extensive level, interspersed with gradual and gentle swells. Some of the slopes are extensive, and result in spacious flats, many of which are very rich. This is particularly the case on the Genessee. The north-easterly part of the State is hilly, and even mountainous; but some portions of this section of the country, especially near Black River, is very fertile. West of the Genessee, and more decidedly so in the vicinity of Buffalo, the soil is not remarkably good; but on both sides of the river, along Lake Ontario, the land is much better. In various other parts of the state the soil is almost inexhaustibly rich; but, as is the case in all extensive tracts of country, there are here some poor lands. Generally speaking, the state is of immense force in point of agriculture; and the means of conveying it to market are ample. North and South, the Hudson, possessing a deep stream and gentle current, extends from New-York, the great maratime depo of the state, to the mountains between Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence. From about the centre of this river, north and south, the Mohawk reaches to within a very short distance of Lake Ontario; and between Lake Champlain and Lake Erie, east and west, there are a great many small lakes and rivers, which tender their waters to the public spirit of the state. It is the object of New York to draw to herself the trade of Vermont and the Canadas.
The western part of this state, was, during the revolution, inhabited by the Six Nations of Indians, among whom were the Mohawks, a fierce and powerful tribe. Most of these nations aided the British during this great contest; and the state, in many places, suffered much from their ravages.[37]
