We find in the Provincial records that June 13,1753, Elisha Hawley, who had been commander of Fort Massachusetts, in 1747 (later killed at Lake George) was granted money "for marking out the road from the western part of the Province toward Albany." No other reference is found, but this seems to have been the date of construction of the first rude road over the mountain. Its need had become imperative, as proved by the difficulty and expense in getting supplies to the Fort.

The first rude road naturally followed the old trail as well as it could. Its course up the western slope was probably as erratic as the old Trail had been, and after crossing the crest of the mountain followed the course of Cold River in nearly the line of the present highways, to a spot below Central Shaft, where the edge of the plateau is broken by the first steep descent into the wild ravine of Cold River. A survey of Bernardston Grant, (See Note E) in 1765 shows the "Hoosuck Road" in this position, and Cold River is there termed "Money Brook."

It is at this point that the first road turned away from the old trail, to seek another route to the Deerfield intervals. The long, rocky, steep and thickly wooded defile of the ravine, while passable as a trail was not possibly adapted for a road without tremendous effort-not until our day, could expert engineers with unlimited supplies of money and labor conquer the obstructions of what was the natural route. So the first rude high- way left the Cold River basin and crept along on that tableland which extends eastward, between the Deerfield on the left and Cold River on the right, and which lies like a spear head pointing toward the Charlemont flats. The old road rambles along eastward on this plateau as if trying to discover a way to descend to the valley beneath. It pushes out to the extreme point of the ridge where descent must now be made.

Here the escarpment of the river canyon is a series of shelving outcroppings of the mountain strata, and along the slopes of these precipitous surfaces the road makes its winding way into Cold River valley-again meeting the Indian Path at its base-winding along the bases of cliffs, a perilous passage indeed in this short portion of its course. This was the road in use from 1753-1764 and was the route of the men marching to Lake George in 1755, according to the testimony of early Charlemont settlers.

At the junction of this road with the old Trail is situated the famous Indian Spring, about which numerous relics of the Indians have been found.

Travelers along the new Mohawk Trail should note Todds Mountain which is the last peak of the ridge between Cold River and the Deerfield. At point No. 9 on the map will be seen a single pine tree of great size, on the very crest of the ridge. The first road ascended the steep mountain side at this point and reached the top at the Great Pine, continuing from there westward through Locke's Grant. The course of the Trail from the mouth of Cold River to the foot of this slope is very plain, and its course up the mountain is still marked by the trees blazed by Judge Aiken, these blazed trees marking the line as far as Locke's Grant. The Great Pine is about 500 feet above Cold River and stands at the lowest spot in the escarpment along the river. Although exceedingly steep it was considered the best way to attain the plateau above along which the grade was easy. It will seem impossible to those who climb this ridge, that wheeled carts could ever have made the ascent,-but when built the road was of course buttressed with logs and fallen trees, and made wide enough for use,-all of this material having disappeared long ago.

One may easily understand why there was loss of oxen in making the ascents, as stated by Samuel Rice in his petition for a new route.

In the development of the roads along the Hoosic River toward the Hudson, there are two maps which show us their positions in 1755 and in 1779. The map of 1755 is from the Crown collection in the British Museum, and is styled "A Map of the Grand Pass from New York to Montreal." It shows the entire Hudson Valley with the chains of lakes northward to the St. Lawrence, and on it are shown "European Roads, and Indian Paths." The road from present Troy through Eagle Bridge to Fort Massachusetts is shown on the southern bank crossing on the Petersburg meadows to the northern bank, and thence in the position of the present highway. Norton's Redeemed Captive tells us the route taken on the way to Canada, by the captives from Fort Massachusetts, and in this trip the river was not crossed at all on the way to Eagle Bridge, and it would seem that at that date 1746, that this was the most traveled trail. This map also shows the trail taken by them on the way from Eagle Bridge to Whitehall, which ascended Owl Creek, crossed the Batten Kill near Greenwich and then ascended Black Creek. Prof. Perry thought the route lay past Lake Cossayuna, but it seems impossible that Norton would omit mention of this large lake, in his constant notations of streams and ponds.

This map, which was drawn so soon after this time, plainly shows that this route was first indicated as an Indian Path and was afterward overlined as a European road. The line from Eagle Bridge to Fort Massachusetts is also overlined in the same manner. In the more level country toward the Hudson cross trails must have been numerous, and in the map referred to, a road now known as the Stone Road led from Hoosick to Albany and was without doubt the main road to Albany from this region from an early period.

DeVaudreuil in writing about the attack on Fort Massachusetts says that in their passage up the river they found a road on each side as far as Petersburg. The road on the northern bank we know was used to reach Bennington, and ofttimes travelers mistook the trail to that place for the main river route, as was the case with Gen. Rufus Putnam. (See Note G).

The other map mentioned, Sauthier's Map of the Province of New York, in 1779 shows the roads in the same positions as in 1755. The entire western part of Vermont appears as part of New York.

Two other interesting maps are those of Montresor in 1775 and of Jeffries in 1774, both in the archives at Albany. They show the path taken by the French and Indians in many raids into the Connecticut River valley. In these expeditions the route led up Otter Creek from Lake Champlain to the town of Clarendon, thence a portage of 15 miles across Wallingford brought them to Black River which was followed to the Connecticut. Montresor's map also shows the trail cut by the New Hampshire forces in their move on Canada in 1759, from Charlestown, N. H. across to Ticonderoga.

In 1763 Charles Wright stated in a petition that he had moved his family into a house near old Fort Massachusetts, and that there was no licensed tavern within sixteen miles, and as the road past his home was now much frequented, applied for a tavern license. Wright afterward settled in Pownal, and is buried beside the old Trail in the Dugway, near the Weeping Rocks where several soldiers of old Fort Massachusetts are buried.

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