this introduction, will be obvious to all,
the author has had more pleasure in writing The Pioneers, than the book will
probably ever give any of its readers. He is quite aware of its numerous faults,
some of which he has endeavoured to repair in this edition, but as he has, in
intention at least, done his full share in amusing the world, he trusts to its
good nature for overlooking this attempt to please himself.
 
Paris, March, 1832.
 

                                   Chapter I

 »See, Winter comes, to rule the varied year,
 Sullen and sad, with all his rising train;
 Vapours, and clouds, and storms -«
                                            Thomson, The Seasons, »Winter,« 1-3.
 
Near the centre of the State of New-York lies an extensive district of country,
whose surface is a succession of hills and dales, or, to speak with greater
deference to geographical definitions, of mountains and valleys. It is among
these hills that the Delaware takes its rise; and flowing from the limpid lakes
and thousand springs of this region, the numerous sources of the Susquehanna
meander through the valleys, until, uniting their streams, they form one of the
proudest rivers of the United States. The mountains are generally arable to the
tops, although instances are not wanting, where the sides are jutted with rocks,
that aid greatly in giving to the country that romantic and picturesque
character which it so eminently possesses. The vales are narrow, rich, and
cultivated; with a stream uniformly winding through each. Beautiful and thriving
villages are found interspersed along the margins of the small lakes, or
situated at those points of the streams which are favourable to manufacturing;
and neat and comfortable farms, with every indication of wealth about them, are
scattered profusely through the vales, and even to the mountain tops. Roads
diverge in every direction, from the even and graceful bottoms of the valleys,
to the most rugged and intricate passes of the hills. Academies, and minor
edifices of learning, meet the eye of the stranger, at every few miles, as he
winds his way through this uneven territory; and places for the worship of God,
abound with that frequency which characterises a moral and reflecting people,
and with that variety of exterior and canonical government which flows from
unfettered liberty of conscience. In short, the whole district is hourly
exhibiting how much can be done, in even a rugged country, and with a severe
climate, under the dominion of mild laws, and where every man feels a direct
interest in the prosperity of a commonwealth, of which he knows himself