Dear Folks, I received the following response to the queston: When you install OE 6.0 it has a default setting to make attachments inaccessible. To change that setting go to: TOOLS > OPTIONS > SECURITY and uncheck the box about removing attachments. Then all the attachments will be accessible. And guess what! IT WORKED!! vee ----- Original Message ----- From: "Vee L. Housman" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, March 18, 2004 12:20 AM Subject: [FOLKS] Something goofy is going on > Dear Folks, > > Over the past several days personal friends of mine have sent me messages > with attachements added to them. But the only reason that I knew that there > had been an attachment was the notification in the email message ABOVE the > "From: "Jane Doe" email address was that it said, "OE [outlook express?] > removed access to the following unsafe attachments in your mail." and then > it gives the subject of the attachment. > > Although I've tried to click on the notification to see where it came from > or what the problem was, nothing, and I'm still in the dark. Does anyone > have a clue? > > vee > > > > > >

Dear Folks, Over the past several days personal friends of mine have sent me messages with attachements added to them. But the only reason that I knew that there had been an attachment was the notification in the email message ABOVE the "From: "Jane Doe" email address was that it said, "OE [outlook express?] removed access to the following unsafe attachments in your mail." and then it gives the subject of the attachment. Although I've tried to click on the notification to see where it came from or what the problem was, nothing, and I'm still in the dark. Does anyone have a clue? vee

Dear Vee: I've been reading your posts on DeWitt Clinton's journal, and I've been finding it very interesting to read. His style of writing was much different than Phoebe's. It has been a fascinating look into history! Kim

Goat Island belongs to the State, and must be extremely valuable for hydraulic works. The general idea is that it would answer for a State Prison, being impracticable to pass from it. But this is a mistake; it can be easily reached by a canoe from above. I saw a man who had potatoes planted on it, and who visited it frequently. Stedman used to ride there on horseback. The land is very fertile. As well for its nearness to the dead carcasses below the Falls as its seclusion, eagles build their nests on this island, which is covered with wood. Last autumn, a year, a large buck-deer was seen for two or three weeks, wading a short distance into the Rapids from this island and retreating. He had probably drifted down from above, and not knowing the safe passage to the shore he no doubt perished at the Cataract. After an elegant dinner we rode to Fort Schlosser, and here M. and V.R. left us and passed over to Chippeway. Near Fort Schlosser is the old English landing, and the fort was probably made to protect it. The French landing is half a mile lower down, just at the head of the Rapids, where there are the remains of stone buildings. Fort Schlosser was surrounded by palisadoes and a ditch, and contained two wooden houses and a Block-house, some of which buildings remain. This place is a little above Chippeway, and is the termination of the portage. Near it are the remains of an old fort, supposed to be French, covering half an acre, with four bastions and a ditch. Near this place are very large ant-hills. We passed the young gentlemen to-day on their way to Lewiston and the Fort, and returned to Judge Porter's, where we slept. This place is 300 miles from Detroit, and 470 from New York; 90 miles to Presque Isle, and 190 to Pittsburgh. August 3d, Friday. We arrived at Chippeway for breakfast. The river here is two miles wide. After breakfast the Commissioners had a conference, in which they directed Mr. Geddes to take levels and distances on a variety of points, and adjourned to meet at the City Tavern, in New York, on the 28th August. [*] [*transcriber's note: original text has "July."] Chippeway is in the town of Willoughby, in the county of Lincoln. The most opulent man does not pay more than three dollars a year in taxes. Street, the Speaker of their Parliament, lives near here, and migrated from Connecticut. Chippeway is a mean village of twenty houses, three stores, two taverns, a wind-mill, and a distillery. There are also barracks here, surrounded by demolished palisadoes, in which a lieutenant's guard is stationed. Chippeway creek or river intersects the village. The race of a mill-dam here conceals a boiling-spring, which will boll a tea-kettle. Two or three miles back of Queenstown there are two springs a few yards from each other - one impregnated with sulphur, and the other with vitriolic acid. On Lake Erie there are petrifying waters which run into it, at which you can see petrified substances distinctly marked by the feet of Indians. One Stevens keeps a tolerable inn here. Jackson and Morris had a contest in this house for rooms. The former sent out an avant courier, who engaged a room with two beds. Morris followed, and after reconnoitering both taverns, took a room to the rear of Jackson's, to which he could not go without passing through Jackson's. When the parties met, Jackson and his wife remonstrated against the arrangement. The former was insolent to Morris who, however, soon induced the Briton to take refuge in the adjacent house. Jackson has been received with distinguished attention in Canada. The ball at Niagara was attended by forty girls, collected from the town and the whole adjacent country, and arrayed in various fashions. Jackson appeared in his diplomatic suit, and was received by a band of music playing "God save the King." His lady was complimented in a similar way, and by the rising of all the company. She told a gentleman that she was well accommodated here; that there was no Mr. M. here to oust them of their rooms. Having seen the Cataract from the American side, we took this opportunity of viewing it from the opposite side, and we proceeded to Table Rock, from whence we had a fair view. The spray of the waters enveloped us with a mist as penetrating as rain. The clouds of vapor generated here must have a considerable agency in producing the frequent showers which are experienced in this country. I could not but observe the number of taverns in Canada and the western country, which contained emblems of Free Masonry on their signs. Near Chippeway, a house had a sign marked small-Pox, to apprise people of the disease. One of the hands who rowed us over the river here is named Cowan. Although seventy years old, he can now make two pair of shoes a day; for each pair he charges four shillings. He has had two wives; seven children by one and fourteen by another, of whom fifteen are girls, We returned and slept at Judge Porter's, where we also dined. (The above was published in the March 2004 edition of "Fortress Niagara," the Newsletter-Journal of the Old Fort Niagara Association, editor Harry M. DeBan, pgs. 9-14. Permission to post it has been granted. To view the entire journal on line go to http://www.history.rochester.edu/canal/bib/campbell/Chap06.html. )

