Transcriber's Note: The majority of the illustrations for this text arephotographs. Where there is a name listed inside the [Illustration:]tag, that is the name of the photographer. Below that is the caption ofthe photograph. 

[Illustration: _Joseph B. Slote_

COOPERSTOWN FROM THE NORTHWEST]

THE STORY OF COOPERSTOWN

BY

RALPH BIRDSALL

Rector of Christ Church

_With Sixty-eight Illustrations from Photographs_

NEW YORK, CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, 1925

Copyright, 1917, byRALPH BIRDSALL

_First printing, July, 1917__Second printing, December, 1917__Third printing, August, 1920__Fourth printing, August, 1925_

 * * * * *

_Printed in the United States of America_

FOREWORD

The ensuing narrative is a faithful record of life in Cooperstown fromthe earliest times, except that the persons and events to be describedhave been selected for their story-interest, to the exclusion of muchthat a history is expected to contain. The dull thread of villagehistory has been followed only in such directions as served forstringing upon it and holding to the light the more shining gems ofincident and personality to which it led. Trivial happenings have beenincluded for the sake of some quaint, picturesque, or romantic quality. Much of importance has been omitted that declined to yield to suchtreatment as the writer had in view. The effort has been made to excludeeverything that seemed unlikely to be of interest to the general reader. Those who seek family records, or the mention of all names worthy to berecorded in the history of the village, will find the book wanting. 

The local history has been already three times recorded, first in 1838by Fenimore Cooper, whose work was brought down to date by S. T. Livermore in 1863, and by Samuel M. Shaw in 1886. While now out of printmany copies of these books are still accessible. 

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. THE INDIANS 1

II. THE COMING OF THE WHITE MEN 26

III. A BYPATH OF THE REVOLUTION 51

IV. THE BEGINNING OF THE SETTLEMENT 74

V. A VILLAGE IN THE MAKING 89

VI. OLD-TIME LOVE AND RELIGION 109

VII. HOMES AND GOSSIP OF OTHER DAYS 130

VIII. THE PIONEER COURT ROOM 150

IX. FATHER NASH 163

X. THE IMMORTAL NATTY BUMPPO 174

XI. STRANGE TALES OF THE GALLOWS 192

XII. SOLID SURVIVALS 211

XIII. THE BIRTHPLACE OF BASE BALL 247

XIV. FENIMORE COOPER IN THE VILLAGE 258

XV. MR. JUSTICE NELSON 299

XVI. CHRIST CHURCHYARD 326

XVII. FROM APPLE HILL TO FERNLEIGH 339

XVIII. THE LAKE OF ROMANCE AND FISHERMEN 364

XIX. TWENTIETH CENTURY BEGINNINGS 393

VILLAGE MAP AND GUIDE 432

ILLUSTRATIONS

 PAGECOOPERSTOWN, from the northwest _Joseph B. Slote_ Frontispiece

THE COOPER GROUNDS _Arthur J. Telfer_ 2

COUNCIL ROCK _Arthur J. Telfer_ 8

THE OTSEGO IROQUOIS PIPE 13

AT MILL ISLAND _Charles Frederick Zabriskie_ 21

JOSEPH BRANT, from the Romney portrait 52

SITE OF CLINTON'S DAM _A. J. Telfer_ 71

OTSEGO LAKE, from Cooperstown _A. J. Telfer_ 78

THE OLDEST HOUSE _Charles A. Schneider_ 86

WILLIAM COOPER, from the Stuart portrait 91

AVERELL COTTAGE _C. A. Schneider_ 104

THE WORTHINGTON HOMESTEAD _Forrest D. Coleman_ 110

CHRIST CHURCH _A. J. Telfer_ 127

THE HOUSE AT LAKELANDS, as originally built 131

MRS. WILSON 133

LAKELANDS _C. A. Schneider_ 137

POMEROY PLACE _J. Patzig_ 141

AMBROSE L. JORDAN 151

JORDAN'S HOME, AND HIS LAW OFFICE _C. A. Schneider_ 156

THE HOME OF ROBERT CAMPBELL _J. B. Slote_ 158

FATHER NASH 171

LEATHERSTOCKING MONUMENT _A. J. Telfer_ 185

NATTY BUMPPO'S CAVE _C. A. Schneider_ 188

RIVERBRINK _C. A. Schneider_ 193

EDGEWATER _A. J. Telfer_ 212

RESIDENCE OF W. H. AVERELL AND JUDGE PRENTISS _C. A. Schneider_ 221

WOODSIDE HALL _Forrest D. Coleman_ 226

THE GATE-TOWER AT WOODSIDE _Walter C. Stokes_ 228

SWANSWICK _A. J. Telfer_ 230

SHADOW BROOK _James W. Tucker_ 233

HYDE HALL _A. J. Telfer_ 238

HYDE CLARKE, from the Emmet portrait 243

A WEDDING DAY AT HYDE _A. J. Telfer_ 246

BASE BALL ON NATIVE SOIL _A. J. Telfer_ 249

THE ORIGINAL HOUSE AT APPLE HILL (now Fernleigh) 256

FENIMORE _A. J. Telfer_ 259

OTSEGO HALL, from an old drawing 260

JAMES FENIMORE COOPER 263

THE CHALET _A. J. Telfer_ 265

THE NOVELIST'S LIBRARY, a drawing by G. Pomeroy Keese 267

A PAGE OF COOPER'S MANUSCRIPT 269

THE HOME OF NANCY WILLIAMS _C. A. Schneider_ 271

THREE-MILE POINT _A. J. Telfer_ 282

THE CALL FOR THE INDIGNATION MEETING 284

THE COOPER SCREENS IN CHRIST CHURCH _F. D. Coleman_ 293

AT FENIMORE COOPER'S GRAVE _Alice Choate_ 297

SAMUEL NELSON, LL. D. 300

THE HOME OF JUSTICE NELSON _C. A. Schneider_ 314

NELSON AVENUE _A. J. Telfer_ 320

CHRIST CHURCHYARD, from the Rectory _Alice Choate_ 327

THE COOPER PLOT, IN CHRIST CHURCHYARD _A. J. Telfer_ 334

A FUNERAL IN CHRIST CHURCHYARD _J. B. Slote_ 337

MAIN STREET, LOOKING WEST FROM FAIR STREET, 1861 347

FERNLEIGH _A. J. Telfer_ 357

KINGFISHER TOWER _M. Antoinette Abrams_ 359

THE LAKE, FROM THE O-TE-SA-GA _J. B. Slote_ 365

FISHERMEN'S SHANTIES ON THE FROZEN LAKE _A. J. Telfer_ 374

HOP-PICKING _Elizabeth Hudson_ 378

MAP OF OTSEGO LAKE _Henry L. Eckerson_ 381

THE SUSQUEHANNA, NEAR ITS SOURCE _A. J. Telfer_ 383

LEATHERSTOCKING FALLS _A. J. Telfer_ 387

FIVE-MILE POINT _A. J. Telfer_ 388

MOHICAN CANYON _M. Antoinette Abrams_ 389

GRAVELLY POINT _A. J. Telfer_ 391

BISHOP POTTER _A. F. Bradley_ 395

THE RECTORY _C. A. Schneider_ 396

THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY AND THE BISHOP OF NEW YORK _A. J. Telfer_ 405

BYBERRY COTTAGE _C. A. Schneider_ 407

THE CLARK ESTATE OFFICE _A. J. Telfer_ 409

THE LYRIC AT COOPER'S GRAVE _J. B. Slote_ 420

COOPERSTOWN, FROM MOUNT VISION _A. J. Telfer_ 430

MAP OF COOPERSTOWN _H. L. Eckerson_ 432

The Story of Cooperstown

CHAPTER I

THE INDIANS

The main street of Cooperstown traverses the village in a directiongenerally east and west. While the street and its shops are far superiorto those of most small towns, the business centre, from which thevisitor gains his first impression, gives no hint of the quaint andrustic beauty that makes Cooperstown one of the most charming villagesin America. 

Following the main street toward the east, one reaches the original partof the settlement, and the prospect is more gratefully reminiscent of anold-time village. In summer the gateway of the Cooper Grounds opens apleasing vista of shaded greensward, while the cross street which runsdown to the lake at this point attracts the eye to a half-concealed viewof the Glimmerglass, with the Sleeping Lion in the distance at thenorth. 

The historical associations of the village, from the earliest times, arecentered in the Cooper Grounds. Within this space, when the first whiteman came, were found apple trees, in full bearing, which Indians hadplanted, showing an occupation by red men in the late Iroquois period. On these grounds the first white settler, Col. George Croghan, built in1769 his hut of logs. During the Revolutionary War it was upon this spotthat Clinton's troops were encamped for five weeks before theirspectacular descent of the Susquehanna River. On this site WilliamCooper, the founder of the village, built his first residence, andafterward erected Otsego Hall, which later became the home of his son, James Fenimore Cooper, the novelist. 

[Illustration: THE COOPER GROUNDS]

Beyond the Cooper Grounds, on the main street, the buildings seen oneither hand belong to the earlier period of village history, except theVillage Club and Library, which gracefully conforms to the older style. After passing the next cross-street, the main thoroughfare leads acrossthe Susquehanna River, and, beyond the bridge, becomes identified withthe old road to Cherry Valley. Keeping on up the incline, one findsMount Vision rising before him, and begins to gain fascinating glimpsesinto the grounds of Woodside Hall, whose white pillars gleam amid thepines above the Egyptian gate-tower, and whose windows, commanding thewhole length of the main street westward, reflect the fire of everysunset. 

Just before reaching Woodside, one observes a road which makes off fromthe highway at the right, and runs south. Opening from this road toFernleigh-Over, and quite close to the corner, is a small iron gate thatcreaks between two posts of stone. The gate opens upon a path whichleads, a few paces westward, to a large, terraced mound, well sodded, and topped by two maple trees. 

Sunk into the face of this mound is a slab of granite which bears thisinscription:

 WHITE MAN, GREETING!

 WE, NEAR WHOSE BONES YOU STAND, WERE IROQUOIS. THE WIDE LAND WHICH NOW IS YOURS WAS OURS. FRIENDLY HANDS HAVE GIVEN BACK TO US ENOUGH FOR A TOMB. 

These lines offer a fitting introduction to the story of Cooperstown. There is enough of truth and poetry in them to touch the heart of themost indifferent passer-by. No sense of pride stirs the soul of anywhite man as he reads this pathetic memorial of an exiled race and itsvanished empire. From this region and from many another hill and valleythe Indians were driven by their white conquerors, banished from onereservation to another, compelled to exchange a vast empire of theforest for the blanket and tin cup of Uncle Sam's patronage. 

The mound in Fernleigh-Over is probably an Indian burial site of someantiquity. In 1874, when the place was being graded, a number of Indianskeletons were uncovered in various parts of the grounds. The owner ofthe property, Mrs. Alfred Corning Clark, caused all the bones to becollected and buried at the foot of the mound. Some years afterward shemarked the mound with the granite slab and its inscribed epitaph. 

The lines were composed by the Rev. William Wilberforce Lord, D. D. , aformer rector of Christ Church, in this village, once hailed byWordsworth as the coming poet of America. He had written some nobleverse, but wilted beneath the scathing criticism of Edgar Allan Poe, [1]and after becoming a clergyman published little poetry. This epitaphalone, however, fully justifies Dr. Lord's earlier ambition, for no poetof his time could have included more of beauty and truth and pathoswithin the compass of so brief an inscription. 

In a comment upon the placing of this tablet, Mrs. Clark afterwardwrote: "The position of the stone is misleading, and gives one an ideathat the mound contains the bones--whereas they are buried at the footof the mound. I have sometimes wondered if this rather curiously shapedmound, with the two maple trees thereon, might not contain undisturbedskeletons; and I feel sure that throughout this strip of land, which thegrading only superficially disturbed, there are many bones of theIroquois, for in 1900, when we cut down some trees, a skull was found inthe fork of a root. "

Mrs. Clark's record shows that the mound existed prior to 1874, andsince this particular corner of ground was unoccupied before that dateexcept, for a period, by the barns and stables of Lakelands across theway, it is reasonable to suppose that the mound was made by the Indians. While the mounds of New York State cannot be compared in size and extentwith those of the West, writers on Indian antiquities, fromSchoolcraft[2] onward, have identified as the work of red men many suchformations within the Empire State. The mounds were commonly used by theIndians as places of burial, and sometimes as sites for houses, or asfortifications. [3] The mound in Fernleigh-Over may be reasonablyregarded as a monument erected by the Indians to the memory of theirdead. 

Two Indian skeletons were found in Fernleigh grounds in 1910, when atennis court was being made, and the skeletons of Indians have beenunearthed in some other parts of the village. A concealed sentry keepsvigil not far away from Fernleigh. The garden at the northwest corner ofRiver and Church streets, nearly opposite to Fernleigh, has had for manyyears, on the River Street side, a retaining wall. When Fenimore Cooperowned the property this wall was his despair. For at a point aboveGreencrest, the wall, which then consisted of dry field stone, couldnever be kept plumb, but obstinately bulged toward the east; and asoften as it was rebuilt, just so often it tottered to ruin. There was atradition that this singular freak was caused by the spirit of an Indianchief whose grave lay in the garden, and whose resentment toward thevillage improvements of a paleface civilization found vigorousexpression in kicking down the wall. It was at last decided to replacethe retaining wall with one of heavier proportions and more solidmasonry. On tearing down the wall the tradition of former years wasrecalled, for there sat the grim skeleton of an Indian, fully armed forwar! The new wall included him as before, but to this day there is apoint in the wall where stone and mortar cannot long contain the Indianspirit's wrath. This Indian sentinel was first discovered by WilliamCooper when River Street was graded, and four generations of traditionin the Cooper family testified to his tutelary character. 

The banks of the Susquehanna, near the village, and the shores ofOtsego Lake, have yielded a plentiful harvest of Indian relics inarrow-heads and spearpoints, with an occasional bannerstone, pipe, orbit of pottery. Often as the region has been traversed in search ofrelics, there seems always to be something left for the careful gleaner;and the experienced eye, within a short walk along riverbank orlakeshore, is certain to light upon some memento of the vanished Indian, while every fresh turning of the soil reveals some record of savagelife. 

Morgan describes an Indian trail as being from twelve to eighteen incheswide, and, where the soil was soft, often worn to a depth of twelveinches. Deeply as these trails were grooved in the earth by centuries ofuse, it is to be doubted if many traces of them now remain, althoughover the summit of Hannah's Hill, sheltered by thick pine woods, justwest of the village, there runs toward the lake a trail, which, thoughlong disused, is clearly marked, and is believed to have been worn bythe feet of Indians. It is indeed possible that this is a remainingsegment of the great trail from the north, which, as Morgan's map[4]shows, here touched Otsego Lake, and bent toward the southwest. For, in1911, a likely trace of it was found by Frank M. Turnbull while clearingthe woods on the McNamee property west of the village. In line with thetrail on Hannah's Hill, and southwest of it, were two huge hemlocks thatbore upon their trunks the old wounds of blazes made as if by the axesof Indians. The blazes were vertical, deeply indented, and the thickbark had grown outward and around them, forming in each a pocket intowhich a man might sink his elbow and forearm. These patriarchal trees ofthe forest were about four feet in diameter at the base, and on beingfelled showed, by count of the rings, an age of nearly three hundredyears. 

[Illustration: COUNCIL ROCK]

When Fenimore Cooper, in _The Deerslayer_, describes Council Rock as afavorite meeting place of the Indians, where the tribes resorted "tomake their treaties and bury their hatchets, " he claims a picturesquebit of stage setting for his drama, but also records an earlytradition. This rock, sometimes called Otsego Rock, standing forth fromthe water where the Susquehanna emerges from the lake, had been afavorite landmark for the rendezvous of Indians. As one views it now, from the foot of River Street, it lifts its rounded top not quite sohigh above the water as when Cooper described it in 1841. The damming ofthe Susquehanna to furnish power for the village water supply has raisedthe whole level of Otsego Lake, and gives an artificial fullness to thefirst reaches of the long river. 

Whether Cooperstown stands upon the site of an old Indian village is adebated question. Richard Smith's journal describes his visit at thefoot of Otsego Lake in 1769, before the time of any considerablesettlement by white men, and makes no mention of any Indian residents ofthe place. He saw many Indians here, but gives the impression that theywere come from a distance to visit the Indian Agent whose headquarterslay at the foot of Otsego Lake. On the other hand, a stray hint comesfrom the papers of William Cooper, among which is a memorandum includingvarious notes relating to population and other statistics, jotted downapparently in preparation for a speech or article on early conditionshere, and containing the item, "Old Indian Village. " A more significantrecord appears in the _Chronicles of Cooperstown_, published in 1838, inwhich Fenimore Cooper asserts that "arrow-heads, stone hatchets, andother memorials of Indian usages, were found in great abundance by thefirst settlers, in the vicinity of the village. " In _The Pioneers_, hisdescription of Cooperstown includes, in a location to be identified withthe present Cooper Grounds, fruit trees which he says "had been left bythe Indians, and began already to assume the moss and inclination ofage, " when the first settlers came. 

The fruit trees would indicate permanent though late occupation of thissite by Indians; "stone hatchets in great abundance" would suggest thata prehistoric village was here. But it is difficult to understand how solittle trace should now remain of the one-time "great abundance" ofhatchets. Such is not the case at any other permanent prehistoric sitein the general region, where pestles and hatchets continue to be foundeven in streets, as well as in yards, and well-tilled gardens. 

Every few years the inhabitants of ancient villages in the east werewont, for various reasons, to build new cabins on new ground, though notfar removed from the old. Not all the sites of ancient Otesaga, ifancient Otesaga existed, can have been covered by Cooperstown. Somefields should still produce something out of "an abundance" of villagedebris. Yet only one hatchet has come, in many years, from all the footof the lake. [5] Many points, spear and arrow, have been found on allshores of Otsego; for beyond doubt the lake, from very early time, was aresort for aboriginal hunters and fishermen. But points indicate onlycamp sites. 

On the whole, by reason of the notable absence at this time of stonerelics indicating permanent residence, it seems possible that thestatement concerning their original abundance was exaggerated, and thereis no good reason for supposing, on the strength of this statementalone, that there was a prehistoric village on the site of Cooperstown. Perhaps in early times, during the contests with Southern Indians, theplace lay too much in the way of war parties. But the apple trees, concerning which there is no doubt, would indicate rather conclusivelyan occupation by Indians within the historic period, which, as in thecase of many another of the later villages, might have left smalltrace. [6]

In 1895 two young men of Cooperstown who afterward adopted callings inother fields of science, Benjamin White, Ph. D. , and Dr. James Ferguson, conducted amateur archeological expeditions which resulted in thediscovery of a regular camp site formerly used by the Indians. This lieswithin the present village of Cooperstown, on a level stretch along thewest bank of the Susquehanna, in what used to be called the Hinman lot, but now belongs to Fernleigh, a few rods south of Fernleigh House. Itincludes an even floor of low land not far above the level of the river, containing a spring on its margin, and forming a plot perhaps twohundred yards in length and half as much in breadth. The ground beginsthence to rise rather steeply toward the north and west, sheltering fromwind and storm the glen below, while affording points of observation, looking up and down the stream. 

The young explorers went carefully over the surface of this ground, digging to a considerable depth in some parts, and using an ash-sifterfor a thorough examination of the debris. "We found spearheads, game andwar points in large numbers, " says Dr. White, "as well as drills, punches or awls, scrapers, knives, hammer-stones, and sinkers. Deerhorn, bones, and thick strata of ashes were found, the latter in oneplace only. Whether or no this was the site of an Indian village, Icannot say. Altogether it must have yielded six or eight hundredimplements of various sorts. Fernleigh-Over, Riverbrink, and Lakelandsyielded arrow-heads and sinkers, but no other implements. The presentsite of the Country Club was a profitable field for arrow-heads. "

Dr. Ferguson, referring to the same spot, writes, "I have long had anidea that there had been a small Indian village located in what we knewas Hinman's lot. After the land was ploughed we found many arrow-heads, awls of bone and flint, and fragments of pottery. There were severalareas where fires had been located, the soil being well baked, withmingled charcoal and burned bones. There were also about the fire sitesfragments of deer horn, bears' teeth, and much broken pottery. Spearheads were rather few, sinkers and hammer-stones more numerous. I neverfound any perfect axes, but did find fragments. "

The great number of imperfect arrow-heads and flint chips found here, aswell as on the flat northeast of Iroquois Farm house, and on the lowland between the O-te-sa-ga and the Country Club house, shows thefrequent occupation of these places as Indian camps. 

[Illustration: THE OTSEGO IROQUOIS PIPE

(Seven-tenths actual size)]

In 1916 David R. Dorn conducted a more intensive examination of the plotexplored by Dr. White and Dr. Ferguson. His investigation revealed asite that showed two distinct layers of Indian relics, the lower andmore ancient being of Algonquin type, while the signs of later occupancywere Iroquois. At about eighteen inches beneath the surface was foundthe complete skeleton of an Iroquois Indian. With the skeleton wasunearthed a pipe, of Iroquois manufacture, which Arthur C. Parker, theState archeologist, declared to be one of the most perfect specimensknown. 

Taking all the evidence together, it may be asserted that the presentsite of Cooperstown was from ancient times the resort of Indian huntersand fishermen, and at a later period, more than a generation before itssettlement by white men, as indicated by the size of the apple treeswhich they found, included a settled Indian village. 

On Morgan's map of Iroquois territory as it existed in 1720, he shows avillage at the foot of Otsego Lake to which he gives the Indian nameOte-sa-ga. [7] Our present form, Otsego, is a variant of the sameoriginal. Morgan wrote the word in three syllables, adding the letter"e" after the "t" merely to make sure that the "o" should be pronouncedlong. It seems certain that Morgan never pronounced the word as"O-te-sa-ga. " This form of the name, however, when the third syllablecarries the accent and a broad "a, " is defensible on the ground of itsmajestic euphony, for it should be permitted to take some liberties witha name that has been spelled by high authorities in a dozen differentways. 

The explanation of Otsego, or Otesaga, as signifying "a place ofmeeting" has been generally abandoned by scholars, in spite of the voguewhich Fenimore Cooper gave it along with the interpretation ofSusquehanna as meaning "crooked river. " But as to the latter the doctorsdisagree, some claiming that Susquehanna, which is not an Iroquois butan Algonquin word, means "muddy stream"; others, following Dr. Beauchamp, that it is a corruption of a word meaning "river with longreaches. " It must be confessed that Cooper credited the Indian wordswith intelligible and appropriate meanings, so that, in the absence ofagreement among the specialists, the interpretations which he madepopular will continue to satisfy the ordinary thirst for this sort ofknowledge. 

Assuming the existence of an Indian village on the present site ofCooperstown, before the coming of the white man, the question of theprobable character of its inhabitants opens another field of study. Mostof the relics found in this region belong to the Algonquin type. On theother hand Otsego is an Iroquois word, and it seems to be generallyagreed that the Otsego region was included, in the historic period, inthe possessions of the Iroquois, as the league of the Five Nations wascalled by the French. The league included the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas; and took in also, in the eighteenthcentury, as the sixth nation, the Tuscaroras. [8] While the village atthe foot of the lake would properly be called Mohawk, owing obedience tothe council of the original Mohawk towns, it might well have beencomposed largely of Indians from other tribes. Fragments of shatteredtribes found refuge with the Iroquois in the latter days. Some wereadopted; some stayed on sufferance. The Minsis, a branch of theDelawares, as well as the Delawares proper, were allowed to occupy thesouthern part of the Iroquois territory. It will be recalled, in thisconnection, that Cooper's favorite Indian heroes, Chingachgook andUncas, are of Delaware stock. 

It is quite possible that, near the beginning of the eighteenthcentury--basing the date, among other things, on the appearance of theapple trees when the first white man came--there was a cosmopolitanIndian community at the foot of Otsego Lake. Besides Mohawks, therewould have been included Oneidas, their nearest neighbors on the west;and probably Delawares, or Mohicans. There might have been also someone-time prisoners, adopted by the Iroquois, but belonging originally todistant nations. [9]

All writers on the history of the Eastern Indians agree in assigning thehighest place to the Iroquois. Parkman asserts that they afford perhapsan example of the highest elevation which man can reach without emergingfrom the primitive condition of the hunter. Morgan declares that in thewidth of their sway they had reared the most powerful empire that everexisted in America north of the Aztec monarchy. The home country of theIroquois included nearly the whole of the present State of New York, butat the era of their highest military supremacy, about 1660, they madetheir influence felt from New England to the Mississippi, and from theSt. Lawrence to the Tennessee. Within this league, the tribal territoryof the Mohawks extended to the Hudson River and Lake Champlain on theeast, northward to the St. Lawrence, and westward to a boundary noteasily determined, but which included Otsego Lake. In the great leagueof the Iroquois the name of the Mohawk nation always stood first, and ofall the Iroquois nations they were the most renowned in war. JosephBrant, whom John Fiske calls the most remarkable Indian known tohistory, was a Mohawk chief. 

Although the field of Iroquois influence was so wide, and their militaryfame so great, it is a mistake to imagine that the forests of their timewere thickly peopled with red men, or that they were perpetually at war. The entire population of the Iroquois throughout what is now the Stateof New York probably never numbered more than 20, 000 souls. Of these thewhole Mohawk nation counted only about 3, 000, grouped in small villagesover their wide territory. [10] The avowed object of the Iroquoisconfederacy was peace. By means of a great political fraternity thepurpose was to break up the spirit of perpetual warfare which had wastedthe Indian race from age to age. [11] To a considerable degree thispurpose was realized. After the power of the Iroquois had becomeconsolidated, their villages were no longer stockaded, such defenceshaving ceased to be necessary. 

Otsego has witnessed other aspects of Indian life than those of war andthe chase. The Iroquois were agriculturists, and they, or rather theirwomen, cultivated not only fruit trees, but corn, melons, squash, pumpkins, beans, and tobacco. [12] They had other human interests also, not unlike our own. As the young people grew up amid sylvan charms thatare wont to stir romantic feelings in the heart of youth to-day, one istempted to imagine the trysts in the wood, the flirtations, thecourtships, among Indian braves and dusky maidens, that touched lifewith tender sentiment in the days of the red man's glory. During manysummers before the white man came the breath of nature sighing throughthe pines of Otsego, the winding river murmuring lovelorn secrets to theflowers that nodded on its margin, the moon rising over Mount Vision andshedding its splendor upon the lake, were subtle influences in secretmeetings between men and maidens, in whispered vows beneath the trees, in courtships on the border of the Glimmerglass, in lovemaking along theshores of the Susquehanna. 

The greater part of the Iroquois were allies of the British in theRevolutionary War, although some Mohawks remained neutral, and most ofthe Oneidas and Tuscaroras became engaged on the side of the Americans. It is not strange that, in a war whose causes they could not understand, the Iroquois should have been loyal to the King of England, with whomtheir alliances had been made for nearly two centuries. The Indians hadnothing to gain in this war, and everything to lose. They losteverything, and after the war were thrown upon the mercies of thevictorious Americans. The Iroquois confederacy came to an end, and fewof the Mohawks ever returned to the scene of their council fires, or tothe graves of their ancestors. [13]

Many friendly relationships were established between the white men andthe Indians, both before and after the Revolutionary War. In 1764 therewas a missionary school of Mohawk Indian boys at the foot of Otsego Lakeunder the instruction of a young Mohawk named Moses, who had beeneducated at a missionary institution for Indians at Lebanon. A report ofone of the missionaries, the Rev. J. C. Smith, written at this time, gives a glimpse of the Indians as they came under civilizing influenceon the very spot where Cooperstown was afterward to flourish:

"I am every day diverted and pleased with a view of Moses and hisschool, as I can sit in my study and see him and all his scholars at anytime, the schoolhouse being nothing but an open barrack. And I am muchpleased to see eight or ten and sometimes more scholars sitting undertheir bark table, some reading, some writing and others studying, andall engaged to appearances with as much seriousness and attention as youwill see in almost any worshipping assembly and Moses at the head ofthem with the gravity of fifty or three score. "[14]

Miss Susan Fenimore Cooper, daughter of the novelist, says that for someyears after the village was commenced, Mill Island was a favorite resortof the Indians, who came frequently in parties to the new settlement, remaining here for months together. Mill Island lies in the Susquehannaa short distance below Fernleigh, near the dam, where the river reachesout two arms to enclose it, and with so little effort that it isdifficult to distinguish the island from the mainland. In the early daysof the village the island was covered with woods, and the Indians choseit for their camp, in preference to other situations. Miss Cooper thinksit may have been a place of resort to their fishing and hunting partieswhen the country was a wilderness. In _Rural Hours_, writing in 1851, she gives a curious description of a visit made at Otsego Hall by someIndians who had encamped at Mill Island. There were three of them, --afather, son, and grandson, --who made their appearance, claiming ahereditary acquaintance with the master of the house, Fenimore Cooper. 

[Illustration: _C. F. Zabriskie_

AT MILL ISLAND]

"The leader and patriarch of the party, " says Miss Cooper, "was aMethodist minister--the Rev. Mr. Kunkerpott. He was notwithstanding afull-blooded Indian, with the regular copper-colored complexion, andhigh cheek bones; the outline of his face was decidedly Roman, and hislong, gray hair had a wave which is rare among his people; his mouth, where the savage expression is usually most strongly marked, was small, with a kindly expression about it. Altogether he was a strange mixtureof the Methodist preacher and the Indian patriarch. His son was muchmore savage than himself in appearance--a silent, cold-looking man; andthe grandson, a boy of ten or twelve, was one of the most uncouth, impish-looking creatures we ever beheld. He wore a long-tailed coattwice too large for him, with boots of the same size. The child's facewas very wild, and he was bareheaded, with an unusual quantity of long, black hair streaming about his head and shoulders. While the grandfatherwas conversing about old times, the boy diverted himself by twirlingaround on one leg, a feat which would have seemed almost impossible, booted as he was, but which he nevertheless accomplished with remarkabledexterity, spinning round and round, his arms extended, his large blackeyes staring stupidly before him, his mouth open, and his long hairflying in every direction, as wild a looking creature as one could wishto see. "

After the period of which Miss Cooper writes, Indians were even morerarely seen in Cooperstown, and their visits soon ceased altogether. Itis a far cry from the Chingachgook and Uncas whom Fenimore Cooperimagined to the Rev. Mr. Kunkerpott and other Indians whom his daughtersaw and described. So much so that Cooper has been accused of creating, in his novels, a sort of Indians which never existed either here orelsewhere. There is no doubt, however, that he studied carefully suchIndians as were in his day to be found, and had some basis of fact forthe qualities which he imparted to the Indians of his imagination. MissCooper says that her father followed Indian delegations from town totown, observing them carefully, conversing with them freely, and wasimpressed "with the vein of poetry and of laconic eloquence markingtheir brief speeches. "

Brander Matthews says that if there is any lack of faithfulness inCooper's presentation of the Indian character, it is due to the factthat he was a romancer, and therefore an optimist, bent on making thebest of things. He told the truth as he saw it, and nothing but thetruth; but he did not tell the whole truth. Here Cooper was akin toScott, who chose to dwell only on the bright side of chivalry, and topicture the merry England of Richard Lionheart as a pleasanter period tolive in than it could have been in reality. Cooper's red men areprobably closer to the actual facts than Scott's black knights and whiteladies. [15]

Cooper himself comes to the defense of his Indians in the preface of the_Leather-Stocking Tales_. "It is the privilege of all writers offiction, " he declares, "more particularly when their works aspire to theelevation of romances, to present the _beau-ideal_ of their charactersto the reader. This it is which constitutes poetry, and to suppose thatthe red man is to be represented only in the squalid misery or in thedegraded moral state that certainly more or less belongs to hiscondition, is, we apprehend, taking a very narrow view of an author'sprivileges. Such criticism would have deprived the world of even Homer. "

Our early history has been less sympathetic toward the Indian. The storyof the massacre which occurred at Cherry Valley, not many miles fromCooperstown, in 1778, although the Tories who took part in it were quiteas savage as their Indian allies, has made memorable the darker side ofIndian character. But although many innocent victims were exacted by hisrevenge both here and elsewhere, it was not without cause that theIndian resorted to bloody measures against the whites. Americans ofto-day can well afford a generous appreciation of the once powerful racewho were their predecessors in sovereignty on this continent. The leagueof the Iroquois is no more, but in the Empire State of the AmericanRepublic the scene of their ancient Indian empire remains. It is leftfor the white man to commemorate the Indian who made no effort toperpetuate memorials of himself, erected no boastful monuments, andcarved no inscriptions to record his many conquests. Having gained greatwealth by developing the resources of a land which the Indians used onlyas hunting grounds, the white man may none the less appreciate the loftyqualities of a race of men who, just because they felt no lust ofriches, never emerged from the hunter state, but found the joy of lifeamid primeval forests. 

The League of the Iroquois has had a strange history, which is part ofthe history of America--a history which left no record, except bychance, of a government that had no archives, an empire that had nothrone, a language that had no books, a citizenship without a city, areligion that had no temple except that which the Great Spirit createdin the beginning. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: Poe. _Works_, "William W. Lord, " Vol. Vii, p. 217(Amontillado Ed). Edmund Clarence Stedman, in his _Poets of America_, p. 41, 123, champions Lord. ]

[Footnote 2: _Notes on the Iroquois_, Henry R. Schoolcraft, Chap. Vi. ]

[Footnote 3: Major J. W. Powell, _The Forum_, January, 1890. ]

[Footnote 4: Lewis H. Morgan's map, 1851, in the _League of theIroquois_. ]

[Footnote 5: From Fernleigh garden, near the river, 1895. ]

[Footnote 6: These opinions are quoted from a communication kindlywritten by Willard E. Yager, of Oneonta. ]

[Footnote 7: Ote-sa-ga was probably derived, by transposition verycommon in like case, from the first map name of Ostega (Ostaga), 1770-1775. Dr. Beauchamp sought to derive this from "otsta, " a word forwhich Schoolcraft was his authority, and which was supposed to be Oneidafor "rock, " the Mohawk form "otsteara. " But Schoolcraft, as Beauchamphimself elsewhere shows (Indian Names, p. 6), sometimes took libertieswith original Indian forms of words. The Mohawk word for "rock" is"ostenra"; the Oneida would be "ostela. " The first with the locativeterminal "ga, " gives "ostenraga"; the second, "ostelaga. " Both are farremoved from "Ostaga. " Ostaga is more naturally derived from the Mohawk"otsata, " or "osata, " both which forms occur in Bruyas. Otsataga, byelision, readily becomes Otstaga, and again Ostaga. The change is evensimpler with Osataga. The meaning of Ostaga, thus explained, would be"place of cloud, " by extension "place of storm"--in contrast, perhaps, with the little lakes, which were _waiontha_, "calm. " (Bruyas, 64). --_Willard E. Yager. _]

[Footnote 8: _League of the Iroquois_, Lewis H. Morgan, Lloyd's Ed. , Vol. I, p. 93. ]

[Footnote 9: Yager. ]

[Footnote 10: _The Old New York Frontier_, Francis W. Halsey, 16. _League of the Iroquois_, II. 227. ]

[Footnote 11: _League of the Iroquois_, I. 87. ]

[Footnote 12: do. , I. 249-251. ]

[Footnote 13: _The Old New York Frontier_, 150. ]

[Footnote 14: _The Old New York Frontier_, 75, 160. ]

[Footnote 15: _Address at the Cooperstown Centennial. _]

CHAPTER II

THE COMING OF THE WHITE MEN

Within six years after Hendrik Hudson sailed up the river which bearshis name, and some five years before the Pilgrim fathers landed atPlymouth, the first white men looked upon Otsego Lake, and saw thewooded shore upon which Cooperstown now stands. It was in 1614, or inthe year following, that two Dutchmen set out from Fort Orange (Albany)to explore the fur country, and crossing from the Mohawk to Otsego Lake, proceeded down the Susquehanna. [16] From this time, first under theDutch, then under English rule, traders came frequently to the foot ofOtsego Lake. Soon after the traders, Christian missionaries venturedinto the wilderness, ministering at first chiefly to the Indians. Latercame the first settlers. 

That the influence of traders was not always helpful to Christianmissionaries is illustrated by an incident in the missionary journey ofthe Rev. Gideon Hawley, a Presbyterian divine, who, with some zealouscompanions, came from New England to preach to the Indians of theSusquehanna in 1753. They reached the river at a point where was asmall Indian settlement near the present village of Colliers, seventeenmiles below Cooperstown. Here they were joined by a trader named GeorgeWinedecker, who had come down from Otsego Lake with a boat-load ofgoods, including rum, to supply the Indian villages down the river. During the night the red men, full of Winedecker's rum, became embroiledin a murderous orgy. The missionaries were awakened by the howling ofthe Indians over their dead, and in the morning saw Indian womenskulking in the bushes, hiding guns and hatchets, for fear of theintoxicated Indians who were drinking deeper. "Here, in one party, weremissionaries with the Bible and a trader with the rum--the two gifts ofthe white man to the Indian. "[17]

Susquehanna lands were first conveyed to white men by the Indians in1684 as a part of a treaty of alliance with the English, although theIndians retained the right to live and hunt on the river. The grantingof land titles by the Provincial government began not longafterward. [18] The first recorded patent on Otsego Lake was obtained in1740 by John J. Petrie at the northern end. John Groesbeck, an officerof the court of chancery, acquired in 1741 a patent lying northeast ofthe lake, including what afterward became the Clarke property and thesite of Hyde Hall. Nearly the whole east side of the lake, with thepresent Lakelands tract just east of the Susquehanna at its source, wascovered by the patent which Godfrey Miller obtained in 1761, and uponwhich, according to the journal of Richard Smith, twelve persons wereresident eight years later. [19]

Early in the eighteenth century it is probable that traders were fromtime to time resident at the foot of Otsego, but the first attempttoward a permanent settlement on the present site of Cooperstown wasmade by John Christopher Hartwick in 1761. In that year Hartwickobtained from the Provincial government a patent to the lands which, southwest of Cooperstown, still perpetuate his name, and began asettlement at the foot of Otsego Lake under the misapprehension that thesite was included in his patent. It was not long before Hartwickdiscovered his error, and withdrew to the proper limits of his tract, but this attempt to found a village upon the spot which William Cooperafterward selected connects with the history of Cooperstown a uniquecharacter and memorable name. 

Hartwick, who was born in Germany in 1714, came to America at aboutthirty years of age as a missionary preacher, and in his time was asfamous for his eccentricities, as he afterward became for his piousbenefactions. He held some settled charges, but, except for twelve yearsat Rhinebeck, he seems for the most part to have been a wanderingpreacher, and the records of his pastorates extend from Philadelphia toBoston, and from Virginia and Maryland to the distant coast of Maine. 

If Hartwick would not be long tied down to a settled pastorate, he waseven more fearful of matrimonial bondage, and shunned women as a plague. It was not an uncommon thing for him, if he saw that he was about tomeet a woman in the road, to cross over, or even to leap a fence, inorder to avoid her. On one occasion when he was disturbed in preachingby the presence of a dog, he exclaimed with much earnestness that dogsand children had better be kept at home, and it would not be muchmatter, he added, if the women were kept there too![20] Seeking shelterone night at a log hut not far from the present Hartwick village, he wascheerfully received by the occupants, a man and his wife, who gave up totheir guest the one bed in the only bedroom, and stretched themselvesfor the night upon the floor before the kitchen fire. The night grewbitter cold, and the wife, awaking, bethought her of the guest, whetherhe might not be too lightly covered. She went silently to his room, andspread upon his bed a part of her simple wardrobe. Hartwick promptlyarose, dressed himself, made his way out of the house to the stable, saddled his horse, and rode away in the darkness. 

His contemporaries agree in representing Hartwick as slovenly in hishabits, often preaching in his blanket coat, and not always with thecleanest linen; eccentric in his manners, curt, and at times irritablein his intercourse with others--an exceedingly undesirable addition tothe social and domestic circle, so that his hosts were accustomed totell him plainly, at the beginning of a visit, "You may stay here somany days, and then you must go. "[21] In some quarters his visits weredreaded because of his excessively long prayers at family worship. [22]

One may dwell without malice upon the eccentricities of this singularman, for they are qualities that set him forth from his more staidcontemporaries, without detracting from the virtues which gavepermanence to his work. Hartwick was a lover of God and men. Althoughrough and unpolished, he was a man of learning, being well versed intheology, and as familiar with the Latin language as with his own. 

The great purpose of Hartwick's career was the founding of a communityfor the promotion of religion and education, the building in thewilderness of a Christian city whose halls of learning should influencethe coming ages. The roving life that brought Hartwick into contact withthe Indians awakened his desire to Christianize and educate them, andthe influence which he gained among them opened the way, through theacquirement of land, for the carrying out of his favorite project. Thepatent that he obtained from the Provincial government in 1761 covered atract of land, substantially the present town of Hartwick, which he hadpurchased from the Indians for one hundred pounds in 1754. In settlingthe land Hartwick required each tenant to agree to a condition in thelease by which the tenant became Hartwick's parishioner, andacknowledged the authority of Hartwick, or his substitute, as "pastor, teacher, and spiritual counsellor. " Owing to his desultory businessmethods and the weight of advancing years, Hartwick after a time foundhimself unequal to the management of this estate, and in 1791 WilliamCooper, the founder of Cooperstown, became his agent, with authority todispose of the property to tenants. By this arrangement Hartwick was cutoff from his original design of being the spiritual director of histenants, and came to the end of his life without building the city ofwhich he dreamed. 

Hartwick's last will and testament, however, shows that he neverabandoned his design, but determined that it should be carried out afterhis death. The will is one of the most curious documents ever penned, amixture of autobiography, piety, and contempt of legal form. A lawyer towhom he submitted it pronounced it "legally defective in every page, andalmost in every sentence. " But Hartwick's only amendment of it was toadd a perplexing codicil to seven other codicils which already had beenappended. [23] The will provides for the laying out of a regular town, closely built, to be called the New Jerusalem, with buildings and hallfor a seminary. 

Hartwick died in 1796, in his eighty-third year. The task ofadministering the estate according to the will was found to be almosthopeless. The executors, aided by a special act of legislature, setabout to carry out its evident spirit. Preliminary to the establishmentof a seminary, the executors sent the Rev. John Frederick Ernst, aLutheran minister, to Hartwick patent, to preach to the inhabitants, andto assist in the education of their youth. In connection with this workMr. Ernst came to Cooperstown in 1799, held religious services in theold Academy, on the present site of the Universalist church, and hadsome youngsters of the village under his instruction. His descendantslived in Cooperstown for more than a century after him. 

The main building of Hartwick Seminary was erected in 1812, at thepresent site, near the bank of the Susquehanna River, about five milessouthward of Cooperstown, and some four miles eastward from Hartwickvillage. The school was opened in 1815, and received from thelegislature a charter in 1816. It is the oldest theological school inthe State of New York, and the oldest Lutheran theological seminary inAmerica. In addition to being a theological school, Hartwick Seminary isnow devoted to general education, and includes among its pupils not onlyboys, but, in spite of the prejudice of its founder, young women. 

Among the original trustees named in the charter of Hartwick Seminarywas the Rev. Daniel Nash, the first rector of Christ Church, Cooperstown. Judge Samuel Nelson, and Col. John H. Prentiss, ofCooperstown, were afterward trustees for many years, and in their timethere was among the people of this village a lively interest in HartwickSeminary, the literary exercises at the end of each scholastic yearbeing largely attended by visitors from Cooperstown. It is significantof the close relation which formerly existed between the two villagesthat the street which runs westward from the Presbyterian church inCooperstown, now called Elm Street, was at one time known to theinhabitants as "the Hartwick Road. "

Local history has wronged[24] the memory of John Christopher Hartwick bythe oft repeated statement that he committed suicide. It is true that aman named Christianus Hartwick took his own life in 1800, and that hisgrave lies in Hinman Hollow, only a few miles from Hartwick Seminary. But John Christopher Hartwick, after whom the town and seminary arenamed, died a natural death at Clermont, N. Y. , four years before thesuicide. 

A wanderer in life, Hartwick after his death was long in quest of apeaceful grave. His remains were first buried in the graveyard of theLutheran church in East Camp. Two years later, in accordance with thewish expressed in Hartwick's will, the body was removed and entombedbeneath the pulpit of Ebenezer church, at the corner of Pine and Lodgestreets, in Albany, deposited in a stone coffin, secured by brickwork, and covered with an inscribed slab of marble. In 1869, when the churchwas rebuilt, the body was removed to the public cemetery in Albany. Whenthis cemetery was converted into Washington Park, Hartwick's body wastransferred to the lot of the First Lutheran church in the Albany RuralCemetery on the Troy road, where his dust is now contained in an unknownand forgotten grave. The board of trustees of Hartwick Seminaryafterward ordered that Hartwick's remains should be disinterred andbrought for burial to the town to which he gave his name, but theremains could not be found. 

The marble slab that once covered the body of Hartwick in Ebenezerchurch lay for many years beneath the basement floor of the FirstLutheran church, which succeeded the older building. In 1913 this relicof Hartwick's sepulchre was sent to the seminary which he founded, whereit occupies once more a place of honor. Besides Hartwick's name, and therecord of his birth and death, the marble bears, inscribed in German, this sentiment:

 Man's life, in its appointed limit, Is seventy, is eighty years; But care and grief and anguish dim it, However joyous it appears. The winged moments swiftly flee, And bear us to eternity. 

The village of Hartwick is distantly connected with another religiousmovement which the founder of Hartwick Seminary would have viewed withthe utmost abhorrence. In 1820, and for several years thereafter, firstin the house of John Davison, and afterward in Jerome Clark's attic, layan old trunk containing the closely handwritten pages of a romanceentitled _The Manuscript Found_, by the Rev. Solomon Spaulding. This waswritten in 1812, in Conneaut, Ashtabula county, Ohio, where theexploration of earth mounds containing skeletons and other relics firedSpaulding's imagination, and suggested the character of his tale. It waswritten in Biblical style, and for the purpose of the romance waspresented as a translation from hieroglyphical writing upon metal platesexhumed from a mound, to which the author had been guided by a vision. It purported to be a history of the peopling of America by the losttribes of Israel. Spaulding frequently read the manuscript to circles ofadmiring friends, and afterward carried it to Pittsburgh, leaving it, inthe hope of having it published, in the care of a printer namedPatterson. The manuscript was finally rejected. Spaulding died, and in1820 his widow married John Davison of Hartwick, to which place the oldtrunk containing her first husband's manuscript was sent. 

In 1823 Joseph Smith gave out that he had been directed in a vision to ahill near Palmyra, New York, where he discovered some gold platescuriously inscribed, and containing a new revelation. This supposedrevelation he published in 1830 as the "Book of Mormon. "

Mormonism flourished and moved westward. In the course of time a Mormonmeeting was held in Conneaut, Ohio, and out of curiosity was largelyattended by the townspeople. Some readings were given from the Book ofMormon, and certain of the hearers were astonished at the similaritybetween Joseph Smith's book and _The Manuscript Found_, which SolomonSpaulding had read aloud to friends in the same town many years before. They recognized the same peculiar names, unheard of elsewhere, such asMormon, Maroni, Lamenite, and Nephi. It was learned, it is said, thatSmith had closely followed Spaulding's story, adding only his ownpeculiar tenets about marriage, and inventing the theory of the greatspectacles by means of which he professed to have deciphered themysterious characters. 

Spaulding's friends raised a question which has never been cleared upand was at last forgotten. It was pointed out that Sidney Rigdon, whofigured as a preacher and as an adviser of Smith among the first of the"Latter Day Saints, " happened to have been an employé in Patterson'sprinting office in Pittsburgh during the very period when Spaulding'smanuscript was there awaiting approval or rejection. But the matter wasnever brought to a definite issue, and nothing more came of it except arather curious episode. Mrs. Davison removed from Hartwick about 1828, leaving the trunk in charge of Jerome Clark. In 1834 a man namedHurlburt sought Mrs. Davison, and said that he had been sent by acommittee to procure _The Manuscript Found_, written by SolomonSpaulding, so as to compare it with the Mormon Bible. He presented aletter from her brother, William H. Sabine, of Onondaga Valley, uponwhose farm Joseph Smith had been an employé, requesting her to lend themanuscript to Hurlburt, in order "to uproot this Mormon fraud. " Hurlburtrepresented that he himself had been a convert to Mormonism, but hadgiven it up, and wished to expose its wickedness. On Hurlburt's repeatedpromise to return the work, Mrs. Davison gave him a note addressed toJerome Clark of Hartwick, requesting him to open the old trunk anddeliver the manuscript. This was done. Hurlburt took the manuscript, andnot only did he never return it, but he never replied to any of the manyletters requesting its return. The Spaulding manuscript has utterlydisappeared. [25]

The year 1768 brings another unique personage into the field of ourlocal history. In that year the English met the Indians at Fort Stanwix(Rome, Oneida county) in a conference which resulted in establishing aformally acknowledged boundary between the territory of the red men andthe land which the colonists had begun to make their own. The lands ofthe upper Susquehanna thus became, prior to the Revolution, the extremewestern frontier of old New York, and Otsego Lake was included withinEnglish territory by a margin, at the west, of about twenty miles. SirWilliam Johnson, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, conducted thenegotiations, and the securing of the Fort Stanwix deed was one of themost astute accomplishments of his long career. 

An interested party to these proceedings was Sir William's deputy agentfor Indian affairs, Colonel George Croghan, who had accompanied him tothe conference. Nearly twenty years before, Croghan had obtained fromthe Indians a tract of land near Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh), inPennsylvania. During this Fort Stanwix conference which established thenew frontier Croghan succeeded in getting confirmation of the formergrant, with the privilege of making an exchange for a tract of equalextent in the region now ceded to the English. Under this agreementCroghan and certain associates afterward took up 100, 000 acres of landin what are now Otsego, Burlington, and New Lisbon townships, Otsegocounty. [26] And so it came about that in the next year, 1769, ColonelGeorge Croghan came to the foot of Otsego Lake, built him a hut, and wasthe first settler on the present site of Cooperstown. 

The story of the fortune and failure of Croghan, who was a remarkableand picturesque character, reads like a romance. He so far surpassed allmen of his time in genius for commerce with the Indians, and in skillfulmarketing of Indian products, that Hanna calls him "The King of theTraders. " Lavish in his expenditures, big in his ventures, he made andlost fortunes with equal facility. He alternated between the height ofopulence and the verge of bankruptcy. Like Sir William Johnson, Croghanhad a special aptitude for making friendships with the Indians, so that, according to his own statement, "he was in such favor and confidencewith the councils of the Six Nations that he was, in the year 1746, admitted by them as a Councillor into the Onondaga Councill, which isthe Supreme Councill of the Six Nations. He understands the Language ofthe Six Nations and of several other of the Indian nations. "[27]

Long before the sojourn in Otsego, Croghan had become, during his fitsof prosperity, a power in the Pennsylvania region, and probably deservedthe pungently qualified praise of Hassler, who, in his _OldWestmoreland_, declares that "the man of most influence in thiscommunity [Fort Pitt, or Pittsburgh] was the fat old Trader andIndian-Agent, Colonel George Croghan, who lived on a pretentiousplantation about four miles up the Allegheny River--an Irishman by birthand an Episcopalian by religion, when he permitted religion to troublehim. "

Two documents relating to Croghan illustrate his extremes of fortune;the one a petition to protect him against imprisonment for debt, theother a complaint against him as a monopolist of the fur trade. It seemsthat in 1755 Croghan had been compelled by impending bankruptcy and fearof the debtor's prison to remove from settled parts of Pennsylvania, andto take refuge in the Indian country. Here he was in great danger fromthe French and their Indians, but wrote to the Governor of Pennsylvaniathat he was more afraid of imprisonment for debt than of losing hisscalp. At a meeting of the Pennsylvania Assembly in November, 1755, fifteen creditors of Croghan presented a petition that Croghan and hispartner, William Trent, be rendered free from debt for a space of tenyears. The petition recited that there should be taken intoconsideration "the great knowledge of said George Croghan in Indianaffairs, his extensive influence among them, and the service and publicutility he may be of to this Province in these respects. "[28] Inaccordance with this petition a bill was passed by which Croghan wasfreed from the danger of arrest for debt, and, although the act wasvetoed by King George II three years later, Croghan evidently madeprofitable use of his liberty. 

On July 9, 1759, less than four years after Croghan so narrowly escapedthe debtor's prison, a complaint from Philadelphia was addressed to theGovernor of Pennsylvania protesting against Croghan's policy of crushingcompetitors in the trade with Indians by a control of prices in skinsand peltry. [29] The complaint was signed by the eight ProvincialCommissioners for the Indian Trade newly appointed by the Assembly, including Edward Pennington, the celebrated Quaker merchant ofPhiladelphia; Thomas Willing, afterward a member of the ContinentalCongress, and the first president of the Bank of North America, theearliest chartered in the country; and William Fisher, who was mayor ofPhiladelphia just before the Revolution. Such formidable oppositionshows that Croghan, from being an object of pity to his creditors, hadrisen to affluence as the head of a "trust. "

Owing to his business methods, some of the Quakers were not welldisposed toward Croghan. At a conference with the Delawares and SixNations held at Easton, in 1758, one of the Quakers present wrote homean account of the proceedings in a tone not favorable to Croghan. "Hetreats them [the Indians] with liquor, " wrote the Quaker, "and gives outthat he himself is an Indian. .. . At the close of the conference oneNichos, a Mohawk, made a speech. .. . This Nichos is G. Croghan'sfather-in-law. "

If Croghan is to be believed, however, he was opposed to giving liquorto the Indians. While arranging for this very conference he had writtento Secretary Richard Peters of Pennsylvania, "You'll excuse boathwriting and peper, and guess at my maining, fer I have at this minnitt20 drunken Indians about me. I shall be ruined if ye taps are notstopt. "

Although Croghan had come to America in 1741, this letter, with its"guess at my maining, " and another in which he has "lase" for "lease, "suggest that, if his pronunciation may be judged from his spelling, heretained a rich Irish brogue. Certainly his Irish wit and good natureserved him well in his dealing with the Indians. He was frequentlyuseful in outwitting the French Indian-agents, and in maintaining thefriendship of the red men for the English as against the French. GeneralBouquet, who seems to have detested Croghan, wrote to General Gage, at atime when new powers had been conferred upon Indian-agents, "It is to beregretted that powers of such importance should be trusted to a manilliterate, impudent, and ill-bred. " Nevertheless, within a few months, Bouquet wrote to Gage recommending Croghan as the person most competentto negotiate with the Western Indians for British control of the Frenchposts in the Illinois country--a mission upon which Croghan was wounded, captured, and pillaged by the Indians. In 1768 the General Assembly inPhiladelphia put upon record, in a message to the Governor, a highopinion of Croghan, referring to "the eminent services he has renderedto the Nation and its Colonies in conciliating the affections of theIndians to the British interest. "

At the end of a stormy voyage from America, being shipwrecked on theNorman coast, Croghan reached England in February, 1764, bearing animportant letter on Indian affairs from Sir William Johnson to the Lordsof Trade. One might expect to find Croghan gratified by the comforts ofLondon life as compared with the rough hardships of America. A scoutunder Washington's command, a captain of Indians under Braddock, aborder ranger upon the western frontier, a trader upon the banks of theOhio, a pioneer in many a wilderness, Croghan had seen all kinds ofhard service in the twenty-three years since he left Ireland. But in themidst of metropolitan splendors he grew homesick for the wild life ofthe New World. Writing in March, and again in April, to Americanfriends, he expressed his disgust with the city's pride and pomp, declared that he was sick of London and its vanities, and set forth ashis chief ambition a desire to live on a little farm in America. In theautumn of the same year Croghan shipped for the long journey across theAtlantic. It is five years later that he appears at the foot of OtsegoLake, apparently in fulfillment of his desire to make a home and to bethe founder of a settlement. 

In 1769 Richard Smith came to the Susquehanna region from Burlington, New Jersey. The immediate purpose of his tour was to make a survey ofthe Otsego patent in which he, as one of the proprietors, wasinterested. Smith traveled up the Hudson River to Albany, thence alongthe Mohawk to Canajoharie, from which point his carefully keptjournal[30] abounds in interesting allusions to Otsego:

 "13th. May. . .. Pursuing a S. W. Course for Cherry Valley [from Canajoharie]. We met, on their Return, Four Waggons, which had carried some of Col. Croghan's Goods to his Seat at the Foot of Lake Otsego. .. . Capt. Prevost . .. Is now improving his Estate at the Head of the Lake; the Capt. Married Croghan's Daughter. .. . 

 "14th. . .. Distance from Cherry Valley to Capt. Prevost's is 9 miles. 

 "15th. . .. We arrived at Capt. Prevost's in 4 Hours, the Road not well cleared, but full of Stumps and rugged, thro' deep blac Mould all the Way. .. . Mr. Prevost has built a Log House, lined with rough Boards, of one story, on a Cove, which forms the Head of Lake Otsego. He has cleared 16 or 18 acres round his House and erected a Saw Mill. He began to settle only in May last. .. . The Capt. Treated us elegantly. He has several Families seated near him. .. . 

 "16th. We proceeded in Col. Croghan's Batteau, large and sharp at each end, down the Lake, . .. The Water of greenish cast, denoting probable Limestone bottom; the Lake is skirted on either side with Hills covered by White Pines and the Spruce called Hemloc chiefly. We saw a Number of Ducks, some Loons, Sea-gulls, and Whitish coloured Swallows, the Water very clear so that we descried the gravelly Bottom in one Part 10 or 12 Feet down. The rest of the Lake seemed to be very deep; very little low Land is to be seen round the Lake. Mr. Croghan, Deputy to Sir William Johnson, the Superintendent for Indian Affairs, is now here, and has Carpenters and other Men at Work preparing to build Two Dwelling Houses and 5 or 6 Out Houses. His Situation [on the site of the Cooper Grounds, within the present village of Cooperstown] commands a view of the whole Lake, and is in that Respect superior to Prevost's. The site is a gravelly, stiff clay, covered with towering white Pines, just where the River Susquehannah, no more than 10 or 12 yards broad, runs downward out of the Lake with a strong Current. [31] Here we found a Body of Indians, mostly from Ahquhaga, [32] come to pay their Devoirs to the Col. ; some of them speak a little English. .. . We lodged at Col. Croghan's. 

 "23rd. . .. At Col. Croghan's . .. Being rainy, we staid here all day. 

 "24th. It rained again. The Elevated Hills of this country seem to intercept the flying vapors and draw down more moisture than more humble places. .. . With 3 carpenters felled a white Pine Tree and began a Canoe. .. . Some Trout were caught this Morng. 22 Inches long; they are spotted like ours with Yellow Bellies, yellow flesh when boiled & wide mouths. There are Two species, the Common & the Salmon Trout. Some Chubs were likewise taken, above a Foot in length. The other Fish common in the Lake & other Waters, according to Information, are Pickerel, large and shaped like a Pike, Red Perch, Catfish reported to be upwards of Two feet long, Eels, Suckers, Pike, a few shad and some other Sorts not as yet perfectly known. The Bait now used is Pidgeon's Flesh or Guts, for Worms are scarce. The Land Frogs or Toads are very large, spotted with green and yellow, Bears and Deer are Common. .. . Muscetoes & Gnats are now troublesome. We observed a natural Strawberry Patch before Croghan's Door which is at present in bloom, we found the Ground Squirrels and small red squirrels very numerous and I approached near to one Rabbit whose Face appeared of a blac Colour. 

 "25th. We finished and launched our Canoe into the Lake. She is 32 feet 7 inches in Length and 2 Feet 4 inches broad. .. . 

 "27th. . .. We engaged Joseph Brant, the Mohawk, to go down with us to Aquahga. Last night a drunken Indian came and kissed Col. Croghan and me very joyously. Here are Natives of different Nations almost continually. They visit the Deputy Superintendent as Dogs to the Bone, for what they can get. .. . 

 "We found many petrified Shells in these Parts, & sometimes on the Tops of High Hills. .. . Col. Croghan showed us a piece of Copper Ore, as supposed. The Indian who gave it to him said he found it on our Tract. .. . Col. C says that some of his Cows were out in the Woods all last Winter without Hay, and they now look well. .. . 

