USA > New York > Schenectady County > Gazetteer and business directory of Albany & Schenectady Co., N.Y., for 1870-71 > Part 10
USA > New York > Albany County > Gazetteer and business directory of Albany & Schenectady Co., N.Y., for 1870-71 > Part 10
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Mills, propelled by wind or water, were erected in various places to grind corn and saw lumber. A mill run by horse power was erected in 1646, of which the following is a contract, dated Jan. 31 :
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" The mill situate on Fifth Kil being to the great damage of the Patroon and inhabitants of the Colonie for a considerable time out of repair, or unfit to be worked, either by the break- ing of the dam, the severity of the winter, or the high water or otherwise ; besides being out of the way, to the prejudice of the inhabitants in going and returning, a contract, after being duly proposed to the Court, is therefore made with Pieter Cor- nelissen to build a horse mill in the Pine Grove, whereby not only the Colonie but also, if so be, the navigators who come hither may be encouraged to provide themselves with other things. Pieter Cornelissen shall complete the work for fl.300 ($120,) I furnishing him fl.200 in stones, two good horses, the expense of which is to be divided between us, half and half. The standing work, plank, labor and other expenses we shall defray in common, bearing, each equal profit and loss. On the completion of the mill, and on its being ready to go, Pieter Cornelissen shall work one day for himself and the other day for the Patroon, and so forth, the Patroon paying him one Rix dollar for his day. Should it happen as we expect that so great a demand shall arise, so that the mill will not supply all the Colonie or strangers, then P. Cornelissen is alone authorized and privileged to erect in company with the Patroon, another such mill on these or such other conditions as are now, or shall hereafter be agreed on. Signed,
" ANTHONY DE HOOGES, PIETER CORNELISSEN."
A mill worked by horses, formerly stood on the lot at the north-east corner of Hudson and Grand streets, in Albany. A mill also stood on the Rutten Kil in 1646. A brewery was erected in the same quarter previous to 1637, with the exclusive right to supply retail dealers with beer. Private individuals were allowed the right to brew all that was required for their own use.
The following sentence of banishment pronounced upon one of the colonists in 1644, will show how justice was administered at that early day.
" By the President and Council of the Colonie of Rensselaer- wyck :- Having heard the free confession of Adriaen Willem- sen at present in confinement, to-wit: That he on Saturday last, the 6th of August, at the house of the Patroon, where the Commissary-General, Arendt Van Curler resides, climbing in through the window of said house, stole seven beavers and at noon of the following Monday, eight beavers and one drieling, (third of a skin,) also that on Saturday aforesaid he had stolen from the cellar of said house a half skin which remained. And having moreover examined the demand of the prosecutor
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against the aforesaid delinquent observing what appertains thereto; we have hereby ordered and adjudged, and do order and adjudge that the said delinquent shall be taken to the public place where justice is executed, and there be ignominious- lv tied to a post for the space of two hours, with some of the stolen property on his head; after which he shall prostrate himself at the feet of the Worshipful Magistrates and beg of God and justice for forgiveness, that he moreover shall be henceforward and forever banished out of this Colonie, and never more return thereto. Done in Collegio, this 13th day of August, anno 1644. By order of their Worships the President and Council of this Colonie of Rensselaerwyck.
ARENDT VAN CURLER."
By the surrender of the Colony to the English in 1664, the personal rights of the colonists were secured, and a new charter was granted to the Patroon, restricting his civil power but con- firming the relations between landlord and tenant. The feudal tenures were abolished in 1787.
