The Hudson River from Ocean to Source (Bacon, 1903)
Who, at that time of rejoicing and congratulations, could anticipate the horror and mystery that would afterwards surround the fate of this ro\-al infant ? History has related the imprisonment of the Dauphin, after the downfall of his ill-fated house, has told of the cruelty of the brutish Simon, and has recorded the prince's death from a scrofulous affection induced by the filth and malnutrition which made his lot more to be pitied than that of the meanest peasant in the land. History, however, asserts this denouement with less assurance since the publication, half a century ago, of the story of the Rev. Eleazer Williams. In 1850, a strong claim w^as advanced that Mr. Williams, of Green Bay, Wisconsin, an adopted member of an Indian tribe and afterwards a missionary among that people, was none other than Louis XVII.. long thought to be dead. There was a curious succession of evidences, sufficient to convince many astute men, in support of this claim, which Mr. Williams himself believed, though he made no attempt to take advantage of his supposed birthright. Our limited space will not permit the discussion of this interesting subject, which the reader will find amply set forth in periodicals of the years 1850-52. Fort Putnam is one of the most celebrated and, in some respects, the most attractive of the military remains of the Revolutionary period at the Point. It
West Point 385
was built upon a spur six hundred feet above the level of the river, and so situated that it commands an extensive view of the water and of the Highlands on both sides. It is somewhat back of the Point, and, though long since disused by troops, its parapets and several of its ancient casemates are still preserved. "The spot where Kosciusko dreamed" is still a place where the young man may see visions not less exalted than those of the liberty-loving Pole.