Dear Folks, I just had to share with you my untypical day today. In the first place I had an ordinary clinic appointment up at the VA Hospital in Buffalo but since it's a 30-mile drive and my gas tank was running low I left the house early so that I could fuel up at Smokin Joe's on the local Indian Reservation. Although the temperature was in the mid 30s there was a brisk wind and I dreaded filling up the tank myself and then have to try to figure out how to use my credit card at the pump to pay for it in the first place. But the minute I drove up to the gas pump a pleasant local Indian (OK, Native American) came up to my window and asked if he could help. I told him that he was a God Send and handed him my credit card and asked him to fill the car up with the "cheap stuff." He did that chearfully and when he asked if I wanted a receipt and I told him yes, he had to go back to the office to have one made out for me because the one at the pump wasn't working. I was so grateful for the service he had given me that I wanted to tip him but I knew that all that I had in my wallet were 2 one dollar bills and some change and I was faced with bridge tolls to and from Buffalo. Savoring the feeling of his generous pleasant service I headed off to Buffalo. I found an empty parking space in the parking lot close to the hospital (that will never happen again!), checked into the clinic on time and soon I heard Dr. Finklestein's voice booming out "Vee Housman!" Frankly I was surprised that he didn't add to the announcement that I'm from Town of Porter because I've been going to him for close to 15 years and he has a wierd sense of humor. His routine treatment and assessment took only about 15 minutes and all the while we joked with each other as usual. However, when he checked my chart on the computer he noticed that I hadn't filled out my Means Test and ordered me to get it filled out immediately and pointed me to the precise office where they would help me. Well every year and every year I dread filling out the annual Means Test. It's a very confusing form to fill out but I obeyed his order and eventually saw Carol who helped me fill it out even though I didn't have a good handle on what my income was back in 2002. BTW, a Means Test is to determine if a veteran's total income either exceeds or is under the set limit of how much the veteran has to pay for visits to the doctors, how much (if any) his co-pay is for prescriptions and the like. And with magic fingers at Carol's computer, she filled out my Means Test and I'm still good for another year. More than that, she was such a caring person that she asked me if I had ever considered reapplying for an update on my service connected dissabilities. Oh boy did she hit on a nerve! The bottom line was yes indeedy! Sparing you the details she gave me the phone number of Tracy who would review my particular case with compassion and I'll call her tomorrow. Moving right along, I had a particular reason to speak with a pharmacist but I had to take a number. While I sat there waiting for my number to come up I got into a conversation with another veteran about my age and he told me about what happened that afternoon when he had to go to the Emergency Clinic. He had to take all of his clothes off and put on a hospital gown but that the attendant apparently just rolled up all of his clothes in a ball and set them aside. When he put his clothes back on and reached into his pants pocked for the 60 cents that he had there for his bus fare back home, it had disappeared. When I realized that he didn't have the bus fare to get back home I told him that I certainly had $.60 in my wallet to give him. He replied that he wasn't a begger. I responded that he hadn't begged in the least and that I was the one who was offering it to him. After a battle of the wits he finally accepted the $.60. We talked a bit more regarding his and my families and when he left to go home he leaned down and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I responded by saying, "Now THAT was worth $.60!" We parted as understanding caring individuals. It was a good feeling between both of. I know I'm drawing this out but you know me, the story won't end until the story ends. I got home in time to start preparing dinner. It was a special dinner. My niece Deb suggested that she and her mother (my sister Norma) come over to my house this evening and Deb and I would prepare our now-famous Chicken Cacciatori dinner with Pasta Pesto. I did my thing with my ingredients and she did her thing with her ingredients. Of course Deb had to outdo herself by making a hot sweet and sour bacon dressing for the salad! While Deb and I worked side by side at the kitchen counter, the three of us shared what was going on with our lives. Primarily, Norma updated me on her immediate plans to fly off to Utah this coming Wednesday to get married in the Mormon Temple in Ogden in what I still feel is a Cinderella wedding. For heavens sakes, both she and the groom are 78 years old! Deb shared what she was going through regarding her 18-wheeler trucking business and I updated them on my own personal life. After we all did the dishes and put the rest of the leftovers away Deb gave me a big hug and told me she loved me and my sister gave me an even bigger hug which was more emotional but with no words said. We both knew that she was moving to Utah on a permanent basis and we really didn't know if we would ever see each other again. As I said, it certainly wasn't a typical day for me. vee

