USA > New York > Schoharie County > History of Schoharie county, and border wars of New York > Part 13
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· The village of Little Falls, so romantically situated on the Mohawk, al- ready has a population numbering some three thousand inhabitants, and is rapidly increasing. It seems destined to become the largest place between Albany and Utica in the Mohawk valley. A manufactory for woolen goods has recently been erected here, and an academy, a large stone edifice, con- structed of masive granite from the vicinity, recently completed, was opened in November, 1844, with a male and female department: the former under the charge of Merrit G. McKoon, A. M., and the latter under the superin- Lendance of Miss Amanda Hodgeman, a young lady of real merit.
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AND BORDER WARS OF NEW YORK.
launched and and re-loaded to proceed onward. On such occa- sions one of the party usually staid with the goods deposited above, while the team returned for the boat. Small batteaus, known in early times as three-handed and four-handed boats, were in use on the Mohawk, which carried from two to five tons each; and so called because three or four men were required to propel them. There boats were forced over the rapids in the river with poles and ropes, the latter drawn by men on the shore. Such was the mode of transporting merchandize and Indian commodi- ties to and from the west, for a period of about fifty years, and until after the Revolution. A second carrying place in use at an early day was near Fort Stanwix, from the boatable waters of the Mohawk to Wood creek. Passing into Oneida lake, the batteaus proceeded into the Oswego river, and from thence to Oswego on lake Ontario. From Oswego to Niagara, a place of much im- portance, merchandize was transported in the same boats or on sloops. Major Fonda, as his papers show, had much to do with the navigation of the river in the French and American wars with England .- Joseph Spraker.
After the Revolution, the tide of emigration was " Westward Ho!" and a corporate body, known as the " Inland Lock Navi- gation Company," constructed a dam and sluice to facilitate busi- ness at Wood creek, and built several locks at Little Falls, so that boats might pass and repass without unloading. These locks were constructed under the supervision and direction of Gen. Philip Schuyler, whose memory, for services rendered his country in her most trying period, will ever be held in grateful remembrance by the citizens of New York. The locks at Little Falls were com- pleted in 1795. The following original paper, given by Gen. Schuyler to a namesake, and son of the Rev. Mr. Schuyler, of Schoharie, will show at what time the business was most actively prosecuted.
To Mr. PHILIP SCHUYLER :
"By virtue of the powers vested in me by the directors of the Inland Lock Navigation Companies in this state, I do hereby ap- point you an Assistant Superintendent, to superintend, direct and
140
HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY,
command the mechanics and labourers, and their respective over- seers, already employed in the service of the said companies, hereby requiring the said overseers, and others so employed, in all things to pay due obedience to all your lawful requisitions and directions.
" Given under my hand, in the county of Herkimer, this eighth day of May, 1793.
"PH: SCHUYLER, "President and Superintendent."
In June following, Gen. S. gave his namesake the annexed ve- ry flattering testimonial, which shows the usual caution of that great man in guarding against accidents :
Falls, June 22, 1793.
" DEAR SIR :- I experience so much satisfaction from your at- tention, and the readiness with which you comprehend the hints given by me for the construction of the works, that I consider it as a duty to give you this written testimony of my perfect satis- faction of your conduct, and to evince my sense of it by a pecuni- ary reward. Your compensation, from the original time of agree- ment, will be two dollars per day ; this, however, I do not wish you to mention, least others should conceive that I made a discrimina- tion unfavorable to them, although in reality I do not, for their ser- vices are by no means as important to the Lock Navigation Com- pany as yours.
"Least an accident should happen to me, which might deprive you of the benefit of the above mentioned allowance, you will keep this letter as a testimony thereof.
"I am, Dear Sir, " Your friend and humble servant, "PH: SCHUYLER, " President of the Board of Directors. " To Mr. PHILIP SCHUYLER."
