290 M. SYRACUSE, Pop. 171,717. (Train 51 passes 2:31p; No. 3, 3:45p; No.
41, 8:10p; No. 25, 8:50p; No. 19, 12:25p. Eastbound: No. 6 passes 2:40a;
No. 26, 3:28a; No. 16, 8:30a; No. 22, 10:35a.)
The Syracuse region first became known to Europeans through its salt
deposits along the shore of Onondaga Lake which had been discovered and
used by the Indians.
Syracuse lies within the ancient tribal headquarters of the
Onondaga Indians, one of the six tribes forming the League of the
Iroquois. Their territory extended northward to Lake Ontario and
southward to the Susquehanna River. They were the official
guardians of the council fire of the Iroquois, and their chief
town, near the site of the present Onondaga (a few miles south of
Syracuse) consisted of some 140 houses. This was in the middle of
the 17th century, when the tribe was estimated as numbering
between 1,500 and 1,700. Later the tribe divided, some of them
migrating to the Catholic Iroquois settlements in Canada. About
500 Onondagas still live on a reservation south of Syracuse.
Although situated in a favorable trading location at the foot of the
valley of Onondaga Creek where the latter joins Onondaga Lake, no
settlement was made here until several years after the close of the War
of Independence. The first white settler was Ephraim Webster, who built
a trading post near the mouth of the creek in 1786. The village grew
slowly. Between 1800 and 1805 a dozen families settled here, and the
place received the name of Bogardus's Corners from the name of the
proprietor of a local inn. In order to obtain money for the construction
of a public road, the state government, which had assumed control of the
salt fields, sold in 1809 some 250 acres embracing the district now
occupied by Syracuse's business centre to Abraham Walton of Albany for
$6,550--about $26.50 an acre. The town went under various names--Milan,
South Saline, Cossitt's Corner, etc.--until 1824 when the present name
was adopted. In 1818 Joshua Forman bought an interest in the Walton
tract, had a village plotted and became the "founder" of the city.
[Illustration: Champlain's Attack on an Iroquois Fort
(_From Champlain's "Nouvelle France," 1619_)
Of this Indian fort which stood near Lake Oneida, Champlain says:
"Their village was enclosed with strong quadruple palisades of
large timber, 30 ft. high, interlocked the one with the other,
with an interval of not more than half a foot between them; with
galleries in the form of parapets, defended with double pieces of
timber, proof against our Arquebuses, and on one side they had a
pond with a never-failing supply of water, from which proceeded a
number of gutters which they had laid along the intermediate
space, throwing the water without and rendering it effectual
inside for extinguishing fire."]
Several political events of national importance have occurred in
Syracuse. The Free Soil movement in N.Y. began at the Democratic State
convention held here in 1847, when the split occurred between the
"Barnburner" and "Hunker", factions of the Democratic party.
These factions grew out of a dispute over questions involving the
Erie Canal. The "Barnburners" were the radical element,
determined to oust the "reactionaries" in office no matter at
what cost to the party, and were given their name from the old
instance of the Pennsylvania farmer who burned his barns to get
rid of the rats. The "Barnburners" opposed the extension of the
Erie Canal and, after 1846, the extension of slavery in the
Territories. The "Hunkers," conservative and influential, were so
called from the Dutch "honk," which signifies "station" or
"home." Thus, "honker" or "hunker" meant one who "stayed put,"
and was opposed to progress.
The famous "Jerry Rescue," manifesting the strong anti-slavery sentiment
in Syracuse, took place in 1851, following the enactment of the Fugitive
Slave Law in 1850.
In the winter of 1849-50 an intelligent slave arrived in Syracuse
traveling from Mississippi to Canada. He decided to remain, and
after having for a while worked under Charles F. Williston, a
cabinet maker, he opened a little shop of his own. On Oct. 1,
1851, the slave-hunters pounced on him and shut him up in a
building then standing on the site of what is now known as the
Jerry Rescue Block. When, later in the day he was taken before
William H. Sabine, the United States Commissioner, the room was
so crowded that Jerry, taking advantage of the fact, succeeded in
making a break for freedom. Running eastward, he was pursued,
captured in a hole near the railway tunnel, and taken back to the
police office. By the time evening came, the fever of the mob was
high, and Democrats and Whigs joined in planning the slave's
rescue. A crowd gathered and soon upon walls and doors fell the
blows of stones, axes, and timbers until the unhappy captors in
the police office were concerned not for Jerry's retention, but
for their own safety. One of them jumped from a window on the
north side of the building, and broke his arm in the fall.