August 2d, Thursday. Messrs. Morris and Van Rensselaer arrived here from Chippeway, and after breakfast at Mr. Barton's, we all proceeded to a village near the Falls of Niagara, along the carrying road where Judge Porter resides. On the top of the slope at Lewiston, we observed the old way in which the French drew up their goods. A crane was fixed on the hill, and an inclined plane down the descent in which sleighs were fixed, and as goods were conveyed up in one sleigh, others were let down in another. After two miles we saw the Devil's Hole, which is a monstrous chasm or ravine, close to the road, and is 150 feet deep, where the hill is upwards of 300 feet perpendicular above the center of the river. It is formed by a small creek, called Bloody Run, precipitating itself into the bank. This name is derived from this circumstance: After the capture of Niagara by Sir William Johnson, an escort of thirty wagons were driven down the precipice by an ambuscade of French and Indians, and all killed except two - one who broke through the enemy, and the other who was caught by a tree in his descent, and although miserably wounded, is yet alive and tells the story. Two miles from this place, we saw, from Major Brother's house, the whirlpool, which exhibits the power of water in the most astonishing manner. When the largest trees of the forest are caught in the vortex of this fresh water maelstrom, such is the fury of its vertiginous motion, that they are whirled round with inconceivable velocity, and after being precipitated into the great abyss of waters, and lost to the eye for a considerable time, they are ejected in fragments from their prison, or entirely demolished. We arrived at the village, one-quarter of a mile above the Falls, and three-quarters of a-mile from Fort Schlosser. It was established by Porter, Barton, & Co., and is the best place in the world for hydraulic works. Here is a carding-machine, a grist-mill, a saw-mill, a rope­walk, a bark-mill, a tannery, Post office, tavern, and a few houses. An acre-lot sells for fifty dollars. The rope-walk is sixty fathoms long; is the only establishment of the kind in the western country, and already supplies all the lake navigation. The hemp used in this manufactory is raised on the Genesee Flats, and costs there from $280 to $300 per ton, and when brought here, it amounts to $380. Tar is procured from New York, there being no pitch pine in this country, and the price there and transportation here bring it in cost to nine dollars. It constitutes in price a twenty-fifty part of the rope. You recognize, at a considerable distance, the Falls, from the ascent of vapors, and the clouds which are always hanging over the place, and you hear the roaring of the waters like the noise of thunder. At Fort Schlosser, upwards of two miles by water above the Falls, the river narrows, and a Rapid commences of irresistible force and immense velocity, and extends to the Falls. The noise and agitation and fury of these rapids constitute as great a curiosity as the Cataract itself. An island, denominated Goat Island (from the circumstance of Mr. Stedman, the former possessor of Fort Schlosser, keeping his goats there), and containing about eighty acres, runs up to the Falls and divides the waters. Here the whole river precipitates itself 162 1/2 feet, according to the report of an engineer, over a mass of calcareous stone and shistic. The greater part of the mighty mass passes over on the west side, and, viewed from the American bank, appears green in the thickest part of the Cataract, whereas the volume of water on our side, when seen from Table Rock, looks white, which is imputable to its inferior density. There are cataracts which exceed this in altitude, but there is none in the world which approaches it in volume of water. The elevation of the banks of the river detracts greatly from the sublimity of the spectacle. Below the Cataract there are huge rocks, which have been torn and hurled from their foundations by the Rapids. Two or three years ago, an immense mass of the rocky stratum was precipitated over, and shook the country around like an earthquake. If it be true, as is suggested, that the rock below the limestone is soft, if the river should ever succeed in carrying off the superior stratum, the whole of the upper lake will rush into Lake Ontario, and deluge whole counties below. I felt the agitation of the Falls in slightly shaking Judge Porter's house, and after I had retired to bed. It is generally supposed that every animal which passes over the Falls is killed; but this is a mistake. Tame geese frequently pass over alive. There is a dog at Chippeway which escaped with a broken rib; and two sheep were once found below the Cataract, one of which was alive. Fish often go over safely. On the other hand, the chance is greatly against life. Wild geese, fish, deer, and other creatures are to be seen dashed to pieces. A tragical story is told of a poor Indian, which would form a good subject for a poem. He tied his canoe to the shore at Chippeway, and fell asleep. A British soldier, it is supposed, loosened his fastening and he floated down. When he got involved in the great Rapid, he was awakened by the noise, and rising up and perceiving his situation, he tried to paddle himself out. But finding his efforts useless, he wrapped himself up in his blanket, and sat down in the canoe, and yielding himself to his fate with Roman fortitude. In this short and dreadful interval between life and death, the rich fancy of a poet might conceive and delineate the ideas which passed through the mind of the poor Indian, and the feelings which agitated his bosom, when on the eve of his final separation from his family and sacred home, and when the ties which united him to this world were about to be forever dissolved, A beautiful white substance is found at the bottom of the Falls, supposed by some to be gypsum, and by the vulgar to be a concretion of foam, generated by the force of the Cataract. But it is unquestionably part of the limestone dissolved and reunited. (The above was published in the March 2004 edition of "Fortress Niagara," the Newsletter-Journal of the Old Fort Niagara Association, editor Harry M. DeBan, pgs. 9-14. Permission to post it has been granted. To view the entire journal on line go to http://www.history.rochester.edu/canal/bib/campbell/Chap06.html. )

