Whitestown, Oneida County, N. Y.

BY THEODORE S. GOLD.

Whitestown was settled by Hugh White, in 1784. He was a resolute and persevering man, well fitted for the part of a leader in an enterprise of this kind. These qalities of character were cultivated by the early incidents of his life. He was surrounded by Indians, with fresh recollections of the Revolution, exasperated by their defeats, and soured by the neglect of their British allies in joining the treaty of peace. For many years Whitestown was the frontier town -beyond it was "a howling wilderness," with a few scattered houses between us and the lakes. The land was fertile; the location on the banks of the Mohawk and the Sadaqueda creek, was an admirable one; the first settlers were men of industrious habits, intelligent and resolute. For a long period, it remained the best cultivated spot on the verge of the forest-the old inhabitants throughout the State will readily recall the name and bear witness to the renown it obtained and held for many years.

For a long time after this, when the country had become quite thickly settled, Whitesboro' maintained the highest rank; here the courts were held-here the political conventions assembled-here the grand military reviews took place, and here, in fact, the evening parties and other gay re-unions of the day were attended.

It lines on the Mohawk between eight and nine miles, and from the Mohawk to its western line, is about four miles. It is irregular in its shape, the western line being much the longest.

The battle of Oriskany was fought in 1777, within its present limits, the best account of which is found, according to my judgment, in one of Hoffman's novels. It was one of the several of the revolutionary conflicts. To the ordinary incentives of patriotism and self-protection, was added, in this instance, a personal enmity between many of the combatants. The hatred of a revolutionary whig and tory, would come up, I fancy, to Dr. Johnson's notion of " a good hater;" death itself could only assuage such a feeling. One of the old soldiers who fought in this battle, now resides in this place; he well recollects it, and during the present season visited the ground to point out the interesting localities to a number of children who accompanied him from this village. He is one of the few of the surviving patriots whose circumstances and health of mind and body, enables him to enjoy the evening of life, the remembrance of the trials of his prime and manhood.

I have stated, that this town was bounded by the Mohawk; on the banks of this river lies the most fertile portion of our land. Twice a year (spring and fall,) and sometimes more frequently, it overflows its banks, and for many miles presents the appearance of a broad and deep river, and in many places, of an inland lake. It is to these regular floods, that the fertility of the land is owing. The current brings down from above a vast quantity of manure, earth and other materials gathered in its progress; these, as its waters subside, it deposits on the "flats," from one to two inches in depth, which constantly renews the exhausted soil, and dispenses with the necessity of any other manure. These flats, as they are called, thus possess an inexhaustible fertility, and when once cleared, return a profitable tribute to the farmer. The main crops of this town are corn, oats, grass, and potatoes. Wheat is raised but in small quantities, not over 15 bushels to the acre; this is generally spring wheat. Corn is a very important crop for us; we usually get about 35 bushels to the acre; in very favorable seasons, we have raised 50 bushels to the acre. Of oats our land produces about 30 bushels to the acre; of potatoes, about 250 bushels. Grass varies very much according to the land, whether upland or interval land: on the latter about two or three tons to the acre are produced; on the former, from one to two. This statement has reference to the amount of the several kinds of produce raised in a series of years throughout the town. On particular farms, and in very favorable years, fifty per cent. more than the quantities above mentioned, is raised. The interval, or Mohawk bottom land, is valued by our farmers generally at $75 per acre, where it is cleared; good

upland is worth $50; these are cash prices, at which the land will sell. Of all kinds of produce, except wheat, we raise more than enough for our consumption; of wheat we do not raise more than one-sixth or one-eighth of what we need.

This town will compare in its aspect and general feature with any in the State. It abounds with distant and delightful views from the hills, that bound the Valley of the Mohawk; you have in sight the richly cultivated vale of the Sadaqueda for a number of miles; the Mohawk as it winds its way along its pleasant and sheltered valley; towards the east, we see Utica and the highlands beyond; and at the south, we have New-Hartford and Hamilton College, and the rich and populous country between. The village of Whitesboro' itself, as you view it from different points on the hills, is one of the nost beautiful that you can find in the country. The main street is more than a mile in length; the dwellings are generally of wood painted white, with neat yards filled with shrubbery and forest trees; the street itself is lined with elms that salute your eye as you ascend the hill to enter the village from the east.

