Holland, of small bricks, with the gable ley of that stream it proceeds to the ends to the street, and troughs under Genesee at Rochester, and onward to The canal is there about 500 feet higher than the Albany basin; 200 of which are attained at Schenectady, nearly 300 at Canajoharie, and 400 at the Long Level, above Little Falls. Beyond that are the only two descents on the route, and these are but small. Among the principal constructions on the route, are the grand embankment, near Rochester, 100 feet high and two miles long; the fine stone aqueducts at Little Falls and Rochester, the former 214 feet long, and the latter stretching across the Genesee, 900 feet, on nine beautiful arches. At Buffalo, is a fine harbor, lined with spacious storehouses, crowded, in the season of navigation, with the numerous steamboats and other vessels employed in the navigation of the lakes. The branch from Syracuse extends through the great salt region; and there are several other branches. CANALS.-The Erie Canal was the first of any considerable extent in the United States, was planned and executed by the influence of Dewitt Clinton and his friends, and must ever be regarded as the result of labors creditable to them and the state, the period being one in which much opposition was excited against it, in consequence of the ignorance of the people of works of that kind. The project of connecting the navigation of the lakes with that of the Hudson, by means of a channel three hundred and sixty-three miles long, almost every foot of which was to be excavated, and which must be taken across streams and over hills and valleys, appeared to many as visionary and ridicu- The Champlain Canal.-Parting from lous; but the difficulty of acquiring land the Erie canal at the junction, eight and of reconciling conflicting interests in miles from Albany, this important work the choice of routes, conspired to in- crosses the mouth of the Mohawk, passcrease the discouragement of the under-es through Waterford, and along the taking. Had the calculations of the projectors been unfounded, the result would doubtless have discouraged imitators: but the Grand canal of New York has long been, and will ever be, a monument of successful enterprise, transcending in its beneficial effects the most sanguine expectations. west bank of the Hudson, at the foot of the hilly range called Behmis's heights, the scene of the battle of Saratoga, crosses it at Miller's Falls, to Fort Edward (in the French wars known as the First Carrying Place), passes on to Fort Ann, or the Second Carrying Place, where it enters Wood Creek, following Te Erie canal was commenced in it to its mouth at Whatehall (formerly 1817, and finished in 1825. It extends Skeenesborough), at the southern exfrom the great basin at Albany north-tremity of Lake Champlain. The eleward, along the right bank of the Hud-vation overcome on this route is 150 feet, son, to the mouth of the Mohawk, and thence rising, by nine double locks, to the level of the banks, crosses the Mohawk twice by aqueducts and follows the valley of that stream to Rome. Thence it crosses to the Oswego river near Syracuse, whence the Oswego canal leads to Lake Ontario; and up the val from which the descent is about 75 feet toward the north: the lake being about that height above the river's level at Albany. The length of the route is about 60 miles. The Delaware and Hudson Canal.— This canal commences at Rondout, and extends to the Delaware river, having of the state, for the purpose of instructing children in the lower branches of education, such as reading their native language with propriety, and so much of writing and arithmetic, as to enable them, when they come forward into active life, to transact with accuracy and despatch, the business arising from their daily intercourse with each other." COMMON SCHOOLS.-The first report | accrue to the citizens in general, from to the legislature, showing the number the institution of schools in various parts and condition of the schools in New York, was made in 1798, when the number of schools in the state was but about 1,500 and the number of scholars about 60,000. The first appropriations for common schools was made in 1795, and was on a scale of liberality which shows a just appreciation of the importance of this fundamental interest in the infancy of the state. The sum appropriated was And this, less than sixty years ago, $50,000 annually for five years. In was the highest view of popular educa1805, a permanent school fund was tion entertained in a state, which now founded by the appropriation of half a has its noble and munificently-endowed million of acres of the vacant lands of seminaries and colleges, its armies of the state. The annual returns from the teachers, and its hundreds of thousands school districts were incomplete till 1817, of pupils. when there was 5,000 schools, and over SCHENECTADY.-This is one of the 200,000 scholars, exclusive of the city oldest towns in the state, and was for a of New York. In 1821, the number of long time important as a frontier posipupils had increased to over 300,000; tion, nothing but a wilderness being and since that period the increase in the found between it and Canada. For a number of schools, and of children in-number of years it has been distinguishstructed, has borne a near proportion to the increase of population, till by the last report of the state superintendent of common schools, the number of school districts is shown to be near 12,000, and the children instructed, about 800,000. The annual appropriation from the income of the permanent fund is now $300,000 and from taxes $800,000, of which $55,000 is appropriated to the purchase of school libraries and apparatus, and the remainder is applicable exclusively to the payment of