OLIN Fie3 . He9 18 oDa Oui\/ F 123 WaiBRARY^ The original of tliis book is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924067741870 Production Note Cornell University Library produced this volume to replace the irreparably deteriorated original. It was scanned using Xerox software and equipment at 600 dots per inch resolution and compressed prior to storage using CCITT Group 4 compression. The digital data were used to create Cornell's replacement volume on paper that meets the ANSI Standard Z39. 48-1984. The production of this volume was supported in part by the New York State Program for the Conservation and Preservation of Library Research Materials and the Xerox Corporation. Digital file copyright by Cornell University Library 1993. CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BEQUEST OF Roger P.Clark 19A0 IHlMfiS ^ .^^^^ '^m: HARPER'S NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD GUIDE BOOK: CONTAINING A DESCRIPTION OF THE SCENERY, RIVERS, TOWNS, VILLAGES, AND MOST IMPORTANT WORKS ON THE ROAD WITH ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SIX ENGRAVINGS, BT LOSSIIfG AND BAKRITT. FROM ORIGINAL SKETCHES HADE EXPRESSLY FOR THIS WOKK. BY WILLIAM MACLEOD. EIGHTH EDITION, EEVISED, ENLARGED, AND CORRECTED Ta THE PRESENT DATE. NEW YORK: HARPEK & BROTHERS, PUB MS HERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE. 1855-6. Eiiiercil, according to Act of Congress, m the year one thousaiirt eight hundred and fifty-five, by Harper & Brothers, in tlie Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York. PREFACE. The object of this work is to furnish the traveler on the New York and Erie Rail-road with that kind of in- formation which every one passing over a new route de- sires to have in his possession. In securing this, we not only add to the pleasures of rail-road traveling, but re- lieve it of much of the tediousness which is so often the companion of a long ride. The work, it is hoped, will find favor not only with travelers, but with those who take an interest in the progress of internal improvements, of which our road is one of the most important, being the longest rail-road owned by one company and under one management in the world. The engravings form a prominent feature of the book. The sketches for them, as well as the accompan3ring de- scriptions, were aU furnished expressly for this work by Mr. William MacLeod, and, with the exception of two or three, have never before been pubhshed. They are intended to be portraits of the scenery and objects represented. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. No. I"«g« 1. Piermont, from the Hudson 22 2. Works at Piermont 23 3. View at Piermont, looking east 25 4. View at Piermont, looking north 26 5. Station at Blauveltville, looking east 27 6. View looking toward Thorn's Cottage 28 7. Thorn's Cottage, near Clarkstown, looking north 29 8. Suffern's Station 30 9. Intrenchments near Suffern's 31 10. Washington's Head-quarters, Suffern's, looking west 32 11. The Tom Mountain, from the road, looking northeast 33 12. Kamapo Works, Station on the left 34 13. Ramajjo, from the Bridge, looking west 36 14. Station at Sloatsburg 37 15. Mountain Stream and Ruin with an Arch 39 16. Monroe Works, looking west 41 17. Turner's, looking west 43 18. Monroe, looking east 44 19. Station at Oxford, Sugar Loaf in the distance 46 20. Chester, looking west 49 21. Gray Court Meadows, from Chester 49 22. Sugar Loaf, from the Chester Station 50 23. Goshen 51 24. Station on the Walkill at New Hampton 53 25. Middletown Station 54 26. Middletown, from the north 55 27. View from Howell's 56 28. Eastern face of the Shawangunk, from near Otisville 56 29. Otisville, from the west 57 30. West side of Shawangunk 58 31. Wall Embankment near Otisville 59 32. Looking toward the Neversink Valley and Port Jervis 59 VI LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. No. Pnp« 33. Cuddebackville, on the Delaware and Hudson Canal, looking north 60 34. Thorough Cut near Port Jervis 60 35. The Neversink, Port Jervis in the distance 62 36. View near the Slate Rock Cutting, looking north 63 37. Bridge at Port Jervis 64 38. Port Jervis 64 39. Approach to the Station at Delaware, looking west 65 40. Station at Delaware, looking northwest 65 41. Canal Bridge near Port Jervis 68 42. Approach to the Bridge over the Canal 68 43. From the Bridge over the Canal, near the Glass-house llocks 68 44. Saw-mill Rift Bridge, with Canal, looking north 69 45. From Saw-mill Rift Bridge, looking west 69 46. Saw-mill Rift Rocks, near the Bridge, looking east 70 47. Near the Great Bridge on the Delaware 70 48. View from Stairway Brook Station, Delaware and Hudson Canal 72 49. Approach to Pond Eddy, with Canal 74 50. Rock Cutting on the Delaware 75 51. The great Rock Cutting near Shohola 76 52. Piece of great Rock Cutting near Shohola, looking south . . 77 53. Rock Cutting near Shohola 78 54. Rock Cutting near Shohola, looking west 78 55. Bridge over the Shohola 78 56. From Shohola Bridge toward Barryville 79 57. Barryville, from Shohola Station 80 58. Delaware Bridge 81 59. Delaware Bridge Station 82 60. Narrowsburgh, looking west 82 C 1 . Narrowsburgh, from the opposite side of the Delaware, look- ing north 83 62. Bridge on the Delaware at Narrowsburgh 84 63. Cochecton, from the Station, looking east 87 64. Cochecton, looking west 87 05. Station at Calicoon, looking west 89 66- On the Calicoon, Delaware in the distance, looking south. . 90 07. Hankin's Station 93 68. A rafting Station near Hankin's 94 69. From Equinunk Station 95 70. Equinunk, from the road 96 71 . Stockport 97 LIST or ILLUSTRATIONS. Vll No. p.£, 72. On the Delaware, near the junction of its branches, below Chehocton 98 73. East Branch of the Delaware, near Chehocton, looking east !)8 74. Station at Chehocton 99 75. Chehocton, from the road above the Station 100 76. West Branch of the Delaware, after leaving Chehocton, looking south 102 77. West Branch of the Delaware, looking west 102 78. Near Cochecton 102 79. The approach to Deposit, from the east 103 80. Deposit Station, looking west 103 81. Deposit, from the west 104 82. Beginning to ascend Summit from Deposit 10.5 83. Gravel Bank, four miles from Deposit 100 84. Near the Gravel Bank, four miles from Deposit, looking west 106 85. Curved Embankment near the Gravel Pit 107 86. Half way between Summit and Deposit 107 87. Scene near Gulf Summit, looking north 108 88. Great Cut at Gulf Summit, from the east 108 89. From the top of Summit, Snow effect 109 90. Cutting at Summit, from the west Ill 91. Cascade Bridge, from the east 112 92. Cascade Bridge, from below 113 93. West Abutment of Cascade Bridge 1 14 94. Cascade Bridge, from the Quarry, looking south 114 95. Cascade Bridge, from the opposite side of the river IIG 96. First View of Susquehanna, beyond Cascade Bridge llG 97. First View of the Starrucca Viaduct, from the east 120 •*8. The Starrucca Viaduct, looking west 121 99. The Starrucca Viaduct, from the opposite side of the Sus- Quehanna 122 100. Lanesborough, and Trestle Bridge 123 101. Starrucca, from the west 124 102. View of the Starrucca, Lanesborough, Trestle Bridge, &c., from above the Rail-road 12G 103. The Works at Susquehanna, from the Station 123 104. Double Bridge over the Susquehanna at Lanesborough . . . 123 105. Looking west to the first Rock Cutting near Great Bend. 13:1 106. Distant View of the Rock Cutting near Great Bend 130 107. Great Rock Cutting near Great Bend 130 108. On the Susquehanna, looking toward Great Bend 131 109. Station at Great Bend, looking west 131 Till LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS. No. Page 110. Village of Great Bend, from the Station, looking south. . . 132 111. Station at Binghamton, from the east 135 112. Binghamton, from the Bridge 136 113. Bridges on the Chenango and Susquehanna, looking north 137 114. From the Bridge over the Chenango, looking north 139 115. Union, from the Station 142 116. View looking toward Union, from the west 143 117. Bridge over the Susquehanna near Campville, looking north 144 118. Station at Campville 145 119. Owego, from the Road 145 120. Station at Owego, looking west 146 121. Owego, from the Station, looking south 146 122. Smithborough, looking west 148 123. Cut near Barton 149 124. Barton, from the old road 149 125. Straight Section between Barton and Waverley, looking northwest 149 126. "Waveriey 150 127. Station at Waverley, looking west 150 128. Station at Waverley, Spanish Hill 151 129. On the Chemung 153 130. On the Chemung 153 131. Gravel Cut near Wellsburg, looking east 154 132. Rocky Cut near Wellsburg 154 133. Station at Elmira 155 134. Elmira, from the west 157 135. Corning, from the opposite side of the Chemung 163 136. Painted Post, from the east 164 ILLUSTRATED GUIDE-BOOK NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. It can not be doubted that the Erie Rail-road is one of the grandest achievements of modern intellect. More may be said. It is one of the greatest works the world has ever known. We are accustomed to look with solemn awe on the pyramids of Egypt, and to w^onder what Herculean pow- er reared their colossal forms ; we regard with astonishment the ancient aqueducts, whose ruins attest their magnificence, and all ages since they were buUt have been accustomed to admire the Roman military and other roads, and do homage to the genius and daring of their designers and constructors. But should a new nation or a new race two thousand years hence find in the solitude where now the Starrucca flows to the Susquehanna the remains of the viaduct of the Erie Road, or stumble suddenly on the evidence that the Cascade ravine had been spanned by a bridge and iron rail, or trace through mountain fastnesses, across deep valleys and strong rivers, for five hundred miles, the track of this splendid road of the men of the nineteenth century, doubt- less that new race or nation would do more homage to our memory than we have done to that of any former period in the history of our world. A 2 10 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE We live in an age of wonderful works of man, and are therefore apt to disregard the evidence of his immense pow- er which every day furnishes us. The pyramids are me- morials of a tremendous exertion of force ; but the simplest discoveries of science explain the methods used to build them. Patience and a lever would move Mount Washington ; but the man of the nineteenth century would not pause to move it out of his way, but would penetrate and pierce through it. The Erie Road is the greatest achievement of this age of rail-roads. No one who has not gone over it frequently can fully appreciate the truth of this remark. No one who did not know the route before it was projected can have any idea of it. It passes through sections of country that it would have been and was thought insanity to talk of building a rail-road through. It crosses mountains deemed impassa- ble ; it goes over valleys which timid men said it would cost billions to fill in ; it leaps ravines where bold engineers paused, shook their heads, and turned back. It reaches from the Hudson to the great Lakes, now by the side of the lordly Delaware, now by the placid Susquehanna, now by the yel- low Chemung, and now by the swift Alleghany. The tour- ist never wearies of looking at the splendor of the scenery around him until he finds himself on the shore of Lake Erie, looking at its green waves, and a glance at his map leaves him astounded at the distance he has achieved over such a country. It is to introduce this route, whether to the tourist or the quiet reader at home, that this work is designed. In connection with the internal improvement system of New York, many curious facts may be found by look- ing into the Statute-book of the Colony of New York — instructive as to the beginning of the great rail-road and canal system which is now nearly completed, and, from the various connections between the port of New York and the Lakes, ultraiately to be extended to the Pacific Ocean. In the titne of Queen Anne, the Assembly of the NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 11 Colony of New York appropriated the sum of £500 to John Smith and some other persons for the purpose of constructing a public road leading from New York to the West, and the appropriation was coupled with the condi- tions that within two years from the time of the passage of the act the beneficiaries should have constructed the road, w^ide enough for two carriages to pass, from " Nyack on the Hudson River to Sterling Iron-works," a distance of twenty or thirty miles ; and that they should cut away the limbs of trees over the track, so as to allow the car- riages to pass. That was the beginning of the internal im- provement system of the State of New York, which, after the lapse of more than one hundred and twenty years, has proceeded no further than to open a canal and two rail-roads, one of which is completed, and the other nearly so, from the city of New York to Lake Erie. The Legislature of New York, at their session of 1825 (the Erie Canal having been opened in 1824), directed a survey of a " State Road," to be constructed at the public expense, through the southern tier of counties, from the Hudson River to Lake Erie. The unfavorable profile ex- hibited in the survey, the discordant views and interests, resulted in the abandonment of the project. The subject did not, however, cease to occupy the attention of many, and the manifest and growing benefits of the canal did but increase the conviction in the southern tier of counties of the importance and necessity to them of an equivalent thorough- fare. At length "The New York and Erie Rail-road Com- pany" was incorporated by the Legislature, on the 24th of April, 1832, with power to construct a rail-road from the city of New York, or some point near, to Lake Erie, to transport persons and property thereon, and to regulate their own charges for transportation. Since that period, every succeeding year has added to the force of all the considerations in favor of such a thoroughfare ; the popu- 12 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE lation, trade, and wealth of this city, and of this and the Western States, and the intercourse between New York and the region of the Lakes, have been vastly augment- ed ; and the necessity of greater facihties for constant and rapid communication throughout the w^hole year have be- come more and more evident, especially since the means of such conununication have been in progress on several more southerly routes, between the waters of the Atlantic and the Ohio River. No survey of the route had been made prior to the act of incorporation ; but in the summer of 1832, a reconnois- sance was conducted, under the authority of the govern- ment of the United States, by Col. De Witt Clinton, Jr., which resulted in presenting strong inducements for obtain- ing a more complete and accurate instrumental survey of the whole line. In 1833, $1,000,000 was subscribed to the capital stock, and the company organized in August for active operations, by the election of directors and officers. In 1834, an ap- propriation for the survey of the route was made by the Legislature, to be conducted mider the authority of the state government, and Governor Marcy appointed Benjamin Wright, Esq., to conduct the survey. During the year, a. survey was made of the whole line, 483 miles in length, and complete maps and profiles, with the report and estimates of Judge Wright, were deposited in the office of the Secre- tary of State. At the time this report was made, much was said in the Legislature and in the public prints to discourage the undertaking "as chimerical, impracticable, and useless.'' The road, it was declared, could never be made, and, if made, would never be used. The southem counties were asserted to be mountainous, sterile, and worthless, affording no products requiring a road to market, or if they did, that they ought to resort to the Valley of the Mohawk as their natural outlet ! NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 13 The favorable results of the state survey dispelled all reasonable doubts of the feasibility of the improvement, and measures were taken preparatory to further and more active operations. An additional amount was subscribed to the capital stock, amounting, with the previous sub- scription, to $2,362,100. The entire route was resur- veyed in 1836, and a part of the road located and com- menced. But the commercial revulsion and universal derangement of the currency of the country about the close of 1836 oc- casioned a suspension of the work until 1838, when the Legislature modified the law of 1836, granting to the com- pany, in aid of its construction, a loan of the credit of the state for $3,000,000. At the session of the Legislature in 1840, the Loan Bill was further amended, and this, together with the collections on the stock subscriptions, enabled the company to locate and vigorously prosecute the work on a distance of 300 miles of the road. The first portion, a section of 46 miles, from Piermont to Goshen, was put in operation on the 23d of September, 1841. In 1842, under its complicated embarrassments, arising from the nature and amount of its indebtedness, the affairs of the company were placed in the hands of assignees. After encountering many obstacles and em- barrassments attending and following the suspension of the work, and after various efforts to obtain the means necessary to extricate the company from its difEculties, and to a resumption of the work, the law was passed by the Legislature, 14th of May, 1845, relating to the con- struction of the road, the release of the state claim, sub- scriptions to the stock, &c. The Board of Directors, in no little anxiety about the result, entered upon the discharge of their responsible duties of resuscitating a work which is destined to add permanent wealth and prosperity to the city and state, and presented a plan to the public which placed the work in a position to be successfiilly 14 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE prosecuted to completion. The appeal was responded to by the merchants and business men of New York, and the sub- scription of $3,000,000 to the capital stock was speedily filled up. Successive portions of the road were put in opera- tion from time to time, until, in the spring of 1851 (May 14), amid the firing of cannon, that reverberated through all the southern tier of counties, and the shouts of hmidreds of thousands of the inhabitants, who lined the road at all the stations from Rockland to Chautauque, two trains of cars conveyed the President of the United States, the immortal Webster, and a large and noble company of the most dis- tinguished citizens of America as guests of the gratified and justly-proud directors of the road, from the Hudson to Lake Erie. The writer of this well remembers the strange scene pre- sented along the line of the road on that memorable evening of the 27th of December, 1848„when was celebrated the opening as far as Binghamton. To him the country had long been familiar as hunting-ground, and it v/as a sort of sacrilege in his view to build a rail-road through the haunts of the deer. Old hunters that he had known in the forest solitudes stood at Deposit, in the snow-storm, lit up by the tar-barrels, leaning on their rifles, and watching with curious eyes the apparition of the iron steed and his splendid train. Troops of girls entered at one end, and walked through the whole row of cars, gazing with astonishment at the velvet seats and the cloaked citizens, who were no less astonished at the bright eyes and rosy cheeks that Delaware county could turn out in a winter storm to welcome strangers. It was a new era in the history of the southern part of the State, and men said it was folly to build an iron road through Sulhvan, Del- aware, and Broome counties. But time has shown that it was no false calculation that promised a splendid result to the enterprise. Step by step, mile by mile, over mountains, across valleys on airy viaducts, from the river to the great lakes, the work was at length NEW, YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 15 accomplished, and immediatel)', as if a magic wand had touched the great West, roads connecting with it sprang into existence, leading to every state in the Union north of the Ohio and Missouri, and the wealth of the great northwest was poured into the lap of New York. St. Louis formerly bought goods at New Orleans. Now it comes to us. Illinois bought at St. Louis. Now it pur- chases on the Atlantic coast. Ohio went bodily to Cincin- nati for its supplies. Cincinnati itself now seeks them in the metropolis of the Empire State. All honor, therefore, to the men who projected and the men who built the Erie Rail-road. The general features of the route can not be summed up in one paragraph. There is no variety of scenery, grand or calm, magnificent or placidly beautiful, that is not presented at one or another point on the road. Leaving the Hudson at Jersey City or at Piermont, it passes across Rockland and Orange counties to the Delaware River, which it strikes at Delaware Station. The boldest scenery on the road is in the next ninety miles, in which the road follows the winding bank of this river. It then crosses the summit to the Sus- quehanna, and continues through the southern tier of coun- ties to Lake Erie. The length of the road, as now run from Jersey City, is 459^ miles. As may well be imagined, it requires an army of men to take care of its numerous alTairs and do the labor on the line. Some idea of the magnitude of its affairs may be gathered from the following facts, which refer to the state of the road in the year ending September 30, 1854 : Number of engines 183 Number of cars 2,935 Miles run by engines 2,963,484 Average miles run by each engine 16,194 Average miles run each day 8,119 Tons of freight carried in cars, 743,250, or an amount equal to 130,808,034 tons carried one mile. 16 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE Number of passengers carried, 1,125,123, or equal to 99,663,709 passengers carried one mile. Length of road : Main line 445 miles. Newburgh Branch 19 Double track 262 " Total miles of Pi,ail-road '726 " Cost of road and equipment, $33,439,431 40, or about §46,000 per mile of road laid. Earnings for year 1854 $5,359,958 68 Expenses " " 2,742,615 57 or 51.16 per cent, of the earnings. Number of employes about 4000 " " at Susquehanna shop 203 " Piermont " 230 '■ Dunkirk " 115 " " car-repairers 134 Total number of employes repairing engines and cars 682 The road is laid with the wide gauge, that is to say, the rails are six feet apart, thus aflbrding broad cars, which are more airy and pleasant, the seats for two persons being am- ply wide enough for three. There is a feature connected with this road which we be- hove no other road in the Union possesses, and which faciU- tates all its operations, enables the superintendents to preserve the regularity of their trains, and insures the passenger, to a great extent, against the danger of collision with other trains in motion on the road. This is the company's telegraph hne, which runs by the side of the road, and has its opera- tor in every station-house. By this means a perfect record is kept of the time and place of every train on the whole 460 , miles of road, and every station has a book in which this is written as fast as received, so that no error can occur. The vast benefits resulting from this arrangement can hardly be appreciated by one who has not seen them and experienced them. An instance of its use in small matters may be given. Not long since, the writer was going west in an express NEW YORK AHD ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 17 train, and had just left Susquehanna, when the conductor came up to him and asked him if he knew a Mrs. who was on the train. " That is my name," said a lady who sat immediately in front of us. "Ah, madam, I am happy to find you," said the conductor ; " Mr. Smith, the gentle- man in whose charge you are traveling, was left hy the train at Deposit, and I have received a dispatch from him, asking me to see that you are properly cared for at Owego, where he will overtake you in the next train.'' The lady had not yet missed her protector, and w^as relieved of any anxiety hy his dispatch. The company's rules forbid the use of this telegraph for any purpose hut rail-road business, except in cases of sickness or death. By this means its use is secured for the safety and perfect management of the road. On ar- riving at a station where he is to take the train, the traveler wall learn immediately, on inquiry, whether the train is on time, or if not, how much out of time it is, and the exact moment at which it will arrive. Having thus given the reader a general idea of the road he is about to traverse, we will proceed to the company's pier at the foot of Duane Street in New York. It is impossible to reach the boat without pausing to wonder at the masses of freight lying in the immense building which covers this pier, and the variety, which shows the immense tract of country that the Erie Road commands. Here are merchan- dise, dry goods, and groceries marked for St. Louis, Cincin- nati, St. Paul, Lake Superior, Milwaukie, and Fond du Lac, besides a thousand nearer places. Here are butter, cheese, venison, grain, leather, stock, and produce of every kind, and at the up tovni piers are cattle, sheep, hogs, and other ani- mals, while the lumber has been scattered over the city to a hundred convenient points. The milk-cans will attract the most attention, for one large item of the husiness of the eastern section is the bringing of milk to the city, and a special train is run for this purpose every night. 18 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE Before taking the cars, it may be well to ofler some sug- gestions to the traveler for pleasure, which will enable him to divide his time to most advantage, and see the most of the beauties of the route he is about to traverse. We would suggest, therefore, that he make his first day's journey extend as'far as Port Jervis, and, after resting in the Valley of the Neversink, go the next day to Susquehanna, drive down to Lanesborough, and pass a night at a quiet little inn, and devote the forenoon to the examination of the via- duct over the Starrucca Valley and the Cascade Bridge. Having done this, he will be prepared to take an afternoon train, on his third day, from Susquehanna to Binghamton, Owego, or Elmira, where he will pass the night. The next day he should go on as far as Homellsville, and take the Buf- falo Road to Portage. At this place he will have calculated on staying a day, and will probably be tempted, by the gran- deur of the scenery, to remain nearer to a week. He should then return to Homellsville and ride over the road to Dunkirk. The question is frequently asked, which side of the car is preferable to sit on. It is impossible to select one as prefer- able to the other for the entire route, though one side is often shut in for many miles by the side of a mountain, while from the other the view is grand. From New York to Middletown there is no choice what- ever. From Middletown to the bridge beyond Mast Hope, where the road returns from Pennsylvania into New York across the Delaware, the right-hand side presents one con- tinuous scene of changeable beauty, grandeur, and magnifi- cence, while from the left is visible almost nothing. From this bridge to Deposit the left-hand side is again to be chosen, as the right is shut in by the mountain side all the way. From Deposit to Susquehanna the right-hand side is to be selected for the splendid burst of beauty after crossing the Cascade Bridge, of which we shall speak in its place. There are a few points on the road where we desire before- hand to direct the traveler to be " looking out," or he will NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 19 miss instantaneous views that are worth a journey to catch a glimpse of. The first of these is on the right hand, after passing Otisville. The second is on the left, as we go ofi'from the Delaware Bridge west of Port Jervis, or Delaware Sta- tion, where the view down the river at the end of the bridge is lost almost instantly, but may be seen less distinetly a few moments later, as the road turns, by looking back on the right. Again at Shohola on the left, and then on the right al; Lackawaxen, to see the canal crossing the aqueduct, as the cars pass immediately abreast of it. On the approach to the Cascade Bridge, west of Deposit, the scene-seeker must be ready to look down into the ravine on either side as he crosses it, and he may catch a view of the cascade through the trees on the left, and then, a few mo- ments later, on the right he will have the splendid view up the Valley of the Susquehaima. With these remarks, we are prepared to accompany the traveler on the route. When the road was built, it was designed to run from Pier- mont, on the Hudson ; but the necessity of coming to New York being more and more manifest, an arrangement was made with three rail-road companies, the Union, the E,am- apo and Paterson, and the Paterson and Jersey City, by which passengers were conveyed to and from New York and Sufferns Station, on the Erie Road, over those roads, by way of Jersey City. Subsequently this arrangement was made more perfect, and by a contract made in 1852 between those companies and the Erie Rail-road Company, those roads were relaid wath the six-foot track, and now the cars of the Erie Road run to and from Jersey City, the Piermont extension from Sufiern's being used solely for freight and local travel. Passengers, therefore, take the feri-y-boat at the company's wharf at Duame Street in New York, where their baggage is received and checked. In the station-house at Jersey City they find the wide cars of the broad gauge, and immediately leave the Hudson. 