Centennial history of Erie County, New York : being its annals from the earliest recorded events to the hundredth year of American independence

Front matter

'M

Cornell University Library

The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library.

Index

A.

Abbott's Corners, 337, 355

Adams, Erasmus, 124

Adams, Joel, 123

Aigin, James, 232, 238

Aldrich's Mills, 374

Algonquins (see Hurons).

Allen, Ethan 1 74

Allen, Wm., 144

American Navy, 240

Amherst (see Williamsville), 118,

124, 173

Amsdell, Abner, 130

Angus and King's exploit 217

Ararat, 366 to 370

314, 387, 389, 411

Austin, Wm., 185

B.

Bar of the county, 342, 432

499. 500

Beaver, the ship, 58, 186

Bemis, Mrs., 255

Bennett, D. S., 505

Big .Sky 86

Big Tree road, 113

Black Joe, 84

Boies, Wm 299

Boundaries of the county 9

Brant, Joseph, 61, 75, 76

Brant, town of, 376, 424

Breboeuf and Chaumonot, 25

Burnt Ship bay, 53

375. 388, 434, 447

Buffalo Convention 437 to 439

Buffalo creek, '5. 63, 69, 75

Buffalo Creek reservation, 93, 100,

376, 422, 428

Buffaloes, 17, 25, 69

Buffum, Richard, 186, 332

Captain David, 72

Cary, Richard, 131, 174

Cary, Calvin, 259

Cat, nation of the (see Erie nation).

Cattaraugus creek 14, 64

Cattaraugus reservation, 93, 376

Cayuga creek, 15, 193

Cayuga Creek settlement 173, 357

Cazenove creek, 15

Cheektowaga, 172, 423

Chippewa, battle of, 270 to 276

Champlin, Commodore, 240

Cholera 398

205, 293, 300, 315

Clans of the Iroquois 30 to 33,

INDEX.

356, 400

Cochran, Samuel 174

Colegrove, B. H., 332, 430

Collins (see Lodi and Gowanda),

Colvin, Mrs , 122

Concord (see Springville), 143, 187,

478, 503, 505, 506

Colby, John 311 lo 313

Conjockety, Philip 117

Cornplanter; 81, 85, 88

Council on Buffalo creek, 76 to 82

County and City Hall, 512

Court-hoivses 170, 300, 512

D.

D'Aubrey's expedition, 51 to 53

Devil's Hole, 54

Devil's Ramrod, 106

Dutch, the 23, 38

Ebenezer Society, 442, 454

168, 349

EUicott, Benjamin, 102, 300

Emmons, Wales, 319

English dominion 54 to 59

Erie, old town of, 120, 129, 154

Erie, new town of, 35b, 394

Erie nation, 19, 26 to 28

Fair, first, 332

Farmer's Brother, 54, 79, 84, 89,

Fences, 139

Fenno, Moses, 183

Fiddler's Green, 299

Fitzgerald, Lord Edward, 71, 73

Forty-ninth N. Y. Vols., 464, 472,

G.

Gazette, Buffalo, 194 to 206, 223,

265, 314

Genesee county, 109, 152 to 154

Geology, 12

Germans, (Pennsylvania,) 125

German Young Men's Association,

Gilbert Family, 64 to 66

Gowanda (see Lodi), 441

Greenbacks, origin of, 467 to 469

Griffm's Mills, 311, 339

261, 298, 389, 441, 478

Harris Hill, 146, 265

Hard Times, the, 411

Hastings, Chauncey, 350

Hatchets, Norman, 22, 28

Hennepin, Father, 40 to 42

Holland Purchase 97 to 108, 152

Holmes' Hill 144

Holt's execution 393

, . 182, 245, 294, 323

Horse bedstead 135

Horn breeze 179, 317

Hoysington, J 352

Humphrey, F^ort, 229

INDEX.

Husking bee, 163

Indians (see Iroquois, Senecas,

Kahquahs, Eries, etc.)

Indian land-sales, 74 to 82, 95, 377,

422, 428

239. 245. 262

Jesuits, 24, 49

357, 385. 396. 398

Johnson, Mrs 256

Johnson, G. W 387

Johnson, Sir William, 49 to 59

Johnson, C. and 0 119, 121

K.

