New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1846-03-21
For The Tribune.
The wiIds of No. 1

Il would not be presumptuous IN US 10 regard the
larger part of the Inhabitants of our State as in
utter ignorance Of the locality and even existence
of the land we are about to describe. a few, per-
haps, who are inquisitive in aliases may have OBJ
served, that in the Northern part of New York there
is an area of respectable dimensions where no city,
town, or village is dotted down-Politicans barely
know the fact that Hamilton county presents but
an insignificant array OF voters, and our iobbers in
merchandise only recollect that they never sell
goods and consequently never make any bad debts
| North of Johnstown. Here and there, however,
you will find some true disciple of lzaak Walton,
who has heard of this Ell Dorado of angling by the
hearing of the ear and who pants TO wave his taper
ing rod over the cool brown waters, and strike the
ravenous trou, in his native haunts far away al the
summit level, where the Hudson, the Canada the
Moose and the Raquet, springng, as it were, from
common fountain, begin their journey to the sea.
1t may be, too that your ackadaisical sportsman,
grown proud of his proficiency in winging wood
cock and presenting upon trying his hand upon
other and larger game, has upon diligent inquiry
| learned that the deer and the hide their
young in the untouched forests, and range the cold
| rugged mountains that are piled up between Lakes
| Chatnp!ein and Ontario Save and excepting these,
this tract of land has been left TO the trapper and
| his prey At rough estimate its form might be
set down as a rectangle with length OF one hun
dred and breadth of fifty miles. If you were 10
take this rectangle and fit corner OF II al Rem
sen in the county of Oneida, about htteen miles
North Of Utica, allowing the longest side TO run
North along the Black River, and the shorter side
| E asst toward Lake George, you would have enclosed
| nearly all of the Tract.
| 1t is land of swamps, OF cold thin soils, and
| rock.bouomed streams. Its geological structure,
having been explored under the supervision OF The
State, is found 10 be composed OF those primitive
| rocks which betoken barrenness and promise no
| return 10 the husbandman. The cedar the oasam
| the pine the hemlock and the spruce have usurped
| its surface while generous civilized trees though
| occasionally discovered, seem to have concluded
that like Oregon North OF 490, not worth having
! If the maple and the beach have been venturesome
| enough here and there 10 strike their rools they
seem nevertheless 10 have been forced to stand IN
matches shoulder TO shoulder around some COM
| handing knoll, which some duvial mud, wanoer,
ing out of its course has heaped up by mistake ana
| left as a decoy for the struggling seeds OF .noee
| generous forest trees miserable ana contentious
life these stragglers lead for the impudent spruce
| has inserted his reed-ke body within their very
| intrenchments overlapping them In hight, over
towering them in fetid e2halatlon, and laughing all
winter long in his evergreen clothing, while tney
| are naked and ce.bound the red cedar runs MS
sinuous length out of his dismal swamp and rudey
! inserts it among their polite branches, the oalsam
exudes its clammy iatness around their roots, and
smears their tender suckers with its noisome pitch
| Nature seems 10 have couspred TO bring them INTO
existence for the pleasure OF torturlpg them: ana
| when we visited them last Summer we stumbled
over the dead bodies OF several who had concluded
it was better give up the ghost than live IN sucn
Botany Bay Society and as most OF them died
without issue, we prognostlcate their families VIII
| soon become extinct.
The name Browns Tract is not strictly applica
| ,la ,bcl Of barren
informed that among the early princely andbolders
| of Northern New-York, who took shares IN Inc
lottery of Gen. Macomb when he sold his Patent
given for Revolutionary services were Messfs
| Pierpont Constable, Remsen, Low, Shaler and Inc
| Baron Steuben. These drew prizes IN purchasing
| their tracts One John Brown, who, if we recol'
| lect right was Rhode Islander, obtained grant
| East of Macomb Patent, and drew blank he
| parttoned off his numerous acres IN the Eastern
| part of Lewis, and Northern part OF Herkimer and
Hamilton counties About thirty years ago the rela-
lives and heirs of Mr. Brown attempted 10 estao-
sh colony upon their Tract on spot about 40
| miles East of Lowville At that place the adVen-
turers feled the forest trees and opened about two
square miles TO the rays OF the sum- They con-
structed saw and grist mill, built houses and barns,
erected forge and began to mine tor iron and COAL
| A part of them were employed in constructing and
| i'm proving the road which had been run through
| the forest part were pushing forward the manu-
| featuring department. and the remainder were SET
apart 10 till the land. The first two parties met
| with moderate success, the latter with successive
failures No coal was found but iron ore was
abundant; and the road was made quite passaoe
by means of crossways over the intermediate
| swamps But the land withheld It's increase. Every
month had its severe Frost and that npped OF the In
dian corn; the second season winter killed the Whea
and the third rotted their potatoes In the hill Ihel
| last hope OF sustenance was gone. Inc agent "lo
was appointed TO oversee the settlement, nao d.
| ready expended about seventy thousand ooHafs ~
! his coal hunting specuations, and his principals
alarmed at an outlay so extravagant VIII sucn !ee'
| bic hopes of return, refused 20 honor MS ofai's;
Harrisoif such was his name,j IN nj OF chasln anu
DESPAIR shot himself The colonists, sucn as re-
NAMED being left without leader bent tneie "eaiy
| steps toward more genial sun, and were elad 10
! escape with their halftamIshed frames ron
| such land of desolaton and tue tract was aSdn
| delivered over to the sole tenancy Of the DeaVel'
the martin The deer and their kin. From this III
! Starred experiment, Browns Tract became Ia,
miliar term with the inhabitants OF Oneida ana
Lewis and Jefferson counties to designate the "hoie
barren Tract, East Of Black River to Essex ana
! Warren counties: and having been ourselves ecu
Gated in this notion We snail NOT 10" ieia W
the matter but shall sanction the common aPPe!H
ZION and strive as far as IN US lies 10 extend lis lu
-isdiction over the whole desert
~Inro This region we made one of party last June
| 10 nenetrate Our objects were lake scenery, trout
fishing and recreation generally, II was ABOUT iour
The, fon- OF us found ourselves in a stout lumber
wagon, well appointed to the service OF wood,
tramping, and ready TO set out from the hosptao!e
mansion OF General n. in Leyden. the southern
mos, township of Lewis county. having gol con
fortsbv seated, we turned 10 Did the ladies adieu
and receive their welwisbes for our adventure ;
when, in lieu of friendly graduation we we're
saIuted with general and hearty utter in which
without hardly knowing why, we found ootsetses
insensibly Joining. And well might our equipments
have provoked such mirth. Goats, which seemed
to have been selected with special reference 10 their
age and capacity regardless Of fiji or fashion S EN-
cased our bodies. Two old hats, raced ana WIN I'm
their crowns stitched in, somorero, ana a req ie'
can were distributed among US TOR head dresses
Our pantaioons were converted into shorts, By IN.
serting Them within cur bootlegs, and our cowhides
were covered many fathoms thick with rosin and
talow from TOE TO shank strap. Two OF us occu-
MED board, which spanned the wagon-box d.
recy over the front wheels and the other two were
similarly deposited about yard IN the rear There