Finally the official who had immediate charge of Jerry, pushed
him out into the arms of the rescuers, saying: "Get out of here,
you damned nigger, if you are making all this muss." The slave
was safely hidden in the city for ten days, and then driven on
the first stage of his journey to Canada, where he found at
length a haven. The act was in bold defiance of the law, and 18
of the Jerry rescue party were indicted, though never convicted.
For some years, Jerry's rescue was celebrated annually in
Syracuse.
Present day Syracuse is built on high ground in an amphitheatre of hills
surrounding Onondaga Lake--a beautiful body of clear water 5 M. long and
1-1/2 M, wide at its broadest point. James St. in the northeastern part
of the city is a fine residence street, and the principal business
thoroughfare is Saline St. The most noteworthy parks in Syracuse are
Barnet Park (100 acres) on high land in the western part of the city,
and Lincoln Park, occupying a heavily wooded ridge to the east.
Syracuse University, with a campus of 100 acres, is situated on the
highlands in the southeastern part of the city where it commands a fine
view of Onondaga Lake. The university was opened in 1871, when the
faculty and students of Genesee College (1850) removed from Lima, N.Y.,
to Syracuse; one year later the Geneva medical college likewise removed
to Syracuse and became part of the university. The university has a
number of excellent buildings and a fine athletic field. It is a
co-educational institution under control of the Methodist Episcopal
Church. There are about 4,000 students. The N.Y. State Fair, a civic
event of considerable importance, takes place yearly (in Sept.) in
grounds situated on the western border of the city. The "plant" covers
100 acres and there is an excellent race track where famous horses are
run.
Salt works were established in Syracuse as early as 1788 and the
production of salt and sodium derivatives still constitutes an important
industry.
For many years Syracuse was the principal seat of the salt
industry in the United States, but the development of salt
deposits in other parts of N.Y. State and in Michigan caused a
decline in the Onondaga product, though Syracuse still produced
2,000,000 bushels of salt a year. The Onondaga deposits were
mentioned in the journal of the French Jesuit Lemoyne in 1653,
and before the Revolutionary War the Indians marketed salt at
Albany and Quebec. In 1788 the state undertook, by treaty with
the Onondaga Indians, to care for the salt springs and manage
them for the benefit of both the whites and the Indians. By
another treaty (1795) the state bought the salt lands, covering
about 10 Sq. M., paying the Indians $1,000 outright, supplemented
by an annual payment of $700 and 150 bushels of salt.
Subsequently the state leased the lands, charging at various
times a royalty of 4 to 12-1/2 cents a bushel. It was stipulated in
1797 that the lessees should not sell the product for more than
60 cents a bushel. In 1898, after the royalty had been reduced to
1 cent a bushel, the state ordered the sale of the salt lands
because the revenue was less than the expense of keeping up the
works. The actual sale, however, did not take place till 1908.
Annual production reached its highest point in 1862, with
9,000,000 bushels.
The salt deposits supplied the basis for the manufacture of soda-ash,
and at the village of Solvay, adjoining Syracuse on the west, is one of
the largest factories for this purpose in the world. Besides soda-ash it
produces bicarbonate of soda, caustic soda and crystals, the total
output being about 1,000 tons daily. Syracuse ranks among the leading
cities of the state in the number and variety of its manufactures. There
are 760 establishments employing 25,000 workers, with an annual output
of the value of about $75,000,000. The manufacture of typewriters is an
important industry (annual production $10,000,000). Other products
include automobiles and accessories, tool steel, candles, farm
implements, clothing, chinaware, cement, chemicals and mining machinery.
348 M. PALMYRA, Pop. 2,480. (Train 51 passes 3:38p; No. 3, 4:57p; No.
41, 9:30p; No. 25, 9:56p; No. 19, 1:42a. Eastbound No. 6 passes 1:25a;
No. 26, 2:17a; No. 16, 6:46a; No. 22, 9:14a.)
The town of Palmyra is intimately connected with the early history of
the Mormons or "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." Joseph
Smith (1805-1844), the founder, lived a few miles south of Palmyra at
the village of Manchester near which, in the "hill of Cumorah," he said
he found the plates of gold upon which was inscribed the book of Mormon.
Smith had the book printed in 1830 in Palmyra.
