The Long Lake
The Long Lake is the great inland water of northern Wilderland, a deep, rocky valley filled with water from the Forest River and the Running River, and the home of the human settlement of Lake-town (Esgaroth). It is the last major landmark before the Lonely Mountain, and its waters witness both the arrival of Thorin's company and the climactic death of the dragon Smaug.
Geography and Setting
The Long Lake is a vast body of water, so wide that its opposite shores appear small and far, and so long that its northern end, pointing toward the Lonely Mountain, cannot be seen at all. The Forest River from Mirkwood rushes into it at a wide mouth with stony, cliff-like gates at either side, while the Running River flows down from Dale into its northern end. At the southern end, the doubled waters pour out over high waterfalls and run away hurriedly to unknown lands; in still evening air the noise of the falls can be heard like a distant roar. The lake is fed by deep waters that once filled a great rocky valley. The land around it has changed much since the days when dwarves dwelt in the Mountain: great floods and rains have swollen the waters, and marshes and bogs have spread wider on either side. The lake is so large that Bilbo Baggins, seeing it for the first time, had never imagined any water that was not the sea could look so big.
Lake-town and Its People
On the lake's surface, protected from the swirl of the entering river by a promontory of rock that forms a calm bay, is built the strange town of Lake-town (Esgaroth). It is not a town of elves but of Men, who still dare to dwell here under the shadow of the distant dragon-mountain. A great bridge made of wood runs out to huge piles made of forest trees, on which is built a busy wooden town. The people thrive on trade that comes up the great river from the South and is carted past the falls to their town. In the great days of old, when Dale in the North was rich and prosperous, they had been wealthy and powerful, with fleets of boats on the waters, some filled with gold and some with warriors in armour; but those days are now only a legend. The rotting piles of a greater town can still be seen along the shores when the waters sink in a drought. The Master of Lake-town is an elected official, a man given to trade and tolls, cargoes and gold, and he is initially skeptical of Thorin's claim to be the returning King under the Mountain.
Arrival of Thorin's Company
After their escape from the Elvenking's halls in barrels, the dwarves and Bilbo float down the Forest River into the Long Lake. The raft of barrels is towed into the little bay of Lake-town, where the dwarves are unpacked, bruised and famished. Thorin Oakenshield announces himself at the great bridge, declaring "I am Thorin son of Thrain son of Thror King under the Mountain! I have come back." The news spreads like fire through the town; people sing old songs about the return of the King under the Mountain, and the dwarves are given a large house, doctored, fed, and pampered. Within a week they are recovered, fitted out in fine cloth, and Thorin looks and walks as if his kingdom is already regained. The Master, though privately skeptical, bows to the general clamour and gives up his own great chair to Thorin. After a fortnight, Thorin secures three large boats laden with rowers, dwarves, Bilbo, and provisions, and they row north up the lake on the last stage of their journey to the Lonely Mountain.
Smaug's Attack and the Dragon's Death
The lake is also the scene of Smaug's final rampage. When the dragon, enraged by the theft of a cup from his hoard, flies south toward the Running River, the men of Lake-town see a great light appear in the low place in the hills, and the northern end of the lake turns golden. The initial cheering turns to dread as the dragon approaches. The bridge to the land is thrown down and destroyed, and the town's defenders, led by Bard, a grim-voiced descendant of Girion, Lord of Dale, fight from the island in deep water. Smaug sweeps over the town, setting thatched roofs and wooden beams ablaze, and the lake ripples red as fire beneath the awful beating of his wings. Bard, with his last arrow, shoots into the hollow of the dragon's left breast, a weak spot revealed to him by an old thrush. Smaug crashes down from on high full onto the town, and his last throes splinter it to sparks and gledes. The lake roars in, a vast steam leaps up, and then there is silence. The dragon is dead, his huge bones lying for ages in the shallows, twisted upon the floor of the water, though few dare to cross the cursed spot or dive to recover the precious stones that fall from his rotting carcase.
Aftermath and Significance
The destruction of Lake-town leaves three quarters of its people alive but homeless, and they gather in mournful crowds on the western shores. Bard takes the lead in ordering the camps and caring for the sick and wounded, while the Master, who had tried to flee in his gilded boat, is blamed for abandoning the town. The Elvenking, having heard the news, marches with his host to the lake and aids the survivors. A new town is planned further north up the shore, for the people ever after have a dread of the water where the dragon lay. The Long Lake thus serves as both the threshold to the Lonely Mountain and the site of the dragon's downfall, a place where the old songs of the return of the King under the Mountain are fulfilled in a fashion, but only after ruin and loss.