20 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE For two miles the track is identical witli the New Jersey Rail-road and Transportation Company's track, through the deep rock cut of Bergen Hill. The six-foot gauge is arranged by the laying of an extra rail. This road is the great tunnel of travel into New York city and state, and that over which every one goes who travels from any part of New York or New England to Philadelphia, Washington, or the South. There is no rail-road in the United States over which there is an amount of travel equal to that which passes through Bergen Hill, on what is commonly called the Philadelphia Road. Leaving the deep cut, we see before us the Hackensack River, and here leave the Philadelphia Road to the left, which crosses the river on the bridge, now visible, and pro- ceeds to Newark, the spires and buildings of which may be seen plainly, at six miles' distance, across the Jersey Flats. "We cross the Hackensack River by a piled bridge, 6 J miles from Jersey City, and three miles farther on pass the little station at Boiling Spring, so called from a fine spring of water near the side of the road. We here leave the Flats of New Jersey and enter a farm- ing country, possessing much natural beauty. Three miles farther on the road crosses the Passaic River at the pleasant little village of Aqtjackanonk. This is 12 miles from New York, and is a fine specimen of a New Jersey village. Four miles and a half bring us to Paterson, one of the finest cities in New Jersey. The road passes through the eastern part of the town, and gives the traveler but a poor idea of the place, except from the view which he has of the elegant grounds of Roswell Colt, Esq., on the left of the train as it approaches the station. This is a manufacturing town, and has a population of over 2000. There are extensive locomotive ftianufactories here, where have been built many of the finest engines on the principal roads in the country. The Falls of the Passaic River in former years were the chief attraction of Paterson, and the NEW YORK AND EhlE RAIL-KOAD. 21 place where the Falls once were is still worth a visit. But most of the water which formerly ran over them is now drawn off to work the wheels of the mills, and it is only in a very wet season, or after a flood of rain, that there is much of a waterfall visible here. At Paterson the road passes to the track of the Paterson and Ramapo Road, and continues on it to the line of New York State, when it again changes to the Union Company's track. As we have before remarked, these several roads are all laid with the broad gauge, and there is no change of cars at any point on the road. GoDWiNvrLLE, Sj miles from Paterson and 21f miles from New Tork, is a small station, not demanding special notice. HoHOKUs, 23J miles from New York, is a pleasant station in one of the loveliest parts of New Jersey. Allendale, 25^- miles from New York, and Ramsey's, 27^ miles from New York, are stations of little importance. The farms are rich and fine-looking until we approach Suffern's. The traveler will now observe the rapid change in the ap- pearance of the country. From the quiet farm-lands of New Jersey, he is passing into mountain defiles, which begin to close around him until he is in one of the most picturesque of mountain scenes, and, after crossing into New York State, he goes but half a mile on the Union Road, when he reaches the track of the Erie Rail-road at Sujfern's. At this pouit we will return to New York, and take the old route via Piermont, that the reader may be thoroughly informed of the entire eastern section of the road. Taking the steam-boat at the pier, we go up the Hudson 24 miles to Piermont. In leaving this route, while the road has gained in the matter of time and convenience, there is a loss to the pleasure traveler, who can never see too often the Palisades and the beautiful slopes of "Westchester county, now covered with the elegant country seats of our wealthy 22 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE citizens. The termination of the road at Piermont offers to view one of the most gigantic of those great structures which the traveler must expect to see constantly from one to the other end of the route. The Piek, built by the company is one mile in length, about fifty feet wide in general, but expanding to three hu& dred feet at the outer extremity, including a spacious dock for boats. Large wooden buildings for the various purposes of the road are erected at the end of the pier, where the freight and passengers are received and discharged to and from the boats and cars. Along the surface of this vast pier are innumerable tracks and switches, the iron veins along which circulates inces- santly the life-blood of a great railway depot. The land at the head of the pier is all made ground on which the comr pany's buildings stand. The view of the village from the end of the pier is quite worth pausing to admire before taking a seat in the cars. At the head of the pier stands the ^^llage of Piermont, on the slope of the hill and at its base, around the company's work-shops and engine-houses. The company has built the most of its own cars and many of its own engines. Every thing here presents a busy appearance, marked, at the same NEW YOEK AND ERm RAIL-ROAD. 23 time, with the order and regularity that characterizes all the departments of labor mider the supervision of this great company. A certain amount of disappointment was of course felt by the inhabitants and landowners at and near Piermont when the Erie Rail-road Company yielded to the manifest neces- sity of terminating their line in fact, if not in name, at the city of New York ; and very great opposition to this course was made by Eockland county, aided by not a little log- rolling in the Legislature of the state. But in this, as in all similar cases, the demand of the great public was a power so strong as to put down effectually all outcries of petty interest. The company made their New Jersey arrangements, and continued to run their freight trains to Piermont, while they carried passengers to Jersey City. A local passenger train runs daily in connection with the steam-boat. They did not remove their work-shops from Piermont, and it is not probable that they ever will. In these work-shops they employ two hundred and thirty men at car building, engine building, repairing, &c., &c., and this is still one of the busiest spots on the road. The embankment on which the station-house stands di- vides the village into two parts. That to the north of us is the main business street facing the work-shops, and show- ing along its entire length neat stores, dwellings, a church. '24 GUIDE-BOOK OP THE and a large hotel, that gives it an air of dignity and im- portance. Above rise the steep mountains, up which, as we have said, are scattered beautiful cottages, with now and then an elegant mansion among trees. Many of these up-tovm dwellings are occupied during summer by city folks, that find Piermont a pleasant and convenient resort. South of the station, the village is built along the Sparkill, a small creek issuing from the valley we are soon to enter. The dwellings further up the stream are very neat and tasty, having small gardens around them. Be- yond these, scattered over the yellow, marshy " flats," are numerous Irish shanties, the fast-disappearmg types of what Piermont altogether was a few years ago, when it figured in the Gazetteer as a " fishing village, with con- siderable trade, supporting three sloops .'" Tappan Slote was then its title — slote being, we believe, the Dutch for ditch, and applied to the pretty stream now called the Sparkill. Indeed, such squalid hovels, only two years since, ofiended the eye in the midst of the new and fash- ionable part of the village. Now look at the wonderful change wrought in this " fishing village" by the beneficent power of steam ! The "nets" of its former "traders" are now represented by the mazy net-work of iron tracks upon that pier, and for the " three sloops" are substituted as many steam-boats, to say nothing of the Za wii-steamers running up and down that long track, like jockies trying their steeds on a training-course. The population is esti- mated at over one thousand. The visitor will find it well worth his while to ascend the heights above the village, and enjoy the prospects they afford. The most striking of these is the map-like view of the station and pier, which last looks as though it ran half way across the river. Op- posite is Mr. Paulding's residence at Tarrytovm, and Wash- ington Irving's country seat. The broad, placid sheet of the Hudson contrasts singularly with the noisy hive and artificial lines of the station, while on the right, just be- NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 25 -s^ neath us, winds the sinuous Sparkill among its grassy meadows. But listen how the "Knickerbocker" thus fe- licitously hits off the sights and sounds of Piermont, after describing the bright shores opposite : " Hark I the shriek of the steam-whistle and its white breath brings us to the foreground, and we look down upon long, snaky trains of freight-cars, gliding amid a labyrinth of iron tracks, and preceded by a puffing locomotive, that often requires the application of "a switch" to keep it in the proper track ; upon groups and clusters of brick structures (some of them in the pointed Ionic style of architecture) ; upon half a mile of new cars and an acre of car-wheels ; upon the smoke of Stygian forges, whence comes up also "the clink of hammers closing rivets up," the slow, grinding noise of iron planes driven by steam-engines ; and upon ditchers "laying pipe" with as little regard for the consequences of his labor as any politician that ever performed the same labor before them !" 2 '-6 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE Northward we have a superb view of the Nyaok hills, and the fine curve of the river between them and Pier- iiiual, luakiiig it niucn resemble the Bay of Naples. The view, also, looking westward, embraces a vast landscape, through which our road passes, and on its furthermost verge we may see tho Ramapo Gap, a very remarka- ble notch in the mountains of that valley, 17 miles dis- tant. The country around Piermont is full of historical inter est associated with the Revolution. Directly opposite, ana near Tarrytown, is the spot where Major Andre was ar- rested by the three militia-men ; and at Tappan, a village three miles south of Piermont, was the scene of his exe- cution. His grave is still pointed out, but in 1831 the body was taken to England, and deposited in Westmin- ster Abbey. In a work descriptive of this state, pub- lished by the New York Historical Society in 1841, there NEW YORK AND ERIE RAlL-ROAD. 27 is a very interesting account of the exhumation, and also of Andre's execution, as described hy an eye-witness. Our road leaves Piermont by a southwesterly curve round some heavy rock-cutting, and then turning west- ward, we ascend the valley of the Sparkill by a grade of sixty feet to the mile. This grade is necessary to attain the country beyond, and extends, with occasional levels and descents, twelve and a half miles, to Monsey. As we enter the valley near Piermont, we have a beautiful view of the Sparkill and the neat cottages lining its banks, each with its little garden, that speaks so well the happy condition of its occupant. These are the snug abodes of the artisans in the work-shops, and it is gratifying to think those sons of Vulcan have such pleasant retreats from the smoke, noise, and labor of the day. Very soon, however, this fair part of the valley, with the broad Hudson and the noisy village, are lost to sight, and we emerge upon an open country of poor soil, but abounding in orchards. A double track is laid upon this portion of the road, ex- tending from Piermont to Clarkstowii. Blauveltsville (from pier four and a half miles) is the first stopping - place on our way West. The track is here crossed by a substan- tial wooden bridge, and on the humble platform of the sta- tion you see the first pile of the "noble army" of milk-cans drawn up in impos- ing array on all the stations before us for sixty miles — a section of the road happily termed the " Milky Way." Though Kockland county furnishes but little of this great staple compared with that supplied by her neighbor Or- 28 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE ange, yet she almost exclusively contributes another lux- ury, which, when combined with the lacteal product, forms a compound of the most delicious associations. Her strawberries are famous for their abundance and fine fla- vor. According to a statement of the superintendent of the road last year, a single train took down to New York in one day 80,000 baskets of strawberries and 28,000 quarts of milk. It is estimated that the people of this county receive during the season S3000 per diem for that delicious fruit alone. Well does the region deserve the strawber-ry-leaf in its coronet. At Blauveitsville the road passes through a deep cut of clay, and a mile or two further passes over a long em- bankment, the view from which shows the height we have attained above the river. The country here is very open, and, looking to the southeast, we can see the bold head- lands of the Palisades stretching away as far as Hoboken. Clarkstown (from pier nine miles) is the second sta- tion, and is nine miles from Piermont. It is a lonesome- looking spot, though plea- A platform and a grocery, the proprie- sant. brick tor of which is also post- master, constitutes all to be seen at this stopping-place. This region was originally settled by Dutch Hugue- nots. The country in this vicinity is very uninterest- ing and uncultivated, and its dull aspect will make you look with the more in- terest upon that little brown stone Gothic cottage on the right of the road, a mile and a half beyond Clarkstown. This architectural gem is of two stories, of elaborate de- NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 29 sign and finish, and embowered in trees of various kinds. It was built by Mr. Thorn, the celebrated Scottish self- taught mason-sculptor of "Tarn O'Shanter and Souter Johnnie," who resided here for some months, A life- size statue of Washington, cut by him out of a single block of stone, stands in the garden, facing the gate. Though we think Mr. Thorn's genius lay more in imbodying the humorous heroes of Burns, yet this Washington has much nobility of form find feature. It has recently been made famous by a decision of the Court of Appeals declaring it a fixture and part of the real estate. Of the next two stopping-places. Spring Valley, eleven and a half miles from Piermont, and MoNSEY, thirteen miles, nothing more may be said than that they are a pair of uninteresting settlements growing up round the stations, placed in a dull-looking country At Monsey we reach the summit of the heavy grade of ' sixty feet, that has lifted us from the edge of the Hudson, and enter a descending one of a like description, that ex- tends five and a half miles beyond. Unless the traveler prefers watching the agility of the hands at the wood-pile 30 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE or water-tank, studying the faces of the natives alongside of the milk-cans always drawn up on the platform, he had better take a nap while passing this region. He must be wide awake, however, after passing Monsey, for there looms directly across our path a dark curtain of mountains, rising higher and higher as we approach. The long liae of its ridge is soon broken into what is called the Ramapc Gap (the same as seen from the heights above Piermont" and here, in its very jaws, we reach the point at which we before arrived by the route from Jersey City. Suffern's (frDm New York 32 mile?;, from the pier 18 miles, from Duiikiik 427j miles) is placed at the entrance of the mountain pass, and has an imposing setting. When the trains transferred their passengers here, it was a move important station than now. The T nion Rail-road, which is one of the three rail-roads over wliicli the pas-sengers who took the cars at Jersey City have come to this station, is but a short piece of road, having no special point to mark its southern terminus. It extends from SutTern's to the state ■ line of New Jersey, a distance of only half a mile, and was constructed for the purpose of connecting the Erie Road with the Paterson and Ramapo Road, which ends at the state line where this begins. The station at SufTern's is at the foot of a splendid hill, NEW YORK AUD ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 31 v.'liioli will attracl the eye of the lover of the picturesque, and here commences the grand scenery of the road. At SuHeru's we iind ourselves entering a region inter- esting from its romantic scenery, its abundant iron ore, its factories and mills, and its Revolutionary history. The Ramapo Valley was the only route between New York and the western counties during the Revolution. Many of Washington's letters were dated here while en- camped in 1780 ; and this "pass" came near being the scene of a great struggle during that eventful period. Washington, expecting the advance of the British troops from New York and New Jersey against the American forces in the Highlands, took up a position with his army a mile and a half beyond SufFern's, and where the "pass" was not more than a quarter of a mile wide. A more formidable position could not have been selected ; but the enemy did not test its impregnability. To the right of the rail-road and very near it, the marks of the old in- trenchments are still visible in the fosse and ridge extend- ing to the mountain to the north, and the traces of the camp-fires of our French allies are perceptible in the woods of the opposite flank. Half a mile eastward ol 3a GUIBE-BOCiK OP THE Suffern's, and to the north oi' the road, from which it is concealed, stands an old farm-house — the head-quarters of Washington when here with his army. Though these ''head-qiiarters'' are indeed legion in some portions of the country, we regard the sneer and incredulity visited upon their claims to such an honor as highly unreasonable. Considering the length of the Revolutionary struggle, and the ever-shifting position of our forces, it is not strange that many a farm-house should thus he consecrated for all time by the presence of the commander-in-chief. The " quarters" near Suffern's can not justly be deemed apoc- ryphal, for, being so near the intrenched army, and being a house of (for that era) stately accommodations, the cir- cumstantial evidence of its having been his head-quarters is irresistible. The house is in good preservation, and occupied by a Mr. Carpenter, who hospitably entertained the writer of this in an apartment where the father of his country may have planned those campaigns that subse- quently achieved our independence. This interesting relic belongs to Major Suffern, one of the chief land-holdeis of this region, and from whom the station derives its name. From Suffern's we ascend another light grade, extending nine miles. Beyond the old intrenchments, the rail-road NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 33 crosses the Ramapo, a. small stream that, having led a wild but very useful life as a mill-brook in the mountains, flows toward us placidly through a meadowy vale on our right. From the high embankment here there is a noble view of the mountain that forms the right shoulder of the Ramapo Gap, called the Torn, which word is here said to be the Dutch i'or Ucefle. But as you, my considerate tourist, will doubtless linger in this region, you can see this noble peak to better advantage from the small bridge over the Ramapo, a few yards north of the one we have crossed, and where we took the accompanying sketch. The scene there is just such a one as Durand would like to paint — so perfect in its composition — a happy mixture of the gentle and the wild, the sublime and the beautiful. Standing there under that vine-hung sycamore, you see the Ramapo coming toward you through a sea of level meadow On the right a group of beeches overshades its 2* 34 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE stream, in which, cattle stand knee-deep and drowsy. On the left rises a knoll, capped by a neat cottage covered with vine, while immediately opposite and in the center "swells from the vale"' — and I have no douht "midway leaving" any " storm" that ever broke on his Titan breast, rises the rocky crest of the Torn — chief of the Ramapo clan 1 His is no monotonous mound of verdure, but he bares his rocky front, and shows it seamed and riven in successive layers, that stand out boldly in the light, and throw deep, mysterious shadows over his broad bosom. From the "steepled" peak of the Torn, a very extensive view, embracing even the harbor of New York, may be had for the climbing, and it is said that Washington often ascended there to watch the movements of the British fleet. On one of these excursions, we are also told, he lost his watch on the summit, and the legend has it that it is still going there on tick '. Following up this romantic valley, we again join the S.amapo in its narrowest gorge, where its useful waters long since established the Ramapo Iron -works (from New York 34 miles, from Dunkirk 426 miles). This sta- -NEW iORlC AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. oO tion, 19 miles from Piermont, is one of the most interest- ing on the road, from the picturesqueuess of the scenerj and the extent of the once thriving works, visible from the cars. The mountains here rise precipitously, leaving but a narrow strip of soil on one side of the river, that, dammed beyond all chance of escape, spreads out into quite a lake, affording a great water-power. These works, for rolling and splitting iron, and for manufacturing cut nails, were established in 1824 by a company, at the head of which was the venerable Judge Pierson, the proprietor of this territory, who has resided here since early manhood. By the enterprise of this gentleman, the valuable iron ore so abundant in the neighborhood v/as made available on an extensive scale. With plenty of iron and water power, the works for many years were very successful, but com- petition of rival establishments injured those at Ramapo, and now the amount of the business done by them is com- paratively small. This was the first establishment in the county where cut nails were made. Another enterprise has proved more successful here. Some years since a man- ufactory oi files was established, all the workmen and boys in which were brought from Sheffield, England, and so far it has proved very successful. A new building, on a large scale, has since been erected forthe same manufacture. A large cotton-mill of brick was also established here by Judge Pierson. It was unsuccessful, and is now^ not in operation. It is sad to see the wreck of so many of the liberal enterprises of this gentleman, who commenced life in an humble vocation, has filled several offices of public trust, and now, in his old age, unfortunately, has not reaped the substantial rewards his exertions merited. He has, however, the satisfaction of seeing the success of the Erie Rail-road, of which, from the first, he has been the warm friend and advocate. Most of the dwellings of Ramapo stand on the stream half a mile below us, and from the bridge near the iron-works there is a very beautiful view jG GUIDE-BOOK OF THE of the valley, the village locked in by noble hills, ovei all of which the Torn shoots up his rocky head. There is an endless variety of romantic scenery around E,amapo, and the broad expanse of the river above the dam gives a pe- culiar charm to the landscape, vi^ith its clear surface and the frequent pleasure-boats reflected in it. One mile beyond Ramapo the road makes a sudden bend to the northward, and emerges upon a wide, fertile tract, though still hemmed in by a picturesque range of hills, to get out of which a stranger would be at a loss to know how to run a rail-road. From the height just above this curve, looking north, there is a superb view of the valley, in the midst of which lies, two miles from B.amapo, our next station, Sloatsburg (from New York 35 miles, from Dunkirk 425 miles). This beautiful and thriving place presents a singular aspect to the traveler. From the station he sees two substantial cotton factories, and not a sign of a vil- lage or hamlet in sight, the damsels employed in them dwelling in the humble but neat abodes scattered along this " happy valley." Embowered in noble trees, the mills look as though placed in a gentleman's park, did not the adjacent dingy blacksmith shop show that the precincts were those of a regular factory. This establishment was NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. erected in 1820, the brick portion in 1846, and are used exclusively for making cotton tvnne, of ^vhich important article 6000 pounds are weekly sent "by rail" to New York. This improved twine is the invention of the prin- cipal proprietor of the mills and owner of the grounds on which they stand, Major Jacob Sloat, from whom the place gets its name. Major Sloat's enterprise and mechanical ingenuity have brought the mills to their present flourish- ing condition, and his good taste has made Sloatsburg the fairest portion of the valley. He derives his domain from his grandfather, to whom it was assigned by five Indian chiefs in 1738, and the original deed of convej^ance is truly a literary curiosity, for, the settler being from Holland (as, indeed, were all those who originally came to this valley), the document is drawn up in a choice lingo, compounded of Dutch and Indian. If the tourist stop here, and pene- trates beyond that factory and its grove, he will see evi- dences of the immense influence of one man's controlling taste in the well-fenced meadows, the sacred regard for trees that give the place its park-like beauty, and the gen- eral prosperous air of every dwelling around him. And what nobler certificate of character can there be than in Buch fair characters of neatness, order, and industry, -writ- 38 fiUIDE-BOOK OF THE ten upon a man's estate ? To accommodate his neigh- bors, the m.ajor has put up a " model country store," styl- ish enough for a country residence, from, which, however, is rigidly excluded all intoxicating drinks. Judge Pierson, of Ramapo, also excludes alcohol from his estate, and thus much of the order and prosperity of the valley may be at- tributed to the praiseworthy prudence of these gentlemen. Strangers wishing to linger here are surprised to find there are no public houses for their accommodation, which may be owing to the indisposition of landlords to put up such without the privilege of a bar-room, so ruinous to the mor- als of a rural population. At Sloatsburg the tourist can take the stage that runs thrice a week to Greenwood Lake, 12 miles distant — a beautiful sheet of water eight miles long, that lies on the border line between New York and Jersey. It lies ro- mantically among steep mountains, and is the favorite resort of the "knights of the rod and line." A good ho- tel, also, may be found there, with plenty of boats and "tackle." We have said the original settlers of this neighborhood were Dutch, and were generally considered opposed to all spirit of improvement. Until recently, little was known of the people beyond the limits, their anti-innovation dis- position keeping them ever at home. Much of this igno- rance of what is going on with their neighbors still exists. An amusing instance of it is told as occurring in an adja- cent community called Johnston, where, not many years back, the panther and other wild beasts were to be found Every one, on first hearing the present new style of steam whistle used on the Erie Rail-road, has been startled by its unearthly hoarseness, as though it had a bad cold, a "church-yard cough," so different from its old-fashioned ear-piercing shrillness of pipe. Soon after the introduc- tion of this asthmatic stranger in the Ramapo Valley, the village of Johnston was "frightened from its propriety" NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 39 by strange, awful sounds in the forests, occurring day and night. They were at once attributed to the wild animals holding their revels in the woods. It was believed some lingering specimen of the mastodon caused the row, and therefore, one dark night, the villagers, collecting guns, axes, and pitch-forks, lay in ambuscade for the monster at the hour lie selected for his vocal exercises. At the usual hour the roar was heard, and so suddenly and so near that the party were about to hurry back to their anx- ious wives and mothers, wlien, lo ! through the gloom of night issued the glaring Cyclops eye of the