There are three churches in the village, two of them of good size and well constructed, one of them of brick the other of wood. The brick, or Presbyterian church, is one of the best proportioned buildings that I have ever seen, that puts forth no pretensions to architectural beauty. This congregation pays its pastor a salary of $900 per annuma good argument in favor of the "voluntary system," and no less complimentary to the clergyman than the people.

There are 17 schools in this town, averaging 75 scholars, the teachers of which obtain an average compensation of $17 50 a month, exclusive of board. In this calculation of teacher's wages, the academy in the village is not included. I ought, perhaps, to have stated previously, that there are five villages in this town, Whitesboro', New York Mills, Oriskany, Dexter Factory Village, and Waterville; the principal streams that water it, are the Mohawk, the Oriskany, and Sadaqueda creek. The village of Whitesboro' contains about 2,000 inhabitants; New York Mills, 1,¡0C; Oriskany, 1,200. At the late election, this town gave 808 votes.

We have in the village of Whitesboro', a court-house and jail; the former of brick, has been recently repaired, and is now quite a respectable looking building; it stands on the village green to the left as you enter from the east. The jail is of wood, within a few feet of the court-house; it has recently been enlarged and much improved, although yet, no credit to the second county in the State. There are generally from thirty-five to forty persons confined here; at this time the celebrated "McLeod," is one of its inmates; is a man of decent education, prepossessing manners, quite intelligent, and apparently good tempered. Owing to some apprehensions of an attempt to take him from the jail and inflict summary vengeance upon him, there is now by the direction of the governor, a regular patrol kept up at night around the jail and in the village.

This town, as you may recollect, does not derive its resources from agriculture alone. It is a large manufacturing town. We have several extensive cotton and woollen establishments, that contribute to the support of a considerable portion of our population. The Oneida Factory, for the manufacture of cotton goods, is built of stone on the Sadaqueda creek, about a mile from its mouth. The main building is 100 feet by 40, and four stories high, with an addition of 70 feet by 30, and two stories high. It works up annually 350,000 pounds of cotton into a million of yards of cloth, employing 170 hands, and paying them from $1 75 to $9 a week. The capital of this company is $100,000 all paid in.

A short distance above stand the New York Mills, one of the most complete and best managed concerns in the State. There are two buildings of stone, each four stories high, the main one 180 by 40, with a wing 95 by 30 feet, the cost of buildings and machinery was over $275,000. It works up 420,000 pounds of cotton into yarn number 36, and sattinette and Kentucky jean warps. From the yarn is manufactured a cloth of fine fabric 36 inches in width, usually sold bleached, at about 15 cents per yard by the case. The value

of the goods manufactured here annually, is $160,000; 350 persons are employed, whose wages range from $2 to $9 weekly. If I desired to exhibit the contrast between an English and American factory village, I would point to New York Mills. There is but one tavern in the village, and on this sign stands in bold letters "New York Mills Total Abstinence Tavern." There is not a drinking shop near the factory. The hands are healthy, well dressed, and intelligent, and their wages are above the average wages of the country in other employments. The manager, who is also one of the proprietors, not only makes the business very profitable, but by his judicious measures and liberal charities, consults the real welfare and happiness of his people.

Communication from Noah Webster.

The principal objection ever made to my philological books, is the discrepancies in the orthography of words.The objection is well founded, and the reasons of it may be easily understood.

When I began to write books for schools, I had such confidence in British authorities, that I adopted the orthography of such authors as I had. These were very few, for the British troops had possession of New York; we had no direct intercourse with England, and scarce half a dozen books which I wanted could be obtained. I had then no idea of investigating the principles of orthography, and of reducing classes of words to uniformity. The result was that I introduced into my first book a spelling of many words which I afterwards found to be wrong.

The Oriskany factory for the manufacture of woollen goods, stands on the Oriskany creek, a short distance from its mouth, and immediately on the Erie canal. There has When I prepared my large dictionary for publication, I been expended here since the first directions $200,000. The had formed the plan of reform.ing the common spelling of principal building is 120 by 10 feet, the other 60 by 35, certain words and classes of words, in which errors had obboth of brick, three stories high besides basement and attic. scured the original and perverted the sense; but some other There are several other buildings occupied in the business. classes were overlooked. No discerning man can be sur180,000 pounds of wool are used annually, and are worked prised at this fact, when he considers that I was deeply enup into broadcloths and cassimeres. One hundred and fif-gaged in the etymology and definition of seventy thousand teen hands are employed of both sexes, whose wages range words, the affinities of some of which were to be traced from $150 to $9 per week. through six, eight, ten or fifteen languages, and the signification or uses of all were to be collected and explained. This vast labor demanded all the resources of my mind; a labor of which the book-makers who are now using my work for their own benefit, and have nothing to do but to hunt for differences of spelling in my books, have not the least con ception.