The leasehold tenures from an early period excited discontent among the tenants. The late Patroon had by his indulgence secured their regard, and when he died, in 1837, there was con- siderable anxiety as to the course that would be pursued by his successor. In his Will he had given the east part of the Manor to his son, William P. Van Rensselaer, of New York, and the west part to his son Stephen. A committee of respectable citizens appointed by the tenants waited upon him to confer upon subjects of mutual interest, but they were treated with coldness and disdain. This did not serve to relieve their anxiety, and they began to consult together to devise some plan to throw off the burden which they had so long borne. Asso- ciations were formed and delegates appointed to meet and de- liberate for the general welfare. These local societies soon be- came known as Anti-rent Associations, and the feeling of opposition to the payment of the rent became so strong as to manifest itself in open resistance to the process of collection. A secret organization was formed extending through several counties. It was composed of men who were pledged to appear in disguise, armed and ready to protect the tenants from arrest and guard their property from execution. Whenever the Sheriff appeared in one of the disaffected towns, a troop of men in fantastic calico dresses, with faces masked or painted to resem- He Indians, armed with guns, pistols, swords, tomahawks &c., and generally on horseback, would gather around him or hover hear and warn him by threats to desist from the service of anv process. In 1844-5 large numbers of men were accustomed to meet in Albany and other counties, disguised, and listen to
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speeches and pass resolutions. The leaders assumed the names of distinguished Indian chiefs, and the highways became familiar with their whoops and antics. Under such circum- stances a conflict between them and the authorities became in- evitable. In some instances the military were called out to aid in enforcing the law. Citizens who disapproved of their con- duct were subjected to insult in the streets and at their homes. Bad men, under cover of the disguise, took occasion to gratify their passions and to seek redress for private grievances. A rude system of telegraphing existed in the towns, and gave warning of the approach of an officer, when from all parts dis- guised men came flocking in. In 1844 the Legislature passed a law imposing severe penalties upon persons who should appear in public armed and in disguise. The Anti-rent feeling at length manifested itself in political action, and in 1846 John Young, the candidate of the Anti-renters, was elected Governor over Silas Wright, the opposing candidate. The Constitution of 1846 abolished all feudal tenures and incidents, and pro- vided that no lease or grant of agricultural lands in which shall be reserved any rent or service of any kind, shall be valid for a longer period than twelve years. Since that time a con- siderable portion of the leased land has been conveyed in fee.
The following description of the Helderbergh Hills, is taken from an article written by Verplanck Colvin, and published in Harper's Magazine for October, 1869:
" The Helderberghs, a line of small mountains, form not the least of the mountain systems of New York. They are a long, angular range of solid blue limestone cliffs, running nearly east and west. 'Helderbergh' is a Dutch corruption of the old Ger- man Helle-berg, meaning 'Clear Mountain.' Though plainly visible, and but ten or fifteen miles from the ancient City of Albany, few of its citizens appear even to know of their exist- ence, let alone their traditions and their beauties. The Susque- hanna Railroad trains, as they leave Albany crowded with tour- ists bound for Sharon Springs, the beauteous Susquehanna River Valley, or distant Pennsylvania, are forced to follow the wall-like precipices facing the Helderbergh almost along their whole extent, far to the north and west, before they are able to climb it. It is its romantic wooded rock scenery, dark caverns and sprayey waterfalls, its varied landscape and accessible moun- tain grandeur, that render the Helderbergh interesting to ar- tist, author, poet, tourist or rusticator.
"Taking an early train on the Susquehanna Railroad, and stopping at Guilderland Station, brings one within a mile of the Indian Ladder Gap. Even from that distance the moun- tain spurs are visible. A scarcely discernible zig-zag ascending
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line, not unresembling a military siege-approach, shows the In- diun Ladder Road, crawling up the mountain and along and beneath the precipices. But you should not return without me- mentoes of your visit. Carry then a satchel, unless you have capacious pockets, for curiosities will meet you on every side. Besides the fossil medals of creation-petrifactions and miner- als-the collector will find a thousand objects of interest. If he have keen eyes he may note some curious grafts, great hem- locks on huge pine trees, perhaps of Indian handicraft. Large slow worms, unknown lizards, insects, perhaps black snakes. toads and eels, mingled in strange confusion, swarm amidst the rocks. The place was once renowned for the multitude, size and venom of its rattlesnakes. The damp, thick woods of oak, hickory, red (slippery) elm, basswood (linden), butternut, ash, beech and birch, with white pine, hemlock, and some spruce, give color to the scenery, heightened by the green, graceful frondage of the scarlet-fruited sumac, the trailing cordage of the wild grapevines, and the numberless other rare wild plants, annuals, biennials, perennials, everywhere luxuriant.
