New York State 55 



Meanwhile the French were endeavoring to become established 

 in the northern and central part of the state, and a number of 

 missionary settlements were made. The first white man whom 

 we know to have seen the falls of Niagara was Father Hennepin, 

 a missionary in the company of La Salle. Fort Niagara was built 

 by La Salle near the mouth of the Niagara River, the works being 

 completed in 1679. This fort became the chief outpost of French 

 civilization and the center of trade with the western Indians. 



In the time of Louis XIV the Protestants living on the Pala- 

 tinates bordering the Rhine in Germany were reduced, through 

 wars and persecutions, to poverty and distress. They fled from 

 their homes to England, where they received assistance from 

 Queen Anne and others. In 1708 a small number came to America 

 and settled on the present site of the city of Newburgh. Two 

 years later the second colony, about 3,000 in number, set sail for 

 America. A portion of these settled in the " West Camp," Ulster 

 County, on a tract of 800 acres, and the others, numbering 2,000, 

 in the "East Camp," a tract of 6,000' acres, comprising much 

 of the present town of Germantown, Columbia County. This 

 tract had been purchased from Livingston. It was expected that 

 from the pine trees the colonists would furnish pitch, tar, and 

 turpentine for the use of the Queen's navy. In less than three 

 years the authorities recognized the futility of the project and 

 released the Palatines from their agreement. Many of them left 

 for Schoharie, from which place some went to the Mohawk valley 

 and others to Pennsylvania. For several years after, Palatines 

 continued to arrive in large numbers in both the Hudson and 

 Mohawk valleys, as well as in Pennsylvania. 



A large section west of Schenectady was developed under the 

 leadership of Sir William Johnson, who had control of an immense 

 tract of land. Previous to the Revolution he received a grant of a 

 large tract, which made him at that time the largest landowner in 

 the state with the exception of Van Rensselaer. He brought over 

 some fifty families of Scotch Irish and later a number of Ger- 

 mans, all of whom became his tenants. In 1755 he was made 

 general superintendent of Indian affairs for the English in North 

 America, and, owing to his influence, the residents of the valley 

 were able to live their lives in peace for a time. Seeing dissatisfac- 



