From the first paragraph of the first chapter of James Fenimore Cooper's
The Pioneers:
Near the centre of the State of New York lies an extensive district of
country whose surface is a succession of hills and dales, or, to speak
with greater deference to geographical definitions, of mountains and
valleys. It is among these hills that the Delaware takes its rise; and
flowing from the limpid lakes and thousand springs of this region the
numerous sources of the Susquehanna meander through the valleys until,
uniting their streams, they form one of the proudest rivers of the United
States. The mountains are generally arable to the tops, although instances
are not wanting where the sides are jutted with rocks that aid greatly in
giving to the country that romantic and picturesque character which it so
eminently possesses. The vales are narrow, rich, and cultivated, with a
stream uniformly winding through each. Beautiful and thriving villages are
found interspersed along the margins of the small lakes, or situated at
those points of the streams which are favorable for manufacturing; and
neat and comfortable farms, with every indication of wealth about them,
are scattered profusely through the vales, and even to the mountain tops.
Roads diverge in every direction from the even and graceful bottoms of the
valleys to the most rugged and intricate passes of the hills. Academies
and minor edifices of learning meet the eye of the stranger at every few
miles as be winds his way through this uneven territory, and places for
the worship of God abound with that frequency which characterize a moral
and reflecting people, and with that variety of exterior and canonical
government which flows from unfettered liberty of conscience. In short,
the whole district is hourly exhibiting how much can be done, in even a
rugged country and with a severe climate, under the dominion of mild laws,
and where every man feels a direct interest in the prosperity of a
commonwealth of which he knows himself to form a part...
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| James Fenimore Cooper |
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