After the locks were built at Little Falls, business on the river greatly increased, and apples and cider were then among the com- modities sent west. The clumsy batteau, which had for half a century usurped the place of the Indian's bark canoe,-the little craft which had danced on the bosom of the Mohawks' river for many ages,-soon gave place to the Durham boat, carrying from ten to fifteen tons, and constructed, in shape, not unlike a modern canal boat. Few of them were decked over, except at the ends, but all were along the sides, where cleets were nailed down to give foothold to boatmen using poles. Boating, at this period was at- tended with great personal labor : the delay of unloading at Lit-
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AND BORDER WARS OF NEW YORK.
tle Falls had been obviated, but it was found more difficult to force large than small craft over the rapids. Several boats usually went in company, and if any arrived first at a rift, they awaited the ap- proach of others, that the united strength of many men might aid in the labor before them. Those boats were often half a day in proceeding only a few rods, and not unfrequently were they, after remaining nearly stationary on a rapid for an hour, when the strength of numbers was united with poles and ropes in propel- ling, compelled to drop below the rift and get a new start. Twen- ty hands, at times, were insufficient to propel a single boat over Keator's rift. When boat's crews were waiting at a rapid for the arrival of their fellows, they usually did their cooking on shore. Poles used on those boats had heads, which rested against the shoulder, which was often calloused or galled, like that of a col- lar-worn horse. Black slaves, owned by settlers in the neigh- borhood of rapids, both male and female, were often seen assist- ing at the ropes on shore, when loaded boats were ascending the river.
Accidents sometimes occurred to boatmen, though seldom at- tended with loss of life. A three-handed boat once struck a rock in Keator's rift, upset, and a negro was drowned. At Fort Hun- ter rift, a three handed boat upset, when Wm. Hull and Kennedy Failing were drowned,-the third person in the boat, a son of Abraham Otthout, of Schenectada, swam ashore. One of the last accidents of the kind on the river, occurred while the Erie Canal was building, to a Durham boat, one of the best of that class of river craft, called the Butterfly. It was descending the river, then swollen, laden with flour, when it became unmanage- able, swung round, and struck its broadside against a pier of the Canajoharie bridge, and broke near the centre. The contents of the boat literally filled the river for some distance, and a hand on the boat was drowned. His name was afterwards ascertained to be John Clark. His body was recovered twelve miles below, and was buried on the river bank, in the present village of Fulton- ville. His bones having been disclosed by the spring freshet of 1845, they were taken up and buried in the village burying-
142
HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY,
ground. The owner of the boat, a Mr. Myers, had its fragments taken to Schenectada and rebuilt, after which it entered the ca- nal, (the eastern sections being completed,) and from thence he transported it into Cayuga lake. While there engaged, his boat sunk laden with gypsum, and he was drowned. Thus ended the Butterfly and its owner. Boats managed by skilful hands some- times sailed down the rapids at Little Falls when the river was high, but it was always attended with danger. Several row-boats, constructed expressly to carry some twenty passengers each, from Utica to Schenectada, and tastefully curtained, were in use on the Mohawk some forty years ago. They were called river packets .- Myndert Starin.
The first bridge of any importance in the Mohawk valley, was built by Maj. Isaiah Depuy, a resident of Glen at the time of his death (1841), and was erected across the Schoharie at Fort Hun- ter. It was commenced in October, 1796, and on the 4th day of July following, the anniversary of Liberty was celebrated upon it. The next bridge worthy of note in the valley, was an elliptic or arched one over the Mohawk at Schenectada. It was begun in 1797, and when nearly completed, the winter following, was up- set by the wind, taken down, and rebuilt on piers. While this bridge was building, an incident of no little interest occurred. Af- ter the string pieces had been laid, and before they were planked, a young son of the contractor walked unobserved over the middle of the stream. A workman discovering the urchin upon the tim- bers, directed the attention of the father that way. With feelings of deepest anxiety he beheld his darling boy in a position from which a misstep would inevitably launch him into eternity. Pru- dence dictated silence, and after the little fellow had surveyed the premises to his satisfaction, he returned to the shore, to the great relief of his agitated parent, who gave him a good basting for his motherly curiosity.
A bridge was begun at Canajoharie before the Schenectada bridge was completed. This was also an elliptic, and required to be taken down at the end of a year or two, when it was placed on three piers. Some years previous to the erection of this bridge,
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AND BORDER WARS OF NEW YORK.
a ferry was established at Canajoharie, and owned by the Messrs. Roseboom, who traded where the ferry was located, one mile east of the village. At an early period, a good bridge was built over the east Canada creek, which afforded a pattern for one construct- ed at Caughnawaga-where, for many years, there had also been a ferry. The last mentioned bridge was put up in the summer and completed by the following winter, so as to be used on one track, but the first spring freshet carried it off. Afterwards, the Mohawk Turnpike Company erected another, some thirty rods farther up the river, which is still standing. A bridge was stretched across the river many years ago, a little below the Nose, but it was soon after swept away by the ice and never rebuilt. Bridges have also been erected over the Mohawk at Cahoes Falls, Am- sterdam, Fort Plain, Little Falls, Herkimer and Utica.