" What is this Indian Ladder, so often mentioned ? In 1:10 this Helderbergh region was a wilderness; nay, all westward of the Hudson River settlements was unknown. Albany was a frontier town, a trading post, a place where annuities were paid aud blankets exchanged with Indians for beaver pelts. From Albany over the sand-plains-Schen-ec-ta-da (pine barrens) of the Indians-led an Indian trail westward. Straight as the wild bee or the crow, the wild Indian made his course from the white man's settlement to his own home in the beauteous Scho- harie Valley. The stern cliffs of these hills opposed his pro- gress ; his hatchet fells a tree against them, the stumps of the branches which he trimmed away formed the rounds of the In- dian Ladder. That Indian trail, then, led up this valley, up vonder mountain slope, to a cave now known as the 'Torv House.' The cave gained that name during the Revolution. The trail ended in a corner of the cliff's where the precipice did not exceed 20 feet in hight. Here stood the tree-the old Lad- der. In 1820 this ancient ladder was vet in daily use. There are one or two yet living who have climbed it. Greater con- venience became necessary, and the road was constructed during the next summer. It followed the old trail up the mountain. The ladder was torn away and a passage through the chifs blasted for the roadway. The rock-walled pass at the head of the road is where the Indian Ladder stood.
" You have followed the rapid brook up the valley, through the shadowy woods, and have reached a little prairie-an open- ing surrounded almost on every side by the great mountain
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slopes which rise grandly to the impregnable cliffs walling the summits. This spot was known as the 'Tory Hook,' or Plat, and in days gone by was their rendezvous-a lone, sequestered glade of the savage forest. Above you, in front, and to right and left, is a colossal natural amphitheater, the long, wooded slopes rising tier on tier to the base of the circling precipices. Two rocky gorges, which ascend like the diverging aisles of an amphiteater, part the wilderness of green. Towering above the uppermost tree-tops are the gray, battlement-like cliffs. Many a dark opening, gloomy recess, and inaccessible ledge can be seen which human foot has never trod; once, probably, the pathway and home of that blood-thirsty savage, the nimble and stealthy footed cougar. Two lofty waterfalls stream down, milk white, from the cliff-top at the head of each dry, rock-filled gorge. Your way lies to the right, up the gorge, to the smaller of the two falls. Following the stream and entering the oppo- site woods you commence the ascent of the gorge. At length you reach what may be termed the foot of the gorge. The stream rushes down in a number of little cascades-above it is lost amidst the huge rocks. From the brink of the dark cliff drops a spray-white stream, about eighty feet, unbroken. Lost for a moment to sight, it issues from a rocky basin, and ripples down in two streams brightly over a series of little stone steps. Suddenly the smooth descent ceases; the rock drops perpen- dicularly fifteen or eighteen feet. Down the face of this wall dash two little cascades; they fall upon another series of the miniature rock steps, and, glittering and shining like a magic stream of crystal, hurry down to lose their waters among the huge rocks of the gorge; lost for a thousand feet of that dread montain slope ere coming forth to light again as the stream in the valley below. At last beneath the precipice yon stand in the cool shadow of the dark-dripping rocks, at the foot of the falls, the top of the gorge. This is the Small Fall, sometimes called the 'Dry Falls.' The latter name you will hardly appreciate should you visit it when swollen by recent rains. Below (and on the cliffs above) this fall is one of the best localities for Hel- derbergh fossils or petrifactions. Among these fossil shells of ancient seas are many peculiar to the Helderberghs.
"When, years ago, Lyell, in his geological travels, visited these hills, he was struck with amazement. It seemed a new, a forgotten world. There is a stratum of the cliff rock, some- times fifty feet in thickness, entirely composed of one variety of fossil shell-the Pentamerus galeatus-the shells massed to- gether in a way astounding. This, once the shell-covered bed of an ocean, is now a portion of a mountain cliff. . It is this that gives such interest to Helderbergh precipices, more than
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to basalt palisades, or even dread Wall-Face of the Adirondacks. " Along beneath the cliffs runs a narrow path. The debris of the mountain drops on one side (a steep wooded slope) ; on the other the overhanging precipice forms a wall. Westward, this path leads to the Indian Ladder road ; and, going that way, you pass a curious spring. At the base of the cliff is a dark open- ing, about three feet high by six or eight in width, narrowing inward. From the dark interior of the cliff a clear, sparkling stream issues, constant summer and winter.
