Excerpt from Mary Derwent: A Tale of Wyoming and Mohawk Valleys in 1778 The blackened ruins of a dwelling here and there, left evidence Of this unnatural contest, while stockades and block-houses Of recent erection, scattered along the valley, gave picturesque proofs Of continued anxiety and peril. From twenty to thirty houses occupied the Spot where Wilkes barre now stands, while log cabins were grouped near the forts, each with its clearing, its young fruit-orchard, and its patch Of wheat or corn. Still all these defences and clearings made but little inroad on the grandeur Of the scene. The smoke that occasionally curled up through the trees, gave evidence Of an extensive clearing, that was scarcely visible in the dense forest around. The more important settlements were far apart, and with the forts and stockades, but served to render a scene of wonderful beauty still more interesting from the glimpses of life they afforded. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.