Kahquahs 18, 20, 25 to 28

Kirlcland, Rev. S., 78, 83

357, 399, 401

Lafayette, 364

La tjalle, 39 to 44

Le Couteulx, L. S., 125, 170

Limestone ledge, 12, 426

Logging bee, 138

Love, J ohn 359 to 362

Lovejoy, Mrs 255 to 257

Lundy's Lane, 276 to 278

M.

307, 317, 351, 400

Marriages, 198, 209

Mather, David, 147

Maybee, Sylvanus, 100, 134, 151

Mayors of Buffalo, 396, 421, 425,

442, 446, 507

McClure, Gen. G 241 to 244, 259

Medical College, 435

Mechanical Society, 201

Medical Society, . 200

Mobbing a hotel, 222

Monroe, President, 308

Moral Society, the, 295

Morgan's abduction, 377

N.

Natural characteristics, 12 to 17

Neuter Nation (see Kahquahs).

New Amsterdam (see Buffalo).

Newark, burning of, 242

430, 444, 5"

Niagara county, 153, 335

Niagara river, 14

O.

490, 504, 505, 506, 507

Old King, 64, 81

One Hundredth N. Y. Vols., 465,

473 to 476, 481 to 485, 494 to 497 One Hundred and Sixteenth N. Y.

Onlario county, 83, 109

Osborn, Mrs 145

P.

Palmer, John, 100, 109

Patriot War, 413 to 420

Peacock, Wm 114

Peter Gimlet, 164

Phelps, Oliver, 74, 78, 82

Pioneering 134 to 140, 156 to 162

Plumb, Ralph 374

Plumping-mills, 136

Proctor, Col 85 to 88

Q-

Queen Charlotte, the 209

Ransom, Harry B 102, 416

Kathbun, Benj., 407 to 409

Rebellion, beginning of, 459

376, 382, 390 392

Recorder's Court, 426, 450

Reed, Israel, , 258

Revolution, the, 60 to 67

INDEX.

Russell, W. C, 297

S.

Sagoyewatha (see Red Jacket).

Salisbury, Aaron 176, 209, 426

Settlement, 104 to 194

Shooting Niagara, 388

Silver Greys, 208

Six Nations (see Iroquois).

Slaves ill Erie county, 330

Smith, Daniel 13'. '73, J*^S

Smith, Richard 185, 300

Smith's Mills, (Aurora) 176, 299

Smith's Mills, (Hamburg), 185, 298,

33'. 337

Souihwick, Geo., 187

Spaulding, E. G 467 to 469

Springs, stoned up 29

Spy, Indian, 279

State reservation, 73, 99, 377

Staunton, Adjutant 235 to 238

Stephens, Phmeas 143, 208, 224

Stephens' Mills, 243

Storrs, Juba 170, 182

Sugar-making 159

Superior Court and judges 450, 507

Taylor, Jacob 142, 175

Tenth New York Cavalry, 466

Thayers, the three, 359 to 363

Timber, original 16

Tomahawk, anecdote of, 144

Tommy Jimmy, 303, 346 to 349

Tonawanda creek, '4

Tonawanda reservation, 93,376,422, 428

Topography, '3

Town meeting, first, i"

358, 377, 385, 40'. 4'2

Trails, Indian, lOl

Transit, West, 99

Treat, Oren, 176

Tucker, Samuel, 187, 340

Turkey, John 320

Twenty-first New York Vols.

V.

Vandeventer, P in, 129, 146, 171

33°. 363, 389, 393

Walk-in-the- Water 316, 351

War for the Union, 459 to 503

Warren, Jabez 113, 123

Well and sweep, 157

White Woman, the 60, 395

White's Corners, 337

Wilber, Stephen 188

Wilkeson, Samuel, 250, 264, 293,

Winney, Cornelius, 83, 88, 92

Wright's Corners 142, 298, 337

Wright's Mills 318

Y.

