Canoeing the Adirondacks with Nessmuk: The Adirondack Letters of George Washington Sears
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Book Overview
"She's all my fancy painted her, she's lovely, she is light. She waltzes on the waves by day, and rests with me at night. But I had nothing to do with her painting. The man who built her did that. And I commence with the canoe because that is about the first thing you need on entering the Northern Wilderness. "--Nessmuk
Thus opened Nessmuk's first commissioned "letter" for Forest and Stream in 1880. For years thereafter, George Washington Sears, under the penname Nessmuk, contributed a glorious series of pieces on canoeing the Adirondacks, exploring rivers and streams, climbing the many mountains and peaks, and chronicling his long relationship with one of the greatest canoe builders, J. Henry Rushton. These letters brought Nessmuk fame and served to increase the magazine's circulation tremendously. They hold a special place in wilderness writing and unfold in vivid detail the pageantry of the waterways from a bygone era.Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0815625944
ISBN13:9780815625940
Release Date:August 1993
Publisher:Syracuse University Press
Length:192 Pages
Weight:0.54 lbs.
Dimensions:0.5" x 5.5" x 8.0"
Customer Reviews
1 rating
Excellent Journal of 1880's travel through the Adirondacks
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
This is a compilation of stories written by George Washington Sears (a.k.a. Nessmuk) for Forest and Stream Magazine in the years 1880-1883. He paddled different custom built ultralight Rushton canoes each year, starting south of present day Old Forge, through the Fulton Chain to Raquette and reaching as far as Long Lake, Little Tupper Lake and beyond. His chronicles are enjoyable, easily readable tales of life and travel in the wilderness of the 1880's Adirondacks. It is full of details which are interesting to the student of Adirondack history. For instance, he allowed me to pinpoint the year of construction of the Grove Hotel (later known as the Deerland Hotel) on Long Lake, and to give me background on it's original owner.
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