 "The Col. Had a Cargo of Goods arrived to-day, such as Hogs, Poultry, Crockery ware, and Glass. The settled Indian Wages here are 4s a Day, York Currency, being Half a Dollar. 

 "28th. Sunday. I had an Opportunity of inspecting the Bark Canoes often used by the Natives; these Boats are constructed of a single sheet of Bark, stripped from the Elm, Hiccory, or Chesnut, 12 or 14 Feet long, and 3 or 4 Feet broad, and sharp at each End, and these sewed with thongs of the same Bark. In Lieu of a Gunnel, they have a small Pole fastned with Thongs, sticks across & Ribs of Bark, and they deposit Sheets of Bark in her Bottom to prevent Breaches there. These vessels are very light, each broken and often patched with Pieces of Bark as well as corked with Oakum composed of pounded Bark. 

 "The Col. Talks of building a Saw Mill and Grist Mill here on the Susquehannah, near his House, and has had a Millwright to view the Spot. 

 "29th. Myself, with Joseph Brant, his wife and Child, and another Young Mohawk named James, went down in the new Canoe to our upper Corner. .. . This River . .. Is full of Logs and Trees, and short, crooked Turns, and the Navigation for Canoes and Batteaux requires dexterity. "

The household which Smith visited at the foot of Otsego Lake was aninteresting one, and had some remarkable connections. There was not only"the fat old trader, and Indian-agent, Colonel George Croghan, " butalso his Indian wife, daughter of the Mohawk chief Nichos, or Nickas, ofCanajoharie. Catherine, [33] the Colonel's little daughter, then tenyears old, helped her Indian mother with the household tasks, or dancedin her play about the cabin door, little dreaming that she was afterwardto become the third wife of Joseph Brant, the famous chieftain who hadjust guided Richard Smith down the Susquehanna. 

Croghan's elder daughter, Susannah, who had married Captain AugustinePrevost, was the child of Croghan's first wife, a white woman. Capt. AndMrs. Prevost lived at the head of Otsego Lake, in a house whereSwanswick now stands. Before the coming of Prevost, a settlement hadbeen made here as early as 1762, [34] the earliest permanent settlementon Otsego Lake. Captain Augustine Prevost, or Major Prevost, as heafterward became, was born at Geneva, Switzerland, in 1744, and died atthe age of 77 years, at Greenville, N. Y. , where the Prevost mansionstill stands. He was twice married, and had twenty-two children. Prevostwas beloved as a bosom friend and companion by Joseph Brant, and theirintimacy was interrupted, much to the Mohawk's sorrow, only when Prevostwas ordered to join his regiment in Jamaica in 1772. This friendshipwith Croghan's son-in-law seems to have brought the famous Mohawkchieftain as a frequent visitor to Otsego Lake, and may account for hisattachment and subsequent marriage to Croghan's younger daughter. Thusis completed the circle of intimates that gathered at Croghan's hut, onthe present site of Cooperstown, in 1769--the Irish trader; his Indiansquaw; the British officer and his wife; the young half-Indian girl; andthe Mohawk warrior whose name was to become a terror to settlersthroughout the Susquehanna Valley--the same who afterward was receivedat court in London, who dined with Fox, Burke, and Sheridan, waslionized by Boswell, and had his portrait painted by Romney. [35]

Croghan's attempted settlement was not a success. He began to show signsof failing health and waning fortune. On July 18, 1769, he wrote fromLake Otsego to Thomas Wharton of Philadelphia, "Eight days ago I wasfavored with yours. I should have answered it before now, but was thenlying in a violent fit of the gout, for ye first time, wh. Has confin'dme to bed for 18 days, & now am only able to sit up on ye bedside. "During the next winter Croghan was in New York and Philadelphia, but inMarch and April, 1770, he was again at Otsego, whence he wrote to SirWilliam Johnson concerning financial difficulties. In May he wrote of aproposed journey southward for his health and business interests. 

But Croghan was never in business for his health. In October he was oncemore on his old plantation near Fort Pitt, where Washington, on anexploring expedition, visited him and dined with him. It seems that hewas trying to persuade Washington to buy land of him in the West, and, according to Washington's surveyor, Captain William Crawford, was usingWashington's prospective purchases as an inducement to others, at thesame time not being very sure of his title, "selling any land that anyperson will buy of him, inside or outside of his line. "

Croghan never returned to Otsego. He mortgaged his tract of land toWilliam Franklin, son of Benjamin Franklin, and lost it underforeclosure in 1773. The title later passed to William Cooper and AndrewCraig, both of Burlington, New Jersey, which was also the home ofRichard Smith, who had visited Croghan at Otsego. 

Appended to one of Croghan's deeds is a map purporting to show theimprovements which he had made at the foot of the lake, but, saysFenimore Cooper, "it is supposed that this map was made for effect. "When William Cooper first visited the spot, in 1785, the only buildingwas one of hewn logs, about fifteen feet square, probably Croghan's hut, deserted and dismantled, standing in the space now included in theCooper Grounds, near the site of the present Clark Estate office. Exceptfor the visit of Clinton's troops in 1779, the place had been abandonedfor fifteen years. The only signs of "improvements" were seen in a fewplaces cleared of underbrush, with felled and girdled trees, and in theremains of some log fences already falling into ruin. Silence anddesolation had fallen upon "the little farm in America" upon whichCroghan had dreamed of passing his declining years. 

In an inventory of the estate of Alexander Ross of Pittsburgh, 1784, appears in the record of effects a promissory note made by GeorgeCroghan, with this appended remark: "Dead, and no Property. "

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 16: _The Old New York Frontier_, 32. ]

[Footnote 17: _The Old New York Frontier_, 61. ]

[Footnote 18: _Four Great Rivers_, Halsey, lvii. ]

[Footnote 19: _Four Great Rivers_, 35. ]

[Footnote 20: Henry M. Pohlman, D. D. , _Hartwick Seminary MemorialVolume_, 1867, p. 21. ]

[Footnote 21: Pohlman, 23. ]

[Footnote 22: James Pitcher, D. D. , _Centennial Address_, 1897, p. 7. ]

[Footnote 23: _Hartwick Sem. Mem. _, 27. ]

[Footnote 24: _History of Cooperstown_, Livermore, 11. ]

[Footnote 25: "The Book of Mormon, " _Scribner's Magazine_, August, 1880. ]

[Footnote 26: _The Wilderness Trail_, Chas. A. Hanna, II, 59, 60. ]

[Footnote 27: _The Wilderness Trail_, II, 30. ]

[Footnote 28: _The Wilderness Trail_, II, 8. ]

[Footnote 29: do. , II, 20. ]

[Footnote 30: Published in _Four Great Rivers_. ]

[Footnote 31: This current is now sluggish, owing to the dam of thewater works lower down the river. ]

[Footnote 32: The largest Indian village in the Susquehanna Valley, about 50 miles in an air line from Otsego, twice as far by water, situated on the river at a point where the present village of Windsorstands, some 14 miles easterly from Binghamton. ]

[Footnote 33: _The Wilderness Trail_, II, 84. ]

[Footnote 34: _The Old New York Frontier_, 125. ]

[Footnote 35: _The Old New York Frontier_, 320. ]

CHAPTER III

A BYPATH OF THE REVOLUTION

The settlers on the New York frontier were many of them Scotch-Irish, nursing an inherited hostility to England. The greater part of theIroquois Indians, more particularly the Mohawks, had a sentimentalregard for the covenant which, for a century, had made the red men loyalto the British king. Here was a native antagonism between settlers andIndians which during the Revolution partly contributed to the warfare oftorch and scalping knife that raged in the Susquehanna region. 

Brant, the Mohawk chief, although himself a full-blooded Indian, knownamong his own people as Thayendanegea, had become, through longassociation with Sir William Johnson and his friends, a king's man andchurchman. With the doctrines of the Church of England which he hadembraced on becoming a communicant, he adopted also the contempt fordissenters which was so common among churchmen. Once, on tasting acrabapple, it is said, Brant puckered up his mouth, and exclaimed, "Itis as bitter as a Presbyterian!" While in other parts of the countrymany churchmen espoused the cause of American independence, it happenedthat in the Susquehanna region the patriots were generally Calvinists. 

[Illustration: JOSEPH BRANT

From the portrait by Romney]

Another contributory cause of trouble between the Indians andfrontiersmen had to do with the lands around the Mohawk villages, concerning which there had been frequent disputes since the Fort Stanwixtreaty. [36]

In May, 1777, Brant established himself with a band of Indian warriorsand some Tories at Unadilla, driving out the settlers, and servingnotice upon all that they must either leave the country or declarethemselves for the English cause. At a conference held among officers ofthe American forces it was decided that General Nicholas Herkimer, themilitary chief of Tryon county, (which then included the region thatlater became Otsego county), should go to Unadilla to parley with theIndians. Herkimer, with 380 men, came down from Canajoharie throughCherry Valley to Otsego Lake, and thence along the Susquehanna River toUnadilla, which he reached late in June. Thus the Indian trail whichpassed near Council Rock was first used as the path of the palefacewarriors. 

The conference at Unadilla found the Indians fully determined for theBritish cause, and came to an abrupt termination, beneath darkenedskies, amid a hubbub of Mohawk war-whoops and the rattle of a suddenhailstorm that swooped down upon the assemblage. Herkimer marched hismen back to Cherry Valley. [37]

Six weeks later the battle of Oriskany was fought, a victory for themilitia of Tryon County, but a costly victory, for it inflamed theirhitherto lukewarm Indian enemies with the spirit of revenge, and set inmotion the forces of border warfare which during the next five yearsdesolated the frontier. The forays along the border had a directrelation to the central conflict of the Revolutionary War. With theIndians for allies it was the policy of the British to harry thesettlers on the frontier, in order to draw away to their defense forcesthat were essential to the strength of the Americans in the HudsonValley. Aside from motives of private vengeance among Indians andTories, this was the military purpose which determined the burning ofSpringfield, at the head of Otsego Lake, in June, 1778, and the massacreof Cherry Valley in November. [38]

To protect the frontier against further raids, an expedition wasplanned, consisting of two divisions: one under General John Sullivan, which was to cross from Easton to the Susquehanna, and thence ascend theriver to Tioga Point (Athens, Pa. ); the other, under General JamesClinton, was to proceed from Albany up the Mohawk to Canajoharie, crossing to Otsego Lake, and going thence down the Susquehanna to TiogaPoint, where the two divisions were to unite in a combined attack uponthe Indian settlements in Western New York. [39] This expedition involvedone-third of Washington's whole army. 

General Clinton's force included about 1, 800 men, bringing three months'provisions and 220 boats from Schenectady up the Mohawk to Canajoharie, where the brigade went into camp. 

The twenty miles overland to Otsego Lake was traversed during thelatter part of June, 1779, the boats and stores being carried in wagons, several hundred horses having been made ready for this purpose atCanajoharie. Part of the brigade reached the lake by means of theContinental road, of which traces still remain, leading to the shorenear the mouth of Shadow Brook in Hyde Bay. [40] Here they launched theirfleet of bateaux and floated down the lake to their landing at thepresent site of Cooperstown. "This passage down the lake was made on alovely summer's day, and the surrounding hills being covered with livinggreen, every dash of the oar throwing up the clear, sparkling water, athousand delighted warblers greeting them from the shores as theresponse of the martial music from the boats--the whole being soentirely novel--the effect must have been truly enchanting andpicturesque. "[41]

Apparently not all the regiments took the same route. Lieut. ErkuriesBeatty, of the Fourth Pennsylvania Regiment, says in his journal[42]that "the regiment marched by Cherry Valley to the lower end of thelake, " while the baggage of the detachment went to the Springfieldlanding, with a proper guard. From this point, himself being in theparty, "we put the baggage on board boats, " he says, "and proceeded tothe lower end of the lake, and found the regiment there before us. "

During the first week in July the entire brigade had become encamped atthe foot of the lake, to remain here, as it turned out, for a period offive weeks. The present Cooper Grounds, where the Indians, long before, had planted their apple trees, and where Colonel Croghan, in 1769, hadbuilt his hut, now became the scene of a military encampment. Lieut. Beatty's journal describes the location of the various regiments in CampLake Otsego, as it was called. Croghan's house, which stood near thesite of the present Clark Estate office, was used as a magazine, andaround it was encamped a company of artillery, under Capt. ThomasMachin. Here also the stores were gathered. On the right of theartillery, facing the lake, the Fourth Pennsylvania Regiment wasencamped, while on the left were the tents of Colonel Peter Gansevoort'sThird New York Regiment. At the latter's rear, in the second line, wasthe Fifth New York, under command of Col. Lewis Dubois; behind theartillery camp lay Col. Alden's Sixth Massachusetts Regiment; and theFourth New York, under Lieut. -Col. Weissenfels, occupied the space atthe rear of the Fourth Pennsylvania. A few Oneida Indians came with Col. Alden's regiment and encamped on the banks of the lake, where "they allsoon got drunk, " says Beatty, "and made a terrible noise. "

On the Fourth of July, which fell upon Sunday, the third anniversary ofthe American Independence was celebrated at Camp Lake Otsego, GeneralClinton "being pleased to order that all troops under his commandshould draw a gill of rum per man, extraordinary, in memory of thathappy event. " The troops assembled at three o'clock in the afternoon andparaded on the bank at the south end of the lake. The brigade was drawnup in one line along the shore, with the two pieces of artillery on theright. The ceremony of the occasion is described by Lieut. VanHovenburgh as a "fudie joy. "[43] A salute of thirteen guns was fired bythe artillery, and three volleys from the muskets of the infantry, withthree cheers from all the troops after each fire. The troops were thendrawn up in a circle by columns on a little hill, and the Rev. JohnGano, a Baptist minister, chaplain of the brigade, preached from Exodusxii, 14: "This day shall be unto you for a memorial . .. Throughout yourgenerations. " After the dismissal of the troops, Col. Rignier, theAdjutant General, gave an invitation to all the officers to come anddrink grog with him in the evening. "Accordingly, " says Lieut. Beatty, "a number of officers (almost all) assembled at a large Bowry which hehad prepared on the bank of the lake. We sat on the ground in a largecircle, and closed the day with a number of toasts suitable and a greatdeal of mirth for two or three hours, and then returned to our tents. "

The stay at Otsego Lake seems to have been for the most part a pleasantexperience. There was plenty to eat. A drove of fat cattle was broughtfrom the Mohawk valley for the use of the troops. The SixthMassachusetts improved upon the culinary equipment of camp life by theconstruction of a huge oven. Lieut. McKendry writes enthusiastically ofthe delicious apples and cucumbers gathered near the camp. [44] Col. Rignier was a leader of fishing parties, and quantities of trout weretaken from the lake to be served sizzling hot from the coals to hungrysoldiers. There was much liquid refreshment, for the officers at least, which came not from lake or river. On June 28th there had been aluncheon of officers at Camp Liberty, Low's Mills (near Swanswick), greatly enlivened by the toasts that were drunk, for General Clinton hadgiven to each officer a keg of rum containing two gallons. On July 7, Lieut. Beatty records that "all the officers of the line met thisevening at the large Bower, and took a sociable drink of grog given byCol. Gansevoort's officers. " This sociable drink seems to have createdan appetite for more. Under date of July 8, the next day, this laconicentry appears in the journal of Lieut. McKendry: "The officers drew eachone keg more of rum. "

Had the journals of the officers been more confiding in their records, an intimate view of the camp life might have been disclosed toposterity. For example, judging from McKendry's journal alone, Sunday, August 1, was decorously uneventful. He has this entry:

"August 1, Sunday--Mr. Gano delivered a sermon. "

Lieut. Beatty also remembers the sermon, but frankly subordinates it toother incidents of the day to which Lieut. McKendry was indifferent, orthought best not to allude. Beatty has this comment:

"August 1, Sunday--To-day at 11 o'clock the officers of the brigade metagreeable to general orders to learn the Salute with the Sword. TheGeneral's curiosity led him out to see how they saluted. 

"After they were dismissed the officers formed a circle round theGeneral and requested of him to give them a keg of rum to drink. Welittle expected to have the favour granted us, but we happened to takethe General in one of his generous thoughts, which he is but seldompossessed of, and instead of one he gave us six. We gratefullyacknowledged the favour with thanks, and immediately repaired to thecool spring[45] where we drank two of our kegs with a great deal ofmirth and harmony, toasting the General frequently--and then returned toour dinners. In the afternoon Parson Gano gave us a sermon. "

On the next morning at 11 o'clock the officers again assembled at thespring "to finish the remainder of our kegs, " says Beatty, "which we didwith the sociability we had done the day before, " and, he might haveadded, with twice as much rum. 

To the troops in general rum was measured out with a more sparing hand. Their pleasures were of a simpler kind, and they seem to have contentedthemselves with fishing in the lake, hunting and roaming through thewoods, inviting an occasional attack from stray Indians, which added thezest of adventure to the routine of camp life. One Sunday afternoon somesoldiers found, concealed in a thicket of bushes and covered with bark, near one of the pickets, "a very fine chest of carpenter's tools, andsome books, map, and number of papers. It is supposed, " says Beatty, "that it was the property of Croghan who formerly lived here, but is nowgone to the enemy. Therefore the chest is a lawful prize to the men thatfound it. "

The five weeks at the foot of Otsego Lake were not, however, passed inidleness. The troops were drilled every day. Target practice for themusketry is recorded by the journals of officers, and a brasscannon-ball marked "J. C. , " found more than a century later in the Glenroad, west of the village, suggests that the artillery was also engagedin the perfecting of its marksmanship, which must have awakened strangeechoes amid the hills of Otsego. 

There were two incidents of camp life that were long remembered amongClinton's troops, the one a bit of comedy, the other a grim commonplaceof martial law. The latter related to the discipline of deserters, towhom various degrees of punishment were meted out by court-martial. OnJuly 20 two deserters were brought into camp, and on the next day threeothers. The more fortunate were sentenced to be whipped. SergeantSpears, of the Sixth Massachusetts, was tied to a tree, and the woodsresounded to the blows of the lash, until one hundred strokes had fallenupon his naked back. Another soldier received five hundred lashes. Threewere sentenced to be shot--Jonathan Pierce, soldier in the SixthMassachusetts Regiment; Frederick Snyder, of the Fourth Pennsylvania;Anthony Dunnavan, of the Third New York. 

On July 28, at nine o'clock in the morning, the whole brigade wasordered out on grand parade to witness the execution of the three men. The condemned deserters were required to stand, with their backs to theriver, on the rise of land at the west side of the lake's outlet. Thetroops were drawn up facing them. A firing squad made ready. 

All stood motionless, expectant, silent. It was a day that blazed withsunshine, intensely hot. [46] The air was breathless. Shore and sky werereflected, as in a mirror, from the unruffled surface of the lake. 

Meantime information had come to General Clinton that Dunnavan hadpreviously deserted from the British army to join the Americans, andafterward had persuaded the two younger men to desert with him from theAmerican forces. Clinton, manifestly glad of an excuse for leniency, pardoned Pierce and Snyder on the spot. Concerning Dunnavan he wasobdurate. "He is good for neither king nor country, " exclaimed theGeneral; "Let him be shot. "

A crash of musketry, with a puff of smoke, and Dunnavan dropped. Thetroops marched back to camp. The deserter's body was buried in anunmarked grave. [47]

The other incident relates to some negro troops who were included in thebrigade. That they might readily be distinguished the negroes wore woolhats with the brim and lower half of the crown colored black--theremainder being left drab, or the native color. A company or two ofthese black soldiers were included in a part of the brigade that was oneday being drilled by Col. Rignier, the popular French officer, a large, well-made, jovial fellow, who was acting as Adjutant General. One of thenegro soldiers, from inattention, failed to execute a command in propertime. 

"Halloo!" cried the colonel, "you black son of a--wid a wite face!--whyyou no mind you beezness?"

This hasty exclamation in broken English so pleased the troops that ageneral burst of laughter followed. Seeing the men mirthful at hisexpense, the colonel good-humoredly gave the command to order arms. 

"Now, " said he, "laugh your pelly full all!"

The French colonel himself joined in the shout that followed, whilehill and dale echoed the boisterous merriment. [48]

Clinton's expedition is chiefly memorable in Cooperstown for the exploitby which the heavily laden bateaux, when the brigade departed for thesouth, were carried down the Susquehanna. The river was too shallow andnarrow, in the first reaches of its course, to offer easy passage forthe heavy boats, and for some distance the stream was clogged withflood-wood and fallen trees. This difficulty was overcome by building adam at the outlet of Otsego Lake, raising its level to such a pointthat, when the water was released, the more than two hundred bateauxwere readily guided down the swollen stream. 

The preparation for this feat preceded the encampment of the brigade onthe shore of the lake. On June 21, before Clinton had left Canajoharie, Colonel William Butler, who had marched his Fourth Pennsylvania Regimentover from Cherry Valley to Springfield, "ordered a party of men to thefoot of the Lake to dam the same, [49] that the water might be raised tocarry the boats down the Susquehanna River; Captain Benjamin Warren, ofthe Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, commanded the party. .. . The water inthe Lake was raised one foot. " General Clinton says "at least two, "while another account claims that the surface of the lake was raised asmuch as three feet. 

Another reference to this exploit is found in the journal of Lieut. Beatty, who says, under date of June 22, "On the lower end of the lakewe found two companies of Col. Alden's (Sixth Mass. ) Reg't, who had madea dam across the neck that runs out of the lake, so as to raise thewater to carry the boats down the creek. "

On Friday, August 6, the following conversation took place at aconference between General Clinton and Chaplain Gano:[50]

"Chaplain, " said the General, "you will have your last preaching servicehere day after to-morrow. "

"Ah indeed! Are we to march soon? Before another Sunday?"

"Yes, but I do not want the men to know it. "

"Nor shall I tell them; but General, am I at liberty to preach from anytext I choose?"

"Certainly, Chaplain. "

"And you will not, in any event, tax me with violation of confidence?"

"No! only stick to your Bible, and I'll give the official orders. "

On the following Sunday, beneath the arches of their forest cathedral, the brigade of nearly two thousand men was gathered for religiousservice. Chaplain Gano chose the text of the sermon from Acts xx. 7:"Ready to depart on the morrow. "

Immediately on the conclusion of the religious service, before thecongregation had dispersed, "the general rose up, " says the chaplain'srecord, "and ordered each captain to appoint a certain number of men outof his company to draw the boats from the lake and string them along theSusquehanna below the dam, and load them, that they might be ready todepart the next morning. " At six o'clock in the evening the sluice-waywas broken up, and the water filled the river, which was almost dry theday before. [51]

On Monday morning the start was made. Each of the boats was manned bythree men. The light infantry and rifle corps under Colonel Butlerformed an advance guard. The soldiers marched on either side of theriver. Another guard of infantry marched in the rear, and in the centreof the land lines the horses and cattle were driven. "The first day, "says McKendry, "the boats made thirty miles, and the troops marchingeach side of the river made sixteen. "

The freshet caused by the sudden release of the pent-up water swelledthe stream for a distance of more than a hundred miles. Campbell saysthat as far south as Tioga the rise in the water was great enough toflow back into the western branch, causing the Chemung River to reverseits course. The _Gazetteer of New York_ said that the Indians upon thebanks of the Susquehanna, witnessing the extraordinary rise of the riverin midsummer, without any apparent cause, were struck with superstitiousdread, and in the very outset were disheartened at the apparentinterposition of the Great Spirit in favor of their foes. Stone observesthat the sudden swelling of the river, bearing upon its surge a flotillaof more than two hundred vessels, through a region of primitive forests, was a spectacle which might well appall the untutored inhabitants of theregion thus invaded. 

Clinton's brigade joined General Sullivan's division at Tioga Point onthe 22nd of August. From this place the combined forces began a campaignof ruthless destruction against the Indians of the Genesee country. Stone says the Indians were hunted like wild beasts, their villages wereburned, their corn was destroyed, their fruit trees were cut down; tillneither house, nor field of corn, nor inhabitants remained in the wholecountry. The power of the Iroquois was gone. Homeless in their own land, the Indians marched to Niagara, where they passed the winter under theprotection of the English. [52]

The Sullivan expedition had accomplished its purpose, with the loss ofonly forty men. 

In 1788, in the digging of the cellar of William Cooper's first house, which stood on Main Street at the present entrance of the CooperGrounds, a large iron cannon was discovered, said to have been buried byClinton's troops. For ten or twelve years after the settlement of theplace, this cannon, which came to be affectionately known as "theCricket, " was the only piece of artillery used for the purposes ofsalutes and merrymakings in the vicinity of Cooperstown. After aboutfifty years of this service it burst in the cause of rejoicing on acertain Fourth of July. At the time of its final disaster (for it hadmet with many vicissitudes), it is said that there was no perceptibledifference in size between its touchhole and its muzzle. [53]

In 1898, a building which stood in the Cooper Grounds next east of theClark Estate office was removed, and in grading the land workmen found, just beneath the surface, the stump of a locust tree about two feet indiameter. This was about twenty-five feet east of the office building, and about the same distance from Main Street. The stump was pulled outby teams of horses, and beneath it, at a depth of about four feet fromthe surface, some charred material was found, and a mass of what provedto be, when cleansed of adhesions, American Army buttons of theRevolutionary period. The find was made by Charles J. Tuttle, awell-known mason and contractor of the village, and veteran of the CivilWar. The buttons were of different sizes and shapes, some plated insilver, others in gold, while many were of brass. Within a short timethe news of the find had spread through the village, and a troop ofrelic hunters gathered at the spot, but the hole had been filled upwithout further investigation. At the time of Clinton's encampment, in1779, there must have been a building whose cellar had been used as astoreroom for military supplies. The charred material suggests that thebuilding was at some time burned. The locust stump tells of a tree thatsprang up amid the ruins, flourished, and died, within a hundred andtwenty years after the departure of Clinton's troops. 

Fenimore Cooper, writing in 1838, said that traces of Clinton's dam werestill to be seen. The last of the logs that remained of the old dam wereremoved on October 26, 1825, in connection with a curious localcelebration of the opening of the Erie Canal, which on that day was theoccasion of general rejoicing throughout the State of New York. Cannon, placed a few miles apart, from Buffalo to Albany, and thence to SandyHook, were proclaiming that Governor DeWitt Clinton, whose influence hadso large a share in this great enterprise, had entered the first canalboat at Buffalo, and was on his way to New York. Since Governor Clintonwas the son of General James Clinton, under whose command the dam at theoutlet of Otsego Lake had been built, it seemed appropriate to theinhabitants that Cooperstown should have a celebration of its own, andcould thus most auspiciously begin a project which some bold spiritsthen had in mind, nothing less than the construction of a SusquehannaCanal, to connect Cooperstown with the Erie Canal at the north, and withthe coal fields of Pennsylvania at the south. 

On this occasion the villagers gathered in Christ Church for a religiousservice and to hear an address delivered by Samuel Starkweather, afterwhich they marched in procession to the Red Lion Inn. Here a publicbanquet was served, and "after the removal of the cloth, " says thecontemporary account, "toasts were drunk under the discharge of cannon, most of them being succeeded by hearty cheering and animated airs fromthe band. " The hopes which gave importance to this celebration areexpressed in two of the toasts proposed, one by Henry Phinney, "Thecontemplated Susquehanna River Canal"; the other by Elisha Foote, "Aspeedy union of the pure waters of Otsego Lake with the Erie Canal. "

When the company had left the table the whole village marched to theriver, and assembled on the shore near the site of Clinton's dam. Boathorns, (sometimes called canal horns) about six feet long, typical ofthe "long ditch, " were then common, and furnished blasts of martialmusic amid the crowd. The multitude was mustered somewhat after theorder of a brigade. One company, consisting of over forty men withwheelbarrows and shovels, known as "sappers, miners and excavators, "commanded by Captain William Wilson, marched with their comrades boldlyto the scene of action. Lawrence McNamee, president of the day, personating Governor Clinton, threw the first shovelful of dirt. Whenthe last remaining log of the old dam had been removed the processionmarched back to the village, while the air was "rent with the huzzas ofthose who witnessed the first practical essay toward rendering thewaters of the Susquehanna navigable for the purposes of commerce, " anda nine-pounder upon the top of Mount Vision, at regular intervals, toldthe hills and valleys around that Cooperstown was rejoicing. [54]

It is almost needless to say that the development of railwaytransportation put an end to this project for a canal. 

On September 2, 1901, another generation of people assembled near theoutlet of the lake to witness the unveiling of a marker placed by OtsegoChapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, Mrs. Isabella ScottErnst, regent, to indicate the site and to commemorate the fame ofClinton's dam. [55] The crowd approached the bank of the Susquehanna bydescending from River Street, where an arch of bunting had been erected. A large float anchored near the western bank was trimmed with flags, bunting, and vines. Directly across the river, on the eastern point ofthe outlet, the newly erected marker was concealed beneath the folds ofan American flag. While a band played "The Stars and Stripes Forever, "the spectators who lined the shore saw approaching from beneath thegreen foliage down the river a canoe paddled by a young man who wore thegay dress and war-paint of a Mohawk brave. Seated with him in the canoewere two little girls, attired in patriotic colors. The three in thecanoe were lineal descendants of Revolutionary stock. The young girlswere Jennie Ordelia Mason and Fannie May Converse, both descendants ofJames Parshall, an orderly sergeant who was present at the building ofthe dam in 1779. The Indian was impersonated by F. Hamilton McGown, adescendant of John Parshall, private, a brother of James Parshall. Thecanoe was paddled close to the eastern shore, and the three occupantsdrew aside the flag which concealed the marker, amid the applause of thespectators assembled on the banks. The trio in the canoe then driftedback down the river, and were soon lost to view beyond the overhangingbranches. 

[Illustration: SITE OF CLINTON'S DAM]

The marker is a large boulder placed a few feet from the eastern bank ofthe river at the very outlet of the lake. Surmounting the rock is aten-inch siege mortar thirty inches in length and weighing 1971 pounds, which did service at Fort Foote, Maryland, during the Civil War. On thewestern side of the boulder is a bronze tablet marked by the insignia ofthe Daughters of the American Revolution, and bearing this inscription:

 HERE WAS BUILT A DAM THE SUMMER OF 1779 BY THE SOLDIERS UNDER GEN. CLINTON TO ENABLE THEM TO JOIN THE FORCES OF GEN. SULLIVAN AT TIOGA. 

Four years after Clinton's troops had made their famous journey down theSusquehanna, the site of Cooperstown was visited by the mostdistinguished citizen and soldier in America. For in 1783, at theconclusion of the war, George Washington, on an exploring expedition, passed a few hours at the foot of Otsego Lake. In a letter to theMarquis de Chastellux he says that he "traversed the country to the headof the eastern branch of the Susquehannah, and viewed the lake Otsego, and the portage between that lake and the Mohawk River at Canajoharie. "In the same letter he says, "I am anxiously desirous to quit the walksof public life, and under my own vine and my own fig-tree to seek thoseenjoyments, and that relaxation, which a mind that has been continuallyon the stretch for more than eight years, stands so much need of. "

Weary of war, and longing for some tranquil retreat from the cares ofhis exalted station, as he looked upon the scene which has becomefamiliar to all lovers of Cooperstown--the peaceful lake, with verdanthills surrounding, and the Sleeping Lion at the end of the vista--thecalm beauty of this view, rather than the splendid images of martialtriumph, was reflected in the soul of Washington. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 36: _The Old New York Frontier_, pp. 148, 161, 165. ]

[Footnote 37: _The Old New York Frontier_, Chapters III and IV. ]

[Footnote 38: _The Old New York Frontier_, p. 197. ]

[Footnote 39: do. , p. 257. ]

[Footnote 40: _The Old New York Frontier_, p. 259. ]

[Footnote 41: _History of Schoharie County_, Jeptha R. Simms, 298. ]

[Footnote 42: _Sullivan's Indian Expedition_, Frederick Cook, p. 19. ]

[Footnote 43: Journal of Lieut. Rudolphus van Hovenburgh, 4th New YorkReg't. , _Sullivan's Indian Expedition_, p. 276. ]

[Footnote 44: _Sullivan's Indian Expedition_, p. 201. ]

[Footnote 45: There is a spring in the present grounds of Averellcottage; another in the grounds of the O-te-sa-ga, and a third at thefoot of Nelson Avenue. ]

[Footnote 46: Lieut. Beatty's journal. ]

[Footnote 47: Lieut. McKendry's journal. ]

[Footnote 48: _History of Schoharie County_, 299. ]

[Footnote 49: Journal of Lieut. William McKendry, of the 6th Mass. Reg't, of which he was Quartermaster. ]

[Footnote 50: _Pathfinders of the Revolution_, William Elliott Griffis, p. 95. _Sullivan's Indian Expedition_, p. 386. ]

[Footnote 51: McKendry's journal. ]

[Footnote 52: _The Old New York Frontier_, p. 283. ]

[Footnote 53: _Chronicles of Cooperstown. _]

[Footnote 54: _History of Cooperstown_, Livermore, p. 17. _The Freeman'sJournal_, Oct. 31, 1825. ]

[Footnote 55: _Otsego Farmer_, Sept. 6, 1901. ]

CHAPTER IV

THE BEGINNING OF THE SETTLEMENT

On an autumn day in the year 1785 a solitary horseman might have beenseen emerging from the forest near Otsego Lake. The old-fashionednovelist who invented the "solitary horseman" as a means of introducinga romance could not have found a better use for his favorite phrase thanto describe the approach of this visitor. For with his coming thehistory of Cooperstown began. Following the trail from Cherry Valley, the horseman came over the hill which rises toward the east from thefoot of Otsego Lake. Before descending into the vale, he dismounted andclimbed a sapling, in order to gain a glimpse beyond the dense screen ofintervening trees. From this elevation he looked down upon an enchantingview of glimmering waters and wooded shores. While he gazed, a deer cameforth from the woods near Otsego Rock and slaked its thirst in theliquid that flamed with the reflected red and gold of autumnal foliage. The beauty of this first view always lingered in the heart of WilliamCooper, and the hill from which he gained it he afterward called "theVision, " in memory of his first impression. To this day the hill isknown as "Mount Vision. "

In a letter written some years afterwards, William Cooper thus describeshis venture into this region:

 In 1785 I visited the rough and hilly country of Otsego, where there existed not an inhabitant, nor any trace of a road; I was alone, three hundred miles from home, without bread, meat, or food of any kind; fire and fishing tackle were my only means of subsistence. I caught trout in the brook and roasted them in the ashes. My horse fed on the grass that grew by the edge of the waters. I laid me down to sleep in my watch coat, nothing but the melancholy Wilderness around me. In this way I explored the country, formed my plans of future settlement, and meditated upon the spot where a place of trade or a village should afterward be established. [56]

The Cooper family had settled in America in 1679, coming fromBuckingham, in England, and for a century made their home in BucksCounty, Pennsylvania. William Cooper was born in Byberry township, Pennsylvania, December 2, 1754. He afterward became a resident ofBurlington, New Jersey, where he married Elizabeth Fenimore, daughter ofRichard Fenimore, whose family came from Oxfordshire, in England. 

William Cooper was associated with Andrew Craig, also of Burlington, inacquiring the title of the Otsego tract of land which Croghan hadmortgaged to William Franklin, son of Benjamin Franklin, and had lostunder foreclosures in 1773. In January, 1786, Cooper took possession ofthat portion of the Croghan tract which has since been known asCooper's patent, under a deed given by the sheriff of Montgomery county, which had been set off from Tryon county, and included the later Otsego. The patent included 29, 350 acres, and cost the new proprietors, toobtain it, about fifty cents an acre. Cooper bought out his partner'sshare in the tract, and soon became sole owner. 

It is characteristic of Cooper's energy that he began the settlement ofhis land in the midst of winter, and had many families resident upon itbefore the snow had melted, in the spring of 1786. Deeds were given toIsrael Guild and several others, who, during the summer, establishedthemselves on spots that are now within the limits of the village ofCooperstown. These places were originally intended as farms, the villagehaving been planned to extend from the lake in a narrow strip southward, rather than across the valley, as its later growth actually determined. 

Besides the blockhouse built by Croghan on a site included in thepresent Cooper Grounds, a log house at this period stood near the cornerof Main and River streets, and was occupied by a Mrs. Johnson, a widow, who, with her family, was among the first residents. Near her home sheconstructed a frame house, the first to be erected in the place. It waspurchased by William Ellison, a surveyor, who, during the summer of1786, removed it to a position near the outlet of the lake, on what arenow the grounds of Edgewater. The building was of good size, having twostories, and was used as a tavern until it was pulled down in 1810, when Edgewater was built. In June, 1786, John Miller came, and reachingthe bank of the river near the outlet on the east side, felled a largepine across the stream to answer the purpose of a bridge. The stump ofthis tree was for many years a relic within the grounds of Lakelands. There was a small colony of settlers during this summer, and WilliamCooper himself came once or twice in the course of the season; but nonepassed the succeeding winter within the village plot except IsraelGuild, who had taken possession of the blockhouse, William Ellison athis tavern, and Mrs. Johnson in her hut of logs. 

In the spring of 1787 Cooper arrived, accompanied by his wife, who came, however, only for a short visit. They reached the head of the lake in achaise, and descended to the foot in a canoe. Mrs. Cooper felt so muchalarm during this passage that she disliked returning in a boat, and thechaise was brought to the foot of the lake, astride two canoes, for herhomeward journey. Mrs. Cooper's timidity occasioned the building of thefirst real bridge across the Susquehanna, an improvement which hadalready been contemplated as a public service. The road beyond thebridge was so rude, and difficult to pass, that when the chaise left thevillage men accompanied it with ropes, to prevent it from upsetting. 

During the spring and summer of 1787 many settlers arrived, a good partof them from Connecticut; and most of the land on the patent was takenup. Several small log tenements were constructed on the site of thevillage, and the permanent residents numbered about twenty souls. Meantime Cooper had been extending his holdings in adjacent patents, until he had the settlement of a large part of the present county moreor less subject to his control. In other parts of the State also he cameto own or control large areas of land, until, toward the end of hislife, he had "settled more acres than any man in America. "

[Illustration: OTSEGO LAKE, FROM COOPERSTOWN]

Early in 1788, Cooper erected a house for his own residence. Aside fromthe log huts it was the second dwelling erected in the place. It stoodon Main Street at the present entrance of the Cooper Grounds, lookingdown Fair Street, and commanding a view of the full length of the lake. The building was of two stories, with two wings. It is represented onthe original map of the village, where it is marked "Manor House. " Thishouse was removed a short distance down the street in 1799, on thecompletion of Otsego Hall, William Cooper's second residence inCooperstown, and was destroyed by fire in 1812. 

In 1788 John Howard came, and established a tannery on the north side ofLake Street west of Pioneer Street, near the waters of Willow Brook, which there gurgles to the lake. Howard, who was distinguished as thefather of the first child born in the settlement, afterward becamecaptain of the local militia, and is commemorated as a hero in Christchurchyard, where his epitaph recites that he was drowned, July 13, 1799:

 "Striving another's life to save He sunk beneath the swelling wave. "

It was in the summer of 1788 that William Cooper made a definite planfor the village. Three streets were laid out running south from thelake, and six streets that crossed them at right angles. The streetalong the margin of the lake was called Front Street (now Lake Street), and the others parallel to it were numbered from Second (the presentMain Street) up to Sixth. Of the streets running south, that next to theriver was called Water Street (now River Street), and that at theopposite side of the plot, West Street, which is the present PioneerStreet. The parallel street between these two was divided by the CooperGrounds; the section near the lake was called Fair Street, while southof the Cooper Grounds it was known as Main Street. This last nevergained the importance which its name seemed to demand, and is now knownas part of Fair Street. The map showing the original plan of the villageis dated September 26, 1788. 

Aside from the Foot of the Lake, as the settlement was sometimes called, it was known as Cooperton, and Cooperstown, [57] until 1791, when thelatter name came into general use, on the designation of this village asthe county seat of the newly created Otsego county. 

The settlers upon Cooper's tract were mostly poor people, and ithappened that their first efforts were followed by a season of dearth. In the winter of 1788-9, grain rose in Albany to a price before unknown. The demand swept all the granaries of the Mohawk country, and a famineaggravated the privations of the Otsego settlers. In the month of April, Cooper arrived with several loads of provisions intended for his own useand that of the laborers he had brought with him; but in a few days allwas gone, and there remained not one pound of salt meat, nor a singlebiscuit. Many were reduced to such distress as to live upon the root ofwild leeks; some, more fortunate, lived upon milk, whilst others foundnourishment in a syrup made of maple sugar and water. The quantity ofleeks eaten by the people had such an effect upon their breath that theycould be smelled at many paces distant, and when they came togetherthere was an odor as from cattle that had been pastured in a field ofgarlic. "Judge of my feelings at this epoch, " wrote Cooper, "with twohundred families about me, and not a morsel of bread. "

"A singular event seemed sent by a good Providence to our relief, "Cooper's letter continues; "it was reported to me that unusual shoals offish were seen moving in the clear waters of the Susquehanna. I went, and was surprised to find that they were herrings. We made somethinglike a small net, by the interweaving of twigs, and by this rude andsimple contrivance we were able to take them in thousands. In less thanten days each family had an ample supply, with plenty of salt. I alsoobtained from the Legislature, then in session, seventeen hundredbushels of corn. "

Those who settled the first farms in the Otsego region had not the meansof clearing more than a small spot in the midst of thick and loftywoods, so that their grain grew chiefly in the shade; their maize didnot ripen; their wheat was blasted; and for the grinding of what littlethey gathered there was no mill within twenty miles, while few wereowners of horses. Some walked to the mill at Canajoharie, twenty-fivemiles away, carrying their grist on their shoulders. 

William Cooper, after coming to live here, realized that the situationof the settlers was precarious. He brought a stock of goods to the newsettlement, and established a general store under Richard R. Smith, sonof the Richard Smith who had visited Croghan at Otsego Lake twenty yearsbefore. Cooper also erected a storehouse, and filled it with largequantities of grain purchased at distant places. He borrowed potashkettles, which he brought here, and established potash works among theinhabitants. He obtained on credit a large number of sugar kettles. Bythese means he was able to exchange provisions and tools for the laborof the settlers, giving them credit for their maple sugar and potash, until in the first year he had collected in one mass forty-threehogsheads of sugar, and three hundred barrels of pot and pearl ash, worth about nine thousand dollars. These industries held the coloniststogether. 

Cooper collected the people at convenient seasons, and under hisleadership they constructed such roads and bridges as were then suitedto their purposes. Perhaps it was at this time that Cooper devised thecunning method which he afterward confided to William Sampson: "A fewquarts of liquor, cheerfully bestowed, will open a road, or build abridge, which would cost, if done by contract, hundreds of dollars. "

In 1789 Cooper set up at his newly finished Manor House a frontierestablishment that became famous for its hospitality. For a year beforebringing his family from Burlington he kept bachelor's hall, and thefestive joys of the place were long memorable among all lovers of goodcheer. Shipman, the Leather-Stocking of the region, could at almost anytime furnish the table with a saddle of venison; the lake abounded withthe most delicious fish; while the cellar of the Manor House was storedwith the imprisoned sunshine of distant lands. 

At Christmastide, in 1789, a house-party entertained by William Coopercelebrated the season with high revelry. Among the guests was ColonelHendrik Frey, the boniface of Canajoharie, a famous fun-lover andmerrymaker. A large lumber sleigh was fitted out, with four horses, andthe whole party sallied forth for a morning drive upon the frozen lake. On the western bank of the lake resided, quite alone, a Frenchman knownas Monsieur Ebbal, a former officer of the army of France, whose realtitle was said to be L'Abbe de Raffcourt. [58] Perceiving the sleigh andfour nearing his house, this gentleman, with the courtesy of his nation, went forth upon the ice to greet the party in a manner befitting thepomp of its approach. Cooper cordially invited the Frenchman to joinhim, promising him plenty of game, with copious libations of Madeira, byway of inducement. Though a good table companion in general, nopersuasion could prevail on M. Ebbal to accept this sudden invitation, until, provoked by his obstinacy, the party laid violent hands on him, and brought him to the village by force. 

The unwilling guest took his captivity in good part, and was soon asbuoyant and gay as any of his companions. He habitually wore along-skirted surtout, or overcoat, which at that time was almost themark of a Frenchman, and this he pertinaciously refused to lay aside, even when he took his seat at table. On the contrary, he kept itbuttoned to the very throat, as if in defiance of his captors. TheChristmas joke, a plentiful board, and heavy potations, however, threwthe guest off his guard. Warmed with wine and the blazing fire of logs, he incautiously unbuttoned; when his delighted companions discoveredthat the accidents of the frontier, the establishment of a bachelor whokept no servant, and certain irregularities in washing days, togetherwith the sudden abduction of his person, had induced the gallantFrenchman to come abroad without his shirt. He was uncased on the spot, amid the shouts of the merrymakers, and incontinently put into linen. "Cooper was so polite, " added the mirth-loving Hendrik Frey, as he usedto tell the story for many years afterward, "that he supplied a shirtwith ruffles at the wristbands, which made Ebbal very happy for the restof the night. Mein Gott, how his hands did go, after he got theruffles!"[59]

In the summer of 1790 the house at the northwest corner of Main andRiver streets was erected by Benjamin Griffin. It now survives as theoldest house in the village. Not long after its erection the housebecame the residence of the Rev. John Frederick Ernst, the Lutheranminister who came here in connection with the work of the projectedseminary at Hartwick; and for many years the old cottage was thehomestead of the Ernst family. [60]

[Illustration: _C. A. Schneider_

THE OLDEST HOUSE]

In this year William Cooper decided to give up his residence in NewJersey, and to bring his family to Cooperstown for their permanent home. Accordingly he returned to Burlington, and early in the autumn completedarrangements for the transportation of his family and belongings toOtsego. Only in one quarter did he find any opposition to his project, but that opposition was serious. His wife positively refused to go. 

Three years before, Mrs. Cooper had had a brief experience of the newsettlement. She remembered the tippy boat, the rough pioneers, and thecarriage that had to be steadied with ropes as it careened through thewoods. In Burlington there was a well-established society, congenialfriends, an atmosphere of culture, and such comforts as civilization wasthen able to afford. Mrs. Cooper had no mind to exchange her residencein Burlington for the wild uncertainties of life in the wilderness; andso with the conveyance ready and waiting at the door, and with herhusband pleading, she sat firmly in the chair at the desk in the libraryof her Burlington home, and positively refused to budge. 

Mrs. Cooper was a strong-minded woman, but William Cooper was astronger-minded man. He seized the chair, with his wife seated in it, and putting her aboard the wagon, chair and all, began the long journeyto Otsego. Thus William Cooper carried his point, while his wife alsocarried hers, for she travelled the whole distance in the chair fromwhich she vowed she would not move. The chair itself, sacred to thememory of two strong minds, is still in use in the Cooper family. 

This journey had much to do with the shaping of another mind which wasnot at the time consulted or considered. For Mrs. Cooper brought withher the baby boy of the household, thirteen months old, whose wholelife, because of this change of residence, was cast in a new mould. Thischild was called James, but in later years he adopted also his mother'sfamily name, so that he honored both father and mother in the fame whichhe gave to the name of James Fenimore Cooper. All his first impressions, he said long afterward, were obtained in the Otsego region. It is to bedoubted whether Fenimore Cooper would have gained such wide celebrity asa novelist if he had not discovered the unique field of romance whichthe lake and hills of Otsego began to open to his vision. Had FenimoreCooper remained in Burlington he might have written good novels, but not_The Leather-Stocking Tales_, for which he is most renowned. So thatwhen William Cooper took up his residence in Otsego, he not only becamethe founder of a town, but he brought to the town the founder ofAmerican romance. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 56: _A Guide in the Wilderness_, a series of letters toWilliam Sampson, published in Dublin, 1810, reprinted by James FenimoreCooper, grandson of the novelist, 1897. ]

[Footnote 57: The names "Cooper" and "Cooperstown" are pronounced by theCooper family and by natives of the village with a short _oo_, as in theword _book_, not as in _moon_. ]

[Footnote 58: Ebbal is _L'Abbe_, spelled backward. His last years werespent near New Berlin, beside a lonely waterfall, where he had a flowergarden, and kept bees. His grave was four miles south of New Berlin, until relatives came and removed his remains to France. ]

[Footnote 59: The account of this incident is quoted from FenimoreCooper's _Chronicles of Cooperstown_. ]

[Footnote 60: In his _Chronicles of Cooperstown_, (1838), FenimoreCooper says, "The house standing at the southeast corner of Second andWater streets, [now called Main and River street], and which for thelast forty years has belonged to the Ernst family, was erected thissummer [1790] by Mr. Benjamin Griffin. It is now the second oldest housein the village. " Cooper had already referred to the house of IsraelGuild, erected in 1788, as the oldest house standing in the village (in1838). Guild's house was burned in the fire of 1862, and therefore thehouse erected by Griffin has been, ever since that time, the oldesthouse. By some inadvertence, Cooper incorrectly designated the locationof the Griffin house. He placed it at the southeast corner of Main andRiver streets, when he meant to say _northwest_. That Cooper writing ofwhat was perfectly familiar to him, should have overlooked so palpablean error, seems most improbable; yet that he did so is now beyond doubt, although for many years his authority was cited to disprove the claimsof the oldest house in Cooperstown. At the time of Cooper's writing, thehouse standing nearest to the southeast corner of Main and Riverstreets, afterward torn down, had been built by Richard Cooper, andnever had belonged to the Ernst family. Furthermore, in a letter datedMay 23, 1805, Rev. John Frederick Ernst, in reply to an inquiryconcerning the location of his property in Cooperstown, wrote to hisson--"Here is a copy from the deed: 'The house-lot--being the northwestcorner of Water Street and Second Street, is seventy-five feet front onthe said streets, and seventy-five feet in rear on the west and north by[then] vacant lots, belonging [then both] to Wm. Cooper, Esq. '" It isclear that this is the same property which Fenimore Cooper, by someslip, described as being at the southeast corner. Some of the earliercharts of Cooperstown were drawn with the lake front at the bottom ofthe map, for convenience of reference, thus reversing the north andsouth of the usual cartography. It may plausibly be conjectured thatCooper had one of these maps before him as he wrote, and unthinkinglyrecorded, in this instance, its transposed points of the compass. Thislabored exposition of a small matter would be an inexcusable pedantry, except that the location of the oldest house in the village is ofparticular interest. ]

CHAPTER V

A VILLAGE IN THE MAKING

The county of Otsego was formed February 16, 1791, being carved out ofMontgomery county. Cooperstown was designated as the county seat, andWilliam Cooper was appointed the first judge of the county court. Acourt-house and jail was built at the southeast corner of Main andPioneer streets, the lower story, of logs, being used as a prison, andthe upper story, of framed work, as court room. A tavern was erected onthe same lot, and contained the jury rooms, conveniently near to thesources of refreshment. 

During the summer of this year the Red Lion Tavern[61] was erected atthe southwest corner of Main and Pioneer streets, and was kept by MajorJoseph Griffin. It projected more than half way across Main Street, andat that time marked the western limit of the village. For more thanthree score years and ten, even after the village grew westward beyondit, this projecting building gave a unique character to the main street, intercepted all thirsty wayfarers, and held an important place in thelife of the community. Its first crude sign, representing a red lionrampant, was painted by Richard R. Smith, [62] the first storekeeper ofthe village, and first sheriff of the county. 

Judge Cooper was the lord of the manor, as it were, in the newcommunity, yet maintained a relation of comradeship with the settlers. Enjoying the friendship of some of the most eminent men of his time, himself superior in intelligence and culture to most of his localcontemporaries, Cooper had qualities that won the affection and loyaltyof the sturdy pioneers. It is characteristic of him that he once offereda lot, consisting of one hundred and fifty acres of land, to any man onthe patent who could throw him in a wrestling match. The wrestling tookplace in front of the Red Lion Inn. One contestant was finallysuccessful, and the land was duly conveyed to the victor. It is possiblethat some of the lots owned by Judge Cooper were of no great value, forit is related that when his eldest son was showing the sights of NewYork to the youngster of the family he took him to a pasty shop, andafter watching the boy eat pasty after pasty said, "Jim, eat all youwant, but remember that each one costs the old man a lot. "

[Illustration: WILLIAM COOPER

From the portrait by Gilbert Stuart]

Some idea of the position that the "old man" occupied in the villagewhich he founded may be gained from the novel that the eater of thepasties afterward entitled _The Pioneers_. In this book, whilehistorical accuracy is disclaimed, Judge Temple is easily identified asan idealized Judge Cooper, and a faithful picture of life in the earlyvillage may be recognized; for, as the author says in his introduction, while the incidents of the tale are purely fiction, "the literal factsare chiefly connected with the natural and artificial objects, and thecustoms of the inhabitants. " The village of Templeton, in the novel, isthe Cooperstown of reality in its early days. The spirit of the times, and the character of the men who lived here are thus distinctlyreflected in the placid current of Fenimore Cooper's firstLeather-Stocking tale. At the present day the personal appearance ofJudge Cooper himself is vividly recalled from the past through theexistence of three portraits, one by Gilbert Stuart, one by Copley, anda third by an unknown artist. From these likenesses one gains animpression of his kindly gray eye, firm countenance, and robust figure. His keen sense of humor relieved the strain of many a hardship in thelife of the frontier, for he is remembered as "noble-looking, warm-hearted, and witty, with a deep laugh, sweet voice, and fine richeye, as he used to lighten the way with his anecdotes and fun. "

During the twenty-five years that followed the close of theRevolutionary War, Judge Cooper was a speculator in lands on a largescale, and was steadily engaged in the settlement of the tracts which heowned and those in which he had a joint interest with others. Hisjudgment concerning land values was keen and far-sighted. That he wasnot infallible is shown by his payment of ten dollars an acre for landin the North Woods which is hardly worth a quarter of that price to-day. On the other hand, in February, 1803, he bought the town of De Kalb, inSt. Lawrence county, about 64, 000 acres, for the sum of $62, 720, andwithin three months had sold 56, 886 acres for $112, 226. It was forsuccessful ventures of this sort that Judge Cooper became widely known, and was brought into correspondence with foreign investors, such asNecker and Madame de Staël, who appear to have become owners of lands, through Cooper, in the northern counties of New York. 

Much of Cooper's success in the settlement of new lands was owing to hissystem of selling to settlers on the installment plan, instead ofbinding tenants to the payment of perpetual rent, as some proprietors ofgreat estates attempted to do, involving endless litigation and the"anti-rent war. "

Judge Cooper's friendly relation to the settlers extended, in manyinstances, to the relief of individual needs by loans of money, whichwas not always repaid. One of the French settlers, often a guest atJudge Cooper's house, borrowed of him fifty dollars. As time went onJudge Cooper noticed that his debtor's visits became less and lessfrequent, until finally they ceased. Meeting the man one day, heremonstrated with him, telling him that so small a matter should notcause him annoyance, and urging him not to allow it to interfere withhis visits at the Cooper homestead. The Frenchman, however, felt thatthe fifty dollars weighed heavily on his honor, and that he could notpartake of the Judge's hospitality until the debt was paid. Not longafterward Judge Cooper saw his debtor approaching him with everymanifestation of joy, waving his hat, and shouting, "Judge Cooper! JudgeCooper! My mother is dead! My mother is dead! I pay you the fiftydollars. "

Before the close of his career Judge Cooper had amassed a large fortune. After having been engaged for twenty years in the improvement of landshe declared that the work which he had undertaken for the sole purposeof promoting his interest had become fastened upon him by habit, andremained as the principal source of his pleasure and recreation. Withinthis period the settlement which he began at Otsego Lake reached a highdegree of prosperity. "This was the first settlement I made, " writesJudge Cooper, "and the first attempted after the Revolution; it was, ofcourse, attended with the greatest difficulties; nevertheless, to itssuccess many others have owed their origin. "

Judge Cooper's political career reflects another aspect of pioneer lifein the new settlements. Besides his election as first judge of the Courtof Common Pleas of Otsego county, an office which he held from 1791 to1800, he was elected to Congress in 1795, and again in 1799. The _OtsegoHerald_ of June 23, 1796, describes the reception given by the people ofthe village to Judge Cooper on his return from Congress. When it wasknown that his carriage was nearing the village, a mounted escort wentforth to meet him on the road that skirted Mount Vision, and when theprocession crossed the bridge and entered the main street it passedthrough "a double row of citizens" assembled to greet the congressman, while "sixteen cannon" roared a welcome. 

Judge Cooper was a prominent member of the Federalist party, and devotedmuch of his time to its cause. He was on intimate terms with itsleaders, and in constant correspondence with many of them. Although thefranchise, at this period, was restricted by a property qualification, and the voters were comparatively few, the interest in politics enteredlargely into the life of all the inhabitants, and the politicalenthusiasm was unlimited. The polls could be kept open five days, toaccommodate all who desired to vote, and as there was no secret ballotthe excitement during elections was constant and intense. Nearly everyelector seems to have been a politician, and the letters of the time arefull of politics and party animosity. The shout of battle still resoundsin the title of a little book published by Elihu Phinney in 1796: "ThePolitical Wars of Otsego: or, Downfall of Jacobinism and Despotism;Being a Collection of Pieces, lately published in the _Otsego Herald_. To which is added, an Address to the Citizens of the United States; andextracts from Jack Tar's Journals, kept on board the ship Liberty, containing a summary account of her Origin, Builders, Materials, Use--and her Dangerous Voyage from the lowlands of Cape Monarchy to thePort of Free Representative Government. By the author of thePlough-Jogger. "[63]

In the political correspondence of Judge Cooper and his contemporariesthere are frequent complaints of fraud, and of the influence andprominence of foreigners, especially the Irish, with grave expressionsof fear for the future of the country and the stability of property. TheFederalists describe themselves as "friends of order, " and refer totheir opponents as "anti-Christians, " and "enemies of the country. " Oneof Judge Cooper's friends who had removed to Philadelphia writes: "Weare busy about electing a senator in the state legislature. The contestis between B. R. M. ----, a gentleman, and consequently a Federalist, anda dirty stinking anti-federal Jew tavern-keeper called I. I----. But, Judge, the friends to order here don't understand the business, they areuniformly beaten, we used to order these things better at Cooperstown. "

It is evident that Judge Cooper had gained some reputation for his skillin electioneering in Otsego county. Philip Schuyler, writing to JudgeCooper of the election of 1791, says: "I believe fasting and prayer tobe good, but if you had only fasted and prayed I am sure we should nothave had seven hundred votes from your country--report says that you wasvery civil to the young and handsome of the sex, that you flattered theold and ugly, and even embraced the toothless and decrepid, in order toobtain votes. When will you write a treatise on electioneering? Wheneveryou do, afford only a few copies to your friends. "

Judge Cooper's chief political opponent in the county was Jedediah Peck, who settled in Burlington, Otsego county, in 1790, a man of an entirelydifferent type from Judge Cooper, yet equally famous in the politicallife of the times. Coarse and uneducated, Peck overcame alldisadvantages by his shrewdness, intellectual power, and great naturalability. He gained much influence with the people of the county by hishomely skill as a traveling preacher, going about distributing tracts, and preaching wherever he could gather an audience. He was an aggressivesupporter of the political views and administrative policies of ThomasJefferson, and violently antagonized the Federalists of the county, whowere under the leadership of Judge Cooper. This opposition culminatedduring the administration of President Adams in 1798, when Peck wasarrested under the Alien and Sedition Act for circulating petitionsagainst that Act. He was indicted and taken to New York in irons, butwas never brought to trial, and upon the repeal of the Act wasdischarged. Peck's arrest and imprisonment fastened attention upon him, and, together with his continued denunciation of the federaladministration, made him the recognized leader of the Republican(Jeffersonian) party of Otsego county, so that he dictated its policyand nominations for many years thereafter. Indeed, the overthrow of theFederal party in this State, with the consequent success of Jefferson inthe presidential canvass, is attributed to the excitement andindignation aroused by the spectacle of this little dried up man, one-eyed but kindly in expression and venerable, a veteran of theRevolutionary War, being transported through the State in the custody offederal officials, and manacled, the latter an unnecessary andoutrageous indignity. 