[Illustration: Joseph Smith Preaching (_From an old Mormon print_)
Joseph Smith (1805-1877) early began to gather his proselytes
about him, and even succeeded in interesting a few bewildered
Indians, but the new sect had great difficulties, aggravated, it
is said, by the licentiousness of the founder. Persecuted in N.Y.
State, Smith sought to found his New Jerusalem in Ohio, where,
however, the natives objected with such definiteness to his way of
salvation that he and one of his followers were tarred and
feathered in Hiram, O. Missouri was chosen as the next place of
refuge, but here, too, Smith's profligacy aroused the hostility of
the Missourians, which was increased by propaganda among the
Mormons for a "war of extermination against the Gentiles." In
Illinois, whither many of the "Saints" now removed, Smith had a
revelation approving polygamy, which pleased him very much, but
which roused opposition among his followers as well as his
persecutors. In 1844 he and his brother Hyrum were arrested on a
charge of treason in the town of Nauvoo which they had founded and
imprisoned at Carthage. On the night of June 27, a mob, with the
collusion of the militia guard, broke into the jail and shot the
two men dead. In the meantime there had arisen a leader of
considerable genius, Brigham Young (1801-1877), who probably saved
the sect from dissolution, and led them to Salt Lake City in 1844.]
Joseph Smith was born at Sharon, Vt., Dec. 23, 1805, from which
place in 1815 his parents removed to N.Y. State, settling first
near Palmyra and later at Manchester. Both his parents and
grandparents were superstitious, neurotic, seers of visions, and
believers in miraculous cures, heavenly voices and direct
revelation. The boy's father was a digger for hidden treasure,
and used a divining rod to find the proper place to dig wells. He
taught his son crystal gazing and the use of the "peepstone" to
discover hidden treasure. Young Joseph was good-natured and lazy.
Early in life he began to have visions which were accompanied by
epileptic "seizures." One night in 1823, according to his story,
the angel Moroni appeared to him three times, and told him that
the Bible of the western continent, the supplement to the New
Testament, was buried on a hill called Cumorah, now commonly
known as Mormon Hill. It was not until 1827, however, that he
discovered this new Bible. Smith's story was that on the 22nd of
September of that year, he dug up on the hill near Manchester a
stone box in which was a volume 6 inches thick made of thin gold
plates, 8 inches by 8 inches, fastened together by three gold
rings. The plates were covered with small writing in characters
of the "reformed Egyptian tongue." With the golden book Smith
claimed he found a breastplate of gold and a pair of supernatural
spectacles, consisting of two crystals set in a silver bow, by
the aid of which he could read the mystic characters. Being
himself unable to read or write fluently, Smith dictated a
translation of the book from behind a screen. Soon afterwards,
according to Smith, the plates were taken away by the angel
Moroni.
370 M. ROCHESTER, Pop. 295,750. (Train 51 passes 4:05p; No. 3, 5:25p;
No. 41, 9:56p; No. 25, 10:23p; No. 19, 2:11p. Eastbound: No. 6 passes
12:59a; No. 26, 1:51a; No. 16, 6:18a; No. 22, 8:47a.)
Rochester is built around the Falls of the Genesee River, about 7 M.
above the place where the river empties into Lake Ontario.
[Illustration: Rochester in 1812
Settlers from New England made a clearing at the site of Rochester
about 1810, but growth was slow until the railroad--now the New
York Central--was built connecting it with Albany and Buffalo.]
The Genesee River rises in Pennsylvania and flows nearly 200
miles in a northerly direction through western New York. Within a
distance of 7 M. between Rochester and Lake Ontario the river has
a fall of 263 ft. The principal falls consist of three cataracts,
96, 26 and 83 ft., respectively. The banks of the first fall,
which is in the heart of the city, rise to a height of 200 ft.
above the river. The river, in fact, cuts through the center of
the city in a deep gorge, the banks of which vary in height from
50 to 200 ft. The Genesee Valley south of Rochester is a very
fertile and beautiful stretch of country where the river flows
between meadows that rise gradually to high hills. The appearance
of the country here, with its immense pasture-land dotted with
oak and elm, is distinctly English. Besides being exceedingly
productive both for crops and pasturage, the Genesee Valley is
famous as riding country, although the hunting interest has of
late somewhat waned. But foxes are still found, and the flats
along the river give wonderful opportunities for the chase.
