New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-09-25
From DELAWARE COUNTY.
Correspondence Of The N. Y. Trbuue.


never 10 all my life such vigorous drinking Of
lager beer as witnessed in Rondout, town of Kings
ton, on the night Of my a1ivo there The bar Of the
tavern was crowded during the evening and at irst
Yves rather Alarmed supposiOg this to be the ordinary
practice of the Inhabitants, but soon learned that
some one had been prosecuted that day for selling
liquor and had been acquitted whereat the whole viii
loge-at least the reign portion of it-were greatly
rejoicing How gloriously they strove 70 rival that
immortal German of Poughkeepsie, whose daily al
lowaLce ia sixty pins 1t was cheering TO look at
their generous endeavOrs!
We started next morning at O'Clock in the stage.
coach for the heart of Delaware County, sixty miles
distant in due westerly direction. Six Including N.Y.
SELF mounted the ouside-inside, fourteen slowed
themselves, including hslfedOzen children, for who
j could Lot help feeling sorry, knowing the hot and
weerisome day before them. As we drove siowly
along -four miles IN hour the regulation pace all
day., he grain fields, ripe for the harvest, chiefly
attracted my attention. For the first ten miles OF the
way until reached the base Of the mountains, the
Tans had done great mis- ,oief | noticed one field OF
wLeai-ten acres or mOre--near Kings on, which had
become lodged ana had hen sprouted, that most of
the field w8s as green iii early Spring. But as We
advanced into the coun ry, where the gram does not
rpen quite early found the hearts of ali rejoicing
az the abundance that promised there. We
"peyer had greater yield of wheat rye aud oats and
Z" the corn and potatoes iooEed better" was the
answer always TO NY questions. The former are now
smelly harvested, together with large crop of hay,
and the latter are well nigh beyond tue reach Of frost
and drouth so il is wherever | have been through
out the State, and Thanksgiving Day am sure, will
be kept next Autumn with UNIV Onted JOY and gratitude
for the abundance Of the harvests.
1t is not an essy matter to give distinct idea Of the
Topography of Delaware County, which we did not
well enter until the sun was waning. The kaaiskiil
Mountains give the Old way OF spelling as the more
correct and picturesque-ihe KsatSkll Mountains,
whose eastern face is almost perpendicular wall have
al tow ri we "A
bred miles. This slope, far from being plane, is
broken by irnumerabe spuIs chains Of hills, inter-
lacng with another III almost inextrcabe confu-
sion and running faT wiLhn the borders of Pennsyl
yHnla.
These hills, averaging FIVE or SIX hundred feet in
hight fill up the County Of Delaware, and are ts chief
peculiarly Twenty five years ago they were covered
with dtDse forests of maple, beech ana chestnut, as
well as of pine and bemlock. The former still cover
the tops and the sides of the sleeper mountains. and,
a. the land is not ti6be will for years to come; but
the pine hes been chiefly cut and RATED down the Del
aware to Philadelphia. In Ike manner the hemlOck,
whose bark is used il tie numerous tauneries in the
county, and whose trunks are sawed into boards and
foated 10 market, Is rapidly becoming exhausted. II
viii be well perhaps for The people Of this region
when the pine and the henlJk gone for those who
actively engage il the cutting and rafting of lumber
and in the peeling Of bark seem TO degenerate very
rapidly both in morals and IN iHellect.
Hills imply valleys, and the latter, like the former,
traverse the country 10 every direction. In some
places they are mere gorges or dehles In others aud
particularly along the Delaware River, they widen
into feds mile IN breadh. The tillable land Of this
region les In them and along the bases of the
ains ard Is best Fl ed for pastures aud mea iOws-the
grass being very sweet. although not stout, and the
puIest Of water running abundaatly everywhere Ac-
COdnglS the farmers devote themselves mainly 70 the
raising Of tie ana the making OF butter and cheese
snd il inspiring sight ten years ago before tie
Erie railway hnishe0, 10 meet during the cool
tumnsl days, upon the turnplkes running wvstwariy
from Kingston and kaatskih, the Olg lines OF Della
ware wagons heavily laden with Jolly hrkrs so SUI
ey thereon; tie milking OF COWS a. sunset Of heaitay
women working at be o1uTn Of country lie and Pleas
tures OF Industry, pea g, quiet and abundance
Grain Of every 80 is always scarc4 an THIS region
the CONSUMPTION be.rC c1usiie sby gTea than tue
SUNNY and it, price o.es uot 20 average less
thar in The VILLAGES slou- tte Hudson The Gedcien
CIV is SUPPLIED from the uc hb0rlug counties and
Iom klne stOn-a Istauc- If slXfy miles I'd as laud
is abou onc-half the vaiue OF land simil quaIy
along ire North River and the farmers have 80
reacy market for ihelr grain a. l7"r very door, the
county would seem 10 re i deslrab3 ore Tor them.
This Is ulCOlb'ey me case for the houses ad barns
along The larger SIT bear tie marks o. the thrf.
and iodeuei dent Circumstances Of their Ovne-s.
Tic people dwelling IN the older ari slaer valleys
Of his county 10 the maln ildustriOGs, frugal
moral. snd quite intelligent. Along thi braacn Of
he Delaware, for example, which runs through ROX-
bury, the NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. from SEQ Gu set
tiers who came into this region less tb4n HUNDRED
years s.o-are every way No thy Of their origin But
the population alOlg the esser streams aud IN the
places where hea 10 G)ounds are, so far as have
rad an opportunity Of judging aswesring drinking,
kmg race; ignorant, hceudous, dirty and brutal.
TbtT cegeieraoy is owing N part 70 their occupal)a
They ere mostly bark peelcrs, wOOd-choppsrs and
raismeD; they live ior q great portion OF the year
among he mountains, away from the civiizlng N
fuepces OF their beters; there Is something like the
uncsItaiIty OF gambling in their pursuits, and The
yesris 5yoed for them INTO periods Of intense setlv-
ity ard of ei tire aIsop when OF course t7e tsmps
ton comes strong upon hem 10 leave their homes
and spend TIE earnings Ct their Fsvous hasi labor 10
gambling, DIM king and every specss OF Ii0ous iy-
wg Beside these persons OF whom soak, the tan
netes have collected aTeIpd them Jew ballrea Ish