40 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



his saying that Oneida was " about 30 miles distant from the 

 Maquaes river, which lyes to the northward." Onondaga was still 

 in Pompey, about 2 miles south of Morgan's later trail. The Seneca 

 towns lay north of that route, and he passed Cayuga lake by some 

 path available for horses, evidently on the north. 



The trail from the last Mohawk castle to Onondaga changed but 

 little for a great length of time, and only as the two places and 

 Oneida changed their sites. It was always the practice to leave the 

 river at the upper Mohawk town, and take the direct overland trail. 

 This is the route laid down on Colonel Romer's map of 1700, and 

 when Johannes Bleeker jr and David Schuyler went to Onondaga 

 in 1 701, they said that they got to Eghwake creek, the east branch 

 of the Unadilla, on the evening of June 7. Oneida had been moved 

 northeast of its former site, and they reached there next day. Part 

 of the early trail had been abandoned, but much of it was still used. 



At that time there was little land travel along the Mohawk above 

 Little Falls, yet the portage at Rome was sometimes used. On 

 Colonel Romer's map a trail leads from Oneida to that spot, and 

 runs at right angles to the main road, from which it was a short day's 

 journey. When a trading post was established at Oswego it became 

 an important thoroughfare. This is what Romer's companions 

 wrote in October 1700: 



10th Col. Romer told us that his instruccons were to see how 

 much lesse the Carrying place could be made; whereupon we 

 resolved forthwith to go thither, as we did, with an Indian which 

 we hired who 1 shew us the way. nth d° We came by a most miser- 

 able path to the Carrying Place, w ch we viewed as farr as the Wood 

 Creek, when Col. Romer resolved to go to Oneyda. 12th do. In y e 

 evening we came to Oneyda. O'Callaghan, 4:807 



From this and the map it will be seen how far the portage was 

 from the main trail. On the map the trail goes from Oneida to 

 Onondaga, then on Butternut creek, and from that town the party 

 traversed two trails only: one to Onondaga lake and the other to 

 the fishing place on Chittenango creek. 



A few years later Onondaga was moved to the east side of Onon- 

 daga creek, but this removal had most effect on the branch trails,. 