Young Men's Association 403

Errata. On page 50, read lyjS, instead of 1858. On same page, read I7S9> instead of 1859. On page 54, read 176J, instead of 1863. On page 130, read Amsdell, instead of Amsden. On page 184, read 1801, instead of iSio.

Introduction

The " Centennial History of Erie County" is now presented to the public, after fifteen months of continuous labor, three more than I expected to occupy. That there are defects in it is a matter of course — especially as this is my first historical effort. It is idle, however, to apologize — people never pay any attention to apologies — the book will probably go for what it is worth, and must take its chances among critics and readers.

Had I known, however, the amount of labor involved, and the very poor pay to be obtained, it is doubtful whether I should have attempted the task. If any one thinks it easy to harmonize and arrange the immense number of facts and dates here treated of, let him try to learn the precise circumstances regarding a single event, occurring twenty years ago, and he will soon find how widely authorities differ.

Doubtless, the most fault will be found by those who think that their grandfathers have not received due attention — but there was such a host of grandfathers. If I had even mentioned the tenth part of them, it would have turned the book into a mere list of names. There are two or three towns of which I have not made as frequent mention as I had intended, but this is partly because those towns have furnished no remarkable crimes, nor astonishing follies, to shock or amuse the reader.

The principal object of this introduction is to give credit where credit is due. Nearly all the first hundred pages of my history, and much of the next hundred, are drawn from Turner's " Holland Purchase," Ketchuiti's " Buffalo and the Senecas," and Stone's " Life of Red Jacket." The still later matter relating to Red Jacket is, also, mostly from Mr. Stone's work. The story of the "White Woman " is abstracted from Seaver's biography, while W. P. Letchworth's memoir of the Pratt family furnishes many incidents of early times.

The sketches of the Twenty-first, One Hundredth and One Hundred and Sixteenth New York Volunteers are condensed from the histories of Mr. J. H. Mills, Major Stowits and Captain Clark. The record of the Forty-ninth is principally derived from Mr. G. D. Emerson's published account. Mr. F. F. Fargo's " Memorial " has likewise been of much service, and I am indebted to Judge Sheldon, and Messrs. L. F. Allen and O. G. Steele, for valuable pamphlets ; and to Messrs. H. W. Rogers, of Michigan, and G. W. Johnson, of Niagara county, for interesting reminiscences. I am also under especial obligations to my father, Mr. Wm. C. Johnson, for important assistance.

To the Young Men's Association of Buffalo, I have to return thanks for the use of its files of early newspapers, and to the Historical Society, for similar privileges, not only as to its newspapers, but as to its vast number of pamphlets and manuscripts. I would also acknowledge the personal assistance, as well as aid from the libraries, of Messrs. G. R. Babcock and O. H. Marshall.

8 INTRODUCTION.

But a great part of this history is derived from living lips. I would tender especial thanks for such aid to General William Warren, now of Orleans county, but for nearly seventy years a resident of Erie, whom I visited to consult, and whose memory of the stirring scenes in which he took an active part, is hardly dimmed by his ninety-one years of age. I would also cordially acknowledge the information received from the following ladies and gentlemen of the county — old settlers, their descendants, soldiers, and others — information embodied in some of the most interesting portions of the work before the reader :