locr..notive, that treated them with another blast from his hoarse lungs as he rushed by them 1 Leaving Sloatsburg, our course runs directly northward, and we are once more in the iron region, and pass sever- al works, both in active operation and in decay. One of these, in ruin, is the most picturesque object along the road, and merits particular notice. It is on the right side of the road (going westward), and therefore, fellow-trav- eler, keep a look-out, for it can be seen but for an instant. It is known as the old Augusta Iron-works. The road 40 CitllDE-BOOK OF THE makes a sudden curve near it, and there it is right before you, the loneliest and loveliest nook imaginable. The Ramapo makes two leaps from a grove of willows, over fantastic ledges of gray rock rising perpendicularly on the right, covered with trees of every sort, and its crest brist- ling with hemlock. On this side of the cascade rises a knoll of darkest green verdure, and overshadowed with tall trees. A wall, mossy and crumbling, separates this knoll from a grassy slope that descends toward us and to the foot of the cascade, and on its bare greensward stands the crumbling gable of the mill, overrun and festooned with every sort of wild vine and parasite, in the autumn forming a matted garland of the most brilliant hues thrown over the old gray, decayed wall. The interior of the ruin is filled with a mass of broad-leaved pumipkin-vines, with their golden globes lodged among moist old mill-wheels and other debris, of deep rich brown earthy hues. As this ivied relic stands immediately in front of the cascade, the foam and flash of which are seen through the arched gate, while the deep, cool shadows of the ravine power- fully relieve the gay-mantled gable, the whole picture strikes the eye of the visitor as a happy one, whose inter- est, made up of ivied ruins and fresh, romantic brook scen- ery, not often seen in our country, are fully equal to one half the vaunted "ruins" we have seen in the Old World. Short as the glimpse is, we at once have visions of a pic- nic on that shady knoll ; and while the claret cools on the edge of that mass of foam, we wander in' fancy with fair damsels over that bright green turf, round the old walls of that ruin so richly draped and garlanded I The Augusta Iron-works were very celebrated in their day, and are among the oldest in this region. The heavy chain placed across the Hudson at West Point, to check the advance of the British fleet, was forged here. Near these works the road passes through a heavy rock-cutting, and crosses the Ramapo by a substantial wooden bridge. NEW YORK ANU ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 41 "We now leave Rockland county and enter that ol Orange, of which the former was once a part. It seems singular that the division was not made some six miles, at least, further north, where Nature herself seems to have placed a natural divorce between Vulcan and Ceres, as repre- sented in the forges of Rockland and smiling fields of Or- ange. As it is, the iron god appears still to thrust his fin- gers through the yellow hair of the golden goddess, as you will see by the blackened chimneys that mark the road for several miles in Orange county. After crossing the Ram- apo, the valley expands, though the cultivation is not such as makes Sloatsburg so beautiful. Indeed, in many places there is a primitive wildness. The eye of the observant traveler will not fail to see how gradually the mountains indicate the improvement of the soil on their side. The unbroken wall of rock and forest, that has followed us on each side from SufTem's, is becoming invaded. The plow has evidently made an assault upon those heights, and here and there, midway up, the patches of fields and an occasional hut show that permanent positions have been carried. Monroe Works (from New York 42 miles, from Dun- kirk 418 miles) is our next stopping-place. It takes its name from the adjacent iron- works that once flourished here, but are now greatly reduced in point of work, ex- hibiting another sample of that most desolate of all ob- 4 2 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE jects, a ruined mill ; its huge joints, sinews, and ribs, eo evidently made for "hard labor," now lying ill, or in but weakly condition, like a giant in consumption I This is the last of Vulcan's work-shops we shall see, though there are many others in the neighborhood. The ore used in the Monroe Works is brought from mines six miles off, and is said to be the best in the country for cannon. In tak- ing leave of these iron-works, we must say a word about the useful little stream which, for near a century, has fed them with its tide. The word Ramapo is Indian, and is said to mean the "river of round ponds'' thus describ- ing the peculiarity of its origin from the numerous ponds among the hill-tops already spoken of. Ramapo, thus made up of the surplus waters of these singular mountain basins, runs through the valley, and, after being " broken on the wheel" by the numerous mills along its banks, closes its well-spent life in the bosom of the Passaic, in Jersey. A spacious hotel, which is located near Monroe Works station, affords good accommodations to those wish- ing to spend the summer in that quiet region, and to those sturdy pedestrians who care not to tramp eight or nine miles to Suffern's, and thus examine the interesting val- ley we are now leaving. A few miles beyond Monroe Works, the very crest of the hill-sides are carried by the plow, and the shaven ridge is marked with fences and dotted with trees, converting the heights into the character of Orange county summits. We are now fairly in sight of the " land flowing with milk and butter," and the receding hills seem to bow their heads and sink lovingly in the embrace of the wide fields and pastures stretching flatly before us. Now and then' how- ever, the mountains close up near us, as is the case on approaching the next station, called Turner's (from New York 47 miles, from Dunkirk 413 miles). This is the most important station on the road NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-EOAD. 43 llius far, showing some- thing more than a plat- form for idlers and milk- kettles. Large freight- houses, and the numer- ous farm-wagons stand- ing near, show that this is a great converging point for travelers and produce to an important back country. The place was formerly called Centerville, but now is named after the owner of a hotel in the village, in the rear of the station, where are also extensive flour- mills. He is proprietor of the surrounding land, on which there is plenty of game, so that Turner's is a favorite re- sort for a day's sport to our city gentry. The road now enters a fine rolling country, where the vast pasturages and scant woods show that we are enter- ing the heart of the dairy region, that has made Orange county, to house-keepers from Maine to Texas, a synonym with butter and milk ; and one of the largest of these de- pots we recognize in the next stopping-place, the village of Monroe (from New York 49i miles, from Dunkirk 410i miles). This neat little village, the largest we have reached since leaving Piermont, is said to be the greatest milk depot on the road, as you may judge from the number of cans waiting for a down trip and those dis- charged. Two hundred cans are said to be sent hence to New York every day, each can averaging about 15 gal- lons. The milk is furnished in different lots by adjacent dairy-men, some of whom own from 60 to 90 cows. Deal- ers in New York contract for this article at two cents per quart, delivered at the depots. Its freight costs half a cent per quart. The increasing demand for milk increas- es the value of land, and makes it profitable to the dairy- man. The superior quality of the milk of Orange is owing 44 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE to the peculiar nature of its grasses, which, with plenty of good water and long skill in dairy farms, puts this county at the head of all pasturages. A person stopping a day at any of these milk depots will soon see the keenness of the dairy-men to convert ev- ery drop of the staple into gold. Just as the California miner does not deck his person w^ith "big s^iecimens" — just as the town of Cologne does not apply its fragrant staple to purify its own foul self — just as a confectioner does not realize a child's belief that he breakfasts upon candy and dines upon hon-bons, so the dairy-men of Or- ange show their indifference to milk and butter as luxu- ries I They literally do not know "on which side theii bread is buttered,"' because they use none, and to their fastidious palates, cream spoils the flavor of tea! Those of you, then, that preserve your early love for bread and butter, and believe in the essentiality of cream to a cup of " China's fragrant herb," go not to Orange any more than you would visit Champagne for a draught of choice Sillery I The effect of this love of gain is to decrease the NEW YORK ANn ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 45 amount of butter made in Orange, the sale of its original form being more lucrative. Monroe is a thriving village, having several spacious stores, a hotel well kept and comfortable, and contains about 700 inhabitants. It was first settled in 1742, un- der the name of Smith's Clove. It next figured under the funny title of Cheese Cocks! In 1802 it was renamed Smithfield, and at last, in 1808, it was changed to its present patriotic but universal title, after President Mon- roe. It got its first name from its settler, one Claudius Smith, afterward a notorious chief of the " Cow Boys" of the Revolution, who made the country, extending as far as Ramapo, the scene of their murders and depredations. He was hung by the Whigs in 1779, and his son Dick, in revenge, eclipsed his father in infamy. In Eager's His- tory of Orange County, the reader will find an interesting account of these villains, their misdeeds, and the punish- ment they suffered. No better materials for a romance of the rogue and ruffian school can be found any where The aforesaid Claudius Smith would make a capital hero. He was well educated, had wit, and a tall, handsome per- son. Here are two specimens of his waggish humor when in extremity. Just before the hangman "worked him off," a person he had robbed of some valuable papers begged him to reveal where they were. "Wait till you see me in the next world," was the cool reply of Claudius. In his early wicked youth, his mother had predicted he would die "like a trooper's horse, with his shoes on!" a proph- ecy the Cow Boy remembered, and belied by kicking off" his shoes as soon as he had mounted the scaffold. At Monroe we again enter a light descending grade, ex- tending 14 miles. Oxford (from New York 52 miles, from Dunkirk 408 miles), three miles beyond Monroe, is a neat, thriving place, situated in a part of the country where the surface is more broken into hill and dale. Looking south from the 4G GUIDE-BOOK OF THE siatiou, the very choicest specimen of the Orange county scenery may be had here, combining all the elements of a fine pastoral landscape, the cultivated hills receding in the distance, that is closed up by the conical summit of Sugar-loaf. The great charm about an Orange land- scape is the fact of its being a grazing region. In sum- mer, of course, it does not wear the rich flush which fields of grain lend the prospect ; but then, again, instead of unsightly stubble-fields, we see successive pastures, where the cattle wander undisturbed over their rich velvet mead- ows. Two miles beyond Oxford the road emerges from this rolling country upon a range of marshy, level fields, extending miles in length and one mile in breadth. At this point (from New York 54 miles, from Dunkirk 406 miles) the branch rail-road to Newburgh starts from the parent stem, and is 19 miles in length. This beautiful road was built by the New York and Erie Rail-road Compa- ny, and forms a part of their road. It was opened formally on the 8th of January, 1850. Since then, all the anticipa- ted advantages it held out are in the way of being realized, that is, bringing the west river counties into rapid connec- tion with the southern tier. Its width of track is the same as the main road, and cost about half a million of dollars- NiiW VORIC AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 47 The marshy flat extending between this point of junc- tion and the town of Chester, one mile distant, is called Chray Court Meadows, and have evidently been the ba- sin of some great sheet of water. The road crosses these meadows by a long, curved embankment, the visible por- tion of which is the least part of its expense or labor, for, in running the track across, the soil was soft to such a depth as to render it necessary to build the road upon a foundation of huge piles, driven nearly ninety feet into the earth, and six feet apart. A most formidable difficulty was thus overcome, and the bog is passed by a high bridge of an enduring foundation. The track is a considerable height above the meadows, and is filled in solidly with earth. These singular meadows are very fertile, and are principally planted vidth corn. A more extraordinary product, however, has been found in them. Near Chester, a few years since, was found a very fine specimen of the Mastodon, the strange animal whose bones so long puzzled naturalists. Many specimens have been found in Orange county, and in Eager's History the reader will find a highly interesting account of the various discoveries. The first mastodon ever discovered in this country was found near Albany in 1705. The next was in Ohio, in 1739. In 1740, large quantities were found near the Big Bone Lick in Kentucky, and carried to France, where it was called the Animal of the Ohio. The next locality richest in these relics is Orange county. The first of these was dis- covered near Montgomery in 1782. Twelve more were found in that vicinity up to 1845. The finest of these was found seven miles east of Montgomery, and had all the bones perfect. It was 33 feet long, and six feet below the surface of a peat formation, that extended several feet be- low the bones, thus preserving the natural standing posi- tion of the animal, as though it had been mired. Many are the theories of how these monsters met their fate, and we will refer the curious reader to Mr. Eager's compiled 48 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE explanations, as tliey will be found very entertaining. As a specimen of the author's mode of treating the subject, hear the following points of difference between the mas- todon and elephant: "The elephant's toes are built up compactly under his feet, while the mastodon has long, projecting toes. The spinal process of the latter is also longer, thus giving to his neck more upright action, mak- ing him carry a higher head than the elephant, and giv- ing him a gay and comparatively sprightly appearance !" To those who have not " seen" this lively species of the antediluvian " elephant," the author's hints are quite sug- gestive of the animal's animated bearing I We will also refer to the same book for a copy of a letter written by Governor Dudley to the Reverend Cotton Mather in 1705, concerning the specimens found near Albany. The gov- ernor suspected the bones "to be those of a human be- ing whom the flood alone could wash away," and during which, for a while, he might have " carried his head above the clouds" (of course, like the mastodon, with a "gay and sprightly appearance 1"), though at last obliged to "give way!" He also thinks this giant must have been "the product of one of those unequaled matches between heav- en and earth, of which he had read in the traditions of the Jewish rabbins." But we will not wade deeper into this subject, for fear of being mired ourselves ; and with this notice of the fossil products of Orange (quite as remarka- ble as the statistics of milk and butter), we will hurry across the meadows to the prettily-situated town of Chester (from New York 55 miles, from Dunkirk 405 miles). This is the largest village we have met going from Piermont, from which it is distant 41 miles, and from its station presents a business-like appearance. The vil- lage is divided into two parts, East and West Chester, separated by a high hill, topped with neat dwellings, sur- rounded by gardens. East Chester, that lies near the sta- tion, possesses numerous large store-houses, showing the NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 49 amount of business done here. The population is about 1500. The view from the station, looking east, affords a fine view of the " meadows" we have crossed, and to the 60 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE southward the cone of Sugai-loaf Mountain towers up in bold relief. Chester is another stopping-place for travel- ers bound for Greenwood Lake, eight miles distant. At Chester the road passes through the hill above the village by a deep cut, and brings us to the very heart of the county, every inch of soil being mapped out into sheets of smooth-shaven slopes, that look like the oldest part of Old England. The farm-houses look neat and substantial, and, after an interesting run of four miles and a half, we enter the far-famed town of Goshen (from New York 59i miles, from Dunkirk 400i miles). This is the first incorporated town we have reached, and, with Newburgh, is the half-shire of the county. It is by fame, if not in point oifact, the greatest depot of milk and butter, its brand being known through- out the world. The town is situated in the very center of the county, was settled in 1712, and incorporated in 1809. The approach from the east is very beautiful, as the road reveals a glimpse of the public square, neat churches, and public buildings interspersed v^ith trees. We enter the southern suburbs, and pass through the main business street, at the west end of which is the station. The traveler, stepping back into this spacious street, finds himself at once in the center of a bustling, thriving town — KEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 51 large hotels,' extensive stores, and crowds of country wag- ons showing the current of business done here. A walk ■»^^•='s^•^^: to the public square will show, too, that the Goshenites have great taste and style in the houses of the quieter por- tion of the town. The only dark feature in the aspect of Goshen is the colony of negroes to be found in its southern and western precincts, and who evidently live in a state of squalor and idleness not to be surpassed in any South- em city. They seem as though ruled out of the white circles ; the men looking idle and dissipated, and the wom- en filthy and abandoned. Let any one saunter round that locality on some warm day, and the swarms of these crea- tures visible will prove the truth of what is here said of them. No community along the Erie Rail-road has been more benefited than Goshen. It has been almost made by it, and the same may be said of the whole county. We have already alluded to the beautiful buildings that ornament the public square and its neighborhood. Conspicuous among these are the court-house and the monument, that 52 GUroE-BOOK OF THE tells of a story of great tragic interest. As this county was the western boundary of the settlements during the Revolution, its history is full of stirring events, in which the settlers struggled with the Indians and their white allies. The flame of patriotism nowhere burned brighter than in this region. It is said that a portrait of George the Third over the court-house entrance, the morning after the arrival of the news of the first conflict with the Brit- ish troops, was torn down, never again to reappear. The monument refers to a very fatal and interesting story. In 1779, John Brandt, the famous chief of the Six Nations and great ally of the British, destroyed the town of Mini- sink, ten miles west of Goshen, and slew those who could not escape by flight. Laying waste the farms, he retreat- ed, with immense quantities of stock and other booty, to the main body of his forces on the Delaware. A body of 400 men were at once raised in Orange, and dispatched in pursuit. They overtook the Indians near the mouth of the Lackawaxen ; but Brandt, by consummate general- ship, dodged the New York troops, and getting in their rear, finally surrounded them. A murderous fire from the concealed foe at once threw^ the militia into confusion ; but, getting behind trees, they bravely but vainly tried to beat back the fatal circle of their foes. One half of their num- ber had fallen, the rest took to flight ; but thirty only re- turned to tell the story of defeat. Among the slain were some of the chief citizens of Goshen. In 1822, the bones of the slain were collected and brought to Goshen, where they were buried with honors of the most imposing solem- nity, in the presence of at least 12,000 persons, drawn from all parts of the adjacent country. Among those present was a Major Poppino, a survivor of the battle, and then nearly 100 years old. The wealth of Goshen and its surrounding coimtry is well known. The fanners here can boast of fortunes flow- ing &om the excellent product of what he of the "Knick- NEW YORK ANU ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 5o erhocker" pleasantly calls their " udderiieiova kine !" There is one circumstance that must strike every visitor with surprise. The country carts, wagons, horses, and •even cattle, which he sees in the market-space near the station, are hy no means of such an appearance as he ex- pects to see in a region of such "fatness" as the land of Goshen. On the contrary, one would suppose he were in the most impoverished district of Maryland, and he looks round in vain for the jolly farmer, the plain but substan- tial wagon, the sleek, well-tended, sturdy draught-horse, or the plump, well-fed kine I If we saw such animals here, Goshen, the butter-known, would indeed he a can- nie-looking town ! From Goshen the road luns along almost a level, and brings us fairly into the Valley of the Walkill, that runs through this county and Ulster to empty into the Hudson near Rondout. The soil along the "Walkill is generally of a peat formation, making extensive marshy flats, called the Drowned Lands, similar to the Gray Court Mead- ows, and in which the mastodon has been chiefly found. New Hampton (from New York 63^ miles, from Dun- kirk 396J miles) is our next station. It is four miles be- yond Goshen, and stands on the west bank of the WaUdU. 54 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE It is simply a station, consisting of a large hotel, -with a few spacious" store-houses ; in fact, one of the new places that have started into life by the creation of the rail-road, which passes the river by a strong bridge. A short dis- tance below is an extensive woolen factory, which, how^- ever, has seen its best days, and looks somewhat decayed. The view of these mills from the bridge is interesting. Here the light descent of the road ceases, and we move over an ascending grade extending several miles. MiDDLETowN (from Nbw York 67 miles, from Dunkirk 393 mUes), three miles beyond New Hampton, is the next town in importance to Goshen, which it far surpasses in point of manufactures. It has not the dignity and beauty of the latter, Laving a habit of smoking from its many fac- tory-pipes which Groshen does not indulge in. It is situ- ated in the midst of a rich, level country, and altogether wears a prosperous look The most important branch of .BSS' business done here is the production of stoves and iron ware at the Orange County Foundry, which is quite an extens- ive establishment, and supplies the whole county. This place is emphatically the growth of the rail-road, and its rapid increase threatens to eclipse Goshen itself A hill of gradual ascent runs along to the north of the town. NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 55 which, with its neat churches and other prominent build- ings, looks well from that eminence The great number ^i- of residences scattered along this height show the taste of the richer class of the community. Leaving Middletown, we soon find ourselves gradually getting into a more rolling and mountainous tract of coun- try, and a rocky cut, which we pass a few miles further, prove that the pleasant fields and gentle vales we have been passing for the last hour must be exchanged for scen- ery made up of "sterner stuff." Howell's (from New York 71 miles, from Dunkirk 389 miles), four miles beyond Middletown, is simply a station, with a small hotel and a store or two. From an embank- ment which we pass here, there is a remarkable view of the high, cultivated mountain ridge, that gradually be- comes bolder and higher, a foretaste of the chain of hills 'we are soon to meet directly across our path. We are now approaching the verge of Orange county. The rich- ness of the soil, however, remains yet manifest in the cultivation of these same hills closing rapidly around us. We must soon bid adieu to the pastoral features of the Or- ange landscape, which we see in striking perfection when 66 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE ■A passing over the curved embankment four miles beyond Howell's. Looking north lies before us a vast range of cultivated valley, skirted with blue hills in the distance, and on the left swelling into the great bulk of the Shaw- angunk Mountain, that heaves skyward its shaven sides. NEW YORK AND EUIE EAIL-ROAD. 57 This mountain is of an extraordinary character. There is not one inch of its eastern side and its summit that is not of the highest fertility and cultivation, and more so as you ascend from the valley, while its western face (soon to be revealed to us) is a mass of rock and forest, much of It unfit for cultivation, and remaining in a state of primi- tive wildness. A short distance from this interesting view we arrive at Otisville (from New York 75i miles, from Dunkirk 884i miles). This is a small village, named after its first settler, Isaac Otis, Esq., now a merchant in New York. It has two hotels, and the dwellings on the hill above the station make a pretty show from the west. It is an im- portant station, having an engine house, &c. ; and then, again, it is the furthest verge of the milk region. The milk-trains start from this point, and, of course, that fact gives additional consequence to the place. We therefore take a last look at the cans that have been constantly in our sight thus far. We here find ourselves confronted by the great Shawangunk ridge, to pass which was for a long time considered the great obstacle to the progress of the road. A tunnel was first proposed, and was so rec- ommended by a board of engineers, to be 2700 feet in length, with grades of 40 feet to the mile for the curves^. 