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VIEW OF THE TRADING TOWNS. 57 
the Seneka river, which affords in succession 
an entrance into the lakes Cayuga, Seneka, and 
Canadaqua. Lake Seneka,, the largest, is about 
forty miles in length ; upon it there is a schoo¬ 
ner-rigged vessel of seventy tons burthen con¬ 
stantly employed. The shores of these lakes 
are more thickly settled than, the other part of 
the adjacent country, but the population of the 
whole tract lying between the rivers Genesee 
and Hudson, which are about two hundred and 
fifty miles apart, is rapidly increasing. All this 
country west of the Hudson River, together 
with that to the east, comprehending the back 
parts of (be states of Massachusets and Con¬ 
necticut, and also the entire of the state of Ver¬ 
mont, are supplied with European manufac¬ 
tures and West Indian produce, &c. &c. by way 
of New York: not directly from that city, 
but from Albany, Hudson, and other towns on 
the North River, which trade with New York, 
and which are intermediate places for the de¬ 
posit of goods passing to, and coming from the 
back country. Albany, indeed, is now begin¬ 
ning herself to import goods from the West 
Indies ; but still the bulk of her trade is with 
New York. Nothing can serve more to shew 
the advantages which accrue to any tow r n 
from an intercourse with the back country, 
than the sudden progress of these secondary 
places of trade upon the North River. At Al- 
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