124 
AMERICAN HOMES AND 
April, 1914 
gardens 
tion. On all sides of the room the book 
shelves sag with the weight of choice vol- 
dear to the relic hunter s heart. Old 
umes . L r j 
iMiglish and Dutch classics can be found 
there in rare editions. Bound volumes of the 
lirst newspapers; histories, diaries kept by 
forest runners and Continental soldiers of 
the line; books from every country; bibles in 
several languages; do7.ens of volumes 
printed in the seventeenth century; books 
bound in leather, vellum, wood and paper 
are resting side by side with moie modern 
prints. The library is a treasure house 
wherein time flies on wings of light and the 
devotee absorbs such an atmosphere of the 
past that, in imagination, one sees the brown- 
skinned Senecas and Mohegans stalking by 
the house; the squaws and negro slaves toil- 
ing in the fields and the men and women of 
the long ago laughing and chatting about the 
old rooms. 
One of the old newspapers gives an ac- 
count of “King Washington’s Inaugeration 
speech.” I'he paper is an extra, dated May 
6, 1789, and was hurried through the press, printed only 
on one side — nevertheless the news is a week old. Among 
the hundreds of autograph letters of famous men the fol- 
lowing is most interesting; 
“I'he bearer, Schoyghoowate, a young Cayuga chief, has 
been upon a scouting party in Ft. Stanwix in the Beginning 
of July ’77 where 5 prisoners and 4 Scalps were taken and 
has not rec’d any Reward for such Service, this is therefore 
to certify that I shall see him content for Said Service on 
my first seeing him again. 
Buch Island, 9th July ’77 
Dan. Claus, Supt. Western Div.” 
This was from the husband of Nancy Johnson and a son- 
in-law of Sir William Johnson. Daniel Claus was an officer 
of the Crown. Can there be any further denial that the 
English paid for scalps? 
I he drawing-room and the hall are stocked with choice 
antique furniture. The Chippendale sideboard in the old 
hinglish dining-hall is one of the very best in existence 
to-day. It has few if any rivals. Another sideboard holds 
the family plate and the china closet is filled to overflowing 
with the very best of old china. 
In an adjoining chamber the exiled Prince Louis Philippe 
The dining-room 
already amassed a considerable fortune as a fur trader in 
Albany and dissatisfaction with the business methods of 
the West Indian Company was one of the reasons he located 
in Schenectady. 1 le also owned considerable property at 
Gravesend, Ivong Island. 
Phis first stone house, built in the year 1658, was a coun- 
terpart of the present mansion but, owing to a shift in the 
current of the river which threatened the building, it had 
to be taken down in 1713 and rebuilt about a hundred yards 
to the north. ITactically the same material was used for 
the new house. 
Phe Glen-Sanders mansion covers a large area of ground. 
I'he walls of stone arc thick and massive, the rooms large 
and the ceilings lofty. ihe building stone was quarried 
nearby and the strong timbers were cut from the largest 
trees in the forest. I hese timbers were first hewn square 
and then whipsawed in quarters, making four timbers from 
each log. Whenever possible the joints were mortised and 
pinned with wooden pins. Even the woodwork in the in- 
terior of the house is secured in this way. All the nails and 
spikes had to be hand wrought by a blacksmith. I'he outer 
doors are in two sections with heavy hinges, immense key- 
holes and equipped with large knockers. I'hese doors were 
built strong and heavy enough to afford 
ample protection from ordinary roving 
bands of savages. The Sanders mansion is, 
perhaps, the first house in this state, and 
probably the first house in the country, to be 
laid out and constructed by a competent 
architect. 
On the river side of the house, which was 
originally the front, is the old Dutch “stoop” 
where the master of the house was want to 
sun himself in Spring and Fall and to lounge 
deep in the Summer shade while watching the 
river through the blue tobacco smoke and 
sipping his sangaree and schnapps. From 
this stoop one looks out on the little mound 
where the Indians frequently tortured and 
burned their prisoners. 
To the left of the roomy hall, as one 
enters, the spacious library extends an in- 
vitation to come in and rest. A wide fire- 
place in the west end adds pleasantly to the 
interior and the beautiful view of the river 
gives a charm to the room beyond descrip- 
t-orner of the storeroom 