3* 58 GlimE-BOOK OF THE and 80 feet for the straight secitions. This plan was deemed the best means to overcome the height of the mountains, so much greater on the western side, down which it was necessary to pass to the valley below ; but it was found that by making the road descend the west- em side by an extensive curve running south toward the Delaware River, the difficulty could be surmounted with- out a tunnel. This was the plan adopted and executed, and nowhere can be found a greater triumph of the engi- neer's skill. Leaving Otisville, we ascend a grade of 40 feet to the mile, leading to this great passage of the mountain. At the distance of a mile we come to the point where the first struggle with the barrier occurs. This is a thorough rock- cutting, 50 feet deep and 2500 feet in length. Its pro- digious " pass" is intersected twice by a turnpike leading from Goshen to Port Jervis, in the valley westward, which shows the roundabout style of travel made necessary by the old modes of conveyance. Emerging from this great cut, we find ourselves on the summit of the ascent, and the road, curving southwardly, proceeds by a slope of many miles along the mountain's side to the valley below. We now catch a glimpse of the west front of the Shawan- gitnk, in all its savage and untamed grandeur. This point is also frequently call- ed Deer-park Gap. The word Shawangunk is In- dian, and means " white- rocks'' alluding to the color of the rocks to be seen in its breast to the northeast. A little further on we look down upon the valley we are approaching — an unbroken NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. -59 sea of forest, with not a solitary hut to humanize the scene. No change could be more sudden and complete than what the prospect has undergone in ten minutes since looking at the east front of the Shawangunk. The ascent of this mountain from Otisville is about two miles in length, and here we see the next specimen of heavy work its pas- sage has made necessary. This is a heavy embank- ment, supported by a re- taining wall 1000 feet in length and 30 feet high. We are now descending the slope of ten miles be- fore us, and the scenery of the valley below is rapid- ly improving in interest and cultivation. A smile gradually breaks over the dull cheek of Nature Farm-houses and meadows relieve the solitude of this valley, to which the Neversink River gives its name. One of these views is of remarkable beau- ty. We perceive on the opposite side of the vale a shining strip of water curving round a spvir of the mountains, with a small village adjacent. It is called Cuddeback. This 60 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE is the first glimpse we have of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, extending from Rondout to the coal and iron mines at Carbondale, in Pennsylvania. Cuddeback was settled by the Dutch, and is one of the thriving little commimi- ties that have sprung up along that important canal. This part of the valley figures conspicuously in the history of Indian warfare. Eight miles beyond Otisville w^e come to what is called Shin Hollow Svritch. Here there is a deep cut through a soft soil three fourths of a mile in length and 30 feet deep. This portion of the road is of the most oppressive loneliness, for the valley is com- pletely shut out of sight, soon, however, to reappear in height- ened beauty and inter- est, after passing the NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 63 great rock-cutting just two miles ahead of us. The ap- proach to this last formidable barrier in the descent of the mountain is very fine. We reach it by a high curved em- bankment, and see on each side of us a steep wall of slate rock 50 feet in height and 2500 feet in length. And now let the traveler place himself on the right side of the train (going westward), to catch the noble prospect prepared for him on emerging from this dark pass. At its very portal the road makes a sudden curve southward, and from the precipitous mountain side, along the edge of which we de- scend, he beholds the enchanting Valley of Neversink in all its cultivated beauty, its western verge bordered by a chain of' mountains, at the foot of which gleams the vil- lage of Port Jervis, and its level fields losing themselves far in the south, where rolls the Delaware River ; beyond which, again, the tovvm of Milford, Pennsylvania, 12 miles distant, may be seen in the misty horizon. A winding grove of trees runs southward over this fair plain, mark- ing the course of the Neversink. A few rods beyond this " cut," the traveler, looking north, may see another superb view, of an opposite character, the mountains swelling upward in the grandest forms. We have already alluded to the difference between the eastern and western heights of the Shawangunk Mountain, that of the west side being 200 feet more than the opposite front. This has caused a 64 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE singular difference in the course of the streams of either valley. The Shawangunk Creek, on the east side, runs north to join the Walkill, a tributary of the Hudson, while the Neversink runs south to join the Delaware. The ori- gin of the name Neversink is, without doubt correctly, sup- posed to be aboriginal. The descent of the Shawangunk is nearly ten miles m extent, and of- fers a succession of pleasing views, though becoming more and more contracted in ex- tent. When the slope ceases, our road again turns to the west, and, crossing the Nev ersink by a bridge 55 feet high, with a span of 150 feet, brings us in full view of Port Jervis, that Ues beautifully NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-KOAD. 65 at the foot of a range of bold and picturesque mountains. Within a few yards, on our left, we have the first view of the Delaware, flowing through its extensive " flats." That river we are now to trace almost to its source. One mile from the bridge over the Neversink, we stop at Delaware (from New York 88i miles, from Dunkirk 3711 miles). This important station is situated on a broad area between the Delaware and the open plateau on which the village of Port Jervis stands, some half mile north of the depot, and the whole appearance of the offi- ces of the company, the engine-houses and other buildings. conveys a just idea of the extent of the business done here. These have caused many dwellings and spacious stores to spring up around, in rivalry to the village on the hiU, and the station is now called Port Jervis. It offers excellent accommodations for a large number of visitors, that find its quarters agreeable enough dur- 66 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE ing a sojourn in this picturesque locality. Ascending the height to the village, we find it nestling close to two mag- nificent high mountains, whose summits beetle over its dwellings, afibrding extensive views up and dovm the val- leys of the Neversink and Delaware. Port Jervis is named after Mr. John B. Jervis, engineer of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, and owes its origin and growth to that canal, which here passes through it, and, sweeping round these same mountains, extends up the former river in com- pany with the rail-road. The business done here is chiefly in coal and lumber, and its prosperity is virritten in the neat houses, churches, hotels, and stores. A large three-story stone grist-mill stands on the brink of the eminence overlooking the sta- tion. A mail route passes through from Ulster county to Milford, Pennsylvania, where the tourist should not fail to take a drive, to see the picturesque Falls of the Sawkill in its vicinity. There is every inducement to stop for weeks at Delaware. There are innumerable drives and trips for the pedestrian in every direction, while to the artist there is every variety of scenery, from the bold rocky peak to the long, level flat, with the clumps of beech and willow along the river shore. The Delaware here shows the dangers that are covered over in the depth and force of its current. In dry weather its bed is almost a mass of stones, but the water-marks and wreck along the edge of its banks prove w^hat a fullness and fury attends its freshets. South of the station it is crossed by a ferry, which, when the river "is up and doing" violence, re- quires the aid of a guide-rope, rigged across the river in an odd fashion. The curious observer of such peculiarities will also be struck with the odd angular dams stretched across its current at low water, at the apex of which is a rough wooden trough. This is the eel-trap of the Dela- ware, which you will see throughout its whole course above this point. The eels of the Delaware are renowned NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 67 for their delicious flavor — to those who like a fish of such " questionable shape" — and the Cockney that dotes on the eel-pies of Twickenham will vote the Delaware quite as eeZegant as old Father Thames ! A quarter of a mile south of the Neversink bridge that stream empties into the Delaware, and the narrow strip of land formed by this jimction is called Carpenter's Point. Here the states of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania all unite, and by putting one leg on the small stone marking the spot, one can describe a pirouette over the soil of those three commonwealths. The tourist is again solicited to ascend the heights overlooking Port Jervis, particularly Point Pe- ter, just above the upper village, and the more picturesque peak that forms so remarkable a feature in the view south of the ferry. A nobler panorama is not often seen. Delaware forms the termination of what is called the "Eastern Division'' of the Erie Rail-road, and certainly no work of this sort presents a more interesting variety of soil, scenery, and local history. Traversing the romantic passes of Rockland and the rich and fertile fields of Or- ange, it takes its way through some of the oldest portions of the state, and gives us, between Otisville and Dela- ware, but a foretaste of the entirely new tracts of wild, unknown country we vdll find it is to open up for the first time farther west. In this section of 13 miles were en- countered the first serious, difiicult opposition of the soil, as may be seen by stating a few items that may prove in- teresting. Between these points, 317,000 pounds of pow- der were used, 210,000 cubic yards of rock excavated, 730,000 yards of earth removed, and 14,000 yards of stone wall built. "While Otisville is 875 feet above the level of the sea, Delaware is but 500, and the descent between them is one of 45 feet to the mile. The road as far as Delaware was opened in January, 1848 ; leaving which place we follow the fine section of the road that stretches from the Neversink bridge due west to the extent of three GfUIDE-KOOK OF THK miles, and pass through a spacious area that affords plenty of level ground for the wants of the com- pany at any time Going west from Delaware to Deposit, a distance of 88 miles, the road is nearly level, the highest grade being 15 feet to the mile. The canal keeps along on our right, occasionally separa- ted from our path, but again clos- ing up, as if to enter its sluggish boats ill a race with our iron steed At the end of two miles we enter a rude and uninteresting region, dot- ted with an occasional hamlet, and though the mountains on the left bank of the Delaware hug the stream, chose on the right recede, leaving a vast plain, across which the canal suddenly bends, and, as we pass it by a wooden bridge, a quiet Dutch picture is given us of its boats, its slow-plod- ding steeds in their dreary promenade, and the neat houses dotting the river's banks. Beyond this, a deep gravel cut brings us again to the Delaware, which we cross by what is ">>. NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD, 09 called the " Satv-mill Rift Bridge" (from New York 92 miles, from Dunkirk 368 miles), four miles from Delaware. This great structure is 800 feet long ; it is built of wood, supported by arches of 160, 150, and 140 feet span, and rests on piers of sohd masonry. Its cost was $75,000. The view up and down the Delaware from this bridge is interesting, particularly the latter, that shows the bold precipice called the " Glass-house Hocks," on the south bank. The view up stream shows the canal and rail-road now on opposite sides of the river, with an island in the stream that here pours under the bridge a deep and rapid current. In crossing the Delaware, we not only leave Or- 70 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE ange county, but enter the land of Penn. The company wished to confine their road to the New York side of the river, but as they could not control the natural features of the country, nor alter state lines, and the narrow strip of passable ground along that bank being already occupied by the canal, the Legislature of Pennsylvania -wa,s applied to for right of way through that state. It was also neces- sary to obtain permission of the New York Legislature to construct a portion of their road up the Valley of the Del- aware River, on the Pennsylvania side, and after much difficulty, encountered through two sessions, the privilege was secured ; for which right, and benefit to that state, Pennsylvania charges the company ten thousand dollars a year .' A fine curve in the bank of the river beyond the bridge shows us a broadside view of that structure with the rocky heights farther on, and in a few moments we aie brought opposite the first of those majestic masses of mountain wall NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 71 that overshadow our way for miles to come. This huge wall of rock and foliage towers over the right bank of the Delaware, and at its base winds the thread-like Delaware and Hudson Canal, the figures of the boatmen, horses, &c., dwindled to insignificant size by contrast with the bulky heights above. A short distance up its side is seen a solitary shanty, with men dwarfed to ants, picking out the scant loose soil among the rocks to patch the canal, for over there such an article is as precious as gold dust There is a breadth and grandeur in this massive mount- ain screen exceedingly impressive, and the efiect is height- ened by the simple strip of rail-road and a grove of trees that form the foreground on our side of the river. We are now entering the wild and lonely scenery of the Del- aware, and though a farm-house occasionally relieves the solitary and primeval character of the countiy, they are rapidly becoming less in number, and we wonder that so short a distance should exist between these uncultivated wild? and the teeming plains of Orange. The main em ployment and support of the population along the Del aware have been, since its settlement, drawn from itf lumber, that is carried by rafts down to Philadelphia and other points below ; and so the plow and all its civilizing influences has never been felt here, though the poverty of the soil has been a great obstacle. Consequently, ex- cept during the rafting season in spring and autumn, the Delaware appears a desolate stream indeed, with nothing to break its monotonous dullness save the occasional shout of the boatmen, the snort of the locomotive, the " still small" lapse of the river over the eel- trap, or the crack of a rifle, as the " far roll of its departing voice'' is lost in the echoing hills I Eight miles and a half west of Delaware we come to Stairway Brook (from New York 97 miles, from Dun- kirk 363 mQes). Does not the name of this station sug- gest a foaming streamlet tumbling down a rocky stair- 72 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE case into the Delaware ? Stretch not your head vainly forth with any such expectation, fellow-traveler I Nei- ther stairway nor streamlet is in sight, and near us we see nothing but a wood-pile and water-tank ; hut turn your eyes toward the river, and look at that beautiful view — the river in the center, a richly-wooded hill on the right, with the canal curving round its base, a pleasing vista of retreating mountains, and this bold foreground, where a single stately tree, and a humble shanty with a garden-patch, preserve the nice balance between natuie and civilization, that gives the prospect such peculiar beau- ty after the fatiguing solitariness of the scenes just passed. The snug houses clustering round the locks of the canal opposite are cheering to our spirits, and we feel disposed to answer back the faint hail of the boatmen. Perhaps we may be excused in an attempt to relieve the tedium of the unassociated tract of country lying before us by some reflections upon one of the features of the canal, which has been our constant though distant fellow-trav- eler for so many miles ; we mean the hoy-drivers of the plodding animals that drag those rival vehicles, a near in- spection of whom (the boys) affords such a novel study Before rail ways had quite abolished in England the old NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 73 modes of travel, no problem was more puzzling than "What became of the old post-boys" — those venerable tenants of juvenile jackets and corduroys? A similar query is suggested by a familiar study of these young ca- nal-boat drivers ; and the pencil of Charles Lamb, so hap- py in sketching those "innocent dark specks of creation," the chimney-sweeps, can alone do justice to these slowest of American jockeys I Only look at the weather-beaten old-young figure bestriding that horse day after day, night after night, through wet and cold. Caught when so young that his legs protrude horizontally, and not ^lang, from the saddle, he remains there a fixture for his generally brief career — a sort of youthful Centaur — and in a short time the mingled air of martyrdom and meditation stamped upon his visage on his first elevation to ofiice gives way to an expression of blank stolidity, the result of his mo- notonous duties, while the constant exposure to the ele- ments, and the corrupting intercourse of his older asso- ciates, make him, while still a child, old in constitution, morals, and disposition, taking from his young face every sign of boyish hilarity, and stamping there revolting traces of early dissipation of the vilest sort. Look at him as he lounges on that plodding horse, under the blaze of a dog- day sun ! How listlessly he sits there, in a sort of sun- struck doze — his bloated young cheeks, his puffy eye-lids, and the glaring light nearly concealing his glazed eyes — a thing of hopeless inanition, save when he starts up to vent an imprecation upon his charger, or exchange a black- guard jest with some passing vagabond mounted like him- self! No blithe country lad is he, with the exhilarating influence of nature's scenes acting upon young, excitable nerves and pulses ! Premature bad brandy and tobacco have burned and shriveled up such sensibilities. What to him is the fair, fresh face of the visible world ? Noth- ing but the blank, dead wall of a tread-mill. Perhaps he does now and then glance sidelong at the shadow of him- 4 74 CiUlDE-EOOK OF THE self and steed, and descant on their own deformity. There is no change to his existence save that brought by the sea- sons, and the cold v/inter night-winds, when the canal is not frozen, that howl down these dreary gorges, pierce through his mass of dirty woolens, and chill his weakened body with rain, sleet, and snow ! Like Mazeppa, inex- orably and inextricably bound to his horse, no wonder the feeble current in his motionless limbs succumbs to the blast, either crippling him by its nipping breath or stilling it altogether. Hence these unfortunate slow jockeys are often found in the canal, where they have either slipped while locked in half-frozen sleep or whole-drunken stu- pidity, or, which is quite as likely, by deliberate design to end their sufferings I This is no overdrawn picture of ju- venile misfortune, but based on frequent accounts by those who know these boys and their condition. The confine- ment of the factory-child seems ease and enjoyment com- pared with this mock liberty and exercise of the canal- boat boy ! But what has this to do with our rai7-road ? True ; and, begging pardon for such an ill-timed piece of sympathy, we will hurry over the three miles from Stair- way Brook to Pond Eddy (from New York 99i miles, from Dunkirk 3601 miles). The Delaware, at this place making a sud- dep bend, forms one of those wide, deep basins called NEW YOUK AND EKIE ItAIL-ROAU. 75 ponds by the people here, constituting a remarkable feat- ure in the river ; hence the name of this station. Pond Eddy is a celebrated rendezvous for the lumber-men when rafting down the river, and during the season this basin is filled with a fleet of their broad vessels. Its depth is great enough to float a man-of-war, and yet a few hund- red yards above or below you may see a figure wading through the river to the eel-traps 1 One can therefore imagine the force of this eddy during the rafting season. Pond Eddy is one of the humanized points on the Dela- ware, owing to the presence of raftsmen, for whose wants good accommodations are here, and the pretty hamlet round the canal-locks on the opposite side, always a charm- ing object in the scenery of this river. Beyond Pond Eddy the road assumes with every mile a more important character, while the landscape becomes wilder and more lonely. We run along a straight sec- tion, 30 feet above the river, marked off" by natural abut- ments of gray rock and pendent hemlocks, that are old enough to have their evergreen foliage changed to a hoary and rusty hue I The mountain we are skirting seems sliced down as deep as 115 feet to make our pathway. Two miles further we enter a grander portion of the road. The mountains rise perpendicularly from the river's edge. 76 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE and along its breast we run securely, though on the brink of a precipice of 80 feet. A huge walled embankment and culvert in the curve of this section add to its inter- est. But not till we get four miles from Pond Eddy does the splendid engineering talent displayed in the construc- tion o-f this road show itself in its consummate daring, sub- limity, and success. It is a section very like the one just passed, but on a grander scale, showing a straight cut along the mountain side one mile long, and terminating in a beautiful curve, whence the best view of it is to be had. t'.* V*", e* . ^1 .-'jj: ;; There it stretches, a gigantic gallery overlooking a sheer precipice of 100 feet above the river, and showing along its narrow edge enormous natural abutments of seamed and riven rock, as though they were placed to support the fearful pathway traversed by the heavy train. One of these natural abutments is depicted in the following page. Perhaps it is well that travelers generally see but little of this causeway from the cars, as its sublime features and the clifTs above might make them feel uncomfortable ; NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD 77 but it is ■well wortli the tourist's while to walk along its terrace, ia order to judge of the difficulties overcome in run- ning a road along such a frightful precipice. What adds to its impressive grandeur is the contrast presented by the opposite shore, that rises gently from the river, skirted by a grove of willows, over which shines a calm strip of the ca- nal, bordered by smiling fields and snug dwellings. This .contrast is more remarkable in the morning, when a vast shadow covers the dark pines and column-like crags that support the grand corridor just tra-versed, and the op posite meadows, groves, basin, boats, men, and figures sparkle in the dewy light. The solitary shanty near us, with its scant garden-patch, shows the little ground afibrded for a human dwelling on our side of the Del- aware. It is said that while surveying this portion of the road, it was frequently necessary to let down the engineers by means of ropes to the positions they wished to attain ! To convey some idea of the labor expend- ed upon this great Shohola section, we will state that three mUes of it cost $300,000! A sustaining wall in 78 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE the last mile is 90 feet high, and contains 16,000 yards of stone. We now abruptly leave the Delaware for a while, and pass through a rock-cutting in the mountain dividing that river from one of its tributaries, Shohola Creek, which we cross by a wood- en bridge 70 feet in height. Coming from the rocky grand- eur of the section just passed, it is refreshing to meet the strikingly Swiss-like charac- ter of this creek, the banks of which are covered with pointed masses of hemlock and pine. While skirting these groves, we see on our right an extraordinary rock- cutting, a perpendicular wall 50 feet high, the masses of which look as square and regular as chisel of mason could make them. Half a dozen tall burned and branchless hemlocks between us and the ravine of the creek makes a strong and savage contrast with the prevailing pictur- NEW YORK ANU ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 79 esqueness of its scen- ery. But the gem of the views along this romantic stream is from the bridge, look- ing over its shaded dell below toward the village of Barryville, whose white dwell- ings shine through the tall evergreens springing from the edge of the creek, that is seen to join the Delaware on the right. We have nev- er seen more beauti- ful nooks than may be found on tliis creek, of whose mu- sical Indian name (no doubt very expressive of its singu- lar character) we regret not having heard any translation. Barryville (from New York 107 miles, from Dunkirk 353 miles). This station lies a short distance beyond the creek, on a highly elevated point above the Delaware, that here makes a sudden bend a mile from the station, show- ing on its opposite bank the thriving village of Barryville. Shohola, as this station is commonly called, has but little business at present, though with time it must prove an important one, being so near the large village opposite. Barryville is another of the numerous ofisprings of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, that passes through it. Besides the coal business established there by that canal, the immense piles of lumber and numerous saw-mills scat- tered along the shore below us show how much the great staple of the Delaware has to do with the prosperity of the place. A neat little hotel stands opposite this station, and the tourist, tempted to explore its beautiful creek, will 80 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE find here those luxuries (so rare in this region), a clean bed and private room. From Shohola the road appears to descend to the river's side from the great height above the river on which the station is placed. It is still, hovr- ever, a slightly ascending grade, as you may perceive by its current, the river here (between the Shohola and Lack- awaxen above) making a gradual descent. In this vicin- ity was fought the bloody battle, or, rather, ambuscade, when Brandt and his warriors slaughtered and dispersed the New York militia, as noticed in speaking of Goshen, where a monument was erected to the memory of the slain. Lacica WAXEN (from New York 111 miles, from Dunkirk 349 miles) is our next station, four miles beyond Shohola, and 23 from Delaware. We have, while approaching it, a fine view of the village, the rail-road bridges over the river of the same name, and the great aqueduct here thrown across the Delaware for the passage of the canal, which has so long been our opposite companion. This aqueduct is supported by an iron wire suspension bridge, and conducts the canal over to the valley of the Lackawax- en, up which it extends to Honesdale, Pennsylvania, and is there connected with the mines at Carbondale by a rail- road. Lackawaxen stands at the confluence of the river KEW VORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 81 with the Delaware, that is here dammed across under the aqueduct, supplying great water-power to the saw-mills in this thriving place. Its iron trade is also of importance, and altogether the station here must prove eventually an important one. The rail-road traverses the Lackawax- en River and part of its vale by two substantial bridges, which, with the aqueduct, make the distant view of the village very remarkable and interesting. Our prurient curiosity to trace the meaning of Indian names was en- tirely at fault in its attempt to explain the word Lacka- waxen, or Lackawack, as it is often called We were told it meant the "junction of streams," a translation we have heard given to a dozen Indian names of different or- thography and sound. Could there have been such a rad- ical difference in the dialects of the Indian tribes ? Being the outlet of the valley along which flows such a tide of trade connected with the mines of the interior, the Delaware, and the Hudson, there is every advantage in favor of the great growth of this village and its station. Beyond Lackawaxen we cross a small bridge, and continue following the Delaware, with its rafts, piles of timber, and constant lanes in the mountain's side for the descent of the logs. Further on we leave the river, and five and a half miles from our last stopping-place we reach Mast Hope (from New York 116 miles, from Dunkirk 344 miles). This is a station of but little importance, lying in a more open part of the Delaware Valley. Its 82 fHtlUE-Hfas named after a town in England, and has; a large grist and saw-miU, the property of Mr. , whose grandfather settled this place. The immense piles of sawn timber and logs col- lected here attest its importance as a lumber depot ; and, hke Equinunk, it is placed in a very lovely bend of the river. Stockport is the last place of importance we shall see on the Delaware proper, for we now approach the point when the stream we have so long followed loses its one and indivisible name, and divides into two branches. It is evidently shrinking in size, though occasionally ex- panding to great but shallow width ; the islands of soft soil, covered with bushes, which we first met near Equi- nunk, are now imposing tracts of pasture, with large pic- turesque trees with exposed roots, entangled with mossy wreck, making it look more like the lovely Susquehanna than the monotonous and shore-washed Delaware. The traveler should keep on the left side of the cars if he wish- es to enjoy the beautiful view where the two branches unite to form this river. The exact point of confluence is not visible, but the view near it is very interesting Three miles beyond Stockport this meeting of the waters takes place. Before you, on the left, comes their united 98 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE current, flowing through a wide flat flanked by gravellj points, clumped with noble trees. A range of mountains is seen on either side, but the peculiar feature in the view is the conical peak of the mountain filling up its center. with its base mapped off into meadows, and its upper half an unbroken forest. This picture should be first seen at sunset, when the purple mass of the mountains is reflected in the river, save where its shallow bed breaks it into a bright ripple, across which you may often see the dark- ened figures of damsels wading. That is a custom much honored in this region when the Delaware is low ; and it is a piquant sight to witness their dainty style of fording, indulging in many a "graceful bend" as their tender soles come in contact with envious gravel ; or, suddenly plump- ing into unexpected depths, they regulate with modest in- genuity the height of their garments above the enamored tide .' ., From this point we leave the river suddenly, passing through a fine plain of great fertility ; we then cross the east branch of the Delaware by a long wooden bridge, and find our- NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 99 selves in that most beautiful of all villages along the road, Chehocton (from New York 164 miles, from Dunkirk 296 miles). Thanks to the resolute taste of those who retain the expressive and musical Indian name of this romantic spot !