Jedediah Peck was a member of Assembly from 1798 to 1804, and StateSenator until 1808. Although looked up to by multitudes as the politicalleader of his time, Peck was noted at Albany for his shabbiness ofdress. He wore coarse boots, which he never blackened. On one occasion, on the eve of an important debate, some wag at the tavern blackened oneof Peck's boots. Peck, in dressing for the fray, did not recognize theshining boot, and having put on one began to search high and low for theother. At last, enlightened by the laughter of his comrades, he drew onthe polished boot, and with his feet thus ill-matched strode into theAssembly chamber, where he delivered one of his most powerful speeches. 

For many years Jedediah Peck unsuccessfully urged a bill for theabolition of imprisonment for debt, which was later adopted. His mostpermanent and valuable contribution to the welfare of posterity was thescheme for the common school system of the State, which he had longadvocated, and of which, as chairman of the five commissioners appointedby the Governor in 1811, he became the author. [64]

Some of the asperities of political life in the early days of Otsegocounty may be inferred from certain affidavits, printed copies of which, such as were apparently used as campaign documents, were found amongJudge Cooper's papers, endorsed in his handwriting, "Oath how I whippedCochran. " The Cochran referred to was a political opponent. 

 Jessie Hyde, of the town of Warren, being duly sworn, saith, that on the sixteenth day of October in the year 1799, he this deponent, did see James Cochran make an assault upon one William Cooper in the public highway. That the said William Cooper defended himself, and in the struggle Mr. Cochran, in a submissive manner, requested of Judge Cooper to let him go. 

 _Jessie Hyde. _

 Sworn this sixteenth day of October, 1799, before me Richard Edwards, Master in Chancery _Otsego County. _ SS. 

 Personally appeared Stephen Ingalls, one of the constables of the town of Otsego, and being duly sworn, deposeth and saith, that he was present at the close of a bruising match between James Cochran Esq. , and William Cooper Esq. , on or about the sixteenth of October last, when the said James Cochran confessed to the said William Cooper these words: "I acknowledge you are too much of a buffer for me, " at which time it was understood, as this deponent conceives, that Cochran was confessedly beaten. 

 _Stephen Ingalls. _

 Sworn before me this sixth day of November, 1799, Joshua Dewey, Justice of the Peace. 

The same incident, viewed from another angle, appears in a letterwritten by the Rev. John Frederick Ernst to his son in Albany, and datedat Cooperstown, October 20, 1799. 

 "There is nothing of any particular news here, except that a Mr. Cochran, late member of Congress, in whose place I. Cooper is now elected, came here last week, and on one of the court-days, with a great deal of brass had the impertinence to assault our honorable Wm. Cooper in the street, & to give him a Cowskinning--because, as it is reported, he should have told lies about Cochran. As both fell a clinging & beating one another Mr. Mason stepped between and parted them. "

Still another account of the episode is given by Levi Beardsley. He saysthat the trouble arose over Cochran's use of his fiddle during apolitical campaign. Cochran stayed over night at Canandaigua, and when adance was got up, he obliged and amused the company by fiddling forthem. He beat Judge Cooper at the election for Congress, but whetherfrom the influence of music and dancing it is now too late to inquire. However, it was alleged that Judge Cooper had either published orremarked that Cochran had been through the district with his violin, andhad fiddled himself into office. This came to Cochran's ear and broughthim from Montgomery county to Cooperstown. He came on horseback, andarrived while Judge Cooper was presiding as judge of the court of commonpleas. As Cooper issued from the court house, Cochran met him, and afteralluding to the election, informed the Judge that he had come from theMohawk to chastise him for the insult. When Cooper remarked that Cochrancould not be in earnest the latter replied by a cut with his cowskin. Cooper then closed with his adversary, but Cochran being a large, strongman they were pretty well matched for the scuffle. They were separatedby friends, and Cochran was afterward fined a small amount for breachof the peace. [65]

At the early organization of the county there was considerable strifebetween Cooperstown and Cherry Valley in regard to the location ofpublic buildings. It is said that Judge Cooper playfully remarked thatthe court house should be placed in Cooperstown, the jail in NewtownMartin (Middlefield), and the gallows in Cherry Valley. [66]

When Judge Cooper began holding court in Cooperstown in 1791 a number oflawyers were attracted to the county seat, the first to take upresidence here being Abraham Ten Broeck of New Jersey, soon followed byJacob G. Fonda of Schenectady. Ten Broeck was the original of Van derSchool, the parenthetical lawyer in _The Pioneers_, his compositionshaving been remarkable for parentheses. A year later two others of thelegal profession were added to the village community, Joseph Strong, andMoss Kent, brother of the celebrated Chancellor Kent. Dr. Nathaniel Gottand Dr. Farnsworth coming at about the same time gave the villagers achoice among three physicians, Dr. Thomas Fuller being the senior inpractice. The development of Cooperstown as a trading centre broughtPeter Ten Broeck and several other merchants here in 1791, followedshortly afterward by Rensselaer Williams and Richard Williams of NewJersey, whose collateral descendants are still identified with thevillage. 

The early shopkeepers of Cooperstown included some who had been engagedin more distinguished callings. A merchant who excited the most livelycuriosity among the settlers was a Frenchman known as Mr. Le Quoy whokept a small grocery store in the village, and seemed to be altogethersuperior to such an occupation. After much speculation concerning hispast the village was set agog by an incident which accidentally broughtto light the story of his career. Among the early settlers in Otsegocounty was a French gentleman named Louis de Villers, who, in 1793, happened to be in Cooperstown at a time when a fellow countryman namedRenouard, who afterward settled in the county, had recently reached theplace. Renouard, who was a seaman, and an incessant user of tobacco, found himself out of his favorite weed, and his first concern was toinquire of de Villers where tobacco might be purchased in the village. De Villers directed him to the shop kept by Le Quoy, saying that hewould help a compatriot by making his purchase there. In a few minutesRenouard returned from the shop, pale and agitated. 

"What is it? Are you unwell?" inquired de Villers. 

"In the name of God, " burst out Renouard, "who is the man that sold methis tobacco?"

"Mr. Le Quoy, a countryman of ours. "

"Yes, Mr. Le Quoy de Mersereau. "

"I know nothing about the 'de Mersereau'; he calls himself Le Quoy. Doyou know anything of him?"

"When I went to Martinique to be port captain of St. Pierre, " answeredRenouard, "this man was the civil governor of the island, and refused toconfirm my appointment. "

Subsequent inquiry confirmed this story, Le Quoy explaining that theinfluence of a lady stood in the way of Renouard's preferment. Le Quoyhad been driven from Martinique by the French Revolution, and his choiceof Cooperstown as a retreat came about through a friendly office whichhe had performed, while governor of the island, in liberating one of theships of John Murray & Sons of New York. The act brought about anexchange of civilities between the head of this firm and Le Quoy, sothat when the latter came to New York, desiring to invest in a countrystore until his fortunes should revive, Murray referred him to hisfriend Judge Cooper, under whose advice the Frenchman establishedhimself in Cooperstown. He at length made his peace with the new Frenchgovernment, and, closing his grocery in Cooperstown, was ultimatelyrestored to his office as civil governor of Martinique. [67] He appearsas one of the characters in Fenimore Cooper's novel, _The Pioneers_. 

The house on Lake Street known as Averell Cottage was erected in 1793, the central part of it, with chimneys at each end, constituting theoriginal structure. It has ever since been in possession of linealdescendants of the first owner, James Averell, Jr. James Averell settledon the patent in 1787, and in 1792 exchanged his farm for John Howard'stannery on Lake Street just west of Pioneer Street. 

[Illustration: _C. A. Schneider_

AVERELL COTTAGE]

In 1794 a state road was laid out between Albany and Cooperstown. Thisroad came over Mount Vision and descended toward the village by a routethat may still be traced down the hillside from Prospect Rock. Cooperstown was then first included in a post route, and a post officewas opened in the village, with Joseph Griffin as postmaster. The mailarrived weekly for some years; it then came twice a week; then thrice. The daily mail was not established until 1821. 

The arrival of the mail was something of a ceremony in the early days ofCooperstown. Toward evening the sound of the postman's horn was faintlyheard as he rounded the slopes of Mount Vision; the blasts grew louderas he descended the hill and approached the village; then the thunder ofthe four post-horses as they crossed the bridge was heard, and thepostman drew up with a flourish at the post office, where the villagershad gathered to await the news of the outer world. _The Otsego Herald_publishes a letter from an indignant citizen, complaining that the mailswere opened in a bar-room. Since the first postmaster was also a tavernkeeper, the charge was probably true. 

Among the new houses built in 1796 was one that has survived to thepresent time, and stands on Main Street adjoining the Second NationalBank on the east. This house, distinguished for the quaint beauty of itsdoorway, was first occupied by Rensselaer and Richard Williams. At aboutthis time the Academy was erected on the hill at the corner of Pioneerand Church streets, where the Universalist church now stands. It was"65-1/2 feet long, 32 wide, and 25 feet posts, " while the summit of itsbelfry was seventy feet high. It was erected by public subscription, ata cost of about $1, 450. "It was one of those tasteless buildings thatafflict all new countries, " says Fenimore Cooper, "and contained twoschool rooms below, a passage and the stairs; while the upper story wasin a single room. "

The first school in the village had been opened a year or two earlier byJoshua Dewey, a graduate of Yale, who taught Fenimore Cooper his A BC's. He was succeeded as village schoolmaster by Oliver Cory. The latterassumed charge of the new Academy. The school exhibitions of thisinstitution in which Brutus and Cassius figured in hats of the cut of1776, blue coats faced with red, of no cut at all, and matross swords, were long afterward the subject of mirth in the village. FenimoreCooper, at one time a pupil in the Academy, took part in a schoolexhibition, and at the age of eight years became the pride of MasterCory for his moving recitation of the "Beggar's Petition"--acting thepart of an old man wrapped in a faded cloak and leaning on his staff. 

A reminiscence of old Academy days is connected with the firstconsiderable musical instrument in the village. Judge Cooper had broughtfrom Philadelphia a large mechanical organ of imposing appearance, whichhe placed in the hall of the Manor House. When the organ was first putup and adjusted a rehearsal of country dances, reels, and more seriousmusic, was enjoyed not only by the family gathered to hear it, but theloud tones floated from the windows and into the school room of theAcademy in the next street. As the strains of _Hail Columbia_ pouredinto the school room, Master Cory skillfully met a moment of openrebellion with these words: "Boys, that organ is a remarkableinstrument. You never heard the like of it before. I give you half anhour's intermission. Go into the street and listen to the music. "[68]

The Academy, containing at that time the largest room in the village, was as much used for other purposes as for those of education. Thecourt, on great occasions, was sometimes held here. It was usedimpartially for religious meetings and for balls. The Free Masons of thevillage, who had secured a charter for Otsego Lodge in 1795, held areligious service, followed by dinner, and a ball, in the Academy, onthe Feast of St. John the Evangelist, December 27, 1796. Of thisoccasion Jacob Morris writes, "The brilliancy exhibited at Cooperstownlast Tuesday--the Masonic festival--was the admiration and astonishmentof all beholders. Upwards of eighty people sat down to one table--somevery excellent toasts were drunk and the greatest decency and decorumwas observed. .. . In the evening we had a splendid ball, sixty couple, thirty in a set, both sets on the floor at the same time, pleasantmanners and good dancing. "

A centre of convivial resort at this period was the Blue Anchor tavern, which was established as a rival of the Red Lion inn, and diagonallyacross the way from it, at the northeast corner of Main and Pioneerstreets. The Blue Anchor, according to Fenimore Cooper, was for manyyears in much request "among all the genteeler portion of thetravelers. " Its host was William Cook, from whom the character of BenPump, in _The Pioneers_, was drawn, a man of singular humors, greatheartiness of character, and perfect integrity. He had been the stewardof an English East-Indianman, and enjoyed an enviable reputation in thevillage for his skill in mixing punch and flip. On holidays, a strangerwould have been apt to mistake him for one of the magnates of the land, as he invariably appeared in a drab coat of the style of 1776 withbuttons as large as dollars, breeches, striped stockings, buckles thatcovered half his foot, and a cocked hat large enough to extinguish him. The landlord of the Blue Anchor was a general favorite; his laugh andhis pious oaths became famous. 

In 1796 Judge Cooper commenced the construction of his new residence, Otsego Hall, which he completed and began to occupy, in June, 1799. Thenew house stood near the centre of what are now known as the CooperGrounds, on the site marked by the statue of the Indian Hunter. OtsegoHall was for many years the largest private residence in the newer partsof the State, and remained as the finest building in the village untilit was destroyed by fire in 1852. It is said to have been originally ofthe exact proportions of the van Rensselaer Manor House at Albany, whereJudge Cooper was a frequent visitor. 

On one occasion, in early days, when Judge Cooper was away from home, fire broke out in the Hall, and an alarm given by the neighbors broughtthe volunteer fire department to the scene. Mrs. Cooper firmly tookcharge of the situation. Locking the doors of the house she called outto the servants, "You look out for the fire, and I'll attend to the firedepartment!" With this she poured hot water from a second-story windowupon the firemen, and quickly drove them away. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 61: "The Bold Dragoon" of Fenimore Cooper's novel, _ThePioneers_. ]

[Footnote 62: The original of Richard Jones, in _The Pioneers_. ]

[Footnote 63: Plough-Jogger was the pseudonym of Jedediah Peck. ]

[Footnote 64: _Address at Cooperstown Centennial_, Walter H. Bunn. ]

[Footnote 65: _Reminiscences_, Levi Beardsley, p. 89. ]

[Footnote 66: Beardsley's _Reminiscences_. ]

[Footnote 67: _Chronicles of Cooperstown_. ]

[Footnote 68: _James Fenimore Cooper_, Mary E. Phillips, p. 26. Theorgan is now at Fynmere. ]

CHAPTER VI

OLD-TIME LOVE AND RELIGION

Enough has been recorded to show the general character of Cooperstown asit existed at the close of the eighteenth century. A more intimate viewof its life at this period is suggested by a package of faded letters, some of which are here printed, not as supplying historical data, for inthis they are quite lacking, but because whoever reads them withimagination begins to breathe the atmosphere of the time of theirwriting, and in the charm of their feminine confidences discovers a sideof frontier life that is not otherwise revealed. 

The letters were written to Chloe Fuller, who visited in Cooperstown forsome years at the home of Dr. Thomas Fuller. The doctor's wife beforeher marriage, although not related to him, had the same family name, andChloe Fuller was her younger sister. Chloe Fuller became celebrated as avillage belle, and it was said that she had more beaus in constantattendance than any other girl in Otsego. Dr. Fuller was a favorite withtwo generations of young men in the village, for he had also two youngdaughters, who, a few years later, became noted for their qualities ofmind and daintiness of apparel. Eliza and Emma Fuller wereblue-stockings who knew the value of pretty bonnets and gowns. In theearly days of the Presbyterian church, the sabbath splendor of theirentrance at divine service, always a little late, and with the necessityof being ushered to the very front pew, divided the devotion of theworshippers. Eliza Fuller became the wife of Judge Morehouse, andestablished the traditional hospitality of Woodside Hall. 

[Illustration: _Forrest D. Coleman_

THE WORTHINGTON HOMESTEAD]

Chloe Fuller married Trumbull Dorrance, a descendant of GovernorJonathan Trumbull of Connecticut, and her daughter, becoming the wifeof John R. Worthington, was long identified with Cooperstown as mistressof the White House, the Worthington homestead built in 1802 on Mainstreet. The letters belong to the period of Chloe Fuller's girlhood:

 ELIZA MACDONALD TO CHLOE FULLER. 

 Albany, November 20th, 1798. 

 Believe me, my very dear Friend, that your letter by Mr. Williams afforded me great pleasure in the perusal, and it should most undoubtedly have been answered 'ere now had not I been deprived of opportunities; and at all events I must write by the _good Man_! I think the epithet you bestowed a very judicious one--but I really believe, Chloe, you have made a conquest there--when he delivered me your letter, 'It is from Miss Chloe, ' said he with a (methought) significant smile. 

 I have been well ever since my departure. Now and then the involuntary sigh escapes when my imagination presents me Cooperstown, and some of its dear inhabitants! I already long to see you all. Oh! for an hour with your sister and you. 

 My dear Chloe, convince me that I am sometimes present to your memory by writing long and frequent letters. Don't wait for answers. Write whenever you find a conveyance; and I shall with pleasure follow your example. 

 'Tis past one o'clock. Let my writing at this late, or rather, early hour convince you that I wish to cultivate a correspondence with you. I must quit. So Good night, my friend. May Jove grant you pleasant dreams, and may Heavenly blessings enliven your waking hours is the wish of your sincerely affectionate Friend. 

 ELIZA. 

 ELIZA MACDONALD TO CHLOE FULLER. 

 Albany, Novbr. 28th. 1798

 Just before we sat down to Tea, Mr. French called and brought your letter. I immediately recognized the already well-known hand of my fondly remembered Friend. I was all impatience to open it, which out of politeness I dispensed with till his departure. 

 I was highly gratified with the perusal! Happy, my Chloe, should I esteem myself were it in my power to 'revive your drooping spirits'. But why, my dear Friend, are they drooping? What is the cause? Believe me, nothing but my friendship for you induces me to interrogate you so; and let me beg you in the name of friendship to answer me candidly. You may, my dear Friend, unbosom yourself to me. I shall sympathize with you and make your griefs mine. I wish you would write fully, and long letters. This time I will excuse you, but let me beg of you not to wait till an opportunity is going--but when you retire to your chamber think of Eliza, and dedicate a few moments to writing, since we can no longer chat together. 

 I am happy to hear you have found so agreeable an acquaintance as Miss Cooper. I doubt not but that I should like her. So you were a sleighing with the Doctor? Remember there are two Doctors in Cooperstown, and you leave me to conjecture which!

 You would make me believe Mr. K. ---- sometimes talks of me. I fear it is only when you remind him that there is such a person in existence. 

 Mr. Ten Broeck spent the evening with us. He brought me a letter from my Father. By his conversation I understand Mr. K. ---- will not be in Albany this year!

 The clock has already struck one; my eyes feel quite heavy; my writing will evince this. My best respects to the Miss Williams. I hope you are intimate with them. They are fine women! A close intimacy with them will convince you of this. Tell Mrs. Morgan, Delia, and all those whom love will make me remember, that I very frequently think of them. Good night! Pleasant dreams to you! I will endeavor to dream of you and some others in Cooperstown who are dear to the heart of

 Your unfeigned Friend, ELIZA. 

 'Oh Night more pleasing than the fairest day: 'When Fancy gives, what Absence takes away!'

 P. S. I have sent all over the City, but cannot procure any ingrained silks of the color you intended to work your shawl. Should you fancy any other, let me know, and I will with pleasure send it. Accept of this ribbon for the sake of Eliza, who wishes oft she was with you. 

 ELIZA MACDONALD TO CHLOE FULLER. 

 Friday night, December 28th, 1798. My dear Chloe, Mr. Williams delivered me your short yet pleasing letter. .. . I hope you passed Christmas agreeably. .. . I can assure you I did, being favored with the company of Mr. K. And his sister. I regret that her stay in town is so short. Ever since her arrival my time has been so occupied that my moments for writing were few. Tis now late--they leave early in the morning--so you must accept a few lines this time. I have sent my little namesake a New Year's frock, which I beg your sister will let her accept of. The ribbon I before mentioned accompanies this. Good night--and Happy New Year to you all. 

 Write soon, and a long letter. Remember me to my friends, and think of

 Yours affectionately and in great haste, ELIZA. 

 ELIZA MACDONALD TO CHLOE FULLER. 

 Albany, February 10, 1799. 

 Why, my dear Chloe, do you preserve this long silence? To forgetfulness of me, or want of affection I dare not impute it, for even the most distant idea of this is too painful. No, I will judge more favorably of my lovely Friend, and think want of time has been hitherto the cause. Yet let me urge you not to continue this painful silence, but think of, and write to your absent friend. Cooperstown and its inhabitants will ever afford a pleasing subject to Eliza. Tell me how you spend your time, your most intimate companions, whether you often see my father, and if any of my friends ever talk of me. .. . All our family is now in bed, yet cannot I let Mr. Strong go without writing a few lines. I wish you felt as anxious to write me. 

 Does your Hat please you? I am almost afraid it will not, tho' I know I have used my utmost endeavors. If it does not, you must take the _Will_ for the _Deed_. 

 My best love to your dear Sister. Kiss my little namesake for me. Remember me to all enquiring friends, and think of me as ever

 Your truly affectionate ELIZA. 

 Mr. Kent is still at Poughkeepsie; it I fear has more powerful attractions than Albany. 

 HANNAH COOPER TO CHLOE FULLER. 

 My dear Chloe--Your sister informs me--she sets out to-morrow upon her visit to you. I profit by her going to write a few lines to you. I have nothing very material to communicate--except that I often think of you--and continue to love you--which I hope you did not doubt--before I mentioned it. 

 We jog along much after the old way here--you know there are but three articles of news worth mentioning--Births--Deaths--and Marriages--for this last you know we were never renowned--from the second, thank Heaven, we are in a great measure exempted, and atone by the multitude of our first--for the deficiency of both. 

 We have some hopes of seeing you this Winter--either with your sister or by another mode--which I hope may be better--A certain Person--who occasionally visited Coopers Town--has not been here lately--it consoles me, though, that whilst his back is turned upon us--he is looking the right way. Come then, my child, and be induced by his looks, or smiles, or attentions, to make us another visit--We will meet you with smiles and pleasure--Mama desires to be remembered to your Mother. The Boys send their love to Norvey--and I--my dear Chloe--beg to be thought of--by you--with affection--and that you will accept of much love from

 HANNAH COOPER. Coopers Town, January 5th, 1800. 

 ELIZA MACDONALD TO CHLOE FULLER. 

 Cooperstown, August 4th. 1801. My beloved Chloe, Again I date my letter from this place in which I formed for you that friendship which neither revolving time, change of place or circumstances has been able to alter. Would that I had you as personally at my side as your dear image is constantly present to my imagination. Perhaps now that I am on the verge of departure it is happier for me that you are more remote, as parting with you would prove an additional pang to that which I now feel at the thought of leaving my respected friend, your dear, dear Sister. I have been here three weeks yesterday, and expect in a few minutes more to take my exit. You will say, perhaps, my stay is short compared to my former ones. It is so, but, Chloe, ah! how fast our friends decrease! Our mutual friend, our pious pattern!--Miss Cooper--is here no more! narrow is the cell in which her lovely form is laid! but her mind, her soul, I trust is gone to a soil more kind, more congenial, to a Friend in whom while here its best affections and confidences appear'd to be placed! In every place in which I used to meet with her--in her Father's Hall, which she highly graced--the vacant chair, the trifling conversation, my own absence of mind tell me, death has robbed me of a treasure that empires cannot give! Reflection, however, and daily experience, not only inspire me with resignation to the Wise Ruler of all events, but fill me with gratitude that God in compassion has removed her from a scene of afflictions, from new trials, from growing evils, which a tender sensibility like hers too keenly felt long to survive. 

 Richard, you may have heard, has married one of Col. Cary's Daughters--Nancy--a young, giddy Girl. I fear she will never supply the place of a Daughter to Mrs. Cooper! I have hardly a fonder desire for you or for myself than that we might be and live like her, whose memory, I trust, we shall ever cherish. .. . 

 But, Chloe, a word or two about yourself. Are not you almost married? You are so far away there is no such thing as hearing about it. Miss Betsy Williams is well & speaks of you with affection. Nancy at present is in Trenton. Do let me hear from you soon. I must go. Burn this scrawl. Kiss little Mary for me. Adieu. May God bless you and your truly affectionate friend

 ELIZA MACDONALD. 

Hannah Cooper was Judge Cooper's eldest daughter, of whom FenimoreCooper afterward wrote that she "was perhaps as extensively andfavorably known in the middle states as any female of her years. " In1795, when she was seventeen years of age, Talleyrand was a guest atOtsego Hall, and the following acrostic on Hannah Cooper's name isattributed to the pen of the celebrated diplomat:

 Aimable philosophe au printemps de son âge, Ni les temps, ni les lieus n'altèrent son esprit; Ne cèdent qu' à ses goûts simples et sans étalage, Au milieu des deserts, elle lit, pense, écrit. 

 Cultivez, belle Anna, votre goût pour l'étude; On ne saurait ici mieux employer son temps; Otsego n'est pas gai--mais, tout est habitude; Paris vous déplairait fort au premier moment; Et qui jouit de soi dans une solitude, Rentrant au monde, est sûr d'en faire l'ornement. 

Hannah Cooper afterward attended school in New York City, and passed thewinter of 1799 in Philadelphia while her father was a member ofCongress. Also a member of that Congress was William Henry Harrison, later the hero of Tippecanoe, and afterward President of the UnitedStates. In this connection Fenimore Cooper, just before Harrison'sinauguration as President, uncovered a long forgotten bit of romancewhich he related confidentially in a letter to his old mess-mateCommodore Shubrick as a "great political discovery. " "Miss Anne Cooperwas lately in Philadelphia, "--the letter is dated February 28, 1841, --"where she met Mr. Thomas Biddle, who asked if our family werenot Harrison men. The reason of so singular a question was asked, andMr. Biddle answered that in 1799 Mr. Harrison was dying with love forMiss Cooper, that he (Mr. Biddle) was his confidant, and that he_thinks_ but does not _know_ that he was refused. If not refused it wasbecause he was not encouraged to propose. .. . Don't let this go anyfurther, however. I confess to think all the better of the General forthis discovery, for it shows that he had forty years ago both taste andjudgment in a matter in which men so often fail. "[69]

In the twenty-third year of her age, Hannah Cooper was killed by a fallfrom a horse, September 10, 1800. She and her brother, Richard FenimoreCooper, had set out on horseback to pay a visit at the home of GeneralJacob Morris at Butternuts (now Morris), some twenty miles fromCooperstown, and having arrived within about a mile of theirdestination, the horse on which Miss Cooper rode took fright at a littledog, which rushed forth barking from a farm house, and Miss Cooper wasthrown against the root of a tree, being almost instantly killed. Herbrother rode back to Cooperstown with the sad news. 

A monument still stands near the public highway to mark the spot whereMiss Cooper met her death. She had many admirers, but the inscription onthis monument is said to have been written by her best beloved, MossKent, referred to in Eliza MacDonald's letters. 

Hannah Cooper's tomb in Christ churchyard, within the Cooper familyplot, is inscribed with some plaintive verses that her father composedand caused to be carved upon the slab, with the singular omission of hername, which was not added until many years afterward. 

Miss Cooper was a perfect type of the kind of feminine piety mostadmired in her day. She shared largely in the benevolences of herfather, and was often seen on horseback carrying provisions to the poorpeople of the settlement. "She visited the prisoners in the jailfrequently, giving them books, and sometimes talked with them throughthe grates of their windows, endeavoring to impress upon their minds thetruths of morality and religion. By her winning, tender and persuasiveconversation, their hard hearts, at times, were deeply affected. "

This elder sister of the novelist was the first tutor of his childhood, and he held her memory in great reverence. In the preface of a reprintof _The Pioneers_ Cooper took occasion to deny a statement that in thecharacter of the heroine of his romance he had delineated his sister, asuggestion in which he seemed to find a serious reflection upon hisfineness of feeling. "Circumstances rendered this sister singularly dearto the author, " he wrote. "After a lapse of half a century, he iswriting this paragraph with a pain that would induce him to cancel it, were it not still more painful to have it believed that one whom heregarded with a reverence that surpassed the love of a brother, wasconverted by him into the heroine of a work of fiction. "

Although Hannah Cooper was thus excluded, by her brother's delicacy, from the place which rumor had assigned to her among the characters ofhis first Leather-Stocking tale, her name is commemorated in the actualscene of the story, for the pine-clad summit which overlooks the villageof Cooperstown from the west is still called in her honor, "Hannah'sHill. "

The position of the grave that lies next south of Hannah Cooper's tombin Christ churchyard is a tribute to the reverent affection which sheinspired. It is the grave of Colonel Richard Cary, one of GeneralWashington's aides, and his burial in a plot otherwise exclusivelyreserved for interments of the Cooper family is attributed by traditionto Colonel Cary's fervent admiration for the piety of Hannah Cooper. Colonel Cary at the close of the Revolutionary War settled inSpringfield, at the head of Otsego Lake. Often a visitor in Cooperstownhe became acquainted with Miss Cooper, and was inspired by a devotion toher character entirely becoming in a man old enough to be her father, and already blessed with a family of his own. He is described as "anupright, well-bred and agreeable gentleman, possessed of wit and genius, and good humor. " Six years after Hannah Cooper's death Colonel Carysuffered severe reverses of fortune, and was "put on the limits, " as thepenalty of unpaid debt was then described, being an exile from his homein Springfield, and required to remain within the village bounds ofCooperstown. As winter drew on Colonel Cary died. His dying request wasthat he might be buried near Miss Cooper's grave, "for, " he said, "nobody can more surely get to Heaven than by clinging to the skirts ofHannah Cooper!"

At Hannah Cooper's funeral a singularly noble and picturesque characterwas brought into the history of Cooperstown, for the officiatingclergyman was Father Nash, who then for the first time held service inthe village, and afterward became the first rector of Christ Church, being for forty years the most noted apostle of religion in Otsegocounty. 

During the first ten years of the existence of the village, the peopledepended on rare visits of missionaries for the little religiousinstruction they received. The settlers in the region were divided as toreligious faith; the Presbyterians, though the most numerous, were theleast able to offer financial support for any regular religiousestablishment. Missionaries occasionally penetrated to this spot, andnow and then a travelling Baptist, or a Methodist, preached in a tavern, schoolhouse or barn. On August 28, 1795, a letter appeared in the_Otsego Herald_ deploring the general indifference to religion whichprevailed in the settlement, and calling for a public meeting toorganize a church congregation. The Rev. Elisha Mosely, a Presbyterianminister, was thereupon engaged for six months, and during that periodheld the first regular religious services in Cooperstown. He preachedthe first Thanksgiving sermon in the village, on November 26, 1795, inthe Court House. 

Through the vigorous efforts of the Rev. Nathaniel Stacy, an itinerantpreacher, the doctrine of Universalism gained a strong foothold in thisregion. Under his ministrations the society at Fly Creek was organizedin 1805, said to be the first society of the Universalist denominationestablished in this State. Stacy was a man of small stature, a rapidspeaker, full of Biblical quotations, apt in comparing the Old and NewTestaments, and happy in the use of vivid illustrations. The vehemenceand rapidity of his utterance sometimes sprinkled with saliva thehearers seated near him, which gave occasion for a famous taunt flung atAmbrose Clark, one of Stacy's converts and an early settler ofPierstown, when his brother Abel said that "Ambrose had rather be spitupon by Stacy than to hear the gospel preached. "

In 1797, the Rev. Thomas Ellison, rector of St. Peter's Church, Albany, with the Patroon, both regents of the university of the State, visitedthe Cherry Valley academy, and then extended their journey toCooperstown, where Dr. Ellison held service and preached in the CourtHouse. This was the first time that the services of the Episcopal Churchwere held in the village. Dr. Ellison was an Englishman, a graduate ofOxford, a king's man, and a staunch defender of the Church against alldissent. He was a sporting parson, of convivial habits, and after hisfirst visit to Cooperstown frequently enjoyed the hospitality of JudgeCooper, whom he joined in sundry adventures. 

The Presbyterians and Congregationalists in and about Cooperstownformed themselves into a legal society on December 29, 1798. This churchwas regularly organized with the Rev. Isaac Lewis, a Presbyterianminister, as pastor, on October 1, 1800, and the Presbyterianorganization has ever since continuously existed in Cooperstown. ThePresbyterian church building was erected in 1805, and has not beenmaterially altered since 1835, when some changes in the structure weremade. The carpenters who built the church were twin brothers, Cyrus andCyrenus Clark. They were assisted by Edmund Pearsall, who was noted forhis rapid work and skill, as well as for his daring exploits at"raisings. " When the steeple of the church was raised Pearsall astoundedthe village by standing on his head on the top of one of the posts nearthe summit. 

The pastor of this church for more than twenty years during its earlydays was the Rev. John Smith, a tall, strongly-built man, who loomedlarge in the pulpit as a champion of old-fashioned orthodoxy. His mannerof delivery was soporific, his voice thick and monotonous, but nonecould gainsay the learning and intellectual power of his discourses. 

Mony Groat was sexton of the church. He performed also the office ofpoliceman in the gallery during the service, going about with a cane, and rapping the heads of disorderly boys. In winter his duties weremultiplied. The church was heated by a stove placed above the middlealley, supported by a platform sustained upon four posts, and thosehaving pews near the pulpit had to walk directly underneath. Severaltimes during the service on cold days the sexton used to come up theaisle with his ladder and basket of fuel, place his ladder in position, mount the platform, replenish the fire, descend the ladder, and make hisexit, ladder and all. 

Perhaps because it was the first church edifice in the village thePresbyterian church came into use sometimes for celebrations of a civicnature. The first Otsego County Fair, Tuesday, October 14, 1817, washeld in this house of worship. The Otsego County Agricultural Societyhad been organized in January of that year, and the officers of thefirst fair were: president, Jacob Morris; recording secretary, John H. Prentiss; corresponding secretary, James Cooper, who had not yet begunhis literary career. 

The exercises in the church followed an elaborate programme, includingprayers, vocal and instrumental music, and the formal award of premiums. 

After the premiums had been awarded the corresponding secretary read aletter from Governor Dewitt Clinton which accompanied a bag of wheatthat had been "raised by Gordon S. Mumford, Esq. , on his farm on theisland of New York. " While this letter was being read by James Cooperthe bag of wheat was brought to the pulpit of the church, and depositedat the foot of it. 

Within the Presbyterian burying ground, at the rear of the church, liethe remains of some of the best known of the early settlers. A strangeperversity of fate, however, has singled out for the attention of thetourist a tombstone that has no other claim to distinction than asurprising feature of the epitaph. This tallish slab of marble standsnot far from the northeast corner of the burying ground. It is decoratedat the top with the conventionally chiseled outlines of urn and weepingwillow, and bears an inscription in memory of "Mrs. Susannah, the wifeof Mr. Peter Ensign, who died July 18, 1825, aged 54 years, " and whosepraises are sung in some verses that begin with this astonishingcomment:

 "Lord, she is thin!"

It seems that the stonecutter omitted a final "e" in the last word, andtried in vain to squeeze it in above the line. 

The permanent legal establishment of Christ Church was made on January1, 1811, when a meeting was held "in the Brick church in Cooperstown, "and it was resolved "that this church be known hereafter by the name andtitle of Christ's Church. "

The erection of the brick church had been commenced in 1807, and it wasconsecrated in 1810. The present nave, exclusive of the transept andchancel, is of the original structure. In the sacristy of the church awooden model may be seen, made by G. Pomeroy Keese, showing bothexterior and interior of the church as it existed in 1810. 

The Methodists held occasional services in the village for many years, and erected their first church, not far from the site of their presentbuilding, in 1817. 

The Universalists were organized in Cooperstown on April 26, 1831, withthe Rev. Job Potter as pastor. On the site of the old Academy, which hadbeen destroyed by fire, their house of worship was erected in 1833, andstands practically unchanged at the present time. That there was asomewhat strong rivalry between the Universalists and the Presbyterians, whose places of worship stand so near to each other on the same street, is suggested by an incident which occurred during the Rev. Job Potter'spastorate. The Universalists had organized a Sunday School picnic, andthe children had gathered at the church in goodly numbers. The sidewalkwas thronged. A procession was formed, headed by the ice cream cans, together with sundry huge baskets, all appetizingly displayed. Just asthe procession was about to move down the hill to embark for Three-MilePoint, a small-sized Universalist, stirred by generous impulse, hailedyoung Dick, a small-sized Presbyterian, who stood on the opposite sideof the street gazing with assumed stoicism on the fascinating pageant. 

"Hello, Dick! Come up to our picnic. We're going to have ice cream andcake and pies, and lots of good things. "

To this cordial invitation Dick, thrusting his clenched fists deep intohis pockets, responded at the top of his voice:

"No, sir-ee! I believe in a hell!"[70]

As early as the beginning of the nineteenth century the Baptists wereaccustomed to immerse their converts with appropriate services nearCouncil Rock. They organized on January 21, 1834, with the Rev. LewisRaymond as pastor. Their church building was erected during the nextyear. 

[Illustration: CHRIST CHURCH]

The Roman Catholic congregation was organized in September, 1847, withthe Rev. Father Kilbride as pastor. Their first church was built in1851, at the corner of Elm and Susquehanna streets. The present St. Mary's Church, the "Church of Our Lady of the Lake, " was built in 1867. 

Toward the middle of the century the three most conspicuous steeples inthe village scene were those of Christ Church, the Presbyterian, andthe Baptist. From the shape of their towers, which have since beenmodified, they were known as the "Casters, " and distinguished as salt, pepper, and mustard respectively. [71]

The land for the Presbyterian church as well as for Christ Church wasgiven by Judge Cooper. Within Christ churchyard he reserved a space, including his daughter's grave, as a family burial plot, where hehimself was buried in 1809, cut down in the full vigor of his fifty-fiveyears. While leaving a political meeting in Albany, as he was descendingthe steps of the old state capitol, after a session abounding in stormydebate, Judge Cooper was struck on the head with a walking stick by apolitical opponent, and died as a result of the blow. 

Judge Cooper was originally a Quaker, but that he afterward foundhimself out of sympathy with the Society of Friends is shown in a formaldocument by which his relations to that denomination were severed. Hewas instrumental in the erection of Christ Church, for a letter writtenby him shows that he conducted the negotiations with the corporation ofTrinity parish, New York, which, in 1806, gave $1, 500 toward theconstruction of the edifice. An obituary notice published in the_Cooperstown Federalist_ at the time of his death says that Judge Cooper"was thoroughly persuaded of the truth of Revelation. "

The rood-screen in Christ Church commemorates Judge Cooper, and adignified sarcophagus covers his grave in the churchyard. Recalling thestory of his career, one is disposed to claim for his simple epitaph ashare of the attention bestowed upon the tomb of his more illustriousson. For here lies the foremost pioneer of Cooperstown, notable amongthe frontiersmen of America. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 69: _James Fenimore Cooper_, by Mary E. Phillips, p. 15. ]

[Footnote 70: _Reminiscences_, Elihu Phinney, 1890. ]

[Footnote 71: _A few Omitted Leaves in the History of Cooperstown_, G. Pomeroy Keese, 1907. ]

CHAPTER VII

HOMES AND GOSSIP OF OTHER DAYS

Early in the century activities were renewed, just across the river fromCooperstown, in the development of what was known as the Bowers Patent, originally owned by John R. Myer of New York, whose daughter became thewife of Henry Bowers. For some years after their marriage Mr. And Mrs. Bowers lived at Brighton, near Boston, in a residence that was one ofthe finest relics of Colonial days, commanding a fine view of Boston, Cambridge, Charleston, and the bay, with its numerous islands. Theyafterward removed to New York City, and Henry Bowers made journeysthence to the Otsego region, where a settlement had been commenced inMiddlefield, then called Newtown Martin, [72] some years before thefounding of Cooperstown. 

In 1791, Henry Bowers surveyed and laid out a proposed village of"Bowerstown, " across the river from Cooperstown. It was to extend fromthe Susquehanna to the base of the hill on the east, and from the laketo a point about 1, 000 feet south. The projected village never became areality, although the name is perpetuated by the present hamlet ofBowerstown, which still flourishes about a mile to the south, on a sitethat was once included in the Bowers Patent, where a saw-mill waserected on Red Creek in 1791, the first in this part of the country. Amodern saw-mill now occupies the same site. 

[Illustration: THE HOUSE AT LAKELANDS, as originally built]

The residences across the river are all in the town of Middlefield, butthe village of Cooperstown has extended its corporate limits to includesome of them, and virtually claims them all. 

[Illustration: MRS. WILSON]

After the death of Henry Bowers, his son, John Myer Bowers, married in1802 Margaretta Stewart Wilson. Young Bowers was said to be thehandsomest and most fascinating man in New York, and had inherited afortune which in that day was regarded as princely. Shortly after themarriage he decided to make his residence on the Bowers Patent inOtsego, and came hither with his bride in 1803, occupying a part of theErnst house at the northwest corner of Main and River streets, while thepresent house at Lakelands was under construction. The building waserected during 1804, and Mr. And Mrs. Bowers took possession in 1805. Mrs. Bowers's mother, Mrs. Wilson, made her home with them, and lived atLakelands for a half a century. These two ladies contributed much to thelife of the community, and the younger generation was fascinated bytheir vivid memories of the leading spirits of the Revolutionary War. Mrs. Wilson occupies a niche of fame in _The Women of the AmericanRevolution_, by Elizabeth F. Ellet, who said of her that "herreminiscences would form a most valuable contribution to the domestichistory of the Revolution. " She was in Philadelphia on the day of theDeclaration of Independence, and made one of a party entertained at abrilliant fête, given in honor of the event, on board the frigateWashington, at anchor in the Delaware, by Captain Reid, the commander. The magnificent brocade which she wore on this occasion, with its hoopedpetticoat, flowing train, laces, gimp, and flowers, remained in herwardrobe unaltered for many years. Mrs. Wilson was Martha Stewart, daughter of Col. Charles Stewart of New Jersey, who was a member ofWashington's staff. At the age of seventeen she married Robert Wilson, also closely associated with Washington, and in the midst of the war shewas left a widow. During the Revolution Mrs. Wilson was more favorablysituated for observation and knowledge of significant movements andevents than any other lady of her native state. Her father, at the headof an important department under the commander-in-chief, becamefamiliarly acquainted with the principal officers of the army; and, headquarters being most of the time within twenty or thirty miles ofher residence, she not only had constant communication in person and byletter with him, but frequently entertained at her house many of hismilitary friends. General Washington himself, with whom she had been onterms of friendship since 1775, visited her at different times at herhome in Hackettstown. Mrs. Washington also was several times the guestof Mrs. Wilson, both at her own house and at that of her father atLandsdown. Such was the liberality of Mrs. Wilson's patriotism that hergates on the public road bore in conspicuous characters the inscription, "Hospitality within to all American officers, and refreshment for theirsoldiers, " an invitation which, on the regular route of communicationbetween the northern and southern posts of the army, was often accepted. 

The hospitality which Mrs. Wilson had the privilege of extending toillustrious guests was returned by marked attentions to her daughter andonly child, on her entrance into society in Philadelphia during thepresidency of Washington. Mrs. Wilson was the object of much devotion onher own account at the capital, where her appearance was thus describedby a lady of Philadelphia in a letter to a friend: "Mrs. Wilson lookedcharmingly this evening in a Brunswick robe of striped muslin, trimmedwith spotted lawn; a beautiful handkerchief gracefully arranged at herneck; her hair becomingly craped and thrown into curls under a veryelegant white bonnet, with green-leafed band, worn on one side. " At thesame time the debutante daughter, Margaretta Wilson, became a favoritewith Mrs. Washington, who distinguished her with courtesies rarely shownto persons of her age. A contemporary letter describes her appearance ata drawing-room given by the President and Mrs. Washington: "Miss Wilsonlooked beautifully last night. She was in full dress, yet in elegantsimplicity. She wore book muslin over white mantua, trimmed with broadlace round the neck; half sleeves of the same, also trimmed with lace;with white satin sash and slippers; her hair elegantly dressed in curls, without flowers, feathers or jewelry. Mrs. Moylan told me she was thehandsomest person at the drawing room, and more admired than anyonethere. "[73]

Such was the belle whom John Myer Bowers carried away as his bride tothe wilds of Otsego, where, shortly afterward, at Lakelands, her motheralso came to dwell. These two ladies, with their unusual experiences, added a new flavor to the life of Cooperstown. 

Eight children born to Mr. And Mrs. Bowers at Lakelands were girls. Thefather's hopeful anticipations were so well known in the community thatwhen a son and heir, Henry J. Bowers, was born at last, in 1824, theevent was signalized by the ringing of the village church bells inCooperstown, the only birthday in the region that was ever honored bysuch a demonstration. 

John Myer Bowers, in his later years, was far from being the BeauBrummel of his youthful days in New York, and came to be known in thevillage as a distinct character, ruggedly determined not to yield to theinfirmities of old age. When his physical strength began to fail he kepta horse constantly in harness and standing at the door of Lakelands thathe might ride to and from the village. This horse, known as "Old Chap, "was a familiar figure on the road in those days, and faithful to hismaster to the advanced age of thirty-seven years. 

John M. Bowers died in the year 1846. His widow continued to occupyLakelands until her death in 1872, and a daughter, Martha S. Bowers, continued the occupancy during her life. After the death of the latterLakelands was sold in making division of the Bowers estate. Henry J. Bowers married in 1848 a daughter of William C. Crain, a prominentcitizen of the adjoining county of Herkimer. She was a woman of largeintellectual gifts and undaunted spirit, and personally undertook theeducation of their eldest son, John Myer Bowers, who sat on the floorbefore her, while the mother, book in hand, instilled into his mind theimportance of the three R's, with much stress upon the principles offidelity and loyalty as elements of success in business. At the age ofsixteen years she sent him to New York to study law under one of theleading attorneys of that city. He became one of the foremost lawyers ofthe State, and a few years after its sale repurchased Lakelands, withits forty acres along lake and river, as his summer home. No native sonof Cooperstown has had a more successful career than John M. Bowers. In1915 he won a verdict for Theodore Roosevelt in the celebrated trial atSyracuse in which suit for libel was brought against the formerPresident of the United States by William Barnes, the proprietor of the_Albany Evening Journal_. 

[Illustration: _C. A. Schneider_

LAKELANDS]

A mansard roof was added to Lakelands at the period during which theproperty was out of the possession of the Bowers family, but theremainder of the house is of the original building, and the carvedwooden doors and mantel-pieces within testify to the skill of old-timeworkmanship in Cooperstown. The wide stretches of lawn shaded byvenerable trees, and the long sweep of lake shore commanded by Lakelandsmake it a charming country seat. 

 * * * * *

In 1801 George Pomeroy, a young man of twenty-two years, arrived fromAlbany, and set up in business as the first druggist in the village andcounty. His store stood on Main Street on the site of the present ClarkGymnasium. Some of the hardships of the early settlers to which historymay only allude are suggested by a sign which hung in front of the drugstore of Dr. Pomeroy, as he was called. This sign depicted a handpointing to these words: "Itch cured for 2 cts. 4 cts. 6 cts. Unguentum. Walk in. "

Dr. Pomeroy had other talents beside his skill in chemistry, and soonbecame a popular citizen of the village, displaying one accomplishmentthat was perhaps not so rare then as now in being an expert in theexposition of the Bible. Dr. Pomeroy was not so absorbed in his Bible asto be indifferent to the heavenly qualities which radiated from theperson of Ann Cooper, the seventeen-year-old daughter of the founder ofthe village, for it soon appeared that these two young people had formeda romantic attachment. In aspiring to the hand of the heiress Dr. Pomeroy could not promise to endow her with great riches, but he had agood name in being a grandson of General Seth Pomeroy who fought atBunker Hill. 

It was as a wedding gift to his daughter, on her marriage to GeorgePomeroy in 1804, that Judge Cooper built the old stone house whichstands at the corner of Main and River streets. It was the first stonehouse constructed in the village, and the peculiar herring-bone style inwhich the stone is laid lends to this old residence a quaint and unusualcharm. Under the eastern gable of the house is wrought in stone a spreadeagle, with the date of the building, and the initials of the youngcouple who began housekeeping there. The involved order of theinitials--G. A. P. C. --the master-mason, Jamie Allen, [74] explained bysaying that the lives, like the initials, of the bride and groom, shouldbe so entwined as to make their union permanent. And so it proved, forthey lived in peace and harmony to a great age. The house was for manyyears called "Deacon Place, " Dr. Pomeroy being widely known as a deaconof the Presbyterian church, but in later times it was named "PomeroyPlace. "

Ten children were born to the first occupants of the old stone house, and it became one of the liveliest centres of hospitality to old andyoung in Cooperstown. Years afterward there were those whose mouthswatered at the recollection of the dining-room in the southwest quarterof the house, where many a merry feast was held, with particularly fondmemories of delicious light buckwheat cakes that came hot from thegriddle through a sliding window connected with the kitchen. 

As years went on Mrs. Pomeroy became famous as a pattern of good works. In days when trained nurses were unknown, in almost every family whensickness came the first call was for "Aunt Pomeroy, " who was by manyconsidered wiser than the physicians. In the course of time thesurviving children born to Mr. And Mrs. Pomeroy had homes and familiesof their own, and the old couple were left once more alone in the oldstone house. Aunt Pomeroy's favorite place for receiving her friends wasin the northeast corner room of the lower floor. There she wasaccustomed to sit in her rocking-chair, with her book, ordinarily avolume of sermons, or her knitting, usually a shawl to be sold for thebenefit of missions to the heathen. She was fond of a game of whist, andher great-grandchildren once attempted to teach her to play euchre. Shewas getting on very well with the new game, until an opponent took herking in the trump suit with the right bower. She threw down her cards, exclaiming, "No more of a game where a jack takes a king!" She wasalways ready to receive visitors, of whom there were many, except at onehour of the day, which was sacred to an ancient pact between her husbandand herself. Between the hours of five and six Aunt Pomeroy withdrew toher chamber, while Deacon Pomeroy, at his store, refused himself tocustomers, and retired to his private office, so that each devoted thesame space of time to a secluded reading of the Bible. 

The old couple were not permitted to end their days in the house whichhad been made a kind of symbol of their married happiness, and whichthey had occupied for nearly half a century. Late in life, owing tofinancial losses, Mrs. Pomeroy was compelled to sell the property. Theaged pair closed the wooden shutters at the windows, fastened the doorbehind them, and descended the steps of the old stone house, never toreturn. 

[Illustration: _J. Patzig_

POMEROY PLACE]

Mrs. Pomeroy passed her later years at Edgewater, the home of hergrandson. Her death was typical of her life of piety. On a certainafternoon seventy-five women were assembled for Lenten sewing. Aftergreeting them all in the drawing-room Aunt Pomeroy ascended the stairsto her room, stretched herself upon the bed, and quietly drew her lastbreath. In accordance with the old custom the clock in the death-chamberwas stopped, and a sheet was drawn over the mirror. Down stairs therector of the parish read a prayer, and the women filed out of the housein silence. 

Pomeroy Place was not permanently lost to the family for which it wasoriginally built. When the centennial of the building was celebrated in1904, the house had already returned to its first estate, having beenpurchased by the granddaughter of the original owners, Mrs. George StoneBenedict, who with her daughter, Clare Benedict, came to occupy it astheir American home between journeys abroad. 

Mrs. Benedict's sister, Constance Fenimore Woolson, who made many summervisits in Cooperstown, may be said to have drawn her original literaryinspiration from this region, for Otsego appears in her first work, "TheHaunted Lake, " published in December, 1871, in _Harper's Magazine_, while Pomeroy Place itself is commemorated in one of her earliestproductions, "The Old Stone House. " From this period till her death in1893 the sketches, poems, and novels that came from Miss Woolson's penreached such a level of literary art that Edmund Clarence Stedman calledher one of the leading women in the American literature of the century. Miss Woolson spent the latter years of her life in Europe, changing herresidence frequently. Gracefully impulsive and independent, she had agypsy instinct for the roving life of liberty out-of-doors; yet incharacter and demeanor she was so serenely poised, so self-contained, with such inviolable reserve and dignity, that she was, as Stedman putit, "like old lace. "

 * * * * *

One of the most remarkable men of early times in Cooperstown was ElihuPhinney, publisher of the _Otsego Herald_, who had brought his pressesand type here in the winter of 1795, breaking a track through the snowof the wilderness with six teams of horses. The first number of the_Otsego Herald, or Western Advertiser_, a weekly journal, appeared onthe third day of April. This was the second newspaper published in theState, west of Albany, and its title shows that Cooperstown was thenregarded as belonging to the far west of civilization. Like allnewspapers of that period, the early files of the _Otsego Herald_ appearto the modern reader to be singularly lacking in local news, and onlythe rarest mention of what was going on in Cooperstown is to be found inits faded pages. There is much of the news of Europe, and the politicalnews of America admits the printing in full of long speeches deliveredin Congress, but the happenings in Cooperstown seem to have been left tothe tongues of village gossips, and the advertising columns stand almostalone in reflecting the daily life of the place. 

Elihu Phinney was a great favorite in the village, being a man ofdelightful social qualities, and distinguished for his remarkable witand satire. His bookstore in Cooperstown furnished a large section ofthe country with an elemental literature, and with many historicalworks. A year after his arrival he was made associate judge of thecounty. It was in the printing office of Judge Phinney that FenimoreCooper, when a boy, was in the habit of setting type "for fun, " whichexperience he afterward stated was very useful to him in the oversightof the typographical production of his writings. On the overthrow ofJohn Adams's administration Judge Phinney changed the political policyof his newspaper, _The Otsego Herald_, and became a supporter of ThomasJefferson, in opposition to the views of his patron, Judge Cooper, whoremained a Federalist. It was this breach of political friendship whichbrought to Cooperstown Col. John H. Prentiss, who came from the officeof the _New York Evening Post_, in 1808, to conduct a newspaper inopposition to _The Otsego Herald_. Thus came into being _The ImpartialObserver_, which shortly changed its name to _The CooperstownFederalist_, and in 1828 became _The Freeman's Journal_, under whichname it is still published. 

Judge Phinney founded a bookselling and publishing business which, through his sons and grandsons, was carried on in Cooperstown for thebetter part of a century after its establishment. His place of businesswas on the east side of Pioneer Street, next south of the building thatstands at the corner of Main Street, and the present building on theoriginal site of their enterprise was erected by the Phinneys in 1849. 

The Phinney establishment became famous for original methods ofconducting business. Large wagons were ingeniously constructed to serveas locomotive bookstores. They had movable tops and counters, and theirshelves were stocked with hundreds of varieties of books. Travelingagents drove these wagons to many villages where books were scarcelyattainable otherwise. The Erie Canal opened even more remote fields ofenterprise. The Phinneys had a canal boat fitted up as a floatingbookstore, which carried a variety beyond that found in the ordinaryvillage, anchoring in winter at one of the largest towns on the ErieCanal. Up to the year 1849, when the publishing department was moved toBuffalo, and only a bookstore remained of the Phinney enterprise inCooperstown, their efforts had built up in this village a largepublishing business, while they stocked and maintained the largestbookstores in towns as far away as Utica, Buffalo, and Detroit. As earlyas 1820 their stereotype foundry in Cooperstown had cast a set of platesfor a quarto family Bible, one of the first ever made in the UnitedStates, and of which some 200, 000 copies were printed. Later theypublished Fenimore Cooper's _Naval History_, Col. Stone's _Life ofBrant_, several volumes by Rev. Jacob and John S. C. Abbott which werehousehold favorites for a generation afterward, not to mention manyschool text-books and histories. 

The occasion which caused the removal of this publishing business fromthe village arose out of the discontent of some workmen whose serviceswere dispensed with when new power presses were substituted forhand-work in printing. The entire manufactory was burned at night byincendiaries in the spring of 1849. 

Elihu Phinney, the founder of the business, was the originator in 1796of _Phinney's Calendar, or Western Almanac_, which was known in everyhousehold of the region, for some three score years and ten. The weatherpredictions in this calendar were always gravely consulted. In one yearit happened, through a typographical displacement, that snow waspredicted for the fourth of July. When the glorious Fourth arrived thethermometer dropped below the freezing point, and snow actually fell, acircumstance which greatly increased the already reverent regard forPhinney's Almanac. 

A quaint character who established himself in the village before thecoming of Elihu Phinney was Dr. Nathaniel Gott. He was a man of fieryspirit. When Dr. Gott's patients, on being restored to health, seemedinclined to forget their indebtedness to him, he threatened them withchastisement, and published the following rhymed notice in the _OtsegoHerald_:

 Says Dr. Gott, I'll tell you what, I'm called on hot, All round the Ot- -Segonian plot, To pay my shot For pill and pot. If you don't trot Up to the spot, And ease my lot, You'll smell it hot. 

 NATHANIEL GOTT. 

Dr. Gott was an eccentric. He wore short breeches, with long stockings, and always ate his meals from a wooden trencher. Among a company ofvillage men enjoying a convivial evening at the tavern a contest of witand satire arose between Dr. Gott and Elihu Phinney who had become warmfriends. Finally it was proposed that each should compose an impromptuepitaph for the other. In the epitaph which he improvised for JudgePhinney Dr. Gott, adapting the conceit of the schoolmen, made out JudgePhinney's soul to be so small that thousands of such could dance on thepoint of a cambric needle. Judge Phinney retorted with the following:

 Beneath this turf doth stink and rot The body of old Dr. Gott; Now earth is eased and hell is pleased, Since Satan hath his carcass seized. 

Amid shouts of laughter from the onlookers, Dr. Gott, turning jest intoearnest, strode from the tavern, and his friendship for Judge Phinneywas ended. 

The town pump stood on the north side of Main Street a few rods east ofChestnut street. Its former position is now marked by a tablet set inthe sidewalk. On the corner west of the pump Daniel Olendorf kept atavern. He was a small man, and very lame from a stiff knee. The musclesof the leg were contracted, making it considerably shorter than theother. At one time he was leading a lame horse through the street, whena little dog came following on behind, holding up one leg and limpingalong on the other three. The sight caused no little merriment along thestreet when the lame man, the lame horse, and the lame dog were seenmarching in procession. Olendorf, wondering at the cause of so muchamusement, looked back and saw the uninvited follower. He picked up astone, and flung it at the dog, exclaiming, "Get along home; there islimping enough here without you, you little lame cuss, coming limpingafter us!"

Young James Cooper, afterward the novelist, had left the village when ayoung lad to be tutored by the rector of St. Peter's, Albany, andthereafter spent little of his boyhood in Cooperstown. After hisuncompleted course at Yale, and a year's cruise at sea, he returned fora time, in 1807, to his village home, being then a youth of eighteenyears. To this period belongs the incident of his participation in afoot-race among some of his former companions in the village. Theracecourse agreed upon was around the central square, that is, beginningat the intersection of Main and Pioneer streets, at the Red Lion Inn, the runners were to go up Pioneer Street to Church Street, thence toRiver Street, down River Street to Main, and so back to the place ofstarting. 

