Three Rivers
Hudson~Mohawk~Schoharie
History From America's Most Famous Valleys
The
Mohawk Valley
Its
Legends and its History
by
Max Reid
New York and London G. P. Putman's Sons
The Knickerbocker Press, 1901
with illustrations from photographs by J. Arthur Maney
 |
Mabie House, Rotterdam, N.Y. The oldest house in the Mohawk Valley. Built in 1680 |
PREFACE
The Mohawk Valley, with its stirring scenes connected with the French and Indian wars and the War of the Revolution, has been sadly neglected by historians and writers of fiction. Yet within its borders have been enacted tragic events and heroic endeavors that helped materially in crowning with victory the efforts and sacrifices of the patriots of the Revolution.
There is no section of pleasant valley-land, of lake-and forest-dotted wilderness, of rushing streams and cultivated fields, east of the Mississippi, that surpasses in its wealth of scenery this bit of the Empire State. It is natural that such a land should be rich in romance both legendary and historical. From Schenectady to Rome, every town has its romantic story of the early wars; every bit of woodland has its wealth of prehistoric legend. The book, after all, is only a written record of oft-told tales. But such tales hitherto were widely scattered. Some are familiar to every American boy who has read The Last of the Mohicans and its companion stories; some may be heard from the lips of gray-haired citizens of many villages, who retell the tales their grandfathers told them of frontier fights and Indian massacres; and the musty archives of every Valley town have their own story of war and sacrifice and the struggles of early border life.
This work deals with the period embraced between the years 1609 and 1780. Many characters of national interest figure prominently in the book, and its illustrations have been carefully selected so that the reader may not only read of, but see, the more notable landmarks that remain.
In compiling this work I have become indebted to many individual and many publications for information received, and take this opportunity to gratefully acknowledge assistance from the following-named persons and documents:
Augustus C. Buell, W. M. Beauchamp, A. N. Ruttenber, John Fiske, Prof. E. N. Horsford, Gen. John S. Clark, Gilbert Wimple, A. R. Girder, Hon. Stephen Stanford, Cyrus B. Chase, Washington Frothingham, Rev. W. E. Griffis, W. L. Stone's Life of Sir William Johnson, Beer's History of Montgomery, B. J. Lossing's Field-Book of the Revolution, Colonial History of New York, Documentary History of New York, Francis Parkman, Gen., James Grant Wilson, Prof. Jonathan Pearson's Schenectady Patent; J. Wynne, S. J.; David Hutchinson, Library of Congress; Reuben Gold Thwaites' Jesuit Revelations; Victor Hugo Paltsits, Lenox Library; New York State Library, F. W. Halsey, and a large number of friends that want of space will not permit me to enumerate.
Amsterdam N. Y., Oct 21, 1901. W. Max Reid.
Chapters in the book