Archibald and James Kane, brothers, established themselves in the mercantile business on the Mohawk about the year 1795 ; lo- cating between the Rosebooms and the present village of Cana- joharie, where one of their buildings, having an arched roof, is still to be seen. The Kanes were, for a time, the heaviest deal- ers west of Albany. At this period there was much gambling and horse-racing in the Mohawk valley. Indeed, there continued to be until about the year 1825. Intemperance, the parent of many vices and miseries, was an attendant, and to such an extent did it stalk abroad for thirty or forty years, that numerous churches were seriously affected by it, their ministers often setting the ex- ample, then prevalent in New York and New England, not only of placing the beaded liquid before friends, but of drinking with them at taverns. On a certain occasion in 1797 or '98, when a party were playing cards (a game of lieu) at Canajoharie, with stakes upon the table amounting to some five hundred dollars, Archibald Kane became indebted to Barney Roseboom for nearly one hundred dollars, and another of the gamesters becoming the debtor of Kane for about the same sum, a difficulty originated in trying to reconcile the liability of the parties to each other, and Kane gave Roseboom a challenge to personal combat. It was supposed that the challenge would not have been given, had the
144
HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY,
challenger believed his antagonist would have accepted it, the lat- ter having a lovely wife and several interesting children; but it was accepted, ground paced off, and shots exchanged with a brace of trooper's pistols. Kane was wounded in his left arm, and with the wound his bruised honor was healed ; the combatants be- came as warm personal friends as ever, and thus ended an affair which created no little excitement for a time, in Western New York. A few years after the transaction above related, Archibald Kane went to Hayti, [married into the family of the governing nobility, and died there.
A pleasing story was originated when the Kanes were trading at Canajoharie, about an imposition practised by a shrewd Yan- kee, upon an honest Dutch justice of Herkimer county, who had arrested him for journeying on the Sabbath. According to the story, the Yankee was stopped, but as his business was urgent, the man of equity agreed to give him a written permit to proceed for a nominal sum. The justice, requesting the traveler to write it, is said to have set his hand unconsciously to an order on the Messrs. Kane for some fifty dollars, instead of a permit to travel ; which, when presented for payment, he pronounced the tam Yan- kee pass: but James Kane, who now resides in Albany, pronoun- ces the whole narrative a hoax.
The Caughnawaga church, a land mark of former days, is a stone edifice, and was erected in 1763, by voluntary contribu- tions. Sir William Johnson gave liberally towards building it. The steeple was placed on it in 1795. Of this church and con- gregation, the Rev. Thomas Romeyn was the first pastor. He died, and was succeeded in June, 1795, by the Rev. Abraham Van Horn, one of the earliest graduates of Queen's College, New Jersey. Mr. V. H. was settled in Ulster county five years previ- ous to taking charge of the congregation at Caughnawaga, and married, during his whole ministry, about fifteen hundred cou- ple-more, perhaps, than any clergyman now living in the Unit- ed States. He died suddenly at an advanced age, January 5, 1840.
This church was without a bell until the confiscated property
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AND BORDER WARS OF NEW YORK.
of Sir John Johnson was sold in the revolution, when the former dinner-bell of his father, Sir William, was purchased by several male.members, conveyed to it on a pole by friendly Indians, and placed upon it. On the bell is the following inscription-" S R William Johnson Baronet 1774. Made by Miller and Ross in Eliz. Town." It weighs something over one hundred pounds.
A.V.L. Del.
CAUGHNAWAGA CHURCH.
This edifice, now under the management of the Rev. Douw Van OLinda, who has fitted it up for a classic school, is hereafter to be known as the Fonda Academy; the first term of which in- stitution commenced with flattering prospects in the latter part of 1844, under the tuition of Mr. Jacob A. Hardenbergh, a gradu- ate of Rutger's College, New Jersey.
At an early period, a small church was constructed of wood
146
HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY,
near the Upper Mohawk Castle, at which place the missionary minister, resident at Fort Hunter, sometimes officiated. This church was provided with a small bell, similar to the one on Queen Anne's chapel, and after the revolution, the Indians who had removed from its neighborhood, made application to obtain it. Being denied their request, they succeeded in getting it down in the night ; and in a canoe paddled up the Mohawk with it un- molested-transporting it as best they could to Canada .- Joseph Wagner.