Vee, el al: I had a similar things happen to me awhile back, but mine said that someone got an email from me that was infected, and the person I supposedly sent it I knew, which I didn't! My anti virus program runs a scan every Friday, too, and it didn't catch anything, thank goodness I didn't open the attachment! These guys are getting smarter all the time, and if I get something with an attachment from someone I don't know, I won't open it. Kim

I'll second Vee's warning. Yesterday, I received a message which claimed to be from my server, Red-Canyon, saying they had received complaints from others that spam was being sent from my e-mail address. The message said that I must have a Trojan_?_ in my system and to click on the attachments they included and then use the number they gave me as a password to find directions how to correct the problem. It was signed Your Red-Canyon help group (or words to that effect) and even gave the URL for Red-Canyon website! I was astonished as I have an Anti-virus program that scans everything I receive and everything I send. Since, my server is local, I forwarded the message to Dave, asking him "Is this for real? etc." Then, even though my anti-vrius program runs a complete scan every Friday automatically, I ran another anti-vrius scan which came out "No errors." Sometime later I received a reply from Dave, who said, "These people who send viruses are getting smarter all the time. It was a bogus message. Good thing I hadn't clicked on the attachments as the message actually contained a virus. Wow! So, watch all incoming e-mail and don't believe anything that appears to come from your server with attachments, as Vee warns. Faith

Our provider advised us of these scams and, sure enough, we are still getting these &#$* scam emails. Anna ----- Original Message ----- From: "Vee L. Housman" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, March 14, 2004 10:29 PM Subject: [FOLKS] I'm back to normal(?) > Dear Folks, > > As I had indicated last night, I had gotten into big doo doo where it seemed that everything went wrong with my computer and my Windows system. Everything was eratic, unstable and hardly anything worked at all. So early this evening I bit the bullet and used my Recovery Disks and started all over. But because I knew that it would wipe out everything on my hard drive, I saved any important data onto diskettes before I started. > > But lo and behold! I actually have my Outlook Express all hooked up for my email and I have access to the Internet. Of course I have to reinstall all of my hardware again, reinstall some programs and dig up all of my favorite Internet sites, but I don't anticipate any serious problem with that. The bottom line is that it appears that the recovery disks solved the problem. > > I have an idea what caused the problem in the first place. Last evening I received an email message "obviously" from my ISP Adelphia telling me that they would be shutting down for two day but that my email would be forwarded to me if I copied the password they gave me, open the attachment and register with my password. I tried that, it didn't work, I called Adelphia and found out that the whole thing was phoney and has been going on for several weeks. Adelphia said that when they have any information to pass on to their subscribers, they would NEVER include attachments. So a word of warning here. If you receive an email from your ISP and there's an attachment to it, DON'T OPEN IT! Call your ISP instead and ask them if it's a valid email sent by them. > > Glad to be back to normal again. > vee > >

