arks and boats, laden with produce from the Genesee country, besides many rafts, were floated down the Tioga river to the Susquehanna.1

From Lyons on Mud creek, now called the Clyde river, boats proceeded to Albany or Lake Ontario. Boats descended the Alleghany to Pittsburg. Produce was boated from Bath to Baltimore, from Lyons to Montreal, and from Olean to Pittsburg.

A sloop of forty tons was launched at Geneva on Seneca lake about the year 1796 and a considerable number of sail boats were soon in general use on that lake. Ten miles east of Seneca lake is Cayuga lake, thirty-eight miles in length, and in navigable communication with the Seneca river. Twelve miles east of Cayuga lake is Owasco lake, twelve miles long. Nine miles farther east is Skaneateles, sixteen miles in length; and five miles still further east is Otisco lake, wihch is eight miles long. North of these is Onondaga lake, famous in Indian lore; and northeast is Oneida lake, which is thirty miles long and one of the most important bodies of water in the State, both from an historical as well as a commercial point of view. The rivers flowing from the Genesee country were navigated by canoes, boats and arks. The latter type of vessels were said to have been devised by a Mr. Kryder for the "Juneata" river, and were made of plank, which were taken apart after they had floated their cargoes down to their destination and were then sold for lumber with but little loss.2

A tourist from Albany to Niagara in 1792 says: "The present carrying places are: Albany to Schenectada, 16 miles; the Little Falls, on the Mohawk river, 2 miles; from the head of the Mohawk to Wood creek, I mile; to Oswego Falls, 2 miles; Genesee Falls, 2 miles. Thus you see that there is only 23 miles to cut and lock, in order to carry commerce by water, through an extent of country, capable of maintaining several millions of people."3

1. 2 Doc. Hist. N. Y., 684.

2. Ib. 668.

3.

Ib. 644. Other historic portages are described in Hulbert's "Portage Paths." ("Historic Highways of America," v. 7.)

The early settlers of the Genesee country fully realized, as they state:

... the vast advantages derived from the navigable lakes, rivers and creeks, which intersect and run through every part of this tract of country, affording a water communication from the northern parts of the grant by the Genesee river one way, or by the Seneca river another way into the great lake Ontario, and from thence by Cataraqui, to Quebec, or by the said Seneca river, the Oneida lake, and Wood creek, to Schenectady on the Mohawk river, with only a short land carriage, and from thence to Albany, with a portage of 16 miles; affording also a water communication from almost every township of the southern part of the grant, by means of the different branches of the Tioga river, which joining the Susquehanna affords an outlet to produce, through an immense extent of country on every hand, to Northumberland, and all the towns upon the great branch of this river, down to Maryland and Virginia; and (with a portage of 12 miles) even to Philadelphia with small boats; and when the improvements are made in the Susquehanna, and the projected canal cut between the Schuykill and that river; there will be an unterrupted good water communication for boats of 10 or 15 tons from the interior parts of the Genesee country, all the way to Philadelphia." 1

A survey of the south shore of Lake Erie was made in 1789 and flour was then being boated from Presque Isle to Niagara. In 1771 David Ramsay says that

purchased a large battoe at Skennecktity, and procured credit to the amount of 1501. York currency's worth of goods, and proceeded with these up the Mohawke river to Fort Stanix, Crossed the portage down Wood creek, to Lake Canowagas, from thence down the river that empties into Lake Ontario, at Oswego; and proceeded up that lake, the river Niagara, to the Falls of that name. Carried my battoe and goods across the portage to Lake Erie; from thence to the river Sold Year, or Kettel Creek, and proceeded up that river for sixty miles, where we met tribes of different nations of Indians encamped for the purpose of hunting. I [here] continued bartering my goods for the furs till towards January 1772."3

I. 2 Doc. Hist. N. Y., 647.

2. 7 Pubs. Buf. Hist. Soc., 369.

3. Ramsay's narrative is given in P. Campbell's "Travels in the interior inhabited parts of North America in the years 1791 and 1792" (Edinburgh, 1793), an exceedingly scarce book. It is reprinted, 7 Pubs. Buf. Hist. Soc. (1904), 437-451.

Ramsay traversed the usual route of that day in going from the Mohawk valley to Lake Erie and its tributaries. Travellers to the Genesee country upon reaching the Three River Point turned up the Seneca river.

In 1789 Augustus Porter gives an account of his journey into the wilderness of Western New York. The party met at Schenectady early in May, 1789, was well provisioned and had two boats each. In Augustus Porter's own narrative, occurs the following:

I assisted in navigating one of the boats, each carrying about twelve bands, and known as Schenectady batteaux, and each navigated by four men.

