the Senecas. Denonville erected a fort here in 1687, which was abandoned September 15, 1688. No permanent establishment was made on the spot until 1726, when Governor Beauharnais ordered a fort built to counteract that of the English at Oswego. This was garrisoned and maintained by the French, until Sir William Johnson captured it in 1759. At Niagara, in 1764, Johnson met the Indian nations in a general treaty of peace. During the Revolution, the post was steadily maintained by the British, and proved an important base of supplies for the Western forts. After the Revolution, it remained in British hands until 1796. In the War of 1812-15, it was captured by the British, and restored to the Americans at the close of the conflict. For further details see Severance, Old Trails on the Niagara Frontier (Buffalo, 1899).—Ed.