Thanks Vee. Benjamin sort of rings a bell for me, I'll have to look him up. Ruth At 7:49 PM -0500 3/14/04, Vee L. Housman wrote: >Dear Ruth, > >I really don't know where the Barton family came from but Benjamin Barton >came here and settled in Lewiston in 1809. I believe he's the same one who >joined up with Augustus(?) Porter and established the Porter and Barton Co. >of (mainly) Niagara Falls. >vee -- Ruth Barton [email protected] Dummerston, VT

I think I have sent to the NRA requesting the form to request Luther's service records. Only with our government do you have to request a form to request a form. I got an auto response thingy so I guess it worked though. I want to find out all I can about Luther. How can I find out if the Saratoga Republican and/or Saratogian (sp) for that time period are on film and where I can get them? Any help you all can give me I deeply appreciate, this is all new to me. All my ancestors were from places within easy driving distance from me and I just go to the town office and look for what I want. I live in the house built by my gggrandfather in 1870, that's why I find all this neat stuff--'cause they never threw ANYTHING away and they always lived here. Nobody had EVER cleaned out the attic till I started when we moved in with Dad. Now I'm trying to make a dent in the cellar. The reason--I have more stuff to move in, what else!!! We are a family of savers. Ruth At 7:33 AM -0800 3/14/04, Ruth Barton wrote: BTW: I have finally completed transcribing all 64 (actually 65, 2 #33s) >Civil War letters. I am not going to post them at this time as I think I >should have them looked at by someone who knows more about such things than >I do. I don't know if it is practical to think in terms of a published >book or not. There is much material here, some of these letters are 8 or 9 >pages in length, and they're not small pages either. Ruth -- Ruth Barton [email protected] Dummerston, VT

Dear Folks, As I had indicated last night, I had gotten into big doo doo where it seemed that everything went wrong with my computer and my Windows system. Everything was eratic, unstable and hardly anything worked at all. So early this evening I bit the bullet and used my Recovery Disks and started all over. But because I knew that it would wipe out everything on my hard drive, I saved any important data onto diskettes before I started. But lo and behold! I actually have my Outlook Express all hooked up for my email and I have access to the Internet. Of course I have to reinstall all of my hardware again, reinstall some programs and dig up all of my favorite Internet sites, but I don't anticipate any serious problem with that. The bottom line is that it appears that the recovery disks solved the problem. I have an idea what caused the problem in the first place. Last evening I received an email message "obviously" from my ISP Adelphia telling me that they would be shutting down for two day but that my email would be forwarded to me if I copied the password they gave me, open the attachment and register with my password. I tried that, it didn't work, I called Adelphia and found out that the whole thing was phoney and has been going on for several weeks. Adelphia said that when they have any information to pass on to their subscribers, they would NEVER include attachments. So a word of warning here. If you receive an email from your ISP and there's an attachment to it, DON'T OPEN IT! Call your ISP instead and ask them if it's a valid email sent by them. Glad to be back to normal again. vee

Dear Ruth, I really don't know where the Barton family came from but Benjamin Barton came here and settled in Lewiston in 1809. I believe he's the same one who joined up with Augustus(?) Porter and established the Porter and Barton Co. of (mainly) Niagara Falls. vee ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ruth Barton" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2004 11:01 PM Subject: Re: [FOLKS] DeWitt Clinton's Journal Pt 1 > vee, Thanks for this article, it is very interesting. My husband, being a > Mr. Barton, wants to know if you know anything about Mr. Barton of Porter, > Barton & Co? If you don't don't trouble yourself about it. I think he > feels left out sometimes because I'm so wrapped up in the stuff here in the > house which is, of course, all MY family stuff. Ruth >