* The name of Hancock is given to the township, and some persons will apply it to Chehocton ; which, however, is undergoing corruptions enough, such as Shehocking, and, shocking to say. Shocking itself. Chehocton means the "union of streams," and is well ap- plied to the meeting of the east and west branches of the Delaware, whose Indian names are Popacton and Coqua- go. These streams both rise in the northeast, and run southwest, almost parallel, for nearly 70 miles. At that point the largest or west branch (Coquago) is suddenly turned from its course by the ridge separating this valley from that of the Susquehanna, and runs southeast about 13 miles to Chehocton. The Popacton, or east branch, leads a much shorter but more consistent career, keep- ing due on in the direction (southwest) to meet its ally. These two streams, rushing toward each other, are about to unite at Chehocton, when, in the felicitous words of Mr. Willis, "lol a mountain puts down its immovable foot, and forbids the union !" Chehocton stands upon the * These thanks are now, alas ! ondeserved, the village being decidedly dabbed Hancoch since this book was written. 100 GUIDE-BOOK Oi' THK narrow neck of land, only half a mile wide, separating the streams, that again turn southward, and finally meet two miles below, at the southern point of the conical mountain we saw there, and whose northern spur is thrust forward to "forbid the union." Chehocton extends from this point eastwardly to the bridge over the Popacton ; and a view of it from any of the adjacent heights will convince any one that a more beautifully situated village is to be found in no country. The view we give is from the west, showing how snugly the village is lapped among the. mountains, beneath the farthest of which is seen the approach by rail-way from the east by the bridge over the Popacton. The view from the north, looking down the Delaware, is the most extensive, how- ever, and is unequaled along the river. Chehocton is the most important station reached since leaving Delaware, and its growth is amazing. Before the road was extended here it was a dull post-town, and, though on the main road from Delhi to the Pennsylvania mines, presented nothing of the activity and increase now visible in every part of its romantic locality. Two large hotels and several extensive stores now ornament its street, ■which, with the spacious buildings of the station, give it an air of importance and dignity. Private dwellings, in- closed with gardens, embellish this thoroughfare, while KEW YORK AND ERIE EAIL-ROAD. 101 the stores look neat, but rather grand, from behind their Corinthian piazzas, particularly when the eye turns from these classic temples to the humble house of God conspic- uously placed among them, and which should at least be equal to the private houses in any village. Some shrub- bery, also, would make it really the ornament to the vil- lage, which a distant view of its modest little spire sug- gests it must be. Chehocton is destined to be an im- portant place. With a rich back country, its business has been much increased by new facilities for bringing here the -tributary produce and trade that once diverged to more accessible points, like Deposit. This has been ef- fected by a new plank road, extending in the interior to Walton, in Delaware county. Besides these advantages, its natural attractions, pure air, and romantic scenery must soon cause the gentle heights above the village to be covered with country seats. In the mean time, let the tourist, artist, and sportsman visit it, and they will find its attractions doubly pleasant while enjoying the excel- lent accommodations of the hotel kept by Mr. Faulkner. There is a saline spring on the Popacton, which a medical gentleman assures us has valuable medicinal qualities. The population of Chehocton is about 800. It is remark- able, on looking over a gazetteer of but five years back, to see how briefly are noticed, or, rather, not noticed at all, many of the now thriving places along this rail-road. Chehocton is one of these villages that have outgrown such recent records, and had important confessions to make to the census-takers of 1850. We leave this beau- tiful village by a deep cut through the sloping ridge of the mountain that "forbids the union'' of the Delaware's branches, and in a few minutes we come in view of the Coquago, or west fork, which, for three miles, we follow close along its bank, and find it, for that distance, beauti- ful enough, but certainly not deserving the flattering title of " the Rhine of America," bestowed by Mr. Willis. We 102 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE think it far inferior, in every respect, to the east branch, and beyond the distance spe- cified it becomes positively stupid. Some miles further the road passes, by a very long, straight section, through a fertile plain ; and then, crossing NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAU. 103 the Coquago by a covered wooden bridge, we roll along a curved embankment, that brings us to Dei'osit (from New York 177 miles, from Dunkirk 263 miles). This is an important station : it is 13i miles from Chehocton — 162i from Piermont : it is the terminus of the long, gentle grade ^^ extending over the Delaware Division from Delaware sta- tion, and the starting-point of a heavy grade that leads to the passage of the high mountain ridge between us and the Susquehanna. The station is at the west end of the village, that extends eastward, abreast of the embanked approach, as far as tlie Coquago, which we leave at the bridge just crossed, bidding a final adieu to this last scion of our old companion, the Delaware. The eastern portion of Deposit is the oldest, and, till lately, the busiest ; but now, in spite of its numerous old hotels, churches, mills, bridges, and dwellings, the bustling precincts of the sta- 104 GUIDE-BOOK OF THK tion, its large, new, and improved hotel, and the rows of dashing, spruce stores, with Corinthian fronts, have alto- gether made the west end of Deposit, as of all other com- munities, the place of business. A plank road intersects the road at this place from Bainbridge, Chenango county. A glance at the freight-houses and offices of the company shows the amount of business done, and the numerous tracks and switches laid down in the broad area of the station indicate what is expected to be its increase. Un- like Chehocton, there is no beauty in its situation to ar- rest the traveler beyond one of the most abundant refresh- ment-tables a liungry tourist ever looked at. The im- portant character of the road over the mountain's bar- riers ahead of us makes this station particularly extensive in its force of trains and engines- An excellent new hotel is conveniently near the offices. Tanning is carried on here to an immense extent, a constant exchange being kept up with New York by returning the dressed hide for the raw material. The population of Deposit is about 1200. In leaving Deposit, we pass out of Delaware county and enter that of Broome. The one we leave has about one fourth of its surface under cultivation, though the soil IS generally good and the valleys very fertile. The intro- NEW YORK AND EKIE BAIL-ROAD. 105 duction of the rail-road, however, will develop its agri- cultural resources and make them flourish, just as its lum- bering interests have done by reason of the easy outlet furnished by water communication. A run through a straight section of one mile due west from Deposit brings us to Oquago Creek. This is the last tributary of the Delaware we meet, whose waters we have now traced through a distance of 90 miles. Here ends the slight ascending grade extending from Delaware, and here, too, begins the grade of 68 feet per mile we must ascend to surmount the high mountain wall between us and the Susquehanna. The summit we are to cross is 1366 feet above the level of the sea, and Deposit is only 997 — a difl'erence to be overcome in about eiglit miles. Passing the Oquago and two heavy rock-euttings, remind- ing us of Shohola, we now begin our sidelong ascent of the mountain. Every rod of it attests the labor here encoun- tered, and the scenery suddenly assumes all the wild, blighted features to be found wherever these severe strug- gles with the ground occur. The rocky rubbish, the scat- tnred, splintered, and burned trees in every possible posi- tion, show the first obstinate resistance made to the engi- neer, and a lonely shanty, half buried in the riven earth, 5* 106 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE only adds to tlie desolation of the battle-gi-ound. The ■whole ascent is full of interest. Spur after spur of the mountain is doubled in our upward, spiral flight, and ev- ery curve in the road presents new views of savage land- scape. The wildest of these you may see four miles from Deposit, where we reach an extensive gravel bank. Ap- proaching tliis at sunset, the laborers look like ants busily at work, while the huge bonfires made of the tree-stumps, the hemlock groves, the yellow bank, and figures of the work- men, form a picture worthy of " Savage Rosa." NEW YORK AND EIllE RAIL-ROAD. 107 A little beyond this there are some Bupeib views up and down the valley on our right, while we cut our way along the mountain side by means of prodigious embankments. With- in tM'o miles of the top, ihe few houses occasionally seen on our right entirely dis- appear, and we enter a perfect solitude — a close forest of som- ber hemlock, whose blackened stems, and broken and scattered trunks are in fit keep- ing with its oppressive gloom and silence (sec cut at head of next page). Glad to escape from thiit dismal avenue into a sunny clearing, we soon enter a straight cut of a mile running west, and there, " darkly painted on the crim- son sky," stands the enormous portal through the mount- ain top that fitly gives its name to the station of Summit (from New York 184i miles, from Dunkirk 275 J miles). In approaching this prodigious pass, the traveler 10b GUIDE-IIOOK OF TilE should bribe the engineer for the privilege of one of his windows, and see it as we describe it at sunset. From the ordinary seat of a car you can see nothing of its irreg- ular profile, as it looms up before a black mass of rocky outline, having no foliage of any sort to soften its severe features, and only crested with lialf a dozen branchless NEW YORK AND EKIE RAIL-ROAR. 100 hemlocks, some 80 feet in height, bristling on the right edge of the gap, serving us to judge of the height of the out, which, from its top to the track, is 200 feet. The left side is a sheer precipice nearly, but the profile of tlie right bank is finely broken up, showing first a mass of slate rock 60 feet high, and then, sloping upward with loose, crumbling stone, it terminates in a crest of splin- tered rock, tipped with the blighted hemlocks. One of these trees reclines over the ledge in a very curious and imminent way, as though it would every moment dart downward. Between you and this pass is a table-land on each side of the track, covered with shanties and half a dozen wretched houses, of the tenants of which you are not long kept in doubt by the rich brogue issuing from them. A simple platform constitutes the station here — quite sullicient for its wants, as one may judge on looking over the wild and unimproved settlement adjoining. It is well worth while for the traveler to ascend the right clifT of the " cut." The view westward from that point is extraordinary, and in winter presents the very picture of extreme desolation, when the shanty roofs are but just above the snow, and the scorched and charred hemlocks and black rock of the pass look doubly black, looming out 110 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE from the mantle that whitens all things else. Such a mass of riven rock, and of burned, fallen timber, never were huddled together as you see here on this pinnacle, swept clean by the tempests. The last desperate stand against the engineer was made here ; and the charred fragments of bulky trees look as though vanquished Nature had here sought her funeral pyre ! There is a large water-tank at the mouth of the cut, and a "turn-out," with engine-house, in case an engine may be required at this point. The accumulation of snow in the jaws of the cut often arrests the progress of the train, and then extra locomotives are ordered up from De- posite or from Susquehanna, on the other side of the sum- mit. It puzzles one to know what supports the tenants of those shanties of a kennel's size and a pig-sty's cleanli- ness ; but they are occupied by workmen engaged along the road in this region, who found convenient these huts, established at the "summit" during the long siege of its rocky barrier. Oh, Ireland I if your sons would only ap- ply a little of their irresistible jnoneer muscle, that has so universally cleared the earth of its obstacles to civiliza- tion, to the task of beautifyi7ig the soil thus prepared, what a garden this western -world would be. But no ! though this little bit of level soil under the shadow of the summit is not ungrateful, the denizens of those styes scorn the "foreign aid of ornament" or tidiness ; and so that puddle is found to be convenient near the door, and that barrel makes a good chimney, and flowers don't support life, and so tlie pigs walk in and out as they please. The cut through the summit winds along half a mile. • though it does not retain its rocky character far beyond the eastern entrance. It is not delved through a contin- uous or compact mass of rock, but in many parts the sides are of a soft, crumbling texture, which, by the constant dripping from the solid ledges, are turned into a sort of pasto on each side of the road. The geological student will find NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 1 I I tliis a great field of study. These drippings during win- ter form enormous icicles, hanging like pointed gray-beards from the rugged clieck of the pass, and falling in frag- ments below by the concussion of a passing train. We have stood in tliat pass during the hottest days of the year, and found the air cool ; and in the winter old Bo- reas howls along its corridor as though it were a musical hall expressly made for the exercise of his lungs. The cost of this rock-cut through Summit was over §200,000. Leaving this magnificent monument of the enterprise of the company and the skill of the engineer, we now de- scend the mountain by a grade of 60 feet, and nearly of the same length with the eastern ascent. We are enter- ing the picturesque portion of the road, or what is called by the profession the ' Susquehanna Division." Who that was one of the party will ever forget tlie first memorable crossing of the mountain, in December, 1848, when the road was formally opened from Delaware as far as Bing- hamton ; and when the elements conspired, but in vain, to keep back the festival trains, that cut their way through na GUIDE-BCXJK OF TllK the snow. The crossing of the Alps by Napoleon's le- gions was not more glorious or wonderful ; and the ac- clamation of the people that waited our arrival along the track, in the midst of the most violent of snow-storms, proved how welcome were these conquerors of space, and harbingers of trade, intercourse, and civilization. Four miles of the descent from Sumjnit are as stupid as can possibly be. The view is shut in by the wood on each side, and not even a shanty peeps out from its dull covert. But this same section acts as a whet to our keen curiosity for what is beyond ; and it is first gratified by our arrival at the famous Cascade Bridge (from New York 188^ miles, from Dunkirk 27 li miles). This stupendous wooden structure consists of a single arch, 250 feet in width, thrown over a ravine 184 feet in _ _ depth. The span of the arch has a rise of 50 feet, and we believe far surpass- es in width any oth- er in the world con- structed of timber. This ravine is very narrow, and is ap- proached and cross- ed so rapidly that a person in the cars can form no idea of the bridge itself, though we can see the gulf, and judge of its depth by a glance at the tops of the pines, descending, row by row, to the rocky, thread- like stream at the bottom of its gloomy jaws. To judge of the bridge and the gulf properly, it must be explored leisurely, and a day can easily be consumed in examining both from their various points of view. Descending the east side by a path supplied with a secure balustrade in M;W YoKK a\I> KKIK nAlL-ROAlJ in the shape of stout saplings, we come to the bottom of tho gulf, and see this wonderful structure, as it were, suspend- ed in the air above us, so airily, with all its strength, seems its graceful arch to span the chasm. The train crossing it now looks like a toy-cart, and the laborers at work on the west side are dwindled to mere atoms. Fol- lowing up the stream, we stand immediately under its arch, and can well see the huge ribs, joints, and sin- ews that form its powerful anatomy. This is the best point of view whence to comprehend the strength and beauty of the work. Instead of resting upon frail piers erected by the hand of man, each leg of the arch is supported on and in deep shelves hewn into the solid rock, that ris- es wall-like on both sides of the chasm ; and while llicse eternal foundations stand, so will the bridge. Its arch is made of eight ribs of white oak, two feet square in the center, and two feet by four at the abutments. These are interlaced with wood and iron braces in a way to show how well strength is combined with lightness in its airy structui'e. The width of the bridge is 24 feet, with a light railing ; its surface is protected by a gravel cement. Such is the Cascade Bridge, whose simple sym- metrical form would perhaps conceal the efl'ect of its vast- ness, were it not set in such a stupendous chasm. Of this chasm we must say a word, for the preparation of the gulf for the erection of the bridge appears nearly as won- derful as the structure itself. We have said that the walls of the ravine are of solid rock. The west side rises almost ■,S^^t\-^g^^Z'~ ■= 114 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE a sheer precipice, while the east, immediately under the bridge, is more sloping. Both sides were originally covered with a dense grove of hemlock, such as you see just above the bridge. To remove this was a Herculean task, as was also tlie excavation of tlie rock for the support of the arch. Here, then, we see the bare, steep rock of the west side completely shorn of vegetation, with nothing but tree-stumps, standing out like bosses from its breast-plate of stone. On the west side a vast pile of broken rock slopes down to the stream, choked up with stony rubbish, and huge trees hurled there from the heights above. Some old tressels still protrude from this debris, and the whole appearance of the "wreck of matter" attests the violent birth whence sprung the fair and secure fabric overhead. The best general view of the bridge and chasm is the one we present from the NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 116 quarry below, on the west side, whence most of the stone for the Starrucca Viaduct was procured. The view of the bridge from the bed of the creek is obscured by the thick foliage, but still the glimpses it aflbrds, though but par- tial, are very striking. But you will ask, Why Cascade Bridge ? In rainy weather you will ask. Where is the cascade ? for the di- minished volume of the fall that confers its title to the bridge can not make itself heard, loud as it is, through the dense thicket of hemlock that muflles its "quiet tune," save when the skies give it a full, whole choral band. The cascade is a few yards above the bridge, but entirely concealed, unless you scramble down a succession of rocky ledges, and get a close look at one of the most beautiful water-falls imaginable, about 60 feet high when the cur- rent is full, but merely streaking with white rills the green rocks when the clouds refuse the proper supplies. Anoth- er cascade, of thread-like proportions, takes the ravine at one single leap from a point between the great fall and the bridge ; but they are both invisible, except to tourists willing to risk their necks for a glimpse at their coy beau- ties. It is to be hoped the wood concealing them may soon be thinned out, and the picturesque attractions of the spot be allowed a fair chance with the grand and won- derful. A liglit, secure stairway, leading down the ledges of rock near the great cascade, would be also a valuable improvement. At present there are obstacles to a general thronging of visitors, owing to the untamed wildness of the chasm and the want of suitable accommodations in the neighborhood. Were the improvements suggested car- ried out, and a neat, comfortable public house established in the grove below the bridge, the Cascade Bridge would be a favorite resort to tourists and pleasure parties during summer. Some persons think the Cascade Ravine might have been crossed in a less expensive and more enduring way 110 GUIDE-HOOK OF THK by Jilli7ig it in. A glance at the chasm should surely con- vince them of their mistake. Imagine the lump of mother earth necessary to fill up that deep wrinkle in her fair cheek ! Reflect on the requisite width of such a mound, and what a culvert — nay, a bridge — would need to per- forate it as a vent to the stream when swollen to a torrent of resistless volume ! Instead, then, of a clumsy embank- ment, with a culvert, perhaps, unsuited fo the wants of the creek, here we have a strong and enduring bridge — a monument of skill — an arch of triumph — a wonder of the world — not marring, but heightening by contrast the ro- mantic beauties of the ravine. Well did General Scott exclaim, after watching a heavy train cross its untrem- bling fabric, "The man who could throw a. coio-path over that gulf deserves a crown !" This bridge cost about S70,000, was a year and a half in building, and is the work of John Fowler. From the bridge, looking north, we catch the first glimpse of the Valley of the Susquehanna, which, a few yards further, bursts upon our view in all its unconcealed loveliness. Emerging Jiom the close, tedious lane that has so long iiemmed us in, we run along a straight terrace cut in th6 mountain side 200 feet above the valley, and look down upon a landscape, the shortest glance at which will for- ever haunt the traveler with its vision of beauty. It eecms as if this lovely river and vale had gathered their %}-* NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 119 choicest charms into one gracious greeting, to cheer us after the passage of the wild and desolate mountain be- hind. We have attempted to convey an idea of the sweet features of this remarkable landscape, but what pencil or pen can portray the soul and essence of the beauty wrapped in their delicious hues — the pastoral repose brooding over those undulating hills and fair meadows, receding in the far, misty distance, wlien seen under an autumnal sky ? The swelling mass of the wooded mountain on the left, with its shadowy form reflected in that broad curve of tht river, contrasts well with the expanse of fields and pas- tures gently swelling upward on the right ; and while the stream, momentarily vanishing, again lights up the dis- tant vale with two bright links of its current, the plain immediately below us shows a snug farm-house, with its barns, orchard, and garden, and bright, green meadows dotted with cattle, that gladden the heart with a sense of the perfect peace and prosperity assuredly dwelling there. There is no wildness, no sublimity in this landscape ; but there it lies, beneath that wall of hemlock over which we look, in all its quiet, gentle loveliness, sinking with an in- expressible charm into the heart of the traveler. The American landscape should be always seen in the autumn, to judge of the true extent of its magnificence ; and no- where does that glorious season light up tlie landscape more brilliantly than here " on Susquehanna side." Thus, fellow-traveler, we come to the scene where the graceful belt of light trees and natural shrubbery skirting each edge of the stream below, and occasionally throwing out fantas- tic semicircular clumps of willows into the smooth mead- ows, divide with their brilliant colors the warm green of the pastures from th'e cool blue current winding among them — where (it being a grazing region) these exquisite hues are not marred by stubble-fields, but retain their un- earthy, delicate verdure through all seasons — ^where the hemlock groves scattered along the landscape relieve the 120 GUIDK-IIOOK OF THE woods of their otherwise excessive brilliancy — where the amber light of autumn sufTuses the whole valley, to whose " winding" river you may apply those happy lines of Rog- ers : "Like a silver zono Thrown about carelessly, it shines afar. Catching the eye in many a broken link. In many a turn and traverse as it glides.' Fortunately, the length of the high embanked terrace whence we see this famous landscape, and the check put upon our steed by the considerate engineer, allow us full time to observe all its beauties, over which we would fain linger. The inexorable hemlock, however, at last shuts out the vision, and we lose sight of the river altogether while cutting through the base of the mountain we have been skirting. Dreary, deep sand-banks and shattered timber are all we see in this winding cut ; but its termi- nation brings us before another superb prospect, of a char- acter different from the enchanting scene just left. Here we have the first view of the Starrucca Viaduct (from New York 190 miles, from Dunkirk 270 miles), which, even at this distance (one mile), when sunset lights up its arches, sheds a peculiar dignity and splendor over the landscape. The valley im- mediately below us shows its recent redemption by its NEW youK AND ebie: rail-road. 121 black stumps and uncultivated knolls ; but beyond these are meadows and groves betokening an old settlement, to- gether with the outline of a village placed at the base of the noble hills that inclose this grand prospect on every side. A run of two miles from the Cascade Bridge brings us to the viaduct, that takes its name from the Starrucca Creek, that here, issuing from a vale of the same title, runs into the Susquehanna. This magnificent structure is the greatest work of art along the rail-road, and ranks among the first works of its kind in this country. It is 1200 feet long, 110 feet high, and has 18 arches with spans of 60 feet. Its body is 24 feet in width, but the top is 30 feet, affording space enough for a double track. Its appearance would be much improved by a parapet ; but this deficiency is somewhat remedied by an iron railing on each side. Like the Cascade Bridge, the viaduct can not be seen to advantage unless you descend, and view it from various points below. The best of these is at the northeast angle, whence the beautifully-ourved archei, and 6 123 GUIDE-BOOK OF TllB light, though substantial piers, recede from the eye in ex- quisite symmetrj'. On the west side numerous shanties and other common-place buildings obstruct the view very much ; but from the opposite side of the Susquehanna an unobstructed view can be liad of ils wliole length, as, like a huge centipede, it puts down its many feet across the r^ 1^4^^^^^^' Starrucca Vale. The creek passes under one arch near its southern end, and is famous for the excellent trout in its waters higher up. Below the bridge it serves several mills, supporting the small community here, and crosses the valley to the river completely hidden in a dense grove of elm, birch, and willows. The stone of which the via- duct is built was brought partly from above on the creek, and partly from the quarry we saw at the Cascade Bridge, and has proved a good material. The whole work was intrusted to Mr. Kirkwood, the late efficient superintend- ent of the road, who executed his'«W^^'" m 4 C 1 #^ 4- ^^ Hi^ — i< J J, w^ ^h r '-V ■^i mwv*--" ■>-^f*i r :- "* * """NhST* ■t'tJi'C''^*"'^ ^ w Tf^^\,'\ ><>!>-. vjeb'^ i.:£asi. «* *-<^ structed line behind us ; but, to have this view in perfec- tion, the tourist must ascend the old road, extending, over the hill above us, from the village of Lanesborough to the station of Susquehanna. The difference between these two views may be judged from our illustrations, and the Nl:\V YOUK aKM fUlt KAll.