THE MUSEUM. 



own Mohawk country now asserts it- 

 self. Soon a high bit of ground is 

 noticed at the mouth of Cripplebush 

 Kie. The site is an ideal one for the 

 red man's camp we think. These 

 "suspicions" as we call them, prompts 

 us to enquire at the house near by con- 

 cerning it. The KNOWING reply from 

 the bewhiskered native was about as 

 follows; 



"No siree! (emphatically) I've al- 

 ways had a likin' for them relics of the 

 old Injuns. I've looked that point 

 over a great many times fer flints, but 

 nary a sign of any there. " 



We tell him it looks like delectable 

 grounds. 



"No, I tell ye there's none there. 

 I KNOW, but over there [pointing to 

 the opposite side of the creek] there's 

 where they made 'em. " 



Further conversation followed re- 

 garding historical events. 



"Say! be you fellows going up to 

 Schoharry.' " 



We replied that we hoped to reach 

 there before night. 



"They've a heap of sich things up 

 to the 'ole fort' as would interest ye. 

 I've told Marier since we was up there 

 to the circus that we ought to have 

 went in, but the fact is the day wasn't. 

 long enoug for us to see the circus and 

 that too." 



Notwithstanding the negative reply 

 of our talkative friend, it did not deter 

 us from taking a look over the ground 

 he had searched so thoroughly (?). 

 We spent a few miuutes among the 

 oat stubble and found five perfect ar- 

 row heads, several broken ones, and 

 some fine hammer stones also the 

 ground was sprinkled with a liberal 

 supply of flint chips. Thus was es- 

 tablished the tact that the arch;eolog- 

 ists knew whereof they were talking 

 when they "suspicioned" this spot as 

 a camp site; and that long whiskers, 

 who had a /c/r on his shoulder when 

 interviewed, probably knew more 

 shoui fishing and digging bait, than 

 Indian relics and camp sites. At any 

 rate we hoped he did. 



We learned that the Indian trail, 

 whose direction we had followed over 

 the plateau from the Mohawk county, 

 crossed the Schoharie Creek at the 

 mouth of the Cripplebush Kil. So 

 this high bit of ground referred to was 

 proven to have been traveled for years 

 by numberles hunters, warriors and 

 war parties; also during the Revolu- 

 tionary war it was the route taken by 

 the Tories and Indians to reach the 

 unprotected settlers in the distant val- 

 ley. History tells us that in October, 

 1780, Sir John Johnson in command of 

 Soo regulars, loyalists and Indians 

 made a raid upon the settlements of 

 Schoharie and that in his retreat to- 

 ward Fort Hunter, they crossed the 

 creek at this place, and encamped for 

 the night upon one of the knolls near 

 by, now enclosed and part of the mo- 

 dern Valley Cemetery. This old ford 

 or carrying place is to this day called 

 "Johnson's Ford." 



Continuing on our journey up the 

 valley we cross the Cobleskill Creek, 

 the largest tributary of the Schoharie, 

 and then the Schoharie itself. We 

 make no stops to search for the im- 

 plements of the redman; although we 

 passed by many inviting fields. 



As we near Schoharie village, the 

 surface presents a variety of natural 

 features surpassing in e.xtent and 

 grandeur any other portion of the 

 county yet traveled; in fact it is doubt- 

 ful if any other equal area in the state 

 of New York contains so many inter- 

 esting works of nature. The geolo- 

 gist, naturalist and archa-ologist here 

 find subjects for thought and discus- 

 sion. While the admirer of beautiful 

 scenery is charmed with the prospects 

 from the heights on each side of the 

 valley. 



These majestic hills rise abruptly 

 from the creek from 600 to 1000 feet. 



To the geologist this is one of the 

 richest fields in New York state. Com- 

 mencing with the Hudson River group 

 of the Lower Silurian it comprises all 

 of the groups of the Upper Silurian 

 and Devonian; some twenty-two or 



