him, upon Mr. Ellicott's understanding that he had a journey to make a considerable distance to the east on foot. A good settler was thus secured, and he paid for his land. It is not exaggeration to say, that there were a thousand of instances, that would as well illustrate the benefits that have flowed from giving men possession of soil, and trusting to their industry and energy for payment of the purchase money. To be sure, the poor man obtains a few hundred dollars now, easier than he could then, but how many Jeptha Dunns have there been since the sales of public lands commenced at the west, who would have gone there and become free holders and useful citizens, if they could have got possession of lands as easy as he did? If they went there and located under pre-emption laws, sale days would come about, long before they could meet them.

And here, through the aid of a venerable surviving pioneer, Mr. David Mather, of Lockport, we get another early glimpse of Buffalo:

I settled in Buffalo in April, 1806; there was then sixteen dwelling houses, principally framed ones; eight of them were scattered along on Main street, three of them were on the terrace, three of them on Seneca, and two on Cayuga streets. There were two stores; one the "contractor's" on corner of Main and Seneca streets, (east side of Main,) Vincent Grant, kept it. The other was the store of Samuel Pratt, adjoining Crow's tavern. Mr. Le Couteulx kept a drug store in a part of his house on Crow street. David Reese's Indian blacksmith shop was on Seneca street, and William Robbins had a blacksmith shop on Main street. John Crow kept a tavern where Mansion House now stands, and Judge Barker kept one on the site of the market.

I remember very well the arrival of the first public mail that ever reached Buffalo. It was brought on horse-back by Ezra Metcalf, he came to my blacksmith's shop and got his horse shod. He told me he could carry the contents of his bag in his two hands.

William Johnston died in 1807, aged 65 years. He was a good neighbor, a man of a good deal of intelligence; was much respected by the Indians. I was with him a good deal during his last illness, and from what escaped him then, I judged that he had been familiar with some of the most barbarous scenes of the border wars.

From 1809 to the commencement of the war, a good many settlers came into Buffalo, and a good many buildings were put up. In early times, I have on several occasions seen the water less

than knee deep across the mouth of Buffalo creek. The few vessels then on the Lake, would lay off from a half to three fourths of a mile, or go down to Black Rock, anchoring below the rapids.

Mrs. Mather, the wife of David Mather, also survives. She came to Batavia in 1802, was then the wife of Joseph Hawks, and a sister of the earliest physician there, Dr. Alvord. Mrs. Mather moved with her first husband to Williamsville, in 1805. Jonas Williams, a brother-in-law of Andrew A. Ellicott, from whom the village of Williamsville took its name, was then a young man just commencing a farm there-had purchased the old saw mill and water power, and was rebuilding the mill. For two years Mrs. M. was the only female at Williamsville; kept house for Mr. Williams. The nearest family was a half mile on the road east. She remembers that a Mr. Lewis opened the first tavern in the neighborhood, a mile and a half west of Williamsville, at the Henshaw stand, and that the settlers came in pretty fast upon the openings, in 1805. Mrs. M. says that she and her husband were three days getting from Batavia to Williamsville, with a yoke of oxen and wagon.

Mrs. Mather became a resident of Buffalo in January, 1807. She participated in the formation of the first religious society; a union of Presbyterians and Congregationalists. The Rev. Thaddeus Osgood was the officiating minister. The first meetings were held in the court house. The primitive members of the church were:

Mrs. Landon, Nathaniel Sill and wife, Mrs. Mather, Mrs. Pratt, and a young man whose name is not recollected. If Deacon Callender was not a member of the church on its first organization, he was soon after; except when missionaries came along, he took the lead in the meetings. Mrs. M. thinks that the Rev. Miles P. Squires, was the first settled minister in Buffalo.

In the disposal of lots in Buffalo Mr. Ellicott was even more careful to confine the sales to actual settlers, and to require a certain stipulated amount of improvements, in a given time, than in the sale of farming lands. He often refused to sell lots for the whole purchase money in advance, without buildings were first erected upon them, or some earnest given that there would be. This accounts for the slow sale of lots there. The whole original village plat, would have sold in the absence of such conditions, at the low prices asked, before 1820. As in the rest of the Purchase, there

was a resident in the confidence of the local agent, who would report to him from time to time the progress of improvements. Mr. Le Couteulx, at "New Amsterdam," would inform Mr. Ellicott that such an one had a "framed house up and covered;" that another "had the frame out for a house;" that another "had a cel-. lar dug;" that another had an inner lot "cleared and fenced in;" that another on an outer lot, had one two or three acres, "cleared and enclosed." Upon the contract books, there are numerous instances of entries stipulating the improvements that were to be made in a given time. These conditions it should be observed, were not for the usual purpose of increasing the value of the premises, and keeping the lien for the purchase money good; but were intended to make every purchaser an actual settler. It would amuse the reader to see with what care Mr. Le Couteulx would inform Mr. Ellicott that cellars were dug, frames up and partly covered, or the timber cleared away and enclosures made, where the land is now worth from two to three hundred dollars per foot, and covered with four and five story brick blocks.

In

It may interest the reader to see some of the early prices of lots in New Amsterdam. No sales were made until 1804; such settlers as had made locations and improvements had done so with the promise of a pre-emptive right. In that year, lot 1, site of Mansion House, was sold for $140, (deeded afterwards to Joseph Landon at that price.) Prices of lots in this year, generally corresponded with this example of prices. In 1805, Thomas Sidwell paid $35 and $45 for lots 75 and 76 on Pearl Street. In 1806, Asa Chapman paid for lot 36 opposite Farmer's Hotel, $120; Eleazer Hovey, paid for out lots 146 and 147, (near barracks,) 11 and $12 per acre; David Mather, for lot 38 on Main Street, $120,25 in advance. 1807, Abraham Hershey, paid for lots 150, 151, 156, 157, $20 per lot. In 1808, Alpheus Hitchcock paid $4 per acre for out lots 88 and 89. One of the first sales after the war, in 1816, was to Smith H. Salisbury; lot 183 on Washington Street; price $480,80; was to erect a "house 20 feet square.' Next sale in that year, was of lots 85 and 86, to Miles P. Squier; purchase money, $550. There were but three sales in this year. In 1817, Frederick B. Merrill paid for lots 87 and 88, $580; was to "erect a house 20 by 24." Barent B. Staats, for E. pt. inner lot 90, $300; was to erect a house "24 feet square, 2 stories high." There were but two sales in this year. In 1818 no sales. In 1819, F. B. Merrill paid for outer lot 115,