Churches were erected by Lutherans at Stone Arabia in 1770, in the western part of Palatine in 1772, and at the German flats before the revolution. The two latter were of stone. The last named was situated in the valley, on the south side of the river, four miles westward of Little Falls. Some ten rods west of this church stood the parsonage, a stone dwelling (torn down to give place to the Erie canal) which was inclosed with palisades hav- ing block-house corners, and known in the revolution as Fort Herkimer .* Fort Dayton, another military post of the Mohawk valley, was situated in the western part of the present village of Herkimer. In going from the former to the latter fort, the river was crossed at a rapid one mile above Fort Herkimer. Fort Plain, a military establishment of great importance in the border transactions of the Mohawk valley, stood eighteen miles eastward of Fort Herkimer, and within the present thriving village which bears its name. Forts Plain, Herkimer and Dayton were all three erected as early as 1776, and in their vicinity many thrilling events transpired, which characterised the war of the revolution on the frontiers of New York; not a few of which have gone down to oblivion.
There was much speculation in new lands in the interior of New York, between the French and American wars with Eng- land, and thousands upon thousands of acres changed owners for a mere song-land now valued at millions of dollars. Among
* Some writers have stated that Fort Herkimer stood near General Herki- mer's house-not so : although called after him, it was six miles westward of his residence.
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AND BORDER WARS OF NEW YORK.
the speculators were Sir William Johnson, Governor Tryon, Ma- jor Jelles Fonda, and Colonel John Butler. Lands on the Sacon- daga river were brought into market at this period.
E
FORT PLAIN.
Above is a view of this Fort as it was seen in the revolution, except that it was inclosed by strong palisades. The little church seen in the right of the picture, was burned down by the Indians during the war.
The following sketch of a transaction not generally known, is no doubt the most authentic account of it ever obtained. It is drawn, by permission, from notes of a journey to Niagara, made by a friend in 1806.
In the summer of 1759, Sir William Johnson landed with a bo- dy of troops at the mouth of a creek four miles from Niagara, since called Johnson's creek, and took possession of forts Niagara and Schlosser, posts of much importance, on the east side of Nia- gara river, as they commanded the trade of the upper lakes. In 1760, Mr. Stedman, an Englishman, contracted with Sir William to construct a portage road from Queenston Landing, now Lewis- ton, to Fort Schlosser, a distance of about eight miles. The road having been completed, on the morning of the 17th Sept., 1763, 15 wagons and teams, mostly oxen, under an escort of 24 men, com- manded by a sergeant, and accompanied by the contractor, Sted- man, and Capt. Johnson, as a volunteer, set out from Fort Niagara,
148
HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY,
with stores, &c., intended for the garrison at Fort Schlosser. Arri- ving something over two miles from the top of the mountain above Lewiston, and ten or twelve from Niagara, the escort and wagons halted about 11 o'clock, on a little savanna of green sward to rest and take refreshments, beside a gulf called in Indian and English, the Devil's Hole. This is a semi-circular precipice or chasm of some two hundred feet diameter up and down the river on the summit, but less at the bottom. A little distance from the brink of the hole is a kind of natural mound, several feet in height, al- so of cresent shape; and sixty feet from the top issues a fine spring, which dashes down through the underbrush to the river. A small brook in the neighborhood, called the bloody-run, now runs into the chasm. The Seneca Indians continued in the French interest at this period, and fearing a hostile movement on their part, a detachment of volunteers consisting of one hundred and thirty men, uuder the command of Capt. Campbell, marched from Queenston to strengthen the escort. Just as the troops under Capt. C. reached the spot where the escort had halted, about five hundred Indians, who had been concealed behind the mound, sprang from their covert with savage yells, and like so many ti- gers began an indiscriminate slaughter of the troops, who were . thrown into the utmost confusion. Resistance against such odds did not long continue, and those of the party who were not killed or driven from the precipice with their teams, attempted their es- cape by flight. In the midst of the conflict, Stedman sprang up- on a small horse, and giving the faithful animal a slap on the neck with his hand, it bore him over the dead and dying, and through the thick ranks of the foe, who discharged their rifles, and hurled their tomahawks in vain at his head.
