CHAPTER III.


IN PICTURESQUE NEW YORK.

Some Local Errors Corrected--A Trip Down the Hudson River--The Last of
the Mohicans--The Home of Rip Van Winkle--The Ladies of Vassar and their
Home--West Point and its History--Sing Sing Prison--The Falls of
Niagara--Indians in New York State.


Residents in the older States of the East are frequently twitted with
their ignorance concerning the newer States of the West, and of the
habits and customs of those who, having taken Horace Greeley's advice at
various times, turned their faces toward the setting sun, determined to
take advantage of the fertility of the soil, and grow up with the
country of which they knew but little.

It needs but a few days' sojourn in an Eastern city by a Western man to
realize how sublimely ignorant the New Englander is concerning at least
three-fourths of his native land. The writer was, on a recent occasion,
asked, in an Eastern city, how he managed to get along without any of
the comforts of civilization, and whether he did not find it necessary
to order all of his clothing and comforts by mail from the East. When he
replied that in the larger cities, at any rate, of the West, there were
retail emporiums fully up to date in all matters of fashion and
improvement, and caterers who could supply the latest delicacies in
season at reasonable prices, an incredulous smile was the result, and
regret was expressed that local prejudice and pride should so blind a