" Eastward the path leads to the 'Big,' 'Mine Lot,' or 'Indian Ladder Falls.' Suddenly you turn a corner of the cliff and pause in admiration of the scene before you. From the edge of the overhanging precipice, more than an hundred feet above your head, streams down a silvery rope of spray, with a whis- pering rush, sweeping before it damp, chilly eddies of fugitive air, that sway the watery cable to and fro. Back beneath the rocky shelf, from off which the fall precipitates its unceasing stream, is a black, cavernous semi-circle of rock, its gloomy darkness in deep contrast with the snow-white fall. Below, to the left, the woods are swept away to the base of the mountains, and in their place a wild and desolate descent of broken rocks falls sharply-rendered more savage to the eye by the shattered trunks of dead trees mingled. Back of the fall, at the base of the precipice, is a low, horizontal cavity in the rock, from four to six feet in hight, fifty or sixty feet in length, by fifteen feet in depth. Stooping and clambering in over a low heap of rub- bish-probably the old waste of the mine-you enter. Mine, strictly, there is none; but the marks of mining implements and the excavation show that operations of some kind have been carried on. Here is a massive vein of iron pyrites (bi- sulphide of iron), fine-grained and solid, and well suited for sulphuric acid manufacture. The bed or vein of pyrites has evidently been much thicker, but it has decomposed, a yellow oxyd of iron and sulphate of lime (gypsum) resulting. Long years ago wild stories were told about this mine and its workers; of two strange, taciturn, foreign men who frequented the spot, who kept their mouths shut, and minded their own business in a way astonishing and irritating to the country people around. Nay, more incomprehensible, they lived there beneath those silent rocks, and often in dark nights, strange lights were seen flashing and moving among the dangerous precipices-wild, heathenish shouts and noises heard among the cavernous re- cesses of the cliffs. At times, in the misty haze of carly morn- ing, they had been met upon the road with heavy packs upon their sturdy shoulders, wending their way toward some mart, and all who saw them, muttered 'a good riddance.' 'But sud-
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denly some night-lights would again be seen flashing far above the farm-houses, among the gloomy, night-hidden rocks. At length they vanished, never to return. The object of their labors is unknown, the ruinous remains of a stone structure resembling a vat, said to be of their construction, yet exists. It is called 'The Leach.' The mine is known as the 'Red Paint Mine,' and it is asserted that the miners were engaged in the manufacture of a red paint from the yellow, ochery oxyd of iron there existing. How they managed it seems now among the lost arts.
" You may reach the cliff top from here by going further east, where the precipices decrease in hight. Search till you find the ascent to a narrow ledge that leads to a square embrasure-like break in the cliff; it seems as though a huge block, twenty feet square, had been quarried out. In one corner you will discover the crumbling fragments of a tree-ladder; it cannot exceed twenty-five feet to the summit. Ascend and you will have an idea of the Indian Ladder. Westward now, along the cliff-tops, back towards the falls again, and the Indian Ladder road. You reach the stream which forms the Big or Mine Lot Fall, and, stepping through the bushes which obscure your view, stand upon the verge of the precipice. To your left, from the lowest ledge below, the fall leaps the cliff brink, and pours in a steady stream.
"It is grand, thus reclining on the cliff brink, to view the wide spread landscape to the north of the mountains-the joint basin of the Hudson and the Mohawk-a deep valley, more than sixty miles in width. From here you see a wide-spread level country, a true. basin, bounded by distant mountain chains. You see nearest, the deep savage valley, with shades predomi- nating, mountain walled ; the checkered fields and woods be- yond, in vast perspective; the distant white farm houses and the red barns, and half forest-hidden steeple of the village church-all vanishing in hazy distance; last, the blue, rugged outline of the northern granite mountains, a bright sky, flecked with feathery cirro-cumuli, ever changing, lit with a rich, warm, mellow North American sun-light, brighter than which cannot shine either in Italy or on South Sea palm groves.
" The cliff measured by cord and plummet, is here about 126 feet in hight; that of the waterfall may be estimated at 116 feet. Amidst the bushes back from the falls is a deep, narrow crevice. A stone dropped in rattles and clatters and hops till lost to hearing. To what gloomy cavern is this the sky-light? Such crevices.account for the numerous springs at the cliff base. The rock must be ramified with caverns. .
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" Leaving the fall, westward again, along the cliff tops, brings you to the Sman Fall and a road; following this you come out upon another road. Look to your right; that deep, angular cut through the rock is the Pass, the head of the Indian Lad- der road. Descend the defile; you are below the cliff's again, in gloomy shadow. Here stood the Indian Ladder. As vou de- ecend the road the cliffs increase in hight, and the Dome, a mantle-piece-like projection, fairly overhangs and threatens it. Climb the debris beneath the Dome and you will find a path. Follow it. It leads to a cave, the resort of Torics and Indians during the Revolution.
