Paddling to Celebrate Lake Champlain’s 400th
16 Jul
We enjoyed the video above, by the Burlington Free Press, in which a flotilla of birch-bark canoes commemorates Samuel de Champlain’s 1609 exploration of the lake. Champlain was the first European to see the lake that now bears his name.
There’s also a news story from the folks at WCAX, HERE, about the birthday paddle.
Champlain’s trip up the lake wasn’t just about exploring, of course, as we noted, HERE, last fall. The aim of the French voyageur’s expedition — which included 24 boats and some 60 Native American allies — was to make war on the Mohawks in order to protect French fur trade interests.