-KOAU. I"'/" vast extent given to tlic prospect by ascending to the liigh er point of view was alone wanting to make it what it is, one of unsurpassed magnificence. It may be said to form an epitome of the glories, natural and artificial, of the New York and Erie Rail-road. From the foreground in the pic- ture, beneath us recede the river and the rail-road, both to vanish in the dense forest of hemlock, whose varied pointed summits give such a peculiar grandeur to the dis- tant horizon. The river, on the left, leaves us in two broad curves, one of which is rippled over by a dam, and the nearer one crossed by an old bridge, from which that yellow thread of the turnpike winds up and down the elopes of its left bank. On the right the road starts from the bridge over the town, whose neat churcli, and old red mills, and white houses peep out from willow groves and those old gray-stemmed sycamores, and makes a beautiful and unbroken curve of three miles, to vanish in the hem- locks, where the river disappears. The unobstructed view of this section of the road is very interesting ; and mid- way upon its thread-like track stands the great viaduct, through whose arches the sunlight falls aslant, and over whose stately form the mountains, as though determined to do justice to such a proud neighbor, gather their crests up into bold, precipitous peaks, quite unlike their adjacent round-head brethren. Between these two arcs of the road and river stretch the most beautiful meadows, crossed and dotted with every variety of clumps, groves, and dense avenues of trees, while the white walls of the village and scattered dwellings give an animated character to the scene, making its composition complete. This superb landscape should also be seen in autumn, when, though those bold hemlock hills in the distance and above the vi- aduct still retain their sober suit of dark green, tlie gen- tler summits are richly bronzed by the early frosts, and the motley grove skirting the Starrucca Creek spans the golden green expanse of meadow like a rainbow.' 128 (iUIDE-BOOK Of THE Nearly two miles from Lanesborough we arrive at the Susquehanna station (from New York 192^ miles, from Dunkirk 267i miles), placed on a narrow strip of land be- tween the river and the hills, that now close up on either hand. Strictly the name of this locality is Harmony ; but what was once a mere collection of huts, with a little public house, is now an important depot or Iwsjrital for disabled engines and cars, and stables for those in daily use. The necessary buildings for such an establishment, where engines and cars are repaired, of course make this an important and bustling place, in addition to the less noisy business of a station. The engine-houses here are substantial tenements, and in the neat stables are accom- modations for 30 of these metal steeds. The number of hands employed is about 200 ; and their wants, and those of the engine drivers and firemen who end their day's work here, have caused the erection of spacious boarding-houses and a few tasty cottages along the hill overhanging the dcjTol. The ground lias been laid off into lots, churches have been built on the hill, and a thriving village has sprung up. Travelers visiting the Cascade Bridge and Starrucca Via- duct will leave the cars here, and go back to Lanesborough, one mile, by carriage. We are now at the bottom of the descent from Summit, NEW VORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 129 and enter upon the lightest giade of the road, extending as far as Hornellsville. The ascent on this section, going west, is nowhere over Jive feet to the mile. We also, at tliis point, bid adieu to the grand and romantic scenery of the road, though we shall find before us much that is pic- turesque. This is the character of the Susquehanna where we cross its rapid current, half a mile beyond the station, by a wooden covered bridge 800 feet long, with one span of 186, and four others of 150 feet. There are actually two bridges, joined by a wooded island in the stream, whose wild trees and the high hills around make the spot very picturesque. The country around this point has been fa- mous as a hunting field, and many are the stories told by the old Nimrod that "keeps" the bridge of not only hunt- ing deer and game, but also of the sterner sport of hunting bears and panthers, that not long since abounded in the adjacent forest. It is said deer are often seen swimming the Susquehanna near the bridge. Our course now lies on the right bank of the river, that leads us a winding course among the hills, though now and then we bolt from its company. We are very little above its surface, and the work for five miles is very light. At that point, however, we pass through several rock-out- 130 GUIDE-BOOK OP THE tings, where the views are truly beautiful. The last of these " cuts" shows a steep face of rock about 74 feet iu height, the last resistance of the soil we encounter for very iNEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-KOAI). 131 many miles. Leaving the river here, we rush across a fertile plain, again to touch its banks at a point affording one of its choicest landscapes, whence, looking southwest, wc have one of the finest views the Susquehanna affords In its distance rises a high conical mountain, at the base of which lies the village of Great Bend, in Pennsylvania. In a few minutes we stop at the station bearing the same name. Great Bend (from New York 200i miles, from Dun- 132 OUIOE-BOUK OF THE kirk 259 miles), eight miles from Susquehanna. A covered bridge crosses the Susquehanna to the village, bearing the same name, on the south bank, which presents a very pleasant view from the station. This station derives its chief importance from the Dela- ware, Lackawanna, and Western Rail-road, which connects with the Erie Road here, and, crossing the Susquehanna by another covered bridge, follows a mountain stream into the ravine, which is visible to the southward, and penetrating the Lackawanna coal region, and passing llnough Scranton, Within view of the beautiful and far-famed Valley of Wyoming, crosses the wildest and most picturesque region of Pennsyl- vania, and strikes the Delaware River five miles below the Water (.fap, which is a ponit of celcbraled beauty. Crossing the Delaware here, and now taking the name of the Warren Rail-road, it continues a few miles to New Hampton, where it connects with the New Jersey Central Road. Passengers for Montrose and Tunkhannock take this road. Scranton, the principal station on it, is a new place, on the Lackawanna, now numbering several thousand inhabit- ants on ground which, in 1845, was almost unknown to civilization. It has iron and eoal mines opening side by side in the mountain, and its immense rolling-mills and other works make it a place of great interest to the visitor. . The person who is a stranger to a coal country will be gratified by a visit to the Lackawanna region. Scranton KEW YOKK AND ERIE ItAIL-ROAD. 133 lies on llie tabic of llie valley, the mills and furnaces being in the bed of Roaring Brook, which comes down from the mountains to join the Lackawanna. In the side of the ra- vine of this brook are the coal and iron openings, and the mines actually have their outlets in the very shadow of the furnaces. The Scranton Company was, mrtil 185'1, a joint- stock company, owned chiefly at the East. In that year it became a corporation, and it has been eminently successful in its operations. The entire Lackawanna Valley is interest- ing to the stranger, and, should he desire to do so, he can go down to Scranton by the D. L. and W. Road, and thence drive over to Carbondale and Honesdale, and strike the Erie track again at Narrowsburgh. The valley formerly had no outlet for its coal except the coal rail-road, which took cars by stationary engines up and down inclined planes from AA'yo- ming Valley to Hawley, on the Delaware and Hudson Canal. This rail-road, it is supposed, will supply both New York and the West with anthracite coal, and will aflbrd the most direct means of conveyance hitherto known for that import- ant commodity to the great metropolis. From Scranton a drive of twelve miles takes the traveler into the AVyoming Val- ley at Pittston, where he may cross the Susquehanna, and drive by the Monument, and along this most holy ground in America, passing the Forty Fort burial-place and the scene of the massacre, and so to AVilkesbarre, seven miles below. This whole coal region is well worthy a visit, and the stranger will find at Scranton a hotel equal to his highest ideas of city accommodations. Leaving Great Bend, we run northward through a coun- try whose fields and numerous cross-roads show that wc are entering upon a more cultivated region. At the end of four miles we leave Pennsylvania for the last time, and enter the empire slate midway in Broome county, which we first approached at Deposit. This county was first settled in 1790, chiefly by persons from Massachu- setts, though a French colony had settled on the Che- 134 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE nango in 1787. It was little known before the Revolu- tion, and until within a few years held a population of Ittmbermen. Since the introduction of roads and canals, it has advanced in agricultural importance, and in the richness and abundance of its products now vies with Or- ange. Though generally mountainous, there is hardly a hill not susceptible of cultivation to the very top. The same, liowever, may be said of the entire Valley of the Susquehanna in this region. Its sudden growth is pro- digious, for in tlie numerous large towns we shall soon ap- proach, many of tlie settlers are still living that first vis- ited them in canoes. As we advance along this fine val- ley, the evidences of a fertile soil and greater population become evident, though the scenery proportionally becomes monotonous, and the road, running through a level plain, presents nothing of interest in its construction. KiRKwooD (from New York 206 miles, from Dunkirk 254 miles) is a small village, so called after a former su- perintendent of the road. In this neighborhood, on the north side of the road, stands an old, shabby wooden house, that may be some day looked upon with great reverence, propped up with tenderest care, and visited by troops of pilgrims to view its hallowed timbers. It is the house in wliich was born Joe Smith, the Mormon prophet. Yes, that shabby tenement was Joe's cradle, and may be some day the thronged Mecca to his disciples from the mighty West. The signs of increasing cultivation and prosperity in the farms we pass are gradually mingled with the un- mistakable evidences of a large town being near. "We see successively wagon-loads of town goods, then elegant town vehicles containing town-dressed people, am. then elegant suburban residences, proofs of the wealth and taste of the community we approach, and that is BiNGHAMTON (from New York 216 miles, from Dunkirk 245 miles). Tliis beautiful village, the largest and fair- est community on the main line of the road we have met; NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-nOAD. 130 Since leaving New "iork city is situated in a wide plain, and on an angle formed by the confluence of the Susque- hanna and the Chenango Rivers. It was named after its original settler, Mr. Bingham, an Englishman, who died in 1804, leaving two daughters, afterward married to Al- exander Baring and his brother Henry, the famous En- glish bankers of that name, one of whom, it is well known, was afterward created Lord Ashburton. Binghamton at once sprang into importance by its being so happily placed on two such streams, whose lumber and water-power forth- with formed the elements of its prosperity. Besides these mills, the Chenango Canal, extending along that rive*^ 95 miles to Utica, proved the next auspicious source of im- provement for Binghamton. The flour trade by this ca- nal is extensive. That work, however, has somewhat languished under the superior advantages aflbrded by the Erie Rail-road, that has given the crowning impulse to the business of Binghamton, and thus we find it a busy town, containing some 12000 inhabitants. The station is built on an open area north of the town, and its ofRces, freight-houses, and perfect maze of "turn-outs," "switch- es," &c., covered with trains and freight-cars, prove it one of first importance. The village covers several hundred acres, and boasts many fine streets planted with trees, 136 GUIDE-BOOK OF. THE and ornamented with some half dozen churches, the coun- ty buildings, and several excellent hotels. The side-walks are made of plank, and prove both neat and convenient. The canal passing through the town gives, with its boats and bridges, a peculiar character to the streets. A long wooden bridge connects the main business part with the suburbs on the south side of the Susquehanna, as several others do with the west side of the Chenango, where the elegant private residences of the older and more opulent citizens are seen, with beautiful gardens and trees sloping down to the water's side. Standing on one of these bridges over the Chenango at sunset, and looking either north or south along these garden shores, the traveler will be struck with the beauty of the scene. ' Washington Irving has pro- nounced them unsurpassed in any village he has ever vis- ited. On the southern side of the Susquehanna, and di- rectly opposite the junction of the Chenango, there is also, from the garden of Mr. Eldridge, an interesting view of the town ; and a ride down the main street, on the west bank of the Chenango, will also show the elegant taste of the citizens in architecture and ornamental grounds. The best general view of Binghamton and the valley is to be had from a hill south of the town, which we have selected as showing the course of the two rivers and the massing of the town most effectively. The drives in this direction afford an endless variety of extensive views of the valley Directly west of, and near the station, the road crosses the Chenango by a wooden bridge of great length and of va- NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAU. 139 ried design. Either end of it is covered. Under the east- ern portion the Clienango Canal passes. Chenango, in Indian, is said by some to mean "Beauti- ful" or "Pleasant Waters," while others contend that it means "Swift River.'' Whichever be the true significa- tion, the word will be well applied, for a swifter or more beautiful river never ran toward the sea. With such a position, in such a fertile plain, and with such rapid means of connection with New York and all the minor points of trade surrounding it, what can pre- vent Binghamton from growing into an inland metropo- lis ? Looking back at its comparatively recent settlement, what a still greater change may be anticipated. Before the numerous roads were opened for its only business, Inm- ber, its only market was Philadelphia. In 1810 there was but one mail per week from New York. With this antic- ipated growth of Binghamton, it has a community whose intelligence, enterprise, and refined taste will keep pace with its increasing wealth. There is no place where hog- 140 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE pitality and social intercourse are conducted in a more lib- eral and refined manner. It will never be forgotten with what spirit its citizens got up the celebration of the open- ing of the road to this place, on the 27th of December, 1848, which, though the elements rather combined to make a late collation, yet proved at the same time the warmth of a reception which no frosts could chill or par- alyze. The Syracuse and Binghamton Rail-road diverges here, and conveys travelers through the most pseudo-classical part of the state, passing through Marathon, Homer, TuUy, and Apulia, to modem Syracuse. Good hotels may be found in Binghamton, and the place bids fair to be the most important in the southern tier of counties. It is now rivaled only by Elmira, and it is amus- ing to hear the citizens of the two places dispute when they meet. The diflerence in population is not 1000. The Albany and Susquehanna Road also diverges here, intended to convey passengers to Albany. Some distance up the Clienango a colony of French settled in 1790. Talleyrand visited it in 1795, and took his private secretary from that place. The colony was afterward broken up and scattered. Upon the site of Binghamton, a brigade of American troops, in 1779, under the command of General James Clinton, the father of De Witt Clinton, encamped for one or two nights, on their way to join the main body under Sullivan, then penetrating westward. The first white man wlio made "a permanent settlement in what is claimed for the village vicinity was Captain Joseph Leonard, who was from Plymouth, Massachusetts. Soon after came Colonel William Rose, from Connecticut, and then Whit- neys, from Columbia county. At the time of their settle- ment (1787) their nearest white neighbors were at Tioga, a distance of 40 miles. — Vide Wilkinson's Annals of Binghamton, 1840. NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 141 In the same annals is mentioned how, in consequence of a freshet in 1794, a great scarcity was felt, during which a Major Stow shouldered a bushel of wheat, in which the whole neighborhood had a common share, and started for Wattle's Ferry to mill, a distance of more than 40 miles, carrying his grist the whole distance on foot. On his return the neighbors held a sort of thanksgiving over their "short-cake" and a pound of tea he had pur- chased, and, as they had no Iwg's lard, they substituted bear's grease to make their cake tender. Beyond Binghamton the country continues of the same level, rich character, with but few glimpses of the river to relieve its monotony. The observant traveler will, on this section of the road, remark for the first time a double row of half-decayed posts along the left of the road, now buried in the soil, now rising above it ten feet, now hug- ging our track, now bolting off at a tangent across the valley, now dark and decayed, and now fresh and strong enough to bear bridges (evidently never used) twenty feet long ! This is a puzzling apparition to the stranger ; and if you read the early history of this rail-road, you will un- derstand how, to the eyes of a stockholder, each of these black posts is a dismal monument to the memory of mill- ions sunk in sinking their never-used timbers, and how those bridges are indeed veritable "bridges of sighs." When the New York and Erie Rail-road, under the stim- ulus of the state loan, was begun at the Dunkirk terminus, and was in progress throughout almost its entire length in 1841, 90 miles of it, between Binghamton and Hornells- ville, were "piled" with these upright posts, on which the road was to rest, to be filled in underneath. To effect this, an ingenious machine was invented and put in oper- ation, to drive and saw off these piles with dispatch ; and it is melancholy to turn to the "journals of the day," and see the enthusiastic records of the daily progress of this wonderful driver and cutter, as though every post driven 142 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE was an additional support on which was to rest the future fortunes of the villages along the route ! Ninety miles were thus jmsted up, when the treasury of the company hccame emharrasscd, the work was stopped, and the road at the point of death, when it was resuscitated by calling in new nurses and physicians. When the work was again start- ed, jiew and improved modes of engineering showed that it would be actually cheaper to throw aside the jMed route as useless, and run a new line. This was done, and the track was laid as it now is, leaving tlie said outposts to remain unused, a homely imitation of a Roman viaduct, stretching mournfully across a wide campagna ! Keeping along the Susquehanna Valley, that remains the same in rich cultivation as we pass westward, our next stopping-place is Union (from New York 223 miles, from Dunkirk 237 miles), nine miles beyond Binghamton. The station stands half a mile from the village that names it, a good view of which, and the singular round hill adjacent, may be had from the station. Union is a thriving little village of about 1000 inhabitants, standing in the midst of a broad plain as Binghamton does, though half a mile distant from the Susquehanna. The high round hill spoken of slopes up from the main street, and aifords a fine pasture to its very top, excepting on its soutliern face, which is very pref- NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 143 oipitous, and covered with pine and hemlock. From its summit there arc superb views up and down the valley for many miles, showing the windings of the river, while immediately below us its current is broken up with small islands, fringed with trees, and molded in every variety of fantastic shape. These islands are rich pasturages, and have on them herds of cattle and flocks of geese, that add much to the quiet rural beauty of the river. Union was settled in 1789 by one Judge Mersereau, of Tioga county. He served with distinction under Washington, who intrusted to his keeping certain British officers after Burgoyne's surrender. The judge's wife entered so fully into his attempt to make the captives comfortable, that she finally eloped with the youngest of the unfortunate prisoners. In spite of this unfortunate act of disunion on the part of his wife, the judge conferred upon his new settlement its present patriotic title. The flats around Union are very fertile, and one mile in width. These extend several miles before us, and through them the Nanticoke Creek passes toward Susquehanna. We cross its small stream by a wooden bridge. There are several mills on this creek in sight. At this point we touch the base of the mountains closely, while the "flats" still keep on our left. The turnpike from Bing- V"" - I^i^'''^'-?^ 144 GUIDE-BOOK OP THE hamton to Owego passes along the mountain also, and from many of its high points overlooks the road and the river. From one of these points, three miles heyond Union, the view is really superb as we look westward, and see the round hill near that village rising, mound-like, from the vast plain, while immediately below us the Sus- quehanna, by one of its graceful curves, sweeps closely up alongside of the rail-road, winding thread-like round the heights on the left. Leaving this exquisite bit of scenery, we soon enter a region directly opposite in character, and of almost primitive nature, the only marks of man's pres- ence being such as to make the prospect more desolate, for those cleared patches on the hill side, with their gloomy hemlock and black stumps, in showery- weather make the prospect appear as though it had been desolated by war Presfintly we catch sight of a long new bridge over the Susquehanna, and the busy looking factoiies of Apalachin on the opposite side of the river. Here we leave Broome county and enter Tioga, once a part of that now called Chemung. The eastern portion of its soil resembles that of Broome, but the northwestern abounds in limestone and gypsum. Campville (from New York 230 miles, from Dunkirk 230 miles) is six and a half miles from Union, and will become, ere long, of importance, from the quantity of cat- tle brought here to be sent to New York. The village NEW yOKK AND ERIE RAIL-KOAD. 145 is an old-fashloiicd one, but boasting a hotel which it would be well for larger places to imitate in point of cleanliness, comfortable beds, and good fare. This station is just equi- distant from New York and Dunkirk. From Campville a remarkable embanked curve in the road follows the river side, and then, rushing across a wide plain by a straight section, in length only second to that at Delaware, we suddenly come upon the pretty vil- lage of OwEGO (from New York 236^ miles, from Dunkirk 223^ miles). The station and offices here, like the town itself, are next in rank to Binghamton, to which Owego bears much resemblance, though not possessing the natural ad- vantages of position which Binghamton enjoys. It is 146 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE named after the creek on which it stands, at its junction with the Susquehanna, though Mr. Willis asserts the name should he' written Owago — that is, "swift river," the very translation given hy some to the word Chenango. But, indeed, there is much uncertainty and fancy in these same translations, for we have often heard half a dozen mean- ings assigned to some of the ahoriginal terms. Like Bing- hamton, Owego is placed in a level, fertile part of the val- ley, and on the margin of the Susquehanna, here crossed by a wooden bridge. The first clearing was made in 1791, and the village was incorporated in 1827. Its growth was very rapid, its wealth mainly springing from the salt- springs of Salina, which staple, with lumber, were sent down to Pennsylvania and Maryland. Mills, too, flour- ished on the Owego, and finally the rail-road fully opened to it an enriching channel of business. It npw contains NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 147 about 2500 inhabitants, and possesses all the appurtenan- ces of an important to\vii in its banks, printing-offices, churches, and busy hotels. There are also several flour, plaster, and woolen mills here. The business done is large, and its streets and stores appear always crowded. The new part of the to\vn is planted with trees, and lined with plank pavements, and ornamented with beautiful dwellings, as Binghamton is. This pretty village re- ceived a severe loss by the great fire in the autumn of 1849, when nearly all its large stores, its bank, several hotels (and a part of the bridge over the Susquehanna), forming one third of the town, were consumed. The loss of property, though great, did not prove fatal, for imme- diately the energy and enterprise of the citizens caused new edifices to appear on the ashes of the burned district. The rapid growth of Owego is seen in the fact that, at the opening of the road in 1849, the man was present that put up the first log hut on the spot where the town now stands ! From Owego the Cayuga and Susquehanna Rail-road extends to Ithaca, on Cayuga Lake, a distance of 30 miles, having a gauge of the same width with the parent road ; and by this branch road an important addi- tion has been made to the business of the main road and to Owego, by the trade opened with the northern counties by the lake, that send down their plaster, flour, and other produce for the lumber, coal, iron, and other staples of the southern. The travel, too, is large, as it furnishes a speed- ier and more varied route to those who have heretofore traveled by the way of Albany to New York. The country around Owego is exceedingly beautiful, and aflbrds fine drives. Several of the proprietors of the sur- rounding land are paying great attention to improving it, BO that in a short time it will be one vast plain of the highest cultivation. The locality of most interest in the neighborhood of the village is Glen Mary, the late rural abode of N. P. Willis, whose graceful pen has bestowed on 148 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE its beauties an immortality that will always make the spot attractive to tourists. The house has " gone to stran- gers," but the attractions of the retreat remain precisely as when the late owner penned the " Letters from under a Bridge" — where, by-the-way, his humble seat now lies unused, and dusty by the showers of "free soil" through the crevices of the bridge. The gle)i, so called, is more like a gentle ravine than tlie species of vale which that Highland title designates. A little brook leaps down through its thick groves, and near one of its prettiest cas- cades is the grave of Mr. Willis's infant child — a fit and touching resting-place for it, beside that young and hurry- ing streamlet. From a hill just above the house there is a superb view, in the middle-ground of which, between two sloping outlines of mountains, Owego is very pictur- esquely placed. The road passes Owego Creek by a substantial bridge, half a mile west of Owego, and then resumes the course along the valley, varying but little from its general char- acter. Smithborough (from New York 246 miles, from Dun- kirk 214 miles) is a prettily-situated village, on the right side of the road, 10 miles beyond Owego. A bridge cross- es the Susquehaima here on the left. As wc proceed on- ward, the country evidently becomes less settled and quite uninteresting. Barton (from New York 249 miles, from Dunkirk 21 1 miles) is a thriving little town, beautifully situated. NEW YORK AND ERIE HAIL-ROAU 11!) three miles beyond Smithborough. It has a respectable business, although the station is yet in its infancy, and has several good hotels. The old road ran through this town to the north of the pres- ent one, and from one of its substantial unused bridges we take the accom- panying sketch. A few miles beyond Barton we take one last look at the Susquehanna, which, however, before leaving, bestows a bit of its scenery upon us almost as wild as that on the Delaware. It has brought us quite to the edge of Penu- sj'lvania again, but, :,*^''r^,^^S**°'S»->'- declining to follow the sharp elbow it thrusts across the " line," we cross tho base of its angle, and keep due on through one of the isa GUIDE-BOOK OF THE straightest Bections and most level plains on the road. A little further we cross a high emhankment throAvn across the flat vale tlurough which the Cayuta Creek flows. Two bridges afford a passage to its waters, that have caused to spring up there, to the north of us, the busy mills that give to the village the name of Factoryville. Waverley (from New York 266 miles, from Dunkirk 194 miles), as the station at this place is called, is situ- ated in a deep curved cut, half a mile from the end of the embankment, and one mile from the old village, that has attained great business activity, and is as thriving as any community we have passed. The neat little village of Waverley stands on a hill to the west of Factoryville, though what has caused it to spring up there no one can imagine. The station is de»- NEW YORK AKD KRIE RAIL-ROAD. ISi lined to be an important one. Already, Bince it was sketched for this work, lias it changed its appearance to a degree perfectly marvelous, so that what was but a few years since a simple station-house almost hidden by tho banks of the rail-road, is now the nucleus of a bustling mass of stores and public houses. Very near the station the traveler will be struck with a bare, flat-topped, regularly-shaped mound, 110 feet above 4*&i^i»j the surrounding soil, which is here called Spanish Hill — why is an unsolved riddle. Its shaven, regular slope, and certain marks on the top, show that at one time it had been fortified — possibly during the old French war, and thus its foreign birth might have got confounded. It is, however, the subject of a legend — an article lamenta- bly scarce in these regions, that want the chann of asso- ciatioti to keep one unfatigued while traversing its eternal sameness. According to the legend, on one occasion a party of six Indians encamped on this hill, with three white prisoners carried ofl' from the massacre of Wyo- niing. At night the captives ro.sc and slew five of their captors, the sixth escaping. Uixm this simple bravo achievement has been embroidered a tissue of bloody, su- pernatural, and ridiculous stories. It is said that, in con- sequence of the triumph of the captive whites, the Indians believed no red man could leave that hill alive. Tl;o 152 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE pale faces, also, have their awful suspicions ahout the mount, as some swear that the devil himself has been seen rumiiug up and down it ; and others, again, believe that Captain Kidd's treasure — those very ubiquitous de- posites ! — ^was buried in its mysterious bosom. The extremity of the tongue of land formed by the Sus- quehanna dipping down into Pennsylvania is called Tio- ga Point, and the west side of it is formed by the C/je- mung River, that here joins the former, and which last, thus enlarged, keeps on to the south. Tioga Point is a place of great natural beauty and of historical interest ; for here not only did the expedition stop that afterward desolated "Wyoming, hut in 1779 it was the rendezvous for the forces of Generals Sullivan and Clinton, then in pursuit of Brant, just reeking with the blood shed at Min- nisink. The village of Athens — the eternal, omnipresent Athens, to be found from St. John's to the Rio Grande ! — stands on this point. The Indian name of Tioga was Ta-hi-o-ga, said to mean "conjunction of streams," the same translation given to many other names. It seems strange there should be such a radical diflerence in the dialects of tribes living so near each other ! In addition to its natural and historical interest, Tioga Point is the outlet of the coal and iron mines of Pennsylvania, that are here exchanged for the lumber, plaster, and salt of New York. At tlie station of Chemung (from New York 260 miles, from Dunkirk 200 miles), five miles west of Waverley, wo see the Riv- er Cliemung for the first time, and find it a worthy trib- utary to the Susquehanna. The road runs close along the stream at this place, and at considerable height above it. Its embanked curve makes a noble section for the prac- tical man to look at, and, looking back from the end of the embankment, the tourist may catch a view worthy of the " winding river'' itself. The abundance of hemlock and the uncultivated appearance of this region show that NEW YOnK AND ERIE HAIL-ROAD, 153 lumber and leather are its support. The rafts we saw constantly increasing on the Susquehanna are seen more frequently on the Chemung, and the narrow alleys in the mountain sides for sliding down the timber, so remark- able on the Delaware, are again a frequent feature of the landscape. Five miles beyond Waverley we pass through a level plain crossed by the Chemung. We pass the river by a substantial wooden bridge. Heavy gravel cuts and another level plain succeed ; and then, sudden- ly turning westward close to the brink of the river, we pass the great roek-cutting at the Narrows, near Wellsburg. 