and a part of Oswego, Wayne, Schuyler, and Tompkins counties. There were twenty-five townships of 60,000 acres each, divided into lots of 600 acres. Later (1791-2-5) three more townships were added, making in all about 1,680,000 acres. In each township ninetyfour lots were drawn and one lot was set aside near the center for the cultivation of literature and another" for a school and the gospel." Disputes and charges of fraud and forgery led the legislature to order all landowners to deposit their deeds for inspection. A great legal contest arose. Three commissioners were appointed (1797) to adjust claims, and after five years' labor they settled the trouble.

In 1786 a Land Office was created to sell public lands at not less than a shilling an acre. Five acres out of every hundred were reserved for roads, and lots were also set aside to promote literature and to support churches and schools. In eight years 20,000,000 acres were sold. Massachusetts claimed 7,000,000 acres west of Seneca Lake by right of an early colonial charter. At the Hartford convention Massachusetts surrendered all governmental rights, but received a title to the land west of Seneca Lake, which was one-fifth of the whole state. New York reserved a strip one mile wide the

whole length of Niagara River.

Genesee Land Company. Meanwhile about ninety persons on the Hudson organized the "New York Genesee Land Company," with a branch in Canada, to get possession of the lands of the Six Nations (1787). For a bonus of $20,000 and an annual rent of $2,000 the company leased for 999 years all their lands except some small reservations. Governor Clinton and the

legislature declared the lease null. These land-grabbers even thought of creating a new state. Their scheme failed, and the promoters were forced to compromise with the legislature for a tract ten miles square in the "Old Military Tract."

Phelps and Gorham Purchase.-A company was organized by Phelps and Gorham in 1788 to buy the land owned by Massachusetts. It was sold to them for $100,000 in paper money. The claim of the "Genesee Land Company" was also bought and a title secured from the Indians. The company sold thirty townships (1788-9), and settlers rushed into the new country by thousands. Because of non-payment Massachusetts took back the unsold land, about 1,100,000 acres, and resold it to Robert Morris. He, in turn, sold it to an English" association" for $175,000. By 1791 he had secured all the "pre-emption right" of the Massachusetts tract, and by the Big Tree treaty the Indian claims were released. He disposed of over 3,600,000 acres to Holland merchants at thirty-two cents an acre, and reserved 500,000 acres for himself. The Holland landlords advertised their lands for sale in 1800. There were about forty purchasers in 1801, 300 in 1804, 607 in 1807, and 1,160 in 1809. This tract was called the Holland Purchase.

CHAPTER XXIV. THE DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN NEW YORK

Population in 1800.-Soon every state in the Union and nearly every country in Europe were represented in western New York. In 1800 the population west of Utica was over 105,000, and west of Oneida was nearly 46,000. The first highways were rivers and lakes connected by Indian trails. General Sullivan cut the first road through western New York for his artillery. Settlers who went into this region from the east or south usually waited till winter covered the ground with snow and froze the swamps and rivers. In 1790-1 a party of emigrants cut a road from Whitestown to Canandaigua. The "Genesee road" in 1791 ran from Chenango River to Cayuga Lake, and then over the old army track to Genesee River. An Indian trail led thence to Niagara. On this road there was much "corduroy," many fords, and one ferry.

A Network of Roads soon followed. In 1794 a highway was planned from Utica to the Genesee River. The state soon undertook the work. Not until the Revolution was New York connected with Albany by a wagon-road, yet by 1810 turnpikes connected all the chief points of the state. They were built by companies and were toll-roads. By 1850 they were replaced by plank-roads. In 1811 not less than 4,500 miles of roads had been built in the state. The building of bridges accompanied the construction of roads. The one over the neck of Cayuga Lake (1787-1800) was

over a mile long and cost $150,000. In a few years every important river was bridged. When the legislature was asked for a bridge across the Genesee River one speaker said: "It is a God-forsaken place!-inhabited by muskrats, visited only by straggling trappers, through which neither man nor beast could gallop without fear of starvation or fever and ague."

Stage-coaches. With roads came stage-coaches. They weighed a ton, were richly decorated, and were drawn by four or more strong horses. As the horses hurried from place to place, the driver blew a horn to announce his coming, and was met by a crowd to see the passengers and to hear the news. The state granted stage routes as privileges, and soon rival lines sprang up. There were the "Splendid Red Coaches," the "Superior Yellow Coaches," and the "Redbird," "Telegraph,” and "Eclipse" lines. After the Revolution the stage ran from New York to Albany in a week. In 1787 stages ran from Albany to Utica once in every two weeks, and in 1808 there was a daily line from Utica to Canandaigua. There were slower lines to all western settlements. The "Telegraph" soon carried six passengers from Albany to Buffalo in thirty hours for twelve dollars. The usual fare was six cents a mile.

Mail.-In 1731 mail was carried from New York to

Albany once a month by a foot-post. After 1775 postriders were used, one on each side of the Hudson. By 1793 mails were carried on horseback every two weeks as far west as Utica, thence to Canandaigua (1794), Batavia (1802), Buffalo (1803), and Westfield (1806). In 1789 there were only seven post-offices in the state, all on the Hudson. It cost twenty-five cents to send a

letter from Buffalo to Albany, and the expense to other points was in proportion to distances.

Western Civilization. The region west of Utica was rapidly settled. In 1791 more than 1,500 families passed through Schenectady. At Three Rivers 240 yoke of oxen were counted at one time.1 Log houses were soon built "in the midst of stumps, half-burned logs, girdled trees, and confusion." The log barns were well filled. Land soon sold for from one to three dollars an acre. Saw-mills, grist-mills, asheries, lime-kilns, brick-yards, charcoal-pits, still-houses, blacksmith-shops, stores, and taverns were built as needs arose. Schools, churches, and jails were erected. Towns, townships, and counties were organized. With the settlement of Chautauqua county in 1801 civilization was planted all over western New York.

Social Institutions. This new country had its own social institutions: clearings, loggings, raisings, roadopenings, choppings, quiltings, corn-huskings, butcherings, and sugarings-off, which helped to change the forest into fine farms. All these were made occasions of festivity. Dances, parties, frolics, religious gatherings, school elections, annual fairs, and political meetings were also occasions of social intercourse. "General training" called out every man from 18 to 45 three times a year for drill. This was a gala day and brought all the people together to enjoy the music, drills, and contests of skill. The old were reminded of

1 An observer of that day (1791) wrote: "I have noticed that New England farmers settled in this country have, in some instances, adopted the lazy and unprofitable custom of using horses instead of oxen."