Amasa J. Scott wrote about two men in his diary on this day in 1865. He had helped to lay out the bodies of Henry Pike and William Dawson who died delivering Isle La Motte’s mail.

Pike and Dawson were enroute to Isle La Motte from Alburgh, carrying with them the mail for the town. It is speculated that they thought the ice thicker than it was, deciding to cross a section as a shortcut to reach Isle La Motte.

Both men ended up in the cold December waters of Lake Champlain, and both drowned. Scott and others helped to retrieve their bodies and “lay them out” for a proper rememberance and funeral.

The Vermont Book Of Days photo.