Mrs. A. S. Bemis, Mrs. A. C. Fox, Mrs. Dr. Lord, Col. Bird, Gen. Rogers, Gen. Scroggs, Col. Wiedrich, Rt. Rev. S. V. Ryan, Rev. Drs. Lord and Heacock, Wm. Hodge. F. W. Tracy, H. Wells, Dr. Dellenbaugh, E. C. Grey, J. Rieffenstahl and E. Besser, of Buffalo ; John Simpson and Urial Driggs, of Tonawanda ; T. A. Hopkins, J. F. Youngs, Christian Long and John Frick, of Amherst ; Mrs. Lavina Fillmore, David Vantine, Lindsay Hamlin, Abraham Shope and Col. Beaman, of Clarence ; Mrs. Lemuel Osborn, L. D. Covey, Mr. Wainwright and Wm. Denio, of Newstead ; T. and J. Farnsworth and Mr. Hendee, of Alden ; James Clark, of Lancaster ; Major Briggs, of Elma; G. W. Carpenter, of Marilla ; Seth Holmes, P. M. Hall, W. C. Russell and D. S. Warner, of Wales ; Mrs. Judge Paine, Oren Treat, Wm. Boies, John Darbee, Erasmus Adams and Horace Prentice of Aurora ; Mrs. Sarah Colvin, James Johnson, Wm. Austin, Thos. Thurber, Allen Pott,er and S. V. R. Graves of East Hamburg ; Israel Taylor, Abner Amsdell, A. C. Calkins, Dr. Geo. Abbott and Dr. S. H. Nott, of Hamburg ; Mrs. Judge Salisbury, Mrs. Root, Col. Ira Ayer, Dr. George Sweetland, Joseph Bennett, John Hutchinson and Lyman Oatman, of Evans ; Mrs. Ryther, Miss Warren, Russell, Roswell and John Hill, and Morris March, of Eden ; Truman Gary, Edward Hatch, Ambrose Torrey and V. R. Gary, of Boston ; Mrs. Sweet, Thomas Buffum and Asa Gould, of Golden ; Alvin Orr, B. F. Morey, Leander Cook, Peter Colby and M. L. Dickerman, of Holland ; Mrs. Gen. Nott, Mrs. Hastings, Clinton Colegrove, Mr. Rice, Hiram Crosby and Jonathan Matthewson, of Sardinia ; Eaton Bensley, R. C. Eaton, C. C. Smith, C. C. Severance, Geo. Mayo, Byron. Cochran, Jeremiah Richardson and Rev. Mr. Wells, of Concord ; Mrs. Welch, Robert Arnold, Humphrey Smith, Isaac Hale, John Sherman and Geo. Wheeler, of North Collins: Ansel Smith, of Brant ; J. H. McMillan, Geo. Southwick, Augustus Smith, Caleb Taylor and Col. Cook, of Collins ; Mrs. Wright, B. F. Hall and N. H. Parker, of the Cattaraugus reservation. Three of the oldest and most prominent of those whom I consulted last year have since passed away from life — Dr. Emmons of Concord, James Wood of Wales, and Alex. Hitchcock of Cheektowaga.

In many cases the information has been presented substantially as received ; in others, it has been so condensed and worked in with other matter as hardly to be recognized by those who gave it, but it is none the less necessary to the completion of a thorough history.

C. J.

East Aurora, N. Y., August 23d, 1876.

CENTENNIAL

HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.

Chapter I. The Subjkct

Beginning of Erie County's History. — When it was named. — Its Boundaries. — Its Area.— The System pursued.

The history of the county of Erie begins about the year 1620, when the first Europeans visited its vicinity. Before that time all is either tradition or inference. Afterwards, although the historic trace is often extremely faint, yet it is still to be seen, growing gradually plainer for a hundred and eighty years, until in\ the beginning of the present century it swells into a broad andl beaten pathway, trodden by the feet of scores of surveyors, ©f hundreds of pioneers, of thousands of farmers, of tens of thousands of all classes, conditions and nationalities.

But Erie county was not organized with its present name and boundaries until 1821. The larger and the more interesting part of its history had at that time already taken place. It is necessary, therefore, to point out that the subject of this work is the territory comprised within the present bounds of the county of Erie, together with the inhabitants of that territory, no matter whether the events recorded occurred before or after the beginning of the independent existence of the county.

The county of Erie, in the State of New York, is situated be^ tween 42" 25' and 43° 6' of north latitude, and between i" 30' and lO BOUNDARIES OF THE COUNTY.

2° 20' of longitude west from Washington. It is bounded northerly by the center of Tonawanda creek and by the center of the east branch of Niagara river (between Grand Island and the mainland) from the mouth of the Tonawanda to the junction with the west branch; westerly by the line between the United States and Canada, from the junction up along the center of the west branch and of the whole river to Lake Erie, and thence southwesterly along the middle of the lake to a point where lihe international boundary makes a right angle with a line to the mouth of Cattaraugus creek ; southerly by a line from the point of intersection just mentioned to the mouth of the Cattaraugus, and thence up along the center of that creek to the crossing of the line between the fourth and fifth ranges of the Holland Company's survey ; and easterly by the line between those ranges, from the Cattaraugus to the Tonawanda, except that for six miles opposite the town of Marilla the county line is a mile and a quarter west of the range line.