The Dexter factory, about a mile farther up on the same stream, is also for the manufacture of woollen goods and carpets. There are two main buildings, both of brick, 80 feet by 36; 105 hands employed who earn from $2 to $6 per week.

In the village of Whitesboro' there is a pail factory, which does an extensive business, and in other parts of the town there are several other establishments of a similar character. The last valuation of real and personal estate for the town of Whitestown, is $782,980. The number of acres of land assessed, is 15,630; the valuation per acre is upwards of $40. The Syracuse and Utica railroal and Erie Canal, traverse this town running directly through the village of Whitesboro'; there are likewise excellent roads in all directions. The main road through Whitesboro' is a great thoroughfare; 900 conveyances of different kinds, were counted on an ordinary day last winter.

Whitestown, September, 1841.

Northern Light.

Important Decision.

An important decision was made last week in the Superior Court of Jefferson County, Virginia, which is thus noticed in the Charleston Press: on Tuesday the long pending case of John Strider vs. Hefflebower & Co. was decided, in which the plaintiff claimed several thousand dollars damages for the destruction by fire, of his Flour mill on the Shenandoah River, in 1837, whilst in the occupancy of the defendants as tenants. The jury gave a verdict for the plaintiff.

An important principle has been established by this deci sion, namely, that the occupiers of mills, as tenants, must not only use due vigilance and care in the protection of the mill from fire, by friction of the machinery, but if they cannot prove conclusively the exercise of such vigilance and care, they will be held responsible for the property destroyed.

Cotton Bills.

The Southern Patriot says that an important change is about to be made in the method of drawing bills upon property shipped to foreign consignees, and expresses an opinion that the banks of Charleston will adopt the method in their transaction with bill drawers. The method proposed is, that in every instance, banks discounting bills should require an assignment of the bill of lading for each shipment of produce against which bills are drawn, as security that the proceeds will be applied to the payment of the bill.

It is stated in the Old Colony Memorial that 575 bushels of whortleberries have been purchased in Mansfield the past summer by the dealers in that fruit. They paid for them $745; and allowing their profits to be 75 cents per bushel, they sold them in Boston for $1176. The berries were picked by women and children, and all was done in the short space of one month.

During the whole period of my studies, I have been learning something every year; and as new errors have been discovered, I have set myself to correct them. This process is necessary to the ultimate result. In the last edition of the American Dictionary, I have completed my corrections; and directions have been given for correcting my other books, to render them conformable to the large work. As more than twenty sets of stereotype plates of the Elementary Spelling Book are to be corrected, it must be a work of time.

The abridgment of the octavo was not executed by myself, nor am I at present the owner of the work; but the proprietors are engaged in rendering it in all material points, conformable to the American Dictionary. Northern Light. N. WEBSTER.

Statue of Washington. Captain Easby, has succeeded in removing the colossal statue of Washington to the Rotunda of the Capitol, without the slightest injury either to the statue or to any one engaged in the difficult work of its removal.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 25, 1841. Gentlemen-I have the pleasure to inform you that the statue of Washington, by Greenough, has been safely removed and placed in the Rotunda of the Capitol, and that it has not received the slightest damage. It now awaits the erection of the pedestal on which it is to rest when finished.

The statue weighs about fourteen tons, and was raised from the ground to the level of the floor on the Rotunda-a height of twenty-six feet-in twenty-five minutes, and placed on the way which had been prepared for it. I take this opportunity publicly to tender my thanks to Mr. Wm. Waters, the experienced boatswain attached to the Navy Yard at this place, for the aid he voluntarily rendered me in the elevation of the statue to its required height. The preparation of the shears and the necessary tackle were under his immediate direction. The manner in which he performed the of the esteem in which he is held by the officers under whom task shows that he is an excellent rigger, and fully deserving

he has served. He has been in the naval service of the
United States nineteen years-seventeen years of that time
in active service. It is to be regretted that Congress has
made no adequate provision for rewarding meritorious war-
rant officers for long, arduous, and faithful services.
Very respectfully, yours, &c.

WM. EASBY. [National Intelligencer.

VOL. V.-36