Leaving Schenectady, we proceeded up the Mohawk to Fort Stanwix (now Rome). In passing Little Falls of the Mohawk the boats and their contents were transported around on wagons. At Fort Stanwix we carried our boats, etc., over a portage of about one mile to the waters of Wood creek. This creek affords but little water from the portage to its junction with the Canada creek, which falls into Wood creek seven miles west of Fort Stanwix. At the portage there was a dam for a sawmill which created a considerable pond. This pond when full could be rapidly discharged, and on the flood thus suddenly made boats were enabled to pass down. We passed down this stream, which empties into the Oneida lake, and through that lake and its outlet to the Three River Point, and thence up the Seneca river and the outlet of Kanadasaga (now Seneca lake), to Kanadasaga settlement, now Geneva. The only interruption to the navigation of this river and outlet occurred at Seneca Falls and Waterloo, then known as Scoys. At Seneca Falls we passed our boat up the stream empty by the strength of a double crew, our loading being taken around by a man named Job Smith, who had a pair of oxen and a rudely constructed cart, the wheels of which were made by sawing off a section of a log, some 22 or 3 feet in diameter. At Scoys we took out about half our load to pass, consisting mostly of barrels which were rolled around the rapids.

"From the time we left Fort Stanwix until we arrived at Kanadasaga, we found no white persons, except at the junction of Canada and Wood creeks, where a man lived by the name of Armstrong; at Three Rivers Point where lived a Mr. Bingham; and at Seneca Falls, where was Joab Smith. Geneva was at that time the most important western settlement, and consisted of some six or seven families among whom were Col. Reed, father of the late Rufus S. Reed

of Erie. Penn.; Roger Noble and family of Sheffield, Mass., and Asa Ransom, late of Erie County, who had a small shop, and was engaged in making Indian trinkets. At Geneva we left our boats and cargoes in charge of Capt. Bacon, who had come from Schenectady, to Fort Stanwix on horseback and then took passage in our boats. Joel Steel, Thaddeus Keyes, Orange Woodruff and myself, took our packs on our backs and followed the Indian trail over to Canandaigua.

"At Canandaigua (then called Kanandarque) we found Gen. Chapin, Daniel Gates, Joseph Smith (Indian interpreter), Benjamin Gardner and family, Frederick Saxton (surveyor), and probably some half dozen others, all of whom except Smith and Gardner had come on with Gen. Chapin some ten or fifteen days before in boats from Schenectady by Fort Stanwix, Wood creek, Oneida lake, etc., and up the Canandaigua outlet into the very lake itself. This is the only instance within my knowledge of the ascent of boats for transportation so high up; the ordinary point of landing, afterwards, being at Manchester, seven miles down."1

In 1790 Augustus Porter, while making another journey from Schenectady to Western New York first became acquainted with James Wadsworth, who afterwards was possessed of a valuable Estate at Geneseo. Mr. Porter thus described their meeting:

"I have heretofore remarked that the mode adopted to render Wood creek navigable was to collect the water by means of a milldam, thus creating a sudden flood, to carry boats down. Sometimes boats did not succeed in getting through to deep water on one flood and were consequently obliged to await a second one. As we were coursing down the creek during the voyage on our first flood we overtook a boat which had grounded after the previous one, the navigators of which were in the water ready to push her off as soon as the coming tide should reach them. Among these persons were James Wadsworth of Geneseo, with whom I then first became acquainted. He was then on his way to the West, to occupy his property at Geneseo, which has since become so beautiful and valuable an estate."2

Thus occurred the chance meeting on Wood creek of the heads of two of the most prominent families of Western

I. "Narrative of early years in the life of Judge Augustus Porter, written by himself in 1848," etc., 7 Pubs. Buf. Hist. Soc., 278-280.

New York in 1790, who were destined to wield a marked influence in the affairs of the State.

The firm of Porter, Barton & Co. which owned vessels on Lakes Ontario and Erie and had a monopoly of the transportation of the goods of the fur companies and Indian traders and supplied the military posts on the Great Lakes, was associated with Matthew McNair of Oswego and Jonathan Walton & Co. of Schenectady. These firms are said to have established "the first regular and connected line of forwarders that ever did business from tidewater to Lake Erie on the American side of the Niagara River."1

Porter, Barton & Co. had warehouses at Lewiston, Schlosser's and Black Rock. From these three stations there was carried on trade with the early settlers east and west of Niagara over the great lakes and rivers of this State. The goods were hauled overland from Lewiston to Schlosser's over the military road, built by William Steadman in 1763 and loaded onto Durham boats, which were poled, or hauled by oxen, up the river to Black Rock, where the cargoes were transferred onto sailing vessels of twenty tons or more capacity for Lake Erie ports or to be transferred to boats passing through Chautauqua lake, down its outlet into the Alleghany river to Pittsburg.

The Mohawk Wood creek Oneida lake route had been used for a century or more as the highway of trade and travel between the Hudson and Lake Ontario. In a report of Robert Livingston, Secretary of Indian affairs, made in April, 1700, to the Earl of Bellomont, he says:

"I do, therefore, with submission offer that if his Maty be inclined to go to the charge of keeping a garrison to secure the five Nations (without which they are inevitably lost) it cannot be better situate than in the Onnondage river about eight or fifteen miles from the Oneyde lake, at a point where the river that goes to Onnondage, Cayauge & Sinekes comes into ye Onnondage river. This point being fortified, secures all the five nations from the French at once, and Canoes can goe to the very fort walls without any carrying place, except the Little Carrying Place [Little Falls] of 1800 paces, 100 miles from Albany, and the Great Carrying Place [Rome] 80