The range line is twenty-three miles east of the center of Niagara river at the foot of Lake Erie, and thirty-four and a half miles east of the mouth of Cattaraugus creek. The extreme length of the county north and south is forty-three and a half miles, and its greatest width, including the lake portion, is about thirty-nine miles. The land surface contains one thousand and seventy-one square miles. Besides this it embraces, as wo have seen, a considerable portion of Lake Erie, amounting as near as I can compute it to about a hundred and sixty square miles. This is not generally included in the county, but legally is as much a part of it as Tonawanda or Sardinia. The whole amounts to about twelve hundred and thirty square miles.

I have been thus particular in designating the limits of the county in the beginning, in order to place the subject of this history clearly before the reader. Whatever has existed or occurred within those limits, or has been done by the residents of that territory, comes within the purview of this work, and if of sufficient consequence will be duly noticed. It will be necessary, also, to refer occasionally to outside matters, in order to elucidate the history of the county and show the succession of events. Such extraneous references, however, will be very brief, and will be confined chiefly to a few of the earlier chapters.

THE SYSTEM PURSUED. II

When " Erie county " is spoken of previous to the organization and naming of that county, it will be understood that the words are used to avoid circumlocution, and mean the territory now included within the boundaries of the county. So, too, for convenience, the territory now comprised in a town will sometimes be mentioned by its present name, before any such town was in existence.

12 GEOLOGY.

Chapter II. Natural Characteristics

Geology. — The Limestone Ledge.— The "Portage Group. "—Topography. — Level Land in the North. — Rolling Land in the Center. — Hills South of Center. — Fertile Lands in extreme South. — River and Lake. — Creeks. — Character of Forests. — Old Prairies. — The Animal Kingdom. — The Buffalo.

Before narrating events, I will give a brief description of the theater on which those events occurred, and endeavor to answer the question : What manner of territory was it, the history of which began two hundred and twenty-six years ago .-"

To begin at the foundation. It is known that beneath the surface accumulations of various kinds of soil the earth is divided into rocky strata, of widely different natures, to which various names have been given by scientific observers. These strata are usually more or less inclined upward, and in common parlance they " crop out " at the surface, one above the other, somewhat like a number of boards, which have stood on edge side by side, and have then fallen down. Lay the clapboarded side of a house flat on the ground, and it will give some idea of the manner in which the geological strata overlap each other ; only they run back under each other for an unknown distance, instead of merely far enough to drive a nail.

The strata which come to or near the surface in Erie county incline upward to the north. They all belong to what is called by our State geologists the " New York system," the rocks being analogous to the Silurian and Devonian systems of European scientists. The lowest of the Erie county strata belongs to what is termed the "Onondaga salt group," and underlies all that part of the county north of the ledge described in the next sentence.

Next above this comes the hydraulic (or water lime), Onondaga and corniferous limestones, which crop out in a ledge from thirty to sixty feet high, which extends in a direction somewhat north of east from Black Rock, in the city of Buffalo, through the south-

TOPOGRAPHY. 1 3

ern part of the towns of Amherst, Clarence and Newstead, to the Genesee county line, and thence for a long distance eastward. In this stratum the water limestone and the common limestone are closely intermingled.

Overlapping these limestones, what are called the Marcellus and Hamilton shales crop out in the central parts of the county, while still further south the rocks of the " Portage group " appear on the tops of the hills. The Portage stratum, like all the rest, dips to the southward, and in Pennsylvania forms the bottom of the vast coal basins of that State ; so that geologists declare that the whole of Erie County is too low in the geological system for any possible mines of that article.

It is needless to observe that in 1620 geology was an unknown science, and even if the best educated of Europeans had found his way to the wilds of Erie county he would have understood naught of " strata," or " dips," or " Silurian systems." The other natural characteristics of the county would, however, have been visible to the naked eye, and the geological description seemed a proper foundation for the rest.

