Seneca Indian legend, is in fact political satire commenting
on American political demagogues in general, and in
particular on the then (1850) Whig Senator from New York
State, William Henry Seward (1801-1872), who had served
as Governor of New York (1838-1842) and would later
become Secretary of State (1861-1869) under Presidents
Lincoln and Johnson. By 1850 Cooper feared that
unscrupulous political extremists, mobilizing public opinion
behind causes such as abolitionism, were leading America
towards a disastrous Civil War. Cooper probably obtained
his local lore about Seneca Lake while visiting his son Paul,
who attended Geneva College (now Hobart College) on
Lake Seneca from 1840-1844.}




The Lake Gun

by James Fenimore Cooper




The Seneca is remarkable for its "Wandering Jew," and the
"Lake Gun." The first is a tree so balanced that when its
roots are clear of the bottom it floats with its broken and
pointed trunk a few feet above the surface of the water,
driving before the winds, or following in the course of the
currents. At times, the "Wandering Jew" is seen off