New-York tribune., 1870-08-29
THE An1nvNDAOkS.
,rp IN JOHN BROWNS TRACT


aoun,ios Of our State, Hamilton excepted lhat
sracious rugged, scantily-peOpled wilderness when
no railroad has yet penetrated had been often ue-
scibed TO me by visitors, and had for years pur-
posed to become of them but the requisite iei'
nre seemed ALWAYS lacking till last week, when, hav-
ing the excuse of poor health broke away from the
City and its cares came by Central to Utica thence
next morning by Black River Railroad to Prospect
IA few miles beyond this place., and, finding there
GOOD span and carriage waiting me- struck due east
the West Canada Creek and its eastern FORK through
the townships Of Russia Ohio and NllInurt I'LL neiN
mer County into MorehOuse in Hamu'oh "non'0
the road la very fair one for a Wild couh'rN H'oPS
due on to Lakes PiSeco Pleasant ana the very ho"i'
of the great New-York forest lett H. however
little eastward of MOrehouseville tthe terminus OIL
the weekly mail as Ohio is of the semi-weeky), and
crossing the creek on fair bridge, came to the end
of my road so far as carriages are concerned at |
Reecroft's three miles east Of the "ville aforesaid
which consists Of nearly dozen haf empty wooden
houses and deserted Roman Catholic church. |
"Bethune" a former settlement, two miles back OF
this has half dozen houses but not a single human
resident though the soil is fair producing decent
crop of grass while nothing is done for it but to
pasture or it, had not seen so large cluster
of dwellings utterly abandoned by man since left
the mining regions of California. "Wilmurt Cor
nerS" seven miles further back, has few dwellings,
but a live cheese factory, and gives unmistakable
evidence Of tmift; Ohio City," five miles further
back is pleasant cluster of some thirty dwellings,
store, a tavern, &c, surrounded by an excellent
grazing district believe the last tree passed on
our way up that actually bore apples grew near this
embryo city.
OF coulee rising pretty steadily as we jour
neyed eastward but the face of the country was less
rugged and the soil much less sterile than had ex-
pccted to find them. There are stony hills to ascend,
I;yI,or Il ann nhrOE
stretch, five miles through of primitive forest on the
line of the two Counties, between Wilmurt Corners
and MorehOuSeyillc; yet l saw few clearngs too
rocky 20 be plOwed. and few acres that with decent
treatment would not produce good crops of grass.
Potatoes crow vigorously mature almost uniformly,
and Weld ahundantly, throughout this region, and
do best on the highest elevations. The same is true
learn, as to Oats aud Barley; while Buckwheat
docs admirably when not cut down by frost. On the
whole, l found tie northern end of Herkimer
County more productive and inviting than had
supposed H. and in spite of long Winters and heavy
SHOWS, predict that it viii have twice as many
inhabitants and fourfold the number of in 1890
that ere returned in the census of 1870.
Timber has thus far retarded the development of
its Agricultural capacities To cut hundred logs on
somebody's Tor nobody's) tract and roll them into a
creek, cut stately tree and work it up into
shingles promises speedy return of food and cloth
ing NillIc Inc lana tnuS uespOleu,
ing rotting ont its stumps, digging out and haul
ing OH its stone, fencing and bringing it into cultva
ton, is a slow process which pays better in the end;
but poor viii work for far less if the pay
be prompt than where they must wait years for its
full realization. That will be a happy day for all
this region which sees the very last tree that will
make boards or shingles foated away from it, l
wish il were otherwise; but we must deal with
Human Nature as We find it. If there had never
l. e
hunt, or trout to catch, in all this region. its popua
ton would this have been dOuGe and its wealth
II at least quadruple what they are.
White Becch-(often remarkably tai and largeD-
Yellow Bireh-also quite largel-Sugar Maple, Hem
lccIS and Spruce, mainly compose the forests, with
some Balsam Fir, White Birch, and Poplar. l no.
ticed no Oak of any kind, Hickory, Pine Eastwood,
or Sycamore. The primitive forest is generally tall
and pretty thick but not usually heavy, and may be
cleared off with less labor than required in
Western New-York OF Northern Ohio.
Prom BeeCTOfts, took a path which led
northward three miles ascending sharply, TO Will
murt Lake, which Judge one of the highest in the
State and perhaps in the Union. estimate the ele-
walton of its surface above that of the ocean at $500
TO 5000 feet. 1t is two miles long by half mile
broad and discharges into the West Canada Creek
BY a small mll-stream which falls more than LOCO
feet in course of three miles 1t is fed by half
dozen petty tributaries, the largest hardly mile
long indicating that mere rim OF higher land en-
circles it, beyond which the country falls off i'll nearly
every direction. 1t is thckly hedged in by a wide
belt of Spruce standing close together many of
which would square from q to 90 inches and cut four
or five saw-logs below the limbs. few Yellow
Birches and Sugar Naples intermingled with
these evergreens, whereof one in thousand may be
Balsam Firs Back of these Yellow Birch White
Beech, and Sugar Maple, are the prevailing trees
and the soil good where the granite does not
protrude through il. The Potatoes growing i'll front
of the only cabin on Lake WilmuTt are abundant,
very large, and the best l ate. This may be
partly explained by the fact that they are of the
Early Rose variety. The Buckwheat adjacent was
sown too late, and apprehend that Jack Frost hasa
mortgage on II.
Lake Wilmurt is in good part less than ten feet
deep shoaling very gradually to the shore, where it
is crowded by the roots of the overhangng Spruces,
50 that it has no beach. dam across its original
outlet to afford steady power TO a saw-mill below,
raised its waters some two three feet, when they
found a new passage beyond hlOck several rods
further east, indicating that the southern rim is
quite low as well as narrow. In the middle of the
lake the depth is from 20 to 40 feet and here the
large trout abide save for few weeks in May when
they approach the shore and at the spawning season
in October, when they cluster their spawning
bed, near the upper north end, and were formerly
hauled off by graphing hooks, forty fifty OF them
in the course of an hour. When they had thus been
nearly exterminated two spirited citizens Of Oneida
County bought all the adjacent land and proclaimed
the Lake private preserve wherein outsiders would
fish at their peril 1t is the purpose of the owners to
make auxiliary spawning beds on the inlets and
adjacent springs and thus restore the abundance of
fine Trout for which this Lake formerly famous.