As to the topography, or configuration of the surface, of the county, it is extremely diversified. North of the limestone ledge it is almost a perfect level, and near the Tonawanda was originally swampy. The soil is a deep alluvial loam, and the appearance of the country at the present time reminds the traveler of the broad, rich bottoms of western rivers.

South of the ledge, for ten or twelve miles, the land, though more uneven than north of it, is not so much so as is usual east of the Alleganies, and in its cleared state bears a considerable resemblance to the upland prairies of the West. The soil is a clayey loam interspersed with gravel.

A little farther south the surface becomes moderately broken and the soil gravelly. These are the characteristics of the central parts of the county.

Still farther south the ground, except near the lake shore, begins to rise in hills, which at length attain a height of from seven to nine hundred feet above the lake. Between these hills run deep valleys, bearing northwestward toward the lake, and varying from a few rods to nearly a mile in width. The tops of the hills generally form level table-lands, covered with a stiff

14 RIVERS AND CREEKS.

clayey soil, while a fertile alluvial loam is found in the valleys. Along the lake shore, however, and for several miles back, the land is as level and rich as in the northern portions of the county.

As one passes from the table-lands just mentioned toward the northern boundary of the county, the surface descends, and a fertile, rolling territory again spreads out before him. Just before reaching Cattaraugus creek there is a range of steep declivities and rugged bluffs, now known as the " Cattaraugus breakers," which extend the whole width of the county. Below these is only a narrow flat, portions of which are often overflowed by the turbulent waters of the Cattaraugus.

West of the northern part of this territory, the Niagara river runs in a very rapid current for a mile after it leaves Lake Erie, then subsides to a velocity of two and a half miles per hour, and divides into two streams about five miles below the lake, enclosing Grand Island, ten miles long and nearly as wide. Buckhorn Island, lying off the farthest point of Grand Island, continues the county's jurisdiction about a mile farther down, bringing it within three miles of the world-renowned cataract of Niagara.

South of the head of the river, for six or seven miles, the narrow foot of the lake crowds still farther eastward upon the land ; thence the shore trends away to the southwest, far beyond the limits of Erie county.

Across the county run numerous creeks, the general course of all of them being westward or northwestward,- and all finally mingling their waters with Lake Erie or the Niagara river. Tonawanda creek, as has been said, is the northern boundary of the county. Its length, according to the general course of its valley and aside from its lesser windings, is near sixty miles, thirty of which it has run in Genesee county when it strikes the northwestern corner of Erie. On its way to the Niagara, which it reaches opposite the middle of Grand Island, it receives Murder creek, a stream about ten miles long, some four miles from the Genesee county line ; Ransom creek, about fifteen miles long, empties some twelve miles farther down, and just above its mouth the Tonawanda is joined by EUicott or Eleven-Mile creek, which is not less than twenty-five miles in length. All, including the Tonawanda, head south of the limestone terrace.

RIVERS AND CREEKS. 15

Murder creek breaking through it at the village of Akron, Ransom's creek at Clarence Hollow, and Ellicott creek at Williamsville.

Scajaquada creek enters the Niagara two miles below its exit from the lake, having flowed about fifteen miles in a westerly direction.

About a mile and a half above the head of the river the principal stream of the county flows into Lake Erie. This is Buffalo creek, or Buffalo river as it is now called. It is composed of three branches. The main one, commonly called the Big Buffalo, heads in Wyoming county, crosses into Erie after a course of a few miles, then runs northwestward about fifteen miles, and then westward fifteen or eighteen miles more to its mouth. Six miles from the lake it receives Cayuga creek from the northeast, that stream having followed a general westward course of about twenty miles. Two or three miles lower down it is joined on the other side by Cazenove creek, which heads in the extreme southeast corner of the county, and flows thirty miles northwest, receiving, about half-way down, the waters of the west branch, which have run in a generally northern direction for fifteen miles.

All these distances are merely approximate, and relate to the general course of the respective streams, and not to their minor curves.

