Herkimek County 355 



TLe northern portion and small tracts in other sections remained 

 in the possession of the state government until conveyed to 

 ftacomb and oth< rs. 



After about thirty-five years of prosperous peace the French and 

 Indian War broke out, during which the Palatine settlements on 

 the north side of the Mohawk near the present village of 

 Herkimer were twice attacked and destroyed. At the opening 

 of the Revolution the colonists held a council with chiefs of the 

 Six Nations at German Flats, and secured from them a promise 

 that the Indians would remain neutral. However, through the 

 influence of the Johnsons and other prominent tories, the Iroquois, 

 with the exception of the Oneidas and Tuscaroras, violated their 

 pledge and adhered to the English cause throughout the war. 



During that time the county was repeatedly invaded. ' General 

 Arnold came as far as German Flats in the summer of 1777 on 

 his way to relieve Fort Schuyler ; and from this place was sent 

 the tory that spread the alarm among the savages of St. Leger 

 and caused the abandonment of the siege. The following year 

 General Brant with his body of tories and Indians invaded this 

 section, burned the buildings, and killed the live stock or drove 

 them away. 



Settlements spread rapidly after the close of the war, and 

 within fifteen years more than 10,000 persons from New England 

 and the eastern counties of the state located in the central and 

 southern portions of the county. Improvements in transportation 

 .were soon brought about through the Mohawk River and valley, 

 which formed the natural route to the west. At Little Falls the 

 portage was obviated by a canal with five locks and a length of 

 4,752 feet cut for more than half its length through the solid rock. 

 This work was completed in 17;95. With the development of the 

 valley, as well as of the rich territory of the West, the necessity of 

 better and more rapid means of transportation for freight and 

 passengers became paramount and the construction of the Erie 

 Canal eventually followed (1825). Within the next ten years 

 a number of railroads were built in this section, all of which were 

 consolidated into the New York Central in 1853. 



Although these transportation facilities were of great value to 

 the state and country at large, it cannot be said that the Mohawk 