James Cooper was mentioned as one of the competitors, and his antagonistwas selected. The prize was a basket of fruit. Cooper accepted thechallenge, but not on even terms. It was not enough for the young sailorto outrun the landsman; he would do more. Among many spectators Coopercaught sight of a little girl. He caught her up in his arms, exclaiming, "I'll carry her with me and beat you!" Thus the race began, the littleblack-eyed girl clutching Cooper's shoulders. As the contestants rushedup Pioneer Street, and turned the corner where the Universalist churchnow stands, the amused and excited villagers saw with surprise that thesailor with his burden was keeping pace with the other flying youth. Around the square the runners turned the next two corners almostabreast. After rounding the corner of the Old Stone House, as they cameup the main street toward the goal Cooper, bearing the little girlaloft, gave a burst of speed, amid wild cheers, drew away from hisopponent, and won the race. The basket of fruit was his, which hedistributed among the spectators, and the little girl, afterward thewife of Capt. William Wilson, long lived in the village to tell thestory of her ride upon James Cooper's shoulders. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 72: The _Otsego Herald_ of Jan. 14, 1796, contained a noticeof warning issued by Henry Bowers against persons who had been cuttingdown trees "on my patent, in Newtown Martin. "]

[Footnote 73: _The Women of the Revolution_, Elizabeth F. Ellet, published in 1850, pp. 37-67. ]

[Footnote 74: A skillful builder and noted character, commemorated byFenimore Cooper in _Wyandotte, or the Hutted Knoll_. ]

CHAPTER VIII

THE PIONEER COURT ROOM

In the fore part of the nineteenth century, when public amusements werefew, the people of Cooperstown found a pleasant relaxation from the hardtasks of pioneer life in attending the trial of suits at law in thecourt house. Here were large crowds of interested spectators, and thematters of litigation were widely discussed in the taverns and homes ofthe village. Cooperstown, as the county seat, was the chief battleground of an endless warfare among the lawyers of the region, and theforensic struggles of the first twenty years of the century developed anarray of legal talent in Otsego county which gained the reputation ofbeing the ablest in the State west of the Hudson. In those days the bestlawyers were orators, and some were actors who would have done credit tothe dramatic profession. The public had its favorites among them, andtheir names were known in every household. The trial practice of thatday was a keen encounter of wits between men of high native talent whoperfectly understood each other's motives, and showed infinitedexterity in twisting facts and arguments to serve their purposes. [75]

[Illustration: AMBROSE L. JORDAN]

The ablest lawyer in the county from 1813 to 1820, when he removed toHudson, was Ambrose L. Jordan, who began his career in Cooperstown inpartnership with Col. Farrand Stranahan. Jordan was a commanding figure, six feet tall, slim and graceful in figure; blue eyes that were at oncekeen and kindly added lustre to the impression produced by thesensitive features of his countenance. He had a profusion of brown curlsand a complexion as fine as a woman's. Dignified and courtly in manner, he was as brilliant in conversation as he was impressive and powerful asan orator. In natural eloquence Jordan was a man of the first rank. Added to this he was a close student, and prepared his cases with greatcare. He had great powers of endurance, and in long trials alwaysappeared fresh and strong after other advocates were exhausted. In hispleadings before a jury he used every resource at his command, indulgingin flights of oratory that kindled the imagination, dazzling his hearerswith rhetorical tropes and figures, at times humorous and playful, witha tendency to personal allusion most uncomfortable for his opponent. Jordan was terrible in sarcasm. One Asbury Newman, a poor, worthless, drunken fellow, ever ready to testify on either side for a drink ofwhiskey, was brought upon the witness stand. Jordan knew his man. Afterexhibiting his character in its true light, ringing all the changes uponhis worthlessness, and ridiculing his opponent for bringing him there, he closed by saying, "Gentlemen of the jury, I will convince you thatthis degenerate specimen of humanity is not the son of the saintly andexemplary Elder Asbury Newman, but that he is the legitimate son ofBeelzebub the prince of devils. He is an eyesore to his father, a soreeye to his mother, a vagabond upon earth, and a most damnable liar!"Poor Asbury never appeared in court as a witness afterwards. [76]

Jordan would never submit to being imposed upon by sharp practice. Onone occasion, as he was returning homeward in the early evening from thetrial of a case in a neighboring village, his wagon broke down. Therewas some snow on the ground, and a farmer in a lumber sleigh was glidingby, when Jordan requested his assistance to reach Cooperstown, some fivemiles away. The two put the broken wagon on the sleigh, and leading thedisengaged horse, drove on to Jordan's home. No bargain had been made, and when, at the journey's end, Jordan inquired what he should pay, thesharp farmer named a most extortionate sum. Jordan then declared thatthe pay demanded was three times as much as the service was worth; yetrather than have any hard feeling about the matter he would pay doubleprice: but more he would not pay. The offer was refused, and the farmerdeparted, breathing threats. 

Within a few days a summons was served on Jordan to appear before ajustice who was a near neighbor and friend of the farmer. On the trialthe justice gave judgment for the plaintiff for the full amount of theclaim, and costs. As soon as the law would permit, execution was issuedon this judgment, and placed in the hands of a deputy sheriff forcollection. 

Jordan managed to have information of the coming of the officer tocollect this judgment. His law partner, Col. Stranahan, was the owner ofa handsome gold watch and chain, which for that occasion Jordanborrowed, and hung up conspicuously from a nail on the front of the deskat which he was writing, in the little office building which then stoodon Main Street, near Jordan's home. 

When the officer entered, saying that he had an execution against him, Jordan asserted that he did not intend to pay it. 

"Then, " said the officer, "my duty requires me to levy on your property, and I shall take this, "--at the same time taking the watch, and puttingit into his pocket. 

"My friend, " said Jordan, "I advise you to put back the watch. If you donot, you will get yourself into trouble. "

The deputy was obdurate, however, and left the office, taking with himthe watch. With all possible expedition a writ and other papers in areplevin suit were prepared for an action of Stranahan against thedeputy sheriff. The sheriff of the county was found, the replevin writput into his hands, which he at once served on the deputy, took back thewatch and delivered it to the owner. The deputy sheriff called on thefarmer to indemnify him in the replevin suit, which he felt compelled todo. The result of the affair, which was soon arrived at, was this: theplaintiff succeeded in the replevin suit, the costs of which amounted toover one hundred dollars. The judgment obtained by the extortionatefarmer was about twenty dollars, and he finally had to pay over toJordan, as Stranahan's attorney, the difference between these sums. [77]

When Ambrose Jordan began the practice of law in Cooperstown he plantedan elm tree on Chestnut Street in front of his home, at the northwestcorner of Main Street. This elm, grown to mighty proportions, celebratedits one hundredth birthday in 1913. Within a few paces of the corner, facing on Main Street, and in the rear of the dwelling which frontsChestnut Street, stood the small building that Jordan occupied as anoffice. This is one of the few remaining examples of the detached lawoffices which were common in Cooperstown, as in other villages, in earlydays, and often stood in the dooryard of a lawyer's residence. [78]

[Illustration: _C. A. Schneider_

JORDAN'S HOME, AND HIS LAW OFFICE]

Jordan's partner, Col. Stranahan, was less conspicuous as a lawyer thanas a soldier and politician. He was in command of a regiment throughoutthe War of 1812, and received official commendation for gallantry. Onhis record for military service and personal popularity he was electedsenator, from what was then known as the Western District, in 1814, andagain in 1823. During this period he became the recognized leader of theOtsego Democracy. Stranahan was a poor man, and his official service wasrendered at the sacrifice of his law practice. When Cooperstowncelebrated the fiftieth anniversary of our national independence, Col. Stranahan, because of his debts, was a prisoner in the county jail. Amultitude of people from every part of the county had gathered inCooperstown, and among the guests of honor were two old friends ofStranahan, Alvan Stewart and Levi Beardsley of Cherry Valley, the formerbeing the orator of the day. Stewart and Beardsley, greatly distressedthat, on an occasion devoted to the celebration of liberty, Stranahanshould be in jail, went to the sheriff and gave their word to indemnifyhim, if he would bring his prisoner to the celebration. AccordinglyStranahan came, closely attended by the sheriff, and, after theoration, dined with the celebrating party. After the drinking of manytoasts, toward evening the sheriff wished to return with his prisoner tothe jail. By this time the party was in a merry mood, and full of thespirit of independence. The sheriff had some difficulty in persuadingthe banqueters to permit him to withdraw Stranahan from the festivities. Finally it was decided that if Stranahan must return to jail it shouldbe with an escort of honor, and a group under the leadership of Stewart, Beardsley, and Judge Morell agreed to perform this duty. On reaching thejail the members of the escort were seized by another freak of fancy, and insisted upon being locked up with Stranahan. The sheriff havingcomplied with their wishes, the prisoners soon tired of theirconfinement without further refreshment, and sent for the plaintiffagainst Stranahan to come to the jail. This being done they affected acompromise with him, by which he agreed to cancel a part of the debt ifStranahan's friends would each pay him twenty dollars. Thus Stranahanwas released in triumph, and the rest of the night was passed incelebrating the event. [79]

Ambrose L. Jordan's chief rival among the lawyers of Otsego county washis neighbor Samuel Starkweather, a man of great physical and mentalpower. He was in many ways to be contrasted with Jordan, more stronglybuilt, swarthy, having dark eyes and hair, with a massive head set uponbroad shoulders, and every feature of his face indicative of strong willand energetic action. Somewhat less of an orator than Jordan, Starkweather equalled him in close logical reasoning. 

[Illustration: _J. B. Slote_

THE HOME OF ROBERT CAMPBELL]

At the beginning of the century John Russell, Elijah H. Metcalf, andRobert Campbell were resident in Cooperstown. Russell was the secondmember of Congress to be elected from the place. Col. Metcalf served twoyears in the legislature of the State. Campbell, of the well-knownCherry Valley family, built for his residence in 1807 the house whichstill stands on Lake Street facing the length of Chestnut Street. He wasa man of stout build, with a full face, slightly retiring forehead, atrifle bald, urbane and unassuming in deportment. As a pleader at thebar he was only moderately eloquent, but he was popularly designated farand near as "the honest lawyer, " and his advice was not only much soughtbut implicitly relied upon. In a period not much devoted to theamenities of legal procedure one member of this group of lawyers, GeorgeMorell, made a reputation not so much as an advocate as for hisfaultless diction and polished manners. 

On the other hand, Alvan Stewart of Cherry Valley was the clown of thecourt room, and to such good purpose that the ablest lawyers ofCooperstown dreaded him as an opponent. He was a master of absurd witand ridicule. In Proctor's _Bench and Bar_ he is referred to as "one ofthe most powerful adversaries that ever stood before a jury. " He was nota profound lawyer, and seems never to have studied the arrangement ofhis cases, nor to have bestowed any care in preparation for theirpresentation, but his mind was richly furnished with thoughts upon everysubject which came up for discussion in the progress of a trial, and hisillustrations, although unusual and grotesque were strikinglyappropriate. His greatest power lay in that he could be humorous orpathetic, acrimonious or conciliating, denouncing the theories, testimony and pleas of the opposition in lofty declamation, and almostin the same breath convulsing his audience, the court and jury included, by the most laughable exhibitions of ridicule and burlesque. [80]

A case in which Alvan Stewart opposed Samuel Starkweather was longafterward famous in Cooperstown. [81] The case was an important one, andwas brought to a climax when the logical and serious Starkweather begansumming up for the defense. While he was speaking Stewart took aposition so as to gaze continually into the face of his opponent, evidently with the intention of disconcerting him, and of distractingthe attention of the jury. Starkweather was not a little irritated atStewart's absurd look and attitude. In spite of this, however, hegrappled with the strong points at issue, and elucidated them withtelling logic in his own favor; he kept the closest attention of thejury, producing conviction in the justice of his position; and took hisseat well satisfied that he would have a favorable verdict. In hisclosing words Starkweather made some allusion to Stewart's staring eyes, and cautioned the jury against being influenced by the well-knownabsurdities which he was wont to introduce. 

Stewart in the mean time sat with a pompously assumed calmness anddignity, like a turkey cock beside his brooding mate before awaking thedawn with his matin gobbling. After a time he began to gather himselfup, and slowly lengthened out to his full height, about six feet four. His blue frock coat thrown back upon his shoulders sat loosely aroundhim. His arms hanging down beside him like useless appendages to astatue; his white waistcoat all open except one or two buttons at thebottom; his white necktie wound carelessly about his neck; his shirtcollar wide open; his face a kind of oblong quadrilateral containingfeatures grotesquely drawn downward; his eyes, large and prominent, soturned as to show most of the sclerotic white of the eyeballs, --all werecombined to present the buffoon in his utmost burlesque of himself. 

Alvan Stewart's first movement was to turn his head and roll his eyes soas to fix the attention of his audience, who were ever ready to laughwhen his lips opened, whether wit or folly came from them. Then, with anawkward bow, he paid his respects to the court, and, turning to thejury, commenced:

"It appears, gentlemen of the jury, from the remarks of the opposingcounsel, " here turning to Starkweather, "that my _eyes_ constitute theprincipal thing at issue"--pausing a moment, then turning again to thejury, --"in the cause pending before us. They are the same eyes that myMaker fashioned for me, and I have used them continually ever since Iwas a b-o-y, "--drawing the last word out with a deep gutturalvoice, --"and this is the first time that I have ever heard theirlegitimacy questioned. " He then went on to compare his eyes to two fullmoons rising upon the scene, a phenomenon made necessary to dispel alittle of the darkness that, under the pretence of light and justice, had been ingeniously thrown around the cause they were to decide. For afull half hour this rambling burlesque was continued, with a manner ofdelivery indescribably ludicrous, only now and then touching upon thecause on trial, and then only to fling ridicule upon some of the pointspreviously argued for the defendant. 

During all this time the spectators were shaking with laughter, whilethe jury and even the judge had to press their lips to retain theirgravity, and were not always successful. More than once Stewart wasinterrupted by Starkweather for bringing in matters not related to thesubject under litigation, or for making statements not warranted by thefacts. Stewart stood blinking at him until he had finished, then turnedbeseechingly to the judge; when the decision was against him he struckout into some other line of buffoonery equally grotesque. In conclusionhe came down to argumentation, bringing his logic to bear upon the fewpoints that he had not involved with absurdities, and sat down intriumph. 

When the verdict had been rendered in Stewart's favor, Starkweatherstrode forth from the court room in a rage, muttering fierceimprecations against a man who was capable of overmatching reason andjustice by low buffoonery. 

But none could be long angry at Stewart. He had no personal enmities andno enemies. Later in life he became an anti-slavery agitator andtemperance lecturer pledged to total abstinence, the latter a muchneeded measure of reform in the case of Alvan Stewart. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 75: _Noted Men of Otsego during the Early Years_, Walter H. Bunn, Address at the Cooperstown Centennial. ]

[Footnote 76: _Random Sketches of Fifty, Sixty and More Years Ago_, Richard Fry, in the _Freeman's Journal_, 1878. ]

[Footnote 77: _History of Otsego County_, 1878, p. 283. ]

[Footnote 78: Moved to the north of the residence, 1917. ]

[Footnote 79: _Reminiscences_, Levi Beardsley, 223. ]

[Footnote 80: Walter H. Bunn. ]

[Footnote 81: Richard Fry. ]

CHAPTER IX

FATHER NASH

The saintly life and strange personal charm of the Rev. Daniel Nash, thefirst rector of Christ Church, made a deep impression upon the villageof Cooperstown in its early days; and the wide range of his apostoliclabors as a missionary gave him a singular fame, during half a century, throughout Otsego county, and far beyond its borders. The grave ofFather Nash is in Christ churchyard, marked by the tallest of themonuments along the driveway, at a spot which he himself had chosen forhis burial. 

Daniel Nash was born in Massachusetts at Great Barrington (then calledHousatonic) May 28, 1763. [82] At the age of twenty-two years he wasgraduated at Yale in the same class with Noah Webster. He was originallyPresbyterian in his doctrinal belief, and in polity was sympathetic withthe Congregational denomination, of which he was a member. But withinten years after his graduation from college Daniel Nash became acommunicant of the Episcopal Church and began to study for Holy Orders. It was one of the quaint sayings attributed to him in later years that"you may bray a Presbyterian as with a pestle in a mortar, and youcannot get all of his Presbyterianism out of him, " and when asked how heaccounted for his own experience, "I was caught young, " he would reply. 

Through the influence of the Rev. Dr. Daniel Burhans, who had madeseveral missionary tours through Otsego and adjoining counties, Nashbecame fired with zeal for missionary work in this romantic andadventurous field. In 1797, having taken deacon's orders, he wasaccompanied to Otsego by his bride of a little more than a year, who wasOlive Lusk, described as "an amiable lady of benignant mind and placidmanners, " the daughter of an intimate friend of his father. They madetheir first home at Exeter, in Otsego, and the early ministerial acts ofDaniel Nash were divided between Exeter and Morris, about eighteen milesdistant. [83]

The missionary zeal of Daniel Nash was so intense that he was unable tocomprehend lukewarmness in such a cause. The first bishop of the dioceseof New York, the Rt. Rev. Samuel Provoost, belonged to a type ofecclesiastical life that was characteristic of the century then closing. Orthodox, scholarly, not ungenuinely religious, a gentleman of loftyaims and distinguished manners, Bishop Provoost charmingly entertainedat his New York residence the rugged missionary of Otsego who came toreport to him, but he was quite unable to enter into a missionaryenthusiasm that appeared to him fanatical, or to understand thecharacter of an educated man who lived by choice among the people ofrude settlements and untamed forests. Nash was so indignant at theattitude of his chief that he resolved not to receive from his hands theordination to the priesthood, and it was not until the autumn of 1801, shortly after the consecration of the Rev. Dr. Benjamin Moore ascoadjutor bishop of New York, that he became a priest. 

As the result of tireless labor, of much travel through difficultregions, by the maintenance of divine services at many outposts, FatherNash was able little by little to establish self-supporting churchorganizations throughout Otsego and the neighboring region. In 1801 ZionChurch was built at Morris. Eight years later Father Nash organized St. Matthew's parish at Unadilla, and in 1811 completed the formalorganization of Christ Church parish in Cooperstown, where the churchbuilding had been erected in 1807-10, and where Father Nash now came tobe in partial residence as rector during seven years. [84]

Aside from these parishes which so soon became permanently establishedthis extraordinary man was regularly or occasionally visiting andshepherding the people of many other settlements. In Otsego county, besides giving pastoral attention to Exeter, Morris, Unadilla, andCooperstown, he held services and preached--to name them in the orderof his first visits--in Richfield, Springfield, and Cherry Valley;Westford and Milford; Edmeston, Burlington, and Hartwick; Fly Creek andBurlington Flats; Laurens, LeRoy (now Schuyler's Lake), Hartwick Hill, and Worcester; New Lisbon and Richfield Springs. In Chenango county, after the establishment of the church in New Berlin, he officiated atSherburne and Mount Upton. Beyond these points he extended his work toWindsor and Colesville in Broome county; to Franklin and Stamford inDelaware county; to Canajoharie and Warren in Montgomery county; toLebanon in Madison county; to Paris, Verona, Oneida Castle, Oneida, andNew Hartford, in Oneida county; to Cape Vincent on Lake Ontario inJefferson county; and to Ogdensburg in St. Lawrence county, one hundredand fifty miles to the north of the missionary's Otsego home. [85] Suchwas the field of the priest who officially reported each year to theconvention of the diocese of New York as "Rector of the churches inOtsego county. "

Here belongs the story of an unusual coincidence. From 1816 to 1831there lived, in the same general region of New York State, within onehundred miles of the apostle of Otsego, another well known Christianminister whose surname was Nash, whose only Christian name wasDaniel--the Rev. Daniel Nash, --always known, by a title which popularaffection had bestowed on him, as "Father" Nash. To the people of Otsegoand Chenango counties the name of Father Nash was a household word, while to the residents of Lewis and Jefferson counties the same namesignified quite a different person. It is curious that no chronicle ofeither region betrays any contemporary knowledge of the coincidence. Each prophet was honored in his own country, and unknown in thestronghold of the other. This is the more strange, since their pathsalmost crossed in the year 1817, when the two men of identical name, title, and profession were within forty-five miles of each other, onebeing resident as pastor of the Stow's Square church, three miles northof Lowville in Lewis county, while the Otsego missionary was holdingservices at Verona in Oneida county. At different times they traversedthe same counties: it was in 1816 that the Otsego missionary made toursin Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties; the other Father Nash is knownto have visited these counties eight years later. [86]

The series of coincidences is made more singular by the fact that eachFather Nash had married a wife whose first name was Olive, so that notonly were both men called Father Nash, but the wife, after the custom ofthat day, in each case was addressed as Mrs. Olive Nash. 

Aside from these remarkable identities the two men were quitedissimilar. Both were natives of Massachusetts, but the Otsego Nash camefrom the extreme west of that State, the other from the farthest east. Both originally belonged to the Congregational denomination, but theOtsego Nash had become a priest of the Episcopal Church, while the otherwas a Presbyterian minister. The Presbyterian Nash was a famousrevivalist. The Otsego missionary detested revivals. He said that theconverts "reminded him of little humble-bees, which are rather largerwhen hatched than they are sometimes afterwards. "

There is something almost mysterious in the figure of this second FatherNash rising from the mist of bygone years, and one is quite prepared toread of him[87] that he went forth to labor for souls with a doubleblack veil before his face, like the minister in Hawthorne's weird talewhose congregation was terrified by the "double fold of crape, hangingdown from his forehead to his mouth, and slightly stirring with hisbreath. " Three miles north of Lowville in Lewis county, in Stow's Squarechurchyard, a marble shaft eight feet high, conspicuous from almost anypoint in the country which stretches away to the Adirondack wilderness, commemorates, in connection with the church that he erected there, theFather Nash who labored in Lewis and Jefferson counties, and in anobscure cemetery, not far distant, a modest headstone marks his grave. 

Returning to the story of Cooperstown's Father Nash, no estimate of hiswork can fail to take into account the character of the field in whichhe labored. When he came to this region the country, while partiallysettled, was mostly a wilderness. The difficulties of travel were great. The manner of life among pioneers was crude. Bishop Philander Chasevisited Otsego county in 1799, and gives a vivid impression of the morethan apostolic simplicity of Father Nash's surroundings. [88] The Bishopfound the missionary living in a cabin of unhewn logs, into which he hadrecently moved, and from which he was about to remove to another, equally poor, inhabiting with his family a single room, which containedall his worldly goods, and driving nails into the walls to make hiswardrobe. The bishop assisted the missionary in his moving, anddescribes how they walked the road together, carrying a basket ofcrockery between them, and "talked of the things pertaining to theKingdom of God. "

In his missionary journeys Father Nash rode on horseback from place toplace, often carrying one of his children, and Mrs. Nash with another inher arms behind him on the horse's back, for she was greatly useful inthe music and responses of the services. 

Father Nash held services punctually according to previous appointment, but they were sometimes strangely interrupted. The terror of wolves hadnot been banished from Otsego, and on one occasion, at Richfield, theentire congregation disappeared in pursuit of a huge bear that hadsuddenly alarmed the neighborhood. [89] The bear was captured, andfurnished a supper of which the congregation partook in the evening. While the bear hunt had spoiled his sermon, Father Nash cheerfullyasserted that it was a Christian deed to destroy so dangerous a bruteeven on a Sunday, and a venial offense against the canons of the Church. It is further related that Father Nash ate so much bear steak, on thisoccasion, as to make him quite ill. 

Although Fenimore Cooper was usually loath to admit that any characterin his novels was drawn from life, Father Nash was generally recognizedas the original of the Rev. Mr. Grant in the novel descriptive ofCooperstown which appeared under the title of _The Pioneers_. If thisidentification be justified, it must be said that while the author ofthe _Leather-Stocking Tales_ has well represented the genuine piety ofhis model, he has disguised him as a rather anaemic and depressingperson. Father Nash was a man of rugged health, six feet in height, fullin figure, over two hundred pounds in weight, of fresh and faircomplexion, wearing a wig of longish hair parted in the middle, anddressed always, as circumstances permitted, with a strict regard forneatness. 

[Illustration: FATHER NASH]

The only original portrait of Father Nash now remaining, from which allthe extant engravings were taken, hangs in the sacristy of ChristChurch. This portrait was given to the church in 1910, when the parishcentennial was celebrated, by Father Nash's granddaughter, Mrs. AnnaMarie Holland, of Saginaw, Michigan, and his great grandson, Harry C. Nash, of Buffalo. Mrs. Holland related a quaint incident concerning theportrait as connected with her own childhood. As it hung in her father'shouse, she used to be both annoyed and terrified at the manner in whichthe eyes of the portrait followed her about the room with persistentand, as she thought, reproving gaze. Especially when she had been guiltyof some childish prank, the silent reproach in her grandfather's eyeswas intolerable. One day she climbed upon a chair before the portrait, and with a pin attempted to blind the eyes. The pin pricks are stillvisible upon the canvas. 

At three score years and ten Father Nash looked upon the bright side ofeverything, being full of anecdote and humor, and appeared to have moreof the simplicity and vivacity of youth than men who were thirty yearshis junior. One who saw him at this period of life attributed the oldmissionary's health and vigor in part to his great cheerfulness. [90]

The slightest sketch of Father Nash would be incomplete without somereference to the story of his answer to a farmer who asked him what hefed his lambs. "Catechism, " replied Father Nash, "catechism!" And behindthe smile that followed this homely sally the analyst of character wouldhave seen the earnest purpose of his mission to the children of Otsegowhich was one of the sublime secrets of his ministry. 

In the history of Western New York Father Nash of Otsego deserves aplace of honor among the foremost pioneers. Wherever the mostadventurous men were found pushing westward the frontier ofcivilization, there was Father Nash, uplifting the standard of theChurch. Not only had he courage and energy; he displayed remarkableforesight in his manner of laying foundations. Of the Episcopal churchesin the Otsego region the greater number were established by him, andmost of them flourish at the present time. 

"No Otsego pioneer deserves honor more, " says Halsey, in _The Old NewYork Frontier_, "not the road builder or leveler of forests, not the menwho fought against Brant and the Tories. To none of these, in so large adegree, can we apply with such full measure of truth the sayings that noman liveth himself, and that his works do follow him. "

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 82: _Lives of Phelps and Nash_, John N. Norton. ]

[Footnote 83: _History of Zion Church Parish, Morris_, by Katherine M. Sanderson, p. 6. ]

[Footnote 84: _Historic Records of Christ Church, Cooperstown_, G. Pomeroy Keese. ]

[Footnote 85: Reports of Rev. Daniel Nash to New York Convention, 1803-1827. ]

[Footnote 86: For The Otsego Nash see Reports of Daniel Nash to New YorkConventions. For the other see _Memoirs of Rev. Charles G. Finney_, NewYork, A. S. Barnes and Co. , 1876, pp. 52, 70, 117. ]

[Footnote 87: Finney, _Memoirs_, p. 70. ]

[Footnote 88: _Bishop Chase's Reminiscences_, Vol. I, p. 33. ]

[Footnote 89: _Reminiscences_, Levi Beardsley, p. 42. ]

[Footnote 90: _The Church Review_, New Haven, October, 1848, p. 398. ]

CHAPTER X

THE IMMORTAL NATTY BUMPPO

In the opinion of Sainte-Beuve, Fenimore Cooper possessed the "creativefaculty which brings into the world new characters, and by virtue ofwhich Rabelais produced Panurge, Le Sage Gil-Blas, and RichardsonPamela. " Thackeray, praising the heroes of Scott's creation, expressedan equal liking for Cooper's, adding that "perhaps Leather-Stocking isbetter than any one in Scott's lot. La Longue Carabine is one of thegreat prize-men of fiction. He ranks with your Uncle Toby, Sir Roger deCoverley, Falstaff--heroic figures all, American or British; and theartist has deserved well of his country who devised him. " Thackerayproved the sincerity of his admiration when he borrowed a hint from thenoble death-scene of Leather-Stocking in _The Prairie_, and adapted itto describe the passing of Colonel Newcome. 

Cooper's wide audience of general readers is here in agreement withSainte-Beuve the critic and Thackeray the novelist. Whatever else may besaid of Cooper's works it is certain that in the man Natty Bumppo, knownas "Leather-Stocking, " "Pathfinder, " "Deerslayer, " and "La LongueCarabine, " Cooper created an immortal being. Among heroes of fictionLeather-Stocking stands with the few that are as real to the imaginationas the personages of veritable history. Readers of Cooper recallLeather-Stocking with genuine affection; others, without having read aline of the _Leather-Stocking Tales_ have somehow formed an idea of hisperson and character. Leather-Stocking is a rare hero in being noblewithout being offensive. "Perhaps there is no better proof of Cooper'sgenuine power, " says Brander Matthews, "than that he can insist onLeather-Stocking's goodness, --a dangerous gift for a novelist to bestowon a man, --and that he can show us Leather-Stocking declining theadvances of a handsome woman, --a dangerous position for a novelist toput a man in, --without any reader ever having felt inclined to thinkLeather-Stocking a prig. "

Leather-Stocking was first introduced to the public in _The Pioneers_, the novel descriptive of early days in Cooperstown which Cooperpublished in 1823. The character was not yet fully developed, butNathaniel Bumppo in outward appearance stood at once complete. "He wastall, and so meagre as to make him seem above even the six feet that heactually stood in his stockings. On his head, which was thinly coveredwith lank, sandy hair, he wore a cap made of fox-skin. His face wasskinny, and thin almost to emaciation; but yet it bore no signs ofdisease; on the contrary, it had every indication of the most robust andenduring health. The cold and the exposure had, together, given it acolor of uniform red. His gray eyes were glancing under a pair of shaggybrows, that overhung them in long hairs of gray mingled with theirnatural hue; his scraggy neck was bare, and burnt to the same tint withhis face. A kind of coat, made of dressed deerskin, with the hair on, was belted close to his lank body, by a girdle of colored worsted. Onhis feet were deerskin moccasins, ornamented with porcupines' quills, after the manner of the Indians, and his limbs were guarded with longleggings of the same material as the moccasins, which, gartering overthe knees of his tarnished buckskin breeches, had obtained for him, among the settlers, the nick-name of Leather-Stocking. "

In this story the novelist had presented Leather-Stocking as a finishedportrait, with his long rifle, dog Hector, and all. Cooper had describedhim as a man of seventy years, and intimated no purpose of carrying himover into another volume. Natty Bumppo proved to be so popular, however, that in 1826 Cooper made him an important figure in _The Last of theMohicans_, representing him in young manhood, at the age of thirtyyears, and betrayed a more profound interest in the spirit of thecharacter which he had discovered. The success of this ventureencouraged the author, in the next year, to bring Leather-Stockingforward, for what he intended to be the last time, in _The Prairie_. Theclosing chapter of that story describes the death and burial ofLeather-Stocking. 

But the public could not have enough of Natty Bumppo, and the result wasthat, after leaving him in his grave, Cooper resurrectedLeather-Stocking as the hero of two more novels. In _The Pathfinder_, published in 1840, he described Natty Bumppo at the age of forty years;and _The Deerslayer_, the last published of the series, gave a youthfulpicture of Leather-Stocking at the age of twenty. When the_Leather-Stocking Tales_ were afterward published complete they ofcourse followed the logical order in the presentation of the hero'slife, without regard to the dates of original publication. The actualorder in which they were written, however, suggests an interestingglimpse of Cooper's method of work in developing his most successfulcharacter. 

It is generally believed that an old hunter named Shipman, who lived inCooperstown during Fenimore Cooper's boyhood, suggested to the novelistthe picturesque character of Leather-Stocking. The persistence of thistradition requires some explanation, for it is not strikingly confirmedby what Cooper himself had to say of the matter. In the preface of the_Leather-Stocking Tales_, written after the series was complete, hesaid: "The author has often been asked if he had any original in hismind for the character of Leather-Stocking. In a physical sense, different individuals known to the writer in early life certainlypresented themselves as models, through his recollection; but in a moralsense this man of the forest is purely a creation. "

In the face of this, the most that can be said for the currenttradition is that Cooper's assertion does not exclude it fromconsideration. What he lays stress upon is that the inner spirit ofLeather-Stocking was the novelist's creation. His statement is notinconsistent with the possibility that he had the hunter Shipman chieflyin mind as the prototype of Leather-Stocking, with some characteristicsadded from other hunters, of whom there were many in the early days ofCooperstown. The heat with which he denies having drawn upon thecharacter of his own sister in portraying the heroine of _The Pioneers_seems to betray a feeling, which later writers have not often shared, that an author cannot transfer real persons to the pages of fictionwithout a violation of good taste. Here lies perhaps a partialexplanation of the fact that Cooper never acknowledged a living modelfor any of his characters. Even Judge Temple in _The Pioneers_, whooccupies exactly the position of Judge Cooper in reference to thevillage which he actually founded, Fenimore Cooper will not admit to bedrawn in the likeness of his father. He disposes of this supposition inthe introduction of _The Pioneers_ by observing that "the greatproprietor resident on his lands, and giving his name to his estates, iscommon over the whole of New York. " Yet in the same introduction heconfesses that "in commencing to describe scenes, and perhaps he may addcharacters, that were so familiar to his own youth, there was a constanttemptation to delineate that which he had known, rather than that whichhe might have imagined. " How far he yielded to the temptation is aquestion which, in making as if to reply, he deftly leaves unanswered, and his unwillingness to satisfy curiosity on this point is the onething that a careful reading of his words makes clear. He is free toadmit in a general way that he drew upon life for material, but he willnot be pinned down as to any particular character; yet only in the oneinstance--when his sister was named as the original of ElizabethTemple--did he flatly deny the identification of a real original with acreature of his fiction. After all, even if Cooper had drawn many of hischaracters from real life, there would have been so much modificationnecessary to fit them into the action of a story as to warrant him inthe assertion "that there was no intention to describe with particularaccuracy any real character"; and if he did not wish to take the publicinto his confidence regarding these intimate details of his work, he hada perfect right to treat the matter as evasively as the truth wouldpermit. 

One can see reasons for Cooper's unwillingness to inform the public thathis old neighbors in Cooperstown were to be recognized in his books. There is the creative artist's reason, who does not wish to be regardedas a mere photographer; there is the gentleman's sensitiveness tocertain rights of privacy not to be invaded by public print; there isthe experience of a writer who was often dismayed at the facility of hispen in stirring neighborly animosities. 

As to Leather-Stocking, this is to be said: that in Cooper's boyhoodthere lived in Cooperstown a hunter named Shipman whom Cooper himselfin the _Chronicles of Cooperstown_, published in 1838, described as "theLeather-Stocking of the region. " Furthermore, --whether owing to anyprivate information from Fenimore Cooper cannot now be ascertained, --thetradition from his time to the present day, in spite of the author'svague disclaimer, persistently clings to Shipman as the original ofLeather-Stocking. 

Strangely enough, the matter in dispute has not been the identity ofShipman with Leather-Stocking, but the identity of Shipman himself. Whowas Shipman? This is the question that has stirred controversy; and twoghosts have arisen from the past, each claiming to be the Shipman whomCooper idealized, re-christened, and made immortal. 

Cooper gave to his hero the name of Nathaniel Bumppo. It has beenclaimed that Cooper borrowed not only the character but the Christianname of Nathaniel Shipman, a famous hunter and trapper, who came toOtsego Lake at the time of the Revolutionary War, and made his home in acave on the border of the lake until about 1805. 

According to the discoverers of this original of Leather-Stocking, Nathaniel Shipman was a close friend of the Mohican Indians, and foughtwith them against the French and the Canadian Indians. In the yearsimmediately preceding the American Revolution Shipman was a well knownsettler of Hoosick, northeast of Albany and near the border of Vermont, where he had built him a cabin on the banks of the Walloomsac. He waswell disposed toward the English, and one of his closest friends was anofficer in the British army. When the Revolutionary War began, whileShipman's heart was with the movement for independence, his friendshipfor the English was such that he determined to be strictly neutral, helping neither one side nor the other. There is nothing to show that hewas not genuinely neutral. But his patriot neighbors were intolerant ofsuch neutrality. Anyone who was not for them was against them. Shipmanwas put down as a Tory, and his neighbors treated him to a coat of tarand feathers. 

Soon after this event Nathaniel Shipman disappeared from Hoosick, andnot even his own family knew whither he had gone. 

In process of time Shipman's daughter married a John Ryan of Hoosick. Ryan served in the Legislature from 1803 to 1806, and at that timebecame acquainted with Judge William Cooper, founder of Cooperstown, andfather of the novelist. In the course of their frequent meetings JudgeCooper told Ryan of an interesting character whom he had seen inCooperstown, and described the picturesque appearance and quaint sayingsof the old hunter who lived on the border of Otsego Lake. At home Ryantold the story to his wife, who soon became convinced that the old whitehunter whom Cooper had described was none other than her father, who hadbeen missing for twenty-six years. 

Ryan went to Otsego Lake, and, having found the hunter, learned that hewas indeed Nathaniel Shipman who had disappeared from Hoosick at thetime of the Revolutionary War. Ryan persuaded the old man to return withhim, and brought him back to live in the home which then stood some twomiles east of Hoosick Falls. In spite of the devotion of his daughter, however, the aged hunter never felt quite at home beneath her roof, oramong the former neighbors. His heart was in the wilds, and it is saidthat he made frequent visits to the place where he had passed so manyyears in unrestricted freedom, where there was none to question hissincerity or to doubt his loyalty. 

Nathaniel Shipman died at the Ryan home in 1809, and his grave is in theold burying ground on Main Street in Hoosick Falls. 

The local tradition in Cooperstown does not recognize Nathaniel Shipmanof Hoosick Falls. When a movement was made in 1915 to erect at HoosickFalls a monument to Nathaniel Shipman as the original ofLeather-Stocking, the proposition was made the subject of scornfulcomment in Cooperstown, and Nathaniel Shipman of Hoosick was referred toas "a spurious Natty Bumppo. "

Cooperstown agrees that the original of Leather-Stocking was namedShipman. But the name of the original hunter was not Nathaniel. He wasDavid Shipman. His grave is not far from Cooperstown, in the Adamsburying ground between the villages of Fly Creek and Toddsville, and atthe beginning of the twentieth century was marked with a tombstone byOtsego chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. DavidShipman's descendants live in Cooperstown at the present time. When theHoosick Falls claim to Leather-Stocking was first published in 1915, itwas accompanied with the statement that the facts were known to thepeople of Hoosick sixty years before. Notwithstanding this the claim wascontradicted in Cooperstown by the positive statement that "for over acentury David Shipman has held the undisputed honor of being the realLeather-Stocking of Cooper's tales. "

David Shipman served in the American army in the Revolutionary War, andwas a member of the Fourteenth Regiment of Albany county militia underCol. John Knickerbocker and Lieut. -Col. John van Rensselaer. After theRevolution he lived just over the hills west of Cooperstown in a logcabin on the east bank of Oak's Creek, about equi-distant betweenToddsville and Fly Creek village. In 1878 Aden Adams of Cooperstown, aged 81, stated that he well remembered David Shipman. As described byAdams, he was tall and slim, dressed in tanned deerskin, wore moccasinsand long stockings of leather fastened at the knee, and carried a gun ofgreat length. He was one of the most famous hunters of the wholecountry, and with his dogs roamed the forest in search of deer, bear, and foxes. He supplied the Cooper family at Otsego Hall with deer andbear meat, and also assisted Judge Cooper when he was surveying landabout Cooperstown in the early days of the settlement. ColonelCheney[91] says that after going west, David Shipman returned to his oldhome in the Fly Creek valley, and lived there for several years. Hiswife died, and was buried in the Adams cemetery. The ground was wet, andwater partially filled the grave. Elder Bostwick, a Baptist ministerfrom the town of Hartwick, officiated at the funeral, and upon remarkingto Shipman that it was a poor place to bury the dead, the old hunteranswered, "I know it, but if I live to die, I expect to be buried heremyself. "[92]

Cooper's most famous hero, carved in marble, rifle in hand, and with thedog Hector at his feet, stands at the top of the Leatherstockingmonument in Lakewood cemetery, on a rise of ground near the entrance, overlooking Otsego Lake from the east side, about fifteen minutes walkfrom the village of Cooperstown. That a monument commemorative of Cooperand Leather-Stocking should stand in the public cemetery, in whichneither the author nor his supposed model is buried, is sometimespuzzling to visitors. It is said, however, that the site was chosen withreference to certain scenes in _The Pioneers_. The monument stands nearthe spot upon which the novelist, for the purpose of his romance, placedthe hut of Natty Bumppo. It is not far below the road referred to in theopening scene of the tale, where the travelers gained their firstglimpse of the village, and stands at the foot of the wooded slope uponwhich, in the same story, Leather-Stocking shot the panther that wasabout to spring upon Elizabeth Temple. 

[Illustration: LEATHERSTOCKING MONUMENT]

The monument itself was the result of an unsuccessful effort which wasmade shortly after Fenimore Cooper's death in 1851 to erect in hismemory a statue or monument in one of the public squares of New YorkCity. To this end, ten days after his death, a public meeting ofcitizens of New York, at which Washington Irving presided, was held inthe City Hall; two weeks later the Historical Society of New York held ameeting in commemoration of Cooper; and on February 24, 1852, there wasa great demonstration at Metropolitan Hall, with speeches by DanielWebster and George Bancroft, and a memorial discourse by William CullenBryant. The raising of funds for a memorial, which these meetings set astheir object, was not commensurate with the expenditure of rhetoric. Thesum of $678 was contributed, chiefly at the meeting in MetropolitanHall, and the committee organized to solicit subscriptions did nothingfurther. 

Six years later Alfred Clarke and G. Pomeroy Keese of Cooperstownundertook to raise by subscription a sufficient sum to erect a monumentin Cooper's memory in or near the village in which he lived, having inview the transfer of whatever sum might be on deposit in New York towardthe proposed monument. They raised $2, 500, to which Washington Irving, acting for the defunct committee in New York, added the $678 alreadycontributed. 

The monument, of white Italian marble, with the statuette ofLeather-Stocking at the top, was sculptured by Robert E. Launitz, anderected in the spring of 1860. The small bronze casts of this statuette, which one sees in some of the older homes in Cooperstown, belong to thesame period. 

Another attempt to give artistic expression to pride in Natty Bumppo waswrought in less permanent material. Upon the drop-curtain on the stageof the Village Hall was painted the scene from _The Pioneers_ whichrepresents Leather-Stocking, Judge Temple, and Edwards grouped about adeer that has been shot on the border of the lake. In producing thisscene the artist enlarged an illustration drawn by F. O. C. Darley foran early edition of _The Pioneers_. The original scene described byCooper, and as depicted by Darley, was a wintry one, showing the lakeshore in a mantle of snow. This was thought to be a bit too chilly for aplayhouse, so the view as transferred to the curtain was brightened upby the addition of green foliage; and deft touches of the scenepainter's brush, without altering the pose of any of the figures, changed winter into glorious summer. Many a Cooperstown audience, waiting for the performance to begin, has studied the scene which thiscurtain displays, not without wonder that Leather-Stocking is in furs, and that Judge Temple, in so radiant a summertime, has taken theprecaution to retain his earmuffs. 

Natty Bumppo's Cave, a not very remarkable freak of nature whichFenimore Cooper's pen has made one of the chief points of interest inthe region of Cooperstown, is about a mile from the village, high up onthe hill that rises from the eastern side of the lake. It offers a stiffclimb to the inexperienced, but not to others. It is not much of acave, being hardly more than a deep and curiously formed cleft betweenthe rocks. From the platform of rock over the cave a magnificent viewmay be had of the lake and its more distant shores, with the hillsbeyond. 

[Illustration: _C. A. Schneider_

NATTY BUMPPO'S CAVE]

In _The Pioneers_ Cooper takes advantage of poetic license to enlargethe cave for the purpose of his story, but the description is exactenough to identify it with the present Natty Bumppo's cave. In thesummer of 1909 was discovered lower down the hillside another and largercave, the small entrance of which, in the woods beyond Kingfisher Tower, at Point Judith, had long remained unobserved. Here the name of NattyBumppo came near being involved in another controversy, for some localarcheologists maintained that the newly discovered cave was the onewhich Cooper meant to describe as Natty Bumppo's, being better adaptedto the requirements of the narrative than the one that tradition hadfixed upon. 

Cooper might have provided a better cave for Natty Bumppo, but he didnot. On this point the testimony of his eldest daughter, Susan FenimoreCooper, is decisive. She was in many ways her father's confidant, and inhis later years closely associated with him in literary work. No otherperson has written so intimately of him. In _Pages and Pictures_, whichMiss Cooper published in 1861, she gives a drawing of Natty Bumppo'scave, and it is the one that has been associated with the tradition andstory of the village down to the present time. It is quite possible, however, that the cave near Point Judith is the one referred to in thetradition of Nathaniel Shipman of Hoosick Falls. 

Natty Bumppo will live forever as a symbolic figure, representative ofcertain indigenous qualities in American life. Lowell found inLeather-Stocking "the protagonist of our New World epic, a figure aspoetic as that of Achilles, as ideally representative as that of DonQuixote, as romantic in his relation to our homespun and plebeian mythsas Arthur in his to his mailed and plumed cycle of chivalry. " Americansthemselves do not realize how widely, in other countries, Leather-Stocking is still regarded as typical of certain qualities inthe American character. Among Americans who had half-forgotten theirCooper, there was no little surprise at the exclamation of GabrielHanotaux, member of the French Academy, distinguished author andstatesman of France, when, in the spring of 1917, on the entrance of theUnited States into the war against Germany, he expressed his joy in amessage that was cabled round the world, "Old Leather-Stocking stillslumbers in the depth of the American soul!"

There is a point on Otsego Lake, opposite to Natty Bumppo's cave, fromwhich passing boatmen awaken the famous Echo of the Glimmerglass. Formore than half of the nineteenth century there lived in the village anegro whose lungs were renowned for their power to call forth thefullness of this strange echo. "Joe Tom, " as he was named, was alwayscalled upon, as the guide of lake excursions, to perform this peculiarduty. Stationing his scow at the focal point, the negro would shoutacross the water, "Natty Bumppo! Natty Bumppo!--Who's there?" And aftera moment the cry would be flung back, as by the spirit ofLeather-Stocking, from the heights of the steep woods and rocky faces ofthe hill. On a still summer evening Joe Tom was sometimes able, by asingle shout, to call forth three distinct echoes, which were heard inregular succession, --the first from the region of the cave, the secondfrom Mount Vision, and the third from Hannah's Hill on the opposite sideof the lake, until the margin of the Glimmerglass seemed to resoundwith cries of "Natty Bumppo!--Natty Bumppo!" uttered by eerie voices. 

The years pass, and no other name retains such magic power to wake thesleeping echo of the Glimmerglass. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 91: _History of Otsego County_, 1878, p. 249. ]

[Footnote 92: Calvin Graves, who came to Cooperstown in 1794, and livedin the place for 84 years, is quoted as saying that he well knewShipman, the Leather-Stocking of Cooper's novels, and that Shipman wasnever married. Graves said that he had often visited the old hunter'scave in company with him. This testimony seems to point to the HoosickShipman, who having deserted his family for twenty-six years, mighteasily pass for a bachelor in Otsego, and who is said to have lived in acave, concerning which nothing is mentioned in the traditions of DavidShipman. ]

CHAPTER XI

STRANGE TALES OF THE GALLOWS

At the eastern end of the main street of the village the bridge acrossthe Susquehanna River commands a view for a short distance up and downthe stream, far enough toward the north to glimpse its source in OtsegoLake, while to the south Fernleigh House appears, high amid the trees onthe western bank, and the drifting current below is lost in foliage. Nearer at hand, as seen from the south side of the bridge, Riverbrinkclaims the eastern shore. Here stands a solemn-visaged house that looksdown upon the scene of one of the most extraordinary dramas ever enactedbeneath the gallows-tree. 

[Illustration: RIVERBRINK]

In the summer of 1805, on the flat a little below the place where thehouse now stands, the gibbet was erected for a public execution. Thecondemned man was Stephen Arnold, whose crime was committed inBurlington, in this county, during the previous winter. Arnold was aschool teacher, and having no children of his own, had taken into hishome Betsey Van Amburgh, a child six years of age. An ungovernabletemper added a kind of ferocious zeal to the duty of educating thischild, for it was her inability to pronounce the word "gig" accordingto his directions that brought the teacher to the gallows. Betseyinsisted on pronouncing the word as "jig, " and declared that she couldnot do otherwise. Whereupon Arnold took her out of the house into theseverely cold evening air, and there whipped her naked body until hehimself became cold. He then took her indoors to make her pronounce theword correctly, which she failed to do; and again she was taken out andwhipped in the same manner. This act of brutality he repeated seventimes, declaring that he "had as lieve whip her to death as not. " Thepoor child languished four days, and expired. 

Arnold's trial was held in June, in Cooperstown. He was speedilyconvicted of murder, and sentenced to die. 

The date fixed for the execution, Friday, July 19, 1805, was a gala dayin Cooperstown. The infamy of Arnold's crime had stirred publicindignation throughout this section of the State, and the prospect ofwitnessing his execution had been eagerly anticipated, through motivesranging from morbid curiosity to a stern sense of duty, in the mostdistant hamlets of the region. By seven o'clock in the morning on theday fixed for the hanging the main street of Cooperstown was filled withpeople who had travelled from so great a distance that not one in twentywas known to any of the villagers. The concourse increased until shortlyafter noon, when, in the village which normally contained about fivehundred people, the crowd included about eight thousand. 

The first centre of interest was the county courthouse and jail whichstood at the then western limits of the village, on the southeast cornerof Main and Pioneer streets. The door of the jail was on the Pioneerstreet side of the building, and across the way were the stocks andwhipping-post. These rude symbols of justice might well be a terror toevil doers. A sample of the punishment meted out to petty offenders isfound in the record that in 1791 a local physician was put in the stocksfor having mixed an emetic with the beverage drunk at a ball given atthe Red Lion Inn; and four years later a man was flogged at thewhipping-post, for stealing some pieces of ribbon. Both culprits werealso banished from the village, apropos of which form of punishmentFenimore Cooper at a later day was moved to remark, "It is to beregretted that it has fallen into disuse. "

The crowds that gathered to witness the hanging of Stephen Arnold filledthe street in the neighborhood of the jail until the prisoner wasbrought forth at noon, when some remained to watch the parade, whileothers hurried on to the place of execution to secure good points ofview for the spectacle. A procession was formed in front of the courthouse under the direction of the sheriff. The ministers of religion andother gentlemen, preceded by the sheriff on horseback, moved withfuneral music after the prisoner, who was carried on a wagon and guardedby a battalion of light infantry and a company of artillery. In thisarray the procession moved solemnly down the main street and across thebridge to the place of execution on the east bank of the river. Therestood the gallows; at its foot was a coffin. 

The condemned man was assisted to a seat upon his coffin. About himgathered the parsons, the representatives of the law, and the soldiery. There was no house on the bank of the river at that time, and thethousands of spectators were massed in the natural amphitheatre whichrises, and then rose uninterrupted, toward the east, from the shore ofthe Susquehanna. 

An interested observer who looked down upon the assemblage from the highwestern bank of the river has recorded a vivid impression of the beautyof the scene and the picturesque and emotional qualities of theoccasion. [93] Looking back toward the village, and then sweeping with aglance the north and east, his eye caught the roofs of buildings coveredwith spectators, windows crowded with faces, every surrounding point ofview occupied. The natural amphitheatre across the river was "filledwith all classes and gradations of citizens, from the opulent landlordto the humble laborer. Blooming nymphs were there and jolly swains, delicate ladies and spruce gentlemen, fond mothers and affectionatesisters, prattling children and hoary sages, servile slaves andimperious masters. " In the elevated background of the landscapecarriages appeared filled with people. It was a warm July day, brilliantwith sunshine, and splendid in the greenery of summer foliage. Thethrongs of spectators, tier upon tier, as it were, presented akaleidoscopic effect of movement and color, in the undulating appearanceof silks and muslins of different hues, as the eye traversed themultitude; in the swaying and bobbing of hundreds of umbrellas andparasols of various colors; in the vibration of thousands of fans inplayful mediation, while the death-struggle of a man upon the gallowswas eagerly awaited. In the foreground, on the bank of the Susquehanna, the gibbet, with the solemn group about it, relieved only by flashes ofcolor in the military uniforms, and by the gleam of swords and bayonets, fascinated every eye. 

A great silence fell upon the multitude when the preliminaries to theexecution began with a prayer offered by the Rev. Mr. Williams ofWorcester. The Rev. Isaac Lewis, pastor of the Presbyterian church inCooperstown, then stood forth to deliver the sermon. Few preachers, evenin the largest centres of life, have occasion to address congregationsnumbered by thousands. What an opportunity was here given to an obscurecountry parson, when he faced an audience of some eight thousand people!Mr. Lewis preached upon the subject of the Penitent Thief, taking as histext the forty-second and forty-third verses of the twenty-third chapterof St. Luke: "And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comestinto Thy Kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Todayshalt thou be with me in Paradise. " Nothing is recorded of the sermonbeyond that it was "a pathetic, concise, and excellently adapteddiscourse. " Elder Vining closed the religious exercises by a solemnappeal to the throne of grace for mercy and forgiveness, as well for thevast auditory as for the prisoner. 

The condemned man seemed deeply affected, and perfectly resigned to thejustice of his fate. His penitence was manifest, and drew forth tears ofsympathy from the spectators. After the exercises the prisoner seatedhimself on the coffin for a short space, when he was informed that ifhe wished to say anything to the people he might now have opportunity. He arose and addressed a few words to the surrounding multitude, earnestly urging them to be warned by his fatal example to place astrict guard upon their passions, the fatal indulgence of which hadbrought him to the shameful condition in which they beheld him, notwithstanding he never intended to commit murder. He concluded hisaddress with these words: "It appears to me that if you will not takewarning at this affecting scene, you would not be warned though oneshould arise from the dead. "

At the conclusion of this speech the sheriff stepped forward and madeready for the hanging, finally adjusting the fatal cord, except forfastening it to the beam of the gallows. 

Near by was a palsied crone, so eager to witness the hanging that shehad been carried to the scene in her rocking-chair, which was placedupon an improvised platform. Here she had rocked to and fro in her chairduring the whole proceeding, until, when the hangman made ready hisnoose, the old hag rocked with such nervous violence that she toppledover backward, chair and all, her neck being broken by the fall. 

The prisoner remained apparently absorbed in meditation which wasentirely abstracted from terrestrial objects. The thousands ofspectators waited in silent and gloomy suspense for the finalcatastrophe. The sheriff stood forth and addressed to the condemned mana few remarks pertinent to the occasion. 

Having carried the proceedings to this crucial point, the sheriff, Solomon Martin, then changed his role, and produced from his pocket aletter from his excellency Morgan Lewis, Governor of the State of NewYork, containing directions for a respite of the execution until furtherorders, and announcing that a reprieve, in due form, would soon beforwarded. 

It was now long after noon, and the sheriff, having received this letterat nine o'clock in the morning, had kept it in his pocket during theentire proceedings, "conceiving it improper to divulge the respite untilthe crisis. " The sheriff had acted with the advice of a few others whowere let into the secret. Even the attending ministers of religion wereuninformed of the respite until it was dramatically produced upon thestage. The thing, in fact, outdid all stagecraft, for while it is quiteconsistent with the traditions of theatrical art that an executionshould be stayed at the critical moment by the appearance of a furiouslygalloping horseman waving a reprieve above his head, probably neverelsewhere in the history of the drama or in the annals of the law hasthe official document been produced at the gallows, after the adjustmentof the fatal noose, from the pocket of the hangman!

In the judgment of the sheriff it appeared that since the order for arespite had arrived too late to forestall the gathering of greatmultitudes to witness the hanging, it was equally clear that it had cometoo early to be made public at once without causing unnecessarydisappointment to thousands who were still enjoying the ecstasies ofanticipation. So he carried out the original programme to the letter, going through with all the preliminaries and forms of the execution, stopping short only of the actual hanging. 

When the sheriff made his amazing announcement from the scaffold, theprisoner swooned, and the whole scene was changed. The prisoner wasreconducted to the jail with the same pomp and bravery of troops andmusic that had brought him to the scaffold. The spectators slowlydispersed, and before sunset the village assumed its accustomedtranquility. 

The next issue of _The Otsego Herald_ asserted that "the proceedings ofthe day were opened, progressed, and closed in a manner which reflectedhonor on the judiciary, the executive, the clergy, the military, and thecitizens of the county. "

Arnold was never hanged. The State legislature commuted his sentence toimprisonment for life. 

Another story of the gallows belongs to a later period. On Friday, August 24, 1827, the hanging of a man named Strang was witnessed inAlbany by about thirty thousand spectators. Judging from contemporaryaccounts, the circumstances of the execution were not edifying. "We aremore than ever convinced, " said the _Albany Gazette_, "of the bad effectof public executions. Scenes of the most disgraceful drunkenness, gambling, profanity, and almost all kinds of debauchery, were exhibitedin the vicinity of the gallows, and even at the time the culprit wassuffering. We do most sincerely hope that some law may be enactedrequiring that executions shall be performed in private. " The _AlbanyArgus_ was more hopeful of some moral benefit from the execution. "Whilst we may question the utility, " it said, "of such spectacles, tending as they do in general, to gratify a morbid curiosity, and toexcite a sympathy for the criminal rather than an abhorrence, andconsequently a prevention of crime; we trust none who were witnesses ofthe scene, will forget that this ignominious death was the consequenceof an indulgence of vicious courses and criminal passions. "

Preliminary to the hanging there was the usual speech from the gallows. Addressing the multitude the condemned murderer said he hoped hisexecution would lead them to reflect upon the effects of sin and lust, and induce them to avoid those acts for which he was about to suffer apainful and ignominious death. 

Among the spectators at this hanging was Levi Kelley of Cooperstown, who, in order to witness the spectacle, had covered a distance of 75miles, drawn by his favorite team of black horses, a noble span, ofwhich he was very proud. Kelley was much depressed in spirit by thedreadful scene at the gallows, and to a friend who accompanied him onthe homeward journey remarked that no one who had ever witnessed such amelancholy spectacle could ever be guilty of the crime of murder. 

In Christ churchyard in Cooperstown, near the southern border of theburial ground, and about twenty paces from River Street, stands atombstone which commemorates a former resident of the village, and isunusual for the precision of terms in which it records the date of hisdecease; for there is inscribed not merely the day, but the very hour, of death. The inscription reads:

 IN MEMORY OF ABRAHAM SPAFARD WHO DIED AT 8 O'CLOCK P. M. 3D. SEPT. 1827 IN THE 49TH YEAR OF HIS AGE. THE TRUMP SHALL SOUND AND THE DEAD SHALL BE RAISED. 

The passer-by who suspects a concealed significance in this desire toemphasize the exact hour of Abraham Spafard's death is not mistaken. Abraham Spafard was murdered, shot to the heart by Levi Kelley, and diedalmost instantly, at 8 o'clock in the evening, September 3, 1827, justten days after Kelley had witnessed the hanging in Albany. 

The murderer is buried in the same churchyard with his victim. ForKelley, on the maternal side, was a connection of the Cooper family. During his imprisonment before and after the trial he was frequentlyvisited at the jail by Mrs. George Pomeroy, daughter of William Cooper, a lady noted for her many works of Christian charity, and after Kelleyhad paid the penalty of his crime, she brought it about that his bodywas interred in the Cooper plot in Christ churchyard, although no stonewas ever raised to mark the place of his burial, and the exact spot isnow unknown. 

The murder occurred in the house of Levi Kelley, in which AbrahamSpafard lived as tenant in Pierstown, about three miles north ofCooperstown. Kelley was noted for his furious outbursts of temper, whileSpafard was of an amiable and peaceable disposition. Kelley violentlyattacked a lame boy who was employed about the place, and when Spafardinterposed, Kelley's anger turned against Spafard, so that a struggleensued. The evidence at the trial showed that Spafard struck no blow andcommitted no violence, using no more force than was necessary for hisdefence. He besought Kelley to desist, and at last, unclenching Kelley'shands from his throat, Spafard retired quietly into the house. Kelleythen ran for his gun, and following Spafard into his room, shot him tothe heart. Kelley's own wife, as well as the members of Spafard'sfamily, were the terrified witnesses of the murder. 

Kelley's trial, which was held in Cooperstown, began on the twenty-firstof November, and was concluded on the next day. The judge in the casewas the Hon. Samuel Nelson, afterward associate justice of the SupremeCourt of the United States. In passing sentence Judge Nelson addressedto the prisoner a homily which created a deep impression upon thecrowded court room. 

The execution of Levi Kelley was attended by an immense concourse ofpeople. The hanging of a murderer was still regarded by many, in thatday, not only as fit method of punishment, but as offering a spectacleof great moral and educational value. It was at once a deterrent fromcrime and a vindication of the majesty of the law. When the day set forthe execution of Kelley was come, there was many a home in which thefather of the family announced at breakfast that the children must beduly washed and dressed in Sabbath array, to accompany him, as in dutybound, to the solemn spectacle. Nor were all attracted to the dreadfulscene by a sense of duty only, perhaps, at a period when public showswere few. 

The gibbet was erected, amid the December snow, at a point about fourhundred feet south of the site occupied by the present High School, verynear, if not in the midst of, what is now Chestnut Street. Christmas Daywas followed by a thaw, and on Friday, the day set for the execution, atorrent of rain fell during the morning hours. Yet before noon thevillage was thronged with a multitude of men, women and children, keenlyanticipating the gruesome tragedy, until more than four thousand peoplewere gathered about the gallows. 

The court-house and jail stood then not far from their present site. Theprocession from the jail to the place of execution was conducted withmuch military pomp. Two marshals, each mounted on a prancing steed, leda troop of cavalry, a corps of artillery, and four companies ofinfantry. This formidable array of forces, drawn up in a hollow squareat the jail, having enclosed within its ranks the condemned man and theattending ministers of the Gospel, moved solemnly to the place ofexecution. The prisoner, apparently in a feeble state of health, layupon a bed in a sleigh drawn by his favorite black horses, the same thathe had driven to Albany to witness the execution of Strang. Theministers of religion, the Rev. Mr. Potter and the Rev. John Smith, pastor of the Presbyterian church, rode in state in the two sleighs thatfollowed. 