August 1st, Wednesday. The brig Ontario, of ninety tons, belonging to Porter, Barton & Co., being on her way to Oswego, we took our departure in her about ten o'clock, on a visit to Fort Niagara, having previously apprised the officers of the garrison of our intention. This is a handsome vessel, cost $5,000, can carry 420 barrels of salt, and is navigated by a captain and seven men. The monthly wages of a sailor is $20. We saw six British and American vessels, five of which were square-rigged, ascend the river at the same time. The business transacted here is principally on the American side, and is the transportation of salt. There are two merchants and a lawyer in this village; also a spacious warehouse, and a good wharf belonging to this company: the road to the wharf is down a steep hill, and is badly contrived, as only one team can load at a time. The color of the river is a beautiful sea-green, and its depth from 40 to 100 feet; the current descends at the rate of thre! e miles an hour. The banks of the river are steep, and principally formed of a stone, composed of indurated red clay, which is friable on exposure to heat or frost. About two years ago, the ice accumulated some two miles below Lewiston, to the elevation of seventy feet, from bank to bank, and created a rise of water above, which swept away with the besom of destruction everything between the banks of Lewiston and Queenstown. We landed at the Fort from the brig, which hauled close up to the dock, and were received with a national salute, and other military honors. Capt. Leonard and Dr. West and families reside here, and Lieut. Gansevoort, a single man. The garrison consists of an artillery company. We dined with the commanding officer, in the large stone house, which is 105 by 46 feet. It is in itself a complete fortification, has a well, prisons, and only one door. It had iron window shutters, which were taken away by the British, when they surrendered the Fort, under Jay's treaty. There are marks of shot in the rafters from a six-pounder, and which were fired at the siege under Sir Wm. Johnson. It is said that the French asked permission of the Indians to build a trading-house, and that they erected surreptitiously this work; it is further stated that the stone were brought from Fort Frontenac. Considering the distance, and the monstrous mass of stones, one would think this impossible. As the s! tones about the windows are different, and more handsome than those which compose the building, the probability is, that the former only were brought from Fort Frontenac, and that the latter are the common stones of the country. [Fort] Niagara is in a ruinous condition. There are two block-houses at the east and west end; and an old stone house, which was built by the French, constitutes the magazine. The only pleasant thing to the feelings of an American are the new barracks which are building. The bar of the Niagara River at its entrance into the lake is twelve feet. From the north room in which we dined, we had a superb view of the lake. We understood here, that Gen. Dearborn, the late Secretary of War, had represented as an excuse for not erecting a fort at Black Rock, that the State had asked twelve dollars an acre for the ground - an assertion totally destitute of truth. We returned via Newark in our carriages, which we had sent to that place for the purpose. The river here is about thirty chains wide. It was formerly the seat of government of Upper Canada, which has been transferred to York, and Newark is now called Niagara. It contains about eighty houses, a court-house, and two churches. As we walked through the town we saw a dozen people, whom we were told were the principal men of the place, looking at us. Some years ago I got acquainted with Dr. Ker, Deputy Grand-Master of Upper Canada, whom I was told resides in this place, and intended to pay me particular attention of he saw me. The British fort is a little farther up than ours, and is said to be fourteen feet higher. Its condition is not much superior; it is under the command of a Major. Jackson was received at this place with military honors, and complimented with a ball. I observed an uncommon number of musquito hawks flying over the plains adjacent to this town; they were in pursuit of insects, and their cry was squab, in a sharp note. The road from Niagara to Queenstown is pleasant and well-cultivated, and the country has plenty of young orchards of apple and peach trees. I am told, however, that improvements are stationary, and that the country does not look better than it did eleven years ago. The difference between the American and British side, in every attribute of individual and natural improvements, must strike the most superficial eye. It is flattering to our national pride, and to the cause of republican government; indeed, Mr. Morris insinuated that Jackson recognized with no little spleen. The politics of Upper Canada are tempestuous. A great majority of the people prefer the American government, and on the firing of the first gun would unite their destinies with ours. The Irish and emigrants from the United States are opposed to the Scotch, who have monopolized the government. There are two newspapers printed in the province. The editor of one is an Irishman of the name of Willcocks, whose paper is called the Guardian. It is printed at Niagara, has an extensive circulation in Canada, and a limited one in this State. He is bold, but not possessed of great talents. He leads the opposition, and is a member of their parliament as it is styled, and has been prosecuted by the Government. Jackson sent for him and was closeted some hours with him. He complains bitterly of the abuses of government, particularly in exacting oppressive fees. The other press supports the Government. Queenstown contains about forty houses. I saw two square-rigged vessels taking in salt. It does but little business, when compared with its opposite rival. Eighteen thousand barrels of salt were conveyed by the portage at Lewiston last year, and but four thousand on this side. We crossed the ferry at Queenstown, which affords a curious phenomenon. An eddy runs up on each side, and facilitates a passage against a very impetuous current in the center of the river. In passing the river here, we had a full view of the great ridge, which passes to the banks of the river on the American side, is interrupted by the river, and is renewed on the British side, bending off towards the west, and running to the north end of Lake Ontario. The large rocks where the break of the great ridge opens, and the whole aspect of the water and the surrounding country, evidently show that this was the ancient seat of the Great Cataract. We again availed ourselves of the hospitality of Mr. Barton. (The above was published in the March 2004 edition of "Fortress Niagara," the Newsletter-Journal of the Old Fort Niagara Association, editor Harry M. DeBan, pgs. 9-14. Permission to post it has been granted. To view the entire journal on line go to http://www.history.rochester.edu/canal/bib/campbell/Chap06.html. )

