The Lake Gun

"'The Lake Gun" is a satirical short story by James Fenimore Cooper first published in 1850. The short story was commission by George E. Wood for $100, and published in a miscellany titled The Parthenon. The short story satirizes political demagoguery, focused on William Henry Seward.

The title of the story comes from a mysterious loud exploding sound coming from Seneca Lake, called "The Lake Gun" by European American settlers to the area, and known today as the Seneca Guns. These sounds remain unexplained to this day, with no clear or agreed-upon cause.