The modern city, however, has spread north until it now embraces the
large village of Charlotte on the western side of the mouth of the
river. The region about Rochester was visited about 1650 by Jesuit
missionaries who worked among the Seneca Indians in the neighborhood,
and in 1687 the Marquis de Denonville fought a battle with the Iroquois
near the Falls.
The Senecas were members of the League of the Iroquois and
eventually became one of the most important tribes of that
league. Their territory lay between the Seneca Lake and the
Genesee River and they were the official guardians of the
league's western frontier. At the height of their power they
extended their range to the country west of Lake Erie and south
along the Alleghany River to Pennsylvania They fought on the
English side in the War of Independence. About 2,800 are now on
reservations in New York State.
Jacques Ren['e] de Bresay, marquis of Denonville, succeeded La
Barre, who succeeded Frontenac, as governor of Canada in 1689. La
Barre, an inefficient leader against the insurgent Iroquois, held
the administration for only one year. Denonville was of great
courage and ability, but in his campaign against the Indians
treated them so cruelly that they were angered, not intimidated.
The terrible massacre of the French by the Iroquois at Lachine,
Quebec, in 1689, must be regarded as one of the results of his
expedition. In 1687 he built Fort Denonville, which was abandoned
during the following year when an epidemic wiped out its
garrison.
Although by 1710 the French had established a post on Irondequoit Bay
not far from the mouth of the Genesee, it was not until Ebenezer Allan
(called "Indian Allan") built a small saw and grist mill near the falls
that a settlement began to grow up. In 1802 three Maryland proprietors,
Charles Carroll, William Fitzhugh and Nathaniel Rochester acquired a
large tract of land which included the site of the present city.
Rochester, from whom the city took its name, established a settlement,
largely of New Englanders, at the falls in 1810-12, but growth was slow,
as it was not at that time on the direct road between Albany and
Buffalo, and the region was malarial.
Nathaniel Rochester (1752-1831) was a native of Virginia. He had
been a manufacturer of Hagerstown, Md., and after settling in
Rochester in 1818 was elected to the N.Y. Assembly (1822).
The completion of the Rochester and Lockport section of the Erie Canal
gave Rochester the impetus which made it a city, and the building of the
railroad a few years later placed it on the direct route between the
Hudson and Lake Erie.
The course of the old Erie Canal lay through the heart of the
city. It crossed the Genesee River by means of an aqueduct of
seven arches, 850 ft. long, with a channel 45 ft. wide. The
aqueduct cost $600,000. The new barge canal passes through the
city about three miles south of the old canal, and has a harbor
in connection with the Genesee River, which is dammed for that
purpose.
Rochester, between 1828 and 1830, was the centre of the anti-Masonic
movement and here Thurlow Weed published his _Anti-Masonic Enquirer_.
The Anti-Masonic party arose after the disappearance in 1826 of
William Morgan (1776-1826), a Freemason of Batavia, N.Y., who had
become dissatisfied with the order and had planned to publish its
secrets. When his purpose became known, Morgan was subjected to
frequent annoyances, and finally in September, 1826, he was
seized and conveyed by stealth to Ft. Niagara, where he
disappeared. His ultimate fate was never known, though it was
believed at the time that he had been murdered. The event created
great excitement, and furnished the occasion for the formation of
a new party in N.Y. This new party was in fact a rehabilitation
of the Adams wing of the Democratic-Republican party, a feeble
organization, into which shrewd political leaders breathed new
life by utilizing the Anti-Masonic feeling. The party spread into
other middle states and into New England; in 1827 the N.Y.
leaders tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade Henry Clay, though a
Mason, to renounce the order and become the party's candidate for
president. In 1831 the Anti-Masons nominated William Wirt of
Maryland, and in the election they secured the seven electoral
votes of Vermont. In the following year the organization grew
moribund, most of its members joining the Whigs. Its last act in
national politics was to nominate William Henry Harrison for
president in Nov. 1838.
Subsequently, Rochester became the centre of the Abolitionist movement
in New York State and for many years before the Civil War it was a busy
station on the "Underground railroad," by which fugitive slaves were
assisted in escaping to Canada. The fervor of the movement gave
prominence to Frederick Douglass (1817-1895), the mulatto orator and
editor, who established a newspaper in Rochester in 1847, and to whom a
monument has been erected near the approach of the New York Central
Station. The city was a gathering place for suffragists from the time
when Susan B. Anthony settled here in 1846.