teachers' wages and the support of schools. Since the foundation in 1835, the district libraries have grown to the amount of 1,500,000 volumes. The benefits of these depositories of intelligence, accessible to every mind in the state, can never be adequately estimated. They will be abundant in the fruits of industry, virtue, and refinement, through all coming generations. A striking illustration of the progress of education in this state is found in looking at the views of her early statesmen as to the degree of instruction to be provided in the common schools. The regents of the university, in 1793, suggest to the legislature "the numerous "the numerous advantages which they conceive would ed as the seat of one of the most flourishing literary institutions in the state, Union college, the edifices of which occupy a pleasant and commanding position, overlooking the extensive meadows of the Mohawk, surrounded by a succession of undulated and hilly country, and enlivened by the Erie canal and the lines of railroads which here meet by various routes from Albany, and proceed on in company, with occasional separations, to Rochester, and finally terminate together at Buffalo. In the year 1769, Schenectady, while a mere village, fifteen miles west of Albany, garrisoned by a few troops, was the victim of the jealousies and contentions of those sent for its protection; for the soldiers having deserted their posts, one of those secret predatory bands of savages, which were long the scourge of our frontier settlements, led on by Frenchmen from Canada, fell upon it in the dead of night, massacred almost every man, woman, and child, and burnt their dwellings. A few fugitives escaped, and carried the shocking tale to Albany. The exposed state of the country west of this place was so great, and the number of the people so small compar ed with the extent of unoccupied land, that inducements were not found to extend settlements fast beyond this point; and even down to the period of the Revolutionary war, nearly the whole middle and western parts of New York were included in a single county. A few scattering villages only were then to be seen, at Cooperstown, Johnstown, &c., &c., usually with block houses, or other slight means of protection, provided against the apprehended dangers of savage parties. savage parties. The five nations of Indians, viz., the Mohawks, Oneidas, Cayugas, Onondagas, and Senecas, who had been, for the most part, | friendly to the English through the French wars, were, many of them, drawn over to the British interest by John Johnson, one of the sons of Sir William Johnson, who had long exercised the most important influence over those savage people. By the aid of the celebrated Brandt, a half-blood of doubtful character and courage, a series of calamities was brought upon those weak and defenceless settlements, which can not be recounted without exciting the mingled feelings of commiseration and horror. But, for those events, as well as for other particulars, relating to the history of that now populous and prosperous portion of the state, we must refer our readers to the works of Mr. Campbell (a descendant of a family of the sufferers), the Life of Colonel Willet by his son, and the Life of Brandt, by Mr. Stone. Schenectady Lyceum.-This institution (a view of which is given on the opposite page) was erected a few years since, to supply a deficiency, long felt, in a city so long and so honorably distinguished as the seat of a seminary of the highest class. It is designed for the instruction of boys in studies preparatory to college and business; and enjoys an advantageous and convenient situation. The principal building is of an octagonal form, of brick stuccoed, in a fanciful Gothic style, with pointed doors. and windows, and surmounted by a steeple. In advance of this, and of the line of the yard-fence, are two small buildings belonging to the institution; and the grounds beyond are shaded COOPERSTOWN.--This pleasant village, two hundred miles from New York, by way of Catskill, and sixty-six from Albany, enjoys a beautiful situation on Otsego lake, on a gentle eminence at its south end, backed by a hilly range of considerable elevation, in which the cleared and cultivated land is agreeably mingled with the forests. The streets, broad and straight, are well shaded with trees, and lined with dwelling-houses, many of them of rather an old and venerable appearance. To the Indians it is said to have been a favorite place of resort. The first white inhabitant was Mr. John Christopher Hardwick, who resided here for a short time, about ten years before the Revolutionary war; but in 1788, the first permanent settlement was made by Mr. William Cooper; and two years later, the county of Otsego was formed, of which this town is the capital. Remains of a road are still to be seen, which was cut through the forest by a brigade of General Sullivan's army, from Fort Plain to the head of Otsego lake; and at the outlet are some traces of a dam constructed by the troops, at the direction of their commander, General Clinton, by which the water was made to rise, and then, the dam being broken down, allowed it to rush down in a torrent, which cleared the channel of the incumbrances of logs that impeded the passage. Cooperstown is deservedly admired by travellers, and annually the resort of citizens, seeking the pleasures of the country in the summer season. The population however is small, the number of dwelling-houses being only about a hundred and sixty. a hundred and sixty. The people are distinguished for their refinement and courteous manners. Cooperstown may be taken as a favorable specimen of one of the several classes of New York villages: such as have grown up since the Revolutionary war, and have no associations with the |