Of those who jumped directly down the precipice in front, some seventy or eighty feet, which has an uneven surface below, only one escaped with life. This was a soldier named Mathews, from whom these particulars were obtained by the tourist. He was then living on the Canada shore, near Niagara, and familiarly called Old Brittania. Several trees were growing from the bottom of the hole, the tops of which reached near the surface of the ground.
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AND BORDER WARS OF NEW YORK.
Into one of these trees Corporal Noble leaped and hung, in which position eleven bullets riddled his body. Captain Johnson, of the escort, was killed, and Lieut. Duncan, of the relief, a native of Long Island, and a promising young officer, was wounded in the left arm, of which he died. The whole number of troops and teamsters was about one hundred and seventy-five, of this number only some twenty-five escaped with life, and all of them, except Stedman and Mathews, did so below or near the north end of the hole, at a little sand ridge, which served to break the fall. Of Capt. Campbell's command, only eleven escaped with life. The loss of the enemy was inconsiderable compared with that of the British. A short time after this horrid affair, the Indians, who considered Stedman a charmed man, gave him as a reward for his daring feat, a large tract of land, which embraced all that he rode over in his previous flight. He returned to England, taking along this favorite horse, and never afterwards would he allow it to be saddled or harnessed.
My friend T., in whose journal I find the above facts, first visit- ed the Devil's Hole, with a relative, August 10th, 1806, at which time he entered it by descending a tree, to search for evidences of the event related. In the bottom of the chasm he found the sculls of several oxen " mouldering and covered with moss," a piece of a wagon, and the small part of a horn ; which latter relic he took from the place, and after retaining it in his possession thirty-eight years, kindly presented to the author.
The close of the French war left the colony of New York deeply in debt, and resort was had to direct taxation to sustain the government. The assessment was levied "By virtue of three acts of General Assembly of the Colony of New York ; the first for the payment of the second £100,000 tax, the second for the pay- ment of the £60,000 tax, and the third, for the raising and col- lecting the arrears of several acts therein mentioned." The com- missioners of the county, who set their hands and seals to the war- rant sent " Mr. John Fonda, Collector for Mohawks," were " Rens. Nicoll, Marte Halenbeck, Abraham Douw, and Cornelis Van Schaack." The warrant was dated at Albany, July 17th,
11
150
HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY
1764. The tax on the citizens of the Mohawk valley amounted to £242,17 6-$607 19, and was collected, except $2 81 bad debts, and receipted by John Stevenson, in Albany, the 11th of October following. Were not part of this tax list gone, I would present it to the reader. The following are some of the largest sums taxed to individuals on the portions of the manuscript re- maining :
Sir Wm. Johnson,
Valuation. £167
£20 17
6 Peter Young,
Valuation. £13
£1 12
6
Margrit Flipse,
24
3 00
0 |John Nukerk,
13
1 12
6
Marte Van OLinda,
21
2 12 6 Hans Klyn,
13
1 12
6
Lewis Groat,
20
2 10
0 Daniel Clas,
10
1
5
0
Davit Pruyn,
20
2 10
0 Guy Johnson,
10
1
5
0
Isaac D. Graf,
18
2 5
0 John Have,
10
1
5 0
Hans Antes,
17
2 2
Jacob Potman,
10
1
5
0
James McMaster,
16
2
0 Clas D. Graf,
9
1
2
6
Harme Vedder,
16
2
0
0 Harmanis Mabe,
9
1
2
6
Wouter Swart,
16
2 0
0 Cor's Potman,
9
1
2
6
John Johnson,
16
2 0
0 Cor's Nukerk,
9
1
2
6
The following tax list will show the names of many of the ci- tizens living in and near that part of the Mohawk valley now embraced in Montgomery county, and their comparative wealth at that period. The manuscript, which has been preserved among the papers of the late Maj. Fonda, is without date: it is written in a fair, legible hand, and must have been executed a few years prior to the revolution.
" A List of the persons that are assessed above five pounds, with the sums they are to pay, and the number of days they are to work upon the King's highways, annexed.
PERSONS NAMES.
Quota.
Annual Assess.
No. Days Work.
PERSONS NAMES.
Quota.
Annual Assess.
No. Days Work.
John Bleven,
£ 6|s 1|d61 6 10 1
4| Christian Earnest,
£13|s3|d
Abraham Hodges,
4 John Waters,
12
3
15 3
0
5 Christopher McGraw,
9
1
6
4
10 1
6 James Phillipse,
10
1
6
4
17 3
William Snook,
8
1
6
4
17 3
5 Samuel Pettingall,
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