1;')! GUIDE-BOOK OF THE C^ The Bcenery is now improving, with evident signs of our getting into a region more populous. The left bank of the river at the " Narrows" is formed l)y a steep mountain, along which the "cut" is made in the rock for half a mile, though the right bank is a wide, flat meadow of gi'eat fertility, ending in the mountains half a mile from the river. A wooded island in the Che- mung at this point gives more interest to the view of the Narrows. At the further end of the rocky " cut," in a little recess of the hills, stands the old villas[e of Wcllsburg. NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 155 Wellsburg Station (from New York 266 miles, from Dunkirk 194 miles) is of but little importance. Our road now enters a region, however, bearing every token of rich land and high cultivation, and after a run of seven mile.H through its extensive farms, we arrive at Elmira (from New York 273 miles, from Dunkirk 187 miles). This is the queen city along the New York and Erie Rail-road, and is a good specimen of the ^^^^3 towns that seem to ex- ~ "— ~~ -^ ^* liale from the Amer- — _ -^ ^ ican soil. Rapid as has been the growth of Binghamton and Owe- go, theirs have been as a snail's pace compar- ed with that of their Western rival. Situ- ated on the north bank of the Chemung, we enter its streets by a covered bridge of wood. Adjoining is the bridge over which the turn- pike to Owego crosses. The traveler, as he skirts along its suburbs to its busy station in the west end, and then passes to his hotel through those compact streets, crowd- ed with business and intersected by a canal, can hardly believe that Elmira, 20 years ago, was a little obscure village, though its settlement goes much further back. It was settled in 1788 by a Captain John Hendry. At that time it was on the only pathway from Wilkesbarre to Canada. Its original name was Con-e-wa-wah, or, " liead on a jiole" from the fact that the head of an In- dian chief was found here thus mounted — a good, sono- rous title, and far better than the present lackadaisical name of the town. Captain Hendry, however, Anglicized it into Newton. In 1791 the village was located by one Moses De Witt, and, of course, its name was again changed 156 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE — this time to Dewittsburgh. Under that title it figures in the original plot and conveyance. In that year the first frame house, was erected. The lands were sold to set- tlers at eighteen pence per acre. The town finally re- ceived its present title from some gentleman who named it after his wife. Though at once made a prosperous set- tlement hy its advantages as a lumher depot, and the mill- seats on Newton Creek, that not far off empties into the Chemung, it did not assume remarkable growth until the construction of the Chemung Canal in 1830-32. This important work, extending 20 miles to Seneca Lake, at once supplied an outlet for its lumber by way of the Erie Canal, and brought here, in return, valuable exchanges of merchandise, to be sent in large quantities into Pennsyl- vania by the Williamsport and Elmira Rail-road, already in good part constructed, opening into the heart of North- ern Pennsylvania. This period may be considered the be- ginning of its fortunes, that have flourished since to such a degree as to make it now a town containing about 12000 inhabitants, with factories, churches, academies, printing- offices, store-houses, and every other sign of a future city. It is situated in a broad valley, rivaling in fertility and beauty that in which Binghamton stands. From the high mountains half a mile west of Elmira, where the river makes a sudden bend, the best view may be had of the to-wn and of the valley. From the dark fringe of mountains in the distance, the Chemung winds thread- like toward us, across the fertile flats, till in the center of the picture, where it flings out its broad, bright sheet, with its wooded island and bridges, on the right side of which extends afar the white and steepled mass of the town, and on the left the rich fields and groves, streaked by the yellow line of the rail-road. Nursed in the lap of such a fertile vale, every hill of which, even, is cultivata- ble to the top, and fed on the tributes of that river and ■Jhat canal, no wonder Elmira at once proved a stout and NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 159 healthy young giant. These elements of prosperity re- ceived their crowning impulse by the extension of the Erie Rail-road to Elmira in October, 1849, that has opened to this magnificent and fertile valley such a direct and rapid communication with the city of New York, and, by the Newburgh branch, •with the river counties. The station, of course, is extensive in its buildings and the amount of its business. In addition to the agent's office and freight- houses, a large engine-house, with turn-table, renders the station one of imiwrtance. The rail-roads which diverge at this point add to the prosperity of Elmira. The AVilliams- port Road, which goes down into Pennsylvania, is chiefly a coal road ; but its extensions into the Keystone State make it a route of increasing importance every year, and tlie coal business itself is fast becoming the greatest business in the West. The long lines of coal trains on the Erie Road look Irom a distance like huge black snakes winding along the fields. The Elmira, Canandaigua, and Niagara Falls Road diverges here, and passes through one of the most beautiful sections of the state to Penn Yan, Canandaigua, and Niagara Falls. This is a favorite route witli travelers to the Falls, and is well worthy a visit from tlic tourist. A very pleasant trip also may be made to JelTcrson, and thence down SeneL>a Lake to Geneva. The branch roatl to the lake passes through a beauliful country, and the tourist visiting Elmira should not fail to take this rapid run by rail and steam to Geneva, at the foot of the lake, for a pleasanter sail and a fairer town he will not meet on this continent. The whole region abounds \nih the picturesque, that makes the hackneyed titles of its fairy nooks and localities disgusting. We have already groaned over the vile taste that has rejected the express- ive and sonorous Indian titles, and adopted those of the ancient and classical world ; but the region round Seneca Lake has been wofuUy victimized by some pedant, that has emptied Lempriere's Classical Dictionary upon its de- 160 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE voted aoies. Thus the lake itself, which the Indiana called Ho-Tie-trye, or "Hemlock Lake," was dubbed Seiv- eca, though, if its philosophic depth had to be named after a Greek sage, Socrates had a better right, inasmuch as he is associated with one species of hemlock in his last jorum of earthly drink ! Then its shores are so dotted v/ith Ovid, Hector Falls, Homer, &c., that we expect to meet with "Jupiter Euid CaysBX, likewise Nebucknadfi^z^sar," and other classicalities of the " groves of Blarney." With such pedantic titles for really pretty places, disgusting our common sense and taste, it is refreshing to meet with such short aboriginal sounds as Pen-Yan, or the downright rough but intelligible Saxon of "Horse-heads" — which means something, and tluit is tlic fact that, where the village stands. General Sullivan, while encamped here in 1780, slew his old cavalry horses, and their skulls being left to whiten the plain, the place became a Golgotha of steeds, and hence its name. The mention of "Horse- heads" reminds us of the historical event that fortunate- ly invests Ehnira and the neighborhood with the sacred interest associated with one of the Revolutionary battles. We have already spoken of the retreat of the Indians un- der Brandt after the bloody defeat of the New York troops in 1779, near the Lackawaxen, and the pursuit of the foe by an army of 6000 men under General Sullivan, that had, under orders from Washington, collected at Tioga Point, and then followed Brandt up the Chemung. The Indians, that numbered 500 on their retreat, were joined by a force of 250 British and regulars under experienced officers, and the allies then made a stand at Elmira, just in front of the bridge. At this point Brandt command- ed the India,ns, while the regulars were posted behind a breast-work extending to the left as far as the high mount- ain westward of the town, and at the base of which New- ton Greek flows into the Chemung. The plans of ths al- lies were ingenious, but could not baffle Sullivan, who, NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. IGl sending up the mountains a strong brigade under General Poor to turn their lelt flank, at the same time made a furious assault upon their breast-work. After a short struggle the allies gave way, and retreated, with great slaughter, toward Seneca Lake. Sullivan followed ; but, from some cause or other, the victory was not made de- cisive by any subsequent dispersion of the Indians, who not long after collected in large marauding bands. Sul- livan encamped for some time at Horse-heads, six miles from Elmira, and there slew his old chargers, as already described. The point of his encampment when at Elmira was Sullivan's Mills, on Newton Creek, half a mile west of the town. Besides this Revolutionary incident, Elmira is associated with the history of an eminent personage, above all others acquainted with strange vicissitudes of fortune, the late Louis Philippe, ex-king of the French. We have men- tioned that Talleyrand had visited the Chenango Valley in 1795, and the revolution in France had also thrown on our shores at the same time the young Duke of Orleans (then the title of Louis Philippe) and his brothers, the dukes of Nemours and De Berri. These royal outcasts came to Elmira on foot from Canandaigua, and after a short stay they descended tlic Chemung and Susquehan- na to Harrisburg. Since that era, what a change has passed over the old wily Protean minister and the exiled prince,- successively the popular king and the banished .•nonarch ! and within that epocli this (then wild) valley Qas leaped into a wealth, dignity, and importance that would, as a title, confer honor on king, duke, or baron.* We can not close these reflections upon the history and growth of Elmira without quoting an amusing incident in its earliest history, as told by the ingenious Jo Sykes, and which may be regarded as prognostic of the rapid increase • For an interesting Bketch of this jonmey, see the Democratic Review «br May, 1840. 162 001 DE-BOOK OP THE of the community. One summer afternoon, in 1788, while Captain John Hendry (the first settler of Elmira) and his son were at work on a log hut, a man and woman emerged from the pathway leading from Newton Creek. The man rode ahead, with a basket on each side, holding a young baby. The woman was in the rear, on horseback, sur- rounded with the goods and chattels of the family. The man approached, and asked if a doctor was to be had near, and to the colonel's questions replied that his wife had hurt herself by stumbling. Learning that no physician was in the neighborhood, they passed on further, and made themselves the best shelter they could get that night. Next morning the colonel again met the man near the spot, and inquired after his wife's health. " As well as could be expected," was the answer. The following day Hendry sent his son to inquire about them, and the boy returned saying that they were preparing to start. " But the poor woman, my son, how is she ?" " Oh !" replied the boy, " oh I she's got another baby, and I guess she wants another basket to put it in !" Beyond Elmira we cross the Chemung, and pass Junc- tion with the Chemung Rail-road, four miles from Elmi- ra (from New York 277i miles, from Dunkirk 182i miles). At this point the road to Jefiersou and Niagara Falls di- verges from the Erie track. The gauge is tlie same wide gauge, and the cars roomy and comfortable. The distance from Elmira lo the Falls is 168 miles; to Batavia, 119 miles ; to Canandaigua, 69 miles ; to Peiui Yau, 45 miles ; and to Jeflei-son, 22 miles. Big Flats (from New York 283^ miles, from Dunkirk 176| miles) is a small station. A village is springing up around it. Corning (from New York 291 miles, from Dunkirk 169 miles), 17 miles beyond Elmira. This thriving town stands on the south bank of the Chemung River, and con- tains about 1500 inhabitants. It is beautifully situated NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 16a at the foot of a noble hill, afibiding fine views of the rich valley. It has several large hotels, a foundry, and fac- .:3Ci^5=^=-_ tories, and is the depot of the Corning and Blossburg Rail- road, that extends 40 miles to a rich field of bituminous coal, the only one known to exist near the line of our state, wherein such coal is in extensive demand. The feeder of the Chemung Canal extends from Elmira to this place. This is perhaps the greatest lumbering depot we have yet met in our journey along this timber region. It is reck- oned that twenty-five millions of feet of dressed timber are sent down every year from this place ; and thus one can imagine what a blessing a rapid transit by rail must prove to such a depot. The Chemung is here very wide, and is crossed by a covered wooden bridge. Like Elmira and Owego, Corning has felt the ravages of fire, almost the entire business portion of the village having been burned in 1 850 ; but, like its burned sisters, it has risen from its aslies in greater and more substantial beauty and enter- prise. Whole blocks of brick houses stand now where before frail frame buildings and shanties only were seen. At this point commences the Buffalo, Corning and Jfcw Yoik Rail-road, which extends to Batli and Avon, and whicli passengers take for Batavia and Rochester. It was com- pleted to Batavia in the course of the year 1864, and passes 101 GUIUK-BtOK OK THE through a fine countrj', and is a very important branch of our road. Its length is a hundred miles. On the oj)jx)site side of the river are the two communities of Knoxville and Oenterville. The former is composed of lumbermen, liv- ing in shanties. Tliere is an inviting field of labor for the missionaries in these lumbering villages. Nearly two miles west of Corning the Chemung divides into two forks, the northern one of which is called the Gonhocton, and the southern the Canisteo — the former (so said) signifying "trees in the water," and the latter " board in the water." One mile from Corning we cross the Chemung by a long wooden bridge of several arches. We soon perceive the junction of the two rivers. The scenery there is very beautiful, and through the large trees that overhang them we have taken the glimpse here given of the pretty vil- lage of Painted Post (from New York 292^ miles, from Dun- kirk 167|- miles). This beautiful little retired village is by far the oldest settlement in this inland part, and is said NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 165 to date its existence as far back as 200 years since. Con- sequently there is a sober dignity in its appearance, but at the same time its hotels, spacious stores, and neat dwell- ings prove that it keeps pace with the progress of the pres- ent age. It derives its name from the fact that a painted post -was found here over the grave of a celebrated In- dian chief, in the very part of the open area of the vil- lage where a high modern post, striped with red and white paint, now stands, surmounted with a painted metal out- line of an Indian chief with raised arrow, to perpetuate the legend. The villagers regard this monument with great reverence, and are jealous of all heresy as to tlie true locality of this legend, scorning the pretensions of the little community (Centerville) between them and Corn- ing, which, claiming its locality to be the true one for the aboriginal monument, has also erected for itself a painted post, and, in order to eclipse the sheet iron statue of its bigger rival, has capped its wooden pillar with a board having an Indian painted on each side. Now, tliough the Centervillians have thus taken a double chance upon the decision of the traveler, yet the more durable eflSgy, ez- dusivdy metallic, of Painted Post seems to look more au- thentic than the perishable tawny that stares at you from the painted sides of the Centerville sign-board. There is a spurious, parvenu imitative complexion in the latter post too— its delicate pink, more like a stick of mint can- dy, that makes one regard with confidence its rival's en- sanguined hues ! Indeed, the \i\gYi-^netalled hero revolv- ing at its top — vane-es,\. of weather-cocks ! — seems to utter this sentiment as wo view him at a distance, his pointed arrow looking as if he had his thumb to his nose, and with expanded digits he were saying to his rival, " You can't come it ! I am the only true and original Painted Post — lam!" Leaving Painted Post, we cross almost immediately, the Conhoclon. The bridge across this stream was burnwl down 1C6 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE in tho spring of 1855, but lias been replaced by a substantial structure. Immediately below the bridge, in the grove of trees visible from the cars, is the point of junction of the Conliocton and Caiiisteo — in fact, forming the Chemnng. Within three fourths of a mile from the last station we strike the Canisteo, and follow its bed, up stream, until we roach Honiellsvillc. This stream will be remarkable to the traveler for the quantity of logs and timber floating in it, and the immense piles of lumber on its banks. The hills are covei-ed with finer timber than we have seen, and many pines abound in the forests. But these are rapidly disap- pearing, as the well-used timber-slides which we see on the opposite hills, and the numberless saw-mills along the Can- isteo, fully attest. Addison (from New York 301^ miles, from Dunkirk 157f miles) is situated at the junction of the Canisteo and the Tuscarora Creek. It is the centre of a large lumber trade, and is one of the busiest places along the road. The Tus- carora valley furnishes an avenue through which a large por- tion of the country can approach the rail-road at this place. The county of Tioga, in Pennsylvania, also finds a market here. Addison was originally named Middletown, and was organized in 1796. The view of the valley to the southward from the station is pleasant, and the old hemlocks seem to stand around it like a row of sentinels keeping guard on a treasure. There are several very fine views up and down the river between this station and the next, which is Rat)!bonevili-e (from New York 30G^ miles, from Dun- kirk 162f miles), a small village in a valley surrounded by timber lands. A valuable agricultural district south of the river here approaches the rail-road. As we go westward, the road passes along a terrace cut into the foot of a mount- ain, with the Canisteo close at the side of the cars. Many fine views may be caught as we now ascend this river in a ravine rather than a valley. AVhat land there is is good, but it is verv scarce indeed. NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 107 Cameron Mills is a little station in a valley, forming a pleasant view to the eye of the traveler on the express train, wliich he passes swiftly. The tops of all the hills in this neighborhood were but a few years since covered with splen- did pines, which have now almost wliolly disappeared. Cameron (from New York 314^ miles, from Dunkirk 145 miles) stands at the foot of a deep mountain gorge, looking hke an immense mill-hopper. In this gorge is one of the finest places for driving deer now to be found on the line of the road, and the sportsman will be abundantly repaid who wiU pass a week here in December. The dogs bring the deer down the ravine into the river, and they are shot within a hundred yards of the station. We look back occasionally now as we descend the valley, and catch the line views that its openings and closes aflbrd, until we reach Adrian, a small station of no special imiwrtance. It used to be said that a tavern and blacksmith's shop at a cross- road made a village, but there are no cross-roads here. They all run one way, and the only crossings are timber-slides. Canisteo (from New York 327^ miles, from Dunkirk 132 mUes). The village lies half a mile from the station on the valley, which here widens, and contains some excellent land. Our next station is HoRNELLSviLLE (from Ncw York 331^ miles, from Dun- kirk 127| miles). This village is situated in one of the wide areas of the valley where the hills recede from the river. Its natural advantages are great, and as one of the division sta- tions on the road, as well as the terminus of the Buffalo and New York City Road, it is an important place. The valley is fast filling up with houses, and almost every thing now visible to the traveler's eye is the growth of the road, which was completed to this place in September, 1850. At this point diverges the Buffalo and New York City Railroad, which has become almost a part of the Erie Road. Trains run in connection, and passengers are sent through to 168 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE Iho West by Buflalo or Dunkirk, as they may prefer. The road continues by tlic side of the Erie track through the vil- lage, and then diverges to the north. The track is exceed- ingly uninteresting for the first twenty-five miles, at which distance from Hornellsville the traveler will observe, from occasional distant views, that he is on very high land, and at length he will catch a sudden view of a village lying oil' to the southwest, in a deep valley, and after skirting the edge of the hill for a few rods, the cars bring up at the station at Portage. This is one of the most interesting points in the United States, and is destined, from its peculiar natural ad- vantages, to become the resort of lovers of wild scenery and picturesque waterfalls. The Genesee River, whose waters the traveler will have crossed who continued on the road to Dun- kirk, here enters a deep defile or ravine, across which the rail-road is carried on a bridge which is unsurpassed in the world by any wooden structure. This bridge is built upon thirteen stone piers set in the bed of the river, the stone being built sufficiently high to avoid all danger of freshets. On these piers the structure is raised, a mass of timber rising to tho height of 23'1 feet, on which the track of the road is laid. The length of the bridge on tho track of the road is 800 feet. Tliis great work was completed in the year 1853, and is undoubtedly the finest wooden bridge in the world. It is said to be so constructed that any timber iu the bridge can be removed and replaced at pleasure. The Genesee River enters tlie ravine only to seek lower and still lower depths. Directly below the high bridge, and in siglit of tho windows of tlie cars, is the fii-st fall, a half horse-shoe, about forty feet high, which is a picturesque cas- cade. In a still evening, the visitor, standing on the top of the high bridge, will hear the sound of this fall coming up to him with a faint and distant music, that lends an inde- scribable attractiveness to the savage grandeur of tho ravine down which he is looking. A quarter of a mile to the north, where the mill is visible. NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 169 is the second fall, one of the most beautiful sheets of water in America. The river, after falling over the mill-dam and spreading out over a level floor of slate-stone, leaps off into a deep black basin. Tiie fall is about eighty feet high, and when the stage of water is low, the appearance is that of a most exquisite vail of lace thrown out in front of a black rock. The visitor will find the best view of this fall by crossing the bridge above the mill, and going to the point directly in front of the fall. The river flows out to the right of the basin, so that a position may be taken on a grassy knoll directly before, and about two hundred feet from it, the " hell of walei-s" in the basin intervening. A few rods far- ther up the hill is a staircase, down which you may walk some three hundred steps to the bottom of the ravine, and then pull up in a boat to the foot of the fall, and enter the Devil's Hole, a hole worn some feet into tho side of the per- pendicular rock, under the grassy knoU on which you lately sat. In this ravine the visitor finds himself between two per- pendicular walls of slate-stone, more than three hundred feet high. He will observe some small streams trickling off the top of this wall, and dissolving into blue mist long before they reach the bottom. A walk of a mile and a half down the bed of the stream, if the water be low, or a ride of three miles down the road, will bring the visitor to the lower fall, where the river, after dashing over rocks, is suddenly compressed into a narrow, deep gorge, across which a man might almost leap, and after vexing and chafing itself in this confined channel, sud- denly turns around a mass of rock, and plunges sixty feet in a roaring torrent into a basin below. This is one of tho wildoet views which can be found in America, and wll amply repay the scenery-hunter for a pause of two days. The Genesee Valley Canal passes under the bridge and over the high bluff of rock on the east bank of the river at the middle fall. It was intended