In the winter of 1687, the men stationed at Fort Niagara were overwhelmed by disease and starvation. Of the 100 men stationed at the garrison, only 12 would survive that brutal winter.
Father Pierre Millet, a Jesuit missionary, was a member of the rescue party that arrived at the fort in the spring of 1688. Father Millet erected an 18 foot wooden cross in honor of the men who perished.
In 1825, President Calvin Coolidge named the 18 square foot section surrounding the cross a national monument. It was the smallest national monument ever named in the U.S.. At the monument dedication, the original wooden cross was replaced by a bronze version, which still stands in its place.
In 1949, monument status was abolished by Congress, and the memorial was transferred to the State of New York, to be a part of Fort Niagara State Park.
Bird’s eye view: First day of ice on The Pond. The beaver’s trail can be seen to the left.
For this season, we had the first 24 hour period over the weekend where the temperature did not get above freezing. It came 11 days later than on average.
The Pond received its first full coat of ice by Sunday morning. Thin as it is, one could see where the beaver swam under the ice.
The fire in the wood stove is still not going full time, however. One every other night has been enough to keep the chill out of the cabin. Anything more would drive me out of the building from the heat. As it is, an evening fire requires at least one open window at these temps.
It’s Championship Tuesday at Katmai National Park. Lefty and Holly emerged from the belly battle to face each other for the much coveted “Fattest Bear of Katmai”.
Lefty: Bear #775
Voting takes place on the Katmai National Park F/B page. Send your favorite some love before they head off into hibernation.
We had the first snowfall of the season on Saturday. Some areas had a few flurries in the air previously, but this is the first one that stuck.
On average, we see our first snow by September 30, and our first snowfall of at least an inch by October 6. So overall, I’d say we are right in the snow median this autumn.
Since we’re in the middle of Katmai Week here between The Circles, I wanted to share this photo, although probably not for the reasons many would think.
The pic above was taken of two fishermen in Katmai National Park. I’ve found myself in a similar situation while fishing Alaska’s rivers. Once was with my Dad, which was more nerve-wracking than when I was solo! Forget the bear, I was worried about how my Dad would react.
What I love about this picture, from all my time in Alaska, is that the bear actually has little to no interest in the fishermen. The bear simply has salmon on its mind. We don’t have two fishermen in the picture, but three.
If given half the chance, man can live with wildlife. The two species above, can coexist. Katmai NP&P is a prime example of that. I would hope that is the lesson the photograph has to give. After all, Alaska would be a much poorer place without her bears.
The photo was taken in July by Robert Hawthorne, a photographer out of Bozeman, Montana. His link is below:
Voting for the Fattest Bear of Katmai continues over at the Katmai National Park & Preserve Facebook page.
In round one, fan fave Otis went down to Lefty, in an upset. Divot, Grazer and #909 also moved into the second round. There is some large competition waiting for them, as Wide-Body #747, Holly, Chunk and #503 had first round byes, and could continue hoarding calories, as they watched their fellow bears compete.