Susan Brownell Anthony (1820-1906), born at Adams, Mass., was the
daughter of Quaker parents. Her family moved to N.Y. State where,
from the time she was 17 until she was 32, she taught school. She
took a prominent part in the Anti-slavery and Temperance
movements in New York, and after 1854 devoted herself almost
exclusively to the agitation for women's rights. She was
vice-president-at-large of the National Women's Suffragist
Association from 1869-1892, when she became president. She was
arrested and fined $100 (which she never paid) for casting a vote
at the presidential election in 1872. She contended that the 14th
Amendment entitled her to vote, and when she told the court she
would not pay her fine, the judge simply let her go. The case
created much comment.
In Rochester also lived the famous Fox Sisters, Margaret (1836-1893)
and Katharine, whose spiritualistic "demonstrations" became known in
1850 as the "Rochester Rappings." The city has been a centre for
American spiritualists ever since.
[Illustration: Kate Fox (_From a daguerreotype_)
The demonstrations of the famous Fox sisters began in the
following way: in 1847 the Fox family moved to a house near
Rochester believed to be haunted, from which tenant after tenant
had moved out, alarmed by mysterious rappings. The Foxes did not
hear these sounds until 1848, and then Kate, hardly more than a
child, began questioning the rappings, and having opened what
seemed to be intelligent communication, suggested the use of the
alphabet. That was the beginning of what spiritualists call the
"science of materialization." The exhibitions consisted of the
usual phenomena, table turning, spirit rapping and the moving of
large bodies by invisible means. The two young women gave public
s['e]ances throughout the country, arousing an interest that spread
to England. In 1888 Margaret made a confession of imposture which
she later retracted. Claiming to be the wife of Dr. Elisha Kent
Kane, the Arctic explorer, she published a book of his letters
under the "Love Life of Dr. Kane." He had met her between voyages
of exploration, fallen in love with her, and in one of the
published letters addressed her as "my wife," but even she admits
that there never was a formal wedding. He died at Havana in 1857.]
Modern spiritualism is generally dated from the "demonstrations"
produced by the Fox Sisters. These exhibitions consisted of the
usual spiritualistic phenomena: table turning, spirit rapping and
the moving of large bodies by invisible means. The sisters gave
public s['e]ances through the country, and interest in spiritualism
spread to England. In 1888 Margaret made a confession of
imposture, which she later retracted. She claimed to be the wife
of Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, the Arctic explorer, and published a
book of his letters under the title of the "Love Life of Dr.
Kane." Kane had begun his career as an explorer when he was
appointed surgeon and naturalist for the Grinnell expedition in
1850, which set out to search for Sir John Franklin, who was lost
somewhere in the North. After spending 16 fruitless months of
search, they returned, but Kane fitted out a new expedition of
which he was given command, and spent two winters in polar
exploration and collection of scientific data. The voyage lasted
years and brought him fame. It was between these voyages that he
met Margaret Fox, and in one of the published letters he
addressed her as "my wife," though there seems never to have been
a formal wedding. He died in 1857 at Havana.
Rochester is an attractive city, with a park system comprising 1,649
acres. The largest parks are the Durand-Eastman, the Genesee Valley,
Seneca, Maplewood and Highland. The Durand-Eastman Park occupies a
beautiful tract of wooded ground on Lake Ontario.
The University of Rochester, founded 1851 as a Baptist institution, but
now non-sectarian, occupies a tract of 24 acres on University Ave. in
the eastern part of the city. Notable men who have been connected with
the university include Henry Augustus Ward, professor of natural history
from 1860 to 1875; Martin Brewer Anderson, president from 1854 to 1888,
and David Jayne Hill, president from 1888 to 1896.
David Jayne Hill was born at Plainfield, N.J., June 16, 1850.
After obtaining his first degree at the University of Bucknell,
Pa., he studied for his A.M. in Berlin and Paris. He was
president of the University of Rochester from 1888 to 1896, then
spent 3 years in the study of the public law of Europe. As one
peculiarly fitted by education and training for a diplomatic
career, he was minister first to Switzerland (1903-1905), then to
the Netherlands (1905) and from 1908 to 1911 ambassador to
Germany. His numerous writings cover a wide field in biography,
rhetoric, diplomacy, history and philosophy.