Near the gallows there had been erected for the accommodation ofspectators a staging one hundred feet in length and twelve feet indepth, the front being elevated six feet and the rear eight feet fromthe ground. From this structure about six hundred people commanded anexcellent view of the gibbet, while some three thousand others, lackingthis advantage, jostled each other, craning their necks, and standing ontiptoe, to see what was going forward. 

The procession from the jail had arrived upon the grounds, and thesolemnities were about to commence, when the staging suddenly gave wayand fell with a tremendous crash. The spectators upon it were plungedinto a confused heap, struggling for freedom amid the broken timbers. The shrieks and groans that arose from the scrimmage terrified theassemblage, and the wild rush of anxious friends and relatives towardthe scene of accident resulted almost in a riot. When order had been insome measure restored the work of rescue began. Between twenty andthirty persons were drawn forth from the wreckage severely injured. Elisha C. Tracy, an engraver, was found to be dead, the upper part ofhis face being crushed inward to the depth of more than an inch. DanielWilliams, an elderly man resident at Richfield, had a leg and armbroken, and died a few hours later. The dead and wounded were carriedfrom the field, and some of the spectators, having had enough oftragedy, withdrew. 

The ceremonies of the execution then proceeded, although amid anatmosphere of intense nervous excitement. The condemned man was takenfrom his sleigh, and, because of his illness, required assistance inascending the gallows. As he stood there, the centre of all eyes, heseemed a different man from the passionate murderer of Abraham Spafard. Weak and sick, he looked down upon the multitude assembled to see himdie. His look was one of regretful sympathy because of the unexpectedaccident rather than of fear of his own impending fate. "Who are killed;and how many are injured?" he inquired. 

The rope was noosed about Kelley's neck. The Presbyterian ministerstepped forward, and commended the convict's soul to the mercy of God ina prayer in which Kelley, with bowed head, seemed to participate. Thenthe drop fell. After a few twitchings of the limbs, the body quivered, and hung still. The show was over. The crowd dispersed. 

The effect of this exhibition was to give voice to a growing sentimentagainst public hangings. The next issue of the _Freeman's Journal_protested against such spectacles as demoralizing, and suggested amovement in the State legislature to amend the law. Kelley's was infact the last public hanging in Cooperstown. 

The execution of Levi Kelley, with its unexpected accompanyingcatastrophe, was long the talk of the neighborhood. It was commemoratedby Isaac Squire, an Otsego rhymester, in some verses that are of curiousinterest as a survival of the old ballad form in which events were wontto be celebrated. Many years afterward there were those who recalledthat the doleful lines were committed to memory by some of the villagechildren, and sung to a droning tune:

 LINES ON THE EXECUTION OF LEVI KELLEY. 

 Part First

 In eighteen hundred twenty seven Poor Kelley broke the law of Heaven; He murdered his poor tenant there, Who took his place to work on share. 

 'Twas early on a Monday night This horrid scene was brought to light; He seized his loaded gun in hand, And with malicious fury ran, And when about four feet apart, Alas! he shot him to the heart. The expiring words, we understand, Were, "O Lord, I'm a dying man!"

 They quickly ran him to relieve, But death could grant him no reprieve; He expired almost instantly, In his affrighted family. 

 Kelley's indicted for the crime; Confined in prison for a time; A murderer here can take no rest, While guilt lies heavy on his breast. 

 November on the twenty-first, For murder of a fellow dust, He was arraigned before the bar, And tried by his country there. 

 Full testimony did appear That when the Jury came to hear In verdict they were soon agreed That he was guilty of this deed. 

 And in their verdict they did bring That cause of death was found in him; The Judge his sentence did declare, And thus declared him guilty there:

 "Your time is set, O do remember, The twenty-eighth of December, Between the hours of twelve and three, Be launched into eternity. 

 "Your time is short on earth to stay; Prepare for death without delay; Though you no pity showed at all, May God have mercy on your soul. "

 Part Second. 

 December on the twenty-eighth Did Levi Kelley meet his fate; This awful scene I now relate Caused thousands there to fear and quake. 

 Though wet and rainy was the day, The people thronged from every way; With anxious thought each came to see The unhappy fate of poor Kelley. 

 The day was come, the time drew near, When the poor prisoner must appear; The officers they did prepare, And round him formed a hollow square, That they with safety might convey Him to the place of destiny; The music made a solemn sound While they marched slowly to the ground. 

 A scaffold was erected there, And hundreds on it did repair, That all thereon might plainly see The unhappy fate of poor Kelley. 

 Before they bid this scene adieu, An awful sight appeared in view. See, hundreds with the scaffold fall! And some to rise no more at all

 Till the great day when all shall rise, To their great joy or sad surprise, And hear their sentence "Doomed to Hell, " Or, "With the saints in glory dwell. "

 The wounded here in numbers lie, And loud for help now some do cry While others are too faint to speak, And some in death's cold arms asleep. 

 The cry was heard once and again That "Hundreds now we fear are slain!" But God in this distressing hour Revives again each withering flower. 

 Poor Kelley, in this trying time, Was executed for his crime. He hung an awful sight to see; May this a solemn warning be. 

 A word to such, before we close, That love the way poor Kelley chose; Their vicious ways if you attend Will bring you to some awful end. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 93: _Otsego Herald_, July 19, 1805. ]

CHAPTER XII

SOLID SURVIVALS

The property which now includes Edgewater was inherited by Isaac Cooper, the second son of Judge Cooper, on the death of his father in 1809. Inthe following year he began the erection of the house, which took nearlyfour years in building. Aside from its now venerable aspect, this solidresidence, constructed of old-fashioned brick, preserves much of itsoriginal appearance as one of the largest dwellings in the village. Itwas modeled after a colonial residence in Philadelphia well known to theCooper family. The style of the entrance hall, with the balancedsymmetry of semicircular stairways that ascend to the upper floor, issingularly effective, while the carved wood of the interior, as seen inthe doorcaps and mouldings, displays skillful workmanship. No house inCooperstown commands so fine a general view of Otsego Lake as that whichis to be seen from the porch of Edgewater. The surrounding groundincludes over two acres, and extends to the waters of the lake, althoughnow traversed by Lake Street, which made its way, by long usage, acrossthe original property. The house is approached through the paths of anold time garden, thickly grown with shrubs, and shaded by a variety oftrees. 

[Illustration: EDGEWATER]

Isaac Cooper had married Mary Ann, daughter of General Jacob Morris, ofMorris, Otsego county, and took possession of Edgewater as his residenceon December 4, 1813. It is not difficult to understand the feeling ofsatisfaction, on being established in this beautiful home, whichprompted Isaac Cooper, at the age of thirty-two years, to record theevent in his diary thus:

 Moved--where I hope to end my Days--and I pray Heaven to allow this House and this Lot--whereon I this day brought my Family, to descend to my children and to my children's children, and may they increase in virtue and respectability, and become worthy of the blessings of Heaven. 

This diary is hardly more than a record of weather, with a single lineof "general observations, " under which head, from day to day, he makesbrief mention of his doings, social engagements; births, marriages, anddeaths among his friends; his own frequent illnesses: occasionally hemoralizes, or indulges in a bit of self-criticism. A few entriesselected from Isaac Cooper's diary will show its general character. Itwill be noticed that he refers to himself in the third person as "Mr. C. " or "Mr. Cooper. "

 August 20, 1814--New waggon paraded, to the admiration of the villagers. 

 August 30--Quilting party at Mrs. Pomeroy's--very pleasant. 

 January 4, 1815--Cate, Mr. Prentiss married. 

 February 7--Time passes heavily! Good reason why!

 August 8--Laid corner brick of Morrell's & Prentiss' House. 

 July 30, 1816--Tea Party at Mrs. Poms. Also a party on the Lake. Major Prevost fell overboard. 

 October 5--Done quilting, thank fortune. 

 October 25--Mr. C. Set out plum trees in back yard. 

 October 28--Mr. C. Fell down stairs last night. Don't feel so well for it. 

 November 13--Took in some pork. 

 November 16--Mr. Phinney played backgammon with Mrs. Cooper this evening. 

 November 27--A Milliner arrived with an assortment of elegant cheap hats. (Sold a twelve dollar one! I wonder who to?)

 November 28--A mystery dissolved. Mrs. Starkweather was the purchaser of the hat. 

 December 4--Mrs. Cooper's neck washed--good!

 December 5--A dinner party at Mr. J. Cooper's. 

 December 13--Dipped 700 candles. 

 December 16--Wine and Brandy tap't. Head combed. 

 February 7, 1817--Tea Party--30 besides us, viz; Mr. And Mrs. Campbell, the Miss Starrs, Mr. And Mrs. Dr. Pomeroys, Mr. And Mrs. George Pomeroy, Mr. And Mrs. E. Phinney, Miss Tiffany, Miss Talmage, Miss Shankland, the Misses Fuller, H. Phinney, Mr. Aitchison, Mr. Lyman, Mr. Crafts, Mr. Stewart, Mr. And Mrs. Morrell, Mr. And Mrs. Webb, Miss Edmonds, Miss Webb, Mrs. Prentiss, Mrs. Dr. Webb, Mrs. Russell, Mrs. Williams. 

 February 17--72 loads of wood last week, making my supply for 1817, say 200 loads, exclusive of office. 

 February 22--Dr. Pomeroy, Mr. George Pomeroy, and Col. Seth Pomeroy spent the eve. Here. 

 April 1--A barrel of Pork, this day opened. Robins killed yesterday by A. L. J. , a _sin_. 

 May 9--Mr. Cooper feels for all mankind. 

 September 12--The Old Lady very ill. 

 September 13--Mrs. Elizabeth Cooper departed this life. 

 October 18--Mr. Gratz breakfasted here. 

Concerning some settlements in the region, much has been written of thespirit of democracy in which they were established, and it has beenpointed out that all social distinctions were levelled in the commontasks of frontier life. It does not appear that this was the case inCooperstown. From the time of the first settlement, apparently, anaristocratic group was formed in the orbit of the Cooper nucleus, andsocial climbing began before the wolves and bears had been quite drivenfrom the forests of Otsego. The tea party of February 7, 1817, mentionedin the diary, probably names most of those who were at that timeadmitted to the inner circle of the socially elect; another entry, datedDecember 31, 1816, relates to a different social sphere, andunconsciously reveals the great gulf which had already been fixedbetween the one and the other, together with the aristocrat'ssupercilious astonishment that "that class of society" is in somerespects quite as desirable as his own:

 This New Year's eve there was a ball at the Hotel (Col. Henry's), a very decently conducted and a very respectable assemblage of the worthy mechanics and that class of society. I was present, and would not wish to see better conduct, better dress, and better looking Ladies!!! There was perfect neatness of dress, without as much Indian finery as I have seen where they suppose they know better. 

Another glimpse into the depth of the social gulf is obtained in theback pages of Isaac Cooper's diary, where he records his accounts forwages with the household servants. There is this entry, signed by thehumble cross-mark of Betsey Wallby, who "came to work on March 20, 1815, at one dollar a week":

 March 20, 1816--By one year's services, faithfully and orderly performed--free from Yankee dignity, and ideas of Liberty--which is insolence only. $52. 00. 

On New Year's day, 1818, death came to Isaac Cooper at Edgewater, and hewas laid at rest in Christ churchyard with the humblest pioneers of thehamlet. Only for a little more than four years had he enjoyed the homewhich he established at Edgewater. 

In Isaac Cooper's diary, by another hand, these words were added:

 September, 1823--Sold our house. Necessity compelled us. 

Shortly before the house was vacated by the family of Isaac Cooper, thegarden of Edgewater was the scene of a pretty romance. Isaac Cooper'ssecond daughter, Elizabeth Fenimore, was a child of rare beauty, and asshe began to grow toward womanhood became renowned for wit andloveliness. Strictly guarded by the conventional proprieties, Elizabethmade glorious excursions into the realm of fancy, where errant knightsare ever in search of fair ladies to deliver them from castle dungeons. Edgewater, with the freedom of its garden, was a pleasant sort ofprison, but Elizabeth was not less gratified when the knight of herdreams actually appeared in the person of a young college student whowas spending his summer vacation in Cooperstown--Samuel Wootton Beall, anative of Maryland. Summer evenings in Edgewater garden passed quicklyaway, and there came a night of farewell, for on the next day youngBeall must return to his college, and to long months of Greek, Latin, and mathematics. On that night the young man brought a Methodistminister into the garden with him. There was a mysterious signal. Elizabeth Fenimore Cooper glided out of the house, and joined the two indarkness. They stood beneath the locust tree which rose just east of thefront steps, while in low voices the young lovers took their vows, andthe parson pronounced them man and wife. The bride immediately creptback into the house, thrilling with her secret, while the bridegroomwent his way, and on the next day was gone. 

Nothing was said of the wedding until Samuel Beall was graduated fromcollege, and returned to Cooperstown to claim his wife. Beyond theextreme youth of the couple, there was really no objection to the match. Mrs. Cooper was astonished at the announcement, but gave her blessing tothe union. Only one condition she exacted. Shocked at the informality oftheir wedding, she required them to be remarried with the full rites ofthe Church. 

Young Beall and his wife went West, where he prospered, and, returningto Cooperstown in 1836, purchased Woodside as their residence. After afew years at Woodside, they settled once more in the West. 

In Edgewater garden the locust that sheltered the secret marriage waslong known as the Bridal Tree, and grew to lofty size. In the winter of1908 the first fall of snow came upon the wings of a great wind. Duringthe night the big locust fell crashing to the ground, and in the morningwas found covered with a mantle of virgin snow, gleaming white like abridal veil. 

In 1828, Edgewater having passed into the hands of a company which hadorganized to establish a seminary for girls, the house was rearrangedfor such occupancy. The numerals which then marked the rooms of thestudents are still to be seen on the doorways of the top floor. Theschool was a financial failure, and in 1834 the trustees sold Edgewateras a summer residence to Theodore Keese of New York, who, eight yearspreviously, had married the eldest daughter of George Pomeroy and AnnCooper, sister of Isaac Cooper. Thus the property came back into thefamily of the original owner. 

In 1836 Mr. And Mrs. Keese came to Cooperstown to live, and theireight-year-old son, George Pomeroy Keese, then began a residence atEdgewater that continued for seventy-four years. In 1849, at the age oftwenty-one years, he brought to Edgewater his bride, Caroline AdrianceFoote, a daughter of Surgeon Lyman Foote, of the United States Army. Inthis house their eight children were born, and all of these, with theexception of one who died in infancy, lived to celebrate the sixtiethwedding anniversary which their parents commemorated with a notablegathering of friends at Edgewater in the autumn of 1909. Living to oldage in perfect health of body and mind Mr. And Mrs. Keese made Edgewatera famous centre of hospitality. 

During this long residence in Cooperstown Pomeroy Keese stood in theforefront of its affairs, and came to occupy a unique position in thelife of the village. In boyhood, as the grand-nephew of Fenimore Cooper, he was brought into close contact with the novelist, and at thebeginning of the twentieth century was one of the few residents of thevillage who distinctly recalled the famous writer's personality. He wasbest known to the business world as president for nearly forty years ofthe Second National Bank of Cooperstown, but the qualities that made himso interesting a figure lay rather in the many avocations of his life. He was senior warden of Christ Church at the time of his death, and hadbeen a member of its vestry for more than half a century. Of thirteensuccessive rectors of Christ Church he had known all but Father Nash, the first. For the old village church, surrounded with its quaint tombsand overshadowing pines, he had a love that seemed about to call forththe response of personality from things inanimate. 

On the streets of Cooperstown, in his later years, G. Pomeroy Keese wasa picturesque and characteristic figure. His face seemed weather-beatenrather than old; his eye was like that of a sailor, with a focus fordistant horizons; the style of thin side-whisker affected by a formergeneration gave full play to every expression of his countenance. It wasa common sight, of a winter's day, to glimpse his slight and dapperform with quick step ambling to the post-office, while, quite innocentof overcoat, he compromised with the frosty air by clasping his hands, one over the other, across his chest, as a means of keeping warm!

Pomeroy Keese was somewhat contemptuous toward mufflers, arctics, andother toggery which Otsego winters imposed upon his neighbors. He seemedimmune against the assault of climatic rigors. His attitude toward theweather was confidential, for he was the most weatherwise of men. Hekept a daily record of the weather, with accurate meteorological data, for more than half a century, and for many years furnished the localofficial figures for the United States weather bureau. From hisexperience he originated the theory that, while seasons from year toyear appear to differ widely in their character, the temperature andprecipitation within the compass of each year actually reach the samegeneral average. It seemed to cause him real annoyance when a period ofweather departed too widely from the usual average, yet if a cold snapor hot spell was generous enough to break all previous records hisenthusiasm was boundless. 

An equally substantial though smaller house that antedated Edgewater bya few years was erected in the summer of 1802 by John Miller as a farmhouse. It was built of bricks, and was the second building in the placethat was not constructed of wood. It stands at the southwest corner ofPine Street and Lake Street, facing the latter, and the dense evergreenhedge which surrounds the house seems to hold it aloof from the latergrowth of the village. It is said that the house is haunted, for notlong after it was built a tenant of the place murdered his wife bysmothering her with a pillow in her bedroom, and for many years it wasrumored that occupants of the house occasionally were terrified bymuffled sounds of moaning as of one in mortal agony. 

[Illustration: _C. A. Schneider_

RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM H. AVERELL AND JUDGE PRENTISS]

The building referred to in Isaac Cooper's diary as "Morrell's andPrentiss' house" includes the two brick houses on Main Street whichstand conjoined just east of the Village Club and Library. JudgeMorrell went West, and his house, the more westerly of the two, becamebetter known as the property of its later owner, William Holt Averell, whose descendants continued to occupy it a century after him. Theadjoining house, built by Col. Prentiss, remained after his death inpossession of his family, and his daughter, Mrs. Charlotte PrentissBrowning, lived to celebrate its centennial. 

Col. John H. Prentiss, for more than half a century a resident, and forforty years editor of the _Freeman's Journal_, was a notable figure inCooperstown. Under his editorial management the _Freeman's Journal_became a strong political organ, and exercised an influence that madeOtsego one of the stanchest Democratic counties in the State of NewYork. Col. Prentiss represented his district in Congress during the fouryears of Van Buren's administration, having been reelected at theexpiration of his first term. It was at this time that his next doorneighbor, William Holt Averell, was a candidate for Congress on the Whigticket. The first returns indicated that Averell had been elected, andthere was a noisy demonstration by Averell's supporters in front of hisresidence, bringing him forth for a speech which was received with greatenthusiasm. The returns came in slowly in those days, and a day or twohad passed before it was learned that Prentiss had been elected, and hisdoorstep became the scene of another jubilation. According to therecollections of some this seesawing of returns occurred more than once, and the two neighbors, whose friendship was not interrupted by theirpolitical antagonisms, each joined in the demonstration in honor of theother. 

A large part of the work of publishing his newspaper was done by JudgePrentiss himself. Besides being sole editor, he attended to thefinancial department, and for forty years, except while in Congress, hegave his personal attention in the printing office to the mechanicaldepartment. A later writer recalls often seeing Col. Prentiss in thepress-room, with coat off, sleeves rolled up, either inking the typewith two large soft balls, or pulling at the lever of the old Ramagepress. He describes him as "an industrious, energetic man, a littleinclined to aristocratic bearing, but open, frank and cordial with hisfriends. "

The last appearance of Col. Prentiss in public life, from which he hadpreviously kept aloof for several years, was as a delegate to theDemocratic State convention which was held in Albany on February 1, 1861. In that body of distinguished and able men, of which he was one ofthe vice-presidents, he attracted much attention, and the question wasfrequently asked by those in attendance, referring to Col. Prentiss, "Who is that large, fine-looking old gentleman, with white, flowinghair?"[94]

Colonel Prentiss's next door neighbor, William Holt Averell, son ofJames Averell, Jr. , was for more than half a century one of the mostprominent citizens of the village, who did more perhaps than any otherfor its financial development. He was one of the first directors and formany years president of the Otsego County Bank, the original of thepresent First National Bank, and for which the building across the wayfrom his house, now used as the Clark Estate office, was erected in1831. As he issued every day from the doorway of this building with itsportico of fluted columns, his figure was exactly such as theimagination might now devise as most in harmony with the surroundings;for in his youth Averell was extremely punctilious in his dress, being avery handsome man, and for many years it was his custom to wear a whitebeaver hat, and ruffled shirt, with ruffles at the cuffs that set off togood advantage his small and delicate hands. He did all his reading andwork at night. Those who passed his windows at a late hour were sure toglimpse him bending over his desk, and nobody else in Cooperstown wentto bed late enough to see his lamp extinguished, for the servants oftenfound him still at work when they came to summon him to breakfast in themorning. He lived long enough to be regarded as a gentleman of the oldschool, positive and dogmatic in his opinions, which were usually thoseof a minority, but which he defended with the resourcefulness of abrilliant and well-trained mind. 

In 1813 Henry Phinney, one of the two sons of Elihu Phinney, began theconstruction of the large brick house on Chestnut street now known as"Willowbrook, " and completed it three years later. In Cooper's_Chronicles of Cooperstown_ several houses "of respectable dimensionsand of genteel finish" are mentioned as having been erected between theyears of 1820 and 1835. Among these is the house of Elihu Phinney, theyounger son of the pioneer, which still stands on Pioneer Streetopposite to the Universalist church. It is of brick, partly surroundedby a veranda, and exquisite in many details of construction, much of theinterior woodwork being notable in excellence of chaste design. 

During this same general period several houses of stone were erectedthat still remain among the most solid and attractive in Cooperstown. William Nichols built Greystone, the fine old residence that stands atthe southwest corner of Fair and Lake streets; Ellory Cory erected thehouse on the west side of Pioneer Street near Lake Street; John Hannayset a new standard for the western part of the village when he put up onthe north side of Main Street, not far from Chestnut Street, thedignified residence now occupied by the Mohican Club. In 1827 the lowstructures of stone which stand on the east side of Pioneer Street, between Main and Church street, were erected; and in 1828 thethree-story stone building on the north side of Main Street, midwaybetween Pioneer and Chestnut streets, was an important addition to thebusiness section of the village. 

[Illustration: _Forrest D. Coleman_

WOODSIDE HALL]

A country-house of classic poise and symmetry was designed in 1829, whenEben B. Morehouse purchased a few acres from the Bowers estate, on theside of Mount Vision, at the point where the old state road made itsfirst turn to ascend the mountain, and there erected the dwellingcalled Woodside Hall. For many years an Indian wigwam stood on the sitenow occupied by Woodside. This old stone house, set on the hillsideagainst a background of dense pine forest, has an air of singulardignity and repose. Standing at the head of the ascending road whichcontinues the main street of the village, Woodside, with its row ofcolumns gleaming white amid the living green of the forest, may be seenfrom almost any point along the main thoroughfare of Cooperstown. It isapproached from the highway by a rise of ground, where the Egyptiangate-tower adds a fanciful interest to the entrance, with glimpses ofthe terraced lawn and garden that climb toward the house. In summer, ongaining the porch, one looks back upon a mass of foliage beneath whichCooperstown lies concealed, except for a vista that traverses the lengthof the village and rises to the pines that crown the hills beyond; whilea glance toward the north sweeps across the surface of the lake to itswestern shore. The woods that come down almost to the house are composedof pines and hemlocks of splendid proportions and great antiquity, lending a shadowy atmosphere of mystery to the environs of WoodsideHall. 

The charm and grace of this residence seem to reflect certain qualitiesin the character of Judge Eben B. Morehouse, who designed it as hishome. For he is described as a man of rare personality and unusualculture, whose intellectual ability gave him exceptional rank in hisprofession. He was district attorney in 1829, member of Assembly in1831, and became a justice of the Supreme Court of the State in 1847. Mrs. Morehouse, a daughter of Dr. Fuller, one of the pioneer physiciansof Cooperstown, was a woman of many social gifts, and establishedtraditions of hospitality and festivity at Woodside. 

In 1836 Judge Morehouse suffered reverses of fortune, and when he hadsold Woodside to Samuel W. Beall, took up his residence in a modestcottage in the village. It was said of Judge Morehouse that, during thisperiod, in walking about the village streets, he was careful never toraise his eyes toward Woodside, and, if occasion brought him in thevicinity of his old home, he passed it with averted face. After a fewyears he was able, to his great joy, to buy Woodside back again, and hecontinued residence there until his death in 1849. 

[Illustration: _Walter C. Stokes_

THE GATE-TOWER AT WOODSIDE]

A President of the United States was once lost in the grounds ofWoodside. It was in 1839, when Judge Morehouse gave a large eveningreception for President Martin Van Buren. After the reception, when theguests were departed, Mr. Van Buren and a friend who accompanied himbecame separated from their companions, and lost their way in attemptingto find the gate-tower. For a long time they wandered and groped aboutin the darkness of the grounds, finally returning to the house for aguide and a lantern, just as the family were going to bed. 

In 1856 Mrs. Morehouse sold Woodside to the Hon. Joseph L. White, whosefamily entertained generously and delightfully. White was adistinguished lawyer of New York, and one of the most famous stumporators of his time. He became identified with the early days of theNicaragua Canal project. While at work on the isthmus he was killed bythe bullet of an assassin. 

After the death of White, the place was bought by John F. Scott, whosefamily were among the earliest settlers in Springfield at the head ofthe lake. 

In 1895 Woodside was purchased by Walter C. Stokes of New York. Mr. AndMrs. Stokes, occupying Woodside as a summer home, gave it newembellishment, and revived the traditions of its hospitality. 

[Illustration: SWANSWICK]

At the extreme northwest margin of the lake there is a little cove, witha landing, near which one ascends from the shore by means of a swayingboard walk over swampy ground, where flags and forget-me-nots bloomluxuriantly during summer days, and fireflies hold carnival at night. Atthe top of the slope stands "Swanswick, " a cottage-like and ramblinghouse whose rear windows look down the lake, while the low veranda infront opens upon a lawn and quiet lily-padded pond, a mill-pondoriginally, for near at hand are the falls that operated Low's mills, inthe days of the pioneers. Swanswick stands upon the site of a houseerected in 1762, the first ever inhabited by a white man on the shore ofOtsego Lake. The present house was built after the Revolution by ColonelRichard Cary, one of Washington's aides, and the place was called RoseLawn. General Washington was a guest here when he made his visit inOtsego in 1783, and a ball was given in his honor. The daughter of thehouse was Anne Low Cary who married Richard Cooper, and after his deathbecame the wife of George Hyde Clarke, who built Hyde Hall. Sheinherited Rose Lawn from her mother, and gave it to her son, AlfredCooper Clarke. The latter was childless, and left the place to hisnephew, Leslie Pell, who belonged to the well known Pell family of NewYork and Newport, and who assumed legally the name of Clarke. 

Leslie Pell-Clarke married the charming Henrietta Temple, a cousin ofHenry James the novelist, and of William James, the psychologist. Hechanged the name of the place to Swanswick, and lived there from theearly 'seventies until his death in 1904. The Pell-Clarkes madeSwanswick known as a haven of good cheer for miles around. The oldhouse, simple in its lines and modest in proportions, had an air ofsingular distinction. The library in the west wing, with its curiousskylight, and bookcases well stocked with the classic favorites of anEnglish country gentleman, was a revelation to the connoisseur of oldvolumes; and the whole house was full of quaintly delightful surprises. It was the master of the house himself who gave to the place itsatmosphere. He was ideally the centre of things, especially when he satin the library reading aloud from some favorite author, which he didalways with perfect justice of expression, and in a voice of unrivalledmelody. He was a lover of outdoor life, and laid out on his own propertyat the head of the lake the golf grounds now managed by the Otsego GolfClub, the oldest links of any in America that have been maintained ontheir original course. Mr. And Mrs. Pell-Clarke were reckoned andbeloved as partly belonging to Cooperstown, for they drove down from thehead of the lake almost daily, drawn by the whitish speckled horses, Pepper and Salt, that everybody came to know. Pell-Clarke had the frameand bearing of an athlete. Tall, with clean-cut features, he was one ofthe handsomest men of his time, a noble and brilliant soul, an exuberantand fascinating personality. 

A country-seat that may be described as unique in all America, HydeHall, lies nestled in the haunches of the Sleeping Lion, toward the headof Otsego Lake. "The Sleeping Lion" is Cooperstown's nickname for MountWellington, the wooded hill that stretches along the northern margin ofthe Glimmerglass. The formal name was given to Mount Wellington by thebuilder of Hyde Hall, in honor of his famous classmate at Eton, inEngland. When this mountain is viewed from Cooperstown the aptness ofthe more familiar, descriptive term--the Sleeping Lion--becomes evident. In spite of its distance from the village, Hyde Hall has its place notonly in the view but in the story of Cooperstown, for its proprietorshave been closely associated with the life at the southern end of thelake. 

[Illustration: _J. W. Tucker_

SHADOW BROOK]

The grounds of Hyde Hall lie toward the head of Otsego, on the easternside, where Hyde Bay increases the width of the lake by a generous sweepof rounded shore. Into this bay from the east flows Shadow Brook, themost picturesque stream of water in the region, whose pellucid currentreflects clear images of foliage and sky, and offers a favorite resort, in shaded nooks, to the drifting canoes of lovers. In a clearing of thewoods farther northward along the shore, and at a good elevation, standsHyde Hall, facing the southeast across the bay. It is massivelyconstructed of large blocks of stone, and seems designed for a race ofgiants. The main part of the house, completed in 1815, is two storieshigh, in the colonial style, and over two hundred feet in length. In1832 the facade was added, in the Empire style, with two splendid roomson either side of a large entrance hall. The doorways and windows, aswell as the chambers into which they open, are planned on a big scale. Solidity of construction appears throughout the building, where even thepartition walls are of brick or stone. The masons, carpenters, andmechanics who built Hyde Hall lived on the premises while the house wasunder construction. They quarried and cut the stone from adjacent bedsof local limestone; they burnt the brick from clay found at the foot ofthe hill; they cut the timber in the neighboring forest, andmanufactured all the windows, doors, and panel-work. 

The house commands a superb view of the lake, and is surrounded bybeautiful old trees and forest land. Upwards of three thousand acresbelonging to Hyde Hall enclose it on all sides, and the residence isapproached by three private roads averaging over a mile in length. 

Within the house, as one tries to visualize its spirit, from Trumbull'sportrait of the Duke of Wellington, which stands above the fireplace inthe great drawing-room, through rambling passages with glimpses of acourtyard and alcoves and wings; up curved stairways to landings thatpresent unexpected steps down and steps up; along halls that beckon amiddim lights to unrevealed recesses of space; down through kitchens wherehuge pots and cauldrons reflect the glow of living coals, while shadowyoutlines of spits and cranes are lifted amid a smoke of savory odors;deeper down into the spacious wine-cellars darkly festooned withcobwebs, and chill as the family burying-vault where vines and snakessquirm through the bars of its iron gates beneath the hill, --out ofthese fleeting impressions rises the atmosphere of an old-worldtradition strangely created amid the original wilds of Otsego at thebeginning of the nineteenth century. It is a house that should beashamed not to harbor romance, and mystery, and ghosts. 

Hyde Hall has the air of an English country-seat, with squire andtenantry, transplanted to the soil of an alien democracy. To comprehendits place in the life of Cooperstown it must be regarded as the symbolof certain ancestral traditions toward which good Americans are expectedto be indifferent. George Clarke, who was colonial governor of New Yorkfrom 1737 to 1744, came to America shortly after being graduated atOxford, having received an appointment to colonial office from Walpole, then prime minister of England. He came from Swanswick, near Bath. Aftera few years' residence in New York he met and married Anne Hyde, thedaughter of Edward Hyde, royal governor of North Carolina. Shesubsequently became the heiress of Hyde, in England, in her own right, and by the old English law of coverture, George Clarke became the ownerof the estate. The lady died during his term of office as governor ofthe colony, and was buried, with a public funeral, in the vault of LordCornburg in Trinity church, New York. 

George Clarke, the builder of Hyde Hall on Otsego Lake, was agreat-grandson of the colonial governor, a part of whose large estate oflands in America he inherited. He came to America in 1791, to complywith the statute requiring all English born subjects who were minorsduring the War for Independence, and who owned lands in this Statesubject to confiscation, to become American citizens. After severaltrips across the water George Clarke decided, in 1809, to make his abodein the New World, and leaving his home, Hyde Hall, at Hyde, in Cheshire, he came to America, married as his second wife Anne Cary, the widow ofRichard Cooper, brother of James Fenimore Cooper, and in 1813 began thebuilding of his new Hyde Hall. 

The property originally controlled from Hyde Hall was of vast extent. Atan early day George Clarke encountered much opposition from histenantry. The tenure by which they held their lands was not inaccordance with the views of American settlers. The estates were leasedout, some as durable leases, at a small rent, and others for threelives, or twenty-one years. The settlers disliked the relation oflandlord and tenant, and Clarke was frequently annoyed by demands whichhis high English notions of strict right would not allow him to concede. His prejudices were strong, and if he believed anyone intended to wronghim, he was stubborn in resisting any invasion of his rights. Hencethere were many collisions between landlord and tenant in the early daysof Hyde Hall. The warm aspect of his nature, which disarmed the enmitiesof tenants, appeared in his social qualities. He was companionable, gavegood dinners, conversed well, told a good story, delighted in a goodone from others, and when in a gay mood would sing an excellent song, generally one that he had brought with him from Merrie England. 

In his habits and sentiments Clarke was thoroughly English. He delightedto have his dinner got up in old English style, with the best of roastbeef and mutton, garnished with such delicacies as the lake and countryafforded, and just such as his countrymen, who knew how to appreciategood things, would order, were they the caterers; and in theseparticulars he hardly ever failed to excel. Not only were his householdarrangements in this style, but he was English in his religious views;unless those matters were held in conformity to the Anglican Church theywere not acceptable. 

When Clarke's son George, who afterward succeeded to the estate, wasbaptized, in 1824, Father Nash officiated, and several other clergymenof the Episcopal Church were in attendance, besides some guests fromUtica, and many from Cooperstown and the surrounding country who hadcome to Hyde Hall for the occasion. The christening was performed withsuitable gravity, and in due time the dinner was announced, which was inthe substantial excellent style that Clarke knew well how to order forsuch a festivity. The host was talkative and charming; as the dinnerproceeded the guests became increasingly good-humored, exceedingly wellsatisfied with him and with themselves. "In due time the ladies andclergy retired, " says Levi Beardsley, [95] who was present at the feast, "and then the guests were effectually plied with creature comforts. "

[Illustration: HYDE HALL]

Nothing seemed more delightful to the first proprietor of Hyde Hall thanthus to sit in company with congenial men at the flowing bowl; to beginin the enjoyment of rational conversation; to discuss literature and artand statecraft; to warm up to the telling of rare stories and thesinging of good songs; and, in the end, to get his guests, or a portionof them, "under the table. " On this occasion, after partaking of theviands and good cheer, the guests left the table in the early part ofthe evening, and repaired to the plateau in front of the house, wheresome of them ran foot-races in the dark, with no great credit tothemselves as pedestrians. As they were going back into the house, oneof the guests stumbled and fell into the hall, where he lay for sometime, obstructing the closing of the outer door. One of the servantscame to Clarke, who had retired for the night, and asked what he shoulddo with the large gentleman who had fallen in the doorway, and wasunable to rise. "Drag him in, and put him under the table" was the orderwhich was immediately complied with, and under the table the fallenguest remained until morning. 

The builder of Hyde Hall died in 1835, and his only American born son, George Clarke, succeeded him in his American estate, thus becoming atthe age of twenty-one years the largest landed proprietor in the Stateof New York. The patents which he held included 1, 000 acres in Fultoncounty, 6, 000 acres in Dutchess county, 7, 000 acres in Oneida, 12, 000 inMontgomery, besides 16, 000 acres in Otsego county, and a valuable tractin Greene county including one-half of the village of Catskill. GeorgeClarke married Anna Maria Gregory, daughter of Dudley S. Gregory, thewealthiest man in Jersey City, and their married life was begun in greatprosperity, with a town house on Fifth Avenue in New York, in additionto the country-seat on Otsego Lake. 

Clarke had three span of fast horses, and was a familiar figure inCooperstown when he drove to service at Christ Church every Sunday, andfrequently came to the village for the transaction of business, or tomeet his friends, making nothing of the seven mile drive from his home. 

In his younger days Clarke was quite celebrated as a beau and dandy, andat one time was said to be the best dressed man in New York; but in hislater years he became notorious for his carelessness of attire, and fewof his tenants wore a cheaper costume. In this matter he was indifferentto public opinion, and went about looking like an old-fashioned farmer. In winter he covered himself with a buffalo coat that had areas of barehide worn through the fur; in summer his favorite habiliment was a linenduster. For Fifth Avenue in New York he dressed in the same clothes thatserved him in Cooperstown. When his friends ventured to remonstrate, heput them off by saying that dress was a matter of indifference alike incity or country. "In Cooperstown, " said he, "everybody knows me; in NewYork nobody knows me. " When he had become accustomed to a suit ofclothes, he was as loath to change them as to alter his friendships orpolitics. As he was plain in dress, so he was simple and abstemious inhabits of life. His bare living probably cost as little as that of anyworking-man in the country. 

George Clarke had an insatiable land-hunger. In looking after his wideestates he allowed the Hyde Hall Property to become dilapidated, andmortgaged the land that he owned to buy more. His land gave him greatyields of hops at the height of that industry in Otsego, but he wasalways inclined to buy more hops rather than to sell. Little by little, mortgages were foreclosed; Hyde Hall fell into decay; and in 1889 GeorgeClarke died insolvent. 

Mrs. Clarke, in her youth, was said to be one of the most beautifulwomen of her day. Those who knew her in later years can testify to anabiding charm of personality which time could never efface. Hyde Hall insummer she loved, but always the most perfect place in the world to herwas Monte Carlo, and there for many years she passed the winter, becoming at last the oldest member of the American colony, havingcrossed the ocean thirty times from America to Southern France. An oldlady tireless of life and all its activities, sprightly in manner, brilliant in conversation, graceful in gesture, gay in dress, decked injewelry that scintillated with her quick motions, shod in tiny, high-heeled slippers that clicked the measure of an alert step, andsometimes permitted a flash of bright silk stockings; a lover of lifeand gaiety and beauty to whom Monte Carlo seemed the most homelike spoton earth--her reign as mistress in her younger days gave a color of itsown to the story of Hyde Hall. 

When George Clarke died in 1889, his son, George Hyde Clarke, havingbeen graduated at the Columbia Law School, had for several years madehis home at Hyde Hall, and had restored the place to something like itsoriginal condition. He married Mary Gale Carter, granddaughter ofWilliam Holt Averell of Cooperstown, and it was through her inheritancethat the old home was saved to the family. 

Hyde Clarke inherited some of the English traditions of his grandfather. He was sent to England at the age of fourteen years, and educated at thefamous Harrow school. In spite of his later devotion to legal studies, and his admission to the bar of the State of New York, his real tastesinclined to agriculture. Having been trained as a scholar, he addedfarming to his accomplishments, and when he settled down at Hyde Hall itwas as a son of the soil. For the rest of his life, being at once agentleman and a farmer, he was the better in both characters for beingso much in each. The combination of birth and practical aptitude gavehim a position quite unique in Cooperstown and the surrounding country. He was a man of wide reading and culture, an exceedingly good talker, and a delightful social companion. He was at the same time respected asa farmer among farmers, who knew him well, and called him by hisChristian name. It is related that shortly after her marriage to HydeClarke, the stately and distinguished Mrs. Clarke was complaining to herbutcher in Cooperstown that he had sent her poor meat. "Very sorry, Mrs. Clarke, " replied the butcher "but 'twas one of Hyde's own critters!"

[Illustration: HYDE CLARKE

From the portrait by Ellen G. Emmet]

Hyde Clarke had certain mannerisms that added interest to hispersonality. He would sometimes sit silent in company, without theslightest effort to contribute to the conversation; but when he chose totalk, he talked well and informingly, and it was a delight to hear him. In a voice well-modulated and even, he selected his words with care, sometimes pausing for the precise expression, which he brought out witha quiet emphasis that made its exactness impressive. Repeatedly inconversation he seemed about to smile, or there was a movement behindthe drooping moustache and in the eyes that suggested merriment, whichquickly disappeared when one began to smile in return, leaving one witha foolish sense of having smiled at nothing. His deliberation of speechwas significant of his carefulness of thought and judgment, and he wasalways leisurely in action. If he invited a guest to dine with him atseven o'clock, he was quite likely himself not to reach home untilseven-thirty. A tall, calm man, he had the "British stare" toperfection, which in him was not an affectation, but arose from anentire lack of self-consciousness, and from moments ofabsent-mindedness. He could stare one out of countenance withoutintending rudeness; he could ignore the social amenities when he chose, without giving offense; while he was the only man in Otsego who couldenter a lady's drawing-room in farming togs and with a hat on, withoutseeming less than well-bred. 

His arrival at the services of Christ Church on the Sunday mornings ofwinter became characteristic. Always late for the service, and oftencoming in after the sermon had begun, he walked deliberately forward upthe main alley, clad in the great fur coat which had served him for thecold drive from Hyde Hall. Arrived at his pew, the front one at theleft, he would stand there while he slowly removed his coat, meantimegazing curiously at the preacher, as if wondering what the text mighthave been. Still standing, his hand described circles over his headwhile he unreeled the long muffler wrapped about his throat. Then, turning about, he would give a wide stare at the congregation, producehis handkerchief, and with a trumpet-blast sit down to compose himselffor the rest of the sermon. 

Hyde Clarke was exactly the man to have lived in what Levi Beardsleycalled the "Baronial establishment" of Hyde Hall, amid broad acres ofwooded hill, and farm, and pasture. Besides being a practical farmer andhop-grower, he was a leader among politicians of the better sort in theDemocratic party of the county and State. Through many avenues ofinterest he reached all sides of life, and gained experiences that savedhis culture from dilettanteism, and made him a man among men, a truedemocrat. In his judgments of men, he was big enough to overlook thelittle imperfections that often conceal a fundamental soundness ofcharacter; he saw the good in all, and spoke evil of none. He hadfriendships among people of all sorts and conditions. Nor did he limithis friendship to the human race; he knew horses and cows and dogs. Heloved all moods of nature, and faced all kinds of weather. 

Hyde Hall, in the first century of its existence, measured the lives ofthree men, passing from father to son, and leaving its traditions to thegreat-grandson of the builder, another George Hyde Clarke, who, in 1915, married Emily Borie Ryerson, a daughter of Arthur Ryerson of Chicago, agentleman affectionately remembered as the host of "Ringwood" at thehead of the lake, and mourned for his untimely death at sea, in the lossof the _Titanic_. 

[Illustration: A WEDDING-DAY AT HYDE]

Hyde Hall is at its best as the centre of a function, crowded withguests, buzzing with conversation, while the company overflows from thehouse to the lawn, presenting a kaleidoscope of color in the shiftingthrong that moves to and fro in the spacious foreground of the venerablemansion. There are those to whom one scene stands out as typical of HydeHall in its glory: a brilliant autumn afternoon in 1907, the wedding dayof the daughter of the house; a picturesque concourse of wedding guestsupon the lawn before the doorway; a sudden lifting of all eyes to thebalcony above the portico, where the bride appears, clad in her weddinggown, stands radiant, with her bridal bouquet poised aloft, and flingsit to the bridesmaids grouped below. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 94: _History of Otsego County_, 1877, p. 285. ]

[Footnote 95: _Reminiscences_, from which the description of Clarke istaken. ]

CHAPTER XIII

THE BIRTHPLACE OF BASE BALL

The game of Base Ball was invented and first played in Cooperstown in1839. Few statements of historical fact can be supported by the decisionof a commission of experts especially appointed to examine the evidenceand render a verdict, but in fixing the origin of Base Ball it isexactly this solemn form of procedure that has placed the matter beyonddoubt. 

In 1905 a friendly controversy arose, as to the origin of Base Ball, between A. G. Spalding, for many years famous as a patron of the sport, and Henry Chadwick, fondly known as the "Father of Base Ball. " Chadwickhad long contended that the game of Base Ball derived its origin fromthe old English pastime called "Rounders. " Spalding took issue with him, asserting that Base Ball is distinctively American, not only indevelopment, but in origin, and has no connection with "Rounders, " norany other imported game. Each view enlisted its champions, and, when noagreement could be reached, the contending forces decided to refer thewhole matter to a special Base Ball commission for full considerationand final judgment. 

The members of the commission were well known in the Base Ball world, and some of them were men of national reputation in more serious fieldsof achievement. They were A. G. Mills of New York, an enthusiastic ballplayer before and during the Civil War; the Hon. Arthur P. Gorman, former United States Senator from Maryland; the Hon. Morgan G. Bulkeley, United States Senator from Connecticut, and formerly Governor of thatState; N. E. Young of Washington, D. C. , a veteran ball player, and thefirst secretary of the National Base Ball League; Alfred J. Reach ofPhiladelphia, and George Wright of Boston, both well known business men, and, in their day, famous ball players; James E. Sullivan of New York, president of the Amateur Athletic Union. The last named acted assecretary of the commission, and during three years conducted anextensive correspondence in collecting data, as well as following upvarious clues that might prove useful in the determination of thequestion at issue. When all available evidence had been gathered thewhole matter was compiled and laid before the special commission, whichspent several months in going over the mass of data and argument. 

Briefs were addressed to the commission, by Chadwick in support of hiscontention that Base Ball was developed from the English game of"Rounders, " and by his opponents, who claimed a purely American originfor the national game. 

The similarity of the two games, Chadwick contended, was shown in thefact that "Rounders" was played by two opposing sides of contestants, on a special field of play, in which a ball was pitched or tossed to anopposing batsman, who endeavored to strike the ball out into the field, far enough to admit of his safely running the round of the bases beforethe ball could be returned, so as to enable him to score a run, the sidescoring the most runs winning the game. This basic principle of"Rounders, " Chadwick contended, is identical with the fundamentalprinciple of Base Ball. 

[Illustration: BASE BALL ON NATIVE SOIL]

Those who maintained the strictly American origin of Base Ball wereunwilling to admit a connection with any game of any other country, except in so far as all games of ball have a certain similarity andfamily relationship. It was pointed out that if the mere tossing orhandling of a ball, or striking it with some kind of stick, could beaccepted as the origin of our game, it would carry it far back ofAnglo-Saxon civilization--beyond Rome, beyond Greece, at least to thepalmy days of the Chaldean Empire. It was urged that in the early'forties of the nineteenth century, when anti-British feeling still ranhigh, it is most unlikely that a sport of British origin would have beenadopted in America. It was recalled that Col. James Lee, who was one ofthe moving spirits in the original effort to popularize Base Ball in NewYork City, and an organizer of the Knickerbocker Ball Club in 1845, hadasserted that the game of Base Ball was chosen instead of and inopposition to Cricket on the very ground that the former was a purelyAmerican game, and because of the then existing prejudice againstadopting any game of foreign invention. The champions of this theory ofAmerican origin further contended that those who would derive Base Ballfrom "Rounders" had totally ignored the earlier history of both games, and had been misled by certain modern developments of "Rounders, " asmore recently played in England, after many of the features of Base Ballhad been appropriated by the English game. 

The American source of Base Ball is traced to the game of "One Old Cat, "which was a favorite among the boys in old colonial times. This wasplayed by three boys--a thrower, a catcher, and a batsman. If thebatsman after striking the ball could run to a goal about thirty feetdistant, and return before the ball could be fielded, he counted onetally. This game was developed to include more players. "Two Old Cat"was played by four boys--two batsmen and two throwers--each alternatingas catchers, and a "tally" was made by the batsman hitting the ball andexchanging places with the batsman at the opposite goal. In the samemanner "Three Old Cat" was played by six, and "Four Old Cat" by eightboys. "Four Old Cat, " with four batsmen and four throwers, eachalternating as catchers, was played on a square-shaped field, each sideof which was about forty feet long. All the batsmen were forced to runto the next corner, or "goal, " of this square whenever any one of thebatsmen struck the ball, but if the ball was caught on the fly or firstbound, or any one of the four batsmen was hit by a thrown ball betweengoals, the runner was out, and his place was taken by the fieldingplayer who put him out. 

From this game was developed "Town Ball, " so called because it came tobe the popular game at all town meetings. This game accommodated agreater number of players than "Four Old Cat, " and resolved theindividual players into two competing sides. It placed one thrower inthe centre of the "Four Old Cat" square field, and had but one catcher. The corners of the field were called first, second, third, and fourthgoals. The batsman's position was half way between first and fourthgoals. The number of players on a side was at first unlimited, but"three out, all out, " had already become the rule, allowing the fieldingside to take their innings at bat. 

This method of alternating sides at bat was retained in the fullydeveloped game of Base Ball, and marks the most radical difference inthe ancestry of Base Ball and the English "Rounders. " For the greatfeature of "Rounders, " from which it derives its name, is the "rounder"itself, meaning that whenever one of the "in" side makes a completecontinuous circuit of the bases, or, as it would be called in Base Ball, a "home run, " he thereby reinstates the entire side; it then becomesnecessary to begin over again to retire each one of the side at bat, until all of them have been put out. If Base Ball had been derived fromRounders, it would be likely to show in its history some trace of thisdistinctive feature of the English game. But no such feature has everappeared in Base Ball or its antecedents. [96]

All these considerations, with much else, entered into the discussionsof the special Base Ball commission. The final decision of thecommission was unanimous, and was published early in 1908. [97] Thedecision covered two points, the first rejecting the alleged connectionwith Rounders, the second fixing the time and place of the origin ofBase Ball in America. Under the first head the commission decided "thatBase Ball is of American origin, and has no traceable connectionwhatever with 'Rounders, ' or any other foreign game. "

It was the second point in the decision, however, that added historiclustre to a village already famous in romance. The commission decided"that the first scheme for playing Base Ball, according to the bestevidence obtainable to date, was devised by Abner Doubleday atCooperstown, N. Y. , in 1839. "

Up to the time of this investigation it had been supposed that themodern game of Base Ball originated in New York City, where the game wasplayed in a desultory sort of way by the young business men as early as1842, although the first rules were not promulgated until theorganization of the old Knickerbocker Base Ball Club in 1845. But AbnerGraves, a mining engineer of Denver, convinced the commission that thereal origin of the game must be sought elsewhere. 

Graves was a boy playfellow of Abner Doubleday in Cooperstown in 1839. He was present when Doubleday outlined with a stick in the dirt thepresent diamond-shaped Base Ball field, indicating the location of theplayers in the field; and afterward saw him make a diagram of the fieldon paper, with a crude pencil memorandum of the rules for his new game, which he named "Base Ball. " Although sixty-eight years had passed sincethat time Graves distinctly remembered the incident, and recalledplaying the game, with other boys, under Abner Doubleday's direction. 

Doubleday's game seems to have been an orderly and systematicdevelopment of "Town Ball, " in which confusion and collision amongplayers in attempting to catch the batted ball were frequent, and injurydue to this cause, or to the practice of putting out the runner byhitting him with the ball, often occurred. Although Doubleday providedfor eleven men on a side, instead of nine, using four outfieldersinstead of three, and stationing an extra shortstop between first andsecond bases, he had nevertheless invented fundamental principles thatbecame characteristic of Base Ball. He had definitely limited the numberof contestants on each side, and had fixed the position of players inthe field, allotting certain territory to each, besides adding somethinglike the present method of putting out the baserunner to the old one of"plugging" him with the ball. Under Doubleday's rules a runner not onbase might be put out by being touched with the ball in the hand of anopposing player. From this was an easy step to the practice of throwingthe ball to a baseman to anticipate the runner. The new importance thusgiven to the bases, in their relation to both fielders and batters, justified for the game the name of "Base Ball. "

"Abner Doubleday, " writes Graves, "was several years older than I. In1838 and 1839 I was attending the 'Frog Hollow' school south of thePresbyterian church, while he was at school somewhere on the hill. I donot know, neither is it possible for anyone to know, on what spot thefirst game of Base Ball was played according to Doubleday's plan. Hewent diligently among the boys in the town, and in several schools, explaining the plan, and inducing them to play Base Ball in lieu of theother games. Doubleday's game was played in a good many places aroundtown: sometimes in the old militia muster lot, or training ground, acouple of hundred yards southeasterly from the Court House, [98] whereCounty Fairs were occasionally held; sometimes in Mr. Bennett's fieldsouth of Otsego Academy;[99] at other times over in the Miller's Bayneighborhood, [100] and up the lake. 

"I remember one dandy, fine, rollicking game where men and big boys fromthe Academy and other schools played up on Mr. Phinney's farm, a mile ortwo up the west side of the lake, [101] when Abner Doubleday and Prof. Green chose sides, and Doubleday's side beat Green's side badly. Doubleday was captain and catcher for his side, and I think John Gravesand Elihu Phinney were the pitchers for the two sides. I wasn't in thegame, but stood close by Doubleday, and wanted Prof. Green to win. Inhis first time at bat Prof. Green missed three consecutive balls. Abnercaught all three, then pounded Mr. Green on the back with the ball, while they and all others were roaring with laughter, and yelling 'Prof. Is out!'"

It is of interest to recall that Abner Doubleday, the inventor of BaseBall went from his school in Cooperstown to West Point, where he wasgraduated in 1842, and served with distinction in the Civil War, attaining to the rank of Major General. Base Ball, indeed, owes much ofits vogue to the United States Army, for it was played as a campdiversion by the soldiers of the Civil War, who, during the years ofpeace that followed, spread the fever of this pastime throughout thelength and breadth of the United States, and thus gave to the game itsnational character. 

[Illustration: THE ORIGINAL HOUSE AT APPLE HILL]

In 1908, at the time of the Base Ball Commission's decision that thegame originated at Cooperstown in 1839, there were several old residentsof the village whose recollections included that early period. On thestrength of their statements rests a probability that the CooperstownClassical and Military Academy, which was flourishing in 1839 underMajor William H. Duff, was the school attended by Doubleday. This wouldbe in accord with the recollection of Abner Graves that, in 1839, Doubleday was "at school somewhere on the hill. " This school was at"Apple Hill, " as it was called, in the grounds of the present"Fernleigh, " where the Clark residence was built and now stands. Owingto the number of trees and the abrupt slope to the river, it is notlikely that a full-sized Base Ball game was ever played within thesegrounds. But it is pleasant to fancy young Doubleday standing here, surrounded by an eager crowd of boys, amid the golden sunlight andgreenery of long ago, as he traces on the earth with a stick his famousdiamond, and from these shades goes forth with his companions to beginthe national game of America. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 96: Opinion of John M. Ward, a famous player, afterward alawyer in New York City. ]

[Footnote 97: _Spalding's Official Base Ball Guide_, 1908, p. 48. ]

[Footnote 98: The Watkins place on Chestnut Street, opposite the VillageHall, occupies this training ground, which extended east and south tothe rear of the buildings on Main Street, and included part of thePhinney lot. ]

[Footnote 99: The clergy house of St. Mary's Church occupies the site ofthe Otsego Academy. ]

[Footnote 100: The Country Club grounds. ]

[Footnote 101: The present "Brookwood. "]

CHAPTER XIV

FENIMORE COOPER IN THE VILLAGE

The childhood memories of James Fenimore Cooper were associated with thevillage which his father had settled at the foot of Otsego Lake, forhither he was brought a babe in arms, and remained until, at the age ofnine years, he was sent to Albany to be tutored by the rector of St. Peter's Church. After his career at Yale and in the Navy, he was marriedin 1811 to Susan de Lancey, and brought his bride to Cooperstown ontheir honeymoon. Three years later they came back to take up theirresidence at "Fenimore" just out of the village, on Otsego Lake, but, after three seasons of farming, circumstances once more drew FenimoreCooper away from Cooperstown. 

It was in 1834, when he had become a novelist of international fame, andhad lived for seven years in Europe, that Cooper, at the age offorty-five years, took steps to make a permanent home in the village ofhis childhood. Otsego Hall, which his father had built upon the site nowmarked by the statue of the Indian Hunter, in the Cooper Grounds, wasrepaired and partly remodeled, and here Fenimore Cooper dwelt until hisdeath in 1851. 

[Illustration: FENIMORE]

Two names of later renown are connected with Fenimore Cooper'sreconstruction of Otsego Hall. Among the artisans employed was a lad ofseventeen years apprenticed as a joiner, Erastus D. Palmer, who alreadyhad begun to attract attention as a wood-carver, and afterward becamefamous as a sculptor. While the alterations were in progress Cooper hadas his guest in Cooperstown Samuel F. B. Morse, who assisted him incarrying out his ideas for the reconstruction of the Hall, and drew thedesigns which gave it more the style of an English country house. [102]The local gossips said that Morse aspired to the hand of his friend'seldest daughter, Susan Augusta Fenimore, then twenty-one years of age, but that Cooper had no mind to yield so fair a prize to an impecuniouspainter, a widower, and already forty-three years old. Morse was at thistime experimenting with the telegraph instrument which was afterward tobring him wealth and such fame as an inventor as to overshadow hisreputation as an artist. 

[Illustration: OTSEGO HALL]

The Cooper Grounds, now kept as a public park by the Clark Estate, include the property that belonged to Fenimore Cooper. Otsego Hall, which was destroyed by fire in 1852, after the novelist's death, mustbe imagined at the centre of the grounds, where its outward appearance, as well as the arrangement of its interior, may be reconstructed by thefancy from the wooden model made from a design by G. Pomeroy Keese, andnow to be seen in the village museum. Cooper's favorite garden-seatexists in facsimile in its original situation at the southeast corner ofthe grounds. 

When in 1834 the old mansion of the founder of Cooperstown began oncemore to be occupied it was a matter of great interest to the people ofthe village. Many of them well remembered Fenimore Cooper and his bridewhen, twenty years before, they had lived at Fenimore. They recalled theformer resident as James Cooper, for it was not until 1826 that headopted the middle name, in compliance with a request which his motherhad made that he should use her family name. [103] Twenty years had mademany changes in Cooperstown, and there was a large proportion ofresidents who knew Fenimore Cooper only from his writings and byreputation. Therefore when he came back to dwell in the home of hisyouth he was regarded by many almost as a newcomer in the neighborhood, and to his family as well as to himself a rather cautious welcome wasgiven. It had to be admitted at the outset that the changes whichFenimore Cooper made in Otsego Hall were disapproved by some of thevillagers. They did not like the foreign air which the old house nowbegan to give itself with its battlements and gothic elaborations. Herewas the first muttering of the storm that clouded the later years ofFenimore Cooper. 

[Illustration: JAMES FENIMORE COOPER]

Cooper's personal appearance was in accord with the strong individualityof his character. He was of massive, compact form, six feet in height, over two hundred pounds in weight and rather portly in later years, offirm and aristocratic bearing, a commanding figure: "a very castle of aman" was the phrase which Washington Irving applied to him. Thebust[104] made by David d'Angers in Paris in 1828 gives to Cooper aclassic splendor of head and countenance which is in agreement with theimpression produced upon those who well remembered him. He had a full, expansive forehead, strong features, florid complexion, a mouth firmwithout harshness, and clear gray eyes. His head, which was set firmlyand proudly upon giant shoulders, had a peculiar and incessantoscillating motion. His expressive eyes also were singularly volatile intheir movement--seldom at perfect rest. He was always clean shaven, sothat nothing was lost of the changes of expression which animated hismobile face in conversation. He had a hearty way of meeting men, alittle bustling, and an emphatic frankness of manner which Bryant saysstartled him at first, but which he came at last to like and to admire. Cooper was a great talker. His voice was agreeably sonorous. He talkedwell, and with infinite resource. He could dash into animatedconversation on almost any subject, and was not slow to express decidedopinions, in which at times he almost demanded acquiescence. Hisearnestness was often mistaken for brusqueness and violence; "for, " saysLounsbury, [105] "he was, in some measure, of that class of men whoappear to be excited when they are only interested. " He created a strongimpression of vigor, intelligence, impulsiveness, vivacity, andmanliness. 

When walking Cooper usually carried a stick, but never for support. Inhis last years he carried a small, slender walking stick of polishedwood, having a curved handle, and too short for any purpose but toflourish in the hands. As he walked briskly along the village street, erect, and with expanded chest, this slender stick was often heldhorizontally across his back with his arms skewered behind it, while athis heels a pet dog trotted, a little black mongrel called "Frisk. " Inreturning from the walk which proved to be his last he stopped atEdgewater, then the home of his niece, and, on leaving, forgot to takehis stick. There it has remained, through the years that have passedsince his death, just as he left it, hanging by its curved handle from ashelf of one of the bookcases in the library. 

