LAKE GEORGE (AP).- For decades, tourists visiting this popular
Adirondack village could gape at the skeletons of soldiers from
nearby French and Indian War sites. Then in 1993, a somber
reburial ceremony was held to finally put the remains to rest.
Only that never happened. Almost all of the 18th-century
skeletons were never buried. Instead, the collection of remains
eventually was taken to Arizona and Canada for study and has yet
to be returned for reburial. In this small upstate New York town
that was the real-life setting for the historical events
depicted in "The Last of the Mohicans," people had no idea.
"Most of them aren't there?" asked Robert Blais, mayor of Lake
George since 1971, who learned about the decision from The
Associated Press. The AP spoke to archaeologists who have dug at
the site, fort officials and the anthropologists who have the
remains to confirm that the bulk of the skeleton collection is
not at the fort. Now, the people behind the decision are
publicly discussing for the first time