" The 'Tory House' is a large circular or semi-circular cavity in the cliff, just above the road, a good view of which it com- mands. It is a single room, perhaps twenty-five or thirty feet in diameter, open on one side. Here Jacob Salisbury, a noto- rious royalist spy, is said to have been captured, about the time that Burgoyne was marching his army towards the now historic plains of Saratoga.
"Within thirty miles of the Indian Ladder, one may count twenty caverns, large and small. Sutphen's Cave, near the In- dian Ladder, is reached by descending a narrow crevice through the rock, to a ledge a few inches wide. Along this you crawl, the cliff above and below you. Reaching a chill recess, beneath overhanging cliffs, you are at the cave entrance. A short dis- tance in, after wading at one place knee-deep, icy cold, the cave becomes spacious, and you reach a deep, clear body of water. One of these savage, rock-filled gorges descends from this cave's mouth, down the water-worn mountain slope. Westward, among the cliffs, above the village of Knowersville, is Livings- ton's Cave, a small, dry and romantic cavern.
" At Clarksville, twelve miles from Albany, are more caves. Two of these are well known; the entrance of one is in the back-yard of one of the village houses. The subterranean viver is the house well ; a pair of steps lead down into a crevice in the rock. They have no other water. For drinking it is unsurpassed. This same river bursts forth near by, in the bed of the Oniskethau, and aids that stream to run a saw-mill. Chaff thrown upon the river in the cave is soon found floating on the mill pond.
" These two caves are said to be respectively one-eighth and one-half a mile in length. They should not be called two caves, however, for the 'river' seems to flow from one to the other. The smaller cave is dry and airy, and has some spacious corridors. Squeezing your way down through the narrow entrance, you reach a sort of room, faintly lit with the few white rays of daylight which glimmer down through the
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entrance. You light your lanterns, and the red flame guides your footsteps. A short way through a narrow Passage and you ascend into a lofty chamber-the 'Room of the Gallery.' That dark hole plunging downward to the right is the continuation of the cave; descend and turn in at and climb the first side passage to your left, and you will reach the 'Gallery.' There are other large rooms and corridors in this cave, but there are few stalactites or stalagmites, if any. A singular feature of the cave are the water-worn pot-holes in the rock ceiling. Every one knows that rational, cominon-sense brooks or rivers of the surface world, make them according to law of gravita- tion, in their water-worn beds. Here natural laws seem laugh- ed to scorn ; and these pot-holes, as though from very per- verseness, are set inverted in the roof. They were formed un- doubtedly when the cave was filled with water, whirling and rushing against the roof. A narrow passage leads to the ex- tremity of the cave. Where it enlarges is a steep and rather slippery descent to water. This is called by some a lake ; the rock-roof comes so close to the surface that its lateral extent can not be seen. The water is very clear and still, and in- creases in depth, gradually, off the shore.
" The ' Half-mile Cave ' is about a quarter of a mile from the hotel in Clarksville. This cave is often visited, and has a large, wooden, cellar-like door, and wet, slippery steps, which lead in winter down into warm, steaming darkness. Now go down the dark hole on your right; it is a steep descent. You are in darkness again, and your light but feebly illuminates the place. There is a sickening damp warmth; it is not unlike a charnel house, a catacomb. You may have a mile or more of clamber- ing in and ont from this cave. There are long passages where you might drive a team of horses and a wagon ; narrow, muddy passages in profusion ; bats overhead and fluttering past you everywhere. On all sides you hear them squeaking and chat- tering and grinding with their teeth ; it is horrid. If you de- termine to see the end of the cave and the lake, and are not afraid of mud and low, flat passages, you will go further. Again the cavern enlarges; a black emptiness is before you. Ap- proach. You stand upon the shores of 'Styx.' A vaulted roof of dripping rock, a silent, echoing cavity, scarcely illuminated by dim lantern-light. Unruffled are the still, deep waters, green, though clear.
"Often the roads on the summit of the Helderberghs are of solid, level rock; the mountain top is a plateau smooth as a table. In places the rock is jointed and in small blocks, and re- sembles a Belgian pavement; again it changes, and à singular sight meets your eyes. The rock plateau is split by numberless
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