During this residence in Cooperstown Fenimore Cooper wrote some twentyof his novels, his _Naval History_, the _Chronicles of Cooperstown_, besides many sketches of travel and articles contributed to magazines. This prodigious amount of writing, together with many other activities, made his life a full one. He rose early, and a considerable portion ofhis writing was accomplished before breakfast. In summer hardly a daypassed without a visit to the Chalet farm, on the east side of the lake, where he sought relaxation from his mental labors. Accordingly, atabout eleven o'clock he might be seen issuing from the gate of hisresidence in a wagon, driving a tall sorrel horse named Pumpkin. Thisanimal was ill suited to the dignity of his driver. He had a singularityof gait which consisted in occasionally going on three legs, and attimes elevating both hind legs in a manner rather amusing than alarming;often he persisted in backing when urged to go forward, and always hisemotions were expressed by the switching of his very light wisp of atail. Mrs. Cooper was most frequently Mr. Cooper's companion on thesedaily excursions, although often the eldest daughter took the place inthe vehicle by her father's side. 

[Illustration: THE CHALET]

In the late afternoon Cooper usually devoted some time to thecomposition of his novels, without touching pen to paper. It was hiscustom to work out the scenes of his stories while promenading the largehall of his home. Here he paced to and fro in the twilight of theafternoon, his hands crossed behind his back, his brow carrying theimpression of deep thought. He nodded vigorously from time to time, andmuttered to himself, inventing and carrying on the conversation of hisvarious imaginary characters. After the evening meal he put work aside, and passed the time with the family, sometimes reading, often in a gameof chess with Mrs. Cooper, whom, ever since their wedding day, when theyplayed chess between the ceremony and supper, he had fondly called his"check-mate. " He never smoked, and seldom drank beyond a glass of winewhich he took with his dinner. 

[Illustration: THE NOVELIST'S LIBRARY

From a drawing by G. Pomeroy Keese]

In the early morning, when Cooper shut himself in the library, he setdown on paper in its final form the portion of narrative that he hadworked out while pacing the hall the previous afternoon. The libraryopened from the main hall, and occupied the southwestern corner of thehouse. It was lighted by tall, deeply-recessed windows, against whichthe branches of the evergreens outside flung their waving shadows. Thewainscoting was of dark oak, and the sombre bookcases that lined thewalls were of the same material. A large fireplace occupied the spacebetween the two western windows. Across the room stood a foldingscreen[106] upon which had been pasted a collection of engravingsrepresenting scenes known to the family during their tour and residencein Europe, together with a number of notes and autographs from personsof distinction. Attached to the top of one of the bookcases was a hugepair of antlers[107] holding in their embrace a calabash from thesouthern seas. 

The table at which the novelist sat once belonged to his maternalgrandfather, Richard Fenimore, and had been brought by Judge Cooper fromBurlington at the settlement of Cooperstown. It was a plain one ofEnglish walnut, and the chair in which he sat was of the same material. Cooper wrote rapidly, in a fine, small, clear hand, upon large sheets offoolscap, and seldom made an erasure. No company was permitted in theroom while he was writing except an Angora cat who was allowed to boundupon the desk without rebuke, or even to perch upon the author'sshoulders. Here the cat settled down contentedly, and with half-shuteyes watched the steady driving of the quill across the paper. 

[Illustration: A PAGE OF COOPER'S MANUSCRIPT

(Two-fifths of actual size)]

Among the many books written in this library _The Deerslayer_ broughtthe greatest fame to Cooperstown, for it peopled the shores of OtsegoLake with the creatures of Cooper's fancy, and added to the naturalbeauty of its scenery the glamour of romance. The idea of writing thisstory came to Fenimore Cooper on a summer afternoon as he drove from theChalet homeward in his farm wagon, with his favorite daughter by hisside, along the shaded road on the east shore of the lake. He wassinging cheerily, for, although no musician, often he sang snatches offamiliar songs that had struck his fancy, and above the rumbling of thewagon his booming voice frequently was heard along the road in a suddenburst of "Scots, wha ha'e wi' Wallace bled!" or Moore's "Love's YoungDream"--always especial favorites with him. On this occasion, however, it was a political song that he was singing, a ditty then popular duringthe campaign of 1840 in the party opposed to his own. Suddenly hepaused, as an opening in the woods revealed a charming view of the lake. His spirited gray eye rested a moment on the water, with an expressionof abstracted poetical thought, familiar to those who lived with him;then, turning to the companion at his side, he exclaimed: "I must writeone more book, dearie, about our little lake!" Again his eye rested onthe water and wooded shores with the far-seeing look of one who alreadyhad a vision of living figures and dusky forms moving amid the quietscene. A moment of silence followed. Then Fenimore Cooper cracked hiswhip, resumed his song, with some careless chat on incidents of the day, and drove homeward. Not long afterward he shut himself in his library, and the first pages of _The Deerslayer_ were written. [108]

There were perhaps many in the village who felt honored in beingneighbor to a novelist of international fame. But the general sentimenttoward Fenimore Cooper in his home town was not altogether created byhis success as a writer. It may be that the aged Miss Nancy Williams, who lived in the house which still stands on Main Street next east ofthe Second National Bank, was not alone in her estimate of this kind ofsuccess. Her favorite seat was at a front window where she was dailyoccupied in knitting, and watching all passers-by. Whenever FenimoreCooper passed, whom she had known as a boy, Miss Williams called out tohim: "James, why don't you stop wasting your time writing those sillynovels, and try to make something of yourself!"

[Illustration: _C. A. Schneider_

THE HOME OF NANCY WILLIAMS]

Whatever may have been the village estimate of his fame as a novelist, there were certain personal traits in Cooper that went farther thananything he ever wrote to fix the esteem of his fellow citizens. Amongacquaintances whom he admitted as his social equals he was universallybeloved; to these he showed all the charm and fascination of a graciouspersonality and brilliant mind. The more intimately Cooper wasapproached the more unreservedly he was admired, and within his ownfamily he was almost adored. In the humbler walks of life those whohabitually recognized Cooper as a superior had nothing to complain of. But there were many in Cooperstown who had no warmth of feeling towardFenimore Cooper. They were quick to detect in him an attitude ofcontemptuous superiority toward the villagers. Some of the neighborsfelt that he willingly remained a stranger to them. When he passed alongthe street without seeing people who expected a greeting from him, hisfriends averred that it was because his mind, abstracted from presentscenes and passers-by, was engaged in the dramatic development of sometale of sea or forest. But those who felt snubbed by his indifferencewere less charitable in their interpretation of his bearing toward them. Cooper had been for seven years a lion in Europe, splendidly entertainedby the Princess Galitzin in Paris, where he was overwhelmed withinvitations from counts and countesses; dining at Holland House inLondon with Lord and Lady Holland; a guest of honor at a ball given by aprince in Rome; presented at the brilliant Tuscan court at Florence, forwhich occasion he was decked in lace frills and ruff, with dress hat andsword;--such incidents of his foreign life began to be mentioned toaccount for Cooper's disinclination to encourage familiar acquaintancewith the villagers of Cooperstown. 

Cooper himself was entirely unconscious of any arrogance in hisattitude, and when, in connection with the later controversies, it cameto his knowledge that some villagers accused him of posing as anaristocrat in Cooperstown, he resented the imputation with somebitterness. "In this part of the world, " he said, "it is thoughtaristocratic not to frequent taverns, and lounge at corners, squirtingtobacco juice. "[109] Cooper was strongly democratic in his convictions, and was so far from having been a toady during his residence in Europethat he had made enemies in aristocratic circles abroad by his fearlesschampionship of republican institutions. At the same time he wasfastidiously undemocratic in many of his tastes. It is a keenobservation of Lounsbury's that Cooper "was an aristocrat in feeling, and a democrat by conviction. " His recognition of the worth of truemanhood, entirely apart from rank and social refinement, is shown in thenoble character of Leather-Stocking. Yet the manners and customs ofuncultivated people in real life were most offensive to his squeamishtaste, and much of his concern for the welfare of his countrymen had todo with their neglect of the decencies and amenities of socialbehaviour. 

More than half a century after his death there were some living inCooperstown who frequently related their childhood memories of FenimoreCooper. His tendency to lecture the neighbors on their manners wasburned into the memory of a child who, as she sat on her doorstep, wasengaged with the novelist in pleasant conversation, until he spied aring that she was wearing upon the third finger of her left hand. Thishe made the text of a solemn declaration upon the impropriety of wearingfalsely the symbol of a sacred relationship. The lesson intended wasprobably sensible and wholesome, but the effect produced upon the childwas a terror of Fenimore Cooper which lasted as long as life. On theother hand, one who was a slip of a girl at the time used afterward toboast that Fenimore Cooper had opened a gate for her when she was ridinghorseback, and stood hat in hand while she passed through. 

Allowance must be made for a somewhat distorted perspective in theimpression produced by Cooper upon the memories of not a few children, for, judging from their reminiscences, the Garden of Eden was not moreinviting than his, nor its fruits more to be desired, nor was the angelwith the flaming sword more terribly vigilant than Fenimore Cooper inguarding the trees from unholy hands. The glimpses of the novelist mostvividly remembered by these youngsters relate to attempted invasions ofthe orchard near his house, and their furious repulse by the irascibleowner, who charged upon the trespassers with loud objurgations and aflourishing stick. One who picked a rose without permission longremembered the "awful lecture" that Cooper gave her, and how he said, "It is just as bad to take my flowers as to steal my money. "[110]

Among the children of his own friends there was quite a differentopinion of Cooper. Elihu Phinney, who was a playmate of the novelist'sson Paul, and a frequent guest at Otsego Hall, had an intense admirationfor the author of the _Leather-Stocking Tales_, although he longremembered a lesson in table manners, by which, on one of these visits, his host had startled him. At dinner young Elihu passed his plate withknife and fork upon it for a second supply, when from the head of thetable came this reprimand: "My boy, never leave your implements on theplate. You might drop knife or fork in a lady's lap. Take them bothfirmly in your left hand, and hold them until your plate is returned. "Half a century afterward Elihu Phinney declared that whatever the rulingof etiquette might be in this matter, he had never since failed to heedthis bit of advice from Fenimore Cooper. Mrs. Stephen H. Synnott, wifeof a one-time rector of Christ Church in Cooperstown, remembered Cooperas a genuine lover of children. She was Alice Trumbull Worthington, andduring the novelist's latter years she lived as a child in the WhiteHouse on Main Street, nearest neighbor to Otsego Hall. "To meet FenimoreCooper on the street in the village was always a pleasure, " says Mrs. Synnott. "His eye twinkled, his face beamed, and his cane pointed atyou with a smile and a greeting of some forthcoming humor. When Ihappened to be passing the gates of the old Hall, and he and Mrs. Cooperwere driving home from his farm, I often ran to open the gate for him, which trifling act he acknowledged with old-time courtesy. His finegarden joined my father's, and once, being in the vicinity of the fence, he tossed me several muskmelons to catch, which at that time were quiterare in the village gardens. "

To this same little girl, when she had sent him an appreciation of oneof his novels, Fenimore Cooper wrote a letter that certainly shows abenignant attitude toward children. "I am so much accustomed tonewspapers, " he wrote, "that their censure and their praise pass but forlittle, but the attentions of a young lady of your tender years to anold man who is old enough to be her grandfather are not so easilyoverlooked. .. . I hope that you and I and John will have an opportunityof visiting the blackberry bushes, next summer, in company. I now inviteyou to select your party, to be composed of as many little girls, andlittle boys, too, if you can find those you like, to go to my farm nextsummer, and spend an hour or two in finding berries. It shall be yourparty, and the invitations must go out in your name, and you must speakto me about it, in order that I may not forget it, and you can have yourschool if you like or any one else. I shall ask only one guest myself, and that will be John, [111] who knows the road, having been there oncealready. "

Another child who found Fenimore Cooper a most genial friend wasCaroline A. Foote, who afterward became Mrs. G. Pomeroy Keese. She was afrequent visitor at Otsego Hall, where the novelist made much of her, and when she was thirteen years old he wrote some original verses in herautograph album, at her request, concluding with these lines:

 In after life, when thou shalt grow To womanhood, and learn to feel The tenderness the aged know To guide their children's weal, Then wilt thou bless with bended knee Some smiling child as I bless thee. 

Encouraged by this success, Caroline Foote afterward asked Cooper towrite some verses for her schoolmate, Julia Bryant, daughter of WilliamCullen Bryant, who was a warm friend of the novelist. With his youngpetitioner by his side Cooper sat at the old desk in the library ofOtsego Hall and laughingly dashed off these lines:

 Charming young lady, Miss Julia by name, Your friend, little Cally, your wishes proclaim; Read this, and you'll soon learn to know it, I'm not your papa the great lyric poet. 

In order to understand the local controversy which divided villagesentiment concerning Fenimore Cooper, and gave rise to the long seriesof libel suits, it is necessary to consider certain influences of moreremote origin. 

In 1826, when Cooper began his seven years' residence in Europe, beforemaking his home in Cooperstown, he had become the most widely read ofAmerican authors. No other American writer, in fact, during thenineteenth century, enjoyed so wide a contemporary popularity. His worksappeared simultaneously in America, England, and France. They werespeedily translated into German and Italian, and in most instances soonfound their way into the other cultivated tongues of Europe. [112]Cooper's friend Morse said that his novels were published, as soon as heproduced them, in thirty-four different places in Europe, and that theyhad been seen by American travelers in the languages of Turkey andPersia, in Constantinople, in Egypt, at Jerusalem, at Ispahan. At adinner given in New York in Cooper's honor, just before his departurefor Europe, Chancellor Kent, who presided, voiced the general feeling bytoasting him as the "genius which has rendered our native soil classicground, and given to our early history the enchantment of fiction. "

Patriotism in Cooper was almost a passion, and it burned in him with newardor because of the misunderstanding and disparagement of America whichhe encountered almost everywhere in Europe. The praise which came to himfrom Europeans irritated him with its air of surprise that anything goodcould be expected from America or an American. Nor did he muchingratiate himself in British society, where, when the conversationturned upon matters discreditable to the United States, it became hiscustom to bring up other matters discreditable to Great Britain. On theContinent he pursued much the same course, and published his first"novels with a purpose, " _The Bravo_, _The Heidenmauer_, and _TheHeadsman_, the object of which was to demonstrate the superiority ofdemocratic institutions over the medieval inheritances of Europe. In hisintroduction to _The Heidenmauer_ he wrote a sentence that stirred thewrath of the newspaper press of his own country: "Each hour, as lifeadvances, " he asserted, "am I made to see how capricious and vulgar isthe immortality conferred by a newspaper. " This provoked at home theretort "The press has built him up; the press shall pull him down!" Hebegan to be bitterly attacked in some American newspapers, which accusedhim of "flouting his Americanism throughout Europe. "

When Cooper returned to America in 1833 it was with a sore heart. He hadtried to set Europe right about America, and the result had been only toarouse resentment abroad and antagonism at home. It is not surprisingthat he found America much changed in seven years, and not for thebetter. It had been a period of rapid growth. New men were beginning topush the "old families" to the wall, and social rank was beginning towait on wealth, in utter indifference to the classifications of theelder aristocracy. To Cooper it seemed that while America had grown inhis absence there had been a vast expansion of mediocrity. Manners weredying out; architecture had become debased; towns were larger but moretawdry. In these observations, although they were furiously resented atthe time, Cooper was probably correct. There was a period of about fiftyyears in the nineteenth century, when, in the development of materialresources, there was a large indifference to manners in America, and adecline in the love for beautiful things and in the power to createthem. This period of neglect toward the refinements of life set in atjust about the time of Cooper's residence abroad. 

But America, in this awkward age of its youthful growth, was in no moodeither to profit by criticisms or to be indifferent to them. Cooperbegan to regard the attitude of Americans as pusillanimous. They toadiedto foreign opinion, and dared not stand up for America abroad; while athome nothing American was ever to be criticised. When he expressed theopinion that the bay of Naples was more beautiful than the bay of NewYork, or complained that the streets of New York were ill-paved andpoorly lighted as compared with those of foreign cities, he was informedby the hushed voices of friends that it would never do. His criticismsof America were received with deeper umbrage, as coming from anAmerican, than the sarcasms of Dickens which, ten years later, aroused atempest of indignation. 

It was in these circumstances that he returned to the village of hisyouth, and took up his residence at Otsego Hall, in Cooperstown. Here hewrote the _Letter to His Countrymen_ in which he set out to answercertain criticisms of his writings that had appeared in New Yorknewspapers, and, in apparent disgust, publicly announced that he hadmade up his mind to abandon authorship. Into this letter he importedsome remarks upon a political controversy which was then agitating thenation, and touched the political situation in such a way, at a timewhen feeling ran high, that he succeeded in enraging the adherents ofboth political parties. 

A storm of newspaper abuse then fell upon Cooper. He was not the man torealize that, in controversy, silence is sometimes the most effectiveweapon. He replied to every attack. Nor did he remain on the defensive. He began new hostilities. He abandoned his resolution to abandonauthorship. _The Monikins_, a satirical novel in which men areburlesqued by monkeys, was published in 1835. In the ten volumes oftravel published from 1836 to 1838 he dealt out occasional criticisms ofboth England and America with so impartial a hand that he drew down uponhimself the savage vituperation of the press on both sides of theAtlantic. Then came the period during which, from being the most popularAmerican author, he became the most unpopular man of letters to whom thenation has ever given birth. "For years, " says Lounsbury, "a storm ofabuse fell upon him, which for violence, for virulence, and even formalignity, surpassed anything in the history of American literature, ifnot in the history of literature itself. "

[Illustration: THREE-MILE POINT]

On the western shore of Otsego Lake there is a low, wooded tongue ofland which projects for a short distance into the water, and is called, in reference to its distance from Cooperstown, Three-Mile Point. Thishas been a favorite resort for picnics and other outings of villagerssince 1822. When Fenimore Cooper took up his residence in the village in1834, after his return from Europe, he found that the free use ofThree-Mile Point by the public had given rise to the notion that it wasowned by the community. This impression he took pains to correct, sayingthat while he had no desire to prevent the public from resorting to thePoint, he wished it clearly understood that it was owned by thedescendants of Judge William Cooper, of whose will he was executor. Adefiant attitude toward his claim, and the destruction of a tree atThree-Mile Point afterward led Cooper to publish in the _Freeman'sJournal_ the following warning:

 The public is warned against trespassing on the Three-Mile Point, it being the intention of the subscriber rigidly to enforce the title of the estate, of which he is the representative, to the same. The public has not, nor has it ever had any right to the same beyond what has been conceded by the liberality of the owners. J. FENIMORE COOPER. 

Immediately upon the publication of this notice, a handbill was put intocirculation, which, in sarcastic terms, called for a public meeting ofprotest. "The citizens of the Village of Cooperstown, " it ran, "arerequested to meet at the Inn of Isaac Lewis, in said Village, thisevening, at 7 o'clock, to take means to meet, and defend against thearrogant pretensions of one James Fenimore Cooper, claiming title to the'Three-Mile Point, ' and denying to the citizens the right of using thesame, as they have been accustomed to from time immemorial, withoutbeing indebted to the LIBERALITY of any one man, whether nativeor foreigner. "

[Illustration: THE CALL FOR THE INDIGNATION MEETING

From original printer's proof: one-half actual size. ]

The meeting was held, and stirring speeches were made. A series ofresolutions was passed, following a preamble setting forth the facts asunderstood by the meeting of citizens:

 Resolved, By the aforesaid citizens that we will wholly disregard the notice given by James F. Cooper, forbidding the public to frequent the Three-Mile Point. 

 Resolved, That inasmuch as it is well known that the late William Cooper intended the use of the Point in question for the citizens of this village and its vicinity, we deem it no more than a proper respect for the memory and intentions of the father, that the son should recognize the claim of the citizens to the use of the premises, even had he the power to deny it. 

 Resolved, That we will hold his threat to enforce title to the premises, as we do his whole conduct in relation to the matter, in perfect contempt. 

 Resolved, That the language and conduct of Cooper, in his attempts to procure acknowledgments of "liberality, " and his attempt to force the citizens into asking his permission to use the premises, has been such as to render himself odious to a greater portion of the citizens of this community. 

 Resolved, That we do recommend and request the trustees of the Franklin Library, in this village, to remove all books, of which Cooper is the author, from said library. 

 Resolved also, That we will and do denounce any man as sycophant, who has, or shall, ask permission of James F. Cooper to visit the Point in question. 

It was said that the meeting resolved to take Cooper's books from theLibrary and burn them at a public bonfire, but if so, this proposal didnot appear in the resolutions as finally drafted. 

The actual point at issue in this controversy was soon settled. In aletter to the _Freeman's Journal_ Cooper showed that his father's will, drawn up in 1808, made a particular devise of Three-Mile Point. Thewords of the document were explicit: "I give and bequeath my place, called Myrtle Grove [Three-Mile Point], on the west side of the LakeOtsego, to all my descendants in common until the year 1850; then to beinherited by the youngest thereof bearing my name. "

But the results of the controversy were far-reaching. The quarrel gaverise to Cooper's unfortunate book _Home as Found_, to new controversies, and to the long series of libel suits. 

_Home as Found_ was intended to set forth in the course of a story theprinciples involved in the dispute about Three-Mile Point. It gave theauthor an opportunity also to enlarge upon his criticisms of America, and particularly of New York City. For this purpose the story broughtupon the scene an American family long resident in Europe whom thewriter called the Effinghams. Against the vulgar background of Americanlife the members of this family were intended to personify all theaccomplishments of culture and social refinement. 

Cooper's own attitude was astonishing in his failure to realize that inthe Effinghams he would be supposed to be representing himself and hisown family. The intimation was sufficiently obvious. The family returnedfrom residence abroad; the removal to the village of "Templeton, " withdirect reference to _The Pioneers_; the story of the Three-Mile Pointcontroversy--the inference seemed to follow from the parallel that theEffinghams were the Coopers. But Cooper's general unwillingness toacknowledge that any of his characters were drawn from life was herecarried to the last extreme. It was evident that he was honestlyunconscious of any such inference; his purpose was to deal withprinciples, not persons. When the name of Effingham was derisivelyapplied to him, he resented the imputation. 

The controversy between Cooper and his critics had now reached a degreeof violence that was grotesque. To stand alone, as Cooper stood, againstfurious assaults that represented the sentiments of nearly the wholepublic was not conducive to playful moods of the spirit; yet thecontroversy had its humorous side, and if the novelist had had a keensense of humor he would have been spared much trouble. Certain aspectsof the ludicrous appealed to Cooper, and there was a range of absurditywithin which his merriment was easily excited, as when he laughed untilthe tears ran down his cheeks because his man-of-all-work thought thatboiled oil should be called "biled ile"; but his attempts to create andsustain humorous characters, such as the singing-master in _The Last ofthe Mohicans_, justify Balzac's comments on Cooper's "profound andradical impotence for the comic. " Nothing could be more comic than hisrôle of lecturer to the American people upon refinements of social usageand manners. The many who were guilty of the vulgarities which he wishedto correct were precisely those who could not be made to see theimpropriety of them, and most fiercely resented any attempt to improvetheir deportment. If Cooper had possessed an acute sense of humor hewould never have written _Home as Found_, nor would he have dignifiedwith a reply the attack of every scribbler who assailed him. But he tookall criticisms seriously, and felt it a solemn duty, in justice tohimself and to the principles for which he stood, to defend himselfagainst all and sundry. There is no doubt that in standing alone againstthe whole world he believed himself to be performing a public service, and displayed a degree of courage which is too rare not to commandextraordinary admiration. At the same time those of his friends whodescribed him as borne down by the weight of his sorrow at themisunderstanding and ingratitude which he encountered had not taken thefull measure of his character. So splendid a fighter as Fenimore Cooperusually finds some pleasure in fighting, especially if, as in his case, he is habitually victorious. He leaped into the fray of each controversywith such alacrity that it is difficult to avoid the belief that Cooperwas animated not only by a sense of justice, but by a joy of battle. 

The occasion of the libel suits was the publication in August, 1837, inthe _Otsego Republican_, a Cooperstown newspaper, of an article copiedfrom the _Norwich Telegraph_, in which Cooper was roundly abused inreference to the Three-Mile Point controversy, and to which the_Republican_ added comments of its own, repeating the disprovedstatement that the father of the novelist had reserved the Point for theuse of the inhabitants of the village. Cooper promptly notified theeditor of the _Republican_, Andrew M. Barber, that unless the statementswere retracted he would enter suit for libel. Barber refused to retract;the suit was begun; and in May, 1839, at the final trial, the juryreturned a verdict of four hundred dollars for the plaintiff. Theeditor sought to avoid the payment of the whole award, and a greatoutcry was raised against Cooper because the sheriff levied upon somemoney which Barber had laid away and locked up in a trunk. Cooper suedalso the _Norwich Telegraph_, and when other newspapers took the side oftheir associates he entered suit promptly against any that publishedlibelous statements. In this way one suit led to another, until Cooperwas bringing action against the _Oneida Whig_, published at Utica; the_Courier and Enquirer_ of New York, edited by James Watson Webb; the_Evening Signal_ of New York, edited by Park Benjamin; the _CommercialAdvertiser_ of New York, edited by Col. William L. Stone; the _Tribune_, edited by Horace Greeley; and the _Albany Evening Journal_, edited byThurlow Weed. This list includes the leading Whig journals of the timein the State of New York, which were among the most influential in thewhole country. Col. Stone, Thurlow Weed, and Watson Webb were formerresidents of Cooperstown, the two first named having each served anapprenticeship as printer in the office of the _Freeman's Journal_. Weedwas recognized as the leader of the Whig party in the nation, and hisnewspaper was correspondingly important. He was Cooper's most persistentopponent, and in 1841 the novelist had commenced five suits against himfor various articles published in the _Evening Journal_. It is a curiousfact that Weed was noted as a bigoted admirer of his adversary's novels. Weed himself afterward related that when about to leave Albany bystage-coach to attend one of these trials, and inquiring at thebooksellers for some late publication to read on the journey, he wasinformed that the only new book was _The Two Admirals_, which had justbeen issued. "I took the book, " said Weed, "and soon became so absorbedthat I had hardly any time or thought for the trial, through which theauthor who charmed me was trying to push me to the wall. "

The libel suits extended over the period from 1838 to 1844. Cooper actedalmost wholly as his own lawyer, and argued his own cases in court. Hewas pitted against leaders of the bar in the greatest State in theUnion. He had become personally unpopular, and was engaged in anunpopular cause. He won his verdicts from reluctant juries, but, innearly every case, he won. The libel law of the State of New York wasmade, to a great extent, by the Fenimore Cooper cases. 

To complete the story, the final disposition of Three-Mile Point, theinnocuous cause of all this controversy, must here be anticipated. In1899 Simon Uhlman, a wealthy hop merchant, purchased a summer home onthe lakeside nearest to Three-Mile Point, and, desiring to acquire thistongue of land for his own use, made inquiries of Samuel M. Shaw, theveteran editor of the _Freeman's Journal_, to ascertain from whom thepurchase might be made. Shaw learned from G. Pomeroy Keese that underthe terms of Judge Cooper's will, the Point was then owned by WilliamCooper of Baltimore, and hastily arranged for the purchase at amoderate price, not for Uhlman, but for the village of Cooperstown. ThusUhlman lost a desirable water front, and William Cooper a big price forhis land, but the citizens of Cooperstown gained a playground, thedenial of which to their forebears had nearly caused a riot. Uhlmanafterward sold his place, Uncas Lodge, to Adolphus Busch of St. Louis. 

Cooper's reputation as an author suffered from his success as a litigantin an unpopular cause, and his prosecution of the libel suits injuredthe sale of his books, not only then, but for some years after hisdeath. In 1844, just after Cooper had reduced the newspapers of theState to silence, Edward Everett Hale visited Cooperstown, and says thatwhen he tried to buy a copy of _The Pioneers_ at a local bookseller'sthe dealer coolly declared that he had never heard of the book. [113]

While public attention was engaged by the libel suits, Cooper wasoccupied with much else. It was during this period that he published hisimportant _Naval History_, besides ten of his novels. Nor was there anyloss of interest in his various avocations, among which, in 1840, hefound time to plan and supervise extensive alterations in Christ Church, of which he had become a vestryman in 1835. With his mind full of theGothic splendor of churches that he had seen in England, he set out tobeautify the village church at home. The broad windows with rounded topshe caused to be somewhat narrowed, and pointed, in the fashion usuallydescribed as Gothic. Traces of this change still appear in the exteriorbrickwork of the church, for the outline of the original windows hasnever been obliterated. To this alteration Cooper added the buttressesall about the church, not for structural necessity, but as anarchitectural embellishment. The interior he caused to be entirelyremodeled, and finished in native oak. Cooper especially prided himselfupon an oaken screen which, as his gift to the church, he erected behindthe altar. The alterations in the church are referred to in a letterdated "Hall, Cooperstown, April 22nd, 1840" and addressed to HarmanusBleecker of Albany:

 "I have just been revolutionizing Christ Church, Cooperstown, not turning out a vestry, but converting its pine interior into oak--_bona fide_ oak, and erecting a screen that I trust, though it may have no influence on my soul, will carry my name down to posterity. It is really a pretty thing--pure Gothic, and is the wonder of the country round. "

This screen remained in the church, with some alteration, until 1891, when, at the time the chancel was built, it was unfortunately thrown outand not replaced. In 1910 the remnants of the old screen werereconstructed to fit the two archways that open into the church oneither side of the chancel, and the panels of the original work were cutout, allowing a vista through the tracery. The screen that stands at theleft hand as one faces the chancel is almost entirely of the originaldesign and material. 

[Illustration: THE COOPER SCREENS IN CHRIST CHURCH]

Amid his manifold interests, Fenimore Cooper at one time amused himselfin the study of the so-called occult sciences. Having advocated withapparent enthusiasm a belief in animal magnetism and clairvoyance, hecaused public meetings to be held in the old Court House in Cooperstown, where, evening after evening, the mysteries of hypnotism were discussed. On one of these occasions a negro, who had proved at several meetings tobe an excellent subject, was hypnotized in the presence of the audience, and pronounced to be both clairvoyant and insensible to pain. WhileCooper was descanting eloquently upon this strange phenomenon, thedarkey, suddenly rolling up his eyeballs, and displaying all his ivory, sprung spasmodically into the air, and then tumbled back in his seat. This startling interruption of the lecture remained unexplained for manyyears, until Elihu Phinney, the young friend and neighbor of FenimoreCooper, confessed to being responsible for it. It seems that, during thecourse of the lectures, Phinney had had an argument with Harvey Perkinsconcerning the possibility of a truly hypnotic state, which Perkinsaffirmed and Phinney denied. Perkins finally said:

"So, you won't admit that the negro is rendered insensible to pain?"

"Never, no, not for a moment, " was the reply. 

"Well, " said Perkins, "here is a darning needle four inches long. Takethis with you to the lecture to-night, and at the first opportunitythrust it slyly for a full inch into his thigh. If he flinches, I willgive up; if not, you will believe. "

"Most assuredly, " said Phinney, and it was this test which caused theinterruption of Fenimore Cooper's lecture on hypnotism. [114]

In the summer of 1843, at about eleven o'clock every morning, FenimoreCooper was seen coming forth from the gates of Otsego Hall escorting astrange-looking companion. The figures of the two men offered a singularcontrast. Cooper, tall and portly, with the ruddy glow of health uponhis countenance, was swinging a light whip of a cane more ornamentalthan useful, and stepped forward with a firm and elastic tread. The manby his side was a shriveled and weather-beaten hulk, hobbling, and withhalting step pressing heavily upon a crooked stick that served for hissupport. Sometimes they walked the village streets together. At othertimes they came down upon the border of the lake for a sail upon itswaters in a skiff which Cooper had rigged with a lug-sail inrecollection of early Mediterranean days. Here the stranger was more athome, for the man was Ned Myers, an old sailor who had been Cooper'smessmate on board the _Sterling_ nearly forty years before. The oldsalt, who had passed a lifetime on many seas, developed a great respectfor Otsego Lake, which he found to be "a slippery place to navigate. " "Ithought I had seen all sorts of winds before I saw the Otsego, " heafterward declared, "but on this lake it sometimes blew two or threedifferent ways at the same time. "

It was a strange chance which renewed the acquaintance between FenimoreCooper and Ned Myers. Their ways were long separated. Myers hadcontinued to follow the sea, and became at last a derelict at the"Sailor's Snug Harbor" at the port of New York. Here it was that havingread some of Cooper's sea tales it occurred to the old sailor that theauthor might be the young James Cooper whom he had known aboard the_Sterling_. Accordingly he wrote to the novelist at Cooperstown, seekingthe desired information, and received in reply a cordial letterbeginning with the words, "I am your old shipmate, Ned. "

On his next visit in New York, Cooper got into touch with Myers, andinvited the old tar to spend several weeks of the summer as his guest atOtsego Hall in Cooperstown. The novelist had much in common with NedMyers, for his own experience at sea was sufficient to qualify him as asailor. "I have been myself, " said Cooper, "one of eleven hands, officers included, to navigate a ship of three hundred tons across theAtlantic Ocean; and, what is more, we often reefed topsails with thewatch. " While in Cooperstown as the guest of the novelist the old sailorwho had shipped on seventy-two different craft, and had passed a quarterof a century out of sight of land, spun the yarn of his experience whichCooper wove into the story of _Ned Myers_. 

It is remarkable that one whose writings evince so strong an orthodoxyof Christian faith, with a championship of churchly doctrines too rigidfor many of his readers, did not himself become a communicant of theChurch until the last year of his life. On Sunday, July 27, 1851, Bishopde Lancey visited Christ Church, Cooperstown, and among those to whom headministered the sacrament of Confirmation, in the presence of a largecongregation, was his brother-in-law, James Fenimore Cooper. Thenovelist's family pew was one which stood sidelong at the right of thechancel. He had by this time become quite infirm, and the bishop, afterreceiving the other candidates at the sanctuary rail, left the chancel, and administered Confirmation to Fenimore Cooper kneeling in his ownpew. 

[Illustration: _Alice Choate_

AT FENIMORE COOPER'S GRAVE]

Fenimore Cooper died less than two months later, on Sunday, September14, 1851, aged sixty-two years lacking one day. The body lay in state atOtsego Hall, and on Wednesday the funeral services were held in ChristChurch, the interment being made in the Cooper plot in Christchurchyard. This grave, covered by the prostrate slab of marble markedby a cross, and bearing an inscription that sets forth nothing beyondthe novelist's name, with dates of birth and death, has become a shrineof literary pilgrimage. The hurried tourist is disappointed in not beinggreeted by some conspicuous monument to beckon him at once to the famoustomb; but a more genuine tribute to the novelist's memory appears whenthe visitor's eye lights upon the path leading from the gate of theenclosure, and deeply worn in the sod by the feet of wayfarers in many along journey, through the years, to Cooper's grave. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 102: _James Fenimore Cooper_, by Mary E. Phillips, p. 262. ]

[Footnote 103: In 1826 he applied to the legislature to change his nameto James Cooper Fenimore, since there were no men of his mother's familyto continue the name. The request was not granted, but the change wasmade to James Fenimore-Cooper. He soon dropped the hyphen. ]

[Footnote 104: Now in the hall at Fynmere, the home built in Cooperstownby the novelist's grandson, James Fenimore Cooper of Albany. ]

[Footnote 105: _James Fenimore Cooper_, by Thomas R. Lounsbury, AmericanMen of Letters series, p. 80. ]

[Footnote 106: Now at Fynmere. ]

[Footnote 107: Now at Edgewater. ]

[Footnote 108: _Pages and Pictures_, Susan Fenimore Cooper, p. 322. ]

[Footnote 109: _James Fenimore Cooper_, W. B. Shubrick Clymer, p. 90. ]

[Footnote 110: Livermore, p. 204. ]

[Footnote 111: John Worthington, afterward United States Consul inMalta. ]

[Footnote 112: Lounsbury. ]

[Footnote 113: Cooperstown Centennial Book, p. 133. ]

[Footnote 114: _Reminiscences_, Elihu Phinney, 1890. ]

CHAPTER XV

MR. JUSTICE NELSON

Samuel Nelson, LL. D. , who became a resident of Cooperstown in 1824, madethis village his home for nearly fifty years. At the time of his deathin 1873, he had long been recognized not only as the first citizen ofCooperstown, but as a man of national reputation. 

Before taking up his residence in Cooperstown, Nelson had become judgeof the Sixth circuit, which included Otsego county; in 1831 he waspromoted to the bench of the Supreme Court of the State, of which, sixyears later, he became chief justice. In 1845 he went upon the bench ofthe Supreme Court of the United States, and served with distinctionuntil his voluntary retirement in 1872, which brought to a close thelongest judicial career in history, covering a period of half a century. In 1871 Judge Nelson was one of five members representing the UnitedStates in the Joint High Commission appointed to devise means to settledifferences between the American and British governments, andcontributed not a little to bringing about the agreement which resultedin the Treaty of Washington. 

During this long public career, Judge Nelson retained his home inCooperstown, where he was in residence much of the time. In that day thedrift of successful men to the cities had not yet become a law ofgrowth, and many a big man dwelt by choice in a small community. So itwas with Judge Nelson, who, on retiring from the highest tribunal of thenation, could imagine nothing more grateful than to spend all his timein the village from which the pressure of judicial duty had kept him toomuch away. 

[Illustration: SAMUEL NELSON, LL. D. ]

Judge Nelson first became widely known in 1837, when he was appointedchief justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York. The courtwas then composed of three judges, whose principal duty it was to hearand decide questions of law. It was a judicial body of great dignity andlearning, with a fame so illustrious that its decisions had long beencited as authority in Westminster Hall, and in all the States of theUnion where the common law prevailed. 

In the Supreme Court of the United States, when he was promoted to thattribunal, and in the United States Circuit Courts, Judge Nelson wascalled upon to administer branches of law with which he was not inpractice familiar, and some fears were expressed that these untriedduties might cause him embarrassment. It was suggested that his long andseverely critical administration of the common law, through itspleadings and practice, might have so educated him that he would fail inappreciating the more liberal and expansive systems of Equity, Maritime, Admiralty, and international jurisprudence administered in the nationalcourts; and it was also thought improbable that a judge who had beenearly in professional life elevated to the bench of a common law court, would be able to explore and understand the complicated mechanical, chemical, and other scientific questions, which in Patent causes wereconstantly arising for exclusive adjudication in the federal courts. 

But these apprehensions were all disappointed. Judge Nelson had nosooner taken his seat on the bench of the Circuit Court in New YorkCity, [115] than he perceived that the cases on the calendar, though fewin number, were so complicated, and embraced so many intricatequestions, that they must be mastered according to a method that hisformer experience did not furnish. He investigated every new question asit arose. He listened earnestly to the arguments of counsel, and everseemed resolved, before they concluded, to understand the points onwhich the case must finally turn. Often he descended from the bench whencomplicated machinery, or specimens illustrative of science, or modelsof vessels intended to develop the relations of colliding ships, werebefore him, and by their close and repeated study strove to understandthe real points in controversy. 

Thus Judge Nelson built up a sound knowledge of the principles andpractice of every branch of law which he was called upon to administer. An appeal or writ of error from his decisions was seldom taken. Sofamiliar did he become with the jurisprudence involved in theadministration of the Patent laws of this country, so thoroughly did heinvestigate questions of science and mechanics, and so sound a judgmentwas he known to form on these subjects, that his opinions concerningthem were by courts and counsel accepted as of greater authority thanthose of any other judge. For many years before the close of his laborsat the Circuit, patentees felt that when he had judicially passed upontheir rights they were substantially settled, and hence there camebefore him repeatedly from distant points cases involving the validityof the most valuable patents in the country, and to his decision theparties generally submitted without appeal. On questions of admiraltyand maritime law also he came to be considered a great authority. In hislater years he was so adept in reaching the essential points ofcomplicated cases that he was generally credited with a marvellousfaculty of intuition. He was not guided by any intuition, however, butby the results of his careful study and legal experience. 

In 1857 the Supreme Court of the United States rendered the famous DredScott decision, which became one of the contributory causes of the CivilWar. Only two members of the court dissented. Justice Nelson concurredin the conclusion of Chief Justice Taney, who delivered the decision, dissenting on one point only, and adding that, in his opinion, the powerof Congress could not be one-sided; if it existed to destroy slavery, itcould also establish slavery. 

Judge Nelson had gained some acquaintance with slavery in his own hometown, for, when first he took up his residence in Cooperstown, in 1824, there were a number of slaves in the village. Some of the earliestsettlers had negroes in bondage. Among these was James Averell, Jr. , whoworked his tannery by slave labor. One of his slaves, known as TomBronk, was for many years well known in Cooperstown as the servant ofthe former owner's son, William Holt Averell, and lived to a great age. The clumsily written bill of sale by which Tom Bronk became the propertyof James Averell, Jr. , is still in existence:

 Know all men by these Presents, that I, George Henry Livingston, of the town of Sharon, County of Schoharie and State of New York, for and in Consideration of the Sum of three hundred Dollars Lawful money of the State of New York to me in hand paid by James Averill Jr of the town and County of Otsego and State Aforesaid At or before the Sealing and delivery of these Presents, the Receipt whereof, I the said George Henry Livingston do hereby acknowledge, have granted, bargained and sold, and by these presents, do grant, bargain and sell, unto the said James Averill Jr, his Executors, Administrators, and assigns, one negro man About thirty Six years of age and known by the name of Tom to have and to hold the said negro man Tom to the said James Averill Jr. His Executors, Administrators, and assigns forever; and I the said George Henry Livingston for myself, my heirs Executors, and Administrators the Said negro man unto the said James Averill Jr. His Executors, administrators, and assigns, against me the said George Henry Livingston, my Executors, and Administrators, and against all and every other person or persons Whomsoever Shall and will warrent. And forever Defend by these presents. And also warrent the said negro man to be Sound and in health. According to the best of my knowledge in witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and Seal the Second Day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight hundred Fifteen. 

 Signed, Sealed, and Delivered In Presence of ZACHARIAH HUGER KOERL VAN SCHAYCK GEORGE X HENRY LIVINGSTON. His mark

A group of settlers who came from the Barbadoes brought with themslaves, who were afterward freed, and the tombstone of Joseph Stewart, in the Cooper family plot in Christ churchyard, emphasizes, in capitalletters, the fact that, although born a slave, he was for twenty years a_free_ servant of Judge Cooper. These instances, and an advertisement inthe _Otsego Herald_ in 1799, show that slavery was not uncommon here inthe early days:

 A YOUNG WENCH--_For Sale_--She is a good cook, and ready at all kinds of housework. None can exceed her if she is kept from liquor. She is 24 years of age--no husband nor children. Price $200; inquire of the printer. 

The act which entirely abolished slavery in the State of New York didnot take effect until July 4th, 1827, on which occasion about sixtyCooperstown negroes marched with a flying banner and martial music tothe Presbyterian church, where Hayden Waters, a village darkey, delivered an address that was heard not only by his colored brethren, but by a large assemblage of white citizens. 

Justice Nelson's concurrence in the Dred Scott decision did notnecessarily register his approval of slavery, but only hisinterpretation of the law as it then existed. He never owned any slaves, and was regarded by the negroes in Cooperstown as a powerful friend oftheir race. A favorite servant of his household for some years was afree negro named Jenny York, who had been a slave in her youth. She wasa unique character, famous as a cook, having an unusually keenappreciation of a cook's perquisites. Choice provisions and delicaciesdisappeared through systematic dole at Judge Nelson's kitchen door, orsometimes being reserved against a holiday, reappeared to furnish abanquet in the servants' hall, to which Jenny's many dusky friends werebidden. The current story is that, when Jenny died, the negroes of thevillage chose for her grave an epitaph which, at their request, JudgeNelson caused to be inscribed upon her tomb exactly as they had wordedit. This inscription may still be seen upon a tombstone that faces thestreet at the eastern end of Christ churchyard, in the part which wasreserved for the burial of negroes. Jenny was sincerely mourned at thetime of her death, but with the passing of the years no tears are shedat her grave but those of sympathetic laughter. A just appreciation ofthe delicate balance of mercy and justice in her unusual epitaphrequires some definite knowledge of both the virtues and weaknesses ofJenny York. The enigmatical eulogy reads as follows:

 JENNY YORK DIED FEB. 22, 1837. AET. 50 YEA. 

 * * *

 SHE HAD HER FAULTS BUT WAS KIND TO THE POOR. 

When Nelson went upon the bench of the national Supreme Court he becameacquainted with Stephen A. Douglas, who was then springing intoprominence in Congress; and it was said that the "little giant" got muchof the legal ammunition for his speeches from the new associate justice. More than once Justice Nelson was suggested as the Democratic candidatefor President of the United States, and at the Democratic nationalconvention held in Chicago during the Civil War Governor Horatio Seymourof New York attempted to carry his nomination. It was known, however, that Judge Nelson had declined to allow the use of his name, and hadexpressed the opinion that a justice of the federal supreme court nevershould be regarded as a possible candidate for political office. Nelsonat this time was in many ways the strongest man on the bench of theSupreme Court, and Salmon P. Chase, who was appointed chief justice in1864, placed great reliance upon his advice and judgment. On oneoccasion at the table of John V. L. Pruyn in Albany, when his hostaddressed Chase as "Mr. Chief Justice, " the latter pleasantlyinterrupted him--"Your friend Nelson is Chief Justice, " he said. 

During the Civil War, although a member of the Democratic party, JusticeNelson won and retained the confidence of the party in power, and hisloyalty was never questioned. He disapproved of what he held to beinvasions of the rights of citizens which were made under militaryauthority, but never by word or act obstructed the maintenance of thefederal government. President Lincoln and Secretary Seward reposedgreat faith in Judge Nelson's wisdom, and in critical emergenciesconsulted him upon delicate questions of international law which aroseduring the progress of the war. 

An episode of the Civil War period in Cooperstown, although the truth ofthe matter was a state secret at the time, had a relation to JusticeNelson that is of interest in this connection. In a visit of thediplomatic corps from Washington the village enjoyed such memorableemotions of civic pride that the date of the event, the twenty-first ofAugust, 1863, was long afterward referred to, by the oldest inhabitants, as "Cooperstown's great day. "

It was said that the entertainment of the legations at Cooperstown wasincluded as part of an excursion through New York State which SecretarySeward had planned to impress upon foreign governments the strength andresources of the North. 

The party arrived from Sharon Springs, and had luncheon at the Inn atFive-Mile Point, on Otsego Lake. Secretary Seward's guests included LordLyons, of England; Baron Gerolt, of Prussia; M. Mercier, of France;Baron Stroeckel, of Russia; M. Tassara, of Spain; M. Molina, ofNicaragua; together with the representatives of Italy, Sweden, andChili; and several secretaries and attachés of various legations. A fewcitizens of Cooperstown, including Judge Nelson, were invited to takeluncheon with the visitors. The master of ceremonies was the Hon. LeviC. Turner of Cooperstown, who was at that time Judge advocate in theWar Department, and had accompanied the party from Washington. 

The luncheon passed without incident, except that a weighty citizen ofthe village undertook to demonstrate, for the benefit of the foreigners, the American method of eating corn on the cob, to the great disgust of adapper attaché of the British legation, who was horrified by theperformance. When the guests had left the table, which had been setbeneath the trees, and were lounging about in peaceful enjoyment of theforest shade and lakeland view, there appeared upon the scene a personwho impressed the foreigners as being a veritable pioneer. He was atall, loose-jointed creature, bearded and long-haired; he wore a slouchhat and a hickory shirt, while one suspender supported blue jeanoveralls, which disappeared in a pair of cowhide boots of hugeproportions. This uninvited guest calmly inspected the assembledcompany, drew near to the deserted tables, helped himself to a tumblerand a bottle of brandy, from which he poured out four fingers of thefiery liquid, and drank it raw. He seemed thoughtful for a moment; thenrepeated the dose. Thus agreeably stimulated the stranger made himselfat home in the company, and became talkative. 

"I say, " he said, bustling alongside the French minister, "you're goin'to stand right by us in this muss, ain't you?"

The polite diplomat hastened to assure him that the French governmentdesired nothing but the most friendly relations. The man drew nearerthan was necessary for diplomatic intercourse:

"Honor bright, now, and no foolin'?"

The ambassador repeated his assurance of friendship, and edged away fromthe pioneer, whose gesticulations became alarming as he shouted, "You've got to, don't you see--"

What he wanted the Frenchman to see was the power of the UnionGovernment, and, as words failed him to describe it, the uninvited guestattempted to make visible, in his own person, the frightfulness of thegod of War. He leaped into the air, flung his hat on the ground, strucka pugilistic attitude, and began to dance around the ambassador, squaring off with his fists, as though preparing a knockout blow for theFrench Republic. The two were quickly surrounded by a ring of diplomatsand citizens of Cooperstown, the foreigners being doubtful whether thematter should be taken in jest or earnest, while the villagers werehesitating between enjoyment of the comedy and a sense of duty towardtheir guests. As for M. Mercier, he was aghast at the rudeness of thechallenge. He folded his arms, drew himself up, shrugged his shoulders, puffed out his cheeks, and stared at the adversary with eyes aflame. 

Before the pugilistic stranger could execute his threats Judge HezekiahSturges of Cooperstown interposed his burly form; at a nod from him twomuscular citizens of the village seized the invader by the back of theneck and the seat of his overalls, made him "walk Spanish" quickly tothe shore, and heaved him into the lake. 

In the late afternoon the party of diplomats were conveyed by carriagesto Cooperstown, where they became severally the guests of variouscitizens. The distinguished visitors were greeted by a salute of guns;while fireworks and bonfires were the order of the evening. The FlyCreek Band, accompanied by a large crowd of villagers, under theleadership of James I. Hendryx, serenaded the foreign ministers at theirvarious places of sojourn, and speeches were called for, which wereloudly applauded. Judge Turner's house, the old Campbell homestead, which stands on Lake Street, facing Chestnut Street, was first visited, for there William H. Seward, Secretary of State, was the guest of honor. The band played a waltz, and the crowd cheered. Judge Turner soonappeared, and introduced the Secretary of State, who made a briefspeech. He said that the weather in Washington had become exasperatinglyhot; matters of complex nature and of international importance had to bediscussed; there was danger that he and the foreign minsters mightbecome fretful and peevish; and so he had asked the entire diplomaticcorps to take a vacation, and meanwhile affairs of State might go hang. 

The speech pleased the crowd. The band played another waltz, to the tuneof which the procession marched through the main street and across theriver to Woodside, where Lord Lyons, the British minister, was the guestof John F. Scott. Here the band played a third waltz, while hundreds ofcheering men clambered up the terraced slope of the garden. Some onecalled for Lord Lyons, and the whole crowd took up the cry, "Lord Lyons!Lord Lyons!" This soon became "Lyons! Lyons!" although one enthusiasticIrishman of great vocal power kept crying, "Misther Lynes! MistherLynes!"

At this point the leader of the band was instructed to play "God Savethe Queen, " as a compliment to the guest of Woodside. 

"My heaven!" he whined, "we can't play nothing but three waltzes!"

One of the waltzes was then repeated, and the host of Woodside appeared. He explained that Lord Lyons had been paying a visit across the river, but was expected to return at any moment. Just then Lord Lyons himselfcame hopping up the steps of the terrace, short, fat, lively, a man oftalent, who soon recovered his breath, and made a speech that elicitedhearty cheers. 

The Russian ambassador was the guest of Edward Clark at Apple Hill, where Fernleigh now stands. The diplomat had retired when the crowd ofserenaders arrived, and was awakened by the blare of the band and louddemands for "a speech from the great Roosian bear!" The guest wasassisted by his host to crawl through the window over the porch, inscanty raiment, to speak to the assembled citizens. At the residence ofJedediah P. Sill, which stands on Chestnut Street next to the Methodistparsonage, the Italian ambassador received the crowd with bows andsmiles. 

Similar visits were paid at the places of sojourn of the otherrepresentatives of foreign powers; but the most uproarious assembly wasthat which gathered before the home of George L. Bowne, where theSpanish ambassador was being entertained. This house stands on the westside of Chestnut Street, next south of Willow Brook, which here ducksbeneath a culvert to cross the highway. 

The representative of the Queen of Spain had only a limited knowledge ofthe English language, but what he lacked in vocabulary he made up ingestures, shrugging his shoulders up to his ears. 

"Gentlemen, " he began, "you will excuse me from a speech. In my country, we, the nobility, do not make speeches to the common people. "--(Vigorouscheers greeted this statement, and Judge Turner, who stood near thespeaker, remarked, "True, every word. ") "I the English language not welldo speak, "--("Go on, go on; you're a daisy, that's what you are, " criedvoices from the crowd, while Judge Turner kept saying with judicialgravity, "Every word true. ") At this point the Spaniard becameincoherent, but, although nobody could understand a word, wild cheersgreeted him at every pause in his discourse. He let loose a flood ofeloquence, which being consistently endorsed by Judge Turner, wasapplauded until the speaker stopped from sheer exhaustion. [116]

It was long after midnight when the last speech had been made and thecrowds dispersed. 

[Illustration: THE HOME OF JUSTICE NELSON]

A pair of small boys, who had made the occasion an excuse for stayingout a good part of the warm summer night, passed Justice Nelson'sresidence on Main Street, as they strolled homeward, and noticed thathere a light was still burning. The deserted street was feebly lit by afew gas lamps, but the other houses in the neighborhood were dark, andthe boys were attracted as moths to a flame by the glimmering throughthe blinds of Judge Nelson's windows. The lighted room was the one onthe ground floor at the right of the doorway. Because of the warmth ofthe night, the window-sashes had been raised, and the curtains drawnback, so that the interior of the room was screened from passers-by onlyby the closed slats of the blinds. These were temptingly near to thesidewalk, and the young imps, standing on tiptoe, did not hesitate, whenthey had discovered a chink between the slats, to peek into theapartment. 

They saw a room lined with rows of books bound in law-calf, for it wasJudge Nelson's library. In the midst a student's lamp shed a mellowlight upon the usual paraphernalia of a lawyer's desk, and dimlyilluminated the features of two men who sat facing each other across thetable. The large form, massive head, and long gray hair of Judge Nelson, who sat with his back to the fireplace, were instantly recognized by thepeering eyes at the window. The man who faced him was of a differenttype, a rather small figure, with nothing commanding in his appearance;he had a shock of sandy hair, blue eyes, and a smoothly shaven mouth andchin somewhat receding from a finely chiseled nose. He was speakingearnestly, and in a tone of conviction. His voice was harsh, but hismanner was suave, agreeable, and persuasive. 

"Who's he?" whispered one of the boys. 

"That's Mr. Seward from Washington, " replied the other, "I heard himmake a speech in front of Judge Turner's house. "

The eavesdroppers continued to listen, but the conversation betweenJudge Nelson and Mr. Seward was carried on in such low tones that theycould make little of it. Now and again they caught a phrase--"moretroops"--"President Lincoln"--"save the Union, "--but the purport of thematter was beyond them. 

The spying youngsters crept into their beds that night laden with asense of mystery in this weird consultation, of which they had beenwitnesses, between the senior justice of the Supreme Court of the UnitedStates and the Secretary of State of the United States. Next day theyboasted among their comrades of having discovered some secret affair ofstate. 

Years afterward, through Justice Nelson's son, Judge R. R. Nelson of St. Paul, Minnesota, it came out that these young spies had rightly divinedthe truth. The conference which the Secretary of State held with JusticeNelson during the small hours of the morning of August 22nd, 1863, washad at the instance of President Lincoln, and was importantly related tothe conduct of the Civil War. The conference itself, in fact, was thesecret motive of the diplomatic excursion, which had been designedespecially to divert attention from it. 

It seems that the administration at Washington had become greatlyworried over a situation that had developed concerning the drafting oftroops. A heavy draft had been ordered, --Otsego county had been calledupon to furnish nearly a thousand men, --and there was great excitementthroughout the northern states. At this critical juncture one ofJustice Nelson's associates on the bench, who was sitting in the UnitedStates Circuit in Pennsylvania, had granted a writ of _habeas corpus_directing a certain drafted man to be brought before him, and theposition taken by counsel was that the draft was unconstitutional andillegal. This justice, like Nelson, belonged to the Democratic party, and was therefore in many ways opposed to the Lincoln administration. Hewas known to entertain opinions which might lead him to decide that thedraft was unconstitutional. 

President Lincoln became apprehensive, and sent for Secretary Seward. 

"We must have more troops, " said the President, "and we can get them inonly one way. Now if this draft should be declared unconstitutional, itwould create a most serious state of affairs at the North, and wouldgreatly encourage the South; it might even defeat our efforts to savethe Union. In some way, if possible, this situation of affairs must beprevented. "

"I know of but one man who can prevent it, " replied Seward. "He is astrong personal friend of the Pennsylvania justice, and of the samepolitical party, though more loyal to the Union. I think he caninfluence him. I refer to Justice Nelson of the Supreme Court, who isnow at his home in Cooperstown. "

When the President urged the Secretary to confer with Judge Nelsonwithout delay, Seward was somewhat taken aback. To summon Nelson toWashington in order to ask of him so delicate a favor was not to bethought of. On the other hand for the Secretary of State to go toCooperstown to confer with the Democratic justice would be certain toprovoke political gossip and newspaper speculation, at the risk ofdefeating the object desired. 

But President Lincoln was determined. 

"In some way it must be done, " he said. "You must see Justice Nelson. "

The upshot of the matter was that the fertile brain of the Secretaryevolved and carried out the plan that brought the diplomatic corps fromWashington to Cooperstown on an excursion, under color of which he hadhis interview with Justice Nelson. 

The result was all that the Secretary of State had hoped for. JudgeNelson held that the draft was not unconstitutional, and promptly soinformed his friend in Pennsylvania, whose opinion was soon given inaccordance with the views of his learned associate. 

Thus "Cooperstown's great day" turned out to be of wider import than thecheering crowds of villagers imagined. 

Justice Nelson's appointment by President Grant in 1871 as one of thefive American members of the Joint High Commission to negotiate a treatywith Great Britain was a just tribute to his personal character as wellas to his knowledge of international law. The matters in disputeconcerned British possessions in North America, as well as the so-calledAlabama claims arising out of the Civil War. Justice Nelson was alreadyknown by reputation to the British members of the commission, and theyaccorded him the fullest respect and confidence. In this controversy, which rankled in the hearts and affected the judgment of millions ofpeople, Judge Nelson brought to the solution such wisdom and acuteness, accompanied by persuasive manners, frankness, conscientiousness, andlearning, that all accorded to him the highest consideration and regard. His brilliant and successful service in the Joint High Commission duringthe seventy days of its sessions was regarded as a fitting culminationof half a century of public office. For his signature of the Treaty ofWashington turned out to be his last official act. During the finalhours of the session the chill of the rooms in which the commissionerssat was the cause of an illness from which Justice Nelson never fullyrecovered, and which occasioned his resignation from the bench of theSupreme Court in 1872. In commenting upon his resignation, the _New YorkTribune_ said, "It would be difficult to exaggerate the respect andregard which will follow this able and incorruptible jurist from thepost he has so long filled with honor to himself and profit to thecommonwealth, when he retires to the well-earned repose which his giftsof mind and heart will enable him so perfectly to enjoy. "

In the village of Cooperstown the street called Nelson Avenue is namedin honor of the distinguished jurist, and three different places ofresidence are associated with his memory. When in 1825 he married, ashis second wife, Catharine A. Russell, daughter of Judge John Russellof Cooperstown, they began housekeeping at Apple Hill, on the site nowoccupied by Fernleigh. In 1829 they removed to Fenimore, which stillstands just outside of the village, near the western shore of the lake, and lived there until 1838, when they took up their residence at Mrs. Nelson's homestead, the large brick house on the north side of MainStreet near the corner of Pioneer Street, and made it their home for therest of their lives. 