Ruth & Group: I agree wholeheartedly with Ruth. I'm on many lists, too, and some are just like the one Ruth described. I can't see some of them have any interest in diaries, which I think is sad. I have learned more about my Niagara Co. ancestors on this list than on any other list. I've been able to have a taste of how my ancestors lived. I've learned so much on preserving my family history on this list and thanks to this group, my descendants will have a genealogical story instead of just dates, names and places. I'm still considering publishing Phoebe's diaries, they'd be so valuable to Niagara Co. history. I'm so glad I finally got Pheobe;s diaries transcribed, it's fun to go back and read them whenever I want to... Kim

I just LOVE this list, it is what I wish all the lists I'm on were like. A list where one can write about any subject that pops into one's head. The Vermont lists I'm on the list adminstrator would rip a poster up one side and down the other if they DARED post anything that is not STRICTLY genealogy. I am absolutely enjoying this list. BTW: I have finally completed transcribing all 64 (actually 65, 2 #33s) Civil War letters. I am not going to post them at this time as I think I should have them looked at by someone who knows more about such things than I do. I don't know if it is practical to think in terms of a published book or not. There is much material here, some of these letters are 8 or 9 pages in length, and they're not small pages either. Ruth At 9:47 PM -0500 3/13/04, Vee L. Housman wrote: >Dear Folks, > >I've been hankering for home baked bisquits for the past couple of days >but instead of giving into the temptation of buying a tube of them in the >dairy case, I decided to make my own out of Bisquick (actully the much >cheaper Spiffy mix). I read the directions on the box and they were >certainly simple enough. Just mix 2 cups of Spiffy with 2/3 cup milk, >stir it into a dough and roll the dough out to 1/2 inch and use a round >cookie cutter to cut it into proper bisquits. However, the easier way >(without rolling pin, dusted board and cookie cutter) were the dropped >bisquits. I decided on the latter. > >I heated up my over to 450 degrees, got out my bowl and measuring cups, >poured the Jiffy mix into the measuring cup and found I had only 1 cup of >it left in the box. No problem, I'd just cut the amount of milk in half >to 1/3 cup instead of 2/3. I greased a cookie sheet as directed, mixed up >the mix and milk and then measured out each dropped spoonful carefully >since I didn't want them to be thicker than 1/2 inch. I plopped them onto >the cookie sheet and shoved them into the hot oven. > >The box said to bake them from 10 to 12 minutes but since my oven >thermostat is a bit temperamental I set the timer to 8 minutes to check >how they were getting along by then. No problem after 8 minutes so I set >the timer for another 2 minutes. Still looking good and so I shut off the >oven and let them bake for about another minute. I could then see that >they were done. > >However, during the whole time I was concerned that they would end up as >hard as hockey pucks due to their rather small size. But even so, I knew >they wouldn't go to waste inasmuch as I could put one of them into a sauce >dish, soften it up with milk, maybe add a bit of sugar or a dollop of jam >on top and still enjoy them. > >How did they turn out? Well they certainly wouldn't have been the pride >of a southern houswife but they do have their merit. They're a bit >crunchy around the edges and a bit "skinny" but considering the small >batch made 10 bisquits and I only have 7.5 left, I think they're keepers. >I guess the next time when I make a full batch soon and not be so stingy >with the dough, they'll turn out fluffier. > >Poor little bisquits, they tried their very best! >vee -- Ruth Barton [email protected] Dummerston, VT

Dear Folks, I've been hankering for home baked bisquits for the past couple of days but instead of giving into the temptation of buying a tube of them in the dairy case, I decided to make my own out of Bisquick (actully the much cheaper Spiffy mix). I read the directions on the box and they were certainly simple enough. Just mix 2 cups of Spiffy with 2/3 cup milk, stir it into a dough and roll the dough out to 1/2 inch and use a round cookie cutter to cut it into proper bisquits. However, the easier way (without rolling pin, dusted board and cookie cutter) were the dropped bisquits. I decided on the latter. I heated up my over to 450 degrees, got out my bowl and measuring cups, poured the Jiffy mix into the measuring cup and found I had only 1 cup of it left in the box. No problem, I'd just cut the amount of milk in half to 1/3 cup instead of 2/3. I greased a cookie sheet as directed, mixed up the mix and milk and then measured out each dropped spoonful carefully since I didn't want them to be thicker than 1/2 inch. I plopped them onto the cookie sheet and shoved them into the hot oven. The box said to bake them from 10 to 12 minutes but since my oven thermostat is a bit temperamental I set the timer to 8 minutes to check how they were getting along by then. No problem after 8 minutes so I set the timer for another 2 minutes. Still looking good and so I shut off the oven and let them bake for about another minute. I could then see that they were done. However, during the whole time I was concerned that they would end up as hard as hockey pucks due to their rather small size. But even so, I knew they wouldn't go to waste inasmuch as I could put one of them into a sauce dish, soften it up with milk, maybe add a bit of sugar or a dollop of jam on top and still enjoy them. How did they turn out? Well they certainly wouldn't have been the pride of a southern houswife but they do have their merit. They're a bit crunchy around the edges and a bit "skinny" but considering the small batch made 10 bisquits and I only have 7.5 left, I think they're keepers. I guess the next time when I make a full batch soon and not be so stingy with the dough, they'll turn out fluffier. Poor little bisquits, they tried their very best! vee

