156 GENESEE COUNTRY. 



on beds of gravel, accompanied us for some miles from 

 the river ; but before we reached Oneida we were upon 

 soft shales, which crumbled into a tenacious soil. Rich 

 red soils and red marly rocks succeeded ; the country- 

 became cleared, was cultivated to the hill- tops, and 

 appeared in a state of nature only where the flat and 

 swampy surface and the clayey character of the soils 

 rendered previous drainage necessary to successful cul- 

 tivation. 



From Oneida to Syracuse is twenty-four miles. Dur- 

 ing the latter half of it, and especially in the town (ship) of 

 Jianlius, we passed through much low, flat, sandy soil, 

 still under forest. In some of the hollows, thick layers 

 of peat rested on, or alternated with, the white drift 

 sand ; but where knolls and gravel hills occurred, Indian 

 com grew well ; while the slopes of red land which skirted 

 the valley on our left were covered with Indian com, 

 or with rich green herbage, to their very summits. We 

 were now entering upon the wheat region, the old 

 Genesee country, the ancient inheritance of the Six 

 Nations. We reached Syracuse at half-past three, 

 having come from Albany, 178 miles, with a constantly 

 increasing train. Great crowds thronged the station and 

 streets, and the city was a scene of much bustle and 

 excitement. 