[Illustration: NELSON AVENUE]

Although Judge Nelson survived Fenimore Cooper by more than twentyyears, he was only three years his junior, and the two men becameintimate personal friends in Cooperstown. They were often seen togetheron the street, and in fine personal presence and noble bearing theybore some resemblance to each other. In the old stone Cory building onMain Street, when the lower part was conducted as a hardware store, Judge Nelson and Fenimore Cooper used often to spend an evening, sittingabout the stove in a circle of admiring auditors gathered to hear thegreat men talk. It was shortly after Fenimore Cooper's return toCooperstown to live at Otsego Hall that Judge Nelson was appointed ChiefJustice of the State, and Cooper ever thereafter spoke of his friend as"the Chief. " The novelist had a good deal of the lawyer in hiscomposition, and he often discussed legal matters with Judge Nelson, aswell as political affairs of state. Both were fond of farming and ruralpursuits, and as their farms lay on opposite sides of the lake, JudgeNelson's at Fenimore, and Cooper's at the Chalet, they were ablefrequently to compare notes of their success as agriculturists, perhapswith the more interest because Cooper himself had formerly owned thefarm at Fenimore. 

Judge Nelson was not seldom seen on horseback in Cooperstown, andcontinued this form of exercise long after he had passed the limit ofthree score years and ten. In his later years he was described as abroad-shouldered and magnificent figure, with a massive head crownedwith a wealth of gray hair. He was simple and unaffected in his manners, and never assumed any magniloquence because of his exalted position. Onreturning from Washington to Cooperstown for the summer, he seemed todelight in holding a kind of indiscriminate levee in the main street ofthe village, greeting old neighbors, shopkeepers, and farmers alike, and remembering most of them by their Christian names. In those days themerchants were accustomed to leave their empty packing-boxes on thesidewalk in front of their shops, and it was no uncommon sight to seethis Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States seated carelesslyon a dry-goods box, while he chatted with a group of admiring villagers. His conversation was always entertaining, not only because of his wealthof mind, but on account of his prodigious memory of men and events. Hisgift of memory was undoubtedly of great use to him on the bench, for hecould restate complicated facts in cases so long since heard by him thatthe issues had been forgotten by the counsel concerned in them. 

Judge Nelson was for many years a vestryman, and later a warden, ofChrist Church in Cooperstown. In his day there was no thoroughfarethrough the Cooper Grounds, and he walked to church by way of RiverStreet. Above the stone wall on the west side of River Street was anabundant growth of tansy. It was Judge Nelson's invariable habit to picka sprig of tansy on his way to Sunday morning service, and he enteredthe church absently holding the pungent herb to his nostrils, as he madehis way to the pew now marked by a tablet in the north transept. 

On February 13, 1873, the honors paid to Judge Nelson on his retirementfrom the bench of the United States Supreme Court were of a characternever before known in America, and not in England since Lord Mansfieldwas the recipient of similar honors at the hands of Erskine and theother lights of the British bar. A committee which included several ofthe foremost lawyers in New York City, and officially representing theBar of the Third District, came in a special car from New York toCooperstown to present to Judge Nelson an address expressive ofappreciation of his long service on the bench, and of regret at hisretirement, in sympathy with similar resolutions adopted in Albany andWashington. 

It was a gala day in Cooperstown when its most distinguished citizen wasso honored. The streets, glistening with snow, were filled with peoplecareering about in sleighs. The American flag flapped in the breeze fromthe tall liberty-pole which then stood at the midst of the cross-roadswhere Main and Pioneer streets intersect. A horse-race upon the frozenlake had been arranged for the entertainment of the visitors, and someof the young people had bob-sleds ready, prepared to give thedistinguished metropolitan lawyers a thrilling ride down the slope ofMt. Vision when the ceremonies should be over. 

In the early afternoon the legal and judicial delegation walked quietlytwo by two to the residence of Judge Nelson, which, although now invadedby the business requirements of the village, still holds its place onMain Street. In the procession were three federal judges, and a dozenchosen members of the bar of New York. The door of the old house, atwhich nobody stops to knock any more, was thrown open to receive thedistinguished delegation. The villagers had gathered in thedrawing-room, at the left of the entrance, to take part in theceremonies. Among many ladies who graced the scene the three daughtersof Fenimore Cooper were particularly noted by the visitors. The retiredjudge sat in his armchair, arrayed in black, wearing a high chokernecktie, while Mrs. Nelson, a lovely old lady with a face as fresh atseventy as a summer rain, supported herself on the arm of the chair. Thejudicial delegation came into the parlor led by Judge Woodruff, E. W. Stoughton, Judge Benedict, and Judge Blatchford, while Clarence A. Seward, Sidney Webster and others followed. Judge Nelson retained hisseat, and the most impressive silence prevailed. Then Stoughton, chairman of the committee, after some introductory remarks, read theaddress which had been prepared by the Bar of New York. 

At the conclusion of this address Judge Nelson drew out his spectaclesand read his reply, in a voice that trembled with emotion. Then he roseslowly and received the personal congratulations of the delegation andof the village friends assembled. 

When, a few months later, Samuel Nelson was dead, and the press of thenation was printing lengthy eulogies of his career as a jurist, a fewlines in the little weekly newspaper of his own home town gave thehighest estimate of his life that can be accorded to any man:

"In his home Judge Nelson was a great man. The almost extreme modestywhich characterized his public life had its counterpart in thoroughlydeveloped domestic virtues, which not only made him beloved to devotionby all the members of his family, but endeared him to all with whom hewas brought into contact. There was in his disposition a placidness oftemper which made him always easy of approach, and rendered intercoursewith him a permanent spring of pure enjoyment. "

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 115: From the beginning justices of the Supreme Court of theUnited States sat, from time to time, as circuit judges. (Stuart v. Laird, 1 Cranch, p. 308. ) Justice Nelson was assigned to the SecondCircuit, which includes New York. ]

[Footnote 116: Perry P. Rogers. ]

CHAPTER XVI

CHRIST CHURCHYARD

When in 1856 Frederick A. Lee and Dorr Russell formed the LakewoodCemetery Association, and purchased the beautiful tract that lies alongthe hill on the east side of the lake, a half-mile from the village, theolder burying-grounds within the town began gradually to be disused. Christ churchyard, which contains the oldest graves of the originalsettlement, has long since ceased to be used for burials, beyond thoseoccasionally permitted, for special reasons, by act of the Vestry of theparish. This disuse has secured to the churchyard the right to grow oldgracefully, without the too frequent intrusion of recent death, and toacquire the picturesque charm of antiquity which in cemeteries seems todispel all the terrors of mortality. 

The love of old burial-grounds belongs to a distinct type of mind andtemperament. To some minds all cemeteries are equally devoid ofinterest. Among visitors in Christ churchyard, of whom there arethousands during every summer, the classification of sightseers isautomatic. Some glance at Cooper's grave, peep into the church toglimpse the memorials of the novelist, and hurry away with an air ofduty done. The lovers of churchyards linger, and stroll thoughtfullyamong the tombs. They find a charm in the most obscure memorials of thedead. They read aloud to each other the quaint inscriptions. Now andagain they pause, note-book in hand, to copy some chiseled epitaph thatstrikes the fancy. They kneel or lie prone upon the turf before acrumbling tomb to decipher its doleful couplets, thrusting aside theconcealing grasses, lest a word be missed. They wander here and therebeneath the shadow of the venerable elms and pines, and, beforedeparting, enter the old church, to rest and pray within the stillnessof its fane. 

[Illustration: _Alice Choate_

A GLIMPSE FROM THE RECTORY]

Aside from the part of the churchyard reserved for the burials of theCooper family, the only enclosed plot is the small one just south of it, squared in by a low fence of rusty iron. This belonged to the family ofthe Rev. Frederick T. Tiffany, who succeeded Father Nash as rector ofChrist Church, and afterward became a chaplain in Congress. 

The oldest tomb in the churchyard holds an inconspicuous place two tierseast of the Tiffany enclosure. It is the grave of Samuel Griffin, theinn-keeper's child, who died at the Red Lion Tavern. The gravestone isdated 1792, which is ancient for this part of the country. 

In the first burials within these grounds, it was the intention toregard the old Christian tradition in accord with which the dead areburied with the feet toward the east. Yet, since the graves naturallyfollow the parallel of the enclosure, which is not exactly east andwest, but conforms to the general bent of the village, they fall short, by a few points of the compass, of facing due east. 

Among the early settlers of Cooperstown there was one family not to beput off with any vagueness of orientation. It was that of Joshua Starr, a potter, whom Fenimore Cooper describes as "a respectable inhabitant ofthe village. " To the mind of Joshua Starr, who survived the othermembers of his family, it was plain that if a proper grave should faceeast, it should face the east, and not east by south. Accordingly, thegraves of the Starr family, a few steps northward from Samuel Griffin's, are notable among the tombs of Christ churchyard in being set with thefoot due east, as by a mariner's compass. The wide headstones split theplane of the meridian; their edges cleave the noonday sun and the polarstar. To the casual observer these three tombstones, as compared withall others in the churchyard, seem quite awry. In reality they alone aremeticulously correct, a standing tribute to the exact eye of JoshuaStarr, the potter. 

Southward from Samuel Griffin's grave, in the next tier to the east, acurious use of verse appears upon two stones, whereby Capt. Joseph Jonesand his wife Keziah, both dying in 1799, seem to converse in responsivecouplets. Mrs. Jones avers, majestically, Within this Silent grave I ly. 

To which the hero of the Revolution quite meekly replies, This space is all I occupy. 

The crudeness of some epitaphs gives them a grotesque touch of realism. Here is one just south of the squared-in Tiffany plot:

 Mourn not since freed from human ills, My dearest friends & two Infants still, My consumptive pains God semed well, My soul to prepair with him to dwell. 

Northward of this tomb is a sarcophagus that shows a well laid plan in astate of perpetual incompletion. Besides serving as a monument of thedead, the tomb was intended to be a kind of family record. The names ofchildren and grandchildren were inscribed, and as they departed thislife their names were marked with a chiseled asterisk referring to afoot-note which pronounced them "dead. " Four deaths were so recorded;then the sculptured enrollment was discontinued. Written still among theliving there remain four names, of those who have been long dead, whilethe name of one born after the monument was erected, and survivor of allthe others, was never included in the memorial. 

Near the orientated tombs of the Starrs the grave of an infant who diedin 1794 bears this epitaph:

 Sleep on sweet babe; injoy thy rest: God call'd the soon, he saw it best. 

A more severe view of the Deity appears upon a gravestone six rows eastof this, commemorating James and Tamson Eaton, who died in 1846. Tamsonwas fifteen years old, and, as the verse reveals, was a girl:

 This youth cut down in all her bloom, Sent by her God to an early doom

Tamson's brother James was killed by lightning a few months later, andthe event is thus versified:

 What voice is that? 'Tis God, He speaketh from the clouds; In thunder is concealed the rod That smites him to the ground. 

Near the driveway and toward the church is the tombstone of MaryOlendorf, which bears these feeling lines:

 Tread softly o'er this sacred mound For Mary lies beneath this ground May garlands deck and myrtles rise To guard the Tomb where Mary lies. 

A short distance eastward from the centre of the churchyard, and nearlyabreast of the obelisk commemorating Father Nash, stands somewhat apartthe rugged tombstone of Scipio, an old slave. Aside from the graves ofFenimore Cooper and his father, the founder of the village, notforgetting the grave of Jenny York, [117] which is the joy of thechurchyard, no tomb in the enclosure receives more attention fromstrangers than that of Scipio, with its quaint verses descriptive of theaged slave. 

North of this stone, after passing three intervening tombs, one comesupon an odd inscription that marks the grave of a fourteen-year-oldboy, who was drowned December 3, 1810:

 Thus were Parents bereavd of a dutiful son and community of a promising youth, while pursuing with assiduity the act of industry. 

What this act of industry was that cost the life of young GarrettBissell is not related. 

A number of those buried in Christ churchyard died violent deaths; onewas murdered, and another was hanged, but that story has been alreadytold. 

"Joe Tom, " a negro whose tomb fronts the east end of the churchyard, where the members of his race were buried apart from the whites, was formore than a score of years sexton of Christ Church, and when he died, in1881, had been for a half a century a unique figure in the life of thevillage. "Joe Tom" was always the general factotum at publicentertainments, and had won a title as "the politest negro in theworld. " Music of a lively sort he scraped from the fiddle or beat uponthe triangle. He was head usher at meetings, chief cook at picnics, astentorian prompter at dances, and chief oar at lake excursions. 

On one occasion there was to be a burial in the churchyard in theafternoon, for which Joe had made no preparation before escorting apicnic party to Three-Mile Point in the morning. Suddenly he rememberedthe funeral. Seizing a boat he rowed hastily back to the village, commenced digging the grave, tolled the bell, and, while the funeralservice was being held in the church, completed his task, standing readywith solemn visage to perform the final duty of casting the earth uponthe coffin. He then went back to the Point, and finished the day byescorting his party home. Not infrequently his day's work was protractedfar into the night. If there was a midnight country dance the tinkle ofhis triangle could be heard until near sunrise, and often he was seenreturning by daylight from some nocturnal festivity, fast asleep in afarmer's wagon. [118]

If his versatile life rendered him somewhat uncertain at times in thedischarge of his duties as sexton of Christ Church, he never failed todisarm criticism by his plausible and polite excuses. In his day thebell rope was operated from the vestibule of the church, and Joe Tom, arrayed in Sunday finery, was a familiar figure to church-goers, as hestood in the church porch tolling the bell with measured stroke, andinclining his woolly head with each motion to the entrance of everyworshipper. 

Joe was born in slavery in the island of Barbadoes, and was brought, when quite young, to Cooperstown, by Joseph D. Husbands. Few persons inhis day were better known than Joe Tom, yet, in his latter years, illhealth withdrew him from public notice, and at his funeral he was laidaway in the churchyard, unsung, if not unwept. A contemporary expresseda hope that the dead can have no knowledge of their own obsequies, for"poor Joe, who was the very soul of music, would hardly have beensatisfied with a service in which not a key was struck, or note raisedfor one who had so often tuned his harp for others. "

[Illustration: THE COOPER PLOT, CHRIST CHURCHYARD]

Within the Cooper enclosure in Christ churchyard, the grave of SusanFenimore Cooper attracts the attention of all who are familiar withlocal history. A daughter of the novelist, Miss Cooper's memory isrevered in Cooperstown for qualities all her own. After her father'sdeath her home was at Byberry Cottage. She gained more than local fame, in her time, as a graceful writer, and was distinguished for herknowledge of the birds and flowers of Otsego hills. But her life-workwas given to the Orphan House of the Holy Saviour, which she establishedin 1870, where homeless and destitute children were cared for andeducated, and where now, on the broader basis of the Susan FenimoreCooper Foundation, unusual opportunities for vocational training areextended to boys and girls. Nor shall it be forgotten that, while othersgave more largely of funds, the Thanksgiving Hospital, founded ingratitude for the close of the Civil War, originated in Miss Cooper'sheart and mind. 

A memorial window in Christ Church idealizes in form and color thespirit of this noble woman, without attempting portraiture. A reallikeness of Miss Cooper, as she appeared in her ripest years, wouldrecall a sweet face framed in dangling curls, a manner somewhat prim, but always gentle and placid, a figure slight and spare, with a bonnetand Paisley shawl that are all but essential to the resemblance. Shewould best be represented in the midst of orphan children whom shecatechises for the benefit of some visiting dignitary, while the littlerascals, taking advantage of her growing deafness, titter forth the mostpalpable absurdities in reply, sure of her benignant smile andcommendatory "Very good; very good indeed!"

One of Miss Cooper's most devoted helpers in the early days of theOrphan House was Dr. Wilson T. Bassett, who for many years gave hisprofessional services without charge, and greatly interested himself inthe welfare of the children. Dr. Bassett was for a long time the mostwidely known physician and surgeon of the region, while his wife, whofollowed the same profession, was the pioneer woman physician of Otsegocounty, and did much to allay the popular prejudice against women in thefield of medicine. Dr. Wilson Bassett became noted as an expert witnessin medical cases that were carried to court, and in murder trials wheninsanity had been set up as a defence. The resourcefulness which hedisplayed on such occasions led to his being described as "the mostaccomplished witness that has ever been placed upon the stand in Otsegocounty. " Dr. Bassett's personal appearance marked him as belonging tothe old school. He was the last man in Cooperstown to wear a black stockabout his collar. His face suggested both firmness and a sense of humor. The quality of decision appeared in the mouth which the smooth-shavenupper lip displayed above the white chin-whisker, while the tousledshock of white hair and twinkling blue eyes were indicative of thewhimsical turn of mind that manifested itself in witty and sententioussayings. His long experience in the court-room made him alive to thevast expense which the trial and punishment of criminals imposes uponthe State, and led to his belief that criminality is usually to beattributed to lack of proper training in youth. His favorite plea forthe support of the children in Miss Cooper's orphanage was "It's cheaperto educate 'em than to hang 'em!" The daughter of the two physicians, Dr. Mary Imogene Bassett, inherited the talent of both parents, andlater enjoyed the singular distinction, while still in active practice, of having a monument erected to commemorate her professional career, when, in 1917, Edward Severin Clark began to build the Mary ImogeneBassett Hospital and Pathological Laboratory, merging with it thetraditions of the older Thanksgiving Hospital. 

[Illustration: _J. B. Slote_

A FUNERAL IN CHRIST CHURCHYARD]

Christ churchyard has been the scene of many impressive funerals, when, as in olden times, the unity of design in the order for Burial has beencarried out, so that the outdoor function appears as a natural sequenceto the service of the sanctuary, and is connected with it by an orderlyprocessional from the church to the churchyard. Here, in the glory ofsummer foliage, is a superb setting for such a service; and the rareoccasions of interments within this quaint God's acre are longremembered by those who witness them. After the service in the churchthe procession of choir and clergy, headed by the crucifer, issues fromthe doorway, followed by stalwart men carrying the bier upon theirshoulders. The mourners and congregation come reverently after, and withthe thrilling chorus of some hymn of triumph over death the processionmoves slowly to the grave. The sunshine sifts through the foliage of theover-arching trees, glitters upon the processional cross, gleams uponthe white robes of the choristers, and transforms into a mantle of glorythe pall that drapes the body of the dead. A solemn hush falls upon thecompany as the priest steps forward for the formal act of burial. Thedust flashes in the sunbeams as it falls from his hand into the opengrave, while the rhythmic phrases of the committal float once again overthe consecrated ground. No words in the English tongue have vibratedmore deeply in human hearts than the majestic and exultant avowal offaith with which the Church consigns to the grave the bodies of herdead. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 117: See p. 306. ]

[Footnote 118: _A Few Omitted Leaves_, G. P. Keese. ]

CHAPTER XVII

FROM APPLE HILL TO FERNLEIGH

Cooperstown had its representation in the Civil War, for, aside from thesoldiers who enlisted from the village, it was a former schoolboy ofApple Hill, Captain Abner Doubleday, in command of the batteries at FortSumter, who aimed the first big gun fired in defence of the Union. Another officer from Cooperstown, Lieut. Marmaduke Cooper, died atFortress Monroe; a third, Lieut. Morris Foote, was taken prisoner, andescaped, with thrilling experiences, from a detention camp in SouthCarolina; while his brother, Lieut. Frank Foote, lost a leg in thebattle of the Wilderness, for three months was mourned as dead by hisfamily, and had the pleasure, on his return to Cooperstown, of readinghis own obituary. 

Among the citizens who stayed at home during the war were some who didmuch to stir up Union sentiment in Cooperstown, where the politicalopinions of not a few had taken the form of opposition to the Northerncause. Among these enthusiasts was John Worthington, who was cashier inthe bank established by his father, John R. Worthington, in a buildingwhich stood on the north side of Main Street not far west of FairStreet. There were then two divisions of the Democratic party, known as"War Democrats" and "Peace Democrats. " The motto of the latter, asapplied to the Southern States, was "Erring sisters, go in peace. " Thiswas too much for Worthington, who caused a large banner to be stretchedacross the entire front of the Worthington Bank, surmounted by the Starsand Stripes, and the words, "Victory will bring Peace. "

Worthington had a strong spirit of adventure in his composition, and, just before the war, had astonished the village by one of hischaracteristic exploits. In July a traveling aeronaut had appeared onthe Fair Grounds, which were then in the region of the village south ofChrist Church, proposing to make a series of flights for theentertainment of the public. He had an enormous balloon which wasfloated by being filled with heated air and smoke. The first ascensionwas a great success, and the aeronaut landed safely beyond the top ofMount Vision. When the next flight was to be made, just as the inflationwas completed, John Worthington stepped out of the crowd, and asked totake the place of the aeronaut, who readily consented. There was asoutherly breeze, and the balloon, as it sailed over the village, barelyescaped the top of Christ Church spire. It then rose straight upwardand, as the air within it cooled, began rapidly to descend. By a strangecoincidence the balloon dropped in the main street, within a shortdistance of the Worthington Bank, at the very moment when itsproprietor was descending the steps. The street was agog at the suddenappearance of the balloon, but none was more amazed than the elderWorthington when he saw his own son extricating himself from the foldsof smoking cloth. 

"John, " he called out in astonishment, "Did you go up in that balloon?"

"I came down in it, " said John, and would admit no more. 

John Worthington was many years afterward included as a belated memberof the Shakespeare Reading Club, an organization which began in 1877, and held regular meetings, with reading of the plays and of originalpapers by the members, during a period of thirty years. Thisorganization, with the Cooperstown Literary Association, kept up theintellectual traditions of the village during the latter part of thenineteenth century. 

The Shakespeare Club included the choice minds of the town, and thestudy of the master poet was undertaken with becoming reverence. WhileWorthington's sisters were already members of the club, and Worthingtonhimself was second to none in the village in keenness of literaryappreciation, he was notorious for eccentricities of whimsical wit andhumor, and it was only after long deliberation that it was finallydecided to elect him to membership. His first appearance at a meeting ofthe club gave rise to an unforeseen situation, for the order in whichthe members sat about the table had become fixed by traditions ofprecedence, and the attempt to place another chair caused a flutter ofdebate in politely subdued voices. Worthington was kept standing whilethis discussion was going on, and suddenly astounded the company bygravely seating himself upon the floor. 

John Worthington was appointed United States consul in Malta underPresident Arthur, and continued in office under Cleveland's firstadministration. This was the heyday of his life. In Malta he madefriends in the army and navy and diplomatic service of many nations. Hisconversational gifts and capricious drollery gave him great socialpopularity in the brilliant shifting throng that passed through thegates of the Mediterranean, and his wife, who was Cora Lull, of NewBerlin, was charmingly adapted by nature and acquirements to the gracesof diplomatic life. During his term of service at Malta in 1883Worthington was instrumental in removing the body of John Howard Payne, author of "Home, Sweet Home, " from the cemetery in Carthage, Tunis, tothe United States. He made a stubborn effort to procure a band to playPayne's song as the remains left Tunis aboard the ship homeward bound, but not anyone could play "Home, Sweet Home, " although Worthington hadbrought the notes with him. However, after the disinterment, of whichWorthington was a witness, the body was placed in the chapel of thelittle English church, and a few Americans and English reverentlygathered there, while Mrs. Worthington, who was known as "Cooperstown'ssweetest singer, " sang touchingly the famous song of home, written bythe man who had no home during the last forty years of his life, andwhose body, thirty years after his death, was going home at last to beinterred in its native soil. 

While traveling in Egypt, Worthington had an audience with the Khedive, Tewfik Pasha Mohammed, in his palace on the Nile. The conversation wasformal and perfunctory, until, in reply to an amiable inquiry, Worthington stated that his home was in a village, in New York State, named Cooperstown. At the mention of this name the Khedive exhibitedgenuine interest. 

"Cooperstown, " he repeated, "Is not Cooperstown the home of FenimoreCooper, the great author?"

It was now Worthington's turn to exhibit interest, for in boyhood he hadbeen next door neighbor to Cooper; and he asked if his Highness wasacquainted with the writings of the novelist. The Khedive had read allof Cooper's books. Some of them he cared little for, but those he didcare for he loved. _The Leather-Stocking Tales_ had opened a new worldto him, and he was charmed. _The Deerslayer_ he "adored. " The sublimeand shadowy forests, the silent lakes high up in evergreen hills, thecool rivers--how they captivated his imagination! how they invited hissoul! He would, he exclaimed, give a year of his life if he might viewthe Glimmerglass, if he might tread a forest trail. In his library theKhedive showed to his visitor, with evident satisfaction, his threemagnificent sets of Cooper's works, in French, in German, and inEnglish. 

John Worthington's later days were passed in Cooperstown, where he livedto be the village man of letters, delighting his contemporaries withcontributions of picturesque prose and graceful verse that would havegiven him a wider renown had he written otherwise than, as it seemed, for the mere pleasure of writing for the entertainment of his friends. His twelve years of service at Malta, with many excursions in theancient world, developed in him an oriental color of mind, and gave evento the Otsego of his childhood, when he returned hither to live, thedreamy glamour of the mystic East. At home he lived altogether amongbooks, and in the companionship of poetic imagination passed the yearsof almost exile from Malta, his fondest retrospect. A winning soul wasJohn Worthington, widely beloved for what he was, and mourned for allthat he might have been. 

During the Civil War a girl of extraordinary beauty and vivacity, skilled as a musician, drew many suitors to her home, the house whichstill stands at the southwest corner of Pioneer and Elm streets. Hername was Elizabeth Davis, and her happy disposition made her a universalfavorite in the community. Toward the close of the war she suffered adisappointment in love, the exact nature of which was not made known, but so seriously affecting her attitude toward life that she registereda solemn vow never again to be seen in public. From this time forth shekept to the house, although it was said that she sometimes walked aboutat night. Years passed. Father, mother, brother, and sister, followedone another to the grave, until Elizabeth Davis became the onlyinhabitant of the old house. Nobody ever saw her except a negro whobrought her supplies. In the village there grew up a new generation towhich she was a stranger. The windows of the house showed an abundanceof the choicest plants, always carefully tended. Passers-by oftenarrested their steps to listen to the sound of a piano splendidly playedwithin. But nobody ever caught a glimpse of a face or form. The mostthat the nearest neighbors saw was a hand and arm that were stretchedforth from the windows every evening to close the blinds. Thus ElizabethDavis lived for more than thirty years after the close of the war, andcarried her secret to the grave. 

In the time of the Civil War the favorite reading matter of the soldiersin camp and hospital throughout the northern armies was supplied by theenterprise of Erastus F. Beadle, who had learned the publishing businessin the employment of the Phinneys in Cooperstown, himself being a nativeof Pierstown, just over the hill. He became known throughout the UnitedStates as the publisher of "Beadle's Dime Novels, " and on his retirementfrom business in 1889 purchased "Glimmerview, " the residence whichoverlooks the lake next east of the O-te-sa-ga. Here he died in 1894. This inventor of the "dime novel" made an amazing success of publishingpaper-covered books adapted to the popular taste on a scale of cheapnessand in quantities which had never before been dreamed of. After leavingCooperstown, he began business for himself in Buffalo, publishingmagazines, and on his removal to New York, in 1858, discovered, in thepublication of "The Dime Song Book, " the field which he afterward madeso profitable. To the song books were added, in rapid succession, the"Household Manual, " the "Letter Writer, " and the "Book of Etiquette. " Inthe summer of 1860 the Dime Novels were started. These littlesalmon-covered books became immediately popular all over the country, and the business grew to vast proportions, until Beadle had abouttwenty-five writers employed in the composition of stories for hisimprint. The business was afterward expanded to include the publicationof popular "Libraries, "--the Dime Library, the Boy's Library, the PocketLibrary, and the Half-Dime Library. After his retirement from business, as a resident of Cooperstown, Beadle did much for the development of thevillage. 

[Illustration: MAIN STREET

Looking west from Fair Street, 1861. The Clark Gymnasium displaces thetwo buildings at the left. ]

The village had troubles of its own during the progress of the war. Inthe spring of 1862, a disastrous fire, the largest conflagration in thehistory of Cooperstown, destroyed at least a third of the businessdistrict. The fire started near the Cory stone building, which alonesurvived of the stores and shops in the path of the flames that spreadon the north side of Main Street, and extended from the building next tothe present Mohican Club as far east as Pioneer Street. The fire thencrossed to the south side of Main Street, destroying the old EagleTavern, originally the Red Lion, and burning westward as far as thepresent Carr's Hotel. Up Pioneer Street, on the west side the flames atetheir way as far south as the Phinney residence. The buildings at theeastern corners of Main and Pioneer streets were several times on fire, and were saved only by supreme efforts of the village firemen. Thesurvival of the Cory building was due in part to its solid stoneconstruction, but chiefly to the efforts of two plucky men, David P. House and George Newell, who stationed themselves on the roof, and whilethe fire worked its way around the rear of the building, succeeded indefending their position, although so terribly scorched that for weeksafterward they went about swathed in bandages. 

A few nights later the Otsego Hotel and adjacent buildings, which stoodon the site of the present Village Library, were also destroyed by fire. At this conflagration, which seemed about to complete the destruction ofMain Street, a woman appeared, who equalled the courage of the firemenin her defiance of the flames. She was Susan Hewes, a maiden lady whokept a milliner's shop in the little one-story building that stands onthe north side of the Main Street, a short distance west of the cornerof Fair Street. Emulating the example of the men who saved the Corybuilding, she appeared on the roof of her little shop, and presented adramatic spectacle as she stood forth in the glare of the flames, cryingout that she would save her property at the cost of her life. Fortunately the flames were checked without any such sacrifice, andSusan Hewes lived to become, more than half a century afterward, theoldest native inhabitant of the village, famous for the old-fashionedtangled garden on Pine Street, where she dwelt so long among herfavorite flowers. During the Civil War period she was a marked figure inthe village, for her outspoken independence in expressing sympathy forthe Southern cause led to a visit of remonstrance with which a committeeof leading citizens honored her in her little milliner's shop; while herrefusal to submit to the dictates of fashion when the huge hoop-skirtscame into vogue caused her to be gazed upon as a marvel ofincompleteness in dress. 

For a time Cooperstown was much depressed by the ruin which fire hadwrought in the village, but, before long, a new business section beganslowly to rise from the ashes of the old. West of Pioneer Street, wherethe Eagle Tavern had narrowed the width of the main thoroughfare to thedimensions of a mere lane, the street was now made of uniform width, andnew business blocks were erected. By the close of the Civil War allsigns of destruction had disappeared, and the Main street ofCooperstown, if far less picturesque than before, had assumed theappearance of brand new prosperity. 

This period, in fact, marks the beginning of a gradual change in thecharacter of Cooperstown, by which an elderly village, typical in itsinherited traditions, has taken on the airs of a summer resort, and hasbecome the residence, for a part of each year, of wealthy families whosechief interests lie elsewhere, and to whom Otsego is a playground. Whilemuch of the older character of the village remains, the contact with theouter world has had a far-reaching effect upon its inhabitants. 

Some of the old-fashioned merchants were at first inclined to resent thedemands made by city folk in excess of the time-honored customs of tradein Cooperstown. Seth Doubleday kept a store at the northwest corner ofMain and Pioneer streets. One day a lady from the city came in airily, ordered a mackerel delivered at her summer home in the village, and wasout again before Doubleday could recover his breath. At that period allvillagers went to market with a basket, and carried their own goodshome. Nobody thought of having purchases delivered by the merchant. Doubleday was enraged at what seemed to him an insolent demand, and thelonger he reflected on the matter the more furious did he become. Atlast, leaving his shop unattended, he went in person to the customer'shouse to deliver the mackerel. The lady herself opened the door. Doubleday took the fish by the tail, and slapped it down vigorously uponthe doorstep, exclaiming, "There, madam, is your damned three-centmackerel, and _delivered_!"

The new phase of village life may perhaps be dated from the purchase ofthe Apple Hill property by Edward Clark of New York, who, in 1856, madehis summer home here, and after the close of the Civil War erected hismansion. The establishment of this country-seat was but the beginning ofthe extension of Edward Clark's estate in this region, and created arelationship to the village which his descendants have ever sincecontinued. 

"Apple Hill, " as the place was called before Edward Clark's purchase, or"Fernleigh, " as he renamed it, is thus a connecting link between the oldand the new in Cooperstown. It has a story that brings the eldertraditions of the village into touch with the newer spirit of modernenterprise. 

Apple Hill was originally the property of Richard Fenimore Cooper, eldest son of the founder of the village. In the summer of 1800 he builtthe house which stood until displaced by Fernleigh House in 1869. Fenimore Cooper described the site as "much the best within the limitsof the village, " no doubt with reference to the superb view of theSusquehanna which the veranda at the rear of the house commands. RichardCooper planted the black walnut and locust trees, some of which are yetstanding in front of the house at Fernleigh. To the home at Apple Hillhe brought from the head of the lake as a bride, Anne Cary, who afterhis death became the wife of George Clarke of Hyde Hall. 

From 1825 to 1828 Apple Hill was the residence of the afterwarddistinguished Judge Samuel Nelson, and during the next five years wasowned and occupied by General John A. Dix, who had resigned from thearmy, and settled down in Cooperstown to practise law. His first caseswere prepared in a little office that stood near the gate of the AppleHill property. At that time it is said that he made a poor impression asa public speaker, and gave small promise of his later fame. In 1833 hebecame secretary of state of New York, and afterward was United StatesSenator. During the Civil War he raised seventeen regiments, and asSecretary of the Treasury at the outbreak of the war issued the famousorder which first convinced the country that the executive government atWashington was really determined to meet force with force: "If anyoneattempts to pull down the American flag, shoot him on the spot!" Afterthe war General Dix was minister to France, and in 1872 was electedGovernor of the State of New York. Among the children of General Dixwho played hide-and-seek amid the trees of Apple Hill was Morgan Dix, afterward the distinguished rector of Trinity parish, New York, who inlater years passed many summers in Cooperstown. It was remembered of Dr. Dix's childhood that when his mother sent him away from Cooperstown toschool, being apprehensive of his safe conduct on the journey, she puthim into the stage-coach completely enveloped in a green baize bag thatshe had made for the purpose, with nothing but the boy's head emergingfrom the opening which was snugly tied around his neck. Dr. Dix's lastvisit to Cooperstown was in 1891 when he was a guest at the CooperHouse, and was driven forth, with two hundred and fifty other guests, bythe fire which burned it to the ground in the early dawn of the eighthof August. This summer hotel stood within the grounds occupied by thePresent High School. Its burning was a calamity to Cooperstown, forunder the management of Simeon E. Crittenden it had become widelyfamous, and drew guests from every part of the country. 

From 1833 to 1839 Apple Hill was the home of Levi C. Turner, who marriedthe daughter of Robert Campbell, and afterward was for some years countyjudge. During the Civil War Turner was Judge Advocate in the WarDepartment under President Lincoln, concerning whom he had many intimatereminiscences. 

In early days, before the common school system was developed, there weremany attempts to establish private schools in Cooperstown, with more orless success. John Burroughs, the famous naturalist, received the lastof his schooling in the spring and summer of 1856 at the CooperstownSeminary, afterward converted into the summer hotel known as the CooperHouse. 

But of all the private schools in the village the most noted wasestablished at Apple Hill in 1839 by William H. Duff, a former officerof the British Army, and a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin. Duff hada romantic history, involved in a good deal of mystery. He had emigratedfrom England to Canada, bringing with him a beautiful young wife, --anelopement, it was said. Mrs. Duff was evidently of gentle birth, whileher husband was of commanding presence, military bearing, andcaptivating manners. Whether he was entitled to the rank of Major, whichhe assumed, was always doubted. 

Duff was well informed in all branches of army tactics, and the schoolthat he established was well known as a military academy. Theinstitution became popular, and the boys in their uniforms gave a newand welcome touch of color to the life of the village. The afternoondrills were witnessed by many spectators, and when the school increaseduntil a mounted field-piece, drawn by four horses, was added to theequipment, the exhibit became quite sensational. Few pupils of that daycould ever forget the winter drills on the frozen lake, with thethermometer near zero, as requiring an endurance worthy of hardierveterans. 

One incident connected with the school made a sensation at the time. During the winter of 1840 a strong party of Indians found their way tothe village, and remained for several days. One of them got into adrunken bout, and died quite suddenly. Shortly after the departure ofthe band the rumor was circulated among the loungers in the streets thatthe friends of the dead Indian suspected foul play, and were coming fromtheir encampment on the following night to wreak vengeance upon thevillage. These flying rumors came to the ears of some of the pupils ofDuff's Academy, who hastened to communicate the alarming intelligence totheir principal. Whether Duff really accepted the truth of the reports, or wished to test the military efficiency and courage of his pupils, hepromptly called his troops together, delivered an impressive harangue onthe danger of the situation and the glory to be won by rallying to thedefence of the village against a savage foe. Plans were soon made torepel the attack. Muskets were made ready for service. Some boys weresent into the village for powder, others for lead from which they weresoon actively engaged in moulding bullets. A detachment was sent toremove to the house all effects from the schoolroom which stood near thegate, and the doors and windows of the house were strongly barricaded. Preparations were made to patrol the village at night, and the schoolwas detailed into squads, who were to protect the principal streets. Sentries paced from the house to the gate, and from Christ churchyardto the corner of Main Street, while outposts were stationed across theriver who were to give warning of the enemy's approach by the dischargeof a musket. The younger boys were left at home on guard at the doorsand windows of the house. As the midnight hour approached Major Duffsallied forth and inspected the disposal of his forces. During the longwinter darkness of that night the boys marched up and down the villagestreets, with imaginations so fearfully wrought up as to deny the needof sleep which lay heavy upon them. If any of the inhabitants of thevillage sympathized in this watchfulness in their behalf, or kept awaketo see what was going on, there was no evidence of it. The boys wereleft to their vigil. They passed the night in anxious watching. NoIndians appeared, and all danger was dispelled by the rays of the risingsun. 

Too much prosperity was the ruin of Duff's school. It became sosuccessful that the principal neglected duty for pleasure, leaving theschool in charge of subordinates. Then, in less than five years from itsbeginning, it failed. At the outbreak of the Mexican War, Duff obtaineda captain's commission in the United States Army, and when last seen byhis old friends he presented an imposing appearance as he rode downBroadway in New York at the head of his company, with martial music andflying colors, to embark for Vera Cruz. [119]

George A. Starkweather purchased Apple Hill in 1847, and lived thereuntil he sold it in 1856 to Edward Clark. The latter had been attractedto Cooperstown as at one time the home of his distinguishedfather-in-law, and law-partner, Ambrose L. Jordan. Mrs. Clark, who wasJordan's eldest child, was born while the Jordans were resident inCooperstown in the house which still stands at the northwest corner ofMain and Chestnut streets, and after they removed to Hudson the daughterwas sent back to Cooperstown to attend the boarding school which wasconducted for a time in Isaac Cooper's old house at Edgewater. It wasthrough these associations that Edward Clark and his bride, after theirmarriage in 1836, began to be frequent visitors in Cooperstown. 

In the year 1848 Isaac M. Singer had become a client of Jordan & Clarkin New York City. He was an erratic genius, and had taken up variousoccupations without much success, besides having invented valuablemechanical devices which had brought him no profit. The form ofsewing-machine that he invented, and which has ever since beenassociated with his name, was not profitable at first, and underSinger's management the title to the invention became involved, and waslikely to be lost. In this emergency the inventor applied to his legaladviser, Clark, to advance the means to redeem an interest of one-thirdin the sewing-machine invention and business, and to hold that share assecurity for money advanced. Afterward was formed the co-partnership ofI. M. Singer & Co. , in which Clark was the legal adviser and halfowner. The business was carried on by this firm with great success from1851 to 1863, during which period Edward Clark established his residencein Cooperstown. After Singer's death Clark became president of theSinger Manufacturing Company. 

[Illustration: FERNLEIGH]

Edward Clark spent many winters in Europe, residing at different timesin Paris and in Rome, but his summers were usually devoted toCooperstown, and the present stone house at Fernleigh was his summerhome for twenty-three years. When this house was erected it was regardedas a wonder. It took four years in building, and was indeed ofremarkable workmanship, with substantial masonry and the most exquisiteelaborations of woodwork. But it had the misfortune to be built in the"black walnut period, " when taste in domestic architecture was at a lowebb, so that much of the interior, and some of the exterior, has sincebeen altered. The stone building southwest of the house was built as aTurkish bath. 

In 1873, Edward Clark purchased Fernleigh-Over from the Bowers estate, and from time to time added to his property in Cooperstown, notably inthe purchase of farms on either side of the lake. He became muchidentified with the interests of the village, and built the HotelFenimore. 

Edward Clark was entranced by Otsego Lake, upon which he spent much timein sailing. His _Nina_ and _Elise_ were beautiful sailing yachts, andwould have been an ornament to any waters. Clark was described byvillage contemporaries as a man of somewhat peculiar temperament. He wasnaturally reticent, and seemed to be most highly appreciated by hisintimates. In educational matters he was greatly interested, havinggiven largely to Williams College, of which he was a graduate and Doctorof Laws. He contributed generously to the welfare of the schools ofCooperstown, in which he established the Clark Punctuality prizes. InCooperstown, and elsewhere, he did much charitable work in a quiet way. 

In 1876 Kingfisher Tower was completed, which Edward Clark had causedto be erected at Point Judith, about two miles from Cooperstown, on theeastern shore of Otsego Lake. It was said that Clark's motive inbuilding the tower was to furnish work for many in the community whowere out of employment. Scoffers referred to the building derisively as"Clark's folly. " At the request of a village newspaper, Clark himselfwrote an account of it which was published anonymously. 

[Illustration: _M. Antoinette Abrams_

KINGFISHER TOWER]

"Kingfisher Tower, " he wrote, "consists of a miniature castle, afterthe style of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, standing upon theextremity of the Point and rising out of the water to a height of nearlysixty feet. It forms an objective point in the scene presented by thelake and surrounding hills; it adds solemnity to the landscape, seemingto stand guard over the vicinity, while it gives a character ofantiquity to the lake, a charm by which we cannot help being impressedin such scenes. The effect of the structure is that of a picture frommedieval times, and its value to the lake is very great. Mr. Clark hasbeen led to erect it simply by a desire to beautify the lake and add anattraction which must be seen by all who traverse the lake or drivealong its shores. They whose minds can rise above simple notions ofutility to an appreciation of art joined to nature, will thank him forit. "

When Edward Clark died, in 1882, his youngest and only surviving son, Alfred Corning Clark, much of whose life had been spent abroad, inherited the greater part of his father's property, and becameproprietor of Fernleigh. 

Alfred Corning Clark possessed in a magnified degree certain qualitieswhich had distinguished his father. He was more retiring, more reticent, more inclined to find the full joy of life only among intimates. Hebecame a patron of art and music, and himself an amateur in singing. Hebuilt Mendelssohn Hall, in New York, for the use of a musicalorganization to which he belonged. Of books he was not only a lover, buta student, devoted to the classics, and well versed in modernlanguages. In the village of Cooperstown he was known as a bookworm. Heenjoyed walking about his own grounds, but hardly ever went into thevillage, and there were many residents of Cooperstown who had never seenhis face. The proprietor of the corner book store in his day remarkedthat he had never but once seen Alfred Corning Clark in the villagestreet, and this was when he had an errand at the book store to make aninquiry concerning a newly published volume. 

In the use of his great fortune Clark was extremely liberal in charitiesand toward such other objects as commended themselves to his judgment;while he was correspondingly powerful in opposition to whatever involveda principle with which he disagreed. 

Mrs. Clark, who was Elizabeth Scriven, was a woman of exceptional giftsof mind and benignance of character, well qualified to assume theresponsibilities which fell upon her when Alfred Corning Clark died, atthe age of fifty-three years, in 1896. With cultivated tastes, she hadalso a practical talent for business, and, although well served byagents in the management of her large interests, was always thoroughlyinformed and full of initiative. In New York, among men of affairs, shewas regarded as one of the most far-seeing judges of real estate valuesin the city. In the management of her domestic and other concerns shehad an extraordinary faculty for administration, which failed ofattaining genius only through the effort which she put forth to givepersonal attention to details. This amiable weakness nevertheless addedthe interest of her personality to undertakings that might have failedfor the lack of such a spirit as hers; and in her many charities thepersonal touch which she took the trouble to give added infinitely tothe happiness and self-respect of those to whom her kindness, as inneighborly thoughtfulness, was extended. 

In Cooperstown Mrs. Clark became an arbiter of the social and moralvirtues, and the things that she frowned upon were usually not done. Shehad a wholesome influence in resisting certain excesses which not seldomappear in communities partly given over to the pursuit of pleasure. Insome innovations against which she protested, Mrs. Clark at lastgracefully yielded to the inevitable. This was the case withautomobiles, which, when they first appeared upon the country roads, sheregarded with the alarm and disgust of one devoted to a carriage andhorses, and would have banished them from Otsego if she had had thepower. In that period of transition few country roads were adapted tothe use of motors, and to meet one of the new machines while driving ina carriage along the lake shore was to suffer the apprehension ofimminent death from the fury of plunging horses, and to be nearly chokedin a cloud of dust. 

Mrs. Clark was fond of walking, and she was a familiar figure in theresidence streets of the village in summer, usually dressed in white, without a bonnet, and carrying a white parasol above her head, as shemoved with quick step upon some errand. 

The homestead at Fernleigh represents much that has contributed to thedevelopment of Cooperstown. The greater part of the industry controlledby the Clark estates is managed from the offices of the Singer Buildingin New York, which when it was erected in 1909 was the tallest officebuilding in the world. But a large part of the interests of the estatesis centered in the picturesque old building, originally built for abank, which stands near the entrance of the Cooper Grounds inCooperstown. The Cooper Grounds themselves were rescued from a conditionof desolation in which they had lain for many years after the death ofFenimore Cooper, and are maintained by the Clark estates for the benefitof the public. The Village Club and Library across the way is a creationof the Clark estates. On the hills east and west of the village, andalong the eastern shore of the lake for a stretch of nearly six miles, the same ownership has preserved for all lovers of nature the nobleforests that lend a charm of wildness to the region. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 119: _A Few Omitted Leaves_, Keese, p. 12; _History ofCooperstown_, Livermore, p. 46. ]

CHAPTER XVIII

THE LAKE OF ROMANCE AND FISHERMEN

The period from 1870 to 1880 was one of rapid growth and development inCooperstown. The permanent population increased to over two thousandsouls, and a number of fine summer residences were erected. Almost allof its natural advantages Cooperstown owes to Otsego Lake. These hadbeen long appreciated by residents of the village, and now began to begenerally sought by visitors from afar. In summer, the shores of thelake come to be dotted with the camp-houses and tents of those whosought relief from the swelter of cities in the cool forests of Otsego, and found delight in the sailing and fishing for which the Glimmerglassis famous. 

[Illustration: _J. B. Slote_

THE LAKE FROM THE O-TE-SA-GA]

In the summer of 1870 Capt. Daniel B. Boden began regular steamnavigation of Otsego Lake by means of a small steamboat which he hadbrought to Cooperstown by railroad, and which had been used as a gunboatin Southern waters during the Civil War. The boat was renamed the _MaryBoden_. In the following summer a rival steamboat was launched, muchlarger than the former, called the _Natty Bumppo_, and owned principallyby A. H. Watkins and Elihu Phinney. At the beginning of the next seasonthe conservative folk of the village were scandalized by the _MaryBoden_, which then commenced to make lake trips on Sunday, a breach ofancient custom in which the owners of the _Natty Bumppo_ indignantlydeclined to compete. On a night early in July there was an alarm offire, a great blaze at the lake front, and villagers running to thescene found that one of the steamboats was in flames and beyond hope ofsalvage. A small child at a front window of Edgewater, watching thefire, clapped her hands, and cried out, "It's the wicker [wicked] boat!It's the wicker boat!" But it was not the wicked boat that was ablaze. It was the _Natty Bumppo_, which burned to the water's edge a totalloss, the boat that had never left its dock on Sunday. The event waslong recalled by some in the village as an instance of grave error inthe usually correct dispensations of Providence. The _Natty Bumppo_ wasreplaced, in the next season, by a new steamboat bearing the same name. The new _Natty Bumppo_ and the old _Mary Boden_ were the famous boats ofthe lake until they were succeeded by the _Pioneer_ and the _Cyclone_, and later by the _Deerslayer_, the _Pathfinder_, and the _Mohican_. 

Aside from the use of canoes, the first general navigation of the lakewas undertaken in 1794 by a man known as Admiral Hassy, who in his daywas the most celebrated fisherman of Otsego. He had a large flat boatwhich he called the ship _Jay_, and upon which he used boards for sails. This craft was safe, but not speedy. 

Some thirty years later a group of enterprising individuals built ahorse-boat as a means of transporting lake parties. The boat had at eachend a high cabin topped by a platform. These excrescences caughtwhatever breeze was blowing, and made the craft unmanageable. Thestruggles of the two poor horses who were expected to propel the boatwere not equal to a gale of Pierstown trade-winds. More than once a lakeparty starting for Three-Mile Point, aboard this vessel, found itselfstranded on the opposite shore. 

During the first half of the century a "general lake party" in thesummer corresponded to the "select ball" of each winter as constitutingone of the two great social events of the year in Cooperstown. It oughtto be said that the term "lake party" had a distinct socialsignificance, and the word "picnic, " which came later to be used todescribe the same thing, meant to the elder inhabitants an affair thathad quite lost the flavor of the older custom, and the use of the wordwas regarded as one of the signs of social decadence. 

The means of navigation most often used by the lake parties was a hugescow propelled by long oars. A typical lake party was given in July of1840, when Governor Seward visited Cooperstown. On the way home upon thelake the old scow, according to custom, was stopped opposite to theEcho, and several persons tried their voices to show off the wonderfullyclear reverberations that would be flung back from the eastern hillside. But the master of this art was "Joe Tom, " the negro who had been chiefcook of the lake party, and was now at one of the long oars of the scow. On being asked to awaken the famous echo, Joe Tom shouted, "Hurrah forGovernor Steward!" and when the echo came back, "You've got it to a 't, 'Joe!" exclaimed Governor Seward. 

At this period the authority in aquatic affairs, and the most renownedfisherman of the lake, was Commodore Boden. Miss Cooper says of herfather's novel _Home as Found_ that the one character in it "avowedlyand minutely drawn from life" was that of the Commodore, "a figure longfamiliar to those living on the lake shores--a venerable figure, talland upright, to be seen for some three score years moving to and froover the water, trolling for pickerel or angling for perch, almost anyday in the year, excepting when the waters were icebound inwinter. "[120] The commodore was of quite imposing appearance, handsomealike in form and figure, straight as an arrow, and lithe as an Indian, with silvery locks that hung gracefully down upon his shoulders. Hismethod of fishing was fascinating to watch. Standing erect in his boat, the commodore would paddle from the outlet of the lake to some invitingpatch of weeds, and there, in quite shallow water, noiselessly drop hisanchor. Then, wielding a rod nearly twenty feet in length, he would"skip" his tempting bait--generally the side of a small perch--withamazing vigor and marvellous dexterity, oftentimes taking fifteen ortwenty pickerel in less than an hour. To see him strike, manipulate andland a fish weighing three or four pounds, his pliant rod bending nearlyto a semicircle, was a spectacle not to be forgotten. [121]

In 1850 Peter P. Cooper brought from the Lake Ontario a little schooner, and became so famous as a boatman and fisherman that he was regarded asthe successor of Admiral Hassy and Commodore Boden. Capt. Cooperestablished a boat livery which included five sailboats and twentyrowboats. He developed the fisheries of Otsego Lake on a big scale, having introduced the gill net as a means of catching bass. In thespring of 1851 there were taken from the lake 25, 000 bass. The gill netwhich Capt. Cooper introduced is made of the best kind of linen thread, with meshes from two to two and a half inches square. The net is aboutthree feet wide, having leads attached to one edge, and corks fastenedto the other. The leaded edge is carried to the bottom of the lake, while the other is buoyed up by the corks, making a complete fenceacross the lake at its bottom, even where it is very deep. The fish swimagainst the fence, which at once yields to their force, but as ityields, forms a sack whose meshes gather about their fins and tail, making it impossible to back out or otherwise escape. Their effortsserve only to entangle the fish more deeply in the net. Elihu Phinney, the most expert amateur fisherman of the period, denounced Capt. Cooper's gill net as the "most deadly and abominable of all devices. "

The Otsego bass never exceed about six pounds in weight, the averagebeing much smaller. Occasionally a lake trout of larger size is caught. With hook and line trout of great size are not often taken. On Friday, August 21, 1908, Alexander S. Phinney caught with hook and line, nearKingfisher Tower, a trout thirty-six inches long and weighing twentypounds. He tussled with this trout for an hour, with six hundred feet ofline, before he succeeded in landing him in the boat. In the next seasonthe same fisherman caught a trout weighing eighteen pounds. So far asauthentic records go, these two trout are the largest fish ever caughtin the lake with hook and line. 

The conditions in Otsego Lake are favorable for the artificialpropagation of fish, and many plantings have been made, at first byprivate enterprise, and afterward by the State. The lake extends in adirection from N. N. East to S. S. West about nine miles, varying inwidth from about three quarters of a mile to a mile and a half. Thesurface of the lake is 1, 194 feet above tide-water. The average depth isabout fifty feet, although about two miles north of the villagesoundings have been taken to a depth of one hundred and fifty feet, while toward the midst of the lake the depths are greater. In manyplaces the water deepens gradually from the shore, but along the easternbank there are points at which, Fenimore Cooper declared, "a large shipmight float with her yards in the forest. " The lake is chiefly suppliedfrom cold bottom springs. Its only constant tributaries are two smallstreams, whose entire volume is not half that of its outlet, theSusquehanna River, which here begins its long journey to Chesapeake Bay. The upper and lower portions of the lake, being shallow and weedy, afford ample pickerel grounds, while the middle portion and wholeeastern shore are admirably adapted, by deep water and soft marl bottom, to the coregoni and salmon trout, and nearer shore, by rocky bottom andsharp ledges, to the rock bass, black bass, and yellow perch. Large fishfind an abundant food supply in the "lake shiner, " an exquisitelybeautiful creature and dainty morsel, about four inches long. 

The fish for which the lake has become famous among epicures is the"Otsego bass. " In _The Pioneers_, published in 1823, Fenimore Cooperexpressed the general opinion when he put into the mouth of one of hischaracters this eulogy of the Otsego bass: "These fish are of a qualityand flavor that in other countries would make them esteemed a luxury onthe tables of princes. The world has no better fish than the bass ofOtsego; it unites the richness of the shad to the firmness of thesalmon. " More than sixty years later much the same opinion prevailed, when Elihu Phinney described Otsego bass as "beyond all peradventure thevery finest fresh water fish that swims. "

There has long been a difference of opinion as to whether the so-calledOtsego bass is to be regarded as a distinct species. Louis Agassiz, thehighest authority of his time, after careful analysis pronounced theOtsego bass to be "in its organic structure a distinct fish, not foundin any other waters of the world. " In 1915 Dr. Tarleton H. Bean, the NewYork State fish culturist, declared that the so-called Otsego bass "ismerely the common Labrador whitefish which has become dwarfed in size bysome peculiarities of its habitat. " De Witt Clinton, a former governorof New York, wrote the first scientific description, accompanied by adrawing, of this fish, which he called "the Salmo Otsego, or the OtsegoBasse. "[122] At the time when Clinton wrote, the whitefishes wereplaced in the genus Salmo. In 1911, in the bulletin of the United Statesbureau of fisheries, [123] Dr. Evermann asserted concerning Clinton'sdrawing of Otsego bass, which he had examined, that "the cut, althoughcrude, plainly shows _Coregonus clupeaformis_. The form is elliptical, and the back shows the dark streaks along the rows of scales usuallycharacteristic of that species. " The same author, in collaboration withDr. Jordan, [124] says concerning the common whitefish: "This species, like others of wide distribution, is subject to considerable variations, dependent upon food, waters, etc. One of these is the so-called Otsegobass, var Otsego (Clinton), a form landlocked in Otsego Lake at the headof the Susquehanna River. "

There are Otsego fishermen who are not impressed by this array oflearning, and still insist that the Otsego bass is quite different fromany other fish in the world. The _Otsego Farmer_ in 1915 summed up thematter thus: "Otsego bass is not what is ordinarily termed whitefish, but is probably a species of the same family. As a matter of fact, Otsego Lake has been stocked with whitefish fry from the Great Lakes, and now the nets of fishermen are always filled with a mixture ofwhitefish and Otsego bass. Whatever Dr. Bean may think about it, anyOtsego Lake fisherman can tell the difference, and any epicure havingonce tasted Otsego bass is never again deceived by whitefish. "

A view which seems to reconcile these diverse opinions is that ofAlexander S. Phinney, the most famous amateur fisherman of Otsego at thebeginning of the twentieth century. He holds that Otsego bass is quitedistinct from whitefish, but believes that the true Otsego bass hasdisappeared, giving place to a hybrid fish, now called Otsego bass, butreally a cross between that variety and the whitefish with which Otsegohas been stocked from the Great Lakes. 

As many as five thousand Otsego bass have been taken with one draught ofthe seine, but in view of the great difficulty of catching any with hookand line, the following suggestion from an old authority, Seth Green, isstill of interest: "The Otsego bass can be taken with small minnows orred angle worms. I think if your tackle is very fine, and you do nottwitch when they bite, they will swallow the bait. Put five or ten hooks(O'Shaunessy 8's, forged) on a fine snell, and loop them five feetapart; with a small sinker at the end. Bait some with small minnows (aninch or so in length) and some with worms. Cast out as far as you canfrom the boat, and let it lie half or three quarters of an hour on thebottom, feeling now and then to see if you have one on. The best way isto let them hook themselves. The angle worms, if used for bait, shouldbe strung on to the hook with both ends left dangling. A light strokemust be made and the fish handled very carefully. "

[Illustration: FISHERMEN'S SHANTIES ON THE FROZEN LAKE]

Many fishermen are successful in taking Otsego bass with hook and linein winter, by fishing through the ice. No sooner has the lake becomefrozen from shore to shore, usually after Christmas, than the wholesurface becomes dotted with the shanties of fishermen, which remainuntil the ice begins to weaken in the spring. The typical fisherman'sshanty on the ice-bound lake is about five by six feet in floor space, and six feet high. It has a window, and the floor is so arranged that itcan be raised to keep the fisherman above the water that sometimesfloods the surface of the ice. Holes are cut through the floor, andthrough the ice beneath, for the admission of the fishing lines. Theshanty is warmed by a small stove, with its stove-pipe sticking outthrough the roof. A chair and a coal box complete the furniture. 

Two methods of fishing through the ice for Otsego bass are used by theoccupants of the shanties. According to one method the hook is droppedto the bottom of the lake, and the fish are attracted to its vicinity bybait strewn on the bottom. The other method is used nearer shore, wherethe baited hook is let down part way toward the bottom, to tempt thefish that move amid the grass and weeds. 

There are others besides fishermen to whom the frozen surface of OtsegoLake offers the means of pleasure and occupation. In some seasons thefreezing of the lake occurs within a few hours, after a great and suddenfall in temperature, during a night of calm and intense cold. At suchtimes, before snow has fallen upon the surface, the lake presents ascene of splendor. The ice is quite transparent, and has the effect of agreat sheet of glass spread out amid the hills. This offers a perfectsurface for skating, and attracts not only the boys and girls of thevillage, but a large number of their elders. The lake grows lively withthe gracefully gliding promenade of skaters, with here and there a groupplaying at hockey, while others disport themselves at "crack the whip. "The friction of so many gliding feet imparts to the frozen surface a lowand weirdly humming sound, and the droning note is echoed by the hills, until the valley resounds with monotonous music. There are times whenthe lake is so well frozen that skaters traverse the entire length. Insome seasons ice-boats have been used, slanting from end to end of thelake with prodigious speed. As the winter advances and the ice growsstronger, driving upon the lake becomes common, and horse-races upon theice have sometimes been included among the winter sports. 

At about five miles above the foot of the lake, and extending across itfrom shore to shore, a large fissure in the ice usually appears duringthe winter. This fissure is sometimes so wide that a team cannot crossit, and many years ago a span of horses was accidentally driven into it. The crevice in the ice has caused much speculation. The lake is narrowat the place where the crack appears, and the fissure is supposed to becreated by expansion from the north and from the south, causing the iceto rise several feet in gable-like form until the ridge cracks, forfragments of ice are found on each side of the crevice. [125]

The tremendous forces exerted by the expansion of the freezing lake cryaloud on still winter nights, whenever, after a period of thawingweather, the mercury suddenly drops to a point far below zero. On suchnights, while the trees of the surrounding forest here and there beginto be so penetrated with the fierce cold that they crack likerifle-shots, the ice-bound lake sets up an unearthly groaning, and thecavernous sound of its bellowing echoes dismally over the sleepingvillage, like the trumpetings of some huge leviathan in agony. 