Five miles south from the mouth of the Buffalo, Smoke's creek, a twelve-mile stream, enters the lake, and a mile or two farther up is Rush creek, which is still smaller.

The north branch of the Eighteen-Mile creek heads near the south bounds of the county, not far from the head of the west branch of the Cazenove, runs northwesterly twelve miles, then nearly west about five miles, where it is joined by the south branch, a stream about twelve miles long, and then the whole flows five miles westerly, and enters the lake about eighteen miles from the mouth of the Buffalo.

Eight miles above its mouth is that of the Big Sister, a stream some fifteen miles long.

The Cattaraugus forms the southern boundary of the county for thirty miles, and it heads some ten miles east of the county line. Though it makes a considerable bend to the southward, its

1 6 TIMBER AND PRAIRIE LANDS.

mouth is nearly due west of its head. Its tributaries in this county are all small, the largest being Clear creek, a twelve-mile stream, entering the Cattaraugus eight miles from its mouth. There are of course innumerable small streams, which cannot be mentioned in a mere cursory topographical sketch.

Thus far the natural characteristics of Erie county are the same now that they were in 1620, and had been for unknown ages before, save that less water flows along the streams than when their banks were shaded by the primeval forests. Some new names have been applied by the white man, but in many cases even the names remain unchanged.

The outward dress, however, of these hills and valleys is widely different from what it was two centuries and a half ago. In the southern part of the county the valleys were covered with beech and maple, the hills with oak and elm and occasional bodies of pine, and a little farther north with large quantities of hemlock. In the center the pine increased in quantity, the land on both sides of Buffalo creek and its branches being largely occupied by towering pines of the finest quality. It will be understood, of course, that these remarks refer only to the principal growths in the different sections, all the kinds of timber named being more or less intermingled, and numerous other kinds being found in smaller quantities.

In the northern part of the county hardwood trees again predominated, the low grounds north of the limestone ledge being thickly covered. Birch appeared in large quantities on the Tonawanda.

But the tract running east and west through the county, for some ten miles south of the limestone ledge, was the most peculiar. Here the timber was principally oak, but a great part of the territory consisted of openings, or prairies, entirely bare of trees. It is difficult to ascertain their original extent, but there is no doubt that when the country was first settled, seventy-five years ago, there were numerous prairies of from fifty acres apiece down to five. Taking this fact in connection with the accounts of early travelers, it is almost certain that their extent had been gradually decreasing, and that a hundred and fifty years earlier nearly the whole of the tract in question was an open prairie.

WILD ANIMALS — THE BUFFALO. 1 7

This chapter may fitly be closed by a glance at the animals which originally inhabited the county of Erie, though possibly they ought to be described in the next one, under the head of " occupants."

The deer strayed in great numbers through the forest and darted across the prairies. In the thickest retreats the gray wolf made his lair. The black bear often rolled his unwieldly form beneath the nut-bearing trees, and occasionally the wild scream of the panther, iiercest of American beasts, startled the Indian hunter into even more than his usual vigilance. The hedgehog and the raccoon were common, and squirrels of various kinds leaped gaily on the trees. To include the whole animal kingdom, here the wild turkey and the partridge oft furnished food for the family of the red hunter, pigeons in enormous quantities yearly made their home within our boundaries, numerous smaller birds fluttered among the trees, the eagle occasionally swept overhead from his eyrie by the great cataract, and, besides some harmless varieties of reptiles, thousands of deadly rattlesnakes hissed and writhed among the rocks in the northern portion of the county.

Of all these there is no question. But there -has been much dispute whether the lordliest of American beasts ever honored with his presence the localities which bear his name ; whether the buffalo ever drank from the waters of Buffalo creek, or rested on the site of Buffalo city. The question will be discussed some chapters further on ; at present I will only say that judging from the prairie-like nature of a portion of the ground, from the fact that the animal in question certainly roamed over territory but a little way west of us, from the accounts of early travelers, from relics which have been discovered, and from the name which I believe the Indians bestowed on the principal stream of this vicinity, I have little doubt that the county of Erie was, in 1620, at least occasionally visited by the pride of the western plains, the unwieldly but majestic buffalo.