vee, Thanks for this article, it is very interesting. My husband, being a Mr. Barton, wants to know if you know anything about Mr. Barton of Porter, Barton & Co? If you don't don't trouble yourself about it. I think he feels left out sometimes because I'm so wrapped up in the stuff here in the house which is, of course, all MY family stuff. Ruth At 4:53 PM -0500 3/13/04, Vee L. Housman wrote: >We put up at a tavern kept in Lewiston, by T. Hurtler, an old sergeant in >the army. The Surveyor General and I slept at Mr. Barton's, one of the >house of Porter, Barton & Co., where we were kindly accommodated. -- Ruth Barton [email protected] Dummerston, VT

(The following was published in the March 2004 edition of "Fortress Niagara," the Newsletter-Journal of the Old Fort Niagara Association, editor Harry M. DeBan, pgs. 9-14. Permission to post it has been granted. To view the entire journal on line go to http://www.history.rochester.edu/canal/bib/campbell/Chap06.html. ) DE WITT CLINTON. HIS PRIVATE CANAL JOURNAL - 1810. [August 1810] [July 31st, 1810] .... Three miles from Lewiston we passed through a village of Tuscarora Indians, containing 300 souls. Their territory consists of three miles square - one given them by the Senecas, two by the Holland Company. They follow agriculture and keep a number of hogs and neat cattle. They also plant corn and cultivate wheat, which looks poor. I saw a chief with a cross on his back. When Jackson [*] was at Queenstown, they were sent for to play ball for his amusement. They frequently visit the British and receive presents. [*editor's note: Francis James Jackson, Minister Plenipotentiary, to the United States (1809-1810) of His Britannic Majesty King George 111. Jackson was a despised figure in Washington, and he moved his "diplomatic family" from there to New York City for a period, in protest of his treatment. After a particularly angry-toned letter to President Madison, Madison finally refused to receive any further correspondence from him, in effect, declaring J! ackson "persona non grata," and thus ended the ambassadorship of Jackson to the US. During the Summer of 1810, before be returned to England, Jackson toured-out to "Niagara," and Clinton makes mention of him several times in his journal. Jackson was also known in many American and foreign circles as "Copenhagen Jackson "for the role he played in the destruction of the Danish city by British naval and land forces in 1807.] We put up at a tavern kept in Lewiston, by T. Hurtler, an old sergeant in the army. The Surveyor General and I slept at Mr. Barton's, one of the house of Porter, Barton & Co., where we were kindly accommodated. Lewiston contains but a few houses. It is within the State reservation of a mile, on the east side of the Niagara reservation, and is laid out in a town by the State. The portage round the Falls commences here, and is eight miles on the American, and ten on the British side. The portage has been leased from the State by Porter, Barton & Co., and the principal article conveyed is salt; three yoke of oxen can carry twelve barrels of salt, and make one trip a day. There are twenty-two teams of various kinds employed in this portage. The distance from here to the Falls is seven miles; to the outlet of the river into Lake Ontario, seven and a half miles. A vessel will float this distance by the current in three hours. The whole length of Niagara river, or rather the distance from lake to lake, is thirty miles. There is a ferry between this place and Queenstown and the width of the river is one quarter of a mile. Mr. Barton is building an elegant stone house, on a commanding situation. At his house I saw a large horned owl, with the head like a cat, and with talons. He had committed great trespasses on the poultry, biting off their heads and sucking their blood; he was shot on the poultry-house.

Dear Folks, I just finished reading a transcription of part of DeWitt Clinton's Private Canal Journal of 1810 and found it fascinating. It describes in detail his trip to the Niagara Frontier in 1810. I believe he traveled here from New York City before the Erie Canal was built. This was also before he was elected as Governor of New York and before the War of 1812. He describes in detail his visit at Fort Niagara, his description of Niagara Falls and environment, up the Niagara River to what is now Buffalo and then across the river to Canada (then British territory) all the way down the river to Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) across from Fort Niagara. For those of you who are familiar with this area along the Niagara River you'll be able to follow his every move as if it happened today. Even if you've never been in this area I believe you'll enjoy reading it too. I scanned the article and it's now in my computer. Because of its length I'll break it up into parts and post it to the list one episode at a time. Now all I have to do is to figure out how to beak it up best. Stay tuned. vee