Cooperstown has a winter harvest-time, in January or February, when iceis cut from the lake for the summer supply. This industry occupies alarge force of men, with plows, saws, hooks, crowbars, horses andbob-sleds, for several weeks. The ice taken from Otsego Lake, from tento twenty inches thick, according to the severity of the winter, isalways pure as mountain dew, and clear as crystal. 

The midsummer view of Otsego Lake at one time included, in the clearingsalong the western shore and hillsides, a great luxuriance of hop-vines. The golden wreaths of hops, as they hang ripening in the Augustsunshine, sweeping in graceful clusters from the tall poles, or swingingin the breeze in umbrella-like canopies, add a more picturesque featureto the landscape than any other growing crop. 

Hops have a part in the story of Cooperstown, which was at one time thecentre of the most important hop-growing industry in America. Hopculture was introduced into Otsego county about the year 1830. In 1845only 168, 605 pounds were produced. In 1885, within a radial distance offorty miles from Cooperstown was included more than half of thehop-producing region of the United States. 

[Illustration: _Elizabeth Hudson_

HOP PICKING]

The hop-picking season, during the latter part of August, has given apicturesque character of its own to the life of the village andenvirons. In the primitive days of the industry, when the harvesting ofthe crop did not require any additional help from outside of theimmediate region, the task of hop-picking was lightened by the enjoymentof social pleasures and romantic excitements that came to be associatedwith it by the young people of Otsego. At the beginning of the pickingseason, in those days, anyone passing through the country would meetwagon after wagon, of the style known as a "democrat, " loaded down withgay and lively maidens, with one or two young men to each load. Onreaching the hop-yard to which they were assigned, these frolicsomeparties exchanged their holiday attire for broad-rimmed hats andworking dresses. Boxes were placed about the hop-yard, four pickers toeach, the boxes being divided into four sections holding ten bushelsapiece, and into these were dropped the clusters picked from the vinesby nimble fingers. Experienced hands can fill two or more boxes in aday, for which as much as fifty cents a box used to be paid. 

The midday lunch was taken beneath the shade of the nearest tree, or, incase the pickers were boarded by the grower, all adjourned to thelargest room in an out-building, where a rural feast was spread with noniggard hand. Hop-pickers expect to live on the fat of the farmer'sland, and as a rule they are not disappointed. Whole sheep and beevesvanish like manna before the Israelites in the short three weeks of thepicking season, while gallons of coffee, firkins of butter, barrels offlour, and sugar by the hundred weight are swallowed up in the capaciousmaw of the small army. The nightly hop-dance used to be an indispensableadjunct of the picking season, much counted upon by the gay throng, butrather frowned upon, as an occasion of scandal, by staid and properseniors. 

With the great increase in hop-production during the early 'eighties, the romance of hop-picking, on many farms, gave place to a picturesquebut undesirable invasion of vagabondage from the large cities. Somefarmers continued to choose their pickers from among the better sort ofyoung men and maidens of the neighborhood, but many large growers, requiring a great number of hands for a short season, resorted to theunemployed of neighboring cities, and the result was an annualimmigration from Albany, Troy, Binghamton, and other cities farthernorth, which taxed the capacity of the railways. Among these workersmany were honest and capable, but a large part of them were attracted bythe prospect of three weeks of board and lodging, with an amount of paywhich, if small, was sufficient for a glorious spree. It became thecustom in Cooperstown to augment the village police force during thehop-picking season, for city thugs were likely to be abroad, and whenthe pickers were paid off their revels were apt to become both obnoxiousand dangerous. 

Hops will be seen growing in the summer along the shores and hillsidesof Otsego Lake, so long as beer is made; for, aside from the verylimited amount required to leaven bread, and the comparatively smallamount used in druggists' preparations, there is no use for hops exceptin the making of beer. But never again will there be in Otsego suchluxuriance of hop-culture as that which developed in the 'eightiesbefore the Pacific coast learned to compete successfully with thehop-growers of New York State. 

Hop-culture is a gamble which in Otsego county has made fortunes forsome farmers and brought ruin to others. The growth of the product issingularly at the mercy of freaks of weather, and its preparation forthe market is beset by many possibilities of failure. It is a crop ofwhich it is most difficult to count the final cost, or to predict themarket price. It has varied in price more than any other product of thesoil. In 1878 the entire crop was marketed at from five to twelve centsa pound. But for many years every farmer in Otsego remembered the seasonof 1882-83, when the average cost of producing a pound of hops was tencents, and hops were selling at a dollar a pound, so that, as was saidat the time, "five pounds of hops could be exchanged for a barrel offlour. "[126] Many farmers made money at this time, but some held theirhops for an even higher price, and lost. One farmer held thousands ofpounds of hops in his great barn, and kept buying in the crops of otherfarmers, awaiting a price of $1. 20, at which he had resolved to sell. Two years later the hops were still in the barn, and nine-tenths oftheir value was lost. There were other tragedies of this sort, yet foryears afterward, while some continued to grow hops at a fair profit, many a farmer in the vicinity of Cooperstown, lured by the hope of adollar-a-pound season, was kept on the verge of poverty by his faith inthe golden vine. 

[Illustration: MAP OF OTSEGO LAKE]

Otsego Lake is chiefly famous as the scene of events in two of Cooper's_Leather-Stocking Tales_. There are glimpses of it in _The Pioneers_, while in _The Deerslayer_ the whole action revolves about this lake, which throughout the story is called the "Glimmerglass. " The scenes ofincidents in these two tales are still pointed out on Otsego Lake, andhave become as much a part of its history as of its romance. 

[Illustration: THE SUSQUEHANNA, near its source]

To begin with points described in _The Deerslayer_, the beehive-shapedrock where the youthful Leather-Stocking had his rendezvous withChingachgook is that now known as Council Rock, and still juts above thewater at the outlet of the lake, near the western shore of theSusquehanna's source. Here it was that exactly at sunset, to keep hisappointment with Leather-Stocking, the tall, handsome, and athleticyoung Delaware Indian suddenly appeared in full war-paint, standing uponthe rock, having escaped his lurking foes. Not far from this point, at ashort distance down the river, Deerslayer got his first glimpse of thebeautiful Judith Hutter, as she peered from the window of the "ark, "which had been moored beneath the screening foliage of overhangingtrees. It was through these waters, and through the outlet, soonafterward, that Floating Tom Hutter and Hurry Harry, aided byDeerslayer, drew the ark back into the lake in the nick of time toescape a band of hostile Iroquois. 

On the western side of the lake, just beyond the O-te-sa-ga as onetravels northward, the first little bay that indents the shore, nowcalled Blackbird Bay, and somewhat changed in shape and aspect byfillings of soil and other improvements at the Country Club, is the"Rat's Cove, " where Floating Tom Hutter was fond of keeping his arkanchored behind the trees that covered the narrow strip of jutting land. Here it was, at the beginning of the story, that Deerslayer and HurryHarry sought Tom in vain, and on this margin of the lake the buckappeared at which Hurry took the shot that awakened the echoes of theGlimmerglass. Adjacent to this bay, in the midst of the stretch of landbetween the O-te-sa-ga and the Country Club house, was the Huron camp inwhich Hutter and Hurry were captured by the redskins; and the quantitiesof arrowheads found here in later times suggest that it actually was afavorite place of Indian encampment. 

North of Blackbird Bay and the Country Club, and beyond Fenimore Farm, are Glimmerglen Cove and Brookwood Point, where charming residences thatoverlook the lake add their own attractions to the names of"Glimmerglen" and "Brookwood, " by which they are known. The stream thatgushes into the lake from Brookwood is the one in which Hetty Huttermade her ablutions, and from which she drank, while on her lonely waysouthward to the Huron camp, in her simple-minded scheme for the rescueof her father and Hurry Harry. 

A short distance north of Brookwood there empties into the lake a streamwhich is worth tracing toward its source as far as the hillside beyondthe road that skirts the lake, for here the water comes tumbling downfrom the height in the beautiful Leatherstocking Falls. A shady glen ishere, a favorite resort of small picnic parties, and while nothing ofCooper's romance has been added to the scene except the name, someinterest may be found in the traces of an old mill which once got itspower from Leatherstocking Falls. 

[Illustration: _Arthur J. Telfer_

LEATHERSTOCKING FALLS]

Some tense situations in the story of the _Deerslayer_ are associatedwith Three-Mile Point, the present picnic resort of Cooperstown; and afull understanding of the events described as having taken place on thisspot almost depends upon some reference to the actual conformation ofthe land. It was on the northern side of the projecting point that Hettyhad landed on the errand just referred to, setting her canoe adrift. Wah-ta-wah promised to meet her Delaware lover, Chingachgook, at thesame landing-place, on the next night, at the moment when the planetJupiter should top the pines of the eastern shore. Here cameChingachgook and Deerslayer in their canoe, at the appointed time, tosteal the maiden from the Hurons, but found that she could not keep thetryst. Around this point Deerslayer gently propelled his canoe southwarduntil he gained a view of the fire-lit camp, which the Hurons had movedfrom the region of Blackbird Bay to the southern slope of Three-MilePoint. Back again to its northern side he paddled softly, and havingjoined Chingachgook, they left the canoe on the beach near the point, and made their stealthy detour, approaching the camp from the west, inthe shadow of the trees, informing Wah-ta-wah of their presence byChingachgook's squirrel-signal. The spring that still bubbles for therefreshment of picnickers on the northern shore of the Point was the onewhich Wah-ta-wah made a pretext to draw away from the camp the old squawwho guarded her, and here Deerslayer throttled the vigilant hag, whileChingachgook and his Indian sweetheart raced for the canoe. Here, whenDeerslayer released his grip to follow them, the squaw alarmed the camp. Along the stretch of beach he ran eastward to the place where the loverswere already in the canoe awaiting him, and from this point Deerslayerpushed their canoe to safety, yielding himself to capture. 

It was at Five-Mile Point that the Hurons were afterward encamped whenDeerslayer, whom they had released on parole, returned at the appointedhour to redeem his plighted word. Back of Five-Mile Point is apicturesque rocky gorge called Mohican Canyon, through which a brookripples, with clumps of fern and rose peeping from the crevices of itsrugged walls. Having fulfilled his pledge, Deerslayer soon ventured thedash for liberty that so nearly succeeded; and, after making a circuitof the slope, it was along the ridge of Mohican Canyon that he ran attop speed to try a plunge for the lake, with the whole band of Indiansin pursuit. 

[Illustration: FIVE-MILE POINT]

In the open area of Five-Mile Point, after his recapture, Deerslayer wasbound to a tree, and became a target for the hairbreadth marksmanship ofHuron tomahawks, preliminary to being put to torture. 

North of this spot, and along the shore, Hutter's Point is of interestto the reader of the _Leather-Stocking Tales_, for here is the path bywhich Deerslayer reached the lake at the beginning of his romantichistory, and gained his first view of the Glimmerglass. In the secondchapter of the _Deerslayer_, Cooper's famous description of the lake asit was when the first white man came, based upon his own recollection ofit when nine-tenths of its shores were in virgin forest, was conceivedfrom the angle of Hutter's Point. 

[Illustration: _M. Antoinette Abrams_

MOHICAN CANYON]

Not far from the northern end of the lake a faint discoloration of thewater, with a few reeds projecting above the surface, reveals thelocation of the so-called "sunken island, " where the waters of the lakeshoal from a great depth, and offer the site upon which, at the southernend of the shoal, Cooper's imagination built the "Muskrat Castle" of TomHutter, at which the terrific struggle with the Indians occurred whenHutter was killed. At the northern end of the sunken island was thewatery grave in which the mother of Judith and Hetty lay, and whichafterward became the grave of Hutter, and finally of Hetty herself. [127]

Across the lake, on its eastern shore, south of Hyde Bay, is GravellyPoint, to which Hutter's lost canoe drifted, and where Deerslayer killedhis first Indian. Farther south is Point Judith, now marked byKingfisher Tower, where Deerslayer, returning to the Glimmerglassfifteen years after the events described in the story, found thestranded wreck of the ark, and saw fluttering from a log a ribbon thathad been worn by the lovely Judith Hutter. Here "he tore away the ribbonand knotted it to the stock of Killdeer, which had been the gift of thegirl herself. "

Toward the foot of the lake the eastern hills and shore belong to scenesof Leather-Stocking's elder days, as described in _The Pioneers_. Northof Lakewood Cemetery a climb up the precipitous mountainside leads toNatty Bumppo's Cave, which, with some poetic license in his treatmentof its dimensions, the novelist employs as a setting for the finalclimax of his story. To the platform of rock over the cave, as a refugefrom the forest fire, Leather-Stocking guided Elizabeth Temple andEdwards, and carried the dying Chingachgook. On this spot, with hisglazing eyes fixed upon the western hills, the last of the Mohicansyielded up his spirit. Here was the scene of Captain Hollister's chargeat the head of the Templeton Light Infantry, so swiftly followed by therevelation of the mystery which the cave concealed. 

[Illustration: GRAVELLY POINT]

Not far from the spot upon which the Leather-Stocking monument nowstands, near the main entrance of Lakewood cemetery, the log hut ofLeather-Stocking stood, and afterward, according to the story, Chingachgook was buried there. Farther southward, the road that branchesoff to ascend Mount Vision is the one by which Judge Temple and hisdaughter approached the village in the opening scene of the story, andit was during their descent from the upper level of this road that thebuck was shot by Edwards and Leather-Stocking, when Judge Temple'smarksmanship had failed. Near the branching of this road a stairwayclimbs the mountain, and reaches the pathway of Prospect Rock, whereElizabeth found the old Mohican, and was trapped by the forest fire. Upon this natural terrace a rustic observatory now stands, which offersa superb view of the lake and village. 

It was on the summit of Mount Vision, overlooking the village, thatElizabeth Temple was faced by a panther crouching to spring upon her, and had resigned herself to a cruel death, when she heard the quietvoice of old Leather-Stocking, followed by the crack of the rifle thatsaved her life, as he said:

"Hist! hist! Stoop lower, gal; your bonnet hides the creatur's head!"

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 120: _Pages and Pictures_, 301. ]

[Footnote 121: Elihu Phinney in Shaw's _History of Cooperstown_. ]

[Footnote 122: Letter to John W. Francis, 1822. ]

[Footnote 123: Vol xxix, p. 35. ]

[Footnote 124: U. S. National Museum, Bulletin 47, p. 465. ]

[Footnote 125: Livermore, _History of Cooperstown_, p. 133. ]

[Footnote 126: G. P. Keese, _Harper's Magazine_, October, 1885. ]

[Footnote 127: For the purpose of the story, as he explains in thepreface of _The Deerslayer_, Cooper places the "sunken island" farthersouth, nearly opposite to Hutter's Point, and at a greater distance fromthe shore than its real situation. ]

CHAPTER XIX

TWENTIETH CENTURY BEGINNINGS

A man of national reputation made Cooperstown his summer home in 1903, when the Rt. Rev. Dr. Henry C. Potter, seventh Bishop of New York, whohad married Mrs. Alfred Corning Clark, took up his residence atFernleigh. In his administration of the most populous diocese inAmerica, Bishop Potter had gained wide renown as an ecclesiastic; addedto which his prominence in civic affairs, and in matters of nationalimportance, together with a public championship of workingmen's rightsat which many wealthy churchpeople stood aghast, made him one of themost notable figures in American life. He passed his summers inCooperstown until his death at Fernleigh in July, 1908, and the nearview of his big personality caused him to be as greatly beloved in thevillage as he was honored in the city. He entered with zest into theinterests of the village, gave a new impetus to many of its activities, and made friends in all walks of life. 

When Bishop Potter came to dwell in Cooperstown, the village had alreadymade up its mind that he was a rather austere and distant man, anofficial person, the quintessence of ecclesiasticalstatesmanship, --urbane, but unyielding. He looked the part. Tall, erect, and of splendid figure, his countenance had the aristocratic beauty of afamily noted for its handsome men. The noble head and the poutinglycompressed lips of a wide mouth gave an impression of power, while aslight droop of the left eyelid, and a thin rim of white around the irisof the eyes, imparted a veiled and filmy coldness to his glance. Thepersonal dignity of the Bishop, his commanding presence, a certainpicturesque magnificence, the rich and well-modulated voice, theincisiveness of his manner of speech, with the clear-cut value given toevery word and syllable, were characteristics that marked him as aleader of men. 

[Illustration: _A. F. Bradley_

BISHOP POTTER]

But Cooperstown soon came to realize the lovable traits and realsimplicity of its most distinguished resident. He placed many villagersin his debt by personal acts of kindness, and charmed all by his genialfriendliness. In any company he was the chief source of entertainment. Although he applied himself intensely to official work during certainhours of every day in the summer, when the hour of relaxation came helaid aside his task. With all his cares, he was never the grim manforcing himself to be gay. His contribution to the pleasure of a companywas spontaneous and contagious. Not the least highly developed of hisqualities was the Bishop's sense of humor. He was an incomparableraconteur, and many an incident of village life gave him material for astory which, with certain poetic license of embellishment that hesometimes allowed himself, set his hearers in a roar. He was as readyto hear a good story as to tell one, and his ringing laugh was adelight. The Bishop talked much and well. His use of the pause inspeaking, with a momentary compression of the lips now and then betweenclauses, heightened the effect of crispness in his felicitously chosenphrases. He was a good listener if one had anything to say, but he wasnot averse to presiding in monologue over a number of people, and oftendid so, for his fund of talk was so rich that others, in his presence, were sometimes slow to offer any contribution of their own. He was mostadroit at this sort of entertainment, and had a way of apparentlybringing others of the company into the conversation--usually those whoseemed rather shy and overawed, --without requiring them to utter so muchas a word. In the midst of his talk the Bishop would interject such aremark as, "You will understand me, Mr. So-and-So, when I say". , or"Mrs. Blank, you will be particularly interested to know". , turningearnestly toward the person addressed. Of course Mr. So-and-So and Mrs. Blank brightened up at being singled out by the great man, and beamedwith pleasure at having thus contributed to the conversation. 

[Illustration: _C. A. Schneider_

THE RECTORY]

In the morning of every week-day, just as the village clock struck nine, the Bishop could be seen issuing from Fernleigh, whence, after passingthe Rectory, he pursued a slow and stately course down the curved pathof the Cooper Grounds to the Clark Estate building, where he had anoffice on the upper floor at the southwest corner. On warm summer days, he discarded broadcloth, and was dressed in flannels of spotless white. He walked with a stick, and there was a slight limp of the left leg, dueto an injury received in riding. So strong and erect was his bearing, however, in spite of his more than three score years and ten, that theslow gait seemed to be caused rather by preference than necessity, andthe limp really appeared to add to the majesty of his measured pace. Anyone who joined him was obliged to walk as slowly as the Bishop, whonever hastened his steps, but conversed affably; now and then, as somethought struck him forcibly, he paused abruptly in his walk, and stoodstill to utter what was in his mind, moving forward again, by way ofemphasis, at the end of a sentence. In these walks through the CooperGrounds, and about the village, the Bishop assumed acquaintance witheveryone, and frequently stopped to enter into conversation with aneighbor, a passing tourist, or some workman toiling in a ditch. It wasbecause of his genuine interest in everyone that the village came toregard Bishop Potter no longer as a distinguished metropolitan, but as agenial neighbor. A stable-boy who at this period drove the villagerector to a country funeral expressed the sentiment of many when hesaid: "I used to think the Bishop was stuck up; but he is really just ascommon as me or you!"

Bishop Potter took great delight in amusing occurrences in which heshared as he went about the village. In fact he seemed deliberately toinvite them, and afterward described the incidents with contagiousmerriment. One day as he was about to enter a car of the trolley road onMain Street, an enormously fat countrywoman was standing on theplatform, bidding farewell to her her friends. She had much to say, andcompletely blocked the entrance to the car. After waiting patiently forsome moments the Bishop addressed the woman in his most gracious manner. "Madam, " said he, "I don't wish to interfere with your conversation, butif you will kindly move either one way or the other, so that I may enterthe car, I shall be greatly obliged. " The woman glared at him. "Are youthe conductor of this car?" she snapped, "Because if you be, you're thesassiest conductor that ever _I_ see!"

In the late summer of 1904, "Doc" Brady, a lovable old Irish heart, whoused to peddle portraits of the Pope, corn salve, and various trifles, encountered Bishop Potter in front of the Village Library, and invited apurchase of his wares, which at this time included campaign buttons ofCol. Roosevelt and Judge Parker, attached to packages of chewing-gum. "Here ye are, Bishop, " he cried; "Get a button for your favoritecandidate!" The Bishop impartially selected a button of each kind, andpushed the chewing-gum aside. "Take your goom, Bishop, take your goom, "urged Brady, as the Bishop moved away. "No, certainly not, " was the firmreply. But Doc Brady was insistent, and hurrying after the Bishop forcedthe gum upon him. "There, " said he, "if you don't chew it yourself, takeit home to Mrs. Potter!" The Bishop's laugh rang aloud through theCooper Grounds as he slowly ascended the path, taking home thechewing-gum to Fernleigh. 

The Bishop usually left his office in the Clark Estate building towardone o'clock, and Mrs. Potter often walked down to join him on the wayhome. Sometimes, as she passed the office, she hailed the Bishop, andconversed with him as he stood at the open window above. On oneoccasion, when Mrs. Potter had several ladies as guests, they allchatted with the Bishop through the window on their way to Fernleigh. Amoment later, recalling something that he had neglected to mention, hesummoned a gardener who was at work close at hand, and asked him torequest the ladies kindly to step back to the window, as the Bishop hadsomething to say to them. Shortly afterward, in response to thegardener's summons, there was lined up beneath the window a happy groupof female excursionists carrying lunch-baskets, entire strangers to theBishop, and in a quite a flutter of anticipation of what thedistinguished prelate might have to communicate. The Bishop was equal tothe situation. He gave them some information concerning points ofinterest in and about Cooperstown, with a brief summary of the historyof the Cooper Grounds in which they then stood, and sent them awayrejoicing in knowledge that added greatly to the pleasure of theirvisit. 

A frequent guest at Fernleigh at this time was the Rev. Dr. W. W. Lord, formerly rector of Christ Church, and for many years one of the mostbeloved friends of the Clark family. This aged clergyman and poet was ascholar of the old-fashioned type, well-versed in the elderphilosophies, and fond of quoting Greek, Latin, and Hebrew authors inthe original tongues. Dr. Lord admired Bishop Potter, but the two menwere of different schools, and the old priest was inclined to stir upgood-humored controversies in which he pitted his scholasticism againstthe Bishop's more facile and modern if less profound learning. The NewYork prelate entered with great zest into the contest of wits, and letslip no opportunity to score a point on Dr. Lord. 

Although usually numbered among the evangelicals, Bishop Potter in hislatter years was sympathetic with certain aspects of Catholicceremonial. He believed in the enrichment of the services of the Churchby light, color, and symbolism, so far as might be consistent with thelaw of the Anglican communion in America. Dr. Lord belonged to theschool of churchmanship which abhorred anything beyond the most severesimplicity in the services of the Church, and had a large contempt forthe badges and symbols of ritualism. 

On the festival of St. John the Baptist, in 1903, Bishop Potter and Dr. Lord were the chief figures at a service held in Christ Church to whichthe Masonic lodges of Cooperstown and vicinity were invited. Both theBishop and Dr. Lord were thirty-third degree Masons. Dr. Lord, becauseof the infirmities of age, at that period seldom officiated in church, but for this occasion was to have a place of honor in the chancel, andto pronounce the benediction. Bishop Potter was to deliver the sermon. 

Dr. Lord came early to the sacristy of the church, and, having vested inhis long flowing surplice and black stole, seated himself to awaitservice time. In conversation with the rector, Dr. Lord recalled thedays when more of the clergy were simple in their apparel, and hedeplored the tendency to adopt brilliant vestments, colored stoles, andacademic hoods. A hood, said Dr. Lord, echoing the sentiments of a wittyEnglish prelate, was often a falsehood. Any man could wear a red bagdangling down his back, but nothing except sound scholarship couldreally make a Doctor of Divinity. For his part, said Dr. Lord, he wascontent to be a Doctor of Divinity, by virtue of scholastic learning, without wearing a hood to proclaim it. 

At this moment the Bishop appeared, having walked from Fernleigh to thechurch fully arrayed in his vestments. He was a resplendent figure. Inaddition to the episcopal robes of his office, he wore an Oxford cap, and a hood of flaming crimson, which an expert in such matters wouldhave identified as belonging to Union College, or Yale, or Harvard, orOxford, or Cambridge, or St. Andrew's, all of which institutions oflearning had conferred the doctorate on Bishop Potter. 

It still lacked a few moments of service time, and when the Bishop wasseated in the bright light of the sacristy, another feature ofdecoration in his dress appeared. Depending from a chain about the neckthere glittered upon his breast what the Masons call a "jewel. " To thenon-Masonic eye it was more than a jewel. It suggested rather a shootingstar, emitting a shower of scintillations from the facets of a hundredjewels. When the coruscations of this Masonic emblem caught the eye ofDr. Lord, he became uneasy, and began to finger an imaginary token ofrank upon his own breast. "I ought to have a jewel to wear to-night, " hesaid musingly, and muttered of the splendid jewel that he had forgottento bring, given to him years before by the Grand Lodge. By this time thehour of service had come; the aproned Masons had marched to their seatsin the nave of the church, and all available space was thronged by anexpectant congregation. Nevertheless Dr. Lord requested the rector to goforth from the sacristy, and ask the master of the Lodge whether any ofthe brethren present had a jewel to lend for the occasion. This wasdone, but no jewel was forthcoming. The Bishop seemed absorbed in hisown thoughts. 

The choir and clergy entered the chancel, and the service began. Dr. Lord had a seat of honor in the sanctuary at the right of the altar. When evensong was finished, Bishop Potter preached the sermon, afterwhich he returned to the sanctuary, and stood at the left of the altaropposite to Dr. Lord. Just before the benediction, which Dr. Lord was topronounce, the Bishop caught the rector's eye, and beckoned. When therector came near, the Bishop removed the Masonic jewel, with its chain, and handed it to him. 

"Put it around the old man's neck, " the Bishop whispered. 

This was done, and the venerable clergyman, decorated with the flashingsymbol, seemed to grow in stature beyond his usual great height, as heascended the steps of the altar, where he uplifted his hands, and in anage-worn but magnificent and sonorous voice pronounced the solemnblessing. 

In the early autumn of 1904 the Rt. Hon. And Most Rev. Dr. Randall T. Davidson, Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of all England, the firstoccupant of the chair of St. Augustine to visit America, was a guest atFernleigh. The Archbishop and Mrs. Davidson, with the Archbishop's twochaplains, were met at the station by Bishop Potter together with adelegation of Cooperstown citizens. The first carriage that left thestation contained the English and American bishops; the second carriedthe two chaplains, escorted by the village rector. As this carriage leftthe station, David H. Gregory, the perennial wit of the summer colony, called out, "Don't forget to show the gentlemen the Indian in the Cooper Grounds. "

The chaplains of the Archbishop exchanged glances of pleasedanticipation. What they had heard suggested that Cooperstown kept a liveIndian on view as a symbol of its history and romance, just as Romemaintains always its pair of wolves at the Capitoline hill. The rectortried in vain to divert their thoughts toward other objects. When thecarriage rolled through the Cooper Grounds the chaplains insisted uponseeing the Indian. There was nothing to do but to point out J. Q. A. Ward's sculptured Indian which stands in the midst of the park, areplica of the one in Central Park, New York, and better mounted, altogether a fine work of art, but--

"Oh, I say, " exclaimed one of the chaplains, as they looked at oneanother in deep disappointment, "Not alive; not alive!"

During the Archbishop's stay in Cooperstown he attended daily servicesin Christ Church, and enjoyed visiting points of interest on the lakeand in the village. That a souvenir of the visit might be preserved theArchbishop and the Bishop were photographed together on the front porchof Fernleigh. Apparently some prosaic adviser had represented to theArchbishop that his usual costume would make him undesirably conspicuousin America, for during his tour of this country the Primate of allEngland abandoned the picturesque every-day dress of an English bishop, with its knickerbockers and gaiters, in favor of the internationalhideousness of pantaloons. At the time of the photograph Bishop Potterwas wearing leggings, having just returned from riding, so that the twobishops appeared to have exchanged costumes. 

[Illustration: THE ARCHBISHOP WITH BISHOP POTTER]

The Archbishop desired not to have anything like a public reception, butit was intimated to a few neighbors that they would be welcomed atFernleigh on a certain evening. At this gathering the most regal figure, who, in the ancient finery of her apparel, wearing a headdress toppedwith an ostrich plume, may be said to have eclipsed the mostdistinguished guests, was Susan Augusta Cooper, granddaughter of thenovelist, representing, as it were, the very foundation of the village. Miss Cooper was one of the most characteristic survivals of the oldrégime in Cooperstown. She lived next door to Fernleigh in ByberryCottage, which had been built as a home for the two unmarried daughtersof the novelist shortly after the burning of Otsego Hall, and largelyout of material rescued from it, including the oaken doors, thebalusters of the stairway, and two bookcases from Cooper's library whichwere transferred to the cottage. Susan Augusta Cooper took up herresidence there with her mother and aunts in 1875, and when she died in1915 had been the sole occupant of the cottage for many years. She was atype of old-fashioned neighborliness, and made a specialty ofministration to the needs of sick and poor throughout the village. Onefrequently met her on some errand of mercy; the basket on her armcontained good things prepared with her own hands for the needy; thelarge and stately figure had grown rather mountainous with advancingyears, and the dignity of her slow and measured pace suggested thesteady progress of a ship moving in calm waters. The solemnity of hercountenance, and the grave manner of her carefully chosen words, werelovably familiar to those who knew her warm and generous heart. 

When Miss Cooper's health failed she was obliged to undergo an operationwhich left her a cripple, unable to get about except in a wheel-chairpropelled by an attendant. Always a faithful communicant of ChristChurch, her disability occasioned what came to be almost a parochialceremony, for when Miss Cooper made her communion she was wheeled to thechancel steps, and the priest came forward to administer to her, whilethe other communicants respectfully waited until she had withdrawn. 

[Illustration: _C. A. Schneider_

BYBERRY COTTAGE as originally built]

Added to her other infirmities, an affection of the eyes graduallydarkened her vision until she became totally blind. In a condition ofhelplessness which would seem to make existence unendurable, Miss Cooperfound much to make her happy, and life was sweet to her to the end. Sheenjoyed the society of friends, and it gave her keen pleasure, blind andcrippled as she was, to be seated in state at large social functions. Such was her habitual solemnity of manner that few gave her credit forthe sense of humor which lightened many of her dark days. She utteredher jests with so much gravity that they were often taken in earnest. Now and again she made sport of her own infirmities. Meeting her oneday in her wheel-chair, after her eyesight had begun to fail, a neighborinquired for her health. "Quite comfortable, " replied Miss Cooper, insolemn tones, "except for my eyes. They tell me it is a fine day, withbeautiful blue sky. The sky is blue, but to my eyes it is shrunk to thesize of a bachelor's-button!" Miss Cooper was very reluctant inconsenting to the amputation which prolonged her life for several years. Even after the surgeons stood ready in the operating-room she for a timedeclined to submit to the ordeal. There was a prolonged discussion whichresulted at last, on the advice of friends, in obtaining her consent. The chief surgeon entering the room approached the bedside rubbing hishands and, grasping at something to say to reassure the patient, remarked in silken tones, "Well, Miss Cooper, I'm glad to hear that youprefer to have the amputation. " The situation seemed desperate, andnerves were at a high tension among Miss Cooper's friends. "Well, doctor, " was her tart rejoinder, "I must say that 'prefer' is hardly theword that I should use!" With this she gave a chuckle that proved herspirit undaunted, and relieved the strain. 

Miss Cooper had great respect for the clergy, and for a bishop herreverence was unbounded. When Bishop Potter dedicated the monument atthe grave of Leslie Pell-Clarke, in Lakewood Cemetery, a terrificthunderstorm arose during the ceremonies, and Miss Cooper was taken homein the carriage with the distinguished prelate to escape the deluge. Thevarious conveyances plunged down the hillside post-haste, withlightning crashing on every side. Some of the ladies in the party becamehysterical. Miss Cooper alone was perfectly calm. "With a bishop by myside, " she exclaimed, "I am not in the least afraid to die!"

[Illustration: THE CLARK ESTATE OFFICE]

In the summer of 1904 Bishop Potter unwittingly acted as the accompliceof a burglar who robbed the safe of the Clark Estate office inCooperstown, and escaped with a quantity of jewels. The newspapersestimated the value of the stolen jewels at from $20, 000 to $100, 000, and the robbery became a celebrated case in police annals. The burglarywas unusual in having taken place in broad daylight, with Bishop Pottercalmly at work at his desk on the second floor of the small building. When the clerks left the office for luncheon at noon they locked theoutside door, but did not close the vault in which the papers andvaluables were kept. It was a brilliant summer day, the seventh of July;villagers and tourists were passing and repassing through the adjacentCooper Grounds; the clerks were to return within an hour, and in themean time the Bishop was there. Nobody dreamed of the possibility of aburglary, but it was the unexpected that happened. When the vault was tobe closed and locked at the end of the day, a tin box containing acasket of jewels was missing. In the basement of the building the tinbox which had contained the jewel-case was found empty, and near by wasa hatchet usually kept in the basement, and with which the box had beenpried open. 

The news of the robbery caused intense excitement in the community. Thevillage policeman together with the county sheriff and his deputies metin conference at the Clark Estate office; knots of people gathered uponthe streets in earnest discussion; the village press was busy turningout handbills announcing the robbery and offering a large reward for theapprehension of the thief; the telegraph wires hummed with messages tothe police of the state and nation. Next morning Pinkerton detectivesarrived under the leadership of George S. Dougherty, afterward deputypolice commissioner of the city of New York. 

The clues discovered by the detectives were not encouraging. In theoffice nothing appeared beyond the fact that the box of jewels had beenremoved from the safe. In the basement the discarded tin box that hadcontained the casket of jewels lay upon the floor not far from thehatchet with which it had been opened, and the only remarkablecircumstance was that the floor all about the empty box was bespatteredwith blood. The detectives said also that they noticed the frequentappearance of a woman's footprints which were well defined and seemed toencircle the spot where the empty jewel-box lay. 

The blood-stains appeared to offer the most serviceable clue, and toaccount for them three theories were suggested. First: The robber hadbeen caught in the act by someone who had disappeared in pursuit, afterone or the other had been wounded in the struggle. Second: There wasmore than one robber, and there had been a bloody quarrel over thedivision of the booty. Third: In opening the tin box containing thejewels the robber had cut himself either with the hatchet or with thejagged tin. Since the Bishop, who had been in the building during therobbery, heard no sound of any struggle, the first two theories wereabandoned, and the third alone seemed probable. Advices were accordinglytelegraphed to the police of various cities to look out for a man with abandaged hand. For several days thereafter suspicious-looking men inremote parts of the country who had had the misfortune to injure a handsuffered the added misfortune of being detained by the police; butnothing came of it. 

In order to aid in the recovery of the property, and to make itdifficult for the thief to dispose of it, a description of the stolenjewelry was given out, and summarized as follows: a pearl collar; adiamond bow-knot with pear-shaped pearl pendant; a ring set with twodiamonds and a ruby; a ring set with diamond and ruby; a small diamondring; a solitaire diamond ring; a diamond marquise ring; a ring set withtwo diamonds crosswise; a diamond bracelet; a diamond and pearlbracelet. 

Dougherty the detective had another method of procedure in reserve. Hehad brought with him to Cooperstown an album containing photographs ofthe most noted bank-sneaks and yegg-men. After studying the "job" at theClark Estate office he came to the conclusion that it was the work of aprofessional, and began to run over in his mind the various crooks whomight have planned and carried out a robbery of this particular sort. Many of these were gradually eliminated for one reason or another, untilhe had narrowed the field to a few suspects. Dougherty then began tomake inquiries about the village to learn whether anyone had noticed astranger loitering in the neighborhood of the Clark Estate offices onthe day of the robbery. His search was rewarded by finding severalpersons who remembered such a stranger. One of them described theloiterer as a man about sixty years old, with "pleasant, laughing eyes. "Dougherty already had in mind Billy Coleman, alias Hoyt, alias Grant, alias Holton, alias Houston, a man with an international police record. He produced Coleman's photograph, and the likeness was promptlyidentified as that of the loiterer. Another who remembered seeing thestranger picked out from the entire gallery of rogues the likeness ofColeman. 

Although he had no real evidence against him the detective was now sureof his man, and felt certain that, somewhere in the mazes of New YorkCity, Coleman and the missing jewels would be found. Returning to NewYork, Dougherty roamed the streets of the city, day and night, lookingfor Coleman. After two weeks of fruitless search he met one of Coleman's"pals" coming up Eighth Avenue. Acting on the theory that this man wouldultimately get in touch with Coleman, the detective determined to keephim in sight. He shadowed him all night, following him from haunt tohaunt. The next morning, when Coleman's friend retired to arooming-house, and asked for a bed, Dougherty put two subordinates onguard, while he himself snatched a few hours of sleep. The detectiveproved to be upon the right track, for within thirty-six hours theshadowed man joined Billy Coleman. 

The suspected thief occupied a flat at 271 West 154th Street. From thistime Dougherty or one of his deputies followed every movement of BillyColeman. Day after day they tracked him through the city from one resortto another. In the evening they followed him home, and kept a watchfuleye on the premises. Coleman's actions were provokingly innocent. Atnightfall he frequently left home, accompanied by his wife, but only totake their little dog out for an airing. On a Sunday evening whileDougherty was shadowing Coleman and his wife, hoping that they mightlead him to some clue to the robbery, he was amazed to see them enter anEpiscopal church, where they remained throughout the service. BishopPotter, to whom Dougherty had confided his suspicions of Coleman, laughed heartily when the detective mentioned this incident. 

"Surely, Dougherty, you don't want me to believe that one good churchmanwould rob another, do you?" the Bishop exclaimed. 

Dougherty felt that as the case stood he was making no headway. Coleman, who perhaps realized that he might be under suspicion, made no falsemoves. The detective resolved upon another plan of action. He decided tohave Coleman charged with the robbery and arrested, after which he wascertain to be released for lack of evidence. He calculated that anofficial discharge from any complicity in the stealing of the jewelswould so reassure Coleman that he might afterward betray himself, through lack of caution, to watchful detectives. Coleman was accordinglyarrested, and held for the grand jury in Cooperstown. The case againsthim was too weak to stand. The grand jurors were much absorbed inconclusions drawn from the blood-stains found on the floor of thebasement of the Clark Estate office, and when it was shown that Colemanbore no sign of scratch or scar they promptly discharged him. Colemanleft Cooperstown a free man, and chatted amicably with Dougherty as theyrode together on the train to New York. On reaching the city they partedcompany at the Christopher Street elevated station, and Coleman rode onup town to his home, serenely confident of Dougherty's failure and ofhis own security. 

This was in October. From the moment of his arrival in the city Colemanwas shadowed day and night. Detectives rented a room in a house acrossthe street from Coleman's flat. Whenever he left his home theycautiously followed him. For a time he seemed to be making tests tolearn whether or not he was being followed. Sometimes he would enter alarge department-store, mingle with the crowds, and suddenly find hisway out of a side door into a little-frequented street. But thedetectives were equally wily. They adopted various disguises, and neverlet him out of their sight. After about two months they observed thatColeman began to make frequent trips toward Morningside Park. He madealways for the same region, where he appeared to walk aimlessly about, but with his eyes fixed on the ground, as though counting his steps. Onthe morning of the third of January, during a heavy snowstorm, Colemanwas followed to West 155th Street and Eighth Avenue, where, in a littleopen space near an iron-foundry, he scraped aside the snow, and began asmall excavation of the earth. For some reason he failed to find theobject of his search, and returned home with an air of dejection. Onedetective shadowed him homeward; the others did not wait for the fallingsnow to obliterate the traces of his excavation. They began digging inthe same spot on a more generous scale, and eighteen inches below thesurface unearthed a glass fruit-jar. The jar, on being lifted to thelight, dazzled the eyes of the detectives, for it contained the missingjewels, which for six months had lain there in the earth where thousandsof people had daily passed them by. 

The detectives, having removed the jewels, placed in the jar a noteaddressed to Billy Coleman, signed by Dougherty and his assistants, McDonals and Wade, stating that they had the jewels, and would call uponhim at the earliest opportunity. They reburied the jar, and restored thesurroundings to their former condition. Coleman, as had been foreseen, afterward returned to the spot, and dug up the jar. The detectives werenear enough to witness the wretched man's distress when, on reading thenote, he realized that the fortune had escaped him and that the prisonawaited him. He was immediately placed under arrest, and confessed all. Concerning a few pieces of jewelry that were missing from those found inthe jar he gave information that led to their recovery. Coleman was oncemore taken to Cooperstown, and, with the additional evidence, was easilyconvicted of the robbery. 

Coleman was a man of such remarkable intelligence and engagingpersonality that Bishop Potter, whose near presence at the time of therobbery the burglar little suspected, became much interested in him. There is no doubt that Coleman was really touched by the kindness whichBishop and Mrs. Potter showed to him and to his wife, and his resolutionto reform was quite sincere. 

"There is nothing in being a crook, " he said. "I am sixty years old, andhave been in prison half my life. My advice to young men is 'Don'tsteal. '"

At Bishop Potter's request the sentence of the court was lighter thanColeman's record might have warranted, and he was sent to Auburn prisonfor six years and five months, a term which discounts for good behaviourreduced to four years and four months. 

Coleman's explanation of the blood-stains which had played so importanta part in the various theories of the robbery was one that nobody hadthought to venture. He said that before he opened the jewel-casket inthe basement he really had no idea what it contained, and when he sawthe fortune in gems that had come into his possession his greatexcitement brought on a nose-bleed. [128] His clothes were soblood-stained that he was in mortal fear of being arrested on thataccount, but, as he wore a black suit, the stains were not conspicuous. As to the woman's footprints, which the detectives said they found, noexplanation was ever made. 

Ten years later an elderly man was arrested in New York, charged withrobbing a Wells-Fargo Express wagon on Broadway. With the aid of anumbrella handle he had drawn from the rear of the wagon a packagecontaining $100, 000 in cancelled cheques--not a very successful haul. His age and apparent harmlessness so much impressed the justices inSpecial Sessions that he would undoubtedly have been released onsuspended sentence had not a detective who had been engaged in the Clarkrobbery case passed his cell in the Tombs. The detective recognized thefamous Billy Coleman, whose police record dated back to 1869, showingthirteen arrests and a total period of twenty-eight years in prison. 

Bishop Potter's last notable public appearance in Cooperstown was at theVillage Centennial Celebration in August of 1907. He was the mostpicturesque figure in a scene rich in kaleidoscopic color and historicsignificance when, on the Sunday afternoon which began the week'sfestivities, multitudes listened beneath the sunlit trees upon the greenof the Cooper Grounds, while the Bishop, mantled in an academic gown ofcrimson, described his vision of the future of religion in America. 

The Cooperstown Centennial celebration was remarkable for its greatsuccess in calm defiance of the fact that the year of its observance wasnot really the centennial of anything worth commemorating in the historyof the village. The psychological moment seemed to have arrived when thepeople of the village were resolved to devote themselves to some higheffort in praise of Cooperstown, and so they gloriously celebrated, in1907, the centennial which a former generation had neglected, and whichsucceeding generations might indolently ignore. A disused act of villageincorporation passed in 1807 was seized upon as suggesting a convenientantiquity, but there was no slavish conformity to mere accidents ofdate, and the whole history of Cooperstown was included in this elasticcentenary. The entire community was united in the desire and effort tomake the celebration a success, and the sticklers for historicalpropriety became quite as enthusiastic as the others. The commemorationwas planned and carried out on a really dignified scale, with anavoidance of tawdriness; and the elements of the celebration, withreligious, historical, literary exercises, and pageantry, were wellproportioned in their appeal to the mind, to the romantic emotions, andto the love of the spectacular. Some of the addresses such as that ofBrander Matthews on Fenimore Cooper, were valuable contributions to theliterary annals of America. Throngs of spectators were attracted toCooperstown by the celebration, and in one day there were at least15, 000 people in the village which included only about 2, 500 in itsnormal population. The old village and lake offered an effectivebackground to the scenes of carnival. Natty Bumppo at home in his logcabin, Chingachgook with his canoe, appeared in living representation inthe line of floats that paraded the village to set forth the historicand romantic memories of the place. A chorus of village schoolgirlsdressed in white, and with flowing hair, presented an exquisite sceneat Cooper's grave in Christ churchyard, bringing their tribute offlowers, and singing the lyric written by Andrew B. Saxton to the musicof Andrew Allez. Otsego Lake offered a superb spectacle in the calmsummer night, reflecting the glare of rockets and the bursting intobloom of aerial gardens of flame. There were moments of utter darknesssuddenly dispelled by dazzling cataracts of fire that made one aware ofthousands of pallid faces thronging the shore, while the effulgence setthe waters ablaze from Council Rock to the Sleeping Lion, and flung aweird splendor upon the forests of the surrounding hills. 

[Illustration: _J. B. Slote_

THE LYRIC AT COOPER'S GRAVE]

A lovable patriarch of the village was Samuel M. Shaw, well knownthroughout the state as editor of the _Freeman's Journal_. He had oncebeen an editor of the _Argus_, in Albany, and became editor andproprietor of the _Freeman's Journal_ in Cooperstown in 1851. In thisposition he continued more than half a century, and had a history almostunique in village journalism. When he began his work Shaw was regardedas an innovator, for he was one of the first editors in the country tointroduce columns of local news and personal items, a practice which, ata time when newspapers were wholly devoted to politics, speeches, foreign affairs and literary miscellany, was widely ridiculed. Hesurvived long enough to be regarded as an exemplar of conservative andold-fashioned journalism, and became the Nestor of Cooperstown. In theoffice of the _Freeman's Journal_, with its clutter of old machinery, piles of grimy books, its floor littered with newspapers, its wallstreaked with cobwebs, the aged editor seemed exactly to fit into thesurroundings. Here he received his friends, for the bed-ridden wife atCarr's Hotel, where he had rooms, was unequal to much social duty. Theprinting-office was his kingdom, and here, at the battered desk, hereigned supreme, a benevolent-looking man, with white beard closelyenough trimmed to show a firm mouth, while the bald head shone above thedesk as he bent his eyes closely to the pen in writing, and the lefthand occasionally stroked the cluster of silvery locks that overhung theback of his collar. Late every afternoon he put aside his pen andproof-sheets, and with a coat held capewise about his bent shoulders, toddled to the Mohican Club to play bottle-pool with his old friend, G. Pomeroy Keese. Every Sunday the editor's venerable figure wasconspicuous in a front pew of the Baptist church, in which he was apillar, and always held up as an example to the youth of the village. 

When Samuel Shaw died, in 1907, occurred a dramatic episode which only avillage community can produce. During his long career Shaw hadaccumulated a fair amount of property, and in his will had made kindlybequests to certain friends. Not until his death did it become generallyknown that his means had been dissipated by unfortunate speculations inthe stock market, which was then in a depressed condition, and thatmargins upon which he had made purchases had been wiped out, hasteninghis death by financial worry, and leaving his estate almost bankrupt. 

At his funeral the Baptist church was crowded by a congregation whichrepresented the tribute of a whole village to a man who had been aleader in its affairs for more than fifty years. The pastor of thechurch, the Rev. Cyrus W. Negus, had not been long in the village, butalready was known for his earnestness and sincerity. To deliver afuneral sermon over the body of so distinguished a member of his churchoffered an opportunity to make an impression upon the entire community. He began his sermon with the usual expressions of Christian faith in thepresence of death, and passed to a commendation of Samuel Shaw's manygood deeds in public service and private life during his long career. Then he changed his tone, and, to the amazement of every hearer, expressed his deep disapproval of the speculations in the stock marketwhich had brought the veteran editor in sorrow to the grave, anddeclared that he was unable to indorse the qualities in the character ofa man so prominent in religious and civic life which permitted him toresort to slippery methods of financial gain. In this respect SamuelShaw was to be held up not as an example, but as a warning to the youthof the village. 

Never was a congregation more astonished than when the speaker proceededto develop such a theme in the face of the mourning friends of the dead. Probably the great majority of the congregation felt that the pastor'sview of the iniquity of such stock speculations was utterly mistaken. Certainly all the friends of the dead editor were too indignant torealize in that hour that they were witnesses of an unusual exhibitionof moral courage on the part of a preacher. It was some months later, when the Rev. Cyrus W. Negus himself lay dead, and all the bells of thevillage rang his requiem, that a friend and admirer of Samuel Shaw couldalso fairly recognize the mettle of this preacher who had the pluck tospeak out what he believed to be his message, with every worldly reasonto be silent. He had dared to defy the conventions of indiscriminateeulogy at funerals, to stand practically alone against public opinion, and to turn an opportunity of winning popular applause into an occasionfor speaking out the necessary truth as he saw it. Some of his bestfriends felt that he had blundered, but no one who saw and heard thisfrail and pale-faced Baptist minister, as he stood by the coffin ofSamuel Shaw uttering the quiet words that fell like lead upon the tenseand breathless audience, may honestly deny his courage. 

In some respects the most remarkable man in Cooperstown at this periodwas Dr. Henry D. Sill. It is perhaps a singular distinction in aChristian community that Dr. Sill should have been chiefly renowned forbeing a Christian. It was not that the Christianity of the village wasbelow the average of Christian communities. It was rather that Dr. Sillso strikingly personified the Christian virtues as to become a saintamong Christians. By common consent he was put in a class by himself. Christians were exhorted to imitate him, but nobody was expected reallyto equal him. He was at this time only forty years old, but was reverednot only by the young, but by the aged, as wise unto salvation. He wasthe son of Jedediah P. Sill, a respected and influential business man ofCooperstown, and after graduation at Princeton and at the College ofPhysicians and Surgeons, he settled down to practise in his own village. Dr. Sill lived with his sister at "The Maples, " in the spacious housewhich stands on Chestnut Street, with sculptured lions guarding thedoorway, next to the Methodist parsonage. His office occupied the littlewing at the north. Unlike some who pass for philanthropists in theouter world, Henry Sill was regarded as a saint in his own household. Mrs. Robe, the aged aunt who made one of the family, and cultivated theart of growing old beautifully and gracefully, herself a Unitarian, usedalways to conclude her frequent arguments against Calvinistic theologyby saying, "Well, Henry wouldn't treat people so, and I believe that Godis as good as Henry!"

Dr. Sill was a man of some means, but spent very little on himself. Ithad been his ambition to be a missionary, but since circumstances madeit impossible to carry out this design, he annually contributed theentire salary of a foreign missionary whom he called his "substitute. "He spent large sums of money in the improvement of ThanksgivingHospital, in which he was deeply interested, and the equipment of thatinstitution, especially of the operating-room, which gave it a rank farabove the hospitals in many larger towns, was chiefly owing to hisgenerosity. 

Dr. Sill was a physician, but specialized in surgery, and, while henever developed any spectacular rapidity of technique, became known asone of the most capable and conscientious surgeons in central New York. He always told patients what he believed to be the exact truth, andwithout the untoward results which some practitioners apprehend fromsuch a policy. A surgeon who prayed with patients just before resortingto the knife was sometimes rather disconcerting to the irreligious, buthis attitude was a comfort to many in the dire distress of illness, andin all it inspired confidence in the man himself. In many an isolatedfarm house of Otsego the only religious ministrations came with Dr. Sill's medical attendance, and there were unnumbered cases in which hiscall to heal the body resulted in the regeneration of a soul. 

Where patients were able to pay, Dr. Sill charged a good price for hisservices, but the fees were adjusted upon a sliding scale, and theamount of his professional service without pay is incalculable. In thisrespect he was not unlike his colleagues in a profession which probablygives more for nothing than any other, but, having independent means, hewas able to go farther in this direction than most practitioners, and hecounted it a pleasure to give away his time and skill without reward. 

There was a tinge of Puritanism in Dr. Sill's Christianity which to someminds imported an unnecessary strictness of view, but none could quarrelwith it, for he practised his austerities upon himself, not towardothers. Certain precepts of the Sermon on the Mount usually interpretedin a figurative sense he took literally as rules of action. "Give to himthat asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thouaway" was one of these. His literal fidelity to this precept affordedhim the deep satisfaction of giving aid to honest neighbors in distress;it enabled him to come to the rescue in the emergencies which sometimesface the most industrious and deserving. But also it gave him the painof learning how many plausible persons are eager to make fair promisesthat mean nothing, and taught him that there are human beings to whomacts of loving-kindness are as pearls before swine. The honest man introuble came to Dr. Sill, the drunkard to take the pledge, the sorrowfulto be comforted, the desperate to be advised. But so came also therogue, and the wheedling hypocrite, and all such as desired to obtainsomething for nothing. The doctor had a large acquaintance amongunfortunate outcasts, for he regularly visited the county jail to talkand pray with its inmates. The extent to which Dr. Sill aided theworthless was a cause of grief to the judicious, but he was not really, as some supposed, the dupe of impostors. He was well aware of theprobably unworthy character of many to whom he gave assistance, butthere was always an element of doubt in such cases, and his theory wasthat it was better to aid ninety-nine humbugs than to take the risk ofclosing the door against one who was deserving of help. 

Dr. Sill was much consulted in relation to the civic and religiouswelfare of the community. His conscientious habit of deciding in allthings, great and small, upon the absolutely right course of action gavehim an air of slowness and hesitation in manner. He would standlistening intently, without comment, to violent arguments for andagainst a project, turning toward each speaker the frank dark eyes thatillumined his pale countenance. When it came to his decision he had away of planting his right heel forward, and compressing his lips, whichhe then opened with a slight smack of determination, giving quietutterance to his judgment. It was usually quite impossible to move himfrom a decision thus made, and those who misinterpreted the mildness ofhis manner soon learned that the man himself was adamant. 

The first years of the twentieth century included an era of newbuildings. Just above Leatherstocking Falls, in 1908, William E. Guy ofSt. Louis built and established the beautiful summer home atLeatherstocking Farm. The remains of the old grist mill at the fallswere torn down, and the stones from the foundation were used in the newbuilding. 

In 1910, James Fenimore Cooper of Albany, grandson of the novelist, built Fynmere (the name being an old form of the word Fenimore) as acountry residence. Its site on the hillside above the road that curvesabout the southern end of Mount Vision commands a superb view down theSusquehanna Valley, while the eastern windows of the house look into theheart of the ascending forest. The use of native field stone in theconstruction of this house is most effective, and at once gave to theresidence, when fresh from the builder's hands, the air of being longhabituated to the spot, and quite in harmony with the antiquities thatabound in the appointments and ornamentation of the place. Within aniche of the main hall of the house is the bust of Fenimore Cooper whichDavid d'Angers made in Paris in 1828; and embedded in the foundation ofthe building is the corner-stone with the original marking that Coopercarved in 1813 for the house that he built, but which was burned beforehe could move into it, at Fenimore. Fynmere has contributed to therevival of pleasures that belonged to an elder day in Cooperstown, forit has drawn hither large house-parties of young people to enjoy theholidays of Christmastide, to join in winter sports, and to appreciatethe splendors of snow and ice in a region usually renowned only for thecharm of its summer season. 

From the beginning of Cooperstown's celebrity as a watering-place thehope was cherished, among the residents, that the village might includea suitable hotel overlooking the lake, and attracting visitors to lingeron its shores. This dream was realized in 1909 when the O-te-sa-gaopened, having been built by Edward S. Clark and his brother Stephen C. Clark. The hotel was planned to accommodate three hundred guests, andoccupies the old site of Holt-Averell, commanding a magnificent view ofthe full length of the lake. 

Cooperstown is a village of incomparable charm. There is not the like ofit in all America. It has a character of its own sufficientlydistinctive to prevent it from becoming the leech-like community intowhich, through the slow commercializing of native self-respect, a summerresort sometimes degenerates, stupidly enduring the winter in order tobatten upon the pleasures of the rich in summer. Cooperstown is oldenough and wise enough to have a juster appreciation of lasting values. It has tradition and atmosphere. It is a village that rejoices in thesimple virtues of life peculiar to a small community, while its fame asa summer resort annually brings its residents within reach of farinfluences and wide horizons. 

[Illustration: COOPERSTOWN FROM MT. VISION]

All lovers of Cooperstown know a favorite summer walk that passes fromthe village up the hill on the eastern border of the lake, rises beyondProspect Rock, winds over a wooded summit, descends, turns westerlythrough a shady grove, crosses a farm, then threads a stretch of densestfoliage, when suddenly one emerges upon a clearing, and unexpectedlybeholds, glittering far below, the waters of the Glimmerglass, with thehomes and spires of the village gleaming amidst the green leafage of thevalley. 

It is impossible not to idealize the village when one views it from thisheight. To the tourist, who comes merely to admire, it is a view thatpossesses the glamour of enchantment. How happy should be the people whodwell in this peaceful village, surrounded by such charming scenery! Howlofty should be their ideals, and how pure their lives, who abide amidsuch glories of nature!

But for residents of Cooperstown this view is one that has more thanbeauty. It grips the heart. As the resident looks down upon the streetsand houses amongst the trees it is with a sympathetic knowledge of thedwellers there, and of the joys that delight them, of the sorrows thatcrush them, of the sins that dog them, and of the hopes that inspirethem. 

The drama of life has been many times enacted amid the scenes of thisvillage, and here is the prologue and epilogue of many a romance andtragedy. 

Boys and girls are at play in the streets, and are skylarking along theshore of lake and river. Ambitious youngsters go out into the widerworld to seek their fortunes. But there is always a homecoming. Youthhas its day. 

There are two aged men from different quarters of the village who dailyresort in summer to the Cooper Grounds, and sit in the sunshine upon thesame bench. Either is visibly uneasy until the other arrives. Buttogether they are happy. On this spot where the history of the villagebegan they take turns at being narrator and listener, while each relatesto the other the story of his life, and describes his triumphs in daysthat are gone. They give no heed to passers-by, or to the traffic ofneighboring streets. But a village church bell tolls, and they fallsilent, lifting their heads to watch the funeral train as it passes theCooper Grounds and winds slowly upward from the main street to the quietgarden by the lake, on the slope of the eastern hills. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 128: George S. Dougherty, in _Chicago Saturday Blade_, January8, 1916. ]

[Illustration: VILLAGE MAP OF COOPERSTOWN]

VISITORS' GUIDE

Chief points of interest are indicated on the village map, in the ordermost convenient for a short tour, by letters from A to M. 

A--Cooper Grounds. Site of Fenimore Cooper's residence. 

B--Cooper's grave in Christ churchyard. Christ Church, erected 1807, inwhich he worshipped. 

C--Fernleigh, the Clark residence, where Bishop Potter died. 

D--Byberry Cottage, built for the daughters of Fenimore Cooper, 1852. 

E--Pomeroy Place, "the old stone house, " 1804. 

F--Indian Mound, in the northeast corner of Fernleigh-Over. 

G--Oldest house in the village, 1790. 

H--Edgewater, 1810. 

I--Council Rock, mentioned in _The Deerslayer_ as the meeting-place ofthe Indians. 

J--Mortar marking site of Clinton's Dam, during the Revolution, 1779. 

K--Village Library and Museum. 

L--Clark Estate Offices, 1831. 

M--Public Boat Landings. 

N--Mill Island. 

O--Former residence of Justice Nelson, U. S. Supreme Court. 

P--Universalist church. 

Q--Presbyterian church, 1805. 

R--Baptist church. 

S--Church of St. Mary, Our Lady of the Lake. 

T--Methodist church. 

U--Grounds upon which the first game of Base Ball was played. 

V--O-te-sa-ga. 

W--Riverbrink. 

X--Lakelands, 1804. 

Y--Woodside, 1829. 

Z--Fynmere, 1910.