SMALL TOWNS. 
331 
every year, and few parts of North America can 
boast of a more rapid improvement than the 
Genesee country during the last four years. 
In our waj' to Bath we passed through several 
small towns that had been lately begun, and 
in these the houses were comfortable and 
neatly built; but the greater part of those of 
the farmers were wretched indeed; one at 
which we stopped for the night, in the course 
of our journey, had not even a chimney or 
window to it; a large hole at the end of the 
roof supplied the deficiency of both; the door 
was of such a nature, also, as to make up in 
some measure for the want of a window, as it 
admitted light on all sides. A heavy fall of 
snow happened to take place whilst we were 
at this house, and as we lay stretched on our 
skins beside the fire, at night, the snow was 
blown, in no small quantities, through the cre¬ 
vices of the door, under our very ears. 
At some of these houses, we got plenty of 
yenisoq, and good butter, milk, and bread; but 
at others we could get nothing whatsoever to 
eat. At one little village, consisting of three 
or four houses, the people told us that they 
had not even sufficient bread and milk for 
themselves; and, indeed, the scantiness of the 
meal to which we saw them sitting down con¬ 
firmed the truth of what they said. We were 
under the necessity of walking on for nine 
