Page:Historic towns of the middle states (IA historictownsofm02powe).pdf/79



THE STRUGGLE FOR THE GREAT WATERWAYS

HERE are names which are more than famous—they have a distinct individuality; their sound to the ear or appearance on the page arrests attention, arouses interest, and presents a clear picture to the mind. Such a name is Saratoga, with its romantic record, its picturesque scenery, and its beautiful village,—the "Queen of Spas." Nature has furnished Saratoga with a regal setting on the lower spurs of the Adirondack Mountains, the last elevations of the Palmertown range, on the edge of the world's first continent.

Here where the Laurentian rocks stand out boldly over the sands of the old Silurian sea, and where the mighty waterways sweep down from the great northern gulf southward, and from the great northwestern lakes eastward, lies