to tunnel this hill, and H 170 GUIDK-BOOK OF THE the work was carried on to some extent, but it proved a failure, and was abandoned. Tliis will explain to the in- quirer the perforations of the hill, which he will see on the road as he drives from the hotel to the fall by the circuitous road which it is necessary to take in order to reach the bot- tom of the valley. PoRTAGEvrLLE, the white village half a mile above the rail-road bridge, in the valley, is a small place liaving 800 inhabitants and five churches. The canal crosses the river by an aqueduct in the middle of the village. From the station, going west, the road crosses the high bridge, and proceeds to Warsaw, Attica, and Buflalo. Returning to the Erie Road, we proceed westward from Hornellsville, and immediately enter the valley of the Ca- niacadea Creek, which indeed can hardly be called a val- ley, but is rather a gorge of the hills down which the stream winds and dashes, duiet and beautiful views abound along this part of the road, and the traveler can not fail to admire the village of Almond (from New York 336^- miles, from Dunkirk 122f miles), which lies in the valley oji the bank of the stream, and excites the wonderment of the tourist as to how it got there, or what it does there. Tliis small and beautiful stream, which appeai-s so peaceful in this mountain glen, has nevertheless its hours of wrath, and becomes terrible. Such was the case in June, 1S55, when there was one of the most fearful floods here that we have ever known. A storm occurred in the night, brief but of tremendous force, which in about two hours' time changed the stream into a broad and overpowering river. Nothing prevailed to resist its headlong coui-se. The entire valley was filled with its watere, which rushed over farms, through villages, sweep- ing every thing before it, and devastating this beautiful glen. In the village of Almond, several houses were removed from their foundations, and turned completely around, and carried to a distance down stream. Enormous logs of timber were NEW VORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 171 conveyed to the doors and yards of houses, from which it was impossible to remove them wlien the flood subsided. The whole valley felt the flood, from the summit to Hor- nellsvillc. The latter place was literally under water, wliich was three feet deep on the rail-road track and over the en- tire plain. Several lives were lost, and a large amount of property destroyed. The storm which caused this devasta- tion was so confmed in its locality tliat foin- miles from the valley it was not felt, and west of the summit there was no unusual fall of water. As we proceed up the heavy grade, which is about 50 feet to the mile, and in a northerly direction after passing Almond, we reach the station at Alfred, another village on the opposite bank of the Ca- niacadea (from New York 340-^ miles, from Dunkirk 118f^ miles), which had its share of the flood in 1855, though not so much as the lower part of the valley. Just before reach- ing this station, a fine view up the valley may be seen be- tween the two hills, which almost frame it as a picture. The last building in Alfred, as we go west, is a small, square house, painted red, and marked in large letters, " Gun Ho\ise.'' This doubtless is the village arsenal, where the Fourth of July is kept under lock and key, to be let out annually. We are now approaching the highest point on the rail- road, and after crossing the stream by a high bridge and embankment, and passing a deep rock cut, we reach Tip Top Summit, the highest point on the grade of the Erie Road, being 17G0 feet above tide- water (distant from New York 344^ miles, from Dunkirk 115 miles). A shanty and a water-tank make the place appear more lonesome than it would be if entirely desolate. And now we commence the descent which is to bring us to the valley of the Genesee. There are few signs of civili- zation on either hand. A sOream of water grows larger as we go on, which is one of the tributaries of the Genesee, and after passing a pond on the right, we reach 172 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE Andover, a small village (distant from New York 349 miles, from Dunkirk 110-|^ miles) containing some 400 in- habitants. The road now resumes its course toward the west, and the grade descends 40 feet to the mile. It is to be observed here that this is a characteristic of the entire Toad, that the grades are lightest for trains going in the direction of the weight of business and freight. "We con- tinue to descend through a country of unusual wildness, the views being painfully alike in their one characteristic of un- disturbed forest, the stream by the side of the road increas- ing in size, and occasionally crossed by the track on substan- tial bridges, until we reach the station of Genbsee (from New York 357|^ miles, from Dunkirk 101^ miles). The village is Wellsvllle. It is one of the most promising places on the western division, commanding all the trade of Potter county in Pemisylvania, and of a large circle of country. The population, which at the opening of the road was scarcely 800, is already nearly 1800, and- increasing rapidly. We liere enter the valley of the Gene- see River, which we follow closely for ten miles westward. The appearance of the country does not difler from that which we have just come through, except that the timber is some- what larger, and less of the finest has been cut and taken away. Scio (from New York 361-|- miles, from Dunkirk 98 miles) is a small village, in the town of the same name, on a level tract of land, with some fine farms around it. The valley improves hero. Phillipsville (from New York 365^ miles, from Dun- kirk 93| miles) is so named from Hon. Philip Church, whose residence stands on the east bank of the Genesee River, which we hero cross by a very fine bridge. The falls of the river aflbrd an excellent water-power, and a number of saw-miUs are in successful operation. The village is fast increasing, and is likely to become a largo and flourishing place. The course of the road from Hornelbville to this place has been NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 173 very ciicuitous, to avoid which a tunnel was at one time proposed, but the idea was abandoned ; and the road pre- sents the singular aspect of a railroad 460 miles long, through a most mountainous section of country, without an inclined plane or a tunnel. Our next station is Belvidere (from New York 369 miles, from Dunkirk 90;^ miles), on the Genesee, near the bridge by which the road crosses that river. It is well situated for trade with the adjoining towns of Angelica and Belfast, the northern part of Alleghany county, and portions of Livingston and Wy- oming, which naturally tend to the road at this point. We follow for a little wliile the course of Van Campen's Creek, so named from Major Moses Van Campen, who was an officer in the Revolution, and died at Dansville at the advanced ago of 91 years. The grade ascends 30 feet to the mile. The pioneer settler of this region was Benjamin Cham- berlain, who settled at Angelica. He was in the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill, and with Arnold at Q,ucbec. He was a native of Massachusetts, and died at Angelica in 1847, aged 90 years. Passing through wild lands again, we approach Friend- ship (from New York 373^ miles, from Dunkirk 85^ miles), a .village that did not derive its name from the fact that it is built very conveniently on one street, and extends nearly a mile along that, except in the neighborhood of the station- house. The building with the shining cupola is an acad- emy. The fields around look well. Population 800. Four miles and a half west of this, we reach Cuba Summit, where, should the tourist be passing in a rain-storm, he may moralize on the slight causes that are sufficient to change the destiny of a life. At the point where the road crosses the Summit, the rain-drops which fall to the east flow into the Genesee Valley, and over the falls at Portage and Rochester, and down the St. Lawrence to the bleak coasts of Newfoundland ; while those that fall one foot to the west will find themselves running to the Alleghany, 174 GUIDE-BOOK OF THE the Ohio, the Mississippi, and the Gulf of Mexico. A breath of wind will change the fate of the drop. From this pouit we descend, and 5 miles farther west we pass the village of Cuba, lying on the plain below us ; but, having a long' de- scent to accomplish before reaching its level, we describe a circuit around the place before arriving at the station. Clba (from New York 38^^ miles, from Dunkirk 77 miles) is a lively business place, with fine prospects for the future. It is situated on Oil Creek, a tributary of the Alle- ghany River, and these waters flow into the Mississippi. AVe have, in fact, accomplished the crossing of the Alleghany , ridge. Oil Creek derives its name from a large spring about six miles north of Cuba, from which large quantities of bi- tuminous oil arc obtained. The Indians value it highly; and when by treaty they sold the western part of the state, they made a reservation around this spring of one mile square, which is still owned by the Seneca nation, and known on the maps as the Oil Spring Reservation. The population of Cuba is over 1000. After leaving the station, we pass into Cattauaugus county, so called from a corrup- tion of the Indian Gar-ta-ra-ke-ras, said to signify " Stinking Shore,'' and to have been applied to Lake Erie. The coimtry is highly elevated, being from 500 feet to 1200 feet above tlic Lake. Tlio streams which pass through it are mostly deeply cut in ravines and glens, which are sometimes very picturesque and beautiful. It was celebrated for the growth of its timber. Trees have been cut here that measured 230 feet in height, and five of them have been known to furnish a lunidred " lumberman's logs." The Genesee A'alley Canal is on the side of the road as we go west from Cuba Station, and continues so to its term- ination at Clean. Hinsdale, a small village, is at the junction of the Oil Creek and Ischua Creek, and through the valley of the Ischua, which extends north to Erie county, considerable business comes to this station. The region now grows pleas- NEW YORK AND ERTE RAIL-ROAD. 175 anter, and the land more fertile. We cross the Oil Creek and the Canal one mile before reaching the station at Olean (from New York 394f miles, from Dunkirk 64.^- miles), which derives its name from the creek on wliich it stands. The village lies a mile south of the station-house on the Alleghany River, at its junction with Oil Creek. We see the Alleghany for the first time after leaving this station. At Olean were made the earliest settlements in this part of the country. Before the Holland Purchase Company had sui-veyed their land, Major Hoops, a Revolutionary officer, purchased a large tract here from the proprietors. Before the construction of the Erie Canal, Olean was on the line of travel for emigrants to the south and west, and had thus some notoriety. If the river remained closed longer than had been anticipated in the spring, provisions would be very high at Olean, while the crowd of emigrants awaiting the opening increased. At such times — in 1818, for instance — flour has been sold here at $25 a barrel, and pork as high as $50. In 180C, Olean embraced the whole of Catta- raugus county. James Green, the fu-st supervisor, built in 1808 the first saw-mill ever built on the Alleghany. Lum- ber was in tliat year first taken down the river. In 1813 no white man lived on the Alleghany below Olean. The lumber business here is very great, both over the road and down the river, to the great cities of the west and south- west. Tiie next station, 3^ miles from Clean, was formerly called Burton, but is now Alleghany, a little village in a new clearing, and en- tirely the product of the Erie road. After passing this sta- tion four miles, wo cuter the Indian Reservation, at the crossing of Nine-mile Creek. The Reservation is about one mile wide and tliirty miles long, extending both sides of the Alleghany River. We run along the banks of the Alle- ghany, which is inclosed between high hills, and in a wild country. Civilization has not invaded the Alleghany Indian Reservation. An occasional hut, a family of squalid Indian 176 GUJDE-BOOK OF THE children, a squaw dressed in gaudy colors, or a hall-drunken Indian, are the only views that will attract the eye of the traveler other than the splendid hills, which have a melan- choly interest in being still in the possession of the race that has held them for a thousand years. No American wiU fail to appreciate this interest, and unworthy though they be to possess the lordly heritage of their fathers, no one will care to disturb the miserable remnant who starve in the midst of that which the hand of tlie white man would turn into gold. Some of them are industrious and thrifty, and deserve the comforts they enjoy. The Alleghany Reserva- tion belongs to the remnant of the Seneca nation, who num- ber about 700. Two miles west of Alleghany is a deep rock cutting, and we pass along the side of the river on a terrace cut into the foot of the hill. TuNNUNGWANT is a Small station on the Reservation, with three or four Indian huts near the road. Great Valley (from Now York 41 Of miles, from Dun- kirk 48^ miles) is a station on the Reservation, and on a stream of the same name, and commands the business of the valley in whicli Ellicottville, the county town, is situated. The Allegliany River still in view is called the Ohio by the Indians, and is doubtless the true Ohio. Tlie grade of the road here, and for several miles, is nearly level. BucKTooTH is an unimportant station in itself, but of in- terest as the point at which the rail-road diverges to Erie in Pennsylvania. The grade of this road is visible to the south- west of the track of the Eric road. It is 414.2- "I'lcs from New York, and 44f miles from Dunkirk. The road con- tinues much the same as before to Little Valley (from New York 420f miles, from Dun- kirk 3&^ miles). The village is pleasantly situated, and commands the business of Randolph, Jamestown, and other parts of Chautauque and Cattaraugus. Here we leave the Alleghany River and the Indian Reservation, at the mouth of Little Valley Creek, which we shall follow up about fif- NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 177 teen miles. We ascend, toward Dayton, tlie last upward grade before reaching Dunkirk. Cattaraugus (from New York 428 mil,es, from Dunkirk 31^ miles), formerly called Albion, is a station on the side of a hill along whicii the track is cut. As we leave the station we go through a deep rock cutting, and then around a spur of the hill. A deep valley or glen opens on the riglil, with a fine hill on the opposite side. Along the side of this valley we run for a long distance, and the views down into it, over the tops of the trees, or through them, or down the occasional gorges that open into the valley acro.«s the track of the rail-road, arc exceedingly fine and picturesque. The entire route from the Alleghany River to the Lake is, in point of scenery, fully equal to any other part of the road. At 432 miles from New York we have a view to the right which is very extensive, and bounded only by distance and the weakiiess of human vision. Immediately after this we leave the deep valley on the right, and cross a piece of cleared land, comparatively level, and passing some good farms, have scarcely time to see them, when we again enter the forest, again to emerge into a clearing surrounded by sentinel trees, and at length reach Dayton (from New York 437 J- miles, from Dunkirk 21f miles). This is the point from which we descend to Dun- kirk. The summit is a few rods west of the station. The grades are various between this and tlic Lake, never exceed- ing 40 feet to the mile. The soil is gravelly, timbered with beech, sugar-maple, white-wood, hemlock, and pine, and yields abundant crops of cvei-y kind, being well watered witli numerous streams. Perrysburg, formerly called Cooper's Corner (from New York 440^ miles, from Dunkirk 18^ miles), is a station, and nothing else. Three miles west of this point we catch our first view of Lake Erie, oft' to the northeast, and a grand view it is. There is a deep rock cutting at 444^ miles from New York, and we come to II 2 178 OUIDE-BOOK OF THE Smith's Mills (from New York 447:^ miles, from Dun- kirk 12 miles). The station is on the hill-side, and the vil- lage lower down. This is the last station in Cattaraugus county. We enter Chautauque county — the last, not least, of the southern tier — at its eastern houndary, and pass through a highly-cultivated farming district, comprising the towns of Hanover, Sheridan, and Pomfret, to Lake Erie. The name of the county is a corruption of the Indian word Ots-ha-ta-ka, or, as others have it, Ja-da-queh, signifying a la?id of mist. The county was erected in 1808 by dividing Genesee. The commissioners, in locating the scat at Mayville, describe the place in general terms, and, as if to identify it by a perma- nent monument, add that they have planted in the center a large hemlock post. All tho region between the Genesee River and the Pennsylvania line previous to 1800 was em- braced in the town of Northampton, and the first tax-roll for that town bears date October 6, 1800. The first white cliild born in Chautauque was JohnM'Henry, in 1802. He was drowned in Lake Erie while attempting to make a trip from the mouth of Chautauque Creek to Erie in a small boat after provisions. Chautauque Lake is a beautiful sheet of water, 20 miles long and from one to four wide. Its eleva- tion is some 730 feet above Lake Erie, and 1300 feet above tho level of the ocean, and it is said to be the highest navi- gable water on the continent. A steam-boat runs regularly upon it in summer, between Mayville and Jamestown. Chautauque county, although in its infancy, has long since oeased to be a " secluded county." Bordering the lake, and with easy access to markets, its agricultural resources have been rapidly developing. Constant immigration from New England and the river country, and otlier portions of our state, have overspread it with a population of some 50,000, distinguished for their enterprise and intelligence. The table- lands bordering the lake produce all the grains, and the more hilly country back of them is mainly devoted to dairy pur- NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 179 poses ; and the buttei and cheese produced in Chautauque are not far behind, in quality or quantity, any other county in the state. Dunkirk, Fredonia, Westfield, Mayville, James- town, Forestville, and Silver Creek are the principal villages. The first station on the road in the county, as we approach the lake, is Forestville (from New York 451^ miles, from Dunkirk 8 miles), near the beautiful village of Forestville. This sta- tion will accommodate the local business of several towns, and soon grow into a flourishing villeige. Just after leaving the station we cross Walnut Creek, deriving its name from a black walnut tree, a giant of the forest, that grew on its banks near the village of Silver Creek, so immense in its proportions as to attract the attention of travelers. In about 1825 it fell to the ground. Ofl' from the hollow butt was cut some 18 feet in length, which was neatly roofed over, and arranged for a saloon, so as to accommodate some ten or twelve at a time ; and this curious structure was brought East, and exhibited in the Atlantic cities, and afterward transported to Europe, and there displayed in London, Paris, and elsewhere abroad ; and, by way of takc-ofl" upon the extravaigances of European tourists in this country, it was represented to be a fair specimen of the forest trees in Amer- ica. The eye of the traveler soon looks out upon the broad blue waters of Lake Erie, and a pleasant run from Forest- ville, through fertile fields dotted over with comfortable dwellings, soon brings him to the termination of this " more than Appian Way," at Dunkirk, where ample arrangements are in progress to send the traveler on his way. Lines of first-class steam-boats receive such as aro weary of rail-road travel, and speed them westward, while the more impetuous and impatient of delay, or those who shrink from the dan- gers and perils of the sea, will take the Lake-shore Rail-road to Cleveland and the West. There are numerous inflammable gas springs in this coun- ty, some of which have been applied to practical and bene- 180 GUIDE-BOOK OP THE ficial purposes, the stores, hotels, and pubhc buildings in Fredonia (a pleasant and thriving village three miles south of Dunkirk) being lighted by the supply derived from one which issues from the bed of the Canadaway Creek, and the light-house at Barcelona (16 miles from Dunkirk) being also lighted from a supply obtained in its vicinity. It is quite probable that, ere long, " natural gas,'' as it is commonly called, will be brought into more general use. There are likewise numerous mineral springs in this coun- ty, some of which, and particularly those in Dunkirk and its vicinity, are held in very high repute, an analysis having shown them to possess superior medicinal properties. As we approach Dunkirk we see the track of the Buflalo and State-line road going ofl' to the right. It follows the lake-shore to Buflhlo. Dunkirk (from New York 460 miles). This terminus of the road \i\m\ the lake is destined to a rapid growth into one of tlie flourishing cities of the Lakes. It is not without some share of early renown. In 1815 or thereabouts, a mil- itary road, to be constructed by tlie state through the south- ern tier of counties, was projected by De AVitt Clinton and others, and, after a personal examination of the lake-shore between Buflalo and Erie, the Harbor of Dunkirk, then called Chadwick's Bay, was selected as the contemplated termina- tion of the great public highway. Subsequently, impressed with the idea of its value as a liarbor, De Witt Clinton, Colonel Elisba Jenkins, Messrs. I. and J. Townscnd, and otliers, of Albany, bought land for tlie site of a town, and laid out a village, and called it Dunkirk, after a town in France Colonel Jenkins liad seen in his travels, as he thought, resembling it. The county was at that time a wilderness ; the waves of Erie washed a solitary shore ; all improvement was conjectural ; aiul the future, so full of wonders, was veiled from their view ; and it is no slight compliment to the sagacity and forecast of these early pioneers of Dunkirk, that all subsequent examinations and experience have vin,- NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. 181 dicated their ■wisdom, and established the correctness of their conjectures respecting it. Government erected a light-house on the western point, which affords the western protection of the bay, in 1824 ; and subsequently a beacon-light at the main channel, and a breakwater across the bay, having expended some $80,000, which, for want of farther expenditure, has gone greatly to decay. All careful and minute examination and surveys by the engineer corps of the government and of the rail-road company, so much interested in forming the best possible lake connection, have established the fact that the harbor is capacious, accessible, secure, and capable of improvement to one of the best, if not the very best, upon the Lakes. The village now contains about 800 houses and 4700 inhabitants, and ample buildings for the large freight and passenger business at this point. Individual enterprise is also concerned, and active to develop the advantages of the lake connection ; improvements are rapidly progressing to meet the requirements of business, and it needs no sagacity to foresee that Dunkirk will gi-ow into a commercial to^vn of considerable importance. The site is a beautiful one. The ground gradually rises as it recedes from the lake, so that at one mile from the shore it is about 100 feet above the level of the water. There are no local diseases, but the climate is delightful. In summer time the cool breeze from the lake is constantly playing ; the sunsets are as glowing and beautiful as those of Italy ; the mornings are bright and lovely. There can be no more agreeable place for residence. Since the open- ing of the road the place has increased verj' much, but there has been much disappointment in tho slowness of its growth. The rush of passengers to tho east and tho west is too swift to permit them to stop here, and their money goes with 'them. But time will inevitably make this a city of stores and splendid residences, though it is evident that the in- crease of rail-road facilities is always felt most at the ex- 182 UUIDK-IIOOK OF THli tremities of the roads, so that in lime the railways of tlie United States -will be great connecting hnks between New York as tlie city of the East, and some great city on tlie Pacific. From Buflalo or Dunkirk, to whichever point the traveler may have gone, he will find the means of conveyance to every part of the great West by rail-road or steam-boat. When the Erie Rail-road was projected and commenced, the only route to northern Illinois was from Buflalo by steamer through Lake Erie, Lake Huron, the Straits of Mackinac, and Lake Michigan. Milwaukie Avas unknown. Chicago was a village. It would be claiming too much for this road to suppose that the great changes in the West have been produced by its construction. But no reasonable man will hesitate to admit that it has contributed more than any other single road or route of travel to these great results. From Buflalo the western traveler will go to Detroit or Monroe by steamer, or by the cai-s of the Great AVestern Rail-road, which crosses Canada to the same point. At De- troit the Michigan Central Rail-road will take him to Chi- cago, or the steamer will convey him up the lakes to Mack- inac and Lake Superior. Or, if he prefers it, he may take at Buflalo the cars of the Lake-shore road, which will take him to Cleveland and the West, passing through Dunkirk. The traveler who has followed the Erie road to Dunkirk will take either the steamer on the Lake to Cleveland or Detroit, or the cars of the Lake-shore road through Erie (much celebrated in 1854) to Cleveland. At Cleveland he will take rail to Columbus, Cincinnati, and the south, or to Toledo and the west. At Toledo he is on the Southern Michigan and Northern Indiana Rail-road, which will carry him to Chicago. At Chicago he takes the Rock Island Rail- road to the Mississippi at Rock Island and Davenport, or the Illinois Central to St. Louis, or the Galena road to Galena and Dubuque. Going up the Missssippi to St. Paul, he will take steamer at Rock Island or at Galena, NKW YOUK AND KKIE RAIL-ROAD. 183 We have thus finished tlic description of this mighty struc- ture, and we take leave of the traveler on the shore of the Lake, leaving him to gaze liis fill over the green waters, which nowhere gleam more splendidly tlian ofl' the harhor of Dunkirk. Be it forever remembered, that in the year eighteen hun- dred and fifty-four, a traveler left the waters of the Atlantic Ocean at the harbor of New York, and sat down in the cars of the Erie Rail-road. But for the grandeur of the scenery, the stern mountains, the dashing torrents, the deep, strong rivers that kept his attention constantly occupied, we could imagine him sleeping quietly, and utterly forgetful of the power that was canying him swiftly toward the Pacific, un- til, at Dunkirk, he saw the waters of Lake Erie. On tlie Lake-shore road, and the Cleveland and Toledo road, he fol- lowed them to the Maumee ; he crossed the Maumee, and, on the Michigan Southern road, went to Chicago, dashing at express speed around the extremity of Lake Michigan. At Chicago he took the Kock Island road, and, not having left the iron rail, or set his foot to the ground till now, he washed the dust of New York from his feet in the bro^vn waters that had come over the Falls of St. Anthony. Future years will show great triumplis of art and perse- verance of intellect, but no age will exhibit a greater con- trast with that which preceded it than is presented by this, in which such results have been attained, nor do we believe that the labor of man will ever produce a more magnificent result in filling valleys or hewing down mountains than is presented by the Erie Rail-road. TABLE OF D1STANCE& Note. — The reader will obsen'C an occasional diflerencc of Jtha of a mile between the distances named in the book and the following tabic. This table is supposed to be correct by the most recent and accurate measurements. Slalion. Jersey City .... Bergen Hackensack Br. Boiling Spring. Passaic Bridge Huyter's Palcrson Junction Paterson Gravel Switch . . Godwinvitle Hohokus Allendale Ramsey^s Suffem's Pier Piermont Blauveltvitle Clarkstown Spring Valley . . . Slonsey 15 Mile Suffern's Ramapo Sloalsbiirg Soull{fieUts Greenwood Tumer*s Monroe Oxford Newburgh Vail'8 Gale Salisbury WashingtonvUle CraigsviUe East Junction... West Junction . . Chester Goshen Hampton Middletoicn Howell's Otisville Shin Hollow Port Jervis Turnout Rosa Middaugh's Shohola Lackawaxen . . . Mast Hope Narrowsburg . . Nobody's Cochecton Callicoon Hankins's Basket Lordville Stockport Hancock Di^l. from Dunkirk. 459t m. 456} " 453 " 450 " 448t " 447 1 " 443t " 442} " 439t " 437t " 435J " 433t " 43U " 42H " 445} " 444).