[Illustration: Falls of the Genesee River at Rochester About 1850
(_From a print in the N.Y. Public Library_)
For many years Rochester was the most important flour milling
centre in the country, owing to the valuable water power furnished
by the falls and the fertility of the wheat fields of the Genesee
Valley.]
Rochester Theological Seminary prepares students for the ministry of
the Baptist Church, and has no organic connection with the university.
The Mechanics' Institute, founded in 1885 by Henry Lomb of the
Bausch-Lomb Optical Co., is an unusually successful school of trades and
handicrafts. It occupies a large building, the gift of George Eastman of
the Eastman Kodak Co.
For many years Rochester was the most important flour milling centre in
the country, owing to the valuable water furnished by the falls and the
fertility of the wheat fields of the Genesee Valley. Flour milling is no
longer so important an industry here--Minneapolis having taken first
rank in this respect--but Rochester ranks high among the great
manufacturing cities of the country. Its total output is valued at more
than $250,000,000 annually. It leads the world in the manufacture of
cameras, lenses, and photographic materials, and it is one of the
principal cities of the country in the distribution of seeds, bulbs and
plants, and in the manufacture of clothing and shoes. Other important
products are machinery of various kinds, lubricating oil, candied
fruits, syrups and confectionery clothing, tobacco and cigars, enameled
tanks and filing devices.
403 M. BATAVIA, Pop. 13,541. (Train 51 passes 4:45p; No. 3, 6:18p; No.
41, 10:45p; No. 25, 11:04p; No. 19, 3:03a. Eastbound: No. 6 passes
12:17a; No. 26, 1:12a; No. 16, 5:32a; No. 22, 8:04a.)
Batavia, situated on Tonawanda Creek, was laid out in 1801 by Joseph
Ellicott (1760-1826), the engineer who had been engaged in surveying the
land known as the "Holland Purchase" of which Batavia was a part.
The so-called "Holland Purchase" comprised nearly all the land in
Western N.Y. west of the Genesee River. Its history is associated
with Robert Morris (1734-1806), the Revolutionary merchant and
banker whose financial assistance had been invaluable to the
Colonies during the War of Independence. Morris acquired the
Holland Purchase from the Indians in 1791, after having obtained
permission from the State of Mass. which then claimed sovereignty
over this territory. The following year, however, he began to be
involved in financial misfortunes and was compelled to sell this
property to a group of Dutch capitalists, who undertook to
dispose of the land to settlers. It thus became known as the
Holland Purchase, and the Holland Land Office in Batavia was one
of the centers from which the operations of the Dutch Land
company were directed. The slow development of Morris's other
property and the failure of a London bank in which he had funds
invested, finally drove him into bankruptcy, and he was confined
in a debtor's prison for more than three years (1798-1801). The
old Holland Land Office was dedicated as a memorial to Robert
Morris in 1894.
Here lived William Morgan whose supposed murder in 1826 by Freemasons
led to the organization of the Anti-Masonic party. Batavia was the home
of Dean Richmond (1804-1866), a capitalist, successful shipper and
wholesale dealer in farm produce, who became vice-president (1853-1864)
and later president (1864-1866) of the New York Central Lines. He was
likewise a prominent leader of the Democratic party in N.Y. State. In
1899 his widow, Mary E. Richmond, erected here in memory of a son a
library which contains about 15,000 volumes.
Among the education institutions here are the N.Y. State School for the
Blind and St. Joseph's Academy (Roman Catholic). The historical museum
in the old Holland Land Office* contains a good collection of early
state relics. The two old guns in front were cast in the N.Y. State
Arsenal, which manufactured arms for use in the War of 1812.
Among the manufactures are harvesters, ploughs, threshers and other
agricultural implements, firearms, rubber tires, shoes, shell goods,
paper-boxes, and inside woodwork.
We now approach Buffalo, beyond which our route closely parallels Lake
Erie. We thus get our first view of one of America's great inland seas
in this part of the route, although at certain points between Syracuse
and Buffalo (notably at Rochester) our train has passed only a few miles
south of Lake Ontario.
The five Great Lakes--Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and
Ontario--lie between the U.S. and Canada and form the headwaters
of the St. Lawrence River system. They cover an area of 94,000
Sq. M. The Great Lakes date back to Glacial period or before, but
it is probable that a "warping" of the earth's crust and a
consequent reversal of drainage areas have been among the most
potent causes of the formation of these great inland seas. Some
of